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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2001)
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511 Room 300, Erb Memorial Union PO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403 E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com Online Edition: www.dailyemerald.com Tuesday, October 16,2001 Editor in Chief: Jessica Blanchard Managing Editor: Michael J. Kleckner Editorial Editor: Julie Lauclerbaugh Assistant Editorial Editor: Jacquelyn Lewis Editorial Give blood, feel good Students waiting in line for hours to obtain homecoming game football tickets is a wonder ful show of support for University athletics. Wouldn’t it be nice if the same overwhelming line was streaming out of the Erb Memorial Union as the Lane Memorial Blood Bank holds its campus blood drive on Oct. 16 and 17? Al though the love for Duck athletes is great, a large showing of blood donors would be even better. It has been proven already this year that students are willing to skip classes and wait for hours for tickets, so perhaps that diligence could be applied to fulfilling one’s civic duty and helping Americans with the gift of life. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the need for blood was at its peak, and al though the demand has subsided some, it is still important to show support for relief efforts. Most of us are able to give blood, but we simply do not take the time out of our day to make the contribution. However, it only takes minutes to complete — and the long-term effects are endless. The process consists of filling out a medical questionnaire, having a mini-physical and donating the blood. The blood bank requests that donors eat a balanced meal with a good source of protein two hours prior to giving blood. The bank is in dire need of A positive blood; however, all blood types are in demand. The blood drive will take place in the Fir Room of the EMU between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. today and Wednesday. For more informa tion on the blood bank, visit their Web site at www.lmbb.org/in dexright.cfm. And go give blood! This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. Responses can be senttoeditor@dailyemerald.com. Screening out the celluloid busts Has anyone seen the trailers for the upcom ing martial arts saga “Iron Monkey”? Looks good, doesn’t it? Lots of fantastic fighting and flying around, high drama and romance, a la “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Drag on.” Sorry to burst the hype bubble, but this is just another in stance of the film industry screwing the public. The movie, originally re leased in Hong Kong in 1993, is di rected by Yuen Woo Ping, the martial arts choreographer from “The Matrix” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” When taken for what it is — low rent, slapstick chop-sockeye — “Iron Monkey” is entertaining enough. But people who go to the theater to see “Iron Monkey” based on the slick, over-dramatized trailer, expecting to see some sort of fol low up to “Crouching Tiger,” will be sorely disappointed. The writ ing, acting, dubbing and non fight directing are god-awful. Why, then, is a movie studio marketing a cheesy kung fu com edy as an epic drama? Isn’t that going to royally piss off moviego ers, like watching “Schindler’s List” with your date because a friend told you it’s a good make out movie? Yes, it probably will create anger, and this represents a disturbing trend in American cinema as of late. I call it the “draw them in with explosions, farts and car chases for a big opening weekend then bend ‘em over” strategy. Examples: “Pearl Harbor” raked in $68.1 million its opening week, well over one-third its total gross of Rorick Columnist Baggs Emerald $193.7 million. “Tomb Raider” earned almost half its total gross in the first week; “Scary Movie II” got a third; likewise for “Jurassic Park HI” and “Planet of the Apes.” All of these movies are steam ing turds, and yet each turned a profit. Why? Because the critics didn’t get their hands on them in time to warn us, thanks to the studios, and, let’s face it, we’re suckers. Granted, once word of mouth got around, these flicks died faster than a “magic” mush room growing on a hippie com mune, but not before enough of us lost our nine bucks to make up production costs and help perpetuate the cycle of crap. Do you remember the days when a hit movie stayed on the charts for months, not weeks? When some films actually climbed to number one? Those days won’t return unless we, the movie-going public, take a more active role in film selection. Here are some basic guidelines for avoiding the film industry’s trap: 1) If there are more than two “I”s following the title of a movie, or a number higher than two (“2000” included), don’t go see it. 2) If there are even two “I”s fol lowing the title of an Eddie Mur phy movie, don’t go see it (ex ceptions will be made for “Beverly Hills Cop IV,” which I would see simply for the synthesiz er line and the classic Eddie laugh). 