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Commentary Oregon Daily Emerald Tuesday, August 2, 2005 TiiftV£M&k Bret Furtwangler | Graphic artist NEWS STAFF (541)346-5511 SIIADRA BEESLEY EDITOR IN CHIEF GABE BRADLEY NEWS EDITOR NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER SHAWN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR RYAN NYBURG PULSE EDITOR AILEE SIATER COMMENTARY EDITOR TIM BOBOSKY PHOTO AND ONLINE EDITOR WENDY KIEFFER DESIGN EDITOR IENNY GERWICK COPY CHIEF BRET FURTWANGLER GRAPHIC ARTIST BUSINESS (541)346-5511 _ JUDY RIEDL GENERAL MANAGER KAITIY CARBONE BUSINESS MANAGER ALEX CORBIN ALAN FULLERTON RYAN JOHNSON DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING (541) 346-3712 MELISSA GUST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR MIA LEIDELMEYER SALES MANAGER KELLEE KAUFTHEIL STEPHEN MILLER KATIE STRINGER CODY WILSON SALES REPRESENTATIVES CLASSIFIED (541)3464343 TRINA SHANAMAN CLASSIFIED MANAGER KORALYNN BASHAM KATY GAGNON KERI SPANGLER CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES PRODUCTION (541)3464381 MICHELE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER KIRA PARK PRODUCTION COORDINATOR The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub 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 The walls are closing in on women Nation-wide discussion regarding women’s rights has taken a recent inter est in privacy, and for good reason. New ly appointed Judge John D. Roberts is seen by many conservatives as the gold en ticket to a sweet candy fountain of ba bies; he could be the vote responsible for overturning Roe V. Wade. Can the argument be made (as was done in Roe V. Wade) that the Fourth Amendment’s protection against un reasonable search and seizure is tan tamount to the protection of privacy, and therefore the right of a woman to seek abortion? I have discovered this: These discus sions are not about privacy, they are about personal space, and it is time that they were framed (possibly in the Con stitution) in such a way. Women especially have felt the brunt of America’s personal encroach ment; think everything from the Patriot Act’s wiretaps to pharmacists refusing to dispense birth control. This senti ment of anger over losing space emerged in myself after a recent experi ence with two girlfriends. For the first part of our evening, my friends and I sat in the living room with all blinds closed, on account of the large hookah resting atop our coffee table. We always close the shades, but at least a lit tle fear remains. In a perhaps paranoid state, my friends and I got to wondering, what if the federal government had rea son to suspect one of us of terrorism? Af ter all, we are three very liberal college students who have signed more than one petition, with a valid name and ad dress. If through an investigation some one came across our big blue hookah, we would be prosecuted in an instant. So we sit with our shades closed; of ten lamenting the fact that we can’t peacefully smoke on our own porch, without the threat of intervention. On this night, once it was com pletely dark and about, an hour away from midnight, the three of us decid ed to walk four blocks to the nearest store and buy fruit. Unfortunately, the Eugene outdoors after dark did nothing to give us the space we had been craving while AILEE SLATER FURTHER FROM PERFECTION trapped inside the living room. Shadows fell up and down the street, run-down pick-up trucks blocked cool yellow lights. As luck would have it, we left the house discussing the possibility of intruders; in a few moments, when a tall male neighbor walked out of his house, the silence between the three of us was cue enough that no one was comfortable with this walk. But no one said anything, so we walked on. After all, our neighbor probably was n’t a rapist or murderer; at any rate, he didn’t try to attack us. Just the same, my friends and I hovered toward the middle of the street. We then chose sides to walk on, based on their darkness/bush es ratio. When we reached a busy street, our three sighs of relief were audible. Until, still jumpy and now walking past a dark field, we heard a male voice shout from the road. Though his words were indiscernible, the heckler’s meaning was clear: You can’t be a girl and walk at night in shorts. We ran the rest of the way to the store, hurrying in, shaking. It took me at least a minute to get myself to gether and pick out a peach. We were desperate for a safe place. All night, we had been searching for safe space. Home was not safe because we could be spied on by people who would send us to jail (even if this situation was not probable, it seemed way too close to possible). The community was not safe, or ample in space because the threat of violent attack kept the three of us women confined. We huddled together; we only walked on certain streets; we will certainly never take such a trip again, nor wear a certain type of clothing