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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1969)
Oregon daily EMERALD VoLLXVIII UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE, MONDAY, APRIL 7, 1969 No. 104 S. I. HAYAKAWA ‘New Left employs Nazi tactics’ 18 yr. vote, drinking Amendments anger legislators By DON MACK Of the Emerald Amendments fastening drinking rights to the 18-year-old vote bill currently moving through Salem legislative channels have brought a flurry of angry charges from state legislators. The amendment, approved by a vote of 6-3 in the House State and Federal Affairs Committee last week, would extend not only the voting franchise but all adult civil rights to 18-year-old Ore gonians. State Sen. Edward Fadeley, a Democrat, charged Saturday that the "right to drink’’ amendment was added to the lower-voting-age bill as a deliberate device to “scuttle” the measure, according to Register-Guard reports. Eugene Mayor Les Anderson earlier called the amendment “a devious blow to the students working hard for the 18-year-old vote.” Fadeley specifically attacked Rep. Roger Martin, a Portland Republican and chairman of the committee, for pushing the ‘scuttle” amendment through. Martin told the Emerald Sunday, “It was the feeling of the committee that if we’re going to franchise for the vote we ought to franchise for everything.” While admitting that the original measure had a better chance of passing' without the amendments, Martin said, “I can see no reason why 18-year olds given the right to vote should not be able to sign a contract and be responsible for a lawsuit.” BUNCH OF GARBAGE’ Rep. Norman Howard (D) of Portland, a committee member, voted against the amendments and labeled them "a bunch of garbage.” Those voting for the amendments, Howard said, “are trying to kill it on the floor or put something to the people that could be overwhelmingly beaten.” "The public is not going to vote for the 18-year old’s right to drink,” Howard insisted. Rep. Wally Priestly, a Portland Democrat and committee mem ber, agreed with Fadeley that some of the votes cast for the amendments—excluding his own—were intended to kill the bill. But Priestly pointed out, “If we had not had the votes of those who wanted to kill it, we might not have gotten the bill out of committee.” He voted for the amendments, he said, “to make the law more in attune with reality” since “young people who w'ant to drink are drinking now.” Priestly said he favors the lowered voting age, but adds, “I don’t think the franchise is all that important when the electorate is not well organized.” CONTINUOUS PRESSURE The only way the franchise can be effective, Priestly said, is when continuous pressure is applied to public officials. He cited civil rights legislation as an example. Roger Mellem, a University student and state chairman of Stu dents for the 18-year-old Vote, said Sunday, “I’m delighted the amendments were added giving us legal and financial rights and responsibilities. “But I feel that tying the drinking age proposal into this bill seriously lessens its chances for passage,” he said. According to Mellem, the amended bill—if passed by the House this week—must journey through the Senate Elections Committee, then to the floor of the Senate for approval. Only then, he said, would the measure reach the people for next fall’s election. Enrollment up 8-9 per cent This term s registration fig ures are running 8 to 9 per cent higher than for spring term last year, according to registra tion officials. As of Thursday at 5 p.m. 8,550 students had paid their fees. Registration contin ued through Friday and Satur day. Students will be able to reg ister today between 8 a m. and 12 noon and from 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. without penalty. Reg istration will be held in Em erald Hall. University officials estimated that between 13,500 and 14,000 students will register before the final deadline of April 14. At Oregon State University, 12,604 students completed reg istration by Thursday. A total spring term enrollment of 13, 000 is expected. The vast difference between the partial registration figures for the two schools was attrib uted to the registration rule at Oregon State requiring students to complete registration by last Tuesday to avoid a penalty fee. Hayakawa, Sheer typify deep social .political rift By MLVK MUUH Of the Emerald S. I. Hayakawa and Robert Sheer provided the fireworks and with the help of a responsive and expressive audience the opening session of the Oregon High School International Relations League conference became a vocal sparring match. The conference session, held Friday at McAr thur Court, attracted over 4,300 high school and University students, as well as faculty members. Hayakawa, controversial president of San Fran cisco State College, and Sheer, editor of Ram parts magazine, discussed the topic of "Revolu tion in the Twentieth Century.” And though actual debate was limited, the confrontation did offer some startling examples of an irreparable ideological rift between two schools of social thought. “As I listen to the rhetoric of the New Left, I see profound similarities with the rhetoric of the Nazis,” said Hayakawa. Countered Sheer, “I disagree with the notion that the New Left consists of psychopaths and advocates of chaos and violence.” Sheer, who has traveled throughout the would as a staff writer and editor for Ramparts maga zine, attempted to define the purposes and back ground of the New Left. Sheer’s comments ran the gamut, from prob lems within the educational system, to the war in Vietnam. MONOPOLY ON VIOLENCE “The main question is how society is arranged,” he said, “who has the power, who has a monop oly on violence? I submit this society is every bit as totalitarian as any other society in the world.” Sheer blamed the “military-industrial complex” for petuating the system of totalitarianism. “This is the modern imperial nation,” he de clared, “The military-industrial complex supports that power. This isn't Adam