Diplomat gives views
on French lib movement
By LAURA BRENNER
Of the Emerald
The growing dissatisfaction of women in today’s
societies and their demands for equality are strongly
represented by the French women’s movement. The
liberation of the French women appears as an even
greater anomaly in French society than does the
liberation movement of American women, due to the
extreme male dominance of French society.
Roland Husson, cultural attache for France in San
Francisco and personality-in-residence last week at the
University dormitories, spoke Tuesday night on the topic
of French women’s role in the 70’s. Husson, explaining
himself as a “male chauvinist pig with some flexibility,”
did extensive research in the area of sexism and, in fact,
organized his speech around the major topics of Second
Sex, by Simone de Beauvoir, a book which he spoke of as
a major work in the field of women’s liberation.
French society developed in a very different way than
American society, and French women have had to
struggle through deeply entrenched throught which may
have begun in the Middle Ages. First of all is “the
tremendous impact of the Catholic church and its
definition of woman in relation to man.
Husson believes the role of women began to change in
France with the industrial revolution which drew women
out of the family unit and put them into factories. Laws
in France where slow to change even with the activities
of women in society because of the Code Napoleon, a
strict civil guide set forth by Napoleon to order society
and which kept women in their place.
For example, it wasn’t until 1906 that women were
allowed to keep their wages. Until 1945 women did not
have the right to vote in France In 1967 contraception
was legalized, and in 1965 the right of women to practice
a profession despite the husbands’ disapproval was
acknowledged.
“Don’t misunderstand...the law is often, how do you
say, backward. It would very accurate to say ‘Gee, what
a barbarous country,”’ commented Husson. The laws
may be on the books but in practice are without im
portance.
In 1970 the women’s liberation movement in France
organized a conference in Versailles for the purpose of
consolidating women’s efforts and demands. After a
three day conference including 30-40 panel discussion
and 30 committees, a set of demands was issued. The
first demand was for sex education in school. The second
was for the availability of free contraception for every
girl when she reached the age where she could get
pregnant. As the law stands today, a girl more than 18
may get contraception, but below that age the girl must
have the consent of her parents. One of the main
problems in getting this idea accepted is the strength of
the French family in the society. Parents in France still
have strong control over their children until they are 21.
The third demand was legalize abortion. The law
today allows only therapeutic abortions, whereas the
women would have it legalized for any woman at her
request. In a recent poll on abortion a third of the women
wanted no abortion at all, a third wanted only
therapeutic abortions legalized, and a third wanted all
abortions legalized.
Concerning women in professions and politics, Husson
feels that while progress has been made legally, there is
a big discrepancy between law and reality.
Husson felt that although the women’s liberation
movement in France is becoming more vocal, and
certain of its demands are getting accepted by French
society, “we must be cautious,” in thinking that the
tYench woman is truly liberated.
Photo by Jacques Beteinber
Roland Husson
Bargaining unit
now a necessity
for OSEAprofs,
says Polanski
■ i
By RICK WORTHINGTON
Of the Emerald
With the prospect of a no-growth university in
mind for the foreseeable future, the local chapter of
the Oregon State Employees Association (OSEA)
met last Wednesday to discuss various aspects of
faculty collective bargaining. OSEA is currently
attempting to unionize faculty throughout the
state’s higher education system.
According to Gil Polanski of OSEA
headquarters in Salem, “The boom in higher
education is finished for a long time to come.”
In summarizing the issues of faculty collective
bargaining at the meeting, Polanski claimed the
relevant question is not about the existence of
collective bargaining, but what forms it will take.
Polanski cited a number of pressures on higher
education which will ultimately force faculty to
organize to defend their interests in one way or
another. These pressures include competition from
community colleges, long term declines in
enrollment, and continued funding difficulties.
Oregon higher education faculty are already
feeling the effects of these pressures where it hurts
most — in the pocketbook. According to Everett
Stiles of OSEA, a plan established by the state
legislature in 1957 stipulated that Oregon salaries in
higher education should rank tenth on a list of 19
institutions of higher education selected from
around the nation. But since 1957, Oregon’s rank
has dropped from tenth to a low of s ixteenth for the
years 1967 through 1970. Oregon is currently fif
teenth on the list.
