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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1956)
+ EMERALD EDITORIALS + ‘Hell’Should Be ‘Help’ The high incidence of property destruc tion this past week leaves us with one idea: hell week must go. This is neither a new nor a startling pro posal. The destruction of property, both of individuals and of the public, has been a part of the initiation system for a number of the campus fraternities for some time. Those pledges who don’t actually engage in the destruction of property still may be hazed in a manner which is not befitting the dig nity of human beings. To say that they are tortured is to put it mildly. And it has scholastic repercussions. How can a man who is forced to stay up all night be in any shape for class the next day? Just how much study time is allotted to improve the low GPAs? We know of at least one case last year where one new initiate never did get caught up from hell week—and suf fered a correspondingly low GPA. We doubt that he was alone in this. We also know of one more mature indi vidual, a veteran and prominent student, who broke his pledge rather than go through the childish hell week. Did such an action bring a re-assessment of its system by the fraternity in question? We regret to say that it evidently didn’t. In discussing this with fraternity mem bers we found a single, almost universal, an swer: hell week helps the esprit de corps. It helps the pledge feel a real part of the fra ternity. Our question: is hell week worth this? Couldn’t the same results be obtained from less harsh, more constructive methods? Xo one would object to a reasonable amount of work for the house, provided that it really was work, not the make-work variety such as scrubbing already scrubbed walls. There is much painting, cleaning and repair work which could be done, and legitimately. Should this prove insufficient, there are a number of community projects which could be undertaken. And the fraternities possibly would receive some favorable publicity, for a change. How does this compare with the bad publicity, and the bad public relations, received by the fraternity system and the University, as the result of this past week’s actions? The Inter-fraternity council has provided more leadership this year than any year within our recollection. It should be able to control its own members. If not, such action as that taken Monday bv the admin istration cannot be criticized.—(S.R.) Hub of School Aid One of the most important, and yet one of the most controversial and insolvable, problems confronting the country today will once again be tackled by Congress this ses sion. I-ederal aid to education is still on the lips and minds of our legislators as are high ways and agriculture, the “big three’’ in ternal questions. With the session less than two weeks old, there are already two major proposals for ■■ federal aid in the news. One is a holdover bill from the 1955 session, while the other is a second try by President Kisenhower at finding a Mutable solution tv) the school crisis. We feel that neither one of these pro posals will ever become law, at least with out some major revisions. Despite the urg ency of more funds for school construction and higher wages for teachers, neither the administration nor congress has found the answer as to distribution of funds. Never before has a law been passed pro viding for general assistance to public elementary and ,-econdary schools, for con struction and or operation. This field has traditionally been a local job, despite fed eral assistance in many related fields. But a crisis in lack of classrooms and teachers caused by the loss of building time during the war and a huge increase in the birth rate has come to education. Something must be done. l'he Kelley bill, introduced in 1955 for granting SI.6 billion over four years to tin states, has been passed by the Mouse edu cation committee and awaits transfer to the floor by the rules committee for vote. But opposition has developed which may block it primarily due to its lack of a provision for not helping state-- which have segregated schools. The same fate could come to President Eisenhower’s aid proposal in which he called for a $114 billion grant plan spread over five years and the capacity to buy $750 mil lion worth of local school bonds. This is quite different from Ike's plan of last year in which one proposal was to set up sep arate state corporations to finance school building. The President’s new plan would require matching funds from the states for con struction. 