Exiled poet speaks out! 7
An independent neivspaper
www. dailyemerald. com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 39 | Wednesday, October 20, 2004
★ AMERICA VOTES 2004 ★
Proposals
to manage
Oregon's
roadless areas
swing like a
pendulum
from
preservation
to utilization
of forest
resources
BY AYISHA YAJHYA
NEWS EDITOR
Oregon has provided the battleground for
many contentious environmental issues.
Tempers have flared on every thing fromdhe
spotted owl to salmon, whether to release
water to farmers or preserve it Tor fish and
how to balance forest conservation with the
logging industry’s needs. With several gas
es in courts, the environmental debate*
weighs heavily on voters’ minds and thecdn
didates’ platforms.
Forests have been at the forefront of many
of the state’s environmental disputes. Ore
gon has 27.5 million acres of forestlands and
over the years has been victim to devastating
forest fires, such as the 2002 Biscuit Fire in
Southern Oregon thayazed close to 500,000
acres. Environmentahaotivists have called for
the protection of forests*, especially old
growth stands.
Many candidates say there is a need to
employ "good science” in tackling the forest
and other environmental issues.
U.S. Seriate Democrat Ron WydenTaid
an e-mailed statement that he will continuer
to fight to end logging on federal old-growth
forests and protect areas like Mount Hood
and the Columbia River Gorge with wilder
ness designations. He added that he will also
work with communities to sustainably har
vest trees from choked, second-growth plan
tations that currently “pose real threats to
our forests and our communities.”
“We need to protect the special areas so
important to Oregonians and move forward
on restoring sustainable natural resource
jobs,” he said.
His Republican opponent, A1 King, who is
also a farmer and a rancher, said through his
profession he understands the value of car
ing for natural resources. He said there is a
Photo Illustration by Danielle Hickey
connection between people and their re
sources.
“The human resources only survive when
they can use the natural resource,” he said.
He added that forests in Oregon have not
'been properly managed for sustained
yields and are full of diseased trees and
Undergrowth.
“We^ejpcked up the forest and we’ve let
said, adding that he is against
roldless rules that limit access to certain ar
eas and prevent proper maintenance of the
forests. The Roadless Area Conservation
Rule generally, limits timber harvest, road
construction and reconstruction within road
less areas on national forests and grasslands.
When there is no access, it is difficult to
fight fires, arfh closing off theltf|sts also pre
vents “people from usingit for' recreational
purposes and enjoyingjjature, King said.
“The worst thing is that we can’t use it
and if we can’t use it, is goes to waste,”
King said. *■*.. '
Republican state Senate candidate Norm
- Thomas had similar sentiments, saying the
flogging industry and the state's economy has
Suffered in recent years.
“We need to start using natural re
sources,” he said, adding that while conser
vation of endangered species is important, it
is vital to consider the impact on the human
population.
Thomas suggested that logging of new
growth stands of timber be allowed and
that human access not be restricted by
roadless rules, especially because of the
risk of major fires.
“We’ve lost a lot of forests in the last cou
ple years,” he said. Thomas added that he
doesn’t see why the state should not be able
to clean out dry fuel from burned areas and
salvage what it can.
ENVIRONMENT, page8
Duck U begins its season with
new programming, high goals
The journalism schools TV program hopes to hit it big with
a 'Real World' parody that overemphasizes stereotypes
BYCANELAWOOD
NEWS REPORTER
With cameras in place, the scene
was set Friday in a two-story house on
Ferry Street, just outside of campus.
University students were put on the
spot as they improvised scenes for a
“UO Real World” parody. Actors played
sorority-girl, party-guy and bookworm
stereotypes while they were loosely di
rected by the production staff, includ
ing a camera man, director and sound
recorder. The parody is the latest addi
tion to the line up for Duck U, the stu
dent-run television program that airs
locally in Eugene and on campus and
is sponsored by the School of Journal
ism and Communication.
Nearly 50 University students are in
volved in creating the 30-minute show,
which includes segments such as News
and Sports, Tip of the Week and “Out
and About,” a segment that features stu
dents traveling around campus and Eu
gene to illustrate what’s going on in the
community. Along with the addition of
the Real World parody, Duck U plans to
do a Cribs parody as well, although that
is still in the works, said Brian Merrell, a
fifth-year multimedia major and one of
Duck U’s four executive producers.
