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
Thursday, July 15, 2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Jared Paben
Managing Editor:
Travis Willse
///XT//1
Aaron Sullivan Illustrator
Body
beautiful
The freshman fifteen, the sophomore
seven, and who knows how many
pounds the average college junior gains.
I'm hoping my junior year will mark the
ending to the phenomenon that plagues
almost all college students: The dreaded
weight fluctuation.
When I first came to college, I thought
it was just a rumor, that is until I experi
enced it first-hand. It just sneaks up on
you, one term you're one size and the
next term you're that same size plus two
or three more. Where does it come
from? I understand that stress mixed
with sleep deprivation does have an af
fect on one's mental health, attention
span and body weight, but there has to
be some other reason why the jeans that
fit last term now fit only if I hold my
breath, contract my muscles and jump
up and down. To get to the bottom
(hehe) of it, I went to the grocery store.
Grocery shopping has got to be the
most dreaded errand in the world, next
to banking, of course. Imagine, you're in
a large food store pushing a squeaky cart
down aisle after miserable aisle picking
out the most inexpensive versions of
what you like or your stomach can toler
ate While you're there doing this, about a
PORSCHA COLLETTE CAREY
WORLD ON A STRING
hundred other people are in the same
place doing exactly the same thing.
But wait, you don't have to imagine
this scenario, you're there at least once
every week. My investigative grocery
shopping trip started off just like any oth
er — produce, dairy, snacks, or whatever
is cheapest. Then something in the bev
erage aisle stuck me. I was given the
choice of paying $.99 for three liters of
root beer or $3.49 for one liter of real
juice. Mv poor-college-student mentality
told me to pick up the root beer, but my
small amount of will power thought dif
ferently. I looked down into my grocery
cart; alas, 'tis true! The cheapest things
usually aren't the best things to put in
one's body, but are exactly what i chose
to fill my cart with.
With the prices of tuition, student fees,
expensive textbooks, rent and utilities,
cheap is pretty much all I can afford and
although my body doesn't like it, my wal
let certainly does.
Why is eating healthy so expensive?
If I don't have enough money to pay for
wholesome food, what makes you
think I'll have enough money to pay for
the new wardrobe I'll have to buy once
I'm unable to fit into the clothes I al
ready own?
If eating healthy weren't so expensive
my posterior wouldn't be so big. I sup
pose a bit of exercise would help, too. but
who's got the time for it? What's the
point of exercise when, as soon as you sit
at the dinner table, you gain it all back?
Doesn't it seem a little ironic to be forced
to pay extra for the lack of unnatural ad
ditives? It should be the other way
around, if I want the unnecessary chemi
cals and sugars, I should be given the
choice to pay more for them.
I put the root beer in my cart; $.99 for
three liters of soda is a bargain! But now
that I think on it, I'm wondering what is
wiser: Saving the dollars now or treating
my body like the temple it is?
porschacareY@dailyemerald.com
Emerald reinforces stereotypes
Your editorial 'Portland man become
prey in overzealous war on terror," about
the mistreatment of Oregon attorney,
Brandon Mayfield for the most part was
- well-writ
TCCT ten an(*
'jULOI sharp.
COM MEN1ARY However,
- while you
condemned our government's anti-terror
profiling, a blatant societal stereotype
seeped into your closing paragraphs, beg
ging me to speak up about it.
"He (The George W. Bush look
alike/think-alike) would have loosened
hisr^ie as he walked in the front door to
tis house. He would have greeted his
wife with a kiss."
The imagery I captured with these
lines left me wondering what she had
made for dinner and if she had vacu
umed the front hallway. Women are
steadily increasing their presence as
players in the professional world. For ex
ample, according to the American Med
ical Association, women made up 7.6
percent of the total number of physi
cians in 1970. In 2002, they made up
25 2 percent of the population. Our
Bush look-alike/think-alike could have
a professional wife that wasn't waiting
for him at the front door. Even though
you nailed the dangerous nature of
stereotyping into the reader for 16
paragraphs prior, your attempt to write
a poignant closing undermined the
work you had already done.
