Oregon DAILY EMERALD l iuta\. K'hruarv 22. I*W I lugcne. Oregon Volume l>2, Issue HK' Forum questions University commitment to minorities By Carrie Dennett Emerald Reporter Many students and faculty say the Brand administration brings the greatest opportunity for affirmative action and di versity that this University has seen if it lives up to its commitment. "Many people are starting to ask., is (Brand) really committed to what he said last year about diversity?" said Brian Hoop, ASUO affirmative action < oordina tor, at a Thursday night forum on affirm ative action issues. Titled "A Commitment Toward Sensi tivitv of Diversity." the discussion fo cused on the accountability of the Uni versity's commitment to minority recruit ment and retention, especially in the wake of Measure 5 "One of my biggest concerns is that privilege is not something that women, gays and lesbians, and people of color have on this campus." said Bobby l.ee. ASI <) affirmative at tion coordinator "We .ire not anywhere near when; we should Im\" said Marshal Sauceda. ai ting direi tor of the (Jffice of Multicultural At fairs "1 have, however, seen some im provement Sauceda said he has seen more recruit ment of minorities in faculty luring than ever before Myntha Hynes, assistant direi tor of ad missions. said recruitment of minoritv students is also up She said the Univer sity has a multicultural recruitment plan, does joint activities with DMA. and has sent minority high school students a pamphlet called "Visualize Success." which was written with the help of all the student unions Hynes said minority students now make up 10 percent of the student lx><i\ compared to fi percent in t'.lHl However, minority recruitment means little without retention Sam cda said It's not |ust about lirinxinK more bod les to ( ampus We need to ( reate an env i ronment that retains them Hvnes sail) d is the responsibility of the entire student body, as well as the ad ministration, to i reate a supportive envi ronment. and eliminate the fallai ies and discriminatory attitudes that color rear turns toward minorities l.ee said the decisions the admincstra lion made in the program ( idling t>roi ess did further damage to a supportive i li mate. "There was obviously no affinna live action in the de< ision making pro ( ess " l.ee said I loop said it is important to keep in mind that students are empowered bv the fact that there is still time before program cuts and tuition hike proposals ■ire up proved by the state Legislature While students have been fighting atti tudes and dei isions that adversely affect them, some students find it hard to keep fighting "I didn't come to this school to advo i ate my rights When I pay my tuition. I don't get money bat k for being a student of color. I came here to study." Let- said Concern over the University's com mitment to diversity has intensified in light of recent hate crimes directed tit women, people of color, and gays and lesbians Dianna kale of the Office of Student Development said these hate (.rimes, in conjunction with failure to retain minor ity students, are significant "All of those things indicate that there are major problems," she said Celebrating tradition (lemma Alvinr and lay Kivurn brush up on a traditional Filipino damn that tiwy will present as part of Filipino cultural ni^ht, which runs from t> to H:M) p in Sunday in the FMl1 Hallroom. Photo by Sean Poston Proposal targets housing crisis By Rene DeCair E filer aid Reporler The passage °f a recently introduced House bill would require the University to form a new committee to determine whether the University's housing plans adequately ad dress students' needs The bill would require each institution in the state system to submit <iii annual report to the State Hoard of Higher Ed ucation. comparing their pro visions for student housing with those of the other institu tions in the Pacific It) Confer ence. Kep. Hill Dwyer. I) Spring field, sponsored the hill to get the University to prove that it is working to build more stu dent housing, said Dwyer's legislative assistant. Scott Bartlett "The University of Oregon has been less than forthright in the housing crisis that is partially ( aused by students." Harden said With few planes for stu dents to live in Kugenu. they often go I') Springfield and take np the available low-in come housing there, Bartlett said This "unfairly imposes hardships" on Springfield residents, he said, and was one reason why Dwyer pro posed the bill In addition, the bill is an at tempt to get the University to support its claim that stu Turn to HOUSING. Page 3 Iraq, Soviets agree on plan, U.S. rejects peace proposal MOSUOW and DHAHKAN, Saudi Arabia (A1 *) Iraq ac< epted a Soviet peace plan that calls for an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait and an end to tin* Persian (lull War, a Kremlin spokesman said ear ly Friday. Hut on the desert front, allied forces opened fire on targets deep in Iraqi-held territory in one of the heaviest barrages of the war A senior Hush administration official said early Friday that the peace proposal is "unacceptable to the United States " The 11.S official spoke on condition of anonymity following a late-night White House meeting Hritish Prime Minister John Major also rejected the plan Friday. < ailing it "not good enough." A key drawback in the U.S view was believed to lie the lack of any apparent Iraqi commitment to pay reparations for war damage. Significantly, the agreement contained no mention of the Pales tinian problem or the Arah-Israeli conflict the issues that Iraq Turn to PEACE Page 9 Entertainment The new movie release Sleeping with the Enemy re volves around Laura Bur ney's (Julia Roberts) plans to escape from her husband (Patrick Bergin) and his cra zy paranoia The film currently is playing at Movieland and the Springfield Quad. See review. Page 5 Julia Roberts The rollicking blues of Little Charlie and the Nightcats will take over Good Times Cafe and Bar. 375 E. Seventh Ave.. at 9:30 p m tonight and Saturday night The hand is touted as one of the premier nightclub touring hands on the West Coast See story. Page 8 Oregon's basketball ton in was pounded loo h:i at UCLA Thursday night !)*• spile the loss, the Ducks re main tied at second place in the Pacific 10 Conferenc e See story. Page 4 Almanac Today is the last day to withdraw from courses with a recorded VV It is also the final day to change grade options and change the number of credits in courses with variable credit A $10 fee per change will be as sessed