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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 24, 1946)
Brecon w Emerald EDITORS—The undergraduates of Sigma Delta Chi EXECUTIVE EDITOR—Chas. Politz MANAGING EDITOR—John Mathews COPYDESK EDITOR—Bernie Engel NIGHT EDITOR—Ted Bush SPORTS EDITORS—Tommy Wright and Harry Glickman CORRESPONDENTS, COPY DESK, AND NIGHT STAFF: Arnold Seeborg, Homer Rohse, Berkeley Snow, By Mayo, Mark Howard, Dan Mindolovich, Fred Beckwith, Leonard Turnbull, Erling Erlaudson, G. Duncan Wimpress, Ray Metzler. Published daily during the , college year except Sunday., Monday., and holiday, and inal exam periods by the Associated Students, University o! Entered a* second-class matter at the poctofhce. Eugene. Qregdn._ Up in Johnson Babies in their cribs in trailer houses, as this page sees it should not be impelled into wild orgies of screaming and cholic, upon the mention of the word "Johnson hall or the names of any of the inhabitants of Oregon’s preeminent architectural miscarriage. I'?or should the conceivably older members of living organizations react to the same stimuli with their adult versions <>[ the same hysteria symptoms. Hut they have and do. Why is this vociferous negative reaction set up? Part of the feeling stems no doubt as a more or less conditioning reflex of students of all sorts against administiations and ad ministrators of all sorts. But on the University campus this page has come to feel this reaction stems from a malignancy called “misplaced emphasis.”—emphasis No. 1 on business, budgets, and official reports; cpiite secondary emphasis on stu dent affairs an dstudent welfare. This page is certainly not opposed to running the Univer sity in a businesslike manner; nor is it opposed to balancing the budget, making ends meet, and coming out in the black. 1 his is an obvious essential to any well-run institution. * * * But this page has contended and will continue to contend that, granting the above business requirements, the vvellarc of the students and the relations of the Univeisity of the stu dents should occupy the No. 1 cerebral slot in the minds of University administrators. The “best interests and public lc lations welfare of the University is important, no doubt about that; but these forces should not be used as suspended plaster of paris busts of Justice hanging over the. heads of publica tions cverv time criticism of University policy' and administia tion is voiced. Telephones from Johnson hall should not leap to ring the Shack to invite a clarification conference every time criticism is expressed. It is natural and desirable that we should want to make a favorable impression on the "outside world, but not as this page sees it. to the exclusion of a true picture and the cieation of unfavorable student campus reaction. Other newspapers and publications voice their lull reactions for and against the na tional and local governments. The campus, it is admitted, is a fairyland from home, but that does not condone unofficial censorship of the student press to preserve that impiession foi the “outside world.” The administration as this page sees it. has an obligation to evoke a favorable reaction from the students on h niveisity policy. The emphasis of the men in the pillored hall should shift to the student welfare pole of the scales. Only then will the stigma of the word-ogre cease. Feet’s Too Big The University of Oregon has, to call upon the vernacular, outgrown its britches. A boil-down of the critiques piepated foi this special edition indicate that teaching staffs are inadequate, classroom space is inadequate, and equipment is inadequate and outmoded in almost every school and department in the Universitv. Measures are being instituted, or aie at least planned, to lessen these deficiencies in time. This issue has been prepared to point out to all that the situation is acute, not only in the special departments in which \on as a single student or faculty member are interested, but m all the other schools and departments as well, tine-cell mindedness has no place in the over-all welfare of the h nivet sitv. Your school is outmoded, needs new life, new teaching blood, room to breath, scholastic toys to help mould scholars, useful citizens. So do all the other schools. \Ye must attract first-rate faculty members, and we can do that onl v through a series of salary increases—id" which the recent state board action is the first—until we reach bargaining power with state universities of comparable status. M'e must provide equipment, books, research sources, chemistry