Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
PO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Monday, January 7,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Oregon's footballfame should be handled with care
People around the nation won’t think of
Orygun as the rain-drenched school
with the cartoon mascot any more. We
are now the school that houses the sen
timental example of what a college football
program should be modeled after.
While many feel the latter is a much more
positive portrayal of the University, much is
left in between. Oregon’s 38-16 drubbing
over Colorado in last week’s Fiesta Bowl
capped what will easily
go down as the best foot
ball season in Oregon
history. While a Nebras
ka win would have made
an 11-win season that
much more memorable,
University administra
tors outside of the Ath
letic Department could
n’t be asking for much
more.
This great exposure
could also help the Uni
versity as a whole. In re
cent years the University
has lost several star prep
athletes to schools such as Michigan and Cal
ifornia, simply because degrees from those
schools hold a higher value in the real world.
Football powerhouses like Florida State
and Miami have faced the same problem for
years. People know the names of these
schools because of what they do on Saturday
afternoons during the fall, but not much else.
Oregon can now fall into the same predica
ment, or use the exposure created by the foot
Oliver
Columnist
ballteamasacatalyst.lt
is a nice human interest story to tell ^
people that }oey Harrington plays the
piano, but what about the fact that his
degree in business administration came from
one of the top-ranked schools in the country?
recognition, the University must be
careful not to fall down the slippery slope of
success. A year ago Oregon State sat in this
very position, and this year its bowl game
consisted of counting the marshmallows in
Lucky Charms. Of course, there is much dis
parity between the quick strike success of the
Beavers against the sustained superiority of
the Ducks, but it could be easy to fall into the
trap when the golden carrot was dangling
just one lost game away.
With success comes exposure. More tal
ented athletes will now look to Oregon as a
possible stepping stone toward their athlet
ic endeavors, but the fact is that not every
talented athlete is academically college ma
terial. Admission standards must remain
high and the relationship between the
classroom and the field should remain
studying before sport.
When television networks are flashing
hundreds of thousands of dollars to a
school that is also spending $80 million on
a stadium, priority lines could become a bit
blurred.
The University has never been in a spotlight
like this before, but at some point the light will
dim. It is then that it must not become greedy
and attempt to get it back at all costs. What got
Oregon to this point should be used to go even
further. Sustained development in athletic
programs with a deep cooperation in academ
ics could make Oregon to college football
> what Duke is to college basketball: an athletic
program respected for what it does on the
playing field as well as off it.
Contact columnist Jeff Oliver at
jeffoliver@dailyemerald.com. His opinions do not
necessarily reflect those of the Emerald.
Letters to the editor
Cloning technology
moves us forward
Enlightened Americans ought to congratu
late Advanced Cell Technology for its human
cloning research and thank researchers for
their courage and independence in the pur
suit of knowledge.
History is littered with stories of men, like
Darwin and Galileo, who used reason and
challenged a faith-driven culture in their sci
entific endeavors. These men endured con
stant intellectual battles during their life
times, but their stsuggles brought us the high
standard of living that we enjoy today. Our
material wealth and comfort has always fol
lowed from the embrace of reason over faith.
Advanced Cell Technology’s research will
show us this again, if they are not shut down
by the “witch doctors” first.
Heather Stern
Marina del Rey, Calif.
ASUO makes a difference
When I entered the University as a fresh
man, I was intimidated and hesitant to join any
campus organizations. After visiting the ASUO
office during my first week here, I decided to
join the student government as an intern. I
made this decision because I felt welcome at
first sight. From my first step into the office un
til this very day, I felt at ease with the staff.
After completing almost a full term as an
intern, I have seen our team grow as an of
fice. I have learned that the ASUO is vital
in running many student organizations,
making a difference in our community and
providing educational opportunities for
students. I have taken advantage of these
fortunate endeavors and am eternally grate
ful because I have learned a great deal about
my work ethic and leadership skills. There
are many people who have contributed to
my first term’s success.
I’ve realized that the staff and executive
members at ASUO are amazing people be
cause their roles in student government are
crucial. Without their time and efforts, stu
dents would not be able to grow as they do. It
is so important that we have ASUO here and
we have wonderful people to help run it. The
projects we attack make big and small differ
ences in people’s lives, but the reason we do
it is because it makes a difference.
Theo Yang
freshman
pre-journalism
Let’s re-evaluate our position
Recently, the mainstream media has been
talking about the Revolutionary Association
of the Women of Afghanistan, but they're
only using RAWA to make the Taliban look
bad and justify the U.S. bombing. They didn’t
mention that RAWA has denounced the U.S.
bombing of Afghanistan as murderous and
Poll Results:
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poll question for next week. The ooll can he accessed from the
main page of our Web site, www.dailyemerald.com. We encourage
you to send us feedback about the poll questions and results.
This week’s poll question: What is your New Year’s resolution?
The choices:
■ Go to class
■ Quit smoking
■Lose weight
■ Read the Daily Emerald online
■ No resolutions
Letters to the
Editor and Guest
Commentaries
Policy
Letters to the editor and
guest commentaries are
encouraged. Letters are limited
to 250 words and guest
com mentaries to 550 words.
Please include contact
information. The Emerald
reserves the right to edit
for space, grammar and style.
undemocratic. They don’t men
RAWA calls the Northern Alliance
ers,” “hated terrorists” and “hungry
They don’t mention that the Nor
liance has been under pressure fro
rights organizations for using r
method of gaining control. The m;
media has been using RAWA for its
poses and then leaving them to su:
U.S. intervention.
RAWA believes that the only wa
lish peace and freedom in Afghar
secularist-feminist revolution ain
destruction of the Taliban’s autl
control. They do not believe thai
bombings will be beneficial to the
Afghanistan.
Many people believe the war in
Afghanistan is a good thing because we’re a
“democracy,” and Afghanistan is “back
ward” and undemocratic. I suppose we’re a
democracy: a democracy of the representa
tive, hierarchical, patriarchal, centralized
and militarized sort. We’re kidding ourselves
if we think we have any real decision-making
power. This is a nonegalitarian society, di
vided by race, class and gender inequalities.
We’re lucky that we don’t live in a country ,
like Afghanistan, where people are even less
free, but just because our government is “bet
ter” than others doesn’t make it good.
Brenton Gicker
student
Lane Community College
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