Oregon daily - -
emerald
Wednesday, September 28, 1983
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 85, Number 18
Cat on a high tin roof
This poor cat seems to be in a precarious position as it looks down from
atop Mac Court. But in reality, this feline has been in similar situations
many times before, according to campus security, who received four calls
about the little lost kitten.
Perhaps it likes the view or maybe just the attention.
Photo by Dave Widder
Student challenges
OSPIRG's funding
By |im Moore
Of the Emerald
A case tentatively scheduled to be heard
by the ASUO Constitution Court next week
strongly resembles recent efforts by the
College Republicans, the group that used
less-than-ethical tactics in the 1972
presidential campaign, to drive Public In
terest Research Croups from college
campuses.
But Richard Burr, the University student
who raised the question of OSPIRC's fun
ding at this campus, says he is acting as an
individual and, although he now has
knowledge of the College Republican
strategies, that information was provided
after he initiated action.
However, OSPIRC's new project coor
dinator Ann Moorman, who fought a battle
with College Republicans in Colorado as
However, Burr says he would not have
raised objections if the OSPIRG incidental
fee funding, which is $1 per student, per
term as voted by the University students
last spring, was changed from its current
status of being in effect for two years to be
ing voted on annually.
"I have no problem with them getting
their first year of money," he says. "It's the
second year of funding that's the issue."
OSPIRG representatives Moorman and
Daniel Malarkey have not elaborated on
Burr's contentions other than to say the
charges follow the College Republican pat
tern and they are confident in their
position.
They are curious, though, why no ques
tions were raised last spring, before the stu
dent vote, and are upset that they have had
to devote so much time to prepare a
president of COPIRG, says this situation is
indicative of what happened in Colorado
and in other states in the past year.
The College Republican National Com
mittee has produced an information packet
with a strategy manual for ousting PIRGS
and halting their formation and offers cer
tificates of recognition to the College
Republican groups that “rid their state of
this pestilence".
Two of the strategies outlined in the
packet, calling PIRGs unconstitutional and
gathering grassroot support by involving
other groups so the battle does not appear
to be the right vs. left, are similar to com
plaint's filed in Burr's brief.
But Burr, a senior majoring in political
science and journalism, calls the similarity a
coincidence and says the guidelines offered
by the Republican's "fit in with my overall
views," adding that he is oppossed to any
group taking political stances with public
money.
"Political, in my mind, is taking stance on
public issues," he says.
defense of something that is now part of
the ASUO constitution.
"We've had to spend a significant
amount of time in the past three weeks
preparing for this case," Moorman says.
That time would have been better spent
working on student-related issues, she says.
Hidden within the language of the case is
a much larger issue, at least regarding the
University.
The ramifications of the case cover a
spectrum of possibilities, the impact of
which could be the termination of OSPIRG
on this campus or an end to student ac
tivism, at least where any student fee
money is involved.
"The root issue is to what extent man
datory student fees can be used to advocate
political issues," ASUO Constitution Court
Chair Alan Contreras says.
And the unenviable task of defining a
political issue may fall on the Court's
shoulders if they can sort through the
"jurisdictional" entanglements, Centreras
says.
Results called 'chaotic'
Course request activity elicits mixed reviews
By Doug Nash
Of the Emerald
Last spring's course request ac
tivity has received mixed reviews
from some deans and department
heads who question its overall
usefulness in the registration
process.
"The results were pretty
chaotic," says English Department
Head Thelma Greenfield of the
process, in which only those
students who participated in the
activity were allowed to register
the first day.
"Thursday registration was far
too light, and Friday registration
was far too heavy," Greenfield
complains.
Associate Registrar Herb
Chereck agrees that the time slots
could have been better allocated.
One hour for seniors on the se
cond day "would have been more
appropriate" than the two hours
that were scheduled, he says.
Likewise, the second-day period
for freshmen, sophomores and
juniors who failed to preregister
was "exceptionally busy," and
could have been allotted a larger
time slot, Chereck adds.
In general, the request activity
seemed more successful in pro
jecting demand for smaller,
upper-division courses within the
major than than for lower
division, University-required
courses, the deans say.
"There was more participation
on the part of upper-division peo
ple — seniors, especially — so it
turned out to be a better indicator
for upper-division courses than
lower-division," says Economics
Department Head James
Tattersall.
Indeed, many department
heads say not enough students
participated last fall to make the
projections accurate. Those that
did take part failed to stick to their
requested class schedules, they
say.
"From what I have heard, the
projections did make a problem
because not enough students
who were supposed to respond
did respond," Greenfield says,
noting that her department was
forced to open up eight sections
of Writing 121 and various lower
division literature courses in the
final hour and a quarter of
registration Friday.
But even Greenfield was reluc
tant to criticize the experiment
too eagerly.
"I hate to see anything that
resembles preregistration done
away with."
Greenfield suggested the activi
ty "needs something real firm" in
order to make more students par
ticipate and remain accountable.
"I don't know what it would
take, though," she admits.
journalism Dean Everette Den
nis, who was highly favorable of
the process, suggested never
theless that students do course re
quest activities during fall and
winter terms, rather than spring
term.
"You do lose some students bet
ween spring and fall, I think fall
and winter are a better indicator
(of course demand)," Dennis says.
Chereck says the experiment
was definitely worthwhile in that it
provided advance warning of
many classes that were in great
demand, and allowed time for ad
ditional sections to open. Still, he
indicated that he would wait until
he has received evaluations from
department heads and personally
reviewed the process before mak
ing any decisions on the future of
course request activities.
"Because of the new procedure
it (registration) was a little dif
ferent," Chereck says. "By and
large it went as well as it can
under the circumstances."