Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
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■ In my opinion
Return to the Moon
Last week, NASA announced a plan
to begin sending astronauts back to the
moon by 2018. For $104 billion, NASA
plans to build and launch a craft that re
sembles a combination of the Apollo
rockets and the current generation
space shuttles.
While the engineering behind these
proposed flights is ingenious, the public
relations for the project has gotten off to
a rocky start. NASA decided to an
nounce the plan in between two major
humanitarian crises — Hurricane Katri
na and Hurricane Rita. From a PR stand
point, that is a major no-no. As a result,
some in the media have balked at the
price of the project and questioned its
value. How, they ask, can we possibly
afford to go back to the moon while we
are busy fighting a war abroad and try
ing to rebuild a major city back home?
However, the first thing we need to
understand about the new moon project
is that NASA is not asking for more mon
ey in order to do this — the money is al
ready there. The new moon voyage is
one component of the new space pro
gram first announced by President Bush
on Jan. 14,2004.
This plan has been in the works for a
while. Despite the unfortunate timing of
the announcement, the moon missions
are already in the budget.
Furthermore, we need to understand
that space exploration has major bene
fits for our daily lives. While most of us
will never leave Earth’s orbit, the general
advancement of human understanding
has immensely practical benefits. There
are, of course, the numerous biological
and chemical experiments that can only
be conducted in space. Moreover, there
are numerous unintended consequential
byproducts of space travel.
History has shown that whenever you
GABE BRADLEY
THE WRITING ON THE WALL
put a group of smart people together to
solve a problem, they end up inventing
or discovering some pretty useful stuff in
order to solve that problem. Research for
space travel has already brought techno
logical advances in medicine, communi
cations and transportation. If you have a
relatively new car, there are most likely
several components in that vehicle that
have their origins in space research.
Perhaps the most important thing to
understand about the new moon voy
age, though, is that it is an investment
that will ultimately save billions of dol
lars on future space voyages.
The idea is to use the moon as a lily
pad from which we will leapfrog further
into space. By establishing a presence on
the moon from which to build, launch
and supply ships, we will
ultimately save money on voyages to
Mars and beyond. Also, the moon is an
ideal place to conduct certain phases of
training and research for future
space voyages.
For all these reasons, I enthusiasti
cally support NASA’s plan to return to
the moon. This weekend, though, I
was reminded of another reason.
I was in Portland on Friday and on
my way back, I decided to stop by the
IMAX theater at the Oregon Museum
of Science and Industry. It was opening
day for a new documentary produced
and narrated by actor Tom Hanks, who
played astronaut Jim Lovell in the
movie “Apollo 13.”
Using a combination of NASA
archives, re-enactments and computer
generated imagery, “Magnificent Des
olation: Walking on the Moon 3D”
showcased our journeys to the moon
in an astounding light.
Dedicated to those who have given
their lives in the exploration of space,
this documentary shows the viewer
what the moon might have looked like
for those few explorers who received
the chance to take the “ultimate road
trip,” as astronaut Buzz Aldrin calls the
lunar voyages.
As I watched this film, I was struck
by the words on the plaque that
the Apollo 11 astronauts left on
the moon. “We Came In Peace For
All Mankind...”
Journeying to the moon was once
the province of science fiction. Now it
is fact. Establishing a moon base to
launch longer voyages is currently the
province of science fiction. Soon, that
will become fact. Science fiction is be
coming science fact. But in science fic
tion, space is usually a battleground.
So far, that has remained science
fiction. Space is not a battleground.
Space is virtually the only sphere of hu
man influence that has not been
scarred by war.
Space is international territory. And
efforts like the International Space Sta
tion seek to keep space exploration as a
joint, peaceful venture with benefits for
all humanity.
In order to fulfill and continue that
noble vision, we ought to journey not
only the moon, but beyond.
gbradley@ dailyemerald, com
INBOX
Columnist advocates fadsm
in a new century?
I don’t imagine Jessica Derleth would
describe herself as an opponent of
democracy, but she may not realize how
closely her opinion column (ODE Sept.
19, “ ‘public displays’ and ‘venus opin
ion traps’ Destroy Discourse”) mimics
arguments for fascism from the last cen
tury. Where democracy has been lost, its
opponents have often employed rhetoric
of order, decorum and sanitation. Der
leth does likewise. She describes her ex
perience at a parade for President Bush’s
second inauguration, where protesters
“shouted obscene language while fami
lies and children attempted to peacefully
watch the parade.” Derleth couches the
rhetoric of order in think-c -the
children terms.
Even the title on Derleth’s article is a
sneaky bit of Orwellian doublespeak.
Stripped of its artful language, “ ‘public
displays’ and ‘venus opinion traps’ De
stroy Discourse” could be easily recast as
“Free Speech Destroys Free Speech.”
Derleth assures us she supports ex
pression. “I think everyone has the right
to protest, but these people were taking
things too far,” Derleth says, noting also
that the actions of the protesters “were
completely unnecessary.” Advocates of
fascism often claimed the citizens had
gone too far in exercising their freedoms
and called for a strong leader who could
restore society to its former greatness
and civility. That restoration is a bit less
complicated if free speech is viewed as
an unnecessary vulgarity.
Free speech is often vulgar. Democra
cy is often messy. We can change all
that. We can sanitize and disinfect, but
the bits of rubbish we will sweep from
the sheets will be our liberty.
