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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 8, 1947)
Oregon ^Emerald ALL-AMERICAN 1946-47 The Oregon Daily Emerald, official publication of cne University of Oregon, published daily during the college year except Sundays, Mondays, and final examination periods. Entered as second-class matter at the postoffice, Eugene, Ore. Member of the Associated Collegiate Press BOB FRAZIER, Editor _ BOB CHAPMAN, Business Manager BILL YATES JUNE GOETZE, BOBOLEE BROPHY Managing Editor Co-News Editors WALT McKINNEY, JEANNE SIMMONDS, MARYANN THIELEN Associates to Editor _ WALLY HUNTER Sports Editor _ PHYLLIS KOHLMEIER HELEN SHERMAN Assistant Managing Editors VIRG TUCKER Advertising Manager National Advertising Manager. Editorial Board: Harry Glickman, Johnny Kahananui, Bert Moore, Ted Goodwin, Bill Stratton, Jack Billings.___ Office Manager ..Mar8e Huston Foster Behind the Figures Publication of departmental grades in Friday’s Emerald has aroused a lot of campus comment. Associate Registrar C. C. Constance warned that these departmental grades must not be taken at face value, that they must be considered in light of a number of other factors that make them what they are. Music school grades averaged 3.16 last year. The grades in the law school averaged 2.13. Does that make music students smart and law students stupid? That’s the sort of faulty reason ing Mr. Constance had in mind when he commented on the report. Grades passed out by the education school illustrate one im portant point. The future teachers averaged 2.95. But the ma jority of education courses are upper division, and the student who reaches the junior year is supposed to be of a little higher calibre than the run-of-the-mill lower-division student. The same point is illustrated by the college of liberal ats, which of fers most of the lower division work on the campus. Grades in the college averaged only 2.42. Another consideration is brought to mind by the phenome nal 3.34 average in the department of classics. We may assume that the student in Latin and Greek is a little more the scholarly type than the run-of-the-mill student. He could probably do better work in the other departments, too. The classics depart ment, moreover, does not attract a host of students who have little or no interest in the field. At the other end of the picture is the departmnt of English, where the grades averaged only 2.37. English composition is required o4 all freshmen, and English literature is required of most of them. 1 here are also a number of students who sign up for English courses just for the heck of it, or because they want to pick up a little “culture.” It is understandable that the grades are lower in a field of this ■wide-open type. The study also leads to the conclusion that the legendary curve is, indeed, legendary. How about that 49 percent A grades in classics? That's no curve, and rightly not. It would be un reasonable to penalize a good student because he happened to be in a classful of better students. Then there are some factors that cannot be pinned down. How about these big classes where attendance is the princi pal requirement ?It is possible to get good grade's in some classes if you just go and sit there for 50 minutes the required number of times a week. Also not to be overlooked is the tendency of some professors to be tough, and the tendency of others to be soft. One or two of these in a small department can make a lot of difference in the departments grades. But the study certainly made good reading. Thanks, but No Thanks The mails this week brought a letter from the board of direc tors of “Comment," a journal of opinion published from time to time in Columbia, Mo., where the University of Missouri s “Missourian" is also published. “Comment," the letter assures us, “is no way connected with the University of Missouri." Nonetheless the new paper pub lished because of “domination of student publications by the University administration and restrictions as to the nature of published material.” The board of directors offers us advice, should we need it, on starting a paper of this type here at Eugene. We shall write to “Comment," and say thanks, but no thanks. We shall also offer a carefully-chosen word of sympathy. Experience in publishing a daily newspaper at Oregon has thus far been very encouraging as far as the University adminis tration has been concerned. There has been no time this year Writer Says Japs Behave Because We Force Them To By HENRY KAMIN Despite the impression that may have been gained by reading Thurs day’s Emerald article on how the Japanese have reformed and no longer hate us, all is not sweetness and light in Japan. We in the U.S. do not receive en tirely impartial reports on Japan because unfavorable news is dis couraged by General MacArthur's headquarters and the degree of Japanese cooperation with the Americans is exaggerated to cre ate a favorable impression in the United States and to encourage the Japanese to even further co operation. The situation is not helped by the reports given by prominent per sons who spend a week in Japan, interview Japanese leaders who tell them what they want to hear, and the occupation authorities re late the wonderful job they are do ing. Is it any wonder that almost to a man they return with glowing and optimistic pictures that would be modified by more careful study ? Are We Hated? Thursday's Emerald article states that the Japanese “don’t hate you any longer.” This is quite condescending and gracious on their part if true. It may be true that the aver age Japanese no longer hates us, but in the spring of 1946 I was as signed by the Pacific Stars and Stripes to cover the trial and sub sequent conviction of Japanese ringleaders responsible for the mobbing and attempted murder of three American soldiers near Tok yo. That was but one incident, and similar incidents had been increas ing when I left Japan this summer. Does anyone believe that the mil itarists, the reactionary politicians, the bureaucrats, and the industrial ists we have ordered retired from public office love us. I doubt it. They are out of power at present, but they and their supporters are, and have been, sabotaging our re forms to the extent that we have permitted them to do so. We Are Lulled There has been case after case of flagrant violation of the spirit and letter of our directives, some detected by the occupation author ities and others not. On these oc casions, when the Japanese have put something over on an Ameri can or made him look foolish, they laugh behind his back because of his childish trust. We can trust the Japanese not to rise up against us in revolution, but we are letting