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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1993)
EDITORIAL English minor’s loss not students’gain No one would argue that the budget-constricting effects of 1990’s Ballot Measure 5 haven't taken their toll on the educational opportunities available at the Uni versity. But who would’ve expected them to destroy the Uni versity’s understanding of logic, too? "The program is overwhelmingly popular, so we must abandon it." Such is the reasoning behind the English depart ment's recent proposal to eliminate the English minor as of spring 1994. Because so many students have chosen to minor in English, there isn’t room enough in the pro gram to support both the mirroring students' needs and the needs of those stu dents who are majoring in English. Therefore, the minor will not be available to students after the end of this acade mic year. This decision raises the question of how effectively ...The tint programs to po should be those that are the least popular, not the moat. the University is distributing the ever-decreasing amount of available funds. It stands to reason that the first programs to go should be those that are the least popular, not the most. And if a popular program is dropped, then it should be in spite of its popularity, not because of it. The English department is not completely (nor even primarily) to blame for this turn of events. It can hardly be condemned for simply trying to protect its ma)ors. But the absence of an easy scapegoat doesn’t make the mistake any loss of a mistake. The effects of the decision will be felt all over the Uni versity. because a minor in English is compatible with so many other disciplines. The English department should be applauded for making the offorts it has to warn students about the minor's dissolution, and to accommodate those seniors who’ve been planning to minor but haven't formally declared that intention. It is unfortunate, however, that those students who do complete the minor requirements before spring 1994, but won't actually graduate until after that, will not be officially considered English minors. If the loss of the English minor sets a precedent for other departments, it poses a serious threat to the very availability of broad-based liberal arts education at the University. If other minors are lost in the defense of beleagured majors, it can only discourage students in their attempt to study areas outside their primary acad emic focus. Specialization will be enhanced, but the exchange of multidisciplinary ideas, which is a hall mark of a great university, will be compromised in the process. Oregon Daily Emerald Managing EdHor EdHonal Editor QrapMcs Editor Freelance Editor The Oegon Dairy f mevaM it published darfy Monday through Fnday during the school yea' and Tuetday and Thu'tday duiing Ihe turn mar by lha Oegon Daily Emerald PuWiihtng Co . Inc . al the Unmartay ol Oraoon, Eugene. Oregon The Emerald operelet independently or the University with othcee al Scale 300 ol the Ert> Memorial Union and it a member ol the Associated Piets The lmart*}* private property The uniawtui removal or use ol papers it proeecutabie by lew _ Etutor-m-Chtet Jane Berg Ceaey Anderton Sports Editor Steve Mmt David Thom EdHortel EdHor Jell P<*har<* Jell Pasiay Photo Editor Anthony Forney Thor WaaboRen Supplements EdHor Kaly Solo Night EdHor CaHey Anderton Associate Editors: Scot Clement. Stvdant GovernmeniAchn'iei. Rebecca Merrill. Commurvfy. Rivers Janssen. F*gher f(Xtcabon. Admwtlranon Newt Slaft: Leah Bower. Dave Charbonneeu. Meg Oedorph, Am. Davenport. Make Fieidt. Martin Fither. Sarah Henderton. Ar* Hesaeidahi. Edward Kloplenslem. Ym Long Leong. Trista Noel Elisabeth Reensliema. Lia Salciccia. Scolt Simonson. Stephanie Sisson. Susanna Steltens. Juke Swenson. Michele Thompson-Agmar. Kevm Trpp Amy Van Tuyl. Daruel West Oeneral Man agar: Judy Flier* Advertiatng Director Mark WaKor Production Manager. Michele Ross Advertising: Frehme Bell. Lyndsey Bernstein. Subu Dulta. Nicole Horrma'ii. Teresa laabene. Jeremy Mason Michael Mnette Van V O'Bryan It, Rachael Trull. Kelsey WakeK Angie tVirxpreim Classified Becky Merchant. Victor Mr j Sim Tie Tecs Distribution: Brandon Anderson. John long. Graham Simpson Business Kathy Carbone. Supervisor Jody Connolly Production Dee McCoOb, Product** Coordinator Shawna Aixve Greg Desmond. Tara Gauftney. Bred Joss. Jenn-tw Roland. Natl Thangwgit, Clayton Yee Newsroom J4B-S511 Oispley Advertising.... J46-37tJ Business OWtce KFMII Clessined Advertising 346-A3A3 W Vowouft JOB /STD / MAKE SURE /rfloESW'r k I JUST SIT ON A SMELT | ^ 6ATH£g/V& tKISr. y f TMEWr^V 1 GO/MG TO WEED ' A BlGGEfc STAF^. , CP.D.S.RC..U. COWWtfS'O* FORTH* PI^PCTUAL DlXTWCr GONEMMMTUPSVC 1 tai«v Kill %**>D ,oQ/rrj i^cmSw MMl< am# i was punkua IT J} A'owwcrswvr. LETTERS Bikers vs. EPD Eugene police deportment: In your aggressive pursuit of dangerous bicycle criminals and evil jaywalkers, you