Inside:
The
Fitfday
Edition
Celebrate Eugene!
September 28, 1984
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 86, Number 21
OSPIRG holding campus
voter registration drive
to draw students to polls
By Paul Ertelt
Of the Emerald
College students have reputa
tions for political apathy that
many claim undermines their
political clout. But one student
organization is trying to change
that with a massive voter drive
Monday.
The campus chapter of the
Oregon Student Public Interest
Group, in conjunction with
ASUO, has already registered
about 1,500 students, and plans
an all-out effort on Monday,
which has been declared Na
tional Student Voter Registra
tion Day by a national coalition
of public interest groups.
"It is often said, but that
doesn’t diminish its truth, that
the success of our democracy
depends on informed citizens
exercising their privilege to
vote,” University Pres. Paui
Olum said.
On Monday, OSPIRG will
have voter registration tables in
the EMU lobby, in front of the
library and in the lobbies of
several campus dorms and other
University locations.
"We want to make it as easy
as possible for people to
register,” says Donna
Lawrence, board chair of the
campus chapter of OSPIRG.
Students must register and
vote if they want to be taken
seriously by their represen
tatives, says Carol Benedick,
statewide spokesperson for
OSPIRG.
"Elected officials are not
group hopes to register 30,000
students in the state.
Though OSPIRG is nonpar
tisan and does not endorse any
political candidates, the group
is taking strong stands on
several ballot issues.
OSRIRG supports Ballot
Measure 3, which would create
a Citizens Utility Board to repre
sent utility consumers at rate
hearings before the Public Utili
ty Commissioner. Supporters of
the measure say the CUB will
help keep utility rates down.
OSPIRG opposes Ballot
Measure 2, which would limit
property taxes. This measure
would limit the funds to sup
port higher education and could
lead to cuts at the state’s univer
sities, opponents of the measure
say.
“All initiatives affect
students because students are
part of society,” Lawrence says.
"Students need to realize they
are part of the system. They
can’t sluff off their
responsibility.”
“October 1 is the big day,”
Lawrence says. "But 1 hope it
will be the kick-off and not the
end of voter registration (on
campus).” Voters can register
until the day of the election.
All U.S. citizens who will be
18 years old on or before the day
of election and will have resid
ed in the state for 20 days prior
to the election are eligible to
register in Oregon. Those
Photo by Paul Ertalt
University students Kelly Clarke (left) and
Carolyn Botcheos fill out voter registration
forms during registration.
who have chang
ed address or
have changed
their name since
they last voted
must reregister.
David
Sprague, ad
ministrator of
Lane County
Elections, recom
mends that
students from
other states and
counties con
sider registering
in their home
counties and
voting with
absentee ballots.
This will give
leaders; they are sheep,”
Benedick says. “They follow
their constituency, and if their
constituency is students, they’ll
follow students.”
Nationwide, of 47 million
unregistered voters, 14 million
are between the ages of 18 and
24, according to a report by the
National Student Conference on
Voter Registration.
OSPIRG is also organizing
voter registration drives at the
state’s community colleges,
Oregon State University,
Portland State University, and
other Oregon campuses. The
them a chance to participate in
local issues that may concern
them, he says.
Out-of-state students who
register in Oregon forfeit their
home residency, which may af
fect tuition rates if they decide
to return to their home state to
continue their education.
Those wishing to vote outside
of Lane County should write to
their county clerk as soon as
possible requesting an absentee
ballot, Sprague says. The re
quest must be signed by the
voter. All absentee ballots must
be received by the county clerk
by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Help offered to freshmen
By Lori Steinhauer
Of the Emerald
For many freshmen, going to college
means freedom from parental supervision.
However, as school moves into full-swing —
complete with homework and dormlife — days
at home with the folks suddenly don’t seem so
bad.
Students leaving their families for the first
time are facing social, academic and financial
changes, making the first weeks of adjusting to
the new environment sometimes lonely and
difficult.
Still, many times feelings of isolation
could be avoided if a student knew either a
friend to talk to, or the right resource to con
sult for a particular concern.
