For Better or for Worse?
With the newly-announced University plan to house all
freshmen in dormitories, the independent students, too, are
wondering how they will be affected.
At present opinion seems to be divided. The new system,
some feel, will cement better relations between the often-hos
tile Greek and independent groups. Their reasoning is this—
by living together, all freshmen will get acquainted and keep
their friendships intact throughout their college days instead
of restricting close friendships to those in their own houses.
Undoubtedly there is some truth to this. Getting to know
the “other half” is one step in dispelling suspicion and dislike.
However, some people feel that with the two groups liv
ing together, harmony within the dormito'ries would be dif
ficult to achieve. They believe that such group efforts as des
serts, house dances, and floats would no longer be done by the
whole group. They fear that pledges will prefer to aid the
houses of which they, will soon become members and ignore
the work of the organization in which they live.
Whethe'r this situation would become prevalent on the
campus is difficult to say. We could quote instances where
this happened in the past with pledges living in the dormi
tories. However, looking back on them, these instances
seem to have taken place only when those concerned formed
a tight clique of their own, anyway. Even before pledging
they seldom entered into the dormitory activities.
Just what the effect of this new policy will be remains to
be seen. J, G.
Oregon If Emerald
Hie Oregon Daily Emerald, published daily during: the college year except Sundays
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BILL YATES. Editor
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UPPER NEWS STAFF
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'In My Opinion' erom our readers
To the Editor:
On Thursday, October fourth
Mr. Donald DuShane, director of
student affairs, unexpectedly an
nounced to the Interfraternity
council that the first-year stu
dents definitely will be required
to live in dormitories or town
rooms, not in fraternity and so
rority houses, for one year, be
ginning fall term, 1949.
Dubing the period while this
action was being contemplated
by the University officials, I do
not think the fraternities and so
rorities were consulted, nor the
dormitories. That this action was
taken without previous consulta
tion with the parties concerned
w'as definiteely a breach of faith.
That the presidents of the dor
mitories and their members were
not consulted reflects the possi
bility of a serious deficiency in
the Office of Student Affairs’ re
gard for those organizations.
Does the University administra
tion consider the separate dormi
tory units to be social organiza
tions in name only, with no con
tinuity of social existence, with
no voice in matters which surely
affect them?
Without making an attempt to
justify the present system used
by the Greek houses I should like
to review the alle ged advantages
propounded by the Office of Stu
dent Affairs.
I 1. “A common experience in
r group living will be provided.”
‘ With a large number of freshmen
who will be forced to live in town
rooms due to the lack of room in
the dormitories for the entire
freshman class, some will most
assuredly be deprived of the ex
perience of group living. Even if
. this is not admitted, one must
surely agree that, with the dor
■ mitories divided into club-sized,
socially autonomous units (as
they now are and should continue
to be) the experience of group
living possesses a high degree of
similarity, whether one lives in a
house, cooperative club, or dor
mitory.
2. “University spirit and loy
alty and inter-Greek relations will
be improved.” To rebut such a
conjectural statement would be
a waste of my time and yours.
3. Freshman will face fewer
problems requiring adjustment
at the beginning of their Univer
sity careers. When living in,
freshmen must not only form
new study habits, but also con
form to fraternity requirements.”
This is quite true, and has long
been recognized by the fraterni
ties and sororities on campus.
But those freshmen having dif
ficulties are now given the bene
fit of personal and interested as
sistance in solving their prob
lems. There is much that can, but
probably won’t, be said both pro
and con on this point.
4. “The annual rush week hous
ing mixup will be eliminated. A
freshman will not feel forced to
pledge a house in which he feels
little interest simply to assure
himself of a place to stay.” It is
implied here that thee is a terri
ble tie-up in housing every rush
week. But the two University of
ficials concerned who made this
statement, have not, either of
them, been here on campus long
enough to make such a judgment
fairly. Since they have been at
Oregon, there have been unusual
ly heavy enrollments here and all
over the country. Housing is ex
pensive and hard to find in every
growing city in the United States
of America, and''will be for sev
eral years to come.
