opinion
Program cuts,
lesser of evils
It’s regrettable, but University Pres. Paul
Olum is making the right move in naming four
“outreach" programs as the victims of Gov. Vic
Atiyeh’s unexpected recommendation to cut
higher education’s budget — again.
Losing the Bureau of Governmental Research
and Services, the Labor Education and Research
Center, the Marine Biology Institute at Charleston,
and KWAX — although painful — will harm
University academics the least.
The University probably will be forced to
“trim" $650,000 from its budget. This cannot be
done by hoarding paper clips, reducing services,
and snipping other non-personnel expenditures
as the Chancellor’s office led the legislature to
believe. Olum is saying there are no more “dis
cretionary cuts” available. From here on out all
hacking away at the budget for higher education
harms the quality of the University and the state.
The University already has postponed salary
increases for faculty, raised fee deposits to dis
couraging levels and minimized library and sport
facilities. It has reduced the budgets of the
departments and schools to minimal services
while still retaining their integrity.
Olum’s view seems to be that he has three
choices: Either cut away meat from existing
departments or professional schools, axe an
entire school or department, or eliminate outreach
programs.
ueDataDiy, tne expenaaDie proyrams un
campus already have been cut: The Wallace
School of Community Service and Public Admin
istration, the Insititute for Social Science Re
search and the University architect to name but a
few. It should be noted that KWAX has already
been put on a four-year phase out program from
Llniversity funding.
Actually, Olum is shrewd in his proposed cuts.
They are examples of programs that directly
benefit Oregon — thus sending a message to the
Legislature that cuts in higher education hurt
everybody, not just University faculty, students,
and staff — something they have yet to learn.
The four institutions are major aides to busi
ness, labor and communities within the state. We
hope the businesses and interest groups who
benefit from the Bureau of Governmental Re
search and Services, the Labor Education and
Research Center, the Marine Biology Institute and
KWAX have notified the legislature of their sup
port of these programs and their anger at this
latest round of cuts.
Obviously, the major drawback of Olum’s
proposal is that the disappearance of the four
outreach programs will further sever the crucial
link between the University and the state. The link
is necessary for good public relations between the
University and the community, such as the Labor
Education and Research Center’s programs for
working class groups.
The programs supply work experience for
students, they attract industries that look for
academic excellence and innovation where they
choose to locate,they are direct links between
academic research and community participation
— all qualities that the Legislature demands of
Oregon higher education.
mtY."
letters
Bike safeguards
Your article on "Bike Thieves"
(Spring term, Emerald) was com
mendable for focusing public at
tention on a widespread problem.
However, you overlooked men
tioning several theft prevention
safeguards available to bicyclists
The two basic essentials necessary
to prevent bicycle theft are per
sonal identification and proper
security. If bicycling is your main
mode of transportation, and if you
can’t afford to replace your bicycle
immediately if it is stolen, take heed
of the following precautions.
The most valuable step a bicycle
owner can take for identification
purposes is to engrave your drivers
license number onto the frame of
the bike. When you buy a new
bicycle, this service is available
through tool libraries, local police
stations, and neighborhood watch
programs. Police authorities na
tion-wide will be able to trace you
through your engraved I.D. number
once the bicycle has been
recovered.
Secure your bicycle with a Kryp
tonite or Citadel brand lock. Used
properly, these locks will stop any
bolt cutters. Don’t gamble with
chance. If you ride an expensive
bike or one that you can’t readily
replace, invest in one of these
locks Their higher price is not
unreasonable to pay to protect
your bike from thieves.
Record the manufacturer’s serial
numbers into your frame, and keep
them in a safe place A color snap
shot of your bike can also help in
searching for, locating, and iden
tifying your stolen bicycle. Register
your bike with Campus Security
For the sake of the student
populace, labeled socially irre
sponsible and apathetic, it is dif
ficult to determine the intent of
suspicious behavior. However,
anyone carrying bolt-cutters in the
vicinity of bicycles should be
reported to the police immediately.
Overcome your fear of getting in
volved by enlisting the help of by
standers as witnesses, then call the
police.
To report theft or locate a stolen
bicycle, call the following numbers:
Campus Security 686-5444,
Eugene Police Department
687-5121, Lane County Sheriff
687-4150, Oregon State Police
686-7521
Don’t wait until your bike is
stolen before you become con
cerned
Jean Snider
City Cycle Meseenger Service
Ron Llquory
Bicycle Safety School
Harassment
It concerns me that at the
University in the 1980s we have a
need for a task force to deal with
problems of racial harassment. I
will be first to agree we need laws
and statutes, task forces, and
whatever else will help us “insure’’
against racial harassment But it
concerns me nonetheless that this
institution whose students took a
leading role in the civil rights
movement in the 1960s is still
dealing with the same issues still,
only this time the administration is
taking its turn at the lead We
should have been able to assume
we had learned more from the
1960s
It is appalling that this university
has a math professor who used
racially slanderous statements to
explain story problems in a cal
culus class. This incident, as well
as other violations of racial har
assment causes me to applaud all
the more the administration's at
tempt to protect against such acts
on this campus. These violations
should motivate us to categorize
such behavior as nothing less than
ignorant and criminal
Racial harassment will probably
never completely subside, nor will
one individual ever do much to
change our path towards that end
Until we see that we are all part of
the same team and that we must
adopt a respect and way of acting
towards one another that reflects
that, and that protection from
racial harassment is best insured
by changes in the attitudes and
behaviors of individuals, we can
not expect that Pres Olum's task
force will be a great success We
may very will be able to predict, on
the other hand, that twenty years
from now in the year 2000 we will
be ushering in yet more task
forces, statutes and laws pro
claiming protecton from racial
harassment along with a new cen
tury
Debi Lance
Oregon daily _ _
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