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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1963)
» VvtuT«M* Letters to tbe Editor Graduate Student Examines ASUO’s ‘Rotten Borough’ Emerald Editor: I read in the Emerald that some revision in the student government set-up is currently in the works. To me, the matter of the graduate student senator seems ripe for discussion. Ver trees, the incumbent, a central figure in the offensive “Dump Buel” affair, was elected by around 1.7% of the eligible voters, thus holding his man date from a kind of “rotten borough.” The unfavorable reaction to Vertrees’ behavior during the Buel controversy involved more graduate students than voted in the fall election, but still only a small fraction of all grad uate students. My conclusions are: a) very few graduate stu dents feel impelled to partici pate in students government, either as organizers or voters; b) only slightly more are moved by the issues and struggles enough to inject themselves into pressure activities. WHAT SORTS of proposals for reform can one make from these conclusions? The most ob OREGON DAILY EMERALD The Oregon Daily Emerald is published seven times in September and five days a week during the school year, except dur ing examination and vacation periods by the Student Publications Board of the University of Oregon. Entered 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 pre tend to represent the opinions of the ASUO or the University. EVERETTE DENNIS, Editor LARRY WILLIAMS Business Manager JANET GOETZE, Managing Editor RON COWAN,* News Editor DOUG RAGEN, Editorial Page Editor JIM SPEER, Advertising Manager DICK RICHARDSON, Associate Editor JIM FRAKE, Assistant Managing Editor RAY MAST, Sports Editor CATHY NEVILLE, Assistant News Editor GEORGE BIGHAM, Photo Editor JO GRISWOLD, Women's Editor CHUCK BEGGS, JOE BERGER, PHYLLIS ELVING, SHERRY LUCAS Associate News Editors ALENE SHARFF Entertainment Editor XOMI BOREXSTEIN, Exchange Editor EDITORIAL BOARD: Everette Dennis, Ron Cowan, Janet Goetze, Doug Ragen, Dick Richardson Jim Frake, Jerry Utti, Kay Mast, Larry Williams, Pam Pashkowski, Doug Combs, Linda Brown, Cathy Neville, Pat Holt, Simeon Crowther. vious is to abolish the “rotten borough” and thus deprive the likes of Vertrees their irrespon sible, and probably obstruction ist, role. The tritest and vainest proposal would be to thump the democratic myth and castigate the graduate studentry for un American behavior, and perhaps add a few more populistic mech anisms, like a recall procedure. This will lead nowhere—pop ulistic democracy is like the Dodo (or perhaps Griffon, the Dodo at least existed at one time). The problem is, how ever, not what is wrong with the graduate students as an electorate, or with a faulty for mal governmental structure, but the whole system. Students of Russian history may well note, as I do, the parallel be tween the 1905-1914 period and the University of Oregon. There is an intransigent and obscurant bureaucracy, an oc casional brilliant higher admin istrator, an authority principle which legitimates suppression of student rights—cause deter mined by the bureaucrats, a “Little Father” complex where in moralistic paternalism casts its not-so-tender control over private life. And then, we have the organs of students govern ment— existing on offcial suffer ance, ignored when critical, non representative, internally frag mented and most times confus ed, operating in an unreal at mosphere. ir i ms picture is vanu, either we should return to ben evolent despotism (it really would be no worse, and probab ly better, given a good despot), or seek a new authority struc ture. Since benevolent despot ism is no longer in style, and since the Oregon legislature would have us all escorted to the state line for advocating “real change,” what is there to do? My own creed of conservative anarchism tells me to sit back, open my Emerald and get a big laugh. Student politics, to pilfer and pervert a Menckenism, is “a canoe-fete of Buncombe.” My ultimate endorsement, therefore, goes to the doctrine of inactive spectatorism, which embodies the particular categorical imper ative of the zoo fan. Whatever reforms are made, let us hope they don’t spoil the show. Charles A. Powell Graduate Assistant Political Science NS As Future at Oregon A Strong\ Articulate Delegation Will Determine What Oregon Benefits and Contributes A strong structural framework at the campus level staffed by competent officers will determine whether the University reaps benefits from its affiliation with the United States National Student Associa tion. Campus interest in NSA ran high during spring elections when the issue was the topic of spirited debates, but in recent weeks the NSA interest has fallen fiat. Next Monday and Tuesday students will go to the polls to select delegates to rep resent the University at the national cong ress, which will be held in Indiana during August. When ASUO offices closed, Friday only six candidates had filed petitions for the five NSA delegate positions. Students should be offered a wider choice of quali fied candidates. ASUO President Phil