Vol. 82, No. 61
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Monday, December 1, 1980
Minorities
Groups debate
teaching views
Analysis by
LAUNA CORNWELL
Ol the Emerald
One objective of any university is to
prepare students for life in the real world.
One way to accomplish this is to teach
from a multi-cultural perspective that
includes racial minority groups.
Is this happening at the University?
That depends on who you talk to.
“Eugene and Oregon have a small
minority population, but the world has a
diverse minority population,” says Nor
ma McFadden, director of the University
affirmative action program. “We are
preparing students to go out into the
world.”
But what actually is being taught is the
non-minority view, says Colleen Fong, a
member of the Ethnic Women’s Alliance.
“What they are now teaching, for ex
ample, in the sociology of women, is the
sociology of white women,” Fong says.
“Let’s teach courses that reflect the
society which is multi-racial.”
Barre Toelken, University ethnic
studies program director, says ethnic
students come to the University with a
positive world view
“For example, Hispanic students
come here bilingual. If we pointed this
out ar. positive, it would provide them
with a more stable mental situation in
which to learn,” Toelken says.
“We really haven't begun to fully ap
preciate what ethnic minds can do.”
Many people say the University should
reflect the composition of the society.
Although the percentage of minorities at
the University exceeds the state average,
it is much lower than the national aver
age.
Oregon has one of the smallest Amer
ican minority populations in the country
— 2.8 percent, according to the 1970
Census reports. And the University's
native-born minority population is 5.8
percent — 3 percent Asian, 1.1 percent
Hispanic, 1 percent Afro-American and
0 7 percent Native American or Eskimo.
Historically, Oregon was shut off from
large minority populations because it
lacked the ports and large cities that
attracted minorities seeking em
ployment. And many minorities who
value a sense of community may be
attracted to areas with a larger minority
population, McFadden says.
If the University is committed to a
multi-cultural perspective, plans must be
devised to attract and retain minorities.
"The University needs an accurate
analysis of the skills of ethnic students
when they arrive,” says Lewis Merrick,
special programs coordinator for the
State Board of Higher Education
Continued on Page 24
Here comes Santa
There was no snow, no reindeer — it wasn’t even
December — but Santa and his helpers arrived in Eugene
last week to do the annual duty of ushering in the
Christmas season. Hopeful children waited anxiously in
line at Valley River Center for a chance to give Santa their
holiday wish lists. During his visit, St. Nick also found time
in his busy pre-Christmas schedule to pose for
photographs with excited children. For more on Santa
and the holidays, see the Christmas section that appears
in today’s edition.
Photos by David W. Zahn
University president will decide
Groups clash over childcare center admissions
Two campus groups have asked the
University president’s office to review
admissions rules for the EMU Child Care
Center.
The requests represent distinctly dif
ferent positions on the childcare admis
sions issue, and administrative assistant
Muriel Jackson says the administration
will consider the two suggestions in
dependently
The Women’s Law Forum petition,
submitted in late October, suggests that
single parents who are full-time students
and two-parent families with both par
ents attending school full time get the
first priority for admission.
But the center's Parent Advisory
Group asks that admissions priorities be
established without regard to the marital
status of parents. The group’s petition
suggests only that returning student
parents have first priority.
The PAG proposes that the center limit
parents to 30 hours of weekly childcare
per child, but the forum wants unlimited
service.
Admissions standards have been one
of the core issues in the childcare ar
gument that has raged since April. EMU
Board members and student parents
repeatedly have argued the positions
expressed in the petitions.
When the EMU Child Care Center
governing document was submitted to
the board last month, it was amended so
that the admissions policy decided by the
parents would be overridden by state
administrative rules.
Deadline for public comment on the
PAG proposal is Tuesday Acting Pres.
Paul Olum will announce his decision on
the proposal by Dec. 20
The deadline for public comment on
the forum's proposal was Nov. 22. Olum
is expected to announce his decision on
that proposal today.