succeeded in destroying any shred of a peaceful relationship with the community that employs you Bicyclists are not polluting the air. causing any Persian Gulf wars, destroying any public roads, and when is the lost time you heard of a bicyclists smash ing into a school bus and killing the children insido? I'm sorry you missed out on Nazi Germany, and perhaps your childhoods weren't the happiest, but your power trips will only temporarily fill those huge empty spaces inside. Pub lic animosity toward you will snowball with each erection of your pen and only you tan stop yourself. If you just can't seem io quit, then I suggest you buy more riot gear. A. Sedertln Eugene Access rare Kim Challis-Roth's article, “Computer access increasing" [ODE, Oct 12), was clearly meant to give the users the idea that the University is expanding studonts' access to the so-called "information superhighway." The reality, however, is quite the reverse. Two years ago. any student could walk into Room 107 of the Computing Center and. after removing nothing more from his or her wallet than a student ID card, obtain a VAX account. This account not only gave the user Internet mail access, it also allowed the user to read Usenet newsgroups and to use file transfer protocol to download programs and other files from computers all over the planet. This year, however, it cost $10 merely to get mail privi leges. To obtain full Internet access, an undergraduate must now stand-and-deliver a $75 dollar deposit to cover user fees (Not surprisingly, those oh-so god-like graduate students can still get full privileges free.) I don't want to hear any com plaints from the University offi cials the next time some hacker breaks into one of the Universi ty's computer systems. The Uni versity's current policies restricting access to the Internet invite just that sort of activity. Colin Caulklns Student Death squad Judging from the recent report about a Brazilian death squad killing seven homeless street children in front of a church in Rio de Janeiro, it should be increasingly obvious what the face of the emerging new world order is really like. It is the face of fascism. Don't attempt to help poor people. If they become too annoying or too big of an eyesore or if children are so desperate that they steal — just kill them! Don I rest easy! I his third world Brazilian model of the future is coming gradually to the United States. The tremendous iximu wave, the I.A rebellion, the homeless, the sorry state of pub lic education, the cuts in public service, etc. are all indicators of this. We can stop it only if ordi nary American citizens become educated about the causes of these things and organize to con front the rich and powerful! Gary Sudborough Bellflower, Calif. Euro-studies As a student interested in area studies of Africa and I .at in Amer ica, I am very disappointed with the University. It basically caters to Europe and East Asia. Students interested in Euro pean studies and hast Asian stud ies are overwhelmed with oppor tunities of courses offered in various departments. Also avail able to such students is the Inter national Student Exchange Office, which is oriented toward Europe and East Asia. There are no study abroad programs to Africa and only one to Latin America. In the foreign language departments, while four Ger manic languages are offered, no native African languages are available. Furthermore, as far as African studies courses are concerned, the majority of the ones offered are in the anthropology depart ment. Course such as Ethnology of Tribal Societies (ANTH 302) and Ethnology of Hunters and Gatherers (ANTH 301) satisfy major requirements. But few, if any. courses are offered on mod ern African politics and soci eties. The same holds true for l^atin America studies. In conclusion, the interna tional studies department isn't really international. Perhaps it would be more honest if it is called the European studies and East Asian studies department. Ricardo Davico Undeclared Jer-USA-lem After being banished from Jer USA-lem's media for 16 years, Christ throw in the towel and gave the pen to the Holy Ghost to c arry on, saying that the First Amendment is an ugly lie, in that freedom of speech has become the Devil’s evil empire to fulfill the Biblical prophecy of Sodom's great end. Look at your copy of the media's own World Almanac and Book of Facts and locate the U S. Constitution and the Bill or Rights. Preceding the Bill of Rights is its "preamble." All of your school teachers and lawyers join in for the reading of the law and discover therein: "individual and state rights." How would business adver tise its products? With the con sent of the people, not their rep resentatives who’ve sold their soul to run the nation's debt up to $9 billion more per month. What that translates into is local law, but which c an only free cit izens when a state-nation secedes from the union. John-Wayne Johnson San Diego, Calif.