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Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Friday, January 25,2002
Yesteryear's Editorial
Limited
admission
hailed
For the first time in history
Oregon taxpayers have
been told that their chil
dren cannot enter state-support
ed colleges unless they meet cer
tain standards beyond mere high
school graduation.
The new limited admission
policy was revealed earlier this
week by the State Board of High
er Education, and will go into ef
fect in the fall of 1958. Prospec
tive students will be required to
earn a C average in high school or
score 60 percent on a standard
college aptitude test. .
x iau uuo
University plan been
of Oregon used this
ANNIVERSARY entering
Originally would have
published on been barred.
January 25,1957 Thus the
not revolutionary in practice,
but the principle certainly is.
Since Oregon has no junior
college system and thus no tax
supported alternative for the stu
dent who cannot meet this stan
dard, there is bound to be
criticism of the new policy.
Some will shout that their gov
ernment is depriving their chil
dren of the right to an education.
The fallacy of such an argument
is obvious.
There are two good reasons for
this action. One is economic.
Taxpayers are apparently un
willing to pay for all the quality
and quantity of education that
would be desirable. Since some
thing must be sacrificed, it
would seem that barring the
least qualified students would
be the place to begin.
Another reason is stressed by
President O. Meredith Wilson.
He welcomes the decision as a
step toward rising academic
standards. He prefers barring un
qualified students instead of al
lowing them to overcrowd the
facilities until they flunk out, as
most of them would.
Whether any organized oppo
sition to the limited admission
policy will arise remains to be
seen. Meanwhile the Emerald
strongly commends the decision
as a forward step for Oregon Ed
ucation.
Editor’s note: This Editorial is
taken from the fan. 25, 1957 edi
tion of the Oregon Daily Emerald.
year, only 9
y cat, umy ;
percent of
freshmen
proposal is
Letters to the Editor and
Guest Commentaries
Letters to the editor and guest commen
taries are encouraged Letters are I im ited 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.
A misguided xs memorial by NYFD
People around the world wen
left with many horrific im
ages in the wake of the Sept.
11 terrorist attacks, but it was
photographer Thomas E.
Franklin’s photo of three fire
fighters hanging an American
flag on the wreckage of the |
World Trade Center that will
surely be placed in history
books for years to come. J
Recently, the New York Fire A
Department commissioned a ]
statue based on the now-fa
mous picture to be placed out
side the New York Fire Depart- ^
ment headquarters in
Brooklyn. Costing $180,000, i
the statue was to honor the 343 |
firefighters killed on Sept. 11.
On its face, this generous and
compassionate act by the New
York Fire Department should
be applauded. But their statue
was a farce.
Franklin’s picture cap
tured three firefighters
who all happened to be
white, yet when the
statue was created, the
likeness of the three
men in the statue rep
resented three different
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Peter Utsey Emerald
races. ineNew York
Fire Department's rationale be
hind the change was that black firefighters,
Hispanic firefighters and white firefighters
were all killed in the terrorist attacks, thus
should all be represented. Thankfully, they
realized their attempt at political correct
ness went severely down the wrong path
and last week decided that the statue would
never be displayed. Their decision to build
the statue in the manner they did should
still be chastised.
The purpose of photography is to capture
moments in life realistically, and that is what
Franklin's photograph does. It encapsulates a
moment of truth and innocence that wasn't
staged and cannot be altered. Do we go back
and change the Iwo Jima statue or replace a
head on Mount Rushmore so that they are
more racially inclusive? The photograph is a
piece of history, and if we go around deciding
to change history on the basis of political cor
rectness then we're deluding ourselves.
Our society has many
problems, including
racism and discrimina
tion. As of late, the buzz
word "diversity" has been
used in attempted solu
tions, such as the "di
verse" statue erected by
the New York Fire Depart
ment. If you think that
placing the likenesses of a
black firefighter and a
Hispanic firefighter in a
historic memorial makes
everything better, think
again. In fact, the mere
thought of doing this only
perpetuates the recognition of these two races
as minorities.
Columnist
People of many different races and creeds
died on Sept. 11, but most of them died as
Americans. With much respect to the three
firefighters in the original photograph, the
picture was not about them. It was about a
country that not only lost white male fire
fighters, but also female firefighters and
Asian rescue workers. Why aren't they in
cluded in the statue right next to the mothers,
fathers, sons, daughters, wives and husbands
who were also lost?
This isn't to say that a memorial should nev
er be created to commemorate all of those who
lost their lives on Sept. 11, or that their racial
or ethnic backgrounds should be forgotten. I
encourage a memorial, but I would be ashamed
to see the New York Fire Department's statue
serve this purpose.
E-mail columnist Jeff Oliver at jeffoliver@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Emerald.
“Commentator,
PPC to battle
overfunding”
{DDE, 1/24)
should
have been
attributed to
Commentator
Publisher
i Bret Jacobson.
j The Emerald
regrets
i i the error.
i
Drug law limits educational opportunities
It’s FAFSA time!
If you want federal student aid to
help pay for your higher education
next year, you better get your FAFSA
(Free Application for Federal Student
Aid) done as soon as possible.
While filling out your application,
though, make sure you complete it
thoroughly, neatly, and whatever you
do, do not leave Question 35 blank.
More than 14,000 students were de
nied some or all financial aid last year
because of Question 35. This question
cuts federal aid for any student with a
previous drug conviction.
In 1998, the Higher Education Act
(HEA) implemented the drug provi
sion (Question 35) that restricts finan
cial aid to students who need that as
sistance to receive a higher education.
The HEA was originally created to
expand federal financial aid pro
grams. HEA has done great work in
the past to help students receive high
er education. For example, it created
the Perkins Loan, Pell Grant and work
study programs. But now, the HEA’s
drug provision is closing the doors on
Guest Commentary
Oscar
Arana
higher education to students.
The provision punishes students
twice for the same crime. Under this
provision, students face discrimina
tion in addition to the service, time or
fines the criminal justice system al
ready demanded.
Judges have the power to restrict fi
nancial aid eligibility as individual
cases warrant. The HEA drug provi
sion removes that discretion.
The drug provision also has a dis
criminatory impact toward students of
color. African Americans make up 13
percent of the population and 13 per
cent of all drug users. Yet, because of
racial profiling, African Americans ac
count for more than 55 percent of those
convigted of drug charges.
Oregon currently has the highest
unemployment rate in the nation. If
we want to change that, we must
keep students in college. The surest
way to for people to become long
term contributors to the economy is
by obtaining higher education.
The average college graduate con
tributes between $29,000 and
$38,000 to Oregon’s economy in one
year. The focus of education must be
on providing the opportunity for
many individuals to receive a college
education. Education is a second
chance for many people who want to
better their lives.
I am not supporting or promoting
drug use. I am, however, promoting
and supporting higher education for
everyone. Don’t ruin a student’s future
by fixating on their past.
Just think about it: If the HEA drug
provision was in effect when Presi
dent George YV. Bush was in college,
he might not be president right now.
Wait, that’s not a good example.
How to help: Please contact ASUO or
the Multicultural Center.
Oscar Arana is a junior majoring in journalism.