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Commentary Oregon Daily Emerald Thursday, May 19, 2005 NEWS STAFF (541)346-5511 |EN SUDICK EDITOR IN CHIEF STEVEN R. NEUMAN MANAGING EDITOR JARED PABEN AY1SUA VAUVA NEWS EDITORS MEGHANN CUNIFF PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTERS MORIAH BALINGIT ADAM CHERRY BRITTNI McCLENAHAN EMILY SMUEJ EVA SYLWESTER SHELDON TRAVER NEWS REPORTERS CIAYION JONES SPORTS EDITOR JON ROETMAN SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER STEPHEN MILLER BRIAN SMITH SPORTS REPORTERS RYAN NYBURG PULSE EDITOR AMY LICHTY SENIOR PULSE REPORTER JOSHUA UNTEREUR PULSE REPORTER CAT BAIT) WIN JOHN PALMER' PULSE CARTOONISTS AILEE SLATER COMMENTARY EDITOR GABEBRADLEY ANNEMARIE KNEPPER CHUCK SLOTHOWER JENNIFER MCBRIDE COLUMNISTS ASHLEY GRIFFIN SUPPLEMENT FREELANCE EDITOR DANIELLE HICKEY PHOTO EDITOR LAUREN WIMER SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER NICOLE BARKER TIM BOBOSKY PHOTOGRAPHERS KATE HORTON ZANE RITT PART-TIME PHOTOGRAPHERS BRET FURTWANGLER GRAPHIC ARTIST DUSTIN REESE SENIOR DESIGNER ELLIOTT ASBURY WENDY K1EFFER AMANDA LEE JONAH SCHROGIN DESIGNERS SHADRA B LESLEY JEANN1E EVERS COPY CHIEFS KIMBERLY BLACKFIELD JOSH NORRIS SPORTS COPY EDITORS GREG BILSIAND AMBER LINDROS NEWS COPY EDITORS JENNY GERWICK PULSE COPY EDITOR ADRIENNE NELSON ONLINE EDITOR WEBMASTER (541)346-5511 IUDY RIEDL GENERAL MANAGER KATHY CARBONE BUSINESS MANAGER LAUNADEGIUST1 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 MATE BETZ HERON CAL1SCH-DOLEN MEGAN HAMLIN KATE HIRONAKA MAEGAN KASER-I.EE KELLEE KAUFTHEIL M1ALE1DELMEYER SHANNON ROGERS SALES REPRESENTATIVES CLASSIFIED (541)3464343 TR1NA SHANAMAN CLASSIFIED MANAGER KORALYNN BASHAM ANDO KAIY GAGNON KERI SPANGLER KATIE STRINGER CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES PRODUCTION (541)3464381 MICHELE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER TARA M HAM PRODUCTION COORDINATOR JEN CRAMLET KRISTEN DICHARRY CAMERON GAUT SABRINA GOWETTE JONAH SCHROGIN DESIGNERS The Oregon Daily Emerald is pu6 lished daily Monday through Fri 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. ■ In my opinion More than a mayoral victory in a lcuiudiiuc vi^iuiy lucauay, Air tonio Villaraigosa defeated incum bent James Hahn to become the next mayor of the nation’s second largest city, Los Angeles. After nearly 135 years, it’s about time a Latino took back the office. The race, which included consider able name-calling and mudslinging mostly from Hahn at Villaraigosa, had many voters appearing less as Vil laraigosa supporters and more as Hahn detractors. Hahn ran on the slogan, “Los Angeles can't trust Antonio Vil laraigosa,” while his opponent went with “Vote Hope” and informally, “Si, se puede! ” (”Yes, we can! ”). In a matchup of the same two candi dates four years ago, Villaraigosa lost just as handily as he won this round. Coupled with a low voter turnout, Vil laraigosa's victory is somewhat soured. However, a win is still a win, and Vil laraigosa’s election to office is certainly a boon not just to Los Angeles, not just to the Latino community, but also to the life, energy and leadership of Democrats nation wide. While Villaraigosa built his campaign on charisma and promises, Hahn stressed his experience. But his inability to successfully address the city’s prob lematic public school system and traffic issues during his time in office left vot ers hungry for change. At least with Villaraigosa in office, Los Angeles will get a much-needed change ! of pace. -- -- ANNEMARIE KNEPPER WORKS ON PAPER Villaraigosa started his political career in the labor movement and then moved to the California State Assembly. While he was speaker of the Assembly, voters strongly supported his $9.2 billion school bond measure. His two years as a city councilman were less successful, moving only one major initiative, a plan to lower prescription drug costs. Critics claim Villaraigosa’s plan for L.A., including an expensive subway ex pansion, is overly idealistic. Some also cite shady campaign contributions (lat er returned) as a bad way to start a may oral run. Also, Villaraigosa said several times during his cky council campaign that he would not run for mayor this cy cle, and later promised to finish out his four years as a councilor if he won. Villaraigosa’s record is far from per fect, but he now has the potential to make Los Angeles and the unheard communities within the city boundaries, major players in the nation and world. Though Villaraigosa has made an ef