“The majority of students that drop-out of
school do so in the first three weeks. They’re
not making it. They’re scared to death, and
they don’t know who to ask (for help). A lot of
them feel they don’t meet anybody who cares
about them,” Acting Director of Orientation
Kathy Pyfer says. “Our goal is to keep students
in school by letting them know the University
cares about them.”
According to Pyfer, the Orientation Office
instigated the New Student Host Program
(NSHP) and the Early Orientation and
Registration Program (EORP) several years
ago, to “inform new students of the resources
available to them before the questions come
up, and to get them involved and meeting new
friends.
“Students who are involved at campus are
the students who stay in school,” Pyfer says.
Any form of involvement — making
friends in class, participating in dorm ac
tivities or working in student organizations —
can help students create a social network and a
sense of belonging to keep them from getting
lonely, Pyfer says.
In the past several years, the University
has tried to create a stronger sense of com
munity for incoming students in order to
reduce the drop-out rate, says Director of Ad
missions and Records Jim Buch.
In addition to the NSHP and EORP, peer
advising programs and luncheons for new
students and faculty in the residence halls
have helped to make the University a more
congenial place to study and live.
The programs have proved successful as
the freshman drop-out rate has fallen from
about 18 to 20 percent in past years to 10.6 per
cent now, Buch says.
Regardless of whether they stay or go,
freshmen who have just left home have left
Kathy Pyfer
their comfort zone.
“All freshmen go through leaving home
for the first time, leaving their parents, leaving
their friends they’ve grown up with. So mak
ing friends is one of the most important things
to them right away,” says Larry Spencer, who
is the Area Director of the predominately
freshmen dorm complex, Hamilton-Bean.
“A lot of them haven’t been on their own
before. They’re homesick. They’re wondering
if they can make it,” Acting Dean of Students
Shirley Wilson adds.
Residence hall living is completely dif
ferent from the lifestyle freshmen left back
home.
“Privacy is always a concern,” says Dave
Just, a second-year resident assistant in
Hamilton-Bean. But, he adds, “You learn how
to get along with people. You can’t be that
selfish down here.”
Just says that compromises constantly
need to be made, with roommates or neighbors
in conflict. Finding solutions to problems
often lies in the hands of the resident assistant.
He recalls a bass player and a drummer
Continued on Page 5
Student lobby board members
disapprove of Ballot Measure 2
By Julie Shippen
Of the Emerald
The Oregon Student Lobby
Board of Directors is
unanimously opposed to Ballot
Measure 2, the 1.5 percent pro
perty tax limitation plan that
will be on the Nov. 6 ballot.
The Lobby opposition to the
ballot is based on the
disasterous effects the proposal
would have on public education
financing, says Myrnie Daut,
the organization’s research
director.
“(Although) the ballot
measure will not directly affect
the State System, it will in
directly affect it... by placing a
drain on the State General
Fund,” Daut says. “And that is
where we get our dollars.”
It is estimated that 70 percent
of all the local property tax col
lected goes to education, Daut
says. School districts, the
largest consumer of property
taxes, would lose $303 million
per year, she estimates. In addi
tion, community colleges,
education service districts,
cities, counties and fire districts
will also lose substantial
amounts of their funding base if
the measure passes.
Ballot Measure 2 would also
restrict both the ability of the
legislature to pass new taxes
and the ability of voters to in
crease their own tax rates, Daut
adds.
Although the State System of
Higher Education receives no
property tax revenue, the threat
posed by Ballot Measure 2 is
that the state will be forced to
provide relief to the local taxing
districts from its General Fund,
the State System’s primary fun
ding source. If this happens,
there will be a tremendous
reduction in the funds available
to support the State System and
other state agencies, she says.
The Oregon Committee is
leading the campaign against
Ballot Measure 2 and hopes to
have coordinators on every
campus. For more information
on the measure, contact ASUO
Pres. Julie Davis, current OSL
chair, or ASUO State Affairs
Coordinator Rebecca Roby.