Day care: A crying need or costly luxury?
By BRENDA TABOR
Of the Emerald
Child care is no longer solely a
women s issue, but women stand
to lose if adequate child care is not
made available That s the con
tention of a panel of women who
recently discussed the "Politics of
Day Care," the second part of the
ASUO television senes "Logos
ASUO Pres Jan Oliver moder
ated the half-hour show that will
be aired at 12:30 p.m Sunday
Appearing on the panel are
Rochel Kaiz, staff member of the
Child Care and Development
Center (CCDC); Margi Hendrik
sen, a Eugene lawyer, and Myra
Willard, University Affirmative Ac
tion officer The series is being
produced by Eric Bellman and di
rected by John Loeber
Oliver opens the show relating a
question students have con
fronted her with—"why should I
have to pay for someone else s
children?" (Student incidental
fees now partially fund the
CCDC).
Willard said the University has
had to shift programs to provide
services for older students be
cause state laws prohibit discrimi
nation on the basis of age — and
one of the services they must pro
vide is child care.
"Child care is no longer a
women's issue, but is everyone's
responsibility," Katz said.
Hendriksen agreed "But
women are the ones that will lose
out without child care. It will have a
greater impact on women," she
said
According to state law, Willard
noted, education is necessary to
upgrade women, but first child
care must be provided to free
them.
“Education — is it a privilege or
a right?' Oliver asked. Some peo
ple think that parents with children
shouldn't receive aid, she said.
"They say, we worked our way
through school and waited to have
children until afterward ."
A child care bill has been intro
duced into the Legislature that
would provide payments for child
care as part of qualifying
student-parents financial aid
package. Children up to 12 years
of age would be covered if their
parents were enrolled in either a
two-year or four-year program.
“It is my position," Oliver said,
"that any person who had children
and became successful had aid."
Similar types of aid can come from
the Gl Bill, aid for dependent chil
dren or from a spouse, she said.
Even with the aid provided by
the new bill, student parents will
still need to take out loans and
work part-time, Katz said.
The bill is aimed at low income
parents. It would take the respon
sibility for child care off students at
the University, she said
Oliver said some persons op
pose giving child care aid to
graduate students. Currently,
child care aid is only available for
two years of a student's educa
tion.
“To refuse graduate students
this support would be to say that a
master s degree is a luxury," Wil
lard said, "while it is necessary for
many entry-level positions."
There is also a feeling that free
ing women to get more educa
tion will add to the current unemp
loyment problem
But other members of the
panel don t believe women will
leave their homes en masse if the
bill passes
Center’s bills get high
as drug surveys return
Postal workers will have a holiday today to celebrate George
Washington s birthday and the coordinators of the Drug Informa
tion Center s (DIC) student drug survey wish that holiday would
continue through the end of the month
According to DIC staffers, some University students are
over-zealous in their support of the U S Postal Service Drug
information surveys which were mailed to dormitory residents
were intended to be returned through the campus mail system
Unfortunately, some students are returning the questionnaires
through the U S Postal Service, which means the DIC will have to
foot the bill for the postage due According to Joe Coss of the DIC,
this could mean an additional cost to the DIC of over $100
The DIC mailed nearly 4,500 drug surveys earlier this month
to University students living both on and off campus Although
response so far has been good, the DIC asks that students living
on campus return their surveys through campus mail—which,
incidentally, will be delivering mail today.
Booklet lists state statistics
By JEAN ANDREWS
Of the Emerald
The University recently re
leased a 97-page booklet,
"Oregon Economic Statistics
1977," put out by the Bureau of
Business Research.
The $5 booklet analyzes and
shows trends in such diverse
areas as population, education,
weather and labor The consumer
price index for 1970-75 is also
listed, as well as banking and fi
nance, agriculture and other
statistics
Eaton Conant, director of the
Bureau of Business Research,
says, "This booklet is the only one
of its kind for Oregon We have a
permanent mailing list of 300 to
400 and get calls for data from
people who know we publish it."
Conant says both public and
private institutions need informa
tion found in the booklet The
700-900 books printed go to gov
ernment agencies, unions, banks,
insurance companies and other
businesses The book is also used
for market research.
Research assistant, often stu
dents, do much of the work in
volved in putting the book to
gether According to Conant all of
the tables printed come from other
sources, such as the U S. Bureau
of the Census, the Internal Re
venue Service and the Oregon
Employment Division.
Often permanent tables must
simply be updated Conant says.
Basically, what we do is organize
sources and put them to their best
use for the publication."
Conant is considenng increas
ing the amount of publicity for the
economic statistics booklet. "We
should try more publicity on a
sample basis and check the re
sponse," he says. “I'm sure the
demand for the booklet would in
crease by at least 50 per cent if
more people just knew about it."
The statistics have been com
piled and published yearly until
now. In the future the booklets will
be printed every two years.
"Oregon Economic Statistics"
is the principle publication of the
Bureau of Business Research, but
the bureau also performs other
services on campus. "I get at least
a call a day from someone re
questing statistical information,"
says Conant. The bureau also as
sists faculty members in distribut
ing papers they have written and
supplying mailing lists.
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Women who want an educa
tion will be able to do so, but I don't
think it will cause a revolution,"
Willard said. "It will free women to
do what they want to do now.”
Hendriksen said the bill would
create more jobs at day care cen
ters.
Willard said the bill would also
aid parents in a “Catch 22,” who
are barely supporting their
families but don’t have enough
money to upgrade their education
and provide more support for their
families, and become locked in a
cycle.
"There will be more people on
the job market, but not because
they don't deserve to be in the job
market,” Willard said. "The bill will
enable those who need to work to
better provide for their families.''
Maybe the parent who is better
able to work will be able to do so,”
she said.
But Oliver said another myth
still remains that the state will build
centers "where children all dres
sed in khaki uniforms will be toilet
trained in lines,” if the bill passes.
In reality, Katz said, parents will
be able to use any state-certified
day care center.
Fears that child care under
mines the nuclear family are grow
ing. Hendriksen told the other
members that rather than threaten
the nuclear family, good child care
serves to strengthen it. “As a soc
iety, we should be ashamed that
children, often under the age of
six, are left alone because there is
no one to care for them while their
parents work."
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