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
Wednesday
February 23,2000
Volume 101, Issue 103
Emerald
After interviewing all the ASUO
Executive candidates and after
hours or deliberation, the Emer
ald’s endorsement is in: Autumn
DePoe and Caitlin Upshaw for executive.
It was actually a very tough choice, but
not for lofty reasons. The Emerald felt this
crop of executive candidates actually had
less to offer than last year’s. We were a bit
unenthusiastic overall because the same
words came out of everyone’s mouth. And
no one said it best; no one was overly dy
namic.
We could have told you not to vote be
cause the pickings were slim. We could
have told you to vote for an “alternative”
candidate. We could have not run an edito
rial at all. But none of these are really ac
ceptable. Because one facet of student gov
ernment is learning how to compromise.
And after hours of unsatisfying discussi on,
laughter and debate, we finally decided to
compromise.
And the best candidates came out on
top.
Of all the candidates and tickets running
for ASUO Executive, we believe that De
Poe and Upshaw should be next year’s
president and vice president. In many
ways, they are the middle ground among
extremists — Scott Austin, Ed Madrid, Dan
Atkinson — and the “serious” candidates
who all say the same old talk: Jay Breslow
and Holly Magner, and C.J. Gabbe and Pe
ter Larson.
What the extremists want, each in his
own way, is to dismantle or severely
change the ASUO. They are inflammatory
and a bit irrational sometimes, but they
have ideas and perspectives that the other
serious candidates don’t even consider.
What tlie serious candidates are is bor
ing. Look at the differences in their cam
paigns. Can you even find any? Diversity,
accountability for police, good salaries for
teachers, outreach, etc. These are the only
issues they discuss, and while they are im
portant, they are obvious. Student govern
ment of the 21st century needs innovation
and creativity. You certainly don’t have
that with two tickets — Breslow and Magn
er, Gabbe and Larson — that you can’t even
tell apart until one of them almost gets
kicked off the ballot.
So we come to the middle ground. De
Poe and Upshaw are a little bit of both the
radicals and the stalwarts. DePoe has been
known for a few years as someone who
files grievances, keeps people on their toes
and yet is willing to work within the sys
tem instead of just fighting it. DePoe has
served as a senator and as the ASUO com
munications director, while Upshaw, with
no ASUO experience whatsoever, has the
keen excitement to jump right in.
The ticket has unique ideas, such as
eliminating or severely reducing the Ath
letic Department Finance Committee and
sending a student to every Eugene City
Council meeting.
They also want to expand and make
available a program guide for the ASUO so
that students will know what is available
for them, what they pay for with their stu
dent fees. They have limited their cam
paign spending to $20, and they want daily
entertainment in the EMU Amphitheater.
While we don’t necessarily agree to
eliminating the ADFC and the idea of daily
entertainment is farfetched at best, we ap
preciate and welcome innovation and
uniqueness. DePoe and Upshaw seem to
have the character to get things done and to
keep up communication with the adminis
tration and with the others in student gov
ernment. The two also want to hold fre
quent town-hall meetings to see what
Azle Malinao-Alvarez Emerald
students want. And they might even tap
dance for us every so often when entertain
ment is hard to find for the amphitheater.
The bottom line is that when you look at
what’s really being said, there isn’t much
diversity of ideas among the candidates.
But the ticket with most of them is DePoe
and Upshaw.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses may be sent to ode@
oregon.uoregon.edu.
But don’t forget the underdogs
Five-year plans, more diversity on
campus, students’ rights, tuition
freezes, blah, blah, blah. The Emer
ald’s editorial board — given the
task of selecting a worthy candidate to en
dorse for this year’s ASUO election —
heard all of those platitudes and more from
the majority of hopefuls who sat in on half
hour long interviews with the board.
Yet, two veiy unlikely candidates
grabbed the seven-person panel’s attention
the most: Scott Austin and Ed “All these
people are idiots” Madrid.
Austin is notorious around both the
ASUO and Emerald offices because of the
number of grievances he has filed in past
years. That seemingly annoying habit
stems from the fact, however, that Austin
knows his stuff when it comes to student
government.
In several responses to the editorial
board, Austin gave clear, direct answers on
what should and,what shouldn’t be done
in regard to the ASUO. OK, so his i<Jea to
dismantle the whole exec is extreme, as are
his expressed feelings of “hate” toward
University President Dave Frohnmayer.
His understanding of complicated issues is
to be commended, though; too bad he does
n’t take the entire process more seriously.
Madrid, on the other hand, came to the
board with few concrete ideas about how
to actually perform his duties if elected
president. What he did show was a sincere
concern that the students who do vote the
next two days will only choose someone
who, well, speaks in platitudes and politi
calese, instead of a candidate with a mind
of his or her own.
“Radical” ideas from two radical guys.
Don’t go looking for Madrid on the ballot
— he dropped out when told by the elec
tions board that he couldn’t keep “All
these people are idiots” as his official
moniker. And although we don’t recom
mend a vote for Austin, if you want to get a
few facts straight about student govern
ment operations, he’s the man to seek out.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses may be sent to ode@ore
gon.uoregon.edu.