Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1962)
Tkt Ore$M Pniff Progress Report Progress is Made bv Student and Faculty, Not the Construction Company A giant new complex of dormitories was occupied for the first time this fall. More units will he ready for next fall. A new hook co-op opened its doors also this fall. Plans are under way tor multi-million dollar building projects including a new football stadium and a humanities building. So manv high school senior> want to attend the University that a deferred admission plan will have to be put into effect this fall. Obviously, building and enrollment progress is booming at the l_ niversity. 1 his is a fine time for the Emerald to publish its Progress Edition. BUT NO MATTER what progress is an nounced later on plans for the new building project^. the most progressive thing that will have happened all year was the allow ing of Communist Gus Hall to speak on the campus Even more heartening than the construc tion of a new humanities building, was the establishment of the Honors College in 1960. These two events hardly make the Uni versity of Oregon the Harvard of the West. But it is an encouraging sign that so many students took advantage of the opportunity to hear Hall. It is also encouraging that on the whole the Honors College has been as successful as it has. This interest indicates that some students are progressing toward the goal of academic interest, which is the first step toward excellence, and academic freedom. Merely because a university builds a cer tain number of dormitories during any given year does not make it a necessarily great institution. More relevant is the number of students living in those dormitories who have been moved by a good instructor or an eve-opening class to read a book not on the required reading list. More relevant than the number of books the new book store can house is the number of books that are read perceptively. JUST AS THERE mas Ik* those who judge progress by a record-high construc tion budget, to some perhaps the value of college lies in the number of hours they can do the twist ("We’re pretty serious about it,"), the number of kegs they tap. and the number of hearts they break. Occasionally, there's a mid-term or paper. Don’t sweat it. DO SWEAT IT. When students start sweating al>out something besides Friday's heavy date, then perhaps real progress will be made toward what a university should be. It is unrealistic to expect a mass exodus from basement party ri>otn to the library, nor is it desirable. But one of the things that the progressive university should do would be to give the students a certain perspective. It is this perspective that allows a student to listen carefully to. whether or not agreeing with, a (’.us Hall. It is a perspective that en ables the student to see the value of tapping the keg as well as turning out a first-cla>s term paper. The progressive university gives the stu dent. not automatically, but sometimes necessarily painfully, this perspective to weigh, to evaluate. To some, on the other hands, the value of college degree riiay never be more than a sup posedly sure-fire guarantee to a corporation first vice-presidency. To others perhaps it is a glorious four-year merry-go-round of flap doodle and tomfoolery. But a progressive liberal education should give the student a view of life as well as a view of a multi-mil lion dollar student housing project, ft should give him the perspective to see the value in a speech by Gus Hall, in the Honors College core curiculum. and a Twist-a-Thon. As more Oregon students have this view, the closer Oregon will come to being a great university. The progress will be made more by the stu dent and faculty than by construction com panies. Letters to the Editor r I Disgusted Reader Emerald Editor: I v.ould like to know what ▼our policy is on the “Little Han on Campus” cartoon: whe ther it’s on a yearly contract basis or some shorter period. If Bibler is attempting hu mor then he’s either missing completely or aiming too low'. Am I alone in being not mere ly non-plussed but a little dis gusted with the LMOC? If the cartoon can be changed I should like to nominate “Pea nuts.” If the contract cannot be broken could the cartoon at least be relegated to a less dig nified position (e.g. beside the sick ramblings of Ted Mahar’s advertisements *. Bibler’s ‘Little Man’ is really little. Keith Jellum, History, Junior. 2 t Discriminate Emerald Editor: The Off-campus Housing Of fice has seen fit to decide that any householder who discrimin ates against certain students will not be allowed to have his ■ante listed in that office. Per haps now someone would like to withdraw University recognition to certain on-campus living or ganizations which practice more flagrant discrimination than the householders. Ronald Starr (3.??), Senior in Psychology. * • Disagrees Emerald Editor: Your editorial of Wednesday. Feb. 22, deploring the withering away of the Oregon Union places the blame directly and by implication upon the faculty of this University. It seems to me that both the substance and the tone of your editorial is slanderous and gen erally apprehensible. (You ac cuse the faculty of “intellectual cowardice."). IN THE FIRST place the fac ulty of this University has spoken outi individually and col lectively on a