Wednesday
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
Money down the drain I
Imagine this: A new group
called the University of Ore
gon Gun Club has just been
granted a $128,000-per-year
budget from student incidental
fees. The group brings a few
speakers to
'''\ campus, spon
^.^ sors some gun
safety classes
and a couple of
internships.
But 95 percent
of its budget is
sent off to the
National Rifle
Association to
help pay for lobbyists writing and
researching for pro-gun legisla
tion.
Does this scenario aggravate
you:
Well if it does, you are opposed
to paying incidental fees to sup
port groups and causes that you
may not agree with. Incidental
fees have been around for years to
help fund student groups, but
ever since the U.S. Supreme
Court’s ruling in Southworth vs.
the University of Wisconsin about
a year ago that told the university
to uphold its fee system, all hell
has broken loose. Before the rul
ing, the University of Wisconsin
did not give any money to groups
that endorsed political or reli
gious views, but now all groups
are allowed access to these funds.
The more than $500 per year,
per student incidental fee pays for
things that students may not have
realized or even known about.
During the lovely fall season,
many people show up to the tick
et counter in the EMU to show
their Duck pride and get their
football tickets. I know when I
first started getting tickets, I had a
refreshing feeling thinking that I
was getting something free for
once, but then I was let in on a lit
tie secret. Those tickets have al
ready been paid for by students
through incidental fees.
This may not be a problem for
those students who wish to par
take in the chaos known as a foot
ball game, but for those students
who attend the University for ex
clusively academic motives, it
could be objectionable. Have you
ever showed up to the ticket
booth to find out that all of the
tickets are gone? Well, you paid
for a ticket that does not exist.
Students should not have to
pay for sports tickets if they
choose not to attend the events, or
want to attend but cannot because
the tickets are gone. Why not just
have students buy tickets when
they want them?
Most of the student groups on
campus accept incidental fees.
Some of them include the College
Democrats, Justice For All (an
anti-abortion group) and Students
For Choice (a pro-choice group).
Even if you do not politically sup
port the views of these groups,
you are supporting them finan
cially. Maybe instead of accepting
these fees, the groups should
charge dues. That way, people
who do not want to get involved
don’t have to pay for it.
One of the most controversial
groups, when it comes to inciden
tal fees, is OSPIRG. The Oregon
Student Public Interest Research
Group receives $128,000 of our
money from fees, and the way it’s
used stirs up a debate. According
to the Jan. 31 issue of the Emer
ald, OSPIRG sends the $128,000
up to Portland to pay for
statewide causes. Student mem
bers of OSPIRG at the University
take advantage of the resources
and staff for local causes, but most
of the money pays for office space
and staff to work on legislation
This is the first in a
two-part debate about
student incidental fees.
Today: Lisa Marie
tatto argues in opposition
to the fees.
Friday: Jessica Blanchard
argues in support of the
fees.
that OSPIRG supports.
The problem with this
picture is that barely any
of the student dollars
stay here on campus.
Can you imagine how
much cleaner this area *
would be if OSPIRG kept
the money here? Instead
of asking for donations to
help clean the
Willamette River, why
don’t they use the inci
dental fees they get? Stu
dents do not need to be
paying for things that are
being done elsewhere.
Another group that
gets student money is
The Insurgent, a very lib
eral campus newspaper.
Recently, the newspaper
ran an insert from the
Animal Liberation Front,
which included instruc
tions on how to break
into laboratories and cost
ill
\ N ClDENTAU
FEE5 i
laDoraxories money wnn
out getting caught. The
Giovanni Salimena Emerald
Insurgent also included
the names and addresses of sever
al biologists and research scien
tists who conduct tests on ani
mals. Do you want your money
going toward these kinds of activ
ities? I know I don’t.
What if a Nazi group or the Ku
Klux Klan wanted to come to
campus? They would have every
right to these funds, and students
would be supporting racially dis
criminating activities.
Incidental fees are fundamen
tally wrong. We live in a nation
which prides itself on freedom of
speech, and it is a sad day for our
country when students are not al
lowed that freedom but are forced
to pay for activities in which they
do not believe or do not wish to
partake.
