Northwest Review
Magazine's Demise is a Sad Chapter
The long awaited decision on the North
west Review, the University’s quarterly lit
erary magazine now under suspension, is
still being delayed.
Last May President Flemming announced
that the responsibility for publishing the
magazine had been transferred from the
Student Publications Board to the Faculty
Publications Committee. This change in
jurisdiction followed a storm of criticism
of the last issue of the magazine that was
published.
The issue in question, published in the
fall of 1963, was castigated for its “filth and
decadence in the guise of higher educa
tion.” The strongest critic of the magazine,
decrying the lack of morality exemplified in
the Review’s poems, circulated a flyer
around the state so everybody could read
these “dirty” poems and see how bad all of
higher education really is.
The next step in this long drawn out
saga was a call for the removal of President
Flemming by these supposed moral stal
warts of our community for permitting such
“filth” to be perpetrated on the public.
In the meantime, the Faculty Publica
tions Committee hired a new editor, and
suspended final publication scheduled for
last Spring Term. The State Board of
Higher Education supported Flemming for
his handling of the affair.
Flemming appointed an ad hoc commit
tee last summer to formulate a statement
of policy for University publications. It was
understood the magazine would be rein
stated.
Now that the policy statement has been
given to Flemming and delivered to the
Senate to be acted upon, it is safe to assume
some action should be forthcoming.
However, the Faculty Senate has chosen
to postpone making any recommendations
about the policy statement at this time. So
the next issue of the Northwest Review, if
published at all, apparently is subject to
more bureaucratic procrastination. It is
only fair to ask: Why?
Certainly a time lapse of six months
ought to be enough time to allow the Fac
ulty Publications Committee to make a de
cision about the future of the literary mag
azine. However, since the Faculty Senate
chose to table the matter until its next
meeting, we can look forward to more de
lays and more excuses.
It is time for the faculty committee to
either renew publishing the magazine or
throw it out altogether. A final decision is
owed to the members of the University com
munity.
In the future we will see if the faculty
and President Flemming wish the Univer
sity to boast a literary magazine that we can
be proud of, or merely are attempting to
avoid becoming embroiled in arguments.
Symbols Everywhere
Two years ago, when the “0” mysterious
ly disappeared from Skinner’s Butte, we
thought that was the end of another tradi
tion.
But it appears that there is a good deal
of sentiment for restoring the “O.” It was
returned—in pieces—last term, presumab
ly by Oregon State students. A group of
Eugene businessmen have sponsored the
restoration. It stands all welded together
on a bit of city land on Skinner’s Butte.
And now it appears that thejfreshman class
is going to paint it, which will put us back
where we started.
Traditionally the “0” was painted during
homecoming by applying paint to fresh
men and then applying the freshmen to the
“0.” We trust this is not what the present
freshman class intends.
This kind of tradition seemed to be on
its way out the past few years, along with
kangaroo courts, millracing, etc. The rea
son for this decline seemed to be student
apathy about such things. The modern col
lege student has things on his mind more
important than “O’s” on Skinner’s Butte.
Most University students probably
couldn’t care less. Whether or not there is
a metal “0” on Skinner’s Butte doesn’t
seem to matter as much as the political,
academic, and social life of the University.
Unlike its neighbor up on the hill, the
cross, it’s hard to make a controversy out
of the “O.” There’s no principle involved.
If a group of people want to go to all the
trouble of putting a metal letter on Skin
ner’s Butte, let them. Just so they 'don’t
bother the rest of us.
War—Kiddies’ Style
This Christmas many children, and prob
ably some adults, received one of the new
“war games” currently flooding the market.
They might have received “Stratego”
which includes bombs and assassins, “Tac
tics II” which uses hydrogen and atomic
bombs to conquer a map of the world, or
“Risk” which is relatively mild, using only
limited means of warfare.
The value of these games in themselves
is dubious. Perhaps it may be argued that
such games teach children the realities of
the world today. Yet is seems unlikely that
a child will learn anything about the ten
sions that are currently evident in the
United Nation^ or situations such as the
rebel massacres in the Congo. Instead, we
learn that we can gain power and win the
"game by setting off a nuclear bomb or shoot
ing the opposing leader in the back.
It would be absurd to charge that such
games will build a generation of junior
sized Hitlers or Mussolinis. It is possible,
however, that such games will further the
already confused image that children of
this decade have of war. Roughly two years
ago several television networks began their
fall season with new programs reliving the
glories and herosim of World War II and
the Korean war. This, coupled with a spurt
of old war movies currently being shown
on television has given Americans a long
exposure to Hollywood’s version of war, a
somewhat glorified and frequently gory pic
ture.
