Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 1950)
Belgian Immigrant Student Tells of Experiences in Europe By John Roaney Memories of life in free and oc cupied Europe, and thoughts of friends that returned from Dach au, and Buchanwald, have not yet left the mind of Harry Donkers, 19 year-old Belgian immigrant. Donkers, a Peruvian by birth, but a resident of the Low Coun tries for 16 years, enrolled at the university Sept. 16, and took resi dence in McChesney hall, four days after his arrival in the United States. “I consider myself very happy and very, very lucky to be here,” the freshman pre-med student said. ‘‘I saw one of my friends, a member of the same Boy Scout troop as myself, arrested and tak en to Buchanwald, simply for de livering underground newspapers. Three years later he was released. He had changed from a very gay and spirited person, into a shatter ed, seemingly old man. There was no humor or vitality left in him at all.” Worked For Underground During the war, Donkers and his mother worked for the European underground. “Most of the time,” he went on, ‘‘I would follow orders that my mother would give to me. However, practically all of the Students distributed the under ground newspapers. It was simple, not too dangerous work, to pick up ■ papers and deliver them after dark to groups of people. Of course if you were caught, you would dis appear and perhaps never be seen again.” Korn Job Important “Each job was important, and each one had its’ end,” the black haired Belgian with the engaging personality commented. “Mother was in a group whose sole purpose was to hide refugees and allied air men from the Nazis. • One day she brought a man in the German Luftwafft, to the house. He looked like a very high ranking officer. Later I found out that lie was, but that he was also rtn American agent that was try ing to get out of the country very fast. I understand that he went to Spain, and then to America. Underground Permanent No one was forced to go into the underground," pointed out the new campus resident. “However, once you were in, it was awfully hard to get out.” According to Donker, his moth er got into the underground through a ■ complete faux pas on the part of the underground. A group of Dutch nurses in a clinic near the Donkers home in Brussels learned that she too, was Dutch. Going to her house to find out if she was of the underground, they introduced themselves and gave the password, "are you Dutch?" Unwittingly she gave hack the correct answer, “yes, 100%.” Whereupon they immediately told her what she was supposed to do. When she realized what they had really meant, she readily assented and soon was presented with forg ed papers and other material which let her transport refugees out of her district. (speaks !Si\ Languages Speaking six languages, includ ing English, fluently. Donkers has pad little trouble adapting himself to the campus language. However, coming to school here after going to school in Europe proved a new and exciting venture for him. • Here the students all seem like one big family. Over there it's like a fraternity but no family. Euro pean schools are so old fashioned.' Ponkers reminisced. “There aren't any student union buildings, no re creation rooms, just classes.” Everybody goes to classes here. Only about 50', of the students in Europe attend classes. And then they get together afterwards for social affairs,” he remarked. Contrast Between Girls Donkers also found a marked contrast between American and European girls. Not wishing to ex press himself wholeheartedly, the fellow that can say “I love you,” in six languages, did say that ‘‘it seemed that American girls seem ed more eager to get a date, and that they made an awful fuss over whether they did or they didn’t.” Bringing out the difference, he pointed out that in Europe the girls all go around with each other, and the boys all stick together. A girl will never go out with a boy un til she is at least 18. and then the boy she goes with she usually marries. Prefers American Way Donkers, with a quick grin, said that he thought he preferred the American way better. ‘‘That way you don’t get stuck with someone you might not care for after awhile,” he laughed. Donkers, a three time crosser of the Atlantic, offered a word of caution to people planning on go ing to Europe. ‘‘If you go there, don’t ffy around taking pictures and buying a lot of unnecessary trinkets. American tourists are very unpopular because they do this. ‘‘Instead,” Donkers said, “visit the people in their houses, look at the fields, act normal. To the peo ple of Europe, America is the prom ised land, and when someone comes along and destroys the illusion, it isn’t appreciated. Americans should be as normal as they are at home.” TODAY'S STAFF Assistant Managing Editor: Jim Knight Desk Editor: A1 Karr Desk Staff: Margie Elliott, Phyllis Eisenbeis, Fenton Butler. NIGHT STAFF Night Editor: Dick Thompson Night Staff: Phil Bettens, A1 Karr, Margie Elliott, Sella Wine berg, Kathleen Stryker, John Wel cer. Even in hot weather you can’t make friends by giving them the cold shoulder. UO Student from Peru Finds Campus 'Different' Inez Pozzi-Escot, exchange student from Peru, said when asked how she likes Oregon, “I know only the landscapes so far, but I really love it because it reminds me of the trip from Buena ventura to Cali, Colombia.” _ Here under a one-year scholarship from the Oregon federa tion of Women’s Clubs and chosen by the Institute of Inter national Education in New York, Miss Pozzi-Escot has already shown her interest in campus ai fairs by taking a beat