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RO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
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Friday, March 1,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Yesteryear's Editorial
Red scare returns
in US. politics
University
of Oregon
125th
ANNIVERSARY
Originally
published on
March 1,1985
Anew kind of red scare is taking place in the
United States and the implications are seri
ous. The declared enemy is Nicaragua and the
propaganda target is the American people. The pur
pose of this red scare is to raise the level of paranoia
and fear in the American public sufficiently enough
to win support for President Ronald Reagan’s as-yet
undeclared war against the Sandinista government.
How is this red scare manifesting itself? Both Rea
gan and Secretary of State George Shultz have dra
matically escalated their anti-Sandinista rhetoric in
recent months. In foreign policy speeches, the San
dinistas are referred to as “drug pushers,” “godless,”
“cruel,” “evil” and as “exporters of revolution”
_ whose ultimate aim is to desta
bilize the United States. Reagan
has warned the American peo
ple that unless the Sandinistas
are stopped now, we might be
fighting communism on our
own borders.
In conjunction with this fear
mongering, the Reagan adminis
tration has also increased FBI
surveillance of Central American
support groups and harassment of individuals that
question the official government position on
Nicaragua. FBI infiltration of church sanctuary groups
in Arizona, Texas and Washington has led to fear of
trust among church sanctuary members throughout
the country. Journalists have also been harassed, such
as Edward Hasse, a freelancer from Kansas City. Hasse
was interrogated at length by the FBI on January 16, af
ter returning from a trip to Nicaragua. His personal di
ary, written works and address book were confiscated
and are still in the hands of the FBI.
A dangerous trend is now being set in this coun
try, fueled by Reagan’s desperate desire to win sup
port for his Central American policy. Inflammatory
rhetoric and FBI-sponsored harassment appear to
be gaining headway over responsible discussion
and debate on an important issue: Should the Unit
ed States be supporting the overthrow of the San
dinista government? Americans must resist this lat
est attempt at drumming up a red scare by both
Reagan and Shultz, and instead opt for a responsible
presentation of the issues on Central America from
the different points of view. If the current trend of
fear-mongering continues, we may find that the
cherished freedoms of this nation may be threat
ened more by Reagan’s redbaiting policies at home
than by a perceived communist threat from abroad.
This editorial was taken from the March 1,1985
edition of the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Letters to the Editor and
Guest Commentaries Policy
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. Hie Emerald I
reserves the right to edit lor space, grammar and style.
CORRECTION
The subhead on Wednesday’s story about male trespassers in
Spiller Hall (“6PD says trespassers weren’t charged with
attempted rape," ODE, Feb. 27} should have stated that police
said the female resident did not feel threatened. Wednesday’s
story about the GTFF rally fGTFs rally for fair contract,” ODE,. ,
Feb. 27) should have stated that negotiations hitasnag Feb, 19.
The Emerald reg rets the errors.
CLARIFICATION
Also in the rally story, the subhead should have stated that the
GTFF was seeking language in its contract that protects against
discrimination based on gender status. The Emerald used the
ierm "gender status" to refer to discrimination against
transgender and transsexual individuals.
Letters to the editor
GTFF rally more than ‘Faith’
As a Journalism and Communication
GTF and a participant in the GTFF rally
on Feb. 26,1 am very outraged by Steve
Baggs’ illustration on the rally Feb. 27.
Along with (Leon) Tovey’s full-of-inac
curate-information “GTFs rally for fair
contract” piece (ODE, 2/27), I cannot see
how the Emerald is able to provide its
readers a full context to understand the
issue at hand. Rather than seeing GTF
contracts as a stand-alone issue, we
should try to understand why it is related
to the quality of undergraduate and grad
uate education, state budget cuts in high
er education and university ranking in
the nation. GTFs contribute to 30 percent
of the teaching load, University-wide;
most of us help faculty on their research,
which is a focal point of a research uni
versity. A cut in the state education
budget means some people have to bear
the cost — unfortunately, it is the GTFs
who probably have the weakest bar
gaining power.
I feel very disappointed that not only
did the Emerald fail to give its readers a
much more holistic and critical perspec
tive in framing education issues that are
pertinent to them, it also trivialized a se
rious issue by characterizing partici
pants of rally as a bunch of brats who are
asking for more than they should. The
readers do not need to know why the ral
ly started with “Faith,” the readers have
to know the good cause behind the rally
and why it, in every way, is relevant to
their education.
