emerald
Vol. 82, No. 129
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Thursday, April 9, 1981
r
City studies
anti-racist
ordinance
By RICHARD WAGONER
Of the Emerald
Recent outbreaks of racism have
prompted Eugene city councilors to in
vestigate the possibility of adopting an
ordinance that would make racial and
ethnic harassment illegal.
“This is a problem many of us thought
belonged to the bad old days, but it’s still
with us,” Baruch Fischhoff, president of
the Eugene Human Rights Council, told
the city council Wednesday.
City staff began investigating current
laws prohibiting harassment and phy
sical attacks after the distribution of
racist literature in some Eugene neigh
borhoods and threats against black
families.
At least two Eugene families have been
threatened by racist callers, said Willie
Polite, president of the Eugene chapter
of the National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People. One of
those families is black. The other is a
white family that has adopted two black
children.
The callers told the white family that
their adopted children were the "lowest
things in the neighborhood,” Polite said.
Racism is a problem government
leaders can’t ignore, he told councilors.
And Polite said there is strong public
support for an ordinance that would
assign criminal penalties to racial har
assment.
Since last month, more than 200 letters
and 75 phone calls have poured into the
local NAACP office by Eugene residents
Too many people say
this happens in Atlanta,
it happens in Georgia,
but it can’t happen here’
expressing concern and sympathy for a
black family that has been the target of
racial threats and harassment, Polite
said
Too many people say “this happens in
Atlanta, it happens in Georgia, but it
can’t happen here,” he told councilors.
Four bills that would make racial and
ethnic harassment a crime are being
considered by the Oregon Legislature.
But some councilors said they don’t want
to wait for the state to tackle to problem.
“I, for one, am hopeful the state legis
lation will pass," said Councilor Betty
Smith, “but I don’t want to sit back and
wait for it to happen.”
Councilor Mark Lindberg agreed. “It’s
very clear that over the months there
seems to be a growing enthusiasm for
this type of harassment,” he said. “It’s
incumbent upon various elected officials
of Eugene to show that we think these
actions are deplorable."
The council directed the Human
Rights Council, the city’s human rights
staff and the city attorney’s office to
study the legislation being considered in
Salem and to draft a city ordinance
dealing with harassment.
The proposed ordinance would then
be brought before the council for a pub
lic hearing and possible adoption.
It may not have been home cooking, and it wasn't exactly
authentic Italian, but the price was right — enough so to draw a
sell-out crowd to Wednesday's first 99-cent jazz night and
spaghetti feed. The 250 tickets to the dinner were sold out
Wednesday afternoon — a surprise to many hungry students and
Cultural Forum folks who sponsored the event.
The price was right
In West University area
Neighbors battle park crime
By LESLIE FARRIS
Of the Emerald
West University neighbors launched a
crusade against crime Wednesday with
plans for whistles, safe houses and con
tact groups
The plans were drawn at the third
meeting held by neighbors to outline how
to reclaim the park on East 14th Avenue.
About 50 area residents first met last
week in the West University Neighbor
hood Park to try to stop harassment by
vagrants who had been staying in the
park.
Since the original meeting, neighbors
agree the park problem has improved
considerably. But because panhandling
— along with verbal and physical har
assment — has been a recurring problem
in the park for three years, the neighbors
are looking at specific, long-term solu
tions.
One plan calls for distributing distress
whistles to interested residents near the
half-block community park. Skip Stokes
of the Eugene Police Department’s
Community Officer Patrol team brought
sacks of free whistles to Wednesday s
meeting.
Neighbors are hoping to inform en
ough residents of the whistles’ purpose
Former coach testifies
Former assistant basketball coach
Ron Billingslea took the stand in his
own defense Wednesday, claiming he
thought $1,680 that Bronson Travel
Agency gave him tor unused airline
tickets was a "fringe benefit" and not
money that should have gone back to
the University.
"I didn't think any University money
was involved." Billingslea testified in
Lane County Circuit Court. "Maybe I
was a fool. I would certainly have no
reason to rip the University off."
Billingslea is accused of stealing
state funds by accepting the money
from the travel agency.
Billingslea — an assistant to former
head coach Dick Harter — said he
returned unused tickets that had ac
cumulated in his desk to the agency
after learning Harter might take a job
with Pennsylvania State University in
March 1978 After turning in the tick
ets, Billingsiea said travel agent
Peggy Hamlin called him and said the
agency had money for him.
He said he received two checks
from the agency, one for $440 on
March 2 and another for $1,240 on
May 5. He didn't question why he was
receiving the money, he said. “I was
just following what she (Hamlin) told
me to do.”
In testimony Tuesday, Hamlin said
she didn't recall any checks issued to
Billingsiea
Billingsiea also said he gave Harter
a batch of unused tickets in June I977
as possible payment for flying Felton
Sealey from Philadelphia to Eugene —
a violation of NCAA rules.
Jury deliberations are expected to
begin today
that a distress whistle is sounded from
the park, those living nearby will re
spond. The whistles are available free at
the West University Neighborhood
Center, 1458 Ferry St
Another solution will be to establish
neighborhood safe houses like those in
Eugene’s Whiteaker Neighborhood. The
houses, located around the park, will
have “safe house" signs in their win
dows and will be shelters for assault
victims or near-victims.
Pam Ford, neighborhood crime
prevention coordinator, said safe-house
volunteers will learn how to handle
emergencies at a crisis counseling ses
sion conducted by the Rape Crisis
Network.
“Even though it’s only been used once
there, Whiteaker thinks the houses
definitely have been a deterrent against
crime in their neighborhood,” Ford said.
“Just the signs are a deterrent They
show the neighborhood’s united."
Stokes said police encounter trouble
combating the vagrant problem because
people who report violations often wish
to remain anonymous. Fearing retribu
tion, they refuse to identify or sign a
complaint against the offender.
So, park-area residents plan lists of
neighbors to contact who are willing to
serve as co-witnesses in filing com
plaints against vagrants Neighbors hope
that by acting as a group, the vagrant
won’t know whom to retaliate against
and may be intimidated by the numbers.
“The key to whether or not you’re
going to have a safe park is ongoing
citizen participation,” Stokes said "As
long as the transients feel they can take
over the park, they’ll continue to do so
But if the word gets out that the neigh
bors aren’t going to tolerate it, you’re not
going to have a problem "