Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 1949)
An Editorial Whof Would Abe Think of Our Fine> Bigoted Campus? Abe Lincoln has a birthday anniversary today, and it is be ing observed by a national holiday, a tribute paid to only one other American president. It is not strange that both of the Commanders-in-Chief so revered by a peace-loving nation were, in one sense, war presi dents. It is understandable because America is primarily a freedom-loving nation, and freedom sometimes must be fought for, as it was by both of these leaders. Other avenues than slaughter should be available to twen tieth-century civilization. But at least we can hope that World War II broadened our faith in democracy. We learned that a man can be judged only by what he does—by the character he reveals. Abe Lincoln would have been proud of the record made, in this most terrible war, by the race which he once did so much to help free. High standards of valor were set, too, by the Nisei and other minority groups in the fight against the self-styled “Elite" and “Chosen" peoples. Now, however, only a short time after V-day, Lincoln might be saddened by the evidence that historical truths and high principles are often brushed aside within our own land. Continuing intolerance and outright discrimination blotch ev ery state in this union—In the north as well as the south. The crime of bigotry occurs in Oregon, in Eugene, on this very campus. Many of us overlook the incidents, deliberately or through sheer indifference. Others attempt to justify the stains, or at least forestall corrective measures, by specious arguments which sound a clanking, discordant accompani ment to our sweet theme song about democracy. Our linger ing racial and religious egotism is suitable, indeed, not to the Star Spangled Banner, but rather to a cruel, if now muted, bar barian hymn. Senator Neuberger’s Fair Employment Practices bill in the Oregon senate—like the civil rights program in congress— seems to be suffering the strangulation usually administered to such proposals, often in the kid-gloves guise of “technicali ties.” Even closer to home, we see student social organizations, operating with the blessing of the University administration, which limit their membership to “white Christians surely an ironic and tragic perversion of the Christian doctrine of brotherhood. And perhaps the most discouraging thing about these local Clans of the Elite (by their own complacent stand ards) is that many of their individual members do not realize that they are supporting group discrimination. As individuals and as groups, in such manner do we dis avow the victories won in the name of enlightenment—and the opportunities which could lie before America. The defeat of a national FEPC bill, Harold Stassen said, "... defeats the ef fective functioning of democratic government. It gives com fort to those of the extreme right and of the extreme left . . . It contributes to the establishment of fertile ground for the flourishing of subversive activities.” And Colliers Magazine, about the same time, quoted a uni versity president to the effect that communism has never been a serious problem among America’s undergraduates; that the real danger is the growth of racial intolerance. Surely if any attitude or practice should be so characterized, then such group bigotry is viciously Un-American. Yet many who call themselves Christians find it easy to overlook the commandment which bars intolerance. And others, denying religion, also deny the science which has de molished the myths of group superiority. Numerous Oregon students have joined the popular howl for suppression of “Red” subversives; but how many have shown determinat tion in acting against this other, truly “clear and present” danger? Whether or not God hates a coward is currently being de bated in our daily press. But it seems indisputable that God must hate a hypocrite. A comprehension of America’s signifi cance, in the slow struggle toward freedom and justice, must lead to the practice of democracy in our daily lives, and through our organizations—not merely to verbal professions of patriotism and piety.