Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online: www.dailyemerald.com
Friday, April 30, 2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Jan Tobias Montry
Editorial Editor:
Travis Willse
Drivers should
know, follow
laws of road
to benefit all
The other day while cycling home from class down 15th Av
enue, a safe distance from the line of parked cars on my right, I
was honked at, given the finger and told that I belong on the
sidewalk by a thoughtless and woefully misinformed Univer
sity car commuter. So, for the benefit of the University com
munity I offer the following clarification from the Oregon
statutes pertaining to bicycles and pedestrians:
"ORS 814.400 Application of vehicle laws to bicycles.
"(1) Every person riding a bicycle upon a public way is sub
ject to the provisions applicable to and has the same rights and
duties as the driver of any other vehi
cle concerning operating on high
Cai U EES* TP ways, vehicle equipment and aban
rflMMFNTARY doned vehicles, except: (a) Those
vUlllwlUi I MU I provisions which by their very nature
can have no application, (b) When
otherwise specifically provided under the vehicle code.
"(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this sec
tion: (a) A bicycle is a vehicle for purposes of the vehicle code;
and (b) When the term Vehicle' is used the term shall be
deemed to be applicable to bicycles.
"(3) The provisions of the vehicle code relating to the opera
tion of bicycles do not relieve a bicyclist or motorist from the
duty to exercise due care."
It appears that bicycles do not, in fact, belong on the side
walk. According to another relevant statute, ORS 814.430, a cy
clist is required to ride "as close as practicable to the right curb
or edge of the roadway" except "when reasonably necessary to
avoid hazardous conditions including, but not limited to, fixed
or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles (...) or to avoid
unsafe operation in a lane on the roadway that is too narrow
for a bicycle and vehicle to travel safely side by side."
(For the record, I realize that the behavior of many cyclists
on campus and elsewhere is entirely unlawful and often idiotic;
however, this does not give drivers the right to scapegoat any
one on a bike.)
Here in Eugene, there is no shortage of "parked or moving
vehicles" and no shortage of narrow roadways; hence, there is
no shortage of lawful reasons why a cyclist may choose to take
up more of the road than a hurried driver might prefer. So, a
word to the wise: Before you harass a bike commuter simply
for using the road, make sure you're on the right side of the law.
Erin Boiles is a senior majoring in philosophy.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sports deals equate to sanctioning alcohol use
The University is marketing a leading cause of college stu
dent dropouts, violence against women and student death by
subcontracting its broadcast message formation to ESPN. The
University receives money to sell the University's image to
sports networks, which leads to commercial broadcasts of Uni
versity events becoming 100 percent supportive of alcohol use.
Furthermore, the exclusive deal terms that the University repre
sentatives broker with Anheuser-Busch are kept secret from the
students and public that supports the institution at the request
of the beer company.
As a student and member of the Eugene community, I feel that
the result of this lack of responsible regulation by the University is
the polar opposite of the University mission statement, lire col
lege states it supports diversity, caring, civic responsibilities, learn
ing and anti-discrimination. Yet no other messages involving al
cohol are supported by the University on its commercial
broadcasts other than the support of using the product. The re
sult of University contracts clearly discriminates, thwarts learning
and stifles diversity.
Until the University invests 50 percent of its name to commer
cial broadcasts that question the use of alcohol or eliminates the
ads, it is in gross violation of its mission statement. A learning in
stitution has no business validating its most disruptive influence,
especially without investing in a diversity of ideas about it with a
portion of the beer ad profits. Please contact Student Ufe to add
your voice to this issue.
Mike Meyer
senior
family and human services
Eric Layton Illustrator
The Passion of the Sequel
For a nation that has long embraced
creativity and a rugged individualism,
we Americans savor consistency like we
eat McDonald's. Regularity might be as
stimulating as the puzzle on a Happy
Meal box, or sometimes about as
wholesome as a Double Quarter
Pounder with Cheese, but it's at least fa
miliar.
But nowhere is this predilection for
the known more evident than in the
Great American Sequel. While succes
sors to our favorite pop culture prod
ucts are nothing new, the Sequel has
swelled in recent decades from the oc
casional case of a summer blockbuster
(or bomb) to a full-blown epidemic.
