Vietnam veterans seek universal amnesty
By BOB GALVIN
Of the Emerald
“As long as a system which caused the war and a
government that is unresponsive to the needs of the
people remains in power, a cease-fire agreement in
Vietnam does not mean an end to the work facing
veteran groups.”
That’s the opinion of Allen Tlusty, new regional
coordinator for the Oregon Vietnam Veterans Against
the War the (VVAW).
Tlusty spoke at a WAW press conference last Friday
at the Eugene Hotel. He said he wanted to respond to the
projection that “there has been some question lately as
to the future of the WAW,” by saying WAW still has a
purpose, despite the war’s end.
The focus of Oregon WAW chapters’ work will be to
continue programs already established, such as visits to
Veterans Administration hospitals, speaking to local
groups as guest speakers, and working with draft and
military counseling centers, he said.
Tlusty said he is also concerned about the serious
problem of post-Vietnam syndrome of which many
veterans have been victims. He said a proposal to the
National Science Foundation to help sponsor a local
study of post-Vietnam syndrome is one of the several
projects that the WAW has planned.
Tlusty said the post-Vietnam syndrome has been
identified as a condition common to most veterans who
return from Vietnam, and “it can range from just
normal cultural shock of returning home to serious
suicide attempts by the individual.”
Tlusty also said, “I also support the establishment of
‘Families of Resisters for Amnesty (FRA). The FRA’s
Q SAFEWAY
puce& elective tfaui 2j27
FILLETS ?£? _
FURBOT
HunAetf
DRUMSTICKS 28*„
^omaiHc
LEnUCE 39°
ibuut usd a tu. 2
POTATOES V 98*
HAMBURCER
HELPER 44‘
CLAM
“DotCC 15 Of. CAM
CHOWDER
29
6 1/2 of. cam StanPiot
CHUNK TUNA 38
Set Aoi 12 oj. cam
ORANGE JUICE 39'
COTTAGE
CHEESE
StoAAom littu. «JQc
7>iMt
29'
BLITZ BEER $1.89
12 pACp 11 Of. &Ua.
phtA dcpOACt
J
objective, he said is to obtain a universal, unconditional
amnesty for resisters to the war.
Tlusty , who enlisted in the Army for finance work,
said he was stationed at Vung Tau as a finance clerk
from March 1967 to March 1968 during the war.
After serving in Vietnam he was sent to Mannheim,
Germany where he was assigned to a supply unit until
July 1969, when his service obligation terminated, he
said.
Adrian Vaaler. last year’s WAW regional coordinator
for Oregon, accompanied Tlusty at the press conference.
Vaaler told newsmen the Oregon WAW was formed in
1969 in Portland, at which time there were only 15
members. Now there are 300 members in Oregon and
30,000 nationally, he said.
Asked what areas the Oregon WAW chapters will
concentrate in, Vaaler re-emphasized the areas of
universal amnesty and post-Vietnam syndrome.
Vaaler also said, “A veteran still needs tuition, books,
and living money” for beginning or returning to college
and that the “WAW wants to help the veterans in this
area.”
New bike routes recommended
The Westside Neighborhood Quality Project at its
monthly meeting last week approved a motion recom
mending the establishment of a bike route “by sign
only” on 12th Avenue from Chambers to Madison.
The motion also recommended the establishment of a
route from Madison and 12th Avenue to 15th Avenue. The
route suggested crosses Lincoln School and the Lane
County Fairgrounds.
Adoption of the motion followed a furious debate on a
proposal by Tom Chambliss recommending the
establishment of a 12th Avenue bike route using “some
kind of diverters or blockers or some other thing to stop
through traffic.”
Chambliss recommended the use of planters as
temporary diverters. He suggested their placement on
12th Avenue between Almaden and Taylor Street. Van
Buren and Jackson Street, Washington and Jefferson
Street, and Lincoln and Charnel ton Street.
Neighborhood residents objected to Chambliss’
proposal for various reasons.
The meeting also endorsed the Whiteaker Neigh
borhood group’s objections to the closure of the First
Avenue ramps at the Washington-Jefferson Street
Bridge. Besides citing the benefits for the Whiteaker
group, the motion also noted the beneficial effects of
reduced traffic in the west side.
In another traffic related measure, the meeting en
. dorsed a proposal by the Eugene Traffic Division to
establish truck routes in Eugene. Eugene councilman
Neil Murray said it would “get trucks off the neigh
borhood streets.”
The proposal, if approved by the State Highway
Division, would post signs for a truck route in the
Eugene area.
i n ii 111 ■ 111 ti 11 iii ifinii nuBfiiim fMiaMBfWinr yiiir-'r'Trr r • rgr rrirTHBflMtfmgtlwr
v 333338 > ~er Haw H lUUUIUIIIUIIUUmUIMMmi.I. » ■ nmmwmmm.. ...
Compromise kills emotionalism
By DAVE WOODSON
Of the Emerald
The smoke has settled. The emotionalism
is gone.
But after more than two weeks since the
Eugene Education Association (EEA) first
threatened reprisals against the Eugene
School Board, the question still hangs heavy
in the air—will the Eugene teachers go out on
strike?
Probably not.
The two-week delay since the Feb. 7
board meeting, when the salary issue was
dumped back in the laps of the budget com
mittee, has cost the teachers’ association.
| Analysis
It could be seen Monday night. The im
passioned pleas to the board that had
highlighted the Feb. 7 meeting were missing.
A representative of the EEA spoke Monday
night but he spoke calmly and with little
feeling.
The crowds of teachers that jammed the
auditorium and packed the nearby hallways
two weeks ago were not there.
It has become clear that the teacher’s
association has lost the initiative.
They lost the initiative as a result of one
of the oldest by-products of a democracy—the
compromise.
A compromise was reached last Thurs
day night when the school board raised the
starting base salary for Eugene teachers to
$7450. The board had originally offered $7,350.
and the teachers had demanded $7,550. The
$7,550 figure is the recommendation of an
outside fact finder
The compromise was a traditional
compromise—a dead-center fifty-fifty split.
Even the Eugene Federation of Teachers
(EFT), the local branch of the American
Federation of Teachers and although a
minority, the more militant of the two area
teachers’ organizations, has apparently
fallen in line.
At the Feb. 7 school board meeting,
representatives of the EFT had been passing
out strongly-worded strike literature. Mon
day night, a representative of the EFT spoke
to the school board. He urged them to pass the
higher salary scale but said, “I will not go on
strike for $100.”
Berg’s Nordic
Ski Shop
11th t Mill and
13th 3 Lawrence