Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
NEWS STAFF
(541)346-5511
JEN SUDICK
EDITOR IN CHIEF
STEVEN R. NEUMAN
MANAGING EDITOR
IARED PABEN
AY1SHA YAHYA
NEWS EDITORS
PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
MORIAH BALINGIT
AMANDA BOLSINGER
MEGHANN CUNIFE
KARA HANSEN
ANTHONY LUCERO
NEWS REPORTERS
CLAYTON JONES
SPORTS EDITOR
ION ROETMAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
STEPHEN MILLER
BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTERS
RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
NATASHA CHILINGERIAN
SENIOR PULSE REPORTER
DAHVI FISCHER
AMY LICFFTY
RYAN MURPHY
PULSE REPORTERS
DAVID (AGERNAUTH
EDITORIAL EDITOR
JENNIFER MCBRIDE
AILEE SLATER
CHUCK SLOTHOWER
TRAVIS W1LISE
COLUMNISTS
ASHLEY GRIFFIN
SUPPLEMENT
FREELANCE EDITOR
GABE BRADLEY
NEWS FREELANCE EDITOR/
DIRECTOR OF RECRUITMENT
DANIELLE HICKEY
PHOTO EDITOR
LAUREN WIMER
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
TIM BOBOSKY
PHOTOGRAPHER
NICOLE BARKER
PART-TIME PHOTOGRAPHER
ERIK BISHOFF
PART-TIME PHOTOGRAPHER
BREI FURTWANGLER
GRAPHIC ARTIST
KIRA PARK
DESIGN EDITOR
ELLIOTT ASBURY
CHARLIE CALDWELL
DUSTIN REESE
BRIANNE SHOL1AN
DESIGNERS
SHADRA BEESLEY
JEANNIE EVERS
COPY CHIEFS
KIMBERLY BIACKFIELD
PAUL THOMPSON
SPORTS COPY EDITORS
AMANDA EVRARD
AMBER LINDROS
NEWS COPY EDITORS
LINDSAY BURT
PULSE COPY EDITOR
ADRIENNE NELSON
ONLINE EDITOR
SLADE LEESON
WEBMASTER
BUSINESS
(541)346-5511
JUDY RIEDL
GENERAL MANAGER
KATHY CARBONE
BUSINESS MANAGER
REBECCA CRITCHETT
RECEPTIONIST
NATHAN HOSIER
AIBING GUO
ANDREW LEAHY
JOHN LONG
MALLORY MAHONEY
HOLLY MISTELL
DISTRIBUTION
ADVERTISING
(541)346-3712
MELISSA GUST
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
TYLER MACK
SALES MANAGER
MATT BETZ
IIERON CAUSCH DOLEN
MEGAN HAMLIN
KAI E H1RONAKA
MAEGAN KASER LEE
MIA LEIDELMEYER
EMILY PHILBIN
SHANNON ROGERS
SALES REPRESENTATIVES
KEL1.EE KAUFTHEIL
AD ASSISTANT
CLASSIFIED
(541)3464343
TRINASHANAMAN
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
KATY GAGNON
SABRINA GOWETTE
LESUE STRAIGHT
KERI SPANGLER
KATIE STRINGER
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
ASSOCIATES
PRODUCTION
(541) 346-4381
MICHELE ROSS
PRODUCTION MANAGER
TARA HAN
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
JEN CRAMLET
KRISTEN DICHARRY
CAMERON GAUT
ANDY HOLLAND
DESIGNERS
The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub
lished daily Monday through Fn
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
University with offices in Suite
300 of the Erb Memorial Union.
The Emerald is private property.
Unlawful removal or use of
papers is prosecutable by law.
■ In my opinion
Morality police assault
free speech
Under the leadership of chairman
Michael Powell, the Federal Commu
nications Commission has lost its
bearings as the protector of Ameri
ca’s airwaves. Instead, it has taken
on the role of morality police, re
sponding to the arbitrary whining of
the religious right.
Powell, the son of lame duck Sec
retary of State Colin Powell, has
presided over a cynical and oppor
tunistic assault on free speech. Pow
ell’s campaign began in earnest after
the exposure of Janet Jackson’s nip
ple at the Feb. 1 Super Bowl. The
“wardrobe malfunction” cost CBS
$550,000 and probably drew more at
tention from Americans than the
genocide in Sudan.
