Nobody Asked Us..
Ol' Dirty Emerald (YTD)
In case you hadn't noticed, (and you probably haven't) the ODE has adopted a new look for the new Millennium. Editor-in-Chief Laura Cadiz explained in her riveting editorial that the changes were implemented to bring the news to us in a "timely, easier to read fashion." Here are some changes that we at the OC have noticed:* Weather: The weather is now located in the lower, left-hand corner of the paper, as opposed to the upper left-hand. This hardly makes it easier for the reader-now they have to actually pick up the paper to find out if and how much it's going to rain.
* Perspectives: The fonts may have changed, but they haven't fixed Jonathan Gruber's picture (maybe it wouldn't matter) and Fred M. "I'm totally irrelevant to 99% of the campus" Collier is still sharing his cheerful observations with us all.
* Pictures: Wisely appealing to the campus' wide illiterate demographic, they have added even more pictures. This will surely extend their readership to student-athletes who used to stumble over words. Can the Scratch-n-Sniff edition be far behind?
* "The Flash": Located along the left-hand side of the front page, its main purpose serves to reduce the number of column inches to be filled per issue. We've got a flash for you as well, Ms. Cadiz... No one cares that you changed the cover of the Emerald. You can stop pretending now.
(Phyrric, Hollow) Victory!
University President Dave Frohnmayer recently sent a letter to University trademark licensees asking them to disclose their various labor practices. Uh, (cough) er... hooray.While the companies have been given a March 27 deadline to respond, don't expect any sweeping changes in the types of apparel the University carries. While the campus left can pat itself on the back for turning the word "disclosure" into a bigger buzzword than could Michael Chrichton, they're about to find out that the release of such information isn't likely to change either corporate or University policy. Congratulations, kids.
Nike (to pick one such company at random) has kept the locations of many of its Southern Asian plants a secret for quite some time. What will the University do if Nike doesn't meet the March 27 deadline for disclosing the location of their plants? Refuse their money? Right. And where do they expect to find these factories? Third world countries? Stop the presses, somebody.
The fact of the matter is that this letter should be about as effective in ending 'unfair labor practices' as a harshly worded e-mail to Indonesian President Wahid, who is perhaps a more appropriate target than everybody's favorite, Phil Knight.
It has, however, given everyone involved a PR boost. The campus left, who naively believe they've made a difference, the University for standing up to the big bad corporations, and the companies themselves, who can remind everyone of this concession next time they come under fire. Everybody wins - sort of.
If you don't like the situation, then don't buy their products. It's how capitalism works. Just a hint.
