Vol. 83, No 17
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Monday, September 28, 1981
Registration hassles
face computer crowd
Although nearly every student faced some frustrating
hang-up during the two days of class registration, computer
science hopefuls may have gotten the worst of it
Friday, at about noon, a crowd of angry, frustrated and
disappointed students milled around the computer science
table in Mac Arthur Court Taped to a post was a large sign
with a clear message 'All sections of CIS 201 are closed.”
"I'm screwed." one student said Others around her
apparently shared the same sentiment
According to, Steve Hedetniemi, computer and
information science deparment chairman, CIS 201 — a
prerequisite for computer science courses — was nearly full
by the end of Thursday registration By nine o'clock Friday
morning, the class was closed By 11 o'clock, all other
sections were closed
"Fortran closed yesterday," Hedetniemi said. "We may
have shut out 150 to 200 potential majors
"This has never happened before ”
Students who did not enroll in CIS 201 will have to wait a
full year before the class is offered again Hedetniemi said
there was some talk about offering the class winter term, but
limited staff and resources have put a damper on that
possibility
“If we let in these hoards of people the entire center would
have to shut down," he said
Hedetniemi said the list wouldn't help much. "Anyone who
is serious about studying computer science isn't going to
drop a class They're too hard to get."
The run on computer science classes is a result of the
growing use of computers in business, Hedetniemi says
More people want to get computer science degrees because
the demand for trained operators is high and high-paying
jobs are abundant
"It has been estimated that by the year 2,000 the United
States will have a deficit of 1 million computer operators,"
Hedetniemi says Currently, only 10,000 computer science
bachelor’s degrees are awarded annually
The single CIS 201 class offered by the University is
limited to 320 students, a figure Hedetniemi says may
already be too high
"So what we have is an inherent problem with providing
enough resources," Hedetniemi says The University's
computer system will not be able to handle the current
number of registered students, he says
If I'm going to teach you to be a programmer, how can I if
you're one of 300 students?"
Environmental law clinic
controversy still rages
By DEBBIE HOWLETT
Of lha Emerald
The controversy surrounding the University’s
environmental law clinic is apparently far from
resolved
When law students supporting the clinic left
for summer vacation, they felt assured the clinic
would still be at the University when they re
turned But that assurance has been shaken
At a June 26 meeting of the State Board of
Higher Education, University Pres Paul Olum
proposed that a part of the clinic, the Pacific
Northwest Resource Center, be moved off cam
pus.
Olum went on to suggest that environmental
law clinic students seek internships with PNRC,
but in order for the University to remain neutral in
matters of public policy, the PNRC would have to
be kept at arms-length from the law school
In the past the clinic has been accused of
using state funds to attack the lumber industry
Most of the arms-length reasoning stems
from the fact that the PNRC gets most of its
operating funds from the National Wildlife Feder
ation, a pro-conservation agency
Law students say moving PNRC off campus
could endanger the entire environmental law
clinic
If the PNRC has to move off campus then the
National Wildlife Federation will pull their money
out,’’ says Holly Hummel, a law student who
directed a petition drive to keep the clinic at the
law school.
"It seems like we re being censored "
Olum disagrees
Hummel along with law students Ellen Men
doza and Charles Landman began circulating a
petition among law students to persuade Olum
that the PNRC should remain on campus The trio
claims that 85 percent of the law students have
endorsed their position.
But PNRC’s funding source is not the
students' only concern There is a general feeling
that without the support of the PNRC, the reputa
tion of the Law School would diminish greatly
The controversy began when the the envir
onmental law clinic appealed an environmental
impact statement prepared by the Forest Service
on the South Fork of Idaho's Salmon River Clinic
students intervened on behalf of the Idaho Wild
life Federation, which claimed that the statement
was inadequate
This situation, coupled with an investigation
by the clinic of the non-use of recycled paper by
the General Services Administration as required
by law, has raised the ire of many private business
owners.
Hummel, Mendoza and Landman claim that
the University and Olum are being persuaded by
financial pressure from private intrests.
Landman was apparently referring to Eugene
businessman Aaron Jones, who added a new
dimension to the controversy by considering a
withdrawl of his $250,000 pledge towards a new
University basketball arena unless the PNRC
moved to an off-campus location. Jones owns the
Seneca Sawmill Company
Acting University Provost Richard Hill re
sponded by asserting: “This University is not for
sale."
Olum told the State Board of Higher Educa
tion he could not make the decision to move the
center unilaterally, and said he would have to give
the administration, faculty and students at the
Law School an opportunity to discuss it and to
present their own views.
Olum has scheduled a forum with law school
students for October 14.
The students argue that there art pro
grams at Oregon State University and elsewhere
that directly benefit private business and industry.
They say that this shows a lack of neutrality at the
university level. But since these programs benefit
business and provide relatively inexpensive
means of research they are allowed to continue.
“This is just not logical," Mendoza says. “It’s
ignoring the contribution that business puts into
the University and calling improper the contribu
tion that conservation orginizations put into it.”
The students don’t necessarily disagree, but
they feel that without the PNRC the environmental
law clinic either will become ineffective or will
disappear from the curriculum entirerly —
devestating the environmental law program
Mendoza adds: “The real impropriety is in
trying to channel the point of view that is taught.
That applies to the campus as a whole "
Airline fares to increase Thursday
If you think you can put off
buying airline tickets for Christ
mas break like you can put off
writing term papers, you'd
better think again
According to University area
travel agents, students would be
wise to make travel arrange
ments immediately in order to
beat the Christmas travel rush
and to take advantage of low
fares
“It’s always best to buy your
tickets early,'' says Kim Murray,
manager of University Travel
“Even if the prices should go
down, you can get a refund on
the difference ”
Beginning Thursday, round
trip excursion fares, also known
as super savers, on flights from
Portland to the East Coast and
the Midwest will increase
dramatically, though exceptions
will be made for flights made
before Dec. 15 — Tuesday of
finals week
But even for flights before
Dec 15 reservations should be
made now to assure seating on
return flights Return flights to
Eugene from major cities
between Jan 2-4 are filling up
fast, says Eugene Travel agent
Debra Nystrom
“If you're flexible and rea
sonable enough, you can get a
flight," Nystrom says "But it’s
important to talk to us soon."
Now through Wednesday,
United and Northwest airlines
offer a round-trip night flight
from Portland to major East
Coast cities for $358 Starting
Thursday the fare will increase
to $420
For students going to
Chicago, a round-trip night
flight from Portland before
Thursday will cost $288 After
that it could be as high as $459
Flying out of Eugene is sub
stantially more expensive than
flying out of Portland United
Airlines offers a round-trip
excursion fare from Eugene to
14 East Coast cities for $450
For students flying on the
West Coast, Republic Airlines
offers a ‘‘Saturday Special''
round-trip fare from Eugene to
Seattle for $120
Starting Thursday, United will
offer one-way "Friendship Ex
press" service from Eugene to
San Francisco for $79 The nor
mal fare is $139
United also will have a one
way fare from Portland to Los
Angeles for $99
For more information contact
Eugene Travel at 687-2823 or
University Travel at 683-5577