It has been a wild winter term for the editorial board. Here is a short rundown of a few issue highlights from the past 10 weeks.
Strange bedfellows
From the beginning of the term, the ASUO Programs Finance Committee’s unjustified attack on the Oregon Commentator has put the editorial board in the strange position of defending one of its most vocal critics. It began with the rejection of the Commentator’s mission statement during winter break (“Committee threatens free speech on campus,” ODE, Jan. 5); it ended with the quiet approval of the Commentator’s budget (“PFC quickly transforms into working committee,” ODE, March 2). The climax of the story took place Feb. 1 with a PFC meeting that would eventually cost three student government members their jobs (“ASUO acts properly in Constitution Court case,” ODE, March 9). We love happy endings.
Defending ourselves
After much discussion and serious contemplation, the editorial board decided to write a series of editorials concerning PFC’s cut of the Emerald budget. The committee’s unjustified budget decision, when paired with the attack on the Commentator, was a poorly veiled attempt to censor campus publications consistently critical of ASUO behavior. In the end, the PFC approved the Emerald’s requested increase in an appeals hearing in February.
Get on the bus
The editorial board stood side by side with the Lane Transit District drivers in their battle for a fair contract (“Offering the ATU the aid and respect it deserves,” ODE, March 8) and was overjoyed to hear the news Sunday that the strike was over and the buses would start running today. Additionally, kudos are in order for Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, former state labor commissioner Jack Roberts and local attorney Art Johnson who formed the mediation team that served as a negotiation facilitator and room-to-room messenger between LTD and union representatives during some tense times. The fact that both parties said they are satisfied with the contract settlement is in some ways a testimony to their skills.
Bush-bashing
As usual, the editorial board spilled a lot of ink criticizing the Bush administration. We criticized its insistence on abstinence-only sex education despite evidence that shows comprehensive sex education is most effective (“Government places ideals on top of smart sex-ed,” ODE, Feb. 22). We criticized Bush’s continuing attempt to stack the federal courts with ultra-conservative activist judges (“Conservative appointees drive wedge in Congress,” ODE, March 7). And we criticized the administration’s failure to adequately deal with the growing nuclear threat (“Is Bush hoping for another Cold War?” ODE, Feb. 17). As disappointed as the editorial board was when Bush was re-elected, incompetent government (both University and federal) makes our job easy.

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