2 3 of the costs to be paid by the so-called “rich’’ states but only 1/3 by the “poor” states, with others in between. Hut funds are to be appropriated on a income - per-child basis, not a very good way of de termining actual school needs. Kelley’s bill, meanwhile, has a more defi nite method of apportioning funds, but one which would fall short of solving the prob lem. The Pennsylvania Democrat's meas ure would give fiat sums to the states on a straight school child population basis, about $10 per child to each state. The fault here is that the states with the heaviest populations, such as New York, California, and Pennsylvania, would get the most money but are having the least trouble meeting school problems. This is because, in general, the most populated states are the richest in both total evaluation and income per person. This is generally reversed for the smaller states. This then, we believe, is the rub of the whole school aid problem: an objective means of distributing the needed funds where they will do the most good. A new law without this would be ridiculous. —(J-C.) Footnotes Now we’re reminded once again why they ’call it “Hell Week.” It sure is that for the people who have to do the work of those who are participating in the other festivities. Letters to the Editor Dear Editor: We, the newly initiated mem bers of Theta Chi fraternity, would like to make this state ment to the students and faculty of the University of Oregon about our recent conduct. We realize that we were in the wrong and offer our sincere apologies. It was a spontaneous misdemeanor committed during the last night of a rigorous initiation. No malice was intend ed and in no way did we wish to degrade or cause bad feelings toward our school or our fra ternity. However, we do feel that our part in the episodes was over-emphasized in a recent edition of the Oregon Daily Emerald, because “several fra ternities” were involved, yet we were the only ones mentioned by / name. The entire pledge class of II Theta Chi accepts the respon sibility of our misdemeanors, and we will do everything with in our power to right our wrong doing and restore the feelings of goodwill towards the Univer sity of Oregon and Theta Chi fraternity. Respectfully, The Freshman Class of Theta Chi Fraternity, Jim Brooks, President Taffy Pull by Fudge "Oh fit'orKf! Fraternity brother or not, must he always rome ^llonK •.'■, GULLIVER'S TR57LES I Have My Fling at The Sport of Kings By Ken Kesey Emerald Columnitl When we were kids hack in Colorado my brother and I took to catching bugs and racing them. We started with sow hugs. We would each catch a sow bug and brand it with a dab of fingernail polish, then put it under a thumbtack box in the center of a large chalked circle in our garage. I would lift up the little box and the sow bugs would leisurely un curl and stroll toward the edge of the circle; the one that reached the edge first was the winner. I don't recall any prize the winner got. other than the privilege of racing again losers were quickly liquidated underfoot. The sow bugs were lazy, dim spirited beasts and we would often have to goad them along with the beam from a magnify ing glass, even then the races would sometimes last an hour. We forsake the sow bugs for daddy-long-legs, then tumble bugs, lightning bugs, dewinged grasshoppers, crickets and other dry climate bugs that would soon go their way to a watery death here in Oregon. We finally switched to cock roaches. We located an extensive herd of them. They pastured in the warm lining of our water heater and came out only at night to roam unchal lenged about our house like wild, highbloodcd steeds. These were the fastest and most spirited contestants we had ever raced and it wasn't long before we cleared the race track of the various other has-been bugs and each had a fine stable of sturdy cockroaches. Competition ran high in our cockroach race*. We branded them and knew ea< h one by heart. We kept them in a wash tub and fed them coffee grounds until they were sassy anti- prime for racing. Chuck owned a favorite he called P-3S, an< after my top steed* wen* continually beaten by p-3k, I anuck out to the stables on> night and pu!le<i off one of the big roach's leg Chuck never noticed P-% i handicap and he never could understand why the Nashua of the insects suddenly should choose to run in circles, P-3S was retired to the washtub pasture f<»r bleeding, a gient roach with ji great past. My steeds dominated the t\ inner’s circle for quite a while after that, with my roach, General Patton. an Inch and a half of pure rar ing hrauty, going unbeaten for months. Then one after noon at the track, (buck brought In a new breed. \ shrew, a flesty little varmit like a dwnrprd mouse with a lion's heart, and entered U in the Third against General I’atton. I was Indignant. 1 didn't think It fair to run a mammal against a bug. But our rules said nothing about It, and Chuck's shrew looked so neurotic that I doubted if he could cwn find the finish line. We put the nhrew and Gener al Patton beneath the thumb tack box and got ready for the tare. After wrnte fanfare I jerked up the box, and there sat Chuck's shrew, smugly licking his lips and batting his black litt!*? eyes at the light. General Patton was gone. X stomped the shrew in a fit of despair ai.d Chuck retaliated by flooding the washtub stab les with stove-oil. And such was the end of our fling at racing. The Oregon Daily Emerald m published live clay# a week during the ,-hool year, except during examination and vacation periods by the Student 1'ublie.it.o.ix Board of the lYi vcrsity of ttregon. Entered as second class matter .,1 the post office, Eugene, Dreg hi. Subscription rates: $5 per school year; $2 per term. K K Opinions expressed on the editorial paj<e are those of the writer and do not pretend to ? yZtT*;-‘! tHA,SUO "r,,he l'>‘y- Unsigned ed,tonal# are written i.y the editor; initialed editorials by members of the editorial board.