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E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, February 12,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Editorial
Enrollment cap,
rigid academics
could help fix
overcrowding
With record numbers of students stream
ing into universities across the nation,
problems with overcrowding in class
rooms and residence halls are worsening. At the
University of Oregon alone, next year’s applica
tions are expected to top 10,000, although only
3,200 freshmen are usually admitted from the
applicant pool. The University should consider
implementing an enrollment cap in the future
to prevent campus buildings from bursting at
the seams.
The University accepted 8,600 freshman appli
cations for 2001, and the Office of Admissions
projects total student enrollment could reach
20,000 next year. While it’s great that so many
people are interested in the University, and while
every student should have an opportunity to at
tend college, having 20,000 students on campus is
bound to cause some logistical problems.
Overcrowding in classrooms is already a prob
lem for some professors and students. It’s tough
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dent when there are so many who are vying for
help. And with a number of building renovations
happening on campus, many courses are being
displaced, leaving larger classes to be packed into
smaller rooms that are unsuited for their size. An
enrollment increase would also cause residence
halls to be even more cramped and exacerbate the
parking situation on campus.
Obviously, growth isn’t always a good thing.
The University should continue to enforce appli
cation deadlines stringently and be stricter about
academic probation — the students who have
been admitted here should take it seriously and
take advantage of the myriad academic resources
available to help them do well in school. If they
aren’t willing to put in the effort to succeed in
their classes, maybe they should reconsider being
here in the first place.
Deadline and probation enforcement, combined
with an enrollment cap, could help alleviate class
room overflow and help keep class sizes down.
The University needs to either start being more se
lective about its applicants, or build larger build
ings to keep up with the demand. And with high
er education budget cuts looming, the latter is not
likely to happen.
Editorial Policy
editor and guest commentaries are encouraged.
Letters are limited to250 words and guest
commentaries to 550 words. Please include
contact information. The Emerald reserves the
right toed ;tyle.
Editorial Board Members
Jeremy Lang Jacquelyn Lewis
m IH assistar editor
Patricia Hachten Golda Portillo
community representative community representative
LeonTovey
' newsroom representative
Teaching vs. killing: Do the math
President George W. Bush recently
announced plans to boost defense
spending by $48 billion. Big sur
prise, no? The proposed 15 percent in
crease will include a pay raise for mili
tary personnel and money for the
newest high-tech toys, like the un
manned drone that scorched several as
yet-to-be-identified “white-robed men”
in Afghanistan on Feb. 4.
Something is seriously off here. Is it
robot planes (think of the Aerial Hunter
Killers, or AHKs,
from “The Termina
tor”) with the ability
to shoot missiles at
people without
identifying them
first? Machines that
can kill on their
own, without a hu
man finger on the
trigger or a human
eye behind the cross
hairs? Well, yes,
these things are a tad
bit eerie, but they
are signs of the
times. No, the prob
lem here is the simple paradox of paying
people more to do less.
At the same time, Bush wants to cut
funding to schools that don’t meet cer
tain standards, meaning if a teacher’s
perform up to par this
might northsve ajobnext'
year. “Accountability!” he cries — like a
good Republican should.
Why not use the same principle with
the military? If soldiers shoot civilians,
dock their pay. If they drop bombs on the
wrong house, dock their pay. If a compa
ny, division or squad botches a mission,
cut its funding. How about this policy:
No Osama bin Laden this month, no
budget next month. Accountability for
soldiers! America is strapped for cash
and in the red, so why not?
Because it won’t work, that’s why. If a
group of people can’t get something ac
complished with the amount of money
they have now, chances are they won’t be
able to do it with less. No matter what the
Rorick
Columnist
task, money
equals success.
So we throw more
money into the military, expecting our so
cial, economic and political interests to
be successfully defended. And when
they are not, the solution is always the
same: even more money. Sadly, this solu
tion is rarely applied to education, except
perhaps in the wealthiest households.
