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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 11, 2001)
Wednesday 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 "WASTE ofspace The controversial urinal screens from three and a half years ago showed up briefly again last week, at least in the men’s bathroom by the EMU Ballroom. The screens are an old issue, and they only popped up briefly, but they’re worth a mention. The screens Eire printed with a message smiling out at you from the urinal: “You hold the power to stop rape in your hand. ” No one is sure who put the screens in the bathroom last week, as the University stopped using them a couple of years ago when they proved unpopular. The Emerald editorial board can un derstand why the screens created a ruckus. They were inappropri ate, and we’re glad they’re gone. To begin with, the bathroom is neither the time nor the place for “raising awareness.” When uri nating, men are generally zoning off. Post issue messages on bul letin boards—right outside bath rooms, if you wish. But leave the toilet as one place safe from propa ganda (except for those graffiti artists who love “grout” so much). Perhaps the idea of the screens sounded like a cute and clever way to bring attention to a very im portant issue. Rape and “rape cul ture” needs more attention, and more men need to be involved in helping to dispel the atmosphere of objectification and sanctioned violence against women. But honestly, a “cute” or “clever” approach is incredibly insensitive in this case. I can’t imagine that women’s groups want men to be having a little chuckle as they contemplate rape. And if all men need to be involved in stopping rape, they’ll have to be involved with more than just their penises. We imagine they’ll have to use their brains, too. Further, we agree that all men need to be involved in the effort to eliminate society’s negligent ac ceptance of belittling images and stereotypes of women. But the mes sage on the urinal screens doesn’t address men’s role in stopping sex ist comments in the work place or deconstructing vio lent imagery involving women. The message is quite clearly saying that all men may be rapists. If that’s the not the case, then ex plain this: How does a non rapist man have the power to stop society’s mistreat ment of women with his pe nis? As a final note, with a nod to grammarians every where, we would like to point out that the message on the screens contains a ridiculous misplaced prepositional phrase. “Rape in your hand” is an impossible scenario. The sentence should have read, “You hold in your hand the power to stop rape. ” This is a college, after all. This editorial represents the opin ion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu. Giovanni Saiimena Emerald Legislature shouldn’t mess with university curriculum State Rep. Betsy Close recently intro duced three bills in the Qregon House she claims will protect “student aca demic freedom.” The bills are de signed to allow students to opt out of re quired classes if they find the course material objectionable or if the material doesn’t relate to their major. This is a scary proposition that threatens the integrity of higher education, and the bills must be stopped. Close, a Republican from Albany, said her idea came from a case at Southern Oregon University. A freshman there, enrolled in the required core colloquium, was offended by some of Karl Marx’s writings and a depic tion of rape. Under Close’s main bill, the stu dent would have been able to either do dif ferent coursework or not take the class. But how would the student have known the ma terial was offensive without reading it? Per haps the student’s parents were aware of the potentially offensive material in advance. No matter how one identifies ideas one doesn’t like, the notion that a student, or the Legislature, should be allowed to determine what constitutes a college education is frightening. The possibilities for abuse and extremism are endless. A fundamentalist might object to any mate rial that doesn’t promote a Christian God as the sole creator of the universe. That could rule out philosophy, literature and science. A Krishna devotee or Taoist adherent could find the promotion of capitalism, economics and Western history morally offensive. The point here is that the value of a public college education comes from learning about a vast panorama of ideas. This is not a private school, where the administration and teachers can promote only one set of be liefs about the world. A public degree means something because it implies a well-round ed individual who knows a little about a lot of subjects and a lot about one or two areas of study. Close would like to eliminate the value of our universities and allow students to pick and choose what’s OK for them to learn. One of her bills would allow students to opt out of classes not relating closely to their major. Wait one moment: That’s the point of col lege! If students want to take a narrow selec tion of courses all designed to train them in one field, they are free to go to trade or tech nical schools. A liberal arts education man dates courses outside one’s major on pur pose. The bottom line is this: The Legislature doesn’t need to be meddling with the state’s university curriculum. It’s micro-manage ment, it’s bad politics and it’s an offensive idea. Close’s bill is currently sitting in a House subcommittee. Legislators should let it die there. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to ode@ore gon.uoregon.edu. Letters to the editor Bret and Matt will re-energize the ASUO Before my roommate Bret Jacobson began his campaign for ASUO Executive, I didn’t care about student government. I didn’t know what student government really does. Although I’ve only helped place posters on campus, I’ve real ized during this election how vital the ASUO is — and can be — to students. I’ve also seen how hard Jacobson and his running mate Matt Cook will work so everyone realizes what stu dent government can do for them. In this year, I’ve never seen them so excited or dedicated. The ASUO goes beyond giving student fees to other groups. It’s the starting place for new campus ideas. But as past presidents can attest, it’s crucial that the president bring more voices in and make people outside of student groups interested in what happens in government. I like that Jacobson and Cook have a handful of specific ideas that will start bridging gaps among student groups. But most importantly, I think his enthusiasm can rub off on other stu dents like me and they will care for the first time about what happens in the ASUO office because they will see how it affects their experi ences at the University. I just have to live with the guy. I don’t have to like what he does. But Jacobson and Cook’s ideas and specific campaign plans have ener gized me about student government. And if elected, I believe they will actually—finally — take the first steps to connect the ASUO with the larger campus community. John Erickson senior business administration Kyoto Treaty decision shows importance of OSPIRG More than 100 industrialized nations have joined together to slow global warming. These countries signed the Kyoto Treaty, which seeks to lower the world average output of carbon dioxide by 5.2 percent. This seems like a positive, reasonable and achievable goal. That’s because it is. Our nation’s president disagrees. President Bush refused to sign the Kyoto Treaty despite urgings from Britain, Germany, Italy and others. Bush claims he won’t do any thing to hurt the U.S. economy. Where was he when NAFTA sent millions of jobs across our borders? Oh yeah, Texas. The point is, keep ing rich people rich is the name of the game, and the environment makes little difference. America produces 25 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, yet our president refuses to join international efforts to ensure a future for the future. Many Native American cultures believe that one should consider the impact of decisions for seven generations. Maybe Bush could start with an easier num ber — like two. In fairness, Bush has a valid gripe with the treaty. He claims it’s not fair because develop ing countries don’t have to comply. To be tru ly fair, other countries should be granted the same head start we had before taking respon sibility for pollution, right? At any rate, we come off as arrogant and self ish to the rest of the world. Situations like this emphasize the importance of watch-dog groups such as OSPIRG. Vote yes and support an or ganization that fights the degradation of our earth. J.J. Burkart senior journalism CONTACT US! The Oregon Oaily Emerald welcomes and will attempt to print all letters on topics of interest to the University community. Letters are limited to 250 words. The Emerald may edit any letter for length, clarity, grammar, style and li bel. Letters can be mailed, dropped off at EMU Suite 300, or e-mailed to the addresses at the top of the page. Also, please feel free to give your feedback to any individual story or column directly at our Web site www.dailyemerald.com. Feedback comments may appear in print at our discretion. Keep in touch!
