Attention University students, faculty
and staff:
Your student leaders are currently abusing their authority over incidental fees in order to settle personal scores with campus journalists — and dismantle your freedom of speech — by simultaneously trying to de-fund the two most visible student publications on campus: the Oregon Commentator and the Oregon Daily Emerald.
It is no coincidence that both of these publications serve as student government watchdogs and have a history of exposing the illegal, unethical and just plain stupid behavior of University elected officials.
As principled journalists, it is sometimes unfortunately our responsibility to bite the hand that feeds us. The Emerald did just that by aggressively covering the recent Sunriver boondoggle and the ASUO’s laughably incomplete self-punishment process. Rather than adequately punish themselves by returning the $3,000 in misused incidental fees, they are engaging in a misguided and pathetic attempt to punish us for reporting on them.
The Emerald is an independent publication — unlike many university newspapers — so we are impervious to direct censorship from the ASUO, the University or anybody else for that matter. Instead the ASUO and PFC resorted to backdoor censorship by attacking our budget, using a mountain of flimsy rationales, inaccurate information, fuzzy math and faulty logic to justify their actions.
The Emerald escaped total de-funding by a single vote: 3-4-0. In the end, the PFC voted to approve the Executive recommendation of a $8,415 decrease; this is not only the greatest decrease the PFC has handed out so far
this year, but it is greater than all other
decreases combined.
The Emerald provides students and campus groups with the opportunity to have their accomplishments recognized and their opinions heard by the majority of their campus peers. Furthermore, the Emerald provides a substantial reduction in advertising cost to University organizations. These groups might have their advertising budget explode, coverage of their group slashed and campus participation in their events dramatically decreased if the Emerald is not funded. An attack
on campus publications is really an attack on all students.
In light of these disturbing developments, the Emerald editorial board has decided to publish a week-long series of editorials outlining why the Emerald and the Commentator deserve to be fully funded, the history of censorship at the University and the unprecedented lack of professionalism demonstrated by this year’s student leaders.
Now is the time for the student body to fight for their First Amendment rights here in Eugene. The first step is to write the Emerald a letter to the editor. Do you agree with the PFC decision to decrease our funds? Or are you concerned about the PFC’s decision? Please send us your opinion and make your voice heard.

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