ourselves be lulled into the belief that, because everything is serene on the surface, the Japanese are abjectly acquiescent in letting us run their country. What about the father who lost his son on Okinawa, and his wife, home and business in the air raids ? He is resigned and partly innured to suffering and grief by inbred tradition, but this does not stop him from hating us inwardly. But he is all smiles and hospitality in front of an American. The examples given of assimi lation of foreign ideas by the Jap anese in Thursday’s article are of the adoption of the Chinese system of government in the 12th century and the 19th century adoption of the Prussian military system. It was not pointed out that one major reason for the adoption of these foreign systems was that they were in accord with Japanese political and military tradition and prac tice. In the case of the adopted Prussian military system, the Jap anese rulers chose it because they considered it the best means of per petuating and expanding the ata vistic and feudal Japanese social order. Only the outward form was added to the already present spirit. Whether the alien democratic re forms being forced upon the Jap anese by General MacArthur will be discarded or permanently adopt ed after our withdrawal is a ques tion that only history can answer. Present informed opinion is that it won’t be permanent until the post war generation being reared under occupation tutelage has assumed control of Japan 20 or more years from now. Scrap bf Paper ' Thus it is safe to leave open to question the extent that a “com plete revolution in Japanese politi cal institutions’’ has taken place. True, Japan has a newly ratified constitution whose “Bill of Rights, the number one provision, is more | precise and extensive than our own.’’ But as Soviet Russia’s simi lar free constitution illustrates, it is merely a scrap of paper unless enforced. The Japanese know that their new constitution was written Gen eral MacArthur’s headquarters. In deed, the indiscreet secretary who revealed this fact was discharged and sent home last year. Japanese point out that the constitution’s phraseology is foreign, the major ity of principles have little or no native roots, and paraphrase the American constitution by parrot ing, “we the mimics of the Ameri can people . . .” Will this alien con stitution remain in force after our withdrawal ? Doug lakes ’Em The same principle applies to the present government coalition com posed of two of the three major Japanese political parties, the So cial Democrats and the Democrats. They are socialist and middle of the road parties respectively. This government came into power and has remained in office, much to the surprise of American and Japanese alike, not because it is stronger than the entrenched and feudalistic interests that oppose it, but be cause General MacArthur has gi vn it his continued public support. We have performed what amounts to a miracle in our oc cupation of Japan, but there is as yet no certainty that our reforms will be permanent once the Japan ese are in control of their own country again. that we have been enjoined from printing anything we felt should go in. Several times the administration has disagreed with us, and have even become a little angry at the Emerald for "sounding off.” But there has been no attempt at pre-pub lication censorship. Lest others on this campus feel the need of writing to the editors of Comment, the Emerald has tried, and will con tinue to try, to publish letters and articles that do not neces sarily agree with the opinions, expressed or unexpressed, of the editor or staff of the Emerald. We are also willing to eat crow, if the facts warrant. Already this year we have refused to publish a number of1 letters to the editor. This has made us no friends, but the Emerald does not feel it is obligated to print everything that comes into the office. Letters that are carping, unconstructive, abusi\ e, or \ iolent will usually be filed. The citizens who write the letters in this file are invited to come pick them up. Letters To the Editor: Most people who heard Adamic’s speech would agree with all of your editorial, “Money Well Spent,” in Thursday’s Emerald. However, you must have worked hard to misconstrue the meaning of his speech. The second paragraph of your editorial read: ^“That set-up was living refutation of some of the allegations the speaker made about American democracy, about how far we have to go ere we equal the democracy now being prac ticed in eastern Europe.” Adamic did say that in some re spects we do not practice racial equality to the extent it is prac ticed in parts of Europe. The fact that some members of minority groups are attracted to Commun ism would tend to verify that statement. However, at no time did he say that our democracy as a whole is inferior to Communism. He only asked that we remem ber that it is too much to ask of peoples with such heritages of au tocratic government and bitter, disruptive conflicts to acquire so soon the luxurious trappings oi Anglo-Saxon democracy. He asked that we realize that their system is seemingly working for them and that we have the alternatives of getting along with it (he did not advocate that we adopt it) or of going to war with it. He pleaded that we find a mid dle ground—the audience seeming ly didn't care to look for one—and avoid war. He also stated that with the passage of time, each system might absorb the better features of the other. Richard Smurthwaite j 10 Years Ago From Emerald Files Capitalizing on two quick thrusts into Cougar territory and playing a dogged defense game the rest of the day, Oregon’s Ducks won their second conference game of the sea son, upsetting Babe Hollingbery’s Cougars 10 to 6. Crumbling the EON ranks be neath the weight of their mighty forward wall, the Ducklings strode to a 19 to 6 rout over Eastern'Ore gon Normal. Victor P. Morris, dean of the school of business administration will speak to women debaters on the “Economic Aspects of War.” Trial of a proposed control tie-up with KOAC on a one-month experi mental basis is now assured. In the past it has been necessary for the University students* to travel to Corvallis to use the broadcasting facilities there any time they need ed them. For the first time in nearly a dec ade University of Oregon students will enjoy a full four-day vacation Day Manager Bob Bechtle Assistant Manager Bob Zundel Layout Staff: Sally Schilling Mamie Chan George Melvin Bob Zundel Lynn Fritchman Jim Ivory Ccpv Desk: Bob Hemingway Bay Crowder Jo Rawlins Dizzy Turnbull Dotty Sorg Barbara Heywood, editor A meter which measures the ad hesion of liquids lo solids has been invented by a University of Idaho physicist.