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Tuesday, November 27,2001
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Michael J. Kleckner
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Editorial
Football ticket
distribution plan
needs revamping
Hundreds of die-hard Duck football fans filled
the hallways of the EMU and surrounded
the Autzen Stadium ticket office on Nov. 19,
eager to get tickets to the Civil War game on Dec. 1.
The Civil War is one of the most Jhighly-anticipated
games of the season, and students were willing to
camp in the rain, deprive themselves of sleep and
skip classes in order to receive a tiny piece of paper
that would allow them access to the event.
Ticket distribution problems have been mounting
for years, and last week’s episode at Autzen and the
EMU only proves the issue is worsening. Phone
calls flooded ASUO and University President Dave
Frohnmayer’s office, because parents were angrv
that their children skipped their classes to stand in
line. Now rumors are running rampant about stu
dent groups misusing their EMU keys to enter the
building early to he at the head of ticket lines.
. There has to be a better way to distribute student
tickets, without wasting time in lines. A few more
effective distribution models that we came up with:
• Tie the distribution in with ASUO elections.
Create a modified lottery where students who vote
on ASUO issues have a chance at being selected,
at random, for football tickets in the fall. Admit
tedly, this model means students would be bribed
into voting, but it might spark more interest in
campus issues.
• Using DuckWeb, each student could register
their intent to attend a game in the fall. A lottery
system would randomly chose from the pool of
ticket seekers, and an e-mail sent to University ac
counts would notify the winning students of their
ticket number and a date when they could pick it
up at the ticket office. This would save many from
the hassle of long lines and skipping class if pick
up times are incremental.
• Sell season tickets to students at a reduced
price and take money out of the incidental fee.
Many other schools in the Pacific-10 Conference
sell their student tickets instead of using a portion
of the fee to pay for a student seating section. If the
Athletic Department Finance Committee's cut of
the incidental fee — which this year totaled
$1,042,252 — was removed, it could lower tuition
overall. The money students save could then be
used to purchase individual or season tickets.
Any of these models would work, if the Univer
sity was willing to change the current structure. If
students want tickets to be included in the cost of
the incidental fee, there should be equal opportu
nity for all students to obtain them. However, if
students want U) pay for tickets on their own, the
$1,042,252 from the annual incidental fee should
be returned to students — especially since a lot of
them don’t attend games, and shouldn’t have to
pay for their peers who do. This is not to say that
we don’t support the incidental fee; but rather,
that programs that receive funding from the fee
should make sure students will have equal access
to those programs and benefits that their funds go
toward. The current setup for ticket distribution
doesn’t allow equal access for all students', and
needs to be replaced. As Duck football’s populari
ty increases, so should the availability and abun
dance of student tickets. After all, if we’re paying
for the tickets to begin with, there should be
enough to go around.
Editorial Policy
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses can be sent to
letters@dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor and guest
commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited to 250
words and guest commentaries to 550 words. Please
include contact information. The Emerald reserves the right
to edit for space, grammar and style.
Hush, George:
think N ATION-BUILDIN G
The state of affairs in
Afghanistan is changing by the
hour, it seems, so as this is my
last column ’til January, I'd like to
squeeze in a few unsolicited opin
ions. Lord knows what the situation
will be by the time winter break ends,
and people start reading my rants
when they should be listening to their
professors’ lectures again.
First off, Bush needs to stop with
this “with us or against us” stuff. It’s
high time he comes to grips with the
fact that much of
the world does
not like us, let
alone agree with
our policies. An
“us or them” posi
tion will only
ba’ck our Islamic
allies against a
wall, forcing them
to choose between
America’s friend
ship and support
from Muslim reli
gious leaders.
Many of these
countries have
shaky governments at best, making
religious support essential to their
survival. What’s more, if enough pre
dominantly Muslim countries take
the “them" option, which is possible
if their populations demand it, we
will have a real war on our hands —
and this is precisely what bin Laden
wants. So shut up, George, and let
other countries say they oppose Us if
they like. So long as they stay out of
our way, which they most likely will,
what harm can it do?
Rorick
Columnist
Secondly, Bush repeatedly stated
that he is against “nation building”
during the 2000 presidential cam
paign. If he has any desire to truly
make the world a better, safer place,
and not just avenge the deaths of the
American citizens in New York, he’ll
renege on this promise. I plead with
conservatives and liberals alike: Let
him renege. Don’t give him a hard
time should he choose to take an ac
tive role in the rebuilding of
Afghanistan.
