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
Thursday, January 17,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Editorial
No, Non, Nein;
In any tongue,
‘no’to language
requirement
■w **r’ *jrhen students come to the Univer
j sity to study, they are expecting to
receive an education that will pre
▼ T pare them for their professional
careers and enrich their lives. To help with this
enrichment effort, the University has set up
several requirements aimed at teaching differ
ent cultures, including languages, to produce
well-rounded students. Unfortunately, the
school’s language requirement is merely a nui
sance for many bachelor of arts students. The
requirement is nothing more than a bother —
language programs might teach fundamentals,
but they don’t teach practical application in
the workplace.
Language enrichment is counterproductive
when students take language courses because
they have to and not because they want to. The
requirement is not essential for many majors
and impedes the graduation process. Although
students have a choice of pursuing a bachelor
of arts versus a bachelor of science degree,
many who seek the former are frustrated be
cause the language requirement is not person
ally useful for their careers. Many won’t even
remember what was taught after graduation.
Perhaps the University should create more
useful curricula for students who will need
language experience for their majors, such as
Japanese for business majors or Spanish for
journalism students. This option would be
more practical for students and it would help
them prepare for their careers, which is a goal
of the University. Being bilingual is an asset in
today’s society, but it is not imperative, and
many students have no practical use for learn
ing another language.
The Yamada Language Center is a great re
source for students and could be used in con
junction with the new, focused, curricula. The
center is more useful than standard language
classes because it has current international po
litical and social information, and offers a
plethora of reading materials — both business
and leisure. The YLC is a more practical re
source for students seeking to incorporate lan
guage study into their major.
If the University wants bachelor of arts stu
dents to learn foreign languages, it should
work on expanding its study abroad pro
grams. Most language teachers would agree
that immersion in the language and culture is
the best way for students to learn, and more
majors should be incorporated in the over
seas curricula.
The bottom line is the language requirement
is important, but only to those who plan on us
ing it. Students who do not wish to study lan
guages are free to pursue a bachelor of science.
However, those students that are required to
fulfill the language prerequisite should be giv
en the option of doing so in accordance with
their major.
Editorial Policy
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board Responses can be sent to
ietterpidailyemerald .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.
Anti-depressants
got you down?
Winter is a peak season for both
illness and depression, but
don’t worry. These days,
there seems to be a drug
available to remedy nearly every malady
imaginable. Our country has many options
for treating illnesses, and countless people
benefit from them every day. But too often,
medication becomes a “fix-it-all” for both
doctors and patients. The trap is especially
prevalent when it comes to antidepres
sants, and it’s worrisome that having a pre
scription for some type of antidepressant
has become so common.
Some doctors are giving prescriptions
too frequently, disregarding the impor
tance of psychotherapy and other treat
ments for depression. According to
U.S. News & World Report, “of those
treated (for depression), the propor
tion taking antidepressants soared
from 37 to 75 percent between 1987
and 1997.” In addition, the number
of patients obtaining psychotherapy
dropped 11 percent, though studies show
old-fashioned therapy works just as well
for many types of depression.
While antidepressants have helped
many, and it should be an adult’s choice
whether to use drugs, antidepressants pose
obvious problems. Side effects for different
antidepressants range from headaches to
convulsions, and sometimes the behavioral
changes induced are far from desirable.
Few studies have been done to deter
mine long-term
side effects of cer
tain antidepres
sants. Research is
especially
scarce when it
comes to chil
dren and adoles
cents. Still, the
drugs are widely
prescribed for young
people, with dosages
based on height and
weight.
A Portland jury awarded $5.5 million
to a college student who attempted sui
cide after being prescribed first Zoloft
and then Prozac. Johnston sued his doc
tor, who had given him the prescrip
tions but failed to monitor the effects.
Eric Harris, one of the Columbine shoot
ers, was taking Luvox.
Does this mean their medications
caused their behavior? Not necessarily.
Pharmaceutical companies vehemently
deny any implications, claiming the ill
ness, not the medication, was the cause.
But the correlation is definitely disturbing.
Adults have experienced problems as
well. Last year, a group of 35 patients
filed a major class action lawsuit against
GlaxoSmithKline, alleging they’d suf
fered extreme withdrawal effects while
trying to stop taking the drugs Paxil and
Seroxat. The company claims the sub
stances are nonaddictive.
Does all this mean we should take anti
depressant medications off the market? No.
But what it adds up to is the need for both
doctors and patients to make better choices.
_______ It’s a call for pharmaceuti
cal companies to be hon
est about side effects of the
drugs they manufacture.
Children shouldn’tbe pre
scribed antidepressants,
except in extreme cases,
until further research is
completed.
Antidepressants are
drugs. Like other drugs,
they alter the body’s chemi
cal balance. Patients should
review all possible side ef
fects of the drugs and dis
cuss in-depth with doctors
and therapists whether they
really need antidepressants.
Psychotherapy is often a
better alternative.
The choice should ulti
mately be the patient’s —
and in the case of a minor,
the patient’s parents as well
but it should also be an
informed one.
E-mail assistant editorial editor
Jacquelyn Lewis at
jacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily
reflect those of the Emerald.
Steve Baggs Emerald
Letters to the editor
Psuedoscience of the stars
Last week, the 199th Meeting of the
American Astronomical Society took
place in Washington, D.C. Some of the
highlights at this gathering of top United
States astronomers included new star
structures in the halo of the Milky Way, an
incandescent fog of multimillion-degree
gas around a supermassive black hole in
the center of our galaxy, images from the
world's first sub-millimeter array and dis
covery of what may be “planetesimals” —
precursors of Earth-like planets and first
discovery of a planet orbiting a giant star.
On the same date, the Emerald ran a
front-page story on the “predictions” for
the world and Eugene by a local astrologer
(“Dark star rising,” ODE, 1/10). The con
trast between science and pseudoscience
is sharp in the real world, but not evident
to the Emerald. Astrologers either know
their lame predictions are false, and thus
they fully understand that they prey on
the weak of mind and the weak in spirit.
Or they actually believe their nonsense
and are not aware their work has no foun
dation in reality, in which case, they are
plain stupid.
As a human interest story, the article
contained nothing of interest to us
thinking humans.
James Schombert
astronomy professor
Joey was worth the money
Robert McShane wrote that the Univer
sity wasted $250,000 on “some jock”
(“Harrington hype was too costly,” ODE,
Jan. 14). I completely disagree.
The $250,000 spent on the “Joey Heis
man” billboard was an investment in
every sense of the word. They invested in
a young man, who, in turn, represented an
entire University as well as any six-figure
representative. That billboard (and entire
campaign for that matter) was a huge re
sponsibility to put on one student’s — or
athlete’s, or person’s — shoulders.
The easiest thing to do in that situation
is to fold; collapse under the pressure. But
Joey stood his ground and for the entire
season stood as high as that billboard pro
jected him. What does that say about the
University? It says we create winners,
both on the playing field and off.
Did you even watch the Fiesta Bowl,
Rob? There’s a reason his nickname is
“Joe College.” It’s because he is the stu
dent body here, and you couldn’t pick a
representative for an entire University bet
ter than our Joey Harrington.
Jeff Hadley
junior
accounting