Evaluation Forms
If Considered Seriously,
The)' Could Improve Teaching
Doug Greer, senator-at-large, will pre
sent to the University President’s Advisory
Council within the next ten days a propos
ed form that will measure student reaction
to classroom teaching. Greer’s subcommit
tee of the Student Relations and Communi
cations Committee, has been working on
this form since last May when the Faculty
Senate rejected a similar one.
THE FORM, if recommended for use by
University President Arthur S. Flemming,
will be available for use by faculty mem
bers on a voluntary basis. The object of
the form is to enable the professor “to
discover unrealized reactions of students”
to his course and the way he presents it.
The new form seems to be a good one.
It asks questions that pertain directly to
the subject matter of the course, and will
help the professor decide if his teaching is
effective or not.
SOME OF the questions asked are:
How good a job has the instructor done
in making .the purpose and objectives of
the course clear?
How good a job has the instructor done
in presenting lecture material in a manner
that can be effectively understood?
Do the tests provide adequate opportun
ity to indicate what was learned?
WAS THE extent of the course intellec
tually stimulating?
Many other colleges are already using
some type of teacher evaluation form. Ore
gon State University has been using one
for about ten years. Its form includes ques
tions like those above, as well as questions
concerning the professor’s appearance,
humor, and how promptly he returns test
papers.
Greer said that the form used at Oregon
State has had some success in improving
the quality of teaching. In 1949 and 1950
a faculty rating form wras used at the Uni
versity. The idea was dropped after two
years, however, because department heads
did not want to see the results from their
faculty members, and many of the faculty
members and students were not satisfied
with the rating form.
THE PROPOSED form would be used by
the professor if he wanted to use it, and
only he would see the form. This might
be of interest to students who have gripes
about their classes, but are afraid to go
talk to the professor.
Students often have valid criticisms that
could help a teacher improve his teaching.
And if the professor is interested in giving
his students the best education possible, he
will not ignore these criticisms. The rating
forms, if taken seriously by both students
and professors could help in improving
the quality of education at the University.
We hope the Advisory Council seriously
considers accepting these revised forms.
YMCA Birthday
The oldest organization on campus, the
University YMCA, is celebrating its 75th
anniversary of service to the community
this school year. And, in an effort to stim
ulate interest and participation in its many
educational and philanthropic programs
the YMCA is beginning a membership
drive through which the group’s promoters
hope to reach all men on campus.
The programs the YMCA offers are
worthwhile ones that express the ideals of
personal betterment and community ser
vice everyone likes to see in the Univer
sity community.
YMCA started the Afric-Ore and Ind-Ore
programs of study of the languages and
customs of African and Indian cultures. It
has sponsored faculty seminars and is plan
ning a series on “Man and the Arts” for
independent groups to study literature,
music and the visual arts.
On an experimental basis it has set up
the “Little Brother Project” for Univer
sity men to work with delinquent boys in
the community. Plans are underway to set
up a teacher assignment program to give
University students the opportunity to
coach both exceptional and slow students
at the junior high school level.
Campus YMCA membership now is less
than 200 students and faculty members.
But with the quality and ambition of the
programs offered more people ought to con
sider membership and participation in this
campus ‘Y\ The effort expended in one of
the programs can be active or passive, de
pending on the individual’s inclination to
ward extra-curricular involvement. But the
idea of a program of service or interest for
everyone is contained in these YMCA pro
jects. The ‘Y’ deserves the added member
ship it is seeking.
Martin Luther King Praises
Students for Integration Role
Martin Luther Kins. Negro
leader, reviewed the advances
made in integration and praised
students for their part in the
social struggle in a speech at
the University of Minnesota last
week.
King said, "We have some
significant advances . . *. the
Negro himself has come a long
way in re-evaluating his own
intrinsic worth.” The minister
also commented that college stu
dents are among the most active
people involved in the integra
tion movement. “Students are
the strongest supporters of non
violent resistance,” he said
King voiced the opinion that,
"If we move at the present rate,
it will be 92 years before all
public schools are integrated
Something has to be done now.”
* * m
MINNESOTA was also the
scene of a debate on "Resolved:
The United States should retain
for itself the right to invade
Cuba." The groups debating the
question were the Young Ameri
cans for Freedom (YAF) and
the Student Peace Union (SPU).
A representative for YAF
said that an invasion of Cuba
is justified by the fact that rev
olution there is not a peasant
movement, but an organized
communist plot. B. Daniel Har
den, YAF speaker, said that the
Letters to the Editor
Campus Chest
Eiperald Editor:
Campus Chest contributions
amounted to nearly 110 per cent
ol our goal of $3,000. For this
money, girls ironed clothes,
sold food, and “entertained”
their dates on penny-a-minute
night.
Men’s living organizations col
lected their table fines, held
auctions, and did their best to
be “entertained” on penny-a
minute night.
In some cases, organizations
merely agreed to donate money
out of their housing bill.
No matter how they collected
their money, almost all organi
zations joined in the spirit of
the drive; and the University
has reason to be proud of a job
well done.
