Speech Platform, Free
Still Not Gone
But Forgotten
Free speech is something like the weath
er—everybody talks about it (sometimes)
but nobody does anything about it.
Remember the free speech platform?
It’s that giant green orange crate-like thing
in front of the Student Union. Well, three
weeks ago a Senior Class Spokesman said
the new one would be completed in three
weeks. Just so you won’t have to make a
special trip to the SU, we’ll tell you how
much progress has been made: none.
At this point many polemicists would
take off on a tirade criticizing everyone
from Chancellor Lieuallen to the lowliest
freshman. But not we. Frankly, it doesn’t
really matter if the newimproved-superdan
dy - concretepermanent - $500 - freespeech
platform gets built on time. If there were a
big long line of speakers waiting to ex
pound their views we would be concerned.
But if no one is going to use the thing for
another six months or years, then there
really isn’t any hurry, is there?
No, there isn’t.
One other little point: so much rhetoric
has been expended on the symbolic value
of the platform that we’re wondering what
they will do with the old plywood model.
To burn a symbol of free speech would be
almost as bad as burning books. But to
throw it in the garbage would be almost a
sacrilege.
It should probably go into the Art Mu
seum. They could put it in front of the
lovely nude Indian girl. This would 1) cov
er the Indian girl (alas) and satisfy those
cautious parents who want to shield their
innocent offspring from the pollutions of
reality and 2) provide a topic for potential
free speech platform users, namely, cau
tious parents who want to shield their in
nocent offspring from reality.
Letters to the Editor
On Election Drawbacks
Emerald Editor:
It is indeed comforting to
know that someone outside the
Elections Committee is aware
of some of the problems of our
present electoral system. 1 can
not. however, bring myself to
believe in your admission of
blindness or in your stated
naivety in the February 4 lead
editorial.
The Elections Committee has
long recognized the various
drawbacks mentioned in your
editorial, and has already rem
emied some of them temporar
ily. For instance, Carson Hall
was abandoned as a polling
place last Spring term in favor
of the heavily-tra diced walk
leading from the Hamilton
Bean- Walton area. The library
was initiated as our sixth poll
ing station also last spring. We
grant that registrants must wait
a certain amount of time to
vote due to the valid and nec
essary Poll book cross check
system, but I hope, sir, that you
shall be. more careful of exag
gerations in exercising your
power. The Deady-University
Theatre area is useless, from
our point of view, as is the Com
monwealth station. Carson Hall
has proved to be two to three
times more valid than that area
ever will.
As to your precinct-type elec
toral suggestion, may I suggest
that you simply forget it. The
students will not respond in
that manner, since they vote
now only as the mood strikes
them. Also, in respect to more
polling stations, it is just too
difficult and unweildy a job to
procure over 120 women now
required to handle six polls in
an orderly, basically efficient
manner. That they have volun
teered in the past is something
for which I am grateful and
for which I thank them. The
two suggestions concerning vot
ing booths and residence indi
cations on student body cards
are valid and are now being
studied.
Relative to the supposed
thesis underlying this poorly re
searched campaign against the
Elections Committee, I have
but this to say: the Oregon
Daily Emerald is now, has been
for the last half century, and,
perhaps, will be for the next,
the only effective means by
which the principles, philos
ophy, and proposals of any can
didates for and office may be
expounded to the student body,
and explored by them for pur
poses of voting.
A three-minute interview, a
fifteen-word statement of plat
form, and a ready-made ticket
of winners is not the way to
“promote the return of substan
tive issues in campus political
campaigns”, just as the present
electoral system is not the out
standing, or even minor, deter
rent to their revival. If the
Oregon Daily Emerald must ini
tiate a campaign on campus
politics, let it at least be honest
enough to start with one of the
most outstanding stumbling
blocks—take an honest and sin
cere look at your own political
activity, or inactivity, and then
begin to relate.
David S. Pelton
President Alpha Phi
Omega
Alpha Phi Omega repres
entative to Elections
Committee
* * #
Married Student Housing
Emerald Editor:
Thank you for reporting the
hearing held by the House of
Representatives Committee on
Taxation to consider self liqui
dating higher education bonds
for dormitories and married stu
dent housing.
