Oregon Daily Emerald
Thursday, May 5, 2005
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■ In my opinion
Florida wins the
right fight
Florida is a haven for strangeness,
especially in terms of criminal behav
ior. Florida thieves once stole the re
mains of a relative because they be
lieved the powdery substance found in
a tackle box was cocaine. In 1994, at a
hotel near Miami Airport, the dead
body of a 24-year-old woman was
found underneath a bed, after the
room’s guests complained of a foul
smell. Later that year in Fort Laud
erdale, a hotel staff member discovered
another dead body, this time of
47-year-old man under a bed. Weird.
A Florida woman making meth ac
cidentally dialed 911 instead of area
code 921, hung up, and inadvertently
led police directly to her well-stocked
drug lab.
Then there is the whole voting in a
democracy thing Floridians can’t seem
to get a handle on. Maybe it is the heat,
or as I’m told, the humidity, that makes
people crazy. Maybe it’s the close prox
imity to other countries in case one
needs to flee. Either way, wide-ranging
media figures, from Adam Corolla of
Loveline to the CBS News: 60 Minutes
anchors, have taken note: If something
is so criminally strange or politically
far-fetched it seems unbelievable, it
probably happened in Florida.
Now this land of gator farms, Epcot
Center and hanging chads has gone
and done something — right? Earlier
this week Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed
the Jessica Lunsford Act into law. Jessi
ca was 9 years old when she was ab
ducted, sexually assaulted, then mur
dered by a convicted sex offender in
March. John Evander Couey confessed
to the crime and showed police where
he buried her alive.
The Jessica Lunsford bill was swift
ly drafted and moved to law unani
mously after much emotional cam
paigning by the girl’s father, Mark
Lunsford, and many Florida politi
cians. A registered sexual predator
confessed and was charged with the
ANNEMARIE KNEPPER
WORKS ON PAPER
death of another Florida girl, 13-year
old Sarah Lunde, only weeks after
Jessica’s murder. The events enraged
the citizens and politicians of Florida
and sped the legislative process for
what is now known as Jessica’s Law.
The new law is the toughest in the
nation, imposing a mandatory sen
tence of 25 years to life in prison for
people convicted of sex crimes against
children under 12 and requiring con
victed sex offenders to wear global
tracking devices on their ankles for the
rest of their lives.
The tracking device, which uses the
satellite Global Positioning System, will
alert authorities if a convicted sex of
fender is violating parole by being near
a school or any other prohibited area.
It took Florida authorities nearly a
month to find Couey; if he had been
wearing the tracking device, he would
have been found instantly.
Local police can monitor the glob
al tracking devices any time of day;
makers of the device hope it will aid
in the creation of a national database
for sex offenders.
Offenders who molest older chil
dren, 12 and older, will be required to
wear the tracking device only during
probation. It will be removed upon
completion of their disciplinary pro
gram. This means Jessica’s law only
affects pedophiles (adults who are
sexually attracted to children), not,
for example, a 19-year-old convicted
of statutory rape for having sex with
a 16-year-old.
Jessica’s law also strengthens and
adds to offender registration require
ments and makes it a felony to harbor
a sexual offender. It is rumored that the
people living with Couey in the trailer,
where he says he held Jessica captive
for days before killing her, were aware
they were living with a sex offender
who was unregistered in the area.
Critics argue the law is too expansive
and doesn’t allow for possible rehabili
tation of sex offenders. Others say the
global tracking device violates the of
fender’s right to privacy — that track
ing sex offenders like animals violates
their humanity.
I say when you rape a young child,
you have given up all rights to be
treated as anything more than the ani
mal you are. And rehabilitation? It
doesn’t work, not for the sex offend
ers this law targets. People who en
gage in sexual contact with 11-year
old children and younger have
something fundamentally wrong with
their brains. They have an incurable
illness that can only be contained
with constant work and attention
through therapy, criminal analysis
and an absence of vulnerable children
in their presence. This is a near-im
possible task to accomplish for the of
fenders as well as the judicial system.
With Jessica’s Law, Florida hopes
to stop child molestation before it
starts. Lawmakers there claim the stiff
penalties, which will go into effect
Sept. 1, will deter potential molesters
from acting in the first place. Politi
cians are confident it will lower the
numbers of repeat offenders. Jessica’s
Law will eliminate the issue of of
fenders “disappearing” when they
change residence.
This is the first and likely only time I
am going to say it, but it looks as
though all states could take a lesson
from Florida law. Gator country is
really on to something with this one.
annemarieknepper@dailyemerald. com
INBOX
UO's College of Education
creates unsafe environment
As an organization that cares about
discrimination in our community, Lane
Gender Task Force is very concerned
about what is happening at the College
of Education at the University. We are
further concerned that very few people
are aware of what has occurred.
For the last 20 years there has been
large-scale discrimination at the COE.
