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
Monday, April 15,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Editorial
UO students,
administrators
must team up
on safety issues
he campus safety forum sponsored by the
Office of Student Life on April 11 was an
JL important first step in creating an open
channel of communication between administra
tors and students. Students and top administra
tors converged at the Knight Library with the
same mission: To exchange concerns about cam
pus safety. But it was clear many students did not
trust how the administration has been conducting
itself, and repairing that confidence will be one of
the University’s greatest challenges in creating a
safer environment.
It was encouraging to see high-level adminis
trators willing to listen to student voices on this
issue at the forum. All views were taken into ac
count, and the forum broke off into four groups
to discuss sexual assault prevention and re
sponse, involvement in campus safety, ongoing
communication about safety issues and ways to
protect the campus after dark.
Many groups generated some potential solu
tions to their topics, and now that the initial dis
cussion has concluded, it is time for the Universi
ty to put some of those ideas into action.
One idea was to create a communication loop
for the campus that would allow departments,
such as the Department of Public Safety, to send
out e-mails to administrators, student groups,
campus media and residence hall assistants to
keep them updated on campus incidents and
safety concerns. It’s an excellent idea: By sharing
the same information with everyone at the Uni
versity, people will have a clear idea of what is
happening and what DPS is doing about it.
Administrators from DPS and the Office of
Student Life maintain that they want to create a
safer campus for everyone. But to achieve this
they need to be as forthcoming as possible with
their information and prove to students they are
acting with our best interests in mind. The idea
of the e-mail loop is a good start.
To their credit, DPS implemented a few of its lat
est safety ideas, such as the Yellowjackets student
patrol group and the department’s hotline that
gives full information about recent DPS responses.
Students can call 346-5692 to hear details.
Now, students need to take the initiative to
find out how they can work with the University
to combat campus safety problems. The most ob
vious step is to attend the Campus Community
Relations Task Force forum, April 24 at the Her
itage Room in the Bowerman Building, to help
brainstorm more solutions. The University is
making an effort to share its ideas and generate
feedback. Students should take advantage of
that opportunity, and together we can start re
building our relationship.
Editorial Policy
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses ran be sent
to ietters@dailyemerald.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.
CORRECTION
In the article “Campus greek chapters turn alcohol-free"
(ODE, April 12), Kappa Sigma fraternity president Jordan
Fezler’s name was misspelled.
The Emerald regrets the error.
Peter Utsey Emerald
Back-to-school sales tax
The state of Oregon has long formed
a nationwide identity of being pro
gressive. Our “forward thinking”
ideas include having attendants pump
our gas, allowing people to legally com
Oliver
Columnist
mit suicide and hav
ing a coastline en
tirely open for
public use. While
the objective behind
being progressive is
to advance the gen
eral welfare of the
state, there is one
long-standing char
acteristic in Oregon
that is doing just the
opposite. It is time
we scrounge up all
those pennies and
implement a sales
tax.
Oregon is facing one of the worst
budget shortfalls in state history. The
University alone is looking at a cut be
tween $12 million and $13 million. Leg
islators scurried to prevent an even
deeper cut, and now University admin
istrators must find ways to tighten al
ready constricted resources. An ideal so
lution would be to prevent these cuts.
With a sales tax, that is exactly what
could happen.
The last time a sales tax proposal
was brought in front of Oregon voters
was in 1993. Only 25 percent of votes
cast were in favor, and the sales tax
was soundly defeated. The common
argument against the sales tax is that it
places the same burden on both the
rich and the poor. Granted that rate
charged to rich people and poor peo
ple will be the same, but when people
have more money they spend more
money. Because the rich buy more,
they will pay more in taxes, making
this an illogical argument.
The other, much more understandable
reason as to why the concept of a sales
tax is frowned upon in Oregon is simply
because it is different. As Oregonians,
we are used to going down to the store
and paying the exact price listed on the
loaf of bread. Nothing more and nothing
less. We are accustomed to this and are
afraid of change.
I’d be the first person to say I enjoy
the convenience of having no sales tax,
but our state needs it. During my fre
quent travels to states such as Michi
gan, with its 6 percent sales tax, and
California, with its 5.75 percent sales
tax, I find it annoying when the 99-cent
item from the value menu costs $1.05.
It isn’t the fact that I can’t afford the ex
tra 6 cents; it is the hassle of either find
ing some loose change or dealing with
the loose change when you have to
break a bill. A little hassle, though, can
create a steady revenue stream the state
of Oregon can depend on.
In our minds, adapting to a sales tax
may be difficult, but it is also what our
mind thinks that makes a sales tax so
attractive. Nobody likes handing mon
ey over to the government, but it is
much easier to do it a few pennies at a
time than it is to write a big tax check
every April. A few cents — or a few
dollars on larger purchases — isn’t go
ing to create a mentality that you’re
breaking the bank.
There is no guarantee that a sales tax
will immediately improve our schools.
Just look at Mississippi, where despite
having one of the largest sales taxes in
the nation — 7 percent — the state has
some of the nation’s poorest schools. It is
up to our leaders in Salem where the
money goes; but then again, maybe it is
n’t. Why can’t our new sales tax be the
first in the nation earmarked for educa
tion? In Oregon, we pride ourselves on
being the first to do things, and this
seems just as good a time as any to again
do just that.
E-mail columnist Jeff Oliver
atjeffoliver@dailyemerald.com. His opinions
do not necessarily reflect those of the Emerald.
Pol! Results:
Every week, the Emerald prints the results of our online poll
and the poll question for next week. The poll can be
accessed from the mai n page of our Web site,
www.datlyemeraid.com. We encourage you to send us
feedback about the poll questions and results.
This week’s poll question: Should the University schedule
athletic games with teams that have American Indian
mascots?
The choices:
| BYes
I BNo
B Don’t care
| B Don’t know
Letter to the editor
New DPS truck
wastes our money
Well, I just saw the Depart
ment of Public Safety's new
truck the other day — a big,
shiny Dodge Dakota, I believe.
Cool. Then I noticed the word
“parking” in big, bold letters
on the side of the truck. I had
to laugh.
Does this seem slightly ridicu
lous to anyone else? I mean,
when was the last time you saw
DPS take off four-wheeling
through the mud after someone
who let the meter run out?
Is it really necessary to spend
my money and yours on a big
truck anyway? Is it for the intim
idation factor? All I can say is
that I’m deathly afraid of those
little (not to mention economi
cally and environmentally
friendly) three-wheeled vehicles
the Eugene Police Department
uses to enforce parking. “Nooo,
that’s my car!”
Brian Stutzman
junior
general science