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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1968)
°dly "emerald Vol. LXVII1 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1968 No. 19 Burning of File Step fo Peace, Berrigan Says By JAQI THOMPSON Of the Emerald Like the Biblical Daniel who was thrown into a vast fur nace for his loyalty to God, Fa ther Daniel Berrigan related his own “Trial by Fire” in a Boston court for loyalty to his anti war convictions as over 1,000 people listened Friday. Speaking as part of the con ference on Church and Civil Disobedience, the Jesuit priest explained his actions as “open ing alternatives to death as the American way of life.” Last May he and eight oth er persons burned all I-A and II-A draft records of Catons ville, Md. with homemade na palm. Just last Thursday all nine were convicted of the charges against them. Sentencing is set for Nov. 8. In a press conference Berri gan explained the appeal would probably be based on “an ad mission by the government, that it may be possible to object to war as illegal and immoral.” Berrigan does not expect to win the appeal, however. “Prison is the only realistic assumption. We are interested in an appeal only to get laws in the future,” he said. Modern war, he said, does not have to be world-wide to be total. Modern war is total be cause it makes total claims on the individual, he said. “Total ity must be transferred to the peace scene,” he said. Berrigan stressed the need for total commitment to the idea of peace. In a press con ference he added that non-vio lence was the only moral means of protest. Modern war, he said, does not have to be world-wide to be total because it makes total claims on the individual, he saui. Berrigan said his actions were to show the powerless minorities —the youth, the poor, the Black ■—in American society that he and the other eight were will ing to take equal risks of suf fering, disgrace and possibly death. He urged others to par ticipate in a revolution against “death as a social method, each in their own way. “I am delighted,” he said of Eugene’s anti-draft activities last week. “I only hope the intervention and participation increases.” The Vietnam war, is war “ex emplary,” he said, quoting Sec. of State Dean Rusk, of death as the American way. The war is a testing ground for new weapons and weapon technology, and the civilian population of Vietnam are the guinea pigs, he said. Berrigan termed his trial as “exemplary” also. “It is a first step in the direction of hu manization,” he said. Berrigan said he saw evi - dence of deliberate anti-per - sonnel bombing on his unauthor ized trip to Viet nam in 1967. His book, “Night Flight Over Hanoi,” was released last month. ■iiiiiiiitiiiiMiiimmmimmiimiumumnmiuiiiiiHHiiHBiiuiiiuiiiiimnniiinwM Index Campus Happenings .page 3 Sports .pages 4, 9 Editorials.page 10 Campus Briefs .page 10 Classifieds .page 11 TODAY’S WEATHER Foggy Monday. Increasing clouds afternoon and evening High 60, Low 43 Chance of rain 0% Photo by Dean Tonn MlID PInsS went out with paper dolls, but evidently no one has informed this busy co-ed. Her efforts are part of the “First Annual,” an activity of the University Student Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture. Other events included toothpick-bridge building, paper airplane design and side walk decoration. Creation of a common bond between archi tecture students was the goal of event. For story see page 8. Confab Critic Attacks Ethics By STEVE SMITH Of the Emerald “There is an emerging public church, transcending denomin ational lines and consolidating all religious apologists for the status quo,” declared noted so cial critic William Stringfellow, Saturday. Addressing an audience of 900 the final session of the confer ence on “The Church and Civil Disobedience,” Stringfellow em otionally attacked the cultural totalitarianism in America to day. ' “American society is present ly dominated by three social ethics,” he said, “the ethic of white supremacy, the ethic of violence and the ethic of greed. It is often difficult to seperate one from another.” Stringfellow, a New York at torney. attacked white society for its attitude towards the Black revolution. - "White supremacy is the ori ginal social ethic,” said String fellow, "permeating every in sitution, aspect and facet of our vlife.” According to Stringfellow, most civil rights programs ad dressed themselves to the con tinuance of White supremacy. "The whole concept of inte gration was that the Negro pro blem would solve itself, because the Negroes would simply van ish. The war in Vietnam has con tributed immeasurably to the institutionalization of the sec ond social ethic, violence, ac cording to Stringfellow. Externally, the burden of the war is placed on the Black man. Internally, the urban police forces have become military or ganizations opposed to those who oppose the war. "Violence .which has occurred in the last 25 years has been insit utionalized in many guises,” he explained, “most recently un der the guise of ‘law and or der’.” The White majority, according to Stringfellow, replied to the non-violent movement of the Black man with white violence. When the Black revolution takes an occasional violent turn, he explained, the white com munity replies with "a simply massive mobilization of force. Inquiring Student Members Hear Rev. Theodore Gill An education explosion is “sweeping the earth uncontrol lably,” demanding a remodel ed educational structure which emphasizes matters of moral and human ethics, and the na ture and destiny of man. Rev. Theodore Gill, current ly director of the commission on Education of the World Coun cil of Churches, addressed these remarks concerning radical stu dent politics and education to a large audience Friday after noon in the EMU ballroom. Rev. Gill was one of five cler gymen invited to the Univer sity conference entitled “The Church and Civil Disobedi - ence.” With the year 1968 came “an explosion in the educational ex plosion,” Rev. Gill claimed. “Students blasted the bottom out of this phenomenon” of per vasiveness in the educational system. "They distrusted common values and defied a system which led to inhuman ends,” he said. They are “screaming at a plump, smooth parents’ so ciety.” This protest which Rev. Gill described as “controlled, delib erate moral mutation,” is a “rough rejection of education in general.” The adversary is not the col lege president or professor, he said, but "that rigid vice - chancellor, status quo and ‘academic tradition.’ ” “It began in the schools, and why not?” the ordained Pres byterian minister asked. "Edu cation is the transmitter of cul ture.” “This passion, this honesty will be contained in this time around us,” Rev. Gill speculat ed. "But it certainly will not be contained finally. "The divisions are still there festering. Seething has surfac ed among students.” The infection is in the thin social skin, he said, and the more it is slicked over, the greater the chance of explo sion. "We must not, in the name of reconciliation, insure a lat er eruption.” Rev. Gill pointed out that these protests most often show up in countries considered most developed. Protest, he explain ed. has centered in and around education, which underdevelop ed countries lack. For the past several months Rev. Gill has been studying the life of Dietrich Bonheoffer, a resister of the 1930’s in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Rev. Gill said Bonheoffer told his fellow re sisters that "truth and justice would be born of their own blood when they took over,” and that there should be "no limit” to what the resistance must be ready for. Rev. Gill considers draft re sistance “an essential means of keeping the pressure on.” "But don’t let us forget what the issue is,” he demanded. "You can’t let the debate die, even if peace breaks out.” America’s technological ad vances have brought about many of our society’s ills today, Rev. Gill charged. And since the world is dependent on the tech nological success of the West, he warned that we are faced with "a choice of ruthlessness.” Either we allow the institution to continue toward genocide, he said, or we offer “dynamic re sistance.” The minister pleaded for people to “shun the man who says the decision is easy.” But Rev. Gill did not hesi tate to reveal his decision, pre dicting that "there is no way to avoid genocide if we let the institution continue.” Millions are being killed by the system, he insisted, "but they won't take it any longer.” Rev. Gill portrayed Bonhe ofl'er as one who "deplored ges tures,” and counted out the "pious and righteous.” “Don’t waste your time show ing your righteousness,” the speaker advised. “Leave that to religious fundamentalism.” He urged his audience not to be surrounded by churches straining to identify with the resistance movement. “I dread what lies before us,” Rev. Gill concluded. "I can’t take kindly to ‘me-too - ism.’ It mars the scene. For what other scene does so de pend on what now depends on you?” "The decisive initiative of the racial crisis has been siezed by the Pentagon.” he declared, -Al most the whole burden of the Vietnam war is placed upon the Black soldier. "There is a threat of exter minating the entire Black com munity if the military solution is allowed to go unchallenged.” Stringfellow saw little chance for present religious institutions to oppose the totalitarianism of society. / Institutional churches will do little to dissent, "if they are kept servile to the management of their own debts and endow ments,” he said. The alternative, according to Stringfellow, is a public church similar to the confessing Chris tian movements which formed in other nations. Stringfellow’s church would be associated with non-Chris tians. and would actively oppose totalitarianism. "There must be resistance of all means against the status quo. That may mean even death,” he said. The third ethic attacked by Stringfellow was greed. "Greed,” he explained, ‘‘is the insatiable necessity, the inherent attribute of all institutions, to feed upon human life.” Stringfellow offered the am erican university as an exam ple. "The university has become a servant of the military estab lishment,” he said. However, the effort, of students to overcome the status quo, for all their talk, is often "facetious and terribly superficial.” Despite present social conflicts Stringfellow does not forsee to tal revolution. "The prospects for revolution in this land, I am sory to say, are quite remote.” Architect Asks Better Planning "Ill Eugene there is no trans portation for children, the side walks have been narrowed and the present sewer system is overtaxed, serving as a storm drainage control.” Architect Otto Poticha, com menting at mayoralty candidate Paul Hoffman’s Town Meeting, said he feels it is now time for urban renewal instead of per petuating old structures. Dave Hunt of the Eugene Re newal agency spoke of closing parts of Broadway and Willam ette streets to motor traflic to create a mall. The project would more than double the tax base in the financial area, Hunt said. Vince Farina, a downtown merchant and former member of the parking commission and head of the City Planning Com mission, questioned the practi cality of the 12,000 parking spaces to be placed on quadrants adjacent to the proposed mall. Moving all of those cars will be a problem, Farina said. Student Uninjured In Plane Wreck A University student and a Navy recruiter parachuted to safety Friday afternoon when the light plane they were riding in developed engine trouble over Fern Ridge Reservoir ap proximately 10 miles west of Eugene. Lt. Comdr. Drew Jones, sta tioned at Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle, was giving a flight demonstration to John Simpson, 19, of Klamath Falls when the plane developed en gine trouble over the south shore of the reservoir and crash ed. Both Simpson and Jones were uninjured. Immediately after the inci dent Jones flew to Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane to be with his wife, who has been hospitalized with a heart ailment. Mrs. Jones died later Friday night.
