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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 1963)
A Strong Majority Report Students, Faculty Should Support A Progressive Step For This University After a year of deliberation, members of the student discipline committee, four fac ulty and two students, released a report Tuesday which could become an important landmark for the University of Oregon. We hope the significance of the report has not passed over the heads of the stu dents of this University. We hope students realize how indebted they should be to the six members who have performed a real service to this school, and indeed the whole State of Oregon, for bringing to the atten tion of faculty, students, and administrators some of the flaws that have existed for so long in our policies of student conduct. To put the matter of our out dated and Victorian discipline code on the table for discussion is in itself an important step forward. Exactly what questions has the majority report brought to light? First and most important, it has suggested that this Uni versity should get out of the morals busi ness. It has recommended that a student should have the right to provide for his own moral growth; to establish his own moral code as he sees fit, not as the sup posedly omniscient moral guardians of Emerald Hall dictate. Second, the members of the student dis cipline committee have wondered out loud if the way to get students to act like adults is to treat them like adults. They have stated that they believe that a code of stu dent conduct should be “based on the premise that the development of responsi ble behavior is not effectively realized by policies which unduly prolong dependence and immaturity.” Third, the members of the committee have questioned the wisdom of the perpet uation of the “double standard” of treat ment of men and women. They have not said that a double standard does not exist in our American society. Rather, they have very justifiably asked the question of whether or not it is the place of a suppos edly enlightened University tQ perpetuate a practice which is detrimental to the nat ural rights of women students. Fourth, the majority report raises the question of exactly what gives the Univer sity the right to assume the control func tions of the larger city and state in which it resides. That is, why should a University student be any different from any other citizen when he breaks a law? Why should he have to answer to both the University and the City of Eugene or State of Oregon for acts not directly related to the Univer sity and its educative function? Fifth, the majority report has called for a review of present administrative proced ures on discipline cases. It has asked that actions taken by the Office of Student Af fairs in its administration of the discipline code be subject to review by a faculty-stu dent committee, and that this review be automatic in cases in which a student is ex pelled, suspended or informally asked to leave school. It doesn’t take an administra tive expert to figure out that when one in dividual administrator makes a disciplin ary decision, the disciplined student should have some safeguard against honest error or inappropriate use of authority. These major policy recommendations of the majority report, if instituted as Uni versity policy, would solve problems about which students and faculty have been com plaining for years. The majority report is worded simply, so simply that one won ders why these problems were not deline ated so clearly a long, long time ago. The majority report should be accepted. Stanford’s Suggestion Following is an editorial which appeared recently in an issue of the Stanford Daily. It mentions, in a sort of outline form, a program which would be worth more than the lip service it now receives on this x campus—integration of living and educa tional facilities. The plan to “integrate the classroom with the residence” in a new History of Western Civiliza tion and Freshman English program is very welcome. It should be considered seriously. For many of the students at Stanford, their academic and dormitory lives are quite removed from each other. For them, learning ends when they leave the classroom or the library. Yet, a university must be devoted to providing more than simply a “class-room education.” Al most every educational experience can, in many ways, be related to the non-academic world. As Dwight Clark, Dean of Freshman Men and Director of Wilbur Hall, has said, “a melting together of living and learning ...” is a means toward this goal. He has proposed a program in which students on the same floor will have the same English or Western Civ instructor. The English themes would be integrated with the Western Civ topic under discussion. When possible, the instructor would actually live in the house. Also, grades would be replaced by a “Pass” or “Fail” rating and a written analysis of the student’s work. This program would greatly benefit the Fresh men in their attempt to coordinate what they learn in the classroom with the things and the people around them. Footnotes During campus election campaigns, dis cussion often centers about the futility or ineffectiveness of student government. At this University, as elsewhere, there are many theories as to why government is in such terrible shape, but one factor, usually overlooked, is a purely physical one. Social scientists feel that the shape of the meeting chamber of a legislative body reflects the type of discussion practiced by that body. The