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
EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com
become as common as
Saturday morning car
ioons for a six-year-old
ttending college has
— it’s a part of life that is expect
ed and awaited, and people are
even treated differently if they
choose not to participate.
Higher education has become
necessary because of the impor
tance our society places on it. We
believe that unless you earn a
college degree, you won’t be suc
cessful in the real world, and you
won’t get a good-paying job. We
don’t live in a time where jobs
are earned through apprentice
ships, and high school diplomas
are at the top of our education
standards.
Instead, we live in a society
that is well-educated because of
this trend to
ward higher
education —
a trend that
should be
considered
valuable, re
spectable and
worthwhile
to everyone,
including
students who
think their time in college is just
another four years of high school.
There are several reasons why
higher education is beneficial to
our society and to us individual
ly. Economically, earning a col
lege degree is the most viable so
lution to making a good living.
People with college degrees
make more money than those
without. In 1999, the U.S. Census
Bureau found that the annual av
erage income for a person who
graduated from high school was
$24,572, while the average in
come for those with a bachelor’s
degree was $45,678. According
to a Federal Document Clearing
House press release, the gap in
Today: Carol
Rink writes
in support
of the college
experience.
Wednesday: jack
Clifford writes
in opposition
to the college
experience.
earning po
tential, over a
lifetime, be
tween a high
school diplo
ma and a
bachelor’s de
gree or higher
exceeds $1
million.
However,
higher educa
tion isn’t just
about economics and how much
money you’ll make after four
years. College is a learning expe
rience; here’s an environment
where thousands of people with
completely different back
grounds come together for one
reason: to earn a degree. Some
times. this is the only thing you
have in common with each other,
but you learn to accept, appreci
ate, and gain a new perspective
on life because of these people.
Real-life experience often fails to
Giovanni Salimena Emerald
teach you these things.
In college, we also participate
in activities that we wouldn’t do
elsewhere. We attend football
games and other sporting events
with roommates and peers. We
get involved in extracurricular
activities and clubs. We play
team sports. Sure, these are all
things we can participate in
without attending college, but
the activities and organizations
we give our time to are valuable
because they are unique. There’s
nothing like the combination of a
college atmosphere and a group
of students getting together out
side of the classroom to do what
they are passionate about and in
terested in.
Ultimately, higher education is
not just grades 13 through 16 un
less we allow it to be. College is
what you make of it. Sure, you
can go through class after class
doing the minimal amount of
work possible, but why bother?
Doing the minimal amount of
work is only a disservice to your
self. Don’t you want to graduate
college thinking you’re smarter?
Knowing you’re smarter? Feeling
like your money, time and energy
was worthwhile?
In college, we have the choice
of classes to take, along with
what time and with which pro
fessors. There’s no reason to be
unsatisfied with what we learn. If
the material isn’t challenging
enough, we have the option and
are encouraged to talk to profes
sors to discover new ways to look
at things. We can take harder " *
classes and learn about subjects
we’ve never heard of. Compared
to high school, college gives us
the luxury to make our own deci
sions — including when to go
and what to study.
So what’s the future of higher
education? A Community Col
lege Week article in January said
80 percent of new jobs in the near
future will require post-second
ary education. In addition, a re
cent Oregon University System
survey released this month
showed that of 600 Oregon regis
tered voters, 78 percent believe
that in five years, it will be more
important than it is now to have a
degree in order to secure a well
paying job.
The importance of higher edu
cation should not be lost in years
to come, but instead encouraged
and considered a vital part of
one’s education because of the
life lessons, experiences and op
portunities college gives us. So
next time you’re debating
whether to sleep in and miss that
history lecture, think of the $300
tuition money you’re spending
on that one class, and think of
your future without a college de
gree.
Carol Rink is the online editor for the
Emerald and a member of the editorial
board. Her views do not necessarily rep
resent those of the Emerald. She can be
reached at
crink@gladstone.uoregon.edu.
