Oregon daily emerald., January 14, 1987, Image 1

Oregon Daily
Emerald
Office of Mediation
ready to intervene
in student disputes
See Page 4
Wednesday. January 14. 1987
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 88, Number 79
California organization
threatens to plant bombs
if inmates not released
By Scott Miben
Of til* Emwraid
Potlce were alerted last week to an unusual letter
threatening to explode bombs at the University if certain
prison inmates in California were not released and flown out
of die country, according to Capt. Oakley Glenn, director of
the Office of Public Safety.
"A letter was received in the mail from an organization
saying if some people weren't freed from a prison in Califor
nia, each given $100,000 and put on a Jet out of the country,
they’d put bombs in the administration building here on cam
pus,” Glenn said.
Evacuations were not conducted in response to the letter
because there is not a campus facility formally or commonly
referred to as “the administration building. ” Glenn said, so a
bomb location could not be defined. Also, no exact time of
explosion was revealed, he said.
“There was something in the letter which gave it away."
he added. “1 can't say what, but aoraethtng in it fold us there
waan't any bomb anywhere. There was no need to evacuate. ’ ’
According to information in the letter, the cutoff date for
the bomb explosions came around midnight Sunday, Glenn
said.
The OPS interpreted the intended location of explosives
as any of three possible buildings. Officers were instructed to
alert personnel in Oregon Hall, Johnson Hall and McArthur
Court.
Oregon Hall houses the registrar and student records of
^Jlces, Johnson Hall contains offices of University ad
ministrators. Glenn said he couldn’t reveal why Mac Court
was considered a target.
An investigation of the threat is underway by the Eugene
Police Department. Other agencies also have been brought in
to the case, Glenn said.
Sgt. Chuck Tilby, who is heading EPD’s investigation,
notified administrators in each building about the bomb
threat. Glenn said.
Turn to Bomb, Page 4
University seeks opinion
of state attorney general
By Stan Nelson
Of lb* Kimrald
The University administration has requested
that the Oregon State Attorney General issue an
opinion on the constitutionality of the Athletic
Department’s drug-testing policy, said University
President Paul Olum on Monday.
"We believe this is the best way of resolving
all the questions various groups or individuals
have raised about the effects of the drug-testing
program on the rights of our athletes." Olum said
in a prepared statement.
The University administration and legal ad
visers have maintained Athletic Department drug
testing is constitutional and does not violate
athletes' civil rights.
The ASUO Office of Student Advocacy and
American Civil Liberties Union representatives
have contended, however, that drug testing infr
inges upon athletes' rights, and the decision to
begin drug testing should have gone through for
mal administrative rule-making procedures.
The University submitted its request for a
written opinion to the Oregon State System of
Higher Education. The State System is expected
to review and approve the request as well as
determine whether the issue might affect other
Oregon colleges and universities, Olum said.
Oregon State University also requires its
athletes to participate in a drug-testing program.
Other higher education institutions such as
Eastern Oregon State College are reviewing pro
posals or developing procedures to begin drug
testing.
The attorney general opinion "has potential
for solving the issue." said Dave Fidanque,
associate director of the ACLU in Oregon.
"However, we still have a number of athletes on
campus who are being tested against their will,"
and others who are refusing to consent to drug
testing and are being denied access to competi
tion. he said.
“While (the administration) is sending a re
quest to the attorney general, the University still
has not suspended the policy in question," said
Lucille Kaplan, OSA director. There is the
possibility the drug-testing program could be
struck down, and the University should suspend
the program until a final decision is reached, she
said.
Moth Fidanque and Kaplan indicated they
provided input in the formation of the attorney
general's opinion outline request.
“We are confident that our program is con
stitutional and that no athletes' rights have been
violated," said University Vice President for Ad
ministration Dan Williams in a prepared state
ment. “Others, particularly the American Civil
Liberties Union and ihe Associated Students of
the University of Oregon, do not agree with our
conclusions. We have listened carefully to all of
their reasons and arguments for challenging the
program and find that we do not agree with their
conclusions."
