Editorial
Spending limit issue
to determine funding
Bad financial news once again struck the University last
week after University President Paul Olum discussed fund
ing with Gov. Neil Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt told Olum
the University will not receive an increase in state funding
for the upcoming biennium and any improvements in a par
ticular program will have to come by way of cutbacks in
other programs within the University.
On the surface, Goldschmidt’s pessimism over
allocating more funds to the University seems to be disdain
ful toward higher education. On a deeper level, however, it
becomes evident that Goldschmidt is caught between know
ing that the University needs more funds to continue its
academic high-wire act and realizing that the state spending
limit places restraints on the amount that can be allocated to
higher education.
On the one hand, the University desperately needs more
funding, including an increase in faculty salaries, which are
currently below average in comparison to those paid at other
institutions. Without a salary increase, the University risks
losing good professors to better-paying employment
elsewhere.
But any good intentions Goldschmidt has toward higher
education are kept in check by the state spending lid. which
limits increases in spending according to the growth in
Oregon’s personal income. The spending limit promises to
be a big issue in next year’s legislative session, during
which Goldschmidt will probably push to either expand the
limit or perhaps abolish it altogether, athough he faces an
uphill battle because many Republicans are adamantly op
posed to changing it.
Thus. Goldschmidt is speaking safely, though perhaps
too pessimistically, when he says the University will receive
no new funding for the upcoming biennium. The governor
is making sure that Oregon’s universities should not expect
any new funding; he is merely recognizing — and explain
ing to constituents — the realities of the state's current
spending limitations.
Despite Goldschmidt’s negative outlook, the possibility
of increased funding still remains, and is contingent upon
the spending limit issue. And just as there is some uncer
tainty about the future of higher education’s funding, there
is also uncertainty about Goldschmidt’s agenda for higher
education.
Goldschmidt has not yet come forth and explained his
agenda for the future of higher education, but he appears to
be committed in a more general sense to achieving academic
excellence at Oregon’s universities. Yet it is uncertain how
to improve an institution like the University without an in
crease in funds, especially since it has been operating with
limited funds for some time.
With Olum being forced to retire prematurely, the fund
ing problem may multiply over time. Olum has succeeded
in sustaining the University as an academic powerhouse
with limited funds. But now that he is leaving, many pro
fessors are concerned that the University’s educational
quality will decline.
Hope for increasing the University’s funding lies in the
upcoming debate over the state spending limit. Until then, it
is important that Goldschmidt does not forget the Univer
sity’s desperate need for more money and that he remains
committed to excellence in higher education.
Oregon Daily
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Letters
More on rats
With regard to the two recent
letters on “stall rats" (ODE,
Stall rats, )an. 22; Beyond help,
Feb. 9), we feel it is our obliga
tion to acknowledge that some
men are engaging in sexual ac
tivities in the public restroom
stalls here on campus, and that
such behavior borders on the
sociopathic.
However, we also feel
obligated to point out that the
vast majority of these men
would identify themselves as
straight after leaving the stalls.
We here at the Gay and lesbian
Alliance (GALA) can only guess
at the rationale behind their
dilemma, however, since we are
comfortable and proud of our
sexual identity. Most of us had
to go through long, painful
emotional struggles to get to
where we are now, and we
assume that the men engaged in
this unsafe and self-debasing
behavior are in the midst of
similar personal struggles.
GALA is currently embarked
on a fund-raising drive to
launch a media campaign to
relay the message that sex with
strangers is deadly. We would
encourage anyone who is con
cerned about this problem to
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join us in our efforts. Because
remember: if you aren’t part of
the solution, you're part of the
problem. We would further en
courage any student, male or
female, who has questions
about his or her sexuality to call
GALA at 686-3360 or the
Counseling Center at 686-3227.
Be brave. We guarantee
anonymity.
Tim Hughes
Tora Johnson
GALA co-directors
Arab ancestry
This is a reply to Mr.
Alzarah's letter (ODE. Feb. 5) in
which he responded to a letter
written by myself and two
others. Although he did not ad
dress specifically any of the
issues that we raised, he did
raise some important questions.
However, I wish to clarify one
basic misconception that Mr.
Alzarah and others appear to
labor under.
Israel is a Middle Eastern
state, inhabited by Middle
Easterners. Most Israeli lews
alive today are native-born.
More importantly, most of
them, close to 70 percent, trace
their ancestry back to Arab
countries, not to Europe. Many
of these were refugees, driven
from their homes in revenge for
Israel's victory in 1948. They
were the "Palestinian refugees"
that no one talks about, mainly
because they were allowed to
move out of their refugee camps
in a few years. Hence, the
characterization of Israel as a
"European settler state" is
simply false. Mr. Alzarah does
not need to "welcome” Israeli
Jews to live in the Middle East,
since most of their families have
been in the region as long as or
longer than his.
Space does not permit me to
address any of his points in
Letters Policy
Letters to the editor must be
limited to no more than 250
words.
detail nor to discuss some of my
own, but I wish to compliment
Mr. Alzarah for getting away
from some of the nasty rhetoric
that has appeared in some other
anti-Israel letters, and, despite
my strong disagreement with
some of his statements, for
discussing the issues
intelligently.
David Shayne
Student
Clarification
The article by Sean Nelson
describing my research on
stereotypic beliefs (ODE, Feb. 8)
requires some clarification.
First, I did not say that."peo
ple's views won’t change about
a minority group," but rather
that stereotypic beliefs, whether
they concern minorities or other
groups, are difficult to change.
Indeed, one of the things we're
working on is trying to specify
the conditions under which
change is likely to occur, and
we think we have identified
some of the processes underly
ing change.
Second, the title of the article
left the impression that it is the
minorities themselves whose
beliefs are hard to change. That
is absolutely not what I con
veyed in my interview. We are
interested in the stereotypes
that people have about groups
in general, and minorities in
particular. Minority groups are
typically the victims of beliefs
held by the dominant group.
Third, 1 also wanted to clarify
my discussion of Robert
Scheer's book. The question
was how did the United States
perceive the Soviets' alleged in
crease in resources for civil
defense, not, as the article
states, ‘‘strategic” defense. The
perception in the Reagan ad
ministration is that if the
Soviets are increasing civil
defense, it is for some nefarious
purpose, most likely to prepare
for a first strike against the
United States.
Myron Rothbart
Professor of psychology
Tuesday, February 16, 1988