I opinion
Board takes a lot,
then gives a little
What’s a camel?
A horse designed by a committee.
What’s the State Board of Higher Education?
An animal consisting of 22 legs, 22 arms and 11 heads
that always raises, rarely reduces, students’ fees. Yes...
fees were raised again, like they were raised last year, the
year before, the year before.
The two jokes relate to each other if you consider the
way the state board levies fees and allocates funds the same
as a committee constructing a horse — a little here, a lot
there. In the end the horse resembles a camel.
The state board approved a compromise method for
allocating the $1.26 billion budgeted for higher education
during the 1983-85 biennium. That amount seems like a lot of
money. But, the compromise between Chancellor Bud Davis
and the board’s traditional method of allocation (based on
enrollment) may lead to some institutions facing financial ex
igency in the second year. Despite the $1.26 billion on paper
the state's colleges and universities are still in a financial
desert.
The state board also approved an amendment raising
the student’s University health service fee from $29.50 to $33
beginning fall term. That’s an increase of nearly nine percent.
The health fee increase is justified. These fees are put to an
important service to the students. Students benefit directly
from their fees when they visit the health center. The nine
percent increase is close to the annual rate of inflation.
That’s a little, now for a lot.
Incidental fees — a catch-all fee for a number of student
programs and activities, including this daily newspaper —
will jump from $42 to $56 per term. Calling the increase a
jump is warranted. The incidental fee increase amounts to
almost 33 percent. That’s too too much on any calculator.
Why the increase?
These increases in student fees have become so annual
the board rather haphazardly mutters the same platitudes as
the year before... costs for this... cost of that. It’s about
time for students to begin a widescale protest instead of the
usual groan-take-it-and-pull-out-your-checkbook.
Law students are really getting the dirty end of the fee
stick from the state board. The state board increased the
study resources fee from $200 to $300 per semester. That’s
$300 per semester.
The price of law school is substantial enough — but now
add another $200 to $300 a year.
And the state board made another move, a particular
sneaky little number designed to snag more money from
part-time students.
The state board voted to charge part-time students
graduate tuition rates for courses numbered 400G/g and 500
— even if they are being taken for undergraduate credit. Part
time students can now take these courses at undergraduate
tuition rates if not taken for graduate credit.
Well, now, this shifty little move should net a tidy sum of
money for students who are working and trying to finish up
the few hours needed for a degree.
The state board seems to be myopic to the long view of
higher education. The increases are gradual, dollar by dollar.
But every dollar by dollar makes the long range costs of
higher education too expensive for potential students. For
every dollar increase in fees enrollment drops, student by
student. Where is the point that the few who are able to af
ford higher education will become bankrupt? How soon?
The sound of one hand clapping and half a hurrah for the
state board — they passed a 32 percent funding increase for
the state system's libraries. The University’s library will get
the largest share — $2.3 million for 1983-84. That’s
something they gave, rather than taking.
orogon daily . .
emerald
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Jean Ownbey
letters
False cult
A recent NPR broadcast
reported on the relationship
between increasing heroin use
and the right to the pursuit of
happiness. I believe similar
misuse of this right explains
the popularity of Rajneesh’s
false cult.
After meeting an amorous
devotee in Austin, Texas I was
treated to a film clip of the
self-proclaimed god-Baghwan.
I watched him mumble and
“space-out” through a barely
audible rendition of Jesus’
teaching on selflessness.
Unlike the teaching of a true
prophet to give of your riches
to aid the poor, this cult prac
tices the absolute
transference of all wealth,
work and aspiration to its
single object of devotion —
Rajneesh.
The gathered Rajneeshees
encouraged each other in con
tinual affirmation and effusive
praise, a brainwash technique
used by Sun Yung Moon and
the late Jim Jones. The
followers — all clad in similar
faded maroon, counter-culture
cloth with the same smiling
mandala of guess who? claim
to be a religious community
led by a guru. They may be a
community, but only of pro
grammed droids.
