Oregon doily
emerald
Jazz farewell:
See Friday Edition
Section B
Friday, October 14, 1983
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 85, Number 30
exposure
Emerald photo
Eugene is one of 18 finalists in the 1983-84 All-American Cities contest.
Eugene nabs finalist slot in contest
By Michele Matassa
Of the Emerald
The National Municipal League in New York City an
nounced this week that Eugene is one of 18 finalists in
its 1983-84 All-American Cities awards program.
Eugene's competition includes The Big Apple itself,
New York City, along with Cleveland, Jacksonville, Fla.,
and Tacoma, Wash.
A jury "of national, state and local leaders represen
ting public, private and voluntary interests" will hear
presentations and interview city delegates before mak
ing a tentative selection of the winners, according to an
NML press release.
Eugene's delegation includes City Council Pres. Emi
ly Schue; Don Mason, director of the Eugene Chamber
of Commerce; and Cathy Brinan, a member of the
Business Assistance Team.
The group will travel to Baltimore in November .to
represent Eugene with an oral presentation of its
application.
Winners will be notified in January. The number of
winners has not been announced.
Finalists were chosen from 100 nominees after sub
mitting applications featuring up to three community
improvement projects, says Briner.
The BAT, made up of 18 representatives from the ci
ty government, the University, Lane Community
College and the Chamber of Commerce, chose three
projects initiated by citizens during the last year, Briner
says.
Because there were many possibilities, the team
focused on variety and projects that have “shown
results in a short period of time," she says.
The first project is the Eugene ambassador program,
in which local residents recruit new businesses' and
tourists to the area by contacting people they know
throughout the country.
As a result of the program, six businesses have
located in the area, Briner says.
BAT also chose the Support Hult Center Operations
group for its entry.
The group, started by local citizens and center staff,
leads tours of the facility, staffs an information booth in
the Hult Center lobby and holds receptions for visiting
dignitaries and performer, Briner says.
The last project entered in the contest is the Cut
Task Force, a group of youth, city staff and residents of
the 29th Avenue and Willamette Street area. The task
force, working to ease problems caused by “gut cruis
ing," has placed portable restrooms and garbarge
dumpsters in the area and has published a pamphlet
called “The Gut Cruisers' Guide," Briner says.
Briner feels hopeful about November's competition
but says victory won't come easily.
"The competition is definitely steep. You've got
some terrific cities in there and cities that have ac
complished a lot. We're pleased that we're in the top
18," she says.
"We're looking forward to doing something good
for Eugene. We have a chance to get some national
exposure."
Group hopes to breach Berlin Wall
By Brooks Dareff
Of the Emerald
At 12:40 p.m. Thursday, under an
overcast sky with a light rain falling,
the Berlin Wall came tumbling down —
in the EMU breezeway.
The grey-brick wall may have only
been a model, but University members
of the College Republican Federation
of America hope its destruction will
kickoff a successful campaign to "Let
the People Go" from behind the Iron
Curtain.
The nationwide campaign, which
seeks to reunite East Europeans with
family members living in the West, is
co-sponsored by the Captive Nations
Committee of Washington, D.C.
At a press conference beginning at
noon, College Republican Dave Green
told spectators outside the EMU that
their participation in a nationwide peti
tion drive and letter writing campaign
“can make a difference" in promoting
free emigration for East Europeans.
“The experience of human rights
organizations is that public outcry
does have some impact," Green said.
The hierarchical structure of Soviet
emigration policy, while difficult to af
fect, is not “impenetrable" to public
opinion, he said.
Green recalled growing up in
Toronto's Jewish community, which
"adopted" a Russian Jew seeking
asylum in Canada. Their letter writing
campaign "worked — they released
him."
College Republican Dave Ridenour
said his organization is seeking 7,000 to
10,000 signatures statewide for the
emigration petition, and 1 million na
tionwide. The group has "raised a little
over 100 signatures on campus," he
said.
