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Commentary Oregon Daily Emerald Monday, May 23, 2005 NEWS STAFF (541)346-5511 JEN SUDICK EDITOR IN CHIEF STEVEN R. NEUMAN MANAGING EDITOR JARED PABEN AY1SHA YAHYA NEWS EDITORS MEGHANN CUNIFF PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTERS MORIAH BAUNGIT ADAM CHERRY BRJTTNI McCLENAHAN EMILY SMrTH EVA SYLWESTER SHELDON TRAVER NEWS REPORTERS CLAYTON JONES SPORTS EDITOR ION ROETMAN SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER STEPHEN MILLER BRIAN SMITH SPORTS REPORTERS RYAN NYBURG PULSE EDITOR AMY LICHTY SENIOR PULSE REPORTER JOSHUA UNTEREUR PULSE REPORTER CAT BALDWIN IOHN PALMER PULSE CARTOONISTS AILEE SLATER COMMENTARY EDITOR . GABE BRADLEY ANNEMAR1E 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 ZANERITT PART-TIME PHOTOGRAPHERS BRET FURTWANGLER GRAPHIC ARTIST DUSTIN REESE SENIOR DESIGNER ELLIOTT ASBURY WENDY KIEFFER AMANDA LEE IONAH SCHROGIN DESIGNERS SHADRABEESLEY IEANNIE EVERS COPY CHIEFS KIMBERLY BLACKFIELD JOSH NORRIS SPORTS COPY EDITORS GREG BILSLAND AMBER LINDROS NEWS COPY EDITORS |ENNY GERW1CK PULSE COPY EDITOR ADRIENNE NELSON ONLINE EDITOR WEBMASTER (541)346-5511 JUDY RIEDL GENERAL MANAGER KATHY CARBONE BUSINESS MANAGER IAUNADE GIUST! RECEPTIONIST IERED NAGEL PATRICK SCHMERBER HOLLY STEIN 1ANASWANSON ROB WEGNER CAROLYN ZIMMERMAN DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING (541) 346-3712 MELISSA GUST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR TYLER MACK SALES MANAGER MATT BETZ HERON CAUSCH-DOLEN MEGAN HAMLIN KATE HIRONAKA MAEGAN KASER-LEE KELLEE KAUFTHEIL MIA LEIDELMEYER SHANNON ROGERS SALES REPRESENTATIVES CLASSIFIED (541)3464343 TRINA SHANAMAN CLASSIFIED MANAGER KORALYNN BASHAM ANDO KAXY GAGNON KER1 SPANGLER KATIE STRINGER CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES PRODUCTION (541) 3464381 MICHELE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER TARA SICIAIM PRODUCTION COORDINATOR IEN CRAMLET KRISTEN DICHARRY CAMERON GAUT SABRINA GOWETTE IONAH 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. Bret Furtwancler | Graphic artist ■ In my opinion Removing Mtl from WOttUin He’s just not that into you. It’s a phrase that’s taking single American women by storm, thanks to a recent book of the same name. Crafted by “Sex and the City” alums Greg Behrendt and Liz Tliccillo, the book contains a message of utmost simplicity: Sometimes, ladies, he’s just not that into you. If he hasn’t called you, isn’t following up on plans, isn’t being intimate, cheats on you, doesn’t want to get serious, has disappeared ... he’s just not that into you. The book’s merits with respect to women, and feminism in particu lar, are huge. When you hear the book’s title, the concept seems obvious. Reading the book is the same; each chapter elicits a resounding “duh.” Often, when learning a new idea, it’s easy to look it over, see how clear every thing is, and assume you already knew it. But the synthesis of ideas the book offers is truly novel to pop ular culture and should be lauded for that. It’s perfectly apparent to women that we “shouldn’t settle,” and yet culture never gives us a break from the dating game. All men represent chances for relationships, and relationships are, for many women, life’s ultimate goal. Not that there’s anything wrong with having the goal of a heterosexual romantic coupling, but it is sad that women are not allowed to look beyond this reality and explore what life path will make them happiest. The book’s true epiphany comes in realizing that women already know these things and yet never put them into practice. It’s obvious that if a guy doesn’t call, he’s just not that into you. If he doesn’t care about your friends or family, he’s just not that into you. If he only wants to see you when he’s drunk and in his under wear, he’s just not that into you. _Mw AILEE SLATER FURTHER FROM PERFECTION Sadly, as a woman, it is usually too hard to accept that a man doesn’t like us. Really. In a society in which the worth of a woman is based on her ro mantic standings with men, not ful filling that cultural dream of being the object of male desire hurts. “He’s Just Not That Into You” socks a hard punch. After each ex ample of a situation in which the guy is just not that into you (and trust me, if you are a heterosexual woman, you will find many to be fa miliar), author Greg straight up ex plains the reality of a man’s disinter est. As a woman, this experience is surprisingly hard to come by. When a guy doesn’t call, we tell ourselves and our girlfriends every excuse in the book (he has a lot of work right now, he lost his phone, he broke his dialing finger in a freak breakdanc ing accident) but never the one that is probably the truth: He doesn't like you. He’s not attracted to you. He’s just not that into you. We think it will be too hard to hear. Too hard? To hear that some guy you think is hot and datable doesn’t feel the same way? So What! You don’t like everyone, even in terms of friendship, and not everyone is going to like you. “He’s just not that into you” is a great phrase because it does n’t sugarcoat it. This phrase, this book, this concept, assumes from the beginning that as a woman, you can easily deal with the fact that a man doesn’t desire you. The concept of “he’s