A Familiar Story
The Student Union will open, “as expected!”
Yes, everybody knew it was coming, that announcement
Monday that the building would not be opened spring term.
No one said so officially—in fact it was repeatedly denied but
through some sort of mental abacadaba it seems the student
body knew the story—completion of the Student Union before
the end of the term—much less Junior Weekend—just wasn’t
in the cards.
Actually, Student Union Director Dick Williams did have
high hopes, but first one bug and then a whole family of them
started creeping in. The high hopes became merely hopes—
and then, finally, no hopes at all.
It seems that if it wasn’t one thing it was another. When a
shipment of window glass failed to arrive on schedule, the heat
could not be turned on; and without the heat installation of
the floors had to be postponed. The motorized doors for the
ballroom did not arrive, and when 440 chairs did, they all had
to be shipped back because of certain defacements. One com
plication piled upon and multiplied the other.
Thus, the 18 months originally allotted for construction
have to be extended. The time-table has to be changed. But
that isn’t surprising. It was first hoped that it would be on ex
hibit for the high school students attending the state basket
ball tournament. Then it was to be ready for Duck Preview.
Then, certainly, it would be ready by Junior Weekend. The
fact is it will be ready in time for none of the three events.
And not a fourth—the end of spring term.
The blame -for the delay cannot be placed on anyone. The
fault lay in the fact that not enough time was allotted in the
first place, enough to take into consideration innumerable de
lays.
Mr. Williams is making a wise move in not rushing the open
ing—although the senior class may not agree. The Student
Union is a $1,750,000 piece of bric-a-brac that must be treated
in accordance with its price tag, By the very design of the
building, it would be inadvisable to hold an opening with part
of the building shut off. By the very nature of the building,
the quality of work done on it must be considered first, and
immediate conveniences second. It’s the long haul that counts.
That the decision is the correct one is seen when one considers
the sad experience the University of Washington had when it
opened its union too early.
Ergo, the delay is justified. It is justified as long as meticu
lous care is taken to insure a Student Union that will rank with
the finest.
Ergo, the only mistake was to make promises of completion
by spring in the beginning.
But it doesn’t matter. The promises might have been ful
filled; only no one believed them anyway.
That’s why the Student Union will be opened “as expected”
—this summer, or fall.—T.K.
By Students, for Students
There is a tendency, with so many drives on the campus, to
slide over any one that its possible to slide over. Each drive
may be worthy, but after the Red Cross, March of Dimes,
Community Chest, and others, when WSSF comes around it
doesn’t have too much of a chance.
But WSSF is the only ASUO sponsored drive. This phrase
ASUO sponsored—simply means that this drive has the back
ing of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon.
The other drives, while handled on the campus, were not
backed by the ASUO as an organization.
This distinction may not be of too great an importance. But
it does emphasize one thing—this drive, W’SSF, is held by
students for students. Other students in foreign countries will
benefit by our donations at Oregon. They will get books and
supplies and opportunities to learn that they might otherwise
not receive.
So what we give here this week does help. It helps students
who are striving for the same goals for which we aie striving.
For a while, then, try to forget the other drives, and give
what you can to WSSF.
Orgmn daily
EMERALD
JcrrAt '
. mversity
Opinions expressed in editorials are those of the writer and do not claim to represent the
^.pinions of the ASUO or of the University. Initialed editorials are written by associate editors.
Unsigned editorials are written by the editor.
Opinions expressed in an editorial page by lined column are those of the columnist, and
do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editor or his associates._
Don A. Smith. Editor
Joan MimnauOH, Business Manage*
Ann* GoorviAN, Tom Kino, Associate Editors
Glsnn GlU-ESriI, Managing Editor
Gn&tcUety Old Vet
Spring is the
♦ •
Time to Spray
by Steve. Jtay
Never having been a poison oak sufferer, I
may not be truly inspired to promote the
cause I am about to mention. A friend of mine
in the commercial weed spraying business
tells me that
the cemetery
on the Univer
sity ca m pus
could be clear
ed of poison
oak for $75.
To me, this
would be a
fine step i n
the direction
of, preventive
medicine for
r
to to
the many poison oak sufferers on the camp
us. If the Student Health Service were to fi
nance the whole project, they would very
likely save that much in services the first
year.
