Daily
IEMERALD
End of the Trend?
On the surface, at least, the controversial
“dry zone’ issue has been resolved for a
while with the approval by the Eugene city
council of three package beer licenses from
grocers within the now-illegal zone.
The lack of action by the joint city coun
cil-University committee, set up at Mayor
J. J. McGinty’s request, may have signi
fied the beginning of the end of the “dry
zone” principle.
The three new package beer outlets—if
the licenses are, as is expected, approved by
the Oregon Liquor Control Commission—
are not expected to have much effect on
the amount of beer consumed by Univer
sity students.
Consequently, it is highly doubtful if
such a drastic step as asking the legislature
for a legal "dry zone" will be \aken by the
University until further infringement of
the present zone area appears to pose a
real threat to the University.
The idea that beer nearby should not be
considered a “threat" to an enlightened, ma
ture University community is doubtless
valid. Unfortunately, we do not possess, on
the whole as yet, such a communitv.
Certainly the University must never ap
pear to be encouraging or supporting the
abolition of the dry zone principle—if for
no other reason than for public relations.
The present situation, with the granting
of licenses, is not, we hope, indicative of a
trend which will end with tap beer on the
borders of the campus.
BISFEA Needed
Has curiosity died out at Oregon?
Can someone tell us what has become
of the narrow-eyed individuals who used
to be on campus, seeking out and challeng
ing unexplained events, pestering Physical
Plant employees about their solemn and
often puzzling tasks, and reading disturb
ing meaning into every laconic announce
ment from Student Affairs?
These were the hardy individuals who
surmised that the Oriental Art Museum
doesn’t have windows because its archi
tect was blind; who suggested, every time
a campus tree was pruned or cut down,
that certain prominent faculty members
needed fireplace wood. Included also were
those intrepid explorers whose inquisitive*
ness led them to trace out the maze of heat
ing and utilities tunnels which underlie the
whole University. An oblong, heavy wooden
box carried to the biology department by
University employees became a coffin en
closing a freshly-dug cadaver, etc.
Their basic spirit was that which prompt
ed the “Whispering Greek” of last vear,
Bob hunk’s “A Day at the Zoo” series and
similar efforts.
An insatiable curiosity dominated those
University students—to every untoward
thing that appeared on campus, they first
asked themselves “Why”, and then set
about answering their own questions. We
suppose this sort of thing possesses the
“Sidewalk Superintendents” who flock to
big construction-sites, to stand transfixed
on the sidelines, watching the heavy equip
ment with one eye and making wild spec
ulations with the other. *
In place of this condition, there seems to
be a general apathy, a lack of wonder among
today’s Oregon student body. Nobody ap- -
pears to be really concerned over the long,
deep trench being dug by University la
borers on the west side of Johnson Hall or
that obnoxious odor which permeates the
Audio-Visual film studios.
As a partial remedy for this deplorable
situation, we propose tlie following: A
Hoard for Investigation into Strange Fix
tures and Extraordinary Activities on the
Oregon Campus, to he abbreviated “BIS
1'EA”. Members of this board will he
selected from that curious group (if any
representatives are left) who would rather
observe campus doings and make specula
tions about them than endure the mundane
truth.
Furthermore, we suggest this partial pro
gram of investigation:
1) What is the significance of the little
fence of iron arrows which border the roofs
of Deady and Villard? B) What goes on
in the gargets at either end of the top floor
of Deady—there are windows but no doors.
2) Why was the Primate Lab moved from
the quonset south of Deady, and where is
it now? Why ‘were oddly human cries
sometimes heard there?
3) What i» underneath Friendly Hall?
4. \\ by are there so many dark, uni
dentified. locked rooms in the Library?
Make your own surmises, for practice.
Our Oontem,
\p or dries
Two-level System of Higher Education Needed
(The following editorial is re
printed from the Christian Sci
ence Monitor, Jan. 23, 1958.)
Colleges in America are ma
jor pillars supporting the ad
vance of knowledge—hence na
tional survival in an age of
breath-taking change. Colleges
also are being taxed beyond ca
pacity by the demand of young
America for a campus experi
ence.
Yet not everyone knocking at
the gates is deeply dedicated to
advancing knowledge or suf
ficiently prepared to undertake
it. If the burden of these latter
were lessened, colleges would
have more room, facilities, fac
ulties, and money to devote to
fruitful instruction and discov
ery.
If this were all there were to
it the answer, in theory at least,
would be simple: Elevate en
trance requirements so as to
screen out all but the intellec
tually able and concentrate the
faculties qualified to teach
them, the libraries, and the
laboratories in a relatively few
institutions.
Such a revolution (and it
would be just that) would not
oe without meritorious by-prod
JCts. It would erase, for in
stance, the stadium-annex col
ege with its battalion of re
cruited gridiron warrior*.
But that is not all there is
:o it. College in America has
become an integral part of its
social pattern. Granting the
emptiness of unearned “pres
:ige,” even an abbreviated col
ege is something millions of
r'oung Americans expect and
nillions more hope for. And
:heir contact, at least, with
scholarship, and citizenship in a
society of their contemporaries
ire not to be laughed at.
