Editorial

Drug Ads Are a Waste of Money

While you watched the Super Bowl last Sunday, perhaps you took notice of two commercials that quite plainly connected drugs and terrorism. This new trend of throwing the label of “terrorist” around and brandishing issues as part of what president Bush might call “evil” is confusing the issues and diluting the seriousness and care that should be used to deal with the problems that face our nation.
The commercials were created under the aegis of Bush’s drug czar as part of a $10 million campaign. In the first ad, a list of a terrorist’s expenses flash across the screen and concludes with a question: “Where do terrorists get their money? If you buy drugs, some of it may come from you.” The second ad combines images of teenagers claiming drugs are “just fun” with others taking the blame for terrorist atrocities around the world. “I helped murder families in Colombia,” says one kid, “I helped the bomber get a fake passport,” claims another.
Only a third of federal anti-drug money is earmarked for prevention and treatment programs, an amount that is far from adequate to deal with the number of drug addicts in this country. However, the White House thought it was a good idea to spend $3.2 million out of this coffer to air two 30-second commercials.
It is important to be clear on this matter. Drugs are a serious issue in this country, and can ruin many lives. Unfortunately, our government has turned the issue of drugs into a criminal issue rather than a medical one. Drug addicts need help that they cannot possibly receive in jail.
The real tragedy of these commercials is that a very large sum of money has been deprived from treatment programs for drug addicts. The government could have bought more beds to house addicts and get them into supportive environments instead of turning them away onto the street. They could have hired more personnel or bought more supplies to help people get over their addictions.
These ads have accomplished nothing except to channel money away from treatment program that the Bush administration doesn’t really want to fund anyway. No terrorists have been apprehended, no bloody conflicts in South America have been resolved, no heroin addict has been dissuaded from trying to get his high. Parents have something new to say to their kids when they find their bag, but that is about it.
The situation with drugs in this country is in a serious mess, and what it needs to get better is open communication and dialogue from everyone, not more one-sided propaganda.

Financial Transparency

This has been an academic year of big events and lessons. Obviously Sept. 11 is first and foremost among these, as the responses to the attacks have had and will continue to have profound effects on our lives. But lately, the war on terrorism has been bumped from the top headlines by another story — the Enron scandal — and for good reason. Though far less tragic and breathtaking in the scope of pure human loss, the fallout and lessons from Enron may in the long run affect the lives of ordinary Americans as much as any of the aspects of the war on terrorism. And just as the Oberlin community could take lessons from Sept. 11 and the ensuing events, so too can it learn things from the Enron scandal.
First and most obvious is the danger of financially unaccountable corporations that aren’t responsible to shareholders, employees or the public. This is certainly a lesson that many Obies have internalized already — at least with regard to the corporations so many are fond of protesting. But very little energy has traditionally been devoted to pressing for financial transparency in the one corporation where we are all stakeholders — Oberlin College.
There are certain things that the College must, and should, keep private. But there are other things that can be made public and currently aren’t either readily available or whose availability isn’t publicized. Students should seize upon the current climate of openness and transparency to bring about greater levels of financial accountability from the College to its students and community.