UO President Dave Frohnmayer

[January 22nd, 2003] It's hardly shocking that some faculty members at the University of Oregon (where they put the liberal back in liberal arts) aren't big fans of the current tenant of the White House and his penchant for missile-rattling.

Last month, the faculty senate in Eugene was preparing to vote on a resolution that would open debate about a possible anti-war statement when UO President Dave Frohnmayer decided to throw in his two enormous cents. After eight years of largely staying out of the faculty senate's business, Frohnmayer butted in and sent each senator a letter expressing his extreme aversion to such a measure. The resolution later failed miserably, getting just 8 of 37 votes.

"The faculty is free to and ought to discuss this important issue," Frohnmayer told WW, "but not in the context of the university's official position."

Hmmm. Last we checked, a university was supposed to be a marketplace of ideas--a sanctuary of intellectual debate, where the spirit of reason trumps established political views.

Frohnmayer, a former state attorney general, sought cover in the fine print, arguing that UO's charter requires it to remain neutral on issues like this one, and that an official college statement "inhibits" student debate.

Call us bad at book-learnin', but we at the Rogue Desk can't see how a measure that encourages discussion also stifles it. And considering Oregon State University--not typically a hotbed of political activism--recently declared its firm anti-war stance, it seems that the mandatory neutrality of Oregon's public universities would be open to debate.

Then again, the last time UO took up a political issue, Frohnmayer was stung badly. After UO elected to join a workers'-rights coalition two years ago, Nike CEO Phil Knight was so furious that he withdrew a $30 million gift to his alma mater. At Frohnmayer's urging, UO backed out of the group.

Frank Stahl, the UO geneticist who is leading the campus anti-war charge, suspects Frohnmayer, Oregon's 1990 Republican gubernatorial candidate, is worried that the university will lose support from GOP lawmakers and major donors. But, as Stahl told Eugene Weekly, that's no excuse for remaining tight-lipped on the war issue. "Not saying something is saying something," he said.

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