Daily
^EMERALD
Campus Changes
Tlie State Board of Higher Education
Monday approved the final plans for the
completing the University's new $1,300,000
dormitory project—so far named after the
late George Rebec.
The official go-ahead for the final half
of the ten-unit dormitory points up vividly
some of the campus changes we’ve noticed
in a seemingly-short four-year period.
When we arrived at the University, John
Straub Hall living units were the most de
sirable residence quarters. Only the year
before men had lived in Susan Campbell
Covering the present Rebec—dorm, not
house—area were fourteen tennis courts.
The foundations of Virgil Earl Hall were a
maze of mud.
The present architecture building was a
hacienda-like affair minus its modern touch
es so obvious today. And our own Eric W.
Allen Hall had just opened its doors to The
Emerald, fresh from a quonset hut.
Where next? Within the next four-year
period, this year's freshmen might see a
fully-restored Millrace. perhaps a new men's
pool and undoubtedly the beginnings of
more dormitory facilities—with the atten
dant problems of naming them.
The campus can, it appears, expand only
in limited areas. Perhaps the strip of land
east of the physical plant, perhaps the pres
ent Veteran's Dormitory site, or perhaps
someday even across the cemetery area
near McArthur Court will be utilized.
The University has a problem of where
to expand which does not face our northern
neighbors at Corvallis. Oregon’s campus at
present is something under ,200 acres in
size, while Oregon State College, being a
land-granting institution, boasts a campus
of about 4,000 acres.
Noting the World War Two “baby
boom-’ now in the secondary schools, we
can visualize a University community num
bering 10,000 students or more within the
next few years. Then the changes on cam
pus will come at an accelerated rate.
We can hope that, along with the changes
and expansion of campus facilities, changes,
in line with those presently being imple
mented, will continue to raise the Uni
versity’s academic standing and value.
Hall.
College Benefit
One of the benefits of college which can
not be measured in terms of money (ex
cept insofar as time is money) are the
many valuable lectures and concerts which
are available to students. The mere presen
tation of a student body card will, for
example admit students to concerts spon
sored by the University-Eugene Civic
Music Association.
Cultural interludes, of the quality pre
sented by these organizations would re
quire a considerable financial outlay outside
the University.
Tonight, the Civic Music Association
will present (»eza Anda, a Hungarian-born
pianist. Anda had earned world-wide ac
claim from music critics before his United
States concert debut in the 1955-56 season.
Two hours spent at such a concert would
be well worth the two hours of study or
coffee time sacrificed.
Gotta Keep Movin’
Transportation problems of literally all
sizes and shapes are really choking news
paper front pages these days, despite in
roads by national defense issues and movie
star weddings.
On the space scene, the Army is -till
fighting weather, bureaucracy and science
in an attempt to launch a space satellite via
a Jupiter four-stage rocket.
In Portland, the city council has been
going round and round with the Rose City
Transit company on proposed increases 'in
city bus fare rates. And the newest free
way extension on Portland’s eastside has
caused a remarkable traffic jam for hun
dreds of autos fighting for a spot on the
one ramp.
Even in Eugene, gasoline dealers are
girding their franchises for the latest gaso
line war—though this is not likely to la-t
longer than it takes college students to
find the lowest petrol supplier.
And to stretch the point, even the dry
zone issue has involved trasportation—in
determining how far University students
will have to drive, walk, stagger or crawl
for their favorite pause that refreshes.
Our Chortle
mporariei
Lower the Boom and Raise the Standards
ir.uiiors r*oie: on dan. 11,
The Emerald editorially com
mented, in “Harsh Words,” on
an Associated Press report of
a University of Colorado fac
ulty meeting at which Walter
Orr Roberts, director of the
UC high altitude observatory,
criticized modern institutions
of higher education. We noted
at the time that our colleagues
on the Colorado Daily would
have some words of comment.
The following editorial by Ed
Kahn is reprinted from the
Colorado Daily, Jan. 17)
Walter Orr Roberts hit the
nail right on the head when he
called for tougher requirements
ana tougner courses at the Uni
versity.
As a state institution, we
have too long been plagued with
the notion that just about
anyone, whether intellectually
equipped or not, can and should
pursue study towards the
bachelor’s degree in Boulder. A
direct result of that philosophy
has been the creation of ‘‘dumb
bell” English and mathematics
courses, designed to lift scholas
tic pygmies over the hurdle of
basic knowledge.
While the high schools have
been guilty of not pushing stu
dents hard enough, the colleges
have been satisfied to accept the
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Oregon Daily Emerald is published four times in September and five days a week
during the school year, except during examination and vacation periods, by the Student
Publications Board of the University of Oregon. Entered as second class matter at the
post office, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates: $5 per year, $2 per term.
