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Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Jan Tobias Montry
Editorial Editor:
Travis Willse
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
EDITORIAL
Veterans' Day
should honor
young soldiers
So, you woke up this morning, took a shower, had
breakfast (if you found the time for it) and boarded a
bus or walked to school. You went to classes, maybe
took a quiz, ate lunch (if you found the time for that,
too) and went home or to work.
Just another day in the life of a traditional college-age
person, right?
Well, for students, sure. But not everyone takes the
same path. Some 620,000 Americans between ages 18
and 25 are on active duty with the military — 45 per
cent of the services.
As America is involved in a military conflict, this Vet
erans' Day makes for a particularly apt time to reflect on
veterans' efforts and what other college-age people are
doing with their lives.
But in many ways joining the military is a special
path — one that students might not have the scope or
time to appreciate. For most students, a bad day means
getting by on Five hours of sleep. For the soldiers in
volved in the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, a
bad day means dodging bullets.
On Nov. 2, 15 soldiers died when their CH-47 Chi
nook helicopter crashed, possibly the result of a missile
attack, witnesses said. Of the 11 soldiers the military
identified by Sunday, six were younger than 24.
It can be easy to forget how significantly college
age soldiers affect the world and local communities
in a state without a major military installation, such
as Oregon. But in many places, the military world is
much closer to the forefront of the local collective
consciousness.
Consider the story of one of the 15 soldiers who died
in the copter crash, Army Spc. Darius T. Jennings, 22.
Jennings — who hailed from Orangeburg, a South Car
olina town of about 13,000 — became the third gradu
ate of the town's only high school to die while on mili
tary duty in Iraq since August. (Army Sgt. Anthony
Thompson, 26, was killed Sept. 18 in an ambush near
Tikrit; Pft. Vorn Mack, 19, drowned Aug. 23.)
At Orangeburg-Wilkinson High, 85 percent of the
students qualify for discounted or free lunches, making
the military a more realistic immediate option for many
students than a four-year college program.
'They turn to the military as a means to an end," Air
Force Junior ROTC Director Maj. Frank Douglas told
CNN about the popularity of military aspirations at Or
angeburg for a Nov. 5 article.
Douglas added that many students at the school
have been discouraged from military service by the
untimely deaths.
'There were some who I knew absolutely were geared
towards the military," he said. 'They had planned to go
to college and then join as an officer later on and now
have those reservations and have those questions like,
'It's not safe, and if it can happen to someone here, it
can happen to me.'"
That danger is something that college students study
ing in the States don't — and don't have to — think
about in their day-to-day goings-on.
But regardless of whether you agree with the current
war's motivations or justifications, it's important to con
sider the life of college-age soldiers and to recognize the
efforts of those who volunteer themselves for potential
ly perilous duty to serve their nation.
!> HO RIAL POLICY
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses can be sent to letters
@dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor and guest
commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited
to 250 words and guest commentaries to 550 words.
Authors are limited to one submission per calendar
month. Submission must include phone number and
address for verification. The Emerald reserves the right
to edit for space, grammar and style.
1
m
Chuck Palahniuk is the literary equivalent
of "The Usual Suspects." And it's not be
cause his name is as much of a mouthful as
"Kaiser Soze."
He's a cult hit.
That much was clear as Palahniuk, who
wrote "Fight Club" after he graduated from
the University of Oregon, played to a
packed WOW Hall on Tuesday night. The
event was less of a reading and more of a
rock concert, and Palahniuk embraced the
role of the rock star.
As he told stories of touring the country,
sharing a mononucleosis-infested coffee cup
with Quentin Tarantino, it occurred to me
that here's a writer, finally, who's turning fic
tion into the rollicking medium it should
be. He's crazy. He's edgy. And he's bringing
fiction back to the people. A popular, good
modem writer. My neurons are on overload.
Palahniuk appeals to college readers like
"South Park" appeals to college television
watchers. The Tuesday event was dominat
ed by students, most of them male and all of
whom obviously worship Palahniuk. A sin
gle chair and a microphone sat on the WOW
Hall stage and people cheered as the lights
dimmed for the first time. False alarm. They
dimmed again, people cheered again. 1 won
dered if 1 was waiting for Palahniuk or U2.
