dailv'enieraid
V/ An Indenendent Student Newsnaner
An Independent Student Newspaper
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Vo*. 76. No. m. I L,T
Wednesday, May 21, 1975
Women’s coach recalls
basketball in a dark gym
By JEFF NIELSON
Of the Emerald
When Backy Sisley came to the
University in 1965, opportunities
for intercollegiate-level competi
tion with other schools were
somewhat limited. For the then
established women's sports,
there was no mechanism for na
tional competition. And for some
sports, it was just the beginning.
"The first year I coached...it was
basketball... we met one night a
week for one and a half hours of
practice inside the old, dark gym in
Gerlinger,” said Miss Sisley, as
her charges call her.
“We had no uniforms, so we
wore the gym suit service clothes.
And we had three games, with a
sports day at Oregon State.”
Today, Sisley can usually be
found on the move. In the fall,
notebook in hand, she prowls the
sidelines of a playing field with her
winning women’s field hockey
team. When spring comes to
Eugene, the women’s "home"
softball field at Amazon Park is
where Sisley spends much of her
time. Add on top of that the super
vision of the University's 11
women’s sports programs (Sisley
is the head of the Women’s Inter
collegiate Athletic program at
Oregon) and you have, as Sisley
estimates, “an 80-hour-a-week
job.”
Nonetheless, Sisley, who
taught for two years in Wisconsin
before coming to Oregon, enjoys
her job — and Eugene.
“Oregon itself, the campus, is a
good place to be," says the
women s coach, who originally
hails from Seattle. “Others in the
academic field wonder why peo
ple stay here because the working
conditions definitely need improv
ing, in terms of salary and hours
put in. But Eugene is a good place
to be, and the students here are
much nicer than some I’ve met at
other schools."
But there are some worries
ahead for Sisley, who has been
the head of the WIA since the
program split from the WRA
(Women's Recreation Associa
tion) two years ago. At a recent
deliberation in front of the Inciden
tal Fee Committee (IFC) the IFC
voted zero funding for the WIA,
which submitted a budget of ap
proximately $200,000.
Sisley sees much of the funding
problems for WIA coming from a
lack of understanding about the
women’s programs.
‘‘Most people don't even realize
that the WIA and the WRA are
separate,” Sisley said. “And even
fewer people realize that the WIA
is part of the physical education
department, not the AD. None of
our coaches are full-time paid
coaches, and all of our money
does not oome from the Athletic
Department."
Where should the money for
women’s sports come from if not
from the IFC? Sisley has looked
into that problem, also.
“The amount of money for
women's coaches should come
from state funds, as it does in
smaller schools, such as SOC and
OCE,” said Sisley. “That portion,
at least, should be state funded
but we re under a handicap, since
Oregon is a larger school and the
men’s programs give scholar
ships.”
At OSU, women s sports are
supported largely by student inci
dental fees, Oregon State’s stu
dent senate recently approved a
budget of $120,000 for women’s
sports next year. Other support is
forthcoming from the president’s
office.
There is one other option that
has been advanced for women’s
sports at the University — the
combination of both men’s and
women's sports in the athletic de
partment. Although she doesn’t
oppose the idea, Sisley looks at
this plan with caution.
“Our major concern is combin
ing (with the AD) is whether the
women would still have a voice in
the running of their programs. The
men’s programs are off on such a
different tangent.” said Sisley,
“that we’d like to keep them sepa
rate. If we could get our necessary
operating budget and still stay in
the physical education depart
ment, things would be okay.”
“Besides,” continued Sisley,
“when you talk about the AD,
you’re talking about two aspects
— revenue producing sports and
minor sports. Some of the minor
men’s sports have to scramble
just as much as we do.”
But for Becky Sisley and others
who have seen the women’s prog
rams at Oregon go from gym ser
vice suits and dark gyms to five
days-a-week practices and field
hockey in Autzen Stadium, the fut
aire must hold a little brightness.
Why do women compete?
“The girls aren’t out here to en
tertain anyone,” says Sisley,
"They’reout here for the competi
tion — and to be able to talk to the
other team after a game and ap
preciate each other on a personal
level.”
