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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1964)
Time for a Decision Co-op Members Meet Wednesday to Decide Fate of Tlx Side The College Side Inn controversy which has bubbled and brewed for more than a year now will be resolved Wednesday night at a special meeting of all Co-op members. All students, faculty and staff personnel who are shareholders (25c membership) in the Co-operative Association will have an opportunity to cast a ballot to determine the future of the College Side Inn building. The decision of the meeting will result in either restoration of the structure or will ring the death knell for it. Throughout the Side controversy stu dents have noted that the proponents and opponents of preservation have confined their discussion to separate and usually un related concepts. We have seen the Co-op Board champion the cold dollars and cents argument, maintaining that preserving the Side would lack fiscal responsibility. The Co-op Board maintains that a new bookstore is needed to meet the demands of rapidly increasing enrollments. Those who seek preservation of the 40 year old domestic cottage style structure believe that it is an example of significant architecture and is important to both the campus, city and Pacific Northwest. They also have said that the building is a sound business investment. Past and potential profits from rents in the building seem to bear this out. While Jack Pollev, Co-op Board members and others have made it clear that they do not consider the Willcox Building to be an important architectural structure, the experts, including the entire faculty of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts and the National Trust for His toric Preservation say that it is. Vic Sabin and his supporters, mostly art and architec ture students, have concerned themselves with a strict aesthetic argument. They have avoided the emotional nostalgia that alumni have for the Side of former years. An im portant issue has been idealism and commit ment to something more than cold cash. And surely there is something to be said for the responsibility of a university communi ty for pleasant architecture. It is unfortunate that the two logical and clearcut arguments could not have been aired long ago with members of the Co-op indicating their preference. The issue has become confused and colored with the events of recent months. We believe that it is important to point out that the Board would never have allowed the membership to participate in this decision had it not been for Spoin’s insistance. Vic Sabin has done more than any other individual to call attention to the Co-op Board and its activi ties. It is regretable that Sabin had to seek legal means in order to allow the members to make their position on the building clear. As early as last spring the ASUO conducted a straw ballot which saw the majority of students indicate preference for preserva tion. Sabin also collected the signatures of 3.500 Co-op members who requested that the building be restored. Ideally the issue should have been settled last spring. But it has lingered on and we have witnessed the beginning of condemnation proceedings by city officials. During the fall term committees were set up to study possible uses of the Willcox Building if it were to be restored and alter nate building sites for the new bookstore. The Committees findings were published in Monday’s Emerald. There is a possibility of an alternate building site for the store and the Willcox building could be restored. But the economic feasibility of this must be con sidered fully for it certainly is not in the best interests of the students if essential Co-op expansion is jeopardized. The Side issue has pointed out a need for further investigation of the Co-op and we are hopeful that students will pursue the issue. A bookstore is an essential part of a university and ought to be a primary issue in any student government campaign. To morrow night members of the Co-op can voice their convictions at the meeting. We | are hopeful that all members will attend the meeting and will hear out both factions be fore making the final decision. Footnote A recent report by the Committee on the Foreign Student in American Colleges and Universities points out that “in vigorously pursuing their own primary goals—the ad vancement and diffusion of knowledge— colleges and universities contribute also to a primary goal of United States foreign policy—the preservation and support of free nations around the globe.” And the report has recommendations for improving the objectives and operation of the foreign student programs. Some of them are: The schools must strive for greater cooperation among themselves and with governments, founda tions, international organizations and other agen cies which sponsor foreign students. Admission policies must be revised to put em phasis on admitting those students whose basic objectives can be best served. One consideration for admission, the Committee contends, should be the candidates’ potential contributions to their countries’ development Prior competence in the English language should not be a decisive criterion for admission, but sufficient training in English should be made available to those who need it. Orientation programs for foreign students must not only help the student master the details of living on the American campus, but must also look to the long-range objective of exposing the student to American life to give him an understanding of social and political institutions and of the plurali ty and diversity within this country. Closer cooperation between academic advising and personal counseling must be established. Herblock T-**. i+;A,sh/‘~wxc7~ n**r ' “Fortunately, The Transaction Did Turn Out Successfully." immnmmnmn Letters to the Editor, Dislikes Aspects Emerald editor: I wish to state- publicly to the entire personnel of the Univer sity my indignation concerning the inclusion of my poem and my name in the initial issue of Aspects. 