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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1981)
opinion_ Olum's handling of PNRC shows savvy Who says politicking doesn't pay-off7 University Pres Paul Olum, who "waffled on the Pacific Northwest Resource Center controversy, and — to extend a metaphor — emerged from the sticky situation unbattered and smelling as sweet as maple sugar Olum, in effect, took no initiative to make a decision regarding the PNRC on-campus No decision was the smartest thing Olum could've done, in light of the covert political and business influences involved That's political savvy He shifted the final decision concerning the fate of PNRC onto the National Wildlife Federation They, predictably, opted to consolidate the University PNRC with a regional office in Portland Now Olum can shrug and say to law students. “Shucks they want to move off-campus what can I do?" What has Olum done9 He neither backed nor attacked the PNRC situation directly The only aspect of the PNRC issue Olum addressed was that of University programs being — ideally — “neutral " That position has been criticized by many involved in the controversy All that was neutral was Olum's leadership The motives behind Olum's indecisiveness remain unclear Who — or what — influenced his apparent indecision9 At the outset of the PNRC debacle documents from a State Board of Higher Education hearing indicated powerful business (timber and cattle) interests were demanding the University sever all ties with PNRC's Environmental Law Clinic Olum replied with his vaunted “neutrality” posture letters Protest not amusing So. Mike Cross, member of Young Americans for Freedom found Wednesday's Die-In" at the EMU amusing " Well I'm young. I'm American and I enjoy freedom and I find nothing amusing about a protest against a very real and serious threat to our most basic freedom our right to live He must have found the Hiroshima and Nagasaki display in the EMU lobby a real knee-slapper Most of the people I saw at the display and Die-In' were awed and dismayed by the distructive power we, as a race have created But I seriously doubt he'll be laughing if and when he, and I. and 250 million of our fellow humans are killed or greviously injured in a nuclear war Cross would do well to remember as would our national leaders, that war especially nuclear war does not respect party lines Thomas Birland Sophomore, political science Greeks aren’t to blame The yearly controversy concerning the relative merits of Greeks as opposed to non-Greeks has once again reared its ugly head on the editorial page of the Emerald While all you seeming victims of paranoia run about like chickens with their heads cut off in your endeavor to prove one side or the other better through the power of the pen I have decided to review the whole question from a rational historical perspective Let us examine the facts First who was responsible for all those dirty ugly nuclear weapons7 Was it a Greek7 No. it was Albert Einstein a German' And who caused World War II7 A Greek? No. another German Hitler' And once again, who was it that started World War I7 A Greek7 No way it was the Kaiser another damned German! Let us examine the flip side of the coin Who have been famous figures of Greek history7 Look back we have Aristotle Plato and Pericles, a fine group of men if ever I saw one The lesson seems obvious to anyone with half a brain It is the Germans and not the Greeks we should be worried about So I say why don't you people just lay off those poor Greeks after all they've never bombed the Acropolis like the Germans did in World War II There are probably only two or three Greeks on this whole campus and no doubt they have their own problems to worry about Later, state Rep Margie Hendrickson, D Eugene, brought to light memos from the House ways and means committee clearly showing poli tical pressure on Olum to remove PNRC Oium persevered with his neutrality ma neuver, and seemed to be deliberating the PNRC question At this point Olum adopted the "concerned University president" attitude and met with University law students It was a clever show — but his intentional lack of decisiveness prevailed Olum left the actual decision to the NWF In the meantime he dragged his feet, hemmed and hawed and stalled the media His lack of deci siveness sent a clear message to NWF officials that the decision was theirs Is it any surprise the NWF chose to move off a campus where its status with the administration was uncertain7 Olum has yet to act as University president and take a firm stand regarding PNRC The NWF decision to move PNRC to a regional office in Portland has made any stand by Olum moot The PNRC situation, as • handled” by Olum, makes the Emerald wonder how Olum will ' han dle” any similar situation in the future This University requires vigorous leadership, not busi ness and political wrangling The schools and departments need leadership that will not flinch when the programs important to education — whether "neutral” or not — are attacked by out side special interests The expediency of the political climate, test ing the winds from Salem, is no way to run a university Olum managed to escape the villain's guise in the PNRC controversy by indecisiveness But he is not unscathed All in all it was a fascinating display of milquetoast leadership slowly souring lwm i 'HELLO,LEONID? NGTHcRtS NCNccDTCRcPlY. THAT WAS JUST A WARNING SHOT TO KEEP At Mb HAPPT1' I hope that this rational historical view of the situation will lay this silly argument once and for all to rest and that we may return to the kind of intellegent dignified correspondence which this page deserves Phillip Seder Ph.D., history, ethnic studies Pessimistic attitude Could Oregon grow in population yet remain a producer of agricultural goods and provide the scenic beauty we all enjoy7 We could but no-growthers claim we re overcrowded and we should stop raising families Not only is their attitude overly pessimistic — it's downright stupid' Oregon s population is 2 5 million and our land area consists of 96,981 square miles Let s compare Oregon with a country nearly identical in land mass to illustrate the absurdity of the prophets of doom West Germany has managed quite well industrially and agriculturally with a plot of land smaller than Oregon West Germany s total area is 95,914 square miles with a population of 63 million Population pessimists contend much of our land isn't usuable because it’s barren But look at what the Mormons accomplished in Utah a century ago That area was harsh desert and they made it productive Fortunately they had ambition — not rigid land-use laws designed to concentrate populations Anyway face facts, my friends this country s population will expand even if Americans altogether stop having children With foreign immigration at current levels this country will be filled up with those now arriving from other countries and their posterity Your genetic extinction won't accomplish a thing Ed Crockett Abbie Lane, Eugene The draft & the bomb Did anyone get the chance to attend the sympo sium entitled "Your Rights in Regard to the Draft"7 I stood alone before the locked door of Room 110 EMU at 12 30 Tuesday — no symposium no explanation My disappointment was brief because I was equally anx ious to listen in on another symposium scheduled for the same hour elsewhere in the EMU The topic After the Bomb has Dropped Medical Effects and Civil Defense Plans Considering it a reasonable substitute, I decided that what one of them couldn't reveal about my defenselessness against military strategists, the other was sure to illustrate Perhaps it was of little difference that I went to the Bomb ' symposium instead of the 'Draft' symposium One of them might have told me I would wear a uniform and carry a gun within this decade The other told me my skin will burn, my tumors will grow and I will die just as miserably wearing a uniform or not1 Jordan Greenbaum English YAF inevitabilities For those of us alive in the world today there are certain inevitabilities we can look forward to such as death and taxes Another, which members of the campus can look forward to is at least one rambling diatribe a year from Jerry Peyton For those who are new here Peyton is a self-righteous, self-appointed advocate for the working class who spends his spare time acting as chairman of the University chapter of Young Americans for Freedom In his Nov 5 letter to the Emerald, Peyton accused me of spreading lies and innuendoes" about YAF because I had previously published a tune taken from their songbook Well, I wouldn't want to do anything to harm YAF as their position and philosophy is weak enough as it is However, I'm fully prepared to document the existence of the YAF song for anyone who's interested Furthermore, if I'm truly guilty of spreading lies about YAF then why hasn't Peyton filed a libel suit against me9 The answer is that having revealed some embarrassing truth about his group for which th^re is no other explanation he can only respond with frantic and hateful rhetoric David Isenberg Senior, international studies
