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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2007)
TO THE EDITOR interested in being part of the commission are asked to submit an application form before the end of the day on Friday, Sept. 7. The application form and supplemental questions are available on the city website (www.eugene-or.gov/bcc) or by calling the city manager’s office at 682-5010. Eugene’s Sustainability Commission should be top notch with a high level of expertise and civic involvement, setting goals to quickly and effectively make cut- ting edge advances toward real sustainabil- ity. Please apply. Mayor Kitty Piercy Eugene SPORTS CAN BE BOTH I wanted to commend professor Jim Earl for contributing his excerpted essay (8/16) on sports in college, and for his courage in speaking truth to power. The author succeed in doing what many great teachers do: evok- ing discussion by presenting points I agree with while motivating me to respond to the points to which I respectfully disagree. I would agree that college athletics, including American football, have absorbed and now reflect many of the least redeeming cultural features of our current times: finan- cial excess, corruption, violence, celebrity. The resources being directed to athletics, including resources that could otherwise be directed to academics, are at times obscene- ly disproportionate within the context of the university mission. If you doubt this, con- sider for a moment what $100 million in shoe and apparel profits could accomplish if spent entirely in the classroom. Pour that ,QYHVWLQJ/RFDOO\ 6LQFH much money into your lit department, and I’m guessing we’d see your collective joy. But can important life lessons be taught through athletics, including intercollegiate athletics? Absolutely. Training for the decathlon taught me how to manage multiple priorities. I learned teamwork while playing football, where the offensive game is wholly reliant upon synchronized execution. And as much as I’m grateful for my 20-plus years of formal education, these important life skills were taught in the context of competitive sports in ways that cannot be taught in the classroom. With all due respect for the acade- my, important learning does occur outside of the classroom. Sports do teach kids about life. As one familiar enough with the Greeks to reference two of them in his essay, Jim knows better than most that Dionysius, the Greek god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine but also its social and beneficial influences. In addi- tion, Dionysius was regarded as the pro- moter of civilization and peace, as (you guessed it) many of our universities aspire to be. Our modern gods, little icons on the field of play, are similarly complex, at times reflecting both the deepest and shallowest values of a culture. Is it possible that colle- giate athletics offers us some of both? Jeff Davis Eugene BIODIESEL KILLS We used to look at those cute, clever bumper stickers that proclaimed “My Car Runs off Biodiesel” and think, “Wow, that person cares.” But evidence that biodiesel demand is running up corn prices and there- fore forcing poor people all over the world to compete with the sociopolitical needs of liberal conscientious consumers leads us to believe that biodiesel use kills. Furthermore, the energy needed for the total process of creating, distributing and using biodiesel is actually more deleterious to the environment than nasty and disgusting gas. So if you have that cute little bumper sticker proclaiming your consumer con- sciousness, you are actually advertising your ignorance. It’s a weird irony that Hummers are better for the environment that an old biodiesel Mercedes or VW bee- tle with a clever bumper sticker. My only hope is that all the middle class liberal elite will do what’s right: educate themselves before patting themselves on the bumper. William Porter Eugene ´5HILQDQFH\RXUFDU ORZHU\RXUUDWH E\DWOHDVWµ 2$& /RDQ5DWHVDV/RZDV3HUFHQW 6RFLDOO\&RQVFLRXV :KHUH&KDUDFWHU6WLOO&RXQWV %ODLU%OYG(XJHQH0RQGD\7XHVGD\7KXUVGD\)ULGD\ Oh me, Oh my! There’s a SALE at the PIE! LABOR DAY SALE! (Fri-Mon) ★ 50% Off Shorts ★ 20% Off Used Clothing ★ 10% Off Storewide TONS OF NEW ARRIVALS ★ Tapestries, Patches, Stickers & Posters ★ Fabulous PIT BULL Jewelry ★ Hemp Twine and Clothing ★ Kickass GLASS from over 30 Local Artists! Voted EUGENE’S BEST LOCAL CLOTHING STORE! (3 Years in a Row, Yo!) Monday-Saturday 10-7 / Sunday 12-6 ★ Corner of 11th & Willamette AUGUST 30, 2007 5
