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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1993)
EDITORIAL Step back and rework Amazon The University is upset with the architect, the archi tect is upset with the University and the students are upset with everyone. The Amazon student housing pro ject is spinning, in an uncontrollable path, out to sea. There is a great deal of money at stake, let alone peo ple’s homes. The people living at Amazon have created an environment that is very livable to them, and they should be incorporated in the refurbishment of Amazon. The availability of low-cost student housing makes high er education easier to attain for low-income families. Indeed, it is one of the few ways for low-income students to afford a higher education. The objective of the University is to provide a similar living environment but in a refurbished setting. This idea has been overwhelmed with politics and bad com munication since the project l>egan. Costs are rising dras tically, and if they continue to increase they will ulti mately be passed onto the residents. These residents are already living on a low income, with half of their budget going to rent in some cases. Any rent increase could eliminate their potential to attain a degree. The lines of communication have become dogged, the intended goal of the University has been lost in poli tics. and the tenants just want an affordable place to live. It is definitely time to take a step back and ro-evaluate. The students are asking for a moratorium on the imme diate demolition and rebuilding of Amazon until a clear public policy regarding the importance of low-cost hous ing has been established. Furthermore, they would like to have this policy approved by the Amazon tenants. Engineers from a local architecture firm have stated that the current structures can be safely occupied until June 1996. The more students the University continues to evacuate before that date, the higher the loss in rev enue. So far. 37 units are empty, resulting in the loss of roughly $7,000 dollars a month. Time is not of complete essence, and the benefits of restructuring could be extremely positive to the entire project. The relationship with tho architect. Christopher Alexander, and his firm CES/TE, must also be reworked. It seems the working relationship between tho Universi ty, the students and the architect has been severely dam aged. Tho student group that was created to achieve this relationship was disbanded in the spring of 1992 after a confrontation erupted between Alexander and tho stu dents. Nothing can be achieved until there is a possibil ity of working together. Although an immediate moratorium will further delay the intended completion date of tho project, it may ben efit everyone in the long run. The plan, as it exists now. can t continue and be called a success. There have been too many mixed signals and inflated costs. Amazon housing provides a service to the students and tho stu dents provide a service to the community. One can not exist without the other. , Emerald PO OO* 31V<> CUGCMC ORfGOW 9r«3 the (>|Vi*’ Ptt-’f t •"<»») .3 published daily Monday through today dui -xj the school yeai and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Otegon Daily Emerald Publishing Co . Inc . at me University ot Oregon. f ugene. Oregon The t merest operates independently of the University with orices at Suite 300 ot the Erb Memorial Umon and is a member ot the Associated Press The l rngrarn .s private property The unlaw'll! removal or use ot papers 4 prosecutable by law EdJtor-ln-ChleT lake Hera Managing E dll or Editorial Editor Graphic* Editor Fraatanca Editor CaH«y And*r*On Davxl Thorn Ja« Pasta y Thor Waaboflan Sports Editor Mims Editorisi Editor Jo* P*»hardt Photo Editor Anthony Forney Supplements Editor K**y Soto Night Editor Scot Clemens tuocuti Editor*: Scot Cl#mwi Sludenl Government Activities Rebeccs Memtt. Commune,. Rivers Janssenfkgher ftArcahorvArSmmisfrafion Nows Sun 1*011 [tower Dave Chartronneau. Meg Dectoiph. Amy Oevenport. Mat* f ■*«*> Martin fisher Sarah Henderson. Auk HaaaaKMN. Edward KiopUnstem. Ym leng leong Tnsta Noel Elisabeth Reensljema, Lr* Salcccia Scott Simonson. Stephanie Sisson. Susanne Stettens. JuM> Swenson, Mchete Thompaon Aguiar. Keren Tnpp. Amy Van Tuyt. Daniel West General Manager: Judy Kredt Advertising Director: Mark Walter Production Manager: Mchele Boss Advertising: t'relim* Bell, lyndsey Bernsie.n. Subrr Dull* Nicole Meumark. Teresa IsJtreAe, Jeremy Mason. Mchael Mrfiefle. Van V O’Bryan II. Rachael Trull. Kelsey Wekall. Ange Wmctrem Classified Becky Merchant, Manage< Victor Me|ia Sim Tre Teck Distribution: Brandon Anderson. John Long. Graham Simpson Business: Kathy Carbon* Supervisor Judy Connolly Production: Dee NtoCobb. Prooucfon CoorcSnator Shawn* Abeie Greg Desmond. Tara Gaultnev Brad Joss. Jenmler Roland. Nall Thangvigrt. Clayton Yee M»n»«fOO«w —..