EDITORIAL
Retroactive N as F
not fair to students
With the installation ol .1 new University computer
system N's w ill now he counted .is l"s w hen CPAs are
computed and printed on ear h term's (trade reports
While the policy of counting N's as l"s has been in
effect since 1078, the University has never had the
means to compute cumulative and term (d’As Now
that it has a new computer system, it plans to enforce
the policy retroactively.
However, the policy adopted in 1078 stipulates
that each student is allowed 15 credit hours of N"s be
fore the no-pass grades count against his or her GPA
The University's new computer system which can
determine a student's overall CPA or GPA in classes in
a declared major as well as perform many other ser
vices — currently dorrs not have the ability to delete
the first 15 hours of N's from a student's grade record
First of all. instituting the policy retroactively is
not fair to students who thought any N's. let alone the
first 15 hours, would not hurt their (d’A. And, al
though the policy was passed in 1878. students have
not been aware of it lrecau.se it was not enforced.
If the University wants to start enforcing the poli
cy. it should make the rule effective beginning with
this term's grades. To make the policy retroac tive is
like the National Basketball Association going bac k to
games played before tin* three-point rule was instituted
and trying to refigure final stores
Students whose (if*As fall below 2,00 < an tie forced
to leave school or prevented from graduating. Count
ing N's as 1 "s could have serious consequences for
some students The administration has said it will re
view instances where students could be penalized on a
1 ase-by-case basis
Students who are in danger of hung dropped from
the University or who may not be able to graduate will
have to go liefore the Scholastic Review Committee to
argue their cases. At that time, the 15 hours of N's w ill
be dropped This is unfair to students who thought
they were following the rules
(d’As are important to students applying to gradu
ate school Some employers also have minimum CPAs
for potential employees. All students who can prove
they have a valid reason for needing the- 15 hours of
N's dropped should be allowed to do so w ithout going
before a committee
Most importantly, if P's aren't figured into CPAs as
passing grades, then N's should not figured in as fail
ing ones.
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‘ WE'VE ALREADY GOTTUE MOST CRITICAL PART - TWE MUT
THAT DETONATES IT.
L
Guardsman’s refusal a noble concept
An Orison Army National Guardsman
refused a possible assignment in the Middle
1-l.ist be( ause lie questions tile constitutional
ity of the American presence in the Persian
Gulf.
What .1 concept. An American soldier
thinking lor himself We hope it is conta
gious
The reason voting men and women con
stitute the majority of enlisted personal is
because they are most likely to obey without
thinking All too often. American military
troops are deployed and ordered to ac t with
out thinking
Soldiers are taught to follow orders,
even il it means going against personal be
liefs. Const ientious objectors must prove be
yond .ill doubt that they oppose wars and
killings on religious grounds in order to
avoid military duty
At least two University students in the
reserves are being activated. If the United
States already has 400.000 troops in the Per
sian Gulf, why are college students being
called up the week before finals if President
Hush doesn't plan on war?
One Oregon national guardsman is re
fusing Middle Hast deployment on constitu
tional grounds. Me believes only Congress,
not the president, has the right to declare
war. And he’s right.
While a few of us remember Vietnam
and the horrors of its casualties, most of the
younger students remember the swift. eas\
butt-kicking we gave (irenada and Panama
in the 1'IHOs.
No comparison can be made to those sit
uations and the current Middle Hast crisis
The I nited States gave millions of dollars to
Saddam Hussein throughout the decade.
That does not say much for American intelli
gence.
Kvery soldier that questions America's
presence in the Gulf should stand up and
say so publicly Hut until that happens, we
will continue to be what William Lederer
called “A Nation of Sheep.”
