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Exaggerated claims
hinder valid argument
Let me first point out a few twisted
truths I found in Monday’s editorial.
The author claims the Emerald had the
greatest monetary budget cut so far
this year, but fails to point out that the
initial budget was so much larger than
many other organizations. The $8,451
cut represents only 6.9 percent of the
budget. What about the Muslim Stu
dent Association, which suffered a 19
percent budget cut? I’m sure the asso
ciation felt that more than the Emerald
felt its cut. If you take a look at all the
different budget changes for this year,
you’ll find the cut the Emerald suffered
was nothing awful.
Also, the author’s claim that there
is some sort of First Amendment re
lation here is ridiculous. The First
Amendment protects us from govern
ment censorship. Any private organi
zation can censor as much as it
wants to without any violations of
the law. My general point is that I do
agree that the ASUO handled its re
treat situation horribly, and I do agree
that the Emerald is important to this
school and its students, but please do
not blow things out of proportion.
Rex Davidson
Eugene
■ Guest commentary
PFC's asinine reasoning not surprising
As a University graduate
and proud alumni of the Emerald
news staff, I was sickened to
learn that Programs Finance
Committee members continue
to wieldnchecked power to stifle
free speech and use faulty logic to
attack campus media. That said, I
wasn’t completely surprised, either.
Last year, while I was the
managing editor of the Emerald,
the paper’s budget was assaulted
by the ASUO Executive, which
argued that the Emerald shouldn’t
receive student money because
non-students might pick up a
copy of the paper. That asinine rea
soning was quickly shot down,
however, by a simple analogy: The
Executive also recommended an
increase for other groups, such as
OSPIRG, that partake in campaigns
that don’t directly benefit all stu
dents (cleaning up the Willamette
River, for instance).
This year, the PFC had the
audacity to call for complete de
funding of the paper based on the
clear genius of Mason “viewpoint
neutral” Quiroz, who made the
profound assessment that extra
newspapers are left in the Emerald
boxes at the end of the day. Scan
dalous! From this astute observa
tion, Quiroz was somehow able to
conclude from one stack of leftover
papers that students didn’t read the
Emerald — at all! (Quiroz said:
“students shouldn’t have to pay ...
for a paper that isn’t read.”)
I surely hope, for the sake of all
other student groups, that this isn’t
the defining logic of the PFC.
Whether you agree with its edito
rial stance or coverage, the Emerald
is an award-winning, more than 100
year-old student-run publication
that has produced and continues to
boast many outstanding journalists.
The PFC would be hard pressed to
find a finer group of student journal
ists. At the Emerald, dedication is an
understatement when you are jug
gling a full class schedule and work
ing countless hours to produce dai
ly content. In the end, it isn’t the
money that drives Emerald news
staff — it’s the paper’s mission of in
forming students and providing an
open forum for the free flow of ideas
(clearly something with which the
PFC isn’t familiar).
Given that, any fan and fighter of
the First Amendment will recognize
the obvious absurdity of a govern
ment body controlling the budgets
of the same campus media that
serve as watchdogs to student gov
ernment. Is it simply coincidence
that PFC has attempted to silence
both the Oregon Commentator and
the Emerald, two publications with
the most exposure on campus, at a
time that PFC has come under
scrutiny for illegal actions, such as
smoking pot and vandalizing private
property at a student-sponsored
event? Is it not a travesty in the face
of American free speech that both
publications have exercised their
rights to be critical of elected lead
ers, only to be attacked by those
same leaders at a budgetary level? It
stinks of censorship, and if Quiroz,
who suggested defunding, thinks he
can go through life silencing any en
tity that criticizes him as a public fig
ure, then I’m eager to witness the
day he wakes up to realize he is
sorely mistaken.
The proud history of the Emer
ald spans far beyond the short
sight of Quiroz and his cronies.
Just ask Drex Heikes or Mike
Fancher — successful editors of the
Los Angeles Times Magazine and
The Seattle Times, respectively,
and both Emerald alumni. 1 think
they’d agree that Quiroz’s arms
aren’t nearly long enough to box
with the First Amendment.
Jan Tobias Montry was 2003-04
managing editor of the Emerald
Editorial: Circulation argument is merely a smokescreen
Continued from page 2
beforehand as mandated by
ASUO rules. It is now painfully
obvious why: Martell knew we
would tear his formula to pieces
and expose his performance for the
farce that it was.
The truly amusing thing about
the ASUO suggesting the Emerald
prints too many papers is that the
2004-05 signed contract between
the ASUO and the Emerald stipu
lates, “To ensure student access to
printed copies of the newspaper,
ODE shall distribute a minimum of
8,500 newspapers.”
During the months of September
and October, the Emerald printed
9,000 papers per day on average. In
November and December, that num
ber fell to 8,500 papers per day, the
minimum amount as set by the
ASUO. Yet still the ASUO says we
print too many copies. The ASUO is
asking us to print less than they have
contractually obligated us to print; an
amount they admit would fail to
ensure student access to the paper.
The ASUO’s arguments about our
circulation amount to nothing more
than a smoke screen; an attempt to
cover up their true motivation; re
venge for our coverage. The ASUO
can threaten the Emerald all it wants,
but we will never be intimidated into
covering up the truth.
Oregon Daily Emerald. A campus tradition - over 100 years of publication.
/
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