daly emerald
Vol. 81, No 35
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Wednesday, October 24, 1979
Hiring opens PSSU-faculty rift
By SALL Y HODGKINSON
Of the Emerald
The temporary appointment of a
political science instructor has sparked
intense debate, confusion and questions
about student participation in depart
ments’ personnel decisions.
Last term, the political science faculty
vote split between two candidates for a
teaching position. However, the four
student votes in the faculty body were all
cast in favor of one candidate.
Lawrence Pierce, chairer of the
department, says he then sent both
names to John Baldwin, dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences, with the
vote tallies. Baldwin then asked him to
select a candidate. Pierce chose the
candidate he voted for — the one
students didn’t choose.
"The student votes were completely
disregarded,” says Michael Lacey, pre
sident of the Political Science Student
Union and the political science repre
sentative on the Student University Af
fairs Board.
"That decision was not based on fair
ness or democratic principles. It was
based on what Larry Pierce thought and
he certainly wasn’t unbiased. He had the
support of half of his faculty and all of the
students on one candidate but he chose
the other.”
Lacey — and other members of the
PSSU — aren't upset with the professor
who was hired They see the situation as
an attack aginst student participation.
-‘This isn’t a vendetta against the
professor (who was hired),” Lacey says.
"It’s a question of whether student votes
count. The evidence is there. The votes
don’t count but they should.”
Pierce agrees that when it comes to a
close decision, student votes don’t carry
much weight. A majority faculty vote is
the criterion used to select a candidate,
even if student votes swing the majority
the other way as they did this summer.
According to Pierce, departmental
policies have developed during the last
12 years that allow students voting
membership on various committees in
cluding ones that deal with personnel,
promotion, tenure and selection of a
department chairer. In addition, four
students (two undergraduates and two
graduates) have voting rights in the poli
tical science faculty assembly.
But student participation in the poli
tical science department was affected
last spring when Ben Johnson, sociology
department head, tried to alter that
department’s hiring procedure to
remove student particpation. According
to Pierce, that proposed change — and
the reaction to it — prompted a memo
from Baldwin asking departments to dis
tinguish between faculty and student
votes
“They (administrators) want to know
who the advice is coming from," Pierce
says. “He (Baldwin) can take student
votes into account if he feels like it."
Baldwin's call for a vote distinction and
a memo from the provost’s office asking
that the departmental votes be recorded
on a roll-call basis, is in “conflict with the
rules of the department that had been
developed during the past 12 years,"
Pierce says
To help clarify some of the issues of
student involvement in personnel deci
sions, the political science department
has scheduled a meeting for today at
12:30 p.m. in 108 EMU. Paul Olum, vice
president for academic affairs, will ex
plain the administration's view; the poli
tical science department personnel
committee will report on the history of
student participation in personnel deci
sions at the University; and the PSSU is
expected to present its position.
Pierce says he hopes the issue won't
“blow up. If that happens, I think
students might lose any input they have
now.”
According to Don Chalmers, director
of the Office of Student Advocacy, there
is no University regulation that
specifically prohibits student input into
personnel decisions. Historically, he
says, departments have been free to
allow direct student participation into
personnel decisions.
But now, Chalmers adds, University
administrators seem to be shifting away
from that historic practice and trying to
prevent student input into personnel
decisions.
The decision on whether to allow
student input into personnel matters
should be left up to the faculty or
department, not the University, Chalmers
says. The University is being “inconsis
tent" by letting departments have some
autonomy but trying to restrict decisions
about student particpation at the same
time, he adds.
(Continued on Page 3A)
County rebuffs PEACE petitioners again
By MARY SPANABEL
Of the Emerald
People Effectively Appealing for
Cannabis Equality encountered rejec
tion for the second time when its peti
tion for reduced enforcement of mar
ijuana laws was not accepted by Lane
County General Services Tuesday.
"Because we have identified these
petitions as being the identical or same
petitions that were originally presentea
and which we found sufficient grounds
to reject, I feel I have no alternative but
to again reject these petitions, notwith
standing the affidavits that have been
presented, basically on the same
grounds they were rejected in the first
instance,” says Don Penfold, director
of general services for Lane County.
Kathy Wilson and Lewis Ward, co
directors of PEACE, accompanied by
Eugene attorney Stephen Behrends,
submitted the petitions with 8,144 sig
natures and affidavits from most of the
people who circulated petitions stating
that petition cover sheets were at
tached when signatures were obtained.
The first petitions were rejected when
submitted a few weeks ago because full
texts explaining the initiative were not
attached.
Despite the fact that full texts were
stapled to the signature sheets this
time, Penfold says, “I feel that in order
for my decision to be consistent in this
matter that I have to maintain the same
position at this time that I have
previously maintained.
“If they had been new petitions with
new signatures it would have made a
difference," Perifold says. He suggests
that the sponsors of the petition go to
court if they disagree with his decision.
“It is our position that the petitions
now are in proper form and there's no
provision for them to be voided per
manently," says Behrends. ,
"There's evidence that indicates that
they were circulated with petitions at
tached. The petitions are attached now
and we feel that, since they are in
proper form now, they should have
been accepted by Mr. Penfold. And,
since they are not, we are going to take
the matter to the courts and file a writ of
mandamus request in the near future,”
he says.
Penfold rejected the petition after he,
along with Ralph Hoehney, elections
division manager, and David Spriggs,
assistant manager of elections division,
examined the petition signatures and
the affidavits in the presence of the
media.
The petition proposed elimination of
funds used for law enforcement against
cultivation of marijuana for personal
use.
Photo by Steve Dykes
Don Penfold explains Lane County's second refusal of PEACE'S marijuana
decriminalization petitions to PEACE member Kathy Wilson and Eugene attorney
Stephen Behrends (standing) Tuesday. The petitions would have put a measure on
the county ballot to stop funds for enforcement of anti-marijuana laws.
today
rhe University has proposed
two more work-load contract provi
sions to the GTFF The six-month
negotiations may be coming to an
end, GTFF executives tentatively
accepted one of them Tuesday
night See Page 3A.
I n the world of high fashion run
ning. Yegbert Gaines is a definite
loser But with people like the well
dressed Horace Houndstooth
about, Yegbert has a hard time
convincing himself that beautiful
sweatsuits aren't important See
Pages 4-5B.
Sixty five Eugeneans have un
dergone nonviolent civil-dis
obedience training in preparation
for upcoming demonstrations in
Bangor, Wash The dispute is over
Trident nuclear weapons, which
will be stored in Bangor See Page
11 A.