Hou can take it with ijou
Porta-music eases
dailq doldrums
By Marian Green
Of tty EmtnU
With black cords hanging from their
necks and headphones perched on
their heads, music lovers have found a
way to be wired for incessant sound
Minature tapedecks that will fit in a
coat pocket, and headphone sets so
light you hardly notice them are pop
ping up all over campus And they're
selling out faster than dealers can
stock them
‘ It s really been quite the fad,’ says
Steve Springston, who selis several
models in the Meier & Frank electronics
department
"During the holidays, we could not
keep up with the demand." Springston
says Right now the store stocks the
Sony Walkman I and II and the Pana
sonic brands, but several other brands
are on the market, including Aiwa.
Akai, Infinity and Sanyo, he says
Prices vary, ranging from under $100 to
more than $250
"You get what you pay for" in sound
quality, he says
At Eugene s Good Guys Stereo Dis
count Center, employee Roger Kauble
says the stereos are among his hottest
selling items.
"We bought all we could from the
manufacturers If we could’ve bought
more, we could’ve sold more," Kauble
says
The Aiwa sells best among the
several brands Good Guys stocks, he
says. "They’re the company that start
ed it ail
Who buys the tapedecks?
"It's probably the post-war genera
tion — ages 15-30. Springston says
But Kauble says "everybody — old
people, young people, middle-aged
people, joggers, skiers" — buys them
"Just about everyone who walks in
here looks at them, and about half of
them buy.” he says
Good Guys carries the Aiwa. Sony
and Sanyo models, which also sell
within the $100 to more than $250 for
the top-of-the-line. AM-FM. Aiwa cas
sette model But because of heavy
demand, not all brands are in stock
Kauble says the stereos are not dan
gerous
“I use one on my motorcycle. I wear
the pair of headphones under my hel
met, and I don’t have problems hearing
traffic or anything, he says
Sgt Rick Allison, of the Eugene
Police Department, however has
mixed feelings about the stereos
"You re limiting one of your senses
You can’t hear the car beeping, you
can’t hear the sirens or someone run
ning up behind you,” Allison says
Although Allison has not heard of a
University-area accident involving the
small stereos, the headphone sets
could become a "real problem in some
of the assault and sexual harrassment
cases on campus," he says
"You can be much more easily vic
timized," he says A female jogger, for
instance, could be listening to a stereo
while running along the bike path and
never hear an attacker approaching,
he says
The ideal set would allow one free
ear for hearing external sounds; the
other could be “tuned into whatever,"
he says
Many owners of the small stereos
believe there is a law restricting use of
the devices while driving But no law
directly restricting that use exists, alth
ough the Legislature did consider such
a law last year, according to Dave
Cottmg. senior trooper of the Oregon
State Highway Patrol office in Eugene
"We don't recommend it. but it's
legal "
Jim Baughman, another senior
trooper with the patrol, says the only
related law is one stating that anything
constricting free unhampered opera
tion” of a motor vehicle is a Class C
traffic infraction carrying a maximum
$100 penalty
Asked if that law could be used
against drivers wearing the stere^
headphones Baughman says, "that
depends"
"If you get to jiving to the music while
you're diddly-bopping all over the road
then yes definitely '
University freshman Lane Rude
bends over his notebook at a small
table outside the EMU Fishbowl On his
head rests a pair of the music-making
headphones
The music is good to have around
he says. Rude listens to the stereo
radio "between classes or when I'm
just sitting here at the EMU '
“It makes it a lot easier just to sit and
look at books with music in the back
ground
“fverqbodq” buqs them.
“It's reallq b€€n quite the fad.”
“During (he holidays uj€ couldn’t keep up
with the demand.”
He says he has to be more aware of
traffic while riding a bike or jogging if
he is listening to the stereo but that the
music makes it worthwhile
"It really makes running a joy
"I like to have music with me says
Rude who has stereos in his car and
home "You get an energy from it
Meg Metz, a University junior, bought
her cassette stereo with leftover '
Christmas money
An art major Metz says she can
listen to her tapes — Neil Young and
The Police among others, — in her
drawing and oil painting classes
because everyone is silent anyway
Metz says she was very tempted just
to turn my music on when slides were
being shown in a class, but decided
against it
Although Metz says her parents
would rather see the money spent on
food or other necessities, she justified
the expense because of a recent
soccer injury, which tore some leg
ligaments and left her on crutches
"I figured if I have to go around
campus as slow as I do, I might as well
be listening to music, she says
Recovery therapy could take up to six
months and she'll probably be on
crutches for at least a year but she's
not dreading the long wait
' If I listen to that thing, it'll make it go
fast"
Photos bq Brian Bubak
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