It is a modest start but one that is definitely commendable.
Last week, a group of University administrators, faculty and students came together to discuss their plans for solar panels, which are planned to help power the EMU. This is a worthy example of the potential in putting student zeal to good use.
Students Jocelyn Eisenberg and Ben Gates came up with the original concept of solar panels for the EMU in a pitch to earn $100,000 of surplus funds from the ASUO. Those funds will now go toward the panels, and the Eugene Water and Electric Board has already offered to donate funds for designing the panels and to purchase the power they produce.
They are confident that in the next few years the panels will be able to save the University a tremendous amount in reduced energy costs.
However, just as the 30 kilowatts that the panels are expected to produce are only a small percentage of the total power the EMU uses, the creativity of these students is just a small percentage of the total amount of brain power here on campus.
Despite the fact that many students have a few years to go before they receive a diploma, most are capable enough to offer some beneficial contributions to campus life. There must be hundreds of students here in Eugene who can be put to good use by the University or the city to improve the quality of life for all.
To truly reap the benefits of the enthusiasm and energy of students, the University and the city need to both respect what students want, but also maintain what they believe are important goals. Students need to deal with city and University officials respectfully, but also retain their desires. A good example of this relationship appears to be in progress with the planning of the solar panels.
More students, administrators and city planners need to take inspiration from this example and work to create an intertwined city, campus and student body working toward similar goals.
National pressure should put issue in perspective
Maybe if the University administration does not particularly want to listen to local broadcasters and community members, it may lend an ear to three national organizations. The Radio Television News Directors Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press recently sent a joint letter to the University’s top administrators asking them to end consideration of a new policy that would severely limit the amount of footage from Duck football games that could be aired.
While it is the right of the University to protect its legitimate property, it is also its responsibility as a publicly funded institution of higher learning to respect the freedom of the press. Not only is the University attempting to regulate how Duck games are covered, it is also threatening news organizations with the loss of access to athletic events if broadcasters do not play by its rules. These are not issues that should be a concern just to those within the news business, but also to anyone who has an interest in the University.
This new criticism should show the University that what it is trying to accomplish is a mistake. Its heavy-handed dealing with the press only gives the University an arrogant and overbearing image that will hurt both its fan base and the long sought-after national reputation.
IntroDUCKtion a pleasant reminder of university’s promise
After being on campus for more than a couple of years, students begin to lose some of the naivete of youth. From being on campus through several terms of both stress and frivolity, most students begin to think of what will come next when they take that plunge into the professional world.
During the past few days, many incoming freshmen have been visiting campus as part of the annual IntroDUCKtion program, and it has been a pleasant reminder for student veterans of how they were when they arrived on campus for the first time. The uncertainty and trepidation mixed with an intoxicating dose of liberation and the ripe promise of new experiences.
It is refreshing to not see students numbly lurching through the routine motions of campus life, but rather full of eagerness at the thought of which classes to take and what activities to join. Every time one sees a new student having his or her picture taken with a parent in front of the University of Oregon sign near Oregon Hal it is a welcome return to when the promise of university life was nearly too large to fully comprehend.
This editorial represents the views of the Emerald’s editor in chief and does not necessarily represent the views of the Oregon Daily Emerald.