Oregon Daily
FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 19. 1993
EUGENE. OREGON
VOLUME 95. ISSUE 58
NOHMAN Mi ,MA »r>« f
Oregon Hall
evacuated j
An overheated freight ele
vator motor triggered fire
alarms at Oregon Hall on
Wednesday, forcing evacu
ation of the building and
tying up business and auto
mobile traffic Thursday
afternoon.
Smoke had been coming
from the basement of the
building and drifted up to
all four floors of the build
ing from the elevator shaft
at the rear of the building.
Firefighters used fans to
ventilate the building and
secured some business
office records No damage,
other than to the elevator
motor was reported. No
injuries were reported.
Most people inside the
building had no idea why
the alarm sounded, but Pub
lic Safety Director Carey
Drayton said the evacuation
of the building went
smoothly and that alarm
systems worked well.
WOAman Mf '.MAHV« in* (n«M
Author berates news media
□ Coverage of Packwood, NAFTA
viewed as emblematic, flawed
By Rebecca Merritt
Oegor Daily f nytuaki
The news media is powered by tenter-right voic
es and limits people's imaginations, a syndicated
columnist and author said Thursday at the Uni
versity.
"If you believe the news media have a respon
sibility to facilitate democratic discourse then
we're not in the ballpark." Norman Solomon
warned an audience of about 100 at Columbia
Hall. "We have a classic reconfiguration of a cen
ter-right debate that is supposed to cover a whole
spectrum of views.”
A member of Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting.
Solomon discussed the control of corporate pow
ers over the mass media in a lecture promoting the
release of his latest book. Adventures in Medioland
— Beyond the News. Beyond the Pundits.
Solomon said the media withhold information
and give unfair treatment to issues that benefit cor
porate interests.
"We are facing a twin crisis in public life and
politics in the media." he said.
Solomon used media coverage of the North
American Free Trade Agreement to support his
belief of a concentrated media. He said the major
ity of news coverage focused on pro-NAFTA argu
ments and only 20 percent of sources in the New
York Times and Washington Post opposed
NAFTA. Also, environmentalists and trade unions
were barely represented in the debate.
Reporting of Sen. Bob Packwood's sexual mis
conduct allegations after his election instead of
before is an example of the media withholding
information until "after the fact," Solomon said.
These "Now it ran be told" stories are abundant in
today's media, he contended
Control of the media unfairly takes away peo
ple's imagination and their ability to make choic
Tum to MEDIA. Page 4
Panel
criticizes
conduct
code
j Speakers claim clause
weakens chances to
prove sexual harassment
By Scot Clemens
Ckegori £m&aki
A clause in the revised student con
duct code is cl huge stop Inn kwartl (nr
womtin who are the victims of sexual
harassment. ac c ording to a panel dis
cussion on sexual harassment Thurs
day night m the Gerlinger lounge
At i circling to members of the panel,
the clause weakens the possibility
that women can prove thev have
experienc ed sexual harassment
Their frustration is heightened,
however, bs allegations that the
i lause was added after public debate
on the issue had ended
"To me it is at least iinethic al." said
Marlene I (rest her. Direc tor of the Uni
versity Office of Student Advocacy
and a panelist
The c lause states that "unintention
al harassment" cannot lie at ted upon
I he vci tim must prove either that the
perpetrator intended harassment
toward the vie tim or that other com
plainants are desc.rilling the same
kind of harassment.
Dresi her said that she believed that
there is a good chance this clause
does not comply with federal or state
law.
"If it gets past the Secretary of
State's desk." she said."it is begging
for a lawsuit.”
She blamed tlie clause on had
advice to President Miles Brand from
Alison Baker, an assistant to the pres
ident, now on leave, and Peter Swan,
legal council to the president.
Turn to PANEL. Page •)
Minority high school students
learn about life at University
□ Day focuses on
college experience
Eric Buckhalter
for the Oregon Duty f mmratf
High school students from
around the state spent Thurs
day learning about the oppor
tunities and experiences that
college life has to offer.
"Gateway to the Future."
sponsored by the Universi
ty's Office of Admissions and
the Office of Multicultural
Affairs, was a chance for the
students to learn about finan
cial aid programs and schol
arships. hear University
students tell of their campus
life experiences and see for
themselves what it's like on a
college campus.
“Hearing University stu*
dents talk about their first
college experiences really
helps," said Isai Lemus, a
senior at Bonanza High
School. "They gave me an
idea of what to expect in col
lege, and a lot to think about.
I won’t be in high school for
ever.”
University staff, faculty
and student volunteers col
laborated in the seventh
annual high school visitation
day for students of color, in
which 201 high school stu
dents participated.
"This is a greet opportuni
sm to GATEWAY. Page 4