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Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, November 19, 2004
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The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub
lished daily Monday through Fri
day during the school year by the
Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing
Co. Inc . at the University of Ore
gon, Eugene, Ore. The Emerald
operates independently of the
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The Emerald is private property.
Unlawful removal or use of
papers is prosecutable by law
Civility NOW: two sides of the culture war
CHUCK SLOTHOWER
TAKING ISSUE
On Saturday, the Oregon Ducks will
hit the gridiron in Corvallis to take on
the Beavers of the school formerly
known as Oregon Agricultural College in
the 108th Civil War.
While every true Duck cares about the
outcome of the game, I imagine the Civil
War is a bit more personal for me than it
is for most Ducks. I grew up in Corvallis,
having lived there from age 3 until I left
for college. I went through its entire K-12 school system. My sister graduated
from Oregon State University with a degree in forestry, and my best friend from
high school is a senior there. I grew up on OSU baseball’s Saturday doublehead
ers, the perennially successful OSU gymnastics team (my mom was a season
ticket holder) and orange and black adorning my hometown.
I’ve become further entangled in Beaver influences since I began hanging out
with one of that school’s more intriguing young women. As an added twist,
she’s the vice president of their sailing team and I’m a longtime member of ours.
So we’ll have our own little Civil War battle this weekend in Bellingham, Wash.
While our football teams duke it out at Reser Stadium, we’ll be competing for
bragging rights on Lake Whatcom.
Despite all the nefarious Beaver influences in my life, I never seriously consid
ered attending OSU. I knew from a young age that I wanted to study journalism,
knowing that the University of Oregon’s program was nationally known and that
OSU’s, well, didn’t exist. That and I wanted to get the heck out of Dodge.
Much Civil War bickering comes down to discussing the relative merits of Cor
vallis and Eugene. I’ve heard many people bash Corvallis — whose Latin name
means “heart of the valley” — without having a clue what they were talking
about. Corvallis is, above all, a nice, quiet, safe town.
This makes it attractive for families and re
tirees. In fact, during a recent visit to Cor
vallis, I saw so many geriatrics out and
about that I felt like I was in an alternate,
wrinkled universe.
However,
the qualities
that make
Corvallis
attractive
to the old
make it bor
ing for the
young. While
things have
improved
somewhat
in recent
years, Corval
lis can be a bor
ing place to
spend a Friday
night, especially if
you’re younger than 21 or not
plugged into the greek scene. I
can’t say the same about Eugene. In my
four years here, I’ve seldom found myself bored on a weekend. There’s simply
too much going on, from a solid bar scene to good house parties to Duck sports.
Eugene also has a lot of good entertainment for a city its size. Many Eugene
sized cities don’t have an awesome art cinema like the Bijou, and few cities of
Eugene's size can pull in musical acts like Spearhead, George Clinton, De La
Soul, KMFDM and Del Tha Funky Homosapien in a three-week span, a feat Eu
gene will soon accomplish.
Additionally, Eugene has cooler people. They’re more laid-back. The omnipres
ence of a hippie element in Eugene means more people have a live-and-let-live atti
tude, which means they’re more fun to hang out with. Eugene also has the benefit
of a fairly diverse employment base, which leads to a fairly diverse population.
Corvallis, on the other hand, is home to an enormous Hewlett-Packard facility.
The second-largest employer in town is the technologically minded university.
These two employers combine to attract a lot of nerds to Corvallis. These nerds in
fluence Corvallis in countless ways. Its residents have a very high median income,
and the town has excellent schools, though they’re filled with the annoying chil
dren of professional nerds. Personally, I’d rather hang out with hippies any day.
It’s too bad that the nerds who grew up in Corvallis don’t make OSU a better
school. The UO consistently outscores OSU in college rankings, and our freshmen
had higher average high-school GPAs and SAT scores, according to the College
Board. Besides, beavers are rodents.
So while Civil War fever grips the Willamette Valley, walk into the weekend
with your head held high. Take it from someone who knows: Eugene is a better
city than Corvallis, and the UO a better school than OSU. Go Ducks!
chuckslothower@dailyemerald.com
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submissions are published at the discretion of the Emerald
BRIAN GJURGEVICH
DAILY BAROMETER EDITOR IN CHIEF
Editor’s Note: The following column
by Brian Gjurgevich is part of the annual
Civil War column exchange with the Daily
Barometer.
Fifty-one weeks a year I will refuse to cut
the plastic thingies that hold six packs to
gether. In other words, I will be anti-Duck.
