INBOX
Higher education not just a
launching pad for athletes
In his article (ODE: “It's high time
writers leave early for the pros,” Oct.
20) Clayton Jones reduces the role of
universities from academic institu
tions to vocational schools which
professional athletes use as launch
ing pads. He writes, “It stinks know
ing what you want to do for a living
and having to go through classes that
don’t pertain to your career field.”
What he fails to realize is that each
class he pays for and daydreams
through has been carefully designed
to stimulate intellectual growth, not
simply jump-start a career. Each class
slept through is a lost opportunity to
better one’s self, not just one hour
closer to a degree. Sitting passively
through a class and passing does not
imply learning and growth, which
should be the primary objectives of
both the University and student.
Universities are amazing places
where one can learn about a panoply
of topics from experts, a privilege not
available to far too great a number of
people. Nowhere else can eager
minds learn about subjects that are
otherwise inaccessible. But as evi
denced by Jones's article, many do
not view higher education as the un
paralleled opportunity that it is, but
as a time-killer until they are scouted
by future employers.
In this view a degree loses all sig
nificance and becomes a useless la
bel and an expensive piece of paper
that doesn't necessarily ensure em
ployment. Using a degree as just
“something to fall back on” is a
dangerous gamble, especially when
it only represents four years of lack
adaisical daydreaming. A safer bet
would be to take advantage of the
opportunity to educate one's self so
that one can have a solid intellectu
al foundation to “fall back on,”
which is much stronger than a flim
sy piece of paper.
My advice to Jones and other who
share his view of universities is to not
waste resources doing something you
can't stand. There is no draft into col
lege. Higher education is not compul
sory. Leave the resources to those
who would use them wisely and to
their utmost.
Craig Chapman
Graduate Research Fellow
Department of Chemistry
ONAMI Complex
not a 'done deal' yet
The Oct. 14 Eugene Weekly re
ferred to the proposed University
ONAMI Complex as though it was a
done deal. It is not. The city has yet
to decide whether the 60,000
square-foot building for nanotech
nology weapons and homeland se
curity research will require a public
hearing before construction begins.
The ONAMI partnership (Nike, In
tel, Portland State University, Ore
gon State University, Pacific North
west National Laboratory and
others) has recently joined the
Nanobusiness Alliance. The new
chairman of the alliance is Newt
Gingrich.
With Frohnmayer and our gover
nor’s help, your increased tuition
now subsidizes weapons develop
ment and Nike’s “Smart Clothes”
research on campus. Even more, the
Riverfront ONAMI Complex is con
sidered “smart growth” because it is
to be centrally located and will
therefore be tax exempt for the next
20 years. Anytime you hear some
one refer to a development as
“smart,” substitute the word “Or
wellian” and you’ll have a far more
accurate idea of what is going on.
Learn more about Nike, Intel,
Hewlett Packard and Smart
Growth America’s plan to ruin Eu
gene at my Web site: www.nanobot
invasion.cjb.net.
Zachary Vishanoff
Eugene
Measure 36 mandates
unfair treatment
Oregon's reputation as a land of
progressiveness and equality was so
convincing a year and a half ago that
my husband and I eagerly left our
home in the deep south and moved
to Eugene to start a family. We
bought a house, completed foster
care and adoption training and, a
few months ago, even renewed our
vows (legally!) in Portland. As a gay
couple, it was thrilling to be treated
as first-class citizens for the first time
in our lives.
But a cloud threatens to block out
Oregon's beacon of fairness. Measure
36 would single out gay and lesbian
couples like us for special exclusion
from our Constitution. No matter
what its proponents would have you
believe, Measure 36 would turn us
back toward a darker, shameful time
when Oregon's top legal document
was used to discriminate against Chi
nese Americans, African Americans
and women. It would establish a per
manent heterosexual supremacy,
making straight couples the only
ones who may participate in the
more than 1,000 rights and responsi
bilities that can only be realized
through marriage.
We must not allow this to happen.
Measure 36 is a slap in the face to
gays and lesbians around Oregon
and beyond. But to those gay and
lesbian kids entering their teen years
and growing into early adulthood,
Measure 36 is perhaps even more
tragic a possibility: It would send an
unmistakable signal to them that
they aren't valued or appreciated in
Oregon.
For their future and ours, vote no
on Measure 36.
Todd Simmons
Eugene
'Fahrenheit 9/11' rightly
portrays Bush's idiocy
I think TYavis Willse’s article
(ODE: “No More Moore,” Oct. 21)
contained insight, but the criticism
was unfair. 1 agree with him: The
media did not win the election for
George Bush and the 5-4 ruling of
the Supreme Court does demonstrate
the ever-present influence of politics
over justice. In one sense, what man
ifests (to me anyway) via “Fahren
heit 9/11 ” is not simply the incompe
tence of George Bush, but rather that
of politics at large, in which sup
posed honest and genuine men and
women are incapable (or politically
ill-advised) to think outside the box
that defines their political agenda.
The result is an oversimplified sys
tem that seems to increasingly pre
clude honesty and genuineness.
However, there’s more to the sto
ry, which, on my viewing, “Fahren
heit 9/11” does a very decent job of
presenting. It’s the story of a contrast
(so well defined, that it is often com
ical) between an immensely impor
tant job and the incompetent man
who holds it. This was what 1 got out
of the movie. Not the facts or statis
tics, (which can obviously be mis
leading) but rather the image of a
man who has no business being in
the position he is in, ......