“We expect this to be the biggest
year with the biggest audience ever,”
Merrell said.
The first episode of Duck U aired
last night at 9 p.m. and will be repeat
ed Thursday at 9 p.m. on channel 14
in the residence halls. Duck U will be
broadcast tonight at 10 p.m. on Com
cast cable channel 23 for those not in
the residence halls.
“It’s a show for students, by stu
dents,” said Phyllis Lee, a senior history
major and director of the reality-TV seg
ment for Duck U. “The point of [the Real
World parody] is to portray student
stereotypes to the extreme.”
Katie Schroeder, a junior
journalism major who plays a
DUCK U, page 6
National options
for abortion laws
gamer discussion
In addition to a
woman's right to
choose, candidates
tackle topics such
as sex education
MORIAH BALINGIT
NEWS REPORTER
Roe v. Wade was decided
31 years ago, but the land
mark Supreme Court case that
affirmed a woman’s right to ter
uuiidic a picgiidiiiy ltruidlllb d
hot topic for candidates locally
and nationally. And the debate
doesn’t stop there — controver
sy is rife in issues such as sex-ed
ucation curricula and public
funding of contraception, with
election candidates taking di
verse stances on the issues.
U.S. Senate
Sen. Ron Wyden said he is
“committed to fighting attempts
to stack the court with anti
choice judges whose aim it is to
overturn Roe v. Wade. ”
He said he wants to make
abortion “rare through increased
access to contraceptives, sex ed
ucation and promotion of the
adoption option.”
He said he does not support
partial birth abortion, except
when necessary to save a
woman’s life or health, and he
opposed the Bush Administra
tion’s decision to ban the proce
dure because it didn’t include
provisions for a woman’s health.
On the other hand, Republican
candidate A1 King said he would
approve a judicial nominee for
the Supreme Court based on his
or her ability to uphold the con
stitution and laws “promulgated
by elected officials.”
King said abstinence is an im
portant part of sex education.
“We need to also have educa
tion regarding the prevention of
sexually transmitted diseases
for those who are not going to
follow an abstinence program,”
he said.
The federal government
should fund contraception for
those who can’t afford it to pre
vent the further spread of STDs,
he said, adding that he believes
abortions should only be
performed in the case
that three doctors, the
biological parents of the
unborn child, and any
other concerned party
agrees that the proce
dure is necessary be
cause the life of the
mother is in
danger. He
added that
he supports
the Bush Ad
ministration’s bill to ban
partial birth abortion, which he
called “murder.”
Representative in U.S.
Congress, 4th District
Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio
said abstinence-only sex educa
tion has “limited utility.”
“There’s a range of other peo
ple that need a broader ap
proach about responsible sexu
al activity,” he said, adding that
if a parent or student objected
to sex education, he or she
should be excused.
He said emergency contracep
tion should be made available
over the counter but only within
the tenets the Food and Drug Ad
ministration sets.
DeFazio said he supports a
woman’s right to choose so that
women won’t seek dangerous
“backroom abortions” that put
them at risk for death or injury,
but added that the federal fund
ing to assist women in obtaining
abortions should be available
only in “limited circumstances.”
“The only availability would
be through state Medicaid plans,
and state Medicaid plans would
limit the availability to medical
necessity,” he said. DeFazio said
he disagrees with the Bush Ad
ministration’s bill to ban partial
birth abortion because it doesn’t
provide exceptions for the life
and health of the mother.
Republican Candidate Jim
Feldkamp said that "all manners
of sex education should be al
lowed,” but that sex education
should be limited according to
the age level of the student.
He said he does not support
federal funding of contraception,
even under federal employee
health plans because “the
federal government
shouldn’t be funding
that stuff. ”
Feldkamp said he
“wants to see the
abortion level descend
to zero,” and that he’s
opposed to using
abortions as a form of
birth control.
“For the health of the
mother, I’m not going to
interfere with the right
Photo by Ujren Wimer HEALTH, page 5