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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1950)
A Rote U a Rote U a Rote Those Experiences Outside The Classroom *7hind. Gohutut by Mortal BogaA (This is the third in a series of ar ticles discussing campus controver sial topics written by Mortar Board, senior women’s honorary. We would appreciate suggestions by students as to further topics which we can inves tigate and present in this weekly col umn.) Betty Coed came to the Mortar Board Smarty Party Tuesday night —Betty like the other guests, lis tened attentively to Mrs. Golda Wickham’s advice to not limit herself to studies alone, but to give service to others too. Ambition in her eyes, she spoke to a Mortar Board sitting near and asked the senior how she too could get into activities. The answer was the usual one to volunteer, petition, don’t be discour aged, come on out, keep trying. But, to Betty, and to all other stu dents, Mortar Board has more to say. Choose your activities wisely! Choose, yes, but not too many at a time. From a well chosen activity ev ery student can enlarge her friend ships, become an integral part of the campus, and broaden and enrich her whole campus experience. “The most meaningful experiences of a student’s life are usually outside of a classroom,” said Professor R.-D. Langston of the School of Education. On this campus Mortar Board feels that too few students have the oppor tunities to develop their potention leadership qualities. In an effort to open up opportunities and have more students taking a part in the various activities in departmental, service, house, and honorary. Mortar Board, both nationally and locally, is in fa vor of a ‘point system.’ A ‘point sys tem’ would apportion a certain num ber of points to every campus activity (relative to its importance) and limit a coed to a certain amount of points The newly organized Associated eaoh year. Women Students Activity Council, composed of the activity chairman of all women’s living organizations, has compiled such a system which is un dergoing revision now. Beginning this year too, is the practice of having no house president take an office in any major campus group, or duplicat ing officers within major campus groups. We suggest to living organizations that in selecting their officers they don’t overlook girls who haven’t had a chance to prove their capabilities; and further suggest that living orga nizations not “push” certain mem bers, but encourage all to enter into some phase of campus activities. We also recommend campus chairmen try to pass around responsibilities and not always rely on the old ’’stand bys.” The drawback to the point system is that in some cases girls will have to choose between house and campus activities or between several campus groups. It is regrettable that this di vision should take place, for a bit of both seems more broadening to any student than a concentration in either. A definite advantage to the point system is that students shouldering fewer activities would perform those few better, with more interest, and no possibility of overloading. Many a Mortar Board has longed for a more relaxed senior year with time for cas ual fun which some responsibilities partially deny. We realize that the point system will not be a perfect an swer to this problem but we feel that it is the best one in sight. To you, Betty, and to your class mates, Mortar Board says, “choose a few activities wisely, portion out your time for studies, but remember x~ to enjoy every day of your college career.” ■Member of Mortar Board Old Worried About Weather, AGS, Larry Lau, and Beaver Wright by Steve Jlay Can’t help worrying a little about my kicl brother up in the hills. He is going to KOCK and living in the same kind of building we are. And it’s been 25 below. Ask anyone who has been there if LaGrande isn’t the win diest town West of Chicago. Surprising that some loyal AGSer hasn’t written a blistering letter to the editor about the unethical move of putting a polling place in the Vet’s Dorm. It certainly is going to he con venient for the disinterested to vote this year. Might he the occasion for another issue of the up and coming Pioneer. Ha! A Greek friend, (I have three) ■v / wanted to know if I would be so kind as to inquire into the situation where in Campbell Club may not be affect ed by the DuShane plan. Since they pledge, initiate, and rush in a man ner quite similar to the Greek letter houses it might be a good question to ask. The above brings to my mind the furor, the late and sometimes great Larry Lau created when he wrote of the Campbell clubbers initi ations and pins as an attempt to be “Just like the big boys.” That inci dent and Beaver Wright’s two “foo poos’ ” on Momism and the TNE ex pose’ were the funniest I can remem ber in my career at U. O. Do you know which cigarette is selling- the best today? It seems the lowly Camel family finally caught Lucky Strike in 1948. Is it true that they are the only brand with a pic ture of the factory on the pack ? I have never heard anyone do a good job of describing a cartoon but with your kind indulgence I will now be funny. The scene; the guy has a badge on his overalls, it says, “sani tary inspector.” In his hand is the “stomper”, he is standing in the “John” (I hate that word) and he is about to pull the chain as he says, “Goodbye dear, I'm going to work now.” Yak. Qf^Ua^td OltA&ivoiio-nl Have You Settled Your Affairs Yet? Tt’s amazing the way people have taken President Truman’s decision to build hydrogen bombs in stride. It’s ironic—and depressing — to think that the freeing of a battleship from a mndhank made bigger news to peo ple Wednesday than did the bomb announcement. About five and a half years ago, when the first bomb was dropped on Japan, people had a truer perspective in its horror. What has brought about a change in that perspective is hard to say. It may be that their memories have dimmed a little, or it may be they have reached a stage of disillu sionment where it no longer matters to them; an attitude of “why should I worry about it? What could I do about it if 1 did?" The worst of it is they're probably right. What could they do about it? It just seems odd that such a momen tous decision as manufacturing some thing with the killing power-of the .“II” bomb could be met with such indifference. There seems to be little discussion or concern about it among the people here at the University, yet they could be the very ones most af fected by it in the end. One Congressman has tried to turn Truman’s announcement into a hope ful note. He says it may be the key to world peace. It’s a nice statement until its implication is examined. What the Congressman means is that Russia may be coerced into closer co operation. It’ll be great, won’t it, a peace based on threat? If it comes about, it will last for another three or four years, until Russia gets a hydro gen bomb of its own. What happens then is anybody’s guess. Mankind has undergone a peculiar sort of a development. The person who said “We have learned to control nature before we have learned to con trol ourselves” hit the nail squarely upon the head. It’s a tragedy that nat ural science has so far outstripped the social sciences. It’s true that we would still be riding in a horse and buggy, suffering from the lack of vi tamins, and reading by lamplight. by Bill jiatfesii. But more important, it might have saved a lot of people from being blast ed into particles considerably smaller than a smithereen. When knowledge of the atom came, we might have been ready for it. There is already more than a slight bit of war hysteria. Concurrently with the announcement of the hydro gen bomb plans there was an an nouncement that new atomic defense measures were being put into imme diate effect. Science, supposedly the most moral branch of knowledge, has put a new weight on the nervous sys tems of people and also a new weight upon their pocketbooks, which is probably considered as being of more consecpience by most of us. There is on ething that is certain: The atom is here to stay. If we don’t learn to live with it we’re going to die with it.
