Oregon daily emerald., April 21, 1999, Image 1

WecincMl.iy, \pril 11. 11)9(>
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Today Thursday
Showers Partly cloudy
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Spring fever
Warm weather may bring students outside,
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An independent newspaper
Volume 100, Issue 136
University of Oregon
www.dailyemerald.com
Grassroots
Amanda Cowan/Emerald
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader speaks to dozens of students at the EMU Amphitheater Tuesday morning.
Nader champions OSPIRG at rally
The consumer advocate
also railed against big
business Tuesday
By David Ryan
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Committee to Re-establish
the Oregon Student Public Inter
est Research Group got a pre-elec
tion boost from one of OSPIRG’s
creators Tuesday.
Ralph Nader, the 65-year-old con
sumer advocate most well-known
for calling the 1960s Chevrolet Cor
vair “unsafe at any speed,” urged
more than 150 students in die EMU
Amphitheater to support and get in
volved with OSPIRG.
Twenty-seven years ago, Ralph
Nader and a group of University
students founded OSPIRG with the
object of promoting environmental
concerns and consumer rights. In
1996, Nader was the presidential
candidate for several environmen
talist parties across the country.
OSPIRG was the first student
group of its kind in the country. To
day there are 70 college campuses in
16 states with a student PIRG. The
Committee to Re-establish OSPIRG
is now given money to run its pro
grams by the state OSPIRG board.
Today and Thursday, the future
of OSPIRG will be determined by
student votes in the general elec
tion. OSPIRG is asking students to
give them back student incidental
fee funding denied them by last
year’s student voters for the first
time since OSPIRG’s creation.
ASUO President Geneva Wort
man, a former OSPER.G member,
and the Earth Week Committee
brought Nader to campus and paid
his speaker’s fee.
“We had to do some creative
budgeting,” Wortman said.
In his speech, Nader criticized
corporations’ effects on govern
ment and society and supported
the use of student incidental fees
forthePIRGs.
“Students are using their own
Turn to NADER, Page 4A
Chen team regains
ASUO Executive
The Constitution Court rules in
favor of the team’s appeal and
reaffirms primary results
By Sarah Skidmore
Oregon Daily Emerald
In a flurry of decisions by the Constitu
tion Court, ASUO Elections Board and
candidates, the status of the general elec
tions is revamped. Wylie Chen and Mitra
Anoushiravani will reclaim the ASUO Ex
ecutive, which they won in the primary
elections. And
Duck Web will not
be used in the gen
eral elections, de
spite ASUO sup
port.
The court decided
in favor of Chen and
Anoushiravani in
their appeal request
ing a dismissal of
the Elections
Board’s decision to
annul the primary election results that au
tomatically gave the team the ASUO Exec
utive.
Election rules state that any candidate
team that receives more than 50 percent of
the primary vote is automatically elected,
taking the vote for the Executive off the
general election ballot.
The annulment came after a grievance
was filed alleging Chen and Anoushiravani
distributed campaign fliers in residence
halls. Anoushiravani is a residence assis
tant.
As a result of the Constitution Court rul
ing, the result of the primary election for
ASUO president and vice president stands.
Also, rule 6.10, which was used against
the team in the Election Board’s decision,
was declared unconstitutional. The rule
states that campaigning done in support of
a campaign is the responsibility of the can
didates.
The Constitution Court incorporated
case information and arguments from a
brief filed by Reid and Swanson and a brief
filed by Scott Austin and Brian Wise. Nei
ther of the briefs will be considered by it
self.
Chen said he was pleased with the Con
Tum to ASUO, Page 6A
The general ^ec
tions begin today
for students to vote
on two ASUO stu
seats and six ballot
measures.
Students may
vote at any of the
four polling booths
from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. The polling
booths are located
in the courtyard in
front of Gilbert Hall,
in front of Chapman
Hall, in the lobby of
Carson Hall and in
the EMU Amphithe
ater. Although vot
ing via Duck Web
was approved in the
special elections,
the ASUO decided
to withdraw tWs op
tion. ASUO Presi
dent Geneva Wort
man and ASUO
Elections Coordina
tor Taylor Sturges
said they have com
plete confidence in
the accuracy and
safety of the sys
tem, but the large
number of griev
ances from the stu
dents persuaded
them to limit voting
to the traditional
polling booths.
1601 students
!y9.5percentofthe
student body. Of
booths and694voted
through Duck Web.
Colorado high school shooting leaves many saddened, confused
Local
community
members are
drawing
unfortunate
parallels from
Tuesday’s
massacre in
Colorado to
last year’s
tragedy in
Springfield
By Felicity Ayles
Oregon Daily Emerald
Columbine High School in Little
ton, Colo., Tuesday afternoon joined
Thurston High School and other
schools around the country that have
become victims of shootings.
In an eerie coincidence with
Thurston, the suspects entered the
school and began shooting in the cafe
teria. They then continued shooting
throughout the school, killing several
students.
The shooting comes near the an
niversary of the Thurston High School
shooting, which left two students dead
on May 21,1998. Springfield Mayor
Maureen Maine met with city Police
Chief Bill DeForrest, school superin
tendent Jamon Kent and McKenzie
Willamette Hospital administrator
Roy Orr on Tuesday to discuss the Col
orado shooting and its similarity to the
Thurston tragedy.
Maine said her heart went out to the
people of Littleton.
“We know firsthand the pain and
fear being experienced by students,
teachers and school staff and literally
hundreds of parents and school chil
dren in Littleton,” she said.
While the incident was still unfold
ing in Littleton, Maine said the most
immediate concern was for the safety
of the children involved and the
“quick conclusion” of the tragedy.
Maine offered Springfield’s assistance
to the mayor of Littleton.
“We stand ready to help,” she said.
Maine said the city of Springfield is
saddened by the Colorado event and
redoubled her pledge to work with the
federal and state government to bring
an end to violence in schools.
“I know all of Springfield joins me as
I tell the people of Littleton our hopes
and prayers are with you,” she said.
Springfield Police Captain Jerry
Smith was one of the first officers on
the scene at the Thurston shooting and
said his first priority when faced with
the situation was to get the children
away from the shooter.
But Smith said the problem in Col
orado is much greater than that in
Springfield.
“As they are doing their job they
have to keep focused, and they will,”
he said before police had secured
Columbine High School. “Otherwise
people get hurt.”
After the immediate crisis is over,
Smith said, police will look at the
number of victims and suspects, the
location, the weapons used and the
hostage situation.
“They undoubtedly already have a
team interviewing the students,” he
said.
Then the police will attempt to an
Turn to SHOOTING, Page 4A