I
A quiet death for
voluntary fees
Perhaps the only good thing about Rep Richard
Springer's bill to make student fees voluntary is that it stands
a very small chance of passing
The bill has no co-sponsors and is laughed at by other
members of the Legislature Even Springer admits he is "not
confident it will be passed at this point.”
That leads us to wonder why he bothered to introduce it
in the first place
He has indicated that he has something of a personal
vendetta against student-funded programs
Springer graduated from the University law school in
1977 He didn’t enjoy paying fees to support the EMU, which
he rarely used, intercollegiate athletics, which he didn't
attend and the Emerald, which he didn’t like
He once refused to pay his fees, but was "convinced'' to
pay them by the attorney general’s office
Springer maintains that one of the reasons he in
troduced the bill was to get students, as well as legislators,
thinking about the mandatory student fees. Students will be
required to pay between $52 and $56 a term in fees alone
next year
He is convinced that there is a "Proposition 13” men
tality among today’s students Many students don’t want
their money wasted on frivolous activities they have no part
of, Springer says
What Springer has in mind is a “user fee” method of
supporting student programs. If you are going to use the
program, you pay for it If not, you should be able to save the
money
Among the dozens of programs that probably would lose
most of their funding if Springer’s bill were to pass are the
athletic department, OSPIRG and the black student union
Given the choice, a large percentage of students probably
wouldn’t voluntarily pay to support those programs.
The question then becomes whether most students
would want to attend a university without an intercollegiate
athletic program, without a public interest research organ
ization, without a center for black students. The answer is no
The appeal of a university lies not only in its academic
quality, but in the quality of its ethnic, cultural, political and
social student programs as well.
The best thing that can happen is for Springer’s bill to
die a quiet death in the first legislative committee it comes
across.
■ I
opinion
I j letters
secianan
During the “National Prayer
Breakfast" in Washington, D C
on Feb 3, Pres Ronald Reagan
signed a proclamation desig
nating 1983 as the "year of the
Bible " This he did, despite a
serious legal challenge filed by
the Freedom from Religion
Foundation (of Madison, Wis
consin)
On the basis of the separation
of church and state principle, it
does appear that Reagan's
recent action is both unconsti
tutional and an unwarranted in
fringement on the right of
"freedom from religion" to
which those of us who are
scvuiai aic cmmcu aa
American citizens.
Our form of government in
America is deliberately non
theocratic A "theocracy" is a
system of governance in which
the ruling power elite, usually
priests and other religious
agents, claim "divine” or Godly
sanction — as in Iran today
In the United States, public
officials are expected to govern
without bending toward sectar
ian religious themes in the dis
charge of their governmental
responsibilities Accordingly.
Mr Reagan's insensitivity is
grossly unsettling!
Incidentally, I am indeed
pleased that in recent years
I letters
'ARISE, SIR DUMP)'
University administrators have
voluntarily abandoned the im
proper practice of including
religious "invocations" and
"benedictions" in commen
cement exercises and other
programs of that nature at this
public institution
As individuals, those who
function as leaders in the
government sector or at the
University may certainly exer
cise their personal civil liberties
in supporting various sectarian
propositions However, to do so
in ways which smack of govern
mental or institutional espousal
is constitutionally illegal
Reagan was ill-advised to
sign, as President, a sectarian
religious declaration
Ron Rousseve
professor, counseling
Disagree
Just a short response to
Ginger Barnes' letter of Feb 11.
Although I disagree with you,
Ginger, on the issue of abortion,
I believe that I can empathize
with you. and I appreciate your
concern for the future of un
wanted babies and children I
also share that concern, and I
feel it's inappropriate to criticize
abortion, and those who sup
port it, unless one is willing to
share the responsibility for a
child oneself
I belong to Orchard Com
munity Church, a small inter
denominational fellowship that
has it's origins in tne University
area We will gladly offer our
help, without condemnation, to
any prospective mother is ho is
unable to raise her children
alone, or is not sure whether or
not to keep her child Our pas
tor's number is 344-3800
Mark England
Sexual dance
My enjoyment of the very ex
citing women’s basketball game
Sunday evening was marred
tremendously by the disgusting
way in which the University
cheerleaders acted These
women were not cheerleading
Rather, their ‘’dances’’ were
blatantly sexual — degrading to
themselves and ultimately to all
women They consciously
promoted the "woman-as-sex
object” syndrome.
The sharply rising incidence
of rape and other forms of
abuse of women and girl-chil
dren in our area makes it imper
ative that activities which
further this mentality are
stopped
As one person in a crowd of
3,500 attending this game I felt
powerless to stop this incredibly
obnoxious display
However, I feel that within the
crowd were many other women
and men conscious enough to
recognize the damage that kind
of behavior was causing
Next time, let’s chant our re
sistance and/or calmly walk out
on the floor as a group, encircle
the cheerleaders, and walk
them out of Mac Court
Wake up cheerleaders — it
may be you, your mothers or
little sisters who suffer because
of your lack of understanding of
what you are doing to the image
of women
Jane Williams
Poor taste
The display set up by the
"Gay and Lesbian Alliance" for
the week of Feb 14-20 in the
EMU Lobby is truly a fine exam
ple of poor taste I think it's safe
to say most students would find
it more offensive than the Ma
ranatha exhibit against abor
tion.
Remember, money taken
from your manditory student
fees is allocated to help main
tain the homosexual ac
tivist group on campus so it can
sponsor such displays and
other various activities.
Whether you like it or not you
make a contribution to their
group every time you pay your
student fees
And are you getting your
money’s worth? Well, you might
be if you enjoy viewing posters
of lesbians “making out,”
homosexual Valentine's Day
cards, and candy with inscrip
tions such as "Be gay with me "
Sure, other groups such as
the Mormon Student Associa
tion have put on pro-traditional
family displays, but the IFC
won’t contribute to them. At
least their displays were aimed
at the general campus com
munity with articles, pictures,
and information for the vast
majority of students who wish to
lead normal, happy family lives
Perhaps the homosexuals
should be congratulated for ex
posing students to the
decadence of homosexuality
Such exhibits are probably
counterproductive for their
cause anyway
Michael Cross
Thoughtful
I will take this opportunity to
thank the University's French
students past and present for
their sympathy and thoughtful
ness in regards to the death of
my husband Henry F Cooper.
It has been a great comfort for
me Many thanks.
Paulette Cooper
Eugene
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