Oregon W Emerald
MARGUERITE WITTWER-WRIGHT
Editor
GEORGE PEGG
Business Manager
BOB FRAZIER, TED GOODWIN
Associates to Editor
JACK I* BILLINGS
Managing Editor
BILL YATES
News Editor
MARYANN THIELEN and
walt mckinney
Assistant Managing Editors
BOBOLEE BROPHY and
BRUCE BISHOP
Assistant News Editors
JEANNE SIMMONDS
Women’s Editor
PAT THOMPSON
Executive Secretary
JUNE GOETZE
Assistant Women’s Editor
BOBBIE FULMER
Advertising Manager
BERNIE HAMMERBECK
Sports Editor
BILL STRATTON, WALLY HUNTER
Assistant Sports Editors
ROGER TETLOW DON JONES
Chief Night Editor Staff Photographer
Signed editorial features and columns in the Emerald reflect the opin
ions of the writers. They do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
editorial staff, thp student body, or the University.
Entered as second class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Oregon.
Enfant Terrible
1946 didn’t exactly die—because 1947 gives every indica
tion of carrying on in the old year style. 1947 inherited all the
ailments and less of the hopes of the 365-day-old who was
ushered in on the eve of a post-war world. Quasi-peace was
new on January 1, 1946 and quasi-peace was middle-aged and
bored on January 1, 1947.
Little 1947 isn’t in the cherubic tradition. He’s plagued
by international infirmities, national maladies, and individual
ills. But he has courage. And courage may be the solution.
There is a contagion about courage much as there is about
fear, and 1947 promises a finish fight to put the former upper
most. The decision may rest on whether the fight begins on
an international, a national, or an individual level.
The lowest plane offers the most logical beginning for the
subsequent pyramidal spread which must follow. But then in
dividual ills may be effected by the maladies of the nations.
The middle bracket, where the contagion of courage can
-spread both ways, may be the better choice. Can national
courage build the individual without sacrificing the internation
al ? In history it never has, but ....
The third choice, and the one which offers the widest field
for activity—international—is being given a contemporary
test. The proof remains, perhaps, for 1947.
We can think and act internationally, nationally, and/or
individually, but the bulk of our endeavor must obviously con
cern the latter. If we haven’t already, let us add this to our
New Year’s resolutions: Resolved: to rally to the support of
1947 with moral and physical encouragement that it may shake
the inherited diseases of the ages and give 1948 that “bright
new world.”
Greeks at Willamette
University of Oregon observers will be glad to note that
ceremonies tonight begin the installation of three national
•fraternities on the campus of our older sister institution, Wil
lamette university.
Not only the brother houses of the fraternities, lleta Theta
I’i, Sigma Chi, and l’hi Delta Theta, but individuals interested
in the spread and betterment of the entire Greek system con
gratulate Willamette on the acceptance of three organizations
nationally distinguished by alumni like Wendell Willkie and
'Milt Caniff.
Willamette, like Oregon, will find that the fraternity sys
tem is important to the college as well as to the members of
the chapters and alumni.
Fraternities and sororities increase the supply of desirable
living quarters, and are economically sound because of provid
ing room and board at cost. Their social advantages for mem
bers arc well-known. And the intangible benefits to character
and personality derived from membership in organizations
based on brotherhood can only be measured by individual reali
zation.
It may be well to mention that the Greek system is also
susceptible to the pitfalls any organization must guard against.
.While the fraternities at Willamette are in the process of be
coming well established, their members undoubtedly will take
care to set an admirable example and live up to their high ideals.
Pater, as has happened occasionally at Oregon, Greeks max
forget their original purpose and use their closely-knit
Nations for their own selfish purposes, either political’ or
otherwise.
Secondly, there is always the danger that any necessarily
m ^ 4—ut'zori' ^
Copyright 1946 by Esquire, Inc.. 919 N. Michigan Avenue. Chicago 11, III.
“It's equipped ivith rudar to spot wolves" ^
...—
Primer
for Freshmen
No. 1—Breaking Into the Joint
You may think you have all your
buttons but don’t be too sure about
it because things may happen that
will jar you to your new synthetic
heels. On the first morning after
rising with the sun and completing
the face washing, hair combing and
necktie tying business, you will
start for the Center of learning.
When you are a fraction of a mile
from the door you will find a line.
Being normal you will assume that
the line goes to the cafeteria door
and so you will take your place and
start thinking of coffee, eggs, and
toast. (Stop reading here and bow
your head. This will denote the pass
ing of hours of time.) The line does
n’t go to the cafeteria door. It goes
to the door marked “Entrance.”
Coming to the door you will find
that you were in the wrong line be
cause you don’t have proof of birth,
parents, or previous academic ser
vitude; so you go outside and find
another line. This goes on.
After several weeks you think
you are accepted; but you find that
you must then sit down in a chair
and punch holes in a mysterious
piece of cardboard. You try to re
call how you did it in kindergarten
(Please turn to page seven)
■
SOA
BOX
nEfinv
IfBKDV
By RAY FRANCIS
Happy New Year.
