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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 27, 1945)
Should the. Student AtJxUte Qommitee He (leonaaui^d ?... When we entrain for four years of education at some institution of higher learning we are told that the main purpose of a to!lege education is to pre pare voting people to be the leaders of tomorrow. This purpose is accomplished in a two-fold man ner—through classroom instruction and actual ex perience. Under the latter heading come publica tions, forensics, and student government. On the whole the program works well, but here and there students are not getting the experience we feel they should acquire. The student affairs committee, which regulates closing hours and dances, and passes on social affairs not scheduled in the dean of women’s office and rules on changes in the little University rules and regulations book, is composed of seven faculty members and two stu dents. Here is the gro.up which regulates the student’s life, vet it is overloaded with faculty members. This is not 0* say that the present members of the com mittee are not doing a good job .with the interest of students uppermost in mind. But we feel that the balance of student and faculty members should be tuvung in the opposite direction. In the first place, students will accept the dic tates of a student group much more readily than those of a faculty group. When a ruling body is so predominantly faculty, the students feel that their life is being run by the faculty and that they have in* >a\ in what is going on. Kven if exactly the same rules and regulations, were made by students they would be greeted more favorably, because they would be of student origin. The recent PSPA conference, attended by 18 northwest colleges and universities, brought out another excellent reason for more student control. If student government is to be a truly educational function, social events, discipline and rules should be handled by the students themselves. That was what the PSPA group felt, and we entirely agree. What better way for the leaders of tomorrow to pre pare for responsible positions than by exercising such responsibility while they are in college? Xo better training ground could be provided than in the body which makes the rules under which the college community lives. At present the student affairs committee is made :tp of Dean Karl W. Onthank, Dean Virgil D. Earl, Hoyt C. I'ranchere, R. D. Horn, J. C. AlcCloskey, Janet Woodruff, the dean of women, ASUO presi dent and AWS president. That is seven faculty members and two students. We would like to see the positions reversed. It might be feasible to set up a group with the following members: dean of men 'and dean of women, to provide year-by-year continuity and experience, ASUO president, AWS president, AMS president (associated men students if such a group is started on the campus), YWCA president, YMCA president, Panhellenic president, interfraternity president, interdormitory president. and co-op president. Here would lie a group of seasoned leaders looked up to already on the cam pus because of the positions to which they ha*ve been elected. Surely they could be counted upon to make wise decisions. And the students would accept those decisions because they come from their own ranks. Naturally a veto power should be retained by the administration, but we are sure the need for veto would seldom, if ever, arise. It has been suggested that our parents, too, do not think college students are grown-up and that they might object to a change in the system. We believe, however, that the large majority of parents would welcome a chance for their children actually to prepare themselves for a world in which they will have to make their own decisions. The successor the committee over a period of years would answer objections of the minority who would fear their children were being thrown to the wolves. And the success at other schools where the administration has turned such affairs over to students argues well for a change. Many students feel lost on leaving college be cause they have never been given a chance to think for themselves. A change in the student affairs com mittee, we believe, would be a great step in helping students find themselves—in helping us train for the responsible positions awaiting those who suc ceed in the communities of the world. V Oregon W Emerald ANNE CRAVEN Editor ANNAMAE WINSHIP Business Manager MARGUERITE VVITTWER Managing Editor PATSY MALONEY Advertising Manager WINIFRED ROMTVEDT News Editor LOUISE MONTAG, PEGGY OVERLAND Associate Editors J.inc Richardson, Phyllis Perkins, Viriginia Scholl, Mary Margaret Ellsworth, Norris Yates, City Desk Editors Bjorg Hansen, Executive Secretary Maty Margaret Ellsworth, Anita Young, t o-Women’s Page Editors. Jemne Simmonds, Assistant Managing Editor Darrell Boone. Photographer Shirley Peters. Chief Night Editor Betty Bennett, Music Editor Gloria Campbell, Mary K. Minor Maryan Howard. Assistant News Editor Librarians Jack Craig. World News Editor EDITORIAL BOARD Norris Yates. Edith Newton Published daily during the college year except Sundays, Mondays, and holidays and ftaal examination periods by the Associated Students, University of Oregon. Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Oregon. Hao-kincj, ^auxa^idU Peace Mrncsl llaycox. Oregon graduate and popular writer, before a Luge tie Rotarv group last week, said dramatic battle-front developments so grosslv overshadowed the Dumbarton Oaks peace conference that few American people know anything' of it decisions or accomplishments. We lauded when big h.d Stettinius took Chinese, Russian, 1'»i• itish. Latin American and other delegates to New \ ork for a. real businessman’s weekend (nightclubs and the Rockettes included) for it seemed lie was creating a bit of color and human interest to lighten the heavy conference reports and perhaps attracting the eye of war-minded l:. S. public, perhaps leading that attention on to the more stolid work of the meeting. According to public opinion polls, however, l/nited States citi zc us wane more interested in the driv es of Patton and Hodges, the battles of MacArthur and Nimitz. Now that the 5000 delegates of all races from 46 United N itions, with different languages, customs, creeds, and clothes have invaded San Francisco for the main event, the peace o. gani/ing move, enough color and drama has been supplied ti capture public ijitercst over and above the taking of 1’erlin 3i d Japan bombings, directing Ik S. eves toward the new world organization. Stories of the mysterious Russian ship lying at anchor off S n Francisco bav and reportedlv loaded to overflowing with vodka and caviar has surelv been no detriment to the United N itions cause nor can the pictures of the “Abbas"-garbed five sins of the Saudi Arabian king. Of course the tale about the delegates who were trying to put their country's sacred goat up in one of the cosmopolitan San l'rancisco hotels to the chagrin of the punctilious hotel manager and at the order of the ('. S. state department tops them all. If the average citizen’s interest and eventual concern for the or Iconic of the conference needs stimulation by such journal isin' placing up of peculiarities and Circumstances in San 1'ran o co during the next six w eeks, let them tell their stories.—l'.F. JletteAA. *7a the CdUtosi 1 have observed that you advo cate democratic principles in your editorial page. In Wednesday’s Emerald you took up the Negro cause very effectively, and cited examples of Oregon democracy in student life. I find this policy of the Emerald very commendable, but wonder at the inconsistency of a system which talks in a loud voice about tolerance and at the same time ignores the intolerant and most undemocratic policies of its nationally organized houses . . . better known as sororities and fraternities. Because of a national ruling, persons belonging to the Jewish, Oriental, and Negro races are not permitted membership in these organizations even when the house members wish to pledge them. In the constitution of the United States, if not in actual life, every citizen has a right to the protec tion of the country and to a “pur suit of happiness.” Where is the justice of a system which allows Blue Americans to take the Red, Green, and Orange Americans from its midst and sentence them with thou-shalts and thou-shalt nots? I think our democratic policies would prove more satisfying to our collective conscience if we prac ticed them more and talked about them less. KATHERINE DRAHAM I Faces and _Places By SHUBEKT FENDRICK The general concensus seems to be that what the Emerald needs is a good gossip column. Heaven has heard your.prayers but the edi tor hasn’t. However, we are about to bring you what you ask for, with only two minor exceptions— i.e.: 1. It won’t be good. 2. It won’t be gossip. You may proceed refreshed. Now any number of things can be brought up at this point. For instance, I could tell you some thing about Bob Moran. There is a possibility that you don't know Bob Moran. There is also a pos sibility that Johnson hall will suc cumb to termites tomorrow. We have just discovered this shocking fact: Bill Sinnott has SENIORS CAPS, GOWNS, COMMENCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS SHOULD BE ORDERED AT THE CO-OP AT ONCE MAY 1st LAST DAY 7th WAR LOAN Buy! You Know Why! >aqeaeOJa^r] Municipal Electric and Water Utilities capitalistic tendencies. Let’s hide our red socks from him, Buell. No column would be complete, at the moment, without saying something nasty about Robert Hinds. We quote a statement made by a friend: “He takes ROTC and he doesn’t have to.” And now for the high spot of our column: The face of the week, and the place of the week. Fan fare, maestro— The face of the week: Our award goes to Louis (Barrymore) Vogljjfr, who has just the face to handle such an honor. The place of the week: The Guild hall stage is the place of the week. It is there that Louie Vogler, play ing Liliom, dies. This is enough to give it this coveted spot. • Lost LOST—Gold Kappa crested brace let, thin gold chain. Return to Alice May Robertson at Kappa Kappa Gamma' houes. Reward offered. PENNY-WISE DRUGS 40 E. Broadway 767 \Y. 6th Ave.
