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Oregon Daily Emerald Monday, November 21, 2005 NEWS STAFF (541) 346-5511 PARKER HOWELL EDITOR IN CHIEF SHADRA BEES LEY MANAGING EDITOR MEGHANN M. CUNIFF JARED PABEN NEWS EDITORS EVA SY1AVESTER SENIOR NEWS REPORTER KELLY BROWN KATY GAGNON CHRISTOPHER HAGAN BRITTNI MCCLENAHAN NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTERS |OE BAILEY EMILY SMITH PART-TIME NEWS REPORTERS SHAWN MILLER SPORTS EDITOR SCOTT J. ADAMS LUKE ANDREWS JEFFREY DRANSFELDT SPORTS REPORTERS AMY IJCHTY PULSE EDITOR TREVOR DAVIS KRISTEN GERHARD ANDREW MCCOLLUM PULSE REPORTERS AILEE SLATER COMMENTARY EDITOR (LABE BRADLEY JESSICA DERLETH ARMYFETH VyWLunm TIM BO BOSKY PHOTO EDITOR NIC.OLE BARKER SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER KATE HORTON ZANERJTT PHOTOGRAPHERS JONAH SCHROGIN DESIGN EDITOR MOLLY BEDFORD OSSIE BLADINE KERI SPANGLER DESIGNERS CHRIS TODD GRAPHIC ARTIST AARON DUCHATEAU ILLUSTRATOR DAWN HELZER REBECCA TAYLOR COPY CHIEFS JENNY DORNER BRYN JANSSON JOSH NORiUS JENNA ROH RBACHER MATT TIFFANY COPYEDITORS STEVEN NEUMAN ONLINE/SUPPLEMENTS EDITOR TIMOTHY ROBINSON WEBMASTER BUSINESS (541)346-5511 JUDY RIEDL GENERAL MANAGER KATHY CARBONE BUSINESS MANAGER LAUNA DE GIUSTI RECEPTIONIST JILL ATKINSON LUKE BELLOTTI RYAN JOHNSON SEBASTIAN STORLORZ NICKVICINO DISTRIBUTION ADVERTISING (541)346-3712 MELISSA GUST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR MIA LEIDF.LMEYER SALES MANAGER KELLEE KAUFTHEIl, JOHN KELLY LINDSEY FERGUSON WINTER GIBBS KATE HIRONAKA DESI MCCORMICK STEPHEN MILLER KATHRYN O'SHEA-EVANS CODY WILSON SALES REPRESENTATIVES BONA LEE AD ASSISTANT CLASSIFIED (541)3464343 TRINASHANAMAN CLASSIFIED MANAGER USA CLARK ANDO AMANDA KANTOR KERI SPANGLER KATIE STRINGER CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSOCIATES PRODUCTION (541) 3464381 MICHELE ROSS PRODUCTION MANAGER KIRA PARK PRODUCTION COORDINATOR IAMIE ACKERMAN CAITUN MCCURDY ERIN MCKENZIE JONAH SCHROGIN TERRY STRONG DESIGNERS 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 Education and Ethics:A realistic pair? In early November, the White House staff was required to start attending ethics lectures in response to the CIA leak investigation. Indeed, taking re venge on a Bush administration naysayer by putting his undercover wife in jeopardy, is hardly ethical. These days, it seems like hardly anyone on top is using ethical judgment. One school wants to change that trend. An international business school called Instead wants to graduate stu dents who are socially responsible in their money-making practices. Instead requires entrance exams which test ethics along with aptitude, and ethics lectures are worked into finance class es. In an interview, Instead Dean Gabriel Hawawini discussed the school’s admission criteria and class room content: “We have to make sure that our curriculum has enough ethical and social responsibility issues in ... We should try to identify the kind of people who have ethical standards.” Considering the U.S. govern ment’s recent flirtation with devel oping moral fiber, ethical training may soon become a key facet of training public officials, or anyone in a position of power. Would a school system built upon ideas of the Ethical be a good idea for the United States? Can ethics training sessions help end govern ment corruption? Will newly moral businessmen quell all insider trading? Not necessarily. To begin with, it is important to re member that the definition of ethics is squirmy, at best. Ethics, like morals cannot fall under a static definition for every person or situation, and maybe that is why everyone seems to spend so much time defining and defending their unethical actions. According to Merriam-Webster, ethics are “a theory or system of AILEE SLATER FURTHER FROM PERFECTION moral values.” According to Scooter Libby, ethics are making sure that your kin, and their values and judgments, are always safe from attack. According to Dean Hawawini, ethics are not falling into "the trap of saying: ‘Everyone else is doing it. I have to do it, too.’” If pinned down, I suppose that I de fine ethics as the ability to think out side of one’s own interest for the pur pose of furthering the greater good. Though I suppose the definition of “greater good” is still a bit murky. If