opinion _
Constitution Court
finds for OSPIRG
The ASUO Constitution Court's findings in the Richard Burr
v. OSPIRG case show the court to be a fair and judicious body
with a depth of understanding regarding the particulars of this
case.
The court heard three questions by Burr asking an inter
pretation of the ASUO Constitution in reference to OSPIRG. The
questions concerned funding methods, whether OSPIRG
violated policies regarding political activities and access to
lobbying.
The court found in favor of Burr on the question of funding
and for OSPIRG on the other two counts. The opinion of the
court, delivered by Alan Contreras, was concisely written and
certain in its arguments.
Burr's question on the biennial budgeting by initiative for
OSPIRG was successful. However, the question did not succeed
in dissolving OSPIRG's funding as was Burr's intention.
The court clarified that the State Board of Higher Education
has never granted the student body the power to recommend
budgeting for more than a year.
This means that OSPIRG must use the annual initiative or a
referendum to obtain funding. This has been the standard pro
cedure for OSPIRG up until last year.
On the question of political activities the court deferred to
the State Board due to the board's "exhaustive involvement" in
issues associated with OSPIRG. So the court declined to "exer
cise jurisdiction" and suggested the board is the proper place to
resolve the issue.
Concerning the lobbying efforts of OSPIRG and the alleged
"left-liberal" bias of the group, the court concluded that the
Constitution statute Burr cited as being in violation was not in
tended to insure all viewpoints were funded — or all views
espoused.
The Emerald's editorial position opposed to Burr's PIRG
busting antics has been published before. We endorse the fin
dings of the Constitution Court and compliment them on the
way they handling this "hot" topic.
SEARCH director responds to article
Nuclear free zones:
signs of the times
This has to go under the heading of "Noble Efforts."
Sunday the 41 residents of Southeast Brooklyn Street in
Portland declared their neighborhood a nuclear free zone. They
even put up signs and a paper banner that read "Give Peace a
Chance." The banner and sign were presumably to detour in
coming missiles or bombers.
The 41 residents even declared their neighborhood off-limits
to the transport of nuclear weapons or as a repository for
nuclear weapons.
The United States government hasn't announced any inten
tion of using Southeast Brooklyn Street for such purposes.
The gesture was symbolic, and part of a growing movement
across the country. The citizens of Chico, Calif, recently
declared their city a nuclear free zone. Voters in Ashland, Ore.
overwhelmingly showed their support last year for setting aside
their town as a nuclear free zone.
A ballot question given to University students during the
spring campus wide elections, showed their support of the idea
of the University being declared a nuclear free zone.
As a result of the student poll ASUO Pres. Mary Hotchkiss
and officials of Students for a Nuclear Free Future drafted a let
ter to Soviet Pres. Yuri Andropov asking that the Soviets remove
the University from any target lists. A copy of the same letter was
sent to Pres. Ronald Reagan — not because the government may
have the University on any of its target lists.
We appreciate the sentiments of the Southeast Brooklyn
residents and all those who are striving to make towns and cities
nuclear free zones. Yet, we remain skeptical about its effec
tiveness. Although, we respect the gesture of opposition to the
nuclear proliferation dilemma.
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Philosophical
A few misquotes and
misstatements about the article
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lean Ownbey
As the current director of SEARCH, I was surpris
ed and disappointed that Emerald reporter, Melissa
Martin, did not interview me prior to the publication
of your article on our program (Oct. 6) as I had ex
pected her to do. I would like to correct some of the
errors in your story.
To begin with, there are not "Fewer SEARCH
classes this fall..." Last fall term SEARCH offered 10
credit classes and 10 non-credit workshops, for a
total of 20 classes. This fall we are offering 11 credit
classes and nine workshops, for the same total. There
are usually more classes offered during winter and
spring terms, when instructors are on campus to
prepare and obtain approval for their courses.
comments •
Steve myers
The distinction between credit classes and non
credit workshops is crucial to an understanding of
the program. Credit classes are sponsored by a facul
ty member and approved by the department head cr
curriculum committee. Non-credit workshops are
not so approved, and are explicitly described in our
catalogue as ". . .not endorsed, sponsored, or ap
proved by tlie university administration." •
It is untrue that the SEARCH program "...is
responsible for exercising control over the actual
content in SEARCH classes...", as your article at
tributed the Vice Provost Paul Holbo. A well-known
memo circulated throughout the University in 1970
and referred to frequently since that time states
unequivocally:
1) The participating academic department shall
have full jurisdiction over the SEARCH courses that it
offers.
