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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 1969)
Aims at wider recruiting Peace Corps revamps program ihe Peace Corps New Direc tions:” “We are going to recruit as vol unteers not just young people, who now compose 95 per cent of uur volunteers, but Americans of ill ages — craftsmen from the ranks of labor, mid-career pro fessionals from the ranks of busi ness, experienced teachers and farmers.” Joseph Blatchford, Director of :he Peace Corps, thus explained lis new approach to the Corps n recent speeches at Boston uni versities. Blatchford called the program “New Directions: Part nership in Development.” Besides an increased emphasis m older volunteers, Blatchford said a partnership must be form ed. “We will form committees of local people (from the foreign countries) who will make the im portant decisions about how our volunteers are recruited, select ed, trained, placed in the field and supported.” “Our approach must be one that encourages self-reliance and confidence,” he said. “That means our aid can’t be one-sided. It can’t be conceived, initiated and operated by the United States.” Blatchford said he wanted it made clear that the new adminis tration will not change the role of the Peace Corps. He said the new changes “aren’t going to shut the recent college graduate Head finds bias in Corps systems “The Peace Corps is lily-white and we’ve got to change that,” 3eace Corps Director Joseph Blatchford said Monday, in an interview )n a Boston radio station. Blatchford was not referring to the Peace Corps’ reputation. He iaid he has discovered the Peace Corps’ selection process has been inintentionally discouraging applications from members of minority 'roups. Blatchford cited two examples: “To begin with, a 16 page applica ;ion would frighten anyone, but particularly those who haven’t made i career of filling out forms as have most middle-class Americans. “Then there is the reference system. The Peace Corps requires a arge number of written references and members of minority groups ire often from backgrounds in which their friends and associates ire unfamiliar with or reticent about filling out government forms. “Consequently, many applications from members of minority groups lever get processed. They lack the proper number of references,” le continued. Because of this, Blatchford said, Black Americans are three times ess likely to be accepted. He also said changes are being made to :orrect the situation. “We are not looking toward a quota system of any kind. We are ieeking minorities because we want the Peace Corps overseas to be ;ruly representative of this country, and because these people have i special contribution to make,” said Blatchford. In other business about the Peace Corps, Blatchford said that in he future he hoped Americans would not have to just serve their :ountry in military uniform. “Too often when we speak of ‘service to country’ the reference is o military service, but the Peace Corps volunteer is serving his rountry just as surely,” he said. Campus interviews October 27 for a civilian career with the Naval Audit Service — the Navy’s professional auditing organization. • Unusual variety of experience offered • Specialized courses and on-the-job training available • Rapid advancement...regular salary Increases... job security assured • All Business Administration graduates and pros pective graduates are eligible • Descriptive brochure available Sign up now at your Placement Office. An Equal Opportunity Employer • U.S. Citizenship Required If you are unavailable for an interview on scheduled dates, but interested, contact: Naval Area Audit Service 50 Fulton Street, San Francisco, California 94102 Telephone: (415) 765-6386 ruesday, October 21, 1969 out of the Peace Corps; they are going to place people from all walks of life — from all back grounds and of all ages — side by side with young Americans in the service of mankind.” “New Directions” will train volunteers as much as possible and aim at designing “programs of training and service for groups with special kinds of experience — such as teachers or former VISTA volunteers,” according to Blatchford. Eventually, he said, “We hope to see the day when half of our overseas staff is made up of local citizens, not Americans.” He summed up the total mean ing of the “New Directions,” say ing, “They do not mean an end to Peace Corps service by the young college graduate. “They mean, instead, that the young college graduate in the Peace Corps will be working side by side in the field with other Americans of different back grounds, and with more people from the host country.” Tom English, ASUO Senator and district head of the Peace Corps in Oregon, said he doesn’t think the new program will les sen the number of college gradu ates accepted into the Corps. English said Blatchford told him they expected to increase the number of skilled workers and professionals from a current five per cent to 30 per cent. English said he thought a more realistic figure would be 20 per cent. Because of the new plans, Blatchford said the Corps will “improve its selection process and become more selective.” Eng lish said the “more selective” applies to the job to which an individual will be assigned and not to getting into the Peace Corps. English reported that there has been a change in Oregon since the new plans were initiated. He said, “there have been a great number of older people inquir ing, especially retired ones.” He also said the Peace Corps is being regionalized for more personal contact with applicants. In Oregon, English is the district director, based at the University, with an assistant at Portland State University. English said not all of the prob lems of the “New Directions” have been worked out. For ex ample, the Peace Corps will be accepting 200 families with chil dren in a pilot project, according to Blatchford. Plans are to keep the children with their parents and place the family in one of the country’s major cities. This could be a problem if the country’s need is away from the city, English said. To get more skilled persons working in the program, Blatch ford said, “If necessary we will ask their corporations, universi ties or unions to support them while they do so.” English said arranging this is still a problem. CHRISTMAS IN EUROPE? Christmas Charter Portland-London-Portland Dec. 20-Jan. 3 Price: $249 For further information: Contact IEC, 319 EMU, 1141 p.m. dally, ext. 1834 EMERALD CLASSIFIEDS GET ACTION!! See Page 7 of Todays Paper ^ Place Yours Now!!
