Irked by Our System, He Dreams —
Schleicher Plans 'Perfect University'
By Charles P. Schleicher
Professor of Political Science
Pipe dreams make the world
go on—if not around. One of my
favorites has been drawing men
tal blueprints for the perfect sys
tem of higher education. It goes
•something like this:
I am offered the presidency of
the University. I turn it down.
Finally the name of the position
becomes chancellorship, the sal
ary is doubled, and I reluctantly
accept.
It's not too clear in my mind
how I get all the money, and
make all the necessary changes,
but we can skip all these minor
items. In a remarkably short time
the institution is transformed.
All textbooks are burned. We
might as well burn the buildings
while we are at it; also the lec
ture notes. The new buildings and
grounds consist of: a thousand
acre campus; a library of five
million volumes (no texts, please,
except in the museum) with an
individual study room for each
student; Thirteenth street lined
by rose gardens; a beautiful au
ditorium seating six thousand;
a grand faculty club, and a stu
dent union building.
Seventy-five per cent of the
courses are abolished or consoli
Are We THIS Weak?
An Oregonian editorial, reprinted in Thursday’s Emerald,
seems to be an apology for the dismissal of two professors at
Oregon State. We agree that Dr. Strand has the legal right to
dismiss faculty members who haven’t permanent tenure. He
undoubtedly also has the legal right to withhold the reasons
for such dismissals.
The Oregonian, however, seems to have missed an import
ant part of the question: Was Dr. Strand morally justified in
dismissing the two professors?
The professors claim that they are being dismissed only be
cause of their affiliation with the Progressive party. As far as
we've been able to find out, the Progressive party, as such, has
never advocated the forceful overthrow of the government.
The press has not printed any stories to indicate the OSC pro
fessors presented any “clear and present danger” to what is
commonly referred to as “our American way of life.”
If this is true, the president of OSC is not standing on firm
moral ground.
Although the Oregon State case has not been dragged
through numerous committees and the state legislature, we
cannot help feeling that it still smacks of witch-hunting.
The professors have no legal resourse. They cannot force
OSC to show reasons for their dismissals and the Association
‘ of University Professors has upheld Dr. Strand’s position.
However, we feel that Dr. Strand is morally obligated to the
(professors and the people of Oregon to make public his rea
I sons.
Have our democracy and our schools become so weak that
‘ | they cannot stand criticism and controversy, or so static that
• they cannot countenance change?
John Milton brought out the crux of the matter three cen
.j turies ago: “Though all the winds of doctrine be let loose to
J play upon the earth ... who ever knew Truth put to the worst,
in a free and open encounter.” B.B.
DR. SCHLEICHER
dated into six-month affairs.
School runs six months, and stu
dents study the other six. Profes
sors go fishing. Registration takes
place on the opening day. Exam
inations, written and oral, are
confined to one week at the end
of the first year, two the second,
three the third, and four the
fourth. No professor may exam
ine his own students.
Class work consists of discus
sions and labs only. And by dis
cussion I don’t mean dialogues
between students and professors.
Each ciass has at least two profs,
of diametrically opposed views—
Zilch and Scullen, for example.
on the meaning of democracy.
Prof’s salaries and teaching
loads would range from one hour
per week and $10,000 a year for
instructors, to ten hours and
’$5000 a year for full professors.
Deans also would be paid what
they are worth.
My dream is over. You get the
general idea, although a few de
tails may be missing. What’s
more, I’ve got to read the text,
and find another one, that the
students don’t know about, to
take my lecture cut of. If they
call me on any of my facts, I can
convince them by citing the text.
I’d better make out a quiz too^
attendance is lousy lately.
Round Three.
Mr. Scullin’s Answer
To Mr. Zilch’s .Answer
To Mr. Scullin
To the Editor and the Emerald
and Mr. Zilch:
Yes, Mr. Zilch, after reading
your highly unemotional letters
to the Emerald of late, we all
must be very enlightened. Thanks
for letting us know what evil
money interests are controlling
our educational system and our
government. I’m sure glad I found
out in time who is to blame. Evi
dently it is a bunch of wicked,
greedy capitalists.
I’m not accusing you of being
a ' Communist, Mr. Zilch, but
George Seldes’ red-loving sheet.
“In Fact,” and the “Daily Work
er” take just the same line as
you have chosen to give us in the
Emerald. “Down with the big
money interests!,” “domination of
our economic rulers,” calling
alarmed citizens "patriotic
gangs.” and using other such
phrases, but always minimiziftg
the danger of Communism, are
typical Communist tricks.
I wonder, Mr. Zilch, if you are
not guilty of selecting isolated
facts to support some zealous
dogma of yours, without looking
at the whole picture. American
education. American government,
American business have their
faults. Any loyal citizen will ad
mit that. Part of the price we pay
for freedom and private enter
prise is the waste and occasional
injustice that crops up. You choose
to magnify all the faults, hold
them up to the full light, attack
and criticize America, but you
don’t point out the good features
of our great country, or you don’t
want to.
