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.
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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.