Sher burne reopened the petitioning last week in order that more candidates could file. Today is the last day to file petitions. We urge students who are interested in a na tional exchange of ideas with top rank student leaders to fully consider the possi bility of petitioning for NSA delegate posts. The NSA summer congress offers a unique experience in debating significant national and international issues, analyz ing student governments, their framework and operation, and applying the good as pects of them to ours. Although it also con stitutes a two-week sacrifice from work or vacation, the congress also provides a stu dent with an opportunity to meet leading national student leaders who will influence the course of this country during the last half of this century. The University has much to gain from NSA. NSA affiliation can put us into the mainstream of American collegiate life, but only if intelligent, articulate delegates are sent to the national congress. The most important benefits from NSA must not stay with the University’s six delegates who at tend the congress, but must be communi cated to the student body by a strong cam pus structure. NSA can guide campus acti vities with a focus on significant, meaning ful issues which are a part of real life. We have seen the development of the ASUO presidential committees this year on Civil Rights, Mexico and migratory labor. These groups have much to gain from contact with similar groups on other campuses. NSA is the channel of communication. We are disappointed that more candid ates have not filed for these offices which can mean so much to the long range de velopment of student activities on this cam pus. We are hopeful that in the few hours remaining to file, student leaders will per suade qualified students to run. More than anything we see this as a student leader's responsibility. The same persons who cam paigned so hard for NSA affiliation should now come forward and help the University in sending a good delegation to Indiana. As stated before, it is our conviction that ASUO Senators should not be candidates for delegate positions, because the work of organizing NSA on the campus will in it self be a full-time activity position. No senator should shortchange his constitu ents by seeking another office. Both the benefits which the ASUO can gain and the contributions we can make to NSA will be determined by the makeup of the University’s delegation. We urge quali fied students to petition. Importance of Research Terrill L. Hill, professor of chemistry and Marshall Fixman, director of the Uni versity’s Institute of Theoretical Science, explain the importance of research to a university in this article which appeared first in the Portland Oregonian. There has been some discussion in the press recently concerning the role of re search and the support of research in the universities of the State System of Higher Education. We have obtained that the gen eral public, rather naturally, thinks of teaching as the only important duty of a university faculty. Actually, the faculty has the additional obligation to attempt to extend the fron tiers of basic knowledge, through research. But even if this point is ignored and one is concerned only with the quality of stu dent education offered in the state system, then there are still some simple facts of life, probably not generally appreciated, which lead to the conclusion that research cannot be slighted. These facts are: 1. The quality of the education received by the students of a university is deter mined by the quality of the faculty. 2. Outstanding faculty members are in terested not only in teaching but in re search, because research is creative, intel lectually stimulating, and even, at times, downright exciting. Furthermore, good re search men have a real advantage as teach ers because they are expert and up to date in their subjects, and often can transmit to their students some of the enthusiasm they have for their respective fields. 3. Consequently, the better universities in the United States provide adequate re search facilities (with the help of federal and other grants) and low teaching loads so that their faculties can be active in research. 4. Because these desirable conditions are available elsewhere, superior faculty men in this state will simply move out of state if research is not encouraged suffi ciently here. 5. The inescapable conclusion is that the State of Oregon must recognize, en courage and support research, as well as teaching, as a legitimate faculty activity. If it does not do so, the best of the faculty will in due course be lost to other institu tions, and the quality of education received by the students will, as a result, deteriorate. 6. Finally, it should be pointed out that the institutions of this state have nothing to be complacent about. There are some areas of excellence in the state system but also many of weakness. Compared to the very best state universities, we have a long way to go, despite recent impressive im provement. When there is still so much room for improvement, the state can ill afford to go backward rather than forward.
