Thursday. March 4. 1999
Weather forecast
Today Friday
Showers Mostly cloudy
High 47, Low 34 High 47, Ix>w 35
A helping hand
University students in a leadership class
organize a dance to raise moneyfora
transplant for a local teenager/PAGE 3
No gratitude
Once recruited by the Ducks, Stanford’s
Lindsey Yamasaki, an Oregon native,
has something to prove /PAGE 9
I
An independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 111
University of Oregon
www.dailyemenild.com
*
Amanda Cowan/Emerald
Dave Cheek, an employee of Nature's Landscape, digs a ditch for an irrigation system at the new law center Tuesday afternoon.
Law building is nearly complete
Donations,
bonds and
grants have
helped
finance the
lengthy,
over-budget
project
by i ricia bcnwennesen
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s been three years in the making and
cost about $1.9 million more than original
ly planned, but the William W. Knight Law
Center is nearing completion.
The final price tag on the new building,
including equipment and furnishings, is
$26,919,315.
Janet Lobue, project manager, said Hoff
man Construction Co. will complete the
project by the end of March. All of the
building’s systems, such as fire alarms,
heating system, ventilation and electricity,
will be tested by May 10.
The project was supposed to be complet
ed by Dec. 31,1998.
“We will be fully functional by June 1,”
said Jane Gordon, the law school associate
dean for student affairs. “It's just becoming
reabty as we talk about how we’re going to get
things packed and what the deadlines are.”
The law library will begin moving books
into the basement in mid-March and the
other offices will move after May 16. This
Turn to CONSTRUCTION, Page 8
Law meeting lights
Tierce Green Fire’
The four-clay event wilt feature
topics concerning legal and
environmental issues
By Mark Freed
lor Ihe Emerald
Mix politicians with political refugees,
lawyers with a tree dweller, an Academy
Award-winning filmmaker with a guy who
lives with bears half the year—and stir. The
result? The oldest and biggest annual gather
ing for environmentalists, and it’s right here
at the University.
The 17th annual Public Interest Environ
mental Law Conference, sponsored by Land
Air Water and Friends of Land Air Water,
brings a flurry of speakers, panels, work
shops and entertainment to the School of
Law beginning today. The four-day confer
ence, expected to attract about 3,000 partici
pants, wraps up Sunday.
The conference, free for University stu
dents, unites environmental leaders, ac
tivists, politicians, lawyers, students and
Turn to LAW, Page 6
On Tap
WHAT: The Public In
terest Environmental
Law Conference, with
more than 100 pan
els, 15 keynote ad
dresses, workshops
and entertainment.
WHO: 3,000 lawyers,
environmentalists,
artists, students and
citizens.
WHERE: The Univer
sity School of Law
and other campus lo
cations.
TICKETS: Admission
is free for non-pro
fessionals and non
attorneys, but a $20
to $50 donation is
suggested.
For more into: call 346
3828 or 346-3878.
Instructor evaluations
now available on Web
Greater student access
to course reviews elicits
mixed reactions
By Erin Snelgrove
Oregon Daily Emerald
With the click of a mouse, Uni
versity students can now access
professor evaluations on the Web.
The effectiveness of classes
and instructors is rated in the
evaluations. The list is available
on the Internet at http://glad
stone.uoregon.edu/~asuoprog/,
for the first time.
By looking at the numerical
score, one Deing tne
lowest and 10 being
the highest, students
can see how their
peers judged a pro
fessor’s performance
and a course’s over
all benefit.
The ASUO has
been responsible for
publishing the scores
for the past two
years. By making the
evaluations avail
able, students are
able to choose class
es that will most benefit them.
This year’s evaluations and the
past two years of reviews are now
available on the Internet.
“Our mission is to help students
receive a better education and to
save money,” said ASUO Vice
President Morgan Cowling. “One
of the biggest complaints about the
University is some of the classes, so
with the course evaluations stu
dents will be able to make informed
decisions before they register.”
In the past, evaluations had
been compiled in pamphlets
available at the University Book
store and in the EMU.
“People complained because
their incidental fees had been
used to publish the evalua
tions,” said Corey Jonas, an
ASUO intern. "So this term, the
evaluations are posted on the
Web instead, which took less
time and was less expensive.”
However, some students and
faculty expressed dismay at the
availability of evalu
(( College
isn 't meant to
be easy.
Shopping for
classes and
teachers is
atrocious. ^
Julie Dennler
University freshman
ations.
Julie Dennler, a
freshman, does not
approve of the review
procedure. She said
students should not
base their course se
lections primarily on
assessment scores.
“College isn’t
meant to be easy,”
Dennler said.
“Shopping for class
es and teachers is
atrocious. Students
should choose
courses because they want to
learn and be challenged, not be
cause they want an easy A. ”
A1 Acres, an assistant profes
sor of art history, said the evalua
tions could be more accurate.
“I, like everybody, think the
evaluations need to be handled
with care,” Acres said. “They
Turn to EVALUATIONS, Page 8