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Students allege discrimination
The removal of some religious news
groups angers some students, who file
a grievance /PAGE 10
Gerlach sets tone for volleyball
The freshman setter makes the most
of her talents at the University/
PAGE 15
An independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 22
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Work on bridge
halfway done
Amanda Cowan/Emerald
Mowat Construction worker Garry Ray of Stayton welds at the foot of the Ferry Street Bridge Friday afternoon.
Mostly on schedule, the Ferry Street Bridge Project
will increase safety for motorists, city officials say
By Felicity Ayles
Oregon Daily Emerald
Fear not. The construction is
halfway finished, and City of Eu
gene officials say there is a light at
the end of this tunnel — or bridge.
City officials said that although
the Ferry Street Bridge project
may be inconvenient now, it will
make the bridge much more user
friendly in the long run.
The planning began 10 years
ago, and construction started in
June of 1997. If all goes well, the
project will be finished in January
2000, said Tom Larsen, Ferry
Street Bridge Project manager.
“We are reasonably close to be
ing on schedule,” he said.The
Ferry Street Bridge Project in
volves a spectrum of construction
work, from seismic improve
ments to road resurfacing, city
spokeswoman Sue Malone said.
The project involves doing
everything needed to meet cur
rent seismic standards, and safety
and public transport improve
ments are major objectives for the
project, Larsen said.
New merge lanes are being
added, turn lanes improved and
the side rails on the bridge
strengthened. The project in
cludes the addition of a traffic
light at Centennial Boulevard and
repaving parts of Club and Coburg
roads, he said.
“There’s families of improve
ments,” he said.
Construction extends from
Oakway Center on Coburg Road
to the south side of the Ferry
Street Bridge.
By putting all the construction
components into one project, the
construction will be done in two
and a half years from start to fin
ish, Larsen said. If the project
were broken up into little pro
jects, it might have taken three or
four years, he said.
In November 1994, Eugene cit
izens defeated a measure that
would have widened the Ferry
Street Bridge, creating more traf
fic lanes.
“The community has said they
don’t want more freeways and
four-lane roads,” Malone said.
Not increasing the number of
lanes on the bridge gives an in
Turn to CONSTRUCTION, Page 7
Timeline to date
1986- Lane County adopts a plan
recommending a study of the Ferry
Street Bridge Corridor
1988- Congress allocates $2 mil
lion for preliminary studies of the
Ferry Street Bridge Corridor
1989- The Ferry Street Bridge Cit
izen Advisory Committee studies al
ternatives for the Ferry Street Bridge
Corridor
1991 - Congress authorizes a
grant of $23.7 million for improve
ments in the corridor
November 1994- A proposal to
expand the bridge to six lanes and
make other transportation improve
ments In the Ferry Street Bridge Cor
ridor is defeated
Ar*fltt*t1995-The Eugene City
Coundl approves the project
Flrsihalf of1996-City staff gets
the required approvals for proceed
ing with the design of the project
April 1996-Preliminary survey
and design work is under way
May2,1997-Department of
Transportation awards the contract
to Mowat Construction Company
June 1997-Mcwatbegins the
first phase of theffluiti-year project
Evaluation of goals
rises for universities
Higher education reform
increases accountability
for Oregon schools
By Laura Cadiz
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon universities will be
evaluated and financially re
warded based on goals such as
student employability and reten
tion rates as part of the Oregon
University System reform.
The state’s seven public uni
versities have to set student sat
isfaction, returning-student and
employment goals, which the
University of Oregon may ac
complish through smaller class
sizes, tougher curriculums and
more student-centered groups.
And if a state university reach
es these goals, the school and its
president will be financially re
warded. But no set money
amount is determined yet.
“As a university, we’ve never
articulated this set of goals be
fore,” said Frances Dyke, re
source management director at
the University of Oregon. "But
that’s not to say that in commit
tees ... people have not had
these goals in
mind.”
When
OUS voted in
July to re
structure its
budget —
having tu
ition dollars
follow stu
dents instead
of going to a
statewide pot
— it freed up
the seven
Oregon pub
lic universi
ties to com
pete for
students and
put the bur
den on each
school to
meet enrollment and student
centered goals.
Each school determines its
own set of goals to reach OUS’s
performance measures: strength
ening quality of instructional, re
search and public service pro
grams; expanding access by-»
students of different circum
Turn toOUS, Page 4
ous
Third in a four-part
series on the Oregon
University System
Monday: ()US
changes its funding
system to lx* more
student centered
Tuesday: l low the
OUS changes will af
fect other state cam
puses
TODAY: The OUS
changes make uni
versities more ac
countable
Thursday: lhe OUS
changes are contin
gent on the legisla
ture passing the sys
tem’s budget
EMU renovations
get mixed reviews
Some students think the changes are
worth the money, but other disagree
By Laura Baker
Oregon Daily Emerald
Sounds of construction have waned from the
ears of the University community, and the
EMU is once again filled with students and fac
ulty going about their daily business.
After a year of revamping, the EMU has a new
look. Students can now choose from a variety of
food vendors, various lounge areas and sip coffee
downstairs in The Buzz, the new coffee shop.
Many newcomers to the University don’t real
ize the dramatically different look but still seem
to appreciate what the EMU has to offer.
With shrugs of indifference, the responses
seem to be about the same. “I like it. It’s pretty
easy to find your way around,” student Melissa
Brunner said.
Going into the renovation project, the EMU
Board had hoped to accomplish five goals: cre
ate contemporary food service, build a recre
ation center, upgrade utilities, make the EMU
easier to navigate and make it a destination
point that does not feel “institutional,” EMU di
rector Dusty Miller said.
Miller said he believes these goals were
achieved, but students are the ones who will
ultimately decide.
Students who have been here through the
construction are a little more animated than the
newcomers about what they see.
“It looks great. It’s a lot newer and cleaner,”
Turn to EMU, Page 8
“I think it's great. It
gives people a place to
go on campus so the\’
don ’t have to go off
campus to eat"
Wendi Toyama
Sophomore
"For the money that
was spent, I don't
think it was worth it."
Heather Fulton
Junior
"It just added to the
maze."
Tanner Ourtiam
Biology