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Thursday, March 13,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief;
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor.
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editor:
Pat Payne
Editorial
MISSING: First Amendment freedoms
1 he Oregon Commentator is crude, soph
omoric, misogynistic, sexist and irresponsi
ble. The staff can be abrasive, arrogant, ob
noxious and smug to the extreme. Most of
their articles skirt the far edge of acceptable
taste, and they certainly have gone over that
edge in the past.
None of this, however, justifies theft of the
Commentator’s property. Americans have a
right to free speech — even that which oth
ers find distasteful and inappropriate — and
the censorship implied in last weekend’s
“missing” copies of the Commentator are a
gross disservice to the community and the
values we honor on campus.
The current issue is a case in point of taste
lessness: In the “Drinking Holidays” article,
the Commentator includes Purim (a Jewish
festival), which the writer suggests celebrat
ing, with tongue perhaps firmly in-cheek, “by
drinking yourself into an angry fury and lash
ing out at the Jewish-controlled media, the
Jewish-controlled government,” and so on.
This level of speech goes far beyond the
Commentator’s usual level of “merely asi
nine.” The context of the paper is always un
clear — when are the writers doing parody,
and when are they being serious? No one can
know. These words, then, calling for people to
get drunk and lash out at a specific group of
people based on their religion, rise to the level
of hate speech, and if the Commentator staff
is even capable of feeling shame, they should.
Maybe the writers meant it in jest, but there
are still people who would gladly take the op
portunity to attack Jews to sate their racist
paranoia. In short, this was a thoroughly irre
sponsible act by the Commentator staff.
For that, we condemn them. We will say
they are bad, and the community should ex
press its anger about these words in an ap
propriate way. Increase the dialogue, tell a
different story about Jewish people. But do
these words mean that the Commentator
should be stolen or silenced or defunded?
Absolutely, unequivocally not.
A right to free speech doesn’t include a
right to not be offended. And as despicable as
the Purim segment was, it doesn’t seem to fall
under the legal definition of incitement to vi
olence, one of the very few criminal acts of
speech. If someone wanted to make a case
out of it, the courts ultimately would have to
decide whether the words rise to that level.
While the Commentator’s words were ugly,
the stolen papers were even uglier. The theft
of newspapers is always wrong, whether it is
students on campuses across the nation try
ing to silence conservative rabble-rouser
David Horowitz, or Berkeley Mayor Tom
Bates stealing college papers because the edi
torial board endorsed his opponent. Not only
does it bring additional attention to the of
fensive matter, it’s a criminal act.
So, who might be considered a suspect in
this case? We certainly don’t know, although
rumors have been flying around campus.
There are certainly plenty of people who
could have motive from this issue alone: The
Oregon Voice, who this past week began a
fight with the Commentator over charges of
digital theft; the University Hillel and the
Jewish Student Union, who would likely be
highly offended by the Purim segment; Stu
dents For Peace, who were characterized as
“fucking racists” in the same issue; the Com
mentator’s perennial nemesis-in-funding,
OSPIRG; Attorney General John Ashcroft;
and the entire nation of France.
The rumors we’ve heard sound so proud, it’s
almost as though people want to be associat
ed with the act. And we realize that for some
students, much of the Commentator’s speech
leaves them feeling disgusted and angry. But
to other people on campus (it’s likely only a
few), the fact that OSPIRG receives incidental
fees leaves them feeling disgusted and angry.
There’s an easy lesson here: If you feel en
raged by other people’s speech, speak up
yourself. Try to stop them from speaking that
way again. Plead your case to the communi
ty. But physically forcing them to shut up
leaves none of us with a voice — and that’s
the really irresponsible act.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses can be sent to
letters@dailyemerald.com.
Reparations are a right that
America needs to provide
Guest commentary
I must say that “Pay one group, pay all,” (ODE,
March 13) is an uneducated attempt to explain
what reparations are truly about. First of all, to
deny the existence of white privilege, institu
tionalized racism, extralegal means of social,
economic and political control over nonwhites,
is to deny the fact that whites have and still ben
efit from slavery today.
The convict lease system, installed after the
“end” of slavery during Reconstruction, was even
worse than slavery. Southern whites could pay 70
cents for prisoners, predominately freed blacks
who were incarcerated for violating unjust “black
codes” such as “being visibly unemployed” or “be
ing saucy to white folks,” and put them to work for
a day, and eventually work him or her to death be
cause there was no longer a #500 investment in
the enslaved African body.
