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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.