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
Friday
April 21,2000
Volume 101, Issue 136
Emerald
■ Earthday is 30 years old in
2000, and will celebrate the
steps taken toward a healthy
environment over the last three
decades
Martin Luther King Jr. has
one and deserves it. Na
tional Boss Day, maybe
doesn’t. But Earth Day is
around the comer and it’s an impor
tant time to consider how the sum of
our actions affect the planet we all
share. And there are plenty of oppor
tunities around campus to consider
the topic.
It has only been relatively recently
that technology has allowed us to see
what the Industrial Revolution did to
our planet’s ecological system. Dur
ing a short period of human history
we have pumped untold amounts of
toxic poisons into our atmosphere
and started the process of global
warming.
Earth Day will celebrate its 30 year
anniversary Saturday, and
it has reason for joy. During
the last three decades, the cele
bration has grown into a week
long event full of celebrities, informa
tion and events. This year, pop icon
Leonardo DiCaprio is the event’s
spokesman, with a side of the adult
music stylings of James Taylor.
The state of Oregon has long been
focused on the Earth’s problems, hav
ing been in the forefront of the na
tional recycling effort. Anyone look
ing around campus today can see that
spirit still alive with readily available
receptacles for recyclable materials
all over the University grounds.
That concern for the environment
has also been demonstrated by stu
dent leaders of late who have taken
an oath not to work for ecologically
irresponsible companies after gradu
ation. The sponsoring organization,
Ecopledge.com, has only been
around since October of 1999 but has
support on 150 college campuses.
ASUO Student Body President-elect
Jay Breslow signed1 on in a show of
sup
port.
The type of pledge taken by Bres
low and others, targeting companies
that place environmentally unsafe
products in stores for consumers to
purchase, shows the continuing ded
ication to an important topic by in
formed and conscientious students at
the University. The pledge is current
ly available to all students around
campus, an idea that deserves real
consideration as just a beginning to
individuals making a difference.
The leadership and dedication to
Earth Week is beneficial, even if
sometimes the ordeal loses credibili
ty in the media. Let’s not kid anyone,
having DiCaprio as a spokesman nev
er lends a cerebral cause much cre
dence, but it takes all kinds to keep a
movement rolling. Besides pop cul
ture advocates bringing down the
cause a bit, the media often portrays
those concerned with the environ
ment as “tree huggers” or “green
freaks.” But having responsible mem
bers of our student body sign onto
helping out the Earth ensures that the
significance of the topic is not lost on
students.
Those on campus need to know,
also, that they can translate this re
sponsible behavior into other areas of
their lives, such as being a better con
sumer. Choosing products with less
packaging and buying foods made
without pesticides are just a few
methods to help the planet’s ecosys
tem while not damaging one’s quality
oflifeinany way.
Just as we should remember the
message of Martin Luther King Jr.
everyday — not just on his holiday —
students should keep in mind the
principles of responsible steward
ship of our planet.
This editorial represents the view of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses may be
sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
Letters to the editor
Frohnmayer irresponsible
Congratulations University Presi
dent Dave Frohnmayer, you got rid
of the annoying protesters in front of
Johnson Hall, and in the process you
might have cost the University the
new football stadium. Oh wait, who
am I kidding, we’ll probably still get
the football stadium, student inci
dental fees will just have to be jacked
up.
The Worker Rights Consortium is a
case of students who have nothing
better to due than ruin things for
everyone else. They didn’t care about
the political fallout, and they didn’t
care that the University was going to
lose millions.
Some of the people who were
protesting were not even University
students, but members from the
community who believed in the
cause. They won’t have to deal with
higher incidental fees. One of the
ringleaders of the circus in front of
Johnson Hall was overheard saying
that a majority of University students
didn’t want to join the WRC, but the
ones who wanted it felt it was a good
cause.
I don’t blame Knight for reportedly
pulling his funding of the new foot
ball stadium. I wouldn’t donate
money to a group that slaps me in
the face without warning. Frohn
mayer should have given more
thought to the political fallout in
stead of being so eager to solve the
problem. Congratulations Frohn
mayer, you got rid of the 50 protest
ers and left 17,000 other students
with a $30 million bill.
Nick Larsen
pre-journalism
Protesters naive
To begin with, I feel that the pro
testers fighting for the Worker Right
Consortium contract were very naive
and uneducated when it came to
Nike. Why didn’t the protesters, as
well as University President Dave
Frohnmayer, look at the issue of who
supports this University? Nike, and
Nike CEO Phil Knight, has invested
so much money into this school, we
should be nothing but thankful.
In an effort not to be hypocritical, I
researched the working conditions in
the Nike factories that protesters
were fighting for change in. Nike has
made the working environment in
their overseas factories exceptional
in comparison to other factories in
the same countries. If protesters had
taken time to research Nike and their
working conditions, they would have
found the same information I did.
My final thought is the ignorance
Frohnmayer, as well as the rest of the
University Senate, took by reportedly
not informing Knight of the school’s
recent involvement on the issue of
the WRC. That was the biggest mis
take. I feel that after the fact, there is
nothing we can really do except take
it where it hurts, and lose $30 mil
lion. It’s what we get for not looking
at the big issue and focusing on pleas
ing a few.
I feel that most students support
Nike, and speaking on behalf of the
students, feel that we knew signing
on the WRC would affect us greatly.
Now, who is this going to end up af
fecting the most? The students. How
else are they going to cover a $30 mil
lion loss?
Kimberly Thale
business
Thumbs
To more Ducks
going pro
Three football
players who went
undrafted have
signed rookie free*
agent contracts
with NFL teams.
* Wide receiver Tony
Hartley is off to
Cincinnati, comer
back Justin Wilcox
to Washington and
Brandon
McLemore joins
drafted linebacker
Peter Sirmon in
Tennessee.
To movin'on up
The University ad
team will soon be
heading to Las Ve
gas to present their
project in a nation
al campaign after
winning in the re
gional competi
tion. Thecontest is
judged by the New
York Times, which
gave the team high
praise for its ef
forts.
To misguided
effort
Members from the
anarchist political
group Eugene An
archists for Torrey
(EAT) disrupted a
forum Tuesday
when mayoral can
didates attempted
to have a panel dis
cussion intended
to get students in
formed about the
political process.
Toone freaky
beast
The fight to take
back the planet by
our furry friends
continued last
week as a heinous
hyena killed one
person and left 24
clinching at the
bare threads of life
in southeast
Africa. The animal
had gone door to
door in one neigh
borhood sniffing
for victims before
game wardens
from Liwonde Na
tional Park in
Machinga were
dispatched to hunt
it down as the dog
it is.