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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1966)
OREGON DAILY EMERALD Opinions expressed on the editorial page are those of the Emerald and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the ASUO or the University. Opinions expressed in signed columns nre those of the writer. LOUIE ABRAMSON Business Manager MAXINE ELLIOTT News Editor CHUCK BEGGS, Editor BOB CARL Managing Editor PHIL SEMAS Associate Editor WILBUR BISHOP, JR Advertising Manager ALLEN BAILEY Associate Editor University of Oregon. Eugene. Monday. January 10, 1966 Page 6 The St. John’s Strike Academic Freedom Not Enhanced by Union Involvement It is not unusual for the faculty of an American college or university to disagree with the administration of same institu tion, and vice versa. However, when this disagreement fosters impediments to dis cussions of mutual problems and long-range goals, the quality of education in the insti tution can suffer seriously. A dramatic example of such a conflict was portrayed last week at St. John’s Uni versity in New York, one of the largest Catholic schools in the world, with 13,000 students. A strike, the first in American history, was called at St. John s by the United Federation of College Teachers, an AFL-CIO affiliate. The union said the action was taken to protest the dismissal of 31 faculty last month over issues of academic freedom. Father Joseph Cahill, the president of St. John’s, claims that the teachers were fired because they misused their positions for propaganda purposes, publicly shamed their school by participating in “unauthor ized” demonstrations, and challenged the administrators and trustees. The faculty, on the other hand, has been openly critical of administration policies for nearly a year, which they claimed interfered with their lights to participate in activities of then own choosing, without threat of job security Private Catholic schools are understand ably tight-knit, internally secure organiza tions. Thus, it is not surprising that a few professors found the strict regulations in hibiting their activities both inside the classroom and out. But the question is broader than that. Administrators of educational institutions often try to protect their public image, tak ing the necessary steps.to quell any contro versy in its early stages, or to impose rules upon faculty which attempt to prevent any controversy at all. Fortunately, many ad 'ministrators, including University Presi dent Arthur Flemming, have long ago rec ognized that a faculty member's job should not hinder him from participation in poli tical or other activities outside the campus borders. This is a difficult ideal to attain in a public institution, supported by public monies; private schools have fewer tax payers to which they must answer. But only through an exercise of this right of participation can the faculty members be come more than simply an inbred "commu nity of scholars” who lose their contact with the world outside the campus. However, while they should permit rea sonable freedom to their faculties, college administrators should stubbornly refuse to allow the brute power of labor unionism to dictate the terms of their institution’s oper ations. In doing just this. Father Cahill of St. John’s has not impeded but has pro tected the cause of academic freedom at his school. We seriously doubt that interfer ence by union officials would bring any intelligent solution to the problems at St. John’s. Most of the St. John’s faculty appear somewhat satisfied with the liberalization of policy that has taken place, since only between 40 and 50 teachers are honoring the picket line out of a total faculty of 651 The teachers who stayed on the job are attempting to keep on with the business of educating students while attempting ra tional compromise of a number of problems facing them. In any dispute such as this it is the student who will suffer most, and this is a consideration having little influence with those teachers who yielded to the call of the strikers. Letters to the Editor imiimiimiiiiiiiiuniumfliiiiminiiiiiiyy All letters to the editor must be typewritten and double spaced. Letters not over 300 words in length and those deal ing with one subject will be giv en preference for publication. All letters must be signed in ink and must give the class and major of the writer. Letters not meeting these criteria will be returned to the letter writer. The Emerald reserves the right to edit letters for style, gram mar, punctuation, and potential ly libelous content. Lot Needed Emerald Editor: The proposed and now un proposed parking lot at the northeast corner of the campus illustrates the folly, perhaps the idiocy, of campus planners and administrators. This university has been given S4 million dol lars for a computer center. But it will only provide three park ing spaces to service it. Too bad the NSF grant didn't require some matching funds for park ing facilities. Actually, the need for a park ing facility at the corner of 13th and Kincaid is a current one. The closest parking lots for students going to Common wealth, Chapman, Condon, Prince Campbell, Fenton, Fri endly, Allen, Deady, and Vil lard halls are the ones in front of the Music School and the one east of Emerald Hall. That's a long walk. There really is no parking lot servicing these main campus buildings, except the staff-only lot behind Taylor’s. The Uni versity should waste no time in turning the corner in question into a huge parking lot, be it gravel, asphalt or some other surfacing. Instead, this facility has been over-planned right out of exist ence. One day, the Planning Committee says, 13th Avenue will be closed to traffic. So, there will not be any way to get cars to the un-proposed parking lot. Of course, the Planning Committee has overlooked two