University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
FRIDAY. OCTOBER 13,1995
INDEX
Editorial 2
Stranger Than Fiction 3
News 4
Rhythm & Reviews 7
Sports 11
Classified 14
TODAY
BaxehaW i American
anti Sationai laigut
('hampionxhip Strie*
continue <il 5p m
INSIDE
The men s and nomen's X country teams
are ready lor home meet on Saturday
Voiles hall comes hi >me for h e eke ml man lies
with Washington and Washington State
WEATHER
Vi iif rater utter morning
fog with a high neat GO
Snow Club plows
into debt, forcing
group to dissolve
■ SKIING: Founder Brett Mitcne say:, .k - '
leadership caused Snow Club to plummet
By Jennifer Carter
'■'iKf&ni Activities Reporter
About 150 students went skiing last year with the
Snow Club .to reliurtde and Sun Rivar rhia year, the
Snow Club isn't taking students anywhere.
The recreational program is no longer on i nmpus
bec ause of its failure to pay more than $1,400 in bills
from last year's ski season
The debts were covered by the Snow Club’s founder,
itrett Mitchell, although he left the University full term
and was not affiliated with the group when the debts
were made.
Mitchell said he paid the debts out ot a sense of per
sonal responsibility.
"I took personal responsibility for starting the group,
so 1 took personal responsibi litv for ending it." Mitchell
said. "I just wanted to make sure it ended on a semi
happv positive note."
He said he believes the group s financial misconduct
was probably related to leadership problems.
Usually the Snow Club elected a new board of direr
tors at the end of the ski season, but after he left and the
ski season ended, the group disbanded, Mitchell said.
He said no one was accountable for the group
"After i left, everything just fell apart." Mitchell said.
"It was a case of everybody wanting to go out and party,
but no one wanted to work for it."
Mitchell said he was not aware of the unpaid bills
until August when he was contacted bv Matthew
Scotten. ASUO summer programs i oordinator.
The ASUO became aware of the group's finam ial
wrong-doings in June when it received one of the Snow
Club's unpaid hills Scotten said the ASUO believed it
was responsible for the Snow Club's debts and paid the
first bill of $381
The money came from the ASUO surplus account,
which is money student groups never spent during the
year.
"This was really a precedent-setting event and
through it. we had the idea that maybe we are responsi
ble for the financial debts of registered programs,"
Scotten said.
But when other unpaid Snow Club bids arrived, the
ASUO decided to change its polity on pay ing program
Turn to SKIING, Page 6
Reading and rays
NAfAlit UOMIOUM ttv-1 ■•‘ax':
Mane Uhtofl a sophmore Biology major enjoys the sunny weather and stud
.e« outside ot Gertmger The nee weather is expected to continue through
tomorrow, with highs in the 60's
Speaker
addresses
civil rights,
ignorance
■ MORALES: 1 he* M« • h
American blames
corruption, language
barriers for his prison stay
By Jennifer Carter
Santiago Ventura Morelos Inis
boon leading disc us* ions about
indigenous people's rights since
be wat let out of prison for n
■ rime lie did not t otiitnit
A founding member of the
Indigenous OaAupiena Hi
national I rout. Morales dis
i ussed bis experiences and the
problems indigenous peoples
have had Irving to assert their
right*. Thursday at the National
Indigenous People's Day 1 elo
brntion
When Morales was convic ted
in Oregon of murder in tUHti, he
did not speak English. He said
language harriers and the cor
ruption of the justice system
kept him in prison for more than
four years before a lobby front
the Mexican-American cnrnniu
nity brought a pardon from then
Gov Neil Goldschmidt in 1901.
“It s not easy to share |mv
experience! like this because
four and a half years of ruy life
were taken away for the simple
reason I lint tin- system didn't
understand my language and I
didn't understand the [system's
language!." he said
Morales is from the Mexic an
stale of Oaxaca (Wahaca) His
state is home to 17 different eth
nic. groups and 56 different lan
guages. including Mixtec
Morales native language
Although fie now speaks bug
Turn to MORALES, Page 6
Eugene residents concerned about low-income housing plan
■ HOUSING: C ' zens air
concerns about Planning
Committee's revisions
By Karl Hastings
Copy f ctror
It's an age-old question. How
do the wealthy, the poor and all
the classes in between coexist
pem elully in the same city?
The Eugene Planning Com*
mission trim! to answer this ques
tion Tuesday night at a public
hearing to discuss revisions to the
Housing Dispersal Policy Plan.
The commission's recommon
elation will be sent to tho Eugene
City Council for final approval at
a later date
The plan, drafted in 1074. reg
ulates where publicly assisted
bousing can Ik- built and encour
ages dispersal throughout the
city. The existing plan needs to
he revised because it's based on
1980 census data.
It is the proposed revisions that
are causing controversy among
Eugene residents.
As the housing polio stands
now, housing projects may con
tain no more than 80 units, they
must be built within a half mile
of social services and cannot be
built where more than iiO percent
of the current housing units are
low-income.
If tin* Planning Commission s
revisions pass, there will las two
major changes concerning hous
ing dispersal
Location criteria involved with
low-income housing will be elim
inated. making it possible for
housing projects to be built in all
areas of Eugene, regardless of
how close they are to the transit
system or schools.
Also under the proposed revi
sions, these projects could be
built in areas where no housing
currently exists This is not pos
sible now (»•< .Hist1,1 low-income
housing proj**ct would constitute
more than the ^dt> percent limit.
About 40 citizens attended the
hearing Tuesday, bringing a num
ber of disapproving ns well as
supportive statements to the
floor.
Eugene resident Rudy Herr
said lie is astounded that low*
income housing might he built
on the outskirts of Eugene, away
from ail social services
"If you were living in a house
in these areas," he said, “you
would not want projtu ts next
door
Richie Weinman, I lousing and
(Community Development Sim
lion manager, responded to this
concern, saying it is almost
impossible to find largo lots to
build projot ts on unless people
go to tin; city limits
David Cohen of Kugene. asked.
"When you ask o neighborhood
to accept o large housing project
that will change the whole
atmosphere of the area, how
can you expect anyone to
Turn to HOUSING Page 6