Letters to the editor
Join debate; don't stop it
Student-group funding (“Money
Down the Drain,” ODE, Feb. 7)
gives groups a better shot at achiev
ing their goals. Few would argue
with that. Although, many might
disagree with the groups. How
many student groups do you agree
or disagree with? Who knows, you
might even be a member of a stu
dent organization that disagrees
with another student organization.
There is a wide variety of groups
out there. But whether you take the
opportunity or not, issues — and
students’ organizing — will still ex
ist, and you have the opportunity,
as everyone does, to organize
around issues too. You could work
on issues that affect people across
the state or the country or the
world.
Student fees help make those op
portunities happen. It’s like having
a ticket to a giant amphitheater
where you can play a part.
Still, some disagree not only with
the student group but also with the
idea of supporting groups at all.
Would you deny your fellow stu
dent the opportunity to express
themselves in class? Would you
close down the business school be
cause you study science?
Please, participate in the debate;
don’t try and stop it. If something
new frightens you, learn more
about it. Knowledge like this, avail
able in this “marketplace of ideas,”
can change your mind or reaffirm
the views you already had. You will
find other people you agree with or
respectfully disagree with, but you
will always find people organizing.
You will find people organizing in
the real world too.
Ryan Messick
junior
business
Poll Results
Every week, the Emerald prints the results of our online poll and the poll question
for next week. The poll can be accessed from the main page of our Web site,
www.dailyemerald.com. We encourage you to send us feedback about the poll
questions and results.
Last week's question
How many hours a day do you spend on the Internet?
Results: 99 total votes
1 -3 hours—39 votes, or 39.4 percent
4-7 hours—30 votes, or 30.3 percent
8 12 hours—11 votes, or 11.1 percent
12 hours or more—19 votes, or 19.2 percent
That’s a lot of people spending 12 hours or more online. Sure, theonion.com is
great, but don’t they have classes?
This week’s question
What has been the single most satisfying aspect ofyour education
at the University of Oregon?
The choices:
Professors and curriculum
Extracurricular activities
Earninga degree
There is no satisfying aspect
ODE responds
to cartoon controversy
Our editorial cartoon that ran in
the Feb. 9 issue (“The evolution of
the redskin in America”), sparked
several angry and concerned re
sponses from readers, directed ei
ther at the Emerald or at the car
toonist, Frank Silva.
While the individual reactions
are respected, I feel as though there
was some misinterpretation of the
cartoon’s point. The images depict
ed were not intended to debase Na
tive Americans, but instead to pro
voke outrage that the term
“redskin” still survives in today’s
lexicon.
The Emerald’s editorial editor,
Michael Kleckner, and I approved
the cartoon for publication, believ
ing that its harsh reality would
make people think about how little
the white-dominated culture has
progressed in eliminating this de
grading term. We apologize if that
commentary was not made clear.
The cartoonist also wished to re
spond to those hurt or offended by
his work, and those comments are
printed below.
Jack Clifford, Emerald editor in chief
Racial insensitivity and the rights
of indigenous peoples are issues I
care deeply about. The point of my
cartoon on Feb. 9 was to bring to
light the history of a word as insensi
tive and derogatory as any in the
English language. The cartoon was
also meant to stimulate awareness
among readers of the repulsiveness
of the fact that pop culture celebrates
and markets this utterly insulting
slur in the form of a mascot for the
nation’s capital’s professional foot
ball team (the last team to desegre
gate, I might add). I hope the cartoon
has inspired a healthy discussion re
garding this insensitive hangover of
the 20th century. What do you think?
Please send comments to ftb@glad
stone.uoregon.edu.
CORRECTION
The article “PFC debates Emerald, Philosophy club budgets—again" [ODE, Feb. 9]
misstated the amount of annual fund raising generated by the Emerald. The dollar
amount should have been approximately $800,000.
The Emerald regrets the error.