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
Monday
April 24,2000
Volume 101, Issue 137
Effierald
Oregon isn’t just a
Nike school in
terms of athletics.
The special rela
tionship the University has
had with alumnus and com
pany CEO Phil Knight has
benefited both parties, espe
cially the school, which has
received about $30 million
in donations throughout
the last few years. But now
the University could be
facing the possibility of
a retraction of Knight’s
more recent pledge of
$30 million to aid in the
renovation of Autzen Sta
dium.
The root of the rumored
retraction, of course, is based
upon broadcast news reports
citing anonymous sources
who claim Knight was an
gered at the University’s de
cision to join the Worker
Rights Consortium without
joining any other labor prac
tice monitoring group the
company found more palat
able.
However, the unconfirmed
reports have led to an air of
uncertainty throughout the
campus community and left
stadium construction plan
ners in a precarious position
of wondering whether their
project will indeed com
mence. As a matter of grace,
Knight should speak pub
licly and clearly on his inten
tions, whatever those may
be.
The proposed expansion
of Autzen, estimated around
$80 million in total costs to
produce about 12,000 extra
seats and 32 luxury boxes,
would obviously be a boost
to
Uni ver
sity. The "" Up
extra funds would fl|
boost resources to
school athletics and, pre
sumably, trickle into the gen
eral University coffers that
would lead to higher profes
sorial wages and better facili
ties.
But with construction to
begin in a matter of months,
should a major contribution
like Knight’s fall through, the
sooner that is known, the
sooner plans can be altered
or scrapped altogether.
Though it’s possible, it’s
highly unlikely a matching
$30 million replacement do
nation could be found on
such short notice.
Not only is the timing par
ticularly bad for any such
pledge withdrawal, but it’s a
frustration
for many
not to have
any answer at all.
Waiting up in the air
with no definitive word from
Knight is a valid concern
about the future relationship
between the University and
one of its most important
alumni. There is little argu
ment from most mainstream
observers that Knight’s con
tributions to the campus
through the law school, li
brary and athletics are of
considerable benefit to the
school. Any sort of answer
by the Nike businessman to
clear up this entire unfortu
nate situation would be a
While a Knight clarifica
tion would be a gentlemanly
act, the reporting of the un
substantiated pledge with
drawal rumor, including the
use of anonymous sources,
was in poor taste by the
state’s broadcast media. Un
named sources spreading
suspect rumors is not only
shoddy reporting but puts
strains on the ties of very im
portant relationships. Right
now Knight and University
President Dave Frohnmayer
should be talking to each
other trying to resolve the sit
uation, not having to worry
about the validity of media
reports.
Of course, all of the un
named sources, possible loss
of construction at Autzen
and possible rift between the
University are all just specu
lation at this point. And
that’s the problem. Knight
should be gracious and pub
licly state his intentions so
that the campus can start
planning its future and get
past this ugly incident.
This editorial represents the view
of the Emerald editorial board. Re
sponses may be sent to ode@
oregon.uoregon.edu
And never turn your back on a monkey with a gun
There’s really nothing
more entertaining
than a barrel of mon
keys. Unless it’s an
epidemic of man-hating,
thirst-riddled simians war
ring their way through the
Sudanese countryside.
That’s precisely what’s hap
pening, and its conse
quences warrant serious con
sideration about the primates
that are terrorizing the lands
of afar — and near.
The Oregonian publishes a
science section every
Wednesday, which includes
a round-up of interesting sto
ry capsules from the world
around us, distributed by
media conglomerate Los An
geles Times Syndicate. And
not once, but twice, did they
list stories involving the
murderous activities of mon
ter with the monkeys taking
charge in the beginning be
fore being overmatched and
turned back by the hero
keys or unspecihed
species, though the
paper did point out
that orangutans are
notorious for their
antisocial behavior.
In both instances,
the usually friend
ly fellows appar
ently were motivat
ed by a severe
drought, pitting
man against mon
key. In the first in
stance, a farmer
watering his crops
Commentary
Bret
Jacobson
ic, it not mdustnal
* ized, Sudanese
people.
What does this
say about us as peo
ple? It says that
while we all be
i lieve we’re imper
1 vious to the dor
| mant, war-like
l nature of lower
I species, we can all
1 be the subject of
gruesome monkey
hate at any time.
was stoned to
death by a group of the
thirsty creatures. The second
case was a lit^rpj w^r for war.
With all otthis
primate violence in foreign
lands it makes one wonder
just .what American, monkeys.
are like. If not kept in dingy
isolation in our finest zoos,
they would probably run
rampant and try to take over
our country through bloody
revolution. Anyone who’s at
tended a circus knows that a
monkey war would be devas
tating because three or four
of them can fit on a child’s
tricycle, and there’s just no
stopping them. And never
turn your back on a monkey
with a gun. When they say
it’s so simple a trained mon
key could do it, believe
them.
With all this heightened
awareness of the gorillas in
our midst, it’s only a matter
of time before Fox Television
airs its serious look at “When
. Mo.nkey$ Attack." There.wiM*
be plenty of violent scenes of
innocent children poking a
sleeping simian with a stick
and receiving an undeserved
bite from the vicious crea
ture.
As the conscientious pro
ducers of the television show
will tell you, don’t think that
you are immune from mon
key attacks. But should you
ever be approached by a
shady primate, just remem
ber to utter the immortal
words of Charlton Heston.
“Take your stinkin’ paws
off me, you damn dirty ape.”
Bret Jacobson is an editorial editor
for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His
views do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald. He can be
* - readied Via, e-mail bjacQtjSQ® _
Afctadstcm^.tjoregcrtifedu,* * * * *1 *
Thumbs
Tothedinosau
with a heart of
rock
A fossilized
Thescelosaurus
contains an object
that could turn out
to be a heart with
four chambers.
That could be evi
dence that the ex
tinct species were
actually warm
blooded animals
like mamma Is and
birds.
To a wise critic
Wednesday and
Thursday of last
week, social critic
extraordinaire Tim
Wise lectured on
campus and
around town
about the need for
people of all races
and backgrounds
to work together
to battle discrimi
nation.
To a tacky parody
The “Do you agree
with Ryan?” signs
around campus
have been vandal
ized and turned
into highly inap
propriate and low
brow vulgarities,
an unnecessary act
beneath college
students.
To an officer’s
budget abuse
Investigators say
Sgt. Richard Bar
ton, a 24-year vet
eran of the Port
land Police
Department, was
fired for “unsatis
factory perform
ance” after being
identified as a
ringleader in an
overtime abuse
case at Central
Precinct.