Inside:
•Writing with Kesey, Page 5
•Touring Eugene, Page 11
•Sky pilot, Page 12
ri Oregon Daily_ -
Emerald
Wednesday. October 21, 1987
Eugene. Oregon
Volume 89. Number 35
Conservationists file suit
over spotted owl habitats
By Andrew LaMar
Emerald Reporter
Twelve conservation groups
filed a lawsuit Monday after
noon against the Bureau of l.and
Management to stop the cutting
of old-growth timber in Oregon.
The lawsuit's primary con
cern is the protection of the nor
thern spotted owl, according to
plaintiff representatives who
held a press conference Tues
day morning.
The BLM is a subdivision of
the Department of the Interior,
headed by Donald Hodel. BLM
officials were not available for
comment Tuesday.
The lawsuit was filed in
Portland in U.S. District Court.
Wendell Wood, the educa
tional programs coordinator for
the Oregon Natural Kesourc.es
Council, said conservationists
“seek to require the Bureau of
l.aud Management to prepare a
full environmental impact state
ment to disclose the adverse
economic and environmental
effects of old-growth cutting in
the BLM's 289 identified spot
ted owl management areas."
Between 1979 and 1983 the
BLM drafted a 10-year plan for
each of its seven western
Oregon districts. Included in
the plan were environmental
impact statements that warned
the logging of old-growth forest
would decrease the number of
spotted owls in the area.
Since then, several organiza
tions have studied the spotted
owl and published new infor
mation about their habitat, laist
February the BLM state director
reviewed the studies and issued
a document assessing the new
information, but it did not
discuss much of the new infor
mation. according to the
lawsuit's plaintiffs
In April, the BLM state direc
tor issued a notice stating the
Bl.M did not find the new infor
mation on the spotted owl
significant, and it would con
tinue logging old-growth timber
at the current rate.
"The BI.M's documents in
dicate that if the present level of
old-growth logging continues,
in only four more years we will
have precluded any exisiting
options for survival of the
species." Wood said. The BLM
currently controls 412,000 acres
of old-growth forest and cuts it
at an average of 15,000 acres a
year, he added.
Since April, the plaintiffs
twice have requested the In
terior Hoard of Land Appeals
halt sales of old-growth timber
within 2.1 miles of any of the
owls' habitats to preserve the
species. The board rejected both
requests, saying the plaintiffs
failed to show cutting the old
growth would result in ir
reparable injury.
The 12 groups filing the suit
are the Central Oregon
Audubon Society. Headwaters,
the kalmiopsis Audubon Socie
ty. the laine County Audubon
Society, the Natural Resources
Defense Council, the Oregon
Naturul Resources Council, the
Portland Audubon Society, the
Salem Audubon Society, the
Sierra Club, the Siskiyou
Audubon Society, The
Wilderness Society, and the
Umpqua Valley Audubon
Society.
Experts judge University
By Mike Drummond
Emerald Associate Editor
One of the givens of college
life mandates that students
receive evaluations for
academic performance; the
University is no exception.
Every 10 years the Universi
ty opens its departmental
doors to outside scrutiny
through an accreditation
review, inviting a handful of
regional educators and ad
ministrators to appraise the
institutions virtues and
foibles
Early last spring l :i
representative* from the Nor
thwest Association of Schools
and Colleges paid a three-day
visit to this campus and
evaluated the University's
strengths and weaknesses.
Members of this year's review
team included the president
of Montana State University, a
graduate school dean from the
University of Utah and Stan
ford University's dean of stu
dent affairs, among others
When last accredited in
1977, the University faced
deep budget cuts To adjust to
this situation, the t'177
evaluation team recommend
ed the campus consider
“selective program reduc
lions or outright elimina
tions" of some courses
In addition, it cited pro
blems with the “mission''
and “coherence" of the
School of Community Servic e
and Public Affairs, and
described the academic advis
ing and registration pro
cedures as “uneven and
ACCREDITATION
- REPORT -
U D
■
generally less than
satisfactory."
The 1987 accreditation
review found that over the l«»*»t
decade the University made
strides in the two former
areas; however, the latter
recommendation s h a v e
received low priority
For example, }n the early
19B0s the University, bending
under the weight of stale
mandated budget restraints,
cut several superfluous pro
grams and closed the School
of Community Service and
Public Affairs and the School
of l.ibrarianship.
In contrast, however,
academic advising and
registration procedures have
changed little since the last
accreditation report
The 1987 evaluation team
again noted the University's
(*r«ptiu b> lorr«iM K«lh
advising and registration
shortcomings, along with a
host of other areas needing
improvement. Hut it also
praised certain aspects of the
University.
Concerning the Univer
sity’s faults, common themes
found throughout the lfiH7
evaluation report cited a luck
of access for the mobility
impaired. chronic: "space
crisis" in several depart
ments. particularly the
library, and an excess reliance
on Graduate Teaching
I-' e I I o w s for course
instruction.
Alison liaker, executive
assistant tn University Presi
dent Paul Olum. discussed
these and other findings of the
report in a recent interview.
Turn to Review, Page 3
University organizations wage battle for AIDS education
By Kelvin Wee
Emerald Reporter
The issue of AIDS prevention has been
the focus of many educational cam
paigns at the University.
In the last year, the University has
witnessed the birth of the University's
AIDS Task Force, the University's
Laurene Shields
(Educational AIDS Task Force, and the
inclusion of the disease into the cur
riculum of many community education
classes.
According to Dr. lames lackson. direc
tor of the University's Student Health
Center, there are many ways students
can get information arid education on
AIDS However, few students are using
these services
He said although AIDS educ ation on
campus has helped increase student con
sciousness about the disease, many
students still don't take it as seriously as
they should.
"I think that students need to realize
that AIDS is everyone’s problem, and not
just for those in the high-risk groups,"
he said. "I don’t think the message has
really sunk in yet and unfortunately, it
may take a tragedy of someone close
before students realize that it is a
problem.’’
Jackson believes the issue isn’t that the
University cannot provide the informa
tion on AIDS, but that students have not
been sincerely receptive to the
education.
He said the health center is always on
the lookout for good brochures on AIDS
and safe sex because these are the most
helpful, non-threatening ways to get in
formation across.
"Students can pick these brochures up
at the health (.enter and read them in the
privacy of their homes or rooms without
anyone knowing." he said.
The health center also offers several
programs that are available to students
looking for more in-depth information
about the disease.
These students can visit the Health
Education Resource Room staffed by
peer health student advisers or see
health care providers at the center who
can give information on AIDS. Jackson
said.
He added the positive side of AIDS
education at the University is more
students are becoming active in educa
tion. and he believes student govern
ment should be commended for its work
on the issue.
Tim Regan. ASIJO University Affairs
coordinator, said although students have
been receptive to information, their
response to the issue has been slow.
He explained the success of the Con
dom Awareness Day sponsored by the
Peer Health Advisors last year was one
way to Judge how receptive students
were to the illness and how it affected
their lives.
"Many people just took the condoms
Cin Chubb
and flyers we handed out. but very few
actually stopped to ask us questions." he
said. "Hut I feel that it's a start that they
are beginning to take the information
with them."
Kagan, who is the University's Educa
tional AIDS Task Force chairman, said
many students avoid attending public
lectures on AIDS because they fear being
Turn to Aids, Page 4