Profs bring
history home
page 6
i_I
Oregon daily
emerald
Tuesday, October 11, 1983
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 85, Number 27
OSPIRG must seek yearly funding vote
By Jim Moore
Of the Emerald
The Oregon Student Public Interest
Research Croup, a student-run consumer
lobby group, must seek student funding an
nually rather than every two years, accor
ding to an ASUO Constitution Court ruling
Monday.
Because the Oregon State Board of
Higher Education requires yearly reassess
ment of student fees, OSPIRC also must ask
students for funds every year, according to
the ruling.
The court's opinion, written by chair Alan
Contreras after unanimous agreement by
the court, overturns a referendum vote by
the student body last spring that establish
ed a two-year funding base for OSPIRG.
University students voted last spring to
pay $1 per term for the next two years to
fund OSPIRG. Formerly OSPIRG was
allocated funds through the Incidental Fee
Committee.
“I consider it a victory for student's
rights," said University student Richard
Burr, who filed the complaint and argued
the case based on the intent of the "Clark
document."
"This strikes a blow for students who
would have otherwise had their rights
abridged," Burr said, referring to future
students' fee money.
But OSPIRG spokesperson Daniel
Malarkey didn't agree.
"It's a blow to the expressed wishes of
the student body," Malarkey said, referring
to the spring vote which funded OSPIRG
for the next two years. "It's highly ironic
that a student court has made a decision
usurping student's rights."
Burr based his argument against two-year
funding on the wording of the "Clark docu
ment," which helped establish the Inciden
tal Fee Committee and was instrumental in
giving students a voice in determining
where their fee money is spent. The docu
ment was named for Robert Clark, who was
president of the University at the time.
The Court agreed with Burr that tHe in
tent of giving student's that voice was bas
ed on using an "annual budgeting
process."
Burr's second complaint, that OSPIRC
violates state regulations regarding student
fee money as well as higher education
policies about political activity was not rul
ed on by the court. Instead, Contreras
wrote that the court's jurisdiction did not
extend into that area.
Burr's third complaint, that OSPIRC
discriminates against participation accor
ding to political view, was thrown out.
Whether OSPIRG will appeal the Court's
decision is still undecided.
Council returns parking plan to repair shop
By Michele Matassa
Of the Emerald
A standing-room-only crowd waited in
the Eugene City Council Chamber Monday
night as the council heard two and one-half
hours of testimony and then postponed a
decision on an appeal of the controversial
West University Neighborhood parking
plan.
The plan, originally scheduled for im
plementation Nov. 1, was appealed because
the Council had not officially approved its
fee structure and boundaries, although it
had approved a federal grant to develop
some type of parking program.
The proposed plan, if implemented, will
limit parking in the area west of the Univer
sity to two hours tor people without per
mits. Permits will be free for residents and
will cost $17.50 per month for non
residents.
After hearing citizens speak to both sides
of the issue raise various questions about
the proposed project, the council decided
5-1 that it needed more time to consider the
appeal and the plan's fees and boundaries.
The council will reconsider the appeal at
its Nov. 9 meeting.
"This meeting tonight is a good thing. We
have aired issues that need to be aired,"
said Emily Schue, council president.
Council member John Ball responded to
public testimony criticizing the parking ad
ministration staff for not including "af
fected groups" in its planning process.
"The solution that the staff has come up
with at this point probably suffers from a
lack of input," Ball said. "The commence
The Eugene City Council heard from students and University employees who oppose the controversial West University Neighborhood
parking plan. The council postponed action on the plan until their Nov. 9 meeting.
ment of the program should await the inclu
sion of the employee groups and the stu
dent groups that have not been included,”
he said.
The council also postponed the decision
in order to give staff time to answer ques
tions brought up during public testimony.
The council posed questions concerning
the number ot permits to be sold compared
with the number of available parking
spaces.
Students showed up in force —
represented by the University office of stu
dent advocacy and the University Affairs
department — to oppose the plan, which
would cost about $157.50 per academic
year.
"Affected groups were not asked for in
put. Instead, institution administrators
were invited. Administrators don't rely on
(the area) for parking. Students and
employees do," said Barbara McCarthy,
assistant coordinator of the University Af
fairs office.
1
Weaver delivers shots at Watt
By Brooks Dareff
Of the Emerald
"It is a strange business we re
in where a person is rewarded
for perpetrating such a
fiasco. . .the biggest in the
history of the Northwest."
Tfie words are Oregon Rep.
Jim Weaver's, D-Eugene, the per
son he is referring to is Energy
Secretary Don Hodel and the
fiasco is WPPSS.
Hodel, whose name is among
those being mentioned as a suc
cessor to recently resigned In
terior Secretary James Watt,
presided over the defaulted
multiple nuclear power plant
project which was set up by the
Bonneville Power Administra
tion in 1974.
Weaver was at the Hidden
Valley Golf Course in Cottage
Grove Monday night to discuss
the Oregon Wilderness Act,
which he co-authored with
fellow Democrats and Oregon
Reps. Les AuCoin and Ron
Wyden.
Although the bill will be
presented before a Senate sub
committee hearing next week.
Monday's discussion and even
Weaver's opening remarks in
evitably turned to the subject of
Watt, who submitted his letter of
resignation to Pres. Reagan on
Sunday.
In his opening remarks
Weaver eulogized Watt.
“It was long past time for him
to go and now. . the test of the
Reagan Administration is in not
just replacing him with a good
man but with good poli
cies...one from environ
mental destruction giving
away all the public lands to one
of what the Interior Secretary
should be, a position of trust
over the public lands."
Weaver recalled a now famous
incident that led to Watt's public
image problems. Watt appeared
before the House Interior Com
mittee in 1981, during which
Weaver asked Watt; “Shouldn't
we leave just a barrel or two of
oil or a spadeful of minerals for
our children and their children?
"Watt said; 'Yes, Con
gressman. But I'm not sure how
many future generations there
are going to be — and the lord
may come at any moment.' "
Weaver said Watt was merely
the executor of Reagan's
policies, that he carried out "ex
actly what the president wanted
to do."
However, Watt "committed a
number of serious blunders"
that "caused public arousal. So a
new man if.. quite competent,
not so obviously obsessed,
might be able to do more harm
than Watt did," Weaver said.
Turning to the subject of
wilderness, Weaver stressed the
importance of maintaining a
gene pool from old growth
forests, in case the experiments
in hybrid reforesting backfire.
He added that the proposed
wilderness areas are not suitable
for timber harvesting and
production.
He also said there would be no
loss of jobs affected by the
wilderness bill, and that the
crunch suffered by the timber
industry is due to national
markets such as housing.
There is currently more of a
supply than a demand for
timber, said Weaver. Right now
there is a four-year supply of
timber under contract, "16
million board feet sold on the
stump, not being harvested,” he
said.