Perhaps the final step in this current pre
occupation with war and world conflict is
the toy set manufactured by a leading toy
concern. It features your own combat divi
sion with a tank which can blow up some
of the other pieces in the set. An active toy
for young and old alike.
One thing which all of this may mean is
that attempts in recent years to make
heroes of doctors, lawyers and teachers
haven’t succeeded. Instead, we have had to
revert back to the traditional heroes of stor
ies and films, the cowboys and soldiers. For
the cowboys, the stakes are the same, the
ranch land, the pretty girl and peace with
the Indians. For the soldier, the stakes are
now all of humanity and not the glory of
battle alone. Definitely not a game.
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Investigation in Mississippi
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Teacher’s Salaries
Facing Critical Era
One of the major complaints
that surounds educational policy
everywhere is teacher's salaries.
It appears that this year will be
no exception, at least in Oregon
The State Board of Higher Edu
cation has recommended that the
1965 Oregon Legislature appro
priate $8.6 million to step up
academic salaries in the next
biennium. But the budget was
trimmed considerably and Gov
ernor Hatfield will present only
a $3.1 million version to the leg
islature.
Average Lower
This can only indicate that the
average salary level at the Uni
versity will drop down the line
in ranking with the 19 other col
leges and universities with which
it compares salaries. In 1957 the
University ranked 11th; last year
we ranked 14th. If the watered
down budget passes the legisia
ture we can expect to drop even
further.
Needless to say the State
Board is not too pleased with the
budget cut. The governor has said
that the revised figure will en
able Oregon’s institutions to main
tain competitive levels. State
Board members, however, charged
that he is figuring wrong—that
the new budget falls $15 million
short of maintaining even last
year’s position.
The average salary at the Uni
versity during the last biennium
was $9,466. The proposed increase
recommended by the State Board
would have graduated the average
level to $11,659 over the next
two years.
Teachers Needed
It is easily deduced that Ore
gon’s colleges and universities
cannot hope to command qualified
professors by offering them lower
salaries than those found at com
parable institutions. With spiral
ing enrollments the University
will need a large number of new
teachers during the next decade
and the competition for teachers
will increase greatly.
Oregon is not the only state in
Emerald Editor;
Reply to Agger
“Professtor” (sic) Agger quix
otic “snide and uniformed”
verbiage in the January 5 Em
erald seems worthy of only a
few brief comments. It descends
to the level of spurious pro
jected opinion. To cite Drew
Pearson as an authority on any
thing is like seking Billy Sol
Estes’ advice on the soy bean
market. In each instance one is
left holding a large bag of hot
air.
Kenneth W. Wegner
Assistant Professor
Counseling Center
the same situation. The campus
newspaper at Wayne State Uni
versity recently reported that a
dean, an assistant dean and two
professors had resigned within a
one-month period; it saw the
move as indicative of a trend of
faculty members moving away
from the campus to more lucra
tive positions.
Song Familiar
Wayne State President Clar
ence Hilberry said. “We have re
peatedly emphasized our needs to
the State Legislature. Unless
funds are provided we shall con
tinue to experience the kind of
situation where new or more pros
perous institutions attract our
best people.”
The song sounds very familiar
to Oregonians. In February, 1964
the Wayne State chapter of the
American Association of Univer
sity Professors issued a report
stating that the average salary
for full professors at that insti
tution was $11,480, falling nearly
$10,000 below the comparable
figure at the association's highest
ranking schools. Oregon's current
average for full professors is
$11,975, just above that at Wayne
State.
The State Board has made re
peated demands to the Oregon
Legislature during the past sev
eral years. Many of them have not
been met; most budgets have suf
fered severe cutbacks and tui
tions have been raised as an
almost annual event.
Not Feasible
This all rests beside the fact
that it is simply not feasible for
a person to teach who cannot
afford to, and it remains highly
unlikely that we will retain good
professors very long if the salary
level keeps dropping during every
biennium. Teachers will not
abound if we do not raise salary
levels above that of the truck
driver or the salesman. It is
hoped that the upcoming legis
lature will contain members re
sponsible enough to forsee the
needs of Oregon’s schools and
meet them on reasonable grounds.
OREGON DAILY EMERALD
The Oregon Daily TCmcrald is pub
lished five times in September and five
days a week during the academic year, ex
cept during examination periods, by the
Student Publications Hoard of the Univer
sity of Oregon. Entered as second clast
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 represent the opinions of the ASUO
or the University.
Cathy Neville, Editor
J. Craig Mathicsen. Business Manager
Chuck Beggs, Managing Editor
Kenneth R. Kappcl, Advertising Manager
Stephen Green, News Editor
Dave Jordan, Associate Editor
Phil Scmas, Sports Editor