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Thursday, December 5,2002
-Oregon Daily Emerald --
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editors:
Salena De La Cruz, Pat Payne
Editorial
University
must speak
on looming
war in Iraq
At Wednesday’s University Senate meeting,
faculty representatives decided that debating or
voting on a resolution opposing the possibility
of war in Iraq did not fall under their authority.
How could this be? The question at hand
isn’t a policy issue—it’s simply a statement of
opinion about an issue that is of the gravest
importance to every American, including
University community members, and would
affect students and their possibilities for edu
cation greatly.
Some of the arguments made by those op
posed to hearing the resolution said that it
could threaten the legitimacy of the senate and
that they wanted to keep intact the power that
the senate does have.
These points seem to us red herrings. Surely
University members, as a community of people
who traffic in education and critical thinking,
have the right to express their collective opin
ion about an issue as important as war. In fact,
if they take their duty as intellectuals seriously,
they have an obligation to share their knowl
edge and analysis with the larger community.
Another concern, to us more powerful, was
expressed most eloquently by political sci
ence Dean Priscilla Southwell. The problem
with the University Senate voting on this res
olution, she said, was that no one knew the
faculty senators’ political leanings when they
voted for them, so there’s no way to know if
the senators would adequately represent
everyone’s opinions.
For this reason, we have to agree with the
senate’s decision. In times of looming war,
everyone should have the chance to speak
their mind, and a vote of only a few is not
adequate. (We might add that this was a
problem when the U.S. Senate voted to au
thorize war, as well.)
While we agree with Southwell, we do have a
question. Other speakers opposed to hearing
the resolution said the senate should constrain
itself to issues that more direcdy affect the Uni
versity — such as higher education funding
and class sizes. But those issues are also explic
itly political, so why do faculty members trust
senators to represent them on those issues?
Our misgivings on that point aside, South
well was right. But she also spoke of pure
democracy, of everyone having a vote and a
voice. To that, we say: Bring it on.
The University Assembly must take up this
issue. The feeling in the room at the senate
meeting — and a more general feeling on
campus — is that the community is opposed
to using military force in Iraq. There is no ra
tional reason, then, except for moral cow
ardice or frightening complicity, for the com
munity not to tell the world what it thinks
about the possibility of war.
This resolution needs to be presented to the
University Assembly for debate and a vote, and
the same resolution must be put to students in
a special election.
Once the entire community has had a
chance to speak, think and decide, it should
declare its opinion to the world. The issue is
much too important for the University to be
frightened of speaking. If we don’t, who will?
This editorial represents the
opinion of the Emerald editoria
board. Responses can be sent
to letters ^daiiyemeraid.com.
UNITE against sweatshop goods
All right, I admit it - I am a
“Gap girl.” I like shopping at the
mall, I like buying clothes and I
like dressing “cute.” As I look
down at what I am wearing right
now, I realize that from head to
toe I am covered in articles of
clothing from Gap to Old Navy,
and Vans to Victoria’s Secret.
So sue me. I love the way the
clothing looks with my college
student budget, and I can buy de
cent-quality clothing without
having to take out another loan.
With Christmas right around
the comer, my wish list is packed
with scarves and sweaters from
the store to add to my name
brand wardrobe.
But I might need to rethink
my list.
This holiday season, garment
workers from Indonesia are
calling consumers here in the
United States to boycott Gap
Inc. products.
The reason: The work condi
tions in these third-world sweat
shops are inhumane, according
to workers. And I don’t doubt it.
In a recent study by the Union of
Needle
trades, In
dustrial and
Textile Em
ployees,
also known
as UNITE,
it has been
concluded
that the
current
work con
ditions in
Gap facto
ries are
lacking. UNITE states that cur
rently there are poor health and
safety conditions in these facto
ries in Africa, Southeast Asia and
Latin America.
These factories are often dirty
and unsafe, and the workers are
Sarah
Spellman
Spin cycle
Steve Baggs Emerald
treated poorly, either by being
beaten for mistakes or even going
without pay as punishment. In
fact, according to one Lesotho gar
ment worker, the factories are so
dusty that they cannot avoid
breathing in the fibers.
In addition, Ginny Coughlin,
UNITE’s Global Justice for Gar
ment Workers Campaign Direc
tor states that although the
company does pay its workers
in these countries the declared
minimum wage, it is often
hard for the workers to make
ends meet.
Higher pay is not the issue
here. Wages may be low but they
are provided with work that they
might not otherwise have. Also, if
the pay was as much as workers
in the United States, it would be
too much. Their economy is not
as stable, and it would send them
into flux.
