Students fill Russian classes
Soviet reforms boost attendance
R\ Joseph Kidd
Emerald ( ontrihutnr
Soviet reforms have not vet
filled empty store shelves m
the Soviet I’nion. but tin s have
packed full Russian language
i lasses at the 1 'niversit\ a<
cording to a recent survev of
Russian students
In a poll this term of the Rus
sian department's largest ever
tirst-vear Russian language sei
tion. -1H pert ent of the students
responded positively to the
question 'Have recent changes
in the Soviet Him affected your
decision to study Russian!"
While the I 'uiversitv s ovet
all attendant e has ini re.ised
only In eight percent since
1 Otis, attendant e in lust tear
Russian language < lasses has
climbed li- percent
Hut the lirst-vear sei tion in
crease is only part of the overall
pit turn All Russian ( lasses are
growing dramatically said Al
bert Leung. Russian department
head
"We have the largest sei olid
tear section ever this tear be
cause last tear's first-year sin
dents are continuing on.
Leung said. "We hate the big
gest third year section lor the
same reason And conceivably
next year we'll have the biggest
fourth year section in the lie
partiiient's history
(her the same four \ ear per i
Oil. sei ond y ear ( lass atten
dam e tripled and Ih■ ■ d ve.u
attendam e lumped to perr ent
Knrollment totals are not the
on I \ sign ol Russian s mi leas
mg popularity s.iid Martha
Sherwood I’ike. the depart
merit's set retar\ Respondin'.:
to telephone i alls from the
(.ommuniK has taken up an in
creasing amount of her tline
A few years ago we only got
a few ( alls .1 week." Sherwood
i’ike said. "Now we re getting
so many calls ear h day that I've
started keeping a ledgei
Recent inquiries ranged from
<111 author needing ad\ ii.e on
Russian names tor ( harm lers in
a manuscript to local business
es needing translators loi corn
spondeni e about joint venlute
y\ ill) Soviet firms
The iik leasing interest in
Russian is not limited to this
I 'diversity'. Other West (Mast
universities nave ii'ponni
swelling Russian < hisses
Slightly less than the I mver
it\ '> 82 percent increase. till
Cniversity of Washington re
ported a 7'l percent rise in at
tendance m first year Russian
classes over the last lour years
The university has capped oil
class enrollment at a total of
Kill students each year tor the
last three years due to a la< k ot
faculty
Both the t adversity of ( ili
forma. Los \ngeles ,md the
I’niversitv ol Arizona cited in
( leases of (ia percent lot the
same period Brigham Young
I’niversitv reported a 71 per
i ent rise.
As for why students are
i housing to stuily Russian
first-year student's responses to
a questionnaire i in ulated for
the purpose of this artn le rrere
varied Although many < it' d
the recent Hast blot < hauges
other students listed personal
interests, i areer goals and lei h
ni< al reasons
One student listed the fail
that a lot of the relevan1 litera
turn in tlie morganii chemistry
Oregon Daily Hmerald
Photo hi J«nrj»h Kulil
Smii‘1 i‘\i huniiv instruilor M.inn.i Ink. nun, i Ir.u hrs .1 s n
und-vrur Russian l.muu.ixr r nurse .it lhr I ni\rrsit\
field is m Russian anti transla
lions are haul to < ome l>\ An
oilier student wrote I teel the
Soviet I 'moo s t flanges u ill di
rei.tK attei I our general ion I
must learn as nun h as 1 t an
about their world
This is not the first time
world events have influenced
student's choices. l.eong said
'1 nn sell took part in the earli
er hooui m Russian .liter Spot
nik " he said, referring to the
1(1 mission Soviet satellite pro
gram that began the Space Age
in llta7
More i areer possibilities as a
result of recent Soviet reforms
also draw more students he
s.lld 1 Ill'll- S .1 |ll!i .11 III** fill I
of tilt- linr .in interesting i*>1 *
with iipportiinitic-s tor travel
Leung also believes that in
creasing international trade r«*
ijuirtis more people to study
foreign languages I’fi >pli
have had to learn lapanese in
order to understand Inisiness
i lintrai Is and even to negotiate
II you i an't deal in anothei lan
village you'le at a gieat disad
vantage. ' he said
The quality ol the depart
ment's program is anothei rea
son students at the t niversity
(house Russian l.eong said
■()nu of the i ailing < arils ol out
program is that y\e are the only
si hool in the state that, year at
ter year brings in. experienced-:
dedit ated and sometimes i hai
jsmatii Soviet leathers he
said, reterring to the depart
inent s evi hauge program with
the Soviet t nion
Changes within the Russian
department itself also account
lol the llit 1 us. ol students he
said The Russian department
gamed departmental status in
|()Ka because of that, "we
gained greater visibility he
said. "He were then able to de
velop a lletter program
I lie department has so tar
been able to accommodate the
influx With four graduate
teachinv. fellows llwo more
than the department had two
years ago), four ta< ulty mem
bers and a Soviet exchange
ic.K hct the department Ims
third v been able I" ii.i n<111 • tin*
llll II'.ISI' I .1-1111^ S.llll
llii' pressure is building
up lull wi! ilun't lui\i' the tai
lilts iesmin.es lie said I lie\
,ire slrillllecl In the limit .is It
IS
Die department has lubhied
lor i tilth t.ii nils posit mu loi
the last three veals hut the le
quests have been denied
p
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