emerald
vol 83, No 12
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Thursday, July 30, 1981
Summer visitors keep dorms open all year
01 th* Emarald
I HL
The guests include cosmetologists,
nurses, bus drivers, firefighters, cheer
leaders and skywriters
The host is the University and its
housing department and the occasion is
summer term — three months when
campus dormitories become a center for
conferences, workshops and conven
tions
The participants are members of state,
regional, national and international
groups German students bunk near
math teachers and trombonists are just
down the hall
“You name it — we have it," says
Marge Ramey, assistant housing direc
tor
Ramey, who is the keeper of the inn for
the University 's summer visitors, says the
University's reputation as a conference
center has grown enormously over the
past six years
Ramey supplements word-of-mouth
publicity with annual fliers that describe
the 'many good reasons to bring your
group to Oregon' this summer " The
result is 76 groups arriving between June
14 and Sept 14
The emphasis on summer meetings
was the brainstorm of the former housing
director, she says, who saw the financial
potential of 1,500 empty dorm rooms that
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housed only a few hundred summer
students
And that potential has been realized
Summer housing revenue has increased
from $89,000 in 1976 to more than
$500,000 this summer, Ramey says
The summer income allows the
University to keep school-year dorm
rates within the lower third in the country,
she says, because the money is not
earmarked and goes into the housing
department's general fund
Why do professional groups choose a
college campus for meetings?
Because they're cheap, Ramey says
Graphic by Max DeRungs
The University charges $10 per night for
a double-occupancy room, which in
cludes towel service, but no maid
"What we re offering is not a private
bath or T V."
The dorms charge $10 15 for three
meals a day and the policy is all-you
can-eat, prepared by a food service that
"won rave reviews from Olympic ath
letes," according to the flier
The University also offers unique ser
vices — like catered picnics at Jasper
Park and classrooms and meeting rooms
set up in dormitories
Groups aren’t encouraged to come for
purely financial reasons, Ramey says.
The University considers summer a time
to show off the campus to prospective
students, parents and friends of parents,
she says
‘The campus looks nice, and they
have a good time.”
Also, keeping the dorms open allows
the University to retain its entire food
service and custodial staffs, in addition
to hiring about 500 students, employing
launderers, and patronizing local mer
chants.
The University is liberal about the
groups it houses, Ramey says. Even
political organizations such as the Ci
tizens Party and the U S. Student As
sociation have assembled at the dormi
tories — groups are turned down only
because of an occasional lack of space.
The housing department maintains a
friendly relationship with local hotels and
motels by refusing to house individuals
or couples visiting the University or
traveling, she says.
Also, Ramey says she recruits groups
for the school year, although they will
stay at motels because the dormitories
are full.
Students and conference participants
are kept "quite separate," she says.
"They're really not very compatible.
"We spend a lot of time seeing that
their needs are met and that they are
made happy ”
City council vote approves Emerald Canal task force
The Eugene City Council voted unanimously to
create an Emerald Canal Feasibility Task Force Tues
day night The vote came after a 40-minute public
hearing during which a majority of the speakers spoke
out in favor of the project
Councilor Mark Lindberg proposed the formation of
the task force to address "severe questions and prob
lems that need to be answered " and said the canal "is a
dream a concept that deserves a widespread com
munity dialogue '
The proposed canal would wind its way through
downtown and the West University neighborhood,
connecting the Willamette River to the Amazon Ditch
via the Millrace
The committee will study financing, economic ef
fects, flood control, irrigation and power generation
possibilities, as well as aesthetics, and housing and
commercial development It also will conduct at least
two public hearings before making its final report to the
city council in December of 1982
Eleven Eugene and Lane County residents, along
with representatives from the city council, the county
board of commissioners, the University and the Histor
ical Review Board, will make up the task force
Lindberg said the study will not tap into the city
budget or require staff support because the Army Corps
of Engineers will supply a $50,000 technical assistance
grant
In other action, the council voted to table a revision of
Eugene's parade ordinance for further consideration
after American Civil Liberties Union and National
Lawyers Guild representatives expressed concern over
the "unconstitutionality” of the proposed amendment
Specific objections to the ordinance focused on a
clause that gives the police chief the power to deny a
parade permit if "reliable information shows that par
ade participants intend to cause violence during the
course of the parade."
Eugene resident Bob Golden said the council needs
to reconsider an ordinance that would "limit the arbi
trary power of the police The rules should state that the
only police consideration should be traffic control."
ACLU attorney Bruce Smith said a clause imposing
insurance obligations and costs for extra police ser
vices on parade organizers could constitute “severe
prior restraint."
After City Attorney Tim Sercombe pointed out that the
proposed ordinance states that payment for extra
police protection or overtime would be required of
organizers, and that when the funds of a group are
insufficient, insurance requirements can be waived, the
council unanimously voted to reconsider the proposal
‘A six-pack
to go’
An innertubist mixes the serious
business of beer-drinking with the
pleasure of floating down the
Willamette River as a way to
escape the sweltering heat earlier
this week Temperatures cooled
Wednesday and should remain in
the mid-70s today Forecasts call
for only a 10 percent chance of
rain today.