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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 11, 2001)
Kleckner continued from page 2 stop Eminem. The problem is, I’ve actually listened to and read all of Eminem’s lyrics. I’ve heard what Eminem says in context, and I think he’s brilliant. He is simultaneously skewering vi cious, violent rap (and it’s accept ance in our society) while he’s per forming it. He at once explodes America’s dark secrets (and its love affair with other people’s dark se crets) and participates in them. He mocks the hypocritical, shallow rock-star system while receiving its blessings. Eminem’s music is much richer than simply gay-bashing or woman-bashing, and people who can’t recognize this are either being stupid or disingenuous. So get over it, left wing. Finally, why can’t the Greek sys tem simply announce all of the val ues it really believes in and be proud of them? Let me say first that I know members of the Greek system, and I have no ill will against them. Many of them are good people .whom I like. But I have problems with hypocritical elements of the system (to be fair, there are other or ganizations on campus that have the Same problems, but none illustrate the point with such clarity). Out of one side of their mouth, fraternities and sororities say they’re about good, clean upstanding Americana. This image is legendary. But then I have personally over heard more than one (but certainly not every) member describe the way Select 2000 is made fun of during drinking parties, and the way vari ous “immoral” vices are considered the norm by some Greek members. I don’t know the names involved, but I spend my waking hours on cam pus, and I listen to interactions. I’ve seen more than one instance where a fraternity or sorority member has looked down on people who don’t embrace extracurricular excess. This image is maybe more legendary (al though perhaps overblown by stereotype). And what further both ers me is that the Greek system can host boxing and gambling events and out-of-control shindigs, but be cause the events are for charity, it’s all OK. Somehow it’s still “clean liv ing.” Pardon me, but that’s a bunch of crap. The members that want to par ty like it’s 1999 should do so openly. The Greek system should decide which values it really endorses and purge the bad apples or accept them all. I mean, I’m all for raising money for charity. I don’t claim to be pure and untainted compared to fraterni ty or sorority members. But at least I accept and embrace what I do. I have pride in my behaviors, because I believe in them and can account for my actions in a moral frame work. I think that’s the real thread tying these items together and the mes sage I’m comfortable leaving you with after this long and fruitful year: Get over it, hypocrites of all persua sions. We won’t have a real, produc tive “culture war” in this country until we all own up to the values we really believe in and the behaviors we act out. That’s part of Eminem’s message, it’s hidden in the way “conversion therapy” zealots want gays to repress their real identities, and I’ve seen it in Greek behavior. Find out who you really are, and be it. And then have pride in it. Then we can all get down to the much-needed business of arguing about who we are as a society, what that means and what we do now. Just don’t tell me your values don’t include your actions, because I won’t buy that crap for a second. Peace and Joy, Mike Michael J. Kleckner is the editorial editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His views do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald. He can be reached at opededitor@journal ist.com. Review . continued from page 2 Jill Dieringer’s death Well, the presidential election is over. Nothing more can now be done. The majority of voters can be bitter if they like, but everyone needs to stop focusing on December 2000 and start focusing on fixing our elec tion processes, including the elec toral system. Momentum was high immediately after the election for making corrections -— such as elimi nating punch ballots with those darn hanging chads—but it seems to have slipped. Election reform should be pushed back to the top of priority lists so that America never has to repeat the miserable events of last year’s election. Oh yeah, and there is one editorial board member who is dealing with Bush’s election by covering his or her eyes and pre tending the whole thing is a bad . »*iream. It’s only four years; it will be ovef soon enough. ' Jill Dieringer’s life and death have ' affected a large portion of the Uni versity community. The circum stances of her death may have been tragic, but the effects of her life were not. May she rest in peace. 4. ASUO Election Wow. What do we say about this one? In the aftermath, we have seen that communication needs to be bet ter between the three branches of student government and within the ASUO Executive. Stronger relation ships and more attention to dead lines and appointments will help avoid a repeat of this year’s mess. As usual, there was some criticism of the Emerald this year for its coverage of the election. In response, we promise in the future to cover all the positive stories about the election, as soon as there are some. The Emerald would have been fabricating news or relying on candidates to dictate its coverage in order to run positive sto ries this year. And in closing, per haps the all-online voting will get a better turnout in the future if a better marketing plan is developed. Yes, online voting is the way to go. But people need to know about it. 3. WRC/FLA debate We said plenty about this issue this year. What we can say now is that we’re glad the issue received the ongoing attention it has. This is im portant; labor rights and human rights need to be addressed in rela tion to producing goods in the world. Now, new proposals are be ing made and a new breed of ac tivists is ready to take the issue fur ther. Kudos. 2. Oregon football season It was a great year, even if the Beavers stole the Ducks’ thunder at the end. Everyone should be proud. And while a bowl game would be nice next year, we really only have four words to say: Beat Oregon State University. 1. Jody Runge’s resignation Here, again, we have written ex tensively about this issue. What we can see now—regardless of who was the bad person and who was the good person—is the University ath letics and administration did a really poor job of dealing with their em ployees. Runge was treated like crap, even if she is as bad as The Register Guard’s headlines made her out to be. As Runge learned, so should the Athletic Department: Communica tion is key! Problems between em ployees, or between coaches and players, or between assistant coach es and coaches, should be handled quickly and openly. The way the whole issue was handled, we fear, will have a chilling effect on other University employees. The lack of communication exhibited by the University makes employees unsure of what they can say and what they can’t, and this is very troublesome. CORRECTION The phone number for the EMU Main Desk is 346-4363. The wrong number was published in Friday's Graduation supplement. The Emerald regrets the error; the culprit has been shot. li Dancing 10-2 ■■ . •• ' 3g ^ \ s' >5sSW-XoS.v«-. 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