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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 1963)
A Non-Pacifist View We Can Poke Fun At Shelters, But Were Kind of Glad We Have Them What do you call a person who is not a pacifist? An indifferentist? A philistine? A warmonger? Hard to say. Some pacifists would settle for the latter, judging from some of the letters to the editor. The fallout shelter signs have stirred up comment among pacifists and (warmon gers - indifferentists - philistines — choose one). One letter to the editor naively sug gested that we forget about shelters and concentrate on maintaining the peace. To us, these suggestions show a certain lack of understanding. The shelters are. first of all. not bomb shelters. The theory is that Lane County contains nothing worth the expense of a big bomb, but that Portland might. There fore, we would be worried about fallout rather than blast. Maybe the emergency facilities already organized and the fallout shelters already designated will be totally inadequate. But maybe they won't. To work on the assumption that everyone will be annihilated is foolishness of the highest order. Any organization in a time of dis aster is better than none. Certainly that doesn't need explaining. Those who say we have all been lulled into a false sense of security by the shelter signs must, bv coincidence, know only the nincompoops among the student body. Most students, it seems to us, have accepted the shelters for what they are—a somber and necessary addition to everyday life. Flip pant-sounding remarks should be taken for what they are—attempts to make an unpleasant situation bearable through humor. And as for the idealistic soul who sug gests we insure peace rather than build shelters, we would remind him of two things. First, Selective Service passed in Congress by one vote In 1940. Had it not passed, the situation might have been so bad that even the bravest of men could not make it tenable. And second. Neville Chamberlain's efforts at maintaining peace made appeasement a dirty word in the poli tical dictionary. Letters to the Editor Just Another Johnson Emerald Editor: In your sports column printed in the Emerald on Jan. 14. 1963. you stated that Gus Johnson was the finest basketball player to ever enter MacArthur Court. If this statement is true, it leads me to think that you have not seen many good basketball play ers. To rate Johnson along with Elgin Baylor and Oscar Robert son is absolutely ridiculous. It is possible that you have never seen Baylor or Robertson play? Baylor is considered by many experts as the best all around player in basketball today, 'i our asking quite a bit of Gus. It is true that Johnson is a good basketball player and he demonstrates many skills on the court. He can pass unusually well, he can time his jumps to perfection while rebounding or tipping in a shot, and he can shoot fairly well. Did you bother to check his field goal percent age for the two nights, I’m sure he didn’t make 40% of his at tempted field goals. And his free throws, he made 2 out of a pos sible 7 or 8, is that so good? Most of the basketball players in the country with a height of 6-6 can stuff the ball with regu lar consistency, and a better part of them can pass as well as or better than did Johnson. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not cut ting the ability of Johnson, I’m just trying to point out that he is not as good as you built him to be. jonnson snoweu„ eveij'uuc uc was good, of that there is no doubt; but could Johnson leave his school at the end of this, his junior year and join the pro’s and be one of the top scorers in the league! Elgin Baylor did. You have overrated the poor fel low, give him a chance. He put on a fine show and I must admit I enjoyed it; but he is certainly no Baylor, Lucas or Robertson. Tom Bates Freshman, Business Administration * # £ Shelters Beneficial Emerald Editor: I wish to answer yesterday’s letter on the subject of fallout shelters at the University of Oregon. In the first place, it has been proven beyond doubt that fall out shelters would be VERY beneficial in a nuclear war. Eu gene is an insufficient target for a nuclear bomb but it would get the fallout from Portland and Klamath Falls. It is the purpose of fallout shelters to protect us from airborne fallout, not a dir ect hit. It is extremely doubtful if fall out shelters by themselves would ever play a significant part in the decision by any nation to start a nuclear war. The argu ment that fallout shelters would condition people to a military way of life would seem to have no basis in fact. Fallout shel ters have not led to a military way of life in the Scandinavian Countries which employ them very extensively. Perhaps the author of yester day's letter should write the United States Government Print ing Office for the booklet “The Effects of High Yield Nuclear Explosions" and other booklets on the subject in order to be come better informed. Jim Wright Senior in Business £ * * We Have No Go We were prompted to write this letter after reading a letter to the editor of the Eugene Reg ister-Guard, dated January 15, 1963 Did you attend either of the basketball games over the past weekend? If you did not, this letter is addressed to you. If, however, you were one of the few there, you must agree that the spirit was almost zero. The little spirit that was produced came mainly from fellow ath letes. The few who did show en thusiasm met with questioning stares. when school started in the fall we were looking forward to attending a school with good athletic teams, but most impor tant, spirit that would lead these teams to great victories. How ever, since this time we have seen the spirit develop into a remedial state and our great teams in football and basketball lose morale because of the lack ol backing that they received from their student-body. Spirit is used to build team morale and give it confidence knowing that it has support backing it. Let us take a case in point. Example: Last Friday night’s basketball game with the University of Idaho. We think that most people that went to the game went to see Gus John son. Throughout the entire game the difference between the schools in score was almost nil. Toward the end of the game with the score tied many times and the winner still undecided, the team could greatly have used backing from the entire stu dent-body. With the teams start ing the over time period stu dents began to stir with spirit that should have