on the Em erald, but her major studies will be in education and journalism. Arrived in July She arrived in the States in July via a free roundtrip airplane ticket from the Braniff Airways Company in Lima, which, she explained, was better than a scholarship because the rates of exchange would have made cash from the company un favorable. After an orientation course at Mills College in Oakland, California, she arrived in Eugene on September 17. Miss Pozzi-Escot finds colleges different in the U.S. In her own country there is no campus and the college is practically synonymous with studying. University life here is less formal and more gay, she decided. “TJie American people have real ly taken the idea of the pursuit of happiness seriously,” she remarked. “But they put too much emphasis on Doing instead of on Being,” the vivaciou^ brunette insisted. Ines believes that the two greatest things that the U.S. has given the world could very easily be Optimism and The Installment Plan! Teacher in Peru In Peru, Miss Pozzi-Escot who is the descendant of a Italian-French Peruvian combination is a second ary teacher of education, Spanish grammar, and literature. But, be cause'she loves writing so much, she was assistant editor for the New Educator and she also took a de gree in music (piano) at the Nation al Conservatory in order to teach. She is a graduate of Lima High School, unique in her country be cause it is an American school where all subjects except courses about the country and Spanish grammar and literature are taught in English and where commercial subjects are taught. The combina tion brought the graduates of this high school into great demand for bi-lingual office work, and thus the school became an influence in free ing women for outside work. She also was graduated from the University of San Marcos, one of two state universities and three Catholic colleges in Lima, which is also the oldest university in America, North or South. Graduated from San Marcos Big plans are being made to cele brate San Ivlarcos’ four-hundredth anniversary next year. The build ings themselves are built with clois ter-like corridors and pretty foun tains in the patios where orators may sometimes address the stu dents. Chief differences between Peru and the United States, Miss Pozzi Escot finds, are the contrast be tween sizes of family (she comes from a “small” family of 6) and the fact that most people down there have a few servants while here most families have electric equip ment to help with the work. Meals are also later and four in number there, she reports. Travel Difficult Entertainment in Lima may con sist of movies and theaters as we have here (Lima is a modern city of 1,000,000 with automobiles and air planes) with the singular Exception of bullfights, to which the month of October is dedicated. But, due to the varied topography of the coun try, travel in the mountains may be by car (in certain places), by llama, the Peruvian animal of all purpos es, or on foot. Miss Pozzi-Escot wants to go back to Peru to start a magazine for teachers. She is also interested in journalism for UNESCO (Uni ted Nations Economic, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) at some future date. Journalism School Gets Research Funds President H. K. Newburn an nounced this week that a fund for research on mass communications problems had been granted to the school of journalism. This will enable the school of journalism to accept research as signments from newspapers, ra dio stations, and other media of public information. Work will be done primarily on a faculty and graduate student level in the step ped-up program for next year. SU to Hold7’ Annual Press Conference On October 28 the Erb Memorial Union will bei ndoctrinated into an other of its functions, when it opens its doors to the participants in the annual Oregon High School Press Conference. All meetings and meals will be held in the one build ing. Five official delegates from each school, with their advisers, have been invited to attend the conference. Walter W. Ft. May, editor of the Oregon City Enter prise-Courier, will be the principal speaker. The program will include roundtable sessions about the ma jor problems of producing year books and newspapers, mimeo graphed publications, and the let ter-press printed newspaper. One designated “star reporter” from each school will participate in a mass press conference with the director of the SU, Richard C. Williams. A separate program will be provided for advisers. w Gordon B. Greb, instructor in l^rie School of Journalism, and newly named executive secretary of the Oregon Scholastic Press and the Oregon Association of Journalism Advisers, is in general charge of the program. Morse to Speak To Kiwanis Club Senator Wayne Morse makes his first public appearance in the state today when he addresses the Kiwanis club at the Osburn Hotel at noon. Oregon’s junior senator, home to open his campaign to retain his seat in the U. S. Senate, was re ported to be in Eugene Saturday, but neither his Portland office, nor friends in Eugene could substanti ate the report. Morse will tour parts of Lane county today along with other county legislative candidates. He will make a major speech in Flor ence tonight. The bathing gals of today doesn’t look anything like she did 10 years ago—but that much time would tell on anyone. Too many people are inclined to give credit where cash is needed. ANOTHER EMERALD STARTING MONDAY THE EMERALD WILL DAILY FEATURE STATE AND WORLD-WIDE NEWS DIRECT FROM THE WIRES OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS m Daihf EMERALD