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EDITOR IN CHIEF
Ryan Frank
EDITORIAL EDITORS
Kameron Cole
Stefanie Knowlton
1998: Year in Review
One last look
at the past
year’s ten
most
influential
University
events
New years are a funny thing.
Faced with the prospect of
365 days of infinite possi
bility, people find comfort
in looking back. In this spirit of re
flection, the Emerald presents the 10
events that most influenced Univer
sity life.
1. Danta Graham-Preston
Last year opened with continued
fallout from the Danta Graham-Pre
ston sexual misconduct case. The
case centered on the alleged off-cam
pus assault of a female student by
Preston and sparked debate on a wide
range of topics. The most significant
issue raised by the case was the ques
tion of exactly how far the University
could reach in disciplining students
for their behavior off campus.
2. Thurston High School shooting
Last spring, tragedy put the City of
Springfield in the national spotlight.
The shooting first stunned the com
munity and then pulled it closer to
gether.
3. Asian Crisis
Regarded by many as just another
item on the evening
news, the Asian
economic crisis hit
close to home at the
Universi
ty. Currency devaluation and rising
prices in their home countries sub
jected international students here to
an average cost of living that was up
to six times higher than it was in
1997. Consequently, there was a sig
nificant drop in the number of Asian
international students at the start of
the 1998 school year.
4. Go Ducks!
In 1998 the campus and the com
munity were awash in Duck spirit as
the Oregon football team, lead by
quarterback Akili Smith, were ranked
as high as No. 11 nationally. Smith
led both the team and the fans
through one of the most memorable
seasons in recent memory, culminat
ing with a trip to the Aloha Bowl. It
wasn’t just the football team that
made us proud. The women’s basket
ball team distinguished themselves
with yet another killer season and a
fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tour
nament.
5. Oregon University System
One of the biggest things to happen
to Oregon higher education was the
restructuring of the Oregon Universi
ty System. The adoption of a new
funding model that allocates money
based on enrollment is expected to be
especially kind to the University, al
lowing for new programs, facilities
and faculty. Whether smaller other
Oregon schools will fare as well re
's. mains to be seen.
6.13th Street Police Station
The 13th Street police sub
station moved out of the
nondescript trailer in the
parking lot of 7-Eleven and
into a more prominent, de
cidedly swankier building
across the way. The
^ dif
ference in the once infamous West
University area can already be felt, to
the delight of local businesses and
those who have grown weary of being
hit up for “nuggets."
7. Campus Construction
Gaping holes in the ground and
piles of rubble greeted students as
they returned to campus in the fall
and found several campus sites un
der construction. Fabulous new facil
ities are promised, but as we roll into
1999, few of these projects are even
close to being finished and parking
headaches and general inconve
nience abound.
8. The New EMU
Proof positive that there is indeed a
light at the end of the long, dark tun
nel of campus construction. The
EMU reemerged in 1998 as the hub of
campus life. The addition of a bakery
(the cleverly named Grateful Bread)
and The Buzz coffee house have
made the student union a place stu
dents can actually stand to spend
time in.
9. Oregon Campaign
Amid controversy over who do
nates how much in exchange for
what, the University’s six-year fund
raising drive ended in December hav
ing netted more than $253 million for
the school.
10. Students, Cops and Alcohol
As the year progressed, particular
ly during fall term, more and more
University students became intimate
ly acquainted with the vagaries of Eu
gene law enforcement. The majority
of student-police encounters cen
tered around alcohol. As the city
moves ever closer to zero tolerance
policies on disorderly conduct and
underage drinking, tensions on both
sides of the issues increased.
This editorial represents the opin
ion of the Emerald editorial
L hoard. Responses ma y he sent
to ode@oregon.uoregon.
edu
ClU~>vatmi Salem inn'Emerald
The campus bar scene no laughing matter
Emerald column was
funny, but issues
surrounding alcohol are
anything but
This letter is in response to
the humorous opinion
piece on the campus bar
scene. (ODE, Dec. 2)
While the skewed perception of
Aaron Artman is comical to say
the least, there are some serious
issues mentioned that need to be
properly addressed.
Number One: Stiff Drinks.
Artman stated that at Rennie’s
“the mixed drinks are more mix
than drink.” Outside of straight
shots, the overwhelming majority
of drinks listed in any book or bar
guide call for more “mix” than
liquor. But, if the over-powering
taste of alcohol is the main focus,
see the phone book under liquor.
Number Two: Goals.
Artman laments “morning af
ters where... you wake up alone
with no hangover.” If one of your
goals is to wake-up with a hang
over, there, are two sure-fire ways
to achieve this: First, drink exces
sive quantities of Mad Dog 20/20.
Second, buy a fifth and borrow a
line from George Thorogood’s “I
Drink Alone.”
For help, see phone book under
recovery.
Number Three: Social Endeav
ors.
If, “to wake up alone,” is equat
ed to not speaking with someone
whom you deem intoxicated,
does speaking to someone who is
intoxicated improve your chances
of companionship? Without re
gard to the University Conduct
Code the notion that one must
rely on drunken prey to ensure a
tandem night is a sad commen
tary on one's own inability to so
cially interact with a person who
is not under the influence of in
toxicates.
For help, see phonebook under
attorney.
Summary: The pursuit of fun
and occasional debauchery is a
pastime of many students and
area residents. Living in an alco
holic microcosm is not. With re
gard, to “stiff drinks, it is a bar
tender’s legal responsibility to
monitor and regulate alcohol con
sumption. It is a drinker’s social
responsibility to follow bar eti
quette and abide by moral stan
dards regarding one’s sexual en
deavors. If you can’t score with
someone who’s sober, you
shouldn't score with someone
who’s drunk.
This guest editorial was signed by:
Edu ardJessie, Dai id Costard, Jorin
Weber, Pete Engdall, Kasey Rimmer,
Shawn Malikowski, Darren Fabre