opinion_
It's time for grass,
booze at Autzen
Although the scoreboard stayed blank, all the slipping and
fumbling by the University and Oregon State football players
during Saturday's Civil War showed one thing — it's time to go
back to basics, rip up the rug and put natural turf, i.e. grass, in
Autzen Stadium.
The present Astroturf playing surface is really showing the
wear and tear of its seven years of service. It's like an oven on
hot days. It's slick and spongy when it rains — and it does occas
sionally rain in Oregon.
The surface is more absorbent to rain than it is to impact.
Those seven years of heat, rain and hard use have turned the
pad under the Astroturf carpet to the consistency of concrete.
Because of that, athletes are apt to receive injury simply
from falling, tackling, turning or landing. How many of the in
juries on the football team are in some way Astroturf related?
It's generally agreed that the Astroturf in Autzen Stadium is
in deplorable shape.
“You just can't stand up on it on a wet day," said Rich
Brooks, Oregon football coach. "A new turf should have been
put in years ago." Brooks isn't the only one complaining.
"That turf is a farce," said Don Rogers, UCLA safety. "It is
really slick, especially when it rains," said Jim Walden,
Washington State football coach. "With all the rain and poun
ding it needs to be replaced."
Even Rick Bay, University athletic director, agrees with the
condemnation of the Astroturf. "The turf is in terrible shape.
You see players slipping all the time," he said.
Bay is ready with about $500,000 to replace the Autzen play
ing surface. Before Bay makes a deal with a carpet salesman he
ought to investigate the possibilities of natural grass.
The reasons for synthetic turf are obvious, but certainly not
absolute. The ease of maintenance, the constant use and long
rainy season make a synthetic surface attractive. Yet, it would
only require a little extra effort to maintain a natural turf surface.
A drainage system and grounds covering would be
necessary, as would a crew of grounds-keepers. While it may
seem the upkeep of a natural surface would entail more money
it might prove to be in the same cost range as the $500,000 Bay
estimates for new Astroturf.
The seeding and intial care of the natural surface would be
less expensive than installation and cost of new Astroturf. We
doubt watering will be much of a problem. The grounds-keepers
could be workstudy students.
Lowering the incidence of turf-related injuries to athletes
and the integrity of the game itself should be reason enough for
Bay to hesitate on purchasing another rug. We urge the athletic
department to investigate the possibilities of a natural turf sur
face. Why buy a carpet that will have the same problems as the
one you're replacing?
* * *
We understand, in spirit, the need to search fans at Universi
ty athletic contests, but really there has to be a better — more
legal way.
The warrantless search rule went into effect August 15, on a
temporary basis. It will surely be temporary due to the fact that
Dave Fidanque, head of the Eugene chapter of the American
Civil Liberties Union, said recently the inspecting of backpacks
and bulky items by University employees is in violation of
federal and state law.
Fidanque is not making an idle claim. He noted that in cases
m which the "public body attempted to justify the search on the
basis of patron consent" courts held that consent was not volun
tary when "refusal to allow the search would result in being
refused admission to the event." But buying a ticket doesn't
allow the University to violate fans' rights with an intrusive, war
rantless search.
The justification for searching backpacks and bulky items is
to prevent fans from bringing in articles such as firearms and
glass containers. Oddly, such a warrantless search could have
been legally defensible if Jt>eer and wine were to be sold at
athletic facilities.
The University needs to rethink this warrantless search
while it can do so unscathed.
r
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SLUIN'SALVADOR AND ONE &OTTLE QE SOLE SOURCE—AND THEY SAID ITGOESCNYOURTAB'
Those polite bleeding hearts
For the past few years a number of people have
been kicking around the idea that college students
have become more conservative.
I kicked the idea around with Col. Larry Tracy, a
department of defense spokesman who has been
spending some time explaining the administration's
Central American policies at universities all over the
country. He was at the University to do just that dur
ing the ASUO's educational conference, "Crisis in
Central America."
editor's note
debbie howlett
By way of description, Tracy is regular army:
short hair, good posture and the U.S. seal on the face
of his wristwatch. In dress greens, his birds perched
on his epaulets, Tracy looks like just another friendly
ROTC instructor.
