ABC should be more careful with camera shots
I want the word to get out about something very important that could affect the future of Ducks football being televised on ABC Sports.
One camera got just a little bit too low and displayed for the whole country to see, a University Ducks cheerleader’s barely clothed buttocks as she was performing an on-the-ground cheer routine that was not the sort where cheerleaders toss other cheerleaders up in the air and catch them on the way back down.
One is almost sure to see a private part of a cheerleader’s body and uniform in just such types of routines. That can’t be helped, not in routines like that. Its normally not a problem.
What I saw that Saturday night was inexcusable.
The camera was deliberately aimed to this cheerleader’s buttock area and kept there for an embarrassingly long period of time and to the great discomfort of the broadcasters.
What he saw and what I saw, the whole country saw, was yet another display of more male trespassing into areas of female athletics that they need to steer clear of.
In short, it smacks of perversion and pornography. Keep in mind that children were watching that game.
This was not free speech, it was a crime. One that needs the administration of justice in some form. I’ve long been sick and tired of women being treated as objects and now I think we’re going to see what can be done about it.
 

Karla Dawn
Cottage Grove

Bettman has vision for Eugene
It’s a shame to see a “Recall Bettman” signs around the University neighborhood these days, considering Bonny Bettman is one of the best city councilors in Eugene. For one thing, she has a clear vision of what kind of city Eugene can be; one in which residents have an easy and affordable way of getting around, and one in which downtown is a destination and a place to be. For another, she’s willing to listen to the concerns of her constituents.
Councilor Bettman has been willing to sit down for two hours at a time with myself and several other students to discuss the local political process, as well as a number of issues such as land use, transportation and economics. Did she do this to get our votes? No, most of us don’t even live in Ward 3. But she realizes that democracy works best when you have an informed and involved population. And unlike the councilor in my ward, Councilor Bettman returns calls and e-mails, because she is concerned with what the residents in all of Eugene think.
I urge people not to sign the recall petition for these reasons, as well as the fact that it will waste more of taxpayers’ money. And my sense is that those asking for her recall are largely misinformed, so I urge you to talk with her and ask about the issues you care about. You may find you agree with her more than you realize.
 

Erik Amos
senior, sociology