Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Monday, May 2, 2005
NEWS STAFF
(541)346-5511
JEN SUDICK
EDITOR IN CHIEF
STEVEN R. NEUMAN
MANAGING EDITOR
JARED PABEN
AYISHA YAHYA
NEWS EDITORS
MEGHANN CUNIFF
PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTERS
MORIAH RALINGIT
ADAM CHERRY
EMILY SMJTH
EVASYLWESTER
SHELDON TRAVER
NEWS REPORTERS
CIAYTON JONES
SPORTS EDITOR
JON RO EI MAN
SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER
STEPHEN MILLER
BRIAN SMITH
SPORTS REPORTERS
RYAN NYBURG
PULSE EDITOR
AMY EIGHTY
SENIOR PULSE REPORTER
JOSHUA L1NTEREUR
PULSE REPORTER
CAT BALDWIN
JOHN PALMER
PULSE CARTOONIST
AILEE SLATER
COMMENTARY EDITOR
GABE BRADLEY
ANNEMARIE KNEPPER
CHUCK SIXJTHOWER
JENNIFER MCBRIDE
COLUMNISTS
ASHLEY GRIFFIN
SUPPLEMENT
FREELANCE EDITOR
DANIELLE HICKEY
PHOTO EDITOR
LAUREN WIMER
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
NICOLE BARKER
TIM BOBOSKY
PHOTOGRAPHER
KATE HORTON
ZANE RUT
PART-TIME PHOTOGRAPHERS
BRET FURTWANGLER
GRAPHIC ARTIST
DUSTIN REESE
SENIOR DESIGNER
ELLIOTT ASBURY
WENDY KIEFFER
AMANDA LEE
IONAH SCHROGIN
DESIGNERS
SHADRA BEESLEY
IEANNIE EVERS
COPY CHIEFS
KIMBERLY BLACKFIELD
/OSH NORRIS
SPORTS COPY EDITORS
GREG BILSLAND
AMBER LINDROS
NEWS COPY EDITORS
JENNY GERWICK
PULSE COPY EDITOR
ADRIENNE NELSON
ONLINE EDITOR
WEBMASTER
(541)346-5511
JUDY RlEDl.
GENERAL MANAGER
KATIIY CARBONE
BUSINESS MANAGER
IAUNA DE GIUST1
RECEPTIONIST
JERED NAGEL
PATRICK SCHMERBER
HOLLY STEIN
JANA SWANSON
ROB WEGNER
CAROLYN ZIMMERMAN
DISTRIBUTION
ADVERTISING
(541)346-3712
MELISSA GUST
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
TYLER MACK
SALES MANAGER
MATT BETZ
HERON CALISCH-DOLEN
MEGAN HAMLIN
KATE HIRONAKA
MAEGAN KASER-LEF.
KELIEF. KAUFTHEIL
MIA LEIDELMEYER
SHANNON ROGERS
SALES REPRESENTATIVES
CLASSIFIED
(541)3464343
TRINASHANAMAN
CLASSIFIED MANAGER
KORALYNN BASHAM
ANDO
KAIY GAGNON
KERI SPANGLER
KATIE STRINGER
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
ASSOCIATES
PRODUCTION
(541) 3464381
MICHELE ROSS
PRODUCTION MANAGER
TARA ^1 OAN
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
|EN CRAMLET
KRISTEN D1CHARRY
CAMERON GAUT
SABRINA GOWETTE
IONAH SCHROGIN
DESIGNERS
The Oregon Daily Emerald is pu6
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.
F0‘/m^AW6Ll:R
Bret Furtwangler | Graphic artist
■ In my opinion
Hope.
humor
It’s no secret that I’m a 20-some
thing, female, University of Oregon
student involved in the media; so it’s
probably also no secret that I’m a
staunch Liberal. Like many Liberals
involved in today’s political climate,
I tend to shed a lot of tears. Buckets
were filled both election night 2000
and 2004. Nowadays, new holes are
bashed into the wall with each anti
feminist move of the Bush adminis
tration, and neighbors cower in fear
at the sound of my broken, angry
cries over prison abuse, ultra-conser
vative judicial nominees and a No
Child Left Behind Act that leaves the
state of public education (behind) in
a cloud of underpaid teachers
and facilities.
It was therefore a surprise, most
of all to me, to glance at a piece of
news involving President Bush and
laugh. And for the first time, I was
n’t laughing at the idiocy of his logic
(yeah, maybe taking away birth con
trol and sexual education WILL pre
vent teen pregnancy). No, my laugh
ter was not cynical; it was joyful.
And the heartiness of joy in conjunc
tion with U.S. Republican politicians
is sure to keep my morale up for
weeks to come.
At the annual White House Corre
spondents’ Association dinner last
week, President Bush and first lady
Laura Bush put on what was appar
ently quite the comedic act. The af
ter-dinner speech consisted of Laura
Bush’s playful criticisms of her hus
band’s early bedtimes and ranching
skills. She joked: “He's learned a lot
about ranching since that first year,
when he tried to milk ... a male
horse. ” Laura Bush even went as far
as to poke fun at Barbara Bush’s dis
position, claiming that the woman is
more like a member of the Mafia
than the grandmotherly type.
You mean the Bush clan is capa
ble of humor outside of pronouncing
words incorrectly and not knowing
national factoids? Who knew?
