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Perspectives
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Sarah Kickler
EDITORIAL EDITOR
Mike Schmierbach
NIGHT EDITOR
Nicole Krueger
Two of the people behind the
University Bookstore’s service
have much in common
What do Robert Canaga and Jim
Williams have in common?
Things that matter like time in
a war, a philosophy, a passion,
a commitment to their alma mater and a re
solve to give back to the larger community
from which they have received so much.
Who are they?
You may not know them personally, but
they have affected you — unless you have
been able to perform the impossible and
have not stepped foot inside the University
Bookstore. They may not know you, but be
lieve it or not, they care about you and
deeply about the University and its wide
spread community.
Robert is the stalwart engager responsible
for the bookstore’s art department, and Jim
il
Hannah
Dillon
nas ueen me sieaoiasi, cre
ative hand at the helm of
the bookstore since 1976.
Both are Vietnam veterans
and grew up a leisurely car
ride from one another —
Robert in Lebanon and Jim
on the coast in Taft, now
part of Lincoln City. They
graduated from this Uni
versity, Robert in anthro
pology with a B.F. A. and
Jim in business with a mar
keting locus. 1 heir work is a finely fitting re
flection of their educational disciplines, nat
ural talents and passions.
My father has often said that he is one of
the few luckiest men in the world because he
loved his work, and he was astounded that he
got paid for doing what he loved, which he
looked forward to every weekday of the 40
plus years he did it. When we were kids, he
advised my brothers not to go into the news
paper business. Lowering his register as if to
impart an inside scoop, he told them that it
was tough, certainly didn't pay well enough
and chewed up most only to spit them out.
So both of them did, which was my father’s
point and another for reverse psychology.
Robert and Jim consider themselves mem
bers of the lucky few. Such a regard has been
instrumental in nurturing the very heart of
the bookstore, which is the unwavering de
termination to serve the customers and
thereby the community in the best possible
way.
Robert says, “Make your avocation your
vacation. If you do what you love, what you
love will come to you. Money is tertiary.”
And Robert loves watching people’s eyes
light up when they discover the right art
tool, when it works for them, and when
they come back in to tell him and to say
thank you.
After Robert finished hisB.F.A. in 1991,
he told himself that if the day came when he
said, “I have to go to work," that would be
his last day of work at that particular place.
He claims that he has never had a day at the
bookstore when he has had to go to work. He
hasn't had to go to work for five years. Such
an attitude offers the kind of confidence
where he can tell the customer, “No, you
don’t want that tool or material.... This is
what you want.” It also moves him to say yes
to customers. “Yes, we have it. Yes, we can
get it. Yes, there are alternatives.”
Robert built his own studio and paints
every night and sometimes in the morning.
He says there are so many wonderful West
Coast artists, especially in Eugene and its en
virons. He loves to network in the art world,
making connections and bringing together
artists who might not know one another, but
should. He enjoys reading, talking and lis
tening about the latest art materials in the in
dustry and takes home everything that
comes into the bookstore from the manufac
turers to try them out. Robert offers that he is
extraordinarily opinionated about, and high
ly encouraging of, non-toxic practices. Tur
pentine and paint thinner are banned from
his studio.
The bookstore’s raison-d’ etre is stated in
its articles of incorporation and by-laws. It is
owned by the students, faculty and classi
fied staff of the University of Oregon, and its
purpose is to provide the benefit of non
profit purchasing and merchandising to
them. The board of directors is composed of
students and others who are elected to their
positions. It is ultimately responsible for the
operation of the bookstore and is Jim
Williams’ boss.
Since the bookstore’s beginning in 1920,
there have been only three general man
agers. Jim Williams began as a Stocker while
a student. He believed that it was important
to do your very best no matter what you un
dertook because whatever you did had your
signature on it, you owned it. His parents in
culcated in their children a positive ap
proach to life that helped him cultivate an
“eternal optimism" and taught him to see
the possible. He says, “If you have positive
energy radiating out, you can accomplish
amazing things.”
Jim found that he loved the retail side of
things and that his forte was in organizing
and marketing. He was also good with peo
ple and enjoyed motivating them. Before he
headed to Vietnam, the assistant manager of
the bookstore asked him if he had given any
thought to a bookstore career. He hadn’t but
was passed the torch at the age of 28 in 1976.
