The print., February 09, 1983, Page 2, Image 2

Monologue
Idle Hands
By J. Dana Haynes
The invasion has already begun, rumor has it.
Even as you read this, the enemy forces have oc­
cupied a section of Oregon and are “holing up”
for the duration.
The “enemy” is the Rajneesh, and their en­
campment is the Big Muddy Ranch and the town
of Antelope. Or so people say.
Since the red-clad followers of the Bag wan
Shree Rajneesh first set up camp in Central
Oregon, rumors have spread like wild fire. And
since they cemented their position in the City
Council of Antelope, the fear of invasion has
dramatically increased. People in the streets talk
about the Rajneesh and how they want to take
over the whole state. One radio commentator
even went so far as to say they won’t be happy un­
til Salem and Portland itself are under their com­
mand.
What utter nonsense. These people who
seem to fear the red tide of Rajneesh Puram
always fail to answer a few fairly important ques­
tions.
Like, for instance, why would anyone want to
take over Oregon? What would one do if one own­
ed Oregon? Secede from the union? Invade
Idaho? String barbed wire across the borders and
demand entrance and exit visas?
One friend of mine recently voiced his fears
on the subject, saying he was glad the Bagwan
wasn’t allowed to stay in the states, and that the
government ought to kick the rest of ’em out of
the country as well.
When I asked him what he most disliked
about the religious leader, my friend thought
about it for a moment and finally decided it was
Bagwan’s 18 or so Rolls Royces that most bugged
him.
In fact, I have to agree. No one really neqds
18 Rolls Royces. Not even Frank Sinatra. But is
that reason enough to extradite the guy (the
Bagwan, not Sinatra)? Should his followers and
believers be kicked out of the country because the
man has weird taste in automobiles?
We seem to forget that the United States was
founded as a haven of religious freedom. It was
here, during the last two centuries, that people
could come to escape persecution.
And it is here that the Rajneesh have come.
Only now it’s not some shapeless, faceless blob
of humanity, mixing into the melting pot metaphor
of life. It’s a self-segregated cadre of people who
have different names than ours, who dress ex­
otically (dyed Levis are considered exotic in some
places) and who even have different dietary
habits.
Perhaps this is what has scared us. Unlike
the influx of Irish and Jews around the turn of the
century, the Rajneesh have made no attempt to
emulate the lifestyle of the average American
citizen. Even the recent escapees of Viet Nam and
Cambodia try to blend in. Not the Rajneesh.
They’re proud of who they are, and actively strive
to be different.
The original inhabitants of Antelope, Oregon
have mostly fled that small community. However,
it’s important to remember they were not driven
out. They left because the “neighborhood” had
changed and the felt they didn’t belong.
The chances of a coup d’etat to overthrow
the government of Oregon seem pretty slight.(Of
course, there are those of us who feel if the Ra­
jneesh want the state legislature, they’re
welcome to it).
The best way to defend against the “threat”
of a Rajneesh invasion is to ignore it. Either that,
or welcome them in the tradition of American
freedom of religion.
Lack of parking irritating
By Duane Hiersche
Have you ever had one of those days when
it is pouring down rain, you are late for class and
the nearest “legal” parking space is in the Or­
chard parking lot? A walk which would take
even the stoutest of all walkers five minutes.
Well you have several options. You can
park in that distant space and walk to the point of
exhaustion to your class, park in a nearby han­
dicapped zone and risk getting a ticket or better
yet, you can drive around the campus looking
for a vacant space. And last but not least, you
can not show up at all for class and go home.
To solve the problem of parking, one could
start riding Tri-met, an experience in itself. Or
you could wake up before the sunrise and get
here before the early birds and study your
homework, like all good students.
Do you think the designers who planned
the campus had any idea of the need for closer
parking? I’ll bet their office is only a short walk
away from their car. For Christmas, they pro­
bably even let their spouses do the shopping so
that they don’t have to walk so far to the stores.
Within the last several months, a great op­
portunity to enlarge a nearby lot has arisen.
Located near Randall Hall, by the trailers, is a
large area of open land previously occupied by
four unused trailers.
By simply paving that lot, the campus
would create more room for cars to be parked.
Since trailer E has also been scheduled to be
removed, they could easily blacktop the unoc­
cupied space.
But will the College go for that? No,they will
not. Lee Fawcett, chairperson of the College’s
traffic regulatory committee, said they plan to
plant grass seed instead of paving the space.
Personally I feel that if they do turn it green
rather than black, they may as well put five holes
into the turf and place flags in them. I mean it’s
not every college that has their own private golf
course on campus grounds. What an honor it
would be. The golf team would no longer be re­
quired to commute several miles to a local golf
course for practices.
That is a worthwhile idea, but not as
necessary as more parking. Just think of all the
money the students would save on gas.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not one who
prefers pavement to grass. But when the need
for ‘closer parking spaces is so great, that
asphalt'would look better than the grass.
THE PRINT, a member of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers
Association, alms to be a fair and Impartial journalistic medium
covering the campus community as thoroughly as possible. Opi­
nions expressed In THE PRINT do not necessarily relect those of
the College administration, faculty, Associated Student Govern­
ment or other members of THE PRINT.
Office: Trailer B; telephone: 657-8400, ext. 309, 310
Editor In Chief: J. Dana Haynes
News Editor: Doug Vaughan
Arts Editor: Brett Bigham
Photo Editor: Duane Hiersche
Darkroom Technician: Roberta Ellsworth
Copy Editor: Kristi Blackman
Staff Writers: Shelley Ball, Rob Conner, Deanna Hardy, T. Jeffries,
F.T. Morris
Staff Photographers: Russ McMillen
Duane Hiersche, Troy
Maben, Joel Miller, Rick Obritschkewitsch
Business Manager: Joan Seely
Typesetter: Teresa A. Hannaford
Advisor: Dana Spielmann
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