University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
An independent newspaper
Volume 98, Issue 24
MONDAY. OCTOBER 7,1996
INDEX
Opinion
News Digest
News
Sports 11
Classifieds 14
Comics 14
o> ro
TODAY
Today is last day to
drop a class without a
mark of‘W’ recorded
and without being
charged a $10 fee.
INSIDE
UCLA runs over Oregon, handing the Ducks their first
loss this season at Autzen Stadium
Dave Frohnmayer is officially inaugurated
as the 15th University President
WEATHER
Sunny after momingfog.
High 75. Low 45.
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IIJIJ.MikmPpoLiTics
“I think the best thing going for
Bob Dole is that Bob Dole
keeps his word. ”
— Bob Dole
Republican Candidate
“It is not midnight in America,
senator: We are better off than we
were four years ago”
— President Bill Clinton
Democratic Candidate
Candidates battle over future
■ DEBATES: Clinton and Dole try
to concentrate on issues, such as
education and the economy
By John King
The Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. — President
Clinton and Bob Dole clashed vigorous
ly over tax cuts, Medicare, education
and the economy Sunday night in a
o^uucu piuiiu'umc
debate over who
should be trusted to
lead America into the
21st century.
“I think the best
thing going for Bob
Dole is that Bob Dole
keeps his word,” the
Republican chal
lenger saia in me ou-minute debate,
which experts consider critical to his
hopes of launching an October come
back.
“It is not midnight in America, sena
tor: We are better off than we were four
years ago,” Clinton said in making his
case for a second term.
Clinton took credit for an economy
that created more than 10 million jobs,
for cutting the deficit by 60 percent and
for vetoing Dole-backed Republican
budgets he asserted would have cut
$270 billion from Medicare and anoth
er $30 billion from education.
Looking ahead, Clinton said his $100
billion in tax credits targeted to making
college more affordable were far more
responsible than Dole’s “$550 billion
tax scheme.”
“We have the right approach for the
future,” Clinton said.
Dole forcefully disagreed, and ac
cused Clinton of running a campaign
Turn to DEBATES, Page 7
^is
ANDREW BRACKENStCK/Emerald
Carlene Gregory watches the presidential debate at Rennie’s Landing on Sunday. Stu
dents and community members gathered at Rennie’s to watch the presidential debate.
Students say they feel disillusioned with debates
■ REACTION: Some say debates
offer little but media glitz and
surface treatment of issues
By Shana Cohn
Politics Editor
The group of about 40 students gath
ered under the dim lights at Rennie’s
Landing Sunday night were feisty — and
it wasn’t just from the beer in their system.
The main event was the first of two
presidential debates between President
Bill Clinton and Republican-hopeful, Bob
Dole. While some students joked and
shouted at the television during the 90
minute debate, others watched in silence
wearing pensive expressions.
"They’re just throwing a bunch of
wrong numbers at each other,” said Craig
Perman, a senior in public policy. “It’s
misleading to hear them talk like this. I
don’t think anyone’s going to be won over
by this debate so far. ”
Although the crowd consisted mostly
of Democrats, some students were still un
sure for whom to vote.
“I haven’t made up my mind between
Clinton and [Ralph] Nader [the Pacific
Party candidate],” said Will Bunker, a se
nior in sociology. “Nader is more in line
with my beliefs, but I’m worried it would
be just like another vote for Dole.”
Watching the debates didn’t help
Bunker come any closer to a decision.
“I don’t think real dialogue is happen
mg,” he said. “I wouldn’t base my vote on
a debate.”
Robert Poll, who has refused to vote in
the last three elections, agreed the debate
was useless.
“There are so many other candidates
out there that we need to listen to,” said
Poll, a former journalism major. “Politics
are not meant to be based on a two party
system. Groups like the Green Party and
the Reform Party will never have a say, no
matter how much they fight.”
The Commission on Presidential De
bates limited the debates to the two major
parties because they were the only ones
determined to have a “realistic chance” of
Turn to REACTION, Page 7
University area
susceptible to
mail theft
■ TARGET: Students opening new
bank accounts can lose money if
checks or ATM cards are stolen
By Jean Bond
Community Reporter
The University area could be a prime tar
get for mail thieves, according to Eugene
Public Safety.
Mail theft in Eugene is on the rise, said
Public Information Officer lan Power. One
local public safety
officer recently re
covered a sack of
mail stolen from 59
Eugene-area resi
dents, she said.
“It’s really been a
problem all up and
down the 1-5 corri
dor,” said Sara
Buchanan of the Eu
gene Post Office.
Theft has been
concentrated in the
97401 and 97405
zip code areas, she
said.
“Just because the
campus area isn’t an
area of concentra
tion now doesn’t
mean it’s not hap
pening there,” she
said.
University stu
dents could be easy
targets for mail theft
because they are
moving from their
homes to the Uni
versity area right
now.
“With so many
students in transit,
they might not no
tice missing mail,”
Power said.
Many students
are also opening up
new checking ac
counts at this time
of the year, and
TIPS
Public safety offi
cials recommend
these steps to
prevent mail theft:
■ Don’t leave pay
ments in an unse
cured mailbox for
the mail carrier to
pick up. Instead,
deposit payments
in a secured U.S.
mail drop box.
■ Use direct de
posit instead of re
ceiving government
or other checks
through the mail.
■ Put vacation
holds on mail or
have a reliable
neighbor pick up
mail.
■ Pick mail up
promptly.
■ Pick up check
orders at the bank
instead of having
them mailed.
■ Never send cash
through the mail.
■ If students think
they have had mail
stolen, they should
call the police
department and the
post office immedi
ately.
could have their check orders stolen from
their mailboxes, Buchanan said.
The time period between the theft to the
time the victim discovers the theft is often
one to two months. A thief can steal thou
sands of dollars in this time, Power said.
Thieves can alter and re-use canceled
checks returned in bank statements. They
can also steal credit cards or bank cards,
PIN numbers, government checks and
identification from unsecured mailboxes.
Mail thieves tend to be highly organized
and know how to avoid being caught, Pow
er said. Some thieves even follow mail car
riers and steal mail almost as soon as it is
dropped off, Buchanan said.
“If people see anyone suspicious, they
should call the police or the post office
right away,” she said.