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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 7, 1987)
Editorial INS changes policy; now farmers must act The Immigration and Naturalization Service correctly responded to a local shortage of fruit pickers by changing immigration procedures for the collective benefit of farmers, migrant laborers and consumers. The revised procedures will make it easier for migrant farm workers to enter the United States and obtain agricultural employment for up to nine months. The shortage of migrant workers, which was devastating to strawberry crops in Oregon, initially was caused by the over-implementation of the Immgration and Reform Act of 1986. In executing the immigration reform law, the INS went too far. making it difficult for immigrant laborers to gain legal access into the U S. agricultural job market. Specifical ly. the INS's original mistake was two different but inter reiated requirement*: an insurmountable degree of paper work submitted to a single application processing center in Mexico City, Hut in a conciliatory move last week, the INS rectified these problems by providing an information clearing house to facilitate easy preparation of paperwork and by moving application processing centers to the Mexico-U.S. border. The INS should be applauded for changing its policies to benefit not only the labor-intensive needs of local farmers, but migrant workers as well. Congressmen, including Oregon Sens Mark Hatfield and Bob Pack wood, pressured the INS to make the changes and deserve credit for straightening out some blundered bureaucracy. Hut the recent fruit picker shortage resulted from the practices of local farmers as well as the INS. Now it is time the farmers do their share. Fruit farmers, for example, are too dependant on illegal aliens and migrant farmworkers, and have become ac customed to paying them a subminimum wage. The farmers have placed themselves in a vulnerable position that can backfire when the INS cracks down. Therefore, to help over come the farm labor shortage, local farmers must decrease their reliance on migrant workers by offering a higher wage to attract local pickers. Strong questions needed for North's testimony Lt. Col. Oliver North will testify publicly before con gressional committees investigating the Iran/Contra scandal today. Ilis testimony will answer some important questions regarding President Reagan's role in the scandal. The committees will ask North if the president knew of and approved illegal funding for contra rebels in Nicaragua. Because North has been granted limited immunity he should not hesitate to answer these questions truthfully. Limited immunity guarantees that anything North says during his testimony will not he used against him by the committees or by the independent commission investigating the scandal. North also was given a private session with the commit tees on Monday. The session previewed some sensitive questions they may ask in today's testimony. This will in clude details about who initiated the funding plans. North will not give out information willingly about Reagan's role or his activities; therefore, it is important the investigating committees Ik? direct and aggressive in their questioning. With his immunity, North has no reason to perjure himself unless he is protecting someone else. If the commit tees shy away from direct questions, then both the commit tees and the public will lose valuable information. Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald it published Tuesday and Thursday during tha summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co, al the University ol Oregon. Eugene. Ohegon. 07403 Dally publication will resume with the tall term The Emerald operates independently ot the University with ottlces on the third floor ot the Erb Memorial Union and is a member ot the Associated Press The Emerald it private property The unlawful removal or use ol papers is prosecutable by law Owner al Stall Advertising Director Susan Theien Production Manager Michele Ross Classified Advertising Aiyson Simmons Assistant to the Publisher Jean Ownbey Editor Managing/Sports Editor News Editor Editorial Page Editor Photo Editor Stanley Nelson Lucinda Dillon Eden Godby Angela Muniz Shu Shing Chen Associate Editors Student Govt'Student Activities Carolyn Lamberson Higher Ed/Administration Mike Drummond General Assignment/Entertainment Aaron Knox Community Stephen Mahei Advertising: Janette Heitmann Production: Sandra Dailer / Ad Coordinator Kelly Alexandre. Eliot Knight, Diana Moy, Angela Muniz. Ingrid White. Serena Williams News and Editorial Display Advertising Classified Advertising Letter reflect Graphics 111 n iti i nil n n rfOOUCiKMi Circulation and Business MASS It •M-3712 6BAS511 sas-iMt MA-SS11 MUTE witv Wife And Cowrew, -k, SmwnT Commentary Scholarship proposal shows bias A proposal at last week's an nual National Collegiate Athletic Association conference in Dallas. Texas, wanted to mandate a cut in the massive amounts of money colleges spend on sports by reducing the numtier of sports scholarships The association's Presidents’ Commission decided to postpone a decision on the pro posal indefinitely after it en countered intense criticism. Commentery by Will Holbert The proposal would have reduced the number of scholar ships available for athletes in "non-revenue" sports — mean ing nearly every college sport except football. which would be spared from any reductions. The proposal also would have spared men's and women's basketball, women's tennis, gymnastics and volleyball. In other sports, such as swim ming. skiing, and soccer. NCAA rides would have reduc ed and placed a limit on the number of scholarships that a college could award to promis ing athletes. However, critics of the pro posal were not fooled by the ex ceptions made in the four women's sports. Critics said the proposed scholarship reduc tions would decimate the number of opportunities available to women and minori ty athletes. The proposal sought to bring the amounts of scholar ships awarded to men and women to an equal level, but because there are fewer women's sports and scholar ships available in the first place, the end effect would be a cut in scholarships that favored men For example, the proposal would have reduced the amount of men's cross country and track scholarships from 14 to 13. while women's scholarships would be reduced from 1<> to 13. The proposal would have left football scholarships at 95. University President Paul Olum. who spoke out aguinst the proposal, called the propos ed cuts "unconscionable." and unfair to women. Olum sup ported a proposal to cut football scholarships by five, but it was defeated. To refuse to cut loothall even this very small amount and then to proceed to reduce awards in a large number of so called minor, or ‘non-revenue,’ sports...seems to me disgraceful." Olum said in a speech he delivered at the conference. At least the NCAA has recognized the problem. For years colleges around the coun try have dumped millions of dollars into their sports pro grams in a free-for-all race for more money and more atten tion. The obsession with sports has caused some well-deserved speculation as to whether col leges have sacrificed their academic purposes in favor gaining gold and glory on the playing field. Meanwhile, the NCAA engages in occasional shows of hand wringing over the pro blem of academics losing precedence to sports. The association itself commissioned a study in 1981 that documented the rise in college expenditures on football. In 1981, 31 out of 33 large colleges spent less than $2 million an nually on football. 22 colleges spent between $2 and $4 million, and only one college was at $4 million. In 1985, another report said that 27 col leges spent less than $2 million. 54 were more than $2 million, and 11 were at $4 million. At the University. $825,000 will go to football next year, followed by basketball at a dis tant $170,000. according to Chris Voelz, University associate director for inter collegiate athletics. It's clear where the money and the prestige that the NCAA is so worried about is going. Hut. the only proposal that they can think of ignores the the ever-expanding collegiate foot ball empire, and points the finger at sports that offers op portunities to minorities and especially women. The proposal showed a callous disregard for the ambi tions of women athletes, another concern Olum expresss ed in his speech. " To lake away awards from a largo set of women's sports at this moment will be seen — whether it is intended or not — as clearly sexist in effect.” Olum said. According to Donna lxtpiano of the University of Texas, the percentage of women's scholar ships that would be eliminated in the Pac-10 would come to 9.5 percent, compared to a 3.4 per cent reduction in men's scholarships. The proposal has been tabled indefinitely, but the fact that the NCAA actually thought it up as a possible solution remains. It hoped to finally do something meaningful about the exponen tial rise in collegiate sports cost, a problem that definitely needs a solution. But its timidity in ig noring the main reason for that rise could have negated one of collegiate sports' real benefits: giving the disadvantaged and the discriminated the chance to experience higher education.
