Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Friday, February 11, 2005
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gon, Eugene, Ore. The Emerald
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■ Guest commentary
PFC violates neutrality laws
My name is Jeremy Berrington, and
I am a writer for the Oregon Commen
tator. As many of you probably know,
the Programs Finance Committee has
decided to strip the Oregon Commen
tator of its funding and essentially shut
our newspaper down. The decision is
not final yet; but if the PFC succeeds in
shutting the Commentator down, they
will be violating one of the few decent
principles left in contemporary Ameri
can society — the right to free speech
and freedom of the press.
The PFC has no right to tell the Ore
gon Commentator (or any other cam
pus publication) what it can and can
not print. The PFC is supposed to be
viewpoint-neutral, and any violation of
that stance is tantamount to censor
ship. Mason Quiroz, PFC vice chair,
has justified the PFC’s decision on the
basis that the Commentator spreads
“hate speech” and "incites violence.”
Quiroz based this assertion on a com
plaint made to him by Toby Hill-Meyer,
ASUO senator, who believed the Com
mentator maliciously targeted him/her
because of his/her transgender identity
and made him/her feel unsafe.
I cannot believe such accusations
would be made against the Commen
tator. I am not a conservative Libertar
ian, and I do not agree with many of
the articles we print, yet I would nev
er contend that we write “hateful”
pieces, and I could never claim that
anything we do has ever seriously ad
vocated violence. Quiroz’s accusa
tions are offensive to my work, de
grading to our publication and
completely unfounded in reality.
We have undoubtedly run some
tasteless articles and offended people.
However, we are a satire magazine,
and our content is supposed to contain
elements of humor. Sometimes we
miss our mark. It should be recognized
that people are offended every day by
journalism (with more or less validity).
People are angered by the content of
The New York Times, The Washington
Post, the Onion and USA TODAY. This
does not mean these publications
should be shut down or censored.
Situations like Hill-Meyer’s are best
solved by letters to the editor, followed
by apologies and statements of retrac
tion — not by censorship.
Another aspect of our current
predicament that I find completely
distasteful is that Hill-Meyer is an
ASUO senator. He/she is a public fig
ure and, therefore, not subject to any
protection from satire under the cur
rent communication laws. That is part
of the tradeoff Hill-Meyer’s responsi
bility for shaping public policies and
regulations. He/she has the right to
complain, to file grievances, to write
opposing editorials, etc. He/she can
even advocate for our removal from
the University, but he/she cannot be
granted such a request.
If Hill-Meyer is looking to run for of
fice outside the University, he/she
should keep that in mind. In the real
world, the law will be against him/her.
I must ask the PFC and the ASUO to
reconsider their position regarding the
Oregon Commentator. The essence of
free speech is tolerance of ideas we
consider the most offensive. It is wrong
to classify the content of the Oregon
Commentator as “violent hate speech”
in order to provide an insufficient legal
justification for discontinuing our pub
lication. We are a valuable contribution
to the marketplace of ideas, particularly
on this campus. Like all publications,
we make mistakes, and we are not per
fect. Nonetheless, I must contend that
we are more worthy of student fees
than the majority of endeavors these
monies go to fund (read: liquor and
drug binges in Sun River). I am hope
ful the ASUO and the PFC will deem
the First Amendment of our Constitu
tion to be as important as it was to our
founding fathers who worked so hard
to ensure America would not fall victim
to the tyranny of majority opinion.
Jeremy Berrington is a contributor
to the Oregon Commentator
■ Guest commentary
Biased speech hurts communities
The UO student community is en
gaged in difficult and controversial
discussions around the content of re
cent editions of the Oregon Commen
tator and the ASUO Programs Finance
Committee's budget recommendation
for that publication. Some focus on
the offensive and objectionable na
ture of material that they feel targeted
an individual student leader and the
community the student represents.
Others focus on principles of protec
tion for speech that may be offensive
and hurtful but is not illegal.
We write to recognize the signifi
cance of these discussions to the qual
ity of life in our campus community.
There are individuals who feel less
welcome, less respected and less safe
because of these dialogues. There are
individuals who find some material in
the journal, and the Commentator
staff's convictions that it is entitled to
publish speech that may be offensive,
almost unbearable.
We write at this time to acknowledge
how hurtful biased speech can be to
our community. We have as a campus
community committed to a culture of
respect that honors the rights, safety,
dignity and worth of every individual.
We have affirmed that respect for the
rights and well-being of all members is
essential to promoting the diversity of
opinions, ideas and backgrounds that
is the lifeblood of the University. We
have recognized, as a core value, our
commitment to cultural diversity, and
we have recently affirmed the protec
tions we afford gender identity in the
UO's non-discrimination statement.
This community must preserve the
freedom of thought and expression of
all its members. It is important at the
same time to speak out, forcefully and
directly, when members of our com
munity feel targeted by speech that is
racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise
biased, whether in words or in images.
