Oregon daily . _
emerald
Ra|neesh:
on a cloud?
A Silver
Cloud
Part II
see below
Friday, October 22, 1982
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 84, Number 35
The Political Faire brought candidates to campus to debate the issues While few students attended the
all-day event. ASUO officials remain positive about their efforts
Low student turnout mars Faire
By Richard Burr
Of th« Emerald
The ASUO Political Faire was marked by tow
student turnout Thursday, but faire officials say
the event was worth the effort
Attendance averaged 18 people through the
first five debates The turnout reached its lowest
point when no one except participating officials
and the media showed for the 11:30 a m Rep
District 42 debate with Democrat Larry Hill.
Hill was delayed and was 20 minutes late for
the debate, said Dan Allen, Student Universities
Affairs Board chairer The Democrat decided to
talk to the media and left, he said
The faire was sponsored by ASUO, SUAB and
Student University Relations Council
Officials said the event ran smoothly and the
sole problem was the attendance
None of us are upset or disappointed,”
ASUO Pres C J Balfe said ‘ We offered the
students a service that was worth the effort and
we ll keep on doing it
"We've been fighting apathy for the three
years that I've been here and it's a slow tight," he
added
But for Debi Lance, ASUO vice president of
state and University affairs, the attendance prob
lem was baffling
“I really don't know what happened," she
said "I'm confused "
Allen said the debates ran smoothly and were
informative for him
"It's too bad more people didn’t show up," he
said
Although higher education is in trouble,
students seem to need a larger incentive to attend
the faire and become involved, Balfe said
We can only go so far,” Lance added
In another faire development, Rep Jim
Weaver's office requested a Weaver representa
tive be allowed to debate against Republican
challenger Ross Anthony, Lance said The
request was denied, she said.
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Arid desert blooms under guru’s influence
By Randy Malat
Of the Emerald
Editor's note This is the second part of a two-part
series that looks at the reason people follow Indian guru
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
ANTELOPE — Time is short — dance, sing, be
joyous!
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Followers of a religious leader from India are
demonstrating that a blend of faith, money, leadership,
technology and manpower can make the desert bloom
and move mountains
On a piece of desert twice the size of San Francis
co, the Rajneesh Ranch has about 350 full-time re
sidents and a supporting cast of 500 other Rajneesh
disciples called "sannyasins." Selected by the com
mune's leaders according to skills, depth of commit
ment, wealth and available facilities, they work 70-80
hours a week without pay
Rajneesh claims 270,000 followers worldwide;
relocated from Poona, India in the summer of 1981, this
is the religion's center, an international sensation.
Reactions to the experiment are as much a product
of the speaker’s values as the ranches' tangible signs of
progress
"It’s a pretty simple way to live,” says Prem Deep.
"Get up in the morning and go to work. Be part of a
growing farming community with a lot of nice people
Eat like a king. Have a couple of hours at night for
yourself.”
"They're the new society dropouts," says Don
Smith, a retired Marine who lives in nearby Antelope.
"They claim all these skilled and professional people
are driving tractors and milking cows and relying on the
Rajneesh organization to provide for them. If that isn’t a
dropout, I don’t know what a dropout is.”
"This is not a hippy commune." says Krishna Deva,
mayor of Rajneeshpuram, the newly-incorporated city
that covers 2,000 acres of the 64,000-acre ranch "The
people here are a very successful group. It has nothing
to do with escaping They were successful but some
thing was missing.”
"All religious movements start with tremendous
vitality,” says Dr. Hee-Jin Kim, chairer of the Universi
ty’s religious studies department. "Right now this
movement is highly idealistic. In the course of idealistic
activity you get involved in political and economic
issues Any religious movement is a mixture of good and
bad "
“There is no complaining, no bitching and moan
ing, no contract signed,” says Sunshine, who shows
visitors around the ranch.
"People are here because they want to be,” she
says. "If there’s anything they don't like they can leave
There’s plenty of people that want to come and replace
them
Continued on Pages 10 and 11
Photo by Bob Baker
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh's image is prominent
throughout Rajneeshpuram.