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
are those of the writer.
LOUIE ABRAMSON
Business Manager
MAXINE ELLIOTT
News Editor
CHUCK BEUUS, Editor
BOB CARL
Managing Editor
PHIL SEMAS
Associate Editor
WILBUR BISHOP, JR.
Advertising Manager
ALLEN BAILEY
Associate Editor
Page 6
University of Oregon. Eugene, Tuesday, January 18, 1966
To Find a Seat
Students Get tlx* Worst Seats at Basketball Games
At basketball games the athletic depart
ment crams students into precious few seats
on either side of the floor and on the ends
of McArthur Court. Students have to be
there by 7:30 to claim those seats. After that
general admission patrons are let in to grab
up the unclaimed seats. And what’s worse,
students can’t sit up in the balconies—
except on the ends—because those seats
are reserved and can be claimed at any
time, right up until the game’s end.
So students sit on the end or behind the
band or stand in the doorways.
The reason students suffer is because the
athletic department wants to squeeze as
much money out of each game as possible.
They have to provide a seat for every stu
dent who wants one. But it doesn’t have to
be the best in the house. They already have
the students' money—$19.50 per year in
student fees. There’s no profit in giving stu
dents good seats. So the athletic department
sells the good seats and students sit where
they can. Of course, faculty members pay
$20 a year and get reserved seats.
There are several things the athletic de
partment could do to change this injustice.
One is to provide more student seating
That might cut into the athletic depart
ment’s fat bank account but it would cer
tainly be fairer to the students w ho support
it. McArthur Court is seldom filled for a
basketball game. There are usually plenty
of upper balcony seats open. All the athletic
department needs to do is move its over
Greek Week
The Inter-Fraternity Council’s announce
ment last week that it has abandoned plans
for a Greek Week this year came as a disap
pointment.
Last year’s program was stimulating and
well-rounded. It included speakers and a
panel discussion, as well as social activities.
Unfortunately, the event lost money for the
IFC because of last-minute expenditures to
boost ticket sales to the dance at week’s end.
Partially for this reason, and partly because
other events prevented advance scheduling
of facilities, the plans were dropped this
year.
Greek Week would probably be better off
if it weren’t intended as a money-making
program. Panhellenic, the sorority equiva
lent of IFC, refused to endorse Greek Week
this year. In principle, this is unimportant
since Panhellenic gave the IFC only tacit
support for the last Greek Week. But the
two groups, working together to finance the
program, could pay for the publicity of
speeches, forum discussions and other aca
demic. educational events without having
to worry about a fund-raising dance to cli
max the affair.
The lack of support last year indicates
that students today, including many Greeks,
just don’t care about going to one more
dance. Enough are offered now throughout
the year to satisfy their social needs. But if
such an event as Greek Week could provide,
perhaps, a serious dialogue on some press
ing contemporary problem, the sponsors
may find the key to renewed student inter
est in Greek activities.
protected paid patrons back a few rows and
give some of those choice, comfortable
seats to the students.
That’s a nice idea and the obvious solu
tion. But the athletic department probably
won’t do it. Those seats are already sold
this year for a few games like Oregon State.
Besides, there’s no profit in it.
What else could they do?
They could make the people that have
reserved seats abide by the same rule as the
students: get there by 7:30 or risk finding
someone in your seat. Or better yet move
the deadline up to game time (8 p.m.) for
both groups. Or at least keep the present
student section shut off from others for the
whole game.
The athletic department could also stop
doing favors for the lettermen, the Drakes,
the Decoys, the Frosh 200, and so on. Let
them sit where they can find a place, like
everybody else. Or if they must have a re
served section put ’em on the end. Student
seats are bad enough without giving half of
them over to special interest groups.
There’s another alternative, of course.
Eliminate the student athletic fee. put all
seats on a reserve basis, and let students
compete for them with everybody else. But
that’s a drastic step not yet called for by
the present situation. It might be needed
some day.
Right now we’ll settle for a new attitude
from the athletic department: one based on
a service motive instead of the profit mo
tive.
Peace Corps
Fighting War, Too
Throughout this week representatives of
the Peace Corps are at the University to
talk with students and, primarily, to sign
up volunteers. We urge everyone to stop by
the tent in front of the Student Union and
to avail themselves of this opportunity to
get some first-hand information about work
in the program.
The Corps has been the target of some
heavy verbal attacks recently. Returning
volunteers have criticized the government
for aiming the program in the wrong direc
tion, for simply providing handouts without
technical assistance. This may be true, in
some instances. To say that no mistakes
have been made would be foolish.
