Tuesday, February 23, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 108
em era I d
verload computer
By Debbie Howlett
01 (ft* Em»rmki
The crowd of students waiting for available
computer terminals more resembled a mob this
weekend An estimated 100 people waited three
hours or more for computer time at the University
computing center
The computer center has been severly taxed this
year due to a lack of terminals and a computer that is
too small to keep up with the huge demand for
computer time
Problems began earlier this year when a record
number of students enrolled in computer science
programs
Thursday, students complained that two upper
division classes in computer science had major
assignments due on the same day and that computer
time was nearly impossible to get Those students
offered suggestions such as staggering "due dates”
for assignments for the 120 or so students
Andre Proskurowski, an associate professor,
and Grant Cheston, a visiting professor, both of them
instructors in CIS 315, offered some reasons for not
staggering assignments and also talked about other
solutions
We re trying to pace the two classes together,
perhaps we could stagger them a couple of days, but
we don't want the classes too far apart," Cheston
said
Photo by Bob Baker
Proskurowski reinforced that sentiment “Con
sider that the same assignments intersect,” he said
"There is a certain amount of cooperation’ you
would like to avoid.”
Staggering assignments is ‘not probable,”
Proskurowski said.
"The worst bottlenecks occur the night before
an assignment is due,” Cheston said. "You can't
expect to just walk up to an open terminal.”
Both of the professors say there is a need to
increase the computer center’s capacity. Through
more terminals or a bigger central computer, both
agree that the problem could be alleviated
However, given the financial situation of the
University, additions of that magnitude may not be
possible. Proskurowski’s solution is to limit class
enrollments
Problems with adding more terminals go beyond
finances, Cheston said The computer will not ac
complish as much as quickly if the computer is
overloaded
Cheston, from the University of Saskatchewan,
said that the same type of problems occur at the
Canadian school too.
"People work at terminals for up to six hours and
some of that time might not be too productive Up
there (Saskatchewan), there are time limits set That
might help to some extent here ”
Frohnmayer
scores House
over inquiry
SALEM (AP) — Oregon Attorney General Dave
Frohnmayer scored a legislative committee Monday for
its inquiry about his handling of a sex discrimination
lawsuit against the state's eight colleges and universi
ties.
"The inquiry you are undertaking this morning is
unprecedented in my own memory of legislative service
and my own knowledge of Oregon history," Frohn
mayer said
The House Interim Education and Labor Commit
tee convened about concerns over the hiring of a
Philadelphia law firm to consult on the state’s defense
of the state Board of Higher Education, said Rep.
Margie Hendriksen, D-Eugene.
The federal class action suit was filed last year on
behalf of women faculty members at the state colleges
and universities.
Frohnmayer said he is concerned about violating
legal ethics in discussing a case that has not been
settled. And he said the inquiry challenges the separa
tion of the legislative and executive branches
Frohnmayer heads the Department of Justice,
which is part of the executive branch.
The committee was warned by chairer Rick
Bauman, D-Portland, to refrain from asking specific
questions about the lawsuit and the contract with the
consulting firm The committee took no action after
Frohnmayer detailed his office’s reasons for hiring the
firm
Several members of the House questioned the
hiring of a firm outside Oregon on the case, Hendriksen
said. They were also concerned about the provisions of
the contract in hiring the firm, she added
But Frohnmayer said the inquiry is based on "dis
tortions in the media” indicating that the state is turning
over the case to an outside firm
The attorney general said the state is only seeking
advice on its strategy on the case from a firm that has
been recognized as the best in a specialized area of the
law No firm in the Pacific Northwest has the expertise in
such esoteric matters, he said.
The contract says no more than $50,000 be spent in
fees to the firm.
The committee probably shouldn’t have asked any
questions at all, said Rep. Fred Parkinson, R-Silverton
"After listening to the attorney general’s speech, I
think we re treading on dangerous ground, possibly on
unconstitutional grounds,” he said
Rental art adds panache for a pittance
By Brenda Thornton
Of th* Emtmid
T he University Art Museum has an "original"
' alternative to that yellowing ski poster tacked
on the wall The Rental-Sales Gallery rents paint
ings, sculptures, weavings, photographs and
carvings for a reasonable price
For over ten years, the Museum's rental-sales
gallery has exhibited a wide variety of works
catering to art lovers who can't afford originals
For a period of three months, the borrower can
display a piece from the gallery in his or her office,
home, apartment, or even dormitory room
The rental fee ranges from $16 to $45 After
three months, the borrower may opt to return the
work, renew it at the same price, or apply the
rental cost toward its purchase
The gallery displays a diverse selection of
about 200 works from Oregon artists that widely
range in technique and style Every fall, a jury
reviews the collection and adds works that merit
attention
In an attempt to avoid a bias toward any
particular artistic method, a different jury reviews
the works each year, says Norine Arens, the
museum's administrative assistant.
“The rental-sales gallery has gained an out
1 standing popularity," Arens says "Approx
imately 150 to 200 loans are made per month And
about 50 percent of those loans result in sales."
Arens says the program benefits the museum
as well as the community.
"The rental-sales gallery is a means of sup
port for the Museum,” she says
And the strangled museum budget needs
extra revenue to survive, Arens says Due to
funding cuts, the museum will close during
August and September
The closure affects the rental-sales gallery as
well, forcing it to shut down in mid-April so that all
the works can be returned by July, she says.
"I don't know how we are going to fare,”
Arens says about the museum closure. "It's
bound to hurt our popularity."
A Ithough it maintains a wide-spread clientele,
the gallery’s damage policy seems to dis
courage would-be thieves and vandals, she says
Each borrower signs a contract placing liablity for
damge or theft in the borrower's hands.
“We’ve had a few students pack up at the end
of a term and mistakenly take a piece home with
them," Arens says "But in every case, it’s always
been discovered and returned with no problems."
Graphic by Max DeRungs and Pablo Picasso