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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1996)
VIEWPOINTS IDlTORUlS OPINIONS IftlfRS !0 IMI f Oil OR Laue gets endorsement after University debate ■ OUR OPIHIOR: Laue takes a respectful jump into an endorsement W0 were all *et to endorae Jim Torrey for mayor (an edit wa* written Wednesday for thi* million) when we belatedly realized the man appeared lo be uninterested in university student* (at be*t) and condescending toward them (at worst). So. Tim Laue. our runner up pick for Eugene'* may oral race, nwivit* into first place. Laue ha* experience a* an analyst and norsuitant to private IwtinraMis and non profit organizations, and he'* currently the City Council president represent ing Ward 1 Laue ernour age* students to make their concern* known to city gov Mtmwnl by siting involved with committees that inter mit them and by voting On higher education. Laue «aid society should stop disinvesting in educa tion and start making "investments in education at every level." (hi urban growth, laue Hid it should lie anticipated and allowed, but in such a way that pre serves and enhances the environment From the environment to ensuring safety for people, laue told the Enwmld that promoting more home own ership in the West Universi ty area would help people feel more as though they were part of a neighbor hood Lee well-suited to bring UO concerns to Council ■ OUR OPINION: Lee's experience sets him apart from other candidates Far Eugene City Council Ward 3, Bobby Lmm stands out as th« bust parson to represent the University's interest*. He served as ASIJO Presi dent from '92 to ‘93 whom he managed a •Indent fee* budget of SS million that funded more than 100 Uni versity programs As an undergraduate, Lee founded the University Alumni Men tor Program the Multicul tural Center and KWVA radio. He was appointed to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education by Gover nor Barbara Roberts tn 1993 He is also on the Planned Parent hood and Eugene Family YMCA board* of directors A* a merabw of the High or Education 2010 commit* toe. txM> ha* developed educational policies for Ore gon'* college* and universe tie* Lea believe* that econom ic progress in Eugene shouldn't be discouraged, but that ecosystem* should and must be protected. He plans to work to balance growth with environmental responsibility Lee's experience will also help him in his plans to take University interests to city government. "Without the University, Eugene would not exist," Lee told the Emerald. "Stu dents are the fuel for the local economy." r ,..so, if Ht SV400TS «r DOWN/ W»N 0*£ akid V/£ LOSE ONE. A »*•«*» 0*» j AmeriCorps program should be saved FiAmo v«**r» ago (hi* spring. I impulsively promised * (ullage mju I cat tun to 81 EmI Harlem »i»th graders. if and when ihcy graduated from >»gh school The only catch 75 percent of the youngster* were profaned dropout* To malu* rat promise meaningful. I began a year-round educe (tonal program that, with ongo ing personal tnvolvemeni. am'.ouraged tha youngster* to stay in achooi and aspire to higher education and fulfilling (.area** I catted I ha program 'I Ha ve a Dream' (IHAD), and tha kids "Dreamers " It turned out that all over America other individuals fait the same way t did Today, more than tfttl "1 Have a Dream* projects in 28 states serve more than >5.000 chil dren, mostly the minority poor Each project, with the support of volunteers, pro vide* it* Dreamers with a pro gram of educational, social and cultural activities from ele mentary school through high school — with the guarantee of tuition support fur college or vocational school Each of our projec t* U local ly administered, locally fund ed and tailored to the needs of its Dreamers We believe that personal, individual action i* the key. in short, the “I Have a Dream' Foundation is exactly iha sort of private-sector chari ty that opponent* of Amen Corps, the new national j service program, say they believe in A success story tike ours proves, they say. that gov ernment should have nothing to do with volunteerism It prove* that AmenCnrps is a waste of money Worse, it may even harm charities by under mining America'* great tradi tion of citium volunteers. Two years of IHAD/Amen Corps collaboration proved otherwise IHAD* AmeriCorp* member* have had a dramatic impact on our program in the 15 cities where thev work They teach, tutor, run after school program*, organ!** community service project* and help Uraumn stay away from t<ang* and drug* and do batter in school They serve a* responsible rota model* for a Mtnaratiua that naada mat heroes Sinew AmenCorp* came on board. Dreamer* have bean atudying harder and scar ing higher They alao have built playground* in vacant Iota, fed the homaiaaa and comforted the elderly And the member*' high-profile effort* have helped u* attract more than 3.000 new volunteer* from the Dreamer*' cummunl tie* Other national rervice organisations report almilar dramatic benefit* from Ameri* Corps. Fortunately. Congress appear* to have overcome effort* in the House and the Senate to kill AmenCorp* and i* voting io provide the hind* necessary to continue the pro gram AmariCorp* i* not an example of the government * telling the private sector what to do and how to do it. Amen Corps member* help disadvan taged kids finish high school and go on to college that isn't liberal or conservative It'* smart Nor is it a gimmick The Council on Eduational Devel opmant estimate* that the average dropout add* a life time burden on the community of $300,000 What value should we place on Ameri Corps. whore member* have din* ilv helped to keep thou •and* of Dreamer* in school and on a positive track to pro ductive citizanshipf Congress created Amen Corps aa a parlnenihip between the private and public sectors It work*. In just its first year, more than $91 mil lion was contributed to Ameri Corp* program*, including $41 million from private business m and foundations Moreover, talking about AtneriCorn* budget alone fail* to add re** the private money thet Ameri Corp* brings into the commu nities in which its member* work A teem of conservative economiMi has calculated that COMMENTARY miiMlIrli'iHfclil! •vary dollar invested in AroenCorps returns at lout SI 60lo $2 60 in direct, rim tumble benefit* — findings confirmed by the (inner#! Accounting Office AmeriCorpe also provide* some of the Mine societal ben oftim as military service. It builds an ethic of citizenship and civic duty It helps young people front disadvantaged backgrounds gain work expert etu e and finance a college education For the more privi loged. it provides real-world ax|terienc« to supplement the "Ivory tower" environment of college And in ~*ir increasing ly multicultural work, it give* those in their formative years the experience of working closely with people from all segments of society. Our Ament orps teams embrace all racial and economic back ground* working together every day with a remarkable spirit of community, I'm a ftscal conservative But when a new initiative works as promised, when it i« proven cost effective, when it pro motes our tore values, then tt should be preserved Amen Corps is such a program Republican Gov Bill Weld recently had a valuable piece of advice for a Congress grap pling with tough choices on the budget "1 have one word of caution AmeriC'orps It is the baby that should not be thrown out with the bathwater AmeriCorpt is one of the most intelligent uses of taxpayers dollars ever." I couldn't agree more Let's put aside politics and simplistic slogans and do all we can to improve — not eliminate — AmeriCorpt Eugene M Lang it the founder and chairman of the *f Haw a Dream * Foundation, an educa tional tupport and intervention program for disadvantaged children
