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represent the opinions of the ASUO or of the University. Initialed editorials are written by
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Let's Face Facts
Would an honor system work at Oregon? We doubt it.
Recently a survey made at UCLA revealed that over fifty per
cent of the students cheat. The discipline committee at Oregon
has just released a report which indicates that almost half of
the Oregon student body has cheated at one time or another.
We hate to be cynical but how can an honor system, which
depends on each individual student, be effective when so many
students seem so accustomed to cheating habits ?
Not long ago we wrote an editorial on the West Point
scandal in which we implied that an honor system at the Point
could, and should work. Stanford University has an honor sys
tem which seems effective. Both these institutions present a
different problem from that at Oregon, or any other state
university, for that matter.
To attend either Stanford or West Point, the student has
to prove he has lots of potential before he even enrolls. In
addition, the military tradition at West Point is built largely
un the ideal of personal honor and devotion to duty, even at the
risk of life. It seems to us that such mental conditioning is basic
to the thought patterns of our country’s professional soldier
ieaders.
And the system has been perfected over a long period of
time. You might say the students have been propagandized
until they believe (most of them) in the honor system. A nicer
name is esprit de corps.
Esprit de corps is that intangible quality which make Marine
Corps casualty lists so long, and the Corp’s list of battle de
feats so short. It’s the same thing which would make a stu
dent stay his eyes-when he has the tendency to copy from his
neighbor’s test paper. Without it an honor system would be
come a fiasco. Without it, an honor system would have to de
pend on the fear of reprisal for cheating to be a success. And
that would not be an honor system.
We don’t say it can’t work here. But it’ll take time and we
still doubt the end result. All that is necessary to enroll at
Oregon is a birth certificate, and a more or less satisfactory
high school diploma or its equivalent. After that, if Mr. Average
Oregon Student is clever enough at the cheating racket, he’s
got it made.
Perhaps an honor system for upper division students in
certain schools would work. But that’s somewhat like taking
sold pills for cancer. Many professors give the type of exami
nations which make it next to impossible to cheat. You might
call that an honor system, too. Right now, we’d call it a realis
tic approach to the cheating problem.—B. C.
This Man Would Honor Any by stem
Capt. Henrik Kurt Carlsen—for many days the world has
been aware that he is a valiant and courageous seaman. Now
we also know that he is an honorable man.
Since his arrival in England from his sunken ship, the Flying
Enterprise, Captain Carlsen has been surrounded by promoters
eager to grease his palm. But his resistance to their blandish
ments has been as steadfast as was his determination to re
main with his ship “until vessel is saved or sunk.”
Carlsen declared that his vessel was sunk by an act of God
and that he is not interested in capitalizing on that act. So he
is passing up hundreds of thousands of dollars that might be
gathered from movie rights, book rights, lectures, etc.
The idea of cashing in on the sinking of his ship could not
be reconciled with the stubborn pride of “Captain Stayput in
his ship and his calling. Carlsen felt the honorable thing to do
was to stay with his ship. Now that is finished and he wants to
avoid acclaim and return to the sea.—D. D.
No Hope for the Single Gal
Girls . . . Have you ever wondered why you aren’t married?
If you’ve been blaming “us men” for your failure to grab a
man—don’t. It’s all the fault of Ma or Pa. That’s the opinion
expressed in Public Affairs Pamphlet No. 177, “Why Some
Women Stay Single.”
If you are to be a single woman, there’s not much to be done
about it. The whole thing got started years ago when your
parents were possessive, puritanical, falsely youthful or what
ever they were. Thus you grew up, but you didn’t grow up as
a self-confident female.
What a relief to know that we males aren’t responsible for
that multitude of unmarried women and unborn children.-D. D.
1Cdit&Ual
It's Your Money
Way back about the middle of September, 1951, you then
returning Oregon students were mighty unhappy to find slot
machines (in the guise of telephones) replacing the former non
pay apparatus.
At least we thought you were unhappy . . . from all the verbal
irriniiur we heard.
After reading today's front page we’ll
bet you're unhappier. Ten cents should
double your gripes.
Last fall everyone (except those house
managers who found they were saving
money formerly spent paying off un
a c c o u n ted for long distance hills)
thought the phones were unfair. Kvery
body thought, that is, but no one DID anything about their
thoughts.
Eventually, the matter came up in a senate meeting. A group
of Oregon students met with their OSC neighbors, who'd been
doing things and succeeded in stalling pay phone installation
on their campus. An Oregon phone committee chairman was
appointed. He's Dick Kading. He, the committee secretary and
Emerald representatives attended an informal meeting with
PUC and phone company officials in Salem Nov. 30. At that
meeting an alternate plan—of an intra-campus exchange (minus
pay phones)—was proposed by the phone company.
