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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1996)
\ MONDAY: Opinion TUESDAY: Politics WEDNESDAY: Opinion THURSDAY: Politics FRIDAY: Opinion editorials, letters, commentary and perspective R l Did last night’s presidential debate change the way you feel about a particular candidate? Frohnmayer talks, we talk back During his State of the University Address on Oct. 2, President Dave Frohnmayer urged faculty and staff to improve the “quality” of their work amid budget cuts, enormous enrollment increases and fun damental change on all levels of the University. The newly-inducted president had plenty of ideas and plans f for his employees to tackle. But did he give enough direc- > tion and practical steps for them to fully accomplish these A goals? % ON RANKINGS FROHNMAYER: “Our educational capabilities have been rec ognized this year in a variety of rankings ... our overall acad emic reputation rose to 55th in the nation out of all universi ties ... according to U.S. News & World Report.” EMERALD: The saying "accentuate the positive" was no more true than in the beginning of Frohnmayer’s speech, as he stated all the great things about the University’s last year. But in de scribing our academic prowess, all-too-important facts were left out. Indeed, U.S. News did rank us 55th among national universi ties in the single category of "academic reputation” according to polls of University presidents across the country. But the real rank ings were judged by a combination of seven categories and the Uni versity didn’t come out too well — as usual. Out of 229 schools di vided into four levels, we ranked in the third tier. That’s second-to-last. Even Oregon State beat us, falling into the second tier. ON TUITION FROHNMAYER: “High tuition is a serious problem tor our students, their families ... [it] has shut the door on many students just when we should force it open. It is our duty, as faculty and staff, to repay the sacrifice of their investment with superb teach ing, responsive support, and an open and ac cepting campus atmosphere.” EMERALD: Frohnmayer has admitted the ris ing tuition problem isn't going away. Students will continue to pay more and more. But don't j worry, we all have "superb teaching,” “re- / sponsive support" and an open campus at- f < mosphere to look forward to for $11,000 a f j year. What do these things mean? Frohn mayer didn't seem to give any adequate specifics as to how faculty will achieve these goals. To his credit, however, Frohn mayer can't do much for his staff except provide an environment where they will do their best work. Fie is more busy as an "ex ternal" president, he says, and he does a good job at it. We just hope the job will con tinue to get done at home as well. ON GROWTH FROHNMAYER: “The future demands that we become better at what we do. While state cuts have made it impossible to increase the size of our faculty significantly, we are going to face an in crease in the number of students here. ” EMERALD: The number of students will increase 12 percent, Frohn mayer said later. That's 20,000 total students. In the next few years student population, for some odd reason, will grow incredibly. With a 90 percent acceptance rate, according to U.S. News, one wonders why we are setting our standards so low when we just don't have the resources to accommodate such a growing student body. This is the time to be selective — not welcoming — if we don’t even have the money to hire any new professors. Goals set forth by Frohnmayer to accommodate the new students ranged from “new marvels” of technology to new teaching methods to serving with “maximum goodwill and energy." While these very brief and very broad goals are all noble aspirations, the fact is that three years from now when classes are larger and professors are in creasingly overloaded and the work is passed on more and more to inexperienced assistants, we won’t be receiving as good an education as we are now. ON THE FUTURE FROHNMAYER: “No one in Johnson Hall can tell you how to accom plish these ends. Only you, through your own creativity, and that of your colleagues, can find the best ways of improving the quality of your work.” EMERALD: This is, in short, the heart of Frohnmayer's speech — a call to faculty. He gave them many goals for the future. Some of the goals will be hard to understand or execute, some are very clear, but none are easy. Even if our higher education won’t be quite as high in com ing years, the university will no doubt be trying hard to preserve as much quality as possible. The ques s tion lies in whether it will "V succeed. Frohnmayer's vi sion is a gallant one, but not one he can see to fruition himself. It’s all in the hands of the faculty: They know where they need to go. But do they know how toaet there? CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board. P.O. BOX 3159. EUGENE. OREGON 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Fri day dunng the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the sum mer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates independently of the University with offices at Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of pa pers is prosecutable by law. Editor-in-Chief: Steven Asbury Managing Editor Jennifer Carter Night Editor Steven Asbury Community: Jennifer Schmitt, editor. Jean Bond Entertainment: Nicole Kreuger, editor Jesse Stephenson Higher Education: Kristine Sohnrey, editor. Tamyra Howser, in depth. Benjamin Kwasney Opinion: Ashley Bach, editor. Chris Hutchinson, illustrator. Brian Dia mond, Larry Haft!, Sonja Sherwood Politics: Shana Cohn, editor. Doug Irving Special Projects: Tiffany Smith Student Activities: Kristin Bailey, editor Angie Suchy, Tom Potter Sports: Mark McTyre, editor Andrea DeYoung, assistant editor. Chris Hansen, Ryan Frank. Ryan Halvorsen Copy Desk: Thom Schoenborn. copy chief. Trevor Kearney. Sarah Kickler, Mike Schmierbach, Kendra Smith Presentation: Dennis Bolt, editor. Cosmos Corbin, Matt Carton Photography: Mathew Stiffler, editor. Andrew Brackensick, Joe Bumk. Amanda Erickson, Shannon Kilduff, Chad Patteson Freelance: Lara Pittman, editor On-Line: Nicholas Stiffler, director. General Manager: Judy Riedl Advertising. Becky Merchant, director. Anne Amador, Lee Yen Beh, Marco Ching, Yujin Chi, Matt Johnson. Anne Miller, Trina Shanaman, Rose Soil, Matt Solomon. Greg Walsh Classified: Tara Sloan, manager. Natasha Lumpkin, Debbie Levy. Heather Moye Production: Michele Ross, manager. Ingrid White, coordinator. Shawna Abele, Laura Daniel, Susan Head,Trevor Kearney.Tara Knight, Melissa Lebahn. Molly McCanta, Allison Stormo, Mike Young Business: Kathy Carbone, supervisor Judy Connolly Distribution: John Long. David Lee Newsroom.(541)346-5511 Display Advertising.(541) 346-3712 Business Office. 541 346-5512 Classified Advertising.(541)346-4343 LETTERS Staff says hello In a week, the Student Orientation staff will be in touch by phone to inquire about you new students and your life at UO. Fall "O” Up is our project name, and we are ex cited about having another chance to say hello and offer our help after having met many of you at IntroDUCKtion or during New Student Orientation Week. Not only do we have the answers to any questions you might have, but we are also ready to share success tips and give you the latest scoop on campus events and ac tivities. Also, should you need or want in formation from other campus departments and resources, we can ease your search by giving you the right referral. It is our goal to help all new students have a successful transition to life here at the University. We’ll be calling from Oct. 6 through Nov. 1 and look forward to listen ing to your comments and answering your questions. We’ll be in touch! Lenore Pointer Fall “O” Up Student Director Night rides available Project Saferide is a rape-prevention or ganization on the University of Oregon campus. We are striving to create a safer campus atmosphere by ensuring that no woman is forced to walk alone during the night. To reach this goal, we offer free shut tle service to female staff, students and fac ulty between the hours of 6 p.m. and 12 a.m. On Friday and Saturday nights we op erate until 2 a.m. If you need a ride, please call us at 346-4239. Our organization would like to stress that we are concerned with the safety of all students on campus, regardless of sex. However, as we are primarily a rape pre vention organization, we are only able to accommodate female riders. This policy is in accordance with Saferide’s ASUO by laws. In alignment with our desire to increase safety awareness on campus, we would like to mention transportation alternatives to Saferide. The Designated Driver Shuttle (DDS) is designed to transport all Universi ty students from licensed drinking estab lishments — including restaurants that serve alcohol — to their homes. DDS oper ates Thursday through Sunday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. their number is 346-0621. Another option for both men and women is the Office of Public Safety, which can be reached at their non-emergency number, 346-5444. They are available for night-time rides in the campus area. Project Saferide is always looking for fe male and male volunteers. Our volunteers participate in bake sales, gassing cars and help with various fundraisers and events. We also need female volunteers to drive during operational hours. Patricia Drew Carrie Whipple Co-Directors, Project Saferide Fox for House I would like to express my opinion about a person running for House District 41. Norman Fox is a person of high integrity. Norman Fox is not a professional politi cian. Norman Fox is very involved in edu cation and says education is his “priority one”. Norman Fox is also concerned about crime. While the rest of the nation is seeing a decline in crime, our area is seeing an in crease. I feel Fox will bring fresh ideas on improving our community and I encourage everyone to vote for Norman Fox. Arline Link Springfield LETTERS POLICY The Oregon Daily Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing comments on topics of interest to the University community. Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250 words, legible, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any let ter for length or style.
