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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1977)
>-editorial-— A hurrah for the State Board When Thami Mhlambiso, the African National Con gress representative to the United Nations, approached the podium in the EMU Ballroom Friday to testify in favor of divestment of State System of Higher Education invest ments in South Africa-supporting corporations, he was about to deliver what was one of the most powerful and beautiful calls for human dignity and justice we have ever heard. Mhlambiso and other well-reasoned testifyers swayed the opinion of the board, resulting in an astonishing 8-3 vote in favor of divestiture, the first time a state system of higher education has approved such a proposal. The board reversed a recommendation from its finance com mittee, and two members of that committee changed their votes after hearing the testimony in the EMU. Some of that testimony, primarily that given by some members of the Revolutionary Student Brigade, was de rogatory and accusational towards the board members. Some criticized the members themselves, as if they not only invested in companies doing business in South Africa, but had formed that government in the first place. The RSB, which has worked for student referendums against the stock ownership, came very close to destroying its own cause. Fortunately for all those who oppose apartheid, the board was able to rise above the RSB rhetoric; they didn’t allow the magnificent testimony of many people to get mired and buried in the bad testinony of a few. The board’s decision is a cause for celebration. The board has made a decisive social comment against the despicable policy of apartheid. In total, it was a small step, but it was the boldest and largest step available to the board. By their vote, the members of the board have added a strong voice to the rising cry against racism. They have proven that the principles taught in the institutions they support need not be discarded after graduation; that policies such as apartheid can’t be ignored. Letters More to BRING I am writing in response to an article of Oct. 26 that concerned recycling. In a passing reference to the seven year recycling effort of B.R.I.N.G. (Begin Recycling in Neighborhood Groups), your re porter quotes Alice Soderwall as describing our operation as mainly dealing with crushed glass. I would like to correct this image of BRING, and clarify our ongoing resource recovery program. BRING has put major emphasis on reuse of glass and metal con tainers. In the 9 month period be tween Oct. 1, 1976 and June 30, 1977 BRING sold over 17,500 containers to the public for reuse. BRING is a major supplier of glass containers for three local juice companies, home canners, wine-makers, and many small businesses. For many people BRING is a convenient and inex pensive source of jars for preserv ing their foods, craft projects, and gift ideas. Reuse of containers benefits our county several ways. Do nated materials are kept and reused within the county, particu larly in the Eugene-Springfield area. The reuse of jars also saves large amounts of energy by by passing crushing and hauling of crushed glass. It is not necessary to produce as many new jars, and the tremendous amount of land filled garbage is reduced. BRING has recently begun a drive to recover used motor oil for recycling. At this time about 50 per cent of the 12 million gallons of oil generated in Oregon annually are not being recycled. Of this total, 33 per cent is dumped on lots, 11 per cent down storm sewers, and the rest disposed of in the gargage. All of this oil can be re-refined as fuel or lubricating oil. In this time of energy shortages it is particularly wasteful, as well as dangerous, to discard oil so casually. Used oil can be taken to many gas sta tions, to the recycling area of the ijienwooa ooiia vvasie denier, and to the BRING Warehouse near Seavey Loop Rd. It can also be brought to any BRINGmobile in a dosed container. BRING endorses and promotes reuse of containers and materials. Our motto can be summed up as. “Buy wisely, reuse, then recyde.” Elise Fischer BRING recycling For child care Our accessibility to higher education is often less-than-open. Physical and financial barriers exist to discourage, and some times prevent, persons from at tending institutions of higher edu cation. Student-parents face the spe cial problem of finding healthy, af fordable day care. Currently, the State (through the Children’s Ser vices Division) subsidizes day care for needy students in two year programs. Unfortunately, graduate students and those in four-year programs are ineligible for this type of financial aid. Earlier this year, the Oregon Student Lobby, ASUO and do zens of outraged parents lobbied for a legislative remedy. But the Oregon Legislature failed to pro vide a remedy, and we are back where we started. But wait! Congressional House Bill 7200 could, if passed, provide up to $2 million additional federal child care funds to Oregon. This bill has passed the U S. House and out of the Senate Finance Committee. HB 7200 should go to the Senate floor for a vote in January. Even if HB 7200 passes, there is no guarantee that any funds will be made available to those needy students who now receive no day care aid. To achieve this end, it will take careful lobbying of the State Emergency Board and the Children’s Services Division. The first step is letters to your --opinion On Zionism and the PLO Submitted by Les Frye Pre-graduate, Psychology The recent overt reaction during this past week's Lebanese-lsraeli border clash mainly by Israel may be considered to be a part of the existing racist form of Zionism within the present Israeli government. An air strike was launched by Israeli forces against a small Palestinian outbreak along the Lebanese bor der which spread into peaceful settlements within Lebanon, where many deaths were reported and many casualities were incurred. These settlements were unaware that any fight ing had even been in progress along the border. Those who did ight on the border, the Palestinians, began the fighting in their struggle against this government s homeland within Palestine. This struggle of the Palestinians as a people is to be recognized as a people whose potential homeland has been denied and is presently being denied. The