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, May 21, 2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Jan Tobias Montry
Editorial Editor:
Travis Willse
Fisher Kings
and Freeman
food for soul
Carla D. Gary is director and University advocate for the Office of
Multicultural Affairs. A Duck alumna with a degree in law, Gary has
worked at the Unwersity for six years and, as an undergraduate, was
the first black cheerleader at the University. She sat down with the
Emerald for Quick Quacks — a short question-and-answer session
aimed at giving readers an expedient look at campus and community
members' thoughts.
Emerald: What CD dominates your CD player right now?
Carla Gary: Will Downing. He is an amazing, old-school
ballad singer. 1 le's like Luther Vandross. He sings the classics
from the '40s and '50s, and he sings new stuff that he writes.
1 le's brilliant.
Emerald: What was the last Oregon athletic event you at
tended?
Gary: Track and field last year.
Emerald: Is the University diverse enough?
_ Gary: No.
__ Emerald: What steps can the Uni
fjp CJ I IV versity take to increase diversity
CfllACICq among the students and the staff?
_' Gary: Well, I think recognizing that
diversity is not just a critical mass, but
that's a part of it. We're part of the community, and we need to re
flect the community, not just in staff and students and faculty,
but how we engage the community ... in activities and events
and determining what's important for us to share.
We also need to offer access and opportunity for those who
are traditionally underrepresented, particularly by race, by eth
nicity, by socioeconomic class
Emerald: What's your favorite restaurant around Eugene?
Gary: Oh, my gosh. Probably Beppe & Gianni's. But I just
went to Papa's. Papa Joe's, across from the (Hult Center). Seri
ous soul food! I had some chicken that was quite serious. And
some collard greens. They were real!
Emerald: Who is one person you would like to meet and why?
Gary: Ihe first person who comes to mind is Nelson Mandela.
1 would like to know how you find that kind of courage and
strength in the face of outrageousness to maintain not only your
dignity and your self respect but your humanity. I'd like to know
how do you do that, where do you find that? That's incredible.
Emerald: What book are you reading right now?
Gary: 'The Fisher King" by Paule Marshall. She was just here
... this weekend. We had her because I'm teaching a class with
Joe Fracchia in the I Jonors College, and we're reading her book
"Praisesong for the Widow." She's wonderful; she's elegant and
eloquent. She talks about the nexus of race and class and gender.
Emerald: What do you see as the biggest issue facing the Of
fice of Multicultural Affairs in the next five to ten years?
Gary: I think a continued understanding of the fact that the
challenges of a world in which skin privilege is so prevalent and
invisible for lots of folks has dynamics for lots of people who
don't share that skin privilege. And that there is a need to be able
to engage people who have an understanding of what those chal
lenges are, so that students are able to navigate them.
Emerald: If you had one hour of free time per day, how would
you spend it? *
Gary: Finishing my book! (I'm writing) two of them, actually.
One is fiction, and it's kind of like navigating the waters of cor
porate American, being black and female in the world. Ihe other
is about the nexus of race in sport, and the dynamics of how
sports serve and don't serve the preponderance of players. Some
thing as simple as, this is 2004 and there are less than ten black
head coaches in Division I, where surely half of the players are
black.
Emerald: What's the last movie you saw?
Gary: The last movie I saw on TV was "Along Came a Spider,"
with Morgan Freeman. Very good. I love Morgan Freeman.
Emerald: Where can we find you on a Friday night?
Gary: Probably at home, watching "While You Were Out" or
"Trading Spaces," or on the computer trying to do some work.
--------
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Wit rivalled, lessons learned
It's not too early for a year-in-review col
umn, I think. Just two weeks remain before
finals (and for many, not much longer until
graduation and the rest of life), and there are
only 10 issues of the Emerald before the end
of my tenure as editorial editor. So, now
seems an appropriate moment to reflect on
a long year of lessons learned.
And the experiences of the last 138 or so
issues since I drafted my introduction to the
commentary page, "Commentary: An open
forum" (Sept. 29, 2003), have provided
many opportunities for my instruction.
Among those lessons:
(1) Even if you write moderate political
opinion, you'll eventually be charged with
every partisan label in the book.
