Oregon Emerald
MARGUERITE WITTWER-WRIGHT GEORGE PEGG
Editor Business Manager
TED GOODWIN, BOB FRAZIER
Associates to Editor
BILL STRATTON
Managing Editor
BILL YATES
News Editor
BERNIE HAMME'RBECK
Sports Editor
DON FAIR, WALLY HUNTER
Assistant Sports Editors
WALT McKINNEY
Assistant Managing Editors
BOBOLEE BROPHY and
JUNE GOETZE
Assistant News Editors
JEANNE Sl'MMONDS
Feature Editor
BARBARA TWIFORD
Manager
JL>on jones, juan rnotograpner
REPORTERS
Beth Basler, Leonard Bergstrom, Bettye Jo Bledsoe, Hugh Davies, Diana Dye, Ruth Eades,
Virginia Fletcher, Lejeune Griffith, John Jensen, Donna Kletzing, Dick Laird, June Mc
Connell, Kathleen Mullarky, Barbara Murphy, Laura-Olson, Joan O’Neill, Nancy Peterson,
Marjorie Rambo, Katherine Richardson, Adelaide Schooler, Helen Sherman, Jackie Tetz,
Gloria Talarico, &ally Waller, Hans Wold, Phyllis Kohlmeier.
MEMBER — ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WIRE SERVICE
Signed editorial features and columns In the Emerald reflect the opinions of the writers.
They do not necessarily represent the opinion of the editorial staff, the student body, or the
University.
Entered as second class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Oregon.
Things Are Getting Better
Congratulations are in order to the administration because
of their efficient handling of the registration and grading
problem this term. This system marks just about a 100 per
cent improvement over the confusion that reigned in the last
weeks of fall term, and the anxiety that ushered in the winter
term as students waited for their grades.
Exams last term were rough, but they were no rougher
than the two exams per subject we struggled through fall
term, while attending classes at the same time. That too is
an improvement.
Considering the greatly increased enrollment this year,
we can certainly ask no more than to pick up our grades on
the first day of the new term. For our money that's good.
There is a feeling of smug satisfaction and achievement
in the “shack,” too as Emerald workers realize that these
reforms are substantially those advocated in Emerald edi
torials fall and winter terms.
Remove The Motive
The letter published on this page concerning cheating in
examinations is certainly timely and seems well-founded. We
know of too many students who consider cheating evidence
of an uncanny ability to put something over on a near-sighted
or careless instructor. We’ve watched them operate, with a sort
of insidious efficiency. And we sometimes wonder how those
of us who plug along with some semblance of honesty ever
manage to keep our tioses above water when the curve grad
ing system is used.
Cheating can perhaps be attributed to two causes: 1. a
sort of small time bush league shifty-eyed dishonesty which
gets a morbid boost out of stealing answers to exam ques
tions; 2. a desperate attempt to make grades because of the
over-balanced emphasis on grades in our educational system.
There probably is not much to be done about the back
woods dishonesty. It might be a form of kleptomania. You
don’t cure it—you efficiently hand the cheater his yvalking
papers. There is no reason to tolerate that kind of student
in this University.
But something can be done about the stress on grades.
If education, not assimilation of information, honest or other
wise, is the purpose of an institution of higher education, then
let us put the emphasis on education, not on examination
papers. This would he the most effective method of removing
the basic motive for cheating.
/
After watching the lawns get a good head start on an
early crop of hav last term (the lawn mowers burned up in
the warehouse fire), it was a pleasant surprise to return to a
well-groomed campus. We are puzzled bv one thing: what do
they do with the cuttings? And we’d like to suggest that in
the future, University of Oregon hay be shipped to Oregon
State as a sort of spring term sign of goodwill to the farmers
after the basketball season.
We note with some sadness that during rainy days the
law school matchthrowers quit practicing. Now look, men.
we won’t have a good nitra-mural season unless you get those
arms in shape. We suggest you try those super-special soak
them-in-water-and-thev'11-still-light matches. With them, rain
or no rain, no shyster could be arraigned for throwing a match.
Emerald Managing Editor Rill Stratton is disgusted. Last
term he sent in a dime and boxtop for one of those nice walkie
talkie sets. The Kellogg company returned his dime with a
coupon good for one boxtop, explaining that they were all
out of walkie-talkies. We’re sorry, son—try to get one of those
atomic rings with “atoms bursting like crazy’’ inside.
Sfr! ,
Reprinted from the April, 1947 issue of esquire
Copyright 1947 by Esquire, Inc.
VJacques is the wittiest artist in New York**
Telling the Editor
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ABOUT CHEATING
For two terms I have tried to
overlook it,—ignore it,—forget it,
—even condone it. At last the evil
has grown to be so obvious and
commonplace that I feel “the time
is now” to raise my voice.
