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■ Guest commentary
Imbeciles rule; leaders stay silent
“Sometimes I wonder whether the
world is being run by smart people
who are putting us on or by imbeciles
who really mean it.” So said Mark
Twain, who could have been dis
cussing the troubling attempt to si
lence and punish the Oregon Com
mentator for speech a vocal minority
finds offensive.
With respect to this latest sad chap
ter for intellectual freedom on college
campuses, the actions of the adminis
tration (the smart people putting us on)
and the student government (the other
group mentioned by Twain) offer evi
dence that neither is accountable
enough to be entrusted with an annual
student government budget worth tens
of millions of dollars.
The simple context: One former stu
dent senator of unknown gender, Toby
Hill-Meyer, claims to have felt threat
ened by farcical words published in the
Commentator and attributed to Robo
cop. I suppose we can all understand
lying awake at night fearing the fiction
al enforcer, though it remains unclear
to dispassionate observers how this
Robo-phobia spiraled into an all-out
war on the single most provocative po
litical voice on campus.
This latest attack on the Commenta
tor follows a natural pattern. In 1990 an
earlier incarnation of the Programs Fi
nance Committee attempted to defund
the magazine for its unpopular content.
In 2002 the PFC tried to force the Com
mentator to change its mission state
ment (accompanied by a bizarre edito
rial by the Emerald that supported the
move), and this year a particularly driv
en and notably small-minded minority
has again taken aim at the Commenta
tor because it doesn’t toe the liberal
line. It happens like clockwork, be
cause the never-changing beast of stu
dent government is populated by an
ever-changing group of individuals
who can’t learn from past mistakes.
That PFC members were unable to
understand their duties is not surpris
ing. The personnel turnover in student
government, driven by a continually
changing student body, prevents cru
cial legal and administrative institution
al memory. That’s why they have edu
cational retreats every year, such as the
one held in October — the one in
which student “leaders” wasted stu
dent money and have continued to re
main unaccountable to the students.
Despite that, President Frohnmayer’s
administration is even worse. Accord
ing to Hill-Meyer, he was encouraged
by members of the administration this
year to seek redress over his concerns
by way of the PFC, a body charged
with allocating student fees in a fash
ion that doesn’t punish political points
of view. That advice is inconsistent
with both the unwritten policy of this
administration not to overtly interfere
in student politics, as well as being in
consistent with the very clearly stated
First Amendment. Yet the president —
never shy of lauding his own experi
ence arguing before the Supreme Court
— has remained supremely silent in an
instance when leadership is needed.
It was notable that School of Jour
nalism and Communication Dean Tim
Gleason broke his traditional silence to
warn of a government body trying to si
lence the press. But while the proxi
mate funding problem for the Com
mentator likely will be corrected in the
near future, the ongoing problems of a
politically biased and often corrupt stu
dent government remain.
Even as student government rou
tinely attempts to silence a publica
tion that receives a relatively meager
amount of money for printing (none
goes to the all-volunteer staff), mil
lions of dollars have been laundered
away from campus to OSPIRG. That
organization ships boatloads of cash
to Portland for volunteer stream
walks and a tidal wave of liberal lob
bying interests. It is because the stu
dent fee funds this kind of unworthy
goal that student leaders fight so hard
to protect the institution, which now
must be addressed at the state level.
At its core, the question at hand is
simple: Should millions of student dol
lars be entrusted to a small cadre who
are too immature to respect the rights
of those with whom they disagree
philosophically? Should that miniature
fortune be entrusted to an administra
tion that counsels violating the law and
whose president is unwilling to stand
up for what is right?
Millions of extorted student dol
lars should not be in the hands of
smart people willing to play dumb
while violations of the First Amend
ment run rampant, nor should it be
in the hands of Twain’s (and Ore
gon’s) imbeciles. Experience tells us
neither group will change, so the
student fee process has to.
Bret Jacobson, an alumnus of the
University, the Commentator, and the
Emerald, lives and works in the
Washington, D.C. area
INBOX
Students: Make your voices
heard, prevent tuition hike
Attention all college students: It is
time for us to work together. In the next
few months, by voicing our concerns,
we can fight to make higher education
more of a human right and less of a
commodity. Regardless of our differ
ences, we can all identify as students
— people who value education. Unfor
tunately, the President's budget for Fis
cal Year 2006 includes the elimination
of almost 50 educational programs,
along with a misleading increase in the
Pell Grant allocation as balancing the
cuts. How is the proposal to increase
the Pell Grant misleading? Well, it can
negatively affect many students and
put them in the hole even more than
they were before.
One example of this is the elimina
tion of the TRIO program, which is pro
posed in the budget. TRIO is a student
support program that provides many
resources for first-generation college
students, low-income students and oth
ers. One of the services they provide is
free tutoring. Now, if I were awarded
an additional $100 from a Pell Grant
next year but did not have access to
TRIO, I would have to pay for the serv
ices of tutor. A tutor costs at least $10
an hour. If I were to incur the cost of a
tutor once a week for 10 weeks each
term ... well, you get the point.
This is only one of the services TRIO
provides and only one of the nearly 50
education programs that could be elim
inated by the President’s budget pro
posal. As students we need to investi
gate this proposed budget and take
action by demanding not only an in
crease in Pell Grant funding but also in
the Perkins loan, Federal Work Study
and all other education programs.
