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$825 for the coming academic year. The Executive
recommended $695 to fund the program. At press time
Tuesday the IFC still had not determined the final
allocation.
To illustrate the necessity for a program like 3-D,
Russell told of one seven-year-old. "His father was
black and his mother was white. He was being raised
only by his mother. All of the kids at his school were
white yet society and his peers treated him as a black
person, which was very difficult for him to understand.
"He was unhappy with himself, and was having
problems at school. The 3-D program doesn't attempt
to indoctrinate kids with any "black ideology.” In fact,
according to Russell, “there’s no such thing as a
monolithic black experience. Everything a black per
son does is black.” She said the program avoids
stereotyping black behavior, and tries to be flexible in
handling each child individually.
University students participating in the program
get credit through the ESCAPE program, which also
helps administer the 3-D program.
The main problem faced by the program is paying
for the high costs of recruiting Eugene minority chil
dren into the program. But parents of the children now
participating in the 3-D activities are appreciative.
One University student and mother of two says,
"My kids go to an all-white school. It's good for them to
have teachers who understand what it means to be
black. The 3-D program provides a very valuable ser
vice to students and the whole community," she con
tinued.
Greeks ‘guard
the frat system’
"We re like the ASUO Off-Campus Housing for
fraternities," says Tom Dulctch, Interfraternity Council
president. "We match up people with places to live.”
The council, "the guardian of the frat system,”
according to Dulcich, carries out the policy of the
fraternities' President's Council, a group made up of
the presidents of each house.
The mam function of the Interfraternity Council is
to promote "rushing," the pledging of new members,
Dulcich said.
“We want everyone to see all the houses and to
get to know people. If a guy goes through his whole
college career just knowing the 50 guys he lives with,
then he’s in trouble,” he said.
University fraternities house more than 800 men
(about 10 per cent of the male student population),
according to Dulcich.
Policing conduct matters within the fraternities is
another duty of the council. "Last year a house party
got raunchy. The guys poured beer in somebody's gas
tank, turned rowdy at a sorority and were generally
abusive," he said. “We fined their house aood.”
Dulcich believes the fraternity system is back on
its feet now that the rage of political activism has blown
through. By 1972, University fraternities had dwindled
from 24 houses to 10.
“In the late 60s no one wanted to admit they were
a Greek,” he said. “The war, the draft, the pressures
against surrendering to institutions all had to do with
the anti-fraternity feeling. But we're back up to 14
houses ” Dulcich said. “That says something for group
living."
Despite objections in the ASUO Executive rec
ommendations, the Incidental FEE Committee
awarded the Interfraternity Council $750 last year.
This year the council originally asked for $1,606 to
cover office expenses and printing costs of the folders
supplied in admissions packets. Executive recom
mendations have cut that amount back to $780, just
slightly higher than last year’s budget. The Incidental
Fee Committee will determine the actual allocation
during budget hearings Thursday.
Altiough expenses of the Interfraternity Council
run more than twice the IFC funding, Dulcich thinks
their award is fair. “Our work benefits a limited group.
But we deserve funding,” he adds. “The stability of
fraternities proves they go hand-in-hand with higher
education."
MEChA is
Chicanos’ rep
MEChA is the University’s Chicano student or
ganization. It not only serves as a representative in
A
campus affairs, but strives to create awareness of
Chicano history and culture among others.
Previously known as the Chicano Student Union,
MEChA was first organized in 1965-67. Records for
the budget at this time do not exist, although it was
ASUO-funded. According to Alfonso Cabrera, a
MEChA affiliate who was on campus at that time, the
funding was approximately $4,000.
MEChA’s proposed budget, for the period July 1,
1976, to June 30, 1977, showed a nearly $2,000 in
crease from $5,684 to $7,666. During Incidental Fee
Committee (IFC) hearings last week, the program was
actually allocated $5,870 for the upcoming year.
New salaries for an associate director and a
work-study position accounted for part of the re
quested increase, according to program director
Reenie Campos. Proposed publicity costs reflected an
increase of $550, up from $150 in the 1975-76 period.
Over $400 was requested for the bi-weekly news
paper, for which no funds were allocated this fiscal
year. The newsletter is mailed to members here at the
University and to other Chicano organizations
throughout the state and nation. As stated in a MEChA
pamphlet, "This exchange of newsletters is important
for full awareness of all Chicano student activity
throughout the country.”
ASUO funding for such events as the Cinco de
Mayo and “Que Pasa Raza” is merely seed money,
according to Reenie Campos. Campos maintains that
these events are important in making “others aware of
the history and culture, and of the struggles and con
cerns" of Chicano students.
MEChA represents, and communicates with, ap
proximately 90 Chicano students, according to Cam
pos.
“It can be aienating to come to a big university,”
the director explains, “If you’re a minority it’s easier if
you can talk to someone with the same background.”
MEChA serves primarily as a haven for Chicano
students, and a beacon of awareness to others. But
political involvement has been necessitated by the
scab lettuce controversy, according to Campos.
Chicano students feel the program is worthwhile.
Toni Torres, a transfer student this term, says, “To me,
MEChA’s doing a good job...we’re here to help the
Chicano students with what they want.”