and phvsics paraphenaha, so that our undergraduates and graduate students mav conduct their studies on equal terms with students in other states. Adequate classroom space and living accommodations must be provided. Our faculty must not be overworked to the point of neglecting any one group of students at the expense of another group. This, we feel, is not too much to ask. Fred Beckwith and Tommy Hazzard’s ^bHokiatUut First of all this morning, we say “faw” to the person who claims that names found in this column are gleaned from headstones in the Odd Fellows graveyard. It is equal ly untrue that these paragraphs are merely sections of the Pigger’s Guide, with connecting words sprinkled in. Then there’s the pos sibility that the odors some of our scribes are seeking, come from the operations of the University fer tilizer department and not from the recent elections. Graveyard Gatherings: Word has it that SAE Glenn Wilson is trying to equal Don McSweeny’s ten pret ty girls league. . . Having good times together are Tri Delt Janice Lee Hanson and Phi Delt Leon Williams. . . Mavis Knorr has W’arren Hicks, Campbell Club, dated up far in advance for the coming University house picnic. Junior Prom must have done it. . . Alpha Phi Ginny Bratfish joined the ranks of Beta sweethearts Wednesday night when she accept ed Rip Gage’s brass. . . Highland house’s Pat Beuttei gets a tremen dous lift from those fortnight vis its to her home town. Really comes back with a glow. . . Kappa Sig Malcom McEwan is in a big spin over Alpha Chi Mickey McCandless . . . Fiji Mike Mikehse wasted no time in hopping aboard the Selby Frame bandwagon after the cute Pi Phi gave the hit-the-road signal to Beta George Alexander. . . Add engagements: Betty Busch, Pi Phi, and Jack Caldwell, SAE. Splicing is set for the fall. . . Phi Psi Fred Tynan publicly denies he is en gaged to the vocalist in Art Hol man’s orlc. . . pecuniary patter: Tri-Delt Ann Stevenson is still radiant over the visit of her fiance from Corvallis. He’s a Delt pledge in cow college. . . . Add Combos: Kappa Kay Beck er and Kappa Sig Jack Donald. . . . . .They're calling John Kaufman, “Tarzan” and Jo Anne Barash, “Puny” these days. . . Something about a weekend trip to Redding, Calif. . . Sylvia Mitchell and Bob Brooks are a pairing. . . Oscar re turned and so Hazel Peterson made the big jaunt to Salem recently. . . Phi Delt Jim Thoburn is taking up Alpha Chi B. J. Running's time. . . Pi Phi Peggy Finnell openly states that she is changing her major from men to . . . indifference. SAE Bob Wallace fits in the picture somewhere. Sigma Kappa Betty Ditto said no, so now our chum Larry Lau has switched to the Theta league and Chub Watson... University house’s Dorothy Fowler got her bid in early and so will escort Campbell’s Lynn Ellington to MB. Tall tales: Steady people are Dicky Pauling and Stan Parish. . . Fiji Chuck Clark has discovered the charm of Kappa Mary Lou Hill. ATO Mark P. Miller has made a detour on the Highway of Romance. He’s now following the road that leads straight to the Gamma Phi house and Gloria Fick. . . Kappa Phyllis Senell also made the big trip to Salem recently; she want ed to spend some of Bob Strebig’s navy leave time with him. . . Add engagements: Adelee Bostick, sec retary of Hen Hall, and Ralph Bon adurer, prexy of Sherry Ross'. Adelee received a solitaire, an nouncing the whole business at Starlit Manor, the recent Hen Hall house dance . . . Beta Rod Wood worth is giving the play to Pi Phi Sue Mercer, but strangely enough didn’t make the Mortar Board boat. . . Hei'yn Wohler paid Dr. Lesch a surprise visit, clad in gay pajamas. . . Add beginners: Bar bara Byers and Sam Crowell. . . Channel of chatter: Bob Evans, who pulled the surprise elopement act witKBetty Davis (ADPi) drop ped in the other day and informed friends that he and the new missus will live in Roseburg. . . Another engagement: Theta Verna Bridge The Critic’s Eye Student criticism of the news policy of the Emerald is sup ported by the results of a poll conducted by the public opinion class. News was the first preference of 131, or 48.7%, of the students answering the question: "When, or if you read the Emerald, check what features you select in order of importance.” Of the 269 students making a first choice, sport news ranked second with 23.8%. Columnists placed third with 13.7%. Fourth place went to editorials with 9.6%. Other material such as literary pieces was ranked fifth with but 4.2%. A check of the news columns of W ednesday s Emerald, a representative issue, reveals that 35.3% of the space available was devoted to news material. This is a small proportion when compared to the expressed student interests. 