opinion___
Sad but true, sports programs must be axed
While nobody wants to see men's and
women's swimming and gymnastics bow to the
budget axe, the loss of those programs increas
ingly appears to be the best way out of an econ
omic morass for the financially troubled athletic
department.
The loss of the men’s swimming program,
which relies little on the athletic department for
funds yet continues to produce good teams, is
especially troubling. Unfortunately, its elimination,
too, can be justified
"Balancing the budget," a term likely to be
forever linked with the 1980s, is at the heart of the
sport of program cutting. Like it or not, athletic
director John Caine has orders to bring all the
numbers together, and in the final analysis, cut
ting programs is the only sure way to do that.
Seemingly balking at reality, the entire
University coaching staff voted unanimously to
recommend maintaining all sports. They are all
willing to make cuts in their own budgets for the
sake of saving the four programs, they said.
But the problem with relying on the coaches’
plans is that budgets for individual sports often
run over their projected amounts. When that
happens, the athletic department must pick up the
slack. This year there is no slack in Caine’s office.
Caine says he can save $200,000 by eliminat
ing all swimming and gymnastics from the budget.
But even that cut relies on an unusual University
refusal to honor scholarship commitments for
those programs next year, and on the very ten
uous hope that the Incidental Fee Committee will
increase the student athletic fee.
With so many financial gray areas, the
coaches’ promises don’t offer Caine the guaran
tees he needs.
The elimination of men’s swimming is hardest
to swallow. Except for the coaches salaries, the
program raises its own money. In fact, slashing the
swimming program will save only $15,000 of the
$350,000 Caine must pare from the budget.
But leaving men’s swimming intact would only
create new problems. While Title IX doesn’t
require the exact same number of men’s and
women’s sports, parallel sports programs are
usually seen as the best way to fulfill the federal
mandate.
If men’s swimming is left unscathed by the
budget axe, strong pressures will develop to spare
women's swimming as well. When two programs
are saved, the bottom line — dollars — comes back
into play and the whole idea must be nixed.
What makes matters worse is that Caine must
make his decision by March 2 — time in which to
propose alternate plans is rapidly waning.
It’s sad but true. More and more, it appears
certain that economics are going to get the best of
four of the University’s best sports programs.
vours
Ignorance
I have been reading in the Emerald
letters advocating the United States as
being the best country on Earth, while
also criticizing other nations. These are
written by people who have likely never
lived outside the U S. The ignorance and
lack of interest regarding the rest of
world in this country is unbelievable.
In the recent past students have
subjected a fellow GTF to racial insults
while two others have been threatened
with physical violence because of their
political opinions Nationalism does not
necessarily lead to racism and anti
socialism. Yet, I do perceive among
white American young people the growth
of values which have led elsewhere to
revolution from above. Heil Reagan!
Michael King
GTF, sociology
It’s the water
The words rang out clear through the
din
“Water is the source of life for all living
things."
A woman sitting behind me groaned
loudly and said, “This is getting just too
cosmic.” Indeed, the reaction was not
uncommon as I listened in amazement to
the restless concert-goers around me. In
an atmosphere that should have been
filled with respect and love, I heard only
negative remarks. I could scarcely
believe what I was hearing
For the last several days I have been
mmmk HV&ttnE
'CUTllNcS DON CN KXt> SlWKS-TMt OUWGEOUS! m OF CUR UWfcR WWS ARE ON TOOP STAMPS!'
reading letters in this newspaper from
concerned students defending the high
purpose of this no-nuke gathering of
musicians and spokespersons. Im
mediately after a letter from Darrel Plant
which questioned the sincerity of the
musical affair, avid supporters of the
event responded en masse in favor of
this sort of platform. I felt good about that
reaction. There are people out there who
are willing to stand up and take a chance
by suggesting that a community like
Eugene is mature and aware enough to
realize the special meaning of the gath
ering. Supposedly, we are tolerant of the
many parts which make up the whole of
the-community. We are more than that.
We open our arms wide to the persons
pushed to the waxside by a largely in
tolerant society. The racist and sexist
remarks hailing around my ears tore at
my faith in our “difference." I closed my
eyes and listened hard for the true mes
sage of the music. I only heard people
slashing out at themselves. I prayed that
Mr. Plant had been about us. I won
dered
The rain was falling hard as the crowds
filed out of Mac Court. Like everyone
else, I hunched my shoulders and tucked
my head inward to shielf myself from the
downpour. As a large, cold drop snuck
down my spine, I was reminded of the
theme of the concert. I wondered why
the people were running from the very
thing that gives us life. The water is still
with us.
Daniel Henry
GTF, speech
On principle
Dear Karl Ronacher: In response to
your letter of Feb. 17, where’s back
home? Poor dear fellow, your naivete is
hanging out so, and for one who might
someday pursue a career in business, it
would behoove you to learn, precious
little is ever done on principle. Only
martyrs live and die on principle, alone.
And, it’s through their suffering that the
rest of us enjoy our civil liberties; liberties
which must be fought for and won anew
by each generation. The RCYB, whom
you indict for interfering with your study
habits, would likely be doing the same
thing were they right now in Gedansk,
and no doubt your young Polish coun
terpart would be denouncing their ac
tivities as counterproductive to the col
lective efforts of the state.
You see, dear Karl, it takes a great deal
of will and intensity of spirit to break
through our enculturations and really do
anything on principle alone. Were you to
spend some time in another country, you
might learn this is the only way it can
really be learned, by living outside the
cultural mainstream.
Most Americans are very proud of the
revolution of 1776, but have no respect
for the revolutionaries of today. You see,
Karl, the revolution goes on, no matter
how strongly it is resisted by the conser
vatives, nor how often it is betrayed by
the liberals.
Don't worry if it gets a bit noisy now
and again. Someone is fighting that
1
someday you might be able to operate a
small business in your beloved America,
free of the fear that a multi-national
cooperation might squeeze you out of
business with the touch of a computer
keyboard. Someone is fighting, Karl.
Someone cares Someone is acting on
principle, and principle alone.
Jackie Gabel
Masters candidate,
music composition
Under attack
According to the February-April 1981
issue of Counter Spy magazine, the U S.
attache for Political Affairs, John K.
Knaus, is the CIA Chief of Station in
Canada. In addition, Dwight S. Burgess,
Rowland E. Roberts Jr., and David C.
Whipple, members of the U.S. delegation
to the United Nations in Geneva, Swit
zerland, are also CIA officers.
However I'm not writing this letter to
name the names of CIA agents as that
would take years. Rather I’m writing to
alert people to the attempt being made in
Congress to pass the “Intelligence Iden
tities Protection Act” which was in
troduced last year by both Sen. Moyn
ihan (D-NY) and Rep. Edward Boland
(D-MA). Both bills would outlaw the
“naming of names” by anyone, even if
such information is derived from
unclassified public sources such as the
one quoted above
If these bills were law I would be put in
jail for three years and fined $15,000 for
writing this letter (Section 501C). The
passage of these bills, at this time, will
open the door to even further erosion
and violation of our First Amendment
guarantee that “Congress shall make no
law abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press . " and with Ronald
Reagan in office, we are likely to see our
Constituion under attack from every
corner.
David Isenberg
Junior, international studies
letters policy
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