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IFC funding short-changes intramurals
The University’s Intramural activities program
is getting short-changed by the Incidental Fee
Committee. It’s a very real possibility that there
may not be enough money to cover next year’s
intramural budget. At the same time there is to be
an increase in the athletic department’s funding
This strange situation makes the Emerald ques
tion the thinking and priorities of the IFC.
Mike Ellis, head of the University physical
education department, is “mad as hell’’ over the
IFC’s funding priorities. Ellis went to the IFC
requesting about $57,000 — roughly half of the
$116,000 needed for the program. The IFC’s
response was to recommend $5,000 That
recommendation is almost insulting when it’s
compared to the $540,000 IFC is funding the
athletic department this year.
The Emerald is also “mad as hell’’ with the
IFC’s cavalier attitude toward intramurals. They
have their priorites and heads up their "ASUO”.
Intramurals benefit more students than the inter
collegiate programs in the athletic department.
About 4,000 students yearly are given a chance to
participate in sport activities through intramurals.
Only about a thousand students can compete at
an intercollegiate athletics. Those are the elite
athletes — not the students in the gym playing
“Rat ball.”
IFC’s $540,000 funding of the athletic depart
ment is an example of funding the "glory” activi
ties instead of the fundamental activities par
ticipated in by the majority of students. That
$540,000 funds sports activities students can only
watch. This is not to say the athletic department
doesn’t deserve such funding — only that in
tramurals deserves proportional funding
Bear in mind whose money IFC is allocating —
that’s money each student has paicV- IFC jangles a
purse of nearly $2 million — apparently without
student input.
Karsten Rasmussen, chairer of the IFC,
agrees with Ellis saying he’d prefer to re-route the
athletic department allocation to intramurals. He
says the entire IFC feels that way, and yet, they
resent “bailing out" the program.
Rasmussen wants to put the intramural fund
ing issue before the students. That is really an odd
idea considering the IFC is alleged to be repre
senting the students interests. Why are they ab
dicating their role to the students-at-large?
The issue of student-control is a consistent
undercurrent in all IFC funding. Despite the gen
eral perception that IFC funding recommenda
tions are firm, it’s Johnson Hall administrators
who have the final say. Could the Johnson Hall
administrators be behind the misappropriation of
intramural funds?
There are rumblings of a lawsuit against the
State System of Higher Education to gain total
student-control of incidental fees. It has yet to be
filed — but it may revamp the priorities of the IFC to
be more responsive to activities that benefit the
majority of students
IFC's paltry $5,000 recommendation for in
tramurals is as much an insult to University
students as to the program Whose money is it
anyway? IFC needs to be made aware of the real
desires of the students and what activities they
see as valid
V
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' LOOK FELLAS. ANOTHER <$£nu*ME AMERICAN HERO — ON I HAVE MY EAU BACK, PLEASE ?'
gabriel boehmer
editor's note
In Eugene, as anyplace else, certain things
are taboo: being from California, or more
specifically, anyplace south of Creswell; throwing
away glass or newspapers with the morning trash:
carrying a briefcase instead of a backpack: and
wearing a tie — unless you're looking for a job, so
quite a few people must be wearing ties these
days
Although Eugene takes pride in its non-con
formist image, there are also community rituals:
biking; eating vegetarian: loathing the Emerald,
but reading it religiously anyway, and sneezing
during field-burning season.
Thought to be the center of the earth by many
of its inhabitants, Eugene is actually about an
hour-and-a-half’s drive from the point midway
between the North Pole and the equator — the
45th parallel, just north of Salem. There's a
special highway marker that tells you so
Most of Eugene's rituals I embrace as warmly
as the next person But one addiction that I turn
my back on — and run away from, so to speak — is
jogging.
Jogging has probably surpassed pot smoking
as our city's number-one pasttime, but is certainly
a distant second to being laid back
Today, jogging has spread from a local fever
to a national disease The next few months in
Oregon alone bring a host of road runs, fun runs
and marathons: Seaside's Annual Trail's End
Marathon: Forest Grove's Gales Creek Valley
Marathon: Portland's Cascade Run Off: Eugene's
Nike Marathon: Medford's Pear Blossom Run:
Bend’s Three Sisters Classic; and Jacksonville's
Stagecoach Run.
If you wanted, you could run from one end of
the state to the other without stopping
But I have a few objections to jogging
First of all. there's little amusement: no balls
to hit, no bases to run, no points after the touch
down, no penalty box, no net. and no over-priced
weekend lessons Take away the fanfare and all
you’re left with is exercise I can do that at home
Secondly, there's pain. That’s not to say
other sports aren't uncomfortable My stomach
does handstands each time I miss a three-foot
putt, especially for a birdie. And my head does a
tail spin each time my neck is speared by a
racquet ball.
Finally, there's all this talk about Runners'
high. It sounds like a bunch of hype to get you to
buy expensive shoes If I wanted to get high, I
certainly would want to take a shower first
letters
Experiments
For the past three months, I
have been trying to gain access
to the Primate and Rodent
Center on campus to find out
exactly what kinds of animals
experimentations are being
performed on(if any) So far I
have been refused entrance to
the building and given side
track rigamarole from those
whom I have sought aid Is there
anybody on campus who knows
what's going on in that place9
Alexander Turret
Earth-World Organization
Persecution
The recent execution of over
100 Baha’i leaders in Iran
should be a matter of interna
tional concern. This religious
persecution is an outrage to any
who believe in freedom of
conscience as a basic human
right It is clear that a systematic
campaign has been launched to
exterminate Iran's largest
religious minority
According to an article in the
January 25th Newsweek, the
Iranian Government will be is
suing identification cards that
will be required to buy food and
fuel But the Baha'is will not
receive them — nor will they be
allowed to leave Iran
During the month of Feb
ruary, various committees of
the United States Congress that
deal with human rights intend to
hold hearings about religious
persecution throughout the
world We ask you to express
your concern in this matter by
writing Congressman Jim
Weaver, 1226 Longworth Bldg ,
Washington D C 20515, and
/or Senator Mark Hatfield, U S
Senate, 463 Russell Office
Bldg., Washington, D C 20515,
and/or Senator Robert Pack
wood, U S Senate, Dirksen Of
fice Bldg., Washington,
DC.20515.
Law
Rhatt Diessner
Graduate, ad. psych.
staff
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