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.
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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.