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 28,2000
Volume 101, Issue 141
Emerald
Some are blaming the students for Phil Knight's
actions and are even threatening to take it out
in the workplace
It seems we are still not done with
the aftermath of Nike CEO Phil
Knight’s withdrawal of private do
nations to the University.
While student reaction to the situ
ation has been intriguing and varied,
so has the reaction from the off-cam
pus world. Visitors to the Emerald’s
Web site and other Duck fan sites
have opinions of their own. And
some of them aren’t pretty.
As we’ve said earlier, everyone’s
reactions to this situation with
Knight are to place blame: on protest
ers, on Knight, on University Presi
dent Dave Frohnmayer. But because
the capitalist system is really what
has created this financial and ethical
nightmare, who can really be
blamed?
Well it seems that some of the com
munity — or at least those most vocal
on our Web site — are blaming stu
dents for what has happened. Appar
ently some business people who gen
erally hire University graduates have
decided to spurn this year’s crop be
cause we “irresponsible students”
have forced the University to sign
onto the Worker Rights Consortium
and cost the University more than
$30 million.
A comment made by “J Browning”
popped up on Tuesday: “My compa
ny employs 3,000 people and last
year hired 113 University graduates.
Effective immediately my company
will not hire anyone who attended
the University in the year 1999-2000.
... I feel the current students at the
University have shown they are irre
sponsible and lacking intelligence.”
And more comments have come via
letters to the editor. “A lot of alumni
are absolutely disgusted, and I am
one of them,” writes Murtuz Zaman
iy
Because we voted (all 2,000 out of
17,000 of us) for the WRC, and be
cause some very vocal pro
testers camped out on the
lawn of Johnson Hall to
the same end, students are
seen as the instigators of
the whole fiasco. For the
Knight supporters who
want to deny University
graduates a job in their
companies, the logic is
that we had no foresight
and did not look at the
whole picture when
making the decision to
join the labor group. We
acted passionately, and
apparently that’s not a
good business skill.
Well, because this
University practices a
form of shared gover
nance, there is just
more to it than that.
The University Senate
and the Licensing Code
of Conduct Committee
recommended the WRC,
and the University presi
dent signed onto it. Stu
dents were just one part of
the whole process, and
those with the least power. It
seems ironic that now, when
people want to place blame,
they turn to the students.
The companies or individuals
who have gone so far as to say they
will not hire University graduates or
who will forever spurn the Universi
ty because students here are “irre
sponsible” are just being irresponsi
ble themselves.
They don’t understand that it was
Knight who ultimately made the de
cision to pull his money.
Most of us don’t want to see
Knight’s money go. The fact that his
reaction to the WRC is to pull funds
without even attempting a compro
mise is unfortunate.
But to blame University students
for what has happened when they
held the least decision-making pow
er is even more ludicrous. It’s letting
emotions rule reason. And isn’t that
what these anti-University graduate
business people are blaming us for —
being too emotional and not thinking
of the bigger picture?
Each individual should be judged
on his or her own merits. If the “stig
ma” of being a Duck is so great as to
cost any of us a job, then the world is
a very sad place. In fact, it’s the same
sad world that got us into this mess
in the first place.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses may be
sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
Letters to the editor
Money shouldn't steer principles
I would like to address recent let
ters that objected the University’s
commitment to the Worker Rights
Consortium on the grounds that Nike
CEO Phil Knight withdrew his mon
ey from the University.
We should be thankful to our cor
porate donors. However, a donation
should be a gift; it is naturally an un
conditional grant. Donating money to
the University for a specific purpose
is one thing but getting mixed up in
how the University conducts its af
fairs is quite another. That would
make it not a donation but a sellout to
the highest bidder. Principles should
not be compromised on the basis of
money.
The issue is not Nike specifically,
but how we, as the University, make
our decisions. Issues of shared gover
nance and campus democracy need
to be addressed. We do not need to
add to these the issue of being con
trolled by our donors. We need to
make it clear that any exchange for
“donations” is an obstruction of
democracy. This will create financial
difficulties for us, but there are certain
principles that are worth a little suf
fering.
I don’t necessarily agree with
everything the protesters were de
manding. I do, however, respect them
for standing up for their beliefs. I am
proud to call that group — an educat
ed group concerned with integrity,
democracy and human rights — a part
of this University. Those who think
that the protest was about Nike or
copying the 1960s need to educate
themselves before making unfounded
accusations. They could start by talk
ing to the protesters themselves.
Evgenia Fkiaras
English, Spanish
Capitalism not discussed
I am a little concerned about the
discourse that has risen out of the
Worker Rights Consortium protests.
Although I understand the rationale
for promoting the WRC frfcm the per
spective of the protesters, I don’t see
anyone making the connection in
global, economic terms, which I feel
is more important than sweatshop la
bor, Nike funding or governance:
namely, our relationship with capital
ism.
The main tenet of capitalism is in
equality or the ability of one to subju
gate another for profit. To protest
against the effects of capitalism with
out addressing their cause is like put
ting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.
The content of the protest shows that
there is a large unawareness of capi
talism, due mainly to its pervasive
ness and the promotion of capitalism
as the only avenue to democracy and
(oddly enough) equality.
If capitalism is to remain, expect in
equality, domination and expansion.
If, however, we are able to view indi
vidual issues in relation to capitalism
on a level that is above individuals or
nations or even international rela
tions, we can find the nature or
essence of the problem: not apathy or
stupidity or powerlessness, but our
own constructed system of economic
exchange.
Charles G. Haller II
international studies, journalism
Knight had no choice
I’ve kept up with the whole Worker
Rights Consortium situation, and
while I believe that it is probably a
good idea to join, it had to be obvious
that because the action was affecting
his company, Nike CEO Phil Knight
had pretty much no choice but to stop
donations. I, for one, think that it is
great to stand up for the rights of oth
ers but don’t condemn our benefactor
for responding in the appropriate
way.
By the way, did it ever occur to any
one to thank the man for all he’s done
for this campus rather than complain
and whine about ethics?
Matt Cogorno
physics
Rally against WRC
Something really needs to be done.
It is not about Nike CEO Phil
Knight or Nike or even money. It is
about a respectable university such as
ours joining an extremist highly
politicized Worker Rights Consortium
that is backed and funded by Ameri
can labor groups who don’t even care
about workers in other countries.
Shame on the 17,000-strong stu
Tum to Letters, page 3
Thumbs
To a little encour
agement
Legislators includ
ing Oregon Rep.
Peter DeFazio,
State Sen. Tony
Corcoran, Rep. Vic
ki Walker and Rep.
Floyd Prozanski
visited the Univer
sity campus this
week to invite stu
dents to register to
vote. The Oregon
state primary elec
tions are this May.
To revealing topics
A three-day confer
ence at the Univer
sity this week, In
terSEXions,
explored the issues
surrounding gen
der and the med
ical condition of
being born inter
sexed. Transgen
der issues don’t get
a lot of attention
normally, butthat
seems to be chang
ing thanks to con
ferences such as
these.
To those damn
monkeys!
Once again a mon
key in some part of
the world has be
come violent with
people. In Dehli,
India, a wild mon
key population is
so out of control
that a 48-year-old
man died after be
ing struck in the
head by a flower
pot thrown by one
of the animals.
To rapinga people
New testimony
this week in the
war crimes case
against Serbian
soldiers confirms
that the use of
rape was a
planned part of
war strategy. After
being raped more
than 150 times,
one woman had
the courage to
speak out against
the horrible crime.