2) Faculty sponsors shall be most immediately
responsible to their departments for the manner in
which the courses they sponsor are conducted.
3) SEARCH will continue to function as a) a clear
ing house for student-initiated courses and curricular
reform ideas, b) a liaison between students, faculty
members and departments, and c) an advocate of
student participation in educational decision
making.
The absence of formal responsibility does not
mean that the SEARCH program in uninterested in
either the quality or content of the courses it offers.
Academic departments are uniquely competent to
make these judgments. One of our primary goals is
improving the communication between SEARCH in
structors and their sponsoring faculties.
You erroneously statea inai ac/Anv-n iuuiws
". . .do not fulfill University requirements." While
they do not meet major and group requirements, 400
level courses contribute to upper-division re
quirements, and both 200 and 400 level SEARCH
courses are computed in overall hours and GPA.
Holbo's reference to "complaints" about
SEARCH courses is impossible to address since these
complaints have never been identified or passed on
to us for action. According to Holbo, they fall into
three categories.
The first concerns the academic qualify of
SEARCH classes. Contrary to rumor, and often to the
surprise of students who enroll in SEARCH classes,
the intellectual and academic demands are com
parable to the range found in regular classes. There
have occasionally been problems with both SEARCH
and non-SEARCH classes. For example, a non
SEARCH course was offered last year which offered
credit for watching the "Winds of War" television
mini-series, raising protests both within and outside
the University.
Holbo's two other areas of concern are the
utilization of SEARCH classes for religious indoctrina
tion and political propaganda. These are legitimate
areas of concern, involving complex legal issues.
SEARCH instructors operate under the same prin
ciples of academic freedom as their tenured col
leagues. They also have a similar responsibility to
refrain from using their classrooms to recruit for
their causes or punish those students who happen to
disagree. There is a strong tradition of fair exchange
in SEARCH classes, especially considering our long
standing commitment to providing a forum for con
troversial subjects and experimental approaches.
It is incorrect to say, "Religion has been the most
recent trend in SEARCH classes." The only such
course offered for credit this term is Doug
Groothuis' "Twilight of Western Thought: A Chris
tian Response." As your article mentioned, this class
has survived concerted attacks against its academic
credibility.
Holbo has urged that only faculty members teach
SEARCH courses. This would totally invalidate the
original intention of the program. University ad
ministrators urged the formation of the program in
1967 to ward off the movement toward a "free univer
sity" outside their control or review. Participation by
students as instructors was the primary goal of the
enabling memoranda.
During the intervening decade and a half,
SEARCH has been a valuable member of the Univer
sity, contributing hundreds of courses for the
thousands of students, in many cases making perma
nent contributions to the established curricula.
letters
on my SEARCH class, "Twilight of
Western Thought: A Christian
Response," (Emerald, Oct. 6) need
correction.
The article makes it appear that
the class concerns only Christiani
ty. This is not true. It addresses
the philosophical issues raised by
Christianity, naturalism (secular
humanism), and nihilism and their
impact historically, psychological
ly, and sociologically. Christianity
is presented as a unified and all
encompassig world view
(philosophy of life) that challenges
other rival perspectives.
Although a Christian perspec
tive is given, other beliefs are
discussed on their own terms. The
class is not a bunch of Christians
talking to themselves about only
Christianity. We grapple with
issues such as faith and reason,
science and religion, arguments
for atheism, the effect of pluralism
on one's world view, and others.
Thinkers such as Freud, Feuer
bach, Nietzsche, Peter Berger, and
C.S. Lewis are encountered and
critiqued.
Our general approach is similar
to Mortimer Alder's book and
television series "Six Great Ideas"
in that pivotal presuppositions —
for our class being: the existence
and nature of God, the identity of
humanity, the basis for ethics, the
meaning of history, and the inter
pretation of death — are ap
proached from various angles.
I want my students — Christian
or non-Christian — to think about
these great ideas and their conse
quences for the whole of life. I
want my students to hold their
own world view in a well informed
and intellectually authentic
manner.
Doug Groothuis
graduate, philosophy
Tuesday, October 11, 1983