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
Gerta Unger: Bom in Berlin,
died at Auschwitz
MICHAEL J. KLECKNER
Today in the sunshine,
amid the laughs and
conversation of stu
dents outside the
EMU, it’s difficult to hear the
Holocaust Readings. The
names, places of birth and
places of death get lost in the
swirl of active, vibrant life.
Last night at half-past mid
night, as I left the EMU, that
was not the case. The deep
voice of a male reader ripped
into the fabric of night. It
seemed like an image from a
dream; no one was around,
and only the buildings and I
were absorbing the names of
Holocaust victims. It almost
seemed like an image from
Nazi Germany, where official
sounding proclamations ring
out from a PA, breaking the
moist stillness of the air. The
names rang out again and
again, coming slowly enough
to hear, but so fast they
seemed to blur together, as
though there weren’t any spe
cific individuals but just a
mass of humanity.
The Holocaust victims were
specific individuals, though,
and they each died a very spe
cific death. The movement of
time must be what renders the
readings so hyper-real to me.
Enough years have passed and
enough movies and TV shows
have been made that hearing
the names read seems like an
archetypal experience — su
per surreal and yet devastat
ingly personal.
A few tears rolled down my
face as I stood transfixed, lis
tening to the continuous
recitation, family member af
ter family member. So many
people that sometimes the
same name is repeated three
or four times. But they were
each an individual, worthy of
dignity and respect.
Every year when I hear the
reading of the names, I realize
the paramount importance of
the event; we must never for
get. The deaths happened in
the early 1940s. Sixty years is
a long time, and today’s fresh
men probably have little more
than a token understanding of
the Holocaust. I remember
that my own first visceral ex
perience with it was reading
Elie Weisel in high school in
the late 1980s. It might be
more poetic to say that my ex
perience was immediate, that
my grandfather escaped from,
or died in a concentration
camp, and that’s why I can re
late to this. But I can’t because
he didn’t.
My own visceral relation to
the injustice of human oppres
sion is more recent. I am gay,
and I have had enough experi
ences with intimidation and
discrimination to know the
feeling of being singled out for
no rational reason. Obviously
I have no idea what it’s like to
be enslaved or to have my en
tire family murdered because
of race. The University, and
Eugene as a whole, is general
ly very tolerant of my sexuali
ty, and I never really feel the
fear I occasionally experi
enced in New York and San
Francisco. But last night, after
hearing the names and think
ing of the Holocaust, I looked
anxiously over my shoulder at
every loud, rowdy car that
passed me on my way home.
That’s the importance, to
me, of the Holocaust Readings
and, in some small way, of -
David Horowitz’s slavery
reparations ad. Sometimes we
need emotionally gripping,
visceral reminders of the evils
that have been perpetrated on
humanity by humanity. Be
cause it’s not over yet, y’all.
All over the world, people
are being captured, tortured,
enslaved and discriminated
against based on race, reli
gion, gender and sexuality.
When members of these very
large segments of humanity
speak out angrily about injus
tices and slights to their caus
es, some people in this com
munity want to brand them
reactionary. Some people say
they are overreacting. Some
people say they should find
more productive ways to ex
press their feelings.
But the kinds of injustices
I’m speaking of are monstrous.
These are systematic denials
of expression, freedom and
humanity, and they often de
mand very visible and very
large demonstrations of out
rage.
We all need to be more sen
sitive to the idea that every
one is not yet treated with
equal respect, and the injus
tices we identify today are not
less significant than those that
have occurred in the past,
even if they aren’t murders
and enslavement. The injus
tices identified today actually
have added weight, because
like the reading of the names,
they emotionally remind us of
all that has come before and of
how far we have yet to go.
Michael J. Kleckner is the editorial
editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald.
His views do not necessarily repre
sent those of the Emerald. He can be
reached at
opededitor@journalist.com.
Giovanni Salimena Emerald
Impact of ads depends
on response of readers
Guest Commentary
AnneL
A paid advertisement this week
/% in the Oregon Daily Emerald
/ % about slavery reparations re
X JLmindsusofthepowerofthe
printed word and the conflicts we
sometimes feel among our commit
ments to freedom of expression, the
marketplace of ideas and the nurturing
of learning and community.