—S*M#11 Bmln— Offlc*..-.30-8812 Olapln Advartttnf..WM'tl Cl—»m— Adyf—Mg .MMM3 ''slam tUAM l Bt .AH SLAV* ,V<8f>H« U>AH OH A oHe WAV Bt> H Kl.»M , |(,*IBB>NdC HO tvcu.$e blah THt COMMENTARY Police try to educate bicyclists By Dennis Baker I would like to respond to an article in the Oct 1H edition of the Emerald "Bicyclists must obey trnffii rules." i believe the article was well writ ten and is an excellent tool for continuing the education proc ess at the University, as it relates to bi< vi le safety and the enforcement of traffic violations I read several times in the arti cle that bicyclists were unaware of the Oregon laws regarding the rules of the road. When I came to the University nearly two years ago, I attended several meetings where University stu dents were targeted and “pic ked on" when it came to such enforcement 1 listened to stories and examples of incidents where Eugene police officers issued citations to students who were out-of-state or from large cities w here bic.yt le enforc e ment was all but non existent I believed then, as 1 do now . that ignorance of the law is no excuse. However, 1 believed the students brought up some very good points. I believe the law enforcement community also has some responsibility to edu cate the greater c ommunity, par ticularly when concerns are raised about perceived negative impacts on it. 1 decided to do what 1 could to inform students at the Universi ty about bicycle issues. The campus police officers and I developed several ways to go about it. First, campus police officers developed several pam phlets relating to bicycle safety, security and enforcement. A wallet-size card was also devel oped with the help of local west University businesses. This card is kept by the bicycle owner in case his or her bicycle is stolen, so all of the necessary informa tion about the bike is available for the police. Thus the chances of recovering the bicycle are increased. I believed that just handing out more pamphlets for students to possibly throw away was not enough. The officers began an aggressive campaign to further educate students We were pre sent at the summer IntroDlJCK tions, where parents and now students attended and where the topic of bicycles was discussed. 1 also gave presentations at the new student orientations. Police officers explained bii y< le laws at Greek meetings, housing ori entations and several Campus Community Relations Task Force meetings We had a booth at the Street Faire called "Ask a Cop." which was staffed by police officers who have made hundreds of contacts relating to bicycles on campus. Last year, as well as this year, members of the Eugene Police Traffic Unit spent the entire first week of school issuing verbal warnings to bicycle riders who violated traffic laws on or near campus. Hundreds of warnings were giv en to students It is also noteworthy to men tion that the Office of Public Safe ty at the University has worked closely with the Kugene police in this pro* ess of educating the pub lic about bicycle safety Campus security officers reg ister student bicycles and also staff tables around campus at the beginning of each term for this purpose. While registering bicy cles, campus security officers talk to students about theft preven tion and campus regulations con cerning bicycles. In addition, they inform students about the impor tance of obeying the traffic laws of this state. They also stress the fact that bicycle violations are enforced in Eugene, and explain why. If some of the public resents traffic enforcement as a means of protecting people from injury and death, I cannot apologize for that. The whole purpose of this effort is to address student con cerns and diminish the "Us vs. Them" attitude that always seems to prevail when police officers do enforce the laws (as in the letter to editor. ‘‘Bikers vs EPD," ODE. Oct. 20.) I know that no matter how hard the police attempt to edu cate the public, not all of the public will he reached. I believe it is important that the students at the University know that the! police officers out there are not there to destroy our relationship with the community, but In* part of it. If some of the public resents traffic enforcement as a means of protecting people from injury and death. I cannot apol ogize for that. The Eugene police will remain committed to pro viding the University communi ty with a full range of services including education, prevention and, yes, enforcement. I encourage students to feel free to approach the police offi cers they see on cuimpus and ask any questions they have regard ing this matter. Even if it is not a bicycle question, feel free to talk with thoso officers or call me at the Office of Public Safety. 346 2905. Dennis Baker is a sergeant with the Eugene police depart ment. University Campus Detail CRANK IT UP. RHYTHM ANDREYEVS. FRBATSHTHE EMERALD