Oregon daily emerald., April 13, 1976, Page 4, Image 4

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ode analysis»
Next year test
Editor's note: Today's issue of the Emerald marks the start of a
new editorial page feature, ODE Analysis. This column is de
signed to give Emerald staff members a chance to step out of
their usual roles as news reporters in order to analyze and
comment on topics they cover.
By PAUL WALDSCHMIDT
Emerald Editorial Page Editor
The Incidental Fee Committee (IFC) approved Saturday a
$46,186 budget for legal services. This budget represents more
than twice the amount spent last year in the area of legal services.
Of the $46,186, $22,200 is earmarked for low-cost legal aid
to students. This aid, about the same amount spent last year for
the same services, is in the form of client counseling services for
students on a one-to-one basis with local attorneys.
Also coming out of the $46,186 figure is $1,962 to continue
the ASUO’s dormitory-tennis court suit against the State Board of
Higher Education.
The remaining $22,024 of the budget belongs to an entirely
new program, the Office of Student Advocacy (OSA). This pro
gram, a first in the nation according to ASUO Pres. Jim Bernau, is
aimed at protecting students as a group from “institutional in
terests."
The office, an “umbrella-type of structure,” will include a
research and development section, funded at $5,000; a full-time
professional law consultant, at $12,500; a reserve fund for
emergency litigation plans, at $4,000; and temporary work-study
help, at $524.
At first glance the total budget looks like a nuge, unpre
cedented increase over last year’s. Approximately half the
amount, however, will be used to support an already existing
program, client counseling. This program was highly successful
last year. It provided students access to low-cost legal help on
such problems as landlord-tenant disputes and minor court has
sles.
The rest of the budget, for OSA, will be used for what could
become a landmark pilot program for the protection of students
against such entrenched interests as the University administra
tion and the State Board of Higher Education.
In explaining the program, Bernau used the example of the
ASUO's suit against the state board over the construction of
tennis courts with dormitory revenues. If successful, this suit
could return over half-million dollars to the University’s dormitory
system.
In addition to the tennis court suit, there have been other
times this year when some added legal manpower in the ASUO
could have made the difference between success or failure for
student causes.
Two cases in point are the issues of student control of Mac
Court and the recent tuition hike. Another issue likely to heat up in
the near future is student control of the EMU. Given more of a
legal edge, the ASUO’s chances of success should increase.
It is, of course, too early yet to predict how well the OSA will
work out, but the potential is there. Next year will be the test.
V,
J
Letters—
Actively working
Your March 31 article pre
sented a confusing picture of the
Revolutionary Student Brigade
(RSB) including several factual er
rors. The best way to clear up
these errors is to talk about what
we’re about and what we do.
The RSB is a national com
munist student organization with
chapters on more than 50 cam
puses across the country. All
around us we see things we need
like education and day care being
cut back, major cities going to hell,
growing unemployment, every
thing costing more, an increasing
possibility of war. Most of us
joined RSB because, in trying to
fight one after another of these
abuses, we learned that
capitalism can’t be reformed to
provide all the things that people
need. The only way we’re going to
get what we need and end such
attacks in the long run is to get rid
of the whole rotten system, which
is run by a tiny handful for their
own profit. The RSB is working to
build a broad and powerful stu
dent movement as a part of the
overall revolutionary movement to
throw out this decaying system
and build in its place a society that
can meet our needs.
The RSB actively works to build
struggles on campus that point the
finger at this real enemy and or
ganize students to fight the vari
ous attacks coming down. There's
no need to concoct “issues" to
fight about; people are forced to
fight back against attacks every
day. The tuition hike that was put
through here last month is one
such attack coming down on stu
dents. RSB actively built the fight
against the hike because that’s
the only way we re going to stop
such attacks and keep from get
ting pushed out of school. We
know we can win victories—like
the 800 New Jersey students who
last month stormed a Board of
Regents meeting and won back
the jobs of 65 professors who
were under the axe. In the course
of fighting back, win or lose, more
and more students come to see
that the real enemy of the vast
majority of people is the capitalist
system. And, as our strength and
organization grows in the various
skirmishes against this enemy, in
creasing numbers of students
learn that our future does not have
to be one of “getting by" or some
how surviving under this rotten
system. In this process students
become conscious fighters for the
revolution.
Although students can strike
powerful blows at the enemy as
was learned through the anti-war
and civil rights movements of the
60s and early 70s, we can’t over
throw the system alone. That’s
going to take the conscious act of
millions. It’s in allying ourselves
'HOW DO YOU SPELL'PHALANGIS7S'
more from Les—
By LESUE ZAITZ
Novice doing things right
J. Patrick Horton, Lane County's incumbent dis
trict attorney, is alt smiles these days, having been
officially exonerated of any wrongdoing in his
finagling with county funds.
Horton is sitting on a Trojan high horse and a
challenger with little visibility so far — Springfield
prosecutor John Charles — is crawling out of its
belly.
