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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1949)
Wild Notes... Philosophy ...by Fred Young While still near the first of the term, it would be an idea of sorts to state our musical philo sophy—the why and if of our future content. The musical audience com prised of all of us who listen and react has a very important function in the music world. It allows acceptance and deter mines greatness. It cultures crumbs and builds banks. The audience will rarely seek the music. Music must do its own promoting by being easily accessible, familiar, and com prehensible. If it fails in any of these three the audience will doubt music. What of it? Maybe our clay should be conceded. But, this will serve notice that we are aware that music, and its pro genitors, are still groveling for the better thing. They may not be sharping the country’s eco nomic structure, yet they are building to that which knows no distinctions concerning its parishoner’s wealth or creed. Naturally, we’re all victims of —easy. We like to hear those hit tunes again. But, the audi ence is vested with great re sponsibility. It shouldn’t disre gard more interesting sounds and better musical thoughts be cause they don’t conform to the accustomed. Actually, its a challenge to the audience to keep pace with music — for in the end no two forces could realize as great a give and take as these two. Our endeavor in relating of things musical will strive to just that—things musical! Few bit tunes will find it their good fortune to stray within these confines. More, we’ll attempt to percept and discuss that new— the masters who might other w i s e pass by unobserved. Dance, listening, exciting mu sic. But, with the emphasis on moving ahead and maybe even pushing that audience just a lit tle. English jazz-pianist George Shearing, who tipped top-rung over there and then hit 52nd Street anticipating new fields in this country, seems to be rapid ly climbing in our jazz stature. A little less abstract than Len nie Tristano, Shearing is con sidered one of the oldest mem bers of the modern jazz society, and understandably so after catching his current MGM re cordings of "September in the Rain,” “Good to the Last Bop,” and others on the hard to get Discovery label. Much playing, as we Remem ber of Art Tatum in his fabu lous heyday, and block-chords as we had only known thus far by Tristano. Gillespie (Diz) re cently stated that modern mu sic’s greatest contributor this year was George Shearing. An Englishman to watch. Low Cost Federal Housing for Eugene? By Bill Stanfield The question of low-cost Federal housing, which could affect married veterans on the campus, and whether Eugene and Lane county could ask for a Federal housing survey has again reared its head. In a surprise action during the early summer months, the Eugene city council took a brief survey of Eugene and passed a resolution ask ing Governor McKay to decontrol rents in Eu gene. With hesitation, McKay signed the de control request suggesting that Eugene, and other Oregon cities, take advantage of the hous ing survey apparatus that the federal govern ment has set up. At a meeting of the city council Monday night, another housing resolution came before the members regarding whether Eugene should ask the government for Federal aid in housing. The resolution, submitted by the Lane county housing committee, stated that since several private apartment houses and privately con structed housing units were being planned in Eugene, there was no present need for Federal housing. A Survey for Eugene In an hour-long heated debate prior to a vote on the resolution, pro and con representatives argued not only on the proposed bill, request for housing aid, but also on whether Eugene should request that a Federal housing survey be held in this area. Frank Reid, chairman of the Lane county housing committee, took the stand that since the government had set up the machinery for a survey and since the survey would not cost Eu gene a cent, that the city should ask for the survey just to see how housing is here. He pointed out that merely asking for Fed eral assistance in taking a survey does not obli gate the city to enter into any housing project. If the survey showed that Eugene had adequate housing, the subject would be dead. If the sur vey showed that Eugene was lacking in hous ing, the city could either accept or refuse Fed eral housing. In any event, if the city eventually accepted housing aid from the government, no Federal project could be started without local approval and any that was begun would have to meet with local specifications. Reid reported that citizens in many of the larger cities and counties in Oregon were anx ious that local governments take advantage of the machinery and that housing authorities were going ahead and asking for Federal sur veys. Public vs. Private Housing When questioned as to whether Federal housing would be in competition with private enterprise, Reid pointed out that it was the con sensus of the housing" contention that public housing would in no way endanger private en terprise. By law, public housing would have to rent at a 20 per cent cheaper rate than the average rent for the city according to the survey. If the sur vey showed that two bedroom houses were renting for $50 a month, then too bedroom houses that the government built would have to rent for $40 or less. Public housing would be limited to those per sons who are unable to afford the market rental price. Veterans attending school under the GI bill of rights are among those who would be en titled to live in a Federal housing unit. Excep tions would be made in the case of veterans who have a high income in addition to their govern ment allowance. In a heated rebuttal to Reids suggestions, a local realtor accused the Federal housing pro ject of being centralized government and im plied that