Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1984)
Ducks take first place in NorPac See Page 8 Oregon daily emerald Monday, May 21, 1984 I-— Eugene, Oregon Volume 85 Number 159 Blackmun expresses hope for graduates' future By Melissa Martin Of the Emerald Sitting on the Supreme Court bench doesn't make a person rich or popular, Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun told 156 University law school graduates at the Hult Center Saturday. “If I wanted to make money I certainly wouldn't have left Minnesota or the Mayo Clinic and I certainly wouldn't have gone on the bench," said Blackmun, who's been on the Supreme Court since his 1973 ap pointment by Pres. Richard Nixon. “It's no place to make money and it's no place, as we can see today, to become popular," he said. Outside, about 50 Right-to-Life protesters carried signs critical of Blackmun's role in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision which upheld the right of women to have an abortion. Blackmun wrote the court's majority opinion. "I hope you're not all concerned about making a lot of money," Blackmun told the graduates. He continued with his list of hopes for the graduates. "I hope you will like people — find them fascinating and not be afraid of them — have compas sion for them," he said. "I hope you will always be yourself; be human and sentimental with a sense of humor and pride of ac complishment," Blackmun said. "This keeps us from being untouchable. "I hope you'll have a lot of fun as you go along," he said. "Judicial humor is pretty bad. There is so little, we have to reach out for it." And of students in general, Blackmun suggested graduates find time to teach, if not in the classroom, at least by example. He encouraged the audience to eliminate bigotry in society and he asked them, "Are we totally aware of the deep inequalities that surround us in this noble land of ours?" Graduates should begin to deal with inequalities by remembering family support for their education, Blackmun said, and doing the same for someone else in the future. And he reminded the University graduates not to forget lawyers of the past such as Plato, Moses and Blackstone and to protect the justice system. Blackmun warned the future lawyers against yielding to the lure of easy practice, and to remember Supreme Court Justine Harry Blackmun, shown with law school dean Derrick Bell and University Pres. Paul Olum, told University law school graduates they must be fair-minded and love scholarship to serve on the bench. ... Photos by Michael Clapp Outside the Hult Center Right-to-life picketers pro tested the presence of Justice Harry Blackmun because of his role in Roe v. Wade, a landmark abortion case. ethical standards of right and wrong. He warned them against betraying clients' trust — and said a reputation is hard to gain back once it's been lost. Graduates should consider serving on the bench, where justices must be fair-minded, have a love of scholarship, a contentment for less money and a more difficult role than that of an advocate, Blackmun said. “The world goes on when one is in law school," Blackmun said to the audience. He recounted a few world events that have occurred since the class entered law school three years ago. And he thanked law school dean Derrick Bell for the opportunity to speak and applauded Bell's strug gle to make the law school “even greater and more progressive." “It's an honor for Mrs. Blackmun and me — I call her Dottie — to be here in this great state on this 100th anniversary at the University School of Law," Blackmun said. IFC ignores voters' wishes, funds publication By Doug Nash Of the Emerald The Incidental Fees Committee allocated $5,000 for the Oregon Commentator Friday, despite the publica tion's funding defeat in recent ASUO elections. By a narrow, 4-3 vote in favor of the Commentator's request, the IFC decided to overlook its general rule of not funding a student group unless it has been in ex istence for at least one year. The Commentator is seven months old. "I won't vote for funds for this paper only when it's been around seven months," IFC member Lois Day said. "I haven't seen enough in its first seven months to give them $5,000." The majority of members, however, disagreed with Day, citing the need for an "alternative" publication on campus. "This is truly a student-run and originated newspaper," IFC member Mary Shrauger said of the bi weekly publication. "I think we can make an exception here. The paper has come out without our funding. They've taken the initiative thus far." This year, the Commentator received a $6,000 grant from a conservative foundation. However, Commen tator Publisher Dane Claussen said there was no guarantee the publication would receive similar grants next year. "The Commentator staff members would prefer not to get money from outside sources," Claussen said. "We believe very strongly that a student publication is a student publication." "I think this is the minimum level of support for something on an experimental basis that I think this campus needs and wants," IFC member Sheila Schain said, agreeing with Claussen. Last month, students overwhelmingly defeated a funding measure for the Commentator, 1,715 to 790. It was the only ballot measure that lost in the ASUO elections. "I think we should look to the student vote," IFC member Marc Spence said in arguing against the Com mentator's request. "I don't think it's a newspaper. It's a platform for some students to present a narrow point of view on campus.'' But Claussen said the election results were actually favorable for the new publication. "In any other election, 31.5 percent is usually regarded as a pretty serious defeat," he said. "I don't think we regard it as such considering the fact that it (the Commentator) is brand new." Earlier, Claussen had delivered a 10-page memo to the IFC, explaining his funding request. Those voting for the request were Shrauger, Schain, Laurie Abraham and Leslie Dewson, while IFC Chair Julie Davis joined Spence and Day in dissenting. In other business, the IFC allocated $3,000 to establish performance audits next year. Under the new plan, the committee will pay three individuals to con duct performance audits on various groups requesting student funding. The committee also earmarked $45,193 for Club Sports and $23,390 for the Oregon Student Lobby.