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
WE think, .
what YOU think
The term is almost over. The Emerald
editorial board has finals and books
to buy and classes to think about at
tending.
Additionally, we have pissed off just about
everybody at least once this year. We can’t
possibly make you all happy, but we’ll offer
you something.
If you have ever disagreed with us, thought
we were stupid or wished you could write
the editorials, here’s your chance to make our
opinions be your opinions.
Fill in the spaces below with your own val
ue statements and prejudicial judgments. To
keep you inspired, we’ve included some
helpful words and phrases- along the way. If
you get anything good, send it to us. We’ll
have a laugh, and we may even print the
good ones someday. Best wishes!
_Emerald ed
itorial_board_
diversity.
marginalized
Greeks
Survival_Center
every_voice
incidental_fee.
_new_paradigm_
_Eugene_Police.
Department_
privilege.
white
_Worker Rights_Consor
tium_
revitaliza
tion
Multicultural
Center
_repair_relations_
_ASUO_president_Jay_
Breslow
_corporate_influence
_equal_access_
_rape_culture_
activism.
Letters to the editor
OSPIRG funding not
a partisan issue
A recent letter, urging support for
OSPIRG (“Vote yes for the environ
ment,” ODE, March 7), stated:
“Don’t let the campus right-wing
muddle the argument.”
The “right-wing?” Since when is
the funding of OSPIRG a partisan is
sue?
Do I consider myself a liberal?
Yes. Do I think environmental is
sues are important? Absolutely. Do I
support OSPIRG? Of course not.
My non-support of OSPIRG is
based not on the causes they en
dorse, but rather on the fact that
they use incidental fees to run a
“volunteer” organization.
Let those who choose to support
OSPIRG donate their own money,
and let the rest of us give what we
choose to other, worthy organiza
tions.
Don’t let OSPIRG muddle the ar
gument: This is a funding issue, not
a partisan issue.
Katie Bour
senior
Japanese
cemed, I had people approaching me
that I had never met, telling me that
they want to file a grievance, write a
testimonial letter or anything else
that would bring this event to light. I
told them not to do so.
No one wanted grievances to stay
out of this election more than I did,
but when someone gains direct ac
cess to a thousand-plus voters that I
had no contact with by so clearly
breaking equal-access rules, a line
must be drawn.
EricJ. Bailey
ASUO Senate vice president
ASUO Executive candidate
sophomore
undeclared
Financial choices belong to
students
When someone comes to my
door asking for donations for a
good cause, I tell him or her no —
not because I don’t believe it’s an
effort worth fighting for, but be
cause I simply can’t afford it.
I am a college student. Ten dol
lars to me is quarters for laundry,
my half of the phone bill, a night
out at Rennie’s, etc. If an OSPIRG
representative came up to me on
campus and asked for $10 right
then and there, I’d give the same
answer as the vast majority of the
student body — no.
I don’t know where my money’s
going, and since OSPIRG does not
have any accountability, there’s
just as good a chance it will get
lost in bureaucratic paperwork as
it will help the environment.
That’s not a chance I’m willing to
take, just like I wouldn’t take the
chance with someone who came to
my door or called my home.
Voting yes on OSPIRG elimi
nates the option to spend my $10
on something I need and every
other student’s $10 on something
they need. When I want to help
clean our rivers or stop pollution,
I’ll do it myself. I’ll donate my free
time and my free energy because
I’m young and healthy, so I can.
But it is my choice; I will make
that decision on my own. I do not
want OSPIRG making it for me.
Amber Plaunty
sophomore
. artrfedai'ed
Leftfield
Frank Silva
Carlson’s letter unfair
Brian Carlson’s letter to the editor
(“Bailey makes empty promises,”
ODE, March 8) was an attack on my
character. It was based on false infor
mation and is politically motivated.
First of all, Brian says that my
running mate and I are resident as
sistants. Neither of us are RAs, nor
have ever been.
Brian also attacked my campaign,
saying that I pledged, while visiting
Kappa Delta, to immunize all stu
dents here for meningococcal
meningitis and that this was a
shameless attempt to gain votes. I
live in Cloran Hall, and I knew Jill
[Dieringer] quite well. What I said
at Kappa Delta was that I’d advocate
for immunization against this dis
ease. I’ll fight for a statewide law
that would require entering fresh
men to get the vaccine. And this is
not some empty campaign promise,
this is something close to my heart
that I would fight for immediately.
Many schools on the East Coast al
ready require this vaccine.
As far as the grievance against Bret
[Jacobson}]'2n*d Mhtt‘[C5bkn§'hhfl
Board’s policy a mistake
I agree with Michael J. Kleckner
(“State board proves money con
quers all,” ODE, March 7). I am on
the state Board of Higher Educa
tion, and I’m upset with the way
the board handled this issue.
Upset or not, our challenge now
is not to get discouraged but rather
focus that energy on proving how
wrong this policy is. I felt the way
this policy was presented to the
board was misleading and the poli
cy itself too restrictive on campus
based and board prerogatives.
I was outnumbered 10 to 1 in my
opinion and my vote on this, unfor
tunately. But in doing business,
there are bound to be other con
cerns for an institution of higher
learning besides a given organiza
tion’s ability to deliver a product or
service to that institution.
Labor isn’t the only issue here,
although it is an important one.
What are some other issues you can
think of that would be restricted by
this policy? Please e-mail me and
check out our Web site,
www.ous.edu, to get contact infor
mation for the other board mem
bers if you are interested.
Tim Young
junior
political science
member of Oregon State Board of
Higher Education
Vote Shine for LCC Board
The ballots are out! I intend to
cast my vote for Dennis Shine,
who has No. 11 on this year’s bal
lot and is my favorite candidate for
the Zone 3 position on the LCC
Board.
Why? He was endorsed by The
Register-Guard in its March 1 edi
tion. He has the endorsement of
the Faculty Union of LCC and the
Associated Students of LCC. He
has been endorsed by State Sena
tor Lee Beyer; State Reps. Vicki
Walker, Bill Morrissette and Al
King; County Commissioners Bill
Dwyer, Bobby Green and Peter
Sorenson; and Springfield Council
Member Christine Lundberg.
Shine has also been endorsed by
Gene Heinle, former principal of
Springfield High School; Jennifer
Heiss, a longtime member of the
Springfield School Board; Larry
Romine and James Britt, both for
mer LCC board members. He has
even been endorsed by Jason
Davies, the third candidate for this
position who is throwing his sup
port to Shine.
Why are all these people endors
ing Shine? As The Register-Guard
stated in its endorsement of March
1: “Shine represents the kind of
fresh face the LCC Board needs. In
background and interests, he offers
a compelling potential to help
jump start what many, both on and
off campus, see as a board in need
of new ideas. With a nod to Wheel
er’s service, LCC voters should
elect Dennis Shine.”
Please join me in voting for Den
nis Shine, No. 11 on your ballot, for
the Zone 3 position on the LCC
Board.
Elaine Hayes
• ..* * * • * * * • • -Springfield