opinion
Room for rent
Let’s be creative with the room located off the EMU
Fishbowl. Commonly known as the TV room, the EMU Board
took out the television this term because the room was being
used by “transients’’ to come out of the rain.
The room also was used by soap opera addicts and
sports fans for a quick fix.
Now the 17x17 foot room stands desolate, awaiting
greater things to happen. The EMU Board has yet to vote on a
new mission for the room.
So the Emerald still has time to submit a list of ideas. And
here they are:
Make the room an extension of the Fishbowl; add a few
tables.
Invite some entrepreneur to open a coffee bar with good
fresh ground coffee and pastry — the room would be packed.
With easy bathroom access, the room is natural for a
tavern.
Accommodate the video freaks; the board could make
the place an arcade — only quiet games, please.
The room has a window and tile floors This would lend
nicely to a hottub room. Renting tubs would not only bring in
money for the EMU — like arcades, beer and good coffee, it
would increase student interaction.
The room has a little platform that easily could be
extended to form a stage How about a little theater? It could
be used for noon-time performances, stand-up student
comedians or scenes from University Theatre productions
Do something with the little room off the Fishbowl —
even if it means bringing back the television and the bums.
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Precious little
As a graduate student, I have
watched with interest and a
musement the Oregon student
government's reaction to Rep.
Richard Springer’s legislative
proposal to make student in
cidental fees voluntary. As one
of over 2,000 graduate students
who are older, married, or are
single parents, receive precious
little for our incidental fee dol
lars. I applaud and salute Rep
Springer's initiative.
The ASUO and the Incidental
Fee Committee have chosen to
react to this proposal like
Chicken Little and predict the
end of civilization as we know it,
instead of trying to understand
why Rep Springer feels the way
he does or why an overwhelm
ing majority of Oregon students
view student government as a
joke
Let’s face it gang, over 80
percent of all incidental fees are
already allotted by mandate of
the higher education system or
by the 10-15 percent of the
student population that voted in
last year's election.
The world won't end if the
approximately 20 percent
remaining is cut out; the 80 per
cent mentioned before will
simply become part of our tui
tion instead of the current nickel
and dime approach of the in
cidental fee system
There is substantial discon
tent over this fee and what it
supports and how that is decid
ed Most students know what we
want to spend our money on
and we don't need a group of
petty, disinterested student
leaders nor the Emerald, which
receives much of its operating
budget directly or indirectly
from these fees, to tell us what
we need
I dare the ASUO to place the
idea of a voluntary student fee
on the spring ballot — I predict
the highest student turnout in
years in support of this mea
sure However, we all know our
elected leaders aren't interest
ed in what students want; they
just want to keep their positions
of power and their paychecks
coming in. For all their revolu
tionary chatter, they're really
very status quo So. the only
hope to change this charade
lies in Rep Springer s legisla
tive initiative — give 'em hell,
Richard!
Roger Oltan
graduate student
Servants
Re: Robert Payne's letter
about the IFC
I. too, have followed the IFC's
actions in the past few weeks,
Oregon doily . _
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Harry E stave
John Mealy
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Con Fernstd
Sandy Johnstona
Frank Sha«
Richard Burr
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Michele Mataasa
A lets Zafc
Darters Gore
Salty Otiar
Victoria Koch
Jean Ownbey
but with a different point of view.
Rather than power-hungry chil
dren, I see them as public ser
vants giving up a good deal of
their time and peace of mind
and trying to do a job which will
not fully satisfy anyone in the
end.
They are humans They’ll
make mistakes. They’ll get irri
table when the decisions are
rough, when a hearing is drag
ging on and members wish they
were home studying Instead of
having dinner with their children
they’re at that meeting taking all
that flak.
But they’re doing it. Some
computer assistance or consis
tent standards could be helpful.
But for now, someone has to
take the sow’s ear of a budget
and try to make a silk purse for
next year’s students. They have
my thanks for their efforts.