LETTERS
Violent pit
This letter is in response to
(ireg /iilsTs letter concerning
ovcr-ampetl limini its and sis u
rilv personnel at the Huh Mould
show on Nov 11
I too. have set'll this tiling
happen tit various "punk-alter
native" .mil "thrash metal"
show s
Ihis summer, a hand known
as Suii idal Tendent les pl.ived
at the Memorial Coliseum in
Portland \ neat riot ensued
due to the blatant violent e anti
ignorance the set uritv personal
used tit that show Thev obv i
ouslv didn't know what "the
pit" was all about In the news
paper the next day the near
riot was blamed on the t niwtl
Hut I have also seen shows
where the bouncers and set uri
tv personnel were at dually tie
t cut enough to allow the t row'd
to slam anti mtish Thev were
merelv there to protei t the
proparty tint! to break up the
ot t asional linht
l or those bouncers and secu
rity personal involved in these
types ol things. remember tine
thing The pit is v iolent
The whole nature of the pit is
violence, lint it s not a mall
cions violence It's |us! the
croud letting out thi'ir pent-up
anger and frustrations while
still having a good time
The pit has lieen around for a
long time and vou won't lie
aide to put an end to it
|ason Warner
Student
Warm and fuzzy
In response to Carolyn
llaucks letter (Ol)i'. Nov ^7)
,\ot all animals .ire warm
blooded mammals Cats and
dogs are animals hut so are
cookrti.K lies fish, mosquitoes,
lizards, fleas, oysters, tu ks and
slugs Tins information can be
found in am basil hiologv test
l >ook
I agree that we should treat
all animals with respect Win
do people who defend animal
rights only consider those ani
mals that are warm and fuzzy?
Devon Wiel
Biology
Speak up now
President Hush has given
several reasons explaining the
presence of what will lie
400.004) American troops in the
Middle K.ist sue h as protei linn
America’s econonm inleresls,
not rewarding aggression, pro
tecting innocent lives and
.11 hieving stability in the Mid
dle East
In addition to this, most
Americans do not want war
How many American and Arab
soldiers and i ivilians must die
Indore the American people,
the Congress, and the president
realize that a huge offensive
tone in the Middle East is ab
surd?
The conflicts in the Middle
East have lieen a tragii and
troubling question lor rulers
and revolutionaries over the
millenia l or Hush to believe
that he can achieve stability
there with a "short' war is in
i redihlv unrealislu
II we re going to have a war.
it needs to have the firm sup
port o! the American people, so
.ill ot you w ho think that a Mid
dle East war will make lie
world a lietter place, raise your
hands
All the rest of you, speak out
against war now
lennifer Potter
Student
Coke no saint
Though I hi; issues of the
(.'like boycott are complex, we
feel that it is necessary to share
hard facts to lessen this com
plexity:
Nelson Mandela, on his re
lent African National Congress
tour of the t'nited States, called
lor intensification of sanctions
against the continuing genoci
dal system of apartheid.
ANC relused a Coke donation
to help tinaiu e Mandela's tour,
took out Coke machines in the
hotel where Mandela stayed in
Oakland the night before he
spoke, look .til Coke products
oil Mandela's chartered jet. and
asked stadiums where Mandela
spoke not to sell Coke prod
ucts Martin l.uther king III in
troduced Mandela in Boston by
asking Americans to support
the Coke boycott
The campaign does not advo
cate the selling ol one beverage
ov er another The Coke boycott
simply opposes the sale of
Coca-Cola on the University
i ampus and nationwide, due to
its failure to sever all ties to
apartheid.
We acknowledge Coca-Cola's
vast contributions to worthy
causes in the United States and
the establishment of the Equal
Opportunity Foundation in
South Africa. We encourage
Coca-Cola to continue with
these humanitarian efforts
The bottom line, however, is
that Coca-Cola has not com
pletely divested from South Af
rica.
Coke sells for HO cents a can
in South Africa. Ten cents from
every sale goes to the South Af
rit an government in the form of
sales tax,
The facts .ire clear; Cor a-Cola
is still profiting front apartheid
F.very sip of Coke you take sup
ports a system of white suprem
acy that establishes Black Afri
cans as second-class citizens in
their ow n lands
Wake up people and think
about it.
Eric Ward
Black Student Union
|ohn Lunsford
Students Against Apartheid
Killian A. Anderson
ASUO Programs Coordinator