after dark. The threat of male violence is still keeping women confined, and inevitably trapped at home, begging the question of how far our society has come. Besides the threat of violence, women’s bodies are also privy to con stant encroachment of the surround ing world. Television commercials and programs tell us what to eat and what not to eat. Don’t you hate it when your mother bothers you about food? I hate it when my television set, every 30 seconds or so, reminds me about eating and the way that I will look as a result. Women everywhere are tired of this capitalist, classist tirade which relies upon someone else looking at my body and my space and telling me what to do with it. The right to abortion, of course, is of the same logic. It’s not just a right to pri vacy, it’s a right to have the personal space to do what we women feel is right for ourselves. No government can ever know the situation with a fetus better than the woman carrying that fetus her self; she, and no one else, should have the ultimate decision on her body. The Constitution shouldn’t be framed to persecute the guilty, but rather to protect the innocent. It is of ten easier to find and punish the guilty than it is to find and save the innocent. I’m not impressed by what the Patriot Act helps America do, because my friends and I know the statistics on how many women are victims of sexu al assault, violent crime and domestic violence. According to current num bers, one of us three has or will experi ence some form of sexual abuse or as sault within her lifetime. Until those statistics change, the government cannot with good con science eliminate Roe v. Wade; it is time for the misogyny to end. How dare the Supreme Court tell me (and accept as beneficial to the nation) that I am losing my space and my body to the man on the street, the man in my home, and the man in the judge’s chair. aileeslater@ dailyemerald. com ■ Editorial Kulongoski: Finally, a politician we approve of! Governor Ted Kulongoski has been in volved in Oregon politics for more than 30 years— in the House, the Senate, as Attor ney General and as a judge on the Oregon Supreme Court. After a quarter century, it’s hard to laud Kulongoski for every good move: All we have room to praise are some of Kuiongoski’s most recent, and exceeding ly wise, political moves. The end of June, 2005, saw Kulongoski signing House Bill 2662, which gave do mestic abuse victims unemployment ben efits if safety is an issue at work. Kulongos ki has never been shy about upholding women’s rights: In 2004, under the Gover nor's signature, a measure was created that required the Oregon Department of Justice to pay for Emergency Contraception for victims of sexual assault. On July 31, a statement was released de tailing Kuiongoski’s opinion on mental health parity; a policy that would provide equal resources for treating physical and mental health within the state. Our gover nor is lauding the passage of Senate Bill 1, which gives Oregon residents (especially those with lower incomes) the ability to easily and inexpensively take control of a mental illness. In his advocacy of mental health parity, Kulongoski shows his ability to take preventative measures against problems such as street violence and drug abuse, two cultural diseases often spawned from mental illness. In July, Kulongoski made another progres sive move by opening Oregon’s first com mercial center producing biodiesel. Kulon goski has promised to encourage a growth in the state’s biodiesel industry, in order to pro duce an alternative fuel to gasoline. In another recent hurrah for the environ ment, Kulongoski promised to use his veto to ensure that Oregon might someday have fuel emission standards as high as those in California. When a budget bill passed that kept business emissions standards down and dangerous toxic emissions up, Kulon goski would have none of it: As Governor, he wants to use his veto and maintain our state’s environment for years to come. Governor Kulongoski has proven himself a politician who takes his work seriously and personally, as seen from his position on the Capitol steps, rallying with other Orego nians for the passage of SB1000. Oregon can sleep peacefully knowing that our Governor is personally vested in the concept of equal rights, as he ought to be. Not the last, and certainly not the least of his good ideas, Oregon Governor Ted Kulon goski wants to spend 61 percent of General Fund Revenues for education. Kulongoski also supports a seamless school system, wherein all children entering pre-school will have the chance to go all the way through to graduate school. The Governor is even quot ed as saying that “It’s time for us to all step up... and do what’s right for Oregon’s future by making all of education a priority.” Finally, a politician who has his head on straight. EDITORIAL BOARD Shadra Beesley Ailee Slater Editor in Chief Commentary Editor rim Bobosky Photo and Online Editor