We applaud the leaders of the
ASUO for supporting a vigorous dia
logue, for recognizing that the Com
mentator's subject matter has deeply
concerned a number of students and
for encouraging PFC members to pre
serve our right to speech and properly
fund the Commentator. We support
student leaders who have expressed
their concerns about this subject mat
ter and its chilling impact on our cam
pus climate. We support students,
both from the Commentator and oth
ers, who have reminded us of impor
tant protections to free speech, even
as we react to speech that offends us.
Our offices are supporting a num
ber of individual students and student
groups participating in these difficult
dialogues. The Bias Response Team
has provided educational programs
on civility and free speech, and offers
“QAC: Queer Ally Coalition” training.
We propose that the University's
Bias Response Team, in conjunction
with the Office of Institutional Equity
and Diversity, Student Affairs, ASUO
and the Program Finance Committee,
sponsor a forum or town meeting lat
er this term so we can discuss how
bias incidents and hate speech can di
vide our community. We will work
with student leaders to design a meet
ing with structure to ensure inclusive,
respectful and productive dialogue.
In the interim, we urge all partici
pants in these student government
discussions to recognize the impor
tance of a safe community that is re
spectful and protective of diverse
points of view and life style.
Dr Anne Leavitt is the Vice
President for Student Affairs
Dr Greg Vincent is Vice Provost
Institutional Equity and Diversity
INBOX
House needs to act before
Measure 37 creates "bumps'
Last Thursday, Yamhill County ap
proved the first claims under Measure
37. If our neighbors to the north are any
indication, the next few years will be a
bumpy road. County commissioners
voted to shut the public out of the
process by not requiring public hear
ings or notice for claims filed under
Measure 37. This is wrong. State and
local governments must provide notice
to neighbors and the community.
Constitutional “due process’” requires
notice if your neighbor's land use
change devalues your property.
Oregonians voted for fairness in
our land use laws. Instead, Measure
37 will allow senior land owner pro
tections that the rest of us do not
have. It will be implemented uneven
ly throughout the state as owners in
similar circumstances, but different
counties, receive unequal benefits.
Our elected officials in Salem need to
step up to the challenge and act on this
issue. The legislature needs to include
fairness and equality in Measure 37. SB
406 is a step in the right direction. It es
tablishes a fair funding mechanism so
Oregon taxpayers are not left holding
the bag. It also creates a uniform sys
tem to process claims so that landown
ers are treated equally. Eugene House
member Robert Ackerman should sup
port similar legislation to provide fair,
equal compensation in Oregon. The
Senate started the discussion. It is time
for House of Representatives to act.
Jonathan Evans
Eugene
■ Out loud
“Your school finished second in RecycleMa
nia in 2003 and won the National Recycling
Coalition’s award for Best Campus Recycling
Program in the nation a few years ago.
We hope you aren’t getting cocky, though.
We here in the east have some tricks up
our sleeves that are going to make it quite a
chase for you,” — Harvard University
Campus Recycling Coordinator Rob Gogan in
an e-mail to the University’s Housing
Recycling Coordinator.
“I think the administration put too much
faith in student government,” — Oregon Com
mentator Editor in Chief Tyler Graf on TUes
day regarding the PFC’s attempts to defund
the publication.
“We’re not going away until we are sure
the buses are going to run and the drivers are
going to smile,” — LTD/ATU Community
Committee member Joan Pierson at a meet
ing with the Lane Transit District Board
on Tuesday.
“I was expecting them to give us at least
some more concrete answers than ‘It’s on the
Web site,”’ — LTD/ATU Community Commit
tee co-organizer Claire Syrett on Tuesday, re
ferring to the Lane TYansit District Board’s sug
gestion that anyone with questions about the
negotiations visit the LTD Web site.
“(Guantanamo Bay) was intended to be a le
gal black hole, where detainees would be be
yond the reach of U.S. law,” — University stu
dent and Forensics Team member Jason Lear,
arguing that terrorists should be treated as crim
inals and have access to the U.S. Justice System
during a debate.
it we re going to build a new arena, that will
certainly be the site of it, but there’s no connec
tion between buying the bakery and saying that
we’re ready to do the arena,” — Allan Price,
vice president for University Advancement, at
an announcement of the University’s purchase
of the Williams’ Bakery site, the likely spot of a
future basketball arena.
“I think that there are both men and women
who are not interested in science, and that’s
not bad,” — Geri Richmond, the University’s
Richard M. and Patricia H. Noyes professor
of chemistry.
“I have five kids, and we bicker and argue all
the time, but we love each other. We’re going to
have squabbles and resentments, but we have
to remember that we’re a family,” Athletic Di
rector Bill Moos, on the relationship between
the Athletics Department and the rest of the
University administration during Wednesday’s
University Senate meeting.
“I’m trying to now focus on getting
my committee back and working on my budg
et,” — Programs Finance Committee Chair
woman Persis Pohowalla, discussing the
current actions of the temporarily disabled
PFC on Tliesday.
“You know, people don’t have to give
up things during Lent, they can also take
something. I’m going to pick up something
good this year,” —- Sophomore Pat Ferguson,
who was still wondering what to give up for
Lent when the St. Thomas More Newman
Center’s early-evening ceremony began on
Ash Wednesday.
— From Daily Emerald news reports
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