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College Bowl teases brains
Twenty-four student teams were nar
rowed to four in thefirst round of the
College Bowl Tuesday/PAGE 3
Jackson key to ASU’s success
Courtney Jackson faces a tough,
lonely task in containing Oregon's
receivers Satu relay/ P A 6 E 7
An independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 52
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Mac Court schedule creates conflict between sports, concerts
Sports events
and practices
often prevent
the campus’s
largest
capacity
facility from
being used
for concerts
r
By Felicity Ayles
Oregon Daily Emerald
When the lead singer for Everclear
spoke on campus Oct. 28, the Cultur
al Forum would have liked him to
stay longer. The group almost
nabbed the band for a Halloween
night concert in McArthur Court, but
the timing was just not right for the
athletic department.
“1 had the contract on my desk
ready to be signed, but I couldn’t get
Mac Court,” said Matt Radochonski,
the Cultural Forum’s national music
coordinator.
The idea behind the program was
based on preventing a repeat of the
1997 Halloween riot, but the athletic
department did not have the leeway
to give up its facility for the few days
a concert would require.
“If they had given me Mac Court,
it would have been 7,500 students
off the street and at an alcohol-free
event,” Radochonski said.
Under normal circumstances, a
band’s promoter will call the Cultur
al Forum and ask if the University is
available for a date with a specific
band, said Debby Martin, Cultural
Forum program adviser. That was
how the September Bob Dylan/Van
Morrison concert was first intro
duced to the University, she said.
This time, the Cultural Forum
called the promoter to try to find a
show for Halloween night.
“It’s very unusual that we would
ask for a show on Oct. 31, and we
were amazed that an appropriate
possibility like Everclear was avail
able," she said.
The Cultural Forum brought other
campus organizations into the
process. The Office of Student Life
and the Office of the Vice President
worked with the Cultural Forum to
plan the concert, Martin said.
“Other offices get involved when
there are unusual circumstances,”
she said.
University Vice President Dan
Williams said it is often difficult to
book Mac Court in the fall because of
all the athletic programs. Williams
also said he didn’t know whether a
concert would have prevented the
Turn to MAC COURT, Page 4
Equine activities
r~
^----------L._• •> I
Amanda Cowan/Emerald
Equestrian team co-coordinator Megan Robinson rides English Hunt Seat style around the arena on her trainer's horse Foxy at practice Tuesday night.
Love of horses draws team together
The equestrian team gives
students the opportunity to
get in the saddle
By Teri Meeuwsen
Oregon Daily Emerald
The sweet smells of hay and manure
permeate the barn while the crisp, cool
air allows the heavy breath of the horses
to be seen. The riders sit straight or a lit
tle forward in their black or white hel
mets or in their western duds. The nick
ers of each horse can be heard while they
jog around the arena. The “whoas” and
"good girls” that are spoken quietly to
each horse with a pat on the horses’
strong necks become the quiet language
between each horse and rider.
The shared language and the rugged
aroma of the leather saddles is enjoyed
by the University Equestrian Team, a stu
dent-run organization of about 30 alum
ni and students.
“If you get into horses and they get into
your blood, you just can’t leave if you’re
a horse person,” said Kimberly Franklin,
an alumna who has been riding for 11
years. “You keep riding, and it’s some
thing to work at.”
The team focuses on the English Hunt
Seat and the Western Stock Seat styles
that differ in the way the riders present
themselves and how they control the
horses.
The team is currently working on es
tablishing a Northwest region of schools
that compete and participate together.
Currently, the University travels to
Northern California to compete against
schools such as Stanford University, UC
Davis, Cal State-San Luis Obispo and a
few others, said Megan Robinson, the
team’s co-coordinator.
In the meantime, the University’s team
is in probationary status while it and the
other schools involved, including Ore
gon State University, Linn-Benton Com
munity College and Brigham Young Uni
versity, strengthen their skills and look
for more members while competing in
novice competitions.
“By the end of the spring, we’re hoping
we can be fully represented,” she said.
Turn to EQUESTRIAN, Page 3
Greeks see
an increase
in pledges
New strategies have resulted in
more new members despite
many houses going dry
By Peter Breaden
Oregon Daily Emerald
Because of increased marketing by greek
chapters, fraternities and sororities gained
more new members in this fall’s formal
rush than last year.
“Overall, the reason our numbers were
up is that the chapters were more aggres
sive," Interfraternity Council Vice Presi
dent Elliott Dale said. “We did more mar
keting than we had in previous years.”
New fraternity membership totaled 245,
up 18 percent compared with last year’s to
tal of 202. New sorority members increased
from 222 last year to 259 this year, up 14
percent.
1FC President Steve Sutton said this
year’s drive used different
recruitment strategies and
was scheduled for the sec
ond week of school rather
than the week before class
es start.
The usual greek tables
were absent from campus
this year, compared with
previous years, when all
greek chapters had information tables that
offered literature to potential recruits, Sut
ton said.
The recruiting increase also comes soon
after fraternities pledged to make their
chapter houses alcohol-free. The dry frater
nities' publicity shed a positive light on all
chapters, but wasn’t a large factor for new
recruits, Dale said.
All 10 sororities increased their new
membership numbers from last year. Jen
Erb, Panhellenic Council vice president of
membership, attributed the sororities’ suc
cess to changes in marketing.
“One change we did have was that we
took a step toward no-frills rush,” Erb said.
The rush events aimed at drawing potential
members to the houses’ communities in
stead of focusing on superficialities, she ex
plained.
Jeremy Lawrence, a freshman business
major, went through an informal summer
Turn to PLEDGES, Page 4