The Emerald
fall fashion
supplement
Page 1B
Wednesday, October 20, 1982
Oregon daily _ _
emerald
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 84, Number 33
LCC students fuming over odor controversy
By Debbie Howiett
Of th« Enwatd
A twist of irony mixed with the
frosty air Tuesday morning as
Lane Community College
students and pre-school aged
children picketed the college's
health building because of con
cern about the children's
health
The protesters charge that
"noxious fumes ’ in the health
building are causing “neur
ological disorders'" in some
people and the building should
be closed until proper testing
verifies no danger exists
The protest, in which the
group focused on the problems
the "fumes" might cause with
children attending a child
development" day-care facility
located in the health building,
was prompted by a student
government meeting Monday
night
ASLCC Pres Paquita Garatea
headed a group of student sen
ators who organized the pro
test The students say they
decided to get involved after the
LCC Board of Directors refused
to close the building last Wed
nesday night
"The board seems to be more
concerned with the cost of
moving the children — not safe
ty,” Garatea charges "We want
them to move the children, im
mediately — until all the tests are
taken "
But board chairer Charlene
Curry says the board decided
the best move would be to leave
the building open
“They've got a fair amount of
(hard-data) already and it in
dicates absolutely nothing,"
says Curry, who is also director
of government relations
"Our response in light of the
information we have is that our
responsibility is to keep that
building open The thing that I'm
concerned about is the level of
fear Fear begets fear We need
to reduce the fear," Curry says
We re concerned about the
health of everyone in the build
ing, says Sharon Hagan, who,
as coordinator of the dental
hygiene program, has an office
in the health building "The ad
ministration is working hard at
solving the problem ”
And apparently, Hagan is
correct
As the students picketed and
called for the closure of the
building, two deans at LCC were
meeting, directly across the
breezeway. with National Insti
tute of Occupational Safety and
Health officials to determine
what the best course of action
would be
Photo by David Corey
Children join with LCC students to protest the presence of "noxious fumes" in the health building,
which is where child devlopment courses are located
They re here. they should
be here most of the week," said
Bill Berry, dean of administra
tive services, Tuesday night of
the NIOSH officials ' They've
agreed to talk to a number of
individuals working in the build
ing
"There has been no attempt
to do anything but deal with the
problem, that's evidenced by
the fact the federal folks are
here," Berry said
But while the officials were
deciding which route to take to
resolve the problem, several
parents expressed their anger
Joann Moynier, an LCC student,
says she is looking for alterna
tive facilities and is bringing her
son, Bela, to campus only once
a week now.
"My main upset," Moynier
says, "is that they assume the
responsibility, by making the
choice of the health of my boy,
without informing me."
When asked if he's felt bad
since he started day care, Bela
pulls a red cap over the front of
his face and mumbles someth
ing that resembles "na "
"I wouldn't expose my child,”
Moynier says angrily "And they
didn't tell me when they accept
ed him as a student."
Kesey divulges 'secrets’ to aspiring writers
Reach out and
grab readers
by the mind’
By Marian Green
Of the Emerald
University graduate Ken Ke
sey returned to the classroom
Tuesday to talk about what he
does best — writing fiction.
Easing his large frame into a
student-sized desk, Kesey of
fered advice and philosophies
to about 150 aspiring writers in a
workshop sponsored by the
University's Creative Writing
Program
He gave tips as basic as
remembering to double space a
manuscript and divulged such
secrets as creating a villainous
character
In between, he sandwiched
anecdotes about his novels,
"One Flew Over The Cuckoo's
Nest and “Sometimes A Great
Notion" and mentioned his la
test project, "Sailor’s Song,” a
novel set in Alaska
Wearing a blue plaid wool
shirt and a familiar leather cap,
the soft-spoken Kesey said
writing never gets easier
"It becomes harder because
you know more about it. It
doesn’t get easier like roller
skating," he said
So the first page of a story
must be ‘ smooth, with no
jagged edges" and must lull the
reader
"You’ve just got to reach out
and grab the reader by the
Author Ken Kesey reaches out to ‘grab the mind' of an enraptured student audience.
mind,’’ said Kesey. “You don't
ever want to force the reader to
shift down.”
Tight editing is the key to
good writing, he said.
"The thing that distinguishes
art from stuff is the things that
get left out,' Kesey said. “We re
up to our ears in stuff.”
He said Hemingway’s sparse
style made every word count.
“You'll go through Faulkner
because he’s Faulkner, but you
can't expect to be Faulkner right
off.”
Kesey said writers lose their
' wallop" by developing a good
idea or thought too much.
“People undo what they’ve
done.”
His merry blue eyes shifting,
Kesey said good writing must
"uplift” the reader.
"At the end of Hamlet, every
body dies, but you're still
uplifted,” he said. "What makes
people interesting are the sur
vivors. It's easy to find suffering,
but to go inside these things and
find the glory, that’s the writer’s
job."
When an author writes a pas
sage that elicits strong emo
tions from the reader, he or she
better be ready for repercus
sions.
‘ Writing is magic. You're
reaching in there and twiddling
with a person's soul and you
want to be careful, said Kesey
in a soft Oregon drawl. “If you
have a character stick his thumb
in a car door and mash it, You
can just bet this year you're
going to mash your thumb.’’
Kesey advised writers to “try
not to make a villain a human
being. Deal with evil in a larger
way so all humans are against
that thing."
Kesey said he's extra careful
when criticizing someone's
work.
“It doesn't matter how big or
famous you get, when someone
criticizes your stuff, it hurts just
as much."
When the words flow, Kesey
said “write all you can. It doesn't
come often.
“I think of it like surfing.
You’re always swimming out to
a wave and swimming back . .
trying to catch that big one,” he
said. “But when it comes you
know it. It’s thrilling.''
In a brief interview, Kesey said
his novel should be finished in
another year. “When I get the
last kid into (the University of)
Oregon, I can really be free in
my thinking. It's a long and dif
ficult time raising kids. A lot of
the same energy that goes into
writing goes into raising kids."
He said the novel will take
“Sometimes A Great Notion"
one step further
"... in Great Notion’ I took
people from across the country
until they ran into the Pacific
Coast," he said enthusiastically.
"Now they’re taking a right turn
to Alaska because of something
civilized chasing them."