present Israeli leaders are potentially in volved in their own power plays with the world, namely Moshe Dayan, and show up to be group of people who are in government with power at their disposal who grew up surrounded by war; namely WWII. WWII was a time when Hitler’s anti-Semitism was the delusional wave throughout Europe even before the founding of the state of Israel. Because these leaders did grow up in war, they have learned war, and the basic racist Zionist form of Semitism is the reverse of what Hitler wanted to instigate. Such a racist Zionism does torment various peoples, namely the Palestinians, as that was Hitier’s delusional force. Such men as Moshe Dayan, who are brought up in war and surrounded by rumors of war and terrorism, do over react, as in last week’s clash. Such men should not be in government. Such men deserve to be scorned by all true people of the whole world. May Zionism, a form of racism, be scorned by all true people of the world also. Such should be the consequence for Israel as a whole, until there are men who grow up in peace and can lead and practice peace for Israel as well as for the betterment of the rest of the world. But such has yet to happen. Israel presently condones the racist prac tices of South Africa because of the Zionistic at titudes many Israeli Jews hold. For this reason, the present Israeli Zionistic government should not be condoned nor praised. T ne Palestinians, who have a composite of Arab beliefs, share in the same basic beliefs and cultural foundation which once orginated from the basic Jewish beliefs and culture. A this time, they are not going to tolerate a government whose practice is to take away their own human rights for freedom in a land where they have decendents. like the Israeli decendents, once originated A new wave of protest by all who acknowledge this racism within the Israeli government must come about Only through efforts of peaceful men and through the existence of a new Israeli government whose basic practice is non-Ziomstic can eventual peace be recognized by all within the Middle East. It is this racist Ziomstic form of behavior which the Israeli government has repeatedly demonstrated throughout the years which must die out of existence for the betterment of world concerns. Next to Israel's Zionistic attitude and position, there do exist efforts for a peaceful coexistence within the Middle East. But due to the recent years of terrorism within the land of Israel by the so called PLO activists, Israel's government sees and acknow ledges the PLO as a threat to the security of many peaceful Jews who are within Israel. Therefore, Is rael desires no doing with the present PLO at the Geneva conference. Israel's government realizes that the past efforts of the PLO have not transpired to any peaceful intent or any peaceful coexistence with Israel. Remember when Arafat first appeared in the U N. in the fall of 1973 and said: "In one hand I hold a gun, in the other I hold an olive branch." What actual movements have transpired in a peaceful manner by him for coexistence between Palestinians and Jews in Israel? He has repeatedly demonstrated a terrons tic philosophy toward Israel and also has consistently denounced the right of Israel to exist at all! Such practices are to be scorned. To let an organization such as the PLO get a foothold in Israel based upon an antecedent event of terronsm would be the antecedent for a reign of terrorism throughout the Middle East. Israel, having recognized this pos sibility, has set in motion an end to such a means: No PLO present at the conference in Geneva. There are other ways to represent the Palestinians, who are in favor of peaceful coexistence and homeland within Israel favorable to the perspective of eventual peace. Israel has recently begun to provide and secure strategic settlements in the West Bank. And as I see it, the West Bank has been an area of non-settlement and anybody has the right to squat on the West Bank. Israel has proceeded to do so and in the best interest of the many concerned about peaceful coexistence within the Middle East. May the Middle East peace conference at Geneva be to the ultimate and abso lute answer and settlement for relatively permanent peace throughout the Middle East. senators for favorable votes on HB 7200. You can write Senator Bob Packwood at: 1317 Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510 or Senator Mark Hatfield at: 463 Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D C.D C. 20510 Interested and concerned per sons can contact the ASUO, (telephone 686-3724), for more in formation about the day care issue. Kell Osborn ASUO Vice-President, State & University Affairs On Simeral This is in regard to economics teacher and professor Margaret Simeral. It appears that her emp loyment under Oregon's eouca tional system has become ques tionable. Logically this is how the matter stands: in order to gain te nure, that is, the right to guaran teed employment, a professor must teach and produce enough documentation each year to satisfy the Oregon board of higher education. Keep in mind that for an M S. degree, a Ph.D. or both, the student must submit some thing called a dissertation. Anyway, Simeral must produce at least one documented research paper each year. It appears that this research should be done in direct relation with the student body. That is, her research should constitute an analysis of us. Ah, but there is a catch. Of course she could research some thing else that had nothing to do with the student body’s future, but considering time and her teaching ability I can hardly conceive of this being possible. The question posed to the board is not one of having the research ready for pub lication, but rather one of whether or not the contents of her documentation is beneficial to the University. After all, is it not our parents or our employment that pays our tuition here? There are instances where in order to keep an occupation, you must do heavy manual labour and be careful with your choice of words. So the next time you are filling out a card for employment and the question "previous occu pation” stands out, be sure to print very neatly and clearly STU DENT. Please support Simeral in her struggle to stop contradictions from entering this University's in tellectual sphere. Adam Abrams Freshman, undeclared
