Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1966)
Russian Students Want Freedom, Too By ROBERT COHEN Collegiate Press Service LENINGRAD. U.S.S.R. — The life of the Russian student is a most fascinating phenomenon for an American student to see. Surprisingly, the desire for more student freedom, which is so basic to student movements in America and abroad, is also pres ent to a large extent in Russia. This period marks what could be a most important change in re lationships between the Soviet student and his government. Students are not satisfied with the status quo—they want rapid change and are living a life which centers about learning as much as possible about Russia and the world. Were an American student to meet his Russian counterpart on the street, he would be immedi ately surprised by the great West ern influence. His clothes are Western, often purchased from foreign students although this is illegal. Western Mannerisms The Russian's mannerisms are those of the West, and one is instantly surprised at his knowl edge of the history and current events of the West. Attending a party at a student's house means listening to the Bea tles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and Fats Domino, not to mention the almost fanatical at tachment the students have to American jazz. These students may seem to be, as some observers say, “in Student Benefits To Be Explained Representatives of the Eugene Social Security Office will dis cuss benefits for students under the 1965 Amendments to the So cial Security Act, today in the Student Union. Time and room will be posted. The representatives will also help students file for benefits. Unmarried full-time students under 22 years of age may be eli gible for the new benefits under two conditions: 1) If he received benefits on either of his parents social se curity accounts and those bene fits stopped when he reached 18; 2) If one of his parents has retired, become disabled, or died, and the student was 18 at that time. Dean Haley, District Manager of the Eugene Social Security Office stated that there should be about 600 claims for student benefits and only about 500 have been received. Nielson to Speak In Lecture Series “Elements of Interior Design” will be explored during a winter term lecture series sponsored by the University’s Office of Con tinuing Education. Taught by Jerry L. Nielson, as sistant professor of interior ar chitecture, the course will be held Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m., Jan. 5 to March 9. in Room 132, Lawrence Hall. Course enrollment is limited. Advance registration with the Of fice of Continuing Education is necessary. Checks for the $15 fee should be made payable to Continuing Education. The lectures are open to any one who wishes to enroll. No examinations, grades or academic credit will be given. „ Dorm Space Open For Women A few spaces are now avail able in women’s dorms, accord ing to Miss Hilda Yee, counselor supervisor. However, several men are waiting to get into the men’s dorms. An accurate count of dorm residents cannot be made until next week after those who are leaving school have moved out. revolt” against the customs of their system. However, they are greatly dedicated to a life under Communism—but they want it to be a life where they are free to formulate their own opinions and ! to debate over controversial ideas. They want to know the whys and hows which were so ! often unknown, if not unknow ables, under Stalin. They are in the midst of a new : kind of life, where the consum er has a greater voice in produc tions of goods, where incentive on an individual level is no longer a violation of state policy, and where experimentation with Western ideas is not heavily frowned upon. Literature Available There is a significant amount of uncensored literature available to Soviet university students. In the large public and university libraries, students may read The New York Times, The New York Herald-Tribune, Newsweek, Time Magazine, the London Times, Le Monde and the Daily Telegraph, even though there are few copies : available and long waiting pe riods at many places. In addition, there is a weekly , news digest of articles printed in the Western press, which have been translated and printed in their entirety, which is available at the universities. Although none of this literature is available on the street, and the articles translated into Russian are usually critical of the United States and its allies, these are not their only source of information, for students are dedicated lis teners to the Voice of America and other Western stations. Most of their Western songs are on tapes made from these broad casts. Few Questions Asked Surprisingly, there were few questions about President Ken nedy’s assassination since por tions of the funeral had been tele cast nationally, and had left quite an impression on those of college age. From the beehive hair does of the Soviet girls, to the modern sports clothes worn by their male counterparts, the youthful desire for rapid progress—Russians are urged by large signs to “catch and overtake the United States" —is readily seen throughout Len ingrad and Moscow. This rush towards a new life is coupled with a search for more empirical fncts to support the basic tenets of Communism. He cently, the famous experiment of Solomon Asch on the conformity of an individual to a group's be liefs was repeated at Leningrad University, and ,students and foe ulty are now using this experi ment to argue for placing little importance on the individual in their society. Talk of Elections Also, there was talk of a modi fication in the system of elec tions; the possibility of present ing the people with a slate of two candidates in the next election, both of whom would be Commu nists, was seriously discussed by faculty members and students But in large measure, the So viet government has recently pre sented these students and their society with several disconcert ing problems—it has denounced I.ysenkoixm, a biological theory of heredity, changed its view on incentive in the economic struc ture. and relaxed its ideas about the control of students. Now that the students have this new freedom, they ore try ing to discover why the changes were really made, where the so ciety is going, and whether they may exert some kind of InlUienee over the future course They are faced by a (treat barrier the (treat number of politician* now in power who are products of I the Stalin era But the winds of change are spreading over the land, and to some degree these changes are due to the searching and probing that the new Soviet student is constantly involved in. These stu dents are fully dedicated to the i Communist system but they want to infuse their nation with new vitality to be gained by free discussion of issues and experi mentation with alt kinds of new ideas. Viet Nam The Faculty-Student Com mdtee urges you to write or telegraph the President immediately expressing your approved of the sus pension of the bombing and encouraging him to prolong it until a settle ment can be achieved. Want take a big hero? Then took for big challenges! Come to General Electric,where the young men are important men. Important responsibilities come to you early at G.E. You could find yourself on the team responsible for marketing a new appliance. Or you could be in India, installing a nuclear power plant. Or in a laboratory, looking lor applications for a remarkable new “artificial gill” that lets mam mals breathe under water. This is a worldwide company that makes over 200,000 different prod ucts, from jet engines and weather satellites to computers and color TV. In this kind of company, you have to be very good to get very far. If you are good, you’ll be rewarded. With money, o£ course. But with responsibility, too. I lie most important job you’ll ever have is your first job. , And the most important job interview you may ever have is with the man Irom G.K. Progress Is Our Most Important Product GENERAL#) ELECTRIC
