opinion_
Clear away clutter,
get to ROTC issue
It's time to clear the air regarding the ROTC/sexual orienta
tion issue. A lot of charges and counter-charges have been hurl
ed back and forth between the Emerald, the ASUO and Pres.
Paul Olum. All that has been achieved is a cluttering up of the
situation with a lot of debris.
Let s sweep away an tnai nas occurreu — ui m<imi i uttuncu
— and start from square one.
We are deeply concerned about resolving the issue of
whether the military science department violates the Univer
sity's affirmative action guidelines by discriminating against
homosexuals seeking ROTC scholarships, obtaining faculty
posts or entering into its upper-division program.
The ROTC/sexual orientation controversy raged for five
months last spring ending with Cheyney Ryan, a philosophy pro
fessor, calling for the termination of the department unless it
ceased its discriminatory practices. The University Assembly
voted to "indefinitely postpone" Ryan's motion. The postpone
ment didn't sit well with students and some members of the
faculty. A formal debate last spring between Olum, Ryan, Lt. Col.
Steven Wolfgram, head of the military science department and
Barb Ryan, director of Gay and Lesbian Alliance, also didn't offer
any satisfactory solutions to the issue.
It was after the debate that Olum is said to have agreed to a
fact-finding committee to investigate any affirmative action
violations by the military science department. Faculty members
were behind it. Students were behind it. But Olum apparently
had reservations about a fact-finding committee, reservations
that he didn't make public until last week.
At a press conference Thursday Olum charged the commit
tee concept was set up by the Emerald. "The Emerald," Olum
said, "made its own decision about what the committee would
be.”
We hadn't realized the fact-finding committee concept was
out doing. If we'd known it was up to us we wouldn't have
waited so long to get an investigating committee under way.
Charging at this time that the Emerald "made it> own deci
sion” regarding the formation of a fact-finding committee seems
like more clutter getting in the way.
For the record, the Emerald objectively reported the facts in
the issue and never made such a decision.
Olum denies having agreed to the fact-finding committee
even though Mary Hotchkiss, ASUO president and Doug
Marker, director of the campus ACLU last year, were under the
impression he had agreed if not through statement, than by
implication.
Thursday Olum said there would be a committee — but not
the faculty-student-administration committee originally agreed
upon. Olum objects to the committee partly because it would be
selected by Ryan, Hotchkiss and himself. His objection no doubt
stems from the possibility a selected committee could become
highly political.
If that is Olum's objection, we agree. A highly political com
mittee would only mire the findings of such a committee in the
muck of political pronouncements.
However, while Olum raises legitimate objections, he also
seems to be objecting too much and raising issues that do more
to obscure than clarify the ROTC/sexual orientation situation.
After he said he never agreed to a committee, but said a non
political committee is necessary, Olum said, "I think a small
committee is all we need to collect some facts.” Is the original
six-person committee all that large?
With all due respect to Olum, he seems to be cluttering the
basic ROTC/sexual orientation issue with denials, objections and
demands for changes in the fact-finding committee. This is no
way to resolve the issue of whether the ROTC violates the
University's affirmative action guidelines.
Olum has repeatedly stated his support of affirmative action
at the University. This is good opportunity for Olum to show his
support of the affirmative action guidelines.
But if the clutter keeps heaping and the ROTC/sexual orien
tation never comes under the scrutiny of a committee what are
we to infer?
There have been enough delays, enough denials, it's time to
empower a committee to find the facts and ascertain if the
military science department violates affirmative action.
Oregon daily m m
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letters
A question
I have just one little question
about the value system of our
library. Why does our tax
supported library subscribe to Fag
Rag, a magazine featuring bon
dage, sodomy and child prostitu
tion, but not to Madison Avenue,
a legitimate trade publication for
advertising?
Sue Utile
senior, advertising
'Semper fi, Mac'
Some thoughts and questions
on recent manifestations of
American diplomacy and on
America's number one diplomatic
instrument, the United States
Marine Corps.
Why have American reporters
not been allowed on Grenada to
make firsthand reports of U.S.
military activity there?
