Oregon daily emerald., May 08, 1972, Page 10, Image 9

ASUO
lain More
looks at
the year
News of student government
This year, 1971-72, students have been
involved in decision making within the
University from the Advisory Council level
through the Budget Committee, HPUP and
the departments. It has seen a student
position created on the State Educational
Coordinating Council, on the Finance
Committee of the State Board of Higher
Education and, nearly, on the Board itself.
Yet within the University itself, the
progress is only a beginning. The general
faculty meeting as a method of decision
making in this institution is unwieldy and,
in pure American, undemocratic. Students
have suffered at the hands of a reactionary
faculty (e g , the University Personnel
Committees and the University Conduct
Code) in a year when they themselves
have been the most progressive. The
Faculty were in general slow to react to
records policy, slow to react to HPUP.
They grumble at Johnson Hall while it is
their own guild like composition and
preoccupation with participatory
democracy which gives Johnson Hall its
power.
Just a university
My own country, Scotland, has a new
university. It isn t a student university or a
faculty university; it is just a university.
All areas in the university are for faculty
and students. University decisions are
made by administrators, faculty, students
and community people i don’t want
Oregon to have a student union, a faculty
senate, a faculty meeting. I want it to have
a University union and a University
senate. The substantial decisions of
education cannot be decided entirely by
the recipients, but they should have a
major say.
Persistent student representation at the
State Board has not always been effective
but it has made its presence felt, par
ticularly with success in regard to tuition
raises, to student interests in the transfer
of Straub Hall and to dormitory rates.
At the Legislative level, student control
of the incidental fee for at least two years
was saved when extinction seemed im
minent. More importantly, students
successfully lobbied for higher education
during the special session in November
last year. There is no doubt that the
credibility of students at the legislature
was way ahead of any other constituent of
higher education and went a long way to
avoid the threatened $2 million cut and
raise in tuition
ASUO not much better
If the University is a vast bureaucratic
organization which is having to financially
overdigest itself at this time, the ASUO is
not much better The changeover in
Athletic Department funding which
ironically met the still undecided wrath of
the Office of Emergency Preparedness
(Phase I of the Wage and Price Freeze),
certainly opened the way for new
priorities. However, the whole ASUO
needs evaluating. A start was made with
the absorption of a number of outlying
budgets by the ASUO Executive. At least
expenditures can be observed, purposes
better scrutinized and communication
improved.
This began this year. It needs a lot more
work. The incidental fee will be $17.50 per
quarter in 1972-73, a reduction from 1971-72
and the lowest in the state. That isn’t the
answer though—we need to look at our
priorities, too.
The problem is that most students don’t
know what the ASUO does or how it does it.
I have outlined a bunch of things we have
done. We’ve also provided free legal
services, an expanded SEARCH program
and now have working drawings for a
tavern in the EMU. If it’s built and you
drink there, incidental fees will go down
because the EMU income will increase.
People still oppressed
The rest of the world isn’t much better
than a year ago. People are still oppressed
because of where they were born or who
they are born to. The war still goes on. The
International Symposiums should have let
you know that America is not only doing it
to herself.
I believe that morality cannot be
changed by legislation or war, nor can the
world. I hope it can be changed by
education. But we have to change
education and that will be hard. We still
resist change better than we fight for it.
My own school of Health, Physical
Education and Recreation is an example.
The loss of the physical education
requirement, given a little cushion of
funds, would have forced the department
into much needed innovation—not so much
in its service courses, but in its
professional program. However, recent
reports and even the disbursement of
Federal monies give some hope for in
novation and experimentation in higher
education.
We have tried to make a certain sort of
impact here this year. If that method
doesn’t change things, if this year’s
elections bear the same fruit as 1968, then
maybe there is only one answer. People
already have compared this year’s ASUO
to last year’s. Some think we have suc
ceeded where Ron Eachus didn’t. We
might appear to have. We might appear to
have better ideas, better methods. Ideas
and methods that give success. I don’t
think so. Last year was the biggest part of
this year. 1972 has been built on the back
of 1970-71.
Out going ASl O Prraidrnt lain Morr.
'We are opposed
to the war. .
Note: The following statement
was issued jointly bv ASl’O
President lain More and
University President Robert
Clark on May 3.
This is a statement of our
personal conviction which is not
based on any greater knowledge
than that of the average person
who reads a little, listens a little,
and draws such tentative con
clusions as he can defend among
average citizens.
We are opposed to the war,
opposed to the present escalation
Wo urge the President of the
United Stall's and Congress to
w ithdraw all United States forces
immediately upon the insurance
of the exchange of prisoners of
war and a process of free elec
tions to determine the political
leadership in Vietnam
As one means of accelerating
this process and thus aiding
humanity and also asserting the
rights granted by the United
States Constitution, we support
the efforts of students and faculty
on May 4th to debate and to
educate their fellows and the
people of this community; to
petition and to canvass for
candidates supportive of their
position and to commemorate the
loss of lives in the war We do not
support violence or coercion
Violence and coercive tactics
have failed in Vietnam and they
will fail here also
We make this joint statement
one as a citizen of the United
States looking at his own coun
try's role, one not a citizen
looking at the United States in a
world role, yet both with a
common goal to end this war
and to endorse constitutionally
supported activities which will
help achieve this goal
I'niversitv President Robert Clark