Weather forecast
Today Thursday
Showers Partly cloudy
High 52, Low 36 High 57, Low 37
Pit happens .
The Ducks take on Georgia Tech in the |
first round of the men’s NIT /PAGE 9 Wi
I
A photo essay celebrates Mac Court/PAGE 6
Before the bench
The Oregon Supreme Court
makes its annual visit to
campus today, holding court
in Grayson /PAGE 3
Ail independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 115
University of Oregon
www.dailyemerald.com
Storm presents problems for Eugene trees
Tliis tree, located in the Pioneer Cemetery, was one of three on campus that fell during a wind storm last Tuesday. A total of 78 trees fell throughout Eugene that night. *
Last week's storm caused some
of the worst damage to trees the
city has seen in many years
By Felicity Ayles
Oregon Daily Emerald
Last week, three trees fell on campus in
the wind storm on Tuesday, March 2, Sev
eral more came down in the surrounding
area.
That’s not bad compared to the 78 trees
that fell onto Eugene streets that night.
Tim King, the Facilities Services exteri
or maintenance team director, said the
University has had problems with trees in
the past, but this year falling trees were a
result of a variety of factors.
“This one looks like a combination of
high winds and saturated soil,” he said.
Overall, King said, the University was
lucky.
"Considering the problems around the
city, we’re fortunate that we didn’t get hit
too bad,” he said. “There are over 4,000
trees on campus; to lose only two is not
bad."
Throughout the 15 years he has worked
here, King said, he can think of only two
injuries resulting from falling trees, neither
of which was serious.
But, he said, the tree at the corner of 13th
Avenue and University Street had a high
potential for injury.
“If it had fallen during the day in the
middle of a class break, I’m not sure if
everyone could get out of the way in time,”
he said.
Trees don’t just fall over in a matter of
Turn to TREES, Page 8
Students criticize
KWVA’s song format
The radio
station has
come under
attack from
those who
consider it
too far off
the dial.
For many
students,
KWVA is
neither
listenable
nor relevant
By Glenn Shires
lor the Emerald
Frank Jezukewicz may have lost his
battle with KWVA, the campus radio sta
tion, but he's not ready to give up yet.
In December, Jezukewicz and his
friend Brett Johnson applied to be disc
jockeys at KWVA, with plans of doing a
show featuring live recordings of Phish
and the Grateful Dead, two bands with
large followings on campus. Yet when
they presented their ideas to the station
staff, Jezukewicz said, they were imme
diately denied because the station’s pro
gramming director didn’t like “that type
of music.”
Jezukewicz, a sophomore journalism
major, responded by writing a letter to
the Emerald, published Jan. 29, protest
ing KWVA’s policies. The letter elicited a
series of responses from students, both in
favor of and in opposition to the station’s
format.
More than a month later, Jezukewicz
remains adamant about what he consid
ers to be KWVA’s unreasonable ap
proach to programming.
‘‘They have some good hip-hop shows,
Turn to RADIO, Page 4
Tickets
Student tickets
are still available for
tonight's 9 p.m. Na
tional Invitation
Tournament first
round matchup be
tween the Oregon
men’s basketball
team and Georgia
Tech at McArthur
Court.
Tickets cost $4,
and students can
purchase them at
the Casanova Center
from9a.m.to5
p.m. Any tickets re
maining will be sold
at McArthur Court
starting at 6 p.m.
The game, which
will be televised na
tionally by ESPN,
pitsthe hot Ducks
(16-11), who have
won six of their last
eight games, against
the Atlantic Coast
Conference’s Yellow
Jackets(15-15).
For a full story
seethe preview in
, Sports on Page 9.
Y2K concerns similar to Y1K worries
Instead of the end of the
world, people fear the
end of technology
By Tricia Schwennesen
Oregon Daily Emerald
It’s the end of the world as we
know it — but do we feel fine?
We’re approaching a new mil
lennium, but many people fear
that the world is not quite as
technologically advanced as
once imagined.
Orwellian surveillance is still
only fiction and we haven’t colo
nized the space frontier. The Jet
son’s space-age environment is
not a reality—yet.
However, with only 297 days
left until the dawn of a new era,
people are starting to wonder
and worry.
The main difference between
Y2K, which stands for year
2000, and Y1K, or year 1000, is
people today are worried about
technology failing, not the world
coming to an end.
“We’re dealing with a case
where everyone is spooked,”
said Jeff Osanka, a retired EWEB
commissioner and a computer
consultant.
Until now, people have associ
ated Y2K witli the “millennium
bug,” a programming glitch in
some computer chips that recog
nizes the double digits 00 as the
year 1900, not 2000, Osanka said.
But computer chips are em
bedded in everything from VCRs
to computer networks to the
electricity grid that controls
power and transportation.
"Two to 5 percent of chips in
machines right now, made even
as recent as a year ago, were pro
grammed with chips that are not
Y2K compliant,” Osanka said.
But that doesn't mean they
will fail.
People should educate them
selves on potential problems
and prepare now, Osanka said.
Don’t wait until October, No
vember or December to begin
preparing for Y2K.
Not only do individuals need
to prepare, but businesses
should be planning ahead also.
Large companies need to check
interoffice systems to make sure
everything is Y2K compliant, and
they need to work with outside
interests such as their clients,
their bank, their local electric
company and the water board.
Turn to Y2K, Page 5
This series will delve
into the questions and
concerns surrounding
the new millennium.
■ TODAY: An intro
duction to Y2Kand the
concerns and fears
» Thursday: How the
University is preparing
the campus
a Friday: Getting your
PC ready for the new
millennium