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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 21, 1965)
The Demonstration Planned Demonstration Speaks Well for Its Organizers Friday’s demonstration protesting US. participation in Viet Nam will apparently be one of the best-organized activities to take place at the University this year. The group has taken pains to follow all con ceivable city and University regulations governing such activity and has saved the University potential embarrassment by clearly declaring that the protest was not sponsored by the University. Leaders of the protest have also at tempted to make the all night vigil an educational experience for those attending by providing outside speakers as well as members of the local community. Speakers include Wayne Morse, U.S. Senator; David McReynolds, a leader of the American peace movement; and Robert Scheer, a journalist who has recently been in Viet Nam. As with any group strongly advocating a point of view, some opposition has arisen. Those picketing in opposition to the de mand that the U.S. get out of the Southeast Asian country have declared that they intend to remain around the edge of the organized demonstration and not interfere with the organized program. We hope that this course will be followed. It would be a sad commentary on the University commu nity to have a poorly organized counter demonstration upset the well-planned pro test. Those protesting U.S. actions in Viet Nam are protesting a situation which has been festering in that country virtually since the Second World War. Although it is easy to simplify the struggle into a U.S. action against the threat of a communist regime, the picture north of Saigon is more complex. The Viet Cong is not an aggressor, it is a body made up of Viet namese citizens, indistinguishable in back ground or physical appearance from any other peasant. The U S. is fighting in jungles, bombing villages where Viet Cong members are known to be hiding, at the same time killing and injuring farmers and villagers. A journalist who had spent several years in Southeast Asia observed once that to the average peasant in Viet Nam there is no central government, democratic, catho lic or communist. For this reason Saigon and Hanoi may struggle for years without any real support from the majority of the people. Yet we must consider the real threat which Red China represents to the free world. A weakened government such as the one currently in power in North Viet Nam would have little real power against its strong neighbor. With other countries in the area, such as Sukarno’s Indonesia, who have demonstrated their antagonism to the United States in particular and the Western nations in general, there is little doubt as to which way Viet Nam would drift if power were given to those now leading the Viet Cong. No easy solution is possible in Viet Nam. The United States is damned if we main tain the present war with its resultant destruction, and damned if we let up, possibly opening another country to com munist control. President Johnson’s de clared desire to negotiate and to return to the basic principles of the Geneva con ference is the most workable solution heard to date. But negotiate with whom? There is no solution in sight. The Co-op Board The University Co-op calls itself “the students’ own store,” but in recent years there have been some questions raised as to the aptness of that statement. It was especially during last year’s controversy over the College Side Inn that some people questioned whether it is the student-elected board or the professional managerial staff who actually control decisions about the store. While the Board was deciding whether to tear down the historic Side and replace it with an addition to the book store, several persons suggested that it was the professional managers who actually made the decisions and who exerted a good deal of influence over the Board. There were questions raised as to the general competence of Board members and their ability to exercise their independent decision-making power. Last spring an attempt was made to help answer such criticism. Old Board members conducted a forum for candidates and attempted to provide them with the knowl edge they had gained on the Board. How ever, of those who attended the session only one person was actually elected to the Board and he is no longer a member. The best way to solve this problem is to elect better quality student leaders to the Board to begin with. Those who have raised questions about the competence of the Board this year and in the past will have an opportunity to do something about it Thursday when the Co-op holds its an nual membership meeting. Nominations will be made for three student members elected in the ASUO general election next week. The positions open are a one-year sophomore position and two two-year junior positions. These three members will then combine with tw'o holdover members and select two faculty members to fill out the Board. Thus this meeting provides an opportu nity for those who would like to see changes in the Co-op Board to make a contribution toward the realization of those changes. Letters to the Editor iiiiimtiiiitiiiftKiiniiiiiifHininmiiiiiiiiiiim Political Beliefs Emerald Editor: I hope, for her sake, that before she enters the practice of law Lil Rebhun (Daily Emer ald 16 April 65) gains a little more insight into human psy chology than she demonstrates in her letter regarding the Free Speech Movement. Does she really think that people’s poli tical beliefs and values are spontaneously created in a vacuum? Do any of us arrive, clean and undefiled, at a cer tain stage in our development and suddenly manifest a com plete political ethic? I would submit that, whether we like to admit it or not, we are all children of our fathers. For