ASUO President and VP recap year’s achievements
This year’s ASUO Executive
believes in the power and ideal
ism of students. Historically, it
has been students who have
fought the good fight in this
country. Students have been at
the forefront of the civil rights,
feminist and environmental
movements.
The student movement is not
dead.
Your student government be
lieves that education is a right,
not a privilege. A quality higher
education can and must be acces
sible and affordable for everyone.
If it is only traditionally repre
sented students who can attend
institutions of higher education,
we are allowing the dominant
paradigm of racism, sexism and
homophobia to prevail in society
forever.
Everyone must feel welcome
and safe on campus. So how does
this broad vision for our commu
nity translate into a year in the
ASUO?
By advocating for increased
campus diversity, campus safety,
a tuition freeze, student parent
child care and empowering stu
dents with the skills and experi
ence to know thev can make
change in their community. The
ASUO, your student govern
ment, has diligently, consistently
and effectively advocated for stu
dents this year.
Unfortunately, if you read the
Emerald, you would be led to be
lieve that students, especially
your student government, are
powerless to create any change.
One Emerald editorial suggested
that the ASUO can merely take
stands on issues but not effect
real change. Don’t buy into the
apathetic rhetoric.
Tuition Freeze
It was the ASUO Executive
leading the charge to ward off a
5.3 percent increase in your tu
ition. It was not the corporate
lobbyists, University administra
tors or faculty who created a cli
mate for the Oregon University
System budget to pass through
the House of Representatives and
the Senate. It was students. It was
students collecting letters, testi
fying before legislative commit
tees in Salem and meeting with
lawmakers who won this victory.
Even University President Dave
Frohnmayer believes that stu
dents are the best advocates for
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the Emerald editorial board does
not understand this.
Campus Safety
Through the ASUO’s initial
work on campus safety, it was
clear students needed more than
lighting and painted duck feet to
feel safe on campus. Ultimately,
we need to create a climate that
refuses to accept racism, sexism
or homophobia. The ASUO is ad
vocating for a
Commentary
Geneva
Wortman and
Morgan
Cowling
University
wide State
ment of Re
spect.
Students also
demanded a
mechanism to
.i" ■ ■ hold our Of
fice of Public Safety officers ac
countable. The ASUO Executive
initiated the process to create an
OPS Advisory Board and griev
ance process to fully include the
student voice in public safety.
Child Care
Students fund the ASUO Child
Care Subsidy to offset the cost of
child care for student parents,
but it is not enough. State fund
ing for the Student Parent Child
Care Block Grant has been an
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ority, and students have been
successful. The goal is to provide
more students with affordable
child care. No one should have to
choose between being a parent
and being a student.
Campus Diversity
The ASUO Executive cut
through the talk of diversity on
campus by creating a concrete
plan to increase the recruitment
and retention of students and fac
ulty of color on campus. The
ASUO Diversity team, in coalition
with many student programs, de
veloped a mentorship program
and an ambassador team of stu
dents to assist University admis
sions in recruiting more students
of color. The Diversity 2000 plan
includes diversity sensitivity
training for faculty and a more ag
gressive approach for faculty hir
ing procedures.
Student Empowerment
The ASUO had more interns
than any other student govern
ment in the country. The ASUO
trained, developed and empow
ered more than 100 students this
year through our internship pro
gram. Through weekly training
and hands-on experience, in
Crete victories for students.
Student-Centered University
The ASUO saved students
money through our Book Swap
program, where students sold
their used textbooks. This
process allows students to make
more money off their used books
and save more money when pur
chasing new texts. The ASUO
continued the tradition of pub
lishing professor evaluations.
This year we made them more
accessible by publishing them on
the Web.
The ASUO has worked hard
this year, fighting the good fight
for the students of this university
and the state of Oregon. It has
been an honor to serve our com
munity with this group of com
mitted students. The end of the
year is the time to look back and
see how the hard work and dedi
cation of this group of people re
sulted in concrete victories for
students. Your student govern
ment has represented you well
and worked hard for all students
on this campus.