it was no more than communism. He pointed to Federal housing projects in England and Holland as typical examples of what hap pens when the government steps into housing and said that if American citizens allowed the government to take one step in the area, then soon all housing, both private and public, would be completely controlled by the government and a man's home would no longer be his own. The city council finally voted against asking the Federal government for housing aid, but postponed until a later meeting any action on whether a survey should be requested. Individual members of the council indicated that a survey request proposal might be accept ed favorably. Free Lancing... A Ski Squad? ...by Bill Lance Skiing as a school sport? Rival colleges say it is because Oregon is afraid to field a team that might not be a win ning team. The University Ski Club says it’s because skiing is not considered a spectator sport and is therefore not a paying sport. Leo Harris, director of athletics, says, “I per sonally like skiing myself, but at present the athletic department is unable to sponsor it with out curtailing some of the other sports we are sponsoring.” Perhaps all of these persons are correct. It is not for this column to dispute, however, a few facts are definitely in order. There are some fine skiers now attending the University. Among these are Jack Sills, Matt Vranizan, Dick Port wood, John Carson, Larry Black, Saul Zaik, Kenney Van Dyke, Ted Callaghan, Jim and Tom Donohue, Bill Vranizan, Allen Mann, and Jack Muntzel. Last year these boys beat Oregon State, Williamette, and Pacific at a meet sponsored by the U. O. Ski Club at the HooDoo Ski Bowl. They also beat California, Stanword, San Jose State and others in the Down Hill Slalom at the Vanderbilt Memorial Intercollegiate Ski Meet last winter. Oregon appears to be the only Pacific Coast Conference college that does not consider ski ing a school sport. Skiing is a major sport at the University of Washington^and at Washing ton State. At Oregon State it is a minor sport with participants receiving letter awards and expenses. The Oregon Ski Club has always paid its own way. Ritin at Random... Advisers ...by Jo Gilbert The exec council has decided to investigate the possibilities of academic credit for extra curricular activities, all of which is peachy keen. But how about investigating the aca demic situation as it is before adding to the confusion as it stands? By that I am suggest ing that somebody do some thing about the advising system here at the University. This, I know, is a time honored subject of many Emerald columnists and editorial writers, but why do so few of the professors pay attention to the reams of paper used on this subject? After all this is an institution from which the students are supposed to profit, and how can they when too few persons take the time to help them? The registrar’s office has add ed new cards; everyone goes through more red tape—but, there is still something wrong when the Oct. 5 Emerald an nounces 880 students were be low a 2. last year, and proudly also remarks that this is much less than previous years. Yet, when the University has en trance requirements where stu dents have to make average or above school grades it seems strange that so many fall below a “C” average. They can’t all be just plain stupid. Much attention is given the student when he falls below the 2., but how much attention is given him before then? If there was more help extended to the student before he failed to make his grades, there might be few er who would find themselves with pegged grades. All of which places more of the burden on the profs. It is their job to act as advisers to (Please turn to page three) Does the Shoe Fit at Oregon? The Emerald will reprint editorials, articles and columns which have appeared in other publications, it they are considered to be of interest to the students of this Univer sity. The following item, from the University of Mississippi daily, is the first such article. “The only thing I can see wrong with Ole Miss,” a comparatively new mem ber of the faculty told us this week, “is the great gap between students and tea chers.” We agreed with him, then heard him out on a couple of other observa tions. “The student body has started something that may bridge that gap,” he con tinued, “and that’s the plan inaugurated last semester for student evaluation of their instructors. That’s probably the most democratic thing that’s happened here in years.” Again we agreed, then he said something that startled us. “But there are some of the oldtimers on the faculty who are laughing off their students’ evaluation of them. I’ve actually heard some of them brag that they haven’t even bothered to find out the results of their evaluations. They seem to feel that the whole idea of teacher evaluation will blow over in a se mester or two. I’m afraid some—and I do mean some—of the instructors don’t take the evaluation too seriously.” We knew that there were a couple of instances last year when teachers abso lutely refused to pass out the evaluation forms. We knew that many of them passed out the forms and made slurring remarks, self-righteous criticisms of them. But we didn’t know that some faculty members were laughing the mat ter off. The instructor with whom we had the above conversation was right when he said that there is a great gap between teachers and students here. If the teachers are hardheaded enough to dismiss students’ efforts to bridge this gap then we feel only pity for them. They are simply widening the gap. We feel sure that the majority of our faculty members consider the teacher evaluation plan a good idea, a worthwhile enterprise. This is not meant as a criticism of the majority, but as a plea to the minority to accept the students as the mature-thinking, mature-acting young men and women they can be if given the opportunity.—Albin Krebs.
