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Oregon doily
gon aaiiy _ _
emerald
Monday, October 15, 1984
Eugene. Oregon
Volume 86, Number 32
Wasco voter registration scrutinized
By Dave Berns
Of (he Emerald
Oregon Secretary of State Norma
Paulus announced Friday a plan to hire
50 lawyers to examine potentially
fraudulent voter registration applica
tions in Wasco County.
Paulus' action is the result of a con
troversy surrounding the central Oregon
county and the commune of the
Hhagwan Shree Kajneesh,
Opponents of the Rajneeshees fear that
tiie recent influx of almost 3000 “street
people” to Kajneeshpuram. and their
planned registration as voters, will give
the Central Oregon commune the power
to control Wasco County politics.
In response, many Oregonians living
outside of Wasco County have vowed to
register to vote in the county, in viola
tion of Oregon law. in order to prevent
such a takeover.
I’aulus took action in order to prevent
fraud at the polls by both supporters of
the Indian guru and anti-Rajneeshee
forces during the Nov. B general elec
tion. The hearings process will affect all
individuals registering to vote between
Oct. 10 and Nov. B.
" As of Friday, the county clerk’s of
fice of Wasco County had mailed notices
of hearings to 174 applicants,” Paulus
said. “Nineteen such notices were sent
to residents of Rajneeshpuram.”
The initial round of hearings will be
conducted Oct. 23 in The Dalles, the
Wasco County seat. Hearings will con
tinue until the polls close on Nov, 6.
"No legitimate voter will be denied
the right to vote." said Ray Phelps,
director of the state elections division.
"The conclusions of the hearings of
ficers will be used by the Wasco County
clerk to help determine the validity of
the individual application," Paulus
said.
Based on this recommendation the
county clerk will decide whether or not
to accept the application.
Criteria used for determining registra
tion status will include, a minimum age
of 18. U.S. citizenship, and residency
within Oregon 20 days prior to the elec
tion. Paulus said.
The most controversial aspect of the
review process will be in determining
the intent of the registrant to remain a
resident of Wasco County following the
Norma Paulus
election.
‘‘Both the Oregon State Supreme
Court and the U.S. Supreme Court have
not sufficiently outlined the criteria
needed to determine inten*.” Panlus
said.
Paul us said she and her elections
deputies have had to establish their own
criteria, including the registrant's place
of habitation, location of workplace, and
past history of community Involvement.
When asked if she feared a legal
challenge to her plan. Paulus responded,
‘‘1 would welcome a legal challenge that
would help clarify the courts’ position in
this area.
“We will be able to justify our actions
in court because Oregonians outside of
Wasco County plan to vote there illegal
ly, as do many of the street people who
reside in Wasco County,” she said.
Approximately 200 opponents of the
Rajneeshees attended the press con
ference. including members of the
Albany Croup and the Concerned Orego
nians. based in The Dalles.
Spokespersons for both groups ex
pressed support for the Paulus plan, as
well as a willingness to work within the
framework of the law in order to ensure
the sanctity of the polling booth.
Representatives of Rajneeshpuram
were not available for comment.
Chancellor urges state
to increase school funds
By Michael Hosmar
Of the Kim-rald
SALEM — “We’re at a decision
point." in the process of allocating
state funds for higher education, said
Bud Davis, chancellor of the State
System of Higher Education.
Davis and other higher-education
officials evaluated the financial status
of Oregon's higher-education system
and revealed long-term goals in a
media workshop held at the capitoi
last Friday.
“I’m tired of hearing that Oregon
can't he in the upper half (of all states)
in terms of funding because of lack of
resources. I don't believe this." Davis
said.
lit; said the new 1985-87 budget that
will be submitted to the governor in
December is “not a wish budget.” It’s
not adjusted for possible cuts the
governor might make when he
scrutinizes it at the end of the year, he
added.
"It's what the state could
reasonably spend and what Oregon
should spend,'' Davis said.
The “number one priority" facing
the State Board of Higher Education is
to “tell the governor what it would
take to get us (Oregon) up to the na
tional average" in terms of state funds
allocated for higher education. The
1985-87 budget would bring Oregon
up from a ranking of 38th in the na
tion to a ranking of 25th in the nation
for state allocated higher education
funding. Davis said.
