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About Oregon emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1909-1920 | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1916)
f COMMUNICATED *L * —---* Frenzied Finance Fiasco. To the Editor: Your editorial of last Tuesday show ing the advantages received by other schools in intersectional football games, and bemoaning the fact that Oregon has not scheduled an eastern trip of some sort, struck an ever important phase of our present athletic relations with outside institutions. But to my mind there is an issue of greater import than that, and I feel certain that I am ex pressing the sentiment of the student body in decrying loudly the manner in ■which our athletics have been managed In the past few years, and are being managed now. Oregon students are forever for “old Oregon,” and are not given to frequent outbursts of “crabbing.” But the var sity athletes especially and the greater portion of the student body, are thoro ughly disgusted with the ‘ten cent,” “one meal a day,” “squeeze the Eagle” policy of handling athletics that is now in vogue. They have been patient in the past but are ready to throw down the gauntlet and rise in arms over the instance that occurred the other day. I refer to the cancelling of the supposed ly contracted tour of the baseball team into California during the Spring va cation. This action is “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.” Why was it that the baseball trip was failed off? We are willing to "let the dead past bury their dead,” but the same answer 4s applicable to the above ques tion that explains why the University of Washington was able to squirm out of playing a schedule game with Oregon last fall on the gridiron. Simply be cause the Oregon manager did not have ft written contract in black and white. Oregon students were led to believe that the baseball games in the south during the spring vacation had been con tracted for every since the football team s Invaded Southern California last fall. However, after the players had toiled away every night for over a month in f anticipation of the trip, the news was brought to them that the games had been called off. Is it any wonder that they are “hot under the collar” at this “no contract policy?” This verbal, gentlemen's agreement plan of schedul ing athletic contests might work all right in a rural grammer school district, but it is as obsolete for college usage as are shin gusrds in intercollegiate foot ball. Oregon students would like the “whys” of the following questions^an swered. Why is it that O. A. C. can send her football team east and clear $2000 during the season? Why is it that the Washington. California and Stanford baseball teams can tour t Orient in the summer months, while Oregon has trouble in arranging gam’s with “bush nines" in anticipation of get ting a trip to Corvallis? Why was that the baseball team dispotted in toi and ragged uniforms for some thr years, hefore new ones were finally pu chased? Why is it that they have n had a suitable diamond to practice 01 Why was it that men turning out f soccer this year had to be satisfied wi shoes that had seen years of consta it wear? Why was it that the varsity let ter men in track and baseball after wait ing seven months in vain for their em blems. were finally rewarded with a $2.50 sweater, bearing “orange" stripes on the arms? Freshmen and sopho more co-eds who have made the glee club want to know why they are not entitled to a gold pin as well as a junior woman who enters college and warbles her way into the club? We could con tinue ad infinitum with the above but lack of space prevents it. These are not the thunderings of the distant breakers that wast a foreidn shore, but are plain, cold facts that eve ryone knows and are eager to learn the why of. It is because of their exis: s ence that men turning out for athletic are dissatisfied to the utmost. It is be cause of these that Washington, Cali fornia and O. A. C. draw the cream cf the Oregon preparatory stars, and the ■lemon-yellow goes begging to get enough men to turn out for baseball and soccer practice. The ever present howl and alibi of those in charge has been that of finan ces. “We haven’t any money, we must get out of debt, then we can have these things,” they say. However, we have it from good authority that the student body is now on a sound financial basis and will break even for the year. Yet we continue to hear the old wail, “no money,” and the “miser’s grip” still counts every nickel before it trickles through his fingers. The spirit and principle of the thing is exasperating. What do athletics get out of sports other than a little fun and recreation. They put in at least two hours a day, rain or shine, of the hardest kind of work, and yet the very love of the game is taken away when they are deprived of a few short trips; for fear that a handful of paltry dol lars might be lost on the venture. An insurance against losing money in case it should rain during Junior week-end was concocted whereby the annual cam pus games with O. A. C. would be played in Corvallis instead of being a feature to the festivities in Eugene. The reason for this was rudely monetary whereby O. A.C. could stand the finan j cial loss providing it rained. Thus the Oregon team would be absent from the | campus during the biggest celebration I of the school year, for fear that the I old rain jinx would eat into the profits. ! However, a man who values the inter ests of the students more than swell ing the student body exchequer, nipped | the scheme in the bud before it took root. He flatly refused to leave the campus during Junior week-end. I It is such work as this that has in furiated the Oregon student body. Such schemes that place the dollar before the man cannot last forever when some ■ StX> students oppose them. I say it is high time that "there is a radical change in the manner of managing intercolle giate athletics at Oregon. JAMES S. SHEEIIY. • Members of last year’s baseball team at Columbia have been given gold base balls, editors of student publications at ■ Texus have been presented with gold ! medals and it has been suggested that | delegates to the Pan-Hellenic council be given papier-mache victrolas. MAY FORM “HIKE” CLUB Meeting Held in Villard to Organize for Week-End Hikes. W. C. Yornn addressed a group of stu- i dents interested in forming a branch of j the Mazama club yesterday at 4 o’clock in Villard. Plans were discussed by Mr. Yovan and A. t\ Shelton, assistant in the i zoology department, to organize a per- I manent walking club on the campus for week-end hikes. A temporary organiza tion has already been effected. Mr. Yor nn suggested that the first hike be taken to the Coburg hills. The 19H5 Mazama trip was outlined. It will be a two weeks’ excursion to the Three Sisters and the whole jaunt from Eugene will cost approximately $"$. The date is set for August. A temporary ex ecutive committee will draw up a sched ule of week-end hikes to be announced later. Some very fine scenic lantern slides taken on the upper McKenzie river the meeting. Buy Sample Shoes and Save Money Better Shoe for Less EUGENE SAMPLE STORE 609 Willamette See Our Window for Easter Novelties Uictorta Chocolates DressUp People We are celebrating Dress-Up Week but would have you consider it as a Spring opening. Our stock is in about the best shape for wedding and graduation presents that it will be this Spring. Our assortments are as complete in many lines as it is pos sible to get them. Visit our store, see our lines of goods, look at the prices, ask us any questions you like about the construction and qual ity and THEN if you are in the market for such goods, at any time, then remember us. 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