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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 9, 2000)
Thursday 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 EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com Party fines: deterring or discriminatory? GUEST COMMENTARIES On Monday, Nov. 13, the Eugene City Council is scheduled to vote on the Eugene Police Department’s proposed response fee for multiple “out-of-control” parties at the same residence. Today, the Emerald presents two guest commentaries about the issue, and we urge students to make their opinions heard at the City Council meeting. : v ‘V > - ^. '''ox::::-:-.' The question is not whether the new ordinance proposed to the Eugene City Council is just or necessary, for it is indeed both. Rather, the true question is whether we as a University community live in a vacuum or in a larger commu nity with other individuals and other needs that stretch beyond our petty, self-centered compulsions and habits. College students are notoriously greedy and are infamous for failing to look beyond the snot at the end of their collective nose, and this controversy is could conceivably hold a loud and ob noxious party every 31 days—once every month — and still avoid any cita tion under the law. In my mind that is in essence uncivilized and at the very least rude behavior, and yet a few would say that this is still unaccept able. Well, why not? I mean, ought we not be allowed to annoy our neighbors and act like three-year-olds once a week? And people wonder why college students receive such a terrible reputa tion. It’s our own fault, really. It comes down to a basic question of hardly an exception to the rule. Instead of ask ing why the communi ty as a whole and re spective leaders therein find the issue of “party PRO equity and considera tion. In a state and era where dollars are few and resources limited for government at the local and state level, we ing so troubling, stu dent government leaders seem bent on whining and complaining about the “oppression” of those “mean-spirited” bullies in city government. OK, so I’ll be the one to beg the question: Why the concern? To answer the question, let us exam ine the problem as it really stands. Uni versity students love to drink and par ty, and very seldom do they take into ought to be utilizing our resources re sponsibly. Covering the inconsiderate, irresponsible actions of a few drunk college students simply is not acting in such a manner. Scott Austin is a member of Future Lawyers of America and a student at the University. A proposed city ordi nance unfairly tar geting students will soon be voted on by Eugene City Council. This ordi nance, written by members of the Eugene Police Department, would impose new fees in ad dition to already existing fines for party-related penalties in certain instances. These fees are unlike fines one would receive for a minor in-possession or a noise viola tion; they are intended to “re cover costs involving criminal violations requiring frequent and significant police re sponse. ” Rather than being paid back to the City of Eugene, the new fees would be given di rectly to EPD. The word “fre quent” in the above quote is misleading. As the ordinance is written, a group of 10 people could be fined forgathering on the same premises twice in a 90-day period. If this ordinance passes, a resident would be required to pay the costs of breaking up their own party — including from $35 to $45 per hour for police officers’ wages and any equipment used. The city manager determines what equipment, but it can include gas for police cars, tear gas and batteries for flashlights. This is in addition to what the resident is required to pay for a noise vi olation, MIP, etc. This ordinance is not a proactive approach to the CON problem, and the deterrent ef fect that the police are hoping for will only deepen the wounded relations between students and police. In the multiple meetings members of the ASUO have had with police, never once was safety mentioned as a motive for writing the ordinance; it zero tolerance policy. New tactics being used by the party patrol are putting students in danger. Officers have recently re fused to let women call for rides and threatened to issue “Interfering with a Peace Offi cer” citations if people are “caught” waiting for a friend to walk home with after a par ty has been broken up. Yes, students party and sometimes consume alcohol in large quantities, but using reactive, destructive tactics such as this ordinance, as it is currently written by the EPD, will not produce anything beneficial for this community. The ASUO has written and presented an alternative ordi nance to the City Council, which is drastically different from the EPD version. Student leaders have met individually with city councilors to discuss the ordinance and possible changes that could be made. consideration the schedules and needs of their working, non-student neigh bors. For that matter, they seldom take into consideration the manifest needs of their working student neighbors either, and in both cases noise violations — which, oddly enough, take place statis tically in this city when loud and obnoxious parties are held — often lead to po lice officers be ing called to the scene. This costs the commu nity money, in many cases mon ey that real ly ought to be used for other purpos es. Ought the entire commu nity pay the cost for the irresponsi bility of a few, or ought the irresponsi ble themselves pay that cost? * Consider for a moment the implications of this statute in prag matic application. One apartment seems only to be an issue ot monetary compen sation for their . C £ M. U, u k) | *r Q *PAV*nV.,.».S«*^i Bryan Dixon Emerald However, we need students’ help. The City Council will vote on the ordinance Nov. 13, and we need people to come and voice their concerns. If you don’t know anything about the ordinance, the ASUO is having an informa tional meeting and open discussion on the ordinance to day at 5 p.m. in Room 123 Pa cific. I would encourage all con cerned stu dents to at tend this meeting, whether or not they ap prove of stu dent party ing, because this ordinance will affect all of us. Christa Shively is the ASUO community out reach directorand Mike Barnhill isan ASUO intern. Letters to the editor Lifestyles of the Geographically Challenged I find it quite ironic that in Mon day’s column by Eric Pfeiffer, he criticizes “Heaton Seeker,” who sent him an anonymous death threat. Isn’t Pfeiffer the same per son who wrote a column (“Hey Jay: Activism doesn’t stop with WRC,” ODE, Oct. 10) criticizing the ASUO and how it is run when he was on the other side of the country? Writing an anonymous death threat is the act of a coward, but so too is one who mocks a communi ty in which he isn’t currently in volved. It’s fine if you want to tell us all about the inner politics of Washington, D.C., because you may have experienced it first hand, but it is absurd for you to judge the current politics here at the University. You say that Bres iow’s leadership methods on this campus are flawed, but you are not even here to see these methods. You continue by stating, “Anyone who even remotely follows the ASUO knows this is the truth.’’ How can you logistically iollow the ASUO from Washington, D.C., though? Breslow has led the ASUO Executive staff and other students to unthinkable goals this fall highlighted by an amazing vot er registration drive. Yes, you could read about the voter registra tion drive on the Internet, but the ASUO has done so much more on this campus that you. Mr. Pfeiffer, simply cannot see. If you ask me, Pfeiffer, you and •Seeker are both cowards. Jeff Oliver political science & journalism ASUO housing advocate Editor’s note: Eric Pfeiffer was on campus, not in Washington, D.C., during the WRCprotests and the campaign and election of Jay Breslow and Holly Magner. Pfeif fer’s column, available in our on line archives at www.dailyemer ald.com, focused on those early aspects of Breslow’s rise to power.