But the statements by some of the return
ing workers indicate that they joined the
Corps thinking that they could become mir
acle workers overnight. This is not the way
'such a project will operate. The Corps vol
unteers face a long, slow battle in their ef
forts to further human understanding and
to better the lot of the great masses of the
world’s people who are quite “underprivil
eged” by American standards.
Today’s Peace Corps worker is likely to
be tomorrow’s leader, and if he gains noth
ing more than the experience of working
with peoples of other nations, America will
have profited immeasurably. If this nation
can afford to spend $16 million per day to
fight a war in Southeast Asia, it can certain
ly spend $100 million a year to fight the
quiet, tedious war against poverty and ig
norance being waged by the Peace Corps.
M/tUO vjtefcv
J
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ly libelous content.
Telegram Misconstrued
Emerald Editor:
It is disgusting that the atti
tudes and opinions behind the
Faculty Student Committee's
telegram to Johnson should have
been so misinterpreted by the
press and people at large. Yet
that is the fault only of the
Committee and of the persons
at the meeting who voted for
the telegram. The misinterpre
tation by the public is a natural
one.
I attended the meeting where
Johnson's “peace offensive” was
discussed for over two hours.
Many persons spoke their opin
ions. Only one or two out of
these many indicated any be
lief whatsoever that Johnson's
“peace efforts" were sincere.
Most said that they were a clev
er means to obtain consensus
for a further escalation in Viet
Nam.
The most obvious evidence for
this skepticism is the administra
tion's consistent refusal to rec
ognize the National Liberation
Front as the opposing force; the
insistence that the admiration
is awaiting response from Ha
noi. In addition, besides the dip
lomatic circus which worries
many, there is the further in
troduction of troops into Viet
Nam, the further building of
large permanent-type military
bases there, and the recent re
quest for an additional $13 bil
lion to conduct the war.
These measures hardly indi
cate to the foe a sincere de
sire for peace, since they are
being taken and publicized at
the precise moment we are ap
parently seeking peace.
Also, Goldberg’s vague re
marks to U Thant do not indi
cate that this government is
willing to concede the right of
Vietnamese people to choose
whatever government they
want, Communist, coalition, or
otherwise. So far, the attitude
has been that ’only a noncom
munist government would be
allowed by the U.S. and there
is no reason to believe that this
attitude has changed in the
slightest.
The main motive behind the
telegram, especially by those
chosen by the assembly to pen
it, was that it “could do no
harm” and that any peace over
ture, sincere or not, should be
encouraged.
t'nfortunntely, I believe that
Kreat harm tins been clone —
just that harm warned of by
several individuals at the meet
ing Johnson is getting his con
sensus.
The congratulations of the
peace groups for his ‘'offen
sive" not only helps to silence
his critics, hut confuses those
who have been undecided about
the war, and misleads those sup
porting the war.
If the public believes that the
administration's critics believe
that Johnson is sincere, then
they will feel that is final proof
that the administration has dono
all it could to secure peace and
will more confidently support
the future escalation of the
war.
Natalie Fisher
Staff, Molecular
Biology
Band
Emerald Editor:
Three hail and hearty cheers
for the Oregon pep band' The
Lemon and Green have finally
gone the spirited way of the
California, Creston Creek, and
Oregon State pep bands: phooey
on cumbersome music stands,
stagnant looking band plat
forms, and sophisticated look
ing blazers. Root beer on the
house for the vests, bowlers,
garters, and new music — I
like it and hope it's here to
stay!
Michael Dale Glover
Junior, Art Education
Not Poverty
Emerald Editor:
A journalist should have his
facts straight. He: Phil Sernas’
article on the Job Corps center
at Tongue Point, in Thurs
day, Jan. 13 issue: Harold V.
McAbee did not “run a com
munity poverty program called
the Lane County Youth Proj
ect.”
In the first place, the project
isn’t a "poverty program." It is
basically a government and
community financed study of
juvenile problems. It has four
major program areas, each head
ed by a chief of operations. Mc
Abee was Chief of Educational
Programs. Edgar Brewer is and
and has been head of the Lane
County Youth Project since it
was first begun.
Patricia Koval
Senior, Journalism
Oregon Daily Emerald
Rande Wilmartli, Sport* Editor
Nonii Borcrwtcin,
Assistant Managing Editor
Larry Lange, Assistant News Editor
Dave Butler, Feature Editor
Shota Usliio, Photo Editor
Steve Dimeo, Entertainment Editor
Editorial Board: Chuck Brggs, Bob Carl,
Maxine Elliott, Phil Semas, Allen
Bailey, Pam Hladine, Karen Winn,
Cliff Kaufman, Gene Sokol ski, Norai
Borenstein.