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Film documents 1970s-era group of extremists The Weathermen, a group of extreme leftists, are the subject of a documentary showing at the Bijou By Ryan Nyburg Senior Pulse Reporter Political views seem to work circu larly, and it is amazing how frequent ly the ex -- tremes of MOVIE wms,^ REVIEW 'ook like - each other. This might explain why the Weathermen, who are the subject of the new documen tary "The Weather Underground," of ten remind me of fascists. It's not a pleasant comparison, but the viewpoints of the extreme left and the extreme right are often difficult to tell apart, and the Weathermen were about as extreme left as it gets. Coming out of the student protest groups of the 1960s, the group was responsible for a number of bombings across America throughout the 1970s in protest of just about everything worth protesting dur ing that politically charged time period. While the group took precautions to en sure no innocent lives were risked, the idea that society can be molded to a par ticular viewpoint through the violent ac tions of a militant group is not far off from brown suits and red arm bands. With this in mind it is refreshing to see that the documentary doesn't hold the members of the group up as heroes or martyrs. But the filmmakers' evenhand edness with tire subject is rather exasper ating, and it seems that in the attempt to remain unbiased they have created a film with no point of view whatsoever. Composed of interviews with former group members and others involved in the politics of the era — along with liber al amounts of stock footage — the docu mentary attempts to get a handle on the Weathermen's effectiveness while plac ing it in context with the then-turbulent society. 1 low successful the documentar ians were is a matter of debate. During the film, it often occurred to me that some of the political movements the group was involved with would have made more inter esting subjects for a documentary. 1 would rather have seen something on the prisoners' rights movement in the early 1970s, or a better yet, a full documentary on the more com pelling and effective Black Panther Party Yet the film merely skims over these groups, provoking some inter est before quickly moving on. It sometimes feels like the filmmakers knew their subject wasn't all that compelling and tried to supplement it with more interesting material. It is odd being able to call a group that successfully bombed the U S. Capitol and broke Timothy Leary out of prison "uninteresting." But that is what the group is. On the whole, they were no more effective than the wide range of forgotten organiza tions that formed around that time; the only difference was their high profile. The film's sole purpose then seems to be the presentation of a case study: how a radical organiza tion like this can form, function and then fall apart. So the film does have some value, but the simple fact is, the Weathermen do not make for the best viewing. Even the interviews hold little of interest as so few of the former members have any discernible personality. One of the few in the group who does make a compelling figure is former member Brian Flanagan. He actually seems to regret his involvement with the group, and then made an interesting compar ison between the bombings he and the Weathermen were involved in and the terrorist actions of Sept. 11. It is true that the Weathermen were working for a good cause, and that the system they were fighting was corrupt. But their tactics were so misguided that it is difficult to elicit any sympa thy for them or their causes. Bombing for peace doesn't work, no matter who is setting off the bombs. "The Weather Underground" will open tomorrow at the Bijou Art Cin emas at 492 E. 13th Avenue. Contact the senior pulse reporter at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com. Student groups go trick-or-treating to benefit food bank Alpha Phi Umega and OSPIRG will aid a local food bank by taking to the streets to gather donations By Lisa Catto Freelance Reporter Many University students feel too old to dress up and go trick-or-treat ing on Halloween, and some just don t have a good reason to go. But this year, two student groups are giving all students the chance to dress up for Halloween and help the community. Tonight Alpha Phi Omega, a cam pus-based service organization, and OSP1RG will be collecting canned food, which will be donated to FOOD For Lane County, the second largest food bank in Oregon. The groups will be knocking on doors in neighborhoods