-editorial-v
Expediency not enough
If the best budget cuts are those that are most expe
dient, University Pres. William Boyd’s intended elimination
of the School of Librarianship is a great idea.
The combination of circumstances is convenient: Five
of the school's six tenured faculty members are leaving for
various reasons, at age 11 the school is still relatively new,
and everyone has become accustomed to the idea that
because of declining enrollment the University must
tighten its collective belt.
But expediency should not be the factor in such
decisions. The School of Librarianship should be ex
amined and judged on the basis of its own merits. A look at
the school and its place in the University is likely to show
that to drop it entirely would be a mistake.
* Boyd should consider that students interested in li
brarianship would have to go out of state to find an ac
credited school if the one in Eugene were closed. The
closest schools of librarianship would be at the University
of Washington in Seattle and the University of California in
Berkeley — not exactly next door.
When Boyd surprised the General Faculty with his
idea last week, he said the school could be eliminated
because “there is now a substantial pool of librarians.”
That statement appears to contradict figures that show an
80 per cent placement rate for the nation’s schools of
librarianship. Graduates in many other fields would happily
take those odds. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics pro
jects a balance between the supply of librarians and jobs
available to them through 1985.
The worse aspect of Boyd’s idea, however, is the way
in which he announced his intention without first asking for
public discussion. Perry Morrison, a senior faculty member
in the School of Librarianship, is not ready to say he was
surprised by Boyd’s announcement, but conceded that it
was “unheralded.”
It seems that before the wholesale elimination of an
entire school is proposed, there should be debate on the
issue. It’s true that the proposal must be approved by the
State Board of Higher Education and that a committee will
be formed to argue the various sides of the issue, but these
measures are a far cry from full public participation in an
examination of the options available to the University in
times of tight money.
Before any large chunks of the University join CSPA
and the School of Librarianship as casualties of the era of
declining enrollments, Pres. Boyd should seek a consen
sus on priorities. Everyone involved in or affected by higher
education should have a voice in the development of this
consensus.
V.
Letters
Wrong committee
In two recent Emerald articles
by Brenda Tabor (March 4 and 6)
regarding HB 2459, which would
provide funding for student parent
day care, my name has been men
tioned as the cha irer of the Ways
and Means subcommittee on
Education.
While this is true, the articles
imply that my subcommittee will
be hearing this bill. This informa
tion is incorrect.
HB 2459 has been assigned to
the subcommittee on Human Re
sources which is chaired by Rep.
Howard Cherry and of which I am
a member.
Sen. Ed Fadeley
Democrat — Eugene
The Emerald regrets any mis
taken impression it might have
conveyed in relation to Sen.
Fadeley’s committee assign
ments. - ed.
Important point
Steven Fogelson in his letter in
the Emerald (4/7/77) touches on
an important point which has not
been stressed in the current dis
cussion about the ROTC and
militarism in general. That is the
question of the responsibility of
scientists in creating the know
ledge which makes possible the
ghastly weapons of today. He is
right — scientists do bear a grave
responsibility in this regard.
It should be understood that
Page 4
science as such is simply an effort
to understand how and why things
work the way they do. The know
ledge gained in this effort puts the
most powerful tools ever devised
at man’s disposal. It makes possi
ble the levels of health and other
amenities of civilized life, as well
as the means for its destruction.
Scientists and technicians who
turn their great talents into
weapons research and develop
ment are the most dangerous men
on earth, and are betraying the
great trust and responsibility that
goes with having custody of a i
functional brain. If that kind of re
search was going on here at the U.
of O. I would be far more con
cerned than I am about ROTC and
would make unceasing efforts to
get rid of it.
I am glad that Steven has joined
me in attempting to assess
society’s morality and trying to see
what can be done. This is
everybody’s responsibility.
Bayard H. McConnaughey
Professor of Biology
Not surprised
Dave Frohnmayer’s done it
again.
He spoke against the teacher
evaluation bill on the House floor,
but voted for it. How nicely that will
work for him in the next election!
He’ll tell the opponents of the bill
that he voted against it. He'll tell
the proponents that he voted for it.
Neato-keeno, Dave!
How long will the voters of Dis
trict 40 swallow this excrement?
Where is the courage of your con
ant.
•SBSW*
"Some may oil it an ora amwswion
"TO
-1 CALI IT PUSHY.'"
victions, Dave?
The Emerald reported
Frohnmayer’s move as “the sur
prise of the day.” In terms of logi
cal consistency, yes. In terms of
political expediency, no.
Keep your eyes and ears
peeled, Emerald. Dave’s just full
of “surprises” like this one.
Sharon Gordon
Third Year Law
Protection needed
Thursday, Rep. Dave Frohn
mayer (R-Eugene) spoke against
requiring disclosure of faculty
evaluations. The asserted bases
for his opposition were: (1) the
evaluations of other public emp
loyes aren’t made public, and (2)
the evaluations don’t indicate
teaching ability, but course diffi
culty.
Wrong, Dave.