But teachers have never been able to
compete with soldiers in America. Let’s
., say I wish to pursue one of these two op
' tions: education Or Army, teaching or
killing. If I choose the former, I must
spend some $100,000 on at least a four
year college education. If I choose the
latter, I actually get paid to go to school,
up to $50,000 if I want it. A first-year
teacher can expect to make around
$2,100 a month. A first-year soldier
makes about $1,170. Score one for the
teachers, right? No, not after considering
what that money must go toward. The
teacher is responsible for his or her own
food, clothing and shelter. A soldier has
none of these worries. That $1,170 is
money in the bank. A teacher, on the oth
er hand, with a house payment, a car
payment and all sorts of insurance, is
probably going into debt every month.
The military offers free health care,
cheaper child care, free training, fur
thered education and—God, this is sad
— infinitely better job security, especially
with Bush in office. The choice is no
choice at all. In the United States of Amer
ica, the richest, most powerful nation on
Earth, killing people is still a more lucra
tive business than teaching them.
I’m not saying soldiers get paid too
much; I’m sure they earn every penny
— and then some. I’m saying teachers get
screwed. We, as a nation, consistently
place more value on the people who de
fend our children, in a very indirect
manner, than the people who very di
rectly raise our children. For seven
hours a day, five days a week, 36 weeks a
year, teachers are responsible for the
next generation of America. I can’t even
begin to put a price on such a monumen
tal responsibility, but I know it’s a whole
hell of a lot more than $2,100 a month.
E-mail columnist Aaron Rorick
ataaronrorick@dailyemerald.com. His opinions
do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald.
Nike cares for its contract employees
|he recent article, “Lecture series on
sweatshops to unveil Indonesian
JL report,” (ODE, Nov. 13), raised
questions regarding Nike's labor prac
tices in Indonesia. I would like to pro
vide clarity for your readers about Nike's
business in Indonesia and in the other 52
countries, including the United States,
where our products are manufactured.
First and foremost, Oregon students,
faculty and staff should feel confident
knowing that products with the Ducks'
logo, whether made in the United
States or abroad, were made under
well-established standards and regu
larly monitored working conditions. In
addition to external independent mon
itoring, Nike currently has more than
30 employees dedicated to ensuring
that the workers at more than 850 con
tract factory sites throughout the world
have good wages and a safe, fair and
healthy work environment.
Nike offers good wages, benefits and
desirable jobs in countries where wages
are low and jobs are scarce. In many cas
es, entry-level workers earn more in
cash and allowances than local govern
ments require. In addition to fair wages,
most workers also receive benefits such
as housing, transportation, on-site
health care and meals. With these addi
Guest Commentary
Vada O.
Manager
tional benefits, Nike's contract factory
employees in some countries are com
pensated equal to — or better than —
other professionals, such as teachers,
police officers or farmers.
In Indonesia, Nike engaged in a trans
parent assessment of our operations
with an independent entity, the Global
Alliance for Workers and Communities.
Although some disturbing issues were
identified in more than 4,000 inter
views with workers at nine factories, a
couple of irrefutable facts emerged from
the academic-based research. An over
whelming majority of the workers ex
pressed satisfaction with job skills train
ing and recreation services at the
factory. A majority of workers also re
ported satisfaction with their relation
ship with supervisors and managers.
As the economy struggled in Indone
sia, Nike also increased wages more than
40 percent for entry-level Indonesian fac
tory workers. Periodic independent uni
versity studies have shown many work
ers earn enough to send funds home to
relatives and dependents.
In July 2000, a Wisconsin State Journal
reporter provided this view of a Nike
contract factory in Indonesia: “The facto
ry in Tangerang with 5,355 workers is
modem and clean, better than some I
have seen in the United States. In a coun
try with an economic crisis, 30 percent
unemployment and 60 percent of the
people living below the poverty line, jobs
here are very desirable.”
In addition, an editorial by the Asian
Wall Street Journal in March 2001 re
garding the Global Alliance study pro
vides further insight into Nike's efforts
in Indonesia, stating in part, “The truth
of the matter is that many corporations
are responsible employers that now
demonstrate proactive concern for
workers making their products. Nike
desemes applause for being a leader in
standards for others to follow.”
Nike can and will continue to make
improvements in the way we do busi
ness in the United States and abroad.
Please visit our Web site at www.nike
biz.com for an online factory tour, the
newly published Nike Corporate Re
sponsibility annual report, and the most
current information about Nike's corpo
rate responsibility programs.
Vada 0. Manager is the director
of Global Issues Management for Nike.