Monday
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-maii: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com
Readers are right: Yahoo! ad series went beyond bad taste
Commentary
Jack
Clifford
“The Oregon Daily Emerald re
serves the right to accept or reject
any advertising.”
Such simple words for a very
complicated issue. That sentence,
however, is the beginning of the
Emerald’s advertising policy, which
came under attack last week be
cause of a promotional campaign
from Yahoo! Messenger.
Many readers have seen or heard
about the crudely-designed, one
page inserts in the Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday issues of
the Emerald. The content of the ads
—supposedly an attempt by Yahoo!
to be edgy — ranged, in the minds
of some readers, from being sexist
and homophobic to sophomoric to
outright threatening. Those same re
actions occurred amongst a good
portion of the Emerald office.
An estimated 20 people on cam
pus, mostly University administra
tors and mostly women, called the
Emerald office or sent in letters to
the editor to register concerns and
condemn this newspaper for accept
ing the ads. Another group of ap
proximately 12 students and leaders
of several student groups met per
sonally with me to express that the
Yahoo! campaign is just a continua
tion of what they believe is the
Emerald’s irresponsibility when it
accepts money to run offensive ads.
Every reader who was outraged,
any person who felt threatened by
this campaign and anyone who took
time to call or write the Emerald
with criticism or concern is right.
They’re right because that’s how
they were impacted by the Yahoo!
ads, and they’re right because they
took action, hopefully against Ya
hoo!, as well.
Many students on the newsroom
staff— myself included—were em
barrassed or angry for three consec
utive days when we saw those ads
in the Emerald. So, what’s an editor
to do? In this case, the best defense
is to be up front and explain a bit
about how the Emerald operates as
an organization.
There are two essential compo
nents that keep the Emerald pub
lishing five days a week throughout
the school year. Our sales depart
ment generates revenue for the pa
per through its efforts and the news
room writes stories and snaps
photos to fit the space not filled
with ads in each day’s issue. While
the two departments share office
space, we are careful about the in
formation we share on a day-to-day
basis.
Just as much as a sales representa
tive doesn’t want a newsroom edi
tor traipsing around his or her space
questioning each and every ad sold,
I don’t want anyone from the sales
department wandering into my of
fice and telling me what stories
should run in the newspaper.
That’s not being arrogant or
mean-spirited, it just points out that
I would rather not be beholden to
give any advertiser preferential
news coverage based on the
prospect of selling an ad to that per
son or company.
In short, although I was made
aware that the Yahoo! campaign
was scheduled to run, the sales
manager gave me just general infor
mation about the content, which is
how I prefer to handle that aspect of
the operation.
However, ignorance doesn’t ex
cuse responsibility, and my name
and title go on every Emerald print
ed. Therefore, it is my obligation to
accept and deal with the criticism
when someone is offended by
something — anything — that ends
up on a page. Under the aforemen
tioned division between the adver
tising and newsroom departments,
however, as far as advertising goes,
the buck doesn’t stop on my desk,
even if it does slow down.
Which brings us to the concept of
an advertising policy.
There are attempts at any news
paper to be careful about the taste
and sensitivity of its readership;
what you might read or see in
Letters to the editor
Support fair trade through
consumerism
As mentioned in the Sept. 25
ODE article, Starbucks is to be ap
plauded for responding to socially
minded consumers and developing
a fair-trade line.
But before we labor/environmen
tally-sensitive consumers go rushing
to support this newly progressive
company, be aware that Starbucks is
currently only selling this coffee
packaged: you cannot buy a fair
trade brand in a cup! Until Starbucks
provides brewed fair-trade alterna
tives to caffeine-hungry students,
our only alternative is to buy sweat
shop coffee from them or (what I will
be doing) continue to support the
Duck Stop, the only consistent fair
trade vendor on the strip.
We can work to change this policy
by showing a presence at Starbucks
and insisting on being served the
Mexican shade-grown variety over
the counter—or taking our business
elsewhere. Some Starbucks shops are
willing to french-press cups of the
brand upon request, and the more
customers who ask, the more likely
that fair-trade brands will be offered
in the future (and show Starbucks
that there is profit in fair-trade.)
