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Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
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Thursday, April 17,2003
-- Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Page Assistant:
Salena De La Cruz
Editorial
What benefits
is affirmative
action giving
to Universities?
The Supreme Court is currently weighing the argu
ments about affirmative action admissions policies at
the University of Michigan and its law school, and the
community should be having conversations about the
issue. The editorial board, then, will weigh in once
again, in hopes of prompting further discussion.
Earlier this year, we said that ethnicity still should be
a factor to consider when deciding admissions policies.
At the time, though, we said that Michigan’s implemen
tation should be a concern, and that opinion could use
some explanation.
Proponents of Michigan’s system have advanced two
different arguments about affirmative action policies.
The traditional one is that they are intended as redress,
as a means of franchising those who have systematically
been disenfranchised and neglected with regard to edu
cational opportunities.
This argument is strong; it takes little examination of
current socioeconomic conditions to see that people
are regularly denied educational opportunities because
of their parents’ own lack of opportunities and because
of poverty. The plaintiffs in the Michigan case have gone
to other colleges. Their situation was not one where be
ing denied access to a public school rendered them un
able to acquire an education.
For many lower-middle-class families, however, a state
college may be the only chance to pull themselves up by
their bootstraps, work hard and achieve the American
dream. One of the reasons for having public systems of high
er education is to provide such opportunities. The American
entrepreneurial attitude isn’t cobbled together from nothing
— the social safety net is a way for people to improve their
lives and the lives of everyone around them.
The social redress argument, then, needs to be moved
from ethnicity to socioeconomic status and family histo
ry. When faced with application choices, state colleges
should consider the ways that society does not offer equal
opportunities, and they should realize part of their mis
sion is to provide such opportunities. Such a move would
still provide redress to historically neglected and op
pressed ethnic minorities, and it would also address those
oppressed by capitalism.
The second argument, recendy added by supporters of
affirmative action policies, is that the state has a compelling
interest in providing a diverse educational atmosphere for all
of its students. Privileging ethnic minorities benefits the eth
nic majorities, they claim, because students aren’t properly
educated without being exposed to a wide range of social
and ethnic viewpoints.
We completely agree. Unfortunately, until the public en
gages in a much more complicated conversation about what
that diversity should look like and how it should be accom
plished, we find this argument unworkable. Here are some
questions to start that conversation:
What percentage of diversity is “diverse enough”? Which
diverse community should a college represent: the city, the
county, or the state it’s in, or the country, or maybe the
whole world? How would that be accomplished exactly?
What if there aren’t enough members of the “proper” mi
nority groups to go around?
In short, without resorting to a simple quota system of ar
bitrarily determined percentages of each underrepre
sented group, how can colleges possibly know whether
they’re done — whether affirmative action policies have
been successful?
torial board members
aelj, Kleckner
ditor in chief
a Richeiderfer
anagiilg editor
Saiena De La
Editorial page assis
Julie Lauderba
Columnist
Jenna Cunningham
:re
/
Heroic duties
War heroes run in my family. We
don’t have any purple hearts displayed,
no medal of honor and no photos of
my father or grandfather shaking
hands with President Nixon or Gener
al MacArthur.
Their bravery almost persuaded me
to join the Air Force in high school.
Back then I was told the Air Force had
the best track record of promoting and
treating women equally — harrumph!
How times have changed...
Part of me wanted to join for heroic
glory. Part of me wanted money for
college. All of me wanted to make the
veterans in my family proud.
As a military brat, I’m inclined to
support the current war heroes risking
their lives for the next generation.
And I believe most of my peers, opin
ions of the Bush
administration
and the war aside,
share the same
moral support.
But I wonder if
the American gov
ernment feels the
same.
A lot of lip serv
ice has been given
to the troops over
seas, but behind
the smoke and
mirrors came a $25 billion cut last
week from the Veterans Association’s
budget allocation. They also slapped a
#250 annual fee on every veteran who
needs to see a doctor — even those
who are homeless. These benefits,
which affect the war heroes in my
family, include an ever-elusive health
care package.
I’d say shelling out money for a cavi
ty filling or chiropractic visit is a small
price for the government to pay for the
services of our soldiers during the past
few decades of conflicts. But while our
soldiers are in the field dodging bullets
and suicide bombers, we’re putting an
even greater threat on their life with
the military’s insistence on using de
pleted uranium shell munitions.