This may be a bit reactionary, but I
wouldn't have found this "itch" if the ar
ticle wasn't warning us about the dangers
ofstereotyping/profiling. But since it is, I
had to scratch.
Brandon Mayfield was persecuted
because he didn't meet "the status quo."
American wives will be thought of as bak
ers before bankers for a long time. I
thought that stereotype was left for our par
ents' generation. You showed me it isn't.
Robert X. Fogarty is a junior
majoring in journalism
INTRODUCTION BRIEF
Welcome to the University
from the Emerald staff
As hundreds of students flock to campus today for the second
session of IntroDUCKtion, we'd like to take this opportunity to ex
tend a warm greeting to our newest classmates and their families.
The Emerald strives to inform its readers about issues relevant
to the University community; new students will be able to utilize
our services and families can, too.
Readers can find the Emerald — published Tuesdays and
Thursdays in the summer and every weekday during the regular
school year — online at www.dailyemerald.com.
Also, the Emerald offers e-mail news and sports updates. Keep
tabs on what's going on around the University by registering on
the Emerald's Web site.
Oh, and again, welcome to the University of Oregon.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Transgender athletes face
discrimination due to bias
Transgender athletes who have transition to their new sex do
not retain any significant advantage from their previous sex, re
gardless of the competitive level. If you believe otherwise you are
ignorant and misinformed on this topic. I know from personal
experience that is true and can be scientifically proven to any de
gree of your satisfaction. I would suggest you do your own re
search using current scientific studies and not allow your person
al views on this topic to bias the results.
Humanity in its natural state is not limited to male and female,
but consists of a huge amount of variety. One in 2,000 infants are
bom intersex, and one in 2,500 males between the age of 18 to
60 have undergone surgery from male to female. The current so
cial system discriminates against them regarding the simple rights
most take for granted daily.
Bernice Loui
Sunnyvale, Calif.
Abortion is humanity's
'greatest scandal'
With pride in America, and our armed forces, I salute the vast ma
jority of men and women who serve our country with honor in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and other parts of the world. May God bless them and
their families. To allow the few who dishonor our country to be
come a reflection of our entire nation, or to place the blame for their
actions on their Commander in Chief, is a form of treason.
Our soldiers in Iraq are not at war with the people of Iraq, but
rather, they are peacekeepers who have become victims of re
venge and hatred by unseen enemies who will even kill their
own countrymen if necessary. Without our military presence,
mobs would rule a country that has lost its desire for peace. In
comparison, allowing the Democratic party, responsible for mil
lions of deaths through abortion, to resume power at any level
of political life, is a disgrace to every American who believes in
the right to life according to our Constitution, which says we are
all created equal. Scandal is all around us, but the scandal of de
liberate, willful abortion is the greatest scandal ever witnessed
by any people — civilized or uncivilized.
Vincent Bemowski
KAsmsiclysi \A7ie
Emerald lacks sensitivity
with use of word ‘retard'
I would like to compliment the Emerald staff on its excellent
and engaging series on "enabled learning." I am sure that the indi
viduals' stories brought greater sensitivity and awareness to the
University community of the formidable daily challenges faced
by students with disabilities on campus.
The presence of this enlightening series, however, makes me
even more perplexed at the absence of editorial discernment in
printing the word retard" to describe the participants in "Sur
vivor" in David Jagernauth's column, "The End of the Sitcom"
(ODE, May 27). As I read the column, I was frankly stunned at
the use of the word by an editorial staff that portends to use lan
guage that is respectful of human diversity.
Of course, the Emerald is not alone in approving this term. "Re
tard" is just one of several popular words, including "spaz," "spas
tic," "manic" and others popularly used to erroneously describe a
variety of human behaviors. The mental retardation, spasticity,
and bi-polar manic episodes from which these derogatory words
are derived, however, are anything but comic to those who experi
ence them and to their families.
I urge the editorial staff to use more compassionate, respectful
and, dare I say, grown-up editorial judgment in its use of disabili
ty-related terms. You used them appropriately in your fine articles
on enabled learning. But please, find some other way to describe
participants in "Survivor."
Mary Ann Winter-Messiers
Research Assistant
Educational and Community Supports