1 submitted my poems to Mr Jerry Simpson, editor, in good faith It was my understanding that this periodical was to be a ‘ literary effort.” its content to be a potpourri of creative prose and poetry written by students and local authors. Believe me, I had no idea that Aspects would appear as a poli tically-slanted instrument. I am completely and absolutely op posed to the editorial position of this paper, and, therefore, have requested Mr. Simpson to re turn, and to refrain from pub lishing, all other contributions which I have sent to him. 1 have never met this man. 1 am not affiliated with him or his movement in any way. Mrs. J. T. Jonks, Graduate Student, Education * * * ‘Significantly Misquoted’ Emerald Editor: I was significantly misquoted in the otherwise good article by Judy Wegner in the Jan. 15 is sue of The Emerald concerning the YMCA Dialogue Monday on Civil Rights. The article quotes me as stating that “racial dis crimination is worse in Amer ica than anywhere else in the world except South America.” I said that racial discrimina tion is worse in the United States than anywhere else in the world except South Africa. I emphasized several times my impression that there is no ra cial discrimination in Mexico, and little or none in the rest of Latin America (a point not mentioned by the reporter); that the only discrimination existing in those countries is of econo rnie or social nature. The arti cle which I quoted comparing US. Negroes with Mexicans stressed that the American No gro is better off only economic ally than the majority of Mexi cans, that is, in terms of stan dards of living and nutrition Julian {’alley, Assoc. Professor Ito ■nance Languages. * * * Unemotional Approach Lmcrald Kditor: As a new student at Oregon I would like to add a few unemo tional words to the currently raging "Side" controversy. Al though I have considerable sym pathy with the position of those who want to save the W'iilcox Building, it seems to me that they are being unrealistic and have started their campaign far too late. The building has charm and obviously much sentimental value, but on what terms would it be possible to preserve it? I have looked at it only from the outside, but even so I could see that the building is in bad shape and would require extensive re pairs costing much money. Where would this money come from? It hardly seems reasonable to ask the Co-op to build its new bookstore on another site and also to retain and renovate a (Continued on page 3) m Pam Pasbkomki aim Jack Polley ,m Two Views of the Side Controversy A Worthwhile Tradition In this column Pam Pashkowski, for mer member of the Co-op Board, dis cusses the board in light of the Will cox building issue. * * * After having been a member of the Co-op Board of Directors during the 1962 63 year, I am not at all convinced that the Co-op is run in the interest of its mem bers. I saw little evidence that the direc tors were particularly qualified for their jobs or strongly interested in the efficient operation of the store. I also felt that the student directors were unconcerned with determining the wishes of the members so that the majority could be served. We were elected to the board by a small number of students, not because we had proven our qualifications, but be cause our names were the most frequent ly recognized on the ballot. We met once a month in the Student Union for lunch. We spent approximately one-half hour discussing the problems of the Co-op. We had no agenda. The chairman presented the issues that were to be discussed. If he couldn’t answer our questions, we asked the manager, Gerald Henson. We didn’t consult other people and we were not especially prepared to discuss the issues. The Co-op ran smoothly. The profit grew. We voted to tear down the Side. Architects began to come to our meet ings. Suddenly I began to wonder about some of the things that were happening. (Continued on page 3) Fiscal Irresponsibility In this column Jack Polley, member of one of the Co-op investigating com mittees continues the dialogue on the College Side Inn controversy. * * * In Friday’s article I gave briefly the history of the College Side controversy. Before going into the meeting on Wed nesday, one might like to look briefly at the action and possible motivations of the Save the Side proponents. Sabin, when he first started his cam paign, said in a brochure titled “Where The Hell Are We Going” that he was inerested only in the Side portion of the building and that he favored the opening of a beer hall in this location following the removal of the dry zone. As support came to Sabin from the architecture school, he suddenly decided that the building must be "saved.” Sabin later brought in business acquaintances to try and lease the Co op stores for the said purpose of opening a Coffee house and book store. In addition to this, the upstairs apartments in the College Side building were until this week occupied by friends of Sabin. It would appear outwardly that Sabin's interest in the Side is possibly far more than an undying love for an outdated and crumbling building. Sabin has no interest in the Co-op and could care less that the organization could be put into financial hardship brought on by such a foolhardy move as pluking down a quarter of a million dol (Contiimrd nil r-mie 3)
