The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 1972 Page: 5 of 14
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ACTION tries to renew sagging Peace Corps projects
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by MORTY RICH
The Peace Corps celebrated
its twelfth birthday yesterday.
But it wasn't here to celebrate.
On July 1, 1971 President
Nixon created a new federal
agency to consolidate all of the
existing volunteer agencies.
What was left of the old Peace
Corps was dumped in the new
bureau named "Action", along
with VISTA, the Foster Grand-
parent Program, the Retired
Senior Volunteer Program, the
Service Corps of Retired Ex-
ecutives, the Active Corps of
Executives, and the newly
created University Year for Ac-
tion.
Peace Corps Volunteers work
overseas in teaching, health
care, urban planning ,technical,
scientific and agricultural as-
signments. A volunteer must be
at least 18 years old, but most
of all must have some training
or experience which is needed
by the participating countries.
Training takes place initially in
locations in the U.S. and the
Virgin Islands, and then moves
to the host countries. The train-
ing process, which specializes in
history, culture, customs, social
and political systems, and lan-
guage of the host country, takes
about three months to complete.
Once in that country, a volun-
teer works through a local gov-
ernmental agency or organiza-
tion and is supervised by and
works with the people of that
country. The standard term of
service is two years, though it
may be extended. Peace Corps
provides a 11 transportation,
medical, and living needs during
that term in a monthly allow-
ance. In addition, a readjust-
ment fee of $75 per month of
service is paid upon return to
the United States.
The domestic part of "Ac-
tion" consists partly of the
VISTA (Volunteers in Service
to America) program. Begun in
I960 under the "Great Society",
it works through philanthropic
and social organizations. A new
addition to the domestic side
was begun last year at ten
schools involving about 450 stu-
dents. The University Year for
Action (U.Y.A.) does much of
the same type of work as
VISTA, but the programs are
set up and administered by the
universities themselves. VISTA
and UYA volunteers live and
work in the barrios and ghettos,
organizing and assisting in such
activities as developing health
clinics, day care centers, drug
education, or tutoring and adult
education and "drop out" coun-
seling. Architets help in plan-
ning, housing, and transporta-
tion, especially in the Model
Cities area. Others help minor-
ity businessmen or community
cooperative ventures.
VISTA and UYA volunteers
serve a one year period after
three to five weeks of training.
VISTAs must be 18 years old,
and receive a $600 stipend in
addition to all living expenses.
This year the total of schools
participating in UYA was in-
creased to 55, involving 1700
students. Schools who wish to
participate must first meet with
representatives and agencies
working with poor people. After
making a study of the specific
problem they wish to combat
they them submit a proposal to
the government which a) De-
fines the nature of the problem.
1)) Statistically measures its
extent, c) Gives a projected so-
lution. d) Defines the one year
goals for their program (stated
staistically). e) Outlines future
plans for finding an eventual
solution.
Texas Southern University
was one of those participating
in the program from the start.
Twenty-nine volunteers are at
work this year. Their solution
for helping solve the problems
of "children doing ^oor school-
work, minority business failure,
legal exploitation, fraud, and
lack of consumer information"
was multi part, including the
teaching of reading and writing
to pre-school and first graders,
disemmination of legal and con-
sumer information to third and
fifth ward residents, establish-
ment of job-banks for the un-
employed, and creation of en-
vironmental planning, commu-
nications, and redevelopment on
a community basis.
The people who have been
attracted to the UYA program
nationwide are not typical col-
lege students. Almost half were
from minority groups them-
selves and most of these had
first hand experience with the
problems they were facing.
Fifty-eight percent were women.
Their average age is 23.4 years.
About a quarter of them are
planning careers in public and
social service, with another
quarter in education. Law, archi-
tecture, and medical students
are also well-represented.
Though the "Action" pro-
gram is becoming more diver-
sified, it is also badly in need
of volunteers. There were 42,-
000 people serving in the Peace
Corps along in 1966; today there
are only 8,500 volunteers and
trainees. The boundless opti-
mism of the Kennedy era has
dissipated. Three reasons pre
sent themselves.
Author Theodore R o s z a k
states in his book ,Where the
Wasteland Ends, that people are.
beginning to reject the formerly
prevailing conviction that "all
human aspirations can be grat-
ified within a perfected urban-
industrialism—and only there."
In short, people may be start-
ing to envy the simple life of
the primitives — instead of
feeling sorry for them. Second-
ly, they may feel thy would be.
used as "PR" men for U.S. in-
terests while some multination-
al companies continue to ex-
ploit the very people they are
trying to help. And thirdly
there is the incredible spiritual
and physical drain of the War. be responsible for strangling
The birds are bark
UH introduces Open University
Houston, Texas (I.P.) — The
University of Houston has been
selected as one of four institu-
tions nationwide to participate
in a pilot study of the Open
University concept which has
proved to be successful in Great
Britain.
An evaluation of the study is
being financed through a spe-
cial grant to the College En-
trance Examination Board from
the Carnegie Corporation of
New York. Evaluation services
will be provided by the Educa-
tional Testing Service.
