The Anonymous Letter
Anonymous letter writers are usually
cowards, but even more important, they are
generally misinformed. The Emerald re
ceived an especially vicious letter in the
Saturday mail. It concerned one of the Uni
versity’s less prominent administrators. We
refuse to discuss the exact nature of the let
ter, but suffice it to say that the letter at
tacked the man on grounds of incompetence
and even criminality.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
THE LETTER finally catalyzed a sense
of distress that we have felt while reading
recent letters to the editor. The let
ters, in part, have made excellent points, but
phrases like “the iron-fist policy of the ad
ministration” and the over-all condemna
tion of the ASUO Senate strike us as being
gross over-simplifications.
The Senate’s primary function is to serve
as a lobby group for its constituency—the
students of the University of Oregon. This
lobbying may be done with the Legislature,
with the State Board of Higher Education,
with a dean or department head; or it may
take no more substantial form than discus
sion which is reported in the Emerald.
IT MAY NOT SHOW on the surface.
Lobbying is a matter of first recognizing
student opinion and then presenting a per
suasive argument to “the powers that be.”
Much of this cannot be measured.
But this does not mean that the Emerald
has been overly sympathetic with the Sen
ate. Far from it. While we have been quite
pleased to see many new ideas spring up,
we also regret that the Senate has been
slow in reaching decisions. If the Senate
does not make rapid judgments, it soon
finds itself discussing projects which “the
powers that be” have already considered
and decided upon. This is our objection, not
some slogan like “the Senate is the pawn of
the administration.”
THE CATEGORICAL grouping, “t h e
administration,” seems to be another com
mon over-simplification. In the last analy
sis, the University administration is one
man—Acting President W. C. Jones. Under
him spreads a very thin hierarchy of men
who must make administrative decisions
about University financing, student welfare
and conduct, dormitories, dining facilities,
etc. Each of these men is an individual.
Each of these men, in his individual way,
is dedicated to students and the University.
But they can make mistakes. They may he
caught in a web of habitual practice. They
may forget to explain their actions to the
student body.
THESE ARE AREAS in which the stu
dent must be alert. Students should con
stantly demand information from the vari
ous administrators land be prepared with
persuasive arguments if decisions appear
unjust.)
It is one thing for a semi-literate coward
to make criminally libelous statements
about an administrator who is trying to do
the best job he can. But it is by far another
for a serious student with a serious com
plaint to use catch words and halt-thought
out slogans. W e expect this sort of thing
from the coward. But we expect the serious
student to research his position before fly
ing off the handle in some gross generaliza
tion.
Keep Off!
Anyone who has been at the University
more than a week should know that if one
pedals his bicycle across the grass, the grass
will get all rutty and ugly.
AT SOME metropolitan colleges there
isn’t much grass. But we have grass at the
University. We are proud of it. It looks
nice. Don’t pedal your bicycle on our grass.
If this sounds like a high school editorial,
don’t be disturbed. It’s aimed at a high
school mentality.
Footnotes
Dry zone, hah! We’re lucky if we can get
to classes without swim fins.
* * * *
According to a radically informal poll, the
new dixie cups the SU slops our Cokes into
are pretty popular. At first we thought it
was just some stunt to impress the high
school kids down for the festivities. But
we’re glad to see that the new green cups
will be with us for a while. And for you
economy minded students, they hold the
same amount of Coke (or anything else,
come to think of it) as the old ones did.
JJ Wal
tar
Movies Better Than Ever;
Adultery Funnier Than Ever
(Once a year the Emerald
holds its annual awards ban
quet. And I don't think I ran
make a less controvershU state
ment than that. And at this
lianquet are given some seri
ous and some humorous awards.
One of the humorous awards
Is the Miss Purity Award
for the cleanest mind on
the Emerald. Currently leading
In competition tor this uwurd Is
an editor who. In one regrettable
slip of the tongue, admitted
that he opposes sexual Indul
gence before marriage. Most
people would sooner watch
their grandmothers hang than
make such a damning admis
sion ; and. Indeed, this poor
careless fellow apologized pro
fusely for his startling breach
of etiquette. But although his
apologies were accepted, he Is
still the top contender for the
Miss Purity Award. With this
column, unfortunately, 1 prob
ably place myself In the next
closest competition for the hu
miliating honor.—Author)
Back in the good old days when
nickel candy bars were only a
dime, a comedy was not fun
ny unless at least three charac
ters were hit in the fact with a
custard pie. Nowadays, how
ever, we are all sophisticated
and worldly. In fact, the whole
society is avant garde. We
don't laugh at comedies any
more. We smile at them. And
now we find ourselves smiling
at adultery and or propensity
to same.
Oil THERE are other sub
jects for comedy, of course. In
"Tunnel of Love” the viewer
was treated to the hilarious
spectacle of a couple who could
not have the children they want
ed; in "Imitation General''
there was a riotous sequence in
which Glenn Ford and Red But
tons killed four Germans in a
machine gun nest; in "The
Gazebo" murder was the pri
mary humorous element. But
childless couples, war. and mur
der aren’t funny any more. A
comedy just isn’t a comedy un
less some poor slob gets cuck
olded.
Now any fool can plainly see
the immense potential for com
edy in adultery. For example,
think of the scene where the
husband discovers his wife's in
fidelity. A good comic actor
can turn this into a maelstrom
of mirth just by facial expan
sion alone. Or think of the scene
wherein the would-be adulter
er can't remember which mo
tel his girl promised to meet
him. He drives nil over town
trying to find the right motel.
Then, when the wife gets homo
late, she tells her husband she
was Just out buying groceries,
and the audience explodes with
laughter at the befuddled ex
pression on the cuckold's face.
ACTUALLY, these movies
have a subtle value for some
members of the audience. For
instance, a fellow and girl who
are pinned or a newly-married
couple can view these movies
and learn through laughter that
infidelity is not really so bad
as some would paint it. They
can. in this way. have a much
healthier attitude when they
learn of it first-hand, and they
will be able to cope with the
situation more realistically
than they otherwise would. Aft
er all. Dr. Kinsey put the oc
currence of infidelity in Amer
ican marriage at around 50
per cent of all marriages, which
is pretty funny in lt»elf. Any
spouse who expects 100 per cent
fidelity from his or her part
ner is a kind of laughable fool
anyway but In a nice home
spun way. So contemporary
movies can serve ns a valuable
educational aid to these naive
idealists. And certainly, edu
cation is a "good thing."
But after a while, of course,
the public will tire of infidelity
as a comedy subject, and new
worlds of humor will have to be
explored.
AMI I HAVE just the thing.
I'm working' on a comedy script
right now. The story is set in
the polio ward of a metropoli
tan hospital. One humorus as
ject can be seen right away by
the perceptive viewer with a
keen sense of humor, and that
(Continued on page 3)
OREGON DAILY KMKKAI.il
The Oregon Daily Emerald ii published
lour time* in September and live day* a
week dumng the school year, except dur
ing examination and vacation period*, by
the Student Publication* Board ot the
University of Oregon. Entered a* second
claim matter at the po*t office, Eugene,
Oregon. Subscription rate*: |5 per year,
$2 per term.
Opinion* exprr**eri on the editorial page
are those of The Kmetald and do not pre
tend to represent the opinion of the ASUO
or the University.
JIM BOVD, Editor
STEVE MILLIKIN, Hu.me*. Manager
Little Man On Campus
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*0H, I THINK. fiOlNQ TO COLLEGE IS QREAT—W PADCA/HE UP
LA^T WEEK AM 6AIP IF I SiPtt' 1'P HAVE 1J? TAKE 60/HE COVg$&*