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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1957)
Charter Day Evaluation The case of the missing student is still the biggest problem of the Charter Day committee. And last week's fourth com memoration of the event indicated that no ready solution for the problem can be ex pected for next year, at least. Why concern over student non-atten dance at something that involves primarily faculty and administration in the first place? Faculty and administration are the participants in most of Charter Day’s events, to be sure, but Charter Day itself is a commemoration of the University’s founding by the University community. And students are the essential part of any university community. There were those who said that the stu dents did nof know enough about the Char ter Day observation—that ju>t a good job of publicity and promotion would result in the desired turnout. Increased public rela tions in this area each year has produced little results, however. Mure student mem bers were added to the committee; student leaders pleaded through letters and brief talks to living organization<; houses were urged to sit together. But each year the .'in dents stay away. anticipating the student' logical maneuvers when any classes are dismissed has failed also. The Student Union has been closed, the library has been locked, but the students find other places to spend an afternoon—quite obviously. Some said it was simply a matter of the weather. For three years the academic pro cession proceeded only down the corridor of McArthur Court; the rain- took care of the colorful cross-campus march. And if there were no procession, many students not otherwise reached would not be drawn into the main convocation. But last week-' program proved that sunshine has even greater drawing power than shower—away from the Charter Day event. Still others said that the program was the deterrent. The student- who attended the lectures with the promise of a cultural ly satisfying experience came away dr-ap pointed too often—and left the following year’s program for other “first-timers.” But the Charter Day committee, backed by a fund allowing generous honorariums, will go anywhere in the world to find speakers. Unfortunately, the succe'S of the commit tee has been poor, these critics sav, cli maxed by this year’s program. And this comment may be the most tell ing of any. The speakers at the afternoon convocations have all too often been out shone by the men who addressed the even ing assemblies. But attendance at the even ing programs has not been so much of a problem because Eugene townspeople add to the Student Union ballroom crowd con - siderablv. And the afternoon convocation is the principal event of Charter Day tin time when atendance by the student seg ment of the University community is most desired. The 1956 convocation address by Presi dent Lee Du Bridge of the California In stitute of Technology was not spectacular. Students, disappointed there, made no spe cial effort to get to the evening assembly where Robert Redfield made one of the most outstanding speeches in University history. It was not the first time that many thought the order of speakers should have been reversed. This year seems to have been no excep tion. Walter Paepcke’s main convocation address was unimpressive to say the least. George C.amow’s evening talk was excel lent. Gamow’s subject, however, \Vas not especially suited for a Charter Day obser vance, particularly with a Condon lecture series taking up approximately the same subject in two weeks. The experience of a college generation of Charter Days points to one overwhelming difficulty in program arrangement: the quality of the speaker cannot, unfortunately, be judged by his background only. Too often it is the case that the very successful activities of a man in the board room of the laboratory or the administra tor's office do not necessarily qualify him as'a man with a message for a Charter Day audience. Here, let us say that xve realized the difficulty under which Paepcke labored as a last-minute substitute for Robert Hutchins. Hut we had almost forgotten this until hi- repeated mentions of the fact convinced us that he was nothing but a man off the bench. Solution of the speaker problem, a diffi culty in itself, may not be the automatic answer to a really successful Charter I )ay. It probably i-n’t. Students need more than a promise of outstanding addresses be fore they will forsake the Side for obviously less recreation pursuits. What this promise would be. we-do not know. (And if the Charter Day committee finds out, we would like to know; sincere student interest or even attendance at anything on this cam pus is a big problem.) But failing to answer this que-tion, the Charter Day committee should not aban don the event. There is still value in stop ping to look at our beginnings and con sider our future. And Charter Day offers this value to an entire university communi ty, sitting down together. Hut if it is to be an entire university community, we might do well to present speakers who can com ment more ably on our beginning or our future. Seconds and Inches Three weeks ago, at about this time, we were discussing the importance of a feu seconds in a football game—then, it was with a touch of regret. Today, we’d like to say something about the even-greater im portance of a few- inches—and it’s with an almost uncontrollable enthusiasm that we tackle the subject. A deviation of a few inches in the arc of a