Sports deals equate to sanctioning alcohol use
The University is marketing a leading cause of college student dropouts, violence against women and student death by subcontracting its broadcast message formation to ESPN. The University receives money to sell the University’s image to sports networks, which leads to commercial broadcasts of University events becoming 100 percent supportive of alcohol use. Furthermore, the exclusive deal terms that the University representatives broker with Anheuser-Busch are kept secret from the students and public that supports the institution at the request of the beer company.
As a student and member of the Eugene community, I feel that the result of this lack of responsible regulation by the University is the polar opposite of the University mission statement. The college states it supports diversity, caring, civic responsibilities, learning and anti-discrimination. Yet no other messages involving alcohol are supported by the University on its commercial broadcasts other than the support of using the product. The result of University contracts clearly discriminates, thwarts learning and stifles diversity.
Until the University invests 50 percent of its name to commercial broadcasts that question the use of alcohol or eliminates the ads, it is in gross violation of its mission statement. A learning institution has no business validating its most disruptive influence, especially without investing in a diversity of ideas about it with a portion of the beer ad profits. Please contact Student Life to add your voice to this issue.

Mike Meyer

senior

family and human services