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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1999)
Wednesday. January 13,1998 Weather forecast Today Cloudy High 52, Low 38 Thursday Rain High 51, Low4l New coach Former Seattle Seabawks coach Dennis Erickson replaces Mike Riley as head coach at OSU/PbGt 11 Action figure Foru'ard A.D. Smith makes upfor size uitb smarts/PhGE 11 An independent newspaper Volume 1 (X), Issue 76 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Esslinger face-lift continues Phase 1 of the renovation is on schedule for completion in about six months By Tricia Schwennesen Oregon Daily Emerald At the center of a maze of fenced-in bulldozers, exposed concrete, drywall and other construction debris sits Esslinger Hall. The hall, located at 15th Avenue and University Street, is in Phase 1 of a $19 million renovation project that is about six months away from completion. Project manager Gregg Lobisser, asso ciate dean of student life, said the first We are on-schedule and on the budget, and that’s not a small accomplish ment for a project this large. ” Gregg Lobisser Project manager phase of new con struction will be completed before fall term 1999. “We are on schedule and on the budget, and that’s not a small accom plishment for a pro ject this large,” Lo bissersaid. When the project is completed, stu dents will reap the benefits of a new three-court gymna sium, an indoor rock climbing wall, remodeled larger locker rooms and a new snsnenrlfirl in door running track. There will also be a juice bar, a covered tennis stadium with six courts and an athletic training cen ter. Funds for the $19 million project came from three sources, Lobisser said. “The majority of the money comes from student recreational fees,” he said. All students pay the fee even if they do not use the recreational facilities. The student body voted to increase student incidental fees by $7.75 per term in the fall of 1995 to help pay for the renova Turn to ESSLINGER, Page 6 Amanda Cowan/Emerald Scott Joy supervises as metal rods are lilted at the Esslinger Hall construction site Tuesday afternoon. Notes service closes; cites lack of funds Student Projects Inc., formely known as Footnotes, had financial woes partly caused by professors putting notes online By Felicity Ayles Oregon Daily Emerald Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could take notes for you in every class you miss? Stu dents no longer have the option to take ad vantage of the services of Student Projects Inc., formerly a business in the EMU known as Footnotes. The organization closed last month because of a lack of funding and a rise in campus technology. The University has often been hailed as one of the most wired campuses in the coun try. The expansion of technology on cam pus could be to blame for the closure of Stu dent Projects, an organization that, among other professional services, distributed notes from popular classes. The final home for Student Projects is now an empty space on 13th Avenue near the University Bookstore. Anna Marie Jackson became a Student Projects board member in June of 1998, and she knew of the organization’s financial hardships when she joined the board, she said. “When we lost the suite in the EMU, we lost student group recognition," she said. ‘‘That started to add to the financial worries because the overhead was so high. ” But Jackson said money was not the only problem facing the organization. Student Projects was a victim of growing technology on campus, she said. “Professors started putting their notes on line and that created a lot of competition for us,” she said. “Our biggest source of revenue was from footnotes.” Student Projects also offered services such as copying, faxing and resume services, but now that the Career Center on campus also offers these services, students didn’t need the organization anymore, she said. Turn to STUDENT PROJECTS, Page 5 Finance committee sets lower benchmark for student group funds uespue efforts to lower the incidental fee, it could continue to rise because of a lack of enrollment ay ruiMiiid nuuiiisnas Oregon Daily Emerald The Programs Finance Committee will work this year to lower the funding for all ASUO student groups by 2 per cent. The negative 2 percent benchmark is an attempt to keep the cost of the stu dent incidental fee down this year and to stop the rollover of remaining money into surplus at the end of the fiscal year. PFC Chairman Dan Reid said even with a zero percent benchmark, the inci dental fee would probably increase be cause the number of students attending the University has dropped. With a nega tive 2 percent benchmark, Reid said, the fee may stay the same or decrease a bit. The Student Senate approved the negative 2 percent PFC benchmark, a 3 percent benchmark increase for the EMU and a zero percent benchmark for the Athletic Department Finance Com mittee. “The point [of the PFC benchmark] is for programs to really pull together, pri oritize and organize their budgets,” said Student Senate President Michael Ol son. “I don't want to see programming get cut. I just would like them to tweak their budgets.” The cost of these benchmarks and ex actly how much the incidental fee will increase is in debate. According to ex-Senator Selena Brew ington’s calculations, even with a zero percent benchmark for all three major programs—PFC, EMU and ADFC—the cost of the incidental fee would still in crease $1.27 per term per student be cause of decreased enrollment. With the current benchmarks in place, the fee will rise $2.07 next fiscal year. Last year, students paid $121.96 per term for the three major programs, $16.87 for ballot allocations and $23.12 for student services including an LTD fee, the Esslinger renovation, Career Center services and the Mentor Program. The major increases in the incidental fee usually are assessed from ballot mea sures passed by the student body during spring elections. The cost of each ballot measure passed is then tacked onto the incidental fee. Brewington estimates that approxi mately $30 may be added onto the inci dental fee by ballot measures this year. The Student Senate decided to lower its own 1999-2000 fiscal year budget by 3.27 percent. Nine academic senators took a stipend cut from $75 to $70 a month. Turn to BENCHMARKS, Page 4 Benchmarks The approved bench marks for major programs forthe 1999-2000 fiscal year: ■ ASUO Programs finance Committee: negative 2 percent a Erb Memorial Union: 3 percent ■Athletic Department Finance Committee: Opercent The incidental fee breakdown last fiscal year per term: ■ Major programs: $121.96 ■ Ballot measure allocations: $16.87 ■ Special services (LTD, Esslinger renovation, career center): $23.13
