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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1983)
Deadline Today is the last day to pay tuition for spring term courses, according to the registrar’s of fice Today is also the deadline for spring term graduates to file degree applications Oregon daily emerald Friday, April 8, 1983 Eugene, Oregon Volume 84, Number 128 First since early 70s Challenger astronauts walk in space CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - tied to 50-foot leashes, two astronauts made the first U S. space walk in nearly a decade Thursday, floating joyously around Challenger's open cargo bay to practice repair jobs for future shuttle missions Astronaut Story Musgrave nearly swung himself over the side of the space ship, doing a handstand on the rail, restrained by his tether At times, televi sion showed the Earth spinning 176 miles below them "It's so bright out here,” said Musgrave, the first out Astronaut Don Peterson followed a minute later, each tying his tether to slide wires that run the length of the 60-foot-long cargo bay. Mission Control asked how the real thing compared with the training in a large swimming tank “It’s a little deeper pool than I'm used to working in," said Musgrave Peterson immediately went to a box and removed tools specially built for space use Both astronauts flexed their arms and moved their legs to evaluate the mobility of the new $2.1 million suits. Musgrave also climbed up the side of the rear bulkhead to take a look at the material that is flapping loose behind one engine. The astronauts, protected from the hostile environment only by their spacesuits, planned to spend 3Vi hours at their tasks. About a half an hour before they ventured out, Pres. Ronald Reagan placed a radio-telephone call to Commander Paul Weitz. He told Weitz he didn’t envy the astronauts. Asked why, later, by reporters in the Oval Office, Reagan replied: “I don’t know, maybe a little claustrophobia " The mission, Reagan told Weitz, "serves as a symbol, I think, of our com mitment to maintain Americas leadership in space.” It couldn’t be ne without without men like those aboard Challenger." "We appreciate that," Weitz respond ed. "I know that it's an old and well-used song, but we just get the glory. We really get to stand on the shoulders of giants to participate in this program " The spacesuits malfunctioned on the fifth and most recent flight of the shuttle Columbia in November, preventing a planned space walk The suits have undergone extensive checking but four batteries that power lights in the helmets failed to work There were seven other batteries aboard Challenger, however, and only four were needed At White Sands, N.M., engineers post poned maneuvers to correct the oval orbit of the huge communications satellite ejected from the shuttle on Monday. They had planned to start firing the craft's jet thrusters on Sunday to nudge it into its intended high orbit at 22,300 miles. But NASA's Robert Alter reported Thursday that the satellite has a slight roll problem that engineers want to understand before they give the firing commands, sometime in the next week. Challenger is to return from its inaugural flight on Saturday after five days, 19 minutes in space. Mission Con trol told the astronauts that the weather looked good for their landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert at 10:49 a m. PST. University students reach out, help foreigners feel at home By Kim Carlson CM the Emerald In America when your car breaks down, you haul it to a garage If you’re looking for the fastest way to get to St Louis, you contact a travel agent. Hungry for special sauce? McDonald's is always just around the corner. For foreign students who have a limited understanding of English, learning the American way-of-life can be difficult, says Chris Hounshell, a University International Studies student Hoping to make the cultural transition easier, Hounshell and University business major, Young Kim, started the International Friendship Program last term "We just want to break the ice for foreign students," says Kim “It's friendly and informal " The program pairs English-speaking Univer sity students with students learning English at the American English Institute on campus. The pair usually meets weekly to talk, shop, eat, play tennis or do whatever interests them. "We want to integrate Americans with foreign students,” says Kim Both Kim and Hounshell studied abroad in Japan last year and discovered the hardships students encounter while in a foreign country. "Foreign students are shy, but they do want to speak English and get to know Americans," says Kim. He says the International Friendship Program helps American students learn about another country, and the students usually discover more about America "You learn about your own culture when you try to teach it to other people," Kim says. Most University students involved are planning to study abroad or are foreign language students, says Susan Moran, program faculty supervisor. Moran says the organization places no requirements on program particpation but prefers American students so they can share the culture of the United States. The program was modeled after one at Ore gon State University, which has been operating for eight years. Moran says the University program is "less formal," oriented towards cul tural sharing rather than academics. Most foreign students are from Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and are between 18 and 25 "Foreigners need more opportunities for understanding English outside the classroom,” says Pai Bong, a native Chinese “I had to explain the difference between McDonald’s and Burger King to her. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but she wanted to know.” He says relationships in America between men and women are much different than he expected, and having an American explain the culture was very helpful. Jerome Sayre, an American studying Japanese, was paired with a Japanese student in the friendship program. "Most of the people have a good understanding of English,” says Sayre. He says sometimes they study English or Japanese, but usually he and his friend talk about their cultures. “I had to explain the difference between McDonald's and Burger King to her. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but she wanted to know,’’ says Sayre. Professor says WPPSS needs workout EUGENE (AP) — A University professor recommended Thursday that the Washington Legislature create a WPPSS emergency resolu tion corporation to negotiate a settlement to the supply system’s financial problems. "I think that the consensus is moving on this to recognize that some sort of workout solution would be better or more cost-effective in tne long term than default or bankruptcy," L.R Jones, professor of public management, said He said credit ratings in the Pacific Northwest are at stake and that a negotiated settlement is inevitable in any case. In his study, Jones advises that a new cor poration manage the financial crisis facing the Washington Public Power Supply System caused by the failure of public utilities to make payments to the system for two terminated nuclear power plants. Everyday... the blues The Hult Center's Silva Concert Hall seemed transformed into a revival tent set up on the outskirts of a small town in the Mississippi Delta as the near capacity crowd shouted "Oh yeah" and "All right" while the "preacher" — the boss of the blues — B.B. King played Thursday night. King played sweet, sad notes on the guitar he calls Lucille. The crowd clapped time and sang along while King urged them on. "Since I met you baby, my whole life has changed," the blues fanatics sang. The purest moment of real blues came when King’s huge voice resonated throughout the hall as he sang, "I've a good mind to give up living and go shopping for a tombstone for you." His performance was emo tionally riveting. The concert was sponsored by the EMU Cultural Forum and the Hult Center. Photo by Erich Boekelheide
