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