Lisa Marie Catto is a member of the Col
lege Republicans and is the student com
munity representative on the Emerald ed
itorial board for winter term. Her views
do not necessarily represent those of the
Emerald. She can be reached at
lcatto@gladstone.uoregon.edu.
Editor’s note: The Emerald re
ceived $132,870 in student fees for
the 2000-01 budget year. The
newspaper is currently appealing
a 25 percent cut in funds for the
2001-02 year.
What’s a game without the fans?
Guest Commentary
Marissa
Jones
1111
After reading Peter Hocka
day’s article ’’Homegrown
Attitude” (ODE, Feb. 1), I
must admit that as a Duck
fan, I was a little angry. When Luke
Jackson said his hope was to win the
rest of the season’s games, Hockaday
replied by saying, “Sure, Luke.”
Hockaday thought the Ducks could
n’t beat Arizona, but as a fan, I knew
the team had a good chance. The pre
vious weekend in California brought
two losses, but the Ducks improved
many things and started working well
as a team. Back at McArthur Court, the
Ducks played an amazing offensive
and defensive game, upsetting Ari
zona and proving they could win the
rest of their games.
I’m sure Hockaday would call the
win lucky, using the Arizona State
game on Sunday to prove his point.
The Ducks’ loss to the Sun Devils,
who had only won one Pacific-10
v .Conferencegame, shows the Arizona
game was just a fluke, right? There
was one big factor, however, between
the Arizona and Arizona State games:
the fans. On Thursday, Duck fans
packed the student section, but on
Sunday, there was an empty balcony,
a semi-full Pit crew and a few stu
dents in the corner section.
All those Duck fans who I thought be
lieved in the team must have had other
things to do, and the majority of those
who did find time in their schedules
left before the end. After the game, head
coach Ernie Kent thanked the fans who
stayed through the whole game and
apologized for the team’s performance.
Ernie was apologizing, when really the
fans should be apologizing to him. Giv
ing up on his team at the half? Not
showing up for the game?
One thing to point out is the student
tickets for the Arizona State game were
sold out. When a student picks up a
ticket and doesn’t use it, it hurts the
team and students generally. The ath
letic department sells the ASUO tickets
to the football and basketball games at
discounted prices. The unused ticket
could have been sold full price to some
one else. Not using tickets wastes our
student fee, loses money for the athletic
department and raises ticket prices for
students in the future. The Athletic De
partment Finance Committee and the
athletic department are always in nego
tiations about student tickets. The less
students show up, the worse we look to
the athletic department. They’ll start to
sell tickets to us at regular price and
even reduce the quantity if students fail
to use them. Do you want to have to
start buying season tickets and sitting in
assigned seats?
There’s nothing like the “running of
the bulls” to get that good seat in The
Pit. What makes Mac Court so special
is the fact that, as fans, students have
the opportunity to help out the team. If
they jump up and down enough, fans
can actually shake the opponent’s
basket. Students make a difference,
and their support helps out the team.
There is no place in the country like
Mac Court, and students have four
years to experience its glory. Don’t let
the years pass by without bothering to
take advantage of student tickets. Don’t
miss your chance to be the sixth man.
Don’t miss your chance to be a real
Duck fan.
Marissa Jones is a sophomore business and
journalism major at the University. >,
Letters to the editor
Statement inaccurate
The front page article on
Friday ("Just debate it: forum
addresses labor issues," ODE,
Feb. 2) reported on a forum
where a number of profes
sors, including myself, dis
cussed their views on the
University's involvement in
groups monitoring overseas
operations of the University's
apparel licensees. While I
found most of the article to be
a balanced report of the pro
ceedings, I was dismayed to
read that, according to the ar
ticle, "all agreed the Univer
sity should become a mem
ber of both the Worker Rights
Consortium and the Fair La
bor Association." This state
ment is false.
My own personal com
ments indicated that I sup
port the University's mem
bership in the Fair Labor
Association (though I don't
think it is essential), but I do
not support membership in
the Worker Rights Consor
tium. Other presenters at the
forum expressed a diversity
. of opinions on the Universi
ty's membership issue with
these organizations, which
were incorrectly summarized
by this statement in the arti
cle.
Anyone interested in see
ing the full text of my com
ments may access them at the
following Internet link:
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu
/ ~bruceb/fla_wrc.html.
Bruce Blonigen
associate professor
economics
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