—John Valleau. ----Raising Kane Our Hero Brushes up His Grammar By Hank Kane Students audit Corrective Eng lish to learn the grammar sup posedly mastered in grade and high school. One reason a student's paper resembles one written as if by a person who has studied English for one year as a for eign language is that our scholar ob served too well the unwritten rule that small boys should re sist knowledge at all costs. Another reason is that gram mar can’t be absorbed by reading edifying literature despite theo ries to the contrary. “The Charge of the Light Bri gade" proved utilitarian cannon superior to romantic cavalry sa bers, but this isn’t of much aid in writing a grammatically cor rect college paper ten years later. Grammar is as dry in college as in grade school. The difference is that the desire to write decent English overcomes the natural inclination to act as one did when boys wore knickers. In 'those carefree days a poten tial juvenile delinquent sitting be hind a girl whose hair wa3 in pig tails might relieve the tedium by dipping the young lady’s pigtails into his desk inkwell. But time flies and our hero en rolls in a Rhetoric K class to dis pell the years of ignorance in matters grammatical. No matter how little or how much material Is covered, our erstwhile scholar is amazed. The more he learns for the first time the more he is aware of his ig norance. With concealed wonder at its now revealed simplicity, he learns that “the” is an adjective. Too well lie recalls standing before his grade school class un able to parse a sentence beginning with this part of speech. In desperation he had finally blurted out that “the” was the beginning of the sentence. The teacher didn't call upon him to recite again for the re mainder of the term. This was all right with him. Tiif Ohkoon O \n \ F.mv'RAM). published daily during the college year except Sundays. Mondavs. holiday. and dual examination periods li> the Associated Students, l.mversity ot Ovckou. Suhseription rati-: per term and $d.00 per year, Filtered as second class matter Ht the post office, Kugene, Oregon. JU1.L Y ATI'S. luiitor Keovl. .Managing; l'Tt >•* V1RC.II. l oin > TI CKER, business Manager lel.aughlin. Asst’ Hus. Mgr. Associate Kditurs: Tune C*>et/e, HoMee llrophy, Diana Dye, Barbara I ley wood Advertising Manager: Juan Miunaugh I N 5JNVS STAFF Stan Turnbull, News Editor Tom Kintf. Spurts Editor Dick I'ramer, Sports Editor Tom Marquis, Radio Editor Walter Dodd. Feature Editor Warren Collier, Chief Night Editor Don Smith, Ass’t Managing Editor Ken Met/ler, Ass’t News Editor Atm Goodman, Ass’t News Editor l BUSINESS STAFF Helen Sherman. Oiicukuion Mgr. Lee Overbook, Nat’l A-iv. M,;;. Bill Lemon, Sales Mgr. Leslie l\x)/e, Ass't Adv. Mgr. Cork Mobley, Ass’t Ails'. Mgr. Virginia Mahon, Ass't AJv. Mgr. Donna Brannan, As>*t Ailvr. Mgr. Jack SchnaiJt. Ass’t AJv. Mgr. He was able to read a comic book hidden from the teacher’s gaze by his open grammar with out fear of interruption. By the middle of the Rhetoric K course our hero knows why his friends sometimes smile while he told a joke or took part in con versation. At the time he thought they were laughing with him. Now he knows they were laugh, ing at him. Like the advertisements of a national soap company, ‘‘His best friends wouldn’t tell him.” With the ambition to be able to tell a noun from a pronoun by the end of the term our novice schol ar applies himself to his studies at a terrific pace compared to any previous exertions. This state of affairs continues until the day before final exam ination. He decides there is no rea son why he should come to class when the test is given and thereby make a perfect attend ance record of a subject. It might set a bad precedent. Besides, it doesn't look good to flunk even a non-credit course. UO Alumnus Visits Dr. Marcus D. O’Day, chief of the. navigation laboratory for the Air Materiel command, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, visited the Univer sity Wednesday and Thursday, and is expected to return February 14. Todays Staff Bob Tweedell City Editor Copyeditors: Dave Taylor, Coralie Nelson. Rae Evans Day Manager Solicitors: Anona Freeman, Eliza beth Waddell. Karla Van Loan With the Legislators Salem Paul C. Smith, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, chal lenged a joint session of the Ore gon state legislature yesterday to seek the “middle road” out of the present world conflcit. In a speech prepared for deliv ery before