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About The print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1977-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1989)
OPINIONS THE PRINT February 1,1989 Page 2 Ruling on abortion Forum on smoking a should stay as it is productive beginning Avery sensitive issue that has unfortu nately resurfaced isabortion. 16yearsafter Roe vs. Wade, do they want to reverse the decision and throw Roe in jail? The blindly fanatical fundamentalists on a “rescue” mission are aiming at the wrong issue. Their claim is that an unborn fetus is a human life and has rights. These people are missing the fact that sex education is as vital as learning one’s ABC’s. Sex education would also help young children recognize a “good” touch from a “bad” touch. Therefore, pregnan cies relating to incest could be curtailed. If young people are educated about what is happening to their bodies and where ba bies come from, teen pregnancies may be reduced. Should a person decide to be sexually active, BOTH partners must take all precautions to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. “Pregnant? You already made your choice...”, read one antiabortion slogan. How do these people know on what grounds this person found herself pregnant? It could have been rape, or incest, or that one percent chance of conception even with birth control. The pro-lifers believe they are speaking for the discriminated. WHO’S DISCRIMINATED AGAINST?! An un- born fetus has no validity. It is A PART of another being; essentially, a sub-human. If this child was outside the womb it would be different. THE MOTHER is its life giver, its creator, and can do with what’s growing in her what ever she pleases. If she decides to keep the child for herself, or give it up for adoption, that would be very admirable. But if she is in school or working, and carrying a child, it could be imperative. Many changes happen to a woman’s body during the 9 months of gestation. She has to eat properly, and buy new clothing. Overall, she has to change her lifestyle for the unborn. That’s quite taxing for some one who doesn’t plan to keep the child. And it isn’t easy for someone who is fight ing a heroin or alcohol problem either. A woman is not a walking incubator. Did the people who picket abortion clinics also cheer the death of Ted Bundy? Do these people wonder if those they “save” will go fight for freedom and democracy in a war to save the American way and then d ie a heroic death? And, finally, if abortion is made illegal, the girls who use wire hang ers will kill themselves, but it’s justified because they were trying to murder a thing that essentially does not exist. Congratulations should go to the issue won’t necessarily be made following Clackamas Community College Associated the results of the forum, it does show that Student Government. the college is interested in what the stu By setting up a smoking forum they dents have to say. have taken a step in the right direction on The only way that the March 1 smok the smoking issue. The forum is scheduled ing forum cannot be a success is if people for March 1, nearly one month before a don’t attend and air their opinions. Stu planned 30 day trial of a non-smoking in dents have the chance to show the college and ASG that students really do care about door campus at Clackamas. The forum will give students, faculty, what happens on campus, and what hap staff and citizens of the community a chance pens within the Associated Student Gov to air their views on the smoking issue at ernment. Clackamas. According to ASG President There is one key to the success of the Faith Taylor everyone will have a chance to smoking forum. That is, like everything else at Clackamas, the students. Without be heard. By giving everyone the opportunity to the students’ input on this issue, people express their opinion, the college, and ASG will say that the college isn’t doing anything in particular, is paving the way to a better to help students during their stay at Clacka line of communication with people involved mas. Clackamas’ Associated Student Gov with Clackamas Community College, something that the college has lacked this ernment has taken the first step, it is now up to the rest of us to follow. entire school year. Although a decision on the smoking Riot not race related ■ The fracas Wednesday night at Ran dall Hall comes as no surprise. Put in a broader perspective, there is a similar inci dent of player and fan violence which oc curs somewhere in America at least once a year. Inevitably when a situation involving a mostly black team against a mostly white team turnsugly thereare those who will say that racism was the cause. This argument is simply untrue. The players involved were primarily concerned with trying to win an extremely competitive basketball game. Intimidation is an element in most sports and it was a factor Wednesday night. The two teams, as well as their fans, were trying to intimidate each other and neither side was backing down. The referees had lost control of the game by half-time and in the second half the physical play on the court had escalated beyond their control. A large group of about 25 Chemeketa fans stopped at Papandreas for beer and pizza prior to the game. It was the third consecutive year that they had done so and it is interesting that none of those fans were black. If these are the same people accusing the fans at Clackamas of being racist maybe Gun control advocates, NRA need to compromise The furor over the sale and possession of semi-automatic military-style weapons has flared up in the wake of the Stockton, California schoolyard massacre. One of the striking aspects of the controversy is the