The Oregon Daily Emerald ia published Monday through Friday during the college year
from Sept. 15 to June 3, except Nov. 16, 25 through 30, Dec. 7 through 9, 11 through Jan. 4
March 8 through 10, 12 through 29, May 3, and 31 through June 2, with issues on Nov. 21.
Jan. 23, and May 8, by the Student Publications Board of the University of Oregon. En
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achool year; %2 per term. ,
We Need Action
Fire!
It’s a word that can panic a crowd, frighten the most clear
headed, and stampede sensible men and women into a herd of
fighting, crawling, terrified men and women. It's a word the
meaning of which was brought home to us this past weekend
in bold relief.
First, the near tragedy of the Willard school Friday must
have shocked many Eugene parents into a realization that
conditions of our schools and public buildings MUST be of
vital concern to them as parents as well as citizens. We can
only thank God and some quick thinking that no child died in
that blaze.
And. growing out of an investigation instigated by the Wil
lard school fire, we now learn that our own Yets’ dorms are
potential fire traps.
They’ve been with us for eight years now. That group of
white buildings on the edge of campus, bordering Alder street,
lias seen a lot of campus life, despite the fact that they wer ini
tially set up as temporary structures.
Not only must we consider this from a standpoint of po
tential fire danger, but from the standpoint of deferred living
for freshmen students. It is fine to say that deferred living
gives the student a feeling for the University before h is dis
tractd by house loyalties. But these freshmen students must
be given equal living facilities before the program can be
termed successful. The planned addition to Straub is defi
nitely a step in the right direction. But deferred living has
been with us for four years and it’s time to step out of the
planning stage.
The state board of higher education is considering bids for a
new men’s dorm to replace these, which have housed our “sur
plus” male student population for eight years.
During their last meeting, the board got hung up on prices
submitted as bids for construction of the Straub addition.
Seems the construction firms weren’t submitting bids within
the sum of money allocated for the construction. But the
money comes from student funds paid into the University for
room and board in other University housing units.
We look for no further delay in securing bids and beginning
construction. We have, and have had for a number of years, the
safety of 150 students lying in the balance.
But red tape can sometimes be endless and we know we can’t
afford any further red tape where freshmen men’s living is con
cerned. It calls for action.
freedom To Think
We’re kind of lucky. '
We complain a lot about the restrictions on this campus, but
iwben we stop and take a good, long look around us we have to
• admit there’s a lot of freedom.
Intellectual freedom we mean.
We can think pretty much the way we want to here—and
we do. And we’re permitted to have organizations that aren’t
strictly campus in nature. This is unusual, even in the North
west.
For instance, Wednesday night the Young Republicans and
[Young Democrats are debating the question of a lowered
voting age. They couldn’t on a lot of campuses. At least the de
bate couldn’t be sponsored by these political organizations.
Lots of administrations won’t allow any such off-campus
political groups to function.
And on some campuses we know of, students can’t hold re
ligious services of any kind within campus boundaries. Such
'events as the Universal Student Day of Prayer would be “out
lawed.”
Oregon students as a whole tend to be a group of individu
als. Even members of Greek letter organizations, tradition
ally thought to be regimentalized to a great extent, are less
“regimentalized” here than on many campuses.
And the intellectual freedom extends to the faculty—or per
haps that’s where it begins. There’s no negative loyalty oath at
Oregon. We doubt that there ever will be.
Several of our faculty members including new president O.
Meredith Wilson have gone on record as opponents of “Mc
Carthyism.”
This we like very much.
Some residents of the state think Oregon is a “hoDbed of
Communism”—we don’t, we know it isn’t.
But here you’re free to say what you want. To discuss issues
•of the day openly. Isn’t that one of the best possible ways to
discover the truth the main purpose of education?
[We’re lucky. We’re still allowed to think. —(J.W.)
Time Grows Shorter
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Campus Comment—
Dixie Chapters Influence
Discrimination, Frear Says
By Sam Frear
Emerald Columnist
While in the Army, I met a!
true Mississippi gentleman, an
alumnus of the University of j
Florida. It seems that this South-!
erner was very proud of an in
cident occurring at the national I
convention of his fraternity held
several years ago in the Sunshine
State.
During the course of the con
vention, a member from the
north made the customary mo
tion that discriminatory
clauses in the fraternity con
stitution be revoked. The
Southern chapters evidentaly
come to these conventions an
ticipating such action, and they
had a rebuttal prepared.
A blond headed Georgian,
("My God, he was an aristo
crat") was rec-g
ognized and he!
told “them yan-1
kees" that if j
“niggers a n d^
the rest” were
admitted into
the fraternity,
then they, the
southern chap-f
ters, would "se-l
cede’’ from the!
national organization.
The motion was never taken to
vote and the minority managed
to win again. It may be signi
ficant that many fraternities or
iginated in the South, and per
haps people like “Mr. (or Miss)
Name Withheld by Request”
should take this into view.
The reason for this anec
dote is to silence a few inde
pendents like this person who
are all to obviously ahti-Greek
without knowing what they are
talking about. Of course, the
obvious rebuttal would be,
“Let them secede,’’ but I think
even the most ardent indepen
dent can visualize the conse
quences 'to a national organi
zation if this were allowed to
happen. A comparable thing
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I do not mean to defend the
policy of discrimination in fra
ternities, it is a definite liabil
ity to them. But several "Greeks”
have mentioned that they, also,
are concerned with this matter.
The whole problem is: How con
cerned are they?. Is there any
thing being done about it?, and
Do they really want to do any
thing about it?
There is also the problem of
guilt by association. Is a per
son, because he is a Greek, guil
ty of prejudice and discrimina
tion ? Is a negative support to
these principles given by the
mere fact of membership in these
groups. I think the majority of
Greeks have never given serious
consideration to the motives of
their fraternal organization.
Perhaps this alone is a sol
emn indictment against these
people, for ft may lx- that if
Greeks did give more thought
to the problem of discrimina
tion, more would be done to
erase it. However, In a problem
of this sort, actions do speak
louder than words, other peo
ples of the world cannot read
our minds.
Today's Staff
Makeup Editor: Len Calvert
Night Editor: Valerie Hersh
Copy Desk: Gloria Lane, Harriet I
lornbeck.
CAMPUS BRIEFS
Drmilino for Itriix fur lliln column i» at 4
».m. die day prior to publication.
• Thi< Alpha riil Omega pledge
jIrsb will meet at 6 p. m. tonight
n the Student Union.
0 Harry Kent, graduate *tu
lent in biology, will discuss "2, 3,
> Triphenyl Tetrnzollum Chloride
jh n Metabolic Inhlbiter" at the
Otology seminar Thursday at 1
x m. in Science 314.
0 “Inside the Oil,” u sotmd-erdor
■•d movie concerning the regula
tion of enzymes, will be shown to
night at 7:30 in Science 10. The
movie presents through animation
and live-action photography the
concepts of far-tors regulating
snzyme action inside the cell.
0 The faculty senate will mer'f
at 4 p. m. today in the faculty
lounge of the Art and Architecture
building.
• Hie Hawaiian club will meet
today In the Student Union at ti
p. m., according to Corn a Mura
kawa, president. Plans for "Luau”
»’ill be discussed, she said.
0 United Inde|x'ndeif( Students
vill meet at 6:30 p rn. today in
he Student Union. Financial mat
ters nnd the proposed independent
students poll will be discussed,
President Hollis Hansom has an
rounced.
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Springtime Is Time For .
SADDLES
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• Orange Colors! ✓
This Is Strictly T
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