Tuesday, July 13, 1999
MAY
Weather forecast
Today
Partly Cloudy
High 84, Low 55
Wednesday
Partly Cloudy
High 84, Low 52
ASUO creates new position
As thefirst accounting coordinator,
senior Jennifer Creighton will help the
ASUO delegatefinances /PAGE 3
A heavy dose of Bass
Ems leftfielder Kevin Bass already
has earned oneplayer-of-the-week
awardfor his heathy hitting/Ph&E 7
An independent newspaper
Volume 101, Issue 7
University of Oregon
www.dailyemerald.com
Billing’s conduct earns UO degree
Helmuth Rilling is the
third honorary-degree
recipient in 50 years
By Jack Clifford
Oregon Daily Emerald
University President Dave
Frohnmayer was there, deliv
ering the requisite commence
ment welcome. The faculty
was there as well, garbed in
full regalia for the occasion.
Also on hand were a smatter
ing of dignitaries.
The only group missing
from this graduation scene
was the students.
But Sunday evening, in the
Hult Center’s Silva Hall, just
one person was on hand to re
ceive his “diploma.”
The honorary doctoral de
gree bestowed upon Oregon
Bach Festival co-founder and
artistic director Helmuth
Rilling may have been five
weeks late, but the ceremony
was timely nonetheless.
Rilling had just concluded his
30th season as the festival’s
maestro by conducting his
charges through Mahler’s
“Resurrection,” an appropriate
title to this exercise.
“I choose to call this ‘Spring
Commencement, Part Two,’ ”
mused Frohnmayer, during
his opening remarks. “And un
like some sequels, I believe
this occasion readily surpass
es the original.”
Rilling is only the third re
cipient in the past 50 years of
the University’s highest honor.
Previous honorees were Mark
Hatfield, former U.S. senator
and Oregon governor, in 1997
and Corazon Aquino, former
president of the Philippines,
in 1995.
With this honor, the Univer
sity recognizes those who per
formed extraordinary sendee
to the nation or the world. A
recommendation must be ap
proved by the University Sen
ate and the Oregon State Board
of Higher Education. Rilling
could not attend June’s com
mencement ceremonies —
when such honors are normal
ly conferred — due to his in
ternational performance
schedule.
“Like the music of Bach,
with its range from playfulness
to soaring majesty that can be
enjoyed by a child or analyzed
by academics, the work of Hel
muth Rilling has enriched all
who have been fortunate
enough to hear the beauty or
explore its deeply meaningful
content,” Frohnmayer said.
“This occasion allows us to
say that our mission as a uni
versity and an institution of
learning has been and always
will be a service to our com
munity, as well as the exten
sions of that community, both
nationally and international
ly-”
Other University luminaries
on hand for the pomp and cir
cumstance included double
degree holder and U.S. Repre
Turn to RILLING, Page 3
Catharine Kendall/Emeruld
“ Through
Helmuth
Killing’s
genius as a
conductor...
[we learn]
the power of
a lasting
legacy. **
Dave Frohnmayer
UO President
Oregon Bacii Festi
val’s artistic director
and co-founder Hel
muth Rilling (left)
receives his hon
orary doctoral de
gree from University
President Dave
Frohnmayer (right).
Debate on plan healthy
University and
GTFF
representatives
meet Friday
and discuss
ongoing
health-plan
negotiations
By Sara Jarrett
Oregon Daily Emerald
In an effort to reach an agree
ment after a 2-1/2 month dis
pute over health-insurance
benefits, the Graduate Teach
ing Fellow Federation negotia
tion team met with Marian
Friestad, dean of the graduate
school, and Mark Zunich, em
ployee relations manager, Fri
day afternoon.
The conflict arose after the
GTFF health-plan carrier, ODS
Health Plans of Portland, raised
its premium prices by more
than 90 percent beginning in
September.
It seems like a drastic
change, but the University had
been getting a great deal the last
few years, according to Paul
Prew, a member of the GTFF
negotiation team. The sudden
increase came after a 15-per
cent cap on premium prices
was lifted after two years.
If compared to other compa
nies, ODS is suitably priced,
said Ken Pendleton, GTFF
health-care consultant for the
summer and part of the negoti
ation team.
The University, though,
claims it can find no financial
ly feasible way to cover the en
tire cost of the increase, Fries
tad said. It instead proposed an
80-percent coverage plan in
June. The GTFF, however, re
fused to accept the proposal
and instead decided to ask for
even more.
Thus, it counteracted in June
with a composite plan, which
seeks full benefits for each term
of employment plus one
month. Because the current
plan only covers the nine
months of the regular school
year, GTFs are left without
health insurance in the sum
mer. With the term-plus-one
month plan, summer coverage
would be guaranteed. The pro
posal also asked for spouse and
Turn to HEALTH PLAN, Page 6
Newcomers get a glimpse
At IntroDUCKtion, new
students receive a brief
taste of University life
By Sara Lieberth
Oregon Daily Emerald
As a breeze tussled the “Wel
come UO Students” banner
over 13th Avenue in the after
noon sun and a sea of bright
yellow-and-green plastic book
store bags were being toted
through campus Monday, new
students and many of their par
ents were becoming acclimated
to the University and its ameni
ties as part of the ongoing Intro
DUCKtion program taking
place this summer.
During the two-day orienta
tion, participants took place
ment tests, were led on tours,
met representatives from their
respective departments and
with academic advisors to de
termine a course of study. But
by far the most pressing thing
on new student’s minds was
the final portion of the program
— registration on Duck Call for
fall classes.
The scene in the lobby of the
EMU ballroom was a mixed bag
of excitement and anxiety as
students waiting their turn to
speak with an advisor flipped
eagerly through the fall sched
ule of classes as parents sat pa
tiently beside them. Then it
was time to walk the path to
Bean West across campus and
actually use the University
phone-registration system for
the first time.
While many students were
pleased with their choices and
happy they were registered
long before fall term begins,
others discovered that with
Duck Call, as in life, you can’t
always get what you want.
“My whole schedule is math
and science,” said Ian Shinney,
an 18-year-old from Marist
High School in Eugene. “I
Turn to INTR0DUCICT10N, Page 6
The Tap Five
iThetop majors o!
incoming students
1. Undecided
2. Pre-business
3. Fre-journaiism
4. Pre-psychoiogy
5. Biology