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
Thursday, April 10,2003
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor:
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Page Assistant:
Salena De La Cruz
Stop stealing
advertising
space from us
Michael J.
Kleckner
The editors office
I am a true believer in free speech, elections and the
power of media. But events today regarding the Emerald
and theft of our advertising space leaves me scratching
my head at two candidates in the ASUO elections.
Early this morning, staff members
discovered the Adam Turcott cam
paign had stuffed single-page flyers
promoting his candidacy into our
newspapers in numerous locations
around campus, including some
stacks of papers inside residence
halls. Later in the day, we found that
the Toby Piering campaign had
stuffed papers at some locations with
small handbills.
Apparently they were both un
aware that our advertisers pay
money to have inserts put into the
paper, which means that if anyone
does it without paying, it’s theft, and it devalues the serv
ice for our paying customers.
Let me be clear about this for other candidates: Insert
ing material into the Emerald without permission is
theft If we catch anyone doing it in the future, we will
press charges. For those we don’t catch, we may just send
a bill for services rendered.
Advertising in the Emerald is a wonderful way to get
your message out to the campus community. We have
representatives standing by, ready to take your call and
handle all your campus advertising needs. For ASUO
candidates, I highly recommend utilizing the readership
of the Emerald to promote your campaign. Gall 346
3712, ask for a representative, and we’ll get you all set up.
The incidents today are doubly upsetting because the
editorial board endorsed both Turcott and Piering. Given
their lapse of judgment, I almost wish it hadn’t.
Nonetheless, I hope students vote, good luck to all the
candidates, and please — stop stealing from us.
Contact the editor in chief at editor@dailyemerald.com.
One additional
endorsement,
one correction
In the avalanche of editorial endorsements in Wednes
day’s paper, we forgot one race and confused another. We
apologize to the candidates involved, and the Emerald re
grets the errors.
Wednesday’s endorsements for Senate Seat 1 and Seat
3 were switched. We actually endorse Adrian Gilmore for
Senate Seat 1 and Beth Overgard for Senate Seat 3, and
we apologize to any voters confused by this.
The endorsement for the Programs Finance Commit
tee At-Large two-year term was omitted. The race is im
portant, given the PFG’s task of setting budgets for stu
dent groups. Here is our endorsement:
PFC At-Large
Two-year term
Toby Piering
This was another easy race for us to endorse. Piering wants
to improve communication between student groups and the
PFC, and he’s already been attending different groups’ meet
ings to got off on the right foot. Piering mentioned keeping the
incidental fee as low as possible, but he doesn’t have the fis
cal-efficiency-at-any-cost attitude that we heard from odier
candidates. Finally, Piering was straightforward about not
commenting on rules he’s not familiar with. That attitude
can be useful in student government.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses can be
sent to letters@dailyemerald.com.
Presidential physiology.
I don’t like our president. I mean, I re
ally, really, really don’t like the man. It’s
not because of the whole war in Iraq
thing. Nor is it because our economy is
doing its impression of a negative cubic
function (y=-xA3, for those of you curi
ous enougn to graph it;.
It’s not because deficit spending is
now to be measured in illions-starting
with-T. It’s not even because he is de
termined to add “nucular” and “mis
underestimate” to the lexicon. Those
might be good reasons to dislike the
man, but my own reason is far simpler:
He lacks teeth.
Jessica Cole
Hodgkinson
Huh? What? Really.
I don’t mean that in some clever, eu
phemistic sense, to imply that he’s
wimpy or that his policies are weak; I
actually mean he’s missing those pearly
white incisors, canines and molars that
most of us have behind our upper lips.
Actually, I just mean he could be miss
ing them.
The problem is, if he has them, I’ve
never seen them and you probably
haven’t either. Maybe he’s got den
tures? A bridge?
Caps? Braces? Or
perhaps he has a
nice gold-encrust
ed front tooth with
a dainty diamond
accent as a token
of his misspent
youth. Anything is possible.
As I watch his regular public appear
ances, I find that I am increasingly too
distracted trying to catch a glimpse of
his missing teeth to pay much atten
tion to the substance of what he’s say
ing. I ask you, how can you follow a
leader into war, deficit and new vocab
ulary words if he consistently fails to
demonstrate to our nation’s impres
sionable youth the importance of good
dental hygiene?