ethics cannot be defined, it is easy to see why everyone has such a hard time being “ethical.” Was it ethical for President Bush to begin his term in office by ending pregnancy planning services that mention abortion to women over seas? I would argue that said policy decision was an unethical one. For Bush to cut off medical resources and knowledge to a group of already un derprivileged citizens, simply be cause of his own stance on abortion, is a political move which prizes the desires of the President over the de sires of the women. Of course, as far as President Bush sees it, the really unethical thing, the thing that is evil and amoral and bad for society, is killing unborn fetuses. A school and training sessions designed to promote the Ethical seem like a good idea, but the trend begs the question, whose idea of ethics will be adhered to? Some of Instead’s values sound very positive. Demanding honesty, working against bribery, using time in every course to expand upon the play of ethics within the business world. Ethics schools are not a bad idea; I only hope that they don’t become the lame ducks in place of people actually thinking out their actions, and coming to a smart, cohesive conclusion on what is ethical and what is not in the business world. Ethical schools in the United States would have a decidedly thornier time sorting out the unethical practices from the modern manifestation of capitalism. After all, a George W. Bush Business Ethics University would not necessarily be the correct avenue with which to create a morally sound workforce. From his past policy decisions, it seems that Bush’s idea of ethics involves giving bonuses to the rich and degrading the poor. If capital ism says that those who work hard get rich, then the poor must be lazy. A government ethics lecture at this point might say “never mind!” to the well-documented trend that upward social mobility is becoming harder and harder to attain. The White House shouldn’t be chided for trying to be ethical. The White House should, however, be chided for not being ethical. Whether or not ethics classes or ethics schools can eliminate the dis crepancy between what is defined as ethical, and what is not just in the in terest of the person with power, remains to be seen. aslater@ daily emerald, com ■ Guest commentary Headscarf ban was a fair ruling While I normally enjoy reading Ms. Slater’s pieces, last week’s “Banning headscarves is religious discrimina tion” (ODE, Nov. 14) bothered me. Ms. Slater seems to be writing from a solely U.S. perspective that has his torically been uninfluenced by reli gious wars or strife. In America, reli gious diversity is encouraged and relatively unhindered. This is not so in other areas of the world. We cannot judge T\irkey (and France and subsequently the entire European Union) from our rather naive perspective. Let’s not forget that religious discrimination and fueled vi olence is rife throughout the world, against every creed. In general, the steps these countries have taken are to protect everyone. In France, the school boards decreed that symbols from EVERY religion was prohibited on school grounds — no headscarves, crosses or crucifixes, or yarmulkes or Magen Davids. The rule was univer sally fair — and it was a decision that was fueled by the increasing religious ly fueled violence that eventually led to several deaths. Turkey has every right to follow this path if it deems it necessary; the country’s own history is full of ani mosity between Christianity and Is lam. If they have reasons to ban head scarves, we might not be fully aware of them, as we do not live in Istanbul, and most Americans have never en countered real religious discrimina tion. And, while I sympathize with Ms. Sahin’s religious devotion, let’s remember that she does want to be a health worker. She will, eventually, be forced to remove her head scarf for work purposes — for a medical scrub, or examination, etc. If this were a test in itself, she failed, which is something the Turkish Courts noted in their verdicts on Ms. Sahin’s and other similar cases. Unfortunately, Ms. Slater’s piece screamed ignorance to me, and a woeful neglect of international histo ry. We cannot forget the fact that the Crusades and both the French and Spanish Inquisitions have caused