Cheating has become a patron
saint of the campus of' the Univer
sity of Oregon.
Oh yes, even now I can hear the
snickers of derision: “What’s this
guy trying to foment ?” “What does
he mean,—cheating?” Stating my
case simply, it is this: there are
many students among us who are
graduating from courses on knowl
edge that is NOT their own.
Most of those seem to have be
come such habituals that they no
longer feel the need to be either
sly or subtle but use such obvious
tricks as: leaving an open text on
the floor during a test; penning the
needed notes on their wrists; asking
their neighbor (who has to ask his
neighbor) or even to pencilling
notes on the walls of Villard, Rooms
7 and 8, the day before a test.
If the student, stupid enough to
cheat, hurt only himself, his pun
ishment would be well deserved and
meted, but he also hurts the student
who is here to learn. Why should a
sincere student carry the stigma
that a cheater brings to an institu
tion ? Who wants to graduate from
an institution where even a jackass
might receive a diploma ?
Perhaps some of these parasites
don’t even realize that they ARE
cheating: a few days ago, after a
test, I remarked to a student sitting
beside me that he shouldn’t ask me
questions about the test after the
quiz was distributed, to which he
replied with eager amazement:
“Hell, what’s wrong with that?”
(Should that attitude attend classes
at an institution of “higher” learn
ing?)
There is little need in my dwelling ]
on details that you already know so
well. I would like to sum-up my ob
servations in this manner: for this
rampant cheating on our campus
the student is to blame for his ig
norance in the matter of what he
wrongs in himself and in those about
him; and the majority of the in
structors are to blame for allowing
CLASSIFIED
VERY nice room with twin beds
to share with male student.
Near campus and bus. Phone
1260-R.
MISS REYNOLDS will type your
term papers for you at reason
able rate. Call at 302 Tiffany
Bldg, or phone 2763.
' I
such tactics to be carried out while
they look on in smug complacency.
Let me suggest this: if our staff
and faculty will do nothing about
this “polite” form of stealing, let us
as students put ou?'vaunted Honor
System to work (which made such
a splash on the front page of the
Emerald last fall.) If there is some
thing here in which we believe, let
us fight for it! Many of us are bored
with being just “half-proud” of our
University.
A Vance Beckwith
ABOUT F.E.P.C.
I have just written to the repre
sentatives at the Statehouse in Sa
lem in regard to your editorial of
March 4th. Not that I thought the
adoption of the F.E.P.C. law is vi
tally necessary, but on the contrary,
because I believe that such a law
merely adds unnecessarily to the
ponderous inefficiency of our gov
ernment.
First of all I want it known that
I'm not a Bilbo fan or anything of
the sort and I am not unaware of
the stupid intolerance of racial dis
crimination, but I still can’t favor
the compulsory approach to the
problem of discrimination.
Any compulsory provisions of
this proposed bill will hinder pro
gress towards solving the problem
rather than achieve it. Few realize
how extensive these compulsory
provisions are: they give anyone
who is refused or dismissed frca^i
job the right to bring action against
the employer, alleging some motive
of discrimination because the ap
plicant or employee is black, yellow,
brown, Catholic or Jewish. Such
motives are always possible to al
lege. and the question is left for de
cision to a board which is bound by
no rules of evidence. It provides for
an almost complete regimentation
of employers!! Democratic??
Political tampering with racial
relations in Oregon is absurd. It will
do the minority groups more harm
than good by creating bad racial
and religious feeling. Progress
against discrimination must be
made gradually and must be made
by voluntary cooperation and edu
cation.
John Bingham
ABOUT SENATOR MORSE
Has anyone noticed the excellent
work being done in Congress by
Wayne L. Morse, senator from Ore
gon?
In his pursuit of an honest, con
science-guided, and extremely ac
tive poltical course he has given the
hot-foot to both the reactionary Re
publicans and the radical Demo
crats. Uninfluenced by traditional
party policies which have, in the
past, retarded the action of both
parties, Morse is following the dic
tates of his conscience and the wish
es of the PEOPLE he represents.
The vigor with which Morse in
volves himself in every conceivable
controversy marks him as both a
fighter and a hard worker. The re
serve and care he has exercised in
important decisions show his con
cern with careful consideration of
evidence from both factions in any
commitment.
Evidence of his rebellion against
rigid ‘‘party lines” was his recent
verbal exchange with John Reece,
a typical puff-ball, old style reac
tionary, who now ‘‘leads” the Re
publican- party. Reece called for
more “unit” among Republican par
ty members, appealing especially to
such progressives as Morse to come
back into the fold (sometimes
called groove, or rut.)
If honesty and intelligence are
needed to pull politics out of the
quagmire, we need men like more.
Oregon (and the Republican party)
can be proud of him.
Vic Doherty
Editor’s note: So can the Uni
versity of Oregon.
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