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Page 2 Wednesday, September 20,1989
The Daily Collegian
"
O^i
miono
Drug war erodes civil
George B. Kauffman
Those who are Inclined to encourage
President Bush and his drug czar Bill Bennett
in their misguided "drug war" would do well to
read Princeton University Professor Ethan A.
Nadelmann's lead arOclelnthe Sept. 1.1989.
issue of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science's weekly magazine,
Science.
On the basis of a detailed, balanced
analysis of drug prohibition in the United
States, including its costs, consequences and
alternatives, fully documented with more
than 70 references to other studies,
Nadelmann concludes, There is no question
that legalization is a risky policy....But that
risk is by no means a certainty ....current drug
policies are showing little progress and new
proposals promise only to be more costly and
more repressive....repealirig the(texig
prohibition laws would eliminate »rgreatly
reduce many of the ills that people commonly
identify as part and parcel of the 'drug
problem.'
'Yet that option is repeatedly and
vociferously dismissed without any attempt
to evaluate it openly and objectively. The past
20 years have demonstrated that a drug policy
shaped by rhetoric and fear-mongering can
only lead to our current disaster. Unless we
are willing to honestly evaluate all our —^
options, includlngvariouslegalizatlon
strategies, there is a good chance that we will
never Identify the best solutions for our drug
problems."
In the United States during the late 1920s,
when it was becoming obvious that
Prohibition had failed, numerous scholars,
Journalists and private and governmental
commissions undertook thorough
evaluations of Prohibition and potential
alternatives. Prominent among these was the
Wlckersham Commission appointed by
President Herbert Hoover and the study of
alcohol regulation in other countries directed
by prominent lawyer and forensic scholar
Raymond Blaine Fosdick and commissioned
by John b. Rockefeller.
Although such efforts are clearly needed
today, self-serving demagogues, aided and
abetted by hypocritical pressure groups and
frightened, concerned citizens, are
endeavoring to move the country In the
diametrically opposite clirectlon — towarcLa
frenzied and expensive but counterproductive
crusade in which the first casualties will be
the distortion of the true facts and erosion of
our cMl liberties.
Science obligates the scientist to modify or
discard his or her hypotheses and
experiments when they are found to be
incorrect or ill-founded. Fanaticism, on the
other hand, as the Spanish-American
philosopher George Santayana cogently
observed, "consists in redoubllngyour efforts
when you have forgotten your aim." Even
more to the point is Santayana's repeatedly
ignored warning. "Those who cannot
remember the past are condemned to repeat
it."
Dr. GeorgeB. Kauffmanis aprqfessorof
Chemistry at CSUF
■Open Forum" appears Wednesdays in The Daily
Collegian. Responsible parties may address any
topic oj-concem to the campus or the surrounding
comrnunity.Coiumntoplcsrnustbedeemed
appropriate by the editor-in-chief and an? subject
to editing.
mnarnvm
Walt Kelley's POOD)
Racism persists
Dear Editor, •
Tuesday" s letter by Lonnie Nash
reveals a great deal about the
problems that Unity-SRC has
resolved to deal with on this campus,
namely that racism does exist In a
very real and insidious fashion. Mr.
Nash refers to the new student
leadership as having no other purpose
but to "bitch about racism," a racism
he alleges does not exist on this
campus. President Haak has
acknowledged to an Investigative task
force that racism and sexism do exist,
as if it weren't already obvious to the
casual observer.
Apart from wondering what plane t
Nash lives on, I would be delighted to
know how he can be unaware of the
history oflncidents which add mrto
an objective pattern of racist, sexist
and homophobic hostility on this
campus. Two years ago theGay
Lesbian Bisexual Student Alliance
Information booth was burned to the
ground; minority student programs
got slashed earlier this year by nearly
50percent tfnbtmore.byawhite.
male dominated student senate;
women were openly harassed and the
Women's Studies DepL was viciously
maligned: and the senate tries to deny
See LETTER, page 1 1
By Doyle & Sterneckey
Tlie Daily Collegian..:servingstudents since 1922.
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
Editor in Chief .....Michael S. Green
Managing Editor Kelly O'Neill
New* Editor. :...Aliia Loe
Copy Edna/. Deborah Lorenan
Sporu Editor. Eric Bumey
Graphici Editor Devm Swither
Hwu> Editor. a TToor Swift
Staff Artiav Jane* Mirqucz
Suit Writers: Hcth Corbo. Anaiu-Li Hendrw, Todd Mesh, Johanna Mime*.
Cynthia Bute r. Jennifer Whileley.
Sporu Writer*: ChruBrarui^IiirinjOTea.fcra^eiKorrz^Dtn Waierhaust
rVi«-jnpherj: Mirk MirVo. Terry Kenon, Steve Pringle, D-vid Teua.
Business Manager. Whit Kambach
Aiive rtiimg Manager... May Karabian
Ad Production Manager. Darcy Knigbt
Advertising Representative!: Rick Bold. George liulcheaoci, Tony Martin, Shirley Mdntoah.