Geneva Wortman is the outgoing
ASUO president. Morgan Cowling is
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Espionage furor drowns out those saying crisis is overblown
By John Diamond
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Lost amid
the alarm over the alleged Chinese
theft of U.S. nuclear secrets is a con
clusion being articulated by arms
control advocates, intelligence of
ficials and even some Republicans:
The threat to the United States may
be marginal at worst.
China has yet to field a weapon a
decade after it purportedly stole de
sign information from U.S. nuclear
weapons labs, they say. Some of the
information Beijing’s spies alleged
ly collected is now declassified.
And in the strange world of nuclear
strategy, a somewhat improved
Chinese nuclear arsenal may actu
ally add to superpower stability,
these critics argue, by reducing the
chances that anyone would be
tempted to launch a preemptive (
first strike on China’s arsenal. t
These cautionary voices have j
been drowned out amid the up- t
roar on Capitol Hill over a special 1
report by a House select commit- i
tee on Chinese espionage that
studied China’s efforts to improve j
its nuclear warheads and the mis- i
siles that deliver them. I
Also lost is the fact that Tues- e
lay’s report is filled with condi
ional phrases: the People’s Re
mblic of China “could” or “may”
ake detrimental actions “if the
*RC decides to develop” weapons
t currently does not possess.
“The depiction of China as an im
>ending nuclear nemesis just does
lot accord with the facts,” said
tobert Norris, a nuclear weapons
xpert with the Natural Resources
Defense Council, an arms control
and environmental organization.
Much of the report hinges on a
prediction that China will soon
test and field improved weapons
based in part on secrets allegedly
stolen from U.S. nuclear weapons
labs. For example, China is devel
oping a mobile DF-31 missile that
the report says could be tested lat
er this year and fielded in 2002.
university Special Election for our
“IWfTF FreshmanDaa1!jS""Hr
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Laura Close
Hi Folks,
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Laura Close,
and I’m running for the Freshman position on the U of 0
Bookstore Board. My focus is on student needs and assuring that
student satisfaction with the Bookstore remains high. The
Bookstore is an important part of campus life, be it for text books,
gifts, duck gear, tabling, etc. I’m looking forward to serving on the
Board and serving student interests.
One of the biggest issues facing the Bookstore right now is corporate dominance.
Many other universities have had chain stores (I’m not mentioning names, but think
malls) purchase their bookstores. The University of Oregon administration has also
been approached on this matter as well. When corporations control your Bookstore,
they also control the prices. Keeping prices reasonable on our text books and
working to keep the bookstore an autonomous organization in this time of corporate
interference is my top priority.
Vote for an independent, student-serving Bookstore,
Vote Laura Close for the Freshman position, U of 0 Bookstore.
Nicole Chinn
My name is Nicole Chinn and I am a Freshman at the U of 0.1
plan on majoring in Psychology. My minor will focus on two
subjects: Spanish and Business. My intent is to go into social
work after I have completed a masters degree in Psychology. I
have been nominated for the freshman Board position at the
Bookstore. I want to receive a wide variety of experience through
involving myself within the University. I am a very goal-oriented,
self-motivated person, and have excellent communication skills. I work very
efficiently with people, and I think this shows through my previous experience as a
youth mediator with Clackamas County Family Services. With this position I worked
with troubled teens and their parents to help them communicate with each other.
Currently at the U of 01 am a peer advisor for the Psychology Department, and am
actively involved with extracurricular activities. I truly enjoy working with people
and helping them solve problems. From my previous experience I feel I would be an
excellent asset to the Bookstore Board. I would do my very best to communicate the
issues of the board with my peers and bring those issues to the board to help make
the Bookstore a better place. My goal is to represent the students at the U of 0 in the
best way possible. Thank you very much, and I hope everyone enjoys the rest of
spring term!