Photo by Beth Van Deusen
Becky Sisley
Bargaining bill
held in House
By WALTER BENSON
Of the Emerald
Although House Bill 3043, providing students a role in fa
culty collective bargaining, received a “do-pass” recommen
dation from the House Committee on Education and School
Finance, it has been referred to a second committee for further
consideration, acccording to Kirby Garrett, ASUO vice
president.
When initially introduced, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Ted
Kulongoski (D-Eugene) was assigned to the Education and
School Finance Committee, with subsequent referral to the
Labor and Business Affairs committee. Garrett says the As
sociated Oregon Student Lobby (AOSL), through consultation
with Kulongoski, expected the bill to reach the floor this week.
Garrett anticipated Kulongoski calling for consent ap
proval to send HB-3043 directly to the floor. Since it now heads
to another committee, Garrett fears time is running out, as the
Legislature expects to adjourn the first week of June.
“We (the AOSL) are really disappointed in the subsequent
referral of the bill, that it did not go directly to the floor as
anticipated,” he says. “Part of the reason for the referral is that
the bill is not one of Kulongoski’s priorities, although it is a biq
issue for us.”
“The bill received a complete and thorough hearing in the
education committee,” he added, “and we see no need to
delay action on tlie bill by sending it to labor. If it wasn’t so
dose to the end of the session, the referral to Labor wouldn’t
present any great difficulty. But with only a couple weeks left in
the session, this appears to be a move to kill the bill.”
Gene Whallon, (D-Milwaukie), chairer of the Labor and
Business Affairs Committee, has designated Thursday for a
hearing on the bill. Should it receive a favorable response in
this committee, Garrett says it should be on the House floor for
third reading by the middle of next week.
Once to the floor, Garrett expressed uncertainty as to the
bill's passage. “The sentiment is hard to ascertain,” he says.
“We certainly don’t have the necessary majority, yet — we ll
be happy if we receive 20 of the 60 votes. At least the bill will be
heard and we’ll know who our ‘friends and foes’ are.” He says
having the bill heard, so it will be debated and voted on, is the
main thrust of the effort this year.
Should HB-3043 pass the House, it would be sent to the
Senate and referred to another committee. At best, Garrett
hopes for a Senate vote the final week of the session, although
he admits the session may adjourn before a vote can he held.
Between legislative sessions, Garrett plans to draft col
lective bargaining legislation for the smaller, more specialized
bills,” he says. Although HB-3043 is not now what the AOSL
would really like to see, Garrett terms it a good first step to build
on in the future.
Pomo bill frees schools,
museums,
libraries
A much-weakened bill to limit
the scope of the state’s new obs
cenity law passed the House
Tuesday, by an unanimous vote of
the 53 representatives present.
Adult book stores, theaters and
other disseminaters of possibly
obscene material will still be liable
for prosecution under Oregon
Law, Chap. 699, Sec 4. The first
three sections of the law, passed
as Ballot Measure 13 November,
have been uncontested. They
concern prostitution and other sex
offenses.
The bill passed does not rede
fine obscentity, nor change the
penalty for disseminating materi
als that can be ruled obscene in
jury trial. It does protect, "emp
loyes of bona fide public libraries,
schools or museums” from being
prosecuted “while acting in the
scope of their regular employ
ment.”
Sen. Ed Fadley, D-Eugene,
originally sponsored a bill to
legalize dissemination of possibly
obscene materials to people 21
years or older.
That bill died in the Senate Edu
cation Committee, where Fadeley
introduced it.
According to Nina Cleveland,
lobbying for the Oregon Library
Association, ‘‘Opposition from the
senators came on the grounds
that the people had just told them
what they wanted in the
November elections, and they
couldn't turn around and tell them,
‘ I’m sorry, but you were wrong.’ ”
Strongest opposition to
Fadeley's original bill came from
the Arch-Diocese and Council of
Catholic Women, Cleveland said.
Some of the original bill's
strongest support came from the
Senior Citizens’ Lobby in Lane
County, she said.
The bill now goes to Gov. Bob
Straub's staff to be reviewed.
Straub has 10 days to sign or re
ject the bill.