DU is a waste product from nuclear
reactors that is used to coat weapons
used for piercing heavy armor. When
they explode, the coated shells release
a fine dust that poses an extreme
Julie
Lauderbaugh
Judge Julie
Letters to the editor
Support Jordan for social
science seat
I am writing to express my support
for Jordan Marx as your next social
science senator. Jordan has been in
volved in numerous different campus
organizations that contribute to his
qualifications to hold this position. He
has been very active in the Residence
Hall Association Housing Government,
which has a very similar structure to
the ASUO but works on a more inti
mate scale. As a part of RHA, Jordan
helped to deal with issues concerning
viewpoint neutrality, budgeting, inter
acting with campus groups and creat
ing sound housing policy. He was re
warded for his work in the RHA by
being voted their 2001-02 Member of
the Year.
Jordan has also worked for Universi
ty Housing as a resident assistant for
the past year. During his time as an
RA, Jordan has had the opportunity to
face many different situations, ranging
THANKS FOR SERVING-.
I GOT YOUR VETERANS'
BENEFITS RIGHT HERE.
/^V V
health hazard if inhaled, critics say.
DU has been used in wars in the Balka
ns and Afghanistan in 1994, 1995,
1999 and 2000, and now in Operation
Iraqi Freedom.
After enough exposure, Gulf War I
and II soldiers are going to need their
veterans’ benefits for a lot more than
an eye exam.
Just how much does the government
of the past and present support our
troops if they allow servicemen and
women to be exposed to dangerous
amounts of DU? And what about the
Iraqi people who will have to live with
the environmental effects of the DU for
years to come?
According to the Inter Press Agency,
the Pentagon admitted using about 300
tons of DU in the first Gulf War. Inde
pendent estimates suggested that near
ly 1,000 tons might have been used.
There have been no definitive stud
ies in Iraq on the effects of DU; howev
er, IPR reported one hospital in Bagh
dad has told of eight cases of babies
from alcohol poisoning and suicide to
diversity and academic issues.
Jordan’s commitment and work eth
ic, combined with his platform for di
versity, campus safety, greater access
to government and financial responsi
bility make him the practical student
senate choice. So remember to vote
Jordan Marx for Student Senate Seat
15, Social Science!
Celia Cheung
junior
computer science
Christa, Greg bring
communication, budgeting
skills to Executive
Christa Shively and Greg Bae are
ideal candidates for ASUO Executive.
I have worked closely with Christa for
two years, and I admire not only
her skills but also her incredible in
tegrity and dedication. Christa’s expe
rience in budgeting, her awareness of
issues that affect students and her
knowledge of the incidental fee
process makes her uniquely qualified
to be ASUO president.
Peter Utsey Emerald
born without eyes. Whether DU played
a part, or whether some of Saddam
Hussein’s chemical human rights
crimes were involved, is unclear.
There have been voices of opposi
tion to detrimental effects of DU on
soldiers. The Canadian Press reported
Sunday that Col. Ken Scott wrote a
1999 memo stating the series of media
reports on DU was a “fantasy” that
“will unfortunately perpetuate the
mythology currently in existence con
cerning the illnesses in Gulf War veter
ans.” Others claim DU effects are simi
lar to “Gulf War Syndrome.”
Despite a difference of opinion, the
administration has a duty to its service
men and women to look into the
health effects of DU exposure, so that
when they come — if they come home
— they can be honored as the heroes
they are, not as human experiments.
Contact the columnist
atjulielauderbaugh@dailyemerald.com.
Her views do not necessarily represent those
of the Emerald.
As EMU Board chair, Christa was
consistently focused on improving the
board’s relationship with the senate
and other parts of the ASUO. Her
success in this endeavor shows her
commitment to solidifying the process
and structure of student government
and to her skills in communication
and cooperation.
I am equally impressed with Greg
Bae. His commitment to multicultur
alism on this campus and his leader
ship skills ensure that he will not only
advocate for students, but actually ac
complish the goals of the executive.
Greg’s fair, open and approachable
personality guarantees that students
will have a person to whom they can
voice their concerns.
Not only do I consider Christa
and Greg good friends, I also believe
they are the most qualified and com
petent candidates for Executive. I
strongly encourage all students to vote
Monday through Wednesday for
Christa and Greg.
Brenda Tincher
ASUO Senate Seat 6