Professor put life in Shakespeare
By Katy Mo«ll«r
Oregon fWv f m*r#M
With the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in full swing and
the University’s last performances of King Unr this week
end. it is easy for Shakespeare connoisseurs to indulge
themselves
Hut wait
Recall the first time you dove head-first into the text of
Troilus and Cressidn and had more than a question or
two If you were lucky, vour professor did more than
help you navigate through the "thees" and "thous
For hundreds of current and former University stu
dents, the unparalleled instruction of former professor
Gloria Johnson brought the plays to life
Though Johnson, professor emeritus of English, retired
in 1990 after an illustrious teaching career, her reputa
tion as one of the foremost educators lingers on.
Johnson's dedication to teaching did not go unnoticed
during her 34-vear tenure at the University She was
awarded the University's liighest honors for teaching —
the Ersted Award in 1972, and tlie Burlington Northern
Award in 19H6.
Johnson's former students, many of whom continue to
keep in touch with her. can still vividly recall the her
classes
"She goes through the literature and she points out
things as if they are jewels and wants to share them with
you. Once she has shown you where the jewels are. it's
so rich you want to share it." said Johnson's student Bon
nie Lee, who successfully defended her dissertation Fri
day.
Emily Harnish, a 1992 graduate of the University Eng
lish department said. "She's a wizard. She had insight
beyond any other professor I've ever had. Every person
in class would have their book open as she went through
each line,"she said.
One of Johnson's colleagues even admits to trying to
find out what that special something was about her class
es.
"She's terribly modest. I never understood what mag
ic she had. I stood outside her classroom to figure out
what she did. I never knew.” said George VVickes, former
head of the English department.
Lee said. "It's not a method of teaching. It's not what
she does, it's who she is. She is real She is a treasure."
Johnson said one of her greatest joys in teaching came
from seeing that students enjoyed reading the plays. She
said she always tried to tailor her classes to the interests
of students.
One of Johnson's greatest pleasures came from teach
ing Honors College students. Like many Honors College
students, Johnson showed a high a degree of academic
motivation.
Johnson was awarded a New York State Regent's
scholarship in 1940, which she used to attend Barnard
College, a women’s college.
"We used to laugh because the dean kept talking about
‘trained brains ' She would say. 'Every woman has to
have her own career. You can't depend on your hus
band,’" Johnson said.
After receiving her master’s degree from Columbia
University in 1946. she began working on her doctor
ate. With funding from a Fulbright scholarship, in 1949
she went to London
Her primary focus was on the history of melodrama,
an area that Johnson said hadn't really been explored.
She found a rich resource of playbills and reviews in the
archives of the British National Museum. Because most
of the material she needed had to lie moved for protec
tion during the war, Johnson spent much of her tune
doing research in a bomb shelter
Courtwy pMo
O to rim Johnson, pro lassor smart tu a of English, la ona ol
tha Uni varsity'a moat honotad pro lasso rs
Before getting married to an Oxford University forest
ry student. Johnson returned to the United States to
teach English at Girnell University. Though she said she
enjoyed teaching at Cornell, she admits that being the
only woman in the department was odd
"It was lonely. I was invited to faculty wives' lunch
eons. I wasn't married at the time They thought 'This is
a strange creature.’ " she said.
After getting married in 1954. Johnson and her hus
band lived in London for two years.
"I liked it much, much more than New York City." she
said emphatically.
When she started at the University in 1956 she was
raising a family. She began teaching part-time and tu
tored students in her home
"1 tutored five football players in a survey of English
literature in my living room. It was quite an amusing
experience. They were amazingly receptive," she said.
"We had to have sturdy chairs." she added.
Johnson enjoyed taking students to live performances
in Ashland and even brought England’s Royal Shake
sfware Company to campus in 1979
"I spent the entire summer trying to raise the 510.000
it cost to bring them here. It was worth it.” she said
Perhaps it is Johnson's personal love for literature,
combined with dedication, that made her a well-re
spected and well-loved professor, tier favorite play is
Amg Lear and has been since the earliest days of her ca
reer.
"You can come luick to Ijear at so many stages in your
life. Every time you read it. something new leaps out at
you. It is full of despair and full of hope. I see the end
of the play as hopeful." she said.
Perhaps the greatest tribute to Johnson comes from a
colleague. Thelma Greenfield Greenfield, the first
woman to become associate and full professor in the
English department, has known Johnson since 1959.
"I've never seen anyone like her. She takes the burdun
of the world on her shoulders. She helps one person at
a time. She does it person by person I am awed at
being in the presence of a saint,” Greenfield said.
Bill may change
sex education
By Martina Joffe
"«ti OrQOf' Cmy f
Thu Traditional Value* Coalition introdoi ed a
hill, currently in work scssums at tin* House Edu
i at ion Committee. that would change the way s<-\
education is taught in Oregon publii w hoots.
