ojnmon _
rUSSA congress
worth attending
When a handful of University students made their way
across the country over spring break to attend a United
States Students Association conference in Washington,
D.C., they left with a few expectations and a lot of hope and
returned with increased lobbying knowledge and skills and
a national congress of the USSA.
Much of the hubbub and activity on this normally tran
quil summer campus this week is that congress.
A series of workshops, caucuses, and task forces are
spread from one end of the campus to the other. The con
gress schedule seems to include most issues pertinent to
universities and students. Women’s issues, voter registra
tion, the environment and financial aid are only some of the
topics.
And there is a lot more happening.
For one thing, the voting delegates in attendance will
hammer out a policy platform of priority issues for the
1984-85 academic year. Last year’s platform had 14 issues
listed and its priority issue was financial aid, somewhat
ironic considering last year was the year of the Solomon
Amendment flap.
Without a crystal ball it’s difficult to predict what might
head the list this time around, but with a crucial November
election on the horizon, we hope student voter registration
will be the hot topic.
Some statistics show that since the voting age was
lowered, the number of students voting has actually declin
ed. The USSA and other campus and political groups have
been stepping up registration drives for nearly a year now.
Perhaps making voter registration the priority will lead to
more students at the polls.
As far as the the local delegation is concerned, the word
is that the seven University delegates will be pushing for en
vironmental issues. A majority of the USSA membership is
from the East Coast, and, according to some University
delegates who traveled to D.C., the environment takes a back
seat to other issues \vith the eastern contjyagent.
Metnwfcile, 'til the late
night meetings and smoke-filled rooms, a separate power
struggle for the national presidency of the association is go
ing on.
In the thick of the bartering and, apparently, the thick of
the race, is former ASUO Vice Pres. Kevin Kouns. As a
member of USSA’s board of directors, Kouns began lobbying
for the top seat at the D.C. conference and has enough sup
port to be enthusiastic about his chances.
While it may not directly benefit the University if Kouns
gamers the USSA presidency, it certainly won’t harm us.
Good luck Kevin.
The ASUO has exerted much effort in organizing and
hosting the congress and deserves a pat on the back. We
hope the students and faculty of the University take advan
tage of the plethora of sessions on campus and attend some
before the congress ends Thursday.
A timely offer
We applaud the news that a package is in the works that
would allow students and faculty in the state system to pur
chase microcomputers virtually at cost. According to one
source, the proposal could mean a 40- to 50-percent savings.
It’s a given that today's society demands computer
knowledge from the thousands of degree holders that
universities are grinding out each spring. And the day will
come when most educating is done on a computer system,
so it’s appropriate that this benefit comes from a network of
education.
r
letters
War dreams
While I appreciate many of
the ideas expressed by Stewart
R. King (Thursday), I feel com
pelled to defend the statue
“Corporate Soldier.”
The first time 1 saw the statue
I gasped, shrugged and con
tinued about my business.
However, for several days, I had
dreams about war. War is not
among my experiences.
In the last of these dreams, a
handsome young man was
wounded and “repaired” by
doctors. When the doctors were
finished, the soldier was more
metal than flesh, and the soldier
was returned to the front lines.
The next time I saw the “Cor
porate Soldier,” I understood
from where these nightmares
had come. (Perhaps my reaction
was so strong because many of
the men I know are Viet Nam
veterans).
The man who created the
“Corporate Soldier” ... is
himself a Viet Nam veteran, and
was actively involved in a
veteran’s organization which
opposed that war. Even without
that knowledge it doesn’t seem
accurate to say the statue
glorifies soldiering. It is rusty,
ugly, and, the pose suggests,
being shot.
For me, the "Corporate (as in
multinational corporation)
Soldier” is a powerful anti-war
statement.
Shasta Hatter
Psychology
Republicans?
Three earnest young
Republicans have done us the
favor (Tuesday) of revealing, for
all to see, their propensity for
sloppy thinking, neglect of
faGts, and indifference to
human suffering. Michael
Cross’s iteration of the old
Republican chestnut that all
wars in this century were
started under Democrats is a
textbook example of the “post
hoc propter hoc” (after which
because of which) fallacy: Did
Hitler and Tojo have nothing to
do with all of those thousands
of young men that Roosevelt,
according to Cross, was respon
sible for killing? Would Hitler
never have risen to power if
Hoover had been re-elected in
1932? Should we have sided
with the Nazis?
Also, who is the purveyor if
“empty slogans and mean
ingless propaganda”: the man
who squarely faces the necessi
ty to raise taxes or the buffo ac
tor who hedges on the question
and flexes his muscle saying
“America is back”?
Mr. Visoky is at least more in
telligent than Mr. Cross, but in
denying any responsibility of
the state to help the poor and
destitute, he amply reveals the
callous indifference to suffering
which is an article of faith
among free-market ideologues.
Thank you, Mr. Visoky, for
showing your true face.
Ms. Parkman’s fulsome praise
of Reagan’s appointments of
women conveniently ignores
the millions of welfare mothers
whom he has victimized by his
cuts in social services and
overlooks the astonishing
50-percent rise in infant mor
tality among blacks since
Reagan took office. If Reagan is
morally offended by abortion,
why is he indifferent to the
death of children after they are
bom?
Thomas I. Ellis
Ph D., English
Purple Rage
Ever since I saw “Purple
Rain” I have been furious. The
film’s blatant abuse of women,
verbal and physical, was
atrocious. The audience was
treated to several instances of
degradation; a woman thrown
into a trash can, women casual
ly referred to as bitches, a
woman hit in the face by "the
Kid” when she seeks to follow
her own direction.
After reading several almost
glowing reviews of “Purple
Rain,” my rage is growing. To
come to the University this mor
ning (Thursday) and discover
the Emerald praising the film
for its “substance, talent and
exciting drama” was too much.
Perhaps it was ignorance on my
part, but I formerly regarded the
Emerald as an enlightened,
somewhat progressive
newspaper. I am now not only
angry, but also disillusioned.
Krysti Lambert
Health Sciences
Oregon doily
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