The three members of the
committee from university com
munities have personal knowl
edge of the many questions that
arise in Campus-City relations
incident to married student
housing. As you know they have
to do with city services, exemp
tion from property taxes, public
investment vs. private invest
ment, to name a few. Discussion
at this point of the hearing was
intended to help put these prob
lems into perspective.
Apropos your quotation, what
I intended to say and what I
think I did say was that the
families who occupy married
student university housing are
in the age group that have the
highest birth rate and furnish
pupils for the public schools
but whose homes are not subject
to property taxation, the source
of major support of schools.
Certainly there was no inten
tion to compare the size of fam
ilies of those students occupying
university owned housing and
those occupying privately own
ed housing. I always have and
expect to continue to support
married student housing for the
same reasons that I have sup
ported dormitory construction.
C. R. Hoyt
State Representative
Benton County
<. # *
Reply to Batson
Emerald Editor:
I Should like the following
printed as an open letter to: Mr.
Jack Battson (Junior, U of O),
812 S.E. 14th Ave., Eugene,
Oregon.
Dear Mr. Batson,
I am writing in regard to
your letter to the Editor which
appeared in the February 4 edi
tion of The Oregonian.
I am writing not to take issue
with your views concerning the
Oregonian's reporting of frater
nity "hazing” activities, but to
take issue with some of your
statements regarding the
Greeks’ position on the campus.
As a transfer student, and a
Greek, I feel that the opinions
enclosed are worth your notice.
As a transfer, I have lived four
terms among independent stu
dents at the University; there
fore, I have a perspective on
both Greek and independent ac
tivities and attitudes.
The First Statement I wish
to contest: “It is the only fac
tion which is interested in man
aging the student’s traditions,
activities, and government.” Be
fore making such a blanket gen
eralization, I suggest you com
pute the percentage of Inde
pendents active in such activi
ties as student publications,
drama, music, and student body
committees in general. Also the
percentage of Independents at
tending athletic events. I think
you will be surprised by the
amount of time, energy, and
labor put into extra-curricular
activities by Independents, even
though more chairmanships and
“splashes of publicity” seem to
go to the Greeks involved.
The Second Statement I Wish
to Contest: “It is the only agen
cy which assists the community
in a number of projects.” It
should be noted that University
dormitories and other organi
zations also undertake commun
ity service projects. Take, as
one example, the giving of food
and other essential household
items to needy Lane county
families during the annual holi
days. Perhaps you should state
that Greeks do more in the way
of service projects, but certain
ly not that they are the only
faction aiding the Eugene com
munity.
The Third Statement I Wish
to Contest: “It is the only liv
ing institution which teaches
responsibility for property and,
it I may say, even actions,
which encourages scholastic
achievement, and which offers
its members security, friends,
and a generally colorful college
experience.” I regard the above
as a slam against the entire
University dormitory system.
Dormitory counselors do an ex
cellent job of teaching respect
for others’ property, and set
ting examples of good personal
conduct. A review of the Dis
cipline Code, AWS Rules for
Women, and curfew system will
also demonstrate that Greeks
are not the only ones who fol
low “house rules,” governing
actions and the securing of aca
demic excellence.
It is also m^ personal opinion
(Continued on page 3)
K.l.P.
<*>*<;*/VN*a )i^lO
Jt,m C^(ou tier
Summer Trip To Ethiopia
Experience of a Lifetime
Editor’s Note: In the fol
lowing column Jim Cloutier,
former ASL'O vice-president,
discusses impressions he re
ceived during a summer spent
in Ethiopia.
• • •
“Expect the unexpected!’’
These were words which we had
heard more than once during
our five day orientation in
Washington, DC., and which
were finally beginning to as
sume real significance. After
one week in Ethiopia unexpect
ed things were beginning to
happen and only then could I
begin to appreciate the remark
made to someone preparing to
leave for a similar project:
"You’ll be doing things you’ve
never done before.”