Write your senators!
Jordan Thierry
Eugene
Measure 37 claims threaten
Oregonians' quality of life
It has started. Measure 37 claims
have begun rolling in, and eight
waivers have been granted in Yamhill
and Jackson counties. County commis
sioners have approved the least prob
lematic applications, but what’s next?
Many Oregonians live here and love
their state because of the quality of life.
Our quality of life results in large part
from Oregon’s system of land use plan
ning. Having grown up in a small
coastal town near San Francisco, I have
come to appreciate the benefits of intel
ligent and rigorous land use planning.
Half Moon Bay is made up of farmers,
ranchers and fishermen, as well as ur
banites who value the sanctuary out
side of the city. Area residents value the
quality of life in the town and have pre
sented only rare challenges to the
town’s land use laws. As a result, the
town has retained its small-town
charm and historic character.
Ten miles to the east, lack of land use
planning has created a different land
scape. Along Highway 101, single fami
ly homes, fast food restaurants, and in
dustrial complexes mingle to create a
jumble of development that stretches
for miles. No one wants Oregon to re
semble a California suburb.
The passage and potential abuse of
Measure 37 presents this possibility.
With every Measure 37 waiver, Ore
gon’s quality of life is slowly eroded.
The few large, corporate landowners
that funded Measure 37 should not be
permitted to take our way of life away.
Erin Ganahl
School of Law
Student association lobbies
for Higher Education Act
As a student at the University, I have
the great privilege of being in school.
Many students seeking further educa
tion do not have the same opportunity
to advance either because of their
economic or immigration status. The
United States Students Association
aims to break barriers that keep
students all over the country from
reaching higher education.
This year USSA is focused on reau
thorizing the Higher Education Act,
which funds need-based financial aid
programs such as the Pell Grant. They
are also directing their energy to the
original Development, Relief and Edu
cation for Alien Minors Act, which
would extend in-state tuition to undoc
umented students. For the past few
years, the University has sent a delega
tion of students to our nation’s capitol
to lobby Congress regarding higher ed
ucation issues. Prior to visiting con
gressmen and congresswomen, thou
sands of postcards are collected with
student signatures as one of USSA’s tac
tics to persuade our elected officials to
prioritize higher education.
As students who have the privilege
to be here, we need to extend the op
portunity for those who do not. Sign a
postcard of support to let our represen
tatives and senators know that students
are ready and able to take action.
Jael Anker-Lagos
Eugene
■ Out loud
“We have groups saying, ‘You’ve got to look
at this,’ but I don’t know that we will.” — Uni
versity Vice President for Student Affairs
Anne Leavitt on whether the administrative
committee formed to determine whether some
out-of-town and part-time University students
are paying an unfair amount of incidental fees
will recommend changes to next year’s manda
tory enrollment fee.
“We really try to build the bridge between ac
ademia and the real world.’’Oregon Natural
Hazards Workgroup Director Andre LeDuc de
scribing the group, a program of the Universi
ty’s Community Service Center. The group re
cently received a $100,000 Disaster Resistant
University Grant from the Federal Emergency
Management Agency for a project aimed at lim
iting the campus’s risk of natural disaster.
“I wouldn't answer the marijuana questions.
You know why? Because I don't want some lit
tle kid doing what I tried.” — George W. Bush,
prior to being elected president, during a pri
vate conversation with his former friend, the
ironically named Doug Wead, who secretly
taped his conversations with Bush and released
the recordings this week.
“Most Californians believe it’s inappropri
ate for violent convicts to enjoy overnight vis
its that may result in a pregnancy. It’s bad so
cial policy, and it is unfair to the taxpayers of
California.” — Republican Assemblyman
Chuck DeVore discussing his bill, AB 212,
which would end conjugal visits for violent
felons.
“Yeah, conjugal visit sex. That is happen
ing! ” — Jason Alexander as George Costanza
on the “Seinfeld” episode “The Postponement.”
“We don't retract anything we do here be
cause we never lie and make things up on this
program.” — Rush Limbaugh during his na
tionally syndicated radio program on Feb. 15.
“Nobody ever said there was. You guys just
believed the myth out there that was — that
was — that was promulgated. Nobody ever
said there was.” — Rush Limbaugh on Nov. 8
denying that the Bush administration ever sug
gested there was a connection between Iraq
and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“If we're successful in Iraq ... we will have
struck a major blow right at the heart of the
base, if you will, the geographic base of the ter
rorists who have had us under assault now for
many years, but most especially on 9/11.” —
Dick Cheney suggesting a connection between
Iraq and Sept. 11, as he often did.
“The people of Oregon have approved Ore
gon's Death with Dignity Act not once, but
twice, and the lower courts have upheld Ore
gon's law not once, but twice." — Oregon Gov.
Ted Kulongoski, reacting to news that the U.S.
Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the act
when its 2005-06 term begins.
— From Associated Press and Oregon Daily
Emerald news reports and radio transcripts
from the Media Matters for America Web site
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jennifer Sudick
Editor in Chief
David Jagemauth
Commentary Editor
Steven R. Neuman
Managing Editor
Shadra Beesley
Copy Chief
Adrienne Nelson
Online Editor
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ters are limited to 250 words, and guest commentaries to 550 words. Au
thors are limited to one submission per calendar month. Submissions
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reserves the right to edit for space, gammar and style. Guest submissions
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