3) If the movie is a remake of a TV show or an older movie, please, God, don’t go see it. 4) If the movie is about cars or teenagers or both, not only should you not go see it, you should shove cigarettes up your nose as you walk past the theater to avoid the stench. And finally: 5) If advertisements for the movie contain the name “Jerry Bruckheimer,” burn down the theater playing the movie so no one else has to see it. (Just kidding.) If we all follow these basic rules, then maybe, just maybe, our children won’t have to suffer through the same insulting medi ocrity we do. Thank you. Aaron Rorick is a columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His views do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald. He can be reached at aaronrorick@dailyemerald.com. Ending drug prohibition cuts off terrorist funding Guest Commentary Floyd Ferris Landrath Dear U.S. President George W. Bush, Please stop funding terrorism. End the drug war and eliminate the criminal profit that groups like the Taliban and individuals like Osama bin Laden use to attack and kill our people. I believe the time has come to do some thing new and different. Drug users pose no threat to anyone as long as they can get their stuff legally. Current drug law enforcement priorities and resources, especially in re gards to cannabis, must be redirected toward real threats to public safety and security. We spend $50 billion a year and waste nearly a third of law enforcement’s time on non-vio lent “potheads,” low-level dealers and junkies caught in a revolving door justice system. Meanwhile, the bin Ladens of this world, along with the entire $500 billion per year il legal drug industry, are laughing all the way to the offshore bank. While ending drug prohibition is certain ly not the only thing we must do as a nation to protect ourselves and help rid the world of the terrorist threat, it would be a big step in the right direction. I know it is not apparent. There is still a lot of fear about publicly opposing current drug policy. Nonetheless, I deeply believe a majority of Americans understand the situa tion and support drastic changes to counter productive drug laws. Thank you for your kind consideration, and God’s speed in your efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the Sept. 11 atrocities. I am also very happy that you have seen fit to aid the poor people of Afghanistan . in their time of dire need. It fills me with pride whenever I see “U.S. A.” on those bags of wheat in what I consider the deployment of America's most powerful anti-terrorists weapons: compassion and food. Floyd Ferris Landrath is a member of the American Antiprohibition League in Portland. . . Letters to the editor Voting shows student power Students have a lot of power. However, I feel that we often underestimate this power. One way to show our power is to vote. But I think that students often forget about this option. On campus, student leaders control over $8 million, and on a national level, our representatives control billions of dollars. These leaders make decisions that affect our daily lives. Yet students rarely participate in choosing these lead ers. Imagine the change we could affect if we all voted both on the campus and on the national level. It could be amazing. But in order to vote, you have to be regis tered. Right now the ASUO is presenting all students the opportunity to vote, and I encourage everyone to do just that. Courtney Hight senior, environmental studies ASUO elections coordinator Ticket sales solution not so simple Mr. Weiner’s letter (“Ticket sales could be easier,” ODE, 10/10) offers an interest ing alternative to students waiting in long lines to get athletic tickets. Unfortunately, it’s not feasible for the following reasons. Only students who are registered for fall term, pay the appropriate incidental fees and have a current University ID card are eligible for tickets to home football games. Consequently, the ticket office must verify through a computer database each student’s status and also enter ticket ing data indicating the student received a ticket for the game. Student tickets are available at both the University Ticket Office and the Duck Ticket Office. The logistics of getting more than 6,000 people to the right place at the right time with the right slip number would be a major undertaking. When athletic tickets become available, we do everything we can to accommodate students as quickly as possible, but data entry into a very busy computer system does take time. A reminder that in addition to the Uni versity Ticket Office, students can also pick up tickets at the Duck Ticket Office located at the Len Casanova Center by Autzen Stadium. We appreciate everyone’s patience, and ... Go Ducks! Mary Barrios University Ticket Office Manager
