Oregon Daily
WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 17. 1993
Further efforts
by University
to aid Amazon
□ Officials announce
another engineering study
on the project
By Ailk Hesseldahl
Oregon Daily Finer aid
University officials announced a
renewed effort to complete plans to
demolish and rebuild the Amazon family
housing complex at a news conference
Monday.
Officials said they will commission
another engineering study and will form
new committees with more students than
before to give input to the project's direc
tion.
The University has planned to demolish
several of the buildings at East 24th
Avenue and Patterson Street to make way
for new construction since January of
1992 when a similar study recommended
that the buildings not be occupied beyond
1996. Critics of that report soy it was com
pleted in hurried fashion and did not con
clusively prove that the buildings must bo
torn down.
Amazon tenant Nanny Forrest said she
is pleased that another study will bo con
ducted, but that she wonders if the second
study will "simply replicate" the original
study.
"Many of us here have discussed hav
ing an independent assessment of the
buildings done by raising money from
donations. If the University doesn't want
to do this kind of study because of cost,
we would love to pool our resources
together with the precondition that the
study also consider renovating these
buildings," Forrest said.
"It could easily come down to a battle
of the studies." Forrest said.
Forrest would like to see more involve
ment in the formation of study objectives
from tenants who want the possibility of
renovation of the existing buildings to be
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Good news
vvh, sajn
Douglas King, ol the Ministry from North Central California,
hands out his religious comic. Free Good News, Tuesday on
the corner of 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street
ASUO considers
plan to remodel
fee committee
□ Current proposal would create
three subcommittees to direct
incidental fees
By Edward Klopfenstetn
Oeflon fWv l mvakl
Die ASUO is considering a plan that will drastically
change its fee governing bods and should end the
administration's concern that Incidental Fee Commit
tee politics might hamper the EMU budget, the ASUO
president said Inst week
Student government needs to separate the IFC's line
item power from its role as overall fee manager, ASUO
President Eric Bowen said.
Under the current proposal, student government
could do that by allowing incidental fee money to be
directed on a line-item basis by three sutx oinmittees
There would be one subcommittee for the athletii
department, the EMU and ASUO programs
The overseeing body, currently unnamed, would
keep an eye oil the fee structure and overall subcom
mittee budgets without dictating how funds should be
spent
"I think this is n model for success for students,"
Ho won suii! "Now the feu is managed in tho durk all
year. This will put some masoning in the fiscal
proioss "
Inoulontai Fee Committees in tho past havn pushed
for lino item management on funds to tho KMU. a
powor that tho administration said is unacceptable.
because of tho administration's fear that tho IFC
would micromanage tho KMU's portion of tho ini i
dental foo monoy. the administration has hoon active
ly trying to i hange the IKCoperating rules since 1991
and pull the KMU Hoard of Directors out from under
tho control of the IKC.
Howon said the ASIJQ needs to break up tho "micro
and mat ro" power of the IKC and believes the suggest
ed model could do that job.
Howen devised the plan's outline along with the
KMU Ixiard and IFC chairpersons at an ASUO weekend
retreat about two weeks ago Howen said the proposal
already has support.
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Report says UW generous
at giving students As, Bs
□ Accrediting body finds grade inflation
across the country
SEATTLE (AP) — Too many As and Bs are given to students
at the University of Washington, a national accrediting body
said in a recent report.
In 1992, 70 percent of the grades given to undergraduates at
the school were As or Bs. the Northwest Association of Schools
and Colleges said after its first such study at the University of
Washington in 10 years.
The percentage of As and Bs was up significantly from 10
years ago. even though University of Washington students did
not score higher on standardized tests, the group said.
In 1983. 60 percent of grades given to University of Wash
ington undergraduates were a 2 6 GPA or above on a scale where
4.0 is all As.
A decade later, the number rose to 70 percent, Washburn said.
Only 14 percent of the grades were Cs or Ds, and only 1 percent
were Fs. The remaining 15 percent were in miscellaneous cat
egories such as pass/fail or incomplete.
Grade inflation makes it hard for employers and graduate
schools to sort out good and poor students, critics say.
Homeless play part in community
□ Non-profit and church-oriented
groups provide shelter, care to
help curb homelessness
By Susanna Steffens
Oegon lirnty fmetak)
He could have been one of us.
Larry is 13 years old and is one of many who use
a bus bench or a city park as living quarters. Ho sur
vives the day by panhandling and collecting cans,
and is happy with his lifestyle, saying he is "unable
to find a place in our world.”
Homeless people have always been a part of the
lo<al community in Eugene. In the Eugene Mall, in
parks, in neighborhoods and around campus the
homeless population gathers, causing concern to
many local citizens.
The homeless represent very diverse backgrounds
and can be from any number of societal groups.
In Eugene and Springfield, there are between 600
and 2.000 homeless people During the spring and
summer, this number easily increases.
According to a 1983 report from the Eugene City
Council, in which 380 homeless people were inter
viewed, more than 68 percent were homeless
because of a lack of money and were looking for
work.
in Kugene. the student population is in daily con
tact with thti homeless who gather around campus.
"The students seem to treat litem better than the
rest of the citizens, giving them both food and mon
ey," said Officer Ken Saxon of the Eugene police
department, who patrols the campus area on bike.
Saxon is on a first-name basis with most of the
homeless around campus and tries to help those
who are sober to find work He also sends people
to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings because, for
the majority, alcohol is the main problem.
"They tain get up to $120 a day in panhandling,
which goes to alcohol or drugs." Saxon said.
A problem among the public is that they seem to
view the homeless as more criminally inclined than
they actually are.
"Most of the arrests wo do on the homeless
around campus are for trespassing, drinking in pub
lic and disorderly conduct, and the people behind
liars represent a small amount of the homeless pop
ulation," Saxon said.
Many of the students, however, feel the presence
of the homeless constitutes a kind of violence that
deprives them of the sense of safety. Some students
are harassed when asked for money, and one stu
dent said she had a man follow her to her dorm
because she didn't give him a dollar.
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