Just look at how Moore chose to
end the film: Ml Bush, at a podium,
completely butchering the saying
“Fool me once, shame on you; fool
me twice, shame on me.” The mo
ment when Bush pauses, completely
lost and without a shred of self-assur
ance and yet attempting to finish the
line, is probably the funniest thing
I’ve seen all year. Seriously.
It’s not about facts. It’s not even di
rectly about the ills of politics or so
ciety. It’s about the idiocy of Mr. Bush
as shown by Mr. Bush himself. All
Michael Moore does is present this.
We can draw our own conclusions.
Tim Redmond
Philosophy/Mathematics
■ Guest commentary
Measure 36 will force religion
into Oregon's constitution
Supporters of Measure 36 often
state that their desire to amend our
constitution to prevent same-sex
couples from marrying has nothing
to do with religious beliefs or anti
gay prejudice. Further examination
reveals that these lie at the heart of
this proposed amendment and are
a threat to our constitution. Orego
nians who believe in fairness and
equality will recognize this and
vote no on Measure 36.
We were dismayed to read ear
lier this month that the Catholic
and Mormon churches, the two
largest religious bodies in Oregon,
have spoken out in favor of Mea
sure 36. Their statements illustrate
both the religious motivation and
the flaw behind this measure.
The Catholic statement openly
concedes that it supports Measure
36 because, in Catholic teaching,
marriage is a sacrament between
one man and one woman. The
Catholic Church also teaches, with
equal force, that divorce, remar
riage and birth control are serious
sins and that any marriage entered
into without the intent to have
children is invalid. While this may
seem quaint to some, history
shows that the Catholic Church
has not been content to limit these
teachings to the pulpit — it has
tried to control the laws of coun
tries to enforce these teachings.
Ireland, Italy and Chile are only a
few examples of countries that had
to overcome strenuous Catholic
opposition to legalize civil divorce.
The church also fought legalization
of birth control here in the United
States. How many Oregonians
would support turning these or
other Catholic beliefs into the law
of our state?
Similarly, the history of Mor
mon teachings on marriage is in
structive. Most people remember
that, until 1890, polygamy was the
ideal form of marriage in Mormon
teaching and practice. Mormon
leaders at that time regularly de
nounced the “one-wife system” as
immoral and “a curse to a people,”
blaming all the ills of society and
even the fall of the Roman Empire
on monogamy.
Today, of course, Mormons pub
licly endorse monogamy as the
only valid form of marriage. What
isn’t commonly known, however,
is that Mormons, under their belief
that certain marriages endure past
death into eternity, quietly contin
ue to practice a form of polygamy.
When a Mormon couple has been
“sealed” in the temple as husband
and wife for all eternity, should the
wife die, the husband is permitted
to marry a second wife in the tem
ple, also for eternity, thus ensuring
that he has two wives in the next
life. A religion that opposes
polygamy would not permit this
practice, but in Mormon eyes, both
women are his wives. In any case,
Mormons make unusual advocates
of “traditional” marriage.
Now how does any of this relate
to Measure 36? We point out these
details of Catholic and Mormon re
ligious teaching on marriage be
cause, as important as they are to
those groups, none of these teach
ings has any impact on marriage in
Oregon. Our right to marriage as
citizens is not — and should not —
be affected by what any church or
religious group teaches about mar
riage. Marriage in Oregon is a civil
contract, meaning that citizens are
free to make this contract with
each other just like any other con
tract, without the need for ap
proval or blessing of any religious
body. This is exactly how it should
be. The moment we begin to
change our marriage laws, or any
of our laws, to reflect the doctrines
of any particular religious group,
we threaten the religious freedom
and rights of all our citizens.
We call on Oregonians to under
stand that Measure 36 is nothing
less than a direct attack on the Ore
gon constitution. Measure 36
would change our constitution to
exclude a specific group of Oregon
citizens from access to the same
rights everyone else enjoys. This
kind of discrimination is the real
threat to our society.
Dan Statesman and Rick Fernandez
live in Portland
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT
Check out our website
http:// pars.uoregon.edu
contact us
Pt & Rec Progrwr*
Rec Ferities.
346 - 4113
346 - 4183
3-on-3 Basketball Manager’s Meeting - Wednesday, October 20th at
4:00pm in the Ulrich Room located in the SRC.
18-Hole Golf Scramble (2-person team) - Sunday, October 24th at
Emerald Valley Golf Course. Men’s, Women’s and Coed Divisions offered.
The cost is $70 per team. Deadline for entries is Tuesday, October 1 9th.
Fall Tennis Classic Tournament - October 22nd & 23rd. Deadline for
entries is Tuesday, October 19th. Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles
play. Cost is $3 per participant per division.
Rec Aerobics Program - It is not too late to participate in the Rec
Aerobics Program (drop-in aerobics). Purchase a punch card in (102
Esslinger Hall) and choose from 12 different classes each week. All
classes are held in Multipurpose #1 in the SRC.
Fitness Programs - Come by and schedule a Fitness Assessment.
Evaluate your current level of health-related fitness through the following
testing options: body composition, muscular fitness or aerobics fitness.
Or you can do a fitness test package that includes all three tests at a
discounted rate. For more information call 346-1364