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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 2000)
Friday 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 September 29,2000 VOLUME 102, ISSUE 23 EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL j. KLECKNER, opededitor@journalist.com Planned Parenthood’s Joe Sperm: Irresponsible messenger... By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald The majority of public opinion re garding Joe Sperm is favorable. Most people in Eugene and on campus view the mascot as nothing more than that — a mascot to usher in a new advertis ing campaign. He’s been in a parade and several newspaper ads and even graces our mass transit vehicles. Planned Parenthood defends their new campaign as an innovative way to make people think about how to en gage in sexual activity more responsi bly. They believe that when young people see Joe Sperm’s smiling mug on the side of a bus, they’ll be more in clined to make use of free medical ex ams and contraceptives. This is ridiculous. I see Joe Sperm as a danger to young people and a bad choice of a mascot. How can young people understand the seriousness of sex when something like Joe Sperm is so enthusiastically sup- m ported? Studies by the I University Health ig Center show that many University stu dents had sex for the first time when they were between the ages of 16- to 18-years-old. To me, this means they were thinking about having sex when they were likely between the ages of 14 and 15. At that age, children are look ing for something to help them make the decision about whether to have sex. Going to an agency like Planned CON Parenthood — which should help young people avoid sexual mistakes — and finding some cartoon that both trivializes and makes sex even more at tractive will only induce young people to make mistakes. I The pro argument claims the mascot helps Planned Parent hood relate to young people. I agree, the mascot does, but in a such way that will defeat the mascot’s purported pur pose. Is Joe Sperm funny? Yes, he is, to college students who know the conse quences of sex. But unfortunately, he also is funny to young people who don’t know how emotionally damag ing and physically dangerous making a wrong choice about sex can be. Sex is not a joke. Would it be funny to have a Barry Bong or Sammy Sy ringe teach children about the dangers of drug use? I can’t think of a better mascot to teach kids about proper sex ual choices, which makes me inclined to argue that there should be no mascot to raise sexual consciousness. The best way to teach proper sexual values is between parent and child, and failing that, through a responsible campaign that frankly lays down the potential risks involved with sex. Using a contraceptive is a mature de cision. How can Planned Parenthood expect young people to make that ma ture decision when they attempt to re late to them by using a joke of a mascot such as Joe Sperm? Or effective campaigner? By Michael J. Kleckner Oregon Daily Emerald Planned Parenthood has introduced its latest marketing tool and mascot, Joe Sperm, and I couldn’t be happier. Joe is an accessible, joyful way to reach out to young people and educate them about the consequences of sex. Some people have expressed con cern or outrage at the Joe Sperm cam paign. I fin’d this just a bit silly, but it’s a serious conversation, so I will engage it seriously. According to its mission statement, Planned Parenthood’s main concern is to provide health care services while guaranteeing each individual’s right to reproductive self-determination and promoting understanding of the impli cations of sexuality. They want to cut down on unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Good mission. How does Joe Sperm help bring these goals to fruition? By appealing to younger people in a playful manner - which is how many younger people treat h sex. Many teenagers I have a casual attitude I toward sex, many of “ them are uneducated about sexuality and most of these people are at risk. This is a huge public health concern. Perhaps sex should never be treated in a light, playful manner. Perhaps its a very serious, sacred act of love that is only to be expressed within the con fines of a publicly committed relation ship. And perhaps some of us just real ly dig on sex.y’all. Joe is reaching out, in an admittedly PRO frivolous manner, to those people who treat sex frivolously. It’s likely to get their attention, and then it’s likely to get a few more people thinking serious ly about playing safely. This is good. . The con argument claims that young peo ple don’t know the con sequences of sex and that there should be no mascot to raise sexual consciousness. But this isn’t dealing with the real world. In reality, teen-agers are inter ested in and are having sex. Parents can engage in this dialogue, but Planned Parenthood isn’t a mother or a father. This is a public health cam paign, and it needs to appeal to the masses. Does Joe Sperm perpetuate trivial ization of this most sacred of acts? Probably. Is that bad? Depends on your outlook. But I think it’s a worthwhile trade-off if we end up with fewer teen mothers who can’t support themselves, and fewer people dying of AIDS. Be cause people are still having sex. They do it quite a lot. I think treating sex with a serious at titude is a worthwhile moral concern for those who feel that way. And I think it’s the job of parents, organized religion and peer groups to preach and teach all about it. That’s a good