Wednesday, April 14, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Oregon daily
Volume 83
Number 130
emerald
Financial aid outlook slightly better
By Ann Portal
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Following the U S Senate and House
rejections ot Pres. Ronald Reagan's
proposed financial aid cuts two weeks
ago, the University already has received
notice of tentative financial aid alloca
tions for the 1982-83 academic year
The allocations are "very'' tentative,
stresses Ed Vignoul, financial aid direc
tor but he says — with some relief — that
the situation looks better for University
students
“I believe the level of funding will be
somewhat comparable to what it was for
1981-82, with some reductions, but
certainly not as drastic as they would
have been had Reagan's proposals been
accepted,” Vignoul says
On March 31. Reagan signed a Joint
Continuing Resolution that extends
r
financial aid levels approved last
December through Sept 30. 1982. How
ever, although Reagan's proposed
financial aid cuts were virtually ignored
by Congress, his proposals do not of
ficially expire until April 22.
The Office of Management and Bud
get. headed by David Stockman, is using
that expiration date to hold up $44 million
in work study funds that Reagan wanted
cut That means the University’s estimate
of $1.2 million in work study funds
probably will increase, and should come
close to this year's level of $1.4 million,
Vignoul says
In other types of aid, the University
should receive an estimated $567,705 in
new federal money for National Direct
Student Loans, compared to $548,859
this year In addition to the new funds,
the University recycles money from
repaid loans Collections have reached a
plateau, but remain strong, according to
Vignoul.
The University’s Supplemental Educa
tional Opportunity Grant allocation was
cut nearly 25 percent, from $942,797
awarded this year to $703,920. The big
decrease in SEOG funds is probably
because SEOG is not a pay-back
program, Vignoul says.
The Pell Grant allocation — the largest
single form of financial aid — is not yet
known, because there has been no
decision on the amount the student’s
family will be expected to contribute.
By law, the contribution schedules
should have been sent to Congress by
April 1, but the document is being held by
Stockman’s office, along with several
other financial aid-related recommenda
tions.
’’That's what going to hold us up — if
anything does — in notification,” Vignoul
says. The June 1 notification deadline for
University students still seems realistic,
he says, and students will know if the
financial aid office is unable to make that
deadline.
Even if aid is awarded by June, there
will be no aid dispersed during summer
term until July 1. Just like last,summer,
financial aid will not have enough money
left over to give summer students their
aid when they register. Vignoul warns
those students to plan ahead for the
delay.
Meanwhile, none of Reagan's
proposed financial aid cuts for 1983-84
have yet been rescinded, and Congress
will be considering those cuts this spring
and summer.
“For 1983-84, the battle is just begin
ning, so keep the cards and letters com
ing," Vignoul says. "There’s only danger
if people become apathetic.”
Photo courtesy of the Eugene Register-Guard
A Rolls-Royce sits Idly In a shed — an Incongruity much like the struggles of Antelope, Oregon, with the Rajneesh.
Antelope
By Kevan Howser
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Oregon's hamlet of
Antelope is facing the same
question as William Shake
speare s Hamlet — to be or not
to be Five television networks,
countless press reporters, and
'60 Minutes” are all are wait
ing to report the answer
In Antelope — population 40
— an election Thursday will
determine whether or not to
disincorporate the city
Although it may not seem
like a story with international
interest, the disincorporation
election set for Thursday is
attracting an impressive
assemblage of media to
Antelope
The British Broadcasting
Corp and a Canadian televi
sion network are expected to
cover the election along with
the three U S networks Also
expected at the balloting are
the Associated Press, United
Press International and
Portland television stations
Why all the fuss over a tiny
central Oregon town?
For Antelope, the story
began last July when followers
of 49-year-old Indian guru,
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh,
purchased the 67,000 acre
Muddy Ranch near the city for
$6 million Some 280 red
garbed followers soon moved
onto the ranch, and applied to
incorporate 2,000 acres into a
city to be called Rajneesh
r
An historical Oregon town
under seige by Indian guru
puram
Last November, the Wasco
County Court approved the
Rajneesh request to hold a
May 18 election to incorporate
their new city But ranchers
and the land watchdog group
1000 Friends of Oregon point
ed out Muddy Ranch is zoned
for agricultural use. and cities
and farming don't go together.
The issue now is tangled in
legal appeals — and
Rajneeshpuram may never
become a city
In talking about the issue,
Antelope mayor Margaret Hill
is well-rehearsed after months
of media interviews "I guess
you get used to it."
According to Hill, the press
has tended to present only the
obvious aspects of the
religious group: their smiles,
their industriousness, their
religious beliefs, their red
clothing There may be more
to this group than what is first
noticed, Hill says.
The Bhagwan, as he is
called by his disciples, teaches
that nearly all Eastern and
Western religions have some
value He became controver
sial in India for his promotion
of sex without restraint or ob
ligation and became known in
the European press as the
“free-sex guru."
"We wanted three things,"
says John Shelter, one of the
group s leaders. "We wanted
cheap land We wanted to be
able to grow enough to feed
ourselves and we wanted to be
far away from people who
might not like us."
Although Rajneesh is the
spiritual leader, the legal
leader is Sheela Silverman,
Shelter’s wife, who is pres
ident of the non-profit
Rajneesh International
Foundation, which owns the
ranch
Continued on page 3
Citizens plan party for city's demise
ANTELOPE, On. (AP) — Old-time residents
who want to vote this town off the Oregon map
rather than be taken over by followers of an
Indian guru are preparing for a big going-out
of-business party.
Up to 500 reporters, photographers and
other outsiders are expected for the spe
cial vote on Thursday, including Secretary of
State Norma Paulus. Oregon’s top election
official, said Wasco County Clerk Sue Prof
fitt
"Tm working on an angel food cake right
now," Antelope resident Margaret Mobley said
Tuesday. “I hope everybody acts like angels
that day.”
She said volunteers from the surrounding
ranches were helping out with sandwiches,
maple bars, cookies and other goodies for the
occasion
'Food for election day is not an old-time
tradition,” she said. "In earlier days, voters ate
at the Antelope Store and Cafe That was when
the store was neutral
Now the store is named "Zorba the Buddha”
and is owned by the Rajneesh who serves only
vegetarian food, along with package sales of
beer and wine and tracts of the guru's
messages