Opinions expressed on the editorial page are those of The Emerald and do not pretend
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 Manager
JERRY RAMSEY, JACK WILSON, Associate Editors
PEPPER ALLEN, News Editor
BOB MULLIN, Sports Editor
JOANNE MILLIGAN, Ass’t Business Manager
Editorial Board: AJlen Johnson, William Cook, Phil Hager, Pepper Allen,
Bob Mullin, Jerry Ramsey, Jack Wilson.
Day Editors: Wally Slocum, John Lengel, Don Jepsen, A1 Reynolds, Evie Olsen.
Night Editors: Jerry Ramsey, Mike Forrester, Pat Treec, Barbara
mediocre specimens oispatcneu
from the secondary schools. A
significant step in the attempt
to raise standards in education
would be the tightening of en
trance requirements. Both the
University of Denver and Colo
rado College have announced
that they will use College En
trance exams to select their
freshmen. There is no reason
why the University should not
follow suit.
Just as we tighten standards
for entrance to the Univer
sity, we should take steps to
strengthen the curriculum and
throw away those courses that
are unnecessary. Such courses
as social dancing, outing activi
ties, remedial reading, remedial
composition and refresher course
in mathematics (all found in
the College of Arts and Sciences
bulletin) have no place in an
institution of higher learning.
But, as Professor Roberts
points out, a major responsi
bility remains with the teacher.
Just as we must scrap “snap”
and remedial courses, so we
must also begin to toughen our
remaining courses and key our
education to the “egghead”
raher than the “deadhead.”
Try Fencing
L -■ '■ ■ ■
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more
Campus Service Honoraries
Should be Re-evaluated
To honorize, according to
Webster . . . well, maybe It's
just my dictionary that doesn't
have the word.
But whether
Webster knows
about it or not,
there is a group
in the hierarchy
of student gov
ernment that
would seek to
"honorize" the
campus honor
t* him*
or whitc-.sweatered individual*
who wander about the campus
every Wednesday.
Now when it eomes time to
honorize to make honorable, I
suppose the honorartes, there’s
one immediate idea brought to
mind: abolish them and start
over. (This even to some who
have been honored by mem
bership in all of them the
‘‘triple crown" of University
student activity participation).
And with a little considera
tion of the renovation task In
volved in making these organi
zations honorable, this might
seem the best out. But the re
formers’ idea is to make them
honorable within their existing
frameworks, and this presents
quite an interesting problem.
I asked several of the more
prominent members of the
sweater groups just why they
thought their colleagues had in
vested their time in student ac
tivities in the first place which
is supposedly the principle cri
terion for selection.
‘‘Well, some of the kinds do
it for their own glory, I sup
pose,” commented one, “and
others are pushed into it by
their houses, but I think that
most of them started into ac
tivities just for something to
do and because they’re fun.”
The other replies were simi
lar.
* * »
And this checks out with my
own observations. In all these
blue and white illusions of honor
(for the reformers admit to a
need for transfusions of original
meaning into the word) there
is extremely little consideration
of values represented by mem
bership in the group.
Spare-time occupation may be
construed by some as a value,
but not when it reaches the
frenzy necessary for admission
to sweat erdom. The real valtu-s,
according to the University
catalog that brought me here,
are "formation of habits'* which
develop the Individual's "lead
ership and civic responsibility"
and one I would add called
"service."
But the first value seems to
be diminishing Activities lead
ing to the first honorary seem
to incite only the realre fur
piling the necessary pyramid of
titles to get into the next one,
and so on until the weary senior
status is reached. Then, honor
ed and consequently honorable,
the Pilgrim looks down his trail
up to the shrine and comments
on how "invaluable" the climb
has been.
lie possibly has learned some
thing about organization and
direction of a committee; he
probably has saved himself
many boring afternoons arid
evenings of drinking coffee with
his comrades (or attending
••lass); he undoubtedly has
brought glory to his li\ing or
ganization.
• • •
And service? Well, maybe
it’s just my dictionary of hon
oraries and activities that
doesn't have the word. But for
people who think in terms of
the blue and white clans as
"tfervice" . honoraries, these
groups have amazing little fa
miliarity with the term.
There’s more to being hon
ored than getting your squeal
of delight in on cue at the tap
ping ceremony and pulling on
a sweater next year. You buy
the sweater and emblem, of
course, and more than likely
you fork over Initiation and
dues money—which varies in
relation to how much your group
can go out and earn that year.
And that is the service angle.
It's not just that you’re help
ing people—serving—in usher
ing at concerts or proctorlng
at tests or dishing up potato
salad. You’re actually not sup
posed to Ins doing that at all,
or thinking about it anyway;
you’re working like blue and
white devils (well, that too
varies with how honorable you
consider yourself) for money so
that your group can give its
share to scholarship money.
I don’t need to go into the
question of student-raised schol-^
(Continued on page 3)