They are, in fact, receiving
their minimum wage set up by
their government. Here in the
United States, it is the same:
People working for minimum
wage cannot always make ends
meet, either. According to the
Community Action Directors in
Oregon, a two-bedroom apart
ment goes for, on average, #664
a month, meaning that an indi
vidual working for the mini
mum wage would need to work
overtime to be able to afford
rent and living expenses.
The real issue here is the
safety of the workers. The em
ployees in these sweatshops
have the right to a safe work en
vironment, and the current
conditions are far from that.
Things need to change.
While I cannot just throw out
all of my clothes, I can at least
make an effort by boycotting fur
ther purchases, at least this holi
day season.
If only for a short time, the
holiday rush, this boycott can
hit them hard and hit them
where it hurts. I can only hope
that this will make a difference.
Think this doesn’t affect you
because you don’t shop at Gap?
Think again. Gap Inc. heads up
not only Gap stores worldwide,
but also Old Navy and Banana
Republic, among others. And
even if these brands aren’t
the ones you would choose,
many other brands are made in
sweatshops as well, some of
which have the same types of
working conditions.
Fallen into the “Gap”? Maybe
it’s time to crawl back out.
Contact the columnist at
sarahspellman@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
Letters to the editor
Emerald needs
rational opinions
I pray that columnist
Meghann Farnsworth is a fresh
man. If not, there is no hope for
her life and she can be written
off from the list of productive
members of society. Her col
umn “Blindly following the po
litical flock” was so poorly rea
soned and simultaneously
arrogant that one can only as
sume such a perspective is born
from a lack of life experience.
The first troubling point is
Farnsworth’s assumption that
democracy is only expressed
when socialists, deviants and
the unemployed flock to the
EMU. Then she makes the asser
tion that College Republicans,
who “loom their ugly heads” by
making a political statement of
their own, must be uninformed
and blindly following Republi
can policy because they dis
agree with her. This point is
completely indefensible and be
trays Farnsworth’s use of the
same stereotyping technique
she accuses her ideological su
periors of employing. The idea
that free speech is only exer
cised when dissidents speak up
misses the fact that apathy is a
human right, as is the decision
to calmly and rationally support
American foreign policy.
When it comes to the debate
about a potential war, the Emer
ald should make an attempt to
have rational individuals voice
opinions. Simply letting the
dregs of Eugene have a platform
is in no way representative of the
ultimate decision-making politi
cal process. I am positive, and
even delighted, that the Emerald
has chosen to hire the intellectu
ally disadvantaged as part of its
equal opportunity employment
effort so that every so often the
comics will run instead of an ed
ucated opinion.
Bret Jacobson
publisher
Oregon Commentator
No grounds for war
I believe history major
Zachary White’s letter (ODE,
“Bush shows heroism in stand
against Iraq,” Nov. 19) revealed
that his studies are still in an
early stage.
Firstly, there was indeed a po
litically active “Bush-like charac
ter” in the 1930s. He was a rather
prominent one indeed who, were
it not for our Russian friends,
would have conquered Europe
with relatively little resistance.
Secondly, White states that
Iraq is in violation of a treaty
signed by Hussein, which justi
fies U.S. intervention. A look at
very recent history reveals that
in 1998, the inspection team was
withdrawn by the U.N. Chief of
Weapons Inspections because
the U.S. was sending spies in
place of weapons inspectors — in
direct violation of the U.N. man
date that allowed them access to
inspect for weapons.
Iraq’s hesitancy to allow in
spectors back, which it has,
seems to me rather understand
able. Moreover, this hesitancy is
hardly the ground for war our
“heroic leader” would have the
American public believe it to be.
William Moglia
junior
German
Supporting Bush
for a reason
Meghan Farnsworth takes is
sue with conservative students
showing support for the Bush ad
ministration at an anti-war rally,
implying that conservatives are
blindly following the president.
As a conservative, I support the
president because I have thought
out the issues and I agree with
his stance on national security. I
am glad that fellow conservative
students had the time to show
that there is support for Presi
dent Bush on this campus.
Farnsworth admonishes us not
to let our political affiliation af
fect our stance on war in Iraq;
then hypocritically takes a shot
at the “corporate-run white-male
government,” which sounds po
litical to me.
But probably the most blatant
and shocking insult in the entire
article is directed toward black
people when she insinuates that
blacks who are bravely serving
our country in the armed forces
were totally unaware when they
enlisted that they might be called
on to protect the United States.
The women and men defend
ing this country are a courageous
group of individuals who all de
serve our thanks and respect, not
the insulting and condescending
assumption that they were not
smart enough to avoid being
tricked into joining the military.
Brian Stubbs
second-year graduate
physics