kicked football—plus, of course, a team that doesn’t know the meaning of the word “quit”—has changed the connotations of several common words for thousands of Webfoot fans. A rose, for example, is no longer some thing presented at serenades or placed on floats; it’s now a word with more magic than “Abracadabra” or “Shazam.” And Pasadena has changed from a mere suburb of Los Angeles to a destination. All of which, we realize, is almost disas trously premature thinking. There’s 'till California (victor over USC this weekend and also eligible for a Rose Howl trip this yearj and four other rough opponents to he overcome before all this dreaming becomes a reality. Hut it sure feels good to see our Webfoots perched atop the conference standings. And a little enthusiasm never hurt anybody. Footnotes Publisher Robert Harrison of Confiden tial, praising the “reaffirmation ... of the freedom of a publisher to publish and .. . the freedom of the public to read,” left out a couple of words. “Trash” and “filth” should have been in that sentence somewhere. Good I hing He Wasn’t .1 Pledge! 2U. C, University’s RO i'C Program Has Faults as Well as Values Shortly after the finish of the Civil War a far-sighted Con gress. along with abolishing slavery of the body, passed a bill allowing the establishment or land •Olleges. In e* •-ence, thiH mean* ire provided for illotment of fed eral lands to aublic iniititu 'ions of higher learning. w h ci would in turn igree to inn l ruct th»*ir mule stu uenis m me mystei ics and in tricacies of the military. It i.s my purpose today to evaluate the outgrowth of this art, to discuss the role of the underclass KOTO program at the University, its values and its faults. This is not a dis course for women, campus mas cots or inarticulate presidential aspirants. \ defense of the military pro gram on this campus must hinge on the fact that the serv ices need high quality leaders in large quantities, and that these can best come from the cream of the nation's youth, its college students. With this in mind, u<* must ask first, how "*‘H does the program provide for good leadership, and seeond, how well is the program woven into the fabric that is the ( Di versity ? Almost any jlraftee or en listee will tell you that in the services the KOTO boys are the most disliked and incompetent of the officers. This general at titude of course has partly to do with the fact that college kids are ‘too’ smart, they see themselves as better than other people. But even more vital are the more or less parallel facts that what a person emerges with from college has no bearing in the services and therefore that tne very nature of the ROTC program precludes continuance by the more qualified students. What's wrong with the ROTC that makes these two facts true ? One might say that the insti tutions of the military and of higher education are diametri cally opposed in outlook and practice. Does this mean that the two should be entirely sep a rated ? I hate to think *o Hut yet, In every impact the HOT*' program la In conflict with the spirit of the University. Where else in the I’nlvendft, esrepl by stupidity or ineompe lance, is such stress placed on role, un<|Ucstlonad acceptance and subordination of mind? Nothing revolts the thinking |MTson more than the Idea that the mllltors should lie accepted as it is now, without crtlieisin. Uut, answers the mllitury man, this is the heurt of the military. True, and if the mili tary would realize tins basic discrepancy with the scholastic life, reconciliation might h. affected. This might require a rather hypocritical nf proach. to realize what must hi* on the fine hand, while evaluating It on the other. Instead, the ItOTC is commit ted to the doctrine that one must know what is presently so, nnd at the same time must ac cept this as right. This is un tenable. The actual organization of the program and the caliber of in struction leave much to he de sired. When a semi-literate in structor, teaching a class out side in below freezing weather, tells his class, "You can’t think with your hands in your pock ets," or when a true-false test comes up with a question sm h (Continued on pagt 3) OREGON DAILY KMKKXI.I) Dir Oregon Daily Emerald is pul.! Iml four tiroes in Scptrinl r uni fur da>* a VM-ck during the school year, exce pt during examination and vuc.iturn periods, !>y the Student Publications Hoard of the I'nivrr* hity of Oregon. Entered ;n second « l.»*s matter at tlir post oPicr, Eugene. Orejn. Subscription rates: $5 per year, $J per term. < Opinions expressed on the editorial page air those of rbe Ktnciaid and do not pre t« ml to re|o« M-nt the opinion of the AS l O or the University. ( HAREES M ITCH El.MORE, Kditor DARN < API'S, Pithiness Matiagri ^ ^ * Editorial Page Kditor •Ss. (^ M I.NS <) X. Managing Editor (»KA\ hS, Advertising Manager CORNELIA 1 OOI.E, WIKI.JAM < <>()k, AsvKiate Kditors I'll IK 11 ACER, News Kditor t/RAMSEY, Sports Kditor JOANNE Mil,MOAN, Ass t Jiiiv Mgr. EDITORIAL HOARD: Charles Mitchel more, Jack Wilson, Allen JoHusmi, ( orildia Fogle, William ( <*,k. Phil Ha ger, Jerry Ramsey, Waruc Woodman. . n*’ I'-'Ht" : Wayne Woodman Day hditm Joan .viatis. Evelyn Ohen, l epper Allen, Mike Porrrtci, Pat Night Editor1 : Dave Eortic, Don Rob insoti, Prank Ingram. Women’s Editor: Kathy Cook Office Manage:-; Alice McKindrir v AoS’k ^,lv- ‘^Kr-: Huger oni th Nat I Adv. Mgr.: Charmion hord Executive Secretary: Pat llo ley Chief !photographer: Natlu.u Mull ( assifie l Maoagci . Warren Rucker Accounting Clerk: Erlcne V\ liitchou.se
