Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2001)
Commentator celebrates 18th ■ I he magazine has been known to rile people up, but many don’t take it too seriously By Diane Huber Oregon Daily Emerald Eighteen years ago, the Commen tator put out its first magazine in an attempt to offer students on campus an alternative publication with a con servative voice. On Oct. 24,1983, the Commenta tor’s first publisher, former Emerald editor Dane Claussen, wrote, “Com mentator articles will tell you what other publications on campus are un able to tell you because of die inexpe rience, incompetence, or narrow mindedness of their staffs. ’ ’ Many students and alumni agree that the magazine has published some entertaining articles, but they don’t necessarily take the publica tion seriously. “(The Commentator staff) success fully sells themselves as conservative drunk guys,” said former ASUO vice president Ben Unger. The Commentator’s publisher, Bret Jacobson, admits that a lot of the staff writers enjoy drinking. But he doesn’t believe that takes away from the mag azine’s mission to offer in-depth in vestigations of issues, such as cam pus politics, ASUOandOSPIRG. “Our relaxed atmosphere is criti cal to our tone,” he said. “We try not to take ourselves or those around us too seriously.” While the magazine’s editor, Pete Hunt, said the magazine has served as a “platform for dissent,” Jacobson disagreed. “(The Commentator) is the only place on campus where you can show an irreverent sense of humor through the examination of issues,” he said. Unger said while he was involved in student government from 1997 to 1998, many students liked getting at tention from the Commentator. “It feels like you’ve made it once you’re quoted in the Commentator,” he said. Current Vice President Joy Nair said the magazine has had its funny moments and has successfully por trayed student views, but she added that in the past year, the magazine hasn’t tackled issues surrounding the ASUO in as much depth as it should. “When they do focus on ASUO, they say how bad we are or why we suck, but they never say how we’re bad or why we suck,” she said. “I am waiting for them to step up and con tinue their past years of excellence. ” The Commentator has received crit icism in the past, such as in February 1996, when the Program Finance Committee threatened to cut the mag azine’s budget. Many students and fac ulty members raised charges of sexism and racism after the magazine printed a list written by four students from Cornell University in New York City. The list was entitled “Top 75 reasons Why Women Should Not Have Free Speech” and satirized various groups, including African-Americans, on its back page.However, the PFC decided not to cut the magazine’s funding. Tom Mann, who started contribut ing to the magazine in 1983 and later became an editor from 1985-1986, said the founders started the maga zine because they felt other campus media avoided talking about contro versial issues from both sides. “The Commentator has worked to fill that gap,” he said. “I’m amazed the paper has lasted as long as it has. Turns out we had a pretty good idea after all.” Diane Huber is a student activities editorforthe Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be reached atdi anehuber@dailyemerald.com. Forum continued from page 1 reer court winnings in excess of $1 billion and is working pro bono, “will have more data than Brown vs. the Board of Education — or any other case involving sociology in American history.” The lawsuit will be filed early next year and may exceed $1 trillion, but Ogletree said the money is not as im portant as “a timely and frank discus sion of slavery issues.” Professor Ibrahim Gassama said he is trying to ensure that this repa ration movement is different from previous incarnations and agreed the money is secondary. “The reparation movement is first about repair, which is a modest goal,” Gassama said, but he cautioned, “continuing silence and hostility would push this outside the main stream, and then reparations could represent revolution. ” Gassama criticized political colum nist David Horowitz for his 10 points of criticism against reparations and advertisements against reparations in college newspapers, while Ogletree said the advertisements “energized students and made them realize repa rations are a serious issue. ” Reparations have historical prece dence. In the 1940s courts awarded reparations to Japanese families in in ternment camps during World War II, and an international court recently awarded reparations to Jewish fami lies whose ancestors worked as slave labor in Germany and Austria during World WarE. “What makes this unique is the multitude of parties, both people and institutions, involved,” Ogletree said. “We are not just taking action against the government, but also institutions and individuals who directly profit ed from slavery.” Marty Toohey is a freelance reporter for the Oregon Daily Emerald. Wednesdays 3:30-5:00 110 Fenton Hall Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Campus Responses to Aftermath of September 1-1 Events October 24 “September 11th and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict” Presented by Shaul Cohen (Geography) and David A. Frank (Honors College) CAMPUS RESOURCES • For tips on coping with catastrophic events, check out the Counseling Center’s web site at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~counsel/catastrophe.htm • To report any incidents of bias, contact the University of Oregon Bias Response Team at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~brt or call 346-1139 CALL FOR INFORMATION The Senate Ad Hoc Committee seeks to publicize classes, programs, events, and opinion pieces that help illuminate the issues surrounding the events of September 11th. Please contact the Committee at septl 1 @darkwing.uoregon.edu if you have any information to share. 012746 The University Senate Ad Hoc Committee serves to coordinate and facilitate informed discussion, from a variety of perspectives, on the events of September 11th and their aftermath. The Committee does not take positions on issues of policy, politics, or ideology. To ensure its neutrality, the Committee will provide clear identification of the specific sponsorship of campus activities by the groups that carry them out. In all cases, the content of remarks and materials relating to these issues are the responsibility of their sponsors, and do not reflect an official position of the Ad Hoc Committee or the University of Oregon. To contact the Senate Ad Hoc Committee, e-mail septl 1 @darkwing.uoregon.edu or connect to the Committee’s web page: http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~septl 1/ Hours: 7:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. (closed Sundays) We Deliver Ten dollar minimum. E-mail us by 8 pm the day before with the time you would like to get your order. We will confirm your order by 10 pm. Buy one Mocha get one FREE! Northwest Christian College Campus *1149 Aider St. Eugene. OK ^xp. 10/31/oJ STUDENT TRAVEL Get me the $%#!&<§> out of here! (We understand completely.) TRAVEL www. statrave!.com Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. ! LARGE PIZZA with up to 3 toppings Say “Papa Size" it! 30% more pizza only $2 more. _ Additional toppings extra. wa ■■ v ■ , . ^Not ir^ed^Je^^Area. * [ expires iz/i5/u^j| only ■ vvvs hnnuE nurrim PIZZAS "Papa Size” it tor only $2 per pizza _ Additional toppings extra. ^jot vah^witt^njr othendte^^peciaMLimitecKJelivery Area only ithe^tfe^^)eci3Kimite^)eliver^Are^w" "" y expires 12/15/0Vj South Eugene and U of 0 (7272 m P&CfCs Duck's Village, Chase Village and University Commons Santa Clara/River Road 746-PAPA (7272) 461-PAPA (7272) w ODE tEoriet are archived on-line aE www.dailyemerald^comJ|
