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Tuesday, August 3, 2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Jared Paben
Managing Editor:
Travis Willse
EDITORIAL.
'Empty Campus
Day' only hurts
undergraduates'
opinion ofGTFF
University undergraduates are the sacred cows that nei
ther the administration nor the Graduate Teaching Fellows
Federation should slaughter in their ugly battle to hammer
out a contract this summer. It looks, though, like the GTFF
will gobble a hefty helping of beef for breakfast, lunch and
dinner Wednesday.
The GTFF has declared Wednesday as "Empty Campus
Day," during which students are asked to avoid campus and
attend their GTF-taught classes at off-campus locations.
GTFF President Eric Lindgren said the union has already re
served space at Lane Community College — one of those
convenient off-campus locations — for GTFs and their un
dergraduate pupils. Lindgren said Empty Campus Day is not
a strike, but is simply designed to show solidarity the day be
fore the union enters arbitration talks in its stalled labor ne
gotiations with the University.
"We're not striking; we're just holding classes off campus,"
Lindgren told the Emerald. Lindgren said the GTFF wants un
dergraduates to know it's "not trying to hurt them."
Unless the Emerald Editorial Board missed something,
that's exactly what the union is doing — hurting students
by taking them hostage and using them as a bargaining
chip as the union nears the end of its nine-month
labor standoff with the University. Many undergraduates
who live on or near campus and ride bikes or walk to
school will be hugely inconvenienced in struggling to find
bus routes and times (if they even exist) that fit their busy
schedules. Many of the out-of-towners don't even know
where LCC is! We fail to see how this tactic wouldn't hurt
undergraduates — who are the reason the University pays
GTFs in the first place — because it robs them of the Uni
versity's resources and spaces, for which they have already
paid thousands of dollars.
Lindgren was sure to point out that classes are not being
canceled Wednesday. But, by scheduling classes at incon
venient locations, the union has effectively canceled classes
for many students. While it is an undergraduate's responsi
bility to attend class, empty off-campus classes are no show
of solidarity.
The Emerald Editorial Board supports the campus's GTFs
in their difficult bargaining sessions and acknowledges their
hard work and important contributions to the education
of undergraduates. We feel they should be compensated ap
propriately with a fair contract. After nine months of unsuc
cessful bargaining, Lindgren said the union has member
support for a strike, which would be the first GTF strike in
the University's history. We support the right of any respon
sible union to strike; after all, this is the biggest
conventional weapons any union has in its arsenal and the
threat of a strike is often deterrent enough to break through
negotiation impasses.
But, what the GTFF is doing is not fair. The GTFF should
fight its own battle, and if undergraduates choose to join you,
they will. If anything, this "Empty Campus Day" will only lead
undergraduates to resent the union.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jared Paben Travis Willse
Editor in Chief Managing Editor
Erik R. Bishoff
Online & Photo Editor
Aaron bullivan illustrator
The sacred institution of change
Seeing as this is my last column for the
Emerald, I would like to reflect on an event
that had an incredible impact on my world
view and my perspective in this society.
In March, I got up bright and early and
drove to Multnomah County to report on
the county's controversial decision to issue
marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In a
tiny Portland Hilton Hotel room packed
with friends, family and media, a homosex
ual couple was publicly and legally married
for the first time in Oregon.
I witnessed history that day, but consid
ering the hysteria from insane religious
zealots I'd heard beforehand, you'd think I
was witnessing two gay people foaming at
the mouth, rubbing their hands together
and plotting the demise of civilization. In
fact, what I saw was two people in love who
wanted to be recognized in the eyes of the
law — just like anybody else.
This debate is not a new one in America.
Americans had similar discussions before
women's suffrage when the social norm was
to balk at any suggestion that women be al
lowed to vote ("Why, the sacred institution of
democracy belongs to men!"). We had these
discussions during the Civil Rights move
ment, when similar reasoning was used to
protest a black person's right to drink from
the same water fountain as a white person or
to attend the same school as a white person.
Now, instead of the sacred institutions of
democracy, human rights and education, at
issue is the sacred institution of marriage — a
brilliant political maneuver by those who
refuse to admit they just don't like gay people.
Let's not forget, however, that the sacred
institution of marriage was defended in a
similar manner back when interracial
marriage was outlawed in 38 states. It
i-———
J. TOBIAS MONTRY
STOP BREEDING
wasn't until 1967 that the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled those laws unconstitutional and
people of different colors around the coun
try were able to squeak past the tight bonds
of religious oppression.
Oh, but if the sacred-institution argu
ment doesn't butter your toast, how about
the gay-people-make-terrible-parents argu
ment? Or the what-rights-will-they-want
next argument (also made famous during
the women's suffrage and Civil Rights
movements). Then we've got the gay-mar
riages-lead-to-polygamy/bestiality/pe
dophilia argument, and the gay-people
will-just-get-divorced argument.
Interestingly, none of these arguments
can be defended with any substantial or
credible fact. So those who oppose gay mar
riage are left with only one talking point: the
sacred institution of marriage.
While we're talking about sacred institu
tions in America, let's review another fa
mous one. There used to be this sacred
American institution called "segregation,"
and damned if whites were going to let
blacks have the same rights. So as whites
burned crosses, sending shadows dancing
across their white hoods, states began sepa
rating white rights from black rights.
But as years and minds progressed, peo
ple slowly became open to bending that
sacred institution of segregation. Before
you knew it, blacks were conquering the *•
sacred institution of whites-only drinking
water. The sacred institution of riding the
bus to work was also shot to hell, and
blacks were allowed to share in that glory.
The only sacred institution that was up
held during the Civil Rights movement, it
seems, was that of human dignity and ba
sic human rights.
Today, we face a similar situation with the
same-sex marriage debate. It seems we've
got this sacred institution of marriage, codi
fied in the Bible, and many people don't
want gays mucking it up.
One might say connecting the villainy of
segregation and slavery with the seemingly
passive issue of gay marriage is ludicrous,
and in a way they're right. But let's not forget
a basic tenet of both debates: freedom. In
this case, the implied freedom of any indi
vidual to find somebody he or she loves and
certify that love in state-sponsored marriage,
regardless of his or her sex. I'm not saying
those who use the sacred-institution-of-mar
riage argument are using the same logic as
racists who did everything in their power to
keep human rights from blacks. Oh, wait,
yes I am. My apologies.
Then again, if it's the Bible we're using
as a standard for our society, nobody will
mind if I murder my children for swear
ing, rape a female war captive and kill a
prostitute (but only if I impregnate her),
right? Because all those things that can be
found in the Bible, too.
What? Those values from thousands of
years ago don't fit our current society?
OK, just checking.
janmontry@dailYemerald.com
2
ONLINE POLL
THIS WEEK'S POLL RESULTS
Are you a carnivore or a vegetarian? (49 total votes)
1. Carnivore - It's natural for humans to eat meat 31 percent
2. Carnivore - Meat tastes good! 27 percent
3. Carnivore - Meat is a good source of protein and vitamins 22 percent
4. Vegetarian - For environmental reasons 16 percent
5. Vegetarian - Eating meat is cruel 4 percent
6. Vegetarian - For health reasons 0 percent
NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION
Do you support the GTFF walkout on Wednesday?
Visit www.dailyemerald.com to vote.
• No - I'm paying for my classes to be on campus
• No - It will unfairly inconvenience students
• Yes - It's a great excuse to skip class
• Yes - We have a responsibility to support our students
and staff
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