The “enemies of our enemies are
our friends " policy of throwing fi
nancial support behind one side in a
m DE IM
The USA J
Steve Baaas Emerald
conflict has come back to bite us too
many times to count. The Afghans
will not set up a fair, representative
government on their own. There are
too many different tribes. Pashtuns,
Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens,
Aimaks and others will all want a
hand in a post-Taliban government.
Pashtuns make up the majority of the
country, but the Taliban are Pashtun,
so there will be a desire to exclude
them. The other tribes are minorities
and won’t have broad enough support
to rule the entire nation. Any effective
government must include all the
tribes. How about setting up a two
pronged legislature, like our own,
with the upper house consisting of an
equal number of representatives from
each group and the lower house con
sisting of representation proportional
to population? It would work, but it
would take some serious “building.”
Thirdly, what is this garbage about
secret military tribunals? Just a while
ago I heard Ashcroft saying bin
Laden and friends would not be tried
in a real court. They won’t be able to
drop through the cracks of the
Afghan tunnels and caverns, he said,
and they won’t be able to “drop
through the cracks of the U.S. judi
cial system” either. Our judicial sys
tem is part of what makes America
great. If the attorney general doesn’t
have enough faith in our own judi
cial system to entrust to it the convic
tions of the most hated men in the
West, what are we fighting for? As for
bin Laden himself, everyone knows
he’s the sworn enemy of the United
States, and everyone knows he’s
guilty of countless crimes. Shoot him
on sight and be done with it.
There are a few other things I could
complain about, but I haven’t the
space. I wish everyone a belated hap
py Thanksgiving, and a merry Kwan
zaa, Christmas, Ramadan, Hanukkah,
solstice, et cetera, too. I’ll see you in
the New Year.
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.
Letters to the editor
Kesey service
memorable, genuine
Wednesday afternoon, I attended
Ken Kesey’s memorial service at the
McDonald Theater. I went downtown
to participate in a tribute to Oregon's
own distinct regional icon. Kesey in
spired freedom of expression, imagina
tion and the beauty of uniqueness
through his own behavior, theatrics
and written word.
At the memorial service, I discovered
what I had hoped for and more. Univer
sity President Dave Frohnmayer deliv
ered the opening remarks. His speech
struck me as a well-articulated and
wonderful blend of stories, with
thoughtful remarks on what Mr. Kesey
meant to the University and how he’d
impacted Frohnmayer himself.
Frohnmayer clearly stated he was
never active in any of Kesev’s many
pranks. Instead, he spoke of wonderful
occasions, such as when Kesey sent the
Frohnmayer family a box of books writ
ten by himself, with his own psyche
delic signature, when Frohnmayer’s
daughter was seriously ill. I was re
minded of how we lost one of our great
est Ducks this week, but I was also re
minded of how fortunate we are to
have Ducks like Frohnmayer to give
genuine time and effort to those
around. This was a very fitting tribute
to the spirit of Ken Kesey. Kesey found
ed lives on his movement, and Frohn
mayer is very much a part of that.
Scott D. Doyle
Rochester, N.Y.
Pornography enables
sexual addiction
It has come to my attention that the
University of Oregon recently spon
sored a speaker, Annie Sprinkle, who
promotes herself as a feminist. This
“feminist” supports pornography and
promiscuity as means of sexual self-ex
pression rather than the exploitation of
women. I wonder if this is truly exer
cising our First Amendment rights. Or
is it enabling sexual addiction?
The University has made efforts to
curb alcohol addiction/abuse and the
violence, unplanned pregnancies and
sexually transmitted diseases that
may result from engaging in the
above behavior. Sexual addiction
may have the same results. By spon
soring this speaker, the University is
sending mixed messages. Are some
addictions more allowable and ac
ceptable than others?
Eugene Weekly advertised this
event. As an advertiser in the Eugene
Weekly, I am concerned about the fla
vor this partially unclothed female
gives to the publication. I am register
ing my complaint about the explicit
and implicit messages promoted by
this advertisement. Thank you for con
sidering my concerns as a consumer
and a health care provider.
Michele Bouche, CNM
Eugene