Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, November 17, 1998, Image 1

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    Tuesday, November 17,19%
Weather forecast
Today Wednesday
Showers Mostly Cloudy
High 50, Low 43 High 50, Low 38
Going bowling
The Su n Bowl or Holiday Bowl are likely
destinationsfor the Oregon football team
should they defeat OSUon Saturday/?AGE 5
UO women stumble
Jody Ru nge u ’as ejected in the
Ducks ’ 72- 70 loss to Colorado State
on Monday night /PAGE 5
An independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 56
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Betty Howard of the
Anointed Ministries
Church of Lancaster
hands out food to the
homeless near the
Ohio State Universi
ty campus in Colum
bus, Ohio. Home
less people camp
out on city streets in
some neighbor
hoods near
the campus.
Council searches for solutions
Ideas on how to improve
neighborhoods near campus
may be inspired by schools
from across the nation
By David Ryan
Oregon Daily Emerald
Substandard housing, high crime and
large, alcohol-soaked parties are not char
acteristics unique to the West University
Neighborhood — they are a national col
lege condition.
Across the country, there are several
neighborhoods with many of the same
problems the City of Eugene noted in a
1996 report.
It is called “The Hill” at the University of
Colorado at Boulder. At Ohio State Uni
versity, it covers an area of 300 city blocks.
And at the University of California at
Berkeley, a student and community
agency takes its substandard property
owners to small claims court.
In 1996, the state of slum-like campus
neighborhoods in other parts of the coun
try triggered the City of Eugene to begin
talking about West University, said City
Councilor Bobby Lee. He borrowed some
strategies from other college campuses to
contribute to recommendations in the
1996 report.
The city council will revisit the topic
within the next two months, Lee said.
“Some university neighborhoods in oth
er states had dearly gotten to a point where
it was difficult to revitalize them,” he said.
At the University of Colorado at Boul
der, “The Hill” may only take up only
three to four city blocks, but it took up 35
percent of the Boulder Police Depart
ment’s workload in 1996. That year, police
set up an annex station similar to the West
University public safety station.
The police gained thecooperationofthe
university and community.
Turn to WEST UNIVERSITY, Page 4
JSU events
focus on
awareness
The Jewish Student Union hopes
that others will leant about and
appreciate their culture
By Erin Snelgrove
Oregon Daily Emerald
Celebrating Jewish Culture Month contin
ues at the University this week with an infor
mal discussion, a dance and a new moon fes
tival. These events are sponsored by the
Jewish Student Union and are intended to
promote awareness of Jewish culture.
"I think it's important to have exposure to
different cultures and lifestyles here at the
University,” JSU co-director David Poplack
said. “These events will show that Jewish
people are members of a cultural communi
ty and not members of some archaic reli
gious group. I’m hoping that people who at
tend tliese activities will give themselves the
opportunity to experience something differ
ent.”
“CwoffeeTwalk," this week’s first sched
uled informal lecture will be today from 4
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Cen
ter, EMU room 33.
“‘Cwoffee Twalk' is an informational fo
rum where students can have an opportuni
ty to discuss and interact with a Jewish pro
fessor,” Poplack said.
This week, Richard Stein, an English pro
fessor, will discuss how the Jewish faith has
affected his academic and professional life.
He will also talk about the new Judaic Stud
ies program being formed at the University,
a program he was instrumental in creating,
Poplack said.
Stein believes that the new program will
be an important addition to the University.
“The Judaic Studies program is an excit
ing new program on campus,” Stein said.
Turn to EVENTS, Page 3
Problems result in low opinion of University students
Community members are
concerned because of the
recent riots and
irresponsible alcohol use
By David Ryan
Oregon Daily Emerald
Christmas decorations have al
ready popped up around Eugene as
businesses prepare for the holiday
season, but many area residents are
still worried about last Halloween.
The riots that occurred along sev
eral blocks of Alder Street on Oct. 31
are still on the minds of many Eugene
residents. In addition to the smashed
bottles, pumpkins and street signs,
some Eugene residents feel rioters
smashed something else — the pub
lic’s tolerance for drunken Universi
ty students.
“The awareness level has been
heightened,” Eugene Mayor Jim Tor
rey said. “There are large numbers of
people calling into City Hall con
cerned about this. Like it or not, if I
said the perception is that it is not a
U of O activity, I would be joking.”
Torrey said University students are
worried about the public’s percep
tion of them, but some residents con
firmed the fears of the students Tor
rey has talked to.
To 40-year-old Sue Adams, who
lives in Junction City, the riot was the
fault of fraternities.
“I only know what I read in the pa
per,” she said. “I think the parties got
out of control. Once the parties get
loud and move out into the streets, I
think it gets to be a problem. I think it
reflects on those fraternity houses.”
Adams said she wants the police to
take greater control of underage
drinking.
“It is getting perceptively worse.
The tradition is getting out of hand,”
she said.
Northwest Eugene resident Dana
Wilkonson, 55, said she does not
want the police to just crack down on
underage drinkers but all student
drinkers.
“I think that drinking is the main
issue,” she said. “I would like the en
forcement [of alcohol laws] to be a lit
tle bit stronger, but I understand
they’re too understaffed to do some
thing like that.”
She said police did all they could
to prevent this year’s riot.
“It just seems like they were doing
a lot to prepare for it, judging from
the newscast,” Wilkonson said. “But
then I only know what I saw from the
newscast.”
Wilkonson said she is pessimistic
about next Halloween.
“I think it’s going to happen
again,” she said.
Ryan Montgomery, a 21-year-old
Lane Community College student
and West University resident, said
he doesn’t have any faith in a police
crackdown on alcohol violations.
“(The police) busting everybody
down isn’t going to stop anything,”
he said. "What police and students
and people in the community need
to do is to draft up some kind of‘par
ty constitution.’”
Montgomery said a “party consti
tution” would work because stu
dents would agree to follow some
thing they had help in constructing.
Then, he said, students would be
able to stop the individual rioters
who start the riots.
"The few are hurting everybody
else,” he said. “We need to get every
body to stop the few.”
i( I think the
parties got out
of control.
Once the
parties get
loud and move
out into the
streets, I think
it gets to be a
problem. ”
Sue Adams
Junction City resident