5. “Dormitories and houses can
be operated on a more business
like basis: a full house will not
be dependent on rush week
alone.” It might be interesting to
note that the average house bill
of fraternities, including dues, is
less than the dormitory bill for
just room and board.
6. “More serious-minded jun
iors ana seniors me
house. This will improve study
conditions and result in greater
maturity and stability.” One hun
dred per cent correct!
7. The resulting raising of quo
tas will mean a higher percen
tage of fraternity and sorority
membership in the student body.
This will lead to better support.”
Better support of what? A re
versal of Mr. DuShane’s edict
that, ". . . until the transition
period ... is over, no new na
tionals will be allowed to estab
lish chapters on the Oregon cam
pus,” would certainly be a more
direct way of increasing the per
centage of fraternity and sorority
membership in the student body,
if that really be the desired end.
8. Dormitories will find it nec
essary to put into practice a bet
ter counselling program, and fra
to sustain their high prices or
ply, the room owners will be able
ternities will find better manage
ment necessary.” This we need
anyway!
Now let me ask three pertinent
(or impertinent) questions. First,
how can the University possibly
control outside housing, either
morally or economically? There
is no question but that the dor
mitories cannot house all the stu
dents.
The strained ‘‘town room” con
dition will likely become even
more acute than it is now. With
the demand greater than the sup
even raise them. Over this, the
University has no control. Then
“living out,” a lonely way of liv
ing, will remain the most expen
sive way of attending school.
Second, how does this affect the
“co-op” houses? Will they also
be restricted by this ruling?
Third, is the University trying
to assure itself of filled dormi
tories at the expense of other liv
ing organizations? This fall, the
overall drop in enrollment in col
leges and universities throughout
(Please turn to page 7)
QouitU itt the MoAjcuc Se'ueA.
'The Treatment': The Romance of Rick and Peggy
By LARRY LAU
She walked past them slowly,
intent on not spilling' her coffee,
to a booth on the opposite side
of the room. A tight blue skirt
caressed her slim hips and ta
pered her thighs into an exciting
.weep that seemed to funnel into
her short Angora-topped sox. Her
soft pink cashmere swelled sauc
ily with age-old appeal.
•‘Hey, Cal!” the boy whispered,
“who’s the angel?”
‘‘Forget it, Rick,” Cal an
swered, “she's practically pinned
. . . name’s Peggy.”
Rick directed all his attention
towards the booth across the
room. When she looked his way,
he smiled a devilish brilliant smile
and waved hello. Surprised and
uncertain, she smiled and nodded
back. The boy with her glared
unappreciatively.
“That’s the girl for me, Cal,"
Rick answered. “D'ja see that big
smile she gave me . . . what a
doll!”
“Aw, Rick, you're nuts!” Cal
snorted, "besides, I thought you
were all hot for the girl you had
out Saturday.”
“Her?" Rick dismissed the
thought with a bland wave of his
hand. “She’s nice, but,” he nod
ded towards the angel, “not like
that. Ruuff!” . . .
He phoned and phoned, man
aged to meet her between classes,
sent her glib littl notes, odd gifts
and flowers, wheedled a few coke
dates and managed to make her
think she was a queen . . . they
became inseparable. The Porch
light Parade labeled it a “forest
fire romance,” and his buddies
commented enviously on his good
fortune and wondered what magic
words he had used. He was aware
of their envy, and it pleased him.
Sundays they'd go to a show
and hold hands and project them
selves onto the screen. Dances . . .
parties . . . coffee and coke dates
. . . endless hours together. Every
night they embraced long and
hard before the lights went out
. . . burning, passionate kisses
that made them both groan with
excitement.
Once he borrowed a car and
they drove far out into the coun
try where he mumbled something
about getting married and lost
himself in the warmth of her arms.
After a time he placed a careful
ly casual hand on her knee, only
to have her sit up quickly and say,
“You wouldn't respect me if I
did things like that.”
