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E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
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Thursday, April 4,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Editorial
We can't let
victory riots
turn into
tradition
JL. JL-Monday night, University
of Maryland fans were ready to cele
brate. They opted for what seems to
be becoming a traditional celebra
tion — a riot.
As a result of all the “fun,” 18
people were arrested and at least
eight found themselves in the hos
pital. What’s worse, Maryland held
a similar riot Saturday after their Fi
nal Four win over Kansas.
Maryland isn’t the only school to
receive media attention over riots.
Other universities, including the
University of Arizona and the Uni
versity of Colorado, have experi
enced similar “celebrations.”
After-game riots are obviously ir
responsible and detrimental, but
the effects are far more serious than
a few broken windshields or burnt
trash cans.
The uproar is not only a waste of
time, energy and resources, but it is
also dangerous. Maryland fans were
hospitalized for injuries such as
I deep cuts and burns.
Violent celebrations also put an
other dent in college students’ al
ready-tarnished reputation. Do ex
cited fans really want to perpetuate
the image of students as irresponsi
ble alcohol-guzzlers? If they want to
be taken seriously, students, as well
as non-student fans, should find
more responsible ways to trumpet
wins or lament losses.
Intense emotions surrounding
significant wins and losses are un
derstandable, but violence is not.
fter their victory over Indi
ana in the NCAA Champi
onship basketball game
Editorial Policy
This editorial represents the opinion
of the Emerald editorial hoard.
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Editorial Board Members
Jessica Blanchard
editor in chief
Jeremy Lang
managing editor
JtiHe Lauderbaugil
editorial editor
Jacquelyn lewt$
assistant editoi iai editor
Audrey Sheppard
community representative
Letters to the editor
Volunteer to be a part of democracy
Coral Snell’s letter to the editor urged stu
dents to get involved and register to vote (“Stu
dents need to get involved,” ODE, March 13).
This is especially important with so many bal
lot initiatives for November that will affect a
person’s future, such as Health Care For All
Oregon’s proposal to get rid of the middleman
and self-insure everyone in Oregon for health
and dental care according to their ability to pay.
Another important ballot initiative is cam
paign finance reform, which will ban corpo
rate contributions and regulate organization
al expenditures in candidate contests. People
will then have a voice.
Volunteers for these initiatives offer you the
opportunity to participate in government and
also have voter registration forms. A few min
utes of your time can change your future, and
a few hours volunteering can give you a real
feeling for our participatory democracy.
Ruth Duemler
Eugene
Backing Israel is backing oppression
Every year, 3 billion of your tax dollars go
to fund Israel’s war machine. Is it any surprise
that our leadership has few harsh words for
Israel’s current oppression and terrorism of
Palestinian civilians?
We are quick to deem the suicide bombers
terrorists, while supplying the Israelis with
increased artillery weapons that have been
used for decades to overtake Palestinian land.
And we are surprised that the despair of the
Palestinians leads to suicide bombing.
In past editorials, it is obvious that we, as a
nation, are afraid to call an oppressor an op
pressor when we may be deemed anti-Semitic.
It is time we realized that a bully is a bully; that
Sharon’s oppression of the Palestinians — be
cause he has the power and the backing of the
United States — is similar to the oppression ex
perienced by the Jews in the not-so-distant past.
The issue here is not whose oppression is
worse. The issue is that oppression, in any
form, is wrong.
By continuing t6 back the Israelis while
they terrorize innocent civilians, we aid and
abet oppression and terrorism. Look up the
definition — it is that simple.
For more information on the conflict and
ways to help, contact International Solidarity
or write to your senators and representatives.
Matthew Nelson
post-baccalaureate student
Credit card companies are the real evil
On more than one occasion, both Iran and
Iraq have called America “The Great Satan.”
Sometimes you have to wonder. Case in
point, consider the following.
Friday, Jan. 25, in the Riverside, Calif., Press
Enterprise newspaper: “Credit card vendors
deluging students with credit card offers.”
What could be more contemptible than cor
porations luring young people into indebted
ness? There are cases where students have
taken their own lives after realizing the extent
of their debt. Is anyone concerned? If they are,
they’re keeping very quiet about it.
I’ll take it a bit further.
What about the absolute greed in its purest
form that credit card companies engage in
daily, charging interest rates which go beyond
25 percent? Think about it. Some charge as
much as 28.9 percent! I see it as nothing less
than legal loan-sharking.
These are deplorable things and should not
be allowed. But why aren’t universities, the
colleges, our leaders and our churches com
ing forward and speaking out in a united
voice against it? By their very silence, their
unconcern is deafening.
And then, as every year before, the politi
cians have raided the Social Security’s trust
fund — cleaning it out for the war machine
now feeding so voraciously. Mouth those
words over to yourselves: Trust fund.
When trust is a law — a federal law — and
misused and bent and ignored, it is not mere
ly wrong, it is a national disgrace.
B.G. Noe
Hemet, Calif.
Police, university also share blame for riots
(U-WIRE) COLLEGE PARK, Md. — In this
space over the past three years, The Diamond
back has scolded students for illegal behavior
after athletic events. We've supported police
and promoted alternative celebrations.
But on Monday night, the actions of Uni
versity of Maryland students, city residents,
county police officers — and the absence of •
preparation by the university administration
—were equally disgusting. Once again, fans
taunted police, destroyed property and ignit
ed bonfires. Not excusable. Once again, coun
ty police waited to disperse crowds until the
fires raged and the fans gained confidence.
Not excusable. Once again, the administra
tion failed to provide worthwhile alternatives
to rioting. Not excusable.
We hear frequently that illegal behavior
should not be tolerated. But complaints of po
lice inciting crowd violence are dismissed as
immature. Why? Maybe because most media
outlets sit by a police scanner and write stories
based on official accounts, a few student
quotes and disappointed alumni comments.
Several Diamondback reporters were on the
frontlines. One, standing still and taking notes,
was hit by five pellets in less than a second. A
Diamondback photographer was shot in the
head Saturday night after the Kansas game.
On Monday night, the police did incite vio
lence. No doubt about it, officers egged on
some people and aggressive behaviors on
both sides of the line led to fights, as The Dia
mondback reported Tuesday. There is no rea
son officers should be firing indiscriminately
toward the crowd. We keep hearing police
say a few dozen baboons are tainting healthy
celebrations with illegal behavior.
But why, then, do police herd away every
fan, including the discerning and the inno
cent, with gunfire? Why not warn fans first
with a megaphone? Why not go in on horse
back, as they have in the past? Showing no re
straint, county police charged the masses
with pepper and tear gasses. The violence,
like that of Saturday night, did not run ram
pant until after police attempted to disperse
thousands of people. When pushed back to
the College Park Shopping Center, the focus
of some fans shifted to police as the inebriat
ed battled the ill-tempered.
This editorial is courtesy of The Diamondback
at the University of Maryland.