fort to minimize it, the symbolic nature of his victory cannot be uimeiebimidieu. wun ms new pusi, Villaraigosa has an unprecedented op portunity to move Latino issues into the national consciousness. Arguably the most underrepresented group in politics, Villaraigosa’s victory launches him into ranks of other prominent Lati no politicians including San Antonio Mayor Edward D. Garza, San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, Albuquerque Mayor Martin J. Chavez and Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz. For Villaraigosa and Los Angeles, op portunity abounds. So now that he’s made history, what’s next? The city of Los Angeles requires an action-oriented mayor just as much as the nation needs Latino representation. Curbing gang vi olence and making more housing avail able is a tall order for anyone. This time, Villaraigosa will have to keep his prom ises. He will have to serve several com peting interests at the same time. Los Angeles demands it. What happened in Los Angeles on Tliesday is bigger than just a man win ning a race and bigger than just a city choosing a new mayor. Villaraigosa’s suc cess or failure in the next four years will help determine the role of American Lati no politics in the next decade. The weight on Villaraigosa’s shoulders is heavy. Let’s hope he carries it with strength and care. iS i, el puede? annemarieknepper@ daily emerald, com INBOX Administrator displays commitment, compassion In the summer of 2003,1 returned to Eugene and the University of Oregon af ter finishing my Master’s degree else where. I spent that summer applying for every job I qualified for at the University. During my search, 1 contacted Dan Williams on the off chance that he might have some time to meet with me. To my surprise, he not only made time to dis cuss University employment opportuni ties at length, Williams took a concerted interest in my job search and encour aged me to keep in contact. Given his position with the University, I could hardly believe how accessible and pa tient he was. His advice was invaluable and when I did find University employ ment, Dan’s congratulations meant the world to me. Williams is one of the most commit ted administrators I have met at the University, and I wish him the best in his retirement. Annie Hommel University Center on Teaching and Learning Political cartoon distorts reality, insults readers I would like to register my disgust with Bret Furtwangler’s cartoon in the May 16 ODE. To depict Governor George Wallace’s infamous stand to bar black children from segregated public schools in Selma, Alabama as similar in any way, shape or form, to today’s Democ ratic objections to President Bush’s court nominees is insulting to the intelligence oi every reaaer. There is no evidence whatsoever that Sen. Harry Reid and the Democ rats oppose Janice Rogers Brown’s ap pointment to the U.S. Appeals Court because she is African-American. Rather, she is opposed because she is a right wing ideologue who routinely abuses her position of power to twist the law to the conservative agenda. It is upsetting to see Furtwangler re sort to such dirty tactics as comparing a principled stand against extremism to a despicable act of racism. Whatever one’s stand in relation to the upcoming battle over court nominees, such be havior is not acceptable. I respect Furtwangler's right to his own opinion. However, it would be appreciated if in the future Furtwan gler did not draw his cartoons directly from the right wing propaganda ma chine, and perhaps showed some in dependent thought. Kirk Wintermute Senior Peak Oil means drivers need to 'power down' Major kudos to Ailee Slater for her column about Peak Oil (“A ‘peak’ into oil’s future,” ODE May 16). This issue is the most underreported story out there, and I was elated to see the Emer ald get the issue out. Ailee’s column fell tragically short, though, of presenting the full scope of peak oil’s ramifications. The most predictable result is what will happen to our globalized, 3ii-Dasea economy wnen declining oil supplies shoot gasoline prices to $5, $7 and even $10 per gallon. How will goods get from China? How do we get to work, school or the store in this real ity? Further consider that the U.S. dol lar’s strength is largely contingent on cheap, widely available petroleum. Our food supplies are also in real trouble as this progresses. Consider that the average food item travels 1500 miles, and it takes 10 calories of fossil fuel for every one calorie of food