Smith’s world any more.” Interspersed with Sheer's attacks on the in dustrial and military powers were indictments of the press and educational systems. “Most people think that somewhere between Time and Newsweek you find the truth,” he said. “This just isn't true. These publications don't recognize real social comment as being good jour nalism.” He defended occasional violence within the movement, saying, “Every program began with non-violent tactics. One is forced into opposi tion tactics by the people who have established power.” As an immediate solution to the power of the military-industrial complex Sheer declared, “I maintain that the American Empire must be broken.” His speech was interrupted by applause a number of times and met with a standing ova tion from the University gallery. Hayakawa, whose hard line stand against strik ing teachers and students at the Bay Area school garnered national headlines, devoted much of his talk to the ability of the New Left to employ semantic tricks in expressing views. “One of the tactics of revolutionaries is to create distrust in the ability of the government to govern and the leaders to lead.” he said. “This is what advocates of the New Left are doing today.” Hayakawa employed the comparison between the Left and the Nazis throughout his talk. 'There are the same techniques of labeling and using words with un-technical meanings,” Hayakawa asserted. “In the same way Hilter used the word Jew to stimulate paranoia, the New Left uses the term 'industrial-military complex.’ ” While the New Left employs tactics of the Nazis to foment revolution, Hayakawa maintain ed revolution is not needed in the United States. “There are processes within this country for social change within the existing political and legislative structures,” he said. •SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY’ Hayakawa continued, "How you talk about a political event is crucial in how that event comes out.” He illustrated his point with a discussion of "self-fulfilling prophecy.” “A self-fulfilling prophecy is where something that is untrue becomes true when it is believed. In one instance after another, the Left is apply ing the principle of self-fulfilling prophecy.” The former Canadian’s speech was met with polite and at times enthusiastic applause, partic ularly from the main floor contingent of IRL delegates. Intense security precautions, prompted by ear lier threats of an assassination attempt against Mayakawa, failed to inhibit the spirited action on the stage and in the audience. Upset by an alleged lack of dialogue between the two, Sheer demanded that Hayakawa partici pate in an "open and free discussion of the is sues.” nayaaawa countered, saying no nau noi pre pared for a debate, and would not argue with Sheer. Members of the audience, incensed at not being given the opportunity to question the speakers (the session was dismissed after a 20 minute question period) demanded that Haya kawa remain on the platform to debate Sheer. FREE UNIVERSITY’ SESSION As the SFS president was hustled from the arena, Sheer remained at the microphone to address some 200 students remaining in the au dience. The resulting unscheduled “rap-in” provided tiie framework for a “free-University” session held in the EMU Friday night. Organized by an IRL member who was dissat isfied with the structure of the conference, the evening session, attended by about 100 of the 700 high school delegates, featured talks by rep resentatives of various campus political groups. Earlier, at a morning press conference, Ilaya kawa had refused to deny reports that he is seeking political office. "I really haven’t had time to think it over,” he said. "What with my duties as college presi dent, I haven't had time to consider political office.” The Los Angeles Times had reported that Haya kama was interested in either a United Stales Senate seat or governorship of California. Lou Smith, King Day' speaker Love most important' By KUBliM nUi Of The Emerald A ‘‘noneducable” Ph.D. hold er. A destructionist determined to build and create. A Black nationalist. This is Lou Smith, co-founder of Operation Bootstrap, a self help organization in Watts, Cali fornia. Smith addressed about 60 people Friday at City Hall. He was the key speaker at com memoration ceremonies for slain civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King. The program was sponsored by the Oregon Research Institute (ORI). The audience was predomi nately White. Smith talked Black. “I am speaking from a posi tion of where I am and I’m just telling you what I see,” he began. io start with, you must realize that America doesn't al low people of color to be Amer icans. Other immigrants, like the Hungarians, easily became part of the White Middle Class system. However, when the Blacks came, they were a colony —a one-crop colony. All they could sell was their labor,” Smith said. Smith pointed out the fact that Black labor is no longer important. Smith is determined not to let destruction overcome Blacks, and he sees only one way to stop it: control. "That’s just where the Black movement is now. Right now, all our institutions in our col ony are controlled by the White mother country. Whites control our education, politics and in dustry. Even a White Mafia controls our vice. Now Blacks want control,” the one-time freedom rider emphasized. “Teachers in the White moth er country come into the colony and say the kids can’t read. Blacks know how to get their kids to read and it isn’t by teaching them about George Washington. “I was one of those consider ed noneducable so they threw me out of school. I earned a vocational school diploma and that’s all the formal education I’ve had. But I’ve earned my Ph D. on the street corner,” he stated. Smith wants to build a Uni versity of street corners and teach kids in an environment they understand. He wants to make them believe in them selves. “I am at a level where I feel that anything I imagine I can do. Whenever anyone tells me I can't go anywhere. I go there (Continued on page 7)