Editorial
ASUO should have
retained Kittredge
Whom does She director of the ASUO Office of Student
Advocacy, the student advocate, work for? The ASUO presi
dent or the student body? Bill Kittredge was fired for choos
ing the wrong side. He worked for the students.
Students pay the advocate’s salary through incidental
fees, mandatory fees tacked onto students' tuition. And ac
cording to the ASUO Executive’s job description, the ad
vocate is a “grievance administrator for students experienc
ing difficulties with the decision-making processes of the
University and Oregon State System of Higher Education.”
At the same time, the job is contracted through the
ASUO Executive. And only the ASUO president and anyone
he or she chooses to participate has the power to hire and
fire the student advocate.
But what happens when a student's grievance is with or
connected to the ASUO Executive, which includes the
ASUO president? Unfortunately, it appears that if the ad
vocate wants to keep his or her job. he or she should side
with the ASUO Executive — exactly opposite of what an ef
fective student advocate should do.
This is precisely the situation Kittredge faced when
students came to him with complaints that the insurance
they purchased through the ASUO was not paying their
claims. As he did throughout his term as director. Kittredge
did what he could to solve the students' problems.
ASUO President Steve Nelson delivered a memo to Kit
tredge dated May 30 instructing him to quit representing
students with insurance complaints. The memo told Kit
tredge to refer all complaints to the ASUO insurance
coordinator.
Another memo oaten May jo tnai rentnou muitosc
June 5 informed him that his contract would be put out to
bid.
And ASIJO representatives, most of whom supported
Margie Hendriksen in the hotly contested District 4 congres
sional race, also were resentful of Kittrodge’s work on the
campaign of the victorious candidate. Peter DeFazio.
Nelson and ASUO Vice President Caitlin Cameron insist
that Kittredge's dismissal had nothing to do with anything
he did as director. Cameron pointed to a non-binding ASUO
Executive policy that suggests that contracted jobs be put
out to bid every three years. Kittredge had just completed his
third year.
Hut even if the ASUO was acting in good faith, it is hard to
see how Nelson, Cameron and former ASUO President Lynn
Pinckney, who interviewed applicants, could find anyone
more qualified than Kittredge. With his record of service, it
is hard to understand why they put the contract out to bid in
the first place.
Kittredge was not hired, according to Cameron, because
he was not as qualified as the successful candidate.
Never mind that both Pinckney and Cameron wrote glow
ing evaluations of Kittredge less than a year ago. Never mind
that for an unqualified person, he did an outstanding job in
the position for three years. Never mind that any time the
ASUO Executive wanted something done they went to him.
Never mind that he was willing to provide advice and help
to any student who asked.
Never mind that he knows nearly every administrator on
campus. Never mind that he understands how to get through
the rat’s maze of University systems. Never mind that his
commitment has earned the respect of administrators and
students alike.
It may be too late for Kittredge. Hut before a second stu
dent advocate is placed in the difficult position of having to
decide between working for students and pleasing the
A£UO president, the hiring and firing power should Ik*
distributed amongst a group of people — preferably a ma
jority of whom are not tied to the ASUO Executive.
IF HE REGANS
CONSCIOUSNESS,
TELL HIM HE
WON
r
Lane Transit District bus ride
offers tour of McKenzie River
By Stephen Maher
Of the Kmorald
Climbing on board and riding
a Eugene city bus can be an
unpleasant experience. They
stop continuously, fill
themselves to the limit with im
patient passengers and emit
fumes fit for a Ixiuisiana gas
chamber but little else.
But thanks to the good folks at
the Lane Transit District, there's
one route that is actually a
pleasure to ride. Known as Bus
16, it leaves the Eugene Mall
four times each weekday,
passes through Springfield and
then travels east along the
McKenzie River for 48 miles
before heading back.
After suffering through one
dog-day afternoon too many. I
boarded Bus 16 and deposited
the required 60-cent one-way
fare The bus schedule said the
trip would take more than three
hours, so I settled into my seat
with a curious mind and an
urge for some good old western
adventure.
One of the first things I notic
ed as the bus motored along was
the lack of established, bus
stops. Passengers departed .by
ringing the hell and got on by
flagging down the bus. which
turned out to be a headache for
the driver who mistook waving
hv lonely residents as a signal to
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stop.
The bus traveled on Highway
126 and passed through the
historic towns of Walterville,
leahurg. Vida. Nimrod. Finn
Rock. Blue River and McKenzie
Reporter’s
notebook
Bridge. The towns were found
ed in the later part of the 19th
century and, with the exception
of Blue River and McKenzie
Bridge, all were named after
early settlers and their
offspring. T urn-of-the-century
cottages, general stores, barns
and houses could be seen stan
ding in and around the towns,
adding a touch of nostalgia to
the trip.
The bus' ride also offered a
quick glimpse of recreational
vehicle cities, which sprout.up.
every sumiper like wild flowers
in early Stay. Most wore, near
boat landings adiri possessed
names such as Blazing Stump
Mobile I'afk and l^/.v Days
Mobile Park. From a distance,
they appeared to offer many of
the amenities found in
populated areas, thus prov iding
a home-away-from-home for all
the semi-rugged campers
present.
Observations from the bus
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revealed the counterculture
presence in the area, too. Old
school buses with makeshift
roofs dotted the landscape as
well as colorfully painted
mailboxes. And at the Cougar
Reservoir Hot Springs turnoff,
two long-haired gentlemen
jumped off. carrying only a can
of grapefruit juice and a paper
bag filled with an unknown
substance.
The fishing influence was
strong on Bus 16. Not only did I
see fishermen wandering along
the banks of the river and hand
painted signs extolling the vir
tues of different sized worms,
but passengers on the bus fiddl
ed with fishing poles as they
rode and told stories about their
search for the elusive Big One.
On 'the return trip, the bus
roupded a corner near l^aburg
l.ake and surprised a man and
woman who still had their lines
in tlje water. As the woman
flagged thtrhb«,down and car
" rted some "of tfte gear to it. her
companion reeled in his line
like a worried madman and
J then rushed off toward the bus.
"You did it to us again.” they
shouted to the driver as they
climbed aboard. Once inside,
the man continued trying to un
tangle line, hook and sinker.
While the woman, holding a
freshly caught truut in a dripp
ing Img. went from passenger to
passenger asking, "Do you
want a fish?" To her surprise,
however, no one accepted her
gracious offer.
An hour later, as the bus came
out of the cool hills and into
Springfield and then Eugene. I
felt like 1 had been gone for
days. My mind felt refreshed
and the bad case of the Eugene
blues, which I had carried
around for some time, had been
cured with ease. Bus 16 had
l>een a pleasure.
By Stephen Maher