surrounding the campus. Alpha Phi Omega is meeting at 6 p.m. in the visitor's parking lot at the comer of East 13th Avenue and Agate Street while the Oregon Student Pub lic Interest Research Group will meet at 5:30 p.m. by their office on the EMU's ground floor. Alpha Phi Omega Media Relations Chairman Cory Portnuff said the two organizations are not working as a team, but they have split up the neigh borhoods they are going to cover to reach as many people as possible. Portnuff said his group has done this project for the last three years. "In the past we have had up to 40 volunteers and collected up to 800 pounds," he said. "This year we are aim ing for more." Portnuff said this project is good for students to give back to the community that supports them. Marie Tallant, the coordinator for OSPIRG's Hunger and Homeless cam paign, said the first stage of its cam paign, which includes the Halloween project, is meant to create awareness about hunger and homelessness. "This program is a fun way to help people and get involved in hunger is sues, "Tallant said. OSPIRG is trying to get its name out in the neighborhoods, Tallant said. Turn to HALLOWEEN, page 8A r ^poppiV _/tna4oli&. "The Land East" Traditional Greek & Indian Food Lunch Monday through Saturday Dinner 7 Nights a Week 992 Willamette Eugene, Or 97401 343-9661 Second Season Presents Tickets: UO Ticket Office EMU: 346-4363 UT Box Office Evenings of Performances Paula Vogel Oct. 29, 30, 31, NOV. 1,6, 7 & 8-8 PM Arena Theatre No Late Seating The Dead Sea Scrolls the Word of God in Ancient Judaism and Christianity 3:00-4:30 p.m., Friday, October 31,2003 110 Knight Law Center lecture: How the Bible Became a Book William Schniedewind, UCLA discussion: How the Dead Sea Scrolls affect our understanding of the nature and use of Scripture in ancient Judaism and Christianity Martin Abegg and Peter Flint, Trinity Western University, Rob Kugler, Lewis and Clark College, and Steve Delamarter, George Fox University Daniel Falk, University of Oregon, moderator Reception and book sale follow How the BIBLE Became a ROOK ■ and An equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Call (541) 346-4971 or e-mail dfalk@oregon uoregon.edu for information. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON Oregon Daily Emerald PO Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub lished daily Monday through Friday during the school year by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.The Emerald operates inde pendently of the University with of fices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private prop erty. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. NEWSROOM — (541)346-5511 Editor in chief: Brad Schmidt Managing editor: Jan Tobias Montry Freelance editor: Aimee Rudin News editors: Jennifer Marie Bear, Ayisha Yahya Senior news re porters: A. Sho Ikeda, Ali Shaughnessy News reporters: Caron Alarab, Chelsea Duncan, Jared Paben, Chuck Slothower Pulse editor Aaron Shakra Senior Pulse reporter: Ryan Nyburg Pulse reporter: Natasha Chilingerian Pulse columnists: Helen Schumacher, Carl Sundberg Sports editor: Hank Hager Senior sports reporter: Mindi Rice Sports reporters: Jon Roetman, Jesse Thomas Editorial editor: Travis Willse Columnists: Joseph Bechard, Jes sica Cole-Hodgkinson, Peter Hockaday, David Jagernauth Illustrators: Steve Baggs, Eric Layton Design editor: Adelle Lennox Senior designer: Sean Hanson Designers: Kimberly Premore, Kari Pinkerton Photo editor: Adam Amato Senior photographer: Danielle Hick ey Photographer: Lauren Wimer Part-time photographers: Tim Bobosky, Mark McCambridge Copy chiefs: Kim Chapman, Jennifer Sudick Copy editors: Gabri elie Barber, Rebekah Hearn, Ben Pepper, Brandi Smith, MacKen sey Thompson Online editor: Erik Bishoff Webmaster: Eric Layton BUSINESS — 346-5512 General manager: Judy Riedl Business manager: Kathy Carbone Receptionist: Sarah Go racke Distribution: Mike Chen, John Lrng, Matt O’Brien, Michael Sarnoff-Wood, Ben Swagerty ADVERTISING — DISPLAY 346-3712 CLASSIFIED 346-4343 Director: Melissa Gust Sales manager: Michelle Chan Special publications and classified manager: Hilary Mosher Sales representatives: Tim Bott, Army Feth, Patrick Gilligan, Megan Hamlin, Kim Humphries, Alex Hurliman, Tyler Mack, Shannon Rogers, Dan Sawaya, Katherine Vague Assistants: Liz Carson, Katy Cooney, Sabrina Gowette, Thomas Redditt, Keri Spangler, Kate Workman PRODUCTION — 346-4381 Manager: Michele Ross Production coordinator: Tara Sloan Designers: Jen Cramlett, Kristen Dicharry, Matt Graft, Andy Holland, Marissa Jones, Jonah Schrogin