produced. Pesticides, fertilizers, trac tors and semis — all are based on pe troleum. Recent increases in oil costs have bumped costs for farmers to 10 percent — consider what happens when oil doubles or triples in price in the coming decade. Hydrogen to the rescue? Sorry — hy drogen is an energy medium, not an en ergy source. You’ve got to burn some thing (oil, coal, nuclear material) to get hydrogen. Hydrogen will not save us. The only alternative, as Professor Richard Heinberg and others have done well to demonstrate, is to power down. We must use less energy if we ever hope to adequately weather this imminent crisis. Ride your bike. Live closer to work and school. Buy local food; grow some of it yourself. Advo cate for measures to stop sprawl. As peak oil demands that our globalized economy be relocalized, we must be sober in our response. We must stop chasing the American Dream and live on less, if we can hope to live at all. Brandon Rhodes Senior CORRECTION On Tuesday in "Ebony Excellence" the Emerald reported in a story summary that 10 black students received awards. The students were students of color, but they were not all black. The Emerald reported that “Large paintings, mostly composed by black students, were also on display at the back of the ballroom.” All the art was created by Yvonne Stubbs. Andiel Brown’s name was misspelled in a photo caption. Lijin Abraham was not identified as codirector of Black Women of Achievement. There was a total of 10 winners of awards, but only the names of three were reported. Jordan Thierry, Leonidas Watson, Percy Appau, Mark Padoongpatt, Keith Allen and Nate Jackson also won awards. The Emerald regrets the errors. ■ Editorial Faculty pay should stay priority for University On Wednesday, the Emerald reported the University faculty’s salaries are only 86.2 percent of the average compensation across the nation (“Faculty pay not on par with other higher-eds,” ODE May 18). Pro fessors at the University receive about 20 percent less pay than comparable posi tions at comparable schools. The reason for this disparity? As so often happens when Oregon’s budget gets tight, education takes one of the biggest hits. In 2001, when Oregon experienced an economic recession, Salem lawmakers de cided to save money by decreasing state al locations to universities. In 2003, with budget problems still at hand, the legisla ture again threw a punch to collegiate edu cation, freezing salaries for all state em ployees. That decision, of course, affected University professors. The results of such a long-standing pay disparity (University professors have long received a below-average salary since at least 2000) are quickly making themselves clear. Department heads report a de creased ability to hire new, assistant pro fessors, and some report that the quality of University academics is falling as a result of disgruntled faculty. Administrators hope that eventually, University professors’ salaries will only be 5 percent below the national average. Of course, it might help to use a little more sense in budget allocation. In theory, in stead of fundraising for sporting arenas and bigger buildings, the university could channel some of the energy to raise cash for the people who matter most. Unfortunately, it is also unclear whether the state of Oregon is making professors a top priority. As one of the largest and most popular state universities, bringing in many students from out of state as well, it is in the best interest of the state to take note of the faculty salary situation. Keep ing these professors happy and well-com pensated is essential to creating a harmo nious and productive University campus — certainly more so than the construction of a new sports arena. Our school can’t af ford to lose teachers, nor can we afford to decrease the stability and learning envi ronment of our campus. We hope, in the future, Oregon lawmak ers and University administrators will take a good, long look at University of Oregon professors and affirm what we already know: These faculty members are essen tial to our educational institution, and their pay should reflect that. 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. Letters are limited to 250 words, and &rest commentaries to 550 words. Authors are limited to one sub mission per calendar month. Submissions should include phone number and address fix verification. The Emerald re serves the right to edit for space, grammar and style. Guest subr ssions are published at the discretion of the Emerald.
