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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1982)
emerald platform Balfe and Kouns waged a meaningful race Congratulations are in order to C. J. Balfe and his successful bid for the ASUO presidency Barte had ffie endorsement of this newspaper and the nterfra temrty counci — as wel as the endorsement of a wining margin of voters. But — congratulations are atso in order to Kevin Kouns and his efforts seeking ASUO pressoency. kt these dsonented times for Oregon higher education. Bake represents a smootft transition of student power from one ASUO president to his successor. There is a strength in ffiis that w* serve the students of this University The State Board of rtgher Education must become more responsive to the student bloc And when the student bloc is consistent in its aims and Ms lobbying efforts, the state board and the Legislature will be unable to ignore the students needs tor higher education Kouns has nothing to be ashamed of in his campaign. Kouns. and the Students for a Progressive Agenda, for the most part ran a campaign that brought to tight important issues to students They didn't shy away from the larger concerns of national and intemabonai potties There were those, this newspaper included, that considered the arena of nabonaf and international politics to be secondary elements in the ASUO elections But to Kouns credit. ' M Vu ft HARDt) GH&mrt r he stuck to Ns principles and continued to address the question of U S involvement in Centra) America, the draft and other issues that affect students Kotins is reponsibte for keeping students aware of the work) beyond the boundaries of this campus and the local pubs The formation of SPA harkens back to days of student activism — activism m a poiticai form that had more than a minor place in persuading the policies of this country s administra tion This election is said to have been "dirtier" than last year Some 23 election violations have been lodged with the Elections Court That's 19 more than last year This aspect of the election is nothing for Baffe nor Kouns to be proud of In fact, accusations of violations (notably a tetter in the Emerald con demning SPA) may indeed have adversely influenced the outcome of the election The Elections Court will hear the litany of viola tions Wednesday and make rulings The court has the power to impose fines — the average being a $50 penalty payment to an extreme case, they could invalidate the entire election Some of the alleged violations amount to over zeatousness on the part of SPA supporters, or just a misunderstanding of how (and where) they could campaign. The seriousness of these violations is questionable Some responsiblity in these alleged violations must rest with the Elections Board They apparently didn't do that good of a job overseeing the whole election Balfe will provide strong and single-minded leadership for this Univesity But, Balfe must not ignore the fact that his margin of victory was roughly 4 percent over Kouns who ran on a platform that wasn't simply University student educational con siderations That says students are concerned, wrth the quality of higher eduction and the world they inherit upon graduation Balfe should bear this to iTund throughout his tenure as ASUO president solly hodgkmsor editor's note They've dubbed it "WPPSSgate.' andthepeople of Springfield are mad as hor nets about increases in their eiectricai bills due to cost overruns from two defunct nu clear plants in Washington. Hey Mr. Big Man? When you gonna listen to us little folks down here?” Glenn Sofge s defiance rang throughout the meeting room in me MMamatane Senior Cit izens Center, startling most of the 100 people attending the hearing on the ratepayer's burden for the WPPSS protects. ‘Wiat is he, crazy? Who is he?” asked an old man sa ting on the edge of his front row seat. His eyes bulged magnified by thick glasses “What is he doing?” he asked someone next to hkn The surprise was not at the fighting words of Sofge. but at the volume "Sit down and speak into the micro phone," someone advised him. "Don’t need no micro phone,” Sofge answered, ‘anyone can hear what I got to say Listen Mr Big Man in your ivory tower — it s going to tal* ‘ Sofge then sat and quiet ed down, having gotten toe attention of aD to the room "We know we've been tricked, tied to and cheated As Sofge talked on, the old man relaxed. Then he chuckled. "Well, he sure is mad, isn the7’ Yep Sofge — a Spring field ratepayer who looks Ske Cheswick to the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest — sure is mad He s mad about his eiectnc bd. he's mad at toe Springfield Utility Board for signing the WPPSS contract and he s mad at WPPSS and BPA officials who refused to show tor the hearing And he has tots of com pany The red-whrte-and-btoe citizens of Springfield many who shook their head and sighed over the anfi-estabfesh ment protests of the 1960s, are now marching In Feb ruary, 400 irate ratepayers rallied to protest WPPSS, some of them burning elec trical bits They've become sus picious of public officiate and those in the power industry. When it was mentioned n the hearing that John Lobdell, Oregon s public utility com missioner, was invited to tes tify, the old man snorted He won't come He's a coward They're all cowards you know ” "No sane person would sign a contract that had no hd on what they d be paying and no guarantee of services,'1 said Pay Raymond, leader of Springfield Far Share, a rate payers group Something is going on. and we need to get to the bottom of it" The hearing audience, mostly older ratepayers clothed in work clothes and polyester, cheered those who lashed at WPPSS. BPA and SL® officials When SUB Gen eral Manager Steve Loveland testified, they were polite, although a few guffaws and hisses were heard “We are ratepayers,” someone testified ' We have rights n the state of Oregon We don t owe them a dime We don't own them a cotton-pick ing thing 11 An Albany ratepayer, who traveled to the hearing to otter moral support, urged the Spnngtieldrtes to keep push ing "We need to stick together like a couple ot clams ” The old man read a letter to the committee that he had just received from U S Sen. Mark Hatfield It was vague. "I am concerned about your concern” type of letter, but the old man read it as it it was the Declaration ot Independence As he shuffled back to his seat, his friends and neighbors clapped He turned to the small crowd and waved In Springfield, the little guys — ratepayers — are banding together to fight the big guys — the power industry. Hey. Mr Big Man. don't un derestimate the anger of these Spnngfield taxpayers staff Page 2 Sa»r HoOgktretor Saarjw Scw-’W Eflv H*r»> £*»<« <notM««nEMor yodp Hti'f Boc a*x« Car? formate Sports EtMot S*<« Sc*v y Uanar fjraar A/v Poru.' P§patm» *1 and Scnoott Potatcs/£nnronmant CeCD t Hem art OorH^nt Ganaraf Staff OfHni Gor» CMM S*0, Of! Ann Pafrson Con+oSmr Jtf! OwnCMf