Paul Hood
Graduate Teaching Fellow
'Mainstrem America'
degrades minorities
As the tragedy in New Orleans deep
ens, people are discussing the role of
racism in how the emergency was man
aged. An example, I keep hearing is that
the term “refugee” demeans the dis
placed.
In broad terms, some people most
certainly are seeking refuge, so what’s
the problem? Supposedly, “refugee” im
plies a fleeing from one’s country, which
associates hurricane survivors with for
eigners, and therefore exacerbates apa
thy and disconnection regarding
their plight.
What should disturb us is racism to
ward actual refugees, which makes the
previous point valid.
The association between foreign
refugees and U.S. citizens of a minority
race is only degrading when we leave
unchallenged the less human status of
non-American refugees. Must we re
mind ourselves that hurricane victims
are citizens in order to feel an urgency
about their well-being? Is their suffering
dissimilar to that of refugees from the
tsunami, or Rwandangenocide? For that
matter, is the grief of a child dependent
on whether she was orphaned by U.S.
fire against Iraqi insurgents, or the sub
way bombings in London?
Constant reminders that the darker
faces on TV belong to U.S. citizens
makes sense, considering what the mar
ginalized have known for centuries:
“American” implicitly equates with
white, moneyed, English-speaking,
Christian, heterosexual, able-bodied,
male patriots. If I was left in the floods of
Katrina pleading for help, I’m sure I’d
emphasize any connection I had to
“mainstream America.” Let’s not forget,
however, that rallying support behind a
red, white, and blue banner feeds
xenophobia, blinding nationalism and
global racism.
Lucas Spiegel
Eugene
CORRECTION
In the Sept. 19 Emerald article
“Protesting for Peace,” the Emerald
should have clarified that the list of Uni'
versity research projects provided by
graduate student Brian Bogart were not
classified by the military.
• The Emerald should have reported
Department of Defense grants constitut
ed ahon 2,5 percent of the University’s
federal government grants in the 2004
OS school year.
♦ The Emerald should have reported
that all funding connections with die
Pentagon or Department of Defense
have paper trails.
lh Monday's Emerald article “Eugene
explores proposed police officer audit
system,” the Emerald should have re
ported Eugene Police Department Offi
cer Roger Magana was convicted of rap
ing and sexually assaulting more than a
dozen women in My 2004, and his
trainee, Juan Lara, received his sen
tence in February 2004.
The Emerald regrets the errors.
■ Editorial
Mosaic's
definition
of diversity
misleading
In the final days of spring term, the School
of Journalism and Communication quietly
distributed new copies of Mosaic, a publica
tion devoted to exploring diversity issues in
college newsrooms.
But the periodical, which purports to use
journalism to explore a tremendously com
plex and sensitive issue, got it all wrong. Mo
saic neither provides a balanced view, nor
does it provide an accurate picture of the di
versity in the Emerald newsroom. Yet it does
warn of the dangers of advocacy journalism.
Advocacy journalism seeks to bring about
change by arguing a stance, and we feel it has
no place in any joumalism-school-sponsored
program. Reporting through a lens does not
clarify — it distorts.
First, Mosaic ignored key journalism pre
cepts. Avoiding conflicts of interest, a corner
stones of objective journalism, was swept
aside as Emerald staff members working on
Mosaic were asked to shoot photos and con
tribute interviews about the Emerald. Similar
ly, many “reporters” for the publication held
ties to advocacy groups on campus, a clear
conflict of interest and a violation of ethics.
Second, at least in the case of the article re
garding the Emerald, the reporting was not
only flawed but openly biased. We under
stand that, “It was simply not feasible for
(Mosaic) to mount our own comprehensive
survey of newspaper staffs. ”
Yet making concessions that your reporting
is not up-to-snuff does not excuse it — it
should invalidate it.
Proudly, the Emerald was the paper where
“one student editor simply refused (to dis
close racial data), arguing that minority status
was not a criterion for employment and that
furthermore, it was an invasion of privacy. ”
The Emerald values talent, not skin color.
The Mosaic reporter used an undisclosed
method to calculate that minorities composed
“6.5 percent of the newsroom staff,” and he
did not contact many members of the staff
who consider themselves minorities. The arti
cle reported that “students of color make up
16 percent of about 16,000 undergraduate stu
dents at the UO,” but those figures, based on
two-year-old data from the National Center
for Education Statistics, also included interna
tional students.
We agree that international students in
crease diversity, but if Mosaic can argue that
diversity can come from a different world
view, then it’s not a stretch to say that diversi
ty is more than country of origin or race.
The Emerald employs nontraditional stu
dents, students from different ethnic, reli
gious, political and economic backgrounds,
and students of different genders and sexual
orientations. These factors all contribute to
the diversity of our coverage.
We acknowledge that this University has
serious inequalities and deficiencies in regard
to racial minorities, and we should all call for
the rectification of such problems.
However, Mosaic makes one last logical fal
lacy — that “parity” between the ratio of eth
nic minority students and those on college
newspaper staffs leads to better coverage. It’s
certainly easier to report on things you know
personally, but the reporter’s job is to think
beyond his or her personal bubble.
Many journalism professors espouse fram
ing stories properly — considering all of the
possible viewpoints within a story and how
they will be presented. It’s unfortunate that
the Mosaic staff chose to frame this story in
such a narrow and misleading manner.