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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 4, 1981)
opinion_ Save $3 a term; lose an infirmary Congratulations, University students. You’ve saved yourselves $3 a term next year. That’s a grand total of $9. But you’re out a hospital. The student health center will continue to treat student ailments. Doctors and nurses will keep taking temperatures and blood samples. But the center is closing its hospital facilties, and won’t serve those who need more than an immediate prescription or a bandage. For students requiring hospitalization, that means there will be no security blanket. If you’re sick next year, you’ll have to find — and somehow pay for — another hospital. It appears the closure of the infirmary was inevitable. Use has dwindled to the point where the administrators couldn’t balance costs against patients served. The decision to close was their only option. When health center director James Jackson announced the closing of the student infirmary, he stressed that now more than ever students need to be covered by an adequate health care plan. That’s at least $120 a year. But most student budgets just aren’t healty enough to survive the cost of traditional hospitalization. Student insurance policies were always valuable, Jackson said. Now they’re invaluble. So students have saved $9. And lost a hospital. Some deal. vours Ramp(ant) naivete Adding a little to the article on Faller’s charge of the University discriminating against handicapped people, I would like to charge the ones responsible for the execution of the University program with naivete. I suspect that the inaccessiblity of Volcanology would have gone unnoticed for years, possibly until the replacement of the building To the amazement of the resident geologists in Volcanology, a wheelchair ramp was installed at the beginning of the year. Volcanology is used by geologists only (disregarding about five physicists in the basement on a special project), and the equipment is operated by a restricted number of people anyway. There are no more than five or six people who may operate the electron microprobe on their own! Other people usually have their samples analyzed. Stairs pose so little problems to people who are able to do geologic field work, that the only regular user of the wheelchair ramp is a lazy geologist who likes to ride his bike right into his office instead of carrying it up a few stairs. Nikolaus von Bargen Graduate, geology Witch way? As one of the Christians present at the presentation by Robert Artison, self styled “witch," at the University May 20,1 must mention the following points. The conduct of the individuals outside the door does not represent all the Chris tians who were present. Certainly not many of us who were inside the meeting. Our purpose was not to condemn, “burn’’ Mr. Artison, or to disrupt his presentation We came to speak the Truth in love and share Christ as an alternative to the occult. I came to faith in the person of Jesus Christ after several years in the the occult. I feel therefore that it is very important to speak out and share concerning the spiritually deceptive nature of various forms of the occult including witchcraft As Chris tians, we had a right also to answer many of the deliberately false statements and attacks made by Mr Artison on what he characterizes as “Christianity.” Mr Arti son is free to speak, to preach his “Wicca” religion and even recruit members for his church or '‘coven.” He is not free to attack, defame, and misrepresent the Christian faith without being answered! Christians should do this in a spirit of love, and not of self righteousness! Mr. Artison, I pray that you will come out of your witchcraft to saving faith in Jesus Christ! Michael E. Kerns Northwest Christian College Sexist lyrics I am writing in response to the letter by Christian Gunther appearing in the Emerald June 2. Mr. Gunther, I have a question for you. If you are so "painfully aware of the oppression women fall prey to in our society," why do you fail to mention the blatantly sexist lyrics of many of the other songs performed at the folk festival, in particular those performed by men? Women have been the subjects of in numerable popular songs which perpetuate the violence and oppression which are intregal parts of our lives. What about these songs? I think it is wonderful that you have rejected these "inhumane norms," now how about doing someth ing about it from your end I find it quite disturbing that men like yourself are quick to notice and target songs like "We Don’t Need Men,” which was one of perhaps 100 songs performed at the folk festival Did it deflate your male ego? After years of Rolling Stones music, such as “Under My Thumb,” "Brown Sugar,” and "Honky Tonk Woman,” not to mention "When the Whip Comes Down," I found "We Don’t Need Men" quite refreshing. Themes in most music written and performed by men such as “Music to Watch Girls By," and Rod Stewart's song centering on a young woman losing her virginity, in my opinion constitute sexist violence against women They degrade us and reduce us to nothing but sexual objects You stated that being a man who doesn’t share these sexist veiws, you felt prompted to speak out, well how about speaking out to other men about this depiction of women. How about men taking on this problem instead of targeting songs by women such as "We Don’t Need Men." I also believe women and men must work together to end the oppression of all people. Perhaps this will happen sooner if men learn to quit exploiting women, then we can build for a united revolution that will smash the oppressive forces of imperialism, colonialism and fascism. Maggie Riddle Senior, English ‘Don’t get caught’ The code of student conduct defines cheating as "dishonesty.” However, in Morton’s article concerning student cheating June 2, Vernon Barkhurst advises students to go the contested hearing route if they (students) don’t think their guilt can be proven.” So any seventh-grader would reread this statement as: Cheating/dishonesty is O.K., if you don’t get "caught.” Steven Ingham Math / psychology Help the cause? Unfortunately, it is up to me to let people know some of what happened in Salem last Thursday. In the process of visiting the legislature to plead our case for funding higher education, I was sur prised and embarrassed to find that the organization of appointments was sadly lacking. One secretary said she had never been contacted. Two others had been called but the appointments had never been confirmed Needless to say, we did not get to speak to these legisla tors. The last, however, was most embarrassing. We arrived at Rep Paul Hanneman’s office at the appropriate time according to the schedule. His personal secretary approached us with a pad and pen demanding information: who were we, where were we from, what did we want and, of all things, who is Rich Wilkins? She explained that an appointment had been made by Rich for the previous Thursday and that Hanneman had set aside a full hour to speak with students from his district (none of us were from Tillamook). Of course, no one had called to say we couldn’t make it or to apologize On top of it all, when the secretary called the University information she was told that no one by the name of Rich Wilkins was on any of the student, staff or faculty listings and apparently he had nothing to do with the University. After many apologies, Hanneman agreed to hear us, and in fact spent 45 minutes debating with us. I can't help but feel that this kind of fuck up does not make the people who count sympathetic to our cause. Melissa Herron Undeclared Victim of stats The student infirmary has been killed by statistics. At an average of three students a day for overnight care, 217 days of the year, the cost would be about $260,400 in a local hospital, a figure greater than the $200,000 quoted as the cost for maintaining the infirmary service. This $260,400 does not include the many dollars saved by the students receiving after-hours emergency care for lacerations, eye injuries, acute illness, and the list goes on. All of these services would continue for only three more dollars a term per student. The student health insurance premium will un doubtedly increase with the increased cost of usage of local hospital emergency services and inpatient care. In the past, the policy decision for student health care has been decided by informed students in a general election. The closure is a national trend to axe humanitarian services because of “cost effective" statistics and analysis which carry no human factor. Do we close down our fire departments and hosptical emergency rooms during low utilization hours? Rest and supportive medical /nursing care speeds recovery time and helps prevent complications. Effective infectious disease control will be que stionable without the infirmary services The staff of the health center infirmary is concerned about the health needs of the students. Many of us object to the unprofessional tactics of the current medical administration We are saddened by the arbitrary collection and analysis of statistics and lack of com munication with the college community and health center staff. Marian Davidson Registered nurse
