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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 4, 1984)
Reverend tells of nuke scenario By Paul Ertelt Of the Emerald The most probable scenario for a nuclear war is not an exchange by the superpowers, but the use of nuclear devices to stop a con ventional force in the Third World, says a disar mament coordinator for Clergy and Laity Concerned. U.S. Army policies encourage field com manders to consider using nuclear weapons when faced with tough opposition on the bat tlefield, says Rev. Tony Watkins, who was in Eugene Thursday to address a forum by the local CALC chapter. CALC is an interfaith organization founded in 1965 as a "religious response to the Vietnam War," says Watkins. Watkins is a "resource person" for the group, keeping local chapters informed on such issues as nuclear disarma ment, the draft, and racism in the military. Watkins is concerned about the many blacks and lower-income whites who have fallen victim to what he calls the "poverty draft" — joining the armed services because of the lack of jobs in the private sector. But most of these enlistees end up in the infantry and receive no training that will help them find jobs after their discharge, he says. But the most important issue, Watkins says, is the danger of the U.S. rapid deploy ment forces — designed to intervene in the Third World — setting off a nuclear war. U.S. military plans allow for the "first use" of nuclear weapons when conventional weapons are insufficient to stop the advance of an enemy, Watkins says. Also, the deep-strike battle doctrine calls for using nuclear weapons behind enemy lines to demoralize and destroy enemy forces before an attack, Watkins says. "Conventional forces are a trip wire to nuclear war," Watkins says. Though presidential approval is necessary before any nuclear device may be used in bat tle, many in the peace movement fear this policy may change and commanders may be given authority to use battlefield nuclear devices without a presidential OK, Watkins says. Battlefield nuclear devices range from missiles to hand-held devices. Though they have less firepower than either strategic or tac tical weapons, many are large enough to Tony Watkins destroy a city the size of Portland, Watkins says. "These are not toys," he warns. Also, as conventional weapons increase in firepower, the gap between them and nuclear weapons lessens, removing a psychological barrier and making the use of nuclear weapons merely the next logical step in battlefield escalation, he says. "A ground commander is not going to stand by and watch his forces wiped out if he has these'weapons to use,” Watkins says. High-tech expert named to board Gov. Vic Atiyeh has added a high-tech expert to the State Board of Higher Education. This week, Atiyeh appointed Gene Chao of Portland and reappointed James Petersen of La Grande to the board. Chao will replace current board Vice President Loren Wyss, whose term will expire June 30. Terms are subject to Senate confirmation. Chao, who has a strong elec tronics background, is chairman and chief executive officer of Metheus Corp., of Hillsboro. As a member of the board, he said he will emphasize the need for excellence in individual pro grams rather than mediocrity across the board. “We should try and focus on excellence and high achieve S1 FREE Soda | S plus [ ! 10° OFF j j any slice ! {Offer good Monday through Friday 11:30-Midnight Mon.-Fri. | 3:30-Midnight — Weekends | 1211 Alder on Campus j 686-9598 ! Sy's J jNewJTork Plzzaj ment and less so on coverage and completeness/' Chao said. "I think there is also a kind of mental attitude where, when you start having some success, you start breeding more success.” The University's physics and computer science departments are two areas that could be built into "world class" programs, he said. From 1973 to 1981, Chao held the posts of senior engineer, manager of the instrument research group and director of the applied research group at Tektronix, Inc. in Beaverton. From 1971-73, he headed the microwave acoustics section of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. ESBSBEBESls] Oregon’s Classification/ Comparable Worth Study OPEN INFORMATION CENTER SESSION with Margaret Hallock Meets today at noon Friday, May 4 276 Education □ P Chao received his bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley, his master's degree at San Jose State University, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. Peterson recently retired from the position of assistant ad ministrator of Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande. He has served on the board since 1980. The final board appointments, which will fill the positions now held by board Pres. Robert In galls and student member Ran dall Gill, should be made by May 15, according to officials in the governor's office. The 11-member board is responsible for governing Oregon's eight colleges and universities. Art education celebration crowds mall this weekend If the downtown mall seems a bit crowded this weekend, it may not be just your imagination. The third annual Oregon Im agination Celebration will be held there Saturday and Sunday and will aim at increasing awareness of the value of art education. A children's parade, leaving from Broadway and Charnelton Street at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, will kick off the event designed to increase awareness of the value of art education. During the rest of the weekend, the mall will host various programs from three stages. Performances include "The lets" from West Side Story presented by University students, "Mother Goose" skits by Westmoreland Elementary School, the Sheldon High School A Capella Choir and "Lil' Abner” performed by Colin Kel ly Middle School. An "Imaginarium,” located near Prince Puckler's on the mall, will also provide insight on computers, print making, math and kinetic art. The event coincides with Saturday Market's 15th birth day. The market will feature special events in conjunction with the celebration. Also occuring during the celebration is the "Very Special Arts Festival Program” that showcases performances and arts by and for handicapped individuals. All professional and amateur entertainment is free of charge. Negligence Continued from Page 2A Oregon Law says that when a media defendant such as a newspaper, TV station or radio station publishes a story charg ed as being libelous, it may publish a retraction, which would reduce the amount of money the injured party could collect from it. Since the 1974 federal case Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., in dividual states have been free to set their own standard for prov ing libel against private citizens. The U.S. Supreme Court's only stipulation is that state stan dards must be at least simple negligence. Before 1974, a plain tiff claiming libel had to prove the newspaper or broadcast sta tion had published the story either knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for the truth. This "actual malice" stan dard was decided on by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964. Oregon has not been faced with setting a statewide standard before now. So the Oregon Supreme Court's job becomes more com plicated. It must resolve the ten sion between the two articles of Oregon's constitution and choose a standard that will pro tect the media's freedom of ex pression but will not infringe on the rights of individuals. Oregon is not the first state to grapple with the problem of deciding libel standards since the 1974 decision set them free to do so. In all, 26 states have set standards: 22 decided on simple negligence, two used actual malice as a standard and two settled on a gross negligence standard. Katy Hull, who graduated with a journalism degree winter term, will spend the summer researching libel issues for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of Expression in Washington, D.C. "COUPON** DUNKIN' DONUTS BUCK A BAG 6 Donuts Only $1.00 12 Donuts Only $2.00 Limit two dozen per customer Not valid wjth Offer expires 5/21/84 any other promotion 485 E. BROADWAY and 1520 HIGHWAY 99 --1 Coupons in the Emerald save you money. I I ■i Check every page, every day. It pays. & licrocomputer Work Experience 'Q'atpa gl&s&y Saai^omaa Macintosh, IBM PC & HP-150 20 Lab Assistant positions available beginning FALL '84 at *5.16 per hour Far iatarntw or tmformaUea. call Pat Harkkm at 686-3537 Camtiaaatioa Caster