things. First, the city does not want to close 13th (not to men tion the students), at least as far as Kincaid. The most likely change will be that all traffic on 13th will be routed north on Kincaid: toward the now un proposed parking lot. Second, regardless of any “eventual” plans, the need for a parking lot at that particular place is a present one; in fact, it has been needed for several years al ready. It would be most difficult to believe that the University could not find enough money to put a gravel or other suitable surface down on that area to provide a much needed, immedi ately needed, parking lot. James L. Hutter Graduate, Pol. Science Award to Worst Emerald Editor: Many novel and intricate methods for implementing the Mosser Plan had been suggested prior to the faculty action Wed nesday. The source of the fol lowing idea is uncertain, but it has been gaining increasing popularity. The key to this particular scheme is that rather than granting $1,000 awards, the entire $72,000 should be award ed to one faculty member. Fur ther, it should be given to the worst undergraduate instructor. With this windfall, the recipi ent would surely retire immedi ately, thus improving the qual ity of undergraduate instruc tion. Ken Ostrom Graduate, Mathematics ♦ * * Wallace Apologizes Emerald Editor: I have been asked by Bob Carl, in connection with a joke question which I used on an examination, to exonerate him and Chuck Beggs from any im plied association with a Com munist conspiracy. I can state that I have no reason to believe that such an association exists or has ever existed. I would also aoplogize for any damage which such an implication might have done to their reputations. Dwight T. Wallace Asst. Prof., Anthropology CPU\LL AVWU3*S> KoJ Roll Council to Aid Graduate Students Editor's Note: Rod Roth i* the graduate representative to the ASl'O Senate. In this column he discusses recently formed graduate advisory council. A new Graduate Student Ad visory Council, composed of and for graduate students, was established fall term to end the isolation of advanced degree candidates by airing their gripes, difficulties and sugges tions. Even though one of every five students is a graduate, these 0</ -Sc/itrartz The Need To Adjust Students are often urged to “adjust." With the collapse last year of the educational philosophy of an entire decade at Berkeley and elsewhere, college administra tors are going to have a few adjustment problems of their own. Higher education has changed. It is no longer a savored lux ury of the elite, as it may have been 25 years ago. Nor is it the protracted guide book for technocrats encour aged in the '50’s. The numerous popular attacks on specialization have succeeded sufficiently that even students are beginning to value liberal arts in the class room and open discussion out side of it. This has come as a shock to those accustomed to the complacence of the “ivory tower intellectual" for whom a university was little more than a lab, a library, a classroom, and a bunk. It's time they recov ered. In the days of elite education, there would have been some merit to the administrative con tention that powerful student governments or vocal under graduate political organizations were not an essential part of a campus. Learning was pursued either “for its own sake" or for a job. Our Negroes Are Happy Even today, Dean Griswold of Harvard Law School could boast to a group of Oberlin alumni alumni (that “our students are too busy worrying about torts to get concerned about ‘their role in the decision - making process.’ ” His was the clear est statement of what 1 would call the “our Negroes are hap (Continued on page 7) graduates, as a class, have been the least articulate in express ing their problems. Until now. graduates have been isolated: There has been no interdepart mental communication or co op eration The University, recognizing this, has created in the Office ot Student Adairs the |>oxition of associate dean of students tor graduate students J F. Hum mel from the Kducation Depart ment has lilted this position, and be immediately attacked the iso lation problem by helping or ganize the Uraduate Student Advisory Council The (Graduate Council is com jiosed of two student represen tatives from each department, to be chosen by the depart ment's graduate students. Thu Council will formally organize and choose a chairman from its members at its first winter term meeting on Thursday, Jan 1 rt. The council wiil meet once a month thereafter, and meetings will open to all graduates, who may present problems orally or in writing Specific long range problems will be referred to ad hoc com mittees appointed by the chair man of the Council Each com mittee will recommend a solu tion which then will be convey ed to the Administration by Hummel. Major problem areas discuss ed at the first two meetings and on which stands will be taken in clude: (1) The need for graduate student orientation; (2) Reexamination of lan guage requirements and lack of standard procedures on lan guage examinations; (3) Inequities in stipends for comparable times and responsi bilities; (4) hack of warm, interper sonal relationships with facul ty; (5) And assorted difficulties with the library. Isolation need no longer bo a barrier to the solution of problems facing graduate stu dents. A common forum exists, but the Council must yet prove itself by providing reasonable solutions to tlx- multitude of mi nor and major issues raised Oregon Daily Emerald Kandc Wilmarth, Sports Editor Notni Borenstrtn, Assistant Managing Editor Larry l-*ange, Assistant News Editor Dave Butler, Feature Editor Shota Ushio, I'lioto Editor Steve Dimeo, Entertainment Editor Editorial Board: Chuck Bckk*. Bob Carl, Maxine Elliott, Phil Serna*, Alien Bailey, Pam Hladinc, Kami Winn, ( lifT Kaufman, (ictic Sokol*ki, Nunii iiuiciutciii.
