letters
UO GRAD EMPLOYEE
INSURANCE
“The UO works because we do!”
This is a common cry at rallies for the
Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation
(GTFF), the graduate employees’ union
at the University of Oregon, as we con-
tinue to bargain for a new contract.
It is also indisputable. We teach 17
percent of lectures, 83 percent of labs
and 93 percent of discussion sections.
Tuition has more than doubled since
2008. Employee wages and benefits of-
ten get cited by the administration as
the reason for these increases, as they
were in President Michael Schill’s email
to the UO community earlier this month.
It is frustrating for proud UO em-
ployees to feel like we are pitted against
our students. This is especially true for
graduate employees like me because 79
percent of us do not even earn a living
wage in Eugene by the university’s own
calculations.
Our low salaries are somewhat bal-
anced by stellar health insurance. Rec-
ognizing the rising cost of our health in-
surance to the university, we voluntarily
made major changes to our insurance in
both the last two years. This saved the
UO more than $1 million.
So it is hurtful when they propose in
good faith bargaining to cut their con-
tributions to our health insurance by
more than 20 percent. Even with their
proposed salary increase, this would re-
sult in lower net take-home pay.
Consider the price tag of having fac-
ulty teach all of our coursework. We are
inexpensive by comparison.
UO works because we do.
We are a bargain for the UO. It’s time
they give us a good deal too.
Michael Hudak
UO graduate employee
SEX POSITIVE
hear ye,
hear ye !!
LEGAL
NOTICES
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4
M A R C H
2 1 ,
2 0 1 9
Recently Dove Medical, a self-pro-
claimed faith-based and abstinence
only group, presented in 4J schools (EW
3/14).
Whereas holistic sex education pres-
ents abstinence as an effective and valid
option, Dove Medical thinks it’s the only
way. One student stated that present-
ers “conflated sex before marriage with
shame.” Another said they passed out
cards on which to write “good things
you want to be remembered for,” then
discussed “how these qualities are jeop-
ardized once you have sex.”
The law tells us we aren’t allowed
to implement abstinence-only ed. Re-
search (and common sense) tells us that
a sex-negative atmosphere will do virtu-
ally nothing to protect kids.
4J has issued a statement saying
that Dove is simply presenting one facet
of the sex topic, and without agenda. But
mission groups with explicitly stated re-
ligious agendas, such as “to end the per-
ceived need for human abortion,” have
no place in a public school health class-
room. State Rep. Marty Wilde agrees.
This spring, cast a vote for school
board members (such as Dr. Martina
Shabram), who recognize that many
organizations, such as Planned Parent-
hood, have apolitical, sex-positive views,
and present unrestricted information
and resources to students, no matter
what their values may be.
My ability to make healthy decisions
for myself came from comprehensive,
unbiased sex education — not from
adults warning that it is shameful to
have sex. Like every student who has
signed our petition, I know what I am
fighting for. I know the standard of edu-
cation that I, and your children, deserve.
Jane Brinkley, student
South Eugene High School
PUBLIC INTEREST HOUSING
It’s time for the new Board of Di-
rectors of Homes for Good (formerly
HACSA) to move away from the for-
mer board’s way of doing business and
step up and make decisions that are in
the public’s interest. The HFG board
includes the five Lane County Com-
missioners and two resident commis-
sioners. Past boards have mostly rub-
ber-stamped decisions of Jacob Fox,
executive director. One of the decisions
from the past needs to be revisited by
the board at their meeting on March 27.
The former board allowed a long-
standing agreement with the River
Road and Whiteaker neighborhoods
to turn land along the Willamette Gre-
enway into low income housing to be
changed by Fox — with no discussion —
into a sale for high-priced apartments
with the out-of-state pave-and-run
Evergreen Housing and Development
Group, who have a deservedly poor lo-
cal reputation. Fox put this crucial deci-
sion on the board’s “consent calendar”
which is designed for non-controversial
items that receive automatic approval —
with no discussion. Although Fox places
items on this calendar — the board can
refuse to allow it. This is especially im-
portant now that HFG is less committed
to building affordable housing at a time
when it is most needed.
HFG Board, we need you to vacate
the Evergreen Lombard Apartment
agreement, hold a public process for
this precious Greenway public land —
and include the neighborhoods in those
discussions in order to make a decision
that is in the public’s interest. It’s a new
day — and a new way for this new board
to operate.
Rob Handy
River Road resident
Former county commissioner
CONVENIENT TIMING, JEFF
Quoting from an email I just received
from Sen. Jeff Merkley:
“The reality is that most LGBTQ
Americans experience harassment or
discrimination — unfair treatment that
closes doors in housing, education, work,
public accommodations and more. This
is happening right here in America, the
same country that prides itself in giving
opportunity to anyone who is willing to
work hard. That’s unacceptable. Con-
gress needs to act right now to make sure
every American is free of unfair discrimi-
nation that rips away their opportunities
to chase the American dream.”
Commendable legislation. But why,
Sen. Merkley, did you choose to intro-
duce it when there is no chance of pas-
sage? Were LGBTQ Americans like
myself less discriminated against back
in 2009 or 2010 when Democrats con-
trolled the Presidency, the Senate and
the House? Or were we just not on your
political identity radar then?
There’s a pattern here. Back in June
2018 you raised a ruckus over detention
of immigrant children in a Texas gulag
run by a private corporation. Again,
commendable.
But where you in 2014 when Presi-
dent Obama dramatically expanded
family detention space via private cor-
porations and — according to a 2016
New York Times editorial — “… these
privately run, unlicensed lockups are no
place for children. Or mothers.”
Apparently not on your radar back
then, either.
Trisha Driscoll
Eugene
WHO WILL SAVE US?
I’d like to remind Milton Takei (Let-
ters, March 14) that some people face
more immediate problems than global
warming. And who do they expect will
bail them out?
“Uncle Sam, our crops have failed!”
“Uncle Sam, we have Ebola!”
“Uncle Sam, our wells ran dry!”
“Uncle Sam, we had a big storm!”
“Uncle Sam, we’re dying from AIDS!”
“Uncle Sam, they took our food!”
“Uncle Sam, the Russians are coming!”
“Uncle Sam, they kidnapped our girls!”
“Uncle Sam, we had a big earthquake!”
“Uncle Sam, hurry!”
Before you say Americans are “con-
suming more than their share” — what-
ever that means — you better have a
Plan B for all the wonderful, often cor-
rupt, dysfunctional, over-populated
non-electric light-bulb societies on the
planet.
And you can be sure that neither Mr.
Takei nor any of his friends or colleagues
are going to turn in their light bulbs or
lower their standard of living one iota to
accommodate the light-bulb-less.
Greg Williams
Noti
THIS SHOULD GO OVER WELL
I would like to point out the inexcus-
able racist and xenophobic behavior of
the Left. Their new attack on minorities
comes in the form of a new hate term,
“toxic masculinity” — the idea that men
are too aggressive, disrespectful and
violent.
What they are really admonishing is
the Latinization and integration of Af-
rican culture in America. To our tradi-
tional American view, the way Latinos
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M