"Of those students that I've met, more are left of
center," Tracy says. And by his own definition of con
servative, Tracy says he's only encountered a hand
ful. But, he cautions that he is only generalizing, and
that there is some room for error in his
generalizations.
After sitting through several conference discus
sions, and attacks on Tracy about administrative
policies, I'd say most of Tracy's analysis is nearly
perfect.
"While the student body has been relatively
courteous, they haven't been supportive," Tracy
says.
And that, the man says, is the beginning of the
end of the comparison to Berkeley — the campus
most everybody defines as the liberal hotbed in the
academic realm. "I'd heard the University called that
(the Berkeley of the Northwest) before I came," Tracy
says. Don't voi believe it though, he adds. The
politics may be the same, but University students are
at least polite.
"Compared to what my mentor and friend Dr.
Kirkpatrick (as in )eanne, of the U.N.) faced at
Berkeley, I wouldn't want to say you were (com
parable to Berkeley).. .she wasn't allowed to speak, I
was allowed to speak."
Tracy also offered some progressive logic about
where students are and where they are headed.
Political views progress according to one's age, Tracy
says with a nice chunk of philosophy.
"There's an old saying" Tracy says in a drawl
designed to display his friendly side. "If you're 20,
and not a liberal, you don't have a heart. And if
you're 40, and not a conservative, you don't have a
brain."
I can just see George McGovern wandering
aimlessly about his campaign headquarters.
To illustrate that point, Tracy offers an "I've been
there too, and I can relate a story."
In the late 1950s "I wanted to drop out of school,
drop everything, and go fight beside (Fidel) Castro
against (|uan) Batista."
From this man, I would never expect those
words. But c'mon, the man has a heart, or had one at
some point.
Around 1%1 (watch out, here comes the first
punch line) Tracy says it became obvious that Castro
had moved, toothbrush and all, into the Soviet camp.
Tracy says it was then that he wised up.
Now comes the big punch line. "I'm just wonder
ing if we're reliving the same story with the San
dinistas," Tracy says.
Tracy stands by his "oversimplified" but "in
dicative" cliche. "I think students will become more
conservative —" once they graduate, Tracy says.
But that statement seems to lay some implicit
groundwork in saying that University students still
impress people, especailly regular army Colonels, as
bleeding hearts. But we re just considerate about
where we bleed.
letters
Dismayed
I am greatly dismayed by the
Imvrjld's report of the University
Assembly meeting in which stu
dent representation in the Senate
was cut by 10, from 18 to 8. I do
Oregon daily _ m
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lean Ownbey
not see how this could be
reported under the headline.
"Student Senate membership re
tained." In addition, the lead
sentence stated that the Assembly
decided "...to neither increase
or decrease the amount of student
representation..." In the sixth
paragraph, the article did state
that students were cut from a
third to a fifth and from 18 to 8.
The article did not explain how
this squared with the rest of the
article. Apparently the Emerald
was taken in by what, I thought,
was a transparent attempt by a
f€*w faculty members to obfuscate
the issue, by trying to cut student
representation to two.
Gordon Mallon
law, suab
Forgiving
Regarding the recent "com
ments" article entitled: "A Chris
tian Duty to be Political," I agree
with nearly everything the author
said, or perhaps it would be more
correct to say I agree with nearly
everything she meant.
Cod does indeed love and
forgive homosexuals, Protestants,
thieves. Catholics, murderers, the
"moral" majority, Buddists, devil
worshippers, Cubans, Americans,
communists, lews, Maranathas,
Rajneeshes and yes, even me — in
short, he loves and forgives every
human being on the face of earth,
because he created us. (See Ex
20:8-12.) He expects us to love and
forgive also.
Almost 2,000 years ago someone
said it more succinctly, "What
soever ye would that men do unto
you, do ye even so to them, for
this is the law and the prophets."
(See Matt. 7:12.)
This covers all human relation
ships, including becoming involv
ed as a responsible citizen in the
political process (even if one
doesn't like politics).
Charlotte Nowosielski
junior, human services