ftiiSaaalliaaaaaa^^
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2?°"* lnl*5-**»Sf-P*" A-wdatioa mtmnssmmmmlsVsMswSmmMn^^^'
IflpGMIpub******"**** ■— ~ - *-■ —' ~
page am not naoaaaarf/ tnaa oJ tie Oa*y CoeesMn or aa
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Object Description
| Title | 1989_09 The Daily Collegian September 1989 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1989 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | September 20, 1989, Page 2 |
| Alternative Title | Daily Collegian (California State University, Fresno) |
| Publisher | Associated Students of Fresno State, Fresno, Calif. |
| Publication Date | 1989 |
| Description | Daily (except weedends) during the school year. Microfilm. Palo Alto, Calif.: BMI Library Microfilms, 1986- microfilm reels; 35 mm. Vol.1, no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- |
| Subject | California State University, Fresno -- Periodicals. |
| Contributors | Associated Students of Fresno State. |
| Coverage | Vol.1 no.1 (Feb 8, 1922)- to present |
| Format | Microfilm reels, 35 mm. |
| Technical Information | Scanned at 600 dpi; TIFF; Microfilm ScanPro 2000 "E-image data" |
| Language | eng |
| Full-Text-Search | Page 2 Wednesday, September 20,1989 The Daily Collegian " O^i miono Drug war erodes civil George B. Kauffman Those who are Inclined to encourage President Bush and his drug czar Bill Bennett in their misguided "drug war" would do well to read Princeton University Professor Ethan A. Nadelmann's lead arOclelnthe Sept. 1.1989. issue of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's weekly magazine, Science. On the basis of a detailed, balanced analysis of drug prohibition in the United States, including its costs, consequences and alternatives, fully documented with more than 70 references to other studies, Nadelmann concludes, There is no question that legalization is a risky policy....But that risk is by no means a certainty ....current drug policies are showing little progress and new proposals promise only to be more costly and more repressive....repealirig the(texig prohibition laws would eliminate »rgreatly reduce many of the ills that people commonly identify as part and parcel of the 'drug problem.' 'Yet that option is repeatedly and vociferously dismissed without any attempt to evaluate it openly and objectively. The past 20 years have demonstrated that a drug policy shaped by rhetoric and fear-mongering can only lead to our current disaster. Unless we are willing to honestly evaluate all our —^ options, includlngvariouslegalizatlon strategies, there is a good chance that we will never Identify the best solutions for our drug problems." In the United States during the late 1920s, when it was becoming obvious that Prohibition had failed, numerous scholars, Journalists and private and governmental commissions undertook thorough evaluations of Prohibition and potential alternatives. Prominent among these was the Wlckersham Commission appointed by President Herbert Hoover and the study of alcohol regulation in other countries directed by prominent lawyer and forensic scholar Raymond Blaine Fosdick and commissioned by John b. Rockefeller. Although such efforts are clearly needed today, self-serving demagogues, aided and abetted by hypocritical pressure groups and frightened, concerned citizens, are endeavoring to move the country In the diametrically opposite clirectlon — towarcLa frenzied and expensive but counterproductive crusade in which the first casualties will be the distortion of the true facts and erosion of our cMl liberties. Science obligates the scientist to modify or discard his or her hypotheses and experiments when they are found to be incorrect or ill-founded. Fanaticism, on the other hand, as the Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana cogently observed, "consists in redoubllngyour efforts when you have forgotten your aim." Even more to the point is Santayana's repeatedly ignored warning. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Dr. GeorgeB. Kauffmanis aprqfessorof Chemistry at CSUF ■Open Forum" appears Wednesdays in The Daily Collegian. Responsible parties may address any topic oj-concem to the campus or the surrounding comrnunity.Coiumntoplcsrnustbedeemed appropriate by the editor-in-chief and an? subject to editing. mnarnvm Walt Kelley's POOD) Racism persists Dear Editor, • Tuesday" s letter by Lonnie Nash reveals a great deal about the problems that Unity-SRC has resolved to deal with on this campus, namely that racism does exist In a very real and insidious fashion. Mr. Nash refers to the new student leadership as having no other purpose but to "bitch about racism," a racism he alleges does not exist on this campus. President Haak has acknowledged to an Investigative task force that racism and sexism do exist, as if it weren't already obvious to the casual observer. Apart from wondering what plane t Nash lives on, I would be delighted to know how he can be unaware of the history oflncidents which add mrto an objective pattern of racist, sexist and homophobic hostility on this campus. Two years ago theGay Lesbian Bisexual Student Alliance Information booth was burned to the ground; minority student programs got slashed earlier this year by nearly 50percent tfnbtmore.byawhite. male dominated student senate; women were openly harassed and the Women's Studies DepL was viciously maligned: and the senate tries to deny See LETTER, page 1 1 By Doyle & Sterneckey Tlie Daily Collegian..:servingstudents since 1922. THE DAILY COLLEGIAN Editor in Chief .....Michael S. Green Managing Editor Kelly O'Neill New* Editor. :...Aliia Loe Copy Edna/. Deborah Lorenan Sporu Editor. Eric Bumey Graphici Editor Devm Swither Hwu> Editor. a TToor Swift Staff Artiav Jane* Mirqucz Suit Writers: Hcth Corbo. Anaiu-Li Hendrw, Todd Mesh, Johanna Mime*. Cynthia Bute r. Jennifer Whileley. Sporu Writer*: ChruBrarui^IiirinjOTea.fcra^eiKorrz^Dtn Waierhaust rVi«-jnpherj: Mirk MirVo. Terry Kenon, Steve Pringle, D-vid Teua. Business Manager. Whit Kambach Aiive rtiimg Manager... May Karabian Ad Production Manager. Darcy Knigbt Advertising Representative!: Rick Bold. George liulcheaoci, Tony Martin, Shirley Mdntoah. ftiiSaaalliaaaaaa^^ H**ga>gijggt^Bu^^ 2?°"* lnl*5-**»Sf-P*" A-wdatioa mtmnssmmmmlsVsMswSmmMn^^^' IflpGMIpub******"**** ■— ~ - *-■ —' ~ page am not naoaaaarf/ tnaa oJ tie Oa*y CoeesMn or aa Unajo/aW aMoraN aratha rraaoty ccaiton ol tl |
