Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Monday, February 3,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor:
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editor
Pat Payne
Awed by their noble cause
Editorial
It was 17 years ago when the space shut
tle Challenger lifted off on a crisp, cold, Jan
uary morning to take seven astronauts into
the heavens. They never made it. Seventy
three seconds later, the flight of Challenger
came to a tragic end as the orbiter exploded
over the Atlantic Ocean, and the nation
went into mourning.
On Saturday, almost 17 years to the day of
Challenger's explosion, the nation once again
had to face the loss of a space shuttle. Colum
bia, which in April would have celebrated 22
years in the service of NASA, was returning
home from a successful mission when a cata
strophic failure caused the orbiter to literally
shatter over Texas.
We mourn the fallen: Rick Husband,
William McCool, Michael Anderson, David
Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Is
rael's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon.
These seven heroes died for a lofty pur
pose: to increase scientific knowledge and to
bring advancements from space down to
Earth in service to humanity. Their cause
was more noble than being killed for some
fleeting glory in a war, or for any of the other
petty purposes that people lionize the dead.
Space travel must no longer be taken for
granted. It is a highly dangerous pursuit. Of
all major space disasters in U.S. history
(there now are four), only one of those end
ed with the victims surviving — the 1971
Apollo 13 saga. In many cases with space
flight, once the astronauts are in space, es
sentially they have already passed the point
of no return.
In order to safeguard those explorers, the
nation now needs to demand increased fund
ing for NASA. At one time, NASA was the pre
mier space agency on Earth. It is the only
group that has sent astronauts to the moon.
Yet its successes since the 1970s have been
few. Much of that is because of the drastic
cuts in funding that have plagued the admin
istration since the Reagan years — a problem
exacerbated by the current threat of an ex
pensive war and a giant tax cut. It is time to
reverse this trend.
NASA needs to refit or replace its aging
fleet of space shuttles. It is time to return to
the moon and to reach Mars, to make the
new International Space Station a gateway
for advancements for the betterment of hu
manity. Certainly, the money exists, if only
the nation once again becomes awed by the
possibilities of space travel and demands that
it be made a priority.
John F. Kennedy made a historic challenge
in 1961 that humankind would land on the
moon within 10 years. We need a new chal
lenge — something not only for national
pride, but world pride. The world’s fallen as
tronauts deserve no less.
This editorial represents the opinion
of the Emerald editorial board.
Editorial
Happy Black
History Month
Saturday marked the beginning of Black History
Month, a time of recognition first celebrated in 1926 as
Negro History Week and expanded in 1976 to include the
whole month of February.
The month is important because many significant
American contributions and inventions have been
stripped from their original owners, and the accomplish
ments of black Americans have been systematically ig
nored by the recorders of history.
We encourage all campus community members to
get involved in the various events celebrating Black
History Month and to seek out greater knowledge of the
contributions that all Americans have made to the
progress of humanity.
The Emerald will recognize the month with an occa
sional series of stories and with a daily feature, “Leading
history,” which will briefly highlight the life and work of a
black American.
.J
Online poll
Each week, the Emerald publishes the previous
week’s poll results and the coming week’s poll
question. Visit www.daiiyemerald.com to vote.
Last week: If found guilty, should ASUO Vice
President Ben Buzbee be removed from office?
Results: 417 total votes
Yes, he broke the law — 3.8 percent, or 16 votes
Yes, he is a poor representative of the students — 41
percent, or 171 votes
No, his personal and professional life should remain
separate —34.5 percent,or3 vote*
No, it’s not that big a deal — 17.7 percent, or 7 votes
Don’t know —1.7 percent, or 2 votes
Leave me alone! — 1.2 percent, or 6 votes
This week: Are University of Oregon scholarships
distributed fairly?
Choices: Yes — individuals that work the hardest
get rewarded; Yes—The University has a right to
distribute the money as they see lit; No—Too much
money is going to athletics over academics; No —
Too much reward for accomplishments over
financial needs; Don’t know; Leave me alone!
Thursday’s column by Sarah Spellman (“Guns
and carelessness,” ODE,M»30) should have said
that Matthew Randall “broke probation by
possessing this firearm and is currently serving
~TmW 30-day
Let Rodney Woods
finish his probation
Guest commentary
Second chances are great. As a staff member at the Emerald
during the early ’90s, I vaguely remember the paper editorializing
against rules that would bar felons from enrolling at the University.
We argued that people who had fulfilled their debt to society de
served a chance to better themselves with education, and it was in
society’s long-term best interest not to close off such avenues.
The issue is important now because, with the no-felon rule
in place, Duck head coach Mike Bellotti and defensive coordi
nator Nick Aliotti are petitioning a court in California to reduce
recruit Rodney Woods’ felony assault to a misdemeanor so that
the young man can enroll at the University.
There will probably always be attempts to promote loopholes
for exceptions to this rather draconian rule barring felons.
But wouldn’t it be more appropriate to make those excep
tions because the person in question displayed a proven re
deeming value more significant than merely running fast
enough to fill a hole in the football team’s secondary line?
Rodney Woods is still on probation for the May 19, 2000,
beating of Kevin Walker, who tried to stop two of Woods’ high
school football teammates from beating Christopher
O’Leary to death after Woods initially got into an argument
with O’Leary.
This isn’t some kid who became a felon by putting his foot
through the window of a federal building while being caught up
in a riot over the Rodney King verdict, as was the example we
used in our editorial in the ’90s. This is a person who played a
part in a man being kicked and punched to death.
He’s still on probation for that crime. Let Rodney Woods
show that he can fulfill the commitment that the justice sys
tem enforced on him before the University grants him de fac
to clemency.
M Mabdi tves in HAriboro.