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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1955)
+ EMERALD EDITORIALS + The Right idea Phi Theta Upsilon, junior women’s serv ice honorary, has taken what may be the first step in removing the numerous "busy work” projects that have plagued campus honoraries for years. The Phi Theta’s have appointed a com mittee to study possible revision of their constitution to remove some of the many projects that Phi Theta's have traditionally handled. This we feel is a step in the right di rection. We have long expressed the opin ion that honoraries should be honorary only. We’ve never been able to under stand why the busiest women on campus should spend even more time working on honorary projects. There will be opposition to Phi Theta’s action should they revise their constitution. Any change in an established custom or tradition brings plenty of opposition. But we hope the revision takes place and we'd like to see some of the rest of the many campus honoraries follow suit. Druids and Friars have the right idea. Let’s see Phi Theta join them. — (J.W.R.) Hell Week Evaluation This editorial is dedicated to those of you who have just come through Hell Week. Chances are you’re doing your best to catch up on your studies and you’re still a little bruised and tired. But quite likely you’re already looking back on Hell Week as something fun and exciting—and waiting till next time when you’ll be dishing it out. Let’s try to be frank and realistic and size up this thing called Hell Week for good and for bad. The supporters of Hell Week say this: 1. It’s a tradition and the pledges look for ward to it. So what? Some people look for ward to war, but that doesn’t make it good in itself. 2. The initiates become more unified with each other and with the fraternity. You'll have to judge this argument by your own experience. But even if it is true, woudn't most any group experience where pledges live and work together for a week produce these results? 3. The physical and mental pressure on the pledge breaks him down-, makes him humble. Do you really want to do this? It would seem by the time a man is ready for initiation, the fraternity would know- if they wanted him. So why try to break him. 4. It’s fun. Possibly; the question is; Does the fun balance off the other part? 5. And probably the most honest rea son: “I had to do it and, by gar, the next guy’s going to have to do it, too.” Objections to Hell Week look like this: 1. It’s physically punishing—especially when the hack paddle is used. Think care fully, does this punishment serve any good purpose? 2. Tremendous physical energy is exerted for nothing. Think of how much construc tive good all that energy could do. 3. At its best horse play appeals to the basest and most juvenile instincts of col lege men; at its worst it can be dirty and disgusting. 4. It’s ruinous to the grades. Most ini tiations seem to coincide with six weeks tests. To borderline cases that just barely made their grades the first time this can be fatal. 5. It can’t be explained to someone who hasn’t gone through it. This is the clincher. Try to convince a mature adult that hack ' ing, horse play, no sleep and lack of study time is something to be desired in a fra ternity system. This last point is important because most people haven’t gone through Hell Week and can’t sympathize with it. As the United States becomes more and more social minded, there is less and less tolerance for outdated traditions such as fraternity Hell Week. * This is important because fraternities are rapidly becoming expendable. Kverv time a university builds a dormitory, there's that much less need for the housing supplied by fraternities. No doubt fraternity living can be super ior to dormitory living, but fraternities have got to stop living in the past and start their good side. So there’s Hell Week for good or for bad. Think it over, you new initiates. Is the doubtful pleasure of Hell Week worth the certain harm to the fraternity system ? This editorial was not written so much against Hell Week as it is for the fraternity system. Think, reason, and come up with something that will replace Hell Week and credit the fraternity system. — (D.L.) The Last Day So this is how it ends! Two and a half years on the Kmerald staff, being a part of every edition on the campus daily. And then comes the last day, and Monday you will no longer be a part of the paper. What do you think of, as you take that last, long look around the familiar shack? It’s empty now, and you are alone in the editor’s office. (It's always empty earlv in the morning when you write the editorials —that's the only time you can really get anything done.) Perhaps you think of that first day you applied for work on the Emerald—ages ago, it seems. You were a rather bewildered sophomore, transfer from a smaller college, and the University of Oregon was a strange place. Would there be any chance of work ing on the Emerald? There was a chance, and you spent all that first fall, pounding a reporter’s “beat”—Fenton and Johnson and other then strange buildings that now are fa miliar as the door to your own home. You wrote headlines in the uncomfortable quonset hut, drafty in winter, oppressively warm in spring. You read proofs late at night over at the old University Press. And then Your Name