1 his is also a low proportion when compared to a standard newspaper such as the Oregon Journal, which on May 16 devoted 54.5% of its open columns to news stories. Sport news in Wednesday’s Emerald took 2o.6% of available space, while columnists also filled a similar amount. Judging by the opinion expressed in the poll, the columnists hardl) rate as much room as sports. TWOFOLD JOB ITS DUTY The Emerald's task is twofold—to be a NEWSPAPER and serve as the training ground for journalism students who aie attempting to get professional training. As a staff member of the Emerald sees it, the paper is hardly doing half its job. If a professor, calls the newsroom, a story from his depart ment may show up in the next issue. Unfortunately, most professors do not believe themselves to be publicity chairmen of their departments. The campus formerly produced enough copy to fill six or eight pages with a few thousand words hitting the waste basket every night. Today the enrollment is larger than ever before, yet the Emerald is often hard-pressed to fill an eight page tabloid. As a result, poorly-written, corny feature stories and interviews waste columns of space which should be given to live copy. When the Emerald fails to give adequate coverage, it fails to perform its duty. The Emerald also fails in an important secondary function— it is a poor place now for a freshman or sophomore to pick up journalistic techniques. Joe Blow turns in a 1000-word inter view which wouldn’t rate a D in an English comp, class, yet the next morning he sees it complete with a byline filling up half of page three. Copyreading, proofreading, etc., are as poor as the writing and coverage. Any sort of corn, editorializing or freakish “feature’’ touch is permitted in news stories. The make-up of the front and editorial pages is fairly good, a fact which probably guarantees another good report from the judges who pass out the All-American ratings. Unfortunately, whatever emphasis is placed on quality is directed solely to obtaining a good rating. It would be better to attempt to put out a good newspaper, lettering the certifi cates and chest-thumping take a back seat. STAFF MUST LEARN LEADERSHIP The trouble lies in the failure of the present upper staff of the Erne-raid to see their jobs as ones of leadership and or ganization. Coverage cannot be improved without a larger staff and a sense of competition. Writing, copyediting and proofreading cannot be improved without an experienced staff. If the upper staff members who at present let themselves remain bogged down in the details of putting out each issue would devote themselves to organizational problems, the Emer ald might stagger for a few weeks but in the end would be a far better paper. The Emerald could stand a large injection of guts. A-flr-edf-~i torial policy which calls for evasion of political issues under the guise of impartiality is a disgrace. For instance, student govern ment at Oregon is lousy. Both ISA and Greek factions are in terested only in obtaining the plums for their members. Why can’t the Emerald editorial page say so? The Emerald at present serves only as a bulletin board for club meetings, sports scores, announcements of committee ap pointments. and numerous so-called feature items. News judgment, too. could stand a tremendous improve ment. The Emerald is first of all a newspaper and should be superior to the whims of committees, publicity chairmen and house presidents who send over a pledge with a story. Good coverage of an event does not mean that it has to ' occupv all of pages 1, 3. 6. 7 and 8. One well-written story and a list of candidates would have been a far more effective means of presenting the recent.pre-election issue than the device of loading down three or four pages with meaningless stories on every contest. man and Fiji Doc Karlson. . . ATO Hank Kavanaugh is taking things easy these days after being jilted by the Umbrella Woman. . . An Alpha Xi Delta is giving the nod to Theta Chi Chuck Gordon for the coming Put-put prance. . . Casey Wood, who resides at the DU house, now sees Alpha Xi Mary McQueen three more times a day since he’s working as houseboy. . Susan Campbell’s Jean Staply holds a fatal attraction for Jim Hubbard of Zeta hall. . . Barbara Chamber, lin and Mary Lou Crites are con templating a trip to Salt Lake City. There’s a gang of University-of Utah footballers lurking in the background, somewhere. . . Phi Sig (Please Turn to Page Seven)