The hill would require leechers to emphasizenlwti
nance and "teach honor and respect lor monoga
mous heterosexual marriage "
[ he hill will Imi the subject of an Edui ation Com
mittee public work session today
This marks a strategic change m political and reli
gious groups' reasoning (or abstinence-based sox
education classes instead of focusing on the bibli
cal morality of abstinence. Christian groups testi
fied iii hearings and in their documents about the
threat of AIDS and other sexually transmitted dis
eases for teenagers.
However, the materials and testimonies given
by the Traditional Values Coalition. Northwest fam
ily Services and other individuals did not speak
about the portion of the hill that teaches respect for
heterosexual relationships
Deanna I-akell. a health specialist from the Port
land School District, opposes the hill l^ikell said
the school system currently teaches teenagers that
abstaining from sex is the ties! possible method of
disease and pregnancy prevention. She also warned
that the hill would act to shame i hildrun from fam
ilies who have either homosexual or unmarried par
ents.
lauren Moughon. from the Women's Rights Coali
tion said teenagers shouldn't have sex, hut conceded
that many do. She said if the hill passed, many
teenagers needing help from schools would be failed
by the system
Moughon also expressed concern for the children
of lesbian and gay parents, and for teenagers who
are lesbian or gay.
"We can't leave them Imhind liecause they make
choices that some of us disapprove of." Moughun
said "We've got to provide good, complete infor
mation. and we've got to let them make their own
mistakes and have their own victories."
Earlier in her testimony. Moughon was met with
derision by a few members of the audience who
gasped when Moughon identified herself os a Chris
tian.
"As a Christian, l imagine Oregon schools which
teach children tolerance, love and respect for all
people,” she said.
jane! Aarons, who represented the American Civ
il Lilierties Union, also opposed the hill "Wo do not
believe that school or government is the appropri
ate place to enforce family values," she said. Aarons
also said the hill would violate the private right of
individuals to choose their own religions and lielief
systems
Howvor, Bill Casey, the chairman and lobbyist for
the Traditional Values Coalition of Oregon,
expressed a dissatisfaction with the success of sex
education us it is currently taught in public schools
Casey said one study suggested that an abstinence
curriculum resulted in fewer pregnancies.
(asev. who wants public schools to toach a straight
abstinence message, said, "Many educators have
openly belittled the abstinence message with the
'Well, they're going to do it anyway’ mentality."
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The Department of Leisure Studies and Services has purposefully scheduled classes to compliment the majority of the University of
Oregon's Summer Session classes. Campus wide, more than 90 percent of classes are offered Monday through Thursday (or Friday)
Each of the workshops start at 12:00 noon on Friday until 4:50 pm; 8:00 a m to 5:00 p m on Saturdays and Sundays While the
academic assignments vary, generally a paper or project report is assigned and due within two weeks of the completion of the
workshop The Environmental Awareness workshops give students a rare opportunity to truly understand the many facets of our
region Students will be close to the things they study: see. smell, hear and touch in order to gain a wide perspective and a magical
appreciation for Oregon Attendance and satisfactory completion of the assignment are mandatory to receive a passing grade
Following are one to two credit workshops currently offered in Leisure Studies and Services during Summer Session:
Eif inmeBiii ivamess
Deschutes Headwaters June 10-13
River Recreation June 16-20
Deserts.June 25-27
Volcanic Cascades.July 9-11
Crater Lake.July 16-18
Tidepools. July 23-25
Rivers.July 30-August 1
Dunes & Beaches.August 6-8
Lakes. August 13-15
Environmental Projects August 18-22
Wilderness. August 27-29
Sihsiaicc test Prtindu Prsiraii
OART . June 30 July 2
Research Adolescent.iuly 28-30
Substance Abuse
Adult Child of Alcoholics.July 12-14
Alcohol College Student August 4-5
Drugs 8 Sports .July 8 9
AAH E/BEST.July 19-21
OR Institute of Addiction Studies.July 26-30
Conference at Lewis & Clark College
Tobacco Prevention Conference, July 14-16
Hazard
Compulsive Behavior Conference, July 21-23
Organization ft Operation June 28-30
Peer Helper
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. June 21-23
Drug Abuse.June 23-25
Prevention Education
AIDS ft Other STDs
July 26 28
BecrcafiM ai Tnrtsi
Leisure/Work Motives June 18-20
Event Management June 18-20
Consumer Behavior .June 25-27
International Tourism July 2-4
Computer Information.. July 9-11
Systems in Tourism
Festival Management.July 16-18
Delivering quality leisure Services July 23-25
Canadian Tourism July 30-August 1
Oregon Tojrism Issues August 6 8
and Opportunities
Sustainable Tourism August 13-15 and 20-22
thu is» 3 credit d*»