Perhaps the most publicized flap
was a Monday Night Football promo
tion for the ABC show “Desperate
Housewives” in which actress Nico
lette Sheridan, seen nude above
the waist from the rear, leapt into
the arms of Philadelphia Eagles
wide receiver Terrell Owens. The in
cident caused an outrage that result
ed in more than 50,000 complaints to
the FCC. The FCC has not yet sanc
tioned ABC for the skit, but Powell
has appeared on TV to complain
about it.
The FCC’s censorship campaign
continued last week with the agency
levying a record $3.5 million fine
against corporate radio giant Viacom
for racy content on its Opie and
Anthony Show. The program’s
broadcast of a purported sex act in
New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral
crossed the FCC’s vague line of “in
decency.” Opie and Anthony was
quickly pulled off the air following
the incident and has since joined XM
Satellite Radio.
Similarly, the FCC has led Howard
Stern, a frequent target of the
m
CHUCK SLOTHOWER
TAKING ISSUE
agency’s indecency actions, to aban
don public airwaves altogether
and join a satellite radio station.
Stern’s show isn’t a huge loss to the
public airwaves, but it raises a red
flag when people on the edge of cul
ture begin abandoning media to
avoid censorship.
The FCC’s campaign has already
had a chilling effect on television.
Sixty-five ABC stations refused to
air Steven Spielberg’s World War II
film “Saving Private Ryan” on Veter
ans’ Day, fearing possible FCC sanc
tions. This is slightly more damaging
than Howard Stern’s loss. Shock
jocks are one thing, but when TV
stations feel compelled to airbrush
history to appease the FCC, we have
a problem.
The FCC’s campaign represents
an unholy alliance between a regula
tory agency of the executive branch
and the religious right. Essentially,
a few self-appointed guardians
of public morality — Powell, his
two consistent allies on the commis
sion and religious conservative
groups such as the Tradition Values
Coalition — have effectively been
given a veto over the First Amend
ment. This is a turn of events that
could not have been foreseen by the
founders of this nation, who thought
free speech was so important that
they made it part of the First Amend
ment to the Constitution. It was part
of the purpose of the First Amend
ment to guard free speech from the
whims of a moody public.
The FCC’s charter provides its own
contradictions. It holds that “whoev
er transmits over any cable system
any matter which is obscene or
otherwise unprotected by the Consti
tution of the United States shall
be fined not more than $10,000
or imprisoned not more than 2 years,
or both.” It also maintains that noth
ing in the FCC’s charter “shall be un
derstood or construed to give the
commission the power of censor
ship” and that the agency may not
“interfere with the right of free
speech by means of radio communi
cation.” In effect, it gives the FCC the
power to regulate obscenity but not
to censor.
This inherent contradiction plays
out now by giving the FCC the power
to impose huge fines after the fact,
but not to censor anything before it is
broadcast. This inevitably results in
a chilling effect, which leads to the
bland, inoffensive programming we
see and hear on the radio and TV
every day.
The idea of free speech lies at the
heart of America. The idea of federal
regulation protecting public morality
came much later. In any contest be
tween the two, free speech must win.
In the end, Nicolette Sheridan’s
naked back doesn’t hurt anyone.
Censorship can. European program
ming proves that TV can show nudi
ty and edgy programming without
the sky falling.
The first step in fixing this situa
tion would be removing Powell, who
has become an embarrassing publici
ty hound. The second would be a
congressional law or executive order
that would resolve the contradiction
inherent in the FCC’s charter.
chuckslothower@dailyemerald. com
■ Editorial
Unstable
Iraq is not
ready for
democracy
In just over two months, Iraqis are scheduled
to participate in national elections. United States
officials have expressed confidence, at least pub
licly, that the elections will proceed as planned.
“We're working hard on it,” Secretary of
State Colin Powell said Monday. “The U.N. has
increased its presence. There are thousands of
Iraqis who are working on registration and get
ting ready for the elections.”
But a growing number of political leaders in
Iraq, mostly members of the Sunni religious mi
nority, are demanding a delay. They say that
continuing violence and instability in the so
called Sunni Triangle, and elsewhere, make free
and fair elections impossible.
This month, U.S. troop deaths in Iraq
are approaching a record high. As of Monday,
133 troops had died, according to the Associ
ated Press.
Shiite majority parties say this is simply a
Sunni political stunt designed for them to hold
onto power for as long as possible. Sunni Arabs
make up about 20 percent of the population.