Somehow or other, it occurs to
me that my wishing the student
population in general a happy new
year is not particularly original
with me. It seems that I have heard
it somewhere before, that the say
ing is currently on everyone’s lips,
a standard greeting after what
should have been a happy Christ
mas vacation.
The phrase itself is very inter
esting; by its very nature it sug
gests that there was something
wrong with the year just passed; it
should be noted that we seldom beg
that one’s happiness is to continue
throughout the ensuing year. In
stead, we assume that the unhappi
ness of the past twelvemonth was
such as to warrant expression that
there be some sort of change in
things as to result in the new*year
being somehow a happy one. The
traditional reaction is, of course,
the creation of a set of useless reso
lutions which we do not want and
which we have no intention of keep
ing and which we take great pleas
ure in breaking.
Let us pretend, for the moment,
that this matter of living is a sort
of business engagement; this as
sumption would enable us to borrow
some techniques from the horribly
real business world. First, leave
that we should borrow their idea
of an inventory, and then apply that
idea to ourselves and our peculiar
situations as college students. The
biggest step is, of course, a personal
inventory in which we seek out a
true acquaintanceship with our
selves. It is surprising just how
good a friend one can be to himself
if he would but try.
Another step, and terrifyingly
difficult, is to become aware of our
goals and valuations. That being
done, the simple task remaining is
the correlation of our stock of our
selves, our good and bad points, and
whatsoever goal we have in mind.
If the process is done intelligently,
the individual has a very good op
portunity for finding the new year
a happy one. Or at least, a more
successful one.
exclusive and traditionally secret organization, like a fraternity,
will become so imbued with its singularity that its members
will hold themselves aloof from unaffiliated students. This
is when accusations of “snobbishness” arise, and the Greek
v es d v re spec i of the universities.
It ma\ be v, ell for Oregon fraternities and sororities to
■ d>s r\. tin pivgrts> t f the Greeks at Willamette, and to re
lei’.■■■ ■ 1 'n-m.M-'' . - that brotherhood which the Salem
campus has recognized.
AS WE *
SEE IT
By DALE HARLAN
The Republican presidential aspi
rant who appears to have suffered
most from the recent result is Har
old E. Stassen of Minnesota. His
stock was enhanced a great deal
when he was hand-picked by Presi
dent Roosevelt to represent the U.
S. at the first United Nations Con
ference at San Francisco. He has
an enviable war record, having been
for two years a very efficient mem
ber of Admiral Halsey’s very effi
cient staff.
When he returned from the navy^
to start his bid for the presidency, 7
many of Stassen’s old friends told
him he would be placed at a great
disadvantage as against rivals run
ning for office in this year’s elec
tions, if he did not also wage an ac
tive campaign by accepting nomina
tion for the senate.
Altruistic
Stassen firmly rejected this ad
vice, on the ground that his taste
did not run to legislative work and
he was not going to seek a job that
he did not want just for the sake of
being a candidate for something.
His stand in refusing this senator
ial nomination is certainly an ad
mirable and altruistic one. The prin
ciples this comparatively young pol
itician stands for are often some
what conspicuous for their absence
in American political life.
It is refreshing to have young
Stassen punctiliously eschew nor
mal political convention and step
right up to the front of the platform
and say, clear and strong: “I am a
candidate for president.”
Stassen's action was highlighted
by contrast. For, on the very same
day, Senator Vandenburg of Michi
gan, had backed away shyly saying
he was not a candidate. Subsequent
ly, Governor Dewey of New York
said he was not ready to announce
his candidacy. The day before, Sen
ator Taft had said he wasn’t an “ac
tive candidate,” whatever that
means.
Egotism
To be a politician you must pos
sess a natural egotism. By the very
act of announcing he isn’t a candi
date for a certain office the politi
cian exhibits his egotism; he is ego
tistical to even assume anyone ex
pects him to run. Despite this ego
tism they can become big shrinking
violets when anyone dares suggest
they might like to be president. And,
ail the time their wives know the
secret. Figuratively, they probably
have their acceptance speeches pre
pared. They can even feel the chilly
January wind that sweeps across
the Capitol steps where presidents
take their oaths.
There is nothing quite like the
etiquette that has grown up about
this business of being presidential
candidate. All of our political punc
tilio is strange, but the code of pres
idential candidates is the strangest
and most amusing.
(straight Lies
It permits an otherwise honest
man to stand up and tell a straight
forward lie, which he knows he is
j telling and the public knows he is
I telling. We'might take this advised
ly, for some who now are denying
they are candidates are doing quite
| a lot to promote their candidacies—
] and some of them got busy long
ago.
In one of his famous essays on
government, Woodrow Wilson once
write: “The office should seek the
man.” We love that old saying and
like to think it is true. But it is a
good bit like the current hit song,
' “Did You Ever See a Dream Walk
ing? "Did anyone ever see an office
out seeking a man? Not if the r&ajfcr
saw the office first—and he usually
does.
Harold Stassen is out seeking and
(Please turn to paye seven)