The University College Republicans
will be contacting Jewish organizations
in Portland about identifying Oregon
families who have members seeking
asylum in the West, Green said. The
Oregon letter writing campaign will be
targeted at freeing these specific, as
yet unidentified, people.
The petition, which refers specifical
ly to the Soviet Union "and other Com
munist nations," calls "upon all na
tions of the world to allow the free
emigration of their people."
Clark gains nod
as interior head
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pres. Ronald Reagan on Thurs
day-named hi* national security adviser, William Clark, to
succeed lames Watt as secretary of the interior.
"He is a God-fearing Westerner, a fourth-generation
rancher, a person I trust and I think he will be a great
secretary of the interior," Reagan said.
The president made the announcement at the end of a
talk to women leaders of Christian religious organizations.
"I think he is succeeding a very fine secretary of the in
terior," the president said.
Environmentalists and many members of Congress
were stunned by the announcement.
But conservative leaders in the Senate praised the ap
pointment of Clark, a longtime associate of Reagan. And
Watt reacted with pleasure to the announcement.
"Judge Clark is a fantastically fine guy," Watt told
reporters in California, where he announced his resigna- -
tion Sunday. Watt called Clark "a prince of a fellow" and
said the president couldn't have made a better choice.
Clark once was Reagan's chief of staff when Reagan
was governor of California. Reagan appointed him in 1973
to the California Supreme Court.
In 1981, early in Reagan's presidency, Clark was sum
moned from California to become the deputy secretary of
state. That move placed a long-time Reagan confidante in a
key job under then-Secretary of State Alexander Haig.
He was named national security adviser in February
1982, replacing Richard Allen.
Environmentalists had a far different reaction than Watt
on Clark's appointment.
"William Clark's only qualification for this position is
blind loyalty to Ronald Reagan," said Geoff Webb of
Friends of the Earth.
William Butler, a vice president of the National
Audubon Society, said he was "thunderstruck" by the
appointment.
"The policies of the Interior Department will not
change and the momentum of Secretary Watt will continue
with his lieutenants clearly running the Interior Depart
ment while Bill Clark serves as a caretaker secretary,"
Butler said.
State enrollment
declines slightly
By Doug Nash
Of the Emerald
The University and the state's higher education system
in general fared better than expected in attracting new
students, according to preliminary fall term enrollment
statistics released Monday.
A second-week “fees paid head count" shows enroll
ment in the system dropped by only 0.3 percent, from
57,941 students last year to 57,747 students this fall.
That is a much smaller decrease than the original projec
tion of 1.4 percent, said Susan Weeks, coordinator of plann
ing studies and services for the state system. In addition,
five of the eight state colleges and universities had in
creases in enrollment, she noted.
The University had the slightest increase — 0.7 percent
— of the five, Weeks said. The preliminary figures show
15,309 University students are enrolled fall term, compared
to 15,199 last year.
Western Oregon State College in Monmouth had the
greatest jump in enrollment, registering an 8.4 percent
increase.
"In the past two years we have seen sharp enrollment
drops in system institutions," Weeks said. "It appears this
trend has been slowed. Even though there are smaller high
school graduating classes, which lowers the number of
potential applicants to our institutions, such factors as the
system's tuition freeze approved by the Legislature appear
to be turning things around."
Of those institutions with enrollment decreases,
Oregon State University fared the poorest and provided the
major reason for the state's overall decline. Weeks said. It
currently has 15,769 students compared to 16,321 a year
ago, a decrease of 552 students or 3.4 percent. Weeks had
projected a 1.4 percent drop for the Corvallis university.
OSU, she said, "has not suffered as great a decline in
enrollment in the past several years as have other institu
tions. Now, it appears such a decline is catching up with
the university."
While final enrollment figures will not be available until
after the fourth week, Weeks estimated the specific percen
tage changes would stay about the same.
"I don't really look at the absolute numbers until after
the fourth week," she said. "It's the percentages that are
real important here."