thing. . But I don’t think it’s the job of non profit, health-advocacy groups. They are facing the reality of teens having sex. And it’s their job to educate, in the most effective manner possible, those who may be at risk. Joe Sperm does that wonderfully. Yahoo! ads raise concerns It is with great disappoint ment that I write in regards to the Yahoo! inserts advertised in the Emerald. Familiar with poor judgment in the media industry, I performed the standard action of voicing my objections to the homophobic and sexually as saulting nature of the campaign. I called Becky Merchant, the ad vertising manager for the Emer ald, to determine how the adver tising staff came to the conclusion that these ads were acceptable. Although Merchant admitted that she herself knew there was a problem with the ads, she also stated that it is not her role to influence advertising decisions made by student staff. Thus, the advertising depart ment collectively agreed that al though the ads were “stupid,” they did not find it obviously of fensive or stereotypically deni grating. This brings me to two critical concerns. First, it is very dis heartening to realize that our so ciety has regressed to such a base level; viewing women as sexual objects is so common, it’s not wrong any more. Today we are appalled at a school shooting. If it happens more frequently in the future, will we become equally desensi tized and shrug it off in the same manner? I think not. Or would Guest Commentary Erica Fuller .....■ we? What about rape? Sexual ha rassment? Gay bashing and hate crimes? General violence? What’s the difference? Where and when do we draw the line and demand that it is no longer acceptable? These questions lead me to my second concern. I serve a similar role as Merchant: I am a hired professional responsible for serving the educational needs of students. When a po tential conflict arises, it is ex pected that I take advantage of the “teachable moment” to facil itate recognition and a clear un derstanding of the issue. Further, it would be more than reason able to make a strong recommen dation as to the most appropriate course of action. If the students in the advertising department did not see a problem with these ads, then it was the job of the qualified “professional” to seize the opportunity to educate them. Not doing so is belligerently irre sponsible. Merchant missed that moment, and as a result, a large population on this campus has been subjected to vile debase ment and objectification of their womanhood and sexuality. I was prepared to begin this school year without the custom ary cynicism towards student journalism. After this affront, however, my relationship with the Emerald will proceed with considerable caution and dis trust of their ability to produce responsible journalism. Erica Fuller, M RS. is the director of the Multicultural Center. Letter to the editor Build a culture of respect The white flyers inserted in the Oregon Daily Emerald this week, paid for by Yahoo! and published as advertising by the ODE, brought many calls of concern, outrage, anxiety and anger to offices in student affairs. Students, student leaders and student affairs staff who read the Emerald reacted negatively to the ads. The ads seemed to these readers to be in poor taste, offensive and an affront to the culture of respect we seek here that honors the rights, safety, dignity and worth of every individual. In addition, most readers who spoke to my office found the ads crude, ineffective and obscure in their advertising message. The University has a strong tradition of freedom of thought and expression. The Oregon Daily Emerald has a long history as an independ ent newspaper on this cam pus. The ODE editorial staff and advertising staff func tion independently. It is my hope that these staff also function collaboratively with sensitivity and support for the community we build to gether here. Ads such as these do not affirm our com munity standards of respect for the rights and well-being of all members. Rather than promoting diversity of opin ions, ideas and backgrounds, these ads promote feelings of bigotry, intimidation and in sult to much of the reader ship. ODE — you can do bet ter. Please join us in building, not breaking, our culture of respect. Anne Leavitt University of Oregon Associate Vice President & Dean of Students CORRECTION The story “Governor speaks to revive student voting vital ity,” (ODE, Sept. 26) should have said that ballots for the November election will be mailed to voters on Oct. 20. The Emerald regrets this er ror. Thumbs To a BIG voter registration ef fort TheASUO broughta host of local politi cians to campus on Wednesday to boost student voter registra tion. In addi tion, the student executive office is building the world’s largest ballot box to draw attention to the effort. To sharing the tunes, man The Grateful Dead has always protected its copyright inter ests. But the Dead’s only con cern is ensuring that no one else profit from the music. So they didn’t sue Nap ster. Groovy, dude. To saying one thing and doing another At Monday’s City Council meet ing, Mayor Jim Torrey prodded councilors to make a decision on the ordi nance banning smoking in bars, taverns and bin go parlors-and then cast the tie breaking vote to postpone voting on it. To teaching kids with M&Ms Millions of books have been sold to par ents and teach ers in recent years that are teaching chil dren hand-eye coordination, reading and math by im printing their brains with brand names and logos.