Micky Lee
Ph.D. student and GTF
School of Journalism and Communication
ASUO election well-run
We are very impressed with how the
ASUO primary election was run. We’re
glad our expenditure form got published
in the Emerald. It is a status symbol.
We felt that the elections coordinators
did their jobs as well as they could,
which narrowed down two identifiable
candidates. What it all boils down to is
leadership ability in a time of radical
change.
Our voice definitely got out to the peo
ple we wanted to get it out to: smart guys
like us and pretty girls.
We really enjoyed the experience we
had and hope that the University we go
to is represented in a manner unique to
any other school in the country.
John Ely
junior
history, folklore
Hayes Hurwitz
junior
economics, Spanish
Dreierneedstogetaclue
This letter is in response to Timothy
Dreier’s reply on my letter dealing with
his interview (“Edwards is a commie
sympathizer,” ODE, 02/22).
First of all, in response to Dreier’s com
ment on my ability to recognize satire: For
something to be effective and recognizable
as satire, it must be clearly identified as
satire, and it must be clear what is being sat
irized. I don't see Dreier doing either one of
these until after the fact.
Most students don't care about campus
politics; I am one of them. These students
don't get their information anywhere but
the Emerald and the occasional flier hand
ed to them. How did Dreier expect people
who had never heard of him and what he
was running for to instantly recognize his
tasteless satire of other candidates, who
they also know little or nothing about? Not
a good way to get people to care about stu
dent elections.
And second, it's pretty clear Dreier has
no conception of what it is like in a cul
ture where people are legally discrimi
nated against for their political views. He
has obviously never lived in a country
where people could be, as he so casually
jokes about, “black-listed” and their and
their families’ entire lives ruined be
cause of it.
Dreier should think about what he
treats so lightly.
Nathan Edwards
junior
English
Cultural Forum needs to learn job
I’m not surprised there was no review
for the Feb. 24 horribly-run Ice-T/Nelly
concert. I’ve seen roughly three-dozen
large venue concerts since 1994, and
have never seen such a poorly executed,
overpriced production. After the UO
Cultural Forum’s horrible hosting and
production of the Ice-T/Nelly concert,
it’s apparent that the Cultural Forum
needs to learn how to host a show, and
the community will be lucky to be able to
host any big name concerts in the near fu
ture because of this recent failure.
Feb. 20 the Emerald said Ice-T can
celed, then Feb. 21 the Emerald said it
was a mistake, and that Ice-T would be
performing after all. So what actually
happens? Ice-T doesn’t show and there
is no announcement. I don’t blame the
performers, but rather disinformation,
the total lack of enough speakers and the
negative feeling the crowd felt by an
overabundance of DPS officers outside
and security inside on the floor.
The University could have done a bet
ter job; they did before, putting on Bob
Dylan and Paul Simon in ’98!
Aaron Reddick
junior
landscape architecture
Sin may be ‘in,’
but sexism certainly is not
It is with great disappointment that I
write in regard to an advertisement in the
Emerald’s Feb. 26 “Sin is In” edition. The
advertisement, for High Priestess Pierc
ing (page 7B), reads: “give in to tempta
tion” and pictures a nearly nude woman
in a sexually suggestive position.
This advertisement demeans and re
duces women to mere sexual objects
and reinforces stereotypes against
women. Sexist attitudes and comments
are not new to the Emerald. In October
of 2000, readers of this publication
were subjected to similar material (the
Yahoo! campaign).
Once again, Becky Merchant and the
Emerald staff have failed to make proper
advertising decisions. Making money off
the objectification of women is offensive
to many individuals, and seems fully in
consistent with the vision of a University
environment free of sexism in any form.
Page 8B contains an ad which pro
motes positive body image. How can -
this advertisement be in the same issue
as one which encourages discrimina
tion against women — sexual discrimi- %
nation which could possibly lead to
sexual assault?
Organizations like the Emerald must
realize ads like these contribute to the
lack of safety on campus as much as poor
campus lighting. As a student-run news
paper, the Emerald should be wary of
alienating and objectifying half the stu
dent body, in addition to many other
constituents of our community.
It must be said, that once again, it is
time that the Emerald reflect and see the
decision to run this ad as a sign of irre
sponsible journalism.
Emily Katina May
senior
general science
Peter Utsey Emerald
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