How to supply these social
values without diluting or starv
ng the intellectual? And how
:o do this, as Americans will
nsist, at their own state, home
-own, and denominational insti
cutions ?
The most promising answer
ippears to lie in further exten
sion of the general or junior
college idea. This recognizes
chat millions of young people
can benefit from at least two
years beyond high school taught
by competent teachers, not
necessarily profound scholars or
researchers. Others who can
and wish to pass through fine
mesh academic screen can,
instead, be put on the track
of “honors” courses, then in
“senior,” as distinct from gen
eral colleges, and in graduate
schools devote themselves to the
more exhaustive and exacting
studies.
An evolutionary, not a revo
lutionary approach and one al
ready in operation in many
places. Perhaps it needs only to
be extended and applied more
stringently.
* * *
(ACP)—Pulitzer prize poet
Mar ianne Moore, at a San Fran
cisco press conference, was
quoted by the Daily Californian
on the subject of censorship:
“No,” she said, “I don’t be
lieve in censoring. We can’t be
sure what to censor and once
yiu start it’s like a prairie fire.
The most obscene poetry will
die quickly if it’s simply left
alone.”
Edffiir E;mc*r
"It appeal to me only ON£ of you took the
TROUBLE TO VO THE OUTSIPE ASSIGNMENT LA^T NlTE’/'"'
jU WiL
Aon
‘Toiling Bodies Help Little
To Solve IFC s Problems
Saturday's aun will rise and
fall on the toiling bodies of Ore
gon fraternity men. An all-day
car-wash tor the
March of Dimes
will tear them
away from in
tramural ban
ket ball practice
and the library.
There may be
several reasons
for the labor
they will per
form Saturday.
A few of them may happen to
L.IKK washing cars. Some may
feel they are contributing to a
worthwhile cause (one that ban
suffered Hinee the introduction
of the Salk vaccine). Others
may think they’re earning; pub
lic relations for their fraterni
ties. And still others will in
scrubbing those sidewalls be
cause an upperclassman is
standing behind them, taking
notes.
But the real reason, I think,
and the reason for Greek Week
clean-ups, Halloween parties
and “Help Week” activities. Is
a desire on the part of fraternity
leaders to justify the existence
of their organizations to a sup
posedly hostile community.
Which leads us to a logical
question: Why docs one segment
of the campua feel it must
justify itself to the other seg
ments and to the rest of The
world ? As a Greek, I feel I have
a right to know what it is we’ve
done that calls for this eternal
penitence.
It will be argued that IFC is
embarking on this car-washing
project strictly for charity’s
sake. It’s hard indeed to ques
tion such an evidently worth
while motive. But fraternity
men, along with the rest of the
campus, contribute to all the
charity drives which (in spite of -
the United Fund) come along
several times a year.
And during Greek Week and
“Help Week” their pledges give
to the community more free
labor than It can use.
Fraternities have done their
part for charity. Why then
should they be required to give
more than their share in proj
ects such as the one which
comes up this Saturday and the
others which may follow? The
answer is simple. Fraternities,
constantly worried about their
reputation*, feel they need the
favorable publicity which *uch
project* will bring.
They're failing to go to the
root of the problem Bad pub
licity (which the public remem
ber* much longer than it docs
good publicity) result* from two
major problem* with which fra
ternity leader* are trying to
cope One problem 1» drinking;
the other i* dl*crimination.
It ne>ms to me, al*o, that
fraternity men overentimate the
Impact of thcae problem* on the
community.
Drinking has been a problem
In college life ever since the
concept of edurution for every
one become a reality in Amer
ica. Higher education has come
to include worldly education ns
well as scholastic education. \
certain amount of drinking is
—and has Iwen for many v ears
—going to take place. A couple
of publicized drinking incidents
do not lower the fraternity sys
tem's esteem ns much as its
leaders think.
Disci iminaticn i* Blowly but
nurely going out of the frater
nity system. It geta little pub
licity, but it need* none. And
Ihooe who believe that fraterni
ties are hot-bed* of racial and
religious prejudice are not going
to be swayed from their convic
tions by any amount of car
washing or kiddie-entertaining.
Only by going to the heart of
both problems and by trying to
eliminate them — as is Iveing
done by a few fraternities—can
the fraternity system end any
had feeling that exists in the
community.
Charituble projects and the
resulting public relations are
well and good but they’re only
stop-gap measures that fall
short of solving IFC's public re
lations problem.
OREGON' DAILY EMERAIJ)
The Oregon Daily Emerald it published
four times in September and five day* a
week during the school year, except dm in#
examination and vacation periods, by the
Student Publication* Hoard of the T’nr cr
»ity of Oregon. Entered a* second c ant
matter at the post office, Eugene, Oregon,
Subscription rates: $5 per year, $2 per
term.
Opinions expressed on the editorial \ age
are those of The Emerald and do not ore
tend to represent the opinion of the ASUO
or the University.
ALLEN JOHNSON, Editor
CARY CAPPS, Business Manager
WILLIAM COOK,
Editorial Page Editor
PHIL HAGER, Managing Editor
GLEN GRAVES, Advertising Mgr.