just not that into you” assumes that women already know that their self-worth is not determined by how many guys want to pork them. When was the last time a piece of pop culture sprung up with an under lying assumption like that? Certainly not in television, in which women spend episode upon episode consoling one another over the failure of potential relationships (kind of like my kitchen table, come to» think of it). The underlying as sumption in these situations is that losing a man is a sign that you, as a woman, are not good enough with out him. Why else do you need all your peers to console you, and why else do you make up excuses when some random guy who asked for your number at a gas station doesn’t call? It would be wonderful if conver sations that begin, “Well, I thought he was into dating me, but we never hang out and he hasn’t called,” could just end with, “Well, I guess he doesn’t really like you. Hey, what do you want to make for dinner?” Someday women can stop being afraid of offending each other because the real offense is to insinuate that something is wrong with a woman because a man doesn’t like her — that she needs comfort because gas station boy is just not that into her. If he likes her, he will call. If not, that’s cool too. It is so simple. So why then has this epiphany taken this long? Social revo lutions always do. Other feminists may laugh at my manifesto, which is pink and green with a phone on the cover, but I will sit tight and look for ward to a future devoid of sub-par re lationships and women wasting their time, energy, and mental power wor rying and consoling when a man is just not that into them. aileeslater@dailyemerald.com ■ Editorial Medicine's future lies in research of stem cells Medical technology represents one way in which every nation of the world continually changes and advances. TWo centuries ago we re lied on leeches; one decade ago prescription drugs were cutting edge. Today, as we look to ward the future of medicine, much importance rests on three little words: stem cell research. Stem cells, most easily produced from cloned embryos, promise to make organ transplants flawless, as stem cells can be used to create new organs from a host’s own tissue. In addition, stem cells can be used to treat diseases such as dia betes and help injuries resulting from tom mus cles. This research cannot be done with any other kind of cell; only stem cells have the unique abili ty to “divide without limit (and) replenish other cells,” according to The official National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research. Of course, as with any new medical technolo gy, the potential dangers of stem cell research are numerous. Some cite the possibility of human clones and abortion for the sake of medicine as reasons to oppose this research. They claim that any cluster of cells that has the potential to devel op into a living, breathing human should not be subjected to scientific experimentation. On Sunday, President Bush once again ex pressed his opposition to stem cell research that involves embryonic cells, saying he will veto any future bill that favors such work. He has claimed to be against anything that “destroys life in order to save life.” Like many conservatives in this country, Bush fears that to be in favor of stem cell work is to be in favor of abortion. The flaws in this reasoning are plentiful, the first being that with proper regulation, in creased abortion is simply not an issue. Also, as long as abortion remains legal, there is no rea son those stem cells should go to waste. Like wise, until it is scientifically proved otherwise, a woman’s embryo is not yet a human being; it is a cell in her body, and if she chooses to donate that cell to science, she should be allowed to do so. As for the fear of human clones running amok, the solution again lies in regulation. The U.S. government cannot prevent scientific ad vances worldwide; the most this country can do is take legal and medical steps to ensure everyone receives the most benefits and fewest disadvantages possible. As it now stands, the movement against stem cell research in this country is just a conservative wave of reason ing based more on abstract ideas of religion and politics than logic, safety or science. Unfortunately for the United States, this atti tude results in only our own loss. We may be ahead in the world of drugs, but the future of medicine is biotherapy. Countries such as South Korea and Canada are already making headway into solving the problems and reaping the bene fits of stem cell research. In another five years, while those and other countries are busy curing disease, the United States will be furiously scram bling to make up for lost time. Medical concepts are not always perfect, but with the proper regu lation and ethical guidelines (which the Bush ad ministration has barely even considered offering), there is no reason that our country should not put forth serious efforts toward stem cell research. CORRECTION On Friday the Emerald reported in a cutline that Oregon sprinter Kedar Inico took home the 400-meters title in the 2005 Pacific-10 Championships with a personal best time of 45 minu ,s, 61 seconds. It was actually 45.61 seconds. The Ei era Id regrets the error.