“Why me?” Jim inquired. He was told by the
retiring manager, Jerry Henson, that he had
seen Jim’s potential even while he was a
Stocker. Jim still sounds a bit incredulous
when recounting the story. Nevertheless, he
feels that it was somehow his destiny to take
charge of the bookstore, and when he did, he
assumed his vocation. The 22 adventurous
years of it has been his affirmation.
Jim believes that his leadership has pro
vided stability and continuity to the book
store but that it is vital to be vigilant against
complacency, and so he likes to have the
place constantly shaken up. Risk taking is a
quality that Jim applauds and encourages in
himself and in bookstore employees. By try
ing new ways and offering new expressions,
people are more able to find their gifts even
though there is also the increased risk of fail
ure. To fail is only to have risked.
Jim manages from the heart and operates
by the tenet of the Golden Rule. He has been
known to let one more customer in after
closing time because it is that customer
whom the bookstore has sought to serve for
78 years. “We are there when they [students,
faculty, university community) need us, we
do our very best, and we are continually try
ing to get better.”
The desire and ability to give back to the
community is vital for both men. Robert and
his wife, Linda, have begun a fund at the
University to bring visiting artists into the
art department. Robert also goes to middle
and high schools to teach bookmaking and
to instruct in the uses of art materials. His
memberships on the board of directors of the
Natural History Museum, the Museum of
Art and its acquisitions and earned-income
committees have been a way of offering him
self back to the community.
Jim’s environmental work is a major part
of his life. When three dams were being pro
posed on the north fork of the Willamette
River, Jim, his fly-fishers group and the
writer, composer and musician Mason
Williams were instrumental in defeating the
plan they were informed was a fait accom
pli. They amassed support against the pro
posal by staging a concert at the new Hult
Center, which proved decisive. Jim strongly
believes that a person can make a difference
through the use of his or her gifts. He went
to D.C. to testify on behalf of the Oregon
Rivers Bill and was President of Oregon
Trout for four years, which champions the
genetic diversity of wild fish. He was also
head of the Environmental Concerns Task
Force for three years. “I’m green,” he
smiles.
The next time you are in the bookstore,
look these gentlemen up. They are an essen
tial ingredient of the expansive heart and
soul of the place. They are about hospitality,
and their stories are about grace. No doubt it
already is, but wish them a fine day anyway.
Hannah Dillon is a columnist for the Oregon
Daily Emerald. Her metis do not necessarily rep
resent those of the newspaper.
Drawing Board
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Study the contract
This is in response to Jeff
Shaw's open letter to Univer
sity President Dave Frohn
mayer (ODE, Jan. 28). False
opinions are like false mon
ey, struck first of all by guilty
men and thereafter circulated
by honest people who per
petuate the crime without
knowing what they are do
ing.
With regard to the situa
tion the foreign students are
facing due to a drop in their
home country's currency,
one must look at the struc
ture of the contract that al
lows them to study here in
the first place.
In the issuing of a non-im
migrant student visa, more
commonly known as an F-l
visa, the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service
emphatically states that stu
dents must have proof that
they will be able to support
themselves while full-time
students in the United States.
This proof can be attained in
one of two ways. It may take
the form of a sponsor who is
a U.S. citizen who signs an
affidavit of support stating
that he or she will support
the student in the form of the
documentation of funds al
ready held in the full amount
in U.S. currency. If the stu
dents are now having finan
cial problems, they have
technically defrauded the
INS, for if their F-l visa was
obtained legally, then their fi
nancial support would be
covered.
I am myself a foreign stu
dent. As well, I am a foreign
student from a country with
a very unstable currency. I
am married to a U.S. citizen
and plan one day to become
a citizen of this country. One
thing I will not do is defraud
its government. I have come
here with the intention of fol
lowing the specific INS rules.
Any deviation of this would
be illegal.
It would appear to me
Shaw is guilty of one or of
perhaps two things. Either he
is asking Frohnmayer and the
Nike company to defraud the
U.S. government or he has
not researched his opinion
with the attention it so de
spondently needs.
I want to remind Shaw of
the wise words from a jour
nalist from my home coun
try, Agnes C. Laut: “The ulti
mate umpire of all things in
life is — fact."
Thank you for your atten
tion.
William Holbrun
Journalism
The article, “Frohnmayerasks
board to review cases" (ODE, Feb.
2), reported inaccurate informa
tion. University President Dave
Frohnmayer recommended to the
University Appeals Board that they
allow Danta Graham-Preston to
return to campus while the cases
are being remanded. The board
meets first on Friday.