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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 8, 2001)
<?(? 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-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com Giovanni Salimena Emerald % From pitas to presidential politics, 2001 promises to be a winner Welcome back to the college world, every one. We hope your holiday break was a success. Ours was, and we tried our hardest to not pay attention to so cial and political issues fora month. Unfortunately, there were a few things that we couldn't help but notice. Fortunately, they were mostly good, and we ended up with the feeling that 2001 might be an enjoyable year. Here then, are the top 10 reasons we're excited for the new millennium. 10. It's actually the new millen nium. Despite last year's incorrect as sessment that the 20th century was over (even a 3rd-grader knows that counting goes from one to 10), media outlets corrected the mistake and pointed out that 2001 is the first year of the 21 st century. Otherwise, we would all have lived through the only 99-year century in history. 9. The Pita Pit has opened for business in downtown Eugene. This fast-food sandwich shop, a chain from Canada, offers big, tasty pitas for a reasonable price. That wouldn't be news alone, but they’re open until 4 a.m. on the weekends — and they deliver. Thanks to Canada, Eugene couches are now safe for late-night dining. 8. Control of the federal govern ment is more evenly split between Democrats and Republicans than ever before. We hope this doesn't lead to complete policy gridlock, but it's certainly an editorial dream. Legis lators will be trying to capture the safe middle so their respective par ties don't lose political points with voters. There should be plenty to watch — and write about — for the next two years. 7. Oregon State Police troopers have started new measures to show they don't racially profile. After every traffic stop, an OSP of ficer will now call in the age, sex and race of the person stopped, the rea son for the stop and what happened during the stop. The act of having to call it in should go a long way, not only to show that OSP doesn't pro file, but to prevent officers from pro filing in the first place. The whole world is watching. 6. The ASUO ended the year 2000 with a drive to get college stu dents to volunteer with high school-age kids. It's one thing to talk about kids needing a good example in life; it's another to provide that example. Volunteering is an opportunity to learn how diverse our community is, to learn from the kids and to do a little bit of good, all in one. Every one should sign up and help a youngster. 5. President Clinton has protect ed nearly a third of all federal forest land. Clinton’s plan will be challenged in the courts (and President-elect Bush has said he'll review all of Clin ton’s last-minute policy changes), but it's a bold and courageous move for conservation nonetheless. How much land should we destroy before we say, "OK, that's enough, we'll pro tect the rest"? 4. John Henry's, the Eugene club, has an ‘80s Night every Thursday. They offer great music spun by Chris and Jen, fashion you remem ber from grade school, and alcohol. The crowd is growing larger every week, but for now, John Henry's is still the hippest place for the retro over-21 set to be on Thursday. 3. Gov. Kitzhaber came out strong for education with his budget. True, the governor's plan doesn't include as much for higher educa tion as college supporters wanted, but he still stepped up to the plate with some political hardball by striking first with an education plan. He struck even harder by cut ting social programs and scrapping a state police funding increase to make money available for educa tion. Kitzhaber has shifted the funding debate in favor of schools, and now Republicans in the legis lature are going to have to make dif ficult decisions to decide Oregon's spending priorities. 2. This year, Northwest football shone like the sun we don't have. The Huskies won, the Beavers won (and holy jeez did they win), and the Ducks quacked up the Long horns. Thanks to the Ducks' impres sive season (OK, and the Beavers, too), Oregon football won prestige and national attention. Well done. . And the number one reason we’re excited for the new year here on campus: University president Dave Frohnmayer has not yet withdrawn from the Worker Rights Consortium. More than one group on campus suspected such a move over winter break, but Frohnmayer is actually waiting for the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Trademark Licens ing's recommendation. The com mittee's early reports showed that there is value to being a member of both organizations. Despite our ed itorial sense last term, maybe the decision will end up being a demo cratic process. Any decision should wait for the committee's recommendation, alumni input, a University Senate vote and another vote of the students. All in all, 2001 should be a lot of fun. It seems that there will be plenty to write about. Please continue to tell us when our reasoning is wrong and when we've made mistakes. Don't tell us how stupid we are any more, though. Leave that to our grades. Thiseditorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