Supreme Soviet meets in a square room with very narrow aisles and with all members facing front. The Russian premier can address this body without fear of discussion from the floor. The British House of Lords seats men of opposing political ideas opposite one an other so that one never discusses with con stituents but rather talks to the opposition. In more democratic bodies such as the United States’ Senate, the chamber is rounded to permit discussion between vir tually all members of the body at all times. What we are getting at is that the ASUO Senate has one of the most unique physical structures found in government. The Sen ate is seated in a U-shape with virtually half of the members seated with their backs to one another. Our Contemporaries The University of Washington conducted a survey to see if lo cal republican and conservative groups were being infiltrated by John Birch Society members Presidents of both groups said they had no Birch members and neither knew of any such on campus. An ex-Bircher felt that the so ciety was “just a group of peo pie who meet to discuss political views” but felt that extreme public reaction against the so ciety was the reason for the Uni versity having so few Birchers “Many members of the Socie ty have very radical views," the student continued "These are the people who give the Society a bad name " A former Bircher once called the Society nothing but a group of politically oriented pen pals. • • * WOMEN undergraduates at Columbia University in New York will be allowed to visit in mens’ dormitory rooms begin ning this spring term The pro posal agreed upon by Columbia administrators will permit wo men to visit the mens’ dorms every other Sunday from 2 to 5 providing the doors to rooms entertaining women guests are left open. Students at Columbia have had the women-in-dorms propos al before the administration for some time. One of the stipula tions accompanying the propos al was that night rioting stop or the new privilege will be discon tinued. Students have been us ing night demonstrations in an effort to change dorm policies. The Columbia Spectator called the night riots “an occa sional Columbia pastime that may involve irresponsibility but should not involve the women in-dorms plan.” The paper also felt that the stipulation to end rioting made the new policy an administrative tool against riots. An editorial in the Utah Chronicle had this to say: ‘‘The Utah Legislature has de cided to try its hand at running the state’s schools, setting the universities’ and colleges’ re quirements for graduation. It is a rather strange aspiration when you realize that there are very few if any educators in the House and Senate. “Be that as it may, the legis lators have decided, according to Senate Bill No. 39, that Any student receiving a bachelor’s degree or teaching credential from any tax supported univer sity or college within this state shall, before receiving such de gree or credential, demonstrate reasonable understanding of the fundamentals of the history and the principles, form of govern ment, and economic system of the United States as a basis for responsible citizenship.’ ” • • • THE WASHINGTON State Legislature tabled a bill which would have praised officials at the University of Washington for banning speakers such as Gus Hall and Benjamin Davis from the campus The Washing ton Daily cheered the fact that the bill was tabled and called it ‘a step in the right direction, however small Eventually (let us hope) there may be an ac tive, forward looking group lead ing the legislature which will take the positive steps needed to bring about a change in the Uni versity's speaker ban policy. Democrats attacked the reso lution which would have com mended University president Odegaard and the Board of Re gents for accepting "their ad ministrative responsibility" by refusing to allow "avowed mem bers of the Communist Party to use their facilities as a public forum." • ♦ • VOTING IN the Kansas State student body elections was so slow that it threatened not to elect three representatives to the student senate. By 11 o’clock Thursday 2,430 students had voted. The school constitution requires at least 75 ballots to be cast for a represen tative in any of the school’s aca demic districts. When the ppper went to press 27 votes had been cast for the representative from the School of Journalism, 48 for the School of Pharmacy, and 38 in the Graduate school OREGON DAILY EMERALD The Oregon Daily Emerald i* published •even timet in September and five days a week during the achool year, except dur ing examination and vacation periods by the Student Publications Board of the University of Oregon. Entered an second clast mater at the post office, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rate*: $5 per year; $2 per term. Opinions expressed on the editorial page are those of The Emerald and do not pre tend to represent the opinions of the ASUO or the University. RON BUEL, Editor MARTY KETKLS, Businesj Manager TED MAHAR, Managing Editor EVER LTTE DENNIS. News Editor rim. Q0GSWELL, Editorial Page Editor LARRY WILLIAMS, Advertising Manager JOHN BUCHNER, Sports Editor DULCY MORAN, Assistant Managing Editor RON COWAN, JIM FKAKK, JANET GOETZE, Assistant News Editors GEORGE BIGHAM, Photo Editoi LINDA BROWN, Entertainment Editor CATHY NEVILLE, Associate News Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Ron Buel, Phil Cogswell Ted Mahar Evcrettc Denr,is, Dulcy Moran, Lind; Brown B<d) Forsyth, H?d snow, Grant Ledger wood, I)< ug Ragcn Janet Goctie, and Bill iutchison
