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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 1978)
opinion a is Who’s it for? Saturday marks the fourth consecutive year that Veteran's day celebrations find America without active involvement in a war. But that hardly means the effects of the last war go unfelt or our country’s long-term romance with militarism has lapsed. In fact, the group that probably benefits last from out national duty dance with the military is composed of non-career veterans, of whom more than 700 are attending the University. These ex-soldiers—for whom service in the armed forces represented more obligation than opportunity—face dwindling educational benefits, delayed stress reaction syndromw (after shocks from the horrors of war), bureaucratic stultification in the Veteran's Administration and U.S. population all too willing to bury the puzzling shame of Vietnam. But the American military animus continues unabated. Budgets for the U.S. Department of Defense maintain their healthy annual growth. Career Military retirees take lucrative pen sions with them that are not reduced with receipt of other income from jobs or investments, unlike more penurious, civilian com pensations such as Social Security, disability payments or private pensions. In fact, pension payments for drop-outs from the top heavy military establishment rival expenditures on major weapons systems. We don’t mean to suggest, of course, that the latter ex penses bear any great nobility. Arms and military equipment manufacturers continue to fatten at the public trough despite unabated examples of waste in cost overruns and dubious projects such as the B-1 bomber and the neutron bomb. But the immunity of corporations like Texas' North American Rockwell or Washington’s Boeing are guaranteed by patrons such as senators Henry Jackson (D-Wash.) and John Tower (R-Texas), whose hawkish views transcend the frail artifice of party politics. These advocates have learned—via the generous reci procity of campaign donations—that war makes for good poli tics as well as good business. War, however, has recently made for decidedly bad economics, since the inflation ignited by deficit spending during the Vietnam era consumes us yet. Undoubtedly, in this imperfect world, the need for defense will not decline until nations realize their common interests outweigh the parochial interests of ideology and geography. But the seeds of militarism planted in each of us lie waiting the next sly cultiva tion by the glorifiers and beneficiaries of war—or the constant threat of war. Perhaps we would serve ourselves better if Saturday’s com memorations focused on the virtues of peace and the inadequate treatment of war’s victums than on the inglorious human failings that provided a reason for Veteran’s Day. AUTUMN LEAVE V.OIS Lawsuit move The concluding sentence of John Thomas’ Emerald article on Nov. 1, 1978, about litigation filed last July by the University's Direc tor of Affirmative Action may have misled your readers inadvertently. It states: "The University has not yet officially denied the charges." Federal court litigation is com plicated; the University’s lack of official denial to date should in no way be construed as an "admis sion by silence" of the charges or as an unusual circumstance. The University’s Answer to the com plaint will be filed after legal pre liminaries are concluded. Further, as is typical in such cases, University officials have been advised by legal counsel not to comment except within the ap propriate court procedure. Let me assure your readers that when an Answer is filed, it will deny the allegations against the University, the State Board of Higher Education and the indi viduals named The Office of the Attorney General will contest the case vigorously. Edward Branchfield Assistant Attorney General and Counsel What a mess! Why is the Lawrence Hall Court yard an undeniable shambles? Sitting here, amongst perhaps 70 bicycles. I notice several old copies of the Emerald strewn about. A copy of the Register Guard sports section, wrinkled and yellowing, is dated Oct. 18 Paper bags, advertisements fal len from bulletin boards and card board boxes litter the area. Leaves threaten pedestrian traffic through the courtyard. There is a garbage can that has been overflowing for two weeks which is finally producing the odor of rotten pumpkin meat, a remnant of the Oct. 30 pumpkin-carving contest sponsored by the Land scape Architecture Department, a resident of Lawrence Hall. Also present are several pump kins, again, left over from the con test, lying wrinkled, rotten and molding in the fountain, itself half-empty and filled with debris. The rest of the campus is kept immaculate or, at least, presenta ble. Why has the Lawrence Court yard gone neglected? Isn't it ironic that the Landscape Architecture Department is pre sumably involved in the training of persons to design the landscapes that surround buildings but seem ingly couldn’t care less about their maintenance? Russell Kaiser senior, elementary education ?tM6 15 PYIU6, AWWWf f ITS im 1$ FMCWRW61 $> m,. «-$> wutve? jpc St) i ef none PiZKt 15 Comm ■CAY W went, ymcHCH! Hi fcUfr/6; WV05 - if m mwes nfl'flr - Page 4 ?(U£ 6 ns msc mm! w m sewtf, HMNit! i i Bei&etF MOlAdgM mem ex /i ^ .*'*****m*'^~:m,m\m Friday, November 10, 1978