The University ranks second-to-last
in the nation in slate funding of
higher education compared to the
largest institutions of each state,
Davis added.
Teachers’ salaries are hit hard by this
lack of funding. “No matter how you
juggle the figures, the University of
Oregon and Oregon State University
are in the lower 10 percent in terms of
salaries," Davis said. "That’s last in
I
Bud Davis
the West."
State college and university
facilities are also hurt by the lack of
money. There is no money for struc
tural improvements and renovations,
Davis said.
Oregon needs to get competitive
quickly, or we’ll loose what we’ve got
— quality professors and programs —
to other institutions, said Wil Post,
vice chancellor for public affairs.
'‘You’ll see an exodus like you
haven’t seen” if something isn’t done
now. Post added. He said he feels
confident that the higher-education
budget they submit this year will have
the governor’s approval because he
realizes it’s an investment for the
state.
"There's no way of avoiding that
investment now.” said Alvin Batiste,
president of the State Board of Higher
Education. The system needs money
only because of the bad condition it’s
in now, he said.
Womanspace has refuge
to protect abused victims
By Cynthia Whitfield
Of th« f-.merald
"Before iny third month of pregnancy
I had no idea Kurt would hurt me," says
Barbara, (not her real name), a Universi
ty student. "One night I remember in
particular. 1 went out drinking with him.
I thought I’d do what he was doing.”
But Kurt, an alcoholic, quickly became
drunk and began making a scene. Bar
bara convinced him they should leave,
but he insisted on driving “even though
°he was smashed” she says. Back at
home, Kurt went into the house while
Barbara remained in the car crying. Kurt
soon reappeared, and demanded that she
come into the house.
Kurt forced Barbara into the house and
threw her onto the couch,
"Then, he backhanded me across the
face. ! tried to run but he grabbed me and
threw me against the wall and started
choking mu.”
He stopped only after she began gag
ging. says Barbara.
Ten thousand women a year are vic
tims of emotional or physical abuse in
l.ane County alone, according to Carry
Oldham, director of Womanspace. a
Kugeiie shelter for battered women.
A violent incident occurs ever 12
seconds in the United States. One-sixth
of all American couples experience at
least one violent incident a year, more
than one-fourth at some time during
their marriage. The shelter home
receives about 200 crisis calls a month,
and helped about 4.000 women last year,
says Oldham.
Domestic violence is w idespread, but
most people have misconceptions about
the real dynamics of an abusive relation
ship. says Womanspace crisis telephone
volunteer Robin Cochran.
"People constantly ask us why women
don't bring charges against the guy.
They don't understand it's not that
easy."
Cochran says women have trouble get
ting help from law enforcement officials
who say they can't arrest a man for
threatening to harm someone. Women
may hi; shuffled around from agency to
agency without accomplishing their goal
— protection.
Although a recent law. The Abuse
Prevention Act. instructs police to
automatically arrest an abuser for
assault, he is seldom held for more than
24 hours. *
Not surprisingly., a woman is often
skeptical about using the legal system to
intervene. A woman pressing charges is
often terrified of further and more severe
violence awaiting her when the abuser is
released.
Since the first American women's
shelter opened in 1976. the homes have
become an alternative for many women
who want to make a choice between
escaping or remaining in an abusive
home.
But this does not always solve the pro
blem. Many women still find themselves
being harrassed by their boyfriends or
spouses, which forces them to issue
restraining orders hoping they will final
ly be left alone.
"A restraining order says the man
can’t abuse her. harrass her. or go to her
home. To violate results in a contempt
charge. But many men ignore it. Some
men are not intimidated bv it at all."
says Oldham.
A woman’s children are welcome at
the shelter, but the location of the home
is never revealed to any men as a safety
precaution. Womanspace offers counsel
ing services to abuse victims who many
times suffer feelings of guilt over their
predicament.
Oldham says that victims' families
often show a lack of concern for their
problem, telling the women to try a little
harder to work things out. To complicate
matters, abusers will usually blame their
victim’s for their violent outbursts.
Afer undergoing counseling, victims
begin consulting advocates to help them
put their lives back together.
Children arriving at Womanspace are
Continued on Page 6
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