AILEE SLATER
FURTHER FROM PERFECTION
Certainly not me. In that moment
of laughter at the idea of Barbara
Bush wielding a hand gun and a
heavy Italian accent, George W.
Bush and the rest of his administra
tion suddenly became more human.
Rather than cold politicians working
day and night to make my life as a
liberal woman hell, they were peo
ple who ate and drank and laughed
at each other’s expense; just like the
rest of us.
President Bush might spend the
day confronting foreign politicians in
a way that I deem irrepressibly stu
pid, but at night, he probably snug
gles up with his wife to watch the
newest episode of “Desperate
Housewives.”
Humor in its very nature is de
signed to bring us all down to a
more human level. Just think about
how fun it is to watch famous peo
ple trip over street curbs: We laugh
with joy that they are just as human
as the rest of us. Imagine if there
were some way to systematically in
troduce laughter into the political
sphere. Republicans and Democrats
might squabble over judicial nomi
nees during their sessions of Senate,
but over dinner that evening they
would drink wine and giggle to each
other about the state of Senator So
and-so’s toupee or laughingly ask if
anyone else was hit by the highly
projectiled spit during Mr. You
know-who’s motion to vote.
“I’ll show him a motion!” Bill
Frist might playfully shout, slapping
Minority Leader Harry Reid on the
back. Reid would laugh, saying only,
“So that’s why you don’t want a fili
buster, you old bag; afraid of getting
your Armani suit drenched in that
guy’s spit!” Both men would then
share a genuine, hearty laugh.
Imagine a similar scenario with
foreign leaders. Bush and Kim Jong
II already don’t connect over nuclear
policies; what’s to lose in seeing if
these two can find common ground
in humor? Perhaps the image of Pres
ident Bush fumbling around a male
horse with milk jugs in his hand is
exactly what’s needed to convince
Jong II that his country is not in dan
ger of U.S. nuclear attack. Likewise, I
can only imagine that if Jong II were
to poke some good-natured fun at
the United States’ plan to increase its
nuclear arsenal while trying to de
crease weapons worldwide, Bush
might laugh. And, coming from a
place of humor and happiness rather
than anger and defensiveness, Bush
might for the first time consider what
Jong II has to say.
It is a breath of fresh air to step
back and realize that we are all hu
man at heart. We laugh, we cry, we
live, we die. Politics is of course a se
rious business, but it is certainly
worthwhile to consider the merits of
inserting humor into political discus
sion. If Republicans and Democrats
can laugh together, then there is a
glimmer of hope that they can also
come to decisions together. Israelis
and Palestinians may not agree on
much, but can’t we all attest to the
fact that a genetic hybrid of Ariel
Sharon and former leader Yasser
Arafat would be the pinnacle
of hilarity?
Maybe it’s too soon for jokes. On
the other hand, maybe the time is
just right for world leaders to take an
outlandish tumble off their soap
boxes. Instead of weapons of mass
destruction, how about poking one
another with a little good-natured
humor instead?
aileeslaler@ dailyemerald.com
■ Editorial
Students:
Ditch the
pill; head to
the library
The abuse of the prescription drug Adder
all isn’t getting enough attention. Normally
prescribed to help people diagnosed with
attention deficit disorders to concentrate,
Adderall has become a commonly abused
medication.
Adderall can be an extremely positive influ
ence. When used with the instruction and
prescription of a medical professional, Adder
all helps its users focus and remain undis
tracted — important factors for students in
large and often noisy lecture halls.
Of course, drug abuse is hardly ever about
the people who need the drug; it’s about the
people who want the drug. Illegal Adderall
users cite an increase in concentration and the
ability to study, and therefore an ease in
maintaining higher grades, as the reasons
some students illegally take the drug.
There aren’t always concrete ways to ex
plain drug abuse, but in the case of Adderall,
it seems academic stress is a factor in abuse
on college campuses. It is unfortunate that
some college students place academic success
above their physical health and legal sensibil
ities, and universities nationwide need to
address that trend.
The side effects of Adderall — potential ad
diction, high blood pressure and loss of eye
sight — are dangerous. The legal repercus
sions for illegally using Adderall are no picnic
either: Possessing Adderall without a prescrip
tion carries the same legal repercussions as
possession of a methamphetamine.
Health facilities must hold workshops and
design campaigns to inform students that
Adderall is a dangerous substance when used
improperly. Public information is necessary in
creating an informed and safe campus that is
less likely to abuse prescription drugs. Pa
tients who legally receive prescription stimu
lants should be given extensive information
concerning side effects, as well as the harsh
consequences that come with illegally
distributing it.
In addition, students must take a second
look at the abuse of Adderall. It is time to
swallow the bitter pill of reality and head to
the library. Students without a medical need
for Adderall must learn to rely on hard work
and self-discipline, because success doesn’t
come in the form of a pill.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jennifer Sudick Steven R. Neuman
Editor in Chief Managing Editor
Ailee Slater Shadra Beesley
Commentary Editor Copy Chief
Adrienne Nelson
Online Editor
OREGON DAILY EMERALD LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged, and should
be sent to letters@dailyemerald.com or submitted at the Oregon Daily
Emerald office, EMU Suite 300. Electronic submissions are preferred. Let
ters are limited to 250 words, and &iest commentaries to 550 words. Au
thors are limited to one submission per calendar month. Submissions
should include phone number and address for verification. The Emerald
reserves the right to edit for space, grammar and style. Guest submissions
are published at the discretion of the Emerald.