Vol 78, No 131
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Monday, April 25, 1977
Boyd: Enrollment drop won’t last forever
By LORA CUYKENDALL
01 the Emerald
The enrollment drops currently plaguing
colleges and universities won t last forever
and early enrollment figures for next year
already are looking brighter. University
Pres William Boyd said Friday
Although he didn t quote any numbers.
Boyd said advance admissions and appli
cations for next fall are over the forecasted
level The University was predicting an en
rollment drop of 900 students next year But
even with this improvement, Boyd said all
higher education institutions will have to
learn to deal with a declining growth rate
' Universities used to make no effort to
reach the public and let them know that
what the university does is important." said
^goyd We have a fundamental problem
' J-—
interpreting ourseKres to the public.' Boyd
said colleges will have to change from their
traditional "gate keeper role to an "open
door policy '
Student recruitment should be the major
tool for dealing with the declining number of
students in the 18-year-old pool, according
to Boyd The size of that pool traditionally
determines college enrollments Boyd said
word-of-mouth reports from one student to
another are the best form of recruitment
and for that reason the University will em
phasize quality programs as a means of
bringing students here
Boyd, who earlier this year made large
cutbacks in the College of Community Ser
vice and Public Affairs and the School of
Librarianship, expressed hope that a plan
being discussed in the Legislature which
sets a financial floor for state institution
funding would pass. Boyd said the plan
would help colleges deal with declining en
rollments more reasonably and
humanely.
The plan, proposed by Stafford Hansell
director of the state's Executive Depart
ment, would ensure that no institution
would have to face a budget cut of more
than 1 per cent in any one year. Currently,
state support of colleges is based on the
number of full-time equivalent students en
rolled and is subject to enrollment fluctua
tions
However, Boyd said some of his budget
cutbacks were needed even before enroll
ments started to drop The University was
over extended when I came here 2 years
ago — a period of time when enrollments
were still on the increase Boyd said the
University should concentrate on doing
several things very well rather than on
being "all things to all people.'
When asked about the upcoming elec
tion in which graduate teaching fellows
(GTFs) at the University will decide if they
want to unionize, Boyd said he is staying
out of the discussion except to encourage
all GTFs to vote He defended the recent
letter writing by several University deans
saying the deans are "free to state facts or
opinions as long as they don t make any
threats or promises."
Boyd also said a proposed merger of the
journalism and telecommunications de
partments probably will not be instituted. He
said although there is duplication in course
material, both programs are operating at full
enrollment and nothing would be saved by
the merger He said there is already close
cooperation between the departments.
Music addition
behind schedule
Construction of the University School of
Music addition may be two months behind
scheoule, but students will begin to see
dramatic progress soon, according to
Morrette Rider, dean of the music school
The addition, beginning to take shape on
the north end of the music building, will
house classrooms and a performing arts
auditorium. Construction began last sum
mer and had been "moving along rapidly
until a delay in a shipment of structural steel
and a large immobile boulder caused work
ers to fall behind, Rider said.
Students will begin to see more progress
when the brick-layers begin work within the
month, he pointed out.
Since the school cannot exceed the
additions $2 million budget, some room
sizes have been reduced and equipment
eliminated to meet extra building costs, he
said.
Rider hopes to be able to use some of the
addition facilities before the projected
March 1978 completion date. Other than
the delay, Rider is very pleased with "the
way everything is moving along.
Label funding, parking, day care as campaign issues
ASUO candidates stress greater student participation
By KARYN ORTIZ
Of the Emerald
The five candidates for ASUO president
stressed the importance of greater student
participation in University affairs Friday
morning at a press conference in the EMU.
"Students should be the moral voice of
the community, "said candidate Craig
Geary He said the way to involve students
is to "give them a choice — give them an
alternative" and added he would involve
students in legislative committees in Lane
County and on a statewide basis
Paul Bartel said he planned to increase
student participation through “town-hall
meetings" and campus events at which
students could meet to share ideas. Both
Bartel and Gary Feldman stressed the need
for greater student activity in running the
EMU "Students are capable of handling a
greater proportion of administrative tasks,"
said Feldman Student initiative brought
about changes in food service pricing and
also increased building revenues, he said.
Bartel advocated student participation in
choosing the EMU directors whose salaries
students pay.
The candidates discussed the problems
of funding programs in the face of decreas
ing student enrollment. Eric Bellman said
that as ASUO president he would set up
student cooperatives to fund cultural
events. He said cooperatives were suc
cessful at other universities Bellman sup
ported a credit union to pay student de
posits for a $ 10 fee and said he would talk to
community leaders ' eyeball to eyeball' to
create jobs for students
Bartel said the University could have ad
ditional funds available if it cut administra
tive costs. He criticized University Pres. Wil
liam Boyd for accepting a salary increase
before cutting the University budget.
Dave Tyler said he feels rising costs
could be fought in the Legislature by main
taining a strong student lobby with other
schools in the state.
The candidates supported ditterent prog
rams, including day care "Day care will
receive no fairer hearing than it will from
me," said Geary Day care is critical to both
men and women and its absence denies
some students the education necessary for
social mobility, he said.
Bartel said the need for day care is "al
ways central” and is needed to "maintain
the flexibility of potential students."
Feldman foresaw a potential clash with
the administration over setting funding
levels for athletic programs. He said there
should be greater equity between men's
and women's programs. "There is a clear
need for increases in women's programs,
he said.
Feldman also favored a board to handle
disagreements between the Athletic De
partment and Cultural Forum over the use
of MacArthur Court
Both Bartel and Geary discussed the
problems of traffic on campus Bartel said
ne woura pusn tor tne closure of 13th Av
enue to Agate Street and University Street
between 13th and 15th Avenues.
Geary said instead of building an above
or below ground garage, the University
could solve the parking problem on campus
by opening up available space at Autzen
Stadium. Students from Springfield and out
lying areas could park there and take a
shuttle to the University, he said.
Bartel noted the decline in minority en
rollment and said he favored recruiting
programs to encourage potential minority
students to come to the University He ad
vocated programs to help minority students
adjust to University life Bartel said there is
a lack of understanding of minority students
and not everyone realizes that students are
not all of one culture — "the melting-pot
variety."
Tyler wanted to "return to the main
stream" and emphasized meeting the
needs of "traditional" students He said that
he would "redirect a substantial portion of
the budget toward academic concerns."