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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1984)
TT~ Monday, November 19, 1984 Eugene, Oregon Volume 86, Number 57 Rajneeshpuram: a current look inside Editor’s note: This is the first of two stories exploring the peo ple and the way of life at Ra jneeshpurarn. Tomorrow's story looks at Ma Anand Sheela, per sonal secretary to the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The Big Muddy Ranch lying nearly 20 miles outside of Antelope, Ore., used to be an over-grazed, almost deserted plot of land; a place largely unknown and unimportant to most Oregonians. Now, more than three years after followers of the Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Story by Jolayne Houtz Photos by Bill Harpole established the commune of Ra jneeshpuram. that same area around Antelope is one of the nation's biggest political hotspots. The conflict between the Ra jneeshees and the original residents of Antelope, in Wasco r County, drew national attention in August when the Ra jneeshees created the ‘‘Sharing a Home” program and bused more than 4,000 ‘‘street peo ple” into the commune. Wasco County officials claim ed the sudden influx of people was a covert effort to sway the November elections, and they kept a close watch over the area’s voter registration pro cess, although most Ra jneeshees finally boycotted the elections. Now, though the elections are over and only 2,350 of the original 4,000 street people are still at Rajneeshpuram, an tagonism continues between commune residents and residents of what was formerly Antelope — now called the city of Rajneesh. The conflict began when Ra jneeshees purchased the 64,000-acre land for $6 million in July 1981 from a Texas in Continued on Page 8 Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh enjoys music played by a few of his followers during one of his recent 2 p.m. daily “drive bys" through Rajneeshpuram. Weaver hopes for nuclear freeze By Paul Ertelt Of the Emerald Besides voting for anti-nuclear candidates, what can the average citizen do to help prevent a nuclear holocaust? Rep. Jim Weaver answered the student’s question by writing one word on the chalkboard: Hgji Preventing a nuclear holocaust, he said, requires con vincing military leaders and strategic planners that we can not survive, let alone win, a nuclear war. The detonation of 300 one-megaton nuclear devices would destroy all life on the planet, he said. One student asked Weaver why Congress has not been able to pass a nuclear freeze resolu tion. despite polls showing that most Americans favor a freeze. One problem is that many representatives give verbal sup port to the freeze, then vote for funding for the arms buildup. Since representatives vote about 1500 times per year, it is difficult for constituents to monitor their voting records, he said. President Ronald Reagan’s op positon to the freeze also makes its passage difficult, he said. “The president’s power over Congress is awesome. We are living in the age of the Caesars,” Weaver said. Congress, on the other hand, is deeply divided, he said. The fact that the president was able to continue funding the Contra rebels in Nicaragua despite congressional opposi tion shows the power he holds, Weaver said. But other forces also are at work in Congress. “The military-industrial com plex plays an enormous role in Congress,” he said. “We are simply not able to beat a weapons system in the Congress of the United States.” Contracts for weapons systems are spread over so many congres sional districts, that many representatives fear opposing a military project and lost jobs in their districts, he said. Weaver said that arms control also is thwarted by many of his conservative colleagues who view any opposition to a military buildup as a threat to American strength. Many of his colleagues are ill informed about the weapons systems they support, he added. For example, the B-l bomber has no military use, he said, because it is not capable of penetrating the Soviet Union’s radar defenses. According to Weaver, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger admitted the B-l is “worthless,” but Weinberger said Reagan insists on developing it. Weaver also outlined what he called the four basic strategies for survival. Doves attempt to cooperate and flee from aggres sion, while hawks use aggres sion to destroy potential threats, he said. But there are few pure hawks or doves in Congress. Other strategies include those of the “bully” who attacks until resisted, then flees. Weaver con siders himself a "retaliatory dove,” one who attempts to cooperate, but who will fight back if attacked. "Ronald Reagan, in my judg ment, is a pure hawk,” Weaver said. "That’s kind of dangerous to have a pure hawk as presi dent. The instinct of the hawk is to attack.” Weaver encouraged the students to continue to fight the arms race in any way they could. "I don’t say its going to be that worthwhile, but it’s good for you,” he said. [im Weaver "PRAY.*’ “That’s why I’m for prayer in the schools — 24 hours a day” Weaver told about 30 students and visitors in a University class Friday afternoon. Weaver answered questions on the nuclear arms race in SEARCH instructor Joe Austin’s class titled “War in the Nuclear Age.” Austin said he wished all students on campus could have participated in the discussion. Weaver said there is still hope for ending the arms race, and that hope has kept him in Con gress for five terms. Better quality sought in teaching programs By Michael Hosmar Of the Emerald The State Board of Higher Education recently urg ed colleges and universities in Oregon to improve the quality of their teacher education programs. The board accepted a report in its meeting Friday that includes 32 recomn\endations that, if im plemented, would improve the quality of teacher education in Oregon .by restructuring existing programs. Teacher education in Oregon is currently working well, according to the report. But, it says, there is still room for improvement. The report identified these eight “top priority” recommendations and asked that they be implemented as soon as possible: •Recruit top students into teaching by providing new fiscal incentives, such as scholarships and tuition waivers. •Provide competitive salaries to attract and retain well-qualified faculty in teacher education programs, and require that education faculty continuously upgrade their professional skills. •Require teacher-education faculty members to become significantly involved with public schools on a continuing basis, and recognize faculty field work through conventional college and university rewards of promotion and tenure. •Continue efforts to improve admission standards for teacher-education programs, including the adoption of the California Basic Educational Skills Test as a re qirement for admission. •Provide instruction for new technology in educa tion as part of the regular teacher-education program, and require computer literacy at the functional com puter level for students graduating from teacher educa tion programs. •Establish a summer-session subsidy program to enable colleges and universities to provide required certification courses for teachers and administrators on a planned, responsive basis. •Implement a statewide entry-year assistance pro gram, jointly operated by higher education institutions and school districts, that provides a year-long residen cy in public school, concurrent graduate-level instruc tion, and workshops for beginning teachers in Oregon. •Develop a coordinated research and development agenda for the teacher-education programs to improve Continued on Page 10