Jennifer Soyke
senior, biology
Good dragon
Wednesday night I had the
pleasure of attending University
Theatre’s production of ‘ The
Last Dragon’’ and excuse the
pun, but, "totally awesome" is
the best word I can think of to
describe it.
Everything about the play
from the costumes and special
effects to the fantastic musical
score was simply amazing To
top it all off, the entire play was
written, directed and produced
by our own University faculty
and students which makes the
whole thing an original produc
tion Even the music vas written
by fellow student Chris Foote
Generally speaking, I am not
an avid theater buff because
most of the plays I’ve seen were
pretty boring However, after
seeing "The Last Dragon” once
I am looking forward to seeing it
a second time For those of you
who haven't seen it, it would
well be worth your while to do so
and I guarantee you won’t be
disappointed
Mike Cutter
Regrets
I regret that my "serious mis
conceptions” have offended
Doug Marker, ACLU director In
objecting to ASUO use of tuition
funds, I was a stereotype, mon
ey-hungry business major, not
realizing I am supposed to
recognize and finance homo
sexuals, Jews, environmen
talists and other minorities
How dare I question Tom
Birkland's right to support his
precious SNuFF through my
tuition funds. Surely such in
fidels as myself must be finan
cially forced to become
"aware" of America's diverse
society through benevolent IFC
projects
I am sarcastic for good rea
son. Liberals may feel strongly
about societal awareness and
political issues, but does that
justify forceably taking $624 in
incidental fees over four years
from me to fund homosexuals,
minorities, and a school news
paper that endorses socialism
and authoritarian rule? That is a
violation of my civil rights —
what about me?
I challenge the constitution
ality of such coercion The
ASUO, under the disguise of
"social and cultural mind
broadening" is promoting poli
tical movements with my money.
That is socialism. I am not for
nuclear disarmament, yet, I am
forced to support it financially
and am called a Nazi and
McCarthyite for disagreeing
That is political coercion —
authoritarianism.
Although I dislike ASUO
spending, I am coerced to pay
them $52 a term anyway. I guess
I don’t matter. My purpose is to
promote public welfare.
Marxism?
I suggest, therefore, that in
cidental fees become optional
in Oregon universitiies so that
those of us already “aware”
may learn here without losing
our political or monetary
freedom.
Randy Shepard
business admin.
Debate ROTC
Answering my statement that I
would like to see ROTC
proponents enter into the
debate more actively than they
usually do, instead of trying to
minimize discussion, Col. Wolf
gram states "a debate ought to
come to a common agreement.
The only thing that will satisfy
him is removal of the program
from the University.”
This argument could as well
read "The only thing that will
satisfy them is to have a military
appendage attached to the
University."
It is true that reaching con
sensus is often a very valuable
and desirable outcome of
discussion and debate. Some
times, however, people sincere
ly seeking the same goal, such
as world peace, start from such
opposite basic premises as to
how to achieve that goal, that
consensus is impossible.
This does not mean that
debating the issue is of no
value. It may serve to clarify
some of the issues, both for
those participating in the debate
and for others.
In this case the basic point at
issue is: Under present world
conditions does a military ap
proach to human problems
contribute to our security and
well being — or is it self-defeat
ing and contributing toward our
destruction?
This is one of the most impor
tant and complex questions of
our time — one with profound
implications for all facets of our
lives — our national policies, our
economy, our relations with
other peoples, and our personal
lives
It is upon the controversial
aspects of questions that all of
us stand in greatest need for
clarification and understanding.
This can only be achieved by
thinking about them, discussing
them — not by avoiding them.
As an educational institution,
rather than a military camp, it is
one of the most important re
sponsibilities of the University to
promote in every way possible
more widespread consideration
and education with respect to
these questions.
I would not want any class of
students to be deprived of the
opportunity to see their faculty
and administraton grapple with
questions as to the responsibili
ties of universities and their
relationship to the larger socie
ty
Bayard McConnaughey
professor, biology