Tuesday
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
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Would you like to I
diploma?
Fee debate ignores tyrannical minority
Guest Commentary
William
Beutler
I applaud the Emerald for sponsor
ing a debate on the legitimacy of
the student incidental fee, espe
cially on the eve of another elec
tion season in which OSPIRG is asking
for another outrageous sum of money.
However, there are many faults of the
pro-fee argument that anti-fee Lisa
Marie Catto didn’t have the space to
explain in her excellent Feb. 7 com
mentary (“Money down the drain”).
In the counterpoint Feb. 9 column
(“Free speech is for everyone”), pro-fee
Jessica Blanchard cites Alexis de Toc
queville’s fear of the “tyranny of the
majority” in justifying incidental fees
— if the majority doesn’t want to pay
for it, those voices will be silent, she ar
gues. However, she misses an obvious
point: A majority isn’t necessary for
students to participate in programs,
just enough support that individual
students will contribute their own time
and money. The majority need not be
disturbed.
Secondly, Blanchard should consid
er another tyranny: “of the minority,”
about which James Madison warned in
the Federalist 10. (Of course, he was in
favor of a limited
government, a
virtue all but lost
in today’s society.)
Just as Madison
feared that a nu
merically insignif
icant faction could
wrest political
control from the
masses, the ASUO
is controlled by a
small faction of
liberal resume-padding policy wonks
play-acting at small government — and
not a few of us find this offensive.
Why should you subsidize their ex
tracurricular activities? Do they subsi
dize your Friday afternoons at Ren
nie’s? When student leaders extol the
virtues of “student control over stu
dent fees,” what they are really cele
brating is their right to control your
money.
ASUO leaders are well known for
complaining about rising tuition, but
rarely will they admit that it is their bu
reaucratic microcosm that makes it so
much more expensive to attend the
University. Students here pay $500 per
year in incidental fees — no trivial
matter when you consider that stu
dents at Lane Community College pay
one-twentieth of that per annum.
Students should be able to attend
this university without a tyrannical
minority confiscating their money and
being told it’s in their best interest.
How do they know what your best in
terest is?
James Madison believed that a gov
ernment was legitimate so long as it
had the “consent of the governed.” Do
they have your consent?
William Beutler is the editor-in-chief of the Ore
gon Commentator.
SCRIBBLES OF
SANITY
JAYNA BERGERSON
Higher education is like ordering fast food.
“Hi! Welcome to University of Oregon,” says
the cherry-cheeked girl behind the counter.
“What can I get for you today?”
“I would like ... um, a number three.”
“OK,” she responds, her face painted into a perma-smile.
“One business degree. Would you like some music or jour
nalism to go with that?”
“Nah. But I think I will take some law.”
“A business degree with a side of law,” she says as her
fingers dance over the computer keys.
“That will be $22,456.”
“Does that include books?”
“No, but they can help you at the
next window if you would like to buy
them now.” She hands you a piece of
paper.
You shake your head and try to make
sense of the jumble of numbers scream
ing up at you from the page. The peo
ple behind you are fidgeting and mov
ing closer to you, as if willing you to
move faster. Must make a quick deci
sion. You sign your name. She snatches the paper back and
quickly files it in the gray file cabinet behind her.
Then she shouts, “NEXT!”
At the next window you get your books, which cleans
out your savings account at the same time. You sit down in
an uncomfortable plastic chair and study. You wade
through the material, and when you finally finish the last
chapter of the last book, you go and stand by the counter
waiting for your order. A man in thick bifocal glasses pops
up behind the counter, shakes your hand and hands you a
red plastic tray with a piece of paper on it.
That’s it. You have what you ordered. Now what?
A cheery blond sits behind the counter. She is with an
other customer so you have to wait for 15 minutes. Finally
she glances in your direction.
You ask, “What I am supposed to do with this?”
“Hang it on your wall.” She smiles, showing off a dimple
in her left cheek as she turns to her next customer.
The explanation is simple. Universities take way too
much credit. They argue with each other over which
school is better and spend a fortune on goofy ads to attract
“customers,” when the truth is, one college is pretty much
the same as any other college. Just as McDonald’s is basi
cally like Burger King. Some people like McDonald’s better.
They think there’s a difference, when really, it’s all a matter
of personal preference. You create the difference between
the two competitors.
It’s the same for college. College takes care of the paper
and the administration to get you that degree with your
name on it. You just tell them what you want to study and
they provide the products to help you educate yourself.
The college is good or bad according to you, not them.
They have nothing to do with it, other than acting as a sup
plier. A college doesn’t get you experience. You must find
your internships and careers. It doesn’t provide friends.
You have to find them, too.
You do all the hard work, and you pay for it. And you get
what you pay for. If it’s a bargain, expect trade-offs such as
overcrowding (because everyone likes a bargain) and less
staff to assist you.
College does differ from McDonald’s in one very impor
tant respect: McDonald’s is cheaper.
Jayna Bergerson is a columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald. Her views
do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. She can be reached
at bjay@gladstone.uoregon.edu. .