great number of controversial issues. In the set ting of University Assemblies, of Coffee Hours, Honors Col lege Discussions, of TV, and of the press it has expressed and debated a variety of view points. And now, your editorial claims, the Oregon Union found ers on the shoals of faculty apathy and unwillingness to see ideas examined in the open mar ket-place. I suggest you do some soul searching. Wasn't the Oregon Union based on the model of the Oxford Union? Wasn’t it es sentially meant to be a stu dent enterprise? Isn’t it rather the lack of motivation and inter est on the part of the students that keeps the Oregon Union from becoming a meaningful platform. I think that you owe an apol ogy to this faculty. Lucian C. Marquis, Assistant Professor in Political Science. * * Fight Nature Emerald Editor: Peoples of the world had bet ter spend less time fighting one another and pay more atten tion to fighting the forces of nature, such as insects, water shortages and diminishing re sources, things that have the final say about how we live. Wm. R. Sullivan, 1116 S. Flower, Los Angeles 15, Calif. Little Man on Campus V MNWNfc \s<. rmi W7 fkcNgh s??'■' a tori oruni Senate and Students Must Work Together By NEIU <iOIJ»S< IIMlirr AHl-O Senatnr-at-Large With great numbers of spe cific problems if not griev ances yet to be resolved, it is tempting for one given the opportunity to express his views through this University’s most ( ffective mass medium, to take the soap box in crusade for spe cific solutions; yet this approach would bring little understand ing or satisfaction. The question which the students at this Uni versity must ask is not a spe cific one. such as "What are we going to do about the method proposed to finance the new football stadium?”, or "How are we going to improve spirit at the athletic contest?", but lather "WHERE IS THIS UNI VERSITY HEADED IN 1962’’" More specifically we must ask, "Where do we want to go in 1962?" THE UNIVERSITY Senate is a ttempting to answer many var ied questions with the full amount of interest and atten tion which vital issues deserve. But merely time and interest will never yield flexible-far sighted decisions, which will stand the test of time and serve adequately the student for whom the decisions were made. An in terested student body can do much to determine the Senate's mind on issues, as well as aid its resolve and speed its decis ions. In this article. I discuss student government only in its general scope, in the hope that I may aid some students to un derstand and construct a reli able frame of reference, or a model, against which specific problems may be measured and that active interest may lie cre ated in the wide range of stu dent government action. IT IS VITAL that the stu dent body and the Senate ap proach all questions, not as single isolated problems, but as interrelated inseparable is sues, each of which inevitably affects many others. Often the interrelationships will seem ob vious, but more often the pe numbra, the grayed area of overlap, is either overlooked or intentionally obscured. Exam ining the issues presently con fronting the Oregon body, it is obvious that clouded thinking often prevails in more than a few minds. The controversy surrounding the present consid eration of construction of it new football atnilium la the moat r< cent example of presentations, both pro anti con, wherein an issue la isolated from all oth ers and reasoning becomes mud dled. The issue, for student purpos es, must first be not how the stadium is financed, nor where it should l»e constructed Rather, we must address ourselves to the more vital questions: I) If the stadium is built, what re sponsibilities will fall upon the University ai a result. 2> Are the e new responsibilities *or extensions of old responsibili ties i compatible with the goals of this institution. We must evaluate this proposal in light of its future effects, lest we mortgage students of future years to a transitory policy; one constructed on expediency rather than honesty. This type of soul searching will help us to avoid the “I wish we hadn't . . ." remarks that Inevitably result when analysis on a broad scope is absent from planning. Presently those who are exam ining the multiple uses of ex pensive structures and the im pact of such expenditures on finances and morale, are engag ed in proper consideration of all possible ramifications of a de cision; those who would do less aren't paying adequate atten tion to a serious matter. There are many challenging tasks ahead, but if the Senate, qpneeived as the student's high est council, is to function accur ately, it must, to reiterate an often stated fact, be subjected to constructive criticism and, most important, it must be giv en ACTIVE SUPPORT. The greatest threat to Senate strength will be its own failure to act with sufficient speed and judgment. If the Senate fails this test, it will become noth (Continued on foi/e 3) ORKOON DAILY EMERALD The Oregon Daily Emerald i*» pub lished seven time* in Sep?rtnl»er and five flays a werk during tin: school year, ex cept during examination and vacation periods !>y the Student Publications Hoard of the University of Oregon. En tered 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 ASl’O or the University. KEITH POWELL, Editor LEE TUR N. HULL. Business Manager