Amanda Cowan/Emerald
Mikel Conner and Ryan Atteberry answer questions from reporters Tuesday evening.
Thurston
Continued from Page 1
Greek furies driving him to un
derstand what happened," Mas
trosimone said. “I did this as a
parent not as a playwright. ”
Mastrosimone said his son
came home from school talking
about a message a classmate had
scrawled on the chalk board.
The message said, “I’m going
to kill everyone in this class.”
It turned out to be a prank, but
Mastrosimone said, “It had
robbed this little town, that I
lived in, of its peace of mind.”
“I was really disturbed, like
most parents, when this seemed
like a plague among our house,"
the father of four said.
The play has not been pub
lished because Mastrosimone
chose to post it on the Internet
instead.
He said he wanted to by-pass
any prejudgments that adults
might make and let kids make
the decision for themselves.
“The play is focused on the
potential killer in the audi
ence,” Mastrosimone said. “I
think after the events in the past
two years, you have to assume
there’s a killer in every school.”
Mastrosimone believes the
play will allow potential killers
to release their bad feelings.
“Hopefully, the play will
bring that kid to a catharthis—a
purging of those feelings,” he said.
“It’s what’s in a kid’s heart that
makes them do it. It’s what’s in a
kid’s soul.”
Betina Lynn, a survivorofthe
Thurston shootings, attended a
press conference to promote the
new play and show her support
for Ribbon ofPromi.se, the non
profit organization that paid for
the project.
She said she hopes the play
makes a difference by forcing
people to realize that school vio
lence is very real.
“While I was at Thurston, I
was thinking about it daily,”
Lynn said. “It’s kind of hard to
move on.”
Lynn said some people were
upset that Kinkel’s trial was
postponed until September of
this year. The resolution of his
trial will bring closure for many,
she said.
“Bullets really kill — it's not
like T.V.,” Lynn said. “I think
the only possible solution is
prevention.”
Ribbon of Promise was one
agency that emerged from with
in the community during the af
termath of the shootings.
The purpose of the organiza
tion is to end school violence
and bring awareness to commu
nities, said Betty Schenfeld, Rib
bon of Promise office manager.
“We want to make resources
available so people don’t fall
through the cracks,” Schenfeld
said, "like Kip Kinkel’s family
who said they went everywhere
to get help.”
If it’s not a gun, it could be a
knife or a bomb. Mastrosimone
said that kind of animosity will
find a way.
“This is a play where they can
do it for each other not have it
done for them,” he said.
Westmoreland
Continued from Page 1
like we can’t let it escalate.”
Part of the problem is that West
moreland is a University entity
that’s located in the no-man’s
land of 18th Avenue and Cham
bers Street, a couple of miles from
campus.
Westmoreland has 24-hour po
lice coverage, according to Eugene
police Sgt. Rick Gilliam. In addi
tion, OPS sends out occasioned uni
formed officer, and the tenants pay
for evening OPS student patrols.
“I feel like they’re getting double
coverage, given that it is an apart
ment complex,” said Lou Vi
jayakar, director of Family Hous
ing. “Our goal is to make sure OPS,
EPD and the residents continue to
keep it a safe environment.”
This is not an unreasonable re
quest, according to 10-year West
moreland Area Director Sheri
Uonahoe.
“There’s an educational curve
that needs to happen,” she said.
"There needs to be a reality check. ”
Because it is student housing,
there is high turnover in West
moreland residents. If residents
stay aware of who their neighbors
are and who doesn’t belong, the
area should be safer, Donahoe said.
“If you compare us to the pri
vate sector, there are a lot of safety
nets that are built in,” she said.
“The weak net is we’re such a
transient community. ”
Most crimes that do occur in
Westmoreland are crimes of con
venience, Donahoe said.
This is something Richardson
knows first-hand. She organized a
neighborhood watch in her area of
Westmoreland in the fall of 1997
that has nabbed several criminals
since its inception.
Just last summer, Richardson
woke at 3 a.m. to find someone
trying to steal a bike tire off her
front porch. Richardson’s neigh
bor called police, and the suspect
was caught by the police.
“They don’t come quite as fre
quently now,” Richardson said.
Last term, Housing evicted one
resident after he was arrested for
possession of heroin.
What scares Richardson the
most is the density of children in
Westmoreland compared to other
neighborhoods.
“There’s so many kids here,”
she said. “If you don’t belong here
— we don’t care what you’re do
ing —you don’t belong here. ”
But even Richardson knows
how difficult it is to maintain a
utopia in the area. The high
turnover makes her neighborhood
watch difficult to maintain as well.
“It takes an incredible amount
of work,” she said. “People are
willing to work, but you’re not go
ing to find that many grad stu
dents who can put in the time. ”
Richardson said she is happy
with the majority of what Housing
does for its tenants but said securi
ty is lacking.
