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
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"Who, Exactly, Is the Other?"
and keynote speaker
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speaking on
Alterity, Transcendence, and
Representation in Levinas: Cross
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Witchcraft Discourse
‘Thursday, ‘May 4,2000
8:00 p.m. Qedinger Mumni Lounge
Elias Bongmba is the author of African Witchcraft and Other
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