The dope to use is called 2-4-D. Being a
farm boy, I have seen it in operation and
know how effective it can be. It fouls up the
cellular structure within the plant and causes
it to outgrow its roots system and its pants.
Norm Conaway of Willamette Weed and
Chemical Co. promises close to 90 per cent
eradication with the first application of the
stuff. He says now is the time to spray. The
job would have to be done with a sprayer on
a boom machine which a man carries. This
makes it possible to spray only what weeds
and plants are undesirable.
As long as we’re at it, why not clean up the
whole works? There is a tree down across the
road that has been lying there since Feb. 13.
Any one of the not-so-active honoraries could
do the school a service by organizing a drive
to collect enough cash to spray the cemetery,
and by arranging for a clean-up day before
Memorial Day. Maybe the senior class could
clean the poison oak out of the cemetery for
its parting gift. Such a project might be more
practical than a sundial standing in the shade,
or a marble bench that's too coid to sit on.
Ritin' at Randam
You Can't Kick Your Wife Around
tup flo- QilLe/U
Peace and the racial question in the United
States are the main concerns of today’s world
—at least, that’s what Mrs. Paul Robeson re
ported Saturday night. Mrs. Robeson has just
returned from
Russia and
China wh ere
she attended
s e v e r al Wo
men’s Confer
ences.
Russia is ex
panding c o n
stru c t i v e 1 y
and the talk of
w a r comes
fro m the
‘O o
/
United States, she said. Whether or not you
agree with that, her logic concerning the ra
cial issue is pretty sound.
India, China, Africa, and other countries
whose populations are composed of colored
peoples feel a vital concern about America’s
treatment of colored, and for that matter
other minority groups. For these countries,
Mrs. Robeson said, have been “the white
man’s burden” in the past and not very happy
about it. And it well may be that the United
States’ actions in this instance could effect
diplomacy. There she has a good point!
Mrs. Robeson did not pretend to be a world
expert and spoke mainly on two things that
interested her most—the racial question and
the women’s status in the countries she had
visited. Women, she said, hold top positions
in Russia and their attitude in Mao’s New
China is: “Women are voters, voters are citi
zens, citizens are equal.” The Communists,
she said, have redistributed the land, and
with everyone getting an equal share, includ
ing the gals, you just can't kick your wife
around very much.
There were about 150 people at Roosevelt
Junior High School attending the lecture,
and surprisingly enough, no hecklers. Those
who disagreed with the gray-haired lady on
the platform, paid attention to her speech and
(Please turn to page three)
Qjflfltatid &&de'watla*i4
Flying Saucers and
Pink Elephants
hf, Bill (lo^e'Ll
A few people are beginning to wonder if
this living saucer myth hasn’t gone about far
enough. The rest seem inclined to go right on
believing everything they see in the papers
or get over
t h e b a c k
fence.
It's amus
ing the way
these stories
g r o w a n d
g r o w. The
other night a
gent 1 e m a n
admitted that
lie too had
seen fl y i n g
saucers, b u t
he said the
saucers were
about six in
ches in diam
eter and
» L ! X •
p i e /? c e
made of white porcelain. He saw them in 1946
at Norfolk, Virginia, when he accidentally
became involved in a brawl at a hashery.
The story was told only as a not-too-funny
gag. But someone else overheard part of it
and in ten minutes it had travelled across a
room tilled with about 75 people. By the time
it got to the other end it was stretched out of
all resemblance to it's former shape and the
storyteller was getting some mighty funny
glances.
One person who seemed to be slightly in
his cups came up and asked for more details.
It seemed that he too had seen a flying saucer
but had never before admitted it to anybody.
It turned out that his saucer was about six
feet in diameter and was flying at an ungodly
speed. He was firmly convinced he had ac
tually seen a flying saucer. Others who heard
his story were just as firmly convinced that
further investigation would have disclosed he
hail also at one time or another seen pink ele
phants and flying snakes.
One Navy officer was so moved by seeing
two of the gadgets race a German V-2 rocket
at White Sands he wrote up a big fat story
1 Please turn to page three)