Commentary
Oregon Daily Emerald
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
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gon, Eugene, Ore. The Emerald
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■ In my opinion
Free to weary###*
TWo years ago I bought a fur coat. I
got it at the Goodwill on Cobrng Road
and it cost $30.1 had absolutely no rea
son to get it. This isn’t normally a hin
drance in my purchasing, but with the
fur coat it was different. I didn’t even
know why I wanted it. But I did. I
wanted it so bad. I bought it and
wrapped it up in a plastic bag to protect
it from the rain and took it home. The
impracticality of the coat was immedi
ately made obvious when I had to pro
tect it from the elements.
But I loved it all the same. Maybe
even a little more, knowing that the
coat needed me like I needed it. We, the
Goodwill sales girl and me, decided it
was rabbit. It is brown and black and
red and blonde all stitched together. I
thought about taking the coat to a sa
lon, draping it dramatically over the
swivel chair and stating, “Make my hair
look like that.”
I would put the coat on all the time.
Sometimes I would just look in the
mirror admiring how beautiful it was.
When I got cold I would don my fur
rather than turn up the thermostat. In
the book “Sex and the City,” Carrie
first moves to New York with nothing
but a fur coat which she sleeps under.
I knew that I could move anywhere
with just the coat and survive. The
coat was warm and beautiful and a lit
tle crazy, and I loved how it made me
feel the same way. The only thing I
could never do with the coat was go
out in public with it.
This is Eugene. It rains all the time,
sure, but my biggest fear was that the
coat would suffer at the hands of the cit
izens. I was so scared the coat would
get spray painted. Then I realized that
was kind of a stupid fear. But what if
someone splashed nasty gutter rain wa
ter all over me and the coat? That was
more plausible. Or what if some animal
rights activist berated me for supporting
an industry that raises and slaughters
ARMY FETH
RHETORIC CHECK
animals for fashion? It was too scary.
I took the coat home with me to
Phoenix for the summer. I knew I could
never wear it there because it would
never get cold enough, but I wanted to
have it when I moved to Washington,
DC. So I schlepped the coat across the
country, carefully wrapped and stuffed
into my already overpacked suitcase. I
had wonderful dreams of wearing the
coat to some old-money political ball or
something. The coat would be accept
ed there. It would be around other fur
coats. But alas, I was never invited to
any soirees. The coat hung in the closet
of my dorm room at American Univer
sity for three months. I did sleep under
it once, when my fleece blanket could
n’t keep me warm, but that was it. I
was also a little scared the coat might
get damaged at a bar. And the possibili
ty of running into a spray paint wield
ing PETA operative was much stronger
in a big East Coast city.
But the coat stuck with me. I knew I
would have to wear it one day. The coat
was patient, and this week, its time fi
nally came. I was invited to a party
where a mask and semi-formal attire
was required. So I wore a little black
dress, a mask adorned with caramel,
black beads and feathers — and the fin
coat. My hair was straightened, and I
looked so different that if I got any guff
about the coat, I figured I could just say
I was someone else.
As it turned out, all my fears about
anti-fur Eugene were completely
unfounded. I got nothing but
compliments from beautiful people
dressed to the nines. The coat was de
scribed as “gorgeous” and “beautiful”
and “awesome” and all the things I had
thought about it for years. Not one per
son called me a murderer or fashion
slave. Everyone seemed to appreciate
the coat for what it was: a unique, luxu
rious and wonderful garment.
One girl confessed that she too had
hid her fur in her closet for years, scared
to wear it for the same reasons I was.
She said when she finally wore it she
felt liberated and independent. Most of
all, she was proud of the fact that she
was a self-described “dreadlocked, fur
wearing vegan.” I wondered what her
fur coat might look like.
I also wondered why I had been so
scared for so long. The Dali Lama says
you should only seek your own happi
ness, and that problems start when you
start worrying about the happiness of
others. Once again, he is absolutely
right. I realized that it didn’t matter
how or whether other people would
judge me for wearing it. I love the coat.
It makes me happy. It is the absolute
warmest jacket I own, and winter is al
most here.
I have no problem with PETA and
other animal rights activists who
speak out against fur. They don’t be
lieve it is right to kill an animal for fur,
and that is their opinion. They even
have a really cool fur donation pro
gram where they give old fur coats to
homeless people. They have even giv
en them to women and children in
Afghanistan and Iraq. What a won
derful way to preserve the function of
what they call an unethical practice.
Fashion is subjective. I love my
gaudy rabbit’s fur coat. I think I look
pretty hot in it. Never again will I be
scared to wear something because of
afeth@ daily emerald, com
■ In my opinion
Cartoon depicts daily campus life,
not Emerald or University values
There has been a great level of dis
content concerning the comics I have
created as the illustrator for the Emer
ald. It is my wish to articulate a few
points concerning my topics of choice
and role at the paper.
