Dedication marks anniversary of Skinners’ arrival ■ PROJECT: During the past eight weeks, volunteers restored the terrace viewing area on top of Skinner Butte By Eric Collins Community Reporter With rainy, windy days like last Saturday, it’s a wonder that Eu gene Skinner, the first settler to make his home on the western portion of what is now Skinner Butte, didn’t turn the wagons around and head back to Califor nia. Luckily for Eugene, Skinner stayed to brave the weather. One hundred and fifty years lat er, members of the Eugene Rotary Club set aside a blustery Saturday to dedicate the newly renovated viewing terrace on top of the butte to Eugene, Mary and Mary Eliza beth Skinner on the anniversary of their move into their cabin. With high winds pummeling the stage and rotary members struggling to hold down the speaking tent, Ray Wiley, project manager for the Skinner Butte Renovation Project, kicked off a celebration that included a reen actment of the Skinners’ first conversation on top of the butte. Mayor Jim Torrey, who was on hand to praise the renovation work of the rotary and other com munity groups, quipped, “They realized that if anyone could keep this [tent] down, it would be me.” Wiley said the project, which has been in the works for eight weeks, culminated in Saturday’s celebration. The 145 volunteers removed graffiti from and re painted the city’s transmitter building, refurbished planters, repainted the iron railing around the terrace, and installed a park bench, drinking fountain and a dedication plaque. The newly elected ASUO Ex ecutive and members of the Stu dent Senate also donated their time to the project. They worked on the Skinner Butte “O,” scrap ing off the layers of orange and purple paint from previous Ore gon State University and Univer sity of Washington pranks and returning it to its yellow color. Wiley said the project began as an effort to keep the butte from being closed to motorists. In March, Bob Hammitt, parks maintenance director, said the deteriorating condition of the road, reduced staffing and van dalism led city officials to con sider closing the road to the ter race area. The road closure was postponed after Eugene residents suggested alternatives for dealing with the problems, including the renovation project. According to Wiley, the Eu gene and Mary Skinner, both born in New York, traveled across the country to reach Sacra mento in 1845. After moving to Dallas, Ore., in the Spring of 1846, Eugene Skinner, along with three of his friends, ex plored the south end of the Willamette Valley and decided to move his family there. ^\ _I MICHAEL CRISP/Emerald Local actors portraying Eugene and Mary Skinner reenacted a conver sation Saturday morning that the Skinners might have had on top of the butte. Symantec managers say ban is not ‘official position’ of company ■ REQUEST: Mangers say two employees who asked for a ban on public nudity were acting on their own By Eric Collins Community Reporter Don’t get them wrong. They’re not anti-breast. But then again, they don’t want to be labeled as pro-breast either. They, the man agers of Symantec Corp. that is, would just like to be breast-neu tral. But as the issue of breasts in the Downtown Mall area became the subject of front page head lines and conversations through out Eugene in the past three weeks, Symantec, with its appar ent plea to the City Council for a ban on female toplessness, in ac tuality wanted no such thing. In a memo Thursday after noon, John Ragsdale, site manag er of the 530-employee customer call-in center, stated that Syman tec was not asking the city coun cil to enact an ordinance to pro hibit toplessness. Ragsdale wrote that the letter submitted by em ployees David Fitch, senior facil ities supervisor, and Jim Ayde lott, senior facilities manager, was from “two employees acting alone and was neither an official letter nor the official position of the company.” Ragsdale deemed the letter a “miscommunication that [Symantec] takes very seriously.” He said the company was em barrassed by the slip-up because the actions of Symantec send a large signal to the public. “Our company does not take moral position on issues,” Rags dale said. “[The request] ab solutely was not speaking for Symantec.” Teresa Bright, technical sup port director at Symantec, agreed. “Topless women is not some thing we feel we are responsible for taking a stand on,” Bright said. Ragsdale is taking all calls for Symantec regarding the situa tion. Aydelott declined to com ment Friday afternoon. The confusion began during a City Council meeting on May 12 when Fitch delivered a statement signed by Aydelott asking the council to consider changing the city code to prohibit the exposure of female breasts. The statement maintained that the incidence of bare-breasted women in the downtown area was offensive and the corporation could not continue its business without some attention directed to the “daily problem.” Bright said she and Ragsdale were not aware of the problem until local press reported the is sue. She said the managers want ed to deal first with the miscom munication within the company before making a public state ment. City spokesman Phil Weiler said the City Council officers had already decided to avoid the is sue because of the moral implica tions and the amount of time al ready committed to city issues. THE BAIL You can still register for University of Oregon Summer Session classes. Summer Duck Call's ready and waiting. Pick up your free summer bulletin then pick up the phone. Bulletins with schedule of classes ) are available in 333 Oregon Hall and at the UO Bookstore. UNIVERSITY OF OREGON 1997 SUMMER SESSION Need Fall Term Advising? Available in Residence Hall Lobbies • Duck Call help! • UO graduation requirements explained. • Fall term scheduling assistance. • Information about various UO Depts. • Help with any advising question you can think of. Drop by the tables at any of the following times*: Riley Lobby: UI Lobby: May 27-29 May 28-29 7:00-9:00 p.m. 5:00-7:00 p.m. June 3-5 June 2, 4, & 5 7:00-9:00 p.m. 5:00-7:00 p.m. Hamilton Hall, Carson Lobby: May 27-28 5:00-7:00 p.m. ^ June 2-4 ^5:00-7:00 p.m. f Provided by Residence Hall Peer Advising Program ♦Time slots are subject to slight changes. PLEASE RECYCLE