Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
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JEN SUDICK
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STEVEN R. NEUMAN
MANAGING EDITOR
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NEWS EDITORS
PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
MORIAH BALINGIT
AMANDA BOI^INGIiR
MEGHANN CUNIFF
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ANTHONY LUCERO
NEWS REPORTERS
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SPORTS EDITOR
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SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
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SPORTS REPORTERS
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PULSE EDITOR
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EDITORIAL EDITOR
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■ Guest commentary
EPD breaks up charity benefit
I am writing to voice my concerns re
garding the actions of the Eugene Police
Department on Halloween weekend.
The Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, lo
cated on the corner of 18th and Onyx,
hosted a safe and dry Halloween par
ty, called the Blood Dance, that raised
money for the Eugene Chapter of the
American Red Cross on Oct. 30.
Despite notifying neighbors and
the EPD prior to the event, officers
shut down the dance due to a sup
posed noise complaint. Fraternity
members sent letters to six different
officers and alerted neighbors in the
vicinity. Not one neighbor had an
objection or complaint about the
party. Consequently, 700 people
were sent home, including almost
200 who had yet to get in. In addi
tion, the fraternity was cited with a
hefty fine for the noise violation.
Since 2000, the men of Delta Sigma
Phi have allowed thousands of stu
dents to enjoy a safe, non-alcoholic
environment during Halloween, while
contributing to the community. It has
been Delta Sigma Phi’s policy, for
brothers and visitors alike, to never al
low alcohol to enter the house under
any circumstances. As is apparent by
the numbers, many students prefer
the Blood Dance over the typical un
safe party scene involving alcohol.
Just last year, over 700 people attend
ed the Blood Dance, which sent
$1,300 to a worthy organization.
In preparation of this year’s event,
members channeled much energy
and effort into planning the dance
and transforming the building into a
haunted house. The men built an in
tricate tunnel system with three slides
which fed onto two dance floors, and
put countless hours into decorating
the interior as well as the exterior.
The fraternity also hired a five-man
security group in order to check for
alcohol and to ensure a safe and en
joyable time for everyone.
However, on Saturday night many
were turned away from this chance to
enjoy such an event, and many peo
ple’s hard work and extensive planning
were disregarded because of the EPD’s
misguided efforts. Approximately
$1,000 was lost because over 200 peo
ple, who had been waiting in line, were
not allowed to enter. It is difficult for me
and many others to find the reasoning
and legitimacy of ending such a worthy
cause. By breaking up dry functions,
the police leave little alternative to the
alcoholic scene on Halloween. It ap
pears to me that the EPD desperately
needs to reorganize its priorities.
Ironically, a few weeks before the
dance was to occur, the fraternity had
two large rocks thrown through two
separate windows. Not one officer re
sponded to the residence as numerous
efforts to file a report with the EPD
were simply ignored. Why was the EPD
so willing to break up a dry Halloween
philanthropy, but unwilling to respond
when people have their safety threat
ened and property damaged? The ac
tions of the EPD just don’t add up.
Luke Andrews lives at the
Delta Sigma Phi house.
■ Guest commentary
Club crew takes fifth in Boston rigatta
The Club Sports program competes
locally and nationally on tight budg
ets with minimal support from the
school, all for the chance to wear gold
or hold a trophy while standing in
green and yellow. But the Emerald
does not write so much about these
sports, so I will.
One example, from close to home:
The Crew team is good. We are
proud of our accomplishments and
our commitment to our sport. Our
fall season has been extraordinary,
especially for a program of our size.
The Head of the Charles Regatta calls
itself “The biggest two-day race in
the world,” and rowers strive to
compete at this race, held annually
on the Charles River dividing Boston
and Cambridge, Mass. The boathous
es that line the river symbolize the
history and prestige of the sport. The
attendance for the regatta adds
200,000 people to the Boston popu
lation for one weekend a year, where
spectators total half a million. This
year, we were there.
The women’s varsity four boat (four
rowers and a coxswain, the navigator
and “coach in the boat”) received a lot
tery entry in the Club Fours event. We
had no reputation, no previous stand
ing, and no expectations. In a race
based on times, we came in fifth. Over
a 15 minute course, we were 15 sec
onds off of first place, and a mere 0.07
seconds from the boat in fourth. We
were proud. We still are.
I was interviewed about our Boston
success, but I assume it was deemed
“old news” as it was never published.
I can only assume our upcoming race
is not worthy of the Emerald’s time or
space, either. In a school of over
20,000 students, there are 40 Club
Sports who receive minimal coverage
in a campus paper that reports on
school activities. A staff of four re
porters covers 15 D-I sports while one,
maybe two, freelance reporters pick
up a Club Sports story every now and
then. Across the program, we train,
practice, win, lose, celebrate, rethink
and enjoy ourselves on a daily basis
because we want to compete for the
University of Oregon in the most ac
cessible way we can. If only the Emer
ald, the most accessible way for stu
dents to find out information about
their school, recognized this.
