opinion
Battling apathy
We college students have been
accused of fostering the growth of the
disease of apathy as of late. I feel that the
problem lies not in student apathy, but in
lack of student awareness combined
with complete immersion in the very
competitive academic world. Immersed
in this situation, we sometimes forget
about our less-than-able to compete
fellow man. We sometimes forget that
there can be no happiness for the few
unless there is happiness for all. In a
world that is growing smaller everyday
due to the fantastic efficiencies of com
munication, our prosperity at home is
directly related to the prosperity of our
fellow man abroad. Thus, with the
realization that to not live together is to
die separately, I have decided to take
action: Not only for the benefit of my
fellow man, but indirectly for the benefit
of myself.
I have decided to get involved in a
worldwide food and education distribu
tion agency called Oxfam. The project
that our group at the University is in
volved in is a fund-raising effort by three
student mountain climbers. Their goal is
to climb Mt. McKinley in Alaska to raise
funds for the needy throughout the
world. Realizing that small efforts by the
many will yield greater results than large
efforts by the few, we ask for the support
of University students; whether their
support is through money or time. The
amount of your money or time is unim
portant. Any amount will help. Please
don’t let this opportunity to get involved
slip by We are located in Suite 1 of the
EMU. Please feel free to come by with
any questions you might have about the
project. Thank you very much.
Don Anderson
Junior, marketing
Knots in red tape
In the world of academia and business,
one primarily exists on paper. We are our
publishing record, our transcripts, and
various compendia of documents. This is
all too apparent in applying for jobs,
schools, grants, etc. In the academic
world much of this material is entrusted
to the Registrar's Office, and herein lies
the problem.
Recently, I applied to several doctoral
programs, going through the usual ritual
of documentation. This was in late
February. In March, one school sent a
letter indicating that my transcript
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seemed rather incomplete. I referred the
matter to the Registrar's Office, where it
was discovered that my fall grades had
never been posted.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that its
request was stapled to four others, a
corrected transcript was only sent to the
one school, even though it was apparent
that none had received a full transcript. I
only found out by sheer chance that the
situation had not been fully remedied.
I would like to point out that when I
went back this time, another clerk was
quite helpful, even sending corrected
transcripts special delivery (though still
too late). My dismay was further in
creased as she proceeded to tell me how
this sort of thing happened all the time.
My clerk alone has a cabinet full of
records! What is the nature of her impact
on all these unsuspecting people?
I realize that maintaining thousands of
records is a tremendous, and probably
boring, job, but it is critical to our
process. Such slipshod work is quite
dysfunctional and disturbing. In cases
such as mine, it can have disastrous
results. All the schools I applied to in
dicated that my incomplete transcript
was a significant barrier to my admitta
nce.
The ultimate lesson to be learned here
is that you had better start your applica
tion processes very early and triple ch
eck the veracity of the materials you
request.
Richard Wilen
Honors College
Interdisciplinary Masters Program
Won’t M(i)X
If the United States is to be considered
a second-rate nation in the world, it is
because of the sorry state our economy
is in, not because we are weak militarily
(we have enough highly sophisticated
weapons to destroy the world several
times over and intercept whatever the
Soviets might send over).
One reason the U S. economy is in
such a sorry state is because of
government overspending. One such
proposed (over-) expenditure is the MX
Missile system. It would cost more bil
lions and billions of dollars than any of us
can really imagine and deal another
death blow to the U S. economy.
Besides the negative affect the MX
Missile program would have on the
economy, we don’t need it militarily.
Three-fourths of our Trident missiles are
on submarines at sea and are undet
ectable Those missiles can take care of
anything the Soviets (or any other
nation) could throw at us.
There is another reason for citizens of
the Northwest to object to the proposed
MX Missile project. Those missiles (if the
proposal is passed by Congress) would
be housed in Utah, an area with very little
water. A recent news item reports that
the state of Nevada senate has passed a
resolution calling for the federal
goverment to divert Columbia River
water to Nevada to be used on the MX
Missile project. This is getting mighty
close to home, folks.
Please, send a postcard(s) to your
elected officials calling for a no vote on
the MX Missile and all other further
nuclear weaponry development.
Betty McArdle
Portland
Dangerous trees
We, and many others, mourn the ruin
of Sahalie Falls on the Upper McKenzie
River, as it has been known and loved for
generations.
The eco-system surrounding Sahalie
Falls has needlessly been destroyed by
an overzealous planner with a paranoid
fear of dangerous trees.
It will never be the same again!
This winter a majestic old giant fell
across the trail to the lower viewpoint,
knocking down another tree Looking for
an excuse to cut old growth Douglas fir,
the Forest Service removed an excessive
amount of old growth trees to “save the
public from all possible danger,” (which
would be impossible anyway), thereby
destroying the eco-system and
atmosphere of Sahalie Falls that was so
famous an attraction and loved by so
many people.
Its gravestone will be a monumental
paved-over parking lot.
If you don’t want the other falls on the
McKenzie, the McKenzie River Trail,
Limberlost Campground, and other sce
nic attractions of the Upper McKenzie
Valley to receive the same treatment,
please attend the McKenzie Guardians
meeting to be held Thursday, May 28th at
7:30 p.m. at the McKenzie High School,
or contact us for information on how you
can help to save what is still left of the
scenic McKenzie.
James A. Baker, President
The McKenzie Guardians
Sands supporter
It is now at least 300 years past time for
British imperialism to get their bloody
hands off of Ireland. Bobby Sands,
freedom fighter and martyr, was indeed a
"terror” to those who rule Northern
Ireland directly, the Republic of Ireland
indirectly, and to all oppressors; but he
will be remembered and loved by the
oppressed everywhere. Bobby Sands,
they claim, was part of an isolated
extremist group, but it was to expose this
lie (not out of reformist illusions) that he
ran for and was elected member of
Parliament.
The youth of Derry and other towns
have shown that they do not live in fear of
the future. They are daring to take it.
Put yourself in Margaret Thatcher’s
shoes for a moment: The Empire is
declining economically and the only way
out is to clamp down, strike up the band,
wave the red, white and blue, and hope
the rest of NATO can get over with the
same. But even the middle-class youth
are into that dreadful “punk rock,” the
black and white working-class youth in
Brixton keep up street fighting against
the cops for six days straight, just
because about a thousand were arrested
on “suspicion” charges and now it's
those IRA “criminals" again.
I suggest next Friday, May 22, at 12:30
p.m. in front of the EMU, as the chance to
rally spport and spread the truth. Long
live the spirit of Bobby Sands! Down with
British imperialsm!
Raise the red flag of prolitarian
internationalism!
John Kaiser
Revolutionary Communist
Youth Brigade