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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2022)
letters YES, OUR PANEL SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE DIVERSE In the July 7 Slant column, the Week- ly suggested that City Club of Eugene should have had more female repre- sentation on our July 8 program, “Can Local Newspapers be Saved?” A week later, Lou Caton asked why the Weekly’s editor declined an off er to ask a ques- tion at the program (“Why Not En- gage the City Club?” Letters 7/14). The Weekly’s editor noted that they brought their concerns to the City Club Program Committee instead. City Club appreciates this feedback. It helps us to be accountable and to bet- ter deliver our mission: “to build com- munity vision through open inquiry.” We acknowledge that the range of speakers on this subject should have been more diverse, and we are committed to de- livering programs that represent and engage perspectives from our whole community. We also appreciate that the Weekly acknowledged the qualifi ca- tions of the speakers, and encouraged its readers to listen in, both before and after the program. The First Question at the program was asked about diversity, by Molly Newhard, editor of LCC’s The Torch, and it deserves a more expansive answer. We hope to work with the Weekly and other local jour- nalists to coordinate a program about di- versity in the media in fall 2022. Lastly, a reminder that anyone can suggest an idea for a City Club program. Please visit CityClubofEugene.org, se- lect the “Forums” tab and click “Sug- gest a Forum” from the menu. Fill out the form with your idea, and we look for- ward to hearing from you. Joel Korin Program Committee Chair City Club of Eugene WOMEN ARE TIRED OF BEING IGNORED Kudos to Eugene Weekly for encour- aging some non-dude-centric letters (Letters, 7/14). In this sexist world, I needed a little encouragement. In the middle of the grief over the loss of every woman’s right to choose, my 19-year-old daughter is struggling with severe endometriosis. I have watched her experience sexist treatment in health care routinely. Endometriosis is not widely known, as it is estrogen-driv- en and therefore largely aff ects people with uteruses. Her severe pain has been belittled even by her own gynecologist, who last month said, “Call us back when the pain is more severe.” The countless times she has ended up in the ER with severe pain, she has been given a pregnancy test routinely. It does not matter that she explains she has not been sexually active. Even when I have been with her and verifi ed information, a pregnancy test has been given “just to make sure.” Sometimes, she’s been test- ed without her knowledge and told after- ward, “Well, you’re not pregnant.” There’s an underlying assumption that if you’re a woman of a certain age, complaining of abdominal pain, you can- not be trusted to simply verify that there’s no way you could be pregnant. You’re told, “We just want to be on the safe side.” Per- haps the thinking is, as a woman you’re having sex with people without your knowledge, or maybe it’s the hope for an- other immaculate conception. This seems to fi t right in line with our national fundamentalist Christian be- liefs. Praise the Lord Jesus Christ! Melissa Ivan Eugene 541-342-6107 181 E Broadway, Eugene MON-SAT 10-6 PM & SUNDAY 11-5 PM LTD SHOULD SERVE ALL THE PUBLIC Thank you for your eye-opening June 23 story “Oregon22 Transit Re- lay.” Reading it motivated me to contact Bill Bradley with the transit union to in- quire who I should contact at LTD with my concerns. Then I emailed LTD spokesman Pat Walsh and sent the same email to interim General Manager Mark Johnson. I don’t know whether I’ll receive a direct response from LTD, but I’m now motivated to write to you folks at the Weekly because I haven’t seen any letters (in your print edition) from readers about your story. Without a car for the entire 20 years I’ve lived in Eugene, and currently as a 64-year old woman who still rides LTD (wearing a mask, though it’s not re- quired), I feel especially concerned for myself as well as other regular riders who depend on LTD. I’m not only refer- ring to the track and fi eld champion- ships, when the buses might be very crowded and not wearing masks. Public transportation needs to be in the interest of the public, both local and global. LTD is not addressing some of these basic needs, and so I wanted to speak up. B. Lynne Schwartz Eugene Award Winning Burgers and Comfort Food at Three Locations. CORNUCOPIAEUGENE.COM E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M 295 W. 17th Ave 207 E. 5th Ave in Eugene. 521 Main Street in Springfield. J U LY 2 1 , 2 0 2 2 3