I don’t mean to imply that there
aren’t times when it’s possible to know
too much about a president’s physiolo
gy. I can still recall — with bone-chill
ing clarity — the sight of Bill Clinton’s
chubby white thighs protruding from
running shorts as he jogged along with
his Secret Service agents.
Wouldn’t you think that, as a first
world nation with a booming econo
my, we could have fronted the man a
nice pair of sweat pants with the pres
idential seal in addition to his salary
and saved millions from those trau
matic memories?
Clinton wasn’t the only one who
shared too much, nor was he the
worst. For those of you inclined to re
member Ronald Reagan and his dap
per turn-out fondly, I have just one
word: polyps.
Bush Sr. might have been okay. You
could occasionally verify that he flossed.
He didn’t have chubby white thighs, and
if he had polyps, I never heard about
them. Then he went and displayed the
contents of his stomach all over the
Japanese prime minister.
And while I may want to see a bit
more of Bush Jr.’s pearly whites, I think
we can all agree that Jimmy Garter
showed perhaps a bit too much.
Now that I think of it, I don’t think
we’ve had an adequate physical specimen
in the White House since John F.
Kennedy. Now, there was a man with
thighs and teeth in the correct quantities.
I suppose that in the world we live in,
it is a bit silly to reflect on the physiolo
gy of a leader rather than his substance.
I, however, prefer to focus on thoughts
that make me laugh rather than those
that would make me cry.
Contact the columnist at
jessicacolehodgkinson@dailyemerald.com.
Her opinions do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
Community can face wartime challenges
Guest commentary
The University campus is challenged
this spring by the U.S. war against Iraq
to be the respectful, educational and
inclusive community that we are. For
many, this is our first emotional expe
rience of war; for others, it is an all
too-familiar repetition of the conflict
ing emotions that accompany war’s
loss of life and destruction of land,
people and place.
Although we are thankfully, to date,
free from first-hand experiences of war or
terrorism, we are involved and affected
in many ways.
Among us are individuals with a family
member in the war — perhaps on the
battlefield, perhaps in a support role.
They have been displaced, and we feel
displaced, by the sudden changes in their
lives and the risks they are taking on a
daily basis to support this war.
Among us are students, faculty, staff
and their families whose geographic
origins are the lands where war is tak
ing place. These members of our com
munity are witnessing the possible de
struction as well as liberation of their
soil, their landscape, their families and
their heritage.
Among us are community members
passionately opposed to war, and others
passionately convinced that this war
must be fought to protect what we hold
dear for ourselves and others.
Some of us have spiritual alliances or
religious beliefs that feel challenged or
unwelcome because of this war.
Some of us are members of the military,
with daily obligations that contribute to
this country’s military capability.
Some of us may be from a country
whose identity has been bruised by sharp
international rhetoric as nations try to
sort out the right thing to do and the right
way to proceed.
In the midst of these anxious times, we
remain a community with high standards
for discourse, tolerance, respect and di
versity. We need to stay committed to the
ideals that frame our campus communi
ty, and to support the diversity of opin
ions, ideas and backgrounds that are the
lifeblood of the university.
We need to offer support to others, to
affirm the dignity and essential worth of
all individuals. We need to proceed with
our educational activities, mindful that
while these fierce battles rage toward
some resolution, we have work to do
here on a campus that rejects bigotry,
discrimination, violence or intimidation
of any kind.
There are resources on our campus to
help us through these difficult times. We
can help each other, and we can refer
each other to these professional re
sources. Together, we can provide com
fort, guidance, information and support
during the challenges of a divided and
quarrelsome world.
If you need support, the following re
source offices may be helpful:
• University Counseling Center —
346-3227
• Employee Assistance Program —
345- 2800
• International Student and Scholar
Services — 346-3206
• Religious Directors Association —
343-7021
• Office of Student Life — 346-3216
• Department of Public Safety —
346- 5444
• Eugene Police Department —
346-682-5111
• Bias Response Team — 346-1139
Anne Leavitt is the University's vice president
for student affairs and dean of students.