Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 1981)
mike rust rust never sleeps It is sad to report that atten dance of Wednesday’s Friends of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade’s "forum” on the Gang of Four trials was limited to less than 20 people — a dismal turnout for a campus with a proud history of sucking up to the more fashionable var iety of totalitarianism. The low turnout is symptoma tic of the sinking fortunes of some former campus cultural heroes. Mao’s star has been in decline for some time, and the possibility exists, when all is said and done, that he will emerge in the pages of history as little more than the pudgiest mass murderer of our century. Some of the Great Helms man’s one-time colleagues still are hanging around, however. But the times may be a-changin’ for them as well. Take for example the case of Fidel Castro, whose revolution ary aura has been fading as of late. While the civil war in El Salvador has occupied most of the press’ Latin American focus, a one-time comrade of Castro has been providing evidence that the Cuban Revolution might be reactivated Last year, Huber Matos, once leader of the Cuban Revolution, was allowed to leave Cuba after completing a 20-year prison sentence. Matos was among the leaders of the revolution that threw out the Batista dictator ship, and after the success of Castro's revolution he was, for a brief time, in charge of Camaguey province. He resigned his post, how ever, when it became clear that Castro was assuming dictatorial powers. On Oct. 21, 1959, two days after his resignation, he was arrested and charged with treason. He emerged last year at the age of 60. Matos’ release was little her alded — it’s unlikely you were aware of it unless you read Amensty International publica tions. In the time since, how ever, he has sought to build a Cuban liberation movement — an effort that resulted last fall in the founding of a new organiza tion, Cuba Independiente y Democratica. Resistance to Castro is noth Law Clinic Continued from Page 1 detractors, like Eugene timber producer Aaron Jones, to launch a political attack. And according to law school Dean Derrick Bell, the attack has been pervasive. “Somebody called me and said that the major topic of dis cussion up there is the law school and its environmental clinic," Bell said. “Those people (legislators) are dealing with a lot of problems they are not really in control of, and they've got to find something else to focus on.” In January, 44 legislators sent a letter to the dean expressing their support for the program. Included in that number were all members of the Eugene delegation except Rep. Vern Meyer, R-Springfield-Eugene, and Rep. Larry Campbell, R West Lane. Records on file with the secretary of state show both Meyer and Campbell heavily supported by timber interests, with Campbell receiving $600 from Jones’ timber company. Bell dismisses claims by the clinic’s opponents that they’re interested only in ensuring the cleanliness of the educational system. “They're talking about the ethics of it," Bell said. "There’s no problem with the ethics or principle. People who make money cutting trees don’t want us to be involved in any way in any thing that makes it harder for them to cut trees." According to Portland's Wil lamette Week, a major portion of FORE’s funding comes from the timber industry. Prof. Gene Scholes, past pre sident of the Association of American Law Schools, said because the legal system in this country is an advocacy one, students involved in actual cases have to argue a certain view point. "If you want to have exper ience on public issues, it's go ing to be impossible to consider CASH For Textbooks Mon.-Fri. Smith Family Bookstore 768 E. 13th 1 Bl. From Campus Ph 345-1651 iti'inm SAVE Model 7077 U/ITH THIS COUPOH! SOUNDESIGH flM/FM/Fm-stereo Receluer - cassette Player/Recorder Records cassettes directly from receiver, BSR turntable external tape player, live. Loudness control. _ Reg.$239 GOODf YEAR SERVICE STORES CHARGE IT WITH coupon $199 • Goodyear Car Card • Installment Pay Plan • MasterCard • Diners Club • Visa • American Express • Carte Blanche Coupon Good Thru Sat. Nov. 15, 1980 164 W. 7th & Charnelton Open Mon.-Fri. 8-5:30 Sat. 8-5 Downtown Eugene 343-2501 them in a clinic unless there is somebody on the other side," Scholes said. “If we have the opportunity, we would very much entertain other issues and other sides of issues.” But Scholes doesn't see timber interests funding a similar clinic. Most of those who are able to go out and hire their own attorney simply aren’t very in terested in us." ing new. Many have suggested that Cuba for all practical pur poses is an outpost of Soviet colonialism, with a political sys tem as brutal as its economic system is unworkable. Even Rolling Stone a couple of years ago published an article about the dissatisfaction of youth in Cuba at the time of a tout by American musicians. However, in an article in the latest American Spectator, Carl Gershman, the vice-chairman of Social Democrats, USA, suggests that because of Matos' past revolutionary record, social democratic orientation and commitment to political freedom, Matos’ words carry “unique moral authority.” Matos, Gershman says, feels that internal dissatisfaction makes a Cuban uprising “inevi table if not necessarily immin ent." In addition to the deterior ation of the Cuban economy and last year’s exodus of over 125,000 people, it is estimated that as many as 3,000 Cubans have died in combat in Angola during the past five years. Those deaths, as a portion of the population, exceed Amer ican combat deaths in Vietnam. However, Matos also says there are 12,000 — not 3,000 — Soviet troops in Cuba. Which raises the interesting question of what American policy should be in the event of a Soviet at tempt to quell a Cuban uprising. It’s a question, Gershman says, that should be addressed "before we are overtaken by events." The opinions expressed in this column are the writer's and are not necessarily shared by the paper. ^German AUTO SERVICE VWs-MERCEDES-BMWs DATSUN-TOYOTA-AUDI Reliable service for your foreign car 342-2912 2025 Franklin Blvd Eugene, Oregon
