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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2000)
Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas Newsroom: (541)346-5511 Room 300, Erb Memorial Union P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu Bryan Dixon Emerald Letters to the editor WTO coverage great Thank you for your editorial oi the World Trade Organizatioi protesters (ODE, Dec. 3). I live ii Seattle and am hoping to atten< the University next year. I want t commend you for the article be cause you’re the first medium t get it right! There was a differenc between the peaceful and violen protesters. Everyone needs to real ize that. Again, great article! Mindi Ric senior, Roosevelt High in Seattl University needs active students As a freshman here at the Uni verity I have been impressed b; the outstanding variety of clubs and opportunities available to me. I have taken an enthusiastic ap proach in finding as much infor i mation about the organizations j that interested me and have taken ! an active stance in joining these 1 clubs. Walking down 13th Av 3 enue every day, I see the open minded diversity that embodies 3 our campus that makes me proud 3 to be a Duck. t However, as great as it is to see this eclectic gathering in our gor geous campus community, I was e disheartened to learn that voter » turnout in our very own school elections was a pitifully low 14 percent last year. I pay out-of-state tuition and have a little more in vested than most students. My view is that if I am spending mon ; ey tb be,here, then 1 want things.fo* Well, the new millennium has come to pass, and so far the world as we know it hasn’t ended, the Christians haven’t ascended and our computers are still working. But despite all the hype, the first of January really was more than a new century and a new mil lennium. It was the beginning of a leap year, anticipating presidential elections. And with the new year comes ... New Year’s resolutions. Not everyone bothers with resolu tions, and generally those who do forget them by the first bowl game of the year. Since childhood, I’ve fit right into the standard scenario, my occasional forays into the world of New Year’s resolutions rarely lasting much past the time it took to write them down. My wife is the rare exception. She starts by considering the predictable events of the coming year. She eval uates her long-term goals and re members the frustrations she’s experienced during the past year, then she makes a single resolution, something that will either enrich her life, further her goals or both. She makes sure that it is something she has control over and can achieve, even if it’s difficult. She writes it down. Even though limiting her resolutions to one makes it easy to remember, she refers to it periodically over the course of the year. The last part is to evaluate how well the resolution was kept during the course of the year before beginning a new one. She repeatedly accomplishes her goals, and she uses her New Year’s resolutions as tools to help her achieve those goals. After watching her make and keep her resolutions for five years in a row, I was inspired last year to do the same. I refused to believe that I couldn’t succeed at something she did so well. A man has to have some pride, after all. I studied the way she did it carefully, then skated back onto the thin ice of resolve. This time, using the system I learned from Kristin, I would not fail. I have a long history of procrastination and inefficiency, so I resolved to use my time more effectively. Maybe next year I’ll get around to it. Actually, I did pretty well. Sort of. I only wasted 1,825 hours on com puter games, down from 2,412 the year before. I got half of the living room done, though now it’s in a state of permanent construction. I got the taxes done on time — barely. My wife was kind and didn’t say any be as favorable toward me, the stu dent, as possible. I feel that we should all feel this way regardless of how large our tuition bill is every month. I sincerely hope that we as a stu dent body can become less apa thetic and more active toward the quality of our student life. I know that all of us cannot be 100 percent satisfied with our school, which is why I am challenging and inviting my 17,000 fellow Ducks to do something rather than complain and be elsewhere than a poll booth on election day. Together we can make the University a school we can all look forward to attending in 2000 and in the com ing years. Mi *1, Bepnett Lacy Keep intolerance out of seminars Last month I attended a Diverse Families seminar. Something oc curred that made me feel as though my learning environment was compromised, and I think that students should be aware. Views of intolerance and hate were expressed by a few people, some from diverse backgrounds wrho have likely encountered dis crimination and intolerance them selves. Intolerant views were ex pressed regarding same-sex partner marriages and other issues families face. Perhaps I was naive to expect that a seminar address ing diversity and related issues would actually foster the desire for tolerance in all who attended. t 'Perhaps I Wa^'naiyd-tb 'ekpedt Thursday January 6,2000 Volume 101, Issue 70 Kmerakl thing while she kept her own resolu tion. Don’t you hate it when someone sets an ideal example for you to fol low? Hey, at least I improved. So I con sider it a qualified success, and I’m ready to tackle the new mil lennium’s New Year’s resolution with renewed vigor and de termination. First, antici pate the pre d i c t a b 1 e events of 2000: FredM. 0ne bis event is gradu ation. My life will change in June when I’m thrust from the Ivory Tower and forced to make my own way in the world for the sixth time. That’s right, it’s been awhile since I left home. But this time I’ll be leav ing with sheepskin in hand, so things will be different. At least I hope they will. But the degree pales in compari son with the biggest change in my life to date. I’m going to become a dad in July. In short, I’m going to start a new career without time, money or sleep. I won’t be able to depend on my wife’s paycheck anymore, and I will have a defenseless baby depending on me completely. Given all that, my old resolution for time manage ment had better start to pay off. But what new resolution can help to mitigate the effects of the changes that will happen this year? What can help me achieve my goals of being a good father, of providing for my fam ily and success in a new career? The answer falls like a plum in my lap. This year, I resolve to avoid campaign ads like I would a trip to a YlK compliant dentist. No TV be fore Nov. 8. No news magazines. Limit the newspapers to the comics, crossword puzzles and sports. Sure, it’s bound to be a challenge. But think of the savings in time and re duction in aggravation. Surely it’ll make me a better man and give me the patience to put up with midnight crying and dirty diapers. And what better way to usher in a new millennium? Fred M. Collier is a columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. He can be reached via e-mail at fmcollier@aol.com. pie to express their differences in ways that are not demeaning or of fensive. It’s one thing to disagree if opinions are expressed in a re spectful manner that promotes meaningful discussion. But it’s an entirely different thing to make value-based judgments in an of fensive manner that makes some feel unsafe and promotes intoler ance in others. A University semi nar is no place to express views of intolerance. It’s a place where ed ucated people from diverse cultur al backgrounds and experiences converge to learn in a (hopefully) hate free environment. If we can’t express our values and disagree ments cordially, let’s keep them out of the classroom. 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