11/25/1985 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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to honor the person, group, or nation making the greatest contribution toward -- efforts to build a world beyond war, adding that the 1985 award would be a IIg10bal space bridgell linking five continents live, two-way by satellite. He said the Delhi Declaration of principles was included in the response statement that had been distributed to councilors and was signed by Mayor Obi e. He urged those present to join in signing the response statement, noting that County Administrator James Johnson and four County Commissioners had recently signed, and appearances also had been made at the School District 4-J Board of Directors, Lane Community College Board of Directors, and Springfield City Council. He also called upon 4-J Superintendent Dr. Margaret Nichols and University of Oregon President Dr. Paul Olum to speak in support of the effort. Dr. Nichols said one issue she dealt with as an educator was children's fear of nuclear war, citing evidence that 75 percent of 1,100 children surveyed believed they would die in a nuclear war. She also said studies showed nuclear war ranked second only to death of a parent among adolescent fears, adding that the PTA had begun implementing programs to deal with these fears. Dr. Nichols said another concern was the expense of nuclear armaments, which the current Administration had proposed as $77.5 billion in 1986. She said that sum would provide the current year's Eugene School District budget for 1 ,100 years. She noted that the US infant mortality rate was higher than that of 15 other developed countries, and 11,000 children die annually in the United States from poverty-related causes. She said one in five children--and one in two black chi1dren--live in poverty in the United States, and she read e a 1953 quote from Dwight Eisenhower: "Every gun that is made, every warshi p launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. Thi s worl d in arms is not spending money alone; it is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, and the hopes of its children. II Dr. Olum urged councilors to sign the initiative. He said the United States and the Soviet Union each had about 25,000 nuclear warheads, 1,000 of which would be sufficient to destroy every city of consequence in the Soviet Union, and 2,000 of which would likely trigger a nuclear winter that would end all life on earth. He said continuing to build nuclear arms when the superpowers could destroy each other 15 times over would be insanity and would increase the likelihood of nuclear war. He said it was time the tiniest chances were taken for peace, instead of the most enormous chances being taken to further a nuclear arms race. Mr. Hansen said the statement would be forwarded to councilors for any who wished to sign. B. Mayor Welcomes Scout Group and U of 0 Students Mr. Hansen welcomed visiting members of Scout Troop 12 from O'Hara School and students of a University of Oregon journalism class. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 25, 1985 Page 2