your turn
ROTO on campus
The legitimacy of ROTC on
the University campus will be
debated by the Faculty
Assembly twice this term. The
first debate will be Wednes
day I would like to inform
students of the issues which
will be raised there, so that
they can voice informed con
cerns to the Student Universi
ty Affairs Board, their student
representatives in the
Assembly.
A major issue in this year s
debate, addressed by Prof.
Cheyney Ryan’s resolution, is
ROTC’s violation of the Univer
sity policy of ‘equal oppor
tunity in education and
employment.” The ROTC
violates the University’s policy
by denying scholarships to
homosexuals, by denying
homosexuals the right to take
upper division classes and
thus major in military science
and by refusing to hire any
homosexual professors.
Although University policy
recognizes that sexual
preference has no bearing on
how well an individual can
learn or teach, military policy
does not. However, since this
is a University and not a
military academy, Affirmative
Action should be enforcing
University policy; yet so far the
office has chosen to ignore
the issue.
The Faculty Assembly’s
vote on this resolution,
scheduled for early May, will
be an attempt to urge initation
of action. This University’s
great tradition of equal oppor
tunity for all must not be
compromised.
Moral objections will be
raised at the April 6 meeting
by Prof. Bayard McCon
naughey. ROTC, or the depart
ment of military science,
teaches that military force —
violence — is a wholly
legitimate means of conflict
resolution. Military traditions,
including unquestioning obe
dience to rules, are not com
patible with the mission of a
university — to encourage the
free exchange of ideas, opi
nions, and dissent.
There are other inconsisten
cies. The University’s military
science department is funded
by an outside employer — the
Department of Defense. This
employer, not the University,
decides who will be admitted
to the program, who will
receive scholarships, and who
the University will be allowed
to hire as faculty. The
employer also writes the
students’ texts. This un
precedented situation is com
parable to allowing
Weyerhauser to run the
business school or !BM to run
the computer science depart
ment. Academic integrity can
not be maintained when such
a vested interest in turning out
loyal future employees is
present.
ROTC is a waste of tax
payer’s money, especially in
the current recession. When
ROTC began, few people went
to college, and the only way
the military could assure itself
a supply of college-educated
officers was to establish cam
pus training units.
But now that a large percen
tage of young people attend
college, ROTC is no longer
necessary. College graduates
willing to become officers can
attend a three-month training
program which costs tax
payers considerably less than
the bill for a four-year ROTC
student.
Although UO students can
not testify or vote at the facul
ty assembly meeting, they can
express their concerns to pro
fessors and SUAB who can
vote. (SUAB can be found in
Suite 2 or the EMU Grievance
Desk).
Students also can attend
the first Assembly meeting on
Wednesday, April 6, at 3:30
p.m. in 150 Geology and the
second in early May to show
their concern by their (silent)
presence.
Sherri Schultz
Sherri Schultz I$ a sophomore
In political science end a
member of Students for e
Nuclear Free Future.
Like wow
Hey, like wow, i mean totally
awesome. Your parody, the lm
morald like, really, was so-o-o
funny, you know, bomb
threats (ha, ha, ha), Nazis (ho,
ho, ho), the Register-Guard
(haw, haw), ROTC, IFC, and
ASUO (hoe hoe hoe), football
and basketball (yuk.yuk),
women being barbecued, and
women being raped, hunhllll?
I mean, like, where do you
draw the line, you know, like?
Hank Lawrence
graduate, geography
'Don't bust a gutcver rr - just dan it up enough rx resale '
letters
No more wars
In response to Randy
Haines patriotic rebuttal of a
February letter concerning
registration and the draft, I
feel compelled to resist
regressive nostalgia — for a
time when wars could be
fought in a manner substan
tially unchanged for millenia,
nation state pitted against na
tion state, pawn against pawn,
to the victor goes the spoils,
military hegemoney prevails
— and rest here.
Teetering at the edge of
tomorrow, here where sanity
and madness rest suspended
in check at the precipice of a
nuclear abyss, there are no
more wars Randy, only “police
actions."
However, I agree on one
point you made. Registering
for the draft does not mean
you will be called upon to fight
in a "modern-day Vietnam,” in
stead it will be a “modern-day
Central America,” or perhaps a
"modern-day Persian Gulf,"
fighting for the vested in
terests of a modern-day United
States.
What one feels as a sense of
emergency may not coincide
with the other's perception.
The people are the law, the
government is ideally only an
instrument of the people, but
like ideals, when confronted
with the will to power they
twist In such a fashion that in
the end makes them surpris
ingly unrecognizable.