Incumbent Horton is confident he will win the
race with little effort. While he's hustling to gather
people at public forums to discuss issues, he's not
terribly impressed with his opposition. Some of his
office staff say, almost smugly, “We ve got it in the
bag."
But Horton and his supporters and a lot of
others are probably mistaken in their assessment
of his chances.
It’s likely Horton is listening to the people
around him, people who are telling him he doesn't
have a problem in bagging the election.
Those people, it appears, haven't been out in
the brush where the voters are Horton hasn't
been shaking hands and he hasn't carried on an
active campaign. He hasn’t been winning any
votes, either.
Charles, though, is out there like a donkey chas
ing a carrot. He wants the election badly. For a
guy who’s never run for office before, Charles is
doing a tot of things right.
His biggest problem, as difficult to solve as
figuring out how to bottle fog, is name familiarity.
People in Eugene have never heard of John
Charles. In some circles, they joke about this guy
named Jack Chuck who's running.
To take care of that, Charles has printed up
100.000 picture-filled brochures. He has started
newspaper ads. He is making the radio and tele
vision talk show circuit.
More importantly, he's organized out in the
brush. Charles has divided the county into 15
districts and is putting together 200 organizers in
each district to handle the typical door-to-door
campaigning.
He's sending out letters to special groups, au
thored respectively by prominent lawyers, doc
tors, engineers, realtors and other professionals.
Charles also intends to send literature to
70.000 registered voters in Lane County. Get that
name out. Get it known. Charles has even got a
guy to pull a banner with his name on it from the
tail of an airplane.
Support has been forthcoming, quietly, from
some big name attorneys, including John Jaqua
and Ken Morrow. However influential those
names might be in legal circles, though, they don't
mean much to the Joe in Santa Clara or Florence.
To that voter, those two gentlemen could be
plumbers, for all he knows.
Charles isn't fooling himself He intends to
spend much of May blitzing the county, shaking
hands day after day after day, with his army of
campaign workers doing the same.
Races can be won that way. People are im
pressed. generally, when someone takes the
trouble to come to their homes and introduce
themselves In a low-visibility race that just
doesn't generate that much excitement, that con
tact could be crucial
A somewhat unknown quantity in the race is
State Sen. Betty Browne of Oakndge, the liberal
Democrat who junked the secretary of state race
to challenge Horton
Everybody is asking around, wanting to know
what Betty s doing To the best of anyone's know
ledge, she s doing nothing. Most of those who
know her at all or are close to her campaign say
she will rely heavily on her name familianty in the
county and strong support from Democrats
Indeed, some Democrats are coalescing
around the Browne candidacy The active Demo
crats abhor Horton and react to Charles with what
one Democrat typified as "loud ignoring. The
University area, some say, is leaning to Browne
Browne s political intentions really don t lie in
the distnct attorney's office. Though many in the
legal ranks say she would be an excellent ad
ministrator, the Oakndge senator is laying the
groundwork for a campaign for the Fourth Distnct
Congressional seat, borne say sne 11 wan uniu me
reapportionment in 1980. Some say she can
hardly wait at all.
She hasn t done any campaigning and has
made little effort to gather an effective core of
campaigners that, apparently, will be vital to the
success of this year's winner.
Eugene s legal community is split between
Browne and Charles Charles is unknown to older
members of the bar and. to some of the younger
attorneys, he has an image of a tough, uncom
promising attorney.
If Charles can keep up his daily campaigning
and make the name John Charles something
more than a curiosity, he has a very good chance
to take Horton
Horton still hasn t realized how much the publi
city over his use of county funds for travel has hurt
him. He proudly names off the agencies that
cleared him recently. He doesn't mention, though,
that the people who do the voting at the poll still
smell something fishy.
Voters, ever-suspicious of political types, don't
need much of a reason to turn an incumbent out to
pasture. Unless Browne comes on strong in May
(somewhat out of character for her), Charles and
the voters could very well surprise the shorts off of
a lot of people.
with the largest class of people,
the workers who produce all the
wealth in this society and who
have no interest whatsoever in
capitalism, that we ll get rid of our
common enemy. For this
reason the RSB is affiliated
with the Revolutionary Com
munist Party (RCP) even though
most RSB members are not
members of the RCP. The main
work of the RCP is in the factories,
mills and among the unemployed,
building a revolutionary workers’
movement.
The RSB is open to and en
courages participation by any stu
dent who generally agrees with
our stand and wishes to fight the
attacks of the system. This term
our main work is building for the
July 4 demonstration in Philadel
phia. We'll join employed and un
employed workers, vets and other
students under the slogan,
‘‘We've carried the rich for 200
years. Let's get them off our
backs!" We can’t make everything
clear in a letter, so we encourage
people to read our national paper,
Fight Back!, and to stop by our
table if you have questions or
would like to work with us.
For the Revolutionary Student
Brigade
Jonathan Draper
Sue Szymanski
Ann Wade
Tuesday, April 13, 1976