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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1974)
Vol. 76, No. 60 Eugene, Oregon 97403 _,1_ M™, 1*1 1Q ~!A Indian Summer II continues today. — Those autumn leaves Leaves clamor into bucket as hibernation for winter begins. Initiative 13 repeal sought A group of Linn-Benton Community College students are organizing a state-wide petition drive to repeal section four of Measure 13, the newly ratified law dealing with restrictions on pornography. The Citizens Coalition is concerned with the selling and distribution of pornographic material. Mike Irving, spokesperson, emphasized the group is not advocating massage parlors or prostitution. Irving will be at the University at 3 p.m. Thursday (room to be posted) setting up a campus committee to work on collecting the 55,000 signatures needed before Dec. 2 when the law will go into effect. The group currently has 86 volunteers working to set up petition committees on all of Orgon's campuses. Newly elected state Sen. John Powell (Linn-Benton) has stated he feels the current legislation is unconstitutional and he is contemplating endorsing the Citizens Coalition's efforts. Irving also said the ACLU is considering taking legal action against the measure as it is now stated. Money squeeze hits University Editor's note: This is the second in the series on the financial state of the University Today's article is an overview of the College of Liberal Arts. Each department within the college will be in a separate article in the weeks ahead. Tomorrow: the depart ment of history. By SHAWN ROSS ITER Of the Emerald There hasn't been any significant increase in the service and supplies budget for the College of Liberal Arts since 1966. Some departments have not had any increase since 1962. University departments are going without speakers, field trips and equip ment due to lack of funds. Departmental professors are forced to provide their own paper, pencils and other basic classroom supplies themselves because the University can't afford enough money to maintain departments at past, higher levels, according to Dean of Liberal Arts Robert Albrecht. Each University department has suffered some degree of financial cutting to the point where several are sacrificing their educational status. Faculty moral is dropping. "It looks as if the University will begin to lose important faculty members unless the (financial) situation improves next year," Albrecht said. "We have already lost two of the better, young scientists (from Physics and Chemistry) last year." Causes for the current hardships within the College of Liberal Arts is a lack of state and legislative support for higher education, particularly at this University, and competition within the State Board of Higher Education for distribution of the limited funds allocated by the legislature The Oregon System of Higher Education includes three universities and four colleges which are all lobbying for slices of the State Board budget. Last May, former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (which includes 20 departments, seven programs and two museums) Paul Holbo blamed the University's financial problems on the "persistent inadequacy of our supporting services, facilities and materials which have been worsened by the severe surge of inflation.” Only one incumbent local legislator and one candidate for election to the state legislature at Robert Albrecht that time had spoken publicly of the University's financial plight, Holbo said. "Unfortunately, few educational institutions of our standing have so little by way of independent resources and are so helpless..." Albrecht said the University's financial problem lies in state legislature and Oregon State Board of Higher Education distribution of funds. "Very few (University) people quarrel with the division of money within the University," he said. "We're all in the same boat." Another reason for the financial floor falling out from under the departments at this time is the expiration of a federal loan fellowship program which contributed extra monies to in dividual departments. The program, National Defense Education Act (NDEA) fellowship program, added funds per student participating to the department involved with the student's education. The monies were meant for additional educational support in the individual departments, but were used, in some areas, to maintain the operations of the department. Several departments felt forced to use the NDEA money, according to Albrecht, to support necessary services and equipment "to pay for things the state board should have been financing." Since the NDEA program ended a couple of years ago, departments have been confronting the financial crunch with little money to fall back on. Departments are meeting this crunch by cutting back supplies, equipment, telephone use, postage, transportation, and mimeographing; and eliminating air mail, long distance calls and field trips. Weekly trips to Oregon State University for mathematics students who used to visit the class of a world famous mathematician are also out (there's no money to rent a state car). The philosophy department, in the last two years, hasn't been able to afford airplane fare bet ween Portland and Eugene for guest lecturers. "Situations like this have to affect the quality of education in the department," Albrecht stressed. The University Theter has needed a new curtain for years, Albrecht added, but there hasn't (Continued on Page 8) In this issue... Warren Morgan takes a probing look at the problems of tenants at Sunshine Acres, page 3. South Africa is voted out of the United Nations General Assembly, page 9. Ken Doctor chews the fat about chewing gum in The Beef Box, page 6. Steve Frederick examines the availability of consumer credit, page 10.