Let us remedy our faults with
in the framework of our demo
cratic system. Let us have evolu
tion, not revolution. Communistic
rabble rousers want violent and
forceful overthrow of all econom
ic and social conditions. (See the
Communist Manifesto, if you
haven’t already, Mr. Zilch.) Such
alien dogma is outside the frame
work of our Constitution. It is a
menace to all we believe in, a
threat to our security. Instead of
harping on the NAM and the Mor
gans and Rockefellers only, why
don’t you join the majority of
Americans and recognize that the
abuses of capitalism will be over
come in due time by due process
of lav/ and that, right now, THE
REAL THREAT TO OUR FREE
DOM IS COMMUNISM?
Fred J. Scullin
Oregon
Emerald
The Oregon Daily Emerald, published daily during the college year except Sundays,
Mondays, holidays, and final examination periods by the Associated Students, University of*
Oregon. Subscription rates: $2.00 per term and $4.00 per year. Entered as second-class matter
at the post office, Eugene, Oregon.
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Evow You Know the Psychology —
It Takes All Kinds.
The Man Says
By Larry Lau
This whole thing was started
l>y a rather lovely, brown-eyed
co-ed who asked me one morning,
"Do yon have to write about sex
nnd drinking and things like
! that?”
That afternoon one of the near
,extinct “old timers" growled.
“Why all the soft-pedal? Some
one had better tell these kids that
.'life isn’t all just peaches and
cream!"
In the evening, huddled over
■a comp theme with one of the
, freshmen, I heard. "Gee, where do
you get the ideas for all those ar
. tides?"
That did it!
Three jtrrs of columning has
taught me jest one thing . . ,
from Dr. Harry to the little cop
who shoos cars, and from the
campus “wheel" to the most
anonymous freshman, the Univer
sity is made up of just plain peo
ple.
Some of tlie nicest . . . and
some of the crummiest.
What to write about ? Well,
look at the political zealots on
this campus. They run from one.
sided Scullin to one-sided Zilch,
with a great majority in between
who think Democratic and vote
Republican.
Some girls around here still be
lieve in the stork, and then there
are others who know more about
men than Dr. Kinsey. The great
majority falls into neither class.
. . . So, you write about all these
different kinds of people.
Take Fogdall for instance,
some think he' the biggest s.o.b.
since Dillinger. Others say he’s
the gem of the ocean. He's nei
ther. Just a guy plugging away
at a rather tough job who, like
the rest of us, makes an occa
sional blunder. The administra
tion is studded with “Fogdalls”
and so is the "outside."
There are drunken picnics
where everybody's off in the
bushes with someone else, and
there are others where the group
has a whale of a good time hold
ing' hands, sipping coke, and sing
ing sentimental songs. Most pic
nics fall somewhere in between.
. . . So, you write about all these
different kinds of people.
There are more latrine rumors
about the faculty than there are
Republicans in Oregon. Most of
’em are just plain folks, working
for a mediocre wage, with an idea
that they can teach us something.
Some of these birds might as well
sit in bed for all the teaching
they do. Others, like Paul Dull
and Gordon Wright for instance,
provoke so much thought that
some students think they’re Com
munists. Thank God this isn’t
Seattle or Corvallis!
All some get out of four years
of college is a workable knowl
edge of bridge. Others primly
graduate with facts and figures
coming out of their ears. Most
Webfoots fall somewhere in be
tween.
There are guys on this campus
with more designs on coeds than
you’ll find in an acre of wallpa
per, and otilers who wouldn’t lay
a glove on a lady for love or
money. A majority are in be
tween. So, you write about all
these different kinds of people.
People at the University lie and
cheat and steal . . . and they also
attend church and are honest and
upright. Some are principled and
some aren’t. Some are cowardly
and some are fearless. Some are
fanatical whiners, and others take
what’s coming without a mur
mur.
A lot of the Webfoots happily
combine the two extremes. The
great American public does the
same thing . . . and so we point
out to the three inquisitors that
they err when they think of this
campus as set apart: it isn’t.
Do we write only of the sordid,
or only of the sweet?
Look, “brown-eyes” . . . this
isn’t a glass menagerie. People
here think and feel and want and
get twisted up . . . just like ev
erybody else, they drink and
swear and satisfy their cravings,
and there’s no use burying your
head in the sand by saying they
don’t.
Look, “old-timer” . . . these
kids aren’t the kind of scum you
met prowling the dregs of Paris
during the war. Most of them are
pretty decent. It isn’t necessary
to slam them in the face with
the facts of life. They’ll find out
what they have to do in ample
time.
Look, freshman . . . the Univer
sity is like a diamond with 5600
facets. Every time you look at it,
you see a different one. Some are
prettier than others ... do you
see whence the ideas for all the
articles?.