Well, maybe for this week, at least. I can’t
say I’m a Duck-hater year-round. But for
this glorious, victorious week, I must once again lay the gospel gently upon the good
people of Eugene from deep within the heart of Corvallis.
And if you were wondering, Eugeneans, the answer is no — the cow shit only
smells during the summer months, when the warm sun releases our local bovine’s
collective stench upon our fair town. It happens every beautiful Oregon summer, right
about the same week the smell of hippie BO matriculates through Eugene’s collective
nostril. But despite the incense-filled atmosphere, I love Eugene and its wonderful mix
of people. I mean, come on, Corvalley, we can all recognize the true positives of our
neighbors to the south. Like the tomato cheese soup at The Glen wood. Or... Or... Se
riously, though — have you had that soup? It’s some damn good soup.
And wait — I thought of another one. Eugene has more (and therefore better) cul
ture than Hard-Corvallis, right? The demographics in Eugene are larger, which makes
for a “pseudo-big city” vibe that almost makes you feel alive. The concert venues are
numerous, the alternative medicine specialists abundant, the watering holes plenti
ful. Eugene even has a mall (though I’d rather have a $20 gift certificate to a Stoker’s
Vita World or Radio Shack).
Oh, and Eugene has history: Prefontaine, “Animal House,” that Sublime song... it’s
all here folks. In fact, hot damn, I might just have a little bit of a crush on Eugene. Seri
ously. But no matter how much now-outlawed man-love I may feel for this place south
of us on the maps and the PAC-10 standings, Corvallis will always be my numero uno.
Maybe it’s because I like that small-town feel. Or that streak of conservatism (I love
The Liberty). Or that occasional big-city crime (kidding).
I can see, however, how Eugene and its University may have certain “advantages”
over Corvallis and OSU. The University of Oregon enrollment (gene pool) is 20,000.
OSU enrollment is 19,000. UO has a really sleek school logo. OSU has ... hey,
what’s our logo again? UO has a sexy football stadium and a functional journal
ism program, OSU has a dangerous construction zone and ... the Barometer.
Their track program is legendary, their historic gym deafening (think of the
noise the wrecking ball will make!) and their football team, well, loaded.
But you can’t blame the football team for their vast riches. Blame cheap,
overseas labor for that. And while Phil Knight
swims in his vault of gold coins and the players
sit in their climate-controlled, plasma-filled
locker rooms, I humbly eat a Reset burrito
and wait for our stadium to rise from
“bean and cheese” to “sev
en layer.” Now don’t
get me wrong —
Oregon has a heck
of a football team. An
other “decade of domi
nance” looks probable with
every Nike sold and Silver Dollar "re
cruiting field trip" attended.
But the future is now, for both rather
f U^WANL»t E * evenly matched football programs. This
Bret Furtwangler | Graphic artist year’s showdown features two squads on
the brink of national prominence — two
teams with the talent to take big leads over some of the best in
the nation, but without the gusto needed to “step on the throat” and pull out the W.
With a Bowl berth on the line, this winner-take-all throwdown could be decided by
one dropped pass or one botched extra point.
Either way, rain or rain, the 108th Civil War is shaping up to be some of the best
Oregon-on-Oregon action ever. So if you’re a Ducks fan, go ahead — buy me a
drink at the bar because Phil Knight can’t buy you a bowl game. And if you’re a
Beavers fan, please be careful when rushing on to the Reser Stadium turf — and
don’t push. Everyone will get a chance to touch Doug Neinhuis. Now I just need to
find a way to sneak into the stadium.
Brian Gjurgevich is the editor in chief of the Daily Barometer. When he is not work
ing the soup line or sponsoring poor, impoverished foreign children, he is doing his
part to rid the world of terrorism. Everything he says is always right.
ONLINE POLL
THIS WEEK S POLL RESULTS
What would be the outcome of a brawl between the University
of Oregon Duck and the Oregon State Beaver? (35 votes)
1. Buck the Feavers. Donald would win for sure in a one
on-one match - 51.4 percent
2. Roast duck. Angry Benny Beaver would chew up any
poultry opponent-5.7 percent
3. A tie. Both teams have mascots that could kick some
butt - 0.0 percent
4. Waterfowl and oversized rodents? These mascots don’t
deserve rivalry - 8.6 percent
5. Who cares. I can find something better to do with my
time than worry about fictional matchups of over-sized
stuffed animals - 34.3 percent