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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2001)
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511 Room 300, Erb Memorial Union RO. Box 3159. Eugene, OR 97403 F-mail: editor@clailyemerald.com Online Edition: www.dailyemerald.com Wednesday, October 24,2001 Editor in Chief: Jessica Blanchard Managing Editor: Michael J. Kleckner Editorial Editor: Julie Lauderbaugh Assistant Editorial Editor: Jacquelyn Lewis Editorial We still say no \ to Party Patrol Many students groan at the thought of the Eugene Police Department bringing back the notorious Party Patrol. The possibility of a reinstatement made the editorial board groan, too, but for more reasons than the threat of getting “caught” partying. A newly instated Party Patrol would divert already scarce resources. According to EPD, the new system would be differ ent from the old Party Patrol, which paid overtime for extra officers to respond to parties. The program end ed last March because the city could no longer afford it. The new system would merely provide what EPD calls a “more balanced work schedule,” which means that more police officers would be assigned to pa trolling parties at certain times, rather than EPD hiring more officers or paying overtime. While underage drinking is an important issue, a Party Patrol system designed specifically to “discov er” parties that might be a problem in the future and punish those involved isn’t the most effective re 11 sponse. Underage drinking and loud partying can be controlled by EPD responding to individual inci dents, as they have since March. Here’s our major concern: If EPD isn’t planning to hire new officers or pay overtime, it means officers previously assigned to responding to crimes may • have to shift their focus to patrolling for parties. Un der this system, underage drinking and partyingjn general could take precedence over more serious crimes occurring in Eugene. We imagine one reason EPD used the Party Patrol in the first place was in an effort to cut down on drunk driving. However, that concern should be addressed with the DUII grant they recently received, allowing of ficers 24 more hours a month dedicated to catching drivers under the influence. Many of these hours can be used during peak party times. And students should do their part and have fun responsibly, which means keeping party noise at a reasonable level and not supplying alcohol to those under 21. Students who do violate laws should expect to pay the consequences, but the police shouldn’t be hunting for parties. There are better ways for law en forcement to achieve its goals. Letters to the Editor and Guest Commentaries Policy Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are en couraged. Letters are limited to 250 words and guest commentaries to 550 words. Please include contact in formation. The Emerald reserves the right to edit for space, grammar and style. 1 There’s more to college than just football Walking out of Autzen Stadi um on Saturday, you would have thought the ex istence of Duck Football as we know it was over. The faces of true shock were met with an eerie silence that swooped over the crowd. Every now and then you would hear the voices of cou ples who were canceling plans to go up and watch the Ducks play in Pullman next weekend. Students were already talking about next season. Then there was the young boy who was crying into his pint-sized Joey Harrington jersey. Some will blame the offensive line for the blocked punts; others may place it I on me detense tor not coming up with the big play. There might even be those who place blame on play calls that seemed to move the ball more across the field then down it. ; A (1an(’inH',ree (:on' spiracy may be Oliver sought by a few, . . and criticism will „ Columnist be put on the call to pass the ball on 3rd and 1. But there should be no blame. The only reason Oregon Football fans feel disappointed is because Oregon Football has gotten too good too fast. If you told an Oregon fan during the years of perennial losing seasons that the 2001 edition of Oregon Football would be undefeated and ranked fifth in the nation by the Associated Press heading into its seventh game of the year, you would have been considered a probable patient for the state mental hospital. It wasn’t too long ago when Oregon Foot ball had moral victories, but now even those are unacceptable. Sure, the Ducks have enjoyed tremen dous success over the past few years. The Rose Bowl after the 1994 season, an other nine-win season in 1995 with a trip to the Cotton Bowl and the Holiday Bowl win last year over Texas. Oregon's foot ball resume, though, still remains rela tively short. It is short enough that even a loss that ends a 23-game home winning streak should be taken in stride. We should be grateful for what