We have sequels to movies: 20 canon
James Bond films, 10 "Star Trek"
movies and yes, more than 100 "Girls
Gone Wild" movies. Television? The
38-year-old "Star Trek" franchise boasts
six series. And if just two "CS1" series
and three "Law & Order" series aren't
enough for crime series junkies, fear
not: the 'character-driven' "CSI: New
York" is set for a September premiere
and "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (star
ring series veteran Jerry Orbach) will
debut January 2005. Even soft drinks
are sequels — witness Mountain Dew
Code Red and LiveWire.
That television network executives
are leaning on franchises shouldn't be
a surprise. Offering viewers something
they know gives a spinoff series an edge
over other new programs during the
September premieres. But sometimes,
fresh programs aren't even making it far
in the approval process. CBS Chairman
and CEO Leslie Moonves has, he told
CNN, seen only one new pilot this
spring.
Of the 53 movies that have grossed
more than $200 million at the Ameri
can box office, at least 17 are sequels
and at least 16 more spawned a series.
Most of the others either are new
enough that a timely sequel is still pos
sible <pr upcoming (2003's all-time No.
10 "FindingNemo," 2002's No. 5 "Spi
der-Man"), don't lend themselves to se
ries (1994's No. 42 "Ghost," 1982's No.
3 "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial") or both
(2004's No. 7 "The Passion of the
Christ").
Travis Willse
Rivalless wit
That good original movies are rare
enough is unfortunate; but that sequels
are becoming the norm leaves even less
room for them.
This trend has gotten worse in recent
years, too. In 2000, one of the 10 top
grossing movies in America was a se
quel (No. 3 "Mission: Impossible II"),
and one was a remake (No. 1 "How the
Grinch Stole Christmas"). In 2001,
three were sequels and two were re
makes. 2002 saw five sequels, and 2003
had six (including No. 1 "The Lord of
the Rings. The Return of the King," and
both "Matrix" sequels, which finished
in the No. 4 and No. 9 spots).
Movie sequels have mushroomed
from a low-risk business decision and
good way to spend a summer afternoon
into a mass medium artistic crisis. If
creativity and newness are the lifeblood
of a healthy entertainment culture, too
many sequels are a hemorrhage.
Interactive media have the same
problem: Of the top 10 best-selling
video games between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1,
2003, according to amazon.com, seven
were sequels (including the rousing top
seller "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and
No. 6 "Madden NFL 2004", the 14th
season of the series). The three that
weren't? They were PlayStation 2 titles
No. 2 "Kingdom Hearts", a not-exactly
a-sequel role-playing game that blends
the successful "Final Fantasy" and Dis
ney franchises; No. 7 "Enter the Ma
trix", based on the Matrix franchise;
and No. 10 "The Sims", the adaptation
of the best-selling PC game. In Japan,
where the numbers are more dramatic,
merely two of the top 100 games of
2003 were original titles. ’ '
At March's Game Developer's Con
ference, Tom Iwatani — best known for
creating the super-hit "Pac-Man," *
which has spawned many sequels in its
own right — lamented, "The gaming
industry will shrink unless we start to
see new games."
But there's something to be said for
the market value of originality, too. Be
cause the above rankings for the top
grossing movies aren't adjusted for tick
et price inflation, they're weighted
heavily toward modernity. Compensat
ing, which gives a reasonable estimate
of the number of tickets sold, only five
of the top 53 movies are sequels (three
"Star Wars" sequels, "Thunderball" and
"The Return of the King"), although
several became the first in a series (No.
9 "The Exorcist" and No. 21 "The God
father").
In closing, I should disclose that I'm
guilty of a degree of hypocrisy here: I
like sequels. I grew up on "Star Trek:
The Next Generation" and "Deep Space
Nine." One of the finest game car
tridges of all time, I still maintain, is Su
per Nintendo's "Super Mario All-Stars,"
a collection of four games in the Super
Mario Brothers series. I'm resigned to
sequels, and even if having so many is
a bad thing, that won't stop me from
paying for them — fueling more se
quels — and enjoying the better ones.
Contact the editorial editor
at traviswillse@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.