good or evil our political beliefs are affected and molded by the beliefs of our parents. Secondly, I would submit that no one, but no one, is capable of rendering a completely ob jective and impartial account of activities in which they them selves have played a promi nent part. No doubt “their speeches were informative” hut that they “simply told about the events and circumstances prevailing at Cal throughout this year” I would question. Does Miss Rebhun suppose that if the chairman of the Berkeley YAF were to simply tell about the events and circumstances prevailing at Cal throughout this year there would be com plete agreement with the Ap theker report? I think that it would be help ful for Miss Rebhun to realize that people’s perceptions of reality are shaded by the sys tem of ethics to which they adhere. What they believe is, in turn, greatly influenced by what their parents believed. It is a grievous fault to maintain that an individual’s beliefs are necessarily in complete accord ance with the beliefs of their parents. However, it is likewise a serious fault to airily assume that the parent’s orientation has no affect on the course of the offspring. Walter Lenington (>rad., Anthro. ltNVES^'6^»OW 3 "THE very lOE/\/‘ ••• AAA\A.l>< Letters to the Editor University Sponsored? Emerald Editor: Reading from the Emerald about the forthcoming Viet Nam Protest Meeting 1 have noticed repeated statements which say that it is not a University sponsored event. But as each issue appears 1 cannot help but get the impres sion that the University is spon soring the event: First the Ad ministration decided that the Student Union must be kept open all night in order that the demonstrators may stage their "events " Second, and just re cently, the Administration has decided to allow the Women Dormitories to abandon their Friday night curfew in order that the girls may attend No doubt when I pick up the next issue of the Emerald I will see where all the sororities will have followed suit. Is the political climate on this campus such, and are the (now) liberated maidens on this campus so poltiically oriented as to know what the demonstration is all about? In other words can the Adminis tration justify letting the girls "out” for such an occasion? Oh, but pardon me, as I read further 1 see that the girls <& guys) will be entertained by a movie show at the so-called Pro test Meeting; Joan Baez will be there to entertain also (tax free), Marc Ellington will be there to entertain them, and Senator Wayne Morse will start the party o/T by giving one of his funny speeches. No doubt there entertainers will be fol lowed by a host of other paci fist speakers, and then peanuts and crackerjacks after that Now if all this is going on I wish the Administration would cancel my Saturday morning classes so that 1 can attend too, what fun! J. S. Carter 1st Year I.aw Editor’s Note: No precedent has been set by allowing the demonstrators to use the Union all night Friday. Several high schools in the Eugene area have used the same facilities for all night senior parties on several past occasions and on one oc casion, students were allowed to use the union all night to watch returns from the national election. * ' * * Senate Visitations Emerald Editor: We would like to extend our thanks to Mr. Rick Williams for the interest and concern he has shown for his constituency by polling their opinions on the value of appropriating $1,400 to send three NSA delegates to the national conference. This is the first time we know of that a senator has come di rectly to those he represents and asked them for their opinion on a specific issue Thank you Mr Williams Elina Lynn Fox Senior, education Barbara Winter Senior, English Jennis Johnson Junior, FnKllsh l.inda Goodman Srnior, Social Science Penelope L. Crawford Senior, H. L, editor's Vote: The 11400 VS A appropriation in the A8UO bud Ket covers the expenses of an as yet undetermined number of delegates to the summer con vention as well as the l nl versity's due* in NSA, aud operation of any NSA programs at the University during the coming year. The figure does not represent merely expenses for three delegates. Apathy Lmerald editor: I have, for several years, con aidered student government a useless proposition This atti tilde is due less to the inepti tude of those who seek anil secure office than to the apathy of those who are represented Apathy has caused student gov ernment to seek out few really worthwhile campus issues and to become generally a mere sounding board for the faculty and administration. JThis prob lem was pointed out in excru ciating clarity by your three headlines of last Friday (the 16th). To wit: "Romney Attacks Citizen Apathy", "For Top ASUO Posts—It’s a One Horse Race: Moore, Rapp Withdraw", "Lack of Quorum Adjourns Senate". If the significance of these escapes some of your readers I’m sure you can en lighten them. Jack K. YanOrinan Graduate in education OREGON DAILY EMERALD I hr Oregon Daily Kmeratd i* pub* lished fur time** in September and five days a week during the academic year, except during examination period*, by tbr Student Publication* Itonid of ttie University of Oregon. Kntered a* second class matter at the pout ofifue, Kugrne, Oregon. Subscription rate* $5 per year; $2 per term. Opinions rxpre -ed on the editorial page utr tho i of the Kmerald and do not represent tb»- opinions of tlir ASUO or the University. Cathy Neville, Kditor J. Craig Matliirnen, Hiisincha Manager Chuck Hrggs Managing Kditor Kenneth R. Kapprl, Advertising Manager Stephen (Jreeti, News Kditor Dave Jordan, Associate Kditor Joe Hoffmann, Sports Kditor Phil Sernas, Associate News Kditor Irma Dawn Moar, Associate Managing Kditor Hob Carl, Assistant Managing Kditor Steve Dimen, Kntertaintnent Kditor Hob Denniston, Walt Riddle, Photo Kditota Mary Stamp, Feature Kditor
