Burton Speaks

I'm going to take a moment to acknowledge that, in the 7 years (give or take) since I graduated from the University of Oregon, I'd largely forgotten the old Oregon Commentator. It has, however, recently come back into my "sphere of awareness" and I found that they (like me!) have a website and even a blog - founded, apparently, shortly after I left.

For those unaware, the Oregon Commentator is the "conservative" publication on the University of Oregon campus. Let this not turn you off, though, for just remember: they're conservative... for Eugene (which means, by and large, that they end up being fairly moderate.) Conservative, moderate, or liberal... the Commentator is awesome because it hilarious. They are the authors of the annual "Back to the Booze" issues wherein they, for the benefit of incoming freshmen, detail the price and proof rating of different types of alcohol and generally what the cheapest way to get drunk is. They may be "conservative", but that doesn't mean they're sober.

Alcoholism aside, the Oregon Commentator seems to feel its purpose is also to stand stand watch against the university administration, the Oregon Daily Emerald (the "official" campus newspaper), and general idiocy that happens when you get groups of people who happen to take themselves a little too seriously together. And on every one of those counts, they do a damn fine job.

In any event, this is one publication that I used to look forward to way back when I was an undergrad. They constant irreverence and yet bizarre sanity with which they treat every topic made me laugh and eased the pain of... whatever it was I did back then. Who knows?