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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1963)
Reforms for NS A Many of the fears expressed last spring by opponents of student body affiliation with the National Student Association (NSA) should have been dispelled by the significant structural reforms in the organ ization. The changes came at the 16th an nual congress held at Indiana University in August. The University sent six dele gates to the national confab. Reforms were instituted to give the individual delegates at the congress exclusive power to pass resolutions. Resolutions include policy statements reflecting the views of the Am erican student community. As well as put ting policy statements in the hands of the delegates, the organization abolished its National Executive Committee, which was previously the target of considerable criti cism for oligarchical methods. Previously the National Executive Com mittee considered all legislation not taken up by the full plenary session of Congress. The NEC was replaced by two other bodies: the National Supervisory Board, which handles administrative procedures during the year, and the Congress Steering Com mittee. a council of regional chairmen, de signed to plan the national congress. The reforms are progressive and appear to al lign the organization with democratic pro cedures occasionally lacking in the past. Students attending the congress reported that a mood of moderate liberalism prevail ed during the sessions in contrast to NSA opponents’ charges of left wing extremism. NSA President Dennis Shaul assailed both left wing and right wing extremists and made it clear that “we have no doubt that the people on the far left and far right have every right to be present here; they have every right to present their case. But let there be no doubt by anyone here nor by anyone representing these groups that this Association (NSA) has its own integrity and will not give it up without a fight.” NSA resolutions were straightforward expressions of support for academic free dom. civil rights and opposition of com munist aggression. The organization ex pressed support for the Washington March held Aug. 28 (at the time of the congress), voiced support for Vietnamese students in their objections to the Diem regime, con demned Chinese invasion of India and Por tugese policies toward African territories. Of most direct concern to university stu dents w'ere resolutions condemning five universities for violations of academic free dom. Two schools, Ohio State and Washing ton. were cited for having speaker bans im posed barring communists. State Univer sity of New York was mentioned in regard to a court injunction issued against Dr. Aptheker, a Communist theorist, to prevent him from speaking there. Catholic Univer sity was cited for withdrawing invitations to five liberal Catholic theologians for fear of taking a stand on the coming Ecumenical Council. Opposition was also expressed to Northwestern University’s decision not to allow American Nazi George Lincoln Rock well to address a dormitory group. The congress was an opportunity for stu dents to speak out on important national and international issues and hopefully for delegates to relate them to their individual campuses. We are encouraged with Univer sity participation in the congress. We hope that ideas from the congress will be utilized by the delegates in planning NSA programs on the campus. An Outgrown Teddy Bear? We suggest that proponents of the proj ect to put another “O ' on Skinner’s Butte add this material to their bibliography: “Then, later we talked about the “O” on Skinner’s Butte. As we mentioned, some Oregon State University boys, using cutting torches and brute strength, had managed to wrest the giant steel letter from its con crete moorings one foggy pre dawn morn ing. They heaved it onto a truck and stole away into the breaking dawn. It had been a great day for Mighty Oregon State. “What happened next,” you asked, your appetite obviously whetted for anecdotes about Old Oregon. “Did the University of Oregon students retaliate by trying to steal Terry Baker?” “Of course not,” we said with mock im patience. “Nothing happened.” And you seemed disappointed. “Nothing? Nothing at all?” It was a superb case of intellectual one upmanship, we tried to explain. University of Oregon students didn’t want their “O” back. Suddenly, almost overnight, they were through with it, like a child who has suddenly outgrown a once-beloved teddy bear. If anything, Oregon students were sympathetic with the plight of poor Cor vallis waifs who now were stuck with a monstrous pile of scrap steel. But those O.S.U. kids are smart; they probably sold it to a junk dealer. I thought I saw expressions of under standing. I could be wrong. “Did you con clude that college education is for grown ups.” from “The Marginal Student” Oct.