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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2002)
______ 2 M ay 15, 2002 ThE CL ac I camas P rìnt Ashcroft oversteps authority; Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act will survive Editor-in-Chief: Maggie Jirasek (x2447) Design Editor: Salena De La Cruz A&E Editor: Daisy Bain Sports Editor: Elena Boryska Opinion Editor: Erinn Lerten Feature Editor: Elisabeth Meyer News Editor: Frank Jordan Business Manager: Aaron Patelzick (x2578) Webmaster: Luke Mahan Staff Writers: Nick Barron Jesse Gurzynskl Shadra Beesley Andy Price Jennifer Kane J.J. Pearson Megan Cobb Secretary: ' Joanne Gale Adviser: In 1997, the Supreme Court found that states can constitution ally prohibit physician-assisted suicide and can make it a crime to assist in a suicide. But the Supreme Court also said the states can and should debate the issue, vote on it, legislate about it, and different states, it said, will reach different conclusions. JasonGibson » ùsrìdiàztó/or ."Absolutely not. That yiq- late« the sovereignty of the states. The US governrnent is a coriglofherate of 50 sov-j ereign states that w fought IfTTp ://dEpTS. clACkAM AS. CC. OR. US/pRiNT Molly Stanley Candióte for ASGGee- Ctrii ÚSG President thrnk if they Kaye the nght fo put something m then they have the right to take it ouC to rd as the fötüns for the voice of the people." Stephanie Neuhauser Candidatefor *Tf the state passes it [a j^j^tben obyiousiy;they support it So m that sense; the federal govermnent sKouldn* t be able to over- At press time Stephanie Neuhauser was not avail able for comment. The ups and downs of getting older Advertising: r The advertising rate is $4-75 per col umn inch (505) 657*6958 X25O9 Erika Eggçr sons. What Oregon has created is an atmosphere in which peo ple can choose, under certain circumstances, to have a humane, peaceful and com passionate death. If anything, this debate and the existence of this law in Oregon has improved health care and pain care. There’s been much more effective treatment, greater use of hospices, fewer unnecessary tests and unneces sary machines. While people may dis pute that it is not a doctor’s right to end someone’s life, Oregonians have passed this law twice, by increas ing numbers. In his battle to over turn this law Ashcroft is saying that his one vote counts for more than Oregonian’s 1.3 million. Hopefully Oregon’s battle over assisted suicide will set a prece dent that federal opinion does not rule state’s rights. To reach Erinn Lerten e-mail goawayrocks@hotmaiLcom or drop byB-104 President Patty Mamula CCCpRiNT@dACkAMAS.CC.OR.US Controlled Substances Act when he declared that physician-assist ed suicide was not a “legitimate medical purpose” and threatened to revoke the license to prescribe narcotics from any doctor who wrote a lethal-dose prescription to a patient who requested one. While appeals may take some time, we will find that not only is the attorney general’s position hypocritical, it’s legally unsound. Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act has been in place for four years. In this , time at least 91 people have used it. There have been ho reports of abuse or irregularities in the law. Mainly cancer patients who were in the last stages of what was clearly a terminal disease have used it. Independent aca demics in Oregon, who have had no involvement with advocacy or even with treating patients under the law, have found that these patients were not showing symp toms of depression. We have not seen any abuses for financial rea President Goals: The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, profes sional manner. The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not necessarily refleet those of the student body, college administration, its faculty, or The Clackamas Print. Products and services advertised in The Clackamas Print are not necessarily endorsed by anyone associated with The Clackamas Print. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publi cation and is distributed every Wednesday except during Finals Week. The Clackamas Print Copyright 2002. 19600 S. M o I a II a A ve . O reqon Chy, O reqon 97045 To quote the court, “Throughout the nation, Americans are engaged in an earnest and pro found debate about physician- assisted suicide. Our holding per mits this debate to continue, as it should in a democratic society.” It was a victory for states’ rights, a doctrine supported by many con servative lawyers, judges and leg islators, including Attorney General John Ashcroft. But it seems the doctrine of states’ rights he built his career on was not as passionate as we once thought. When a state such as Oregon takes its autonomy in a direction he disapproves of, he’ll use the long arm of the federal govern ment to intervene. The State of Oregon took him to court and last month won a ruling from a feder al district court invalidating the attorney general’s new rule. Portland-based U.S. District Judge Robert Jones ruled April 17 that Ashcroft had overstepped the authority of the federal I have become aware that kids these days seem to be growing down at an ever-earlier age. I worry that some of my fellow students might be lagging in growing down, and a few trou blemakers might actually be growing up. I have thought about what is important to know about growing down, and I shall pres ent my thoughts as an aid to the ¿late wilters among us. One has to learn proper time management. The properly adjusted grown- down, as I call them, experiences virtually no variation from one day to the next, one week to the next, one year to the next. Thinking of this as “boring monotony” is going about it from the wrong perspective. Instead, learn to slide through the routine; pretty soon you won’t even notice it, you’ll just be doing what you need to do without even thinking about it. Beware of actual experience, as it is risky and unbecoming of a grown-down. An excellent sub stitute for actual experience can be found in television. You can watch friends hanging out, watch people making love, watch people dancing, racing cars, fishing on a lake. Not only do you not have to actually do any of these things yourself, tel evision skips right to the exciting parts without quiet moments. Quiet moments in real experi ences allow for reflection, which can be extremely frightening to the grown-down. (It is worthy to note that television does not allow for quiet moments of reflection as they simply risk exposing how boring television really is.) If you must suffer actual experiences, learn the art of “being there Without being there,” and you will have much less risk of powerful moments, “religious” experiences or reflection. The rules to growing down are endless, but they don’t have to be memorized like test answers; it is a way of life learned through imitation and ridicule. It includes a certain way of walk ing, a certain way of sitting, and a certain way of standing in one place. The proper way to behave in any given situation is dictated by the- social demands of grow ing down. Quirks are called “childish,” and are possible grounds for committal to a men tal institution. As long as you can successful ly crush your spirit, you should n’t have too much trouble becoming a perfectly normal grown-down and leading a per fectly ordinary, unhappy and meaningless life. Beware of behavior in others that does not conform to that of ordinary grown- downs; do not allow yourself to be influenced by them. If you know someone, even a friend, who behaves this way, either avoid him or her or try to help by ridiculing this person until the spirit is crushed. Finally, a note on growing up. Many grown-downs will ridicule someone by telling them to grow up, when they really mean grow down. Growing up involves being completely honest with yourself. Once you decide to be honest with yourself, your old world view is at risk of collapsing, and your con sciousness may change to one that does not agree with the official “stories” given by authorities in government, religion, or science. Our society dictates that sanity means that your state of consciousness is within a certain narrow spectrum that is easy to manipulate with words and threats of violence (Le. the police). Growing up involves exploring states of consciousness that fall outside this narrow range. To reach Jesse Gurzynski e- mail hateapparatus@hotmail.com or drop by B-104