Finally, he was introduced and he came
■k
Peter Hockaday
Today is Hockaday
on. I expected Bono but got a math profes
sor. He had Urkel-sized glasses and a puke
brown vest. But then he opened his mouth,
and the professor image didn't mean any
thing. He was funny, sure, but unpredictable
and nuts at the same time
Ihen he started in on his reading a short
story from his upcoming book of horror sto
ries. He told us we'd be sweating soon, and
he didn't lie The story was nastier than nasty,
to the point that if 1 simply told you the plot,
you'd get squeamish. A lot of "oohs" and
''ughs'' rippled through the audience.
After the reading Palahniuk answered
questions and gave out plastic limbs from
his "Choke" book tour. He stayed for at least
an hour and a half to sign every last book
brought by every last fan.
That's what makes Palahniuk great. He
cares about his writing. He stayed for every
body at the reading, and you got the sense it
wasn't just because this was his old home
town. He runs a workshop on his Web site,
http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net, where he
picks a story every month and critiques it.
He recommends books on that Web site
and was quick to recommend other writers
at Tuesday's reading.
All that makes him a cult hero to readers
and writers alike I'm half journalist, half cre
ative writer, and that second half of me was
inspired by Palahniuk's obvious passion for
his work. I couldn't come close to imitating
his nuts-o style, but I do appreciate his zeal.
A friend told me a story about Palahniuk
Apparently Palahniuk, who lives in Port
land, sometimes waltzes into the Portland
Barnes & Noble yanks his books off the
shelf and signs them, right in the store He
puts the books back himself.
So yeah, he's a little cocky. But it's awe
some. He's cocky about his writing because
he truly loves it. And that means that thou
sands of people, like those who showed up
at the WOW Hall on Tuesday night, love
him back.
Even if he doesn't look like a rock star.
Contact the columnist
at peterhockaday@dailyemerald.com. His
opinions do not necessarily represent those
of the Emerald.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
OSPIRG campaign benefits
polluted Willamette
I want to address a problem that is being
ignored by the governor, namely the clean
up of the Willamette River. Many companies
along the river dump tons of toxins into it,
and much of the state's garbage finds its way
into the river as well. These polluters are
working hard to keep the taxpayers paying
for the clean-up, not themselves. The level of
toxins in the Willamette is so bad that swim
ming and fishing have been prohibited
throughout much of the river. Originally
from Los Angeles, 1 came to Oregon to study
at the University in part because of all the
great outdoors activities Oregon has to offer.
I am disappointed to hear of the condition
of one of Oregon's most precious resources.
That is why I joined the group OSPIRG to
help deal with this problem.
The main way OSPIRG students are try
ing to change this situation is by applying
pressure to Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski to
make him keep his campaign promise of
cleaning up our river. We need Kulongoski
to force the Department of Environmental
Quality to enforce existing laws and force
big-time polluters to take responsibility for
their actions. For our part, OSP1RG organ
ized a river walk in Eugene on Oct. 25, and
volunteers picked up two hundred pounds
of trash. There will be another one on Nov.
16, and many University students are going
to help and show our support for cleaning
up the Willamette.
Luis Garcia
freshman
psychology
Public should take action to help
clean Willamette
I am writing because I am concerned
about the Willamette River. The river is a
source of recreation for many Oregonians
and now, because of toxic emissions, fishing
and swimming have been prohibited in
many areas throughout it. Right now, there
are point sources along the river where pol
lution is being discharged by industries that
have expired permits. These chemicals not
only affect the purity of the water but cause
serious effects to the species living there This
fall, the Oregon Student Public Interest Re
search Group is continuing its efforts to
make the Willamette River clean again. OS
P1RG is working on pressuring Oregon Gov.
Ted Kulongoski to keep his gubernatorial
candidacy promise to take charge of the
Willamette River restoration. If he uses his
power, he can pressure the Department of
Environmental Quality to enforce pollution
permits along the Willamette River.
By holding educational events, exposing
big polluters of the Willamette River and
working to enhance the public's awareness,
this issue can grab the attention of the gover
nor, who has the power to do something. But
the public should care the most about this
problem. They are the people who can no
longer swim or fish in the river. Most impor
tantly, they are the people who elected Ku
longoski because he pledged to dean it up.
Educate yourselves and find out what you
can do. Volunteer at river dean-ups, find out
what products are safe for our river, or write a
letter to Kulongoski asking him to keep his
promise and dean the Willamette River.
Laura Church
sophomore
undeclared
OSPIRG intern