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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1981)
Emerald Vol 83, No 18 Eugene. Oregon 97403 Tuesday, September 29, 1981 Enrollment declines nearly 4 percent Hard times, higher fees produce fewer students By ANN PORTAL Of the Emerald University enrollment was down 3 B percent after registra tion Friday and the number of students late registering Mon day also seemed less than usual, according to Registrar Wanda Johnson As of Friday evening, 14.916 students were registered — in cluding law students and com munity education students — compared to 15.507 at the same time last year "We re not unhappy yet. but it sure is slow outside (at registra tion windows in Oregon Hall), she says Registration staff members appreciated Monday's small, orderly lines, she says, but the slow flow might be an indication of fewer students "Our operation here for the first day of classes is rather smooth. Johnson says Although registration is down, the revenues from fees have increased by 4 4 percent, which may be partly due to the dou bling of the late registration fine she says Students who pay tuition atter the Wednesday deadline will be charged $10 for the first day past the deadline and $2 for each additional class day up to a $50 maximum The nearly 4 percent enroll ment drop "is not as critical a reduction as you would think." Johnson says "It's not good, but it's not unexpected." she says More important is the number of full-time-equivalent hours that students take, which the registrar's office has no figures on yet, she says FTE's deter mine the amount of state funds given to the University, and a 3 8 percent decrease there really could hurt, Johnson says But Paul Civin. associate provost for planning, says he anticipates a 5-percent FTE reduction, although he says he is unsure how badly the reduc tion will hurt University funding We have no way of knowing at the moment he says The enrollment decline is un usual considering the poor economy. Johnson says Students generally return to school to finish degrees and gam marketable skills during recessions, she says However, that pattern may be obsolete today, when reduced financial aid, increased tuition and rising inflation combine to make school unaffordable. Johnson says When registration figures are computed, particular attention will be given to the ratio of re This year 's registration crowds were thinner than last year. But fewer students mean less money for the University sident to non-resident students, she says Non-residents pay substantially more for tuition, and the University doesn't want to lose these students because of tuition increases "What we re really concerned about is the mix of students," Johnson says, adding that less out-of-state tuition also could hurt the University budget Community education enroll ment is down more than 17 per cent and Johnson speculates "cheaper” tuition at Lane Com munity College may be part of the reason Students should remember they have five days — two more than they had last year — to drop and add courses without paying a fine and that the add/drop fee has been increased to $3 per class added or dropped, she says The fee can "really eat up the general deposit fast,” Johnson says, and students should hurry to avoid it. “Students have this week to settle their program — and i think that's reasonable " Energy activist pushes for Citizens Party By Phil Lemman CM ItM EmnW The 80s are going to be much more exciting than the 60s, I can promise you that ” That was the prediction of Jim Benson, a co founder of the Citizen's Party, who Monday night called for a rejuvenation of political involvement at the local level and an energy policy based on conservation and the use of renewable energy Computer demand exceeds supply ”1 haven t heard one iota of hope to relieve the situation,” says computer and information science department chairer Steve Hedetniemi — referring to the 150 to 200 potential computer science majors were shut out of CIS 201 last week The department, he explains, is simply not equipped to accomodate all the students who want to participate According to Hedetniemi there is little relief in sight for computer science and information students In addition to Its lack of space, the computer science program also suffers from a lack of equipment and personnel The program needs alot more money, Hedet niemi says Hedetniemi does have some advice for students "Shop around OSU has a program, one hesitates to say it, but _ Benson, who spent several years working in the federal energy bureaucracy, said he got "sick of studies, and now is devoting his time to developing a national constituency for the economic policies of the Citizen's Party Benson says recent studies he par ticipated in show that the current policy of increasing the use of nuclear power, domestic coal production and synthetic fuels are economically impossible He went on to tell the group of people attending an alternative energy forum at the University that conser vation and the use of renewable energy sources can create two to four times as many jobs as reliance on fossil and nuclear fuels | Increased public exposure to these findings sets the stage for his proposal for a drastic change in the nation's energy policy, away from an emphasis on growth and materialism ) Benson said he plans to revive the populist spirit to develop his new political organization He said hopes to | use community energy studies as a way to band people together, and generate local political action by trying to implement the findings of these studies. There is little time left to implement these policies, according to Benson He said the government is keep- I ing the people s minds off economic problems by I focusing their attention on the alleged Soviet threat, " wasting vast amounts of money on military build-up to validate its claims Benson criticized the recent decontrol of oil prices, reasoning that accelerated consumption of domestic oil would only increase dependence on foreign sources in the long run, since present alternate energy sources are economically out of reach He also said government claims of increasing domestic production was a mis nomer, saying "Oil companies don't produce oil They pump it up and we burn it ” Benson called this a strategy of Burn America First.” Photo by Bob Baker Jim Benson
