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
Tuesday
May 9,2000
Volume 101, Issue 148
Emerald
Perhaps last week you noticed the
“Pollution Solutions” display in the
EMU Amphitheater. You almost
couldn’t have missed the front-page
article about it in the Emerald on May 3. But
you might have missed the students reading
off the names of victims that were murdered
in concentration camps during the holo
caust.
May 2 was National Holocaust Remem
brance Day, or Yom HaShoah. Beginning a
week of events to remember the holocaust,
the Jewish Student Union held a 24-hour
reading of the names of Jews who were
murdered in the holocaust. The reading was
conducted by 144 volunteers who read for
10 minutes each from 7 p.m. May 1 to 7
p.m. May 2. There are so many names that
since the beginning of this University event
10 years ago, the volunteers have yet to
complete one volume of a three volume set
of names.
“Each year they get through about one
[section] in the volume,” Jewish Student
Union co-director Jennifer Hoenignberg
said. Not only is this done at the Universi
ty, but names are being read at similar cere
monies worldwide. To add to the magni
tude of this event is the sobering knowledge
that the book only includes names of Jews
who were murdered, not the other ethnic
victims of the holocaust.
When I saw that this important tradition
was being overshad
owed by fancy elec
tric doodads, I was
flabbergasted. Saving
the earth is really im
portant, but as a
semi-practicing
member of the Jewish
community, the cere
mony of reading the
names takes prece
dence. On behalf of
my people, 1 was de
termined to extract
divine justice. Trans
lation: I wanted to
To find the culprit, I went and talked with
Virginia Johnson, director of University
Scheduling and Services, about why there
Mason
West
point the finger.
were two events scheduled on the same
day. She informed me that the amphitheater
reservations go on a first-come first-serve
basis, and the JSU, the group organizing the
event, did reserve the space first. The JSU
was consulted about letting Pollution Solu
tions present on the same day, and it gave
permission to let the other display go at the
same time. Why would the JSU let its own
event be overshadowed?
As it turns out, there wasn’t much of an
option. Hoenignberg, who helped organize
the reading of names, informed me that Pol
lution Solutions was a national tour and
that May 2 was the only day that it could
have hosted its display. Hoenignberg agreed
to share the space as long as there was no
music or food.
Although there wasn’t any of that, those
of you who saw the display know that it
was pretty large. On top of a number of tent
booths, the display included a car. Hoenign
berg said perhaps by looking at the pollu
tion displays more people noticed the Yom
HaShoah ceremony, but I think that it de
tracted more than it gave.
My search left me with nowhere to place
the blame, just a general sense of disap
pointment. This ceremony was a very im
portant one and it is a shame that it wasn’t
able to have the undivided attention of the
University. We need to keep the memory of
the holocaust alive through such events,
otherwise it will just disappear into history.
In another couple decades the people who
actually did survive the holocaust will be
dead and the responsibility of preserving
their memory will be all ours. It’s good to
see that people are already starting to make
the memory last.
The saddest thing to me is that I’m sure
there are plenty of people who didn’t notice
the names being read. Maybe there would
have been more attention if the JSU event
had followed the example of the Lipton
Brisk Iced Tea display that same week and
accompanied the readings with a big blow
up balloon of a gas chamber.
Mason West is a columnist for the Oregon Daily
Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald. He can be reached via e-mail
mwest1@gladstone.uoregon.edu.
• Letters to the editor
Inhibiting musical freedom
In a decision Friday, April 28, a U.S. fed
eral court decided that it agreed with the
Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) definition of what a copyright viola
tion is.
This court ruling against mp3.com has se
verely stifled innovation in the digital mu
sic arena and will prevent authorized users
from gaining access to music they have duly
licensed.
What my.mp3.com did — which the
RIAA found so horrible — is it allows users
to play their music over the Internet. The
RIAA claims it is taking a stand against mu
sic piracy. Not a single case of music piracy
has been prosecuted against my.mp3.com.
If you look at the members of the RIAA
(Time Warner Inc.’s music group, Sony Mu
sic Entertainment, Seagram Co.’s Universal
Music Group and BMG), you can see their
motive: profit.
RIAA members have no place in the digi
tal music scene. The consumers will inter
act directly with the artists. Your favorite
songs will be available instantly. The artists
will make more money; the consumers will
pay less. And you’ll be able to listen to mu
sic you own wherever you are. There’s only
one thing standing in the way — the RIAA.
Anybody want to go and chain them
selves to an endcap in Sam Goodys?
Jay Schneider
e-commerce group
department of information science
Who is Olsen, really?
The upcoming Eugene City Council races
can significantly change government in Eu
gene. We can make City Hall more open,
more inclusive and more committed to
grassroots democracy. We can control de
velopment so that it contributes to every
one’s quality of life and not just the bank ac
counts of a few aggressive developers. Or,
we can keep the good old boys in.
Unfortunately, the public may not know
the real story on some of the candidates, in
cluding Tracy Olsen. Olsen is too,conserva
tive for Ward 3. Olsen has been endorsed by
the developers’ lobby (the Lane County
Homebuilders Association). Not surprising
ly, none of the environmental groups has
endorsed him.
But the biggest concern I have about
It’s our duty
The reading of the holocaust
victims’ names shouldn’t
have taken a back seat to
Pollution Solutions