po litical and social damage that is still unresolved today. It is important to re member that our experience in the U.S. with religion has an uncommon history, and likely, future. Sam Morris lives in Eugene. INBOX Commentary writer should write what she knows In response to Miss Feth’s “Riots reveal political neglect,” ODE, Nov. 9: To someone like me, born and raised in France, who has lived in the Middle East, whose grandpar ents were Spanish immigrants estab lished in Algeria for generations, your commentary piece (“Riots reveal political neglect,” ODE, Nov. 9) was a moment of pure forehead slapping embarrassment. Get off your high horse. Under the thin veneer of political name-drop ping, it is painfully clear you are not well acquainted with the much more complex-than-you-imagine situation in France right now. “Raki” is not a French word (unless you mean “racaille”) and “they pay your taxes” shows how little you know about how the socialist system works in my country. Write about what you know. All your article showcases is your lack of maturity as a writer and as a researcher. Good luck to you. Geraldine Poizat-Newcomb University Adjunct Assistant Professor ■ Editorial UO must hold fans responsible for behavior In our last editorial on fan behavior at Ore gon football games (“Too drunk to stand up for football game etiquette?” ODE Oct. 26), we implored fans to “stay classy.” After Sat urday’s Civil War, it is apparent that “classy” behavior may be too much to ask for. About 70 people were escorted out of the game by Eugene police, according to the Eu gene Police Department. At least one person fought back and ended up in jail, police said. Further, these figures don’t account for the number of fans ejected by DPS and private security officers. “My sense is that it’s higher than usual,” said Kerry Delf, EPD spokeswoman. Referees momentarily stopped the game be cause fans were throwing objects on the field, causing one official to admonish spectators over the public announcement system. During the rush to storm the field after the game, fans trampled other spectators who fell before the crushing mob. It’s one thing to have a good good-natured dose of school spirit. It’s another to step on people who have fallen down 50 you can slap a player on the back. And it’s not just stu dents who were responsible for atrocious be havior at Saturday’s game. Obviously, calling for self-restraint isn’t enough to quell uncouth behavior. We thus agree with the Student Senate’s Nov. 9 recom mendation to University President Dave Frohnmayer and the Athletics Department — the University must take action. Creating an advertising campaign featuring athletes in commercials on the big screen at games and having coaches talk before games might be useful steps. Yet “more severe meas ures,” such as revoking ticket privileges of vio lators and increasing the size and competency of the private security force, will likely be need ed if Saturday’s game was a sign of future fan conduct. New field access policies are also needed to allow fans to safely leave the stands. We urge President Frohnmayer and the Ath letics Department to take action on this issue before next year’s football season. Reasons for war protest location appear misguided A handful of people protesting the Iraq war Friday outside the Military Science building were arrested for trespassing after they blocked the building’s entrances. They noti fied police and the media about their plans before the protest and were willingly and in tentionally arrested. We question these demonstrators’ choice of venues, however. Why did they pick the ROTC building? Perhaps because they believe students should not join our military. Perhaps because it is one of few military buildings in Eugene. Regardless, their decision to protest there sends a subtle message that they are protesting our troops, not merely our federal government’s poor decision to invade and occupy Iraq. Students in the program, and the soldiers who teach them, do not necessarily support the war. Moreover, they do not have the power to change U.S. policy. We laud the protesters’ peaceful tactics, and we hope their protest draws continued attention to U.S. activity in Iraq. But let’s not vilify soldiers from ouf University, even unintentionally.
