Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 13, 1979)
emerald Last day Today is the final day for students who expect to graduate to submit their application for degree Additionally, today is the final day to add courses Oregon Hall will be open from 8am to 1:30 pm to accommodate students Vol 80. No 130 Eugene, Oregon 9/403 Friday. April 13. ''979 Nuclear power debaters agree on need to re-examine safety By CATHERINE SIEGNER Of the Emerald The usually antagonistic pro-nuke and anti-nuke forces came to a surprising concensus Thursday night that the na tion's nuclear power plants ought to be shut down until the actual risks of operating them can be determined Lee Peddicord, OSU nuclear en gineering prof, John Bartels. Eugene Water & Electric Board member, Kim Mackey from the Eugene-based Friends of Nukes, and Sandy Pitler of the Troian Decommissioning Alliance all agreed the risks and benefits of nukes should be assessed in the wake of last month's accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island atomic plant Their remarks came in a debate before about 30 persons sponsored by the University's Political Science Student Union in the EMU Forum Peddtcord said he found it "troubling '* that a plant such as Three Mile Island could have had such an accident “My impression is that plants should be able to operate safely under regula tions and not release radioactivity." he said "The problem is that safety research always looked at what would cause a large accident, and the systems put in were supposed to mitigate such occurrences Three Mile Island shows that's obviously not correct " Pitler said it is difficult to assess the implications of the Pennsylvania ac cident because The situation there isn't over yet ‘‘It shows that no technology is safe all the time Nuclear power is just not that safe, and the utilities don't tell the truth." Mackey responded that there is "no such thing as an absolutely safe plant "In assessing power sources, we must assess risks and benefits Three Mile Island shows that in life there is risk and we must go on from there " He said nuclear power plants "are still safer than coal plants Even with the Three Mile Island accident, nuclear power has shown it is relatively safer than any other ma|or. centralized power source " Bartels said it is a little early to speculate on what the Pennsylvania ac (Continued on Page 3) wmm PtKrto by Ed Warren OSU Nuclear Engineer Lee Peddicord GTFs request pay raises to meet inflation By DIANE BACHA Of the Emerald The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation negotiating team met Thurs day with University representatives to begin talks on a new contract The meeting was intended to clarify the GTFF's proposed contract and to answer questions from University representatives Only five months after last year's contract negotiations were closed, bar gaining procedures once again were discussed, agreed upon and signed by both parties "We had a very friendly meeting today, and t expect it to continue that way. says Bill Lemman. the University's chief negotiator Asked it the University is focusing on any particular areas of the contract. Lemman says, “I can't think of any " However. GTFF secretary Jeff Ed mondson mentioned several areas the federation plans to focus on One of these is standardization of GTF course assignments Edmondson says the GTFs would like more voice in choosing the courses they will teach The new contract requests that GTFs be given the right to refuse assignments for which "they don't feel competent " Salary will be another point of con tention, as the GTFF updates wage demands to match the current inflation rate Although the present contract calls for a 5 percent increase effective Sep tember 1979. Edmundson says that it is not enough to meet inflation Instead, the new contract proposes a 7 8 percent increase to compensate for inflation Over two years this means a 21 8 per cent increase for two-ievel GTFs, and slightly higher raises for lower level GTFs to reduce pay differential The federation will also renew its request for a state-funded health in surance plan, according to Edmundson However, this issue is contingent upon a change in present which excludes part-time state employees from such a privilege Class size in another concern The proposed contract calls tor a committee to be appointed in each department to determine maximum enrollment for GTF classes The contract includes provisions to differentiate between lec ture and discussion classes Discussion classes would include language and English compos’bon courses limited to an enrollment of 20 students, says Ed mondson Other proposed changes include provisions for child care facilities on campus, and for counting GTF's summer session work as a term toward the requirements for a full year's experience Edmundson says the federation also wants summer session salaries raised to the level of regular school ye*r salaries Graphic by Tom Et1«l Committee endorses exam changes By KEITH ALLEN Ot the Emerald Proposed changes in Oregon's state bar examination will make the test "tairer but not easier," a University law profes sor says Prof Fredric Merrill, who is also a member of the Bar Admissions Study Committee, adds the changes in the licensing test for lawyers will make the exam a "fairer measure of law students' competency to practice law.” Merrill and eight other lawyers and law professors were appointed by the Oregon State Supreme Court to study and recommend changes in the bar ad missions process after the present test ing prodcedure drew heavy criticism as a deficient method of testing compe tency in law During a series of public hearings held at the three Oregon law schools, critics argued the test did not measure a wide variety of skills essential to successful practice ot law Instead of testing reasoning, analysis, negotiation and counseling, the bar exam tests only short-term memory for the fine points of law. they said The test is unduly "stressful and ex pensive for applicants," according to a 91-page report issued by the study committee The Hilton report (named after com nittee chairer Frank H. Hilton), complete with recommended changes, is in the hands of state Chief Justice Arno Denecke and the Supreme Court for approval The court has planned a meeting next Friday with the Hilton committee and the Board of Bar Examiners which is responsible for preparing the exam, to iron out final de tails The committee agreed with the es sence of many of the complaints, but concluded that even with its shortcom ings. the current licensing system was reasonably effective "We never thought that the bar exam was perfect," Merrill says But he adds if the exam is seen as a way to test "minimum competency in law, then it is a pretty good method The report states that the committee unanimously felt out-of-state attorneys who have already passed a bar exam and practiced law for at least three years should be admitted to the Oregon bar without taking the state bar examination They concluded that an admissions test for such lawyers “constitutes an unreasonable burden." Other recommended changes deal with the format of the examination, including the amount of time allowed for the test, the quality of questions and the number of issues presented While the committee decided essay questions used in the exam are ‘‘generally good," the group found most of the questions contained too many is sues. sometimes as many as 40 in each question The report urges the bar examiners to "substantially reduce the number of issues presented in the average question " Insufficient time to take the exam was another problem, the committee found While members rejected the idea presented by some witnesses to arbi trarily increase the one-half hour res (Continued on Page 6) today Suicide is a leading cause of student deaths, and counselors says the campus atmosphere may be a catalyst See Page 10, Wednesday ts the day ASUO presidential candidates will ask ftw your vote The Emerald looks at the four hopefuls on Page 14. Eugene senior citizens are finding new friends with a pair of companion programs See Page* 12 and 13.
