EDITORIAL
ASUO’s new plan
is on the right track
Although somewhat vague, in an attempt to not dis
pel any false expectations, ASUO President Eric Bowen
announced that the ASUO is considering a project to
institute a now sub-committee plan that would replace
the Incidental Fee Committee and allocate student
funds.
The plan is fueled from the University's concern that
the current politics arising between the IFC and the
EMU Board of Directors may have an ill effect on the
EMU budget. The University's concern seems appropri
ate and there is a large amount of money at stake — a
large amount of "student" money that must stay in con
trol of the students.
The administration has tried to divert IFC funds into
the power ot me tMU
board, a board that has
substantial administration
influence into ono of the
larger dispersals of student
funds, the EMU budget.
The ASUO’s new plan
allocates the money with
out a conflict of interest
A radical change
in the allocation
of student funds
is needed.
between groups, like the
IFC and the EMU board; yet at the same time, the new
plan incorporates a system of checks and balances.
The ASUO's new method works well in student inter
ests. Granted the administration will not gain the con
trol of the money that it would like to have, but it
shouldn't because it is student money. The now plan
removes some of the line-item control that the IFC cur
rently has over different groups and allocates the line
item control to a sub-committee.
Essentially, as it is understood, the IFC will be broken
down into four sub-committees. One will allocate a
lump sum to each of the other three who will in turn
allocate student money where it sees appropriate. Cur
rently the IFC mandates control of nearly all student
funds, and line-item control is in the hands of the IFC
for many University organizations.
At first, the now plan sounds like committees for the
committees is a somewhat complicated system. Howev
er, although only under preliminary constraints, it is a
plan that sounds very workable and very much in the
benefit of the student's interests.
With the administration's hopes of simply diverting
funds to the EMU board from the current IFC budget, the
problems will still exist — they will just exist in a dif
ferent set of hands. The ASUO's new plan would ratify
the current system and incorporate necessary changes
that must be made in order to successfully allocate stu
dent funds by the students.
The current dispersal of funds by the IFC is not work
ing. and the administration is right, something must be
done. A radical change in the allocation of student
funds is needed. With this new plan in the making, it
offers students an adequate checks and balances of their
own student funds, rather than simply passing more
money into the hands of the administration.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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PUCL-ERPCIENT CARS
because Americans
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COMMENTARY
Support alternative transport
By Mike Haertel
You don't hove to be an
alternative person to use
alternative transportation.
Many perfectly ordinary, sensi
ble people ride their bikes, walk
or take the bus. instead of dri
ving to school. If you didn't dri
ve today, keep reading and we ll
give you a warm, fuzzy feeling.
On the other hand, if you pre
fer to drive, keep reading We
have a little guilt trip for you.
f irst, some not-so-meaning
less statistic s:
• Driving c auses more air pol
lution in Oregon than anything
else Auto exhaust ac counts for
six times ns much air ns indus
try Particularly in Eugene, wo
have real air quality problems
We're surrounded by bills tfiat
trap all the smog so we can
"enjoy" it
• One-third of our nation's
total energy use is by automo
biles We use 17 million Ivirrels
of oil a day. This number is so
large it's almost meaningless,
but here's how you can imagine
it First. imagine a barrel of oil.
That's quite a lot right there,
isn't it? Now, imagine a thou
sand of them, spaced out about
every five feet, so you see a line
of barrels stretching for about a
mile. Next, instead of a line,
imagine a square of barrels of
oil. a mile on a side. Finally,
stack another 16 barrels on top
of each barrel, so your square
mile of barrels is 17 layers deep.
That's 17 million barrels of oil.
That's a lot, isn't it?
Finally, imagine 365 of these
square miles stacked 17 barrels
deep, and you have our annual
oil consumption. Three-hun
dred-and-sixty-five square miles
is also hurd to imagine, but
think of it this way: If you line
them up in a row and put a road
down the middle, you could dri
ve at highway speed for six
hours, seeing nothing but barrels
of oil stacked 17 deep on both
sides.
• We live in an ever-expand
ing sea of concrete. In most
cities, 25% to 55 percent of the
total land area is set aside to
accommodate cars, including
roads and especially parking
lots The current local contro
versy surrounding the Ferry
Street Bridge is just another
example of how we are allowing
our over-reliance on automo
biles to dictate our habitat
The "concrete habit” is ugly,
unpleasant, and ecologically
harmful. Have you ever seen a
beautiful parking lot? Neither
have I Mow about quiet? Our
concrete seas reflect and ampli
fy the noise pollution that per
meates dow ntown areas On am
hot summer day, you can bake
in the trapped heat while enjoy
ing the wonderful aroma of hot
asphalt mingled with car
exhaust Finally, rainwater
runoff from large covered areas
causes many problems, includ
ing |>olhiting groundwater, over
loading sewer systems, and con
tributing to downstream
flooding.
OK, that's enough for the guilt
trip' Now, here are some things
you can do to help.
First, don't bo part of the
problem Walk to school, or ride
your bike. Not only will this get
you from point A to point B. but
you'll also have a chance to
enjoy the outdoors and even get
some exercise. Or ride the bus.
or organize a tar pool. Vote with
your feet: The more non-car
transportation is used, the more
society will support it.
Second, keep your car's
engine well-tuned, and make
sure your tires are properly
inflated. A properly maintained
Make a nuisance of
yourself: Write to
your favorite (or
not-so-favorite)
politicians about
the need for
stronger fuel
economy.
car hums less fuel more cleanly.
Also, if you have an old gas-guz
zler. consider replacing it with a
more fuel-efficient car— you’ll
save money in the long run.
Vote with your wallet: Support
only energy and environmental
ly conscious manufacturers. The
car companies can't build gas
guzzlers unless there’s some
body to buy them, so make sure
that somebody isn't you.
Third, make a nuisance of
yourself: Write to your favorite
(or not-so-favorite) politic.ians
about the need for stronger fuel
economy and pollution stan
dards and better public support
for alternative forms of trans
portation
Finally, call OSPIRC. at 346
4377 and join our "curb your
car" group. Come and talk to us
about cool stuff like environ
mental issues, the top-10 gas
guzzling car models, how to
make your politicians earn their
living, and lots of other things
we didn't have enough room for
here.
Mike Haertel is a graduate
teaching fellow in the computer
science department.
COMMENTARY POLICY
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