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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 2000)
Letters to the editor Disgusted with Knight As a University alumnus, I have benefited from Nike CEO Phil Knight’s generous contribu tions. But I am appalled at the manner in which he has with drawn his support from the Uni versity. With this move, Knight has revealed his true colors. He appears to expect that in ex change for money, the University will buy into Nike’s corporate agenda and consult him about its decisions. I am not particularly surprised that this is the case, but I am surprised that students and community members don’t seem to be as disgusted with his arro gance as I am. The Worker Rights Consortium that the University recently joined is not an industry favorite. But it is a responsible and credi ble vehicle by which the Univer sity can be assured that products it sells are not manufactured by workers who are abused. Three quarters of the voting student body opted for University mem bership in the WRC. The Univer sity Senate and a student commit tee appointed to examine sweatshop issues also voted to join. Many other major institu tions across the country are al ready members. I am pleased, actually rather proud, that students of my alma mater are taking it upon them selves to confront these important issues. If Knight doesn’t like it then he is welcome to buy off some other university (the Wash ington State University football team needs some help). The Uni versity needs critical thinkers more than it needs Knight’s mon ey. James Johnston University alumnus Decisions not easy Just wanted to say that the edi torial you wrote in the April 26 Emerald about the Nike dilemma was well written. I agree with your published opinion whole heartedly. I have to give Universi ty President Dave Frohnmayer a lot of credit for respecting the stu dents’ concerns and directing his final decision with that in mind. He has a lot of guts. I would also like to tip my hat to Nike CEO Phil Knight. I respect his decision and would like to thank him for what he has done for the Univer sity. We now have a first-class law school as well as a top-notch li brary among other resources. I hope he is still proud to be a Duck. Jim Hibbert Class of 1998 Frohnmayer responsible There is more than enough blame to go around for the Worker Rights Consortium fiasco, and yes, not all of the blame should be directed at the students. Howev er, by your own reporting, only about 2,000 students took enough interest in the subject to press the issue. Where were the remaining 15,000 students who could have stopped the movement in its tracks by voicing their opposi tion? Now that the University is going to pay a heavy price for this inappropriate and highly ques tionable course of action, every one is pointing fingers at someone else to take the blame. Yes, 2,000 students were too emotional and the administration was derelict in its duty to look out for what was best for the University. Ultimately, the final responsi bility rests with the University president, and this sad and pa thetic lack of common sense is go ing to cost the University and thousands of future students and faculty the benefit of increased funding for educational facilities and programs, all in the name of some social-political agenda that has no place in the official policy of the University, Perhaps the best advise would be to adhere to my mother’s old adage, “Engage brain before open ing mouth!” Daniel Frank class of 1957 Are donations appropriate? In the recent uproar about Nike CEO Phil Knight’s donations or lack thereof, I have yet to see someone engage the fundamental question increasingly at issue, given the growing role of such private largesse: To what extent should and do such gifts decide the priorities of a university? Is it even appropriate for an individ ual to specify that millions should go to the biology depart ment or the business school if needs elsewhere are greater? Un til that’s decided, why consider subsidiary questions, among which is whether collegiate sports, which has no such role in other countries, should be a major player. Is this merely a question of beggars not being choosers? Peter W. Frank Eugene resident Napster not so bad Regarding the article on Nap ster (ODE, April 25), Simone Rip ke seems to have a fundamental misunderstanding of Napster. It is not possible to “download songs from the Napster Internet site,” because Napster does not provide any content whatsoever, but is a program that allows users to ex change files. The fact is that it is not inher ently illegal to trade MP3-format ted songs over the Web. In fact, if you already own the album that you are downloading, it is per fectly legal. This raises the obvi ous question of how to prosecute those using Napster. Perhaps send federal agents to dig through the CD collections of every one of the millions of Nap ster users? While it may be possi ble to make an example of a few people, this is never going to stop widespread usage. The current suit filed against Napster by Metallica and the RIAA is very similar to a suit filed against electronics companies by the movie industry during the ad vent of the VCR. Hollywood was convinced that the VCR would mean the end of huge movie prof its because people would buy pi rated tapes and not go to the movies anymore. It was ruled that the producers of the technology could not be held liable for its po tential use in the theft of copy righted material. Nowadays a huge portion of the profits of any film come from the video sales and rental market. One thing is for sure: If a new technology works and is wide spread, someone at the record la bels will figure out how to profit from it. Merlin Camozzi history MP3 will survive regardless Among the musicians filing lawsuits against Napster is Dr. Dre. While Dre seems to have no problem swiping the THX theme song for his most recent album, he certainly has qualms with those who pilfer his own songs. Napster will not prevent Dre from buying another Lexus or success fully toppling the music industry. Opponents of the program tend to ignore the fact that prerecorded music sales have actually in creased since its release. Who uses Napster? A relatively