opinion__
Fight for your education — or lose it
Our education is in jeopardy.
During the next three months, the Legislature
will decide the future of Oregon’s higher
education system. The prospects are grim.
Gov. Vic Atiyeh has already recommended a
higher education budget that would result in the
loss of 28 faculty members, 27 classified staff
members and several GTF’s. And some legislators
have suggested that 10 percent be cut even from
this woefully inadequate budget.
If the University is forced to take this cut, it will
lose three schools and eight departments.
Students who had difficulty getting important
classes this quarter should consider the
ramifications of these reductions — imagine how
hard it will be to fill your schedule next year if the
number of classes are reduced by a third!
Additionally, tuition would be forced to rise,
which would mean that students would be paying
more than ever for fewer services.
In order to prevent this catastrophe, students
must convince their legislators that they are al
ready hard-pressed and that such cuts would be
unacceptable because they would prevent them
from obtaining the educations they have worked
for.
We must convince the Legislature that higher
education is one of our state’s most valuable and
essential resources. It provides the kind of skilled
workers that Oregon will need to manage its
resources and to diversify its industry.
And it adds directly to our economy by em
ploying thousands.
Clearly, students can’t continue to be apath
etic about the University’s economic crisis. Very
shortly, it will effect us all.
My primary goal as ASUO president this year
has been to express students’ concerns about
higher education to those who make the decisions
concerning our educations. However, we in the
ASUO can’t do it all. Our representatives need to
know that a large percentage of students are
concerned about these problems.
Otherwise, they’ll send the money to other
agencies that are more vocal.
The ASUO and the Student University Rela
tions Council are sponsoring rallies today in the
EMU Breezeway and Monday in Salem. These
rallies give students an excellent opportunity to let
their legislators know they care.
If we lose this battle now, the effect will be
immediate and it will take years for the University
to recoup its losses. If you don’t show up at the
rallies or write your legislators now, don’t be
surprised if you can't get the hours you need next
term or if you find yourself out of school altogether
next year.
Dave Eaton
ASUO President
Keg roll
As one of the 25 members and pledges
of the University chapter of Delta Tau
Delta who participated in this weekend's
Keg Roll for the Kidney Association, I am
compelled to correct your incredibly
inaccurate article covering this event
which you apparently picked up from the
AP wire service.
The Keg Roll, an annual benefit for the
Kidney Association of Oregon, is co
sponsored by the Blitz-Weinhard Cor
poration and the three Oregon chapters
of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, namely
Willamette, OSU and U. of O. The Cor
vallis Delts began the roll on Friday and
were joined in the effort by the Willamette
and Oregon chapters in Salem on Satur
day morning. We relayed the keg from
Salem to Tigard on Saturday, and from
Tigard to the Blitz brewery in downtown
Portland on Sunday morning. Through
the efforts of all the men who participat
ed, a total of almost $4,000 was
achieved, which we expect to grow once
contributions from Delt alumni are ad
ded.
We of the U of O Delt House are proud
of our work in the aid of this fine cause
and are disappointed that such an inac
curate article should appear in the
Emerald, especially when University
students were involved. This seems to be
only part of a pattern that the Emerald
has developed in its coverage of the
campus Greek system and its activities,
with emphasis on the negative happen
ings instead of the positive aspects of
Greek life. (Though I will admit that the
negative stories make for better
"news")
It is unfortunate that a charitable ac
tivity shared by a University fraternity
should be so inaccurately reported by
the Emerald. I would hope that in the
future better communications might be
developed between the Emerald and the
campus Greeks, so that Emerald readers
might get a better idea of what the Greek
anmattt P*ecrWftu*fp
'GORED OX, AGAIN.'
system at the U of O is really all about.
William Landen
Sophomore, pre-journalism
Grow up
You invited suggestions for improving
next year’s Immorald. Here are mine:
• I. Read classic and lasting examples of
satire and wit.
• 2. Analyze them for elements that
contribute to their humor.
• 3. Incorporate the elements in your
pieces, modified by your own writing
style.
• 4. Recognize that using gutter lan
guage for shock value often produces
shock, but seldom wit.
• 5. Continue to identify and use as
targets the ridiculous around campus.
• 6. Hit 'em hard, but clean.
• 7. Grow up.
Jane Durnell
Library
Needs a . . . break
I must admit that the "Daily Immorald"
was pretty amusing The stories were not
a matter of taste, they were a matter of
humor. Which is the worst, reading lies
that people know are lies, or reading lies
which people think are the truth.
And for those of you who don’t think I
have a good sense of humor, you try
joining a fraternity, being a Republican
and working for Senator Richard
Groener during this current Legislative
session and see how long you last.
Brian Jay Dunlap
Senior, politiciai science
Intern, Senator Richard Groener
Screw ’em
You were right your Daily Immorald
offended almost everyone. We wish to
congratulate you on a fine piece of jour
nalism. We loved every paragraph, per
sonally, and, if the rest can’t take a joke,
screw ’em.
After all, it's only the truth that hurts.
Signed by several members
of the physical plant
glenn boettcher
even editors get the blues
Everyone in our neighborhood had the same idea last
Saturday
Scores of lawn mowers were dragged from their
musty garages and into the sun. In every direction, their
smiling drivers sprayed fragrant cuttings onto streets
and sidewalks
The smell of gasoline and freshly cut grass always
reminds me of the summers I spent mowing lawns to
earn what my grandfather called "pocket money."
I took great pride in always leaving tidy, parallel
mower tracks — a habit that left me wondering if I was
neurotic after reading about neuroses and psychoses in
a ninth-grade health class.
I soon understood that my concern over how a lawn
looked after I'd mowed it was related more to aesthetics
than neuroses But seeing the neatly lined lawns in our
neighborhood last weekend made me realize my idea of
what looks good in a yard also have changed
A lawn changes very little during a complete cycle of
seasons It grows a little and you have to cut it. It turns
brown and you have to water it. If you water it enough to
turn it green again, then you have to cut it again. A
vicious cycle that yields nothing but clippings that have
to be hidden.
But a garden, ah Nature transforms every bit of water
and care that you invest into consumables — a great
way to offset high food costs.
Practical considerations aside, a garden in the yard —
one visible to passersby, not one hidden away behind
the garage — is a beautiful thing.
Each plant starts out so small, in seeds resembling
one another so closely that only an expert could
distinguish between them. From there it’s nothing but
distinctiveness.
By the time each bed or row has been harvested,
those who pass by regularly have had the pleasure of
watching plants that will be used — not just looked at —
grow in a yard And those of who walk home won't track
quite so many grass clippings onto the carpet