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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1973)
Commentary Students face aid cuts if bill fails By VALERIE MC INTYRE Within the next few weeks, President Nixon is expected to veto the Labor Health, Education and Welfare Ap propriation bill. This bill includes in creases in federal student financial aid (including grants, loans, and work study ) to the tune of $400 million, over the amount available this fall. The veto controversy arises because Congress has appropriated over $1.3 billion above the amounts President Nixon requested for Labor-HEW programs. In essence, the controversy is on national priorities: Defense Depart ment related spending vs. social and domestic program spending. If Congress does not overide the veto, students will not only lose $400 million, mostly in Basic Opportunity Grants, Guaranteed Student Loans (7 per cent interest bank loans) and matching funds for State Scholarship Programs, but many thousands will not be able to return to school next September. In addition, the $400 million loss of revenue will cause increasing deficits at many colleges, precipitating sharp increases in tuition for all students next fall. An analogous case last week, Congress fell 23 votes short of overriding the President’s veto on the Minimum Wage Bill and the hourly wage was only 10c (per hour) over his request. Our Congressman, John Dellenback, (R-Dis. 41), was the only Oregon Congressperson of the six who did not vote to override the veto. The concept of equal access and equal opportunity for all students cannot be met if there is not adequate funding for either the new Basic Opportunity Grants Program (BOG) or the three traditional student assistance programs. While the goal of BOG is to insure that every student has an opportunity to attend college, it is unrealistic if institutions do not have the funds to guarantee that the student who needs help does not leave school prematurely due to financial difficulties. Why encourage a student to start college with a large grant and then offer little or no economic assistance during the rest of the college career? You can affect the outcome of this controversy! This is the most important vote of the year for the financing of college education. If you agree, please send the following (or similar), message to your Congressperson: Honorable Wendall Wyatt, A1 Ullman, Edith Green or John Dellenback U S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 Honorable Mark Hatfield or Bob Pack wood U.S. Senate Washington D C. 20510 We urge the override of veto of Labor HEW Appropriations bill. College students will lose $400 million if the Labor-HEW bill is not passed. As a result, thousands of students will drop out of school. Cut will also create a financial crisis within colleges, resulting in sharp tuition increases next fall. We further urge elimination of “need tests” in Guaranteed Student Loans (7 per cent interest bank loans). Need test since March, 1973 has resulted in an intolerably 40 per cent cut in student bank loans, mostly for students from families with incomes from $11,000 to $15,000 per year. Note: Valerie McIntyre is regional director of the National Student Lobby. Letters Some Weird Baloney Listen, buddy, don’t give me that baloney about me being weird! Summer is coming, you turkey; its only nine months away. At least I know how to spell: The word is “suicide” not “sucicide’T Why don’t you get on the ball. I’m beginning to think the editors of the Emerald spend three-quarters of their time getting drunk, and the remaining portion unediting everyone's correctly spelled articles and commentarys. Today it’s “suicicide” and “Quaker Backers,” next thing you know they will be talking about “President Nickson," the “University of Orygone,” and “Vice- President Mildew,” Why don’t all you weirdos get your asses in gear0 Lee Siegel Obscure Studies Editor's note. Mr. Siegel, who wrote a commentary for last Wednesday's Emerald, is understandably annoyed at the incorrect headline which topped his superb piece of humor. However, Mr. Siegel will get satisfaction from us on the day he learns how to spell the plural of “commentary.” Knowing Mr. Siegel as we do. that could take some time. Brutal Thieu Despite the signing of the peace agreement in Januafy, and despite the withdrawal of American combat troops, (here is no peace in Vietnam. The Thieu regime, more brutal and ruthless than ever, has carried its campaign of repression to unprecedented levels. It has turned the cities of South Vietnam into police states in which all persons must carry identity cards and be subject to constant harassment, in which tens of thousands are arrested in massive police sweeps, in which 200,000-300,000 political prisoners are subjected to torture, brutality and inhumanity in an attempt to destroy all opposition to an unpopular dictator. The United States bears a direct responsibility for the maintenance of this state of terror. The U.S. provides 90 per cent of Thieu’s budget and all of his military establishment. If this aid were to cease, most economists agree the Thieu government would collapse immediately. There are still about 10,000 U.S. “civilian” advisers, many of them CIA, working with the regime’s police, military, prison of ficials and economic planners. It is clear to all who look that the Vietnam war is not over and will not be over until the U.S. ceases to interfere in Vietnamese affairs. The Eugene Peace Action Committee (EPAC) is a coalition of Eugene groups working against this interference and against the repressive police state of the Thieu regime. It invites all concerned TflfcJW* PXr - FIRE!!' persons to attend its weekly meetings each Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Newman Center, 1850 Emerald St., just south of the campus. John Lanier 575 Kingswood Avenue Senior, Journalism Anti-theft devices Could the Emerald or ASUO investigate the possibility of installing bicycle anti theft devices on the parking meters ad joining the campus? A simple way to construct one would be to weld a small peice of chain to each meter pole. Then the bike riders would have a secure lock in stead of risking that a thief merely lifts bikes over the top of the meters. Bruce P. Kebbekus GTF Finance it’s money, folks I’ll tell you, unabashedly, that I’m a music addict, and since an FM radio is the only sound source in my apartment, it’s tuned in all the time. I’m all too familiar with KZEL and with the “new contender” mentioned in last Thursday’s letters column, KFMY. “AM idiotosis” is, unfortunately, a progressive disease that affects, even tually, all stations; all stations, that is, that run commercials. It works like this: in order to sell commercial time, they overlap “'oo” much with their AM com petitors. But when was the last time you were listening to either of the “FM un dergrounders” and you heard Captain Beefheart? Or Dory Previn? Or Harry Partch, for that matter? If the stuff doesn’t sell records, it stands to reason it won’t sell commercial air-time either. It all comes down to money. As long as they’ve got to sell their time, they’ve got to play the stuff that sells, say their names and their call-letters alot, and talk real cool. Let me recommend two non-commercial FM stations in the area. On KLCC, around 90 mhz, you can catch two hours of only very-briefly-interrupted jazz, every af ternoon from 5 until 7 on “Jazz 120.” And on the University’s own KWAX, at 91.1 mhz, there is experimental alternative programming every weeknight from midnite to 2 a.m. Both these stations are on about 14 hours a day, and play a wide variety of musics, news, and public af fairs. And the important thing to remember is that it’s not commercial. Nobody’s selling out. Tune in. George Lederer Senior, Broadcast Communications Paying the Piper What O’Halloran’s article in Wed nesday’s Emerald amounts to is: If I have more money than you have, I’m a better fan. If I have more money than you have, I’m a better student. If I have more money than you have, I have more school spirit. A real Quacker Backer is a person who proudly says, “I’m an Oregon fan.” Not a person who says, “I have season tickets to all the football games. I have season tickets to all the basketball games. I have season tickets to all the track meets. I have season tickets...” If my money is used to help support the Athletic Department, I have a right to purchase a seat for a reasonable price when my wallet can afford it — when I choose. If I pay the piper, I’m going to dance to the music. P.H. “Pal” Willard III Rm. 204, Burgess—Hamilton Sophomore Business Administration