(1) The discussion should either
focus on why no evaluations of
public employes should be made
public or on why faculty evalua
tions are indistinguishable from
other public employe evaluations
and all should be disclosed. Don’t
axe a good measure just because
it doesn’t go far enough; expand it.
(2) We, your student con
stituents, are tired of being pro
tected from ourselves. We’d pre
fer protection from inept and un
prepared professors. I trust my fel
low students’ judgment, at least
they’ve sat through the lectures.
The only evidence available
(from PSU) shows that we're big
kids now and will make evalua
tions rationally. We seem to exer
cise our votes rationally. Or do
we? Do you?
Ted Guthrie
3rd year law
Village idiots
Hurray for the Revolutionary
Student Brigade (RSB)! I have
postponed this task long enough;
the time has come for me to ex
press the sincere feelings of en
thusiasm and gratitude that I have
toward the RSB. Here is a dedi
cated group of people who, it
seems to me, place no limit on the
degree of sacrifice and personal
suffering that they will endure in
order to promote a purpose of the
most fundamental, and yet su
preme, importance. I have seen
them standing for hours in the cold
Eugene fog dispersing leaflets
and armbands, booklets and
pamphlets.
Have you noticed how there
seems to be an RSB flyer posted
on every wall, bulletin board or
signpost that you encounter? And
those flyers are always new! To
me that represents dedication;
those omnipresent flyers tell of
long hours of finger-numbing
thumbtacking in the bone chilling
cold and gloom of dark nighttime.
Long after you and I have fas
tened the shutters and put on our
pajamas, long after we have slip
ped beneath the blankets and
floated softly off into a deep sleep,
the dedicated RSB’ers are lurking
in the darkness of our campus
posting all those flyers.
This rigorous sort of spartan
like dedication is neverto be found
except when directed toward a
sufficiently worthy purpose. It is
precisely such a high purpose and
cause that the RSB membership
has so completely given itself over
to. That purpose is, obviously
enough, Humor, and the continual
amusement of all University stu
dents.
When I was in junior and senior
high school, one of my greatest
wishes was that someone would
form a group that would do no
thing but constantly roam the
school making children laugh. The
RSB is a high school dream come
true.
My grandfather tells me that
there was no RSB when he went
to college. When I asked him how
did they ever manage to amuse
themselves, he replied that every
year some particularly goofy look
ing, silly half-wit was informally
selected as a sort of “village idiot”
and that this poor fellow provided
for endless days of fun. But
doesn’t that seem just a little bit
awful? Maybe even cruel? I think
so. And that is where the humane
side of the RSB’s gruelling work
becomes apparent. You see, one
of the greatest evidences of the
RSB membership’s painfully true
dedication is that they willingly
make such utter fools of them
selves. And so, it follows that with
the RSB around, who needs a vil
lage idiot?
Bere Lindley
Junior — Accounting
•opinion*
Arabs guilty of racism
On March 30, a flier appeared notifying us of a demonstration
protesting the appearance of Shlomo Tadmore, the Israeli
Consul General for the west coast. This demonstration was
sponsored by the Organization of Arab Students, and supported
by the Revolutionary Student Brigade in addition to the Iranian
Student Association.
I would like to focus attention on a sentence in the second
paragraph of the flier which refers to the nature of the alleged
existent ties between the governments of Israel and South Africa.
It is asserted that these ties lie in the “racist, reactionary character
which these two states have in common.” Assumingly, the word
racist refers to the alleged Israeli treatment of the Palestinians
since the inception of the state of Israel in 1948. Then, using this
implied definition of the word racism, it seems to me only fair to
examine the treatment of Jews and other minorities residing
within Arab Countries.
This treatment has ranged from adequate to abysmal. On
the whole, the more radical governments have the worst record in
this area. This is particularly true of Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Egypt
under Nasser. In a number of cases, Jewish communities which
have existed for centuries in what are now Arab countries have
been destroyed as an official government policy. Both emigration
and internal migration, a basic civil right, have been restricted at
different times, by different governments. Jews and other
minorities have been thrown into prison and held there without
charges. While incarcerated, some have been subject to brutal
conditions, including torture. To this day, there have been cases
of Jews reported as missing where the government has refused
to account for them. Episodes of Jewish property being ex
at tha whim of the government, in addition to official
cancellation of all debts owed to Jews (Libya) have occurred. In
byria and Iraq, Jews have been forced to carry special identifica
lon cards, and in a number of Arab countries Jews are explicitly
ACIV' service positions. The overall status of Jews residing
within Arab Countries has deteriorated to intolerable levels during
periods of active conflict with Israel.
.. furthermore, the large Kurdish minorities of Iraq, and Syria,
the Copts in Egypt, and the Black Africans in Southern Sudan
ave born the brunt of anything from official government discrimi
thenT P°ICIeS’t0 systematlc government attempts to eliminate
„ . Jhus appears that the accusers have plenty to be guilty of
p r as official adherence to racist policies are concerned.
,time t0 abandon mindless revolutionary dogma and
examine a few of the facts.
V.
Ken Geiger
Senior — Geology