Tom Cassidy, chair of the West
moreland Tenants Council, said
he believes security coverage by
the police and OPS has been lack
ing but added he is encouraged by
last week’s meeting.
1 thought it was a real success,
but that doesn't mean we’re
through with security issues in
Westmoreland,” he said. “I believe
[OPS is] making some changes that
will improveour coverage.”
OPS associate director Tom
Hicks agreed that the meeting
helped facilitate conversation be
tween public safety and the tenants.
“I think they get adequate cov
erage. When there’s an incident,
the response has been pretty
prompt,” Hicks said. “It’s as much
a community issue as it is a police
or security issue.”
Police coverage of Westmore
land may be better than on campus,
Gilliam said. There is always an of
ficer assigned to the neighborhood,
while there is not always an officer
on duty in the University area.
“I don’t think [police coverage
is] any different there than it is
anywhere else,” she said.
A little common sense can go a
long way in the neighborhood, Don
ahoe said. Many of the thefts are
“crimes of convenience,” she said.
If residents stay alert and keep
attractive targets for thieves in
doors, that should deter the crimi
nal element, she said.
“There’s always room for im
provement,” she said. “I think
folks have got to realize if you live
here you need to help work in uni
son with the safety nets you have
in place.”
KOTC
Continued from Page 1
For four years, as scholarship recipients,
Rice and Nash have experienced it all. Dur
ing the last four years, they attended the re
quired military courses and labs, they toned
their muscles through rigorous physical
training exercises and they passed ad
vanced camp, a place where both their
minds and bodies were pushed to their
breaking points. Now, as they near the end
of their college days, Rice and Nash spend
their time preparing the junior class for the
impending trials while also refining their
own managerial skills.
Captain Richard Lewis, a courtesy assistant
professor of military science, said the journey
of an ROTC student is a valuable one. With
the help of the organization, participants be
come well-rounded and driven individuals.
“I think the ROTC enhances the diversity
of the student population at the Universi
ty,” Lewis said. “The leadership skills they
learn bleed into other parts of their lives;
most people with the ROTC develop good
moral characters and they have a strong de
sire to do the right thing.”
Rice said she has definitely changed be
cause of the ROTC. Because of the organiza
tion, she has gained a better understanding
on the responsibilities of military officers.
“I never understood, until I joined this
program, what it meant to be a leader,” Rice
said. “I’m constantly being watched by my
subordinates. They really look up to me for
guidance and direction. Everything I do
makes an impression on them.”
Rice had not envisioned herself as the mil
itary type, primarily because she had never
been prone to physical activity. Instead of
exercising when she was younger, she spent
her high school career devoted to drama and
theater productions. Only after real izing the
expenses of college, did Rice begin to rethink
her previous conceptions of the ROTC.
“I figured that I’d just go for it, and I’m glad
I did,” Rice said. “It did a lot for my self-es
teem. I had never known what my body was
capable of until I was forced to push myself."
Like Rice, Nash joined the ROTC to gain fi
nancial assistance for his education, but he
also joined to fulfill his childhood fantasy.
“I thought it would be a lot of fun getting
dirty, and it is,” Nash said. “We go out on
gun, grenade and assault courses on cam
pus, and we get to do so many things that I
would not have otherwise done. Every lit
tle kid wants to play army, and this is a real
ization of the dream. ”
Both Rice and Nash said their experi
ences with the ROTC have made a definite
impact on their lives. They’ve learned how
to manage their time wisely, how to achieve
their goals and how to motivate themselves
to succeed. However, like every organiza
tion, the ROTC has its occasional problems.
“Sometimes it’s a challenge to get along
with some of my colleagues,” Nash said. “But
at the same time, it’s the challenge of having
to get along with them and being in the same
working environment that really dictates
how I’m going to do throughout life. The way
I thrive and get respect is by learning how to
deal with those people correctly. ”
Another downside of the ROTC is the
negative stereotypes some people continue
to believe.
"People think by wearing this uniform,
we’ve lost our own personalities, our own
identity,” Rice said. “They have this mis
conception that we are mindless robots who
just follow orders, and that is not true.”
Rice said she believes a lot of individuals
don’t understand what it means to be a part
oftheROTC.
“It’s really not fair,” Rice said. “People
don’t realize the responsibility we have. We
love this country enough to fight for it, to die
for the peace of the land. That takes com
plete and total commitment.”
Despite these occasional hurdles, Rice
and Nash said they both appreciate what the
ROTC has done for them. It provided them
with valuable skills, a college education and
a well-paying job.
“There is so much the ROTC can offer —
jobs, self-esteem, self-confidence, physical
fitness,” Rice said. “People can gain the
valuable direction and discipline that they
need. A lot of young people still don’t have
these qualities, but they can learn them by
being a part of this program. ”
Erin Snelgrwe can be reached via e-mail ates
nelgro@gladstone. uoregon edu.
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