And that’s where this tale ends. Nothing has been done since
says Mr. Kading. He’s been too busy, what with finals and
Christmas and rushing and all. However, he said Sunday he’ll
do something right away.
We would say this is an excellent idea.
We would even suggest that students concerned (and that
takes in about all of you) take an active interest in this thing
and do some checking on your own, or urge the phone com
mittee on, or heckle our senate or our student body president
into getting on the ball.
-A Dtuf at the Zoo
Fraternity Rush Week Is Over;
One Brave Rushee Lost in Action
___ By Bob Funk -
It was the morning after rush
week. No one was up. No one
intended to get up. Ever. The
living room was littered with
namnhlets en
titled “Our
House is the
Neatest House
Ever and the
Iota' Omicrons
Smoke Mari
j u a n a.’’ The
dog was lying
quietly on the
floor, gnawing
on a left-over
i usucc. v-v
ture cawed (or
whatever BOb FUNK
sound vultures
make. Tweet, maybe) softly from
a rafter.
Upstairs the house president
was just going to bed. He had
been up all night trying to figure
out how to make out a preference
list. Finally he had sent a note
to student affairs saying simply
“We withdraw from rush week.
It stinks.”
The rushing chairman was
lying in a pool of blood in the
middle of the hall. There were
footprints across him where
people had walked. A pledge
passed. “I think the rushing chair
man would look more effective
as a front door mat,” he thought
to himself. (To sensitive readers:
do not worry, the blood does not
belong to the rushing chairman.
It belongs to someone who said,
on Friday, “When does rush week
start?” That is another, rather
morbid story.)
Several members finally got up
and started packing. One was
going to join a monastery, or
maybe a nunnery. One was going
back to Grant high school. The
others were just going. They went
downstairs (we have already de
scribed what the downstairs look
ed like. By this time it was even
worse, somehow). There was a
gaping hole in the wall where
someone had shot a large some
thing millimeter shell through the
charter.
They stood in the middle of the
room arid'sang One last fraternity
song:- Everyone half-heartedly
whispered the password. It was
over then, over and done with.
"IT’s over and done with,” they
said. The truth of this statement
rankled bitterly in their hearts.
Or maybe their stomachs. They
hadn’t had breakfast. Each man
kicked the fraternity dog;, and
then they filed slowly out the
door.
There was no sound but that of
the wind howling through the
hole where the charter had been,
and the dog chewing on tfie
rushee. A newspaper blew across
the littered floor. It's large black
headline said “Rush Week is
Over.”
(Columnist’s note: yippee!)
1
Letters
to the
Editor
Undemocratic
Emerald Editor:
I do not agree with you whi rl
you nay that perfect scorers and
3.5 average Htudents are on the
honor role. It la lignin proved
last term aa it haa been in pre
ceding years that only those stu
denta are on the honor role who
scored the average wanted, and
who alao happen to liuve the luck
that their professors turned In
their grades within a certain time
limit. Even only one day lntc
makes the big difference for the
students involved. I personally
detest the grading system, but
whenever a university employs
it, its registrar should be con
sistent and should put all the
students on the honor roll who
are, according to their efforts and
not according to the accuracy of
their professors, supposed to be
on the honor roll.
Have you ever been sent up
and down from one counter to
another in the registrar’s office
because you put u comma instead
of a full stop on your registration
cards? If you havr, you certainly
have blamed yourself. Hut who
Is going to be blamed for the *
mistake of a faculty member?
The student. What ear be done
about It ? Nothing. The regls
trar refused to add the unfor
tunute student to the honor roll
and to publish an additional list.
When such things hitp)>cn the
University of Oregon stops bring
ing democratic principles to the
attention of the mnny foreign
students here in Eugene. And
poor Emerald your headline is
now proved wrong, for I know for
a fact that at least 23 instead of
22 scored perfect grades.
A Foreign student
(Name withheld by request
fynom tlte MotUfoe...
19 YEARS AGO
•Inn. 13, 1933—A four-day Em
erald in ruled unconstitutional by
tin- tnlverslty Judiciary Oxn
niittee. It must be published fl\e
days per Meek to lx- railed a
daily—UK It is called by the ASl O
constitution.
Pont office department refused
use of mails to Kmeruld unless it
Is reclassified. Business manager
refuses funds for extra day’s
publication.
10 YEARN AGO
.Ian. 18, 1942—President Roose
velt Monday named Dean Wayne
I- Morse us a member of a 12
man war lubor board to adjust
labor disputes for the duration
of the war emergency.
Honor System Needed?
_
WJT