This year’s drive, as last
year’s, was criticized for its
method of organization. True,
we had competition, and if one
would wish to infer that com
petition causes pressure, then
we had pressure. Some would
call this evil, idealistically. Rea
listically, however, only the
most naive of people claim that
competition and charity cannot
work well together. These peo
ple are not only naive about
human nature, but more point
edly, about charity. Many of us
have a glossy view of charity—
Santa Claus ringing a bell, Sun
day collection boxes, and all
star football games.
Charity is not donations given
when the mood so strikes us.
It is budgets that must be met;
it is the Salvation Army and a
place to stay for an unemployed
migrant worker and his family;
it is poor parents who bring
their retarded child to Pearl
Buck school, hoping that the
child can become a self-sufficient
citizen. These problems do not
exist, idealistically; but they
exist realistically here in Eu
gene.
There were inaccuracies in
recording the goals and contri
butions of individual organiza
tions. Because of last-minute in
formation about Adams Hall’s
donation, DeCou Hall was able
to contribute an amount suffi
cient to exceed Adams. The crit
icisms about these inequities
are justified, but they are the
fault of administration of the
campaign’s organization, not the
method of organization.
I am sure that those who feel
they were unjustly treated dur
ing the drive will decide, upon
reflection, that the inequities
are esentially unimportant in
comparison to the overall good.
The point is this: there is a
need, a very definite and real
need. We as members of this
community and of a society
which relics on individual ac
tion to meet this need have a
definite and real obligation. In
the last two years, the Univer
sity responded to this obliga
tion; in past years, without com
petition, it did not.
Doug Kagen
Chairman, Campus Chest
* * *
In Favor of Waiver
Emerald Editor:
We would like to make our
positions known on the Alaska
Hawaii non-resident tuition as
Alaskan students, and in doing
so, refute Mr. MacKinney’s idea
that Alaskan and Hawaiian stu
dents have a moral obligation to
pay this extra amount of $330.
When the waiver was passed
by the Oregon legislature in
1949, it was to benefit those stu
dents who would be deprived of
a first rate education in their
home state. The situation in
Alaska is much the same today
as in 1949. Alaska has only one
accredited university, and that
is primarily devoted to engin
eering. For a student interested
in any other phase of learning
the University of Alaska leaves
much to be desired.
According to Mr. MacKinney,
this is no reason why Alaskan
and Hawaiian students should
have the benefit of higher edu
cation without paying the same
price as students who come to
Oregon from states in which
there are many good universi
ties. We contend that higher
education benefits everyone, and
a student should not be depriv
ed of the best education he can
obtain, one which is unavailable
in his home state, because its
(Continued on poyc 3)
Cuban government is not run
by Cuban nationalists and,
therefore, removing the govern
ment would not be a violation
of sovereignty.
Mike Kader, SPU member,
felt Harden was "wrong, so ter
ribly wrong." Kader felt that an
invasion of Cuba would be mor
ally wrong because by invading
we would violate several pacts
and these pacts are "carrying
the weight of America’s honor.”
* * *
The Chrysler collection of
art, "A Century of Masters,”
will be displayed at the Univer
sity of Texas for the next few
weeks The collection, displayed
in Portland nearly ten years
ago, includes the works of mas
ters from the Kenaissance and
Mannerist periods from 1550
1650
* * •
THE DAILY Iowan reports
that seven Negroes registered
peacefully at Tulane University
in New Orleans during January,
ending a 129-year history of ex
clusively white enrollment.
Tulane's hoard of administra
tors voluntarily extended ad
mission to Negro undergraduate
and graduate students last De
cember. The seven who register
ed were all graduate students.
THE TULANE Student Sen
ate passed a motion supporting
the administration's stand on
admissions by a 9-3 vote. The
resolution, passed after a mo
tion to table it for one-hundred
years failed, read:
Whereas: The Tulane Univer
sity has moved to admit all
qualified students regardless of
race, and
Whereas: The faculty of Arts
and Sciences, Newcomb, and the
Graduate School have commend
ed this action:
Be it resolved that: The Stu
dent Council supports the ac
tions and policies of the Univer
sity.
OREGON DAILY EMERALD
The Oregon Daily Emerald U published
seven times in September and five days a
week during the school year, except dur
ing examination and vacation periods by
the Student Publication*! Hoard of the
University of Oregon. Entered a* second
clast matter at the post office, Eugene,
Oregon. Subscription rates: $5 per jear;
$2 per term.
Opinions expressed on the editorial page
ase those of The Emerald and do not pre
tend to represent the opinions of the
ASUO or tiie University.
HON QUEL, Editor
MARTY KETKLS, Husinrss Manager
TED MAHAR, Managing Editor
EVERETTE DENNIS, Ncv,» Editor
P1UL COGSWELL,
Editorial Page Editoi
LARKY WILLIAMS,
Adiertising Manage!
LARRY GRAVES. Sports Editor
Dl LCY MORAN,
Assistant Managing Ed tor