The University of Oregon. A fraternity member. A toga party. Angry neighbors. Does “Animal House” come to mind?
We have to admit, it did for us. When we heard the news that ASUO Vice President Ben Buzbee had thrown a toga party at his private residence that was busted by police after complaints from a neighbor — and that he and his roommates received citations for furnishing to minors — the opportunities for humor, cheap jokes and stereotyping were plenty.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a funny situation. It isn’t humorous to Buzbee, who will be in court today contesting the citation on the grounds that the police entered unlawfully. It surely isn’t a joke to the minors at the party who were cited. It isn’t funny to the police or the community, who have to deal with this situation much more often than they should have to.
On its face, this news story might not seem worthy. Sure, everyone has parties. Sure, minors drink, and they go to parties where people allow them to drink. It’s just a natural part of college life. College kids will be college kids, after all. What’s the big deal?
The big deal, in this case, is that Buzbee is elected to represent us. To students, to police and to the community, Buzbee is one of the faces of the University. Last term, in the wake of the riots in the West University neighborhood, the ASUO Executive — led by President Rachel Pilliod and Buzbee — headed an aggressive campuswide campaign to prevent both riots and police incidents at parties. This included town hall meetings, advertisements published in the Emerald and posters explaining how to throw a responsible party. All of these efforts included details such as avoiding loud noise, keeping partygoers inside and
cooperating with neighbors.
So it is a big deal when an elected official representing students can’t follow his own relatively simple instructions. Students don’t need more tarnish on their reputation, and the relationship with the community doesn’t need to be more strained.
Don’t get us wrong — we understand the realities of college students and partying. Members of the editorial board have hosted parties where laws may or may not have been broken. We’re not necessarily saying we agree with the drinking age, or with any other laws that pertain to partying.
But we aren’t elected officials, and we haven’t been cited by police for furnishing. Mainstream politicans, who disagree with laws need to work to change them, not just break them. At the very least, keep the music down so you don’t get busted.
So Buzbee will be in court today fighting the citation, and if the police didn’t have the right to enter his house, we hope an appropriate judgment is made. But to date, he hasn’t denied disturbing his neighbor or furnishing to minors.
We all deserve more than Buzbee’s brief statement. If he didn’t furnish to minors, he should say so. If he did break the law, however, he owes the community an apology — or his resignation.