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Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Thursday, February 21,2002
Editorial
Don't let costs
overshadow
campus safety
Campus safety has been a recurring issue at
the University for years. Nearly all of this
year’s ASUO Executive candidates have
mentioned the need for better campus safety
precautions, especially after last spring’s series of at
tacks and the Jan. 30 attempted rape behind the
Knight Library. Perennial gripes about campus safety
are valid, and the administration should be taking
steps to make people feel safer while at school.
One way to create a safe atmosphere would be to
brighten up the campus. Although installing lights may
not solve all of the safety issues plaguing campus,
nighttime visibility is an option that can help solve the
bigger problem. More lighting for safe paths at night is
an option that the University has seriously been con
sidering for a number of years. It is time to stop talking
about installing more lights and start the process. Con
servation is an important issue for students and the
ASUO, but these efforts should not overshadow cam
pus safety. Lighting may be a small step toward solving
the problem, but it will make a big difference to those
afraid to walk through campus in the dark — especially
since there is a rising number of night classes.
Last spring, the ASUO allocated $150,000 from the
overrealized fund to install lights on campus to in
crease safety. Last fall, the Campus Planning Commit
tee began taking tours of campus at night to decide
where the lights would be best placed. Eugene city
lighting codes changed shortly after the committee be
gan planning, while the installation of the lights con
flicted with the ASUO’s new energy conservation cam
paign — and the project has been stalled ever since.
The undertaking has gone through a lot of red tape
and now the ASUO’s “Doin’ it in the Dark” campaign
members are researching alternative options to both ,
enhance safety and save energy. Campaign members
want to weigh lighting efficiency against expenses in
order to keep the student energy fee from going back
up. Other student groups are contributing to the re
search, although the project was only handed over to
the ASUO’s conservation committee last week.
Aside from increased lighting, another safety option
would be to have philanthropic student groups work
with the Department of Public Safety to increase the
number of walking escorts on campus. According to
DPS Associate Director Tom Hicks, the department re
ceives a small number of calls per night and DPS can
only take students to the campus boundaries. If student
groups became involved with the effort, the walking es
corts could increase their radius beyond campus, much
like Project Saferide vans shuttle students beyond the
streets of the University. With time and commitment, a
walking program has the potential to be just as popular
as Saferide — and it would be a concrete step toward
making the campus community safer.
The bottom line is some men and women on cam
pus feel unsafe, and the University needs to be taking
precautions to create a secure environment for every
one. By acting quickly to create a walking service,
coupled with the overrealized fund dollars to install
lights around places like the cemetery area, the EMU
to the Knight Library route, and the Fenton Hall court
yard, to name a few, the University can begin make
everyone feel a little safer.
Politics needs some
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Several weeks ago while at work, I
had the television tuned to Pres
ident George W. Bush’s State of
the Union address, until one of
my customers requested we watch
“anything but that. ” I waited for anoth
er customer to protest for our country’s
sake, but the hand
ful of customers at
the bar only nod
ded in quiet agree
ment or offered no
opinion at all.
And with the ex
ception of my po
litical philosophy
class, I heard little
else about the
speech. I began to
wonder why the
latest reality-based
television show re
ceived more atten
tion and debate
than the State of the Union address. Or
why the entire country seems to center
their week around the “Super Bowl”
but not one of the most important po
litical speeches of the year.
Presidents Day, on Monday, seemed
like just another school day, with the
added annoyance of a closed bank and
post office. At what point did honoring
the highest office in the country be
come of so little consequence in our
everyday life?
I’ve pondered over my 22 years in
this world as an American citizen, and
I’ve asked myself how the political atti
tude has changed to the disgruntled in
activity that I see today. Then I realized,
I don’t remember a time in my short life
that it seemed much different.
The stories my parents tell about the
fascination with the Kennedy family
and the reactions to JFK’s assassination
seem foreign to me, as we spend much
more time addressing the incompetence
of our president than any positive traits.
