Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1982)
Oregon daily _ , emerald Thursday, July 1,1982 Eugene, Oregon Volume 4, Number 3 Speaker fights subtle sexual harassment Photo by Mark Pynoa Helen Remick, director of the affirmative action office at the University of Washing ton. detailed the subtle and not-so-subtte side of sexual harassment. Proposed 5% sales tax could yield $1 billion By Cort Fernald Of EataraW The conviction is growing among state legistators and economists that the best means to correct Oregon's revenue problems is to implement a sales tax. An advisory panel has recommended a five percent sales tax to Gov. Vic Atiyeh and a government office is presently analyzing what affect a sales tax would have for state revenues The affect of a sales tax — a five percent sales tax — would be to "raise quite a lot of money," according to James Tattersall, head of the Univer sity's economics department. The Legislative Office of Revenue, which studies the impact and alterna tives of state revenue decisions, has estimated that $200-240 million a year per percentage point would be raised by a sales tax By that office's best estimate a five percent sales tax would realize over $1 billion annually for Oregon However, sales tax has been tradi tionally unpopular with the state’s voters The last time a sales tax appeared on the Oregon ballot it was defeated seven to one This re sistance to sales tax goes back to the 1950s when an equitable income and property tax was devised by the Legislature in lieu of a sales tax. Although, the recourse to sales tax has never been eliminated by the Legislature Randall Eberts, assistant professor of economics at the University, look ing at the situation from an econ omist's point of view, thinks that because of the longstanding voter resistance to sales tax there is a fairly low likelihood of a sales tax becoming implemented "Sales tax has been batted around the Legislature," says Eberts, "but it hasn’t appeared yet." The sales tax plan is being engin eered in the House by Tony Van Vliet, R -Corvallis, with the backing of most Republicans The central argument against sales tax was that it was a regressive tax, inequitable in that it impacted more on people of low income Representative Margie Hendriksen, D-Eugene, is opposed to a sales tax, agreeing with the criticism it's regres sive "How you get it and who you get it from is important,” Hendricksen says There are three major tax sources for state governments: income tax, property tax, and sales tax Most states have all three tax options Oregon differs in that it relies primarily on income and property taxes as revenue sources. In times of a strong national and state economy these two revenue sources are sufficient. Oregon's economy was in a “boom” period during the '50s when these tax packages were designed Sales tax revenues are more stable, less likely to fluctuate, than other revenue sources. Income and property taxes are directly affected by the economic conditions of the state. Eberts and Tattersalt agree that the state needs a broader tax base than the base it has now. By Harry Estove Of Wm Emarstd If a male professor sits beside a female student and strikes up a friendly con versation, that can be interpreted as the beginning of a "romantic encounter.” On the other hand, if a male professor, walking by a woman, reaches out and grabs her breast, that can be interpreted as sexual harassment. And at the University of Washington, the professor could lose his job. Speaking to a small EMU audience, Helen Remick, the affirmative action director for the University of Washington, gave several examples of sexual harassment — subtle and not-so-subtle — that her office has been trying to combat. In one extreme case a tenured profes sor was fired for "dropping his drawers" around female staff, placing his tongue in his secretary’s ear, and other acts of sexual harassment, Remick said. In other cases, faculty were reprimanded for asking for sexual attention or sexual affairs in return for softer grading or other favors. The University of Washington has had a policy for the last three years that makes any act of sexual harassment subject to discipline, either by a re primand, a suspension or, in the one case, termination. So far "several hundred" people have used the office to register complaints about faculty, Remick said. In every case, a woman complained of sexual harassment by a male faculty member. And in every case but one, the faculty member admitted to the act, Remick said, although there were often ques tions on the interpretation of the act. "The definition of sexual harassment can be very broad,” Remick said. “Federal guidelines define sexual harassment as any behavior that the recipient feels is sexual harassment.” Some of the incidents Remick dealt with and classified as sexual harassment included: • A professor showing up drunk at a woman's home, asking to come in, say ing "my wife doesn't understand me.” • A man inviting one of his secretaries into his office and telling the woman his sexual fantasies. • A work-study student losing her job immediately after she declined to go on a camping trip with her superviser The superviser told her his office had run out of funds. Remick's office has two methods of dealing with complaints of sexual harassment, a formal one and an in formal one. Under the informal method, the of fender is made aware of the complaint and asked to stop his behavior. In some cases the department head is alerted. Under the other method, the woman files a formal complaint against the of fender and disciplinary steps are taken. So far the formal method has only been used twice, Remick said. Once, a professor was fired and once a professor was asked to take a short leave of absence. More women than ever before are in school and in the work force, Remick said. "The rules have changed in ways that are very, very difficult to un derstand.” Remick’s talk was part of a sexual harassment conference sponsored by the Women's Referral and Resource Service, the ASUO, the Office of Student Advocacy, Women in Transition and the Gay Peoples' Alliance. unancellor ‘Bud’ Davis officially takes command By Dabble Howtett Of Sw EmaraW Everytime the man is in Oregon, his deep tan and sun-silvered hair seem to poke fun at the rain-soaked state. But William Bud' Davis' "homespun" atti tude. replete with a-hands-deep-in pocket, head-bent-down-slightly stance, and even his trace of a southwestern accent lend to the man's sincerity. The golden boy looks exhibited by Davis are something of a misnomer, he’s not too slick, but then again he's not the "laid back" type. He spins tales about his losing season as head football coach at the University of Colorado. He compares an early spring tour of four Oregon institutions with being a “baton in a sprint" relay. Today is his first official day as Chancellor Davis, head of Oregon's sys tem of higher education. One might say the baton has been passed from ex Chancellor Roy Lieuallen to Davis, and Davis is prepared to run with it The analogies may be athletic, but there's the misnomer again. Where Lieuallen is considered by some as a luke-warm advocate of academia, Davis is purported to be one of its staunchest supporters. The most recent visit Davis paid in Emerald Photo William ‘Bud' Davis Oregon was to the State Board of Higher Education’s June meeting. Davis sat in the back of the room among the institu tion presidents and made no official comments. However, during a break in the afternoon session, outside of the meeting room, he made a few comments. “Oregon is the worst of the bad," Davis said of higher education s fiscal problems in this state. "It's not belt tightening anymore.” Davis also talked about institutions within the state system, specifically the Continued on Page 8
