The OrtfM Mfy
Death of a Good Thing
Oregon Union Wasn’t Killed,
It Was Just Permitted to Die
'l'lie Oregon Union, alter a year's attempt
to provide the University with debates of
questions of significance, seems destined to
failure. Conceived as a means of drawing
together divergent views on crucial ques
tions for open debate and cross-questioning,
the Oregon Union would have been a
definite asset to the University by pro
viding a platform for such discussion. But
the Oregon Union is failing.
ONE MIGHT be tempted to look upon
the demise of the Oregon Union as the
happy elimination of another surplus ac
tivitv. But this would be a mistake. The
value of the Oregon Union is. or was, that
it would provide a rare chance to allow
those of different opinions to present their
respective arguments on a public platform
and to be put to the test of questions, both
from the public and from the opposition.
That an endeavor which gives expression
to the basic principles of the free exchange
of ideas and opinions in a university must
perish is a sad comment on the intellectual
vitality of the school. At almost the same
time the campus enthusiastically supports
a new activity like Angel Flight, which
seems vestigial at birth.
THE BASIC REASON for the failure
of the Oregon Union is the refusal of indi
viduals to commit themselves to speak for
and defend one side or the other of a con
troversial question. The faculty gave unani
mous approval to allowing Ous Hall to
speak on campus. Yet, members of the
same faculty refuse to defend in an Oregon
Union debate a position which they will
state in a classroom or promulgate in a
public lecture.
POSSIBLY THIS reluctance to defend
publicly what might be an unpopular posi
tion is symptomatic of our time. Admitted
ly, someone who defends a view unaccept
able to some group which sets its self up as
the arbiter of what others may think will
be subject to much criticism. Yes. if this
hesitation is carried to an extreme, there
would be no new ideas—no one would dare
propose them. It is to be hoped that this
fear does not exist on our campus.
YET TO WHAT other cause can this
reluctance to publicly speak out on a (|ues
tion be attributed? Surely a reluctance to
defend one’s ideas against a knowledgeable
opponent is beneath the intellectual level
of the university, especially the faculty.
This is intellectual cowardace.
STILL, THESE TWO reasons seem to
be tile cause of the death of the (>regon
Union. Evidently people are either afraid
that they will be condemned for the views
that they express, or they are fearful that
their opinions w ill be shown to be logically
indefensable.
The loss of an institution such as the
Oregon Union will not be the loss of merely
another activity; it will be a loss of a part
of tile University itself.
Letters to the Editor
J
Freud, Not Football
Emerald Editor:
In Monday's Emerald it was
noted that the president is go
ing to speak at a Coos Bay al
umni meeting, and that he is
taking along the athletic direc
tor and football coach. It caus
es no surprise that the presi
dent, w'ho likes to be able to do
what other faculty do and
have been known to do, to
take off Fridays and fly to
football games in the Fall, when
we play football. That he is be
ing accompanied by men of the
athletic department should
cause no surprise either, as it
is his position to do so and his
business, concerning who shall
accompany him to the Alumni
dinner in Coos Bay this week
end. His recent statement re
garding his position on medio
crity in athletics, compared with
his statement that academic
“c” students be admitted is
quite consistent with the mod
ern view on the accessibility of
educational facilities to every
body who wants an education
in higher institutions of learn
ing. and does not seem to em
phasize one aspect of educa
tion.
IF SOMEONE wants to play
football, I say that he should
be allowed to if he has the abil
ity. If someone wants to go to
college, I say he should be al
lowed to if he has the ability.
Or are we to restrict the field
of curriculum to Freud only ?
I think that if we d i d, we
would be in a bad way. Every
body would be analyzing every
one else and it would therefore
be very bad. Of course, if one
takes a narrow view, a political
view concerning issues of the mo
ment, i.e.: it is always nice to
avoid the issue by not referring
to it directly, but by smearing
or attempting to smear the
character of people connected
with these issues. Over-empha
sis is something hard to meas
ure, indeed, statistics can be
twisted any way one wishes to
twist them. But being practical
and objective, this is hard to do.
Get out into the fresh air, Mr.
Fischer [ sic ] and look around
and tell us what you see. You
may be more amazed than we.
John B. Bergeson,
Senior majoring in his
tory.
* *
Not Unique
Emerald Editor:
It’s unique. ’Neath the dismal
slate-gray mist,” the United
States, indeed, the free world,
awaits the return of Friendship
Seven. (Carson Two girls do
the Twist.) It has given us a
kind of unity and a feeling
that we are sharing a common
cause. We’re pretty serious
about it.”
Especially on this day, such
front-page items seem to in
dicate an immature public. In
a world so full of chance, each
change effecting (sic) our chil
dren and theirs, it is strange
that anyone should want to be
remembered for perpetuating
such nonsense. It would be more
fitting if five hundred consec
utive hours of volunteer work
were donated to the Red Cross,
a hospital, or visiting shut-ins.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer is
unique; Books for Asia is
I
unique: a blood donor is unique;
Carson Two doing the Twist is
not unique.
