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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 9, 1985)
Oregon daily emerald Thursday, May 9, 1985 Eugene, Oregon Volume 86, Number 150 Live comedy at the Forum Comedian Ray Hanna keeps 'em laughing Wednesday night in the Forum Room of the EMU during the live Comedy Night sponsored by the EMU Cultural Forum. Students were entertained by Hanna and fellow comedienne Susan Rice for an hour and a half on topics ranging from pathological bank personnel to men's derrieres, with an assortment of satirical songs and im itations thrown in. Photo by James Marks Rally scheduled to show support for divestment By Paul Erteit Of the Emerald The ASUO is sponsoring a rally in Salem Friday morning to show support for a bill that would force divestment of state funds in South Africa. House Bill 2001, which is before the House Human Resources Committee, prohibits investment of state funds in firms doing business in countries that practice apartheid. The bill also directs “prudent divestment” of current state investments in those firms over a two year period. The bill, which singles out and condemns the racial policies of South Africa and Namibia, affects the Public Employee’s Retirement Fund, Industrial Acci dent Fund and short-term funds. During a work session Friday afternoon, the com mittee will vote on a proposed amendment to the bill that will require the state treasurer and the Oregon In vestment Council to divest funds along the lines of the Sullivan Principles. Those principles stipulate that businesses operating in South Africa should follow non-discriminatory practices. Scott Jones, assistant state affairs coordinator for ASUO, says the amendment would water down the bill. “That is not an amendment I would accept,” he says. “I don’t think the Sullivan Principles are an ade quate measure to end apartheid.” The principles only affect hiring practices for the few blacks working for those companies, he says, but do not address the widespread social and political restrictions placed on blacks. Divestment, on the other hand, puts direct economic pressure on the South African government, he says. The work session is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in hearing room D. The rally will be held at 10:30 a.m. outside the Capitol Building. Speakers at the rally include Rep. Margaret Carter, D-Portland, the sponsor of the bill and Debra Cook, of Clergy and Laity Concerned. The ASUO is organizing carpools to Salem to leave the parking lot at Moss Street and 15th Avenue at 9 a.m. on Friday. Fire strikes Carson Hall Carson Hall was the sight of a fire early Wednesday evening, which left an estimated $500 in damage. There were no injuries. The fire occured at 5:23 p.m. when an unknown substance was left unattended in a kettle on a stove in a first-floor kitchen. Returning to the hall after an evening jog, Eric Chantelois, a resident assistant at Carson, noticed smoke billowing out of the kitchen and flames about two feet long coming out of the kettle. He yelled to Debra Fesak at the Carson desk, and she called the fire department. “1 didn’t even smell the smoke. 1 didn’t notice anything until I heard Eric yell,” said Fesak. When she looked into the lobby, she saw smoke rolling out of the hallway toward the main desk, she said. The water sprinkler system activated shortly thereafter, said Chantelois. Fesak and Chantelois quickly shut the doors to the cafeteria and evacuated the building. Soon after, the fire department arrived and extinguished the fire. “It all went very quick," said Chantelois. Marge Bigelow of campus security said fire fighters and campus security of ficers arrived at the scene within five minutes of the initial call. The kitchen was charred and the lobby flooded with water, which leaked into the basement. It has not been determined who left the kettle unattended. Bias-lawsuit bill defeated SALEM (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday narrowly rejected a bill to allow students who think they’ve been discriminated against to file lawsuits in state courts. The measure, Senate Bill 413, was defeated on a 15-13 vote with no debate, but its floor manager, Sen. L.B. Day, R Salem, said he would attempt to win reconsideration of the bill on Thursday. Day said students who think schools have discriminated against them because of sex, race, religion or other factors either have to file a complaint with the school or file a lawsuit in federal court. Giving them a chance to take such suits to circuit courts would be more equitable than having schools decide whether they've discriminated against a student and less time-consuming than going to federal court, Day said. The bill would apply to all students in grade school through college, he said. Stupidity on parade By Patrick Low Of the Emerald If you can’t fight mediocrity, thg logical solution is to embrace it, acknowledge and celebrate its pro found influence on civilization, and then hope it works for you. This philosophy apparently motivated a number of campus students to submit a total of 22 brain numbing home movies to the EMU Cultural Forum for its first Stupidest Home Movie Contest. And on Friday, the best of them will be shown at 8 p.m. in Room 150 Geology. “It’s going to be a celebration of the creative ineptness of the common man,” said Jeff Vetterick, film and video coordinator for the Cultural Forum. The Stupidest Home Movie Contest is an offshoot of the Forum’s Annual Film/Video Art Show, a showcase for professional filmmaking talent, cur rently in its fourth year. This year, Vetterick decided to give amateurs a shot at fame, so he added the stupid movie contest. “On the one hand, we have this avant-garde, artsy and prestigious event, so 1 figured why not have something for the common folk, so-to speak, in the form of a stupid home movie contest?” Vetterick said. “1 was sure there was a lot of stupid talent out there.” However, making the selections for the Friday showing proved to be a dif ficult task for the judges, all of whom were carefully selected “for their ability to withstand cruel and unusual visual abuse.” “We wanted something that people would laugh at — not laugh with,” Vetterick said. “But how do you quantify a concept like stupidity? The judges had to struggle with that.” However, Vetterick said the win ners won’t be publicized until Friday. Friday’s show will be hosted by Portland comedian J.P. Linde, who will be bringing along one of his own home movies for the occasion. The winner of the contest will be announced sometime during the show and will be awarded a $100 check. Admission is free, but barf bags will not be provided. Bring your own. See related stories Page 12