Wednesday. January 13,1998
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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