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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 1997)
UO fund okay after stock crash experts say last week's market drop was just a hiccup in the economy’ By Autumn Madrano Freelance Reporter Hype, headlines and panic have not changed the moral of the story: All is well on Wall Street — and University Street doesn’t have much direct cause for worry either. The University could, howev er, see a smaller number of stu dents from Asian countries in following years, said Diane Del Guercio, an assistant business professor. If the Hong Kong crash that prompted last week’s record breaking stock market activity continues, some international students will not be able to afford U.S. schools. The consensus among stock experts is that last week’s fluctu ations were a hiccup in the econ omy instead of a continuing trend. Quickly stabilizing, the stock market slide that sent waves through Wall Street has been curbed, and the Dow Jones Industrial average is now nearly what it was before the 554-point crash last Monday. Domestic students are not like ly to experience direct financial effects from the stock market drop. The possibility of fewer Asian students, as well as the speculation that Asian technolo gies will decrease in price, is de pendent on the market continu ing the drastic shifts from last week, which isn’t likely. “The economy is chugging along; it’s a dynamite environ ment for stocks," said Richard Raphael, an investment broker with Charles Schwab, “A lot of companies selling had no rela tion to Hong Kong or any Asian markets — they just got caught in the stampede.” Diversification, or investing in a variety of stocks, reduces the risk of losing money in a volatile market. Investment managers who specialize in maximizing stock returns work with $210 million handled by the UO Foun dation. The foundation is a non profit organization that receives and administers private gifts to the University, which provide funding for financial aid, faculty positions and construction pro jects. About 75 percent of the foundation’s assets are in equi ties, including stocks. While the foundation’s invest ments suffered along with the rest of the nation’s stocks last week, the actual loss is minimal, said David Wescott, chief finan cial officer of the foundation. Only interest gathered from in vestments made on donations is spent — the initial capital re mains the same and is always reinvested. “We don’t want to spend our future today,” Wescott said. The foundation has as many as 14 managers who invest in equities, including real estate, mutual funds and stocks. Risk-minimiz ing guidelines govern investment spending, and the foundation has never lost money overall in the market. Guidelines also regulate the Oregon State System of Higher Education, which invests money that donors specify to go to a par ticular state fund. The only in vestments made with state funds are in U.S. Treasuries, which produce a stable, although poten tially smaller income than the stock market. The only money the state in vests in stocks comes from pri vate endowment funds, so tax payer money is not being played on the market. Both OSSHE and the foundation evaluate their in vestment managers, who bought and sold according to regulations during last week's fluctuations. The state’s endowment fund for the University currently has $152,660 invested in diversified portfolios. Michael Green, interim con troller for OSSHE, said he calcu lates that even if the organiza tion's total equity fund drops by 5 percent for the entire fiscal year, the University would suffer a loss of approximately $5,000 — a drop in the $410 million buck et. For the month of October, the market value of endowment in vestments declined by 5 percent. But neither the foundation nor OSSHE is in the market for quick returns, preferring to invest long term. “Our objective is not to time the market," Green said. “Our ob jective is to maximize returns within the measure of the law.” So students and faculty don’t have to worry about losses from last week’s fluctuations, Wescott said. "We’re very comfortable with where we are right now,” he said. Diabetes risk higher for minorities Recent studies indicate racial minorities are more likely to develop diabetes than whites By Kari Thorene Higher Education Reporter Recent reports indicate that racial minorities are up to three times as likely to develop dia betes than white Americans. “As with any population, [mi norities] need to be more aware of diabetes. They might run into it more often with friends and family,” said Heather Wilson, Student Health Center pharma cist and coordinator of the Uni versity’s diabetes support group. Diabetes is a disease in which “the body does not produce in sulin or does not effectively pro duce insulin,” according to the American Diabetes Association. Insulin is necessary for people to properly synthesize sugar. Di abetes can lead to blindness, kid ney failure and heart failure; it is (( As ivith any population, [minorities] need to be more aware of diabetes. They might run into it more often with friends and family. » Heather Wilson Student Health Center pharmacist the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the ADA. Some symptoms of diabetes in clude frequent urination, ex treme hunger, unusual thirst and sudden weight loss. The Office of Minority Health Resource Center, a program es tablished by the Department of Health and Human Resources, reported that for those who are 20 years old or over, 7.8 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 10.8 per cent of non-Hispanic African Americans and 10.6 percent of Mexican-Americans have dia betes. The OMHRC was less specific about the incidence of diabetes in other minority groups. Their "other Hispanic” group had an incidence of two times the inci dence of white Americans, but they didn’t cite specific numbers. Between 5 and 50 percent of Na tive Americans have diabetes, depending on the tribe. They gave no numbers about diabetes and Asians/Asian-Americans. But according to IMQuest, a medical market research group, Asian Americans have very high rates of diabetes; 16 percent of Asian-American women and 20 percent of men have it, roughly three times the incidence in white Americans. Wilson pointed out that doc tors don’t always think of dia betes right away and sometimes start just by treating symptoms, so people need to know what to watch for. New directory holds world of information Cathleen Zyp, the last student listed in the directory, says she doesn’t really mind By Kristina Rudinskas Student Activities Reporter Accidents happen at the Uni versity. Students will experience the panic of computer crashes, lost papers, forgetting the room number of the final or the profes sor’s office. What do you do? Where can you turn for the information you never paid attention to in class? There is always the 1997-1998 University of Oregon Student Di rectory. Students and faculty can now grab one outside the EMU Ticket Office on the second floor of the EMU. The directory holds a world of knowledge about buildings, fac ulty and students at the Universi ty. It has campus numbers, maps, directories, building hours and student addresses and phone numbers. It also has bus schedules, yel low pages and academic and ath letic calendars. When in fear, students can flip through the faculty and staff list ings for office locations and phone numbers. But how does it feel to be the last student listed in the directo ry? To have a life of waiting at the end of the line, knowing your name will be the last one called? Cathleen Zyp, a Spanish major from Hillsboro, is student num ber 17,269 at the University. She’s been at the end of the line since grade school, but she said she still gets her bills on time. “It actually saves time,” Zyp said. “I don’t have to get up to get in line at the end of class. You al ways know where you are. “You can’t get any further back than Zyp.” club Wear Lafe* Leaf her an4. HXCI uc? ELY, VIDEOS • TOYS • GIFTS • LINGERIE 1166 South A Springfield • 726-6969 • Open 24 Hours (Almost) It doesn't have to be dirty to be good Anniversary Sale 15 -50% OH 15% off Fern Trunks Retf. $49-79 sale $24-49 (3 sizes) il2 OFF? with student ID off reg. price We have a lot more than just baskets. Great gift ideas for the whole family. We have imported goods at tow prices. BASKET MARKET "IMPORTOUTLKT" M.-S. 10-6, Sun. 12-5 • 475\V.5th Avc. • 883-5614 SOCKS! Wool, fleece & cotton socks... in great colors and ijk full range of IP sizes. 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