George Holdorf,
A A
* «
Another Rebuttal
Emerald Editor:
Since Mr. Monger (sict has
levied (sic) his first barrage
against athletics only to fol
low it with another . . . rebut
tal, I have waited for someone
to expose his mistakes with ex
amples. Mr. Monger (sic) appar
ently does not read beyond the
letters collumn (sic I, for if
he had read the Jan. 4 Emerald,
he never would have issued his
first statement.
THE ALL-ATHLETE grades
have consistantly (sici been
above the all-men’s and all
campus average. The baseball
team, which practiced during
much of fall term, managed to
place f ve men above a 3.0. The
track team which has run two
hours a day. seven days a week
since September, had over ten
men above a 3.0. A notable
baseball player, All-Northern Di
vision catcher, Hay Haroldson,
pulled a 3.28. Some outstand
ing track men were Vic Reeves
(3.2), Ted Abram (3.3), Jerry
Larson (3.4), and Clayton
Steinke (3.27). It might also
be a horrible shock to Mr. Mon
ger (sic) to learn that Varsity
football player Dennis Maloney
made the honor roll with a 3.6.
Be wasn’t alone as trackman
Dan Tonn got on it with a 3.82.
But there is more. A transfer
distance runner from Texas
named Paul Levering just hap
(Continued on pane 3)
Little Man on Campus
*-ANt7, UNLESS YOU AAAiltfTAlN A /SAORE SCHOLARLY ATTITUDE.
I WILL SEE TO IT THAT YOU ARE EXPEL LEI? FROM £LAS5//
Carrie cjCearmont
Oregon Should Encourage
New Industry—Starting Now
Editor's Note: This Is the
third and last article on the suh
jwt of Planning by Karri*- I>-ar
mont. a fifth-year Architeeture
student.
The end of the Second World
War saw the beginning of what
has come to be known a« the
technological era an era with
a technology based on the most
advanced concepts of science,
and an era exemplified by such
new industries as electronics,
nuclear power and space-age
research.
SO FAR this new technology
has tended to concentrate in
two main areas of the coun
try New England and South
ern California. In both these
areas it is literally booming.
For example more than 100
plants, related to the electron
ics Industry, have located in the
Boston area since the war.
Their combined factory sales
in 1959 totalled %% billion and
in ten years time they are ex
pected to pass the $2 billion
mark. These figures are fantas
tic for such a young industry,
yet the growth has been just as
spectacular in Southern Califor
nia, especially in the San Diego
area.
Now, one might ask, why has
such rapid technological growth
taken place in these two partic
ular areas of the country rather
than elsewhere ? The answer
lies in a special dual-combina
tion of resources which these
two areas have in lather am
ple supply.
THK FIKST of these is brain
power. The most critical need
of the m-w industries is for
skilled scientists, technicians
and business executives in
short, lor university graduates.
Werner von Braun has express
ed it this way:
“It’s not water or real es
tate, or labor or power, or
cheap taxes which brings in
dustry it’s brainpower. What
do you thing attracted the air
craft industry to the Los An
geles area ? The desert and
smog? No, it was UCLA and
other great universities there.”
If then UCLA provided the
brainpower which partly induc
ed the new industries to South
ern California, then likewise
Harvard, M I T. and other great
universities did the same for
New Kngland.
THK HEOOND inducement
to these new industries in that
of a mutable living environ
ment. A vague term, but the
fact i« that these industries have
learned that no amount of
salary incentives will attract the
skilled intellectual worker un
less the environment has much
to offer physically anil cultural
ly. Such an environment does
not consist of billboards Neon
signs and the usual 'honky
tonk'’ highway architecture we
are so accustomed to nowadays.
This type of worker prefer* to
live in clean, well planned sub
urban areas with an abundance
of greenery and open space for
lecreation. In addition, he ex
pects his environment to offer
cultural and intellectual facili
ties in the form of "theatres,
art galleries, libraries and the
academic atmosphere of large
universities" for. where these fa
cilities exist, he can mix with
people of similar backgrounds
and cultivate his own. some
what refined, interests.
THIS, the deal-combination
of resources is really rtn abun
dant supply of brainpower and
an ‘'ideal” living environment.
Now, if we think of these re
quirements in terms of our own
area, we find that Oregon, a
relatively un-indust rial ired state
could have a fantastic future
in the technological space-age
provided we exploit the po
tential.
Consider our resources with
reference to the second require
ment, namely, a site suitable
for industry and a site afford
ing a pleasant living environ
ment. The relatively unpopulat
ed areas along the upper Co
lumbia River above The Dalles
to the Washington State border
ate ideal for industry. The
land is there and it has ready
access to transportation in the
(Continued on page 3)
OREUON DAILY LM KHALI)
The Oregon Daily Emerald is pub
lished -even times in September and lire
days a week during the school year, ex
cept during exanimate,n and vacation
periods by the Student Publications
Hoard of the Rimer.'ty of Oregon. En
tcred as second cl:.s- matter at tbe post
office, Kugene, (Iregoti. Subscription
rates: $5 per year; SJ per term.
Opinions express,-l on tbe editorial
page are those of Tbe Kmcrald am! do
not pretend to represent tin- opinion if
the AStIO or the University.
KEITH 1’Ott KI.K, Edit ir
LEE TUKMiULL. business Manager