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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1993)
Oregon Daily FRIDAY. OCTOBER a 1993 EUGENE. OREGON VOLUME 95. ISSUE 28 Fall in full bloom 1£ *k l£ GAl l iAMOt «*J Denell Solberg. junior in journalism, chooses a lily from the University Rhythm 5 Blooms stand r Students allege discrimination from professor j Professor Arnulf Zweig denies all harassment charges By Edward Klopfenstein Alleged sexual harassment victim Sandra Neuman doesn't just point fingers at her former teat her. i’rofes sor Arnulf Zweig. she also blames the University lor maintaining .1 system that ignores the rights of Univer sity students and staff "The issue is a system th.it allows people like Zweig to continue to harass women." she said 111 a telephone interview Saturday "What I'm interested in is that these issues need to tie addressed In the complaint filed with the attorney general's offii e. Newman said she will do whatever is nei essary to end not only harassment hv Zweig. hut also "to corns t the philosophy department's systematic tltsi rimination against female graduate students Allegations of sexual harassment were confirmed by the I fee He U)<l 1. resignation letter of Professor (.atlier iiiii Wilson, chairwoman of the philosophy department before Zweig. A set turn of the letter was included in Newman s complaint Wilson said in the letter that many ot the department's graduate students complained of being "systematical ly" oppressed Wilson decided the complaints were not so much sexual harassment, but loose talk by faculty Turn to ZWEIG, Page 3A 1 Resident assistant position defies easy explanation j RA keeps order, pulls pranks By Artk Hesseldahl Orotfon Dally f ’Hir.i'd Whenever you read these words, you can bet L.<[rrv Hoffman has already tieen busy at work. Fay Hoffman a visit or a phone call as late as 1 a m., and you are likely to get a civil answer, rather thun a rancorous monster raving about lack of sleep. The earliest hours of the morning are considered prime working hours among those in Hoffman's profession Hoffman is one of 56 KAs in the University Hous ing system All humorous explanations of the initials aside (most cannot lie print ed here), the letters stand for Resident Assistant, and the job defies an easy description to those unfamiliar with dorm life. Conventional wisdom, and just a bit of traditional college mythology, have carved certain expectations of the KA role in dormitory life into stone. Yes. it is true, RAs do tend to break up dorm parties, but Hoffman, a third-year KA in McClain Hall . will tell you there is nothing fun alHiut that end of the job "Who in their right mind would want to piss off the MOO people they live with?" Hof fin <in asked rfietorii ally of the idea that RAs are on power trips "Having to document an incident (usu ally a dorm party) is the worst pari of the jot) I trv to take the position of helping the person who has made the choice to party in the dorms understand the pos sible consequences of their actions In some cases they're not mature enough to see it that way," he said It makes you wonder how and why he started the job, or why anyone would. "I've always been a student activist." he said, and ran down a long list of pre vious student leadership positions. including various high si hool positions and (Irand Poohoh of his sophomore dorm Aftiir two years of majoring in inde cision (four majors and six minors), the KA position helped Hoffman zero in on a management and finiim e double major, and to pursue a career ill human resources. '11ns year he will write a senior thesis on the role of RAs ns educators. "For anybody who wants to work with people, this is the most incredible job." lie said. "1 think of it like an internship. Most internships are not worth the mon Turn to DORMS. Page 13A Research might carry too much weight in tenure process □ Commission to address concerns about overemphasis on research and publishing By Julie Swensen Oregon Daffy Emerald Whether the granting of tenure at the University weighs too heav ily upon the research a professor produces, instead of the quality of that professor's teaching, has Iwen a topic: of debate on this campus and campuses nationwide. It's a fact of life that some professors may not be given tenure because they haven't done enough research, giving true meaning to the phrase, "publish or perish." Some professors may have believed they didn't have enough time to do research, or have chosen not to. concentrating on other areas. Others may not have been clear as to what the expectations of suc cessful tenure candidates were. As a result of the current process, some professors say a terrific researcher — who may be barely adequate as a teacher — is more like ly to get tenure than a master teacher who may lie barely adequate as a researcher. Tom Wheeler, an associate professor in the journalism school, said he has heard other professors discuss that possibility. "1 think it's fair to say that there is a concern that that is really the way it is,” Wheeler said. "It's a concern that I assume is not mine alone." At a time when universities across the country are scrutinizing the expectations of teaching and research from faculty, the University is no exception. The Commission on Faculty Rewards and Development, established by University President Myles Brand earlier this year, is looking into the tenure and promotion process, and could possibly make some changes. The commission will address — among other issues — whether an instructor could be promoted to pro fessor primarily on the basis of teaching excellence, and whether the quantity of research expected from faculty is emphasized more than quality. In fields where traditional publishing is not carried out. the commission will address what the proper def inition and weight of creative contributions should be for teachers in those fields. If a faculty member chooses not to publish or do research, the com mission should decade what other criteria should be used, according to a mission statement given to faculty from University Professor Don Udovic. chairman of the commission. But if the commission does make any changes, those may come too Turn to TENURE. Page 13A Larry Singed