Vietnamese delegation visits the University
By Julie Swensen
Vpgpo 0.1 'y f T
The highest-ranking delegation of Viet
namese academicians ever to come to the
l lilted States is .it the University this
week, touring the liniversitv s facilities to
learn wavs In update its higher education
system, which has suffered under a l'l
sear trade embargo with the United
States
Hie fise tiffil nils mi hiding the the
i hair ot Vietnam s National Pern e Uom
in it ter three top administrators from
\ letnamese i olleges and universities and
an expert in tem fling Knglish as a S«s ond
language have l»een meeting with Uni
versity President Myles Brand, faculty,
administrators and students to study U S
higher education
Robert Proud foot, an associate profes
sor of International Studies who has
accompanied the delegates, said the visit
is an exciting opportunity to do some
thing positive after almost 45 years of war
with Vietnam
"We hope this will open the door to
many, many positive tilings for faculty,
students and administrators, and for
these pioneers of education from Vietnam
who we are also learning a great deal
from." he said
Vu Ngoc Tu. vi< e president of the Uni
versity of Hanoi, said that Clinton's lifting
of the trade embargo two weeks ago will
mean n great deal toward improving Viet
mini's education and training
ITi said most of the learning, research
and laboratory facilities at Vietnamese
colleges and universities are "very bai k
ward " At the University of Hanoi -
which is considered to have the most
modern laboratory facilities — most ol
[he equipment is about 10 years old. and
the school does not have the parts or
accessories to replace them.
"The improvement of learning facilities
will contribute a lot to the development
of the natural economy and sm iety as a
whole," Tu said. "What our generation
has lost, we know that the next genera
tion will have."
The delegates, who said their first
impression of the University was that the
campus is "quite big," said the learning
environment of the ( ampus is a model for
WU S< 'N c»OH t as- 1
Dr Dao Trong Thl (left), President ot the University of Hanoi discusses the future of the
Vietnamese educational system along with his colleague. Vu Ngoc Tu.
their country
"The teaching and learning facilities
ere really wonderful It is something that
we could wish for our future genera
lions." Tu said, adding that ho and the
other delegates are "deeply moved by
the worm hospitality shown by people at
the University
In addition to visiting the University,
the delegates will spend the rest of their
12-day stay in Oregon visiting Oregon
State and Portland State universities,
statewide community colleges, health
(.are facilities and several Lnglish ns a
Second language Programs
The history-making visit is not the first
for the University, which is leading the
nation in its scholarly ties with Vietnam
Last year, two Vietnamese scholars came
to the University, the first visit since the
end of the Vietnam War The scholars
who initially wore not allowed to go to
the United States and worn held up at the
U S Kmbassy in Hangkok. were allowed
through after Proud foot made a telephone
call to Vu e President Al Gore
Hie University also has lieen awarded
$37fi.t)(K) from the Scisakawa Peat e Poun
dotion, which will allow for a two-year
program that will send five University
students to Vietnam this summer to
spend seven weeks living in villages I he
University students the only students
from the United States will join stu
dents from |apan. Thailand. Vietnam and
Cambodia for the program
In addition, the University has begun
offering a Vietnamese language class for
the first time, whic h probably vs ill gen
erate a lot of interest from students
bc*c ause of the lifting of the trade embar
go, said Jiffin Arboleda. outre,u h c oordi
nator for the ( enter for Asian and Pec ifit
Studies
"It makes more sense now for students
here to try and learn the language, sinc e
there will lie more opportunities to go to
Vietnam as students or later on in life
when they're working." she said
Discussion focuses on social differences, stereotypes
By Deirdre Dittman
Sucnetv dot's not promote (wing open, but tonight were going
to do )ust that said |uckie Balzer, coordinator of Educational
and Support Services at the beginning of a dis< ussion Wednes
day on " isms
"Differences Among l is," organized tor dorm students, was an
effort to break down the stereotypes surrounding categories such
is race or sex Its purpose was to teat h part it ipants how differ
entlv people ft*el and how to ileal with lhose differences
The meeting also was an opportunity to gain some insight into
the various " isms'" that inhibit people It gave the chance for a
few to share and a few to listen
Kuse Gno, the resident assistant of Stafford Hall and organiz
er of the event, believed "people w eren't looking at cultures
| hurt' art1 a lot ol stereotypes that go around i.nn sain
And people, whether they know d or not. don't realize they re
treating people a i ertain way
I lus ( hance for disi ussion and education was seen as espe
cially important lor the dorm and University newt outers, who
must deal with a now environment
"When new freshmen come to the l Iniversily they re thrown
into situations they're unfamiliar with Hal/er said
I'opic s discussed ini hided racism, sexism, age-t sin. spiritual
ism. able ism, and homophohiu-ism. Kach topic was examined
by the small, but interested, group in a sharing, open atmosphere
in an attempt to find out why these topics scared and intimi
dated students
"There should be a lot more stuff like this," junior Ryan
Weit/el said "The more we disi uss. the tietter it will he
Decision on
preservation
contested
By Eric Buckhalter
Oepoe On>fy fnwniid
University housing officials have
appealed the Eugene Historic:
Review Board's decision that Ama
zon family housing structures mer
it historic; preservation.
Housing offic ials are puzzled by
the notion that houses designed
and built for temporary use during
World War II are worthy of historic,
status
The appeal, issued to the Eugene
City Counc il on Feb. H, outlines
four c one erns, which are that the
Historic Review Board:
acted as both applicant and
judge of whether Amazon struc
tures merit historic, preservation
broadened Its analysis of his
toric: designation to ensure that
Amazon's preservation was consis
tent with city policies
overestimated the landmark's
historic significance
erred in its judgment about the
value of preserving Amazon struc
tures
"Historical preservation is not in
the best interests of students." said
Mike Kyster. director of University
housing. "The cost of preservation
is too high."
According to nn engineering
study completed four weeks ago.
historic preservation is more
expensive than building new units.
But Almar Millinan, an Amazon
resident who has been calculating
rent projections with housing offi
cials. said that rent would increase
only slightly.
Kyster said that housing adminis
trators are working with student
groups to explore the options of
either maintaining or replacing
Amazon.
Amazon resident I’at Saisi, who
wrote the historic preservation peti
tion. said she believes that the pro
posal proved the neighborhood’s
historic, significance.
She said she believes the argu
ments of the University's appeal are
unfounded.
"The University has one word on
its mind, and that's demolish," she
said.
The University's appeal will be
heard by the City Council on March
7 at 7:30 p in. in its chambers. The
Council has 15 days thereafter to
render a dec ision.
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