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Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Michael J. Kleckner
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Wednesday, November 14,2001
Editorial
ASUO must rethink
solar panelplans
Apparently the Erb Memorial Union is so
strapped for cash it can’t afford $10 to buy putty
to fill the leaking ceiling in the breezeway when
it rains. However, the University is still gung-ho about
installing solar panels with money from the “overreal
ized fund.” The solar panels are not immediately fea
sible, and the plan needs to be scrapped.
ASUO created a “Bucks for Ducks” contest last
spring in an attempt to appropriate $100,000 of over
realized funding for a purpose that would benefit all
University students. Because of rising energy prob
lems, the winners of the contest proposed to put solar
panels on the EMU roof to save the University money,
but progress on the project has been slow.
Money should be used for something more immedi
ately beneficial to students. Although solar panels
would be very cost-efficient in the long run, the logisti
cal problems of the panels are too involved. The panels
need more extensive planning before they will be effi
cient enough to cut back on energy costs in the EMU.
In the meantime, students have been stuck with $30
energy fees, footing the electricity bill for the rest of
the University. ASUO needs to be more vigilant in
fighting the energy fee, because it is negatively affect
ing students, some of whom are already struggling to
pay their own electricity bills this year. Instead of sim
ply asking students to conserve, ASUO should file a
lawsuit to stop the Oregon University System from
levying the fee. A court in Washington recently found
such fees unfair.
Action needs to be taken soon by ASUO on both
accounts. There is no excuse for leaking ceilings when
students have been charged with so many added fees
this year, and the EMU Board has allocated substantial
amounts of money specifically for building mainte
nance. Energy conservation and student fees are big
issues on this campus, but spending more on solar
panels that will not deliver immediate results is not
financially sound.
NOT-SO-SWEET
November
It’s now well past the halfway mark
of this term and soon we’ll move
into December. Life here on campus
will slowly wind down to the eventual
release of winter
break. Well, “slow
ly wind down” is a
relative expres
sion, as I know my
self and many oth
ers will be
frantically working
to get all our work
done as a result of
a week’s worth of
procrastination.
Because we’re
nearing the end,
it would be
nice to take
Adams
Columnist
some
time to see where we’ve
been, and maybe where
we are going.
The war on terrorism
continues, even as some of
the talking heads in the me
dia are lamenting the fact - »
that there haven’t been any signifi- /
cant gains and the United States is
losing momentum in this new war. Yet
our “allies” in Afghanistan, the North
ern Alliance, apparently took the key
city of Mazar-e-Sharif, so that’s en
couraging. I’m not exactly sure if these
radicals are any better than the radi
cais we re ngntmg, ana it gets even
more confusing when we realize that
our other allies, the Pakistanis, hate
the alliance fighters and vice versa. I
say it’s about time for us give up on
the local boys and send in the Marines
and Rangers to win this war properly
on the ground.
In other national news, New York has
suffered another jetliner crash, which
just lays catastrophe upon catastrophe.
It’s shocking and utterly disgusting how
things just keep getting worse.
Here in Oregon, people are scream
ing about assisted suicide and Attor
ney General John Ashcroft, who many
folks see as the devil incarnate. This
issue puts me in a awkward position
as a conservative, and I can see both
sides of the fence. I don’t like a bloat
ed federal government imposing its
will on states, but I think giving peo
pie this assisted suicide
option could open a dangerous door
that could lead to “mercy” killings
where there’s more killing than actual
mercy. However, in the final analysis,
we have to understand that federal
law is the law of the land, and no state
is above that — no matter how moral
ly justified Oregonians may feel.
Ken Kesey died. While I’m a big
fan of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest” (like millions of other college
students), I’m not a big fan of a coun
terculture movement that “further”
instilled a lasting legacy of disre
spect toward the United States gov
ernment and society. Let’s hope that
Kesey will be remembered for his lit
erary brilliance and not drug use.
On campus, some allegations have
found their way into print about dubi
0 *
Steve Baggs Emerald
ous use of student fee money and a
termination of an ASUO employee on
highly questionable, if not downright
illegitimate, grounds. I’ll give 2-1
odds that most readers don’t have a
clue what I’m writing about because
they don’t care at all about their stu
dent government. It’s downright pa
thetic that student government has so
little affect on the people it represents
that even scandals can’t cut through
the dense fog of apathy surrounding
the ASUO.
