Oregon Daily
THURSDAY. DECEMBER 2. 1993
EUGENE. OREGON
VOLUME 95. ISSUE 65
Scholar reminisces on past, present
j Professor, author John
Hope Franklin says color
line is alive and well
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — More than half
of a century into u distinguished writing
and teaching career, lohn Hope Franklin
has lived African-American history while
toiling to illuminate it.
There have been high points — these
days, he is at work in his Duke Universi
ty office, finishing a seventh edition of his
classic book. From Slavery to Freedom
But there also have been low points in his
"strange career" as a blai k si holar of U S
and particularly Southern history.
In the 1940s. his insistence on con
dinting research at state archive* in the
segregated South led to alternately sad and
"farcical” scenes
In Louisiana, lie could use the archives
only when they were closed for a holiday,
in North Carolina, he received his own
vault key so that white clerks would not
have to serve him,
"With that experience, what do you
think I expected when I got to Alabama,
with the Confederate flag flying (over the
archives building)? 1 hesitated even to
go in.” Franklin said. Nonetheless, in he
went.
There, he studied the papers of Alaba
ma's secession-era governor Eventually,
he even had civil conversations with the
Turn to SCHOLAR. Page 6
Center sponsors
World AIDS day
to help students
j Peer advisers promote AIDS aware
ness and other health issues
By Daniel West
Oregon Onuty Emerald
The University Student Health ('.enter participated in the
annual World AIDS day Wednesday, handing out disease
awareness pamphlets and flyers at an information table
staffed by peer advisers in the KM1
"AIDS is something so common that people need to take
action or it's going to increase." uni Krista Hoist, a senior
peer adviser at the University "You have to understand
AIDS in order to fight it."
During the es ent, the peer adv isers are actively involved
in promoting AIDS awareness and other health-related
issues. They serve as a support and referral group on the
issues of AIDS
"We have information about where to get tested lor
AIDS, but we aren't trained counselors, we re here to talk
for moral support." Holst said "It's very important to get
this information across to the students
The peer advisers are a part ol the Peer Health Program,
which is sponsored In the health center and gives students
the opportunity to gain experience in different areas The
program is a two-term class that educates the student body
on various issues pertaining to health I here are even class
os on low-fat cooking, weight control and exercise, includ
ing a walking workshop
"I'm going into counseling and wanted to learn more
about how to present material and group speaking," said
Britta Davis, a first-year graduate student. "I can combine
this with my interest in women's health, spec ificallv eating
disorders, which are a complex issue. It's a good time to
reach people."
The health educators and peer advisers hope students on
campus will learn more about AIDS and not treat it as just
another lecture on the disease. The health center has come
up with a theme this year that advocates taking action in
Turn to AIDS. Page 6
Candlelight stroll
MOHOAM ‘,A* I tn« tmnj
Eugene resident Janet Winter walks with Sam Baratta,
also of Eugene, to Valley River Center for last night's
AIDS Candlelight Vigil
Assault fund
not yet used
by survivors
of abuse
□ Fund was set up for
assault survivors who
don't report the crime
By River* Janssen
Ot0QOn Daily Frmraki
The Sexual Assault Fund that was
voted in by students in last spring's
ASUO elections has not Ixwto used this
fail, and officials at the Student Health
Center ure at a loss to explain why.
The fund was set up for survivors of
sexual assault who don't report the
crime, and covers the cost of STD test
ing and treatment University students
voted to pay 17 cents apiece to the
incidental Fee Committee for the fund,
for a total of $7,250.
Gerald Fleischli. director of the
health center, said he can draw stiver
at conclusions from the program's
underuse: Either students want to pay
for testing themselves, no students are
testing after they are assaulted, no one
knows about it, or sexual assaults have
stopped altogether
The numltcrs indicate unreported
sexual assaults still occur on campus,
so it must he one of the other three,
Fleischli said.
A study of sexual abuse reports
compiled from July 31. 1092 to June
II, 1903 by the Unwanted Sexual
Behavior Task Force fount! that 11
acquaintance and date rapes were
unofficially reported (i.e. they were
reported in anonymous surveys) as
well as two sexual assaults. Only three
assaults were actually reported to the
University Office of Public Safety.
Since July 1993, four unofficial
reports of sexual abuse have arisen,
said Joiene Siemsen, a nurse practi
tioner at the health center.
TJte fund was voted in as a pilot pro
gram for the 1993-94 school year.
Fleischli said statistics will he kept on
the number of people who take advan
tage of tho program this year, and next
year's proposal will he modified
according to that information. Funding
for next year's program could come
from another student vole, the health
Turn to FUND, Page 5
University Assembly reduces required credits from 186 to 180
□ The policy will help streamline the
graduation process for students
By Eric Buckhalter
For me Oregon Daily £ met aid
The University knocked off six credits from the non
professional bachelor’s degree graduation requirements
during Wednesday's University Assembly meeting.
The total number of credits needed for graduation fell
from 186 to 180 after the motion passed The amendment,
which takes effect immediately, will not apply to the Uni
versity's professional schools that require more than 180
credits.
Assembly member Jack Bennet, a counselor for Acad
emic Advising and Student Services, offered a voice of
dissension, asking that the University postpone the
requirement until winter term of 1994.
"It seems to me that students who have spent a good
dual of time on this campus studying for 186 credits are
going to be understandably upset when they read about
this in tho Emerald." Bennet said.
"I'd rather see this motion put into effect through a pol
icy that begins next term," he said
The Undergraduate Education and Policy Coordinat
ing Council wrote the proposal to decrease the gradua
tion requirements.
James Boren, chair of the council, said he sees no real
harm in immediately implementing the change
"There is minimal harm in this policy's immediate
implementation." Boren said "Perhaps there will be some
emotional harm, but the policy will do good to many.”
Boren said that a significant numlter of students fall
short of the 186 credits and have to return for a term to
complete the few credits they have left in order to grad
uate.
"This is a positive benefit for these students, and I think
it will also prove to Int a positive benefit for all.” he said.
Thu amendment was approved by the University Sen
ate Nov. 10. Boren said the policy eliminates the six cred
its left over from previous years when huolth and physical
education were still port of the general education require
ments.
The change comes a month after the University Assem
bly voted to throw out the cluster system in favor of a 16
credit requirement that covers science, soc ial science and
humanities.
Tile amendment is another stop in the University's goal
to move students through college more quickly and effec
tively. University officials are seeking ways to quicken
the time a student spends at the University while still pro
viding an affordable, productive education.
"We need to take a number of small steps, that if prop
erly adjudicated will add up to total change,” Boren said
at the Nov. 11 University Senate meeting.