Ely and Hayes are right for the job
I grew up with ASUO Executive candidate John Ely in Tillamook, Ore. We forged a great friendship that lasts to this very day.
Ely, a year older than me, often did things first. He was the leader. Anyone who does not know Ely should know he grew up in a small community as the “big kid.” Ely overcame adversity and was always willing to put himself in the public, free for scrutinizing. By the time he was a senior, he was yearbook editor in chief, student body secretary and a member of the National Honor Society. He graduated in the top 10 percent of his class.
Ely came to college a year earlier than I did. He took the rough road his first year but has figured out what’s important and what it means to have student goals. Ely has dropped much of his former self since his freshman year. His renewed dedication to self-improvement is what drives him and motivates others in positive directions. Ely is one of the most intelligent, caring and real people I have ever met.
We need a president who will act with integrity, neutrality and fairness. Jon Ely and Hayes Hurwitz are the right men for the job. They have my vote.
Hurwitz is intelligent, courteous and logical. Both have strong skills and make a formidable team in the arena of logic and understanding. They will do a great job not only representing the greek system, but all students at the University.

Spencer Miles

sophomore

computer science

Tolerance starts

with the student body
“I believe in survival of the fittest. I’m sick and tired of hearing this crap. If minorities didn’t get in, that means they are inferior.” You may view this comment in the feedback section for the article “Diversity survey gives University mixed grade” (ODE, Jan. 31), in the online version of the Emerald.
Although whoever wrote the comment isn’t representative of the majority, the statement resonates with many students on campus. The survey found that 40 percent of University students experienced some form of harassment. Of those, most were minorities and women.
Administrators say that they’re “looking” at the survey. Some would argue this is just lip service. After all, the survey did find that 57 percent of students felt the administration was not supportive of diversity.
It’s the moral responsibility of students to bring an agenda of tolerance to the forefront. We don’t deserve tolerance, unless we promote it by insisting University administrators take action.
Increasing the multicultural degree requirement and expanding it to all graduate programs would reduce harassment on campus. Although more education isn’t the panacea, it’s a reasonable and empirically valid solution.
The survey implied administrators and faculty are not supportive of minorities and women. However, the student body must insist administrators and faculty follow through on the mission of tolerance. Do not let silence or passivity be interpreted as support for intolerance and bigotry on campus. Talk to your department head, University administrators and peers, and encourage them to augment the multicultural requirement.

Javier Ayala

graduate student

education

Arctic Refuge more than a chunk of ice
In post-Sept. 11 America, it is easy for the media to overlook another one of America’s landmarks that is under siege, and like the World Trade Center, may soon be destroyed.
In the far northeast corner of Alaska lies the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — 19 million acres of beautiful pristine wilderness currently free of roads and industrial development. Within weeks, the Senate will debate on energy legislation, and Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Ala., will offer an amendment to the Senate energy bill that would open the refuge up to oil and gas drilling.
Despite its name, the Arctic refuge is not a big chunk of ice. In the spring it is green, and it is a year-round home to caribou, polar bears, and thousands of other animals, some of which are endangered. The refuge is sacred land to the native Gwich’in people, the “people of the caribou.” Drilling in the Arctic would harm not only animals and habitat, but the Gwich’in culture as well.
The estimated six months worth of oil in the refuge would not reach us for about 10 years. Rather than using up the last of our natural resources, we Americans should focus on a cleaner, smarter, more efficient energy future. No other place in the United States is like the Arctic refuge. We simply cannot afford to lose it.

Vivian Vassall

freshman

pre-journalism