The Pentagon has not released
figures of the number of planes of
the Grenadian air force shot down
or of the number of ships of that
country's navy that have been
sunk. Why?
A Marine, unable to speak
because of wounds received in
Beirut, handed the general visiting
his bedside the terse, handwritten
note "Semper fi." During World
War II, this rejoinder, a shortened
form of the Marine Corps slogan,
was usually expressed as "Semper
fi, Mac," and meant "up yours." (I
doubt that the language of the
Corps has been cleaned up since
then). Did that interpretation oc
cur to the tearful general?
On the bright side, in Grenada
the Corps has finally found an
enemy it can beat. Except for the
Dominican Republic in 1965, the
Corps hasn't had one of those
since World War II.
You have plowed iniquity, you
have reaped injustice, you have
eaten the fruit of lies. Because you
have trusted in your chariots and
in tne multitude of your warriors.
Therefore, the tumult of war shall
arise among your people and all
your fortresses shall be destroyed.
Thus it shall be done to
you ...because of your great
wickedness.
Guido Palandri
library
Ignorance
In John Healy's article "Autzen
Observations" he did a fine job
expressing the problems with the
football crowd. His so-called em
barrassment with the rally squad
was ignorance. He implies the ral
ly isn't leading cheers. Perhaps
Healy needs to open his eyes to
the fact that the cheerleaders are
attempting to lead a cheer every
three minutes of the game.
Ironically enough, the reason he
and many others may be blind to
this is the dead crowd fails to
chant along.
As for the band being "awed"
over Washington's band is also ig
norance. Again, Healy and other
observers tend to tune out the
band's attempt to play constantly
throughout the entire game. Not
to mention a great halftime show.
Yes, Healy, the band and the ral
ly put in a great amount of hours
for someone like yourself to fail to
see how hard these teams work to
please the crowd. Sometime, why
don't you try to motivate the
crowd to yell "Let’s go ducks" en
thusiastically? Better yet, at the
next game motivate your section
to cheer along with the rally and
the band. You might be surprised.
That is, if you're paying attention.
Heidi Hedberg
Morons march
Right here in the Emerald, I saw
an article on Oct. 27 entitled
"Eugeneans Protest U.S. Military
Involvements." I read a short
story once entitled "The Marching
Morons." Never mind the story,
the title fits these protestors to a
Why? Protest marches don't ac
letters policy
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comment on topics of interest to the University community.
Letters to the editor must be limited to 250 words, typed, sign
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“Comment" is an Emerald opinion feature submitted by
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must be limited to 500 words and typed.
Letters to the editor and "Comment" columns should be
turned into the Emerald office, Suite 300, EMU.
complish very much. Sure, you
get headlines. Sure, you get notic
ed — but those who notice your
marching don't think much of it,
and sometimes they are the police
who have been sent in to break it
up
So you want people to hear yofl$
opinion, you don't like this, etc.^i
protest rally just makes you a big,
fat nuisance. And few take you
seriously. Instead, write letters to
the people you're protesting to, to
your Senator and Congressman,
to the editor of a newspaper, and
anyone else you can think of.
It's been said that <he pen is
mightier than the sword — it is
also mightier than the sign
carrying chant.
David Nott
freshman, computer science
Aggrrrression
Perhaps in the interest of jour
nalistic integrity Emerald sports
writer, Steve Turcotte, might hav&
considered a less superficial
proach to the reasons for changW
in the intramural football rules.
Turcotte seems to feel that the
University ought to be in the
business of promoting aggression
among unpadded students. Ob
viously, he is not impressed that
the rate and serjousness of injury
under the new rules has drastical
ly been reduced. For what is
University life without a few con
cussions, broken bones, and
sprains on the gridiron, eh,
Turcotte?
Turcotte's lack of enjoyment
under the present football rules is
probably attributable largely to his
limited experience. Having been
expelled from one game and
suspended from the subsequent
game for abusing the referees, I'm
surprised that he's had sufficient
experience to merit comment on
the new rules. But what's football
without swearing at the referees,
eh, Turcotte? I'm sorry that we've
so limited your outlets for
physical aggression.
Robert Brustad
department of intramurals