EDITORIAL
I
Militant bicyclists
have wrong idea
The Alliance fur Critical Mass is making a critical ass
of itself.
The Alliance is an organization of militant bicyclists
who are trying to make automobile drivers recognize the
bicycle as a practical alternative to driving. Alliance
members ride in groups of 30 to 50 people twice a
month, traveling the main
thoroughfares of the city
during the evening rush
hour.
By making themselves
impossible to ignore, they
hope to break motorists of
the automobile habit.
But they're the ones like
ly to get broken.
Their goals nro noble
Their goals are
noble. People
need to reduce
their dependency
on automobiles.
People need to reduce meir uopenueucy u» auiuinuuum.
Doing so would keep ihe air cleaner and would help to
keep the streets loss crowded and in better repair. As gas
prices rise and parking gets more scarce, more anil more
people are going to see the bicycle as a viable alternative
to the car.
But the Alliance is going about it all wrong. Its mem
bers are not going to make this city any more bicycle
friendly by deliberately annoying auto drivers. There is
already an uneasy relationship between the two groups.
huge no is unusually bicycle-friendly, as cities go. I hat
isn’t to say that bicyclists don't have their enemies here,
because they do. But Eugene is trying harder than most
cities to accommodate alternative forms of transporta
tion. It may be a slow process, but it is happening.
For the transition to non-automotive transport to be a
smooth one. however, opposing sides can't be threaten
ing to run each other over or make each other late for
dinner.
There needs to be meaningful discussion between the
two groups, and that's more than can he accomplished
by simply shouting angry words at each other across a
busy intersection. Four-letter words are not the best
medium for productive dialogue.
Motorists are not always tolerant or respectful of bicy
clists. This is ironic. considering that many bicyclists
c hoose to rides instead of drive for an altruistic reason: to
protect the environment that both motorists and bicy
clists enjoy But even those who ride for selfish reasons,
such as health or personal convenience, deserve some
consideration.
Many bicyclists try their best to obey the rules of the
road. They stay in bike lanes when they're available,
they give signals when turning and they intelligently
avoid streets which aren't safe for bicyclists.
Even though the Alliance makes up only a tiny frac
tion of the bicyclists in Eugene, its tactics will only make
drivers hostile to everyone on two wheels — even those
who follow the rules. There's a time to be antagonistic,
and that time is riot when your opponent is encased in a
3000-pound exoskeleton of steel.
Oregon Doily
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I
OPINION
University will undergo many changes
_J
■MM. T W
Mm.i s Brand
(As a regular feature to Finer
aid renders. Sev ern/ hint s each
term v*e will offer l Inierrsity Pres
ident Myles Brand a question
from out readers anil we will run
Ins complete response IVe
encourage Kmerald readers to
submit questions for our consul
oration.)
Question: What is meant In
"increased productivity and tan
we do this while improving
undergraduate education at the
University*
lirand: There's no doubt that
the University is fat mg some sig
nificant challenges this term, and
[Hirt of that includes finding ways
to increase productivity — a
phrase that has become common
in higher education nationwide
"Increased productivity"
means having faculty teach
smarter — a fundamental shift to
include t hanges such as making
better use of faculty's time
through innovative teaching
methods and the use of new tis h
oology What it does not mean is
simply having faculty teach more
courses
Nationwide, higher education
is undergoing a profound
i hange. and Oregon is little dif
ferent What worked well for us
in the past, in the i lassroom and
throughout our campus, may
need to be reconsidered in this
radically new environment Our
future will be built on a very
successful foundation at the
University, but change now
appears inevitable
First and foremost, however,
we must remember that the Uni
versity is a resourch-oriented lib
eral arts and sciences institution
with complementary profession
al schools and colleges. We have
multiple, compatible missions,
including creative new knowl
edge and art works, and apply
ing this knowledge to real-worid
problems That mission will not
change
As the University's resources
diminish (km ause of state budget
cuts due to ll)<M)'s Ballot Measure
5. some have questioned if we
can increase productivity and
c ontinue to improve the quality
of education without diluting our
fundamental mission The
answer is We can. mi will, and
here is how we are going to do it
First, faculty are now finding
ways to teach more effectively,
w bile staff are creating means for
more effic ient administration and
support Meeting tills challenge
sum ess fully will involve not only
fai uItv and staff, but also stu
dents
Sinc e the fall quarter, more
than too fat ulty members orga
nized in nine teams have been
working to find new, creative
ways to increase productivity and
improve the quality of under
graduate education
Undergraduate students have
already benefited by some of the
i banges fac ulty have made in
the c urriculum. Many depart
ments an1 changing i nurses from
three to four credits, thereby
enabling students to focus on
fewer subjec ts at one time and
studv each in more depth The
c luster system, which added
substantial complexity to the
curriculum, has been eliminat
ed And the credit minimum for
graduation has been reduced
from lHti to 1 HU to reflect the
elimination of the health and
physic a! educ ation requirement
of several vt*ars ago
The faculty teams are consid
ering additional changes. There
are plans to enhance student
advising, to make better use ol
tec hnology to assist instruction
and to make more readily avail
able opportunities for students
to test out of required courses
There is discussion about offer
ing a wider array to courses dur
ing the summer session, inc hid
ing general education courses,
so that students w'ili have the
opportunity to make more rapid
progress to their degree Con
trary to a recent Emerald editor
ial, there it no consideration to
making summer enrollment
mandatory.
Research has shown that 6ne
important factor in retention and
successful completion of a degree
is the connections students make
m their freshman veer with fac
ulty and other students lienee,
plans are under wav to enhance
opportunities in freshman sem
inars, Freshman Interest Groups,
the Honors College and the Inter
national College. As a research
oriented university, we can pro
vide undergraduates with
hands-on experience in making
new discoveries and creating new
art Some advanced undergradu
ates are taking advantage of this
opportunitv now; in the future,
more will he able to do so
Meanwhile, staff members are
engaged in a year long study,
called the Hoard Administrative
Review, to find ways to lie more
cost efficient in administration
and in supporting the Universi
ty's teaching mission. The
results in this study will be
made public in the near future.
Net savings in administration
will bo redirected toward
instruction and improving the
quality of education
To succeed in increasing pro
ductivity and improving under
graduate education, students will
have a i ritical role to play. Stu
dents will need to become more
actively involved in the learning
process For example, more team
projects and increased indepen
dent learning to supplement
classroom instruction can be
expei tod. On another occasion. 1
want to discuss this essential
shift to ai live learning from pas
sive information in take.
As these few examples illus
trate. there are continuing quali
tative improvements in educa
tion l»‘ing considered, and some
now under way, at our univer
sity. There is no single, sweep
ing solution, but rather many
small improvements that will
improve education, despite the
loss of state funds.
We can all take pride in the
University as faculty, staff and
students rise to the occasion of
becoming better, even as the
state causes us to rely more and
more on our own resources.
For more information, contact
Christopher Simpson, director of
iX>n\i]iunicatiotih~and marketing.
346 3134