Thus, the laws become a
tool of power, and as such, the
possibility exists that these
laws are unjust, out of sync
with the realities of the world
as it is presently ordered.
I would suggest you "do
some serious checking around
yourself" in the quagmire of
morality, look beyond the
legalities.. .get to the heart of
it, because the draft, war, and
all of the insidious forces
behind them are profoundly
moral questions. It’s not a
question of relinquishing your
patriotism, but redefining it,
extending beyond the borders,
beyond the barriers of inflexi
ble ideologies, and embracing
the concept of this insignifi
cant speck of dust as it ap
pears from the perspective of
a vast endless universe of
possiblities.
Your primary responsibility
is to this earth, not just the
dotted line on a map marked
“U S A." Remember that the
people, all of the people, not
the governments that repre
sent them, are made of the
same flesh and blood you are.
I don’t want this appeal to
sound so idealistic that it
becomes trite. I have a pro
found love for this country, for
the land, for the people, for the
rights we possess, but toeing
the "my country right or
wrong" line is a dangerous
and narrow view of things.
Question authority, Randy, the
country you save may be your
own.
Tim Jordan
Junior, undeclared
Register
This concerns a February
letter by Manny Hernandez
about the draft registra
tion/federal financial aid law. It
seems that the support he
gives for his argument against
the law, is in actuality the very
reason for the law’s existence
in the first place.
Sure, we all know that as
United States citizens we have
rights guaranteed us by the
Constitution, and that these
rights give us great freedom.
However, let’s not overlook
the fact that all of these rights
and freedoms were acquired
and maintained with the sweat
and blood of our forefathers.
Freedom of the people is a
very great power. But as we all
know, with great power there
comes great responsibility.
This responsiblity includes
the defense of our country, its
constitution and all of the
rights and freedoms we enjoy.
Let us not twist the meaning
of freedom to include anarchy,
which is exactly what Her
nandez is trying to do. Our
Constitutional rights were
never intended to be inter
preted as the freedom to do
whatever we damn well
please.
The law requiring federal aid
recipients to be registered
with the Selective Service
System makes perfect sense.
Those people who have failed
to register are parasites.
Those who don’t register but
do receive federal aid are even
greater parasites. They share
all of our rights and freedoms
and none of our responsibil
ities.
Manny, when I have a
parasite, such as a woodtick, I
pluck it out. What do you do?
Give it the freedom to do its
own things?
Oh, and Manny, your name
was sent to the Selective Ser
vice System for referral to the
Department of Justice. If you
haven’t already, I’d suggest
you register real soon. I’m not
being vindictive, it's just my
moral obligation, not to men
tion my right and responsiblity
as a citizen of the United
States. Peace, brother.
Michael Lysne
sophomore, business
Oregon doily _ -
emerald
The Oregon Daily Emerald ia published Monday through
Friday eicepl during e«am wank and vacations, by the Oregon
Daily Emerald Publishing Co . at the University ot Oregon.
Eugene. O*. 97403
The Emerald operates Independently al the University
Editor
Managing Editor
Naw* Editor
Assistant News Editor
Editorial Paga Editor
Photo Editor
sports Editor
Asaociata Sports Editor
Entadainmant Editor
Night Editor
Asaociata Editors
Higher Education
Departments and Schools
Student Government
Features
Politics
Student ServtcesrComrmjntty
General Suit
Advertising Manager
Cteesitied Advertising
Production Manager
Controller
-
Harry E Steve
John Healy
Marten Green
Cort Fernaid
Joan Nytand
Bob Baker
Mika Ripimgar
Paul Dantsr
Jonathan Siegte
John Haaty
Sandy Johnstone
Frank Shew
Richard Burr
Sean Meyers
Michele Matassa
Aleia Zak
Darlene Gore
Sally Oi,ar
Victoria Koch
Jaan Ovrnbey
letters policy
The Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing fair
comment on topics of interest to the University community
Letters to the editor must be limited to 250 words, signed
and the identification of the writer must be verified when the
letter is turned in to the Emerald office. The Emerald reserves
the right to edit any letter for length, style or content.
"Your turn” is an Emerald opinion feature submitted by
members of the University community. "Your turns" must be
limited to 500 words and typed This editorial column will not
be edited by the staff, but selection will be based on appro
priateness
Letters to the editor and "Your turns" should be turned into
the Emerald office, Suite 300 EMU
Unsigned editorials appealing in the Emerald are based
upon the majority opinion of the editorial board.