Every time my cartoon comes out
there is a giant word slapped across the
page it is printed on. That word is Com
mentary. The word “commentary” im
plies a personal narrative or interpreta
tion of a particular happening. That
interpretation is my own, and in no
way reflects the opinions of the Emer
ald, or the opinion of any fellow Emer
ald employees. I am not a columnist. I
am not a sports editor. I am not a pho
tographer. As an agent of satire, my job
is to draw comics.
I took a vow of sorts when I began
my job at the Emerald to stay away
from the broad political schemes on
which the previous cartoonist focused.
In my opinion, those cartoons were
repetitive, cryptic and had virtually no
relevance to campus life and the every
day activities of the majority of Emer
ald readers. I have chosen to deal with
the very campus that readers inhabit. I
am speaking to my audience.
I would like to address two comics in
particular that have overflowed the edi
tor’s inbox with disdain.
In my comic about Frog, I was at
tempting to illustrate the sensation
many people feel when they are repeat
edly asked to buy his joke books as
they walk to class. Frog has willingly el
evated himself as a celebrity figure on
campus and thus in my eyes is up for
grabs as a satire piece, as celebrities
generally are. I would not deny that
there are many students who find Frog
amusing and enjoy his company, but I
believe it is also fair to say that there is
an equally large group who feel an
noyed, cornered and generally irritated
that they have to deal with a sales pitch
on a regular basis as they try to get to
class on time.
Secondly, my cartoon about the Col
lege Republicans seemed to have been
taken far too literally. The aim of my
comic was not to characterize all Col
lege Republicans as alcoholics and def
initely not to attack the Republican
Party as a whole. It had been articulat
ed to me by a close friend, who hap
pens to be a member of the College Re
publicans, that many feel that because
they are such a minority on campus
they have to do whatever it takes to at
tract media attention. This was espe
cially prominent last year when Tere
sa Heinz Kerry’s speech was
interrupted by a College Republican
yelling; distasteful signs were waved at
the entrance to John Edwards’ campus
address; people dressed up like giant
flip flops, etc. My comparison of a
boozed-up football fan yelling passion
ate obscenities throughout the game
was thus a comparison between these
similar methodologies, not a reflection
of the Republican ideology.
So remember, patrons of the Oregon
Daily Emerald, that I rarely have the
luxury of such a lengthy explanation,
and 13 inches of illustration is hardly
enough space to tip-toe around a point
with the articulation of a columnist.
Feelings will be hurt, and generaliza
tions will be made, but I will do my best
to do so impartially and hopefully win
you over in the end. After all, it worked
for South Park didn’t it?
Contact Emerald illustrator
Aaron DuChateau at
aduchateau@dailyemerald.com
■ Editorial
Too drunk to
stand up for
football game
etiquette?
We’re in the midst of another big season for
Duck football, but players haven’t been the
only focus for spectators during recent games
at Autzen Stadium. It seems student govern
ment officials and administrators, including
University President Dave Frohnmayer, have
been thinking about fans. Drunk, loud, ob
noxious fans, to be specific.
Last week, Frohnmayer expressed concerns
about “unclassy fan behavior” at an Associat
ed Students Presidential Advisory Council
meeting. Also last week, members of the
ASUO Student Senate brainstormed ways to
combat a perceived rise in unsportsmanlike
fan behavior.
From our experiences attending and report
ing on football games, we can’t verify the as
sertion that “unclassy” behavior has become
more flagrant or widespread. We can, howev
er, attest that fan behavior is problematic.
We can point out the prevalence of rampant
drinking at games, the use of obscene language
and gestures and exhibitions of violent behav
ior. It’s common to see water bottles and other
objects thrown toward the field or at other fans.
Being pushed by drunken neighbors or having
marijuana smoke blown in one’s face are typi
cal in the packed student section.
Granted, a little unruly and spirited behavior
is to be expected at any college sporting event.
But widespread drinking and drug use within
the stadium is a clear violation of University
rules, and it represents a serious hazard.
It is impossible and unnecessary for the
police, private security personnel or
University employees to prevent fans from
coming to games wasted. But lax security at
the gates and within the student section al
lows people to easily smuggle in booze and
drink excessively during games. Searching
everyone who enters the stadium would be
impractical, but employing more security per
sonnel to patrol the stands could discourage
prohibited actions.
We commend members of the Senate for
taking responsibility to look into this issue,
but we urge them to be cautious in how they
address it. Using peer pressure and urging the
administration to increase security may help
the situation. Yet revoking unruly students’
football ticket privileges, and thus their right
to access incidental fees, might open a dan
gerous can of worms. If the Senate makes any
move to restrict student access to sports
games, it needs to concurrently create an ap
peals process.
Some fans will always be rude, but students
choosing to moderate their drinking at games
could significantly reduce violence and other
inappropriate behavior. As students who
share the same football stadium, it is up to the
fans to take steps to ensure that they are co
herent enough to behave respectfully.
Ultimately, students should be able to en
joy football games, respect their neighbors
and respect the opposing team’s fans and
players without outside intervention. So when
California visits, stay classy, sports fans.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Parker Howell
Editor in Chief
Shadra Beesley
Managing Editor
Steven Neuman
Online Editor
Ailee Slater
Commentary Editor