Daily
EMERALD
Centennial ‘Snag’
On one of the inside pages in Tuesday’s
Oregonian, Washington correspondent A.
Robert Smith reports that plans of the Ore
gon centennial commission tor kicking off
its publicity campaign at the White House
have "bumped into a snag."
The "snag” was none other than Ore
gon’s junior senator, Richard L. Xeuberger.
Neuberger came out against asking Presi
dent Eisenhower to take part in a cere
monial affair on the occasion of his signing
an Oregon centennial proclamation. Xeu
berger cited concern for the president’s
health, and lack of time for such things.
Xeuberger said: “His strength and vi
tality are definitely limited. They must be
spared for the greatest duties of his office
. . . If I can ask for the president’s time and
energy so that I can present him rose slips
on behalf of the Portland Rose Festival,
then some other U. S. senator can make a
similar request for the Wenatchee Apple
Blossom festival, the Pasadena Tourna
ment of Roses or the Xebraska Ak-Sar-Ben
festivities. There would be no end so such
demands.”
While Xeuberger may have overdone the
"limited strength and vitality” line, lie's
dead right on ceremonial affairs. The last
person who should be bothered with them
during these times is the President.
It would be a good idea for more political
and social organizations to pay attention to
Xeuberger's statement that "all of us Ameri
cans must exercise restraint in burdening
the President with such purely ceremonial
tasks as this.”
All’s Not Lost
“Rosy Outlook” is the headline over the
lead story in last week's Time magazine
cinema section. Among other things Time
notes that Hollywood's 1958 production
schedule is "the most ambitious in recent
years.” Paramount plans to release 32 mov
ies this year; Warner, MGM, Columbia,
United Artists', and Twentieth Century-Fox
all plan production increases. This, of
course, is good news tor the entertainment
hungry college student who has been close
to nausea since he that heard ‘‘movies are
better than ever.” Perhaps—with more
movies—there’ll be better movies.
Emerald entertainment editor John Len
gel has frequently noted last fall’s lack of
quality in downtown movies. We've been
forced to agree.
But take a look at recent developments.
Things are looking up. Within two weeks,
two of the funniest shows ever (“The Lady
killers,” “Don’t Go Near the Water”) made
appearances downtown. Just last week came
more pood news. The grand old Mayflower
announced its re-opening and the coining
of "Oedipus Rex,” "Richard 111” and "The
Red Balloon," with promises of more high
quality films to come.
The Student Union has scheduled a good
line-up of second-run movies for the rest of
the year including "The Bad Seed," "Seven
N ear Itch," "Moby Dick and "Bad Day at
Black Rock.”
While we’re on the subject of good movie
entertainment, we shouldn’t forget the Uni
versity Film Society’s slate which includes
a schedule of excellent classics, such as "All
Ouiet on the W estern Front,” “A Day at
the Races" and “The Good Earth.”
So, maybe all is not lost for campus movie
goers.
Worthwhile Lecture
Once termed the “Drowsing" Room lec
tures by a witty Emerald writer who was
covering the weekly series, the current
slate of Browsing Room speakers has
awakened new interest in the program.
Several of this year’s lectures, especially
those of \Y. O. Shanahan and E. S. W’cngert,
were so well attended that seats were at a
premium. Tonight's lecture by R. E. Mike
sell, Miner professor of economics, is ex
pected to be as popular.
The major factor in the surge of campus
interest in the series is perhaps the more
timely choice of topics for this year’s lec
tures. The series has alwavs tended to ap
peal more directly to the intellectuals and
scholars who have some direct interest in
the topic’s field, but the subject matter
should not be such to discourage listeners
who would simply like to know more about
the topic.
Perhaps one of the best examples of the
specialized topics was la-t year's speech on
"The Influence of Freudian Psychology on
the Criticism of Literary \Vork>.” This sub
ject would rarely be discussed outside
graduate seminars and five hundred series
courses.
A good lecture should hold some chal
lenge for most listeners. It should not,
ideally, be over the heads of listeners who
are not specialists in that field, yet not be so
simple that it fails to stimulate the speaker’s
contemporaries in the audience. It should
seek to encourage further thinking no mat
ter what previous knowledge individuals in
the audience have on the subject.
Few students and probably a good num
ber of faculty members have had much time
to study the philosophy and development of
U.S. foreign policy. Tonight's lecture on
"Trade, Aid and National Security” ought
to prove informational and stimulating to
those attending.
Our Oonle,
mporarieA
Religion. Is Valid State University Study
(Editor’s Note: The following
editorial, from the Eugene Rig
ister-Guard, comments on the
editorial “Specter of State Re
ligion Haunts American So
ciety” which the Emerald re
printed from the Colorado Daily)
The editorial columns of the
Oregon Daily Emerald have
been used in recent days to ex
plore that old bugaboo “separa
tion of church and state.” And
it’s a good thing they have, be
cause student opinion on such
matters should be encouraged.
Far better, we believe, to get
worked up over the issue of re
ligious freedom than over the
burning issue of supporting the
team.
