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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1987)
Editorial GTFF grievances should be heeded The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation tactfully voiced its grievances last week in an effort to reconcile dif ferences that surfaced during contract negotiations with the Oregon State System of Higher Education and the University. In reviewing the demands of the federation, it is evident that most not only are well-founded but also mitigated in an attempt to compromise with the state system and the Univer sity. both who have negotiated with good intent but failed to compromise successfully at their end of the bargaining table. The union’s demands are not unfair — they are well within reason and should be accepted by the University. The GTFF is not asking for a wage increase; rather, it is bargain ing for policy leniency toward health care, provision of a detailed job description, and fairness in the evaluation of teaching performance. Health insurance is at the forefront of the GTFF's demands: Initially, the GTFF asked for full medical and den tal plans, which is not an excessive demand in itself. In a reconciliatory move, however, the federation recanted this demand, asserting that members are willing to pay their own medical insurance if the University im plements a payroll-deduction plan so they can pay in in stallments rather than a lump sum at the beginning of each term. This certainly is not an unfair request, and probably will cost the University little money, especially if a small pro cessing fee covering the costs of deferment is charged. The GTFF is justly requesting a specific list of job descriptions and requirements be developed as an employ ment guideline. The union members are complaining that, as GTFF President Chuck Hunt pointed out, "a GTF can get fired for not doing his job, but the job description is not spelled out.” How, one is inclined to ask, can a GTF be fired if they are not evaluated on the effectiveness of duties performed? Graduate teaching fellows, who teach courses in 70 dif ferent departments, deserve to have a specific, detailed job discription. Futhermore. GTFs should be evaluated partially on the basis of appropriating this job description. Currently, the employment status of GTFs depends sole ly on student evaluations — a criterion the GTFF correctly contends is unfair, judging the performance of GTFs solely on the basis of student evaluations is inappropriate because the teacher may be subject to vindictive, unwarranted criticism from the students. Moreover, many undergraduate students do not take the evaluations seriously and rush through the forms, giving on ly a partial appraisal of the instructor's ability. Student reviews, however, should not be eliminated completely from the evaluation process, as they provide helpful insight into teaching ability; nevertheless, the GTFs also should be subject to independent evaluation based on how well they perform specifically described duties. When negotiating channels are re-established with the state system and the Universty. the grievances of the GTFF should not only be heard, but also heeded. Oregon Daily Emerald Th« Oregon Daily Emerald it published Monday through Friday except during exam week and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. at the University of Oregon. Eugene. Oregon, 97403 The Emerald operates independently ol the University with offices on the third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and Is a member of the Associated Press The Emerald is private properly The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law Oeneral Staff Advertising Director Susan Theten Advertising Sales: Tan Boring. 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President Keagan wants to continue giving aid to the Contras in Nicaragua I thought maybe someone out there might be able to answer a few questions that have been bothering me for some time Commentary by Harold Bock I am told that the reason I should support the president is because the Sandinistas are communists and, as we all know, communism is a very, very evil thing. So, just what are the Sandinistas doing in Nicaragua that is worse, say than what the Cuban-Contra refugees have been doing in Miami? It could be argued that com munist governments are not any worse, or any t>ettar. than any other governments. What can not be argued is the fact that an ungodly variety of human rights violations from Argentina to Zimbabwe have been commit ted by non-communist govern ments If the Sandinistas are committing some unique unheard of atrocity. I’d certain ly like to know what it is. If an independent agency, such as Amnesty lnternationl. can't acctually document behavior WORSE than that practiced by Duarte's El Salvador. Pinochet's Chile or Botha’s South Africa, then why should we spend our tax dollars to eradicate evils no worse than those officially sanctioned by nations the President supports? Would someone please ex plain just what it is that Com munists do that is so very dif ferent than what Democrats. Republicans. Baptists or Catholics do? During the past fifty years the Communist ogre has absorbed so much of my time, energy and resources and so much of my country's time and resources. I think it's time I found out. I am 73 years old and while I haven't known many com munists. I have known a few. The only thing that distinguish ed them from the general population was their rather bor ing political religion So, if my community can't pass the school budget while my govern ment annually spends $300 billion to defend me against communism. I figure I must be missing something I am told the Contrast are freedom fighters — the equivalent of the founding fathers. If killing Communists makes one a freedom fighter, why doesn't killing Democrats or Republicans make one a freedom fighter? 1 mean, if it is alright to murder a person in Nicaragua because of his ob noxious political beliefs, then why isn't it alright to murder someone in Eugene or Salem because of his obnoxious political beliefs? Today Protestants and Catholics are killing each other in Ireland. Muslim Shiites and Muslim Sunimites are killing each other in Iran and Iraq. Jews and Palestinians are killing each other in South Africa, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. I can tell you right now, all these people killing each other consider themselves freedom fighters And you would have to be a little touched in the head to believe that the Communists are behind all these freedom fighters slaughtering each other. Not that the Communists are any better or any worse than anybody else. It just so happens that freedom fighters were kill ing freedom fighters long before anybody anywhere ever heard of Karl Marx or Communists The trouble is, the freedom fighters of this world not only kill each other, they kill each other's women and children, and anyone else that happens to be in the way. Will you plase tell me why killing the innocent child or wife of someone suspected of being a Com munist makes the one doing the killing a freedom fightor? Who are the victims of these freedom fighters anyway? I mean, how do we know they are Communists? I always thought that a fundamental principle of American law. of human decen cy and justice if you please, re quired an accused person to be considered innocent until pro ven guilty beyond a resonable doubt in a court of law. Have you heard of a single solitary victim of any of those killers from any side anywhere on Kami being executed utter being judged guilty by an IMPAR TIAL jury? Just what is so holy about indiscriminate murder? just how do all these wars fur ther the cause of democracy, of peace and human brotherhood? I am told that the reason we must eradicate Communists is that they are godless and have no respect for private property. Well, now! If Ronald Reagan and his Contra supporters take my tax dollar, that is. my private property, against my will to kill women and children in Nicaragua, just how does that make them any different than the Communists? If they are ready to trash their Christian values and their Constitution, what makes them any better than their avowed enemies? But worst of all — Mr. Reagan is my president, and yours. If he takes my tax dollar against my will to kill Communists or anybody else, and I make no objections, then how does that make me any better than either Mr Reagan or the Communists?