begun as soon as the referee blew his whistle to start the game. Another case in point. If you happened to stay home and lis ten to our arch-rival team's game you would have heard some real spirit. From the start, chants of "Take it away.” “Get the ball,” "Go, go . were heard from the beginning whis tle until the end of the exciting game. Spirit was most evident Spirit is one of the many things that leads a team to vic tory. We propose that the rally committee go through with the rule that was stated in the Em erald, dated January 11, 1963 The rule was that a section be set aside for all persons that wear white shirts. Also, we think that it is the job of the rally squad to create spirit with yells. If the team is to get support it is the job of the rally squad to start the ball rolling. In spite of the above, it still remains your decision to attend the games, or to tend to other affairs. We are just saying that if the team is to feel wanted by its student-body there must be shown spirit and attendance far superior to that of prior athletic events. Peter Kosberg Soph, in Business Warren Lobdell Graduate in Math Pete Botsferd Soph in Sociology John Gaines Junior in Psychology Ron Justis Soph in Music * * * In Agreement Emerald Editor: I would like to express my agreement with the extremely perceptive analysis of the situa tion made by Mr Jerald Tucker. It is true that his analysis is a known fact, but at least some one dared print the truth. Who cares about the missing “O”? Nobody! It is this writer's opin ion that the theory expressed by the Oregon Daily Emerald is a bunch of Balderdash. It isn’t that we are too mature, as far as most of the students are con cerned. The OSU’ers might as well have taken the O, the seal, burned down the side, and smoked on the old campus. Hopefully, we will see more of this type of serious thought in the future. Congratulations, Mr. Tucker. Lawrence Brenner Junior in Foreign Languages \Y j r *—• f i "RtCKOM WE t?OUEWOH." ? The Academic Retreat; A Worthwhile Experience Tilt* second academic retreat begins this afternoon, and it might be useful for these and future retreat-goers to be warn ed of what to expect. If last weekend's retreat, the first one attempted, can be used as a basis for evaluation, the participants will find that the value of the retreat, in some in definable manner, will be worth the time and effort involved. The benefits of the retreat are not the only difficult aspect of the idea to define, however. An adequate description of the activities is equally hard Last weekend, for instance, the three faculty members and 18 stu dent.-, participating spent Friday evening and Saturday morning at a place called Albert's Lodge, located on the McKenzie Itiver, talking about things. EVERYONE seemed to think the conversation went pretty well. Although most people probably didn't change their minds much, there was enough difference in viewpoint and background to make conversa tion interesting. One of the pri mary values of the occasion was probably that by talking about something with a person who disagreed, one could solidify the reasons for a belief which he had always taken for granted. In short, then, the purpose of the retreat was talk. It was an attempt to revive for a while the vanshing art of interesting and serious conversation, and in this it was successful. But future retreat partici pants still might want some ad vice and a warning or two about the project. So, in no particular order, here are some observa tions about various aspects of the retreat. The food was good. This, of course, didn’t guarantee the re treat’s success, but it helped to keep everybody in a relaxed, pleasant mood, to carry on ser ious conversation about, among other things, the food. THE CONVERSATION was good, too. It had been expected that Friday evening might be a bit awkward until people be came acquainted, but this was not the case at all. Enough per ple knew each other to provide a spark whenever conversation lagged a little bit. Introductions occupied most of Friday evening, since in de scribing his background, prac tically everyone touched on something which prompted questions or comments. Some people thought these introduc tions were a little long, though. The general enthusiasm about the rereat did not extend to the attitude with which male stu dents viewed their sleeping quarters, however. While the girls and faculty members were able to stay in nice rooms at the lodge, the boys slept in cab ins eight miles up the road. Since it was one of the coldest nights of the year, the pipes had all frozen and the little electric heaters were onl> slight ly warmer. AI.I. WAS BHTTKR the next morning, however, when every one could get warm again back at the lodge After breakfast, the participants formed three groups and talked about what ever subjects the conversation led to. It is difficult to say whether people on future retreats will have the same sort of experi ence as those on the first one. Because of the unstructured na ture of the program, it is likely that each one will assume a character of its own Last weekend there was a spark which somehow got things going and kept them going. In the future, it will be this uncertain quality which will make each retreat a success or failure. But despite the poor ones which may occur, the first retreat showed that they can be very worthwhile. OREGON DAILY EMERALD The Oregon Daily Emerald in published nrvcii time* in September and fur day* a week during the vhool year, except dur ing examination and vacation period hy the Student Publication* Hoard of the I niversity of Oregon Kntrrcd as second class matter at the post office, Kugene, Oregon. Subtcription rates $5 per year; $2 per term. Opinions expressed on the editor ial page ase those of The Emerald ami do n> t j>** tend to represent the opinions «»f the ASUO or the University. RON BUEL, Editor MARTY KETK1.S, Business Manager TED M AIIAK, Managing Editor KVKRETTE DENNIS. New* Editor I’D L COGSWELL, Editorial Page Editor LARRY WILLIAMS, Ad\crtising Manager LARRY CRAVES. Sports Editor Dl. LCY MORAN, Assistant Managing Ed tor DAVE SANDS, JIM ERAKE, JAN El COET/E. Assistant News Editors GEORGE HICHAM, Photo Editor LINDA HJ(f! WN, Entertainment Editor RON COWAN, CATHY NEVILLE, Til ORA WILLIAMS, Associate News Editors EDITORIAL BOA RD : Ron Huel, Phil Cogswell, Fed Mahar Kverette Dennis, Dav< Sands Dulcy Moran, Linda Irown Hal Carpenter, Hob I* jrsytli Grant Lcdgervvood, Dot ( Ragen Janet Cretze, and Bill H itcliison
