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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 2, 1978)
editorial N /■ EWEB heading for some needed changes The Eugene Water and Electric Board —often viewed as an obscure office by many voters — may well become the stage for some significant changes in the way Eugene’s public utility views energy and environmental problems. Newly elected board members John Bartels and Jack Craig will join Camilla Pratt for what will be the first majority of EWEB members in history who oppose nuclear power and the use of herbicides. All are strong proponents of alternative energy sources and conservation, and all op pose the use of herbicides which may endanger Eugene’s water quality. That changes in EWEB’s outlook will occur — especially with the innovative ideas of Bartels and Pratt — seems obvious. The board has been hesitant in the past to make any bold proposals, particularly in the energy field. At a time when energy prices are increasing, demand is increasing and nuclear power is coming under more and more attack, we think the board should have been more responsive to new ideas and new ways of looking at energy problems. The board has also been reluctant to deal with herbicide questions, in spite of the fact that herbicides may be pene trating Eugene’s water supply, which is fed by streams where herbicides are used. Now that a majority of the members are environmen tally oriented, both ideas and sound proposals for the future may be forthcoming. Among those may be EWEB’s role in ownership of the Trojan nuclear plant, which all of these three members have spoken out against. It may be legally impossible to get EWEB out of Trojan, but the matter should be investigated. There are a myriad of other innovations that should also be addressed: The use of solar, wind and geothermal power, creating lifeline rates for senior citizens who are crunched by rising power costs, and the role of the utility in keeping power rates at a minimum. We don’t expect the new majority to make sweeping changes overnight. We don’t expect them to solve com pletely the intricate energy and environmental puzzles be fore them. But they have fine minds and fine ideas—ideas we hope they will be able to bring to fruition during the next few years of their terms. y Letters A simpler request With regard to Ester Hamer mesz and Lyneil Chase’s recent letter to the editor entitled “A Sim ple Request” I must say that I too agree with their perceptive obser vations. I am not at all surprised that they both take such an active interest in the hygienic status of other i 111 1 people’s rectums considering the fact that their noses are always in other people’s business anyway. My dear Nanny, rest her soul, once offered this bit of advice to me once when I was frustrated and angered with what I thought was an unjust situation. It is with great reluctance that I now pass this proverb on to Ester and Lyneil. I think it went something Letters Hke this, “Blow it out you ass.” What a delightful and clever woman my Nanny was. Vernon Campbell Senior, Elementary Education Witch-hunting Readers of the Emerald may still be mystified by the very scant information about the recent de velopments in the Sociology de partment. Those of us who have struggled unsuccessfully to avert the current state of affairs were reluctant to "wash the department’s linen in public.” However, in this case discretion did not prove the better part of valor. Some of the accounts and hearsay reaching your readership are either inaccurate or omit much of the Byzantine details. -T- I_X. .11. . • 1__I .4 lU A IU UC lUliy II11 Vy 111 icu auv/ui ui^ situation would truly take pages, so I’ll be very brief. The Sociology department was in a position this year to hire 3-4 full-time faculty with potential tenure. The pros pect was an exciting one and peo ple repeatedly spoke with en thusiasm about the possible addi tions to the department. Our staff development committee — com posed of faculty and graduate students — plus faculty and stu dents who have specialties in specific areas, pored over some 400 applicants’ files in order to select the “best” and most suita ble people. The list of most favored candi dates was to be submitted to a full department meeting in order to select those whom we would in terview. At this point we found out that a group of faculty acting as a faction declared that it will oppose the hiring of any Marxists regard less of qualifications. Although the department later went through the motions of compromise, invita tions to candidates, interviews of and presentations by them — the self-labeled “non-Marxists” fa culty in truth never budged from their resolve to “veto” any candi date whose orientation was a rad ical one. We and three left-leaning candidates were in fact led through a charade. The stone walling by this group resulted in a minority vote for their candidates — nine of them to our 13 (which included seven faculty votes). The appointments which were finally made are two tenure track posi tions to unknown non-Marxists and a visiting one to a world re nowned Marxist. In acting thus they not only to kenized student participation but also harmed the department as I they created factionalism and perhaps permanent hostility be tween the two factions. They also disregard our chairperson s sin cere