Laura Breedlove
UO Club Sports Crew Head
Coordinator and Coxswain
FAFSA should offer voter
registration option
Many college students go though
the annual ritual of filling out their
FAFSA forms. For those of you piling
up debt like me, you know that filing
for financial aid also registers you for
the Selective Service, or the draft. It’s
hard to ignore that our country is at
war. Many students may be more ful
ly realizing the power of checking that
little box on their financial aid forms.
Now I don’t care if you are for or
against this war, but I do care about
young people having a say in govern
ment. The federal government should
make it easier for us to have that say
because we need all the help we can
get. Youth voter turnout in this last
election was pathetic.
Just as students register for the
draft through their FAFSA forms, so
too could students simply check a box
that could authorize the government
INBOX
to send them a voter registration card
in the mail. Wouldn’t it be a great vote
of confidence if the federal govern
ment added a way for young people
to register to vote this way? I think a
FAFSA voter registration opportunity
would greatly improve college student
voter turnout.
Tim Young
Graduate Student
Measure 36 supporters dte
inaccurate information
The director of the Defense of Mar
riage Coalition, a Measure 36 supporter,
was quoted as saying: “The issue for us
is that kids do best... in a household
with both their mother and their father. ”
(ODE: “Amending Marriage a Constitu
tional Controversy,” Oct. 28.) In the past
few months, this coalition has used this
argument to support its position against
same-sex marriage. It’s too bad it has no
evidence to back its claims.
It merely points out that studies have
shown that children do best in houses
with both their birth parents. If you
look at the sources cited, you would see
that the studies it acquired this data
from have absolutely nothing to do
with gays or lesbians. The studies com
pare households with one parent to
households with two. The experi
menters are even outraged about the in
accurate use of their results.
Child psychologist Dr. Kyle Pruett,
who was listed as a supporter of Mea
sure 36, is actually a supporter of gay
marriage and child rearing. He believes,
professionally, that children do best
with two parents even if they are of the
same gender. There is no credible data
to prove otherwise. In fact, the Ameri
can Psychological Association supports
gay marriage and parenthood. It seems
to me that the Defense of Marriage
Coalition doesn’t care much for the
truth, or for children.
Brad Cabe
Undergraduate
OREGON DAILY EMERALD LETTERS POLICY
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■ Editorial
Bush staff
suffers huge
loss: Powell's
resignation
On Monday, one of the good guys made a
disappointing, but not surprising, announce
ment: Secretary of State Colin Powell said he
was hanging up his Bush administration spurs.
Powell’s resignation is a loss to the Bush ad
ministration, and whether the scheming politi
cos and the smirking minions of Karl Rove re
siding at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. realize it, it is
a loss for American foreign policy as well.
Powell’s less-publicized successes include
his diplomatic efforts with India and Pakistan.
He has provided an even keel in a recently
stormy era of international politics. Within
the first months of Bush taking office, it
was Powell’s cool head that diffused a well
publicized U.S. scuffle with China. During
a two-day visit to Moscow in January,
he sharply criticized Russian President
Vladimir Putin for his vaguely undemocratic
actions, and then held talks with him to press
for solutions.
The man commands respect at home and
abroad. It is admirable, considering the way the
government has treated the notion of diploma
cy. (Strike any mention of the word “French”
from America! I’ll have my eggs with a side of
“Freedom Toast,” says Congress.)
For the past four years, Powell has
been buffeted as the fall guy for the Bush ad
ministration’s numerous blunders — and
without grimace or letting it slip that he was
unhappy — Powell has acted as a moderate
and intelligent team player who thinks with
his head in an administration that thinks with
its military budget.
When the administration would slip-up,
like when the Abu Ghraib scandal broke in
May, it was Powell who was thrown to the
masses on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in
stead of Donald Rumsfeld. When confronted
with the difficult task of presenting evidence
to the U.N. in February 2003, it was Powell
who spoke to the general assembly with
charts and satellite photos. Bush took it upon
himself to make emotional speeches.
For four years, Powell’s sage advice was
marginalized. Much of it may have had to do
with Powell’s ties to the Clinton administra
tion, but Powell is and was respected in both
conservative and liberal circles, and we can
not imagine any better person for his nuanced
job at this time.
Powell was a moderate voice inside an ad
ministration known for its homogenous echo
chamber-like group-think. Sadly, we can’t help
but think that if Bush had listened to Powell’s
rationalization, Iraq might have been a success
instead of the bloody mess it has become.
Good-bye, Colin. We’ll miss you and that lit
tle thing called rationalism you brought to the
Bush administration.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jennifer Sudick
Editor in Chief
David Jagemauth
Editorial Editor
Steven R. Neuman
Managing Editor
Gabe Bradley
Freelance Editor
Editor’s Note: This week Chuck
Slothower’s column will appear on
Friday with a column from Oregon State
University’s daily newspaper for the
annual pre-Civil War game showdown,
an off-the-field battle of words.
Slothower’s column will return to
Hiesdays next week.