Certainly, I had never ridden
in a Wollo bus which bounced
along a narrow, windy gravel
road, traveling 700 miles in
three days. Nor, had I ever
seen women walking along the
road carrying large jugs of
water or heavy loads of firewood
on their backs. Another new
and unforgettable sight was the
throng of blind and crippled
beggars that met our bus each
time it stopped in a village or
town along the way. I never
thought that I would spend the
Fourth of July in a small Ethio
pian town, singing ’’When the
Saints Go Marching In” to an
audience of curious and amazed
Ethiopian townspeople, many of
whom had never seen an Ameri
can before. These were all un
expected sights and occurances
and they were all just the begin
ning . . . the beginning of many
new and unforgettable experi
ences during my two months in
Ethiopia with a private student
work project-seminar, Opera
tion Crossroads Africa.
I FIRST learned about Cross
roads when I was in New York
two years ago attending a sem
inar sponsored by the Methodist
Student Movement. After listen
ing to the director of Cross
roads, Dr. James Robinson, de
scribe this program, which is
popular in the East but rela
tively unknown here in the
Northwest, I couldn’t help but
feel that this was an experi
ence well worth trying for. So,
the following fall, 1 applied and
was fortunate to be accepted as
one of the 250 participants for
the 1062 summer project. The
only other problem facing me
was that of saving, borrowing
and raising $900 which each
participant was expected to pay
for taking part in the program.
Somehow, 1 managed to obtain
the money required and within
two months, I was one of 250
Crosroaders at Idlewild Airport
hoarding an Air France 707 jet
for Africa
Although Africa was our gen
eral destination, most of my
summer would be spent in Eth
iopia with ten other American
college students. Together, with
our leadei, a junior high school
teacher, we comprised Ethiopia
Group I, which was assigned to
Maymishiam village in Northern
Ethiopia where we would live
and work in the construction of
three additional classrooms to
the village school It was en
route to this village from Addis
Ababa, the capitol of Ethiopia
that many of our unexpected oc
currances and sights began to
take place.
MAYMISHIAM village is not
really a village. It is a four
classroom schoolbuilding built
of rock with dirt floors, a church
surrounded by a gi ove of sacred
trees and a few “tukles" or huts
scattered here and there. The
nearest town is about 15 miles,
six rivers and eight hours by
mule away. It was in Maytnish
iam that I became extremely
aware of doing things 1 had
never done before.
Most of us in the group lived
in the classrooms of the school,
sleeping in sleeping bags on the
hard mud floor A week after
our arrival, 14 Ethiopian college
students joined us. They all
spoke English fluently, so very
(Coniinui'd on page 3)
OREGON DAILY EMERALD
The Oregon Daily Emerald ix published
•even times in September and five day* a
week during the *ch«*d year, except dur
ing examination and vacation period* by
the Student Publication* Board of the
University of Oregon. Entered ax second
clan* matter at the pout offirt, Eugene,
Oregon. Subscription ratex; $5 per year;
$2 per term.
Opinion* expressed on the editorial page
ase those of The Kmrrald and do not pre
tend to represent. the opinio 1* of the
ASUO or the Univerxity.
HON BUKL, Editor
MARTY KETELS, Buxines* Manager
TED MAHAK, Managing Editor
EVERKTTK DENNIS, Ncwx Editor
PHIL C OGSWELL,
Editorial P i^c Editoi
LARRY GRAVES, Sport* Editor
LARRY WILLIAMS,
Advertising; Manage*
I)t LCY MORAN,
Anxintant Mar a.{ing Ed tor
DAVE SANDS, JIM FR \KR,
JANET GOETZ!,
Axxiatant News Editor
GEORGE BIGHAM, Phot, Editor
LINDA HRCWN, Entertains ent Editor
RON COWAN, CATHY NE MLLE,
TMORA WILLIAMS.,
Associate News Editoi»
EDITORIAL BOARD:
Ron Duel, Phil Cogswell, Ted Mahar
E erette Dennis, Dave Sands
I nicy Moran. Linda Irowit
Hob Forsyth, Hal Snow,
Gra it Ledger wool, Dot f Hagen
Jan. t Gcet;e, and T ill H itchixon