To those who still wonder what
all the fuss is about, my personal
view is that at two cups per school
day, at $1 a cup, I spend $522 a year
on retail coffee and can make a siz
able personal impact on one of the
most exploitative industries by
choosing to buy fair-trade brands
over sweatshop brands. It’s easy,
cheap and convenient socially-re
sponsible consumerism. Who
wouldn’t want to switch?
R. Charli Carpenter
Graduate student
Political science
Vote no on Measure 9
Save the Chess club! Vote no on
Measure 9! The OCA is at it again,
this time with the “Student Protec
tion Act” which would eliminate
any non-negative mention of homo
sexuality or bisexuality in public
schools through the college level.
Whatever your feelings about these
issues, it is important that you be
aware that this law, if passed, could
eliminate all extra-curricular clubs.
It is clear that any gay-friendly
extracurricular club would be pro
hibited under this measure. If that
sounds like good news to you, read
on. A student in a Utah school re
quested formation of a gay-straight
alliance club. The school district
denied the request, and the student
sued. The court ruled that federal
law did not allow schools receiving
federal funding to discriminate
based on club content. The school
board was faced with allowing the
club or disallowing ALL extracur
ricular clubs. Or losing federal
funding. They chose to disallow all
extracurricular clubs.
If Measure 9 passes, every school
district in Oregon will have to
choose between eliminating all ex
tracurricular clubs or losing state or
federal funding. That’s a choice we
can’t afford to make! Don’t let the
OCA’s poorly-crafted bill hurt our
schools. Vote NO on Measure 9.
Shasta K. Wilson
CIS
Booing unsportsmanlike
Coach Len Casanova didn’t want
any booing from students at football
games. Back in fall of 1950, as a
newly-elected yell king, I asked for
an interview with our new football
coach, Len Casanova, and he made
it very clear that he considered boo
ing unsportsmanlike, and firmly
stated that he did not approve of
that kind of conduct — so, we com
plied. It was a good call.
Our student body was in the
neighborhood of 4,500, and I recall
reading of University President
Newburn praising the spirit of the
fans, but I dare say the spirit of the
fans at the recent UCLA game in
Autzen Stadium was deafening and
awesome. Congratulations to the
cheerleaders and fans. If booing
were eliminated, the sport would
be elevated.
Ron Symons
WRC requirements not too re
strictive
You should really take a look at
what the Worker Rights Consor
tium is about. Yes, they ask for a liv
ing wage, but they admit that the
definition of a living wage is still
unclear and so they don't require it
at the schools, and they haven't yet
had to deal with the living wage in
apparel companies. The require
ments are the same whether at
home or abroad. The most impor
tant things that they do require:
• Freedom to organize without
threat of job loss/other penalties
• Overtime cannot be required
• No discrimination (including
in pay) based on gender, race, etc.
• Maximum work week of either
48 hours or the national maximum,
whichever is less
• Maternity leave and no re
quired pregnancy testing at any
time
• No forced labor (indentured,
bonded, or prison labor)
• Release the information about
compliance to the public (wage,
hours, health/safety conditions)
• Are these requirements too re
strictive? It doesn't seem like it to
me. Want to actually see what they
do require? Read at their site:
http://www.workersrights.org
Eric Anholt
Portland, OR
Willamette Week won’t end up in
The Register-Guard. Although inde
pendent from the University, the
Emerald uses a college-age audi
ence to determine tastelessness and
sensitivity. College students’ defini
tion of what is in bad taste is often
broader than society as a whole,
which is why Yahoo! chose this
newspaper and other college-ori
ented newspapers across the coun
try to run its campaign.
But several of those students and
student leaders who expressed their
repulsion and fear to me found the
Yahoo! ads to go beyond bad taste,
and fall right into an endorsement
of what are serious issues in society:
rape and homophobia. They also ac
cused the Emerald of endorsing
those social ills, and called for an
apology in this editorial.
