Friday 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 Shooby Dooby Doo, WHERE ARE YOU? Well, the ASUO elections finally devolved into pettiness and the Emerald editorial board sat around lamenting this situa tion recently. Grievances about posters (peo ple took down other people’s posters — who could have imagined?) coupled with seem ingly inane and overly specific postering rules left a bad taste in our mouths. What happened to the issues in the last few days of the election? We decided a few gin and tonics would wash away the unpleasant flavor of recent election events. As we reclined leisurely in our lush and luxuriously appointed offices, engaging each other in intellectual dis course about the election situation, we sipped our drinks and enjoyed hot-oil mas sages from well-built masseurs and masseuses. Our discussion was going nowhere, so we did what we always do at edit board meet ings: We turned on our 120” projection TV to ease our minds. (Thanks to a recent budget cut from the Programs Finance Committee, we had to get rid of our in-house movie the ater.) Lo and behold, our favorite cartoon, Shoo bv Doo, was on, and our intrepid mystery solving characters were in the process of solving the ASUO Election Poster Mystery! We were excited, so another round of drinks was prepared and we sat back to watch the action unfold. Letters to the editor Two dynamic women for ASUO Nilda Brooklyn and Joy Nair are the most qualified candidates to lead the ASUO in governing the University of Oregon student body. The experience of these two dynamic young women far outdistances their compe tition’s, while both maintain an element of humanity that allows them to be approach able. I have had the privilege of working side by-side with these two during the OSCC racial profiling Week of Action and found it refreshing to converse with candidates whose contact with student groups did not come only during their election bid. They know the inner workings and technical as pects of presiding over the student body and the ASUO, but realize that communication and human interaction are the best tools for solving the problems that confront the stu dent body. No candidate represents the entire student body, but the two on the 2001-2002 presi dential ticket who are willing to listen and act on the concerns of the students, in addi tion to asserting a strong personal position, are Nilda Brooklyn and Joy Nair. Dylan Domaille , ... r freshmaq undeclared Giovanni Salimena Emerald Shooby, Skaggy, Tad, Daphnia and Thel ma hop into their Mystery Van with a bunch of groovy paraphernalia and speed off into the distance. When our heroes arrive at the University, Skaggy and Shooby jump out, eager to get to work on the mystery. The other three crime fighters promptly disappear to “look for clues,” which really means engaging in pri vate fun in the van. Skaggy and Shooby head off across cam pus, eager to spot postering-rule violations. They don’t find much during the day be sides Frisbee players and some tasty tofu. As evening settles in, Skaggy and Shooby eat a few “Shooby-dooby snacks” and start feeling pretty mellow. While walking along 13th Avenue, however, they see a shadowy figure pulling posters off a bulletin board. The shadowy figure frightens our dynamic duo, so they run about crazily for a few Min utes. ;\V When they regain their composure, Skah gy notices a puddle of drool near the bulletin board. As they check other locations, they \ find more drool, and they realize that some OUS policy incoherent The recent OUS policy requiring the Uni versity to conduct business in a “straightfor ward and impartial manner” seems to have created unwarranted fatalism among the me dia and some activists with respect to the University’s membership in the WRC. I disagree with the notion that the new OUS policy necessarily ends conduct codes and the University's affiliation with monitor ing groups. The OUS policy states that the University and other schools can refuse busi ness with contractors engaged in illegal ac tivities. This may preclude cracking down on multinational corporations that do not pay a living wage, have unsafe working con ditions and/or engage in union-busting ac tivities. However, the University may still hold businesses accountable for not complying with the laws of the countries in which they produce (no matter how weak these laws are). As such, a monitoring organization would be highly consistent with the OUS’s new policy, even if it means watered-down conduct codes and accountability standards. Of course, it is also worth noting that the new OUS policy is logically incoherent: It simply compels universities to conduct busi ness in a different, thinly-veiled political manner. Max Brown GTF political science one has removed every single Bailey-and Oliver poster from campus. Egads! Near midnight, they see a large, shadowy figure tacking 65 OSPIRG posters to one tee ny-tiny bulletin board in PLC. Skaggy and Shooby go running to catch the law-breaker, but it ambles away. It appears to be a mon strously large wraith with horrible fangs and a hooded face, drooling profusely. What — or who—could it be? In the morning, the University is in an up roar. Someone has slid Bret-and-Matt posters under the door of every “dorm” room, classroom and faculty office on cam pus! Running on absolutely no sleep, the ASUO Elections Board braces for another long evening of grievance hearings. To make matters worse, it’s discovered in the afternoon that someone has used every office phone on campus to make calls for Nilda and Joy. What to do? Multiple griev ances are filed; so many that the young, crack reporter for the Oregon Daily Demerol can’t keep up. So many stories to write! Skaggy and Shooby are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. While snoop ing around Johnson Hall for leftover rice and veggies from last year’s camp-out, our heroes discover a bucket of fake drool stashed in the bushes near University President Dave Frohnmayer’s vehicle. Inspired, they rush into Frohnmayer’s of fice. Tad, Daphnia and Thelma are already there, as usual. While taking a whiz in the bushes after “looking for clues,” Tad discov ered the bucket of fake drool. Sure enough, Frohnmayer had been using it, along with his wraith,costume and fake teeth, to trick ' r • * everyone. “All I wanted was a little respect,” Frohn mayer cries. “Does anyone respect my au thority? No, and I’m the darn president! So I decided to get back at all you bratty kids and ruin your elections. That would have com pletely destroyed campus democracy and left the University under my total control. Ha ha ha ha!” ‘It’s a good thing we stopped you,” Skaggy says, kind of dazed. “Yup,” Shooby agrees, and eats another pawful of Shooby-dooby snacks. Frohnmayer is led away by the Elections Board in handcuffs, looking terribly defeat ed. “I would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling kids. ” As we turn off the TV and try to decide how best to show our dissatisfaction with the grievance nonsense, we discover we’re out of gin. The meeting’s adjourned, and we all flee the building with no idea of what to write, except the following: Remember to vote next week in the ASUO general election. Voting is available on Duck Web 24 hours a day from Monday through Thursday. Disclaimer: The above scenario is completely ficti tious from beginning to end, except for the idea that there was an Emerald editorial board meeting and that last bit about voting next week. Expect a more serious tone for our next editorial, after we’re done “looking for dues." This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to ode@ore gon.uoregon.edu. Leftfield Frank Silva