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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 2001)
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 It’s sunny and it’s warm and students are playing everywhere. What’s more, students are playing in the EMU Am phitheater. The Emerald editorial board is super-stoked that the amphithe ater is being used in a fun, engaged way. Part of the credit goes to the weather, of course. If it were raining and cold, no amount of exciting activities (not even Woody Harrelson) would fill the am phitheater with students interacting. But this week, it hasn’t just been the weather bringing students to this central point of campus to gather, laugh and study. Some credit is also due to the ASUO Programs Faire, which has stu dents stopping to talk about ways they can be active in extracurricular activities. An additional heaping of congratula tions goes to the ASUO Street Faire, which has organized a talented line-up of musicians to entertain us all. Thanks to groups such as On the Rocks — which sounded great and drew almost as many people Wednesday as Harrelson did last Friday — the Emerald office has been filled with tunes and students can study in the amphitheater with musical accom paniment. > We have been most impressed this week, though, with the International Stu dents Association. This week was Interna tional Week, and the students involved in putting the events together have shown amazing spirit. According to the Office of International Education and Exchange, there are cur rently 1,626 international students at the University, representing 91 countries. This wide range of culture has caused the University to be “ranked number one in the United States among public universi ties in international student enrollment” relative to its size, according to the Office of Communications Web site. These stu dents seem to be overflowing with energy and enthusiasm to share their culture and heritage with others. And they seem to be having a lot of fun while doing it. On Monday, the ISA kicked off Interna tional Week with a parade ending at a ral ly in the amphitheater. They were shout ing and joyful while announcing the week’s events. When it started to rain, they invited students under the tent to dance and stay dry. On Tuesday, students were teaching others to dance the salsa. There were students participating, stu dents watching and students just enjoying the atmosphere. Thursday saw an amaz ing African dance and drum presentation which again filled the amphitheater and electrified the audience. Today, World Fo rum day events kick off at 2 p.m., and there’s sure to be something fun going on. Yes, it’s sunny, so students naturally hang out outdoors. But the feeling of en gagement, of interest and of the amphithe ater being the center of campus life hasn’t been this strong all year. So to the ASUO, the bands that played and the ISA, we of fer congratulations and thanks for a great week. This editorial represents the opinion of the Emer ald editorial board. Responses can be sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu. Letters to the editor Thank a campus worker today After reading a letter to the editor (“Janitors are human beings first,” ODE, April 26), I am quite appalled at how this campus treats its work ers. Without the classified staff, this campus could not function for more than a day. Yet students and the administration still treat them with an incredible amount of disre spect. The instance recounted in the letter, coupled with how the ad ministration deals with them at the bargaining table, shows this quite clearly. This is classism, pure and simple. It seems everyone is quick to denounce sexism and racism on campus, yet nobody seems to be willing to look down their up turned noses and accept workers as people. Make no mistake: Almost every one on campus will be workers someday. Probably, you already are. I personally think that everyone should try to thank at least one campus worker today. The Silent Action that the Oregon Public Em ployee’s Union is having on the steps of Johnson Hall today is a per fect opportunity. Randy Newnham senior anthropology/linguistics Ad supplement has its uses I want to assure the staff of the Emerald, as well as the student body, that “lovematters.com” (an advertising supplement in the ODE, April 24) does in fact serve a ‘ ’ ‘purpose'. T have" pla'cfed’it‘ih my backpack just in case I’m ever in a public restroom and I run out of toi let paper. Granted, the magazine won’t be as comfortable as regular toilet pa per, but in the end it will end up in the right place: the Eugene sewer system. lovematters.com needs to wake up. Publishing ridiculous propa ganda won’t change minds. In fact, this reduces the “pro-life” move ment to a proverbial mosquito, buzzing around the head of reason. What kind of rational person would believe that a woman pregnant with a male baby loses ownership of her own body? How can love matters.com justify saying that a woman who is impregnated while being raped has a moral obligation to have the baby, even if she isn’t ready to be a mother? Should that child be submitted to a life with the knowledge that he or she was con ceived as a result of sexual assault? If these people want to change minds, can’t they do it with a little more logic? The only people who would read this magazine with any sense of seriousness are people who already hold “pro-life” beliefs. Everybody else, as I witnessed Tuesday, is either laughing at the pure idiocy of it or tossing it. Jan Montry freshman computer science Mark Baker displayed ignorance proudly The depth of white privilege and complacency on this campus never ceases to embarrass me. Mark Bak er’s self-serving linguistic tirade “correcting” Prof. Coleman’s objec tion to the use of the term “a coon’s age” last Friday (“Coon is short for ‘raccoon’,” ODE, April 20) is a prime example. Why would you consider it appropriate to mock someone for objecting to racial slurs? If you were African-American, you would have known better. If you were ignorant, you could have appreciated the information. If you are deeply invested in your white privilege you might have said — as you did — “Oh, please.” The future of this nation depends on our collective ability to end dis crimination. Do not be so proud to be so ignorant. jane Robin senior English/ethnic studies Thanks for a great campaign I would like to thank everyone who helped my and Jeff Oliver’s campaign for ASUO Executive. Countless hours of volunteer help contributed to my campaign’s visi bility and viability. Two people who went well above and beyond the call of duty, however, are Jen Ames and Mindi Rice. These two amazing people did all that was asked of them and more on their own. And while Jen was already one of my best friends before, Mindi became one of my best friends over the course of the campaign. You two are simply wonderful. Now, that’s not to say that every one else who helped‘out With my campaign isn’t wonderful... they all are! I can never say “thanks” enough to everyone who helped me. I would also like to thank a few other good friends of mine who helped with my campaign: David Christensen, Brandi Church and Curtis Buell. Much like Jen Ames and Mindi Rice, these three kind, wonderful people campaigned more than could/should be ever asked of someone. These five to gether, and everyone else who helped are the reasons why I can look back on my campaign with positive thoughts and memories despite the fact that we lost and had to go through some political strain. I made a lot of friends, we all had some laughs and our campaign was one for positive change. Thanks to everyone and I’m sure I’ll say it again to all of you in person very soon. Eric Bailey sophomore major ASUO Senate vice president Leftfield Frank Silva