Two Kurdish parties have also come forward in
support of delaying the elections if other parties
desire a delay.
Iraq needs elections — it is the first step to
ward freedom. If those in the Sunni heartland
choose to boycott the elections, as they have
threatened, or simply cannot participate in elec
tions due to violence, Jan. 30 will go down in
history as a huge step backwards. If you think
the country is in chaos now, you would be
right, but it is nothing compared to the chaos
that would follow an election deemed rigged.
The last thing America needs is to be con
nected to an Iraq government that is viewed as
illegitimate or a pro-U.S. puppet. President
Bush should delay the Iraq elections, even by a
year if necessary. Time is needed to negotiate
with minority parties, quell the insurgency,
train Iraqi forces, increase U.N. participation
and set up the infrastructure necessary to hold
truly democratic elections.
INBOX
'ASUO scandal' reports
equate to tabloid trash
I am appalled at the uproar the ASUO
has suffered over the drinking infractions
at Sunriver. This minor infraction of rules
would have resulted in a simple resolu
tion in any legal court. Because the
ASUO is responsible for self-regulation in
these cases, the mandate for radical pun
ishment of offenders comes from all an
gles. This fails to serve the student body
of the University.
Every hour our student representa
tives spend trying to mollify the blood
lust of the Emerald is taking away from
the execution of their offices. The Emer
ald itself claims that "... members’ re
lentlessly immature actions prove they
don’t deserve to be treated as serious
politicians — or as adults for that mat
ter.” Yet nothing published thus far has
shown that these activities, in any way,
negatively affected the senators’ ability
to do their jobs.
When the ASUO maturely brought
this issue to a press conference to avoid
a repeat of last year’s controversy, it
made no difference in the calls for ex
treme action. If the ODE is interested in
benefiting the student body of this
university then bring issues of interest
to light in the proportion to which they
will effect the average student. If the
ODE is interested only in propagating
controversy and ridiculing those hired
to protect those interests then refund
the incidental fees that support the
ODE, move off campus and take your
place amongst the tabloids where you
will be in like company.
David Watson
Environmental Science
Give thanks to those who
make our campus beautiful
A few weeks ago, I was working so
late at night that I was still in my office
at midnight when the custodian
showed up to begin his shift. We spoke
briefly. He mentioned that he juggles
classes as well as working nights, and I
commiserated on the challenges of
working the graveyard shift and
thanked him for his efforts.
The next morning, a post-it note was
attached to my computer screen with
the following message: “It isn’t every
day that someone takes time to say
thanks and show even a shred of empa
thy toward our line of work. Most
people turn and look the other way.
Thanks, Your Custodian.”
I’ve thought of that message many
times since then and reflected on its im
plications for the campus as a whole.
Do we, as a University community, take
the time to thank the custodians, mem
bers of the grounds crew and other staff
members who keep this campus run
ning? Do you?
My challenge to everyone who reads
this letter is simple. Look around. If you
see litter on the ground, take a moment
to pick it up. The next time you bring
some food with you into a class, be sure
you bring the trash out with you as well.
One of the easiest ways to show you ap
preciate someone’s work is to make a lit
tle extra effort to lighten that person’s
load. Notice the people who work hard
to make this campus one of the most
beautiful in the country. Thank them.
Julie Alonzo
Eugene
Drinking fosters hostile
environments and violence
Drinking is definitely a problem for
some people, and alcoholism is a very se
rious situation. I find that the article
addressing student drinking (“The allure
of alcohol,” Nov. 23) missed the point by
a long shot. Drunkenness degrades the
quality of human interactions and often
fosters a hostile environment. Aggres
sion, violence and sexual assault were all
listed as negative effects on the commu
nity but there was a major oversight in
expressing who is being violent and who
is being victimized. All of us can see a
mile away that when the article describes
rape it means men raping women. But
why ignore this fact of gender discrimi
nation? Why gloss over reality and say
that men are more apt to become aggres
sive when drunk and fight each other?
There are much deeper social norms
at work here than the “social norm the
ory” that the administration uses to dis
courage excessive drinking. Perhaps we
should begin to question the concerns
of gender roles that require men to be
aggressive in order to be masculine and
that require women to be sexually avail
able and used as eye candy. Could these
two pervasive themes of this society be
connected to create a rape culture that
is greased by alcohol?
Michelle Hansen
Eugene