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. 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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