-Nov. issue of Old Oregon University alumni magazine I\{S'A Co-ordinator Reports niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiniiiiniiiifliiiiiiiniiini NSA National Congress Student Viewpoint Forum A positive view of the Na tional Student Association in contrast to a negative view presented last week bv Hank Courtney. NSA delegate, is featured in this column. Writ er Herald Kust was elected as an NSA delegate last spring, lie ran on a noncommittal platform and pledged to pre sent an objective report. Rust was recently appointed cam pus NSA coordinator. By GERAI.D RUST University NSA Coordinator In order to support the Na tional Student Association one must first believe in having a National Student Association One must believe in the right of United States college students to speak as one voice on import ant campus, national, and inter national issues. One must be lieve that the "Ivory Tower" role of the student has changed —to that of a student who has the right and the obligation to assume a much more complex role within the whole society. Explores Principles Operating under the assump tion that students at the Uni versity believe in these princi ples, I want to reply to the three major charges brought against NSA: that it is unrepre sentative, that it is undemocrat ic, that it is too "liberal." In the first place I agree in part to the charge that NSA is unrepresentative. I agree sim ply because there are only 380 schools in the Association out of 2000 eligible members 1 feel that this is in part due to the fact that NSA is relatively young—only sixteen years old because of various misconcep tions and faults within the or ganization it has simply not yet acquired the membership to en able it to become absolutely representative although I don’t believe it is too far from being representative of college stu dent opinion as 1 will point out. I would ask one question: Do you give up membership in something that could be very worthwhile because it has not yet evolved into perfection (if that could be)? Not Undemocratic In the second place in regard to the charge that NSA is un democratic I feel this is com pletely false. To me democracy is having the right to speak and the right to vote. No delegate was ever denied either of these rights at the congress. I chal lenge anyone to refute this state ment. Furthermore, if anyone could once see the seemingly never-ending process that legis lation must go through ot be passed at the congress, (sub committee, committee, congress —with plenty of checks and bal ances), I am sure he would be convinced of the democracy in practice. In the third place it has been said that NSA is too liberal. For whom, the conservatives? I be lieve so Likewise, 1 heard many liberals say it is too conserva tive. Looking back on the policies and resolutions that came out of the congress I find that it was moderate legislation The legislation that came out of the congress did not represent one extreme point of view or the other, but is worthy of being called "representative” of Unit ed States student opinion. National Officers Liberal Finally, a word should be said about the election of national officers It has not been pointed out that an avowed conservative, Robert Bernstein, from Cornell, ran for NSA coordinators con ference (NSACC) chairman and was defeated by only one vole. Does this reflect a liberal ten dency on the part of the dele gates? In the election of presi dent on the final night, Bruce Rappaport, the liberal candidate from Chicago, ran against Steve Shelby, a conservative student body president from Colby Col lege in Maine, and Greg Gallo, former student body president from Wisconsin, who 1 would term a moderate. It is true that Rappaport polled many more votes than Shelby, however, the significant thing was that the delegates re jected both extremists on the first ballot Gallo was elected president of NSA. In conclusion, I would recog nize faults in the NSA 1 dpn’t nor does anyone subscribe to all NSA policies When I went to the congress I was neither for nor against continued member ship. I would now declare my self in favor of retaining mem bership 1 believe the University can contribute to NSA as well as benefit. NSA is a solid organiza tion and will someday be a great one. 1 believe we should remain in and help to mold the NSA— not tear it down. OREGON DAILY EMERALD The Oregon Daily Emerald »• published l«ir« in SrpIrmlM-f and in'- day* • »e**h during the lodtoilc year. rteept during r*. •mutation and taxation j>* > «d» by (he Stt»* dent Fubliralmn* Hoard ol I ho I'nitmily «f Oregon. Entered •• oeemid * Um matter el the p«Ml office, Eugene, Oregon. Sub*. np. lion rate* %r> j»er year; li per term. Opinion* e*prr**rd on the editorial page •re thoae ol the Emerald and do not pre. tend to represent the opinion of the ASE‘G or the Uaiveraity. EVEKETTE DENNIS, Editor LARRY WILLIAMS. 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