OSPIRG campaigns for
consumer center
By MICHAEL KESTEN
Of the Emerald
The Oregon Student Public In
terest Research Group (OSPIRG)
today began a campaign to recruit
student volunteers to participate
in a community-oriented con
sumer help center.
The center, called the Con
sumer Education and Advocacy
Center (CEAC), will start operat
ing as soon as its volunteers are
trained, probably around the mid
dle of next month.
The center was established be
cause of a recognized need in the
Eugene-Springfield area for a citi
zens’ organization designed to
present local consumer problems
to business persons and the
Oregon Legislature.
“State consumer help agencies
and the local Better Business
Bureau are flooded with com
plaints which they can’t deal with
adequately because of inade
quate staff and funding, and politi
cal red tape,’’ said Craig Quinn,
one of three student coordinators
for the project.
Quinn continued, “There is a
need for a grass roots organiza
tion aware of consumer problems
to mediate between consumers
and business, and between the
consuming public and the Legisla
ture."
The center will operate five
days a week through the OSPIRG
office in the EMU. There will be a
consumer phone line for direct
complaints. A consumer educa
tion outreach program will be es
tablished for teaching consumers
their rights.
With the phone line as their
main link, combined with their fil
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ing system, operating procedure,
and reference libraries, the center
hopes to keep up on recurring
consumer problems and existing
legislation.
Dave Tobin, another student
coordinator who began research
for the center five months ago, has
found several reasons for the fail
ure of similar organizations.
"Consumer services fail most
often in the areas of follow-up,
consistent procedures, and per
sonal contact between the trou
bled complainant and the staff
person assigned to his case," he
said.
“State and federal consumer
agencies are too far removed from
the problems of the individual
consumer, and because of pres
sures from business and political
priorities, have a limited effective
ness,” Tobin said. He added.
"There is significant consumer
legislation on the books. The main
problem is that the average per
son doesn't know about it, or how
to use it."
The center is seeking dedicated
volunteers willing to work for credit
and experience. Becky Kuiken,
also a coordinator for the center,
emphasizes that "previous ex
perience in consumer protection
is helpful but not necessary We
are seeking students able to in
vest about six hours a week in the
center to monitor the phones,
write letters to businesses and
state agencies, participate in con
sumer education programs, and
present testimony at legislative
hearings."
All interested students are
urged to contact OSPIRG in Suite
3 of the EMU or call 686-4073 or
484-9405.
^0^0/<Q/ (Continued from Page9)
Returning to one theme of the
lecture series, Toelken said he
thinks the study of this kind of local
folklore can breathe life into the
nation's bicentennial observance.
"We keep having our attention
directed at the big dull things on
the horizon — to the famous peo
ple instead of to the main bulk of
humanity that built the country.
That's where the interesting
stories lie "
. __ .. (Continued
Phi Beta Kappa-tg^m».»
10 per cent of its senior class into the organization.
At the same time higher GPA's have caused Phi Beta
Kappa to raise its membership requirements and increase the
number of people on its selection committee to handle the
immense work load, grade inflation seems to have sparked a
growth in student interest in the organization.
"Student interest is stronger now than it has ever been
before," says Teresa Carp, visiting assistant professor of
classics and secretary-treasurer of Phi Beta Kappa, "mainly
because more and more people are becoming eligible
Ernest Lund, geology professor and chairman of Phi Beta
Kappa s selection committee, agrees "It has always been
high, but student interest waned a little dunng the rebellious
period of 1968-70 and a few students turned up their noses at
it." He says interest is now growing, "In fact, recently I've been
getting calls from students wanting to get in.
Carp reports she has also been contacted by students
interested in membership in the organization. She says things
have changed since she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in
1966 as a senior at Washington University, a small private
liberal arts college in St. Louis
“We considered it uncouth even to ask about the require
ments or how to get in, she says. “You were tapped by
powers beyond your control. Now students are actively seek
ing selection."
Greenfield estimates that about a hundred seniors are
invited each spring to join Phi Beta Kappa. Selection is made
in late May and new members are initiated at June com
mencement. In order to be eligible, a student must either be
enrolled in the college of Liberal Arts or have taken a number
of upper division liberal arts courses
Greenfield says selection is based primarily on GPA,
although the number of pass-no pass courses. I s and Wsona
student’s transcript will be taken into consideration. A student
must have attended this University for at least five terms to be
considered and only seniors are eligible for membership.
A list of students in the liberal arts college whose GPA's
qualify them for membership is provided Phi Beta Kappa by
the registrar’s office. However, each professional school is
charged with notifying the organization of its eligible students.
The growing number of students with high grade point
averages has increased the work load of the selection commit
tee in recent years, Greenfield says. Made up of faculty who
are Phi Beta Kappa members, the selection committee was
increased from 4 to 10 members this year.
Although student interest seems to be on the rise, Green
field admits she had doubts about the support the University's
Phi Beta Kappa had among campus faculty.
'For a time I was afraid that we would have to let it fold,''
she says. However, an informal poll she conducted in January
showed that only two of the faculty members responding to her
questionnaire favored disbanding the organization. She said
the main complaint was that election comes too late in the year
to be of help to students in gaining admittance to medical or
graduate school and that new members are initiated foo late to
take an active role in the organization s business.
Once a student has been invited to join Phi Beta Kappa,
$15 buys a lifetime membership and the right to include that
membership on resumes and applications.
Although the national chapter sponsors lectures, gives
book awards, maintains scholarships and publishes a
magazine (The American Scholar), Greenfield says the local
chapter exists mainly to recognize outstanding academic
achievement. “It is still one of the most prestigious honors a
student can receive for academic excellence," she says.