The UH undertaking will in-
volve some 200 freshmen and
sophomore students during the
1972-73 academic year. Half of
the students will pursue an in-
terdisciplinary program in the
humanities and the other half
will follow an interdisciplinary
program in the natural sci-
ences.
The one-year project will rely
heavily on tutorial relationships
between faculty and students
and on the abilities of individu-
al students to utilize the Brit-
ish-developed multi-media ma-
It was the same New Frontiers-
men who started the Peace
Corps who created the Green
Berets. The people who thought
they could "appeal to the coun-
try's moral sense" by marching
in Chicago got their teeth kick-
ed in.
Cynicism and apathy may
the sense of idealism of the
Kennedy years, on which the
Peace Corps thrived. By Sur-
vival of ACTION will depend
on whether youth regains con-
fidence in the government. Only
then will it be possible for a
spirit of idealism to flourish
once more.
KOTC sponsors, left to nVhi: C;i!li
Rice ROTC program goes co-ed
A new aspect has been added
to the traditional Army ROTC
program. This year, along with
the typical cadet out on the
drill field on Wednesday after-
noon, the casual observer is
most likely to see one or more
girls either watching' or par-
ticipating. These girls are Army
ROTC sponsors.
The sponsor program was
started for the Corps last spring
and initially had 4 participants.
This year the group has ex-
panded to 9 members. The girls
are students at Rice who are
interested in supporting the
ROTC program. They are select-
ed upon application and inter-
view with the Professor of Mili-
tary Science, the Cadet Com-
mander and the sponsor com-
mander. They are Pat Luan,
Rrown; IJeth Racier, Brown; Vir-
ginia Jee, .Jones; Cathe Krause,
1 > )• ii \v n ; Margaret O'Brien,
l!rnwn: Cathy Crews, Brown;
F, e s ) i e Lauderdale, Brown;
Iwithy Coss, Brown; and Elaine
Kiniec, Jones.
The activities of the sponsors
are varied. They range from
planning such formal affairs as
the annual Military Ball in the
spring to learning how to march
on Tuesday afternoons. This
year with the expanded program
the sponsors plan to do more
for the cadets — they have al-
ready held a ROTC beach party.
On Wednesdays, they attend
drill sessions and serve refresh-
ments afterwards to the cadets.
Most of the sponsors made
it to the cadet Air-Mobile field
problem on Nov. 11, and actual-
ly participated as aggressors.
The sponsors will also take part
in water training sessions and
sessions on rappelling in the
spring. Along with the Navy
the girls will help plan the
Military Ball and receptions
for the Final Review and Com-
missioning Ceremonies.
Incidentally, ROTC enroll-
ment has risen by 10since
the urogram started.
Arctic UFO reports panic pilots
terials together with printed
references.
Persons participating in the
program will receive 12 semes-
ter ho.urs of credit in human-
ities and fine arts electives, or
14 semester hours of credit in
the natural sciences.
The project marks the first
efforts to bring the Open Uni-
versity concept to this country.
This new approach to educa-
tion has been highly acclaimed
during its two years of opera-
tion in Great Britain.
by CHIP LANSDELL
Airline officials and pilots
clamorously demanded govern-
ment action after a UFO was
reportedly sighted north of the
Arctic Circle early this morn-
ing.
"This novel hijacking attempt
must be nipped in the bud," said
a spokesman for one major air-
line as excitement grew.
"Until there is a full ex-
planation for this occurrence,"
one member of the Airline
Pilots Association added, "we
will refuse to make any further
trans-arctic flights."
At a hastily assembled press
conference this morning, Penta-
gon spokesmen said that Amer-
icans manning the Early Warn-
ing System first spotted the
UFO, at 12:22 a.m. EST. It ap-
peared as nine closely-spaced
blips moving south on a radar
screen, they said, and the loca-
tion of its first sighting was
placed at latitude 74°32' and
longitude 93°51', 373 miles
north of the Arctic Circle.
Air Force fighters were im-
mediately sent to intercept the
UFO, a source told newsmen.
One pilot, reported to have
caught a glimpse of the UFO,
said it held an old man dressed
completely in red, with long
hair and a flowing beard. The
UFO was propelled by eight
deerlike creatures, the pilot
said.
Heavy snowstorms forced the
pilot to turn back. At its present
rate of speed, the UFO is ex-
pected to arrive in the U.S.
sometime in the late evening
Dec. 24.
The UFO sighting was not
the first unusual occurence in
recent weeks.
Earlier in the week, Alaskan
scientists observing the aurora
borealis said letters could be
discerned in one auroral dis-
play. According to one scientist,
they read, "SANTASCOMING."
Last month, crewmen aboard
an icebreaking ship near the
North Pole reported seeing two
prominent American toy manu-
facturers parachuting from a
bush plane.
Citizens sighting any other
unusual occurrences such as
these are asked to report them
... to the nearest kid.
the rice thresher, december 7, 1972—page 5
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Jackson, Steve. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 1972, newspaper, December 7, 1972; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245149/m1/5/?q=music: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.