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Editor in chief: Jack Clifford
Managing Editor: Jessica Blanchard
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
Septemeber25,2000 VOLUME 102, ISSUE 19
EDITORIAL EDITOR: opededitor@journalist.com, Michael Kleckner
This year, let’s change the system together
Johnson Hall lawn isn’t cov
ered with students. That pos
sibility still exists, however,
ell, classes have begun and the
because of recent news.
University President Dave Frohnmayer
announced Tuesday that the school has
joined the Fair Labor Association, and that
decision, as well as the timing, has left some
students angry and raised questions about
the decision-making process at the Univer
sity.
When Frohnmayer signed on with the
FLA last week, the issue hadn’t been dis
cussed with the student body, the Universi
ty Senate or any student group, at least not
formally. Frohnmayer says he discussed the
issue with scores of community members
through e-mail and phone calls over the
summer.
Frohnmayer also said that he contacted
many members of the University Senate and
the ad hoc committee formed to work on the
apparel licensing issue, and everyone he
spoke to said joining the FLA was a good
idea. He added that many of the issues sur
rounding the FLA were voiced last year dur
ing the process to join the Worker Rights
Consortium.
Perhaps his timing was off—would it
have been so difficult to wait for an an
nouncement when fall classes were in ses
sion? — but his decision doesn’t reek of con
spiracy. If Frohnmayer were trying to slip
this decision past the interested parties’
radar monitors, he would have signed on
with the FLA in July, when virtually no one
r
was on campus. He didn’t, and we’re satis
fied that his intent was not devious.
Last year, however, Frohnmayer made it
very clear that a decision of this magnitude
required a painstaking, detailed process to
ensure that everyone’s voice was heard in
the appropriate forum. The decision was
put to a vote of the students. The code of
conduct was written and the University
Senate approved the decision to join the
WRC. Frohnmayer wrote in a March 29 col
umn published in the Emerald that “the an
swers must be found by all of us, working
together.” Responding to criticisms of just
how painstaking the decision was becom
ing, he said, “Shared governance is not a
recipe for delay. It is a blueprint for suc
cess.”
If this is true — if power on campus is
shared by many groups, if a careful process
is necessary to hear all the voices in our
community and if shared governance is a
blueprint for success — then why was the
decision to join the FLA made by one man
from on high? It would have appeared much
more inclusive to let the University Senate
vote on it, to consult the ASUO and have a
forum or meeting to formally discuss con
cerns now, in the appropriate forum. If
Frohnmayer is right, and a majority of the
campus community supports this decision,
then the outcome would have been the
same.
There is much to argue about in relation
to the legitimacy and effectiveness of both
the FLA and the WRC, but those arguments
can be explored elsewhere in today’s Emer
aid, both the print and on-line version. The
University is now a member of the FLA, and
there is much work that can be done to im
prove and watch over this organization. No
organization is perfect, and the FLA offers
some opportunities for change, either work
ing through the University (which gives in
put to the FLA’s Advisory Council) or by
pressuring more companies to join and be
monitored.
The question for students is: Where can
the most change be made? Is it sitting on the
grass, screaming and yelling, and demand
ing that the world operate the way we want,
with no compromise and no input from the
offending parties? Did it work when we
were nine years old? Certainly there is a
time and a need for getting attention by re
fusing to cooperate. But, that isn’t how you
build an entire society. Try that and they call
it fascism.
It may not be properly radical enough,
and it may not appeal to the urgency of
youth, but we can speak from many decades
of life and institutional experience and sug
gest that more will be accomplished by en
joining a process and trying to make it re
flect one’s values than by sitting outside and
demanding one’s own way. Democracy de
mands compromise. We don’t want a world
that looks like any one special interest
group’s demands.
With that said, we applaud students for
being opposed, as we are, to sweatshop la
bor. We applaud students’ efforts to organize
a group like the WRC and to stand up for
their beliefs. Students should now focus
some of their energy and frustration on im
proving the campus decision-making
process. They could now enjoin the FLA’s
mission and work to change the organiza
tion. They could now build the WRC into
the powerful, capable monitoring organiza
tion that everyone wishes it already was. Or
they can stand outside the walls and demand
that the world conform to their wishes.
We hope that whatever the students
choose, it’s productive and helps build a
better society. We’re not entirely sure that
the University joining the FLA will accom
plish that, but we’re convinced that ruining
the Johnson Hall lawn again won’t attain
that goal. Certainly, the way the FLA deci
sion was made doesn’t help anyone in this
situation.
Whatever the answers are, they must be
found by all of us, actually working together.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses may be sent to ode@ore
gon.uoregon.edu.
LETTERS POLICY
The Oregon Daily Emerald will attempt to
print all letters containing comments on
topics of interest to the University com
munity. Letters must be limited to 250
words. The Emerald reserves the right to
edit any letter for length, clarity, gram
mar, style and libel. Letters may be
dropped off at EMU Suite 300.
NOT ANOTHER YEAR...
PLEASE END IT SWIFTLY.
64 WHAT A
GREAT PLAT.f!
Letters to the editor
Remembering a friend
A major part of the “college experience” is
meeting and establishing relationships with
friends. These are the friends you will know
and love for the rest of your life. College
friends are life-long friends. Tfiese are the
people who will be in your wedding party
someday; they are the friends you will drive
across the country with three screaming kids
in the car to visit; they will be there for you
for the rest of your life.
Our friend Kristi was one of the life-long
sort, but we will never be able to receive pic
tures of her kids every Christmas, nor will
we be able to toast her being a gorgeous
bride, this is because Kristi is no longer with
us.
On July 3, not yet a month after her gradu
ation from the University, Kristi Lynn Ward
died in a car accident. Even if you did not
know her as we did, chances are if you met
her at a party or even sat next to her in a
crowded lecture hall, she made you smile.
Kristi was a member of Alpha Chi Omega
sorority where she played a leading role in
establishing the sorority's philanthropy,
“The Milk Off,” and was elected to the posi
tion of New Member Education. As a Span
ish major, she was a participant in the over
seas program in Queretaro, Mexico. As a
friend and classmate, it was a privilege to ex
perience her love and loyalty.
Some people say “everything happens for
a reason.” We say it was nothing but a
tragedy. As for where she is now — we be
lieve Kristi is with all of us. She is in our
hearts and minds as we return to school or
work, or settle for a new job in a new city —
as she would have been doing in just a few
short months.
We miss you and will never forget you,
Kristi.
Anne Argento, Lauren Engel, Amy Horton,
Sandy Murphy and Betsy Scherzer