the legislature, Smith declared that this country should stand firm against communism— while seeking to improve itself. “We cannot play our part in producing a brave, new free world unless we each produce W'ithin ourselves a brave new in dividual; within our city a brave new city; within our state a brave new state; and within our nation a strong, hard-working, produc tive people,” he said. Speaking on the capitol grounds where twenty years ago, as a hitch-hiking youngster, he spent the night under a rhododendron bush, the San Francisco editor declared that communists “are not revolutionaries.” “We are the real revolutionar ies," he said. “The struggle in which the world is still locked is simply the struggle between the reactionary thesis that man is but the tool of the state as op posed to our own revolutionary thesis that man is the end and not merely the means; that man erects the state as an instrument to serve him.” “The doctrinaire communists and the irrational fascists have told us that the great middle road is closed to mankind,” he added. “This is one of the blackest and bleakest lies of the totalitarians . . . The challenge of today is to combine our resources, material and spiritual, and direct them for ever down the high middle road to that community of freedom (Please turn to page eight) Porchlight Parade By Ed Cauduro Let it snow orchids for Theta Joan Larue, alias Miss Vogue . . . the Theta Sigs and their judges did right well in selecting this dark eyed charmer for the title. . . . Obviously Alpha Xi's blonde Jo Staples is “twitterpated” with SAM Marv Horenstein and his blue convert . . . hardly a mo ment passes when she’s not with the lad since their Wednesday night exchange . . . love at first sight???? A few other couple are getting into the swing of the Valentine season with the Shack's \ irg Tucker, Phi Psi, heading the list with his pinning to Zeta Hall’s vivacious Beth Miller . . . another victim of Cupid's arrow was Eb Giesecke, a Sig Pi transfer from Cornvalley, who hung his brass on cute Kay Johnson of Hen hall. At the Alpha Gam house Pat Williams told of her engagement to Yeoman Bob Brooks while ev eryone munched marshmallows . . . Chi O Alicia Orcutt is riding a pink cloud over her weekend dates ... it was Beta boy Bud Smith who kept her “heart hop ping” Friday night by Alicia’s being coy about the identity of her Sig Nu house dance date. Hank Kane, the varmint wn# wrote that “nasty” column about Oregon coeds, evidently changed his tone and opinion of the fair sex since his dinner invitation from the Susie Campbell girls. Wonder if Sig Hartley Seeger thought he was in his PE 190 course when he bopped DG Pat McGinty in the schnozzle during their social science class . . . real ly, is that the social thing to do? . . . round two coming up! . . . A combo that has everyone be wildered as to whether its run ning hot or cold is the Pi K Sam Plunkett and Hyland’s Jessie Kef feler twosome . . . Theta Leslie Tooze and Chi Psi Tom McLaugh lin have iced on very friendly terms. Watziz about SPE Kelley Fer ris claiming that at the end of this term he’s severing his rela tions with USA and retiring from politics . . . shades of Dewey! One of the worry birds on the quad these days is pert DG Sally Beach . . . her steady. Theta Chi Wes Nickolson, is in the pill pal ace with mumps . .. Sally’s afraid her sorority sisters will quaran tine her. Understand all the Alpha Xis have named their pillows after their boy friends . . . my . . . my . . . anything to keep warm these frigid nights. . . Sneek Snaps: Pi Phi Lou Ann Chase and Theta Chi Dean Er hart playing footy-footy in the Side. . . Sig Borcher and Barbara Patterson on the Theta porch af ter dark . . . Miss Vogue being a vague Miss when the subject of her latest conquest is discussed. . . . Thetas frequenting the lower 13th street athletic club . . . . Norm Van Brocklin enrolled in folk dancing along with Brad Ek lund . . . Tri Delta Laura Olson sporting a brand new sprained an kle. . . Alpha Chi Marily Mitchell is keeping everyone guessing as to the identity of her latest flame . . . some say that ATO Don Eastman has about aced out the Theta Chi competition from OSC. Thought of the Week: When a fellow breaks a date he usually has to; when a woman breaks a date she usually has two. . . .