I found the recent article about Jeremiah Roundtree both irrelevant and voyeuristic (“Man arrested after removing cans from bin,” ODE, Feb. 12, 2007). I realize that as a newspaper you need to meet certain quota for articles in each edition and that Eugene might at times lack “sufficient material” to justify a crime section, but this story was ridiculous on various levels. The fact that the Department of Public Safety felt the need to arrest this man on Theft 3 charges for stealing “property of the University,” ala discarded beverage containers, is ludicrous!
The fact is that Mr. Roundtree was, knowingly or not, in violation of a University ordinance, but to arrest him for trying to make some money for himself by recycling cans is cruel and unnecessary. What would DPS and the University like him to do instead? Beg for our charitable pocket change, so that the few of us who fork up a couple of dimes can go home and feel good about ourselves?
And this is not to mention the coverage of the “story.” Given the fact that the reporter, Kyle Andrew Carnes, is described in the article as a photographer reveals his desire to publish photographs, but why the Emerald included a large photo of Roundtree hunched over on the curb, in handcuffs, surrounded by two DPS officers is beyond me. I might understand including a photo if the tone of the article had been one of sympathy for a man arrested for trying to provide for himself by collecting cans that were thrown away. But alas, this wasn’t the case at all. Instead we have an article that is packaged as if it were an objective, timely piece about a pressing issue: crime on campus! Man caught stealing cans from recycling bin! Carnes even goes on to describe the “large scar on the right side of his face.” So beware of a man on a bike with a scar on the right side of his face if you have any trash you hold dearly. Oh wait, I forgot, you need not worry because this man is safely institutionalized behind bars, where he will offend no one’s discarded materials. The story here is the predatory enforcement of a questionable law, classifying discarded trash as University property. DPS could have informed him that he was breaking University law and escorted him off the school’s property.
Now I’m sure some of our valiant, law abiding University citizens out there find that I’m way off the mark defending a man who was breaking the law. I’m sure the fact that Roundtree had an outstanding warrant on drug charges is even more damning. Well, this being said, his warrant was only discovered after DPS called for the Eugene police department to come arrest him for canning, and his warrant was for a non-violent offense that many of us wouldn’t take issue with from the start. But US drug policy is another matter entirely. In addition, in the words of the first DPS officer on the “scene,” Roundtree “was a very cooperative, good guy.” Do you all feel safer knowing that this “good guy” is now going to be forced into our highly revered rehabilitating prison system?
I end by reiterating that the story here is DPS’ handling of Roundtree and Carnes’ voyeuristic portrayal of the “story.”
Maurico Magana is a research assistant for Gender, Families and Immigration