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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 24, 1982)
emerald platform Racism and anti-semitism on the increase It was a questionable statement when University Pres. Paul Olum, in the formation of the task force on racial harassment, asserted that racist attitudes were on the upswing across this country. At the time there was only Oium’s perception and not a large body of evidence to support his contention. The Emerald, while wholeheartedly endorsing the for mation and motives of the racial har assment task force, was somewhat skeptical of a national resurgence of racism. That was before an Associated Press article with the dateline Man chester.Mass. appeared in the news papers. It more than confirmed Oium’s statement that racist atti tudes and hate groups were indeed on the rise in this country. The article noted that the affluent Massachusetts community had set up a committee to study the prob lems of racism at a Junior-Senior High. The committee s study is in response to the discovery of an 11-member club of eighth graders who practised racism and anti-sem titism. The club’s name, the “Nigger and Jew Haters of America,” belies its inclinations. The club, according to school officials, has been effectively disbanded. That’s disbanded until the next eruption of hatred occurs, perhaps not in that community in Massachusetts, but definitely some where in this country. Schools officials have promised to investigate the origins of the club, not ruling out the possibility adults may have had a hand in its forming. That’s not unlikely, ignorance and letters Olum on task force suttk Wved reports of intimidation land harassment of members of minority groups on this campus have come to the attention of the University administra tion. I view this matter with serious con cern, as you will. This is not to suggest that the problem is worse here than in other places. The media inform us that racial harassment is on the rise through out the country and in Oregon. The face that this unacceptable behavior is on the increase puts a greater responsibility on us as a community to be even more sensitive and alert to its existence on the campus and to do everything we can to put a stop to such activity Intimidation ahd harassment of minorities are not limited solely to threats of potential harm but occur in more subtle ways as well. Racial jokes and graffiti, although perceived by some as innocuous and trivial, often cause con siderable pain to those minorities who are the object of sick "humor " The intimidation and harassment of minori ties, whether expressed in the form of jokes or threats, are neither trivial, nor casual, nor funny Such actions are ab solutely contrary to University policy; furthermore, by an act of the 1981 Legislature, intimidation of another in dividual by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin is a punisha ble crime and also can be redressed by civil action, including punitive damage I urge all of you in the University com munity to do whatever you can to actively discourage mistreatment of minorities Surely one important activity is educat ing people to understand the hurt and pain that can be inflicted by such har assment. There is another important action you can take. If you know of an incident of this kind which you feel needs to be reported, please call our Office of Affirmative Action, 686-3123 All such calls will be treated as confidential If the problem does not fall within the domain of the Affirmative Action Officer, she will see to it that the incident is referred to the proper authority. We all should be committed to the understanding and elimination of ex pression and actions that form the basis of harassment. To deal with this issue and to advise on appropriate actions to be taken, I have appointed a task force chaired by William Randolph and in cluding Ed Coleman, Alan Contreras, Susanne Endow, Barbara Nicholls, My ron Rothbart, and George Streisinger. Please feel free to call any task force member to obtain further information or to offer suggestions or counsel. Paul Olum University president intolerance know no age barrier. The racist and anti-semitic temper of this club of 11 eighth-graders brings home the prevalence of anti social attitudes. Olum, in a letter to the Emerald, comments on the frequency of jokes and threats, which are considered trivial to those not in the minority. In a previous editorial the Emerald mentioned that race-slurring graffiti was increasing. Something of a cursory survey revealed that more than “harmless" slurs, the lavatory stall graffiti, are becoming prone to more and more violent statements. It appears some can only deal with the racial and ethnic texture of American society by vowing to kill those who are different It bears reminding that an act by the 1981 Legislature made intimida tion of another by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin a crime. Here at this University the means to redress harassment is to notify the Office of Affirmative Ac tion. But to deal with the under standing and elimination of minority harassment Olum has set-up the task force. It is hoped that through education and understanding a group such as the ‘‘Nigger and Jew Haters of America’’ will never come together on this campus JEEZ/ THE NEWS THESE DAYS » REAU-Y DEPRESSING. WAR IN EL SALVADOR, W«R IN THE PALKLANDS, IVAR IN THE MIDEAST, RACE HATRED AT HOME .. . I I PEEL LIME WC SHOULD AT LEAST l*yiO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT/ iwiraiow NAM* LETS CO JOGGING INSTEAP. YEAH' GREAT iDCfi! let's ao. harry esteve editor’s note The Friday morning calculus class began with the professor ridiculing the Emerald for “not checking its facts-' on a story we had printed about an emotional affirmative action discussion It was a smart way to begin a lecture — it woke the students up and got some of them laughing The professor must have figured he was in good form that morning because the jokes kept coming The class was studying problems of maximizing profits and minimizing losses, a humorless subject that math professors try to spice up with colorful "story problems" This professor s story went like this: Your aunt owns 40 acres of land and needs to decide whether to plant Christ mas trees or a certain kind of weed Trees take 40 hours work per week, weeds take 80 hours work per week Your aunt has cheap labor, the professor said. He paused "That’s because your aunt owns a couple of Mexicans,” he said He turned to face the class, grinning, waiting for laughter There was none There was some noise, however — students shifting un easily in their chairs as they looked around the class to see whom he had insulted The class consisted mostly of whites, some Orientals, a Malaysian You have 100 hours a week of labor available, the professor continued, and you want to make the best use of it Otherwise, “you just have those Mex icans sidin' around picking their teeth,'' he said He turned away from the black board, smiling again, only to face a silent classroom The professor's jokes weren't funny, but they were timely They came exactly one day after Pres Paul Olum sent a memo (printed on this page) to all members of the University community on the subject of minority harassment “Racial jokes ., although perceived by some as innocuous and trivial, often cause considerable pain to those minor ities who are the object of sick humor, reads one part of the memo The professor s math problem sup ports Olum's concern that racism is a problem at the University To those whose first reaction was, like mine, What? Here?” the calculus professor has provided us the answer Halfway through Friday's class the professor mumbled something about jokes, Mexicans and Californians that was supposed to act as some sort of disclaimer Nearly unitelligible from the fifth row of a large lecture room, it seemed to amount to: These jokes about Mexicans, they're just jokes Perhaps he had read his mail the day before and realized he was treading dangerous ground Maybe he remem bered racial harassment recently was declared illegal in Oregon Maybe he realized he simply wasn't being funny, because he finally stopped After class, the Malaysian student said the jokes had angered him Other students, like myself, already had registered their disgust, with silence and embarassment staff Tha Oregon Dally EmarakJ to publishad Monday through Friday ancapt during final* moak and vacation* by tha Dragon Dally Emarald Publishing Co. 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