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Wednesday, February 5,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editor
Pat Payne
Letters to the editor
Voters must hold Salem
fiscally responsible
I am an Oregon resident who voted against Measure 28. I
am also a student at the University who will feel the impact of
Measure 28’s defeat. What baffles me is the absolute blindness
of both sides on the real issue behind the measure.
Liberals make the assumption that those who voted
against the measure are selfish “rich” folk who will not be
affected, while conservatives hail the defeat as victory
against higher taxes. What both sides miss is the fact that
the Oregon Legislature, Republican and Democrat alike, has
wasted money.
The facts show that Oregon does have enough money to be
both a fiscally safe and socially nurturing society. With adjust
ments in the PERS mortality tables — saving #200 million—
and cutting “pet” projects, legislators can cut the budget while
leaving untouched the issues that determine our state’s health.
While the state constantly spends thousands of dollars on
these tax measures, nobody says anything against the politi
cians in Salem who allow themselves raises as others go un
employed. When do we acknowledge a collective need to
stand together and hold the real culprits responsible? We do
still have a vote, and while we will always have our political
differences, the basic needs of every Oregonian can be met.
We must use the same resources and passion displayed in
the recent election to hold Salem responsible. This has noth
ing to do with politics. This money should be administered as
a sacred trust to provide for all of our state’s needs.
Kelly Flynn
sophomore
political science
Less military spending
will help the nation
How can the most powerful nation in the world have such
a person as George W. Bush for its leader? Was it not less
than four years ago that the budget was balanced for the
first time since the Nixon administration?
How can we go from being in the black and having a surplus,
to being so far in the red that just about every state is being af
fected by a lack of jobs and by a lack of funding for some of our
most important programs? Why is it that we have to boost
money for schools and medical care? Heck, the government
has most of the money right now — correct?
My simple question is: Where is the money going? I know
that I don’t know the whole story, and I doubt that we will ever
know everything. What I do believe, however, is that some
thing is wrong. I have a simple solution for our problems. The
government has spent #343 billion on defense for 2002, or
50.5 percent of the total budget. The combination of spending
by the government in education, health, social security and
Medicare, veterans benefits, and finally, natural resources and
environment totaled only #143 million.
This is just an idea — don’t build all of your attack subs.
Hold one off and give that money to the schools and Medicare
and such so that you don't have a bunch of uneducated sick
people to defend.
Daniel Burbach
junior
pre-journalism
Keep oil companies out of the Arctic
Once again, the oil companies and the Bush administration
are looking to destroy the Arctic. A place we fought for just
yesterday is again under attack today.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is one of the nation’s last
remaining pristine places. It is home to many rare species, in
cluding polar bears, caribou, musk oxen and hundreds of
species of birds. Drilling in this area would do nothing but hin
der the wildlife and beauty of the north slope of Alaska.
In addition, drilling in the refuge is completely unnecessary.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy policies would easily
save far more energy than could ever be drilled out of the
refuge. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the refuge
contains less than a six-month supply of oil for our nation, and
oil industry executives estimate that the oil there wouldn’t be
available for at least 10 years.
Drilling in Alaska is not the answer. The public has shown
interest in this area before on behalf of the wildlife and against
drilling. Just when we thought we had won on the public’s
ideas, the corporations are attacking it once more. Legisla
tures are our voice in this matter and they need to effectively
represent our standpoint. Destroying the arctic is not the way
out of our dependence on oil and it should stop now!
Kelly Huckestein
sophomore
undeclared
u J li. 'J
Leaving
children
Peter Utsey Emerald
behind
I am very glad I have no children in
grades K-12 in Oregon. Thanks to Presi
dent George W. Bush’s No Child Left Be
hind Act, Oregon is scurrying to meet
educational standards so that every
child can receive a proper education
and advance to the next grade level, and
that includes minorities and children
from low-income families.
Well, Oregon just isn’t making the
grade. According
to the recent re
port card given by
the Oregon De
partment of Edu
cation, 247
schools earned an
“unsatisfactory”
grade. This could
potentially make
Oregon school dis- S3.I6I13.
triots nervous QeLaCrUZ
about another pro
vision in No Child *** n ,oud
Left Behind —
parents being given vouchers to move
children out of underperforming pub
lic schools and into “charter schools,”
which are publicly funded on five-year
grants but have higher accountability
than regular schools.
Success in schools will be measured
by whether every child is learning, ac
cording to documents on
www.nochildleftbehind.gov. Under the
No Child Left Behind Act, billions of dol
lars in new money are being thrust into
struggling schools so they won’t feel
forced to advance students who aren’t
reading past the ABCs.
On the 2000 National Assessment of
Educational Progress reading assess
ment, 40 percent of white fourth
graders in America scored proficient
while only 12 percent of black students
and 16 percent of Hispanics scored well.
In math, 35 percent of white fourth
graders scored acceptably while five per
cent of blacks scored satisfactory and 10
percent of Hispanics scored soundly.
The state wants to temporarily pre
tend students are earning a G+ instead
of an F. This isn’t really a stated policy
but something that will gradually be
played with in Oregon schools, accord
ing to reports by Fox News. If this had
been in effect when I was in school, I
would have protested. I may not have
received any F’s, but damn it, they
would have been mine. I wouldn’t want
a grade for my achievements that I had
not earned.
Lowering the educational standards
will definitely have an effect, but I doubt
it’s the one the state is looking for. I
think many parents will pull their chil
dren out of school and either home
school them or send them to private
schools, and the self-esteem of these stu
dents will sink lower — or these stu
dents will take advantage of the situa
tion and deliberately slack off. If parents
don’t pull their children out because of
this, what are they really saying?
In doing this, the state thinks it will
be able to equally comply with other
states by 2014 and perform equally.
Children who can barely comprehend
“Dick and Jane” and have yet to learn
the alphabet will pass, and no one will
ever know they needed the extra help
because their grades will reflect their
supposed “achievements.”
In Oregon schools’ defense, the state
just raised the educational standards,
which is to say that schools rated “ex
cellent” last year have been found mere
ly “satisfactory” this year.
Pretending students are grasping
everything they learn and advancing
them without the reports to prove that
they have learned it is a mistake. If they
get a free ride through elementary
school and high school and can’t make
it in college, who will society have to
blame but itself?
Oregon has received a failing grade in
education for three years, as stated by
the Oregon Department of Education on
its report cards. It is time to fix the prob
lem instead of making it worse. We may
not want a child to be left behind, but
wouldn’t that be better than letting
them believe they earned it, even if they
never really made the grade?
Rather than hindering the process,
Oregon, why not do what the No Child
Left Behind Act says — honestly meet
those standards and help the children
who are struggling with tutors, individ
ual attention and special classes. In
short, let the teachers do their job —
that is what they are there for.
Contact the columnist
at salenadelacruz@dailyemerald.com. Her
views do not necessarily represent those
of the Emerald.