Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
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■ 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