What’s Happening to Leap Year?
We are moderately surprised that the
Student Union Directorate is not planning a
big Leap Year celebration for the women
of the campus today. Being February 29,
1960, this day is specially set aside for all
those women who desire to obtain a fellow'
with whom they could be matched in matri
mony.
WE ARE ALSO surprised that the
female population of the campus is not more
interested in this traditional bit of horse
play. This we feel is highly disappointing
to the male population on campus.
Of course, we don’t advocate any wild
rushing parties—we are in favor of more
subtle ways, and we do have faith in the
female to be subtle.
We have the feeling that the women on
this campus are not as actively interested
in the male race as w'ere their “foremothers”
back in Scotland where and when it all
started.
In 1228, the Scottish laws stated that a
woman could legally hunt a man. pierce his
heart with an arrow', and marry him. If the
man found it not desirable to accept this
woman’s proposal, the little lady could go
to the law for a little persuasive help.
THIS BIT OF LEGAL maneuvering
spread and a law was passed in France to
the same effect, and in the 15th century it
reached to the romanitc Italians in Genoa
and Florence.
Although it is only a custom here in the
r
United States for women to observe the
leap year tradition, we are appalled that
actually no woman believes that this cus
tom is really her right to get a man. There
are, it is believed, several reasons to sub
stantiate this argument.
First, a female is always conniving to get
her man. It is obvious that she is not going
to show some of her secrets by showing
her colors when it is the legal time to go
hunting.
Secondly, by playing naive when it is
Leap Year, she might be able to lull some
pood chap into complacency and by June
the wedding bells would be ringing.
And thirdly, we actually hate to suggest
this reason, but honesty calls us forth: Has
the woman lost all interest in the opposite
sex? Is she more interested in a career?
in getting high GFA’s? in activities?
WE THINK THAT it is fine for the
woman to advance herself intellectually and
politically, but has she forgotten that she
has a cultural obligation too?
We should hope not.
Thus, what can we do about it? We have
brought to you this issue. We believe that
the women on this campus can improve
their attitude. We do suggest to the AWS
that they might set up a rules committee
to make the standards by which this custom
can be carried forward.
AND WE HOPE that Leap Year, 1%0,
will be happy and successful.
Letters to the Editor
Emerald Editor:
Although I try hard not to
read movie reviews, and extra
hard not to read replies to mov
ie reviews, I cannot let pass
without comment the remarks
which have appeared here in the
last two days concerning the
movie, “On the Beach,’’ which
directly led to, or at least hast
ened, the untimely death of
Nevil ShUte.
OVERLOOKING MANY of
the points discussed by the ori
ginal reviewer and by the previ
ous correspondent, I find it cur
ious that with all their disagree
ments, they should have agreed
upon the merit of the film’s end
ing, an ending which alone far
outweighs any good points the
picture may have had, and
which by itself stamps “On the
Beach" as another Movieland
product designed to be consum
ed by idiots.
If, as Mr. Scholz observes,
the cast actually spent two
hours building up to such a
“powerful” ending, then there is
little doubt that they did so
with large tongue in their re
spective cheeks; for what em
erged was surely the shaggiest
dog ever to anti-climax an
otherwise passable film.
HEBE IS VERY possibly the
most inappropriate ending ever
put to a major motion picture.
Here is a finale of seven or
eight seconds which serves no
visible purpose except, perhaps,
to pay off some movie-making
brain for having exercised an
unusual degree of restraint
throughout most of the film,
with the understanding that he
could, in exchange, do the full
treatment on the ending.
Here is an ending which
senselessly shatters the very ef
fective mood development just
preceding it, which crudely bur
lesques the picture’s entire
theme, and which spells out, let
ter by letter, what it is that the
viewer is supposed to take home
with him in terms of a message.
One can only wish that the
film had ended a few seconds
earlier, with a quiet fade-out
from the scenes of deserted
streets. If the viewer couldn’t
get the message by then, with
out the benefit of Hollywood’s
arty devices, he wouldn’t de
serve to get it.
E. R. Lewis
Graduate
Emerald Editor:
A further comment on a
somewhat different aspect of
the Chessman case seems in or
der. It seems to me that ques
tions involving the fate of Caryl
Chessman should logically cen
ter around interelated legal and
moral issues.
AND SUCH ISSUES, I was
dismayed to learn, were not pri
marily involved in California
Governor Pat Brown's decision
last Friday to grant Chessman
an unprecedented eighth stay of
execution. This writer—admit
tedly skeptical of capital pun
ishment as a valid deterrent of
crime — readily approved of
Brown’s reprieve action.
But the politically expedient
reasons the California governor
advanced for taking such action
I find entirely unacceptable.
How can Governor Brown justi
fy his use of the gubernatorial
powers to transform something
that was and should have re
mained essentially a legal mat
ter into something that could
easily become a political foot
ball?
POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES
of this were aptly made in the
February 24th Emerald Editor
ial on Chessman where it was
observed that . . perhaps it
will be more difficult for judges
in the future to pass sentence if
they must reckon with public
opinion and foreign relations.”
The prolonged Chessman case,
extremely involved and highly
controversial prior to Brown’s
action, now encompasses the
added confounding factor of po
litical expediency-—a factor that
has no place in the dispensation
of justice under American law.
