| opinion
Tuition increases,
enrollment declines
This fall's 9-percent enrollment decline brings several
questions to mind
Among others: How much state money will the University
lose? What will happen to the four outreach programs slated
for possible closure this summer by Pres. Olum?.
A 9-percent drop in enrollment — should the preliminary
figures bear out — means over 1,300 less students will attend
the University this year.
What's stopping those students from signing up? The
admissions office and state systems people are rationalizing
the 9-percent decline to 939 fewer Oregon high school
graduates in 1982 and the increase in admissions standards
from a grade point average of 2.5 to 2.75 last year.
But let's face it. High tuition kept students from enrolling.
The 26 percent increase in tuition from last year (see chart on
page one), coupled with the inability of many students to find
work last summer has priced college education out of their
dreams — at least for awhile
Other students found work at considerably lower wages or
less hours than in previous years. Financial aid, especially on
the federal level, has decreased eligibility for many students
Whether it was a high school graduate whose parents
decided they can't afford what the University charges, or a
University junior who had to cut his schooling short, many
eligible students have simply been financially denied a
University education
It would be wonderful if declining enrollment meant such
things as fewer students per class and more space in the
library. A wonderful campus life of less students, more
faculty attention to undergraduates and a personal ambi
ance about the institution is a nice fantasy.
The reality is that more students are in each classrooms.
There are less professors, less course offerings and
everyone is working with a smaller budget
Nine percent enrollment decline means 9 percent fewer
students can afford higher education even with their parents
financial help
As State Sen. Ed Fadeley remarked, the tuition increases
are making the Oregon state institutions of higher education
beyond the means of the lower middle class and therefore
increasingly elitist. The University is the highest priced public
university in the Western United States for in-state residents
It is not particularly the end of the baby boom or tough
admission requirements that keep students from enrolling.
It's 9 percent less students who can afford an education
|| letters
Kuh-WAX
There has recently been
some discussion as to the cor
rect pronunciation of the letters
KWAX When I first came here I
heard only"KAY-wax," sug
gesting the material from which
phonograph records used to be
made More recently, I have also
heard "kwak" suggesting the
web-footed mascot. It has oc
cured to me that a third alterna
tive is also possible, assuming
the pronunciation "kuh-wak.”
This would suggest an allu
sion to the famous Croaking
Chorus from "The Frogs," a
play by Aristophanes The
words are not real Greek, but an
attempt to simulate the sounds
made by students in the days
when one of the prime functions
of a university was to provide
them with a classical education;
the Modern Major-General in
Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates
of Penzance” cites it as being
among his store of knowledge
Because the line'Brekekekax,
koax koax" has the same
rhythm as "Right in the neck,
the neck, the neck," it was also
used as football cheer Perhaps
the radio station is simply trying
to recall the university to its
classical heritage
Lawrence Crumb
Library
Oregon daily m .
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Slanderous
I was outraged by the article
written by Harry Esteve
regarding the "ugly
appendage;" known to other
citizens as Springfield I am
surprised the Emerald would
allow such a biased and
slanderous story to print
Admittedly, Springfield’s
downtown area could appro
priately be called an eye sore,
but Springfield as a whole is
certainly better that the
"dismal," "dying city" that
Esteve has pictured
Certainly Eugene is not with
out its eye sores If Mr Esteve
gets off on "peeling paint" and
"unkept yards" have him check
the neighboring streets to the
University campus, which
houses hold mostly students I
suppose Mr Esteve would feel
that slovenliness on the part of
students is excusable but not so
for the poor, for, of course, they
are poor by choice
As for Springfield's "greasy
spoons." they offer good food
at a reasonable price, which is a
good alternative to some of
Eugene s finer restaurants
which offer mostly oak and
plush carpeting Have Mr
Esteve try Tim and Tilda's,
which is a very good deli on
Main Street They, admittedly,
have even eaten at Larry &
Kathy's "greasy spoon "
Well, I could comment on
every paragraph Mr Esteve has
written, but why bother I'm just
a quiet, unpretentious person,
living in my modest, little home,
feeling grateful that I have a job
and my only excitement in life is
watching the drunks roll out of
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Harry Esteve
John Haaly
Marian Green
Cort Fernakf
Joan Nyland
Sob Balter
Mike Riplinger
Paul Danrer
Jonathan Siegle
Debbie Hewlett
Sandy Johnstone
Richard Burr
Sean Meyer*
Michelle Matassa
David Brown
Darlene Gore
Sally Oljai
Vietona Koch
jean Ownby
letters
Mf
*•'9**- *»^B**. HRr
the Lost Dutchman at 2 a m on
a Friday night.
Sharon Ransdell
Springfield
Affront
As a resident of Springfield
for over nineteen years, as a
graduate ot the University, and
as mayor of the city of Spring
field, I take great exception to
your article, “Springfield — The
Other' City The generalities
you draw in your article may
make good copy but are grossly
inaccurate The article is an
affront to every citizen of
Springfield
More than 40,000 citzens
choose to make their home in
Springfield They do so for many
different reasons, most of which
add up to the fact that they like
living in Springfield No, we are
not like Eugene — nor is Eugene
just like Portland. Each city has
a combination of good and not
so good attributes None is
perfect and each is continually
striving to improve To call us
“an ugly appendage desecrat
ing the east end of a hallowed
city1' only shows that you have a
very narrow perspective ot what
really makes a community a
place in which people choose to
live
I hope in the future you will do
a better job of understanding
and reporting regarding
Springfield I do not ask you or
anyone else to ignore our faults,
only that they are balanced with
the assets which give all of us a
reason to call Springfield our
home and to be proud of It
John Lively
Springfield
Monument
It always amazes me that the
same generation of young
people that have revived
interest in the history of cities
can also be ignorant of history
when writing about it.
Harry Esteve's article in the
Emerald of Sept.20 exemplifies
this ignorance in his comments
about “someone" who built a
monument to Springfield — the
horse.
This equestrian object, which
has been standing at the
entrance of the city since the
late 1950's, was designed and
constructed as a thesis project
by a graduate student in scul
puture from the University of
Oregon After convincing the
local Junior Chamber of
Commerce of the aritistic merit
of the piece by use of a very well
executed model, this student
proceeded to erect what you
now see sculpted from con
crete
I think most of our citizens
would agree that it is. in fact, a
"faceless, featureless rider
awkwardly straddling an ill
proportioned horse" and would
also agree that that's not what
they bought in approving the
sculputor's model
The sculpture, therefore,
does not stand as "testament to
the flawed, depressed, and dy
ing city it guards," but a mon
ument to the gullibility of our
community in believing that they
should expect quality from the
products of certain graduate
programs of your University
Don Lutes
Springfield
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