Letters to the editor
Emerald’s coverage lacking
I was very disappointed with the
Oregon Daily Emerald’s coverage of
Eugene’s Election Forum ( “Forum
fails to clarify plans,” March 12).
The article implies the majority of
citizens at the forum were con
cerned only with the complexity of
the alternatives offered. This is sim
ply inaccurate. The “journalist”
covering the forum was either bi
ased or left early.
Five of the first six citizens did
speak about complexity, but by the
end of the meeting the majority of
citizens spoke in favor of change.
Furthermore, one of the latter
speakers pointed out that most (if
not all) citizens speaking against
change were from one organization
— the Chamber of Commerce. The
Chamber of Commerce supporting
the status quo? What a shock.
At the end of the forum, a mock
vote was held to see which option
those in attendance favored (includ
ing the status quo). Instant run-off
voting with 8 to 10 wards won by an
overwhelming margin. Obviously,
most citizens weren’t concerned
about complexity.
For an accurate portrayal of the
forum, I recommend reading The
Register Guard’s coverage in Sun
day’s paper. Apparently their jour
nalist stayed through more than the
first 20 minutes of the forum.
John W. Herberg
post-baccalaureate student
environmental studies
Killing varsity sports is a
loss for all
I read with interest your article
about the club baseball team
(“Springtime means baseball for
Club Sports,” ODE, March 9). Of
particular interest was the synopsis
of varsity sports eliminated at the
University of Oregon.
To begin with, baseball as a varsity
sport was actually dropped prior to
1981, in 1979. Men's gymnastics was
dropped a year or so earlier. On the
other hand, women’s gymnastics was
dropped in 1986, along with men's
and women's swimming.
At that time, in order to remain in
compliance with Title IX, women's
golf became a varsity sport. All these
instances of sport elimination were
due, in part, to attempts by athletic di
rectors to persuade the Oregon State
Legislature to fund, on some level, in
tercollegiate athletics at the Univer
sity of Oregon. In each instance, the
bluff was called, resulting in a loss for
the athletic community.
Dan Cole
men's and women's swimming
coach, '81- '86
Markstrom
continued from page 2
don’t settle for routines.
This isn’t just a sing-song, let’s feel good about each
other and sing “Cum Ba Yah” thing, either. I am much
more marketable as a journalist than many of my peers
simply because I am adaptable, open and relatively
fearless. And I can talk about race.
But I didn’t develop that overnight—it was a con
scious, even academic decision. It’s the future, and
though there will still be a place for backward people
who believe white men should run everything, the old
boys’ networks are slowly dying.
I’m not worried about myself in terms of employ
ment. I’ve got an internship at The Oregonian for
spring term, and at the end of March I have an inter
view for the L. A. Times’ two-year program that I men
tioned above.
What I’d like to see in my career is a day when mi
nority reporters are not expected to be the only source
of “minority affairs” information in a newsroom. I’d
like to live to work in an environment where minori
ties are not constantly feeling as though they have to
assert their credibility or battle off people who would
rather see them with aprons and dustpans than with
notepads and bylines.
I know I am going to have to bite my tongue and
choose my battles. To some degree I will have to
shove aside my beliefs to just “get along” in the
workplace. We all know silence is certainly not go
ing to move us any closer to understanding, but there
is a place for civility. For as long as I’ve lived I’ve had
to bend to accommodate white people and their val
ues. Though sometimes it’s a pain and I just want to
scream at people, I am grateful for the perspective it
has given me.
I’d challenge all students to try to think about
where others are coming from — every day and not
just for a class.
It’s a lofty dream to believe I won’t ever be mistak
en for a maid again, but I can hope that Ducks won’t
be the ones making the mistake.
Serena Markstrom is the freelance editor for the Emerald for two
more days. Her views do not necessarily represent those of the
Emerald. She can be reached at aneres@gladstone.uoregon.edu.
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