Unfortunately, however, the
issue comes up right before the
university observes its “RE
Week,” known some years as
"religious evaluation week” and
some years as religious em
phasis week.” This is a univer
sity sponsored observance, an
observance of a type not per
mitted at the University of
Washington because of a misun
derstanding by that institution
of the “freedom of religion” and
"separation of church and state”
concepts.
We agree at the outset with
students who have said they
fear a growing trend toward
institutionalizing religion in
American life. We agree that it
should come naturally and from
the churches or not at all—cer
tainly not from the government.
At the same time we see a
need for the study of religion,
for a study of it from a philo
sophical and social point of
view. No area of human ex
perience that means as much as
religion means to millions of
people can be neglected by an
institution devoted to the hu
manities and the social sci
ences. Here in Oreogn we can
be proud that our university
recognizes an important aspect
of life.
However, we’d like to see
more real argument. Too often
these religious assemblies at
txact only those who are already
convinced. Four years ago,
recognizing this, the univer
sity provided for a “skeptic’s
hour,” in which those who
wished to come to scoff could do
just that without being coerced
into staying to pray. But not a
single old-fashioned scoffer
turned up. The main feature of
the meeting was a high-brow
give-and-take session betw'een
some amateur theologians and
the visiting parsons.
MonoR.imy?
r1 /
ANP QUIT iNIKODUCiNJ ME A6 #2SC*f ffttfHD/0
Jacl Wits
Son
Present College Generation
Different from Those Past
Having received, at this writ
ing, no denials of Nicholas
David's theory that the brevity
of campus love affairs is ex
ceeded only by _
their shallow
ness, I suppose
it's up to this
writer to offer
the defense.
And it's not
so much a de
fense as it is an
explanation. An
explanation, you
jih^ui --
the American public from col
lege students about our appar
ent lack of sincerity.
Are we really so much dif
ferent from the college genera
tions which have preceded us?
For good or for bad. we are. A
pinning was unheard of 30 years
ago, except as an occasional
genuine prelude to engagement.
Otherwise, the stag reigned
supreme, and the more girls a
man could take out without get
ting involved, the higher his
esteem.
(The stag is still an important
individual in the South, where
it's pointless to take a girl to
a dance if you expect to dance
with her. But I suspect that
even the conservative old South
will be unable to hold out
against the trend very long).
It has been said of us that
we are a monogamous group,
hut our monogamy is not al
ways confined to one partner.
We engage in a “monogamous
polygamy.” This sounds like a
conflict of terms, but it Isn’t.
It is our custom to concentrate
our affections on one person for
a length of time, then go on to
another. But during that time,
no infidelity by either partner
is allowed.
If I were to twist Dave Cass'
observation the other day, I
might comment that these
“streaks of monogamy1’ corre
spond to the streaks of mar
riage and divorce which are be
coming more prevalent among
American adults.
But that is obviously not a
valid conclusion, any more than
the conclusion that a long pin
ning period corresponds to a
long marriage is valid.
Sincerity is the key word, I
think. It could only be insin
cerity that causes a fraternity
pin to hop around as if afflicted
with St. Vitus’ Dance and it
Isn't always Insincerity on the
pint of its original owner. Both
parties have to share the blame.
I don't think this Insincerity
is Intentlonul. Snre. there's al
nv>H the guy who tikes to make
Ills wall look like the side of a
World War II fighter plane
with sorority stickers, amt
there's always the girl who
thinks a collection of pins is a
more valuable reminder of her
eollege days Ilian her diplomu.
But most people aren't In
tentionally insincere that’s a
form of dishonesty, and few of
us are morally constituted to
la- Intentionally dishonest.
We're Just like inexperienced
shop|>ers, buying the first thing
that strikes our fancy, then re
turning it for something u little
better or different, and re
peating the cycle until we fi
nally select something that suits
us. Some of us get what we
want on the first purchase. Kor
others, it takes several trans
actions.
In contrast, our parents—or
so I'm told—did a lot of win
dow shopping before they
iHiught, saving themselves some
trouble IHit coming out about
the same in the long run.
Whether our mating habits -
so shocking to the older genera
tion are good or bad, moral or
immoral, 1h impossible to Judge,
at least from our jmsition in fhe
middle of the forest. But I doubt
if we're any worse than any
other generation of college stu
dents was or will be.
OREGON DAILY EMERALD
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ALLEN JOHNSON, Editor
GARY CAPPS, Husiness Manager
VVI LLIAM COOK,
Editorial Page Editor
PHIL HAGER, Managing Editor
(iLEN GRAVES, Advertising Mgr.
JACK WILSON, JERRY RAMSEY,
Assoc iate Editors
PEPPER ALLEN, News Editor
BOB MULLIN, Sport# Editor
JOANNE MILLIGAN,
Ass’t Business Manager
Editorial Hoard : Allen Johnson, William
Gook, Phil Hag'-r, Pepper Allen, Jerry
Ramsey, Jack Wilson, Boh Mullin.
Day Editors: Wally Slocum, John
Lengcl, Don Jcpsen, Al Reynolds,
Kvie Olsen.