There’re a whole bunch of other stuff
out there that irks, annoys and some
times even encourages me, but I think
I’ll just save all that for another column.
Andrew Adams is a columnist for the Oregon
Daily Emerald. His views do not necessarily
reflect those of the Emerald. He can be
reached at andrewadams@dailyemerald.com.
Patriotic conduct important to US.prosperity
Guest Commentary
Tom
Wheeler
'^r’WT'T'hat is patriotism? Should it man
date devotion to all things Ameri
▼ T can, or heed acceptance of every
governmental pronouncement? President
Bush told us that the perpetrators of the hor
rors of Sept. 11 were motivated by a hatred
of our freedoms. Maybe they were, but let’s
be honest. The circle of people who hate
America extends far beyond deranged ex
tremists, encompassing whole populations
with deep intellectual traditions and rich
cultures. To pretend otherwise is not only
irrational but also dangerous to our long
term security.
I was bom at West Point and raised in a
military family. We didn’t talk a lot about pa
triotism. We just lived it. My dad and my
mom survived Pearl Harbor. We teach our
children about people like them — not just
military people but Americans from across
the spectrum who in countless ways have
rallied to noble causes and endured un
speakable suffering all so others could re
main free. This is what we teach in our histo
ry books, and indeed we should.
But how clear-eyed is our patriotism? Does
it embrace the courage to also acknowledge
America’s involvement in the overthrow of
democratically elected governments, our
support of oppressive dictators (so long as
they professed to be anti-Communist), or our
propping up of commercial interests to the
detriment of indigenous peoples? Are we
sufficiently resolute in our commitment to
democracy to demand of our leaders that
they support it not only in word but in deed?
I love this country and condemn any
America-bashers who justify the atrocities
of Sept. 11 as payback for past misdeeds or
moral failure, whether their voices come
from the right or the left. But if our goal is to
preserve peace and security for our chil
dren, then I hope our hearts are big enough
to look beyond the motivations of murder
ers, to attempt at long last to come to grips
with the deep-seated anti-American senti
ments of so many people worldwide. Such
an effort could be a crucial step toward pro
moting an understanding among peoples of
the world that among other benefits, might
help diminish environments in which ter
rorism thrives.
We can take the easy path and pretend that
anyone who hates us must be an evil extrem
ist. Or, we can make the courageous commit
ment to at least try to see ourselves as much
of the rest of the world sees us. Such an effort
would take nothing away from our grief,
would in no way diminish our profound
gratitude for our heroes, and need not weak
en our resolve to bring to justice the murder
ers of September. Patriotism should not re
quire the wearing of blinders. If anything, it
is a deeper and more meaningful kind of pa
triotism that does not mandate a head-in-the
sand view of our own history.
Let us never forget the heroes and victims
of Sept. 11. As we wave our flags with justifi
able pride, let us also avoid confusing honest
and sometimes painful self-reflection with
unpatriotic behavior. Our long-term peace
depends on adjustments to international pol
icy grounded in more informed assessments
of our own past, as much as it depends on
our military might.
Tom Wheeler is an associate professor in the
School of Journalism and Communication
and the father of three sons approaching draft age.
Letter to the editor
Patriotism equals support
Patriotism is rallying around your
country's mostnoble ideals and qualities,
with others, during times of adversity.
The fact that so many in our self
absorbed culture bemoan patriotism,
especially at the University, deeply dis
turbs me. This is surely a sign of how
incredibly spoiled Americans have
become, appreciating neither our liber
ties nor the blood that was spilled to pre
serve them.
Patriotism is not chauvinistically
sweeping the sins of our country under
the rug.
In the United States, we are freer than
aiiy other country to critically examine
our misadventures of the past and learn
from them with genuine remorse.
Dismissing patriotism has proved to
be a fatal mistake in the past. Even
worse, failing to stand up for our coun
try, as imperfect as it is, is tantamount
to forgetting the victims of Sept. 11.
The greatest threat to our country’s
viability is not terrorism, but the rejec
tion of patriotism.
Chris Turek
Sweet Home, Ore,