Wednesday, March 3, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 113
emerald
l
Students pen protests to cuts in aid
By Ann Portal
Ot lh» E mar aid
Concerned students con
verged on an EMU table
Tuesday that provided supplies
for writing to congressional
representatives about proposed
financial aid cuts
From 10 am to 4 p m . a
steady flow of students knelt at
the table to pen quick letters to a
list of seven policy-makers, in
cluding Oregon's six senators
and representatives and the
chairer of the Labor, Health.
Education and Welfare Sub
committee
By Tuesday evening, more
than 190 students had con
tributed letters toward an 800
letter goal set by ASUO and
SUAB members
"I'm jumping up and down
right now, said Dave Berns.
ASUO legislative coordinator
People are just soaking it up
They want to get involved " He
said his only disappointment
Tuesday was that he hadn't
thought to provide a second
table
Not all the letter writers were
financial aid recipients Clint
Golden, a junior in computer
science, said he that although
he has never received student
aid, he was writing to protest
Pres Reagan's entire 1982-83
budget proposal
"He's just gone berserk,"
Golden said "It’s not just
student aid — it's social
programs, it's lunch programs,
and it's defense ”
While a volunteer guided
students to the EMU table,
student groups visited the Bean
and Carson dormitory cafeter
ias to round up more support for
the letter-writing campaign
Berns said he also hoped to
get a table in the library, but that
the students' first request for a
table there had been turned
down
University Librarian George
Shipman said heavy foyer traffic
makes it necessary for the
library hallways to be kept clear
The library has a long-standing
policy of not allowing groups to
set up tables, he said
"I frankly am very supportive
of what they're doing,"
Shipman said, noting that he is
working with head librarians at
the other seven higher
education institutions to point
out how the cuts would affect
libraries
Berns said ASUO and SUAB
volunteers are advising
students on what to say in their
letters, and are especially en
couraging them to write to Sen
Bob Packwood, R-Ore and
Sen Mark Hatfied, R-Ore , who
is chairer of the Senate Appro
priations Committee
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Almost 200 students sent letters to legislators with a little help from ASUO/SUAB members. Most
students were angry about proposed cuts in financial aid.
Session cuts spending,
property tax relief bill
SALEM (AP) — Legislators went
home Tuesday and state officials
began reviewing agency budget cuts
after adjournment of the longest and
costliest special session in Oregon
history
The lawmakers finished about
11 50 p m Monday in their 37th day at
the Capitol House Speaker Hardy
Myers, D-Portland, said all 90 legisla
tors couldn't have been satisfied "if
we stayed here six more weeks "
Their last act was approving a $17
million cut in state prooerty tax cut by
close votes — 17-13 in the Senate and
31-28 in the House It requires 31
House votes and 16 Senate votes to
pass bills
The lawmakers also approved $113
million in spending cuts, passed a
3-cent per pack boost in the 16-cent
state cigarette tax voted to raise in
come taxes by 7 5 percent for this
year only
Those steps, together with revenue
measures approved earlier in the six
week session, balanced the budget
and left a $7 million reserve fund.
"Budgets could have been cut
more and taxes raised less." said Gov
Vic Atiyeh said following adjourn
ment Responsible legislative voices
were rarely heard. The critical
balance between budget cuts and
increased taxes was not achieved."
Denny Miles, chief press aide to the
governor, said it may be a week before
Atiyeh has all the paperwork from the
Legislature in order to make a deci
sion on the measures
He's considered likely to approve
the proposals Atiyeh said Monday
he'll do "all that's humanly possible"
to avoid another special session this
year
The Republican governor proposed
lower tax boosts and more budget
cuts that the Democrat-controlled
legislature would buy. He also had
called for a $26 million reserve fund
Most of the Legislature's tax mea
sures would take effect 90 days after
adjournment
See related story on page 6
A House-Senate conference com
mittee labored late Monday in an ef
fort to reach a compromise on a
property tax relief cut That issue
became the chief sore point as
lawmakers tried to adjourn the ses
sion that began Jan. 18
The House had passed a $44 million
tax relief reduction last week, but the
Senate wouldn't go along with that
deep a cut
The Senate approved a $15 6 mil
lion tax relief decrease Sunday The
House rejected that measure Monday,
putting the dispute into the joint con
ference panel to try to find an
acceptable middle ground.
The lawmakers finally settled on the
$17 million cut.
CORD set to fight
for draft resisters
By Ron Hunt
OI the Emerald
The U S. government s hot air is
bringing us closer to a draft, say coun
selors of Eugene's Coalition Opposing
Registration and the Draft
Despite official assurances draft
registration has nothing to do with actual
inductions, U S leaders are propelling
us toward the real thing Step by step, all
necessary preparations are being made
to set the draft in motion," CORD
members said at a news conference
Tuesday.
There is an “unoffical extension" of
the grace period which ended Feb 28,
said draft counselor James Lewontin,
but U S. Attorney General William Smith
has said the Justice Department will
prosecute "hundreds and hundreds" of
young men if necessary Because there
are at least 900,000 resisters, they will be
prosecuted selectively — probably
beginning in late spring, Lewontin said
Religious resisters will likely be the first
prosecuted, he said, because those re
sisters would not have sophisticated
defenses and the government could win
those cases and "get case law in their
favor."
The choice, says the U S. government,
is between "simply signing a piece of
paper" and possible prosecution fol
lowed by years in jail, said Marion
Malcolm of CORD’S steering committee;
"and we re not accepting the govern
ment’s definition of that choice "
If the selective prosecutions fail to
increase the number of registrants,
Lewontin said, match-ups of Social
Security numbers, warning letters, and
more prosecutions will be likely. “They
must be nervous,” he said, noting that
there are about 5000 new resisters each
week and the government will be faced
with one million non-registrants soon
“We expect young people to hold out
until the last possible moment," Lewon
tin said; "most of these kids” who seek
counsel haven't thought a great deaJ
about the draft, but are “fundamentally
opposed” to it nevertheless
No prosecutions in Lane County are
planned as yet, he said, but if there are “I
think we ll see a battle CORD members
plan a demonstration Thursday, Mar 11
at noon outside Eugene's Federal Build
ing and said they can protest at the
Federal Building within 24 hours of the
first U S. prosecution of a resister
CORD members also said local claims
boards are portrayed by the U S Selec
tive Service as neutral, designed to
“protect the constitutional rights" of
young men, but the boards are “being
drawn into the enforcement campaign."
Packets with warning posters — intended
for registration-age men — have been
sent to claims board members
On Mar. 20, a mock call-up of 1,000
Army reservists is scheduled, with a
larger test planned later in the year. This
indicates a coming draft, CORD
members said, adding:
"Why are simulated inductions
necessary, unless registration will in fact
soon be followed by the draft itself?"