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)