If an attorney general opinion is granted, an
individual or organization disagreeing with the
decision then would have the means to ask for a
further court resolution. Olum said.
The University has agreed to abide by the
outcome of the ruling. Olum said, and based on
the schedule of the attorney general’s office, a
response could be made within six to eight
weeks. Olum indicated.
I’he request asks the attorney general for an
opinion on constitutional issues, contested cases
under the Oregon Administrative Procedures Act
and rulemaking under tin? Oregon APA.
Turn to Testing, Page 4
Apartneia inception topic ot lecture
By Carolyn Lamberson
Of the Kmerald
About 100 community members.
University faculty and students at
tended a free lecture Tuesday even
ing at the Eugene Conference Center
on the historical perspective of the
South African dilemma.
The forum, sponsored by the
University's Henry Failing Fund,
the National Endowment for the
Humanities, and the Unit Center for
the Performing Arts, featured
University history Professor David
Anthony. Anthony is a nationally
known scholar of apartheid and the
American black experience.
Anthony’s lecture focused on the
history of South Africa and the
beginnings of apartheid.
“The South African dilemma
should not be viewed simply as
‘South African.’ It’s more a
southern African’ problem,” he
said. “It is a dilemma or crisis that
affects all the neighbors of South
Africa.”
Anthony went briefly into the
geographical aspects of South
Africa and then traced the beginn
ings of the nation to the 15th cen
tury when Spain and Portugal con
trolled the seas. The southern area
of the continent was important to
these nations because they needed a
secure path to the Indies for trading
purposes, he said.
When the sea going empire of the
Pt>o!o by Dan Whrrlrr
History Professor David Anthony lectures on the history that led to the cur
rent state of racial segregation in South Africa.
Portuguese began to decay. Por
tugal was challenged by the Dutch,
and by the mid-17th century the
Dutch assumed control of the area,
Anthony said. In 1852, the
representatives of the Dutch Hast In
dia Co. established themselves at
what is now Capetown.
By the 18th century, the Dutch
settlers began to show interest in
owning land. Anthony said. These
people, as well as a number of
Huguenots who were being expell
ed from Europe, were the original
ancestors of the current Afrikaaner
minority, he said.
Tensions between the settlers and
the natives began soon afterward,
Anthony said. The Europeans, ac
customed to densely settled land,
assumed that the surrounding area
Turn to Africa, Page 3
Oregon Student Lobby
against merit-based aid
By Shawn Wirt/
Of the Kmcrald
(U)v. Neil (Goldschmidt’s budget proposal to set
aside $1 million fora merit-based scholarship program
is icing without the cake, the Oregon Student Lobby
said Tuesday.
I he program is designed to “retain Oregon's
brightest students." Coldschmidt said in his budget
summary released Monday, and would be the first state
program that would not take financial need into
account.
'Hu; OSL will ask the Legislature to put the $1
million into the need-based aid program instead, said
Sherry Oeser, OSL executive director. The Oregon
Scholarship Commission needs at least $o million to
provide enough financial aid to all needy students, she
said.
“Because there isn’t enough money available they
have to set deadlines." which weeds out eligible
students, Oeser said. "That's especially true for people
who are non-traditional students."
About 60 percent of Oregon’s brightest students
stay in Oregon anyway, Oeser said. "From the different
things that we’ve seen, it’s not going to change
students’ choice of institutions." she said.
Students who go out of state usually do so to attend
church-affiliated universities or schools that offer pro
grams not available in Oregon. Oeser said.
“If we don’t have enough money for need-based,
we certainly don’t have enough for merit." said ASUO
President Steve Nelson. "We’ve worked against that in
the OSL. and I don’t support it at all.”
The proposal calls for an increase in the OSC’s
budget from $21,082,556 to $23,000,594 in general
Turn to Merit, Page 3