Post-World War II benefits, such as the G.I. Bill,
were the biggest affirmative action program for
white male veterans, distributing more than #4.5
billion for housing, education and employment,
which nonwhites were systematically denied ac
cess to, making up only 2 percent of the benefici
aries. We all know that owning a house and obtain
ing an education are key to social and economic
mobility through the accumulation of net worth
over time. Ask yourself: “Has my grandfather or
any other member of my family benefited from the
G.I. Bill?”
The Jim Grow South during the ’50s and ’60s
used violence and extralegal means to intimidate
black Americans fighting for economic, social
and political justice. If you don’t believe me, con
sider James Meredith, the four girls killed in a
Birmingham, Ala., bombing, the Little Rock
Nine, and the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. and Malcolm X. Not to mention the
black working class struggle for political power
in their own communities facing voter registra
tion questions like “How many bubbles are on a
bar of soap?”
Now, in 2003, the prison system still feeds off
racial profiling and fear is distributed through
crime-related TV shows and the media, leading
to the criminalization of people of color, target
ing our communities to fill up prisons and
turn prisoners into slave laborers. This is just a
brief synopsis of the institutionalized racism still
present in our American society that is constant
ly promoting freedom, justice, equality and
democracy for all.
We must not look at reparations as a monetary
solution. America needs to fix our public schools
in the inner city, fund more social services and
provide decent housing to those who have the self
determination to succeed but who are denied the
same access to benefits as white Americans.
One might say, “I’m not responsible, I didn’t
own slaves.” However, we must realize that the
racism we face is systematic and not individual,
and for as long as you live in this society
that promotes equality and freedom, you
are responsible.
Reparations are a right, not a privilege. If the in
formation I have put forth seems illogical or biased,
examine yourself and challenge yourself to discov
er information other than what you see on TV and
prove me wrong. Or you can be like Salena De La
Cruz and prove me right.
Mark Padoongpatt is a sophomore majoring
in ethnic studies and history.
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Are colleges spending too
much money on athletics?
Guest commentary
Advertising in the Emerald is an effec
tive way to reach an audience, especially
with a quarter-page ad. But one never
would have known it from the 23 people
who looked almost lost in Columbia 150
the afternoon of March 5. The subject
was Ducks athletics, a topic that normal
ly draws crowds. But the program title
was a turnoff. In big bold letters at the top
of the ad was: “UO Task Force On Athlet
ics.” “Task force” might describe move
ment of U.S. aircraft carriers into the Per
sian Gulf. But it doesn’t attract students
and faculty to a discussion of athletics.
I’m task-oriented. So I attended. Few
others did, even though the panel had im
pressive members and some headliners,
including the track and field coach, Mar
tin Smith, and Professor James Earl. In re
cent weeks, Earl has been featured in The
New York Times and The Chronicle of
Higher Education for his role in starting a
movement that is sweeping the nation.
Explanation of that action likely could
fill 150 Columbia with the help of only a
classified ad. It deals with concern over
excessive spending on varsity athletics
that often dwarfs funding for programs
essential to the University’s academic
mission. Earl was president of the Facul
ty Senate when, in 2001, it passed a reso
lution to rein in spending on the athlet
ics “arms race.”
Within months, seven other Pac-10
faculty senates passed the resolution. Af
ter a year, it took hold in the Big Ten
Conference. In April, Earl will be in
Chicago for a meeting of the National
Collegiate Athletic Association that will
address the question, which could result
in the most significant changes for inter
collegiate athletics in a century.
If forum sponsors can afford another
ad, why not use this as a heading that
pulls no punches: “Are Colleges Spend
ing Too Much Money on Varsity Athlet
ics? Is the Tail Wagging the Dog?” Anoth
er boost for the crowd would be too
import speakers with dynamic identity.
For a program on the money issue, the
top speaker would be one with a Univer
sity identity — the new NCAA president,
Myles Brand. He went to the NCAA in
January from the presidency of Indiana
University, where he had moved after be
ing president at Oregon.
Other topics that would fill 150 Co
lumbia and stir the pot that needs stir
ring could be:
• Are Corporations Gaining Too Much
Influence Over College Athletics?
• Did the University Drop WRC Mem
bership to Get Money for Autzen
Expansion?
• Should the Oregon Sports Network
Exclude Stations that Carry Other Pro
grams Which Demonize Minorities, In
cluding Black Athletes?
Good topics can dramatize the issues
and attract audiences. They can, that is,
if they don’t scare away the crowds with
a name like Task Force.
George Beres is a former University sports
information director.