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, February 28,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Editorial
Concertgoers get
bum rap when
artistpulls nosbow
Hip-hop star Nelly and rap icon Ice-T were sup
posed to play at McArthur Court together Feb.
24. Supposed to. Even before the show’s official
announcement, rumors circulated with varying
degrees of validity that unresolved problems existed be
tween the promoters, the University and the city. Word
even spread that a contract wasn’t signed for the show
until a day or two before tickets went on sale.
After conflicting reports questioning whether the rap
per was going to cancel his appearance or perform as
planned, the UO Cultural Forum confirmed Feb. 20 that
Ice-T would indeed perform. But the rapper still never
showed, and his absence left concertgoers wondering
what went right.
Rumors about cancellation ranging from Ice-T’s “phys
ical problems” to his prior engagements ran rampant on
campus the week before the show.
Parking problems plagued the area before the concert,
and when the show finally started, the audience was
treated to random opening bands with long intervals be
tween sets. Additional, yet admittedly minor, woes came
in the form of several hundred middle-school fans who
could afford the pricey $40 tickets. Nelly reportedly only
played for about an hour, but the biggest letdown of the
night had to be the cancellation of Ice-T.
The concert was a big disappointment all around for
fans, and the only excuse we can suggest for Ice-T’s no
show is: Hey — must be the money.
Editorial Policy
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial
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Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged,
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reserves the right to edit for space, grammar and style.
Jessica Blanchard
editor in chief
Jeremy Lang
managing editor
Julie Lauderbaugh
editorial editor
Jacquelyn lewis
assistant editorial editor
GoJda Portillo
community representative
LeonTovey
newsroom representative
Letter to the editor
Pilliod and Buzbee have what it takes
Rachel Pilliod and Ben Buzbee have the plans and the
leadership experience necessary to improve the overall edu
cation we receive at the University. Their past experience
and commitment to students makes them the clear choice for
the ASUO Executive.
I am voting for Pilliod and Buzbee because I know they will
do everything in their power to remedy problems like inade
quate campus security, rising parking fees, and decreasing state
funding for education.
I worked as a legislative intern in Salem last session. The
facts are simple: Student participation in the legislative
process directly determines the amount of funding education
receives. The future affordability of tuition at the University
is directly dependent upon the quality and effectiveness ol
the ASUO leadership that we elect for next year. Oregon is
facing an $830 million budget deficit for 2002-03. Public ed
ucation is the first place that our state legislators are cutting
in order to balance the state budget. We need student leaders
who will prevent further cuts in the OUS budget and prevent
tuition from skyrocketing.
Rachel and Ben are the proactive and dedicated leaders that
that we need in the ASUO. Take a few minutes and cast your
vote for Pilliod and Buzbee, they are the best choice.
Arne McLean
junior
political science
•5Asss
Time for
HARD
CORE PORN
reform
Pornography manages to both
intrigue and disgust thou
sands of Americans while
continuing to maintain rev
enue estimated as high as $10 bil
lion annually. It is the perfect mar
riage of stocks and bondage — with
or without the black leather.
Despite popular culture’s tenden
cy to borrow from porn storylines
(think Monica and Bill, MTV’s soft
core soap opera “Undressed,” or
any “Sex and the City” episode), the
subject remains taboo in society,
usually relegated to fraternity hous
es, bachelor parties and dimly lit
suburban bedrooms.
With the advent of the Internet,
the scope of porn has been inflated
— as are most things in the indus
try — and producers are reaching
wider audiences who have an even
broader range of perverse appetites.
While the market for porn will al
ways remain steady, the health
risks involved for its participants
are becoming increasingly danger
ous. Safety hazards — not the cur
rent nonsensical lawsuits champi
oned by Attorney General John
Ashcroft fighting general obscenity
— need to be addressed by the fed
eral government.
A recent “Frontline” documen
tary on the pornography industry,
“American Porn,” interviewed
pornography producer/director
Lizzy Borden of Extreme Associ
ates. The crew was conducting the
interview on location of her latest
porn film; the movie’s storyline had
the lead female character kicked
and punched, raped by two men,
spit on while they slit her throat
and left for dead — not very sexy
stuff, but the market for this kind of
violence is widespread.
Borden told “Frontline” that the
actress was a friend and did not
know she would actually be hit dur
ing the fake
rape/murder. She
justified the inci
dent by saying it
was OK because
she was a female
director, and her
friend trusted
her.
An isolated in
cident? Maybe,
but it makes me
wonder if the
men and women
participating in
the industry need
some form of pro
tection from violence and health
hazards, even though they are sup
posed to be consenting adults.
President George W. Bush and all
of his puritanical cronies need to
start regulating the industry to pro
tect both actors and producers from
physical health hazards. As of fall
2001, the U.S. Supreme Court has
heard three cases involving porn;
two center on the impact of avail
ability of porn on the Internet. The
administration needs to stop wast
ing time policing obscenity charges
and begin devising porn health reg
ulations. It would be doing a serv
ice to porn participants, and, in
Lauderbaugh
Editorial Editor
turn, the industry would bring
home the bacon.
Sex sells, and the government
should get in on the action. The
money gleaned from regulation
standards and hefty fines for non
compliance could then be funneled
into our public school system. The
money might be “dirty” in some
eyes, but who is to say the corporate
support of schools from business
super-giants like Apple, Coca-Cola
or Pepsi is any less immoral?
Our children are growing up un
der the influence that corporate
America is to thank for new soccer
fields, textbooks and extracurricu
lar programs. Our schools are des
perate for government allocations
— money the government could
easily appropriate if it were making
money off the porn industry. With
the Bush administration hot and
bothered to fight the war on terror,
initial campaign promises to reform
public schools have been put on
the back burner.
Our public schools are getting
screwed while the government is
giving the shaft to the much-needed
health and safety standards of the
porn industry. By linking the two
social problems, porn producers
can continue to make their living
safely and our kids can reap the
benefits of an industry that makes
more than all the “performing arts”
combined.
E-mail editorial editor Julie Lauderbaugh
atjulielauderbaugh@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily reflect those
of the Emerald.