Oregon Foot ball has brought us and not be disap pointed in what could have been. V To the delight of several members of the media, many who just happen to live on the East Coast, many people will be jumping off the Oregon bandwagon after the loss. This is fine though, be cause as a friend once told me, the biggest cause of death along the Oregon Trail was from people jumping on and off wagons. The true Oregon Football fan cheers for the Ducks when they win, and also when they lose. Sports torment the soul because somebody always has to lose. If you’re a front-runner, be pre pared to be run over by reality. Mistakes will be learned and lessons will be learned, but Saturday’s seven point loss to Stanford should do much more. There is more to life than the Bowl Championship Series, polls and a na Steve Baggs Emerald tional championship trophy. If these come, great, but if they don't, it is not the end of the world. The University of Oregon is about more than just college football. It is about meeting new people, having some fun and finding yourself. So if after Sat urday s game you find yourself blaming the referees, the coaches or the players, maybe you should be somewhere else. After all, the Ducks will be back on the field next week. I'll be watching with the same enthusiasm and pride, and I hope you will, too. Jeff Oliver is a columnist for the Oregon Daily Emerald. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald. He can be reached at jeffoliver@dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor Service-dogs-in-training have rights, too While I truly applaud the feature article on puppy-raising and placement of assistance dogs, “Getting help from human’s best friend” (ODE, 10/05), you have presented an unfortu nate misunderstanding with regards to public access in Oregon and any service-dog-in-train ing. I am referring to: “The Americans with Dis abilities Act ensures that working teams have access everywhere the public is allowed. How ever, puppies in training do not have these priv ileges because they are not yet assisting a dis abled person. Even though Castle and other puppies in training wear green jackets to alert t he public about their careers, not all businesses are accommodating.” While it is quite true that the ADA does not idcress service-dogs-in-training, (their special ists advise that the ADA itself does not cover a service dog until it is fully trained) many states have far more comprehensive and just as legally binding laws with regards to service dogs and service-dogs-in-training. We always encourage our clients, puppy-rais ers and puppy-trainers to become hilly familiar with the statutes and to carry copies of the ap propriate Oregon Statute (along with their offi cial ID) to present to restaurants and other estab lishments when the question of access rights arises. We also offer sessions for businesses, or ganizations, etc. in order to educate them on the laws regarding service and access rights. Rand Stamm Canine Assistance Partners, Inc. Humanitarian aid feeds enemies Providing “humanitarian" aid to our ene mies is a moral outrage. The cowards in Washington, D.C. need to take a lesson from the heroes of Flight 93. These men did not al truistically serve in-flight snacks to their hi jackers. They did something much more hu mane: They selfishly fought 100 percent — for the lives of innocent Americans. Jennifer Krai Mayfield Heights, Ohio Boo reminds us of joys in life The meaning of contemporary life goes be yond the WTC bombing and the war in Afghanistan. Your article “A room with a Boo" (ODE, 10/11) brings to mind the little joys in life that we often overlook. I pay homage to Boo the cat each time I at tend a movie at the Bijou. Several weeks ago, before “The Closet" (an excellent French lan guage film), I dutifully petted Boo as she re laxed, seated on her lobby throne. Like a fa miliar friend, Boo is a metaphor for the good things in life during these troubled times. Thank you. Mike E. Walsh Eugene Full page ad was shocking About the full-page advertisement titled, “End states who sponsor terrorism’’ (ODE, 10/15): I don't know what anybody else thinks about this incredibly offensive and shocking ad, but here’s an interesting question that I have, and maybe someone can answer it for me. If “a proper war in self-defense is one fought without crippling restrictions.... And it must be fought in a manner that secures vic tory as quickly as possible... regardless of the countless innocents caught in the line of fire,” then what does that make us? To me, that makes us terrorists ourselves (ironically, the very thing that we re trying to destroy) because that description seems fits the very act of terrorism itself, which is something that I, one of those intellectual “friends of pea^e,” don't want to have any part in. Sarah Hatstat - junior English