Bill Kretzraeier
Junior in Sociology
Emerald Editor:
In their letter to the Emerald
Editor. President Taylor and
Secretary-treasurer Ross of the
IFC made the statement, re
ferring to Elliot Carlaon, that
"had he come to us with ques
tions we could have told him
many things.” I understand this
to mean, and the rest of their
letter would imply, that they
are in possession of a great deal
of information that would be of
interest and value to those of
us who are concerned about the
current discussion of possible
racial and religious discrimina
tion in fraternity and sorority
chapters.
THE I.F.C. and Panhellenic
are both therefore invited,
through the public medium of
this newspaper, to provide an
swers to the following ques
tions:
• What are the names of the
fraternities and sororities on
this campus that have restric
tive clauses ?
• What is the nature of these
clauses ?
• What effort is being, made
by the fraternities and sorori
ties concerned to have these
clauses eliminated?
• Which fraternities and so
rorities have removed their re
strictive clauses “in the past
few years?”
• What action has I.F.C. and
Panhellenic taken to expedite
the removal of these clauses ?
• Does the University of Ore
gon give any form of official
recognition to fraternities and
sororities on this campus, i.e.,
does it have any control at all
over whether—and if so, which
—fraternities and sororities will
be allowed to operate here?
Does the University provide fa
cilities of which these fraterni
ties and sororities, as organiza
tions, avail themselves ? Does
the University provide, or has
it provided, more tangible forms
of support to fraternities and
sororities such as loans which
have enabled them to continue
operating at critical times? If
the University has done or does
(Continued on page 3)
Little Man on Campus
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n
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-VE-^. CD, T WISH 1 HAD BEEN A0LE It? GET A COLLEGE
EDUCATION. IT GlN/ES A MAN THAT CERTAIN SOMETHING
THAT SETS HIM ABD^E AND APART RZCM THE AVERAGE - - - *
Ron Ml...
‘On the Millrace,’ or Shute,
There Goes Population!
(Part 1)
Because their body systems
were hyper-adapted to atmos
pheric precipitation (l.c.. raini,
the Oregonians were the very
last to go when the planet
Earth suffered the final and ul
timate effects of radioactive
fallout.
Soon, however, the news (or
rather, the lack of it) came
crackling over the wires even
from points close to home: Port
land was gone; Medford was
gone; all quiet in Baker and
Coos Bay; nothing in Talent or
John Day; the end came to
Bend and things in Sandy were
far from dandy.
EUGENE, HOWEVER, hung
on 'til the very last.
As a matter of fact, among
the residents of the Willamette
Puget trough during those last
days, perhaps none were caught
in a more embarrassing position
than the people of Springfield
Eugene area.
Caught, as it were, between
the Scylla of installing new
street lights and the Charyb
dis of proposed consolidation,
the city council members of
those two cities were faced with
the problem of clearing up what
was rapidly turning into a muni
cipal shambles.
Nothing loathe, they threw
themselves into the battle;
knowing their days were num
bered, they organized a "Leave
a Better City Behind You” cam
paign and tried to rush through
the consolidation amendment.
Old-time residents, of course,
were having none of this non
sense. A letter to the editors of
the Register-Guard (who, by the
way, had taken a definite stand
on nuclear fall-out), while by
no means typical, was yet repre
sentative of the way some peo
ple were reacting to the crisis.
“To the Editor” (It read)
“Seems like every time a body
turns around there’s a heap a
people tryin’ to start in a-fixin’
and a-changin’ things, if a per
son who was born and raised
here can offer some advice,
though I suppose those same
people would call me just a
"small-town” hick except if
they'd spend more time readin’
the Book and less time talkin’
about makin’ one city where
the good Lord put two, you can
bet this world would be a better
off place to be at.
“WHAT’S ALL THIS talk
anyway about the end of the
world? S«cmii like the same
people ail het up about the world
cornin’ to an end from this her*
fell-out are the same one* who
been raiain' taxes and a-trytn
to put in new roada almoat ainde
a body can remember, though I
suppose 1*11 be called "Just an
other" crank, except if they
don’t like it here why don’t they
go back to where they come
from and take their doga with
them, them that can’t learn to
uae lenahea ao’a a body can
keep a flower garden, and who
doea thia here johnny-come
lately Congeraman think he is
anyway, a-tryin’ to change the
way nature fixed up Crater
Lake and if you want a name
for the new city why not call
It Eulanefieldspringemiand ?
••THINK IT OVER.”
I Incidentally, it waa finally a
coalition of houaewivea who
solved the consolidation prob
lem. Pooling the combined trad
ing stamps of 30,000 households,
they were able to buy Lane
County in its entirely. They
promptly established a female
hegemony and by the time the
last days descended the govern
ment waa so messed up that
many people frankly admitted
that they were better off dy
ing.)
Though Eugene was on the
brink of chaos, order finally
prevailed and the last days of
the human race were punctuat
ed with about as much excite
ment as a Joseph Cotten movie.
(I was going to say Gregory
Peck but I hate to labor the
obvious.)
Nevertheless, some scenes
stood out in stark contrast. For
example, a group of students
from Reed arrived in town and
ran stark naked through the
streets of Eugene, carrying pla
cards that said, “We Protest!”
I When they were apprehended
by the authorities, they admit
ted that they really weren’t pro
testing, but that “we had these
(Continued on page 3)
OREGON DAILY EMERALD
The Oregon Daily Emerald is published
four times in September and five days a
week during the school year, except dur
ing 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 pre
tend to represent the opinion of the ASUO
or the University.
LARRY KURTZ. Editor
WARREN RUCKER, Business Manager