and forthright pleas for com promise and rational behavior. They also created a situation in which the chair’s position in un tenable, the department is riven, and students, although angry, are petrified about possible retaliation if they should speak the truth in public. It seems that our department, which was one of the most prog ressive in the University, is herald ing a new age of political witch hunting and national paranoia. That it should have happened to us is the most cruel irony. That McCarthyism returns at the be hest of self-proclaimed liberals is truly tragic. It behooves us all to remember Marx’s advice about the repetition of history —the first time is a tragedy, the second — a farce. Aliza Keddem Graduate Student Department of Sociology ASUO on target I take exception to John Iwasaki’s opinion, expressed in Thursday’s Emerald, that the ASUO acted inappropriately in paying for “No on 51” ads last week. If students had been polled, as he suggested they should have been, I suspect the ads would have been given a firm okay. “No” votes on 51 carried all University-area, student-pre dominated precincts except the one containing Northwest Christ ian College (where the measure lost by only eight votes). It is pretty obvious from looking at election results that the majority of those students who cared enough to vote did favor the sexual orienta tion amendment. And since ASUO has had a stated policy of “non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation” for some time now, it’s my felling that the ads served both to accentuate that position and link it to “the world out there” — an appropriate expression of political concern. Whether or not Iwasaki is in favor of it, it’s dear that odT stu dent government has taken stands and expressed itself both within the University community and outside. I hope it will continue to do so. This is espedally sig nificant in light of the attitudes of seclusion and unconcern which seems to dominate the outlook of so many students. The University is an important dtizen of this city and this state, and I am impressed that we have a student govern ment which respects this relation ship and is not afraid to speak out strongly for an end to inequality and injustice. Lisa Reitzes Graduate, Honors College Good effort On behalf of Eugene Citizens for Human Rights I would like to express my deepest thanks to every member of the University community who contributed their time and energy to the campaign against the repeal of the “gay rights ordinance; whose thoughts and well-wishes went with us throughout the last several weeks; who wore buttons, talked to friends, and wrote letters to the editor; who took the time to ex press your support to us, and who demonstrated that support by vot ing No on measure 51. We are all stronger for the chal lenge that each of us faced in his/her own way. Our efforts were good and important, and we are going to continue them; but we couldn't have come as far as we have without you. Carol Queen Eugene Citizens for Human Rights Imitation All modesty aside, I feel like Hunter S. Thompson must have felt after he read Tom Wolfe s “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.” Many of the best excerpts in Wolfe’s book were borrowed from Thompson’s book on the Hells Angels. Reading Jock Hatfield’s “fear and loathing” bird-watching article in Thursday’s Emerald, I recog nized much of my work. I had writ ten an article on owl watching some weeks ago, and attempted through Hatfield to get it into the Emerald. He rejected it, but evi dently liked it. If imitation is the highest form of flattery, you’re welcome, Jock. Philip Ratcliff Graduate, Undeclared Editor’s note: Jock Hatfield, au thor of the birdwatching article, twice reviewed Ratcliff's article and found it lacking. Hatfield later decided to write an article on birdwatching, and contacted E.G. White-Swift, a local bird watcher and former Emerald em ployee, who took Hatfield on a search for owls. While on this search, Hatfield met several of the same people Ratcliff had origi nally talked to. Hatfield used none of the material in Ratcliffs article, and he contacted sources on his own. Did you miss it? For those who may have mis sed it in the Emerald: There were demonstrations Friday, May 19 in Eugene and Salem to protest the recent deci sion of Oregon Attorney General James Redden concerning di vestment of stocks related to Southern Africa. Over 100 attended a noon-time rally on the EMU terrace. About half of those then went up to Salem, where, joined by smaller groups from Salem and Portland, they picketed the Public Sevice Building housing Redden’s office. Speeches by activists and primary candidates, songs and chants marked the demonstra tion, which also supported affirma tive action in the U.S. Redden responded to an invita tion and addressed the crowd, which was cool but not openly hostile. The demonstrators were spon sored by People for Southern Afri can Freedom, the ASUO and Port land Citizens Against Racism. The first two groups are planning a law suit to challenge Redden s rul ing. By the way, the reason you may have missed it in the Emerald was that it never appeared. The old ODE was too busy to even notice the first statewide demonstration on a controversial issue of on going interest to students. Good work, folks. Bob Guldin 261 N. Ash St., Eugene