Who or what is Rajneesh?
He is not a guru, for a guru is a
teacher of self-realization or in
Paulo Friere’s terminology: of
“conscientizatlon.” That is,
freeing humanity en masse
through participatory dialogue
and service. Common effort
toward social betterment, not
the selfish enrichment of a
false teacher.
Rajneesh was burned out of
Calcutta for teaching this self
deprecating cult which wor
ships him. He Is a false
teacher of a false religion, or
more precisely a false pro
phet. The constitutional right
to pursuit of happiness hasn’t
legalized heroin, neither
should it prevent the Immigra
tion Service from deporting
this imposter.
Drew O’Rourke
kappa tau alpha
Offended
Debbie Howlett's July 19
column was not only an abuse
of her position as editor of the
Emerald, it was also utterly
pointless.
Her purported compulsion
to, as she put it, “make a name
for myself, my staff and my
(sic) paper” has led her on a
quixotic quest to raise issues
where none exist and, what’s
worse, to indulge in
nauseating moralizing over
molehills.
Apparently, Kouns and
Hope expressed some opi
nions during a casual conver
sation with which Howlett did
not agree. So what. For
Howlett to infer from their
casual dialogue that they —
and by inference, the ASUO —
hold a "fuck the feds” attitude
is a gross assumption that has
no place on the Emerald’s or
any paper's editorial page.
I am not only offended by
Howlett's false sense of
morality, I am appalled that
she considers the drivel of
which ner column is compos
ed worthy of print. Further
more, she comes dangerously
close to violating journalistic
ethics by exploiting a private
conversation.
In short, Howlett's column
was nothing but a mass of in
nuendos which served no ap
parent purpose other than to
gratify her desire for self
indulgent moralizing In the
process she cast aspersions
on Kouns and Hope
If the ASUO was as
disgusted as I by this sample
of Howlett's work then there is
little hope for improved rela
tions between the Emerald
and the ASUO in the up
coming year
Jennifer Sunseri
senior. International studies
Disregard
Today (July 11) KWAX aired
the first segment of a new pro
gram: “Aging is a Woman's
Issue." Rather than treat aging
in the larger context of what it
is to be human and to age, the
program focused only on what
it is to be a woman and to age.
The justification offered for
disregarding aged men was
that they represent a smaller
percentage than women of the
geriatric population. So?
If our high ideal of equality
is ever to be reached it will be
reached because of our shared
humanity and the respect due
to that humanity.
Men get old and have pro
blems and die, too.
Nancy Fadeley, your
chauvanism appalls me.
R. West
Eugene
TDAs now
A small group of women
have joined together to bring a
touch of big city politics to
Eugene. We are organizing
something New York calls
TDAs (The Day After protests).
Imagine this:
50 people protesting when a
judge gives a suspended
sentence to a man guilty of
raping a woman in her own
home.
25 people passing out
literature in front of a theater
showing a pornographic film
that perpetuates violence
against women and children.
20 people providing infor
mation about rape at a local
bar on “Ladies' Night.” In
Eugene women are being
raped in the parking lots of
certain bars as they exit on
“Ladies’ Night.”
35 people protesting in front
of the Eugene Register-Guard
when they appear to be anti
women, either by a certain
type of coverage or a lack of
coverage.
30 people support a woman
as she confronts an acquain
tance who raped her.
300 people protesting on
the streets of Eugene when a
woman or child is raped,
sodomized or in any way sex
ually assaulted.
Change the numbers,
change the situations, I’m
sure there is one or one hun
dred that you have envisioned
before.
We can do it. We can show
strength and solidarity, and we
can do it in 24 hours if we work
together.
We are going to organize a
phone tree that will be housed
in one central location. You
can participate in its planning
or you can just give us your
name and number to be on the
phone tree.
The planning meeting will
be Wednesday, August 3 at 5
p.m. in EMU room 336. All are
welcome to participate.
Charlotte Jenkins