was on the mast head, and you were a part of the Emerald. A part of every edition. A part of every paper for two and a half years. And this is how it ends. Xo goodbyes; that would embarass you. Xo regrets; you haven’t had time for any. If they ever come (and you doubt they will) that will have to be later, when there is time. There have been a lot of disappointments in two and a half years, a lot of let-downs. Always are in this newspaper business. Hut there has also been a lot of fun to counter balance anything on the bad side. You’ve made a good many friends in two and a half years, and no real enemies (you hope). Real teamwork is needed to make any campus paper a success, and you’ve had that teamwork, that cooperation from everyone on the staff. A great big chunk of your life has gone into the Emerald in two and a half years. And that’s what you’ll remember about the University of Oregon. Not the rallies, or house dances, or term papers, or exam weeks—but the Emerald. Your last day on the Emerald, and you finish this last editorial. And the Emerald “belongs” to someone else now—you wish him luck. There’s no one here to notice you walk out the door the last time. And that's exact ly as it should be, because this is how it ends. Footnotes Convertible tops—rolled down Sunday for the out-of-season weather—have put in a sudden reappearance to meet the present cold snap. INTERPRETING THE NEWS Red China Issue Seen As Deterrent By J. M. KOBKKTS Associated Press Ni'hh Analyst There are occasions when the American political system, which frequently requires the execu tive branch to be more specific about its intentions than is good for its relations with other coun tries, actually produces infor mation of benefit to an enemy. One of the things the Eisen hower administration has been trying to do is retain its flexi bility in dealing with the Far Eastern situation. It is trying to go as far as necessary In warning the Chinese Keda with out tying itself to too many automatic actions in the future. This time, however, the cause of eventual lessening of the ten sion over Formosa may be served by the Senate debate which forced clarification of the pre ventive war issue. Ked propaganda has Item playing that angle, trying to make it appear the I’nlted States, instead of merely in tending to defend Kormoau, Is preparing warlike positions. This occurred before the sub ject was raised in the senate. The explanation that no such idea is entertained -even that retaliation against the Chinese mainland is still not to be an automatic reaction by field com manders but remains strictly un der presidential authority was needed. It would have been better, of course, for the cause of a unified front, if the doubtful senators could have gained publication of the information without flint making it a point of open attack. There has never been any great danger that f'hlang Kai Shek or Hyngman Khee, or taith, would draw the t'nlted Staten into war against her will. They are too dependent, and even their eomblned forced would soon stop rolling if they sent them ngalnat the Med* without prior guarantees that the I'nlted Staten would hack them up. One of the major point* in the present American position, how ever, in that Formosa and South Korea do have forces in being which, if the Reds make a break demanding American interven* tion, could make important con tributions. The British government’s sup port of the American stand, though not without strong oppo sition in Parliament, also is high ly important to the new position. Although there is no commit ment for any participation, the end of long-time British toler ance of Red China’s actions would add considerably to the deterring power of the Kisen hower program. Today's Staff Makeup Kditor Dorothy Her. News Desk Bob Robinson and Jerry Harrell. Copy Desk Kathy Morrison and Robbye Harris. Night Staff Moilic Monroe and Mary McCroskey. G rant-in- Aid “Vou can’t flunk me—I’ve got a CONTRACT.” The Oregon Daily V. examination and \acatibfi Entered a* aerond rhnm Rcliool year; $2 a term. tnrrald la publjahed live .lava a week during the arhnol year rare,it iwnode, by ilm Student FuliU.ailuaa ll..«r.l of the Univrr.il> Oregon, matter at the po«t office. Kugene, Oregon. Subacrlpllon late. : IS |,rr “f «>« *»d do not pretend to repre. “ lie opinion, of the ASUO or the Urturmlty. Unalgtird edit.,rial, ate untie,■ by the editors initialed editorial* by member* of the editorial board. y * JOE GARDNER, Editor JI-.AN SA.MHXK, IliiHinets Manat # r » r««» w——r — .111ni . - | j »....» • i/i.i r.• itw’liiier ItlCk I.KWIS, JACK IK WAKItkl.l, KICK. AsMH'iatc Ktlix.rs Khahkkm"T“ ^ I,ovsa *' N,,KR,;- *•*«.* ' JEgKY HARW[gLLvN«w» Editot__ 1X >kIXJN KICK. Sport* K.l.tor tSSa4Jr£S^Jmr IIarreii’ ***■■ 5® fcfer— ■ .nier uesk Editor: Sally Kyan Chief Makeup Editor; Sam Vahey Feature Editor: Dorothy Her Ass’t. Managing Editor: Anne Ritchey Ass t News Editors: Mary Alice Allen, Carol Craig, Sam Frear, Anne Hill, Hob Kobinson Chief Night Editor: Valerie Hersh Ass’t. Sports Editor: Buzz Nelson Photography Editor: Dale Turner M.ln.iKc r: Hill Mainwari’ng " Nat I. Adv. Mgr.: Mary Salazar ( ireulation Mar.: Rick Hayden Ass't. Office Mar.: Marge Harmon Layout Manager: (tick Koe < lassified Adv,: Helen R. Johnson Morgue Editor: Kathleen Morrison Womans Page Co-editors: Sally J« Marcia Mauney Greig,