Presidents were role models and na
tional heroes. What happened to the
Newell
Columnist
Steve Baggs Emerald
days when citizens knew more about
policy issues than the sadly comical
story of our president choking on a
snack and passing out? We no longer
view the leaders of our country as role
models, and it’s pathetic that our gener
ation can’t name three out of the last
five vice presidents — but they can list
the top hits of the band Matchbox 20.
I don’t believe we can blame our criti
cism and distrust of our nation’s leader
on Richard Nixon’s Watergate debacle
or even Whitewater. Perhaps we just
know too much. Is it really important
whether Clinton inhaled or what Bush
Jr. received in a college class eons ago?
No, because a little experimenting or
one less-than-stellar grade in college is.
unlikely to dictate our beliefs and ac
tions throughout the rest of our life. If it
did, a lot of us would be in trouble.
And I don’t believe that today’s lead
ers are really that horrendous compared
to the ones we continue to revere. It’s no
secret that many of our founding fathers
were slave owners, had affairs and
drinking problems. A president isn’t in
human. Their job isn’t an easy one. And
if we’re looking for a role model - for a
hero - we need to change our perspec
tive. Start reading the paper instead of
getting your political information from
Saturday Night Live.
It’s easy to complain about how the
system is falling down around us, and the
president is the easiest one to point fingers
at, but we need to have a little faith. Be
ready to recognize when they do some
thing that will benefit us all. Whether we
like them or not, they are the reflection of
our country, and it’s time we cared a little
about how we look in the mirror.
E-mail columnist Rebecca Newell
at rebeccanewell@dailyemerald.com. Her opinions
do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald.
Tension spreads about campus safety
Following the Emerald’s exposure
of the attempted assault (“Are
students safe from a ‘rape cul
ture’?” ODE, Feb. 12), I have felt
increasingly uncomfortable on campus,
especially when it is dark and particu
larly near the site of the incident.
As a male, I now feel a sense of ten
sion when I am on campus and am
near a single female past sundown. I
feel as though there is now a sense of
distrust, of uncertainty between the
genders. Even though I was not in
volved and have no intention of in
flicting harm on anyone, I perceive a
sense of uneasiness that women may
be feeling in the presence of males in
certain situations.
Perhaps this feeling is similar to that
which those who appear of Middle
Eastern descent and live in America
have had to endure since Sept. 11, by
having an awareness of their affiliation
with a group that is faulted for causing
harm. I may be mistaken on both
counts and neither group (women or
people of Middle Eastern descent) may
feel what I think they do, but whether
this perception actually represents oth
Guest Commentary
Amos
Nadler
ers’ thoughts and feelings, I dislike
feeling the tension.
When someone in the community
has been attacked and dehumanized,
we collectively feel the impact and
have a responsibility to ensure that it
does not occur again. Women and men
alike are bom free and with inalienable
human rights, which include the right
to conduct their lives without the feel
ing of impending harm. Rape, assault
and abuse are not “women's prob
lems,” they are community and indi
vidual problems.
Though I was not directly involved
with the incident that took place near
the Knight Library two weeks ago, I
have been effected by it. My sense of
uneasiness did not appear out of thin
air and probably will not disappear
that way, either.
My question is: Why are we taking
the steps to raise awareness now that
an incident occurred in a public
place, yet not a peep is heard follow
ing any of the many incidents that
take place daily in people’s homes
and work? Why only when assault
takes place on the grounds of a univer
sity does it arouse attention? Are the
women who suffer from abuse in oth
er times and locations undeserving of
collective attention?
On the other hand, maybe levels of
awareness will rise as a result and proac
tive measures will be taken now that at
tention has been drawn to the issue.
My deepest sympathies go to the
woman who suffered the assault di
rectly, as well as to those who feel that
their sense of security and freedom
has been reduced as a result. I hope
that my perceptions are wrong, that
women do not actually feel what I per
ceive they feel, and that their sense of
freedom and safety has not been af
fected adversely.
This incident should serve as a cata
lyst for community improvement and
individual reflections on our respec
tive roles as human beings and what it
means to respect one another.
Amos Nadler is a junior math and economics major.