Oregon daily emerald., May 24, 2002, Image 2

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
Friday, May 24,2002
Editor in Chief:
Jessica Blanchard
Managing Editor:
Jeremy Lang
Editorial Editor:
Julie Lauderbaugh
Assistant Editorial Editor:
Jacquelyn Lewis
Yesteryear’s Editorial
Student Council
Finds Way
To Kill Time
Editor’s note: This editorial ran in the Oregon
Daily Emerald the day after the University Student
Body Council announced that freshmen would be
expected to continue the tradition of wearing green
caps as part of initiation, and those who violated
the rule would be punished every Thursday at 10:50
a.m. on the Library steps, “under the auspices of the
Order of the ‘O.’”
It is the strange and somewhat pathetic duty of the
Emerald to inform the students of the University,
after years in which they might have found out for
themselves by walking across the campus, that Ore
gon is to have traditions.
The student council says so. And, by golly, what
the student council says goes — sometimes.
As the discerning reader will perceive elsewhere
in the columns of this morning’s Emerald, the stu
dent council yesterday made up its mind — or per
haps the word “decided” is more appropriate for the
operation which it underwent — to re-establish
freshman paddling on the library steps. Traditions
University
of Oregon
125th
ANNIVERSARY
Originally
published on
May 24,1928
which are so useless that they
can’t live from their own strength
will be tenderly nourished by use
of the oaken barrel stave.
Now, of course, we admit that
the student council must have
something to do. The first official
meeting of the newly elected
group was held yesterday — and
should the organization find
nothing whatever to occupy its
time, nothing even for one meeting, someone might
criticize. Someone might even be tempted to suggest
the abolition of the student council. And then what
would campus politics and campus politicians do?
Oh, horrors!
The Emerald does not frown on traditions merely
because they are traditions. What the Emerald dis
likes is to see college students who are old enough
to know better try to enforce silly customs which
would die a most gentlemanly death were they al
lowed to do so in peace.
The “hello” tradition has not perished. It will sub
sist without hothouse nursing. The chances are that
there always will be a sufficient number of socialized
students on the campus to maintain the “hello” tradi
tion. But if anyone does not want to say “hello,” it’s
his own business; and the Emerald fears, despite the
good intentions of the student council, that a paddle
more or less won’t make much difference.
The public humiliation of freshmen, a nice bit
of barbarism, was abolished in recent years by
some partially civilized student council, but
presto! a rub of Aladdin’s lamp and the evil genii
is back again.
And the sad fact of it all is this writer, a member
of the worthy body — long may it live — could not
be present at the meeting wherein these students,
whom the freshmen helped to elect, evolved, by re
version to type, this scheme for the spiritual wel
fare of the ignorant frosh. But let it be known, if he
had been there, he should have raised his lust
voice — not to say musical — in a howl, loud and
long, that should have been heard from Spencer’s
Butte to Hendricks Park.
This editorial was taken from the May 24,1928,
edition of the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Letters to
i
Utters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged,
tetters are limited to 21 iO words and quest commentaries
to 550 words. Please include contact information.
The Emerald reserves the rightto edit
for space, grammar and style. *
*-.**—*—»»»— .,Tt **'( ■ .
Peter Utsey Emerald
TH£ Terrorists arc comiw^ \
THC TERRORISTS ARE doMimO \
Letters to the editor
Drinking ban may spread
issues to neighborhoods
President Frohnmayer bans drinking
in the greek system — and the greeks
aren’t the only ones less than happy.
While Frohnmayer may be trying to
avoid an “In Loco Parentis” lawsuit re
lated to drinking, he has instead made
the neighborhoods outside the Univer
sity the new parents.
Almost all young people drink dur
ing college years, many quite responsi
bly. The few who party too much and
too publicly are the problems. Neigh
borhoods have always had problems
with “party houses.” These can burn
out the patience of neighbors as behav
ior becomes obnoxious or threatening
and police are called. Then, there is the
under-18 crowd and drugs, if it be
comes a known “house.”
I fear banning alcohol in greek hous
es will force drinking out into the com
munity. Instead of being drunk and ob
noxious among peers, they will be so in
front of small children and older resi
dents — a bad situation aggravated by
drunken driving to and from designat
ed party houses.
Should the University be held respon
sible for the actions of these students and
the damage — real and deadly — they
may cause in neighborhoods? Will few
er students become toxically drunk or
drugged because of the ban?
Perhaps President Frohnmayer and
the administration should truly act like
cautious parents and keep their “prob
lem” kids closer to home. House par
ents, resident assistants, campus police
and Sacred Heart’s emergency room are
close by if trouble occurs.
Dumping problem situations into the
larger community only makes for bad
public relations with angry and frus
trated neighbors.
C.M. Berglund
University Health Services
Campus events should not
contain corporate influence
I am writing to express an opinion I
feel is shared by many people on cam
pus. I was saddened to see the display
of consumerism that marked our cam
pus Tuesday.
Romania’s gas-guzzling cars and SUVs
have no place being sold on our campus.
The circus-like atmosphere the promo
tional event created was not only a dis
tracting nuisance; it represented our
school unjustly. Do we really want our
campus to become a hot spot for con
sumerism and corporate profit? How do
we expect to uphold the highly valued
integrity of this institution when we are
selling out to not only the automobile in
dustry but also to the fundraising agenda
of a select minority on campus?
I personally feel that this school
stands for something better, and that
must be represented by the quality of
events we sponsor on campus.
As I watched the disheartening pa
rade of corporate marketing schemes at
work this week, I felt that little respect
was being shown to the representation
of the whole of the student, faculty and
staff of our University.
We must continue to express in our
daily activities on campus the wish
that the integrity of this institution
not be undermined or misrepresented
by corporate influence.
Lorie Miller
freshman
undeclared
Campus is not a pit stop
Get off our campus and stay off.
It disgusts me to see our campus be
ing used as a marketing tool for greedy
corporations such as Chevrolet. Who
do they think we are? Well, they seem
to think that they can lure us in with
“high-tech” video games, loud and
“wild” music, and, oh boy, even prizes!
The local car dealerships were sure
to get in on this marketing extravagan
za. Joe Romania Chevrolet so kindly
placed yellow flyers in the residence
hall system’s food source, the Grab ’N
Go, which flaunted the event by using
key words such as “tans,” “escape,”
“beach,” “freckles,” “sandals,” “speed”
— you get the idea.
When I think of the beach, I think of
fresh and even zesty air. Car manufac
turers such as Chevy have been doing
everything in their power to prevent
our air from being clean and fresh.
So say I really was trying to escape
from my school workload in search of
a tan, freckles and wildness. What in
the world does that have to do with
supporting car manufacturers, which
are severely influencing political mat
ters and promoting environmental
degradation? Not a darn thing.
For future reference, let it be known that
this is a respectable campus, not a conven
ient stop for a corporate freak show.
Ashlee Harrison
freshman
environmental science