Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1973)
Photo by Norman Choi 'Education should be an exciting experience,’ says new special student coordinator Lee Merrick. New coordinator to help special students By MIKE PIERSON Of the Emerald “Education should be an exciting experience...not something we put in the way of kids to prove that they have the right to be in society,” said Lewis Merrick in an interview with the Emerald. Merrick was recently named Coordinator, Services for Special Students by the Chancellor’s Office. Merrick’s job is largely to “coordinate existing efforts” to reach special students (minorities, veterans, ex-convicts, and other disadvantaged) throughout the state. Calling it “just a matter of coordination and exposure,” Merrick said he will attempt to make students aware of the opportunities and agencies available to them at the University and other schools in the Oregon State System of Higher Education. Although his office is in Eugene, Merrick stated he hoped to “be as involved in all the campuses as I am here.” In addition to other responsibilities, Merrick will supervise the Portland BOOST Program, a federally funded talent search agency in the state. One of the main functions Merrick has is contacting potential students and exposing them to resources, so “people have the op portunity to explore and develop what they’re really good at.” Before coming to Oregon, Merrick spent six years working at the Educational Clearinghouse for central Los Angeles. From 1967-1973 the program placed over 5000 students in more than 600 different institutions across the country. For the past four years Merrick served as the programs’s director. “There are geniuses in this country who will never be exposed because educators never found them,” Merrick said. “We should find them.” Merrick discussed his experience, saying he had been “basically a college counselor” for the last seven years. He said he had “never met a student who really didn’t want to learn,” and often worked with students “no one thought would go to college.” In addition to finding potential students in Oregon, Merrick commented that there is also a need “to help students who are already admitted. We’ve got to find out what their obstacles are once they get here.” Saying he had “special educational needs” when he was in school, the 32-year-old Merrick said he understood the problems special students face. However, he noted that “students have special problems, not because they’re minorities, not just because they’re poor. They don’t know what’s here for them.” Merrick also talked about an enthusiasm for education “we nee<jl to share” with students. "There are still frontiers in American that have not been touched...frontiers that young people can build.” He said students “shouldn’t be discouraged because we’ve already discovered the atom. Discover your own atoms.” Chile focus of Coalition program By SANDY DAL PORTO Of the Emerald Chile, the scene of a recent military overthrow, was the focus of the Eugene Coalition Liberation Support Movement’s program last Thursday night in the EMU. The evening of poetry, film, a guerrilla theater and speaker Fernando Arias, ex pressed the Coalition’s sympathy of the Chileans’ plight. Chilean Fernando Arias, a University graduate student in economics, voiced frustration over the military dictatorship’s bloody executions of thousands of working class- people. Though reports out of Chile have stated executions number in the hun dreds, Arias notes Newsweek magazine and personal reports that calculate deaths toll in the thousands. Looking at the three years of Allende’s governmental programs, Arias cites them as benefiting the poverty conditions of the working class who now face destruction of any future progress. A film, “Campamento”, exemplified the people’s success during Allende’s presidency. Allowed to organize and lead themselves, the poverty populace “who refuse to die”, took over a slum area, a “campamento”, and began building New Havana. Because of this self-initiated will, Arias predicts trouble ahead for the new government. Most Chileans, he retorted, are against military dictatorship. Though the people are presently trapped in a turmoil of fear and confusion, he believes they will not allow their past success to be so easily wiped out. To fully comprehend the change in Chile’s government, Arias stressed examining weaknesses in the Allende democracy, weaknesses which make it an easy target for the coup. Internally, Chile’s radical left party, was pressuring Allende for more reforms while on the other hand, young fascists were growing to want change. Leftist and military groups divided the country. Externally, funds from AID (the US. Agency for In ternational Development) were denied to Chile and Allende’s access to foreign markets such as the World Bank was cut off. Legal suits in Europe by companies as Kennecott Copper which owns Chilean mines, brought pressure to Allende’s government. These problems weakened the President’s strength. Peggy Brammer, a Eugene Coalition member, says while U.S. economic aid was cut off in most areas, funding was still available to the military. This Brammer claims, promoted the military’s power to oust Allende. The Eugene Coalition will have an information table this week on the EMU terrace concerning Chile’s present day condition. Wednesday nights at 7:30 the Coalition meets in the EMU. We shall have music... Because people refrained from smoking at the John Denver Concert, it looks like there will be more music for sale at McArthur Court this year. The Denver concert was the first student sponsored concert held at Mac Court since the Youngbloods appeared two years ago. The Saturday-night near sell-out crowd of 5,500 appeared to be generally well-behaved. An official from the Concerts West promotional agency attributed the behavior to the type of crowd. “We’ve found the ticket with acts like John Denver and the type of crowd he draws. We will plan some soft, popular groups for this place starting in November. We can’t handle any “boogie” groups because the crowd gets too wild.” Concerts already scheduled for the EMU ballroom, however, will not be moved. Taj Mahal and Leo Kottke don’t draw big crowds, the official explained. The Eugene Fire Marshal, who makes the final decision ^ smoking situation, was unavailable for comment. A MALE CHA VINIS T PIG NITE During the Pro-game Mon. Oct 8 Special POUNDER Sale THtKfcS aawmic shop,-just off r*e. cam?us , 860tA*Tl3* FOL* l*JO aUXUAKr Cufcic SHOT,THIS -For it stocks V& HI-FI Stuff ■ exT~ cer era -t^LNPj IF wei^Ni )TALSO YOU -Mf.-THlUlMNq AWd EORQE^S^ ©£/A*S7^2Cjf: S7"^ 8XSJN WAShin«&oaw>.I><. .... 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