The staff of the Emerald decided to
print this ad, after discussing whether it
might “needlessly offend a significant
portion of... readers. ” They rightfully
anticipated that some of us might find it
offensive, and they have invited us to
debate through the newspaper the deci
sion to print the ad as well as the con
tent of it.
The impact of these ads on our com
munity will depend on the response
that we, as readers, make to them. Some
students tell me the ads are offensive to
them and cause them to feel less safe on
campus. Others tell me that the ad is of
fensive because it is large, disputatious
in tone and content and provides no av
enue for discussion or rebuttal.
If you find it offensive in tone or pos
ture, inaccurate in content, inflamma
tory in rhetoric or suggestion, or disap
pointing in failing our aspirations for
respectful dialogue about controversial
and emotional issues, I encourage you
to speak out. Although the Emerald has
the right to publish this material, you
have the opportunity to read it and if
you find it objectionable, to express
your opinion.
You can marginalize the impact of
these ads by expressing to the Emerald
staff why and how the ad is offensive,
and by challenging the content through
accurately refuting factual information
or inferences that you find unsound or
pejorative. And you can support,
through attendance and sponsorship,
our alternative venues for discussion of
these issues where the dialogue can be
more interactive, more research based
and more intellectually respected.
Anne L. Leavitt is an associate vice president and
dean of students.
Fight political apathy,
let youth in Legislature
hung people’s declining par
ticipation in the political
process should concern all of
Us. That is why I am working
with Oregon Secretary of State Bill
Bradbury to help pass House Joint Res
olution 16. This constitutional amend
ment would allow 18-, 19- and 20-year
old Oregonians to run for the state
Legislature.
Young people are underrepresented
among voters. Thirty percent of the vot
ing-age population in the United States
is between the ages of 18 and 34. Yet
only 20 percent of registered voters fall
into this age group, and only six per
cent of votes in the 1998 primary were
cast by 18- to 34-year-olds. However, in
the 18 states where 18-year-olds can be
candidates, there was a 5 percent high
er turnout in the 1996 election among
18- to 24-year-olds than in the non-18
year-old states in the 1996 election.
This session, the Oregon Legislature
has a unique opportunity to strengthen
the movement to bring young people
into politics by passing HJR16. If
passed, it would refer to the voters an
amendment to the Oregon Constitution
lowering the age requirement for serv
ice in the Legislature to 18.
At age 18, citizens can serve in the
military and make fundamental polit
ical decisions by voting. From Port
land to Grants Pass, Coos Bay to
Pendleton, 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds
can run for school boards and city
councils. Yet unlike the District of Co
lumbia and 17 other states that allow
18-year-old legislators, young people
in Oregon are prevented from serving
as representatives and senators in
Salem. At age 18, Oregonians can run
for state treasurer, secretary of state or
attorney general. Why can’t they run
for the state House or Senate?
Some may question whether those
under 21 have the life experience nec
essary to serve in the Legislature. Age
alone isn’t indicative of ability to han
dle responsibility, and contemporary
politics offers many examples of lead
ers with years of “life experience” per
forming irresponsibly. There are at
least 20 legislators currently serving
across the United States who are under
21. Far from being overwhelmed and
inexperienced, these accomplished
young people work on complicated
legislation, serve on numerous com
mittees and stay abreast of issues affect
ing their constituents. They also bring a
unique perspective that is appreciated
by their fellow representatives.
It is important to remember that the
proposed amendment doesn’t mean
the Legislature will be overrun with 18
year-olds —just like it isn’t full of 21
year-olds right now. Rather, it means
that Oregonians under 21 can legally
run for office, and voters can decide
which candidate is most qualified.
I know of no “magic bullet” for ad
dressing political apathy in youth. The
national “Rock the Vote” campaign
and work by the Oregon Student Asso
ciation to increase youth voting are fa
miliar and successful efforts. But a
younger person running for the Legis
lature powerfully illustrates that young ’
people are important to the political
process. An 18-, 19- or 20-year-old can
didate understands youth issues, and
this will encourage younger people to
vote.
Will the passage of HJR16 solve all
the problems of political disinterest
among younger citizens? Certainly not.
But will it help engage younger Orego
nians, who often feel alienated from
politics? Without a doubt.
C.J. Gabbe is a student senator and a senior
majoring in planning, public policy and
management. ,Y,'» »Y*Y.Y»V* • .V.