If the proposal for a five per cent salary in
crease for faculty currently before the legislature
passes, Polanski siad, faculty members would
“realize a net loss in income for next year.”
Neil Wilson, professor in the School of Music
and the chairman of the University chapter of
OSEA claimed that the major obstacle preventing
faculty organization is apathy. There are currently
225 OSEA members at the University. More than
twice that number would be needed to constitute an
effective organization. Furthermore, Wilson
stated, even members of OSEA at the University
have shown little interest in active participation in
the organization.
Even if collective bargaining units are
established at the various campuses in the Oregon
State system, there is some conflict over whether or
not they should unite as one organization. OSEA’s
position is that they should.
Yet Wilson claimed that some of the opposition
that he has heard among University faculty comes
from persons concerned with preserving local
autonomy. Specifically, Wilson said many faculty
fear that the relatively privileged position of
University faculty within the state system in such
areas as salary, teaching loads, and the opportunity
for research, would be endangered by membership
in a statewide organization.
Wilson’s own response to that objection was
that if there is a rational basis for those privileges,
then they would persist. If not, then they would
eventually be lost anyway.
The most important non-salary issue facing
faculty and requiring organized response, ac
cording to Polanski, is faculty control over tenure
and promotion policies. Polanski repeatedly
referred to a recent policy proposal on tenure and
promotion which was formulated primarily by the
State Board of Higher Education and which faculty
have no legal right to accept or reject.
Polanski noted that this particular policy would
forbid granting tenure or promotion in a depart
ment if the subsequent salary increase forced the
department’s budget over the amount allocated by
the University.
In this case Polanski said: “If 85 per cent of the
faculty in your department are tenured, you might
have to waituntil someone dies or retires before you
can be granted tenure.”
Of the 225 University chapter members of
OSEA, approximately 25 attended Wednesday’s
meeting.
Speaker explains
Jesus’ word magic
By STEPHEN VAJDA
Of the Emerald
Robert Funk, a member of the
department of religious studies at
the University of Montana,
delivered a speech titled “The
Magic Beyond Truth” to a small
gathering in the EMU last
Tuesday.
Funk is a leading authority on
the New Testament and is a
competent Greek grammarian.
He has received a Fulbright
Senior Fellowship and a
Guggenheim Fellowship and has
just won a scholarship from the
American Council of Learning
Society. He is also editor for the
Journal of Theology and the
Church.
Prior to teaching at the
University of Montana he taught
at Vanderbilt and Drew
universities.
In the introduction to his
speech, Funk said he was in
terested in “the use of non-literal
language in the West,” and the
parables of Jesus in particular.
He claimed that there is not a
large amount of explicit language
in the teachings of Jesus and that
Jesus did this on purpose.
To illustrate his contention,
Funk quoted from the New
Testament Mark 12: 13-17, a
parable which ends, “Render to
Caesar the things that are
Caesar’s and to God the things
that are God’s.”
Funk said that many people
who have read this famous
parable have complained
because it did not contain explicit
instructions of the followers of
Jesus. Funk, however, said that
here Jesus is using the non
explicit language of irony.
By use of irony, Funk said,
Jesus confounds the Pharisees
who are attempting to entrap him
and at the same time emphasizes
what little signifigance are the
things of Caesar in relation to
those of God.
Funk said this is one of the
ways in which the language of
Jesus goes beyond the limits of
our known world. “We trample
over his words looking for ex
plicitness,” Funk said. “Jesus
was a word magician.”
Speaking about himself, Funk
said he began as a New
Testament scholar and Greek
grammarian, but has since
developed an interest in literary
criticism.
Segments of a book he has
written that will soon be
published is titled “Jesus as
Precursor”. In it he relates
Jesus as the precursor to such
modern literary authors as Franz
Kafka, Samuel Beckett, Henry
Miller, and John Fowles.
‘Friends’ elect officers
Officers of the Friends of the Library, a voluntary organization
which supports special needs of the University Library, have been
elected for 1973-74.
Ms. J.C. Keever has been named vice-chairman and chairman
elect. David Dougherty was elected last year to the same position and
will serve as chairman for 1973-74.
Elected to the board of directors for three-year terms are Ms.
Jonathan Benjamin, Ms. Chapin Clark, Ethan Newman, Douglas
Spencer, and O. Steen Whiteside.