stubbornness of both sides. Anti-gun activists feel that no one should be allowed to own a military-style weapon. If you don’t know what is meant by “mili tary-styleweapon” then you have had your eyes closed for the past few years. Every action adventure movie is packed full of Uzis, M-16s, and AK-47s. Semi-automatJc civilian versions of these firearms are read ily available at any sporting goods store. People who support gun control (actually it isn’t control they advocate, it’s a total ban) feel that these weapons haveonlyone purpose: to kill human beings. They feel the weapons belong on the battlefield and not in the hands of private civilians (Have these people have been in Northeast Port land lately?). Those who support the “right to keep and bear arms,” usually members of the National Rifle Association or similar or ganizations, complain that they have a constitutional right to own guns. They block any attempt at gun control, saying that gun cor..”'! is the first step toward a fascist takeover of the United States. One word that seems to be missing from the vocabulary of both gun control advocates and the NRA is compromise. There is nothing wrong with the ownership of a gun by a person with no criminal rec ord. Gun collecting and shooting is a valid hobby. But there is also nothing wrongwith regulating the sale of guns in order to keep them out of the hands of criminals. But there is something seriously wrong with part of the population getting upset over a horrible incident and trying to take away the freedom of others. Part of the problem is the attention that mass shootings get in the media, and the disinformation that is created. The man responsible for the Stockton shooting did buy his AK-47 in Oregon, but it was not a “fully automatic machine gun” as the press made it out to be. There are no legal gun dealerships in this state or any other that will allow a customer to walk in, slap down several hundred dollars, and walk out with a fully automatic weapon. The possession of machine guns is strictly regulated by the federal government, and involves a back ground check of the buyer by the FBI, complete with fingerprints. Enacting a process of background checks and waiting periods for the purchase of firearms is a sensible idea. Taking away the freedom of legitimate gun owners to pur sue their hobby isn’t. The world is not always a safe place, but we shouldn’t go so far trying to make it safe that we take away individual freedom. The Print aims to be a fair and impartial newspaper covering the college commu nity. Opinions expressed in The Print do not necessarily reflect those of the col lege administration, faculty, Associated Student Government, or other members of The Print staff. Articles and i nf ormation published in this newspaper can be re printed only with permission from the Student Publications Office. The Print is a weekly publication distributed.every Wednesday except for finals week. Clackamas Community College, 19600 S. Molalla Ave., Oregon City, Oregon 97045. Office: Trailer B.Telephone: 657- 8400, ext 309 (office) and 578, (advertise •ng). , " '' Editorial Policy m L* a* b* 1 I 1 I 'I i I 1 39.12 I 13.24 15.07 ’ i ’ i ’ i 2 ! 3 _i_ 4 65.43 49.87 44.26 18.11 -4.34 -13.80 18.72 -22.29 22.85 ' Ö 5 55.56 9.82 -24.49 Mou illuminant, z degree oDserver Editor-In-Chief: Christopher L. Curran Managing/Feature Editor: Caree Hussey Copy editor: Jim Titus . News Editor: Briane Dotson Photo Editor: Julie Church Sports Editor: Mark Borrelli Reporters: Staci Beard Tina Early Dan Fulton Tim Jones < i Ray Marcham Mike Nelson ‘ ( Luis Perez '* * _/Rick Piller The Print The Print welcomes letters to the Editor. Such letters must be signed or will not be printed. Letters must not exceed 250 words and should be typewritten or neatly printed. Letters can be turned into The Print offices in Trailer B north of Randall Hall. The Print reserves the right to edit letters to the Editor for grammar, obscenities and libelous material. Letters to the Editor must be turned in Friday in' order to be printed in the following Wednesday’s edition. »I they should step back and re-examine them selves. One of the few Clackamas fans in at tendance said that a large group of Cheme keta fans were behaving rudely from the moment that they walked in the gym. It’s a sad comment on the general state of apathy surrounding Clackamas athletics that fans from another school think that they can come to Clackamas and take over because so few of our students really care. It is a curious phenomena that there will be more Clackamas fans on hand for the Feb. 15 game at Chemeketa than at any of our previous home games. There was at least one comment of a racist nature made, but it was a by-product of the tension that already electrified the air. So the question remains, who gets the blame? Everybody, no matter if they were at the game or not. If Clackamas fans hadn’t been outnumbered by a two to one ratio by the visitors, if the referees hadn’t lost con trol of the action, or if there had been adequate security for a game of this magni tude, it is unlikely that it ever would have happened. Intimidation was the cause .of this problem, not racism. i ’ i i RoseannWentworth Angela Wilson Photographers: Jillian Porter Tara Powers Tim Zivney Columnists; Joeseph Patrick Lee Tammy Swartzendruber f ; ;: Business Manager: Pat Adams J Rhapsody Editor: Michelle Waich , , ’ J " ' Advisor: Linda Vogt : ¡ 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 70.82 63.51 39.92 52.24 97.06 -33.43 34.26 11.81 48.55 -0.40 -0.35 59.60 -46.07 18.51 1.13 Density 0.04 11(A) 92.02 -0.60 0.23 12 87.34 -0.75 0.21 13 82.14 -1.06 0.43 14 72.06 -1.19 0.28 15 62.15 -1.07 0.19 0.09 0.15 0.22 0.36 0.51 E b S Bfefc SB fir