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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 1963)
Academic or Proceduralism? New Student Week Needs Major Reevaluation Many bright, young freshmen and new students come to the University for New Student Week expecting to gain some awareness of the various aspects of uni versity life. It isn't long before many of them find that their experiences during orientation week gave them a false impres sion of a university. New Student Week is almost entirely concerned with administrative procedures: checking into dormitories, filling out forms, finishing placement exams, taking physical education tests and finally, registering. Stu dents are getting a false impression of the University because they are not being ac quainted with the academic objectives of the institution. The only contact between students and faculty members during the first week are short academic advising in terviews. This again is a procedural “pain in the neck” for the faculty member and certainly does not orient the freshman to the excitement of the classroom. We recognize that it is necessary to un dergo some administrative proceduralism. Students must register, fill out forms and participate in a number of dormitory meet ings. The freshman convocations are an encouraging part of the week. They feature talks by administrators and student leaders. Yet only the address by President Flem ming presented comprehensive material about the University. The week had too much free time. Stu dents are apprehensive about the class room and whether they will be able to meet its challenges. Many of them must have been asking themselves: how do I select a professor or a class? What is the difference between two literature sequences with a similar-sounding name? After experiencing the first week of „ school, the new student is likely to believe that the University does not have any in tellectual life to offer. We do not believe this to be the case. The “second curric ulum” program features outstanding lec tures, concerts, dramatic productions, art exhibitions, and other activities and events. The most serious omission from an orienta tion week is the lack of exchange between student and faculty member. We are sur prised that the student-faculty dialogue, the foundation of every university com munity, could be omitted from a New Stu dent Week. The question, which should be posed, is to what aspect of university life are we or ienting the freshman and new student? Is it academics, the intellectual life of the campus and the concepts which a university stands for. or is it bureaucratic, administra tive proceduralism? We believe that the first week has too much open space and lacks a formal program concerned with or ienting the freshman to the processes of rational thinking, academic freedom, and the pursuit of truth through the free flow of ideas. Wre are not criticizing those in charge of the program. They have carried out their job much as it has been done in the past and there were a few minor revis ions this year. New Student Week needs a major re evaluation. It should be of considerable con cern to student leaders, administrators and faculty members. During the next few days the Emerald will be analyzing aspects of the week and presenting concrete recom mendations. Footnote “The trouble with me is that I can’t be lieve in anything. On some days I can. but most of the time I am smarter than that. I have been taught to question, not to be lieve, so I never know where to stop. Do I stop at saying damn in public or do I con tinue by questioning the taboo against swearing, which on the whole, is rather silly? One thing’s certain. I can’t back up. I can’t say. whoa! This is as far as I go. Mod ern man, remember, has no taboos except against the impractical. He is a liberal and for him there is only progress, which he knows is illusory.” —thoughts of a senior on graduation: Princeton Weekly, June 7, 1963 Phil Sherburne Why Students Are Responding To the Threat of Tax Referral Ed., Note: ASUO President Phil Sherburne who heads up the student effort for a Y e s vote on Balloe Measure No. 1 explains why students should be concerned about the issue in this column. The ASUO is conducting a strong campaign in support of Ballot Measure No. 1. Ballot Measure No. 1 is the tax pro gram. which has been referred to the voters of Oregon for an Oct. 15 election. This tax pro gram includes $60 million of revenue to meet the needs of the state. Affects To Education If this tax program fails, OREGON DAILY EMERALD The Oregon Daily Emerald is published twice in September and five days a week during the academic year, except during ex amination and vacation periods by the Student Publications Board of the University of Oregon. En tered as second class matter at the post office, Eugene, Oregon. Subscription rates $5 per year; $2 per term. Opinions expressed on the edi torial page are those of the Em erald and do not pretend to rep resent the opinion of the ASUO or the University. Everette Dennis, Editor Larry Williams, Business Manager higher education will suffer at least a $10 million budget cut. If this happens the State Board of Higher Education must do several things to reduce their budget: 1) Slash the current and planned building programs; 2) eliminate one ward in the Crip pled Children’s Hospital, one ward in the T.B. Hospital and two wards in the Medical Teach ing hospitals; 3) reduce state system enrollments by 3,000 in 64-65; 4) discontinue much of the ground services and building upkeep; 5) increase tuition at least 35 per cent for both resident and non-resident students starting winter term this year. This generally is how a defeat of the measure would affect the higher education. Statewide Effort The ASUO plans a statewide campaign based on informing the general public of the con sequences of a No vote. Most persons throughout the state are not