emerald
Vol 83,No 42
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Monday,November 2,1981
Per-cent increase
in appropriations
from 1979-80 to 1981-82
70%
High *-- Alaska
69%
60%
Wyoming
50%
3 Texas
4 North Dakota
5 Oklahoma
40%
Montana
Louisiana
8 New Mexico
9 Delaware
10
11
New Hampshire
Arizona
Hawaii
Georgia
Mississippi
15 North Carolina
Avg.
20%
20%
Vermont
Nebraska
Colorado
19 Florida
20 Virginia
West Virginia
New York
Utah
Maryland
Rhode Island
Kentucky
California
Indiana
Kansas
Maine
New Jersey
Mass (esl )
Nevada
Connecticut
Wisconsin
South Carolina
Iowa
Illinois
T ennessee
Missouri
Idaho
Minnesota (est )
Pennsylvania
Alabama
Arkansas
Low
4%
Washington
Michigan
South Dakota
Ohio (est )
State support for higher ed slips
By ANN PORTAL
Of tfw Emerald
A recent nation-wide survey of higher
education funding confirms what some
University students might have suspect
ed after experiencing crowded classes,
higher fees and fewer services this fall
Compared to other states, higher
education support is slipping in Oregon
Oregon ranks 45th of the 50 states in
its higher education funding increase for
1980-81, according to a report by M M
Chambers of Illinois State University
The $252 5 million allocated by the
Oregon Legislature for 1980-81 equaled
only a 10-percent increase in higher
education support, compared to a
20-percent average increase nationwide
Vet individual Oregonians continue to
spend an amount nearer the national
average, earning a rank of 31st, in the
per-capita contribution to higher educa
tion.
Oregonians will spend $10.27 on
higher education for every $1,000 they
earn, compared to the $10.64 national
average
The difference between the money
given by the state and the dollars given
by each individual illustrates one of the
reasons higher education in Oregon is in
trouble, says state representative Grat
tan Kerans, the Legislature's house
majority leader
"Yeah — we're In the middle of the
pack (in the amount spent individually),
but look at the load we re carrying,"
Kerans says
“One of the problems is that we've
overbuilt," providing too many state
schools and too much access, he says
Oregon has more colleges and un
iversities than most states its size, the
result of a "massive commitment" to
offering four-year schools in every
corner of the state, Kerans says
Barbara Mitchell, assistant director of
the Oregon Educational Coordinating
Commission, says Oregon's low rank in
the funding survey needs to be put in
perspective
The state actually had a surplus in
1979-80, compounding the bleak reven
ue forecast for 1981-82, she says
"An effort is being made but Oregon
— at least recently — does not have
revenue projections as good as in other
states," Mitchell says
The statistics are more a reflection of
the state s lower general fund estimates
than a decline in Oregonians' higher
education support, she says
University Pres Paul Olum has a dif
ferent viewpoint
"The support of the universities in this
state has typically been bad," Olum says.
He agrees per-capita support histor
ically has been high, but the amount
spent per student has always been low,
Olum says, predicting that figure will
"drop really low" this year.
But don't look for relief during a
special legislative session this spring or
summer, Kerans says
"You're best hope is that we (the
legislature) don't get back together "
He says state revenue projections
continue to decline, leaving legislators
with two ways to finance deficits — raise
taxes (two months before a general
election) or, more likely, make further
budget cuts.
"I don't think there's any doubt about
it," says Kerans.
A plan proposed by Sen Ed Fadeley,
D-Eugene, would restore $75 million to
higher education funding by adding $25
million each of the next three years But
Kerans says the odds are against a res
toration on that scale in light of the state
budgets inadequacies and the
withdrawal of federal education funds
‘ The money isn't there to just
wholesale, jump back,” he says The
restoration will be smaller and slower,
unless the state revenue situation turns
completely around, Kerans says.
Even a smaller restoration may be four
or five years away, he says.
"In general, things are going to get a
lot worse before they get better."
Campus heating
Garbage fuel explored
By MATT MEYER
Of Vw EmanM
The University may soon be burning
garbage to heat classrooms, if tests by
the physical plant are successful.
After five years of planning, the phy
sical plant is conducting "test burns”
this month to decide whether specially
treated solid waste is feasible for
producing heat and electricity for school
buildings, says Harold Babcock, director
of the University physical plant.
Although the treatment process is
costly, Babcock estimates that refuse
derived fuel may cost less and be more
readily available than the wood chips, or
"hog fuel" the plant now uses
But burning garbage has its draw
backs.
Burning plastic made of polyvinyl
chloride produces potentially harmful
vapors, and the garbage the University
would use contains PVC waste materials.
The fuel would be supplied by the Solid
Waste Division of the Lane County Public
Works Department, and department
representative Mike Turner says it would
contain very little PVC because it is
derived from residential garbage
But, the Simpson Plastics Company —
a manufacturer of PVC pipe used in
plumbing — disposes its waste at the
Glenwood dump, the same dump that the
University's fuel would come from
Randy Osterman, an engineer for the
company, estimates that his firm ships
out roughly 200 tons of PVC waste ma
terial each year
Burning PVC releases hydrogen
chloride, an acid gas that irritates the
respiratory system, according to Don
Arkell of the Lane Regional Air Pollution
Authority, one of the 10 organizations
involved in the testing.
Babcock says waste fuel systems have
had “excellent track records” and that
“no serious problems” have resulted
from their use in the past.
Although test results won’t be in for a
month or so. Tom Miles, a Portland con
sultant also working on the project, says
that most of the PVC can be eliminated
before burning, and that most of the
remaining hydrogen chloride vapors can
be trapped by the physcial plant's air
pollution control system.
If the refuse fuel passes tests for air
pollution, hazardous gases, burning ef
ficiency, ash content and moisture char
acteristics, it could be used as early as
this spring, Babcock says.
Besides the possibility of PVC emis
sions, there are other problems with
burning fuel derived from solid waste
Refuse-based fuel leaves about six
times as much ash as equivalent
amounts of hog fuel, Babcock says, so
the burners would have to be cleaned
much more frequently.
Solid waste fuel, although shredded,
sifted and compressed, isn't as dense as
hog fuel, and isn’t as efficient to use, he
says, and it has to be kept dry
Also, the University's burners aren't
designed for the garbage-derived fuel,
so it will have to be mixed with 60-80
percent hog fuel, and the burners will
have to be adapted for its use
Finally, Babcock says a slight odor left
after processing the waste would be
noticeable in the immediate vicinity of
the physical plant
If these problems could be worked out,
though, the University could utilize fuel
materials that would otherwise be used
as landfill, Babcock says
Cinderella
not coach
turns into
pumpkin
Architecture student Dave
Ruggles didn 't quite make it
home before midnight on
Halloween
Photo by Bob Baker