My position on People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals and animal rights
makes me a nationalist. But the stance of the
Emerald Editorial Board (of which I am a
member) on the Illinois mascot debate
make me a Marxist. Hopefully, my moder
ate libertarian stylings have shone through
those and similar charges.
(2) Mocking our in-state rivals is easier
than 1 thought
The Emerald and its (grossly inferior!)
counterpart, The Daily Barometer, have
maintained an annual tradition of trading
blows in the form of newspaper columns —
ours informed, theirs unworthy of further
mention, of course — come Civil War time
In writing this year's column ("Burritos and
feces: life at Oregon State" Nov. 21,2003), I
Travis Wiilse
Rivailess wit
found that, thanks to OSU's countless draw
backs, failings and generic downsides, "Bur
ritos" was one of the easiest-to-write pieces
I've drafted all year.
(3) If you write opinion of any kind,
you'll eventually be called every name in
the book.
My sense of journalism? "Sensational
ist." My goals? "Halo preening." My finer
points? "Moron." "Self-righteous." "Gut
less." "Hateful." "Prejudiced." "An enemy
of free speech."
And in one of the better-worded (but still
philosophically dubious) attacks, 'Travis' in
ability to enter into a meaningful and equal
ly rewarding relationship with a subjective
and alive nonhuman other (Friskie) is more
than symbolic of the fundamental basis of
hierarchical and oppressive power dynam
ics that have shaped our cultural history."
(4) Godwin's Law of Nazi Analogies
holds in print media.
In any controversial issue, Godwin's Law
— which states that as an online discussion
grows longer, the probability of a compari
son involving Nazis or Hitler approaches *
one — applies to the newspaper page and
Web site, too. Some 60 odd years after the
Holocaust, Adolf Hitler and Nazism remain
the biggest hammers in the toolbox of casu
al social philosophy debate and they've def
initely come up more than once this year.
While comparisons of this sort can be
worthwhile they're usually just meaningless
(or slanderous) distractions from the point.
(5) When in doubt, make fun of the col
umn tag.
One particularly critical but memorable
feedback post asked me whether "Rivalless
wit" was conceit or a joke. While I've learned
that both a little arrogance and lot of humor
is needed for this job, my naysayer missed
the point. From that reader's post ("Rivalles
(sic) Wit? Maybe more appropriately 'Rival
less ignorance'?") to charges of egomania
(unjustified ones, I like to think), at least a
few readers have questioned the motivation,
if not the accuracy, of "Rivalless wit" during
the year. Still, most of these critics have failed
to realize that the tag is just an anagram for
my name
But the most important lesson 1 learned?
That, for its many ups and downs, manag
ing and writing opinion is one of the most
challenging and rewarding jobs I've had.
Contact the editorial editor
at traviswillse@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.
Prisoners should work to pay for living expenses, not TVs
Regarding "Land County Direly
Needs More Funds" (ODE, May 4):
The worst part about the prisoners
with the flat-screen televisions is
that some of these felons still owe
monetary restitution to their vic
tims, or they owe court fees to the
state. These people are supposed to
be repaying a debt to society, and as
long as they still owe on that debt,
they should not be able to purchase
things like flat-screen televisions
with the money they earn working
in prison.
Instead, after all restitution is paid,
why not have these prisoners use the
money they earn to pay for all or part
of their own incarceration? Why
should taxpayers pay their room and
board? Let businesses hire them, pay
them a low but fair wage, and on the
first of the month, their rent is due!
Every day that they don't pay is one
extra day that they sit in prison at the
end of their sentence. If executed
properly, this system would save the
state money, provide a source of
cheap labor for Oregon's businesses,
give inmates the chance to build
some job skills, and let them repay
their debt to society. The money
saved on room and board for con
victs could be used to help fund
public safety in Lane County.
Or better yet, let's privatize the
prisons. Introduce competition by
letting private companies bid on
prison contracts, and whoever can
give the best service for the lowest
price wins. Private prisons have
worked in other states: They consis
tently receive higher quality ratings
from both inmates and employees.
These prisons are not only better
and cheaper than state prisons, but
they are profitable, as well.
I know that free market, capitalist
principles applied to the prison sys
tem will surely irk liberals every
where, but it's time to get inmates
off welfare. Let them work to pay
their own way like the rest of us do.
Christopher Looney is a junior
studying economics.