EDITORIAL
Trading summers
for productivity
Oh, those lazy, hazy davs of summer.
As we brave the miserable rain and wind of a typical
Oregon winter, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that
people especially students — are letting their minds
wander to those warmer months of the mid-year, when
the days are longer and the skies are bluer. When the sun
is out and - Ixsst of ail — so is school.
Don’t let yourself get too carried away by those fan
tasies. however. There may bo clouds on the horizon,
casting a shadow on your summer and the summers of
years to come, and it's not just Oregon's usual late spring
showers. It's "productivity."
It seems that some of the powers that bo at the Uni
versity have begun to consider whether it would be a good
idea to force students to attend classes during the sum
mer at least once before obtaining a degree. The idea is
still being debated; there is no guarantee that mandato
ry summer school will become official University poli
cy. either now or anytime soon. But it has been discussed.
In an attempt to deal with the budget-constricting
effects of 1990’s Measure 5. as well as a steep rise in
enrollment expected to take place in the next few years,
the University has begun to examine ways of increasing
its productivity. What this means, in simple terms, is
that the University wants more students earning moro
degrees In less time.
Let's put aside the more sentimental reasons for
opposing a mandatory summer session: the need to
relax, to visit friends and family, to goof off. It's not that
those reasons aren’t valid; it's just that thoy're obvious.
There are other, loss apparent justifications for axing the
mandatory summer school Idea.
First of all, many working students need the summer
months to earn the money that pays their tuition, room
and board. If thoir summers are filled with school, they
may not be able to afford a degree (especially when
tuition goes up. which is another part of the productivi
ty plan).
Besides that, there are ways to encourage summer
school attendance without making it mandatory. Three
suggestions recorded by the Summer Session Productiv
ity Group, which met twice during the fall of 1993, are
worth looking into. The first of these is so-called
"plateau pricing," in which a student can take 18 cred
its for the same price as 12. Second, the difference
between resident and non-resident fees could be made
lower during the summer, giving more out-of-state stu
dents an incentive to stay here rather than go home. And
third, students in summer session could be given first
shot at registering for desirable classes during the rest of
the year.
There's nothing wrong with trying to improve pro
ductivity — on the contrary. If the University hopes to
survive into the next century, some such improvement
will be absolutely necessary. But there are better. less
coercive ways to do it than by stealing students’ sum
mers. Let's hope the administrators and faculty members
who are considering this possibility will reach the same
conclusion.
Oregon Daily
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OPINION
Warm kisses and cold showers
J
WL_^nrlki
Robbie Reeves
Bob I’ackwood ts back in
Oregon, and this time he
wants to be taken
seriously.
( rood luck. Bob.
Oregon's embattled junior sen
ator has been hopscotching the
state talking about timber and
health care — typical things for
a senator to discuss.
However. Boll Pack wood isn't
exactly a typical senator
Packwood has answered pre
cious few questions during this
trip about his relations with
women, especially about the 29
women who claim he sexually
harassed them
Packwood doesn't like talking
about these allegations to
reporters a lot, so when ho want
ed to reveal his side of the con
troversy. he went to talk to a
lunchtime crowd at the Albany
Area Rotary Club.
Instead of the usual speech in
which Packwood advocates cut
ting down all of Oregon's trees to
prop up the timber industry,
Packwood treated the Rotarians
to a lively speech about French
kissing.
Truly titillating, Bob
It could be called the Great
Kissing Controversy The news
about Packwood thu past few
days has revolved around his
relations with Gena Hutton, a for
mer volunteer chairwoman for
his campaign in Lane County.
Hutton came forward as one of
the 29 women accusing Pack
wood of wrongdoing. She also
revealed that the senator French
kissed her.
Packwood confirmed Wednes
day that he had French-kissed
Hutton in 19S0 when Packwood
was still married
Packwood also said she kissed
him the next day, and that after
that, they had a "warm relation
ship," in a business sort of way.
Hutton said she did not recall
having kissed Bob again 1 don't
blame her.
This relationship came to an
end when, allegedly. Hutton
asked Packwood to invest in her
business, and Packwood didn't
buy Hutton denied this os well.
She then admitted that she might
have kissed Packwood again the
next day. but that it was n simple
peck on the cheek. Knd of story.
Well, maybe not. Packwood
said this was not n kiss on the
cheek, but "a warm kiss."
If Packwood gave some of these
speeches on C-SPAN, the view
ership for the channel would
probably skyrocket
And so the story goes.
Oregonians have been showing
up to some of Packwood’s trav
eling kissing tutorials during his
10-day visit, which is at the
halfway point now.
There have been some protest
ers at these gatherings, with some
people supporting Boh and oth
ers against him However, it
seems that his supporters are the
ones who have the most humor
ous remarks — reasons why Bob
should continue to lie a senator.
One of the more amusing pro
testers was shown in a picture in
the Thursday edition of the Enuv
aid showing a sign that read "If
it's OK to KILL (unborn) women
Why isn't it OK to KISS
women ?" That's got to be the
oddest defense of Packwood up
to now.
This man was then quoted as
saying that Packwood and his
troubles represent a problem in
society regarding the way that
women are treated.
The man is exactly right, for
exactly the wrong reasons. Pack
wood is not in trouble because
he. like most other Oregonians,
is pro-choice. Packwood is hav
ing problems in most cases
because he ran t keep his hands,
or his lips, to himself.
Another Packwood defender
said Packwood didn't "rape or
molest anyone" unlike, as this
man said, John Kennedy or Bill
Clinton.
1 don't recall either of those two
men being convicted of either
rape or molestation At least 29
women are accusing Packwood
of varying degrees of molestation
Cennifer Flowers was pretty
much discredited.
The defender said further that
"his hormones got the better of
him . (the women) turned him
down, and lie took o cold show
er".
With 29 women turning down
Packwood, one could imagine
that it was probably a pretty long
cold shower.
And if all of the controversy
hasn't already taken a big enough
toll on Bob. a picture in the Ore
gonian Thursday shows Pack
wood on the floor of a Roseburg
restaurant after he fell while
entering. He apparently slipped
on the floor after he failed to wipe
his feet.
Poor Bob.
I could almost feel sorry for
Bob Packwood. He wants to put
his past behind him and servo
Oregonians by working on the
issues that matter to people in
Oregon, such as health care and
timber.
However, what Bob fails to
realize is that what he did to 29
women, if true (and this is all still
"alleged"), was wrong.
The idea that he might have
harassed 29 women also, whether
it is true or not, adversely affects
the credibility and clout that
Packwood has in the Senate. This
changes the way that Packwood
might have been able to serve
Oregonians.
Packwood said this week he
has no plans to resign, even if the
subpoena to get his diaries is lift
ed.
That is too bad. While Pack
wood does — and should, con
stitutionally — have the right to
a fair hearing, the fact remains
that Packwood can only serve
Oregon in a drastically dimin
ished way now. Barring a major
miracle — or his resignation —
Packwood will only warm a seat
m the Senate until his term ends
in January 1099.
OK, so maybe I can’t really feel
sorry for Bob. I have more sym
pathy toward those who accuse
the senator.
If Packwood has any sense at
all. he will resign from the Sen
ate, take his pension and publish
his diaries as part of a multimil
lion dollar book deal.
Welcome home. Sen. Pack
wood. You should come homo
more often.
Robbie Reeves is a columnist
for the Emerald