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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 24, 1986)
Thursday, April 24. 198(5 Eugene, Oregon Volume 87, Number 138 r University seeks funds for ‘superior’ programs By Andrew LaMar Of Ihr hmrr«IH ’ , • * . ; . University officials submitted a, request to the chancellor's office last week for an additional $.1.2 million from the state Legislature to fund Centers of Excellence at the i 'diversity The Centers of Excellence program is designed to iden tify and reward superior academic ureas at the state's eight public colleges and universities. Officials requested $5 million for the program two years ago. which was eventually whittled down to $2.4 million by the State System, the governor and the legislature for the 1985-87 biennium „ But liecause of the shortfall of lottery profits, the program will receive only about $1.7 million of the $2.4 million allocation. "What we're looking at here is the continuation of the Centers of Excellence program that was begun two years ago." said John Moseley, the University vice president for research and author of the request. The new request calls for about $1.2 million for the materials, optical and computer sciences. $709,000 for biotechnology, about $570.(MM) for a graduate program in in ternational business and almut $204.(MM) for high-energy physics. In addition, about $215,000 would be allotted to a geothermal research program, about $211.(MMl for the ar chitecture school computer graphics program, about $l(M).(M)0 for the Advanced Science and Technology Institute and about $71,(MM) for the Pine Mountain Observatory in Bend. University officials also are requesting about $d million to fund three existing areas of study and to create three* centers of study. The program improvement request calls for upgrading undergraduate education, the law school and the American studies program while establishing a Canter for Asian and Pacific Studies, a Center for Cognitive Study and a Center for Scientific: Study of Decision Making. The request exceeds Chancellor William Davis's larget figure by more than $4(M).(MM). but Davis characterizes these figures as only loose guidelines. "If (Moseley) has good reason to go over that, it's fine." Davis said, but he added that all of the requests from the state colleges and universities will have to la* reviewed before he decides if the request is excessive. Pinckney asks court to nullify Athletic Department measure By Sian Nelson , CM Ihf* Kmrrald ASUO President Lypn Pinckney says the Athletic Department violated election rules and is asking the Constitution Court to dismiss any votes for Ballot Measure 11. the Athletic Department-sponsored measure. Pinckney is sub mitting a written request to the Constitution Court today. I'he Athletic Department is not a member of the ASIJO or an ASUO administrative body, such as the Incidental Pee Committee or the Student Senate^ Therefore, it cannot have access to the |H!tition process or enjoy the privileges of the Constitution Court; Pinckney writes. " Because of I he important implications (of allowing the Athletic Department to have access to the liallot). it puts students at a risk ior funding the EMU, Counseling Center or any other depart ment” should they decide to list; the referendum process, Pinckney says. The Athletic Department should seek fun ding through the I PC. she writes. Under the IFC Guidelines, hearings on Athletic Department funding requests shall be held at a time mutually convenient for both par ties. Bypassing the I PC hearing process would violate the guidelines, she slates in the request. Ballot Measure 11 violates the ASUO election rules, the ASUO Constitution. IP'C Guidelines, state law and University policy. Pinckney writes. Chris Voelz, associate athletic director, says Pinckney's accusations are invalid. Instead, the student government is merely rehashing issues already discussed at an April 17 Constitution Court hearing, she says. The student government is finding it’s “not able to control and exert undue influence over the Athletic Department." Voelz says. She calls the whole situation "a royal setup.” Measure 11 asks for a 49 percent increase in student incidental fees, which would raise stu dent fees from $700,000 to $1,179,241 for women's athletics for the 1980-87 academic year. Supporters gathered 1.100 signatures to place the measure on the ballot. Pinckney says sbe was spurred into filing a grievance after Athletic Department adver I.ynn Pinckney tisements were published in the Oregon Daily F me raid April 23-24 paid for by the Duck Athletic Fund. Flections rule fi. 10 states ballot measure cam paigns "shall not accept contributions from organizations not funded, registered or recogniz ed at the University of Oregon.” The Duck Athletic Fund is the title of an ac count of the University of Oregon Foundation, a non-profit corporation, which is neither a registered nor recognized student organization. The Athletic Department also violated elec tion rules when it used the McArthur Court mar quee to promote Ballot Measure 11 April 16. says Cheryl Pellegrini, IFC vice chairwoman. Pinckney also charges that the University's educational atmosphere has been compromised by instructors who have used class time to cam Continued on Page 7 Environmentalists urged to dispute economic arguments By Chris Nurmi Of I hr fmrrald In past environment.!! controversies, environmentalists have l>een their own worst enemies In-cause they believe tin economic argument is always against then>. said Dr. |an Newton, senior economist of Environmental Science Associates. Newton discussed the relation of economics to environmental ethics Wednesday night as part of the Survival Center's Earthweek celebration. The theme of this year's Earthweek is “Oregon's Economy. Oregon's Environment.” 1 L I)r. fan Newton Newton formerly worked in Oregon with environmental activist groups that opposed the spraying of pesticides on forests in the Coast Range. She currently is working in San Francisco with citizen action groups attempting to stop the con struction of high-rise buildings in the city’s downtown area. About 30 people showed up to hear Newton's presentation. In which she drew many parallels between the high rise building issue and other en vironmental issues. "At first the building of high-rise of fices is justified in strictly economic terms." she said. "Any attempt to put an end to herbicide use elicited the same argument in justification." The main parallel among most en vironmental issues is that "once the en vironmentally destructive act is propos ed, and economic arguments have been given to justify it, people often accept the economic figures as a given." Therefore labor tends to fall in line on the side with the economic argument because of the jobs issue. Newton said. "This results in environmentalists fin ding themselves facing the rare coalition of labor in bed with big business." Any opposition to business, especially in a troubled economic time, results in a bad reputation and environmentalists often are labeled as idealists, she said. The final parallel drawn bv Newton concerned the local media involvement in environmental issues. The media tend to support the proposed action based on the economic argument without any in vestigation of the figures used, she said. Newton gave examples from the high rise building issue in San Francisco. The building boom that has occured there in the past It) years was justified on four economic grounds, she said. Officials claimed the new office space would br ing San Francisco more revenue, in creased housing availability, improved downtown transportation, and would generally prompt employment and economic development. The Bay Guardian. an alternative newspaper in the city, did an in-depth study of the economics of the high-rise development and found the city ending up in net deficit for what was supposed to be a boom, she said. The Guardian's investigation found that every economic argument used to support the high-rise boom did not hold water. “What has resulted is probably the broadest coalition in San Francisco since the general strikes of the 1930s, suppor ting an end to the high-rise develop ment." she said.