While I am outraged that such ad
vertising flourishes in society and
disappointed that it found a place in
this newspaper, as just one link on
the chain, I cannot apologize for the
Emerald’s actions. And I cannot
apologize for a newsroom that did
not see the ads before they were pub
lished. In addition, I am quite com
fortable with the belief that no one
at the Emerald, in any department,
endorses rape or homophobia.
I do, however, commend those
readers and students who ex
pressed their outrage, and I call on
even more people, especially stu
dents, to do the same should a simi
lar advertisement run in the future.
According to the Emerald’s adver
tising manager, the amount of re
sponse she received has swayed her
to reject any future Yahoo! ads with
similar content, just as the initial
sentence in this editorial states she
can do.
That’s how changes are made in
society and I hope that anyone who
wants to comment on the advertise
ments will call Yahoo! or the Emer
ald and make your voice heard.
Ad campaign offensive, demeaning
We are writing to address the
outrage that we felt as we re
turned to the University for our
first day of classes, only to be
confronted with the message
that our most valuable asset, as
women, is the ability to take our
shirts off for men.
As if this was not offensive
enough, we were then confront
ed, the following day, with an
other ad that degraded and hu
miliated us as women by poking
fun at the health and safety of all
women.
And now, the most recent Ya
hoo! advertisement in Thursday's
Emerald not only demeans and re
duces us to mere sexual objects
but also reinforces, just one more
time, that homophobic ads and
comments are acceptable on cam
pus. Sexist and homophobic atti
tudes and comments are not new,
but it is time that the ODE reflect
and see the decision to run this ad
campaign as a sign of irresponsi
ble journalism.
Organizations like the ODE
must realize that ads like these
contribute to the lack of safety on
campus as much as poor campus
lighting does. As a student-run
newspaper, the ODE should be
wary of alienating and objectify
ing more than half of the student
body, as well as many other con
stituents of the campus commu
nity.
Nilda Brooklyn
Multicultural Advocate
ASUO Executive
Marian Fowler
Events Coordinator
ASUO Women’s Center
I have had the pleasure of see
ing the wonderful Yahoo! ads
that the Emerald has been run
ning this week. I have to say that
the Emerald has really outdone
themselves this time. The ads
have been an insult to women
and also to the University cul
ture.
The first ad requests that a
“stoned” guy come look at a
woman taking her top off. If that
wasn't bad enough, a second ad
ran with a guy telling some
woman to call her because his
rash (STD?) came back.
The Emerald has really out
done themselves this time. These
ads are demeaning, while addi
tionally perpetuating violence
and objectification of women,
and at the same time insulting
men as lowlifes who can’t even
write legibly (basically insulting
the entire college culture). Is the
purpose of this ad campaign to ac
tually relate to the culture? Is the
college culture as pathetic as
these ads imply?
Are you that desperate for ad
vertising dollars that ultimately
denigrate the value of your pub
lication while creating litter
everywhere that someone else
has to clean up? It’s unfortunate
that a college publication would
go to such great lengths to hurt so
many while the actual result is a
negative impact on their own im
age. Is this the model of profes
sional journalism that the Emer
ald would like students to take
with them into their careers?
And can you believe it? Some
one actually got paid to create
those ads.
Shyla Yearby
I wanted to express my con
cerns over the ads running in
your newspaper about Yahoo!
mail. I find it interesting that
while we try so hard to work on
campus diversity, women’s
rights and campus safety we are
bombarded with tasteless ads
about “crotchless panties” and
women “taking off their top.” I
sure hope that the decision to
run this ad campaign was a mis
take that you are deeply regret
ting. There are other ways to
promote or advertise a product,
Yahoo!. On that note I would of
fer my version of this ad.
‘Yahoo! —
Start apologizing for your be
havior and start treating women
like they should be treated: with
respect and equality. Thanks.
— Daniel
Daniel Valle
Senior