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E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailvemerald.com
Monday, March 18,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn l£wis
Editorial
]
Until campus
is safer, learn
to self-defend
!
I
It often seems like nothing could bring
everyone on campus together — not stu
dent government elections, not culture
nights or rallies in the EMU Amphitheater.
But the recent campus attacks near Gerlinger
Hall have left almost everyone sharing the
same feelings of frustration and vulnerability.
Although no one is pointing fingers, it may
be time for the University to seek outside help
from national campus safety professionals. The
Department of Public Safety is doing its best to
keep the campus safe. But the University often
receives outside help on issues of diversity and
tolerance on campus, and it’s only natural we
seek the same guidance from experts with ex
perience resolving safety issues on other cam
puses. Objective professionals can help brain
storm new approaches and ideas to make the
campus a safer place.
In the meantime, students, faculty and staff
should make an effort to learn appropriate self
defense moves, use common sense and take
advantage of underused campus services, such
as DPS campus escorts.
The woman who was attacked March 13 by
Gerlinger Hall was impressively well-prepared
for the attack — she was able to fire pepper
spray in her assailant’s eyes, hit him with her car
keys and run away — but not everyone would
have such quick reflexes in this situation.
Generally speaking, when people are at
tacked their human instinct is to fight back, but
defending yourself successfully takes practice.
We encourage people to take self-defense or
martial arts classes to rehearse these tech
niques so that they are comfortable using them
in real-life situations.
A few simple self-defense techniques, such as
kicking or kneeing an attacker to the groin or
knee, are very effective. Punching to the face or
elbowing an attacker in the sternum or head are
also powerful ways to fight back when faced
with an attacker. Every part of your body is po
tentially a weapon, if you know how to use it.
But not all situations are the same, and if
you’re attacked, you have to do what is right for
you. When weapons are involved, as in the
March 12 attempted robbery by Gerlinger Hall,
the whole dynamic of the situation changes. In
these cases, it’s important to do whatever you
have to do to survive the attack. Sometimes
people freeze, and that in no way means those
people “failed” to protect themselves correctly.
We hope that the culprit or culprits of these
attacks are caught, but some other recent cam
pus attackers have never been found. And that
makes it even more important for students to be
educated and prepared — to help them be safer.
Editorial Policy
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses can be sent to
ietters@daityemerald.com. 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.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit for
space, grammar and style.
Editorial Board Members
Jessica Blanchard Jacquelyn Lewis
editor in chief
assistant editorial editor
Jeremy Lang
managing editor
Golda Portillo
community representative
Julie Lauderbaugh
editorial editor
LeonTovey
newsroom representative
GTFs feel pressure, attack on all sides
I have been a graduate student for
nearly five years at the University,
developed relationships with a num
ber of administrators and served the
University on a number of committees. In
fact, I helped to form a Joint Committee
on Insurance to help look at issues of mu
tual interest between the University and
the graduate teaching fellows. I have had
disagreements with University decisions,
but I felt that my voice was heard and
that we could make progress together to
reach mutually beneficial goals.
Lately, I have felt increasingly under
attack. The recent ODE cartoon depict
ing GTFs as crybabies ignores the fact
that we work nearly 80 to 100 hours a
week (including course work and re
search) for less than 20 hours pay (about
$200), and it ignores the crucial point
that if we did not receive a tuition waiv
er, we would be somewhere else. Per
sonally, I would be at Florida State Uni
versity right now if I knew I would be
receiving 4 years straight of pay cuts, af
ter accounting for inflation.
Campuswide, GTFs are feeling the
pressure of funding and economic con
r
Guest Commentary
Paul
Prew
straints. According to the University’s
1999 “Process for Change Report,” a 33
percent increase in GTF pay would not
be “fat.” The ability of the University to
attract and retain the graduate students it
desires depends on the ability to provide
incentives that match or outdo its com
petitors. Given the low rate of pay, Ore
gon lags significantly behind in this re
spect. Of particular interest to
recruitment, international GTFs must be
employed and cannot obtain employ
ment outside of the University. Most
must subsist on GTF salaries alone — an
income below the poverty level.
Although pay is a major issue of con
cern for many graduate students attempt
ing to eke out a living on their GTF
salaries, there are other issues of concern
to which the University has turned a deaf
ear. Recently, a pair of GTFs were berated
and harassed by a professor who publicly
blamed them for losing grades for a
course. In fact, the professor had deleted
them herself. The University argued in a
settlement with the GTFs that the profes
sor was in fact wrong, but the contract be
tween the University and the Graduate
Teaching Fellows Federation (the union
that represents GTFs) did not cover the
issue. Despite the University’s admis
sion, officials have since refused any at
tempts to address the issue within the
GTFF contract.
All of these issues have major implica
tions for undergraduates. As their tuition
rises and the amount of services they re
ceive does not necessarily increase, they
are faced with an environment that is less
and less conducive to learning. Pressure is
building to increase class sizes, but GTFs
are not given more time or resources to
deal with the students that they have.
Overworked, underpaid, hungry GTFs (I
actually had a student who brought food to
class for me because I looked peckish) can
not perform optimally to give the quality
education undergraduates deserve.
Paul Prew is a doctoral candidate in sociology.
Peter Utsey Emerald
A MfANl5
\0 AM EM D
Poll Results:
Every week, the Emerald prints the results of our online poll j
The poll can he accessed from the main page of our Web
site, www.dailyemerald.com. We encourage you to send us
feedback about the poll questions and results.
! Last week’s poll question:
' How far wilt the Oregon men’s basketball team go in the
1 NCAA Tournament?
Results: 137 total votes
■ Sweet 16 — 27.7 percent, or 38 votes
■ Elite Eight — 27.7 percent, or 38 votes
■ Final Four — 27.0 percent, or 37 votes
■ Don’t care —14.6 percent, or 20 votes
■ Don’t know — 2.9 percent, or 4 votes
Everybody is right so far, and how very sweet itjs. But ke.
voting, because this poll question will stay in play until the
Ducks stop dancing.
Letter to the editor
Separate shuttles
cost too much
As a student, paying incidental
fees like the rest of us, it strikes
me as somewhat ridiculous that
there are two programs (e.g.
Saferide and Night Ride) with a
common goal (that of providing
safe transportation after dark) yet
with separate staffs, separate re
sources and a separate budget. I
have no problem forking over a lit
tle cash so that folks can have a
safe ride after the sun goes down.,
but I do have serious qualms
about funding two entirety inde
pendent projects that could easily
be integrated.
Are the women of this campus
reallv so afraid of the men that
they cannot even share a van for
10 minutes? Perhaps an integrated
service could have both a male
and a female staff member present
to ensure that everybody’s inter
ests are protected.
If that is insufficient, than I say
call DPS. Not only are they in peak
physical condition, but the arsenal
on their belt is sure to deter most
every would-be attacker, sexual or
otherwise. To continue the segrega
tion of these transport services only
widens the gap between the sexes,
fostering an environment of bitter
ness and resentment, and nurturing
our so called 'Tape culture.”
Besides that, it costs twice as
much, and that ticks me off.
Ben Strawn
freshman
. r, undeclared
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