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