Oregon Daily_ _
Emerald
Friday, May 2ft 1989
Eugene. Oregon
Volume 90. Number lfi3
_Inside
■ Indy's ‘Last Crusade,’ Page 9
■ Duck qualifiers. Pages 11 ft 12
■ ‘Big Daddy’ Mellencamp, Page 8
■ EMU Food Court, Page 5
Students dedicate tree
as a tribute to Olum
By Chris Bouneff
Emerald Reporter
Members of the Presidential
Scholars Association on Thurs
day dedicated a sapling tree to
retiring University President
Paul Olum as a tribute to his
nine years of service.
The tree ceremony was held
outside of Johnson Mall in the
area enclosed by Hendricks and
Susan Campbell halls.
The tree is a Kivers purple
beech, which has an expected
life span of 100 years. At its
base is a plaque dedicating the
tree to Olum for his service as
president.
“President Olum has done a
lot for the Presidential Scholars
Association." said University
senior Brian Daikh. “We want
ed to do something to show our
gratitude.”
During the dedication cere
mony. senior Krista 1-aursen
described Olum as a fighter
when it comes to supporting
higher education ami said stu
dents "could find no better role
model for such action" than
Olum.
In a separate event Wednes
day evening, members of the
Eugene and University commu
nities held a dinner party to
honor Olum for his commit
ment to bridging the gap be
tween the city and the Univer
sity.
"I’m still not over it." Olum
said. "1 can't tell you how great
it is getting that kind of sup
port."
Olum said he was pleased
that his "favorite program on
campus" decided to honor him
in such an appropriate manner.
Turn to Olum, Page 6
1
Photo b» Hill Main**
The University Presidential Scholars Association dedicated a sapling to retiring I’niversity
President Paul Olum on Thursday.
“1
Soviet art show to be brought to fcMU
Student to be curator
By Catherine Hawley
Emerald Contributor_
As a result of friendships formed with Soviet art
ists in Eugene last winter, a University senior will
travel to the Soviet Union in September to select art
work for an exhibition to be shown on campus and
across the country.
Fine arts student Will White met
two artists from Leningrad when the
Leningrad Show, an exhibition of con
temporary unofficial Soviet art. came to
the EMIJ Art Gallery in January.
White, who is the ASUO visual arts
coordinator, said he arranged for the
show to be brought to Eugene from
Berkeley, C'alif.. after a friend told him
about it.
White became friends with Elena
Figurina and Valentin Gerasimenko,
two of the 21 artists whose works were
shown in the exhibition, when they vis
ited Eugene while the Leningrad Show
was on campus.
"Even though 1 don't speak Russian
and they don't speak much English, we
really got along well and communicated
well." White said
At the end of their stay, Figurina
and Gerasimenko invited White to go to
the Soviet Union. White didn't think he
could afford it until he came up with
the idea of going as a curator to choose
works for another exhibition of Soviet
art.
White submitted his proposal to
Visual Arts Resources, the traveling ex
hibition department of the University
Museum of Art. which accepted his idea earlier inis
spring. The works White selects will be shown on
campus and then will become part of the museum s
touring program.
The exhibition will be available for two years to
more than 600 museums, galleries, art centers, schools
and libraries across the United States and Canada that
belong to the touring program.
White will leave for I^eningrad on Sept. 4 with
Barbara Hazard, who chose the works for the Lenin
grad Show. White said he hopes to travel to Moscow
as well as Leningrad during his three-week stay in the
Soviet Union.
White has applied for several grants to finance his
trip, and a sponsor has offered to pay his airfare. He is
trying to raise money for other expenses, including ap
proximately $1,000 in gift taxes he must pay on the
works he brings out of the Soviet Union.
Once the works are in the United States. Visual
Arts Resources will cover the costs of preparing and
circulating the exhibition.
White said he will stay with artists while he is in
Umingrad. most likely with Figurina. He is currently
applying to the Soviet government for permission to
stay with a private citizen.
Mark.
Photo b. |
ASUO Visual Arts Coordinator Will White will travel to the So
viet Union next fall to choose works for a traveling display of
unofficial Soviet art.
ri^urind a mi mu umur (hums rryi»r>niu-u <u mr
Leningrad Show are unofficial artists In the Soviet
Union, only those artists certified hy the Artists'
Union are recognized as professionals and officially al
lowed to show and sell their works.
Unofficial artists must earn their livings at regular
jobs ranging from poster designing to furnace tending,
and they work at their art in their free time
All of the artists from the Leningrad Show are
members of Tovarashchestvo, or Fellowship for Exper
imental Art. which provides a community for non
union artists and promotes their works.
White said he will probably meet union artists,
but he said he probably won't bring back any of their
Turn to Art, Page 6
Council chairman
makes apologies
By Frale de Guzman
Emerald Associate Editor
The Council for Minority Education's final
meeting ended on a positive note Thursday, de
spite an early confrontation
Former MEChA (Latino-Chlcano Student
Union) Director Maria Ana Christensen read an
announcement clarifying a statement she made at
an April 13 CME meeting demanding council
Chairman Jim l-ong's resignation and a public
apology from Long.
At that meeting. MEChA members expressed
their anger over Long's harsh criticism of ASUO
Minority Affairs Coordinator Teresa Gonzales' de
cision to go before the Student Senate and seek
its assistance in blocking CMK's charter proposal
scheduled to In; presented before the University
Senate on March B
Christensen said that "during last month's
board meeting. I found myself to la; in a situation
where extreme pressures were placed on me to
support ideologies and interests of individuals
whose tactics were in direi I conflict with mv
own.
"I was placed in situation that demanded
nothing less than the complete polarization of
students,” Christensen said, adding that since
then "I have regretted my capitulation" to pres
sure received and wanted to further clarify her
position in the "confrontation between MEChA
and Ur Long."
"I allowed myself to lie intimidated by cer
tain students who told me that I was allowing my
personal interests to color my perspective on
what was in the best interest of MEChA.” she
said.
Although Christensen said that she did not
disagree that Izing needed to make a formal apol
ogy for the "extensive and public nature” of his
reprimand, she said that "any uttempts to elicit
more than a public apology constitutes a simple
personal vendetta that should be handled by an
other forum."
In Long's letter of apology distributed and
read to council members and formally accepted
by MEChA. he acknowledged that his conduct
during CME's March meeting "put an unfair fo
cus on one person — Teresa Gonzales."
“To make matters worse. I stood during my
Turn to Council, Page 6