Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, June 24, 1999, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    Thursday, June i t. IW)
Weather forecast
Today Friday
Sprinkles Showers/sun
High 67, Low 55 High 69, Low 50
Connecting with cash
The University receives $100,000from the
national computing firm 3Com to be used
to better network connections/PAGE 3A
I
Dance the summer away
Eugene offers a variety of dance
classes in which participants can
havefun staying fit/. PAGE 5 A
An independent newspaper
Volume 101, Issue 2
University of Oregon
www.dailyemerald.com
Public schools debated
Ted Abram andJack
Roberts clash in their
views on public schools
BySaraJarrett
Oregon Daily Emerald
What if school districts were a
thing of the past?
Government-drawn borders
would no longer determine where
children receive their primary edu
cation, and without having to pay
private-school prices, parents
would decide where to send their
children to school.
Ted Abram, Executive Director for
the American Institute for Full Em
ployment, advocates changing Eu
gene’s public school system to com
ply with this notion. The opposing
argument, however, is strong.
Wednesday night, Abram faced
Jack Roberts, Oregon Labor Com
missioner, in a debate sponsored
by Brainstorm Magazine on the is
sue. Brainstorm’s goal is to ask the
questions others ignore and to chal
lenge the answers they receive,
said Bridget Barton, managing edi
tor for the magazine, in the debate’s
introduction.
Roberts defends the current pub
lic-school system. The No. 1 prob
lem in our schools, he said, is the
baggage that students bring with
thorn when they walk in the door.
A quick fix, like Abram suggests,
won’t solve anything.
Instead, society should focus on
improving schools, although
Roberts doesn’t believe they are
flunking like Abram claims.
“I wouldn’t be sending my chil
dren to public schools if they
were,” Roberts said.
Roberts also worries that giving
parents a choice would “Balkanize
our schools,” thus potentially mak
ing the government subsidize reli
gious segregation.
“I trust parents a lot more than
the political and bureaucratic sys
Tum to DEBATE, Page 4A
Catharine KendaU/Ememld
Oregon Labor Commis
sioner Jack Roberts
speaks during “The
Dime’s Worth of
Difference Debate,"
Wednesday evening.
(( The
important
thing is that
we were able
to resurrect
Hoop Mania
and give it a
permanent
site and a
permanent
date. >>
Bob Josephson
Sports director at
Lane County
Fairgrounds
Previously held in
the Gateway Mail
parking lot, Hoop
Mania is now part of
the Freedom Festi
val from July 3-4 at
the Lane County
Fairgrounds Con
vention Center.
A S*
Photo courtesy of the Register-Guard
Arter a year on the bench, Mama returns
Hoop Mania, which donates
proceeds to charity, is moving
indoors at the fairgrounds
By Jack Clifford
Oregon Daily Emerald
After the NBA Finals wrap up, Hoop
Mania’s got next.
Returning to the courts following a one
year hiatus, the local three-on-three bas
ketball tournament is back for its sixth pro
duction — this time in new indoor digs.
An outdoor event held in the Gateway
Mall parking lot in the past, Hoop Mania
has moved cross-town to the Lane County
Fairgrounds Convention Center. In addi
tion, the two-day competition is now part
of the Freedom Festival, which takes place
July 3-4.
During the first four years, the number of
teams participating grew from about 125
teams to 230, Hoop Mania director Andy
Papendieck said. Numbers dropped the
next year, however, despite an alliance
with a national tournament coordinator.
When the Gateway site was gobbled up
due to construction on the expanded Cine
mark Theaters, Hoop Mania found itself
temporarily on the bench.
The new location became available for
use in early May, said Bob Josephson,
sports director at the fairgrounds, and he
foresees a fruitful affiliation with Papen
dieck’s brainchild.
Turn to HOOP MANIA, Page4A
Torture
survivors
recognized
A dinner will benefit political
refugees who fled Latin
America to the United States
By Sara Lieberth
Oregon Daily Emerald
A perfect opportunity to think globally
but act locally: A Eugene group is sponsor
ing a benefit dinner
and evening of cul
ture Friday in recog
nition of the United
Nations International
Day in Support of To
ture Victims on June
26.
Amigos de los So
brevivientes (Friends
of the Survivors), is a
non-profit and volun
teer-driven organiza
tion that offers a num
ber of outreach
services to political
refugees trying to
make a new start in
the United States. Its work focuses on those
fleeing oppressive governments, specifical
ly in Latin America.
It was established in 1997 from a
groundswell of support after the U.N. Gen
eral Assembly officially proclaimed June 26
the day to honor victims of torture.
German Nieto-Maquehue, executive di
rector of Amigos, said his organization’s
philosophy is not focused on mere charity,
but on realizing that to help others is to help
oneself.
“It’s time we think in global terms,” he
said. “When we talk about torture, we are
talking about crimes against humanity,
against all of us. Working for justice has a
greater meaning if we’re doing it for our
selves.”
There are 17 Amigos centers nationwide.
Eugene’s chapter is one of four on the west
coast and the only one of its kind in Oregon.
Showing
support
In December 1997,
the U.N. General
Assembly pro
claimed June 26
the U.N. Interna
tional Day in Sup
port of Torture Vic
tims in hopes of
increasing aware
ness about torture
problems around
the world.