In the last two years alone there have
been over 40 documented incidents of
discrimination. Many more cases go
unreported because of fear of retalia
tion. This includes discrimination
based on race, sexual orientation, gen
der, nationality and ability.
The COE fails to provide a safe learn
ing environment. There is retaliation
against students who bring up diversi
ty issues as well as students being
shouted down in class and followed to
the bathroom. In addition, this is a
problem that affects our communities
as a large number of COE students be
come educators in our schools and
communities. Not only are students
leaving the COE incompetent to deal
with the diverse populations that they
will be serving, but they are being
taught in a discriminatory environment
that makes the silencing of diverse
voices normal and acceptable.
This is a community issue.
A large coalition of student and com
munity organizations working on this
issue have put forth an eight-step plan
of specific changes to address these
problems. Join us, and many other
community groups in working to end
discrimination at the COE.
Alethia Hostetter
Lane Gender Task Force, Eugene
Bush's new budget leaves
college students behind
Financing the pursuit of a college
degree is hard enough as it is, but
thanks to the 2006 budget proposals
from President Bush it is going to get
even tougher.
Tliition has skyrocketed a whopping
35 percent since Bush took office, yet
his 2006 budget proposes to cut De
partment of Education funding by $530
million, while also falling $1,000 short
of his promised $5,100 maximum Pell
scholarship and cutting other impor
tant financial aid programs.
And what about all those students
that take out loans? Well, typical stu
dents will now pay $5,500 more for
their college loans, thanks to the pro
posed elimination of the current low
fixed consolidation rate benefit. But it
doesn’t stop there. Despite soaring loan
debt, the President wants to abolish
the Perkins Loan cancellation program
that offers loan forgiveness for teach
ers, law enforcement officers and mili
tary service members.
Our education is what prepares us
for the future. Our most important in
vestments are in what is yet to come,
and our future is in the hands of hard
working students. Unfortunately, the
majority of these students simply can
not pay for college without scholar
ships, grants or loans that are now
even harder to attain (and keep)
through the Bush administration. By
denying students the help they need
and deserve, we cannot move forward
in this country.
Linda Thompson
University College Democrats
Sophomore
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■ Editorial
Citizens are
not tools for
government
nationalism
Recently, China has been boiling over
with anti-Japanese sentiment. During
large-scale demonstrations in April, Chi
nese citizens proclaimed their anger to
ward the Japanese nation. One such
protest targeted the Japanese embassy in
China, damaging it and the residence of
the Japanese ambassador.
The source of the anger was not a current
event but rather a history lesson.
Chinese citizens, including vocal mem
bers of the Chinese government, have
harshly criticized the Japanese for what they
say is widespread ignorance and attitudes of
distortion regarding the Japanese war
crimes committed against China during
World War II. A recently published Japanese
textbook calls the slaying of 300,000 Chi
nese citizens an “incident.” Chinese officials
have expressed frustration because of this
glossing-over, but the main complaint con
cerns Japan’s alleged refusal to apologize.
The causes of the situation are fraught
with the complexities of geo-politics, such
as the fact that despite past crimes, Tokyo
may soon receive a place in the U.N. Securi
ty Council. And while the Japanese are no
innocents in mis situation, me uninese nave
clearly manipulated their populous nation
through tyrannical control of the media.
Although the Chinese government has
said it does not condone demonstrations,
few steps have been taken to establish
peace. The mob’s rally cry was that Japan
had never apologized to China, somewhat
of a half-truth. Japan has made some previ
ous, albeit weak, past apologies.
Yet during the riots, Chinese police looked
on rather than preventing the mobs from de
stroying the Japanese embassy.
Japan retaliated both in speech and ac
tion. Officials simultaneously apologized for
past war crimes, claiming that the Chinese
interpretation of WWII crimes is “extreme,”
while Japanese citizens engaged in their
own anti-Chinese protests.
China and Japan’s past relationship has
fueled bitterness, but it is inappropriate for
any government to use citizens as a means
to wield nationalism like a weapon. Instead
of engaging in a productive discussion that
could yield real results, each nation is refus
ing to compromise.
When Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
gave a public apology for Japan’s actions
during WWII, Chinese state media did not
immediately address the story. Japan has
still offered no consolation for its dismissal
of crimes against the Chinese in the newly
issued Japanese textbooks.
Instead of establishing a dialogue, offi
cials from China and Japan are stroking
their egos and allowing citizens to battle it
out on the streets. Ugly history is not an easy
force to reconcile, but it’s time for both Chi
nese and Japanese officials to start acting
like grown-ups. The task of stitching up past
pains with present action should be tackled
in a diplomatic fashion: Both governments
must take a stand against nationalistic vio
lence and make a real effort to see another
side of the story.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jennifer Sudick Steven R. Neuman
Editor in Chief Managing Editor
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