knowledgeable of the issues in the Oct. 15 election. There is very little being done to inform the public in the Eu gene area, particularly. Be cause this program so drastic ally affects higher education, I feel it our responsibility to carry on the largest campaign that we possibly can. We are contracting for ra dio and television time prior to the election. We are buying ads in all the local newspapers, as well as the state newspapers. We are also distributing infor mation in Eugene for the bene fit of the voters. We need funds for this campaign. About the Breakage Fee There have been some ques tions of how we obtain the breakage fee. For every card that is turned over to us, we spend $5 of borrowed funds. The average usually left at the end of the year in student’s the breakage fee is $7-8. Therefore using an average of $5 is a rather safe procedure. At the end of the year we will receive the money that is left in the breakage fees of those persons who turned their cards over to us. So you are not spending additional money if you sign over your cards. You are giving us money that you would normally receive some time in the summer unless you used it up during the year. Donations of Forms Any donations in other forms will be used in the campaign for advertising also. I urge you, consider carefully the conse quences of a defeat of this tax program. I urge you to consid er how much help yours and your friends donations mean to this campaign. I urge you—sign over your breakage fee cards to the ASUO. If you have already registered Herblock mM “It’s An Entirely Different World—Like Birmingham” Letters To the Editor Opposes Student Fund Emerald Editor: It seems incredible that Ore gon students have given $10, 000 to a political fund for Ballot Measure No. 1 It suggests con siderably more interest in an election than the students have ever shown in the past. Two other alternatives present them selves to me and both are to be deplored. First is the very biased pres entation in the Emerald and in the SU. The fact is no one is sure what will happen if the measure is defeated For in stance new taxes may be raised in other ways. Or services may be cut back—less staff, fewer new buildings. Another possibility, but by no means the only one, is to raise tuition, but a 35 per cent figure is pure conjecture It is in the students’ interest for the ballot measure to pass but not for the reason stated by the campaign committee. Their pres entation was completely dishon est. Second is the physical manner in which the campaign was run The card is an IBM type card just like a dozen others which must be filled out in order to register. The table was just one of many in line and all one had to do was sign and go to the next table. The card did not state that a signature was op tional in dark type as the health insurance card stated twice. The card did not state the sum to be collected. (Everyone has $15 on deposit at this time of year!) In fact the card doesn’t really say what is going to hap pen to the money. The booth should have been outside along with the University Theatre and Campus “Y” and the cards should have been much more clearly labeled. The fact is that there is a strong possibility many students were confused and didn’t un derstand what they were sign ing and that it was optional. If any student feels he was fooled, he should go to A. L. (Si) El lingson’s office in the SU and demand his money back. I’resi and did not sign the bottom of the card, you will have another opportunity. ASUO Senators will be speaking at all living organi zations and dormitories on Tuesday and Wednesday at which time they will have cards with them. Off-campus students may sign their breakage fee card by obtaining and depositing one in either room 301 or 311 Student Union. dent Flemming stated in Sun day's Register Guard "Students are entitled to get their money back if they want it." In the future such campaigns should be kept well separate from reg istration. Robert O. Garrett, Graduate in Physics, Counters Dr. Aly Emerald Editor: On page B of the Sept 27 Em erald this ((notation appeared from Professor Bower Aly’* ad dress before the Oregon Press Conference: "I would say that it is a great waste and a danger of education, that a young man who has the ability to master theoretical physics should be taking a course entitled Front Office Management in City Ho tels.” Hear’ Hear'—When address ed exclusively to a group, which finds substenance in catechism and within such a context as will satisfy the requirements of allegory But not in a campus newspaper whose readers might feel entitled to syllogize from the two valid premises "Bower Aly is a Professor at Oregon who works from facts” and “Front Office Management in City Hotels is something less than theoretical physics" to the invalid conclusion "Front Office Management in City Hotels is in the University of Oregon cat alogue, so choose your friends wisely." No such course is here, and never has been So for realism and on-campus context let’s try Speech 252 "Make Up" or Speech 467 "Lighting for Stage” —perhaps Speech 469 "Lighting Television.” Any of tbhse will do for allegory, on or off cam pus. Personally I prefer “Make Up” or “Lighting for Stage" but, either would double the al legorical power of Professor Aly’s statement. And all of them are more clearly within his area of expertise. They do miss the parrot requirement of catechism, but sufficient repetition will take care of that Dale 8. Harwood, Jr., Associate Professor of Business Administration. * * * Parking Tags Continued Emerald Editor: We don’t have time or the technical equipment to cut the car sticker as the science fac ulty types are doing. Therefore we will use the sticker as is. Richard W. Lindholm, bean, School of Business Administration. P.S.: We couldn’t find a grad uate assistant with a free hour to circulate a note so only my signature is attached. RWL.
