daily’emerald
Vol. 83. No 28
Eugene. Oregon 97403
Tuesday, October 13, 1981
Edward Sparks of Publishers Paper Company and paper dealer
Steiner Urdahl relay bad news at the Association of Oregon
Recyclers' annual convention
Photo by Harry Esteve
Recyclers continue
despite market drop
By HARRY ESTEVE
Of tM EmtflM
Recyclers received a blast of
bad news from both private in
dustry and the federal govern
ment at their annual convention
last weekend
But gloomy market reports
and indications that the federal
government is trashing its recy
cling program did not seem to
faze the 178 recyclers who
attended the conference
Jeff Detlefsen, the only Envir
onmental Protection Agency
employee now assigned to
source separation recycling
(sorting recyclables at home) in
Washington, D C , told recy
clers the EPA has shifted its
emphasis away from municipal
waste to hazardous waste
"That's where the interest is
and that's where the money is
going," Detlefsen said
Detlefsen, a University law
school graduate who initiated
paper recycling on this campus,
said his current job is to
dismantle the federal source
separation program
"This means no more grant
money, no more technical
assistance," he said
To those attending the con
ference, the announcement of
funding cut-offs came as no
surprise
Before Detlefsen s remarks,
paper and aluminum company
representatives warned that
markets for used newsprint and
aluminum were dwindling
Speaking on behalf of the
Publishers Paper Company,
Edward Sparks said the current
slump in the housing industry
was hurting the paper recycling
industry as well
Recycled newspaper is used
to make both insulation and
backing paper used in housing
construction, but Sparks said
that recycling provides more old
newsprint than paper manufac
turers can use
“If all the dreams and the
goals of everybody in here were
met, there would be a horren
dous amount of paper avail
able," added independent
paper broker Stemar Urdahl
Reactions to the statements
by Detlefsen and the industry
representatives varied
While some insisted market
conditions for recycled mater
ials are better than aluminum
and paper industry representa
tives say they are. others
stressed the importance of
economic independence
among recyclers
"I think the key is getting the
(trash) hauler required to do
recycling," said Al Hansen of
Yamhill Valley Recyclers
Hansen said he thought it was
time for small, non-profit recy
clers to be replaced by private
companies already in the busi
ness of waste collection
The non-profit recyclers
would then act as "watchdogs"
to make sure private garbage
haulers were sorting and recy
cling the collected material
"The problem is that (non
profit recyclers) die out They
can't sustain the interest and
participation, and they can't
sustain the economics,"
Hansen said
The Association of Oregon
Recyclers sponsored the three
day convention
Student apathy scolded
Few view Olum induction
By DANE CLAUSSEN
Of th* Emerald
Apathy was evident Sunday when few students
besides those from student government, the
press, the Student University Relations Commit
tee, the band, and the choir were in attendance
for University Pres Paul Olum s inauguration.
ASUO pres Rich Wilkins says
But after scolding students for not attending,
Wilkins also provides a few excuses for the dearth
of students at the historical event
Wilkins, an inaugural committee member, says
the inauguration was a cultural event" students
should not have missed He also says "there were
a lot of things said in the addresses that are
important.”
"I don t know why there weren't more students
there Wilkins says, speculating that students
must not have thought they were invited to the
ceremony
Besides general apathy, Wilkins says that many
students simply did not know about the event,
despite publicity by the ASUO and coverage by
the Emerald
It is difficult to attract students to Sunday
afternoon activities, Wilkins adds He says many
students are going through school as quickly as
possible and are not taking time to be involved in
organizations or attend activities
Acting Provost Richard Hill, who served as the
master of ceremonies at the inauguration, says he
saw only 30 to 40 students at the reception, but he
says he was nonetheless pleased with the total
attendance of 1,000 at the Sunday event
"Apathy is high on our priority list," Wilkins
says He explains that the event designed for high
student attendance must be popular with a very
large percentage of the students and then
promoters must “flood the campus with informa
tion about it."
"You're still not going to get more than 50
percent to any event,” Wilkins concludes “It
comes down to the me-ism period," he adds,
explaining that while a self-centered philosophy
has its good points, it makes for thin crowds at
events such as last weekend’s.
Wilkins recalls that only 150 to 200 students
attended two rallies at the state legislature last
year, although the legislation in question affected
the entire student body.
Wilkins, who says he was upset when the
Incidental Fee Committee refused to fund re
freshments for an ASUO sponsored reception
Sunday, says the funds came from street fair
profits
"The faculty made a good showing," Wilkins
adds Approximately half were in attendance
Hill also expressed pleasure at the number of
faculty who chose to attend the inauguration.
Prof blasts accepted education
Proposed ideal method
exposes common myths
By BRIAN BUBAK
Of tw Emerald
"The constant condition of a human being is
educability," said Dr Dominic La Russo, Univer
sity professor of rhetorical theory, in a speech
sponsored by the Campus Interfaith Ministry
Monday night
La Russo identified several myths that plague
education as forces that degrade the character of
education
The first of these myths "Education is fun,"
according to La Russo
He cited the popular children's television show
"Sesame Street" as a prime example Such
programs "impede and interfere with educa
tion", he said
The child expects all learning experiences will
be fun and all educators will be Big Bird "
La Russo said that education should be an
"agony and ecstasy" experience
He called the idea that education is motivated
and controlled by others another falsehood La
Russo suggested each person must search deep
within themselves for their own motivation,
adding that if this myth were true all students
would soon become slaves of the educational
system
La Russo blasted another theory he claims is
held by people who declare that education is not
"the process of learning to make a living.”
La Russo added the notion of a "value-free
education" was totally false and said the
exchange of values is a direct result of the
educational system
La Russo identified the main confusion in the
present educational system as the utilization of
methods resembling classical conditioning He
stressed that educators and students must both
look beyond this narrow view in order to make
their educational experience work
Dr La Russo presented his idea of educa
Photo by Bob Baker
Dominic La Russo
tional utopia as a system where a person is never
too old to learn
Another key component of his ideal educational
model is a completely reciprocal relationship
between educator and student
"We furnish an atmosphere of learning,'' he
said, while students are expected to bring a sense
of self-discipline
When both these goals are met, "we stand
together to create a thing of beauty," he said
La Russo concluded by theorizing that educa
tion is "close to the divine '