small handful of unscrupulous college kids who don’t even have the $18 to purchase a legit copy of “Chronic 2001.” Who stands to lose a few dollars because of Nap ster’s existence? Wealthy, multi platnium-selling hypocrites such as Dre and Metallica. Finding al bums by more obscure acts such as Kid Koala or Gay Dad on.Nap ster is about as easy as coming across a Nike advocate at a circus protest. MP3 swapping will con tinue to thrive with or without Napster. Launching a full-scale at tack against Internet piracy is akin to naively assuming that a letter to the Emerald might actually have an impact on public opin ion. If Dre, Metallica and all the rest manage to shut down Nap ster; another program will only re place it and the one after that and the one after that. Brandon Hartley English WRC better than nothing The University has lost more than $30 million dollars. The Uni versity has lost the support of a leading alumn. For some of you, this matters lit tle. You might dislike Nike and other international businesses. You might not like lawyers or ath letes. Whatever the reason, I con gratulate you on your political win. For others who do care, I sadly say you gave up the right to com plain when you chose not to vote against joining the Worker Rights Consortium. Political apathy has political consequences. As for the evil companies over seas ... “Foreign contractors of footwear makers under scrutiny already pay 25 to 40 percent above the standard minimum wage of the Indonesian government; therefore, increased pay may not be a direct result of this report.” (The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 18, 1999, p. A3) Now I’m not going to say that Nike, or any other company, should be sainted for the way things were. Factory jobs will be less desirable no matter what country you visit. At the same time, Nike and some of its com petitors have responded to im prove factory conditions. Perhaps in some ways it would be nice to be a bit politically incor rect and acknowledge that progress is being made. For some of you, recognition of partial progress is wasteful if it’s anything short of a globally united econom ic revolution. Nelson Kidd University alumnus Monkey business In regards to Bret Jacobson’s query (ODE, April 24) as to the be havioral pattern of monkeys cur rently residing in America: Ac cording to a recent National ’ Geographic study, a great many of them have apparently taken to wearing glasses and writing com mentary for campus newspapers. William Moglia German LETTERS POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald will at tempt to print all letters contain ing comments on topics of inter est to the University community. Letters must be limited to 250 words. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length, clarity, grammar, style and libel. Letters may be dropped off at EMU Suite 300. Thursday, May 4, 2000, 7:00 pm, The Walnut Room, EMU An Emmy-award winning movie about rape, war, and women. This is a powerful film about women’s experiences in a Serbian gconcentration camp. (63 minutes, subtitled) Discussion will follow. 2_For more information call the JSU at 346-4366 The Oregon Humanities Center presents The Spring Symposium "Who, Exactly, Is the Other?" and keynote speaker Elias Bongmba Religious Studies Rice University speaking on Alterity, Transcendence, and Representation in Levinas: Cross Cultural Implications for African Witchcraft Discourse ‘Thursday, ‘May 4,2000 8:00 p.m. Qedinger Mumni Lounge Elias Bongmba is the author of African Witchcraft and Other ness: A Philosophical and Theological Critique of Intersubjective Relations (forthcoming, SUNY Press). The symposium continues on Friday, May 5 in Gerlinger Alumni Lounge with panel discussions at 10:30 a.m. featuring Cheyney Ryan and John Lysaker (both of philosophy), and respondent Massimo Lollini (Romance languages); and at 1:30 p.m. with Kenneth Liberman (sociology), Kunchapudi Srinivas (religious studies), Veena Howard (philosophy, Lane Community College), and respondent Steven Shankman (Oregon Humanities Center, and English and classics). Lecture and panels are free and open to the public. Reception will follow the lecture. For more information or disability accom modations, call (541) 346-3934. Manufacturing Technicians r.......•. In this role at our Hillsboro, Oregon fab, your primary responsibility will be operating the equipment which manufactures Intel’s high-end microprocessor products. Secondary responsibilities will include participating in process development, process manufacturability, yield and operations improvements, as well as basic equipment maintenance. You will utilize your general technical knowledge to solve non-routine problems and work from written and verbal instructions. Other duties include working with analytical equipment and writing periodic reports. To join us, you will need a BS in chemistry, biology, math, physics or a related field. We are also actively seeking recent technical graduates and individuals with a background in military electronics. Join Intel Now. Becoming a part of the Intel experience involves sharing in the results of each employee’s contributions. In addition to base pay and benefits, we offer stock plans, periodic paid sabbaticals, group performance bonuses and profit sharing. We prefer to receive resumes electronically. For immediate consideration, please e-mail your ASCII text resume to RAlMTJOB@intel.com, referencing Dept.TMG-172. You may also mail your letter quality resume to Intel Corporation, Professional Opportunities, Staffing Dept.TMG-172, P.O. Box 1141, Folsom, CA 95763-1141. Intel and the Intel logo are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All resumes are electronically scanned, processed and distributed. A letter-quality resume is required for this process. Intel Corporation is an equal opportunity employer and fully supports affirmative action practices. Intel also supports a drug-free workplace and requires that all offers of employment be contingent on satisfactory pre-employment drug test results. MUST HAVE PERMANENT LEGAL RIGHT TO WORK IN THE U S. All other brands and names are property of their respective owners. ©2000, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. intel.