In the excitement and confu
sion, he suddenly forgot what he
usually said in cases like that
and they drove home in silence,
her head resting triumphantly on
his shoulder.
He didn't have time for Cal
any more, or any of his old cro
nies for that matter. Everything
was Peggy . . . Peggy . . . Peggy.
When they were together, it
seemed a shame to bother them,
so nobody did.
He began to meet different peo
ple on and off campus. She’d
phone and say, “We’re riding
with Lucille and. Bill Saturday
night. There’s a party at the
Morrisons later, and I told them
we’d love to come . . . was that
all right, darling?” He’d assure
her that it was, and absently
wonder who in hell the Morrisons
were.
She began to spend long hours
telling him about her family,
where' she’d lived, what she’d
done, what she wanted “their”
home to look like, what she want
ed “their” children to grow up
and be . . . not that Rick was
bored . . . but sometimes his mind
did wander during these sessions,
and when it did, she knew it and
would ask him rather crossly why
he didn’t listen when she was
talking. Rick would fall silent
and dutifully listen, unsmiling
and patient . . . and trapped.
One Friday afternoon, he de
liberately didn't meet her after
class. Instead, he wandered down
to Robinsons and found a booth
full of guys and gals, including
Cal, having a short one or two.
He surprised himself by talking,
telling jokes, entertaining . . .
and paving a wonderful time. He
felt a flash of the old snap-of -
the-fingers feeling, and walked
back to the house with Cal, grin
ning and feeling wicked.
That evening she said she'd
heard he had a date that after
noon. Rick shrugged and ex
plained, and felt irritated that
he had to explain. She cried then,
and he held her in his arms and
whispered what she wanted to
hear, over and over . . . but beer
dates with the boys became more
and more frequent.
He stopped meeting her be
tween classes because he said he'd
be late if he did. When they went
out in the evenings, the old gaiety
and excitement was missing.
Mostly he let her do the talking.
He noticed for the first time her
little faults, and how dominated
he’d become. His eyes began to
invite other women, and he felt
the old thrill when they looked
interested ... it wasn’t that he
didn’t love her . . . but he felt
impatient somehow.
One evening she met him at
the door and instead of going out
for coffee, took him around to a
side porch where it was dark and
quiet. They smoked a cigaret in
near silence before she turned to
him. “What’s the matter with us.
We’ve got everything, yet it
seems like we’re drifting apart
. . . have I done anything wrong?”
“Don’t be silly, baby. We’re just
as good as we were a month ago,”
he said. “I'm crazy about you,”
he added lamely.
She put her head on his chest
and cried. Shaky little sobs that
twisted in him like a knife. He
felt terrible. Like a murderer . . .
but most of all, he wanted to get
away. He looked over the top of
her head into the street and won
dered who the people were and
what they had been doing. He felt
guilty that he had no sympathy,
no tenderness . . . and that he
couldn’t feel very sad.
The number and intensity of
her sobs increased. “I love you,
Rick ... I love you . . . you know
I do . . . what have I done?”
“Oh, for Chritsakes, Peg!” he
snapped, “Let’s not make a
mountain out of a molehill.”
“Maybe you’d just like to for
get about the whole thing,” she
dared plaintively.
“Maybe we’d better for a while,
honey,” he murmured sadly, “I
don’t know what’s the matter
with me.”
“You can't mean that . . . not
after all we’ve meant to each
other . . . I've made so many
plans . . . Rick, where are you
going?” •
“I’m going back to the house,
honey. Just to kinda’ think this
all over . . . I’ll phone you, ok?”
He walked slowly down the
steps and across the street, hop
ing she wouldn’t call to him, won
dering if he looked sufficiently
crushed. When he turned the cor
ner his pace quickened, the hang
dog curve of his mouth straight
ened, and his eyes became alert
and snapping ... he knew he
wouldn’t phone.
He looked at his watch . . . ten
after ten, and wondered if it was
too late to do a little pospecting.