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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1999)
Tuesday September 28,1999 Volume 101, Issue 21 Weather University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon An independent newspaper www.dailyemerald.com Ducks rule Emerald Valley Kylie Wilson and Pam Sowden lead the Oregon women’s golf team to a first-place tie during day 1 of the Oregon Invitational at the Emerald Valley Resort Golf Club. PAGE 19 City coucil gets railroaded Eugene begins proceedings to take over ownership of the downtown Amtrak station and land in the surrounding area PAGE 13 ■ The new and improved Student Recreation Center opens to much acclaim despite a tew minor complications By Ben Romano for the Emerald A steady flow of students and faculty streamed into the sun-drenched entry way of the new Student Recreation Cen ter at Esslinger Hall Monday, as the re modeled doors were opened for the first time. A set of shiny, silver turnstiles greet ed the students and in some cases reject ed them because they swiped their cards improperly. “We’re only going to have to do this 17,000 more times,” joked Peg Rees, di rector of physical education for Physical Activity Recreation Services, as she showed a student the right way to swipe her card. Man, clad in sharp new green polo shirts, helped students negotiate the card swipe turnstiles. One of the few problems the staff faced was outdated ID cards that could not be read by the scan ner. Cards issued before Nov. 18, 1998, won’t work and need to be updated at the ID card office downstairs in the EMU, Rees said. Once through the entrance, students were guided to their classes, the weight rooms or to the locker checkout desks. Lockers rent for $10 a term for a small locker and $15 a term for a larger one. Day use lockers are available for free. With the formalities out of the way, students feasted on the plethora of new exercise equipment and facilities. The stair-steppers, treadmills and oth . u ... . .. Catharine Kendall Emerald Dru Hall tests new climbing routes for the climbing wall in Esslinger’s new Student Recreation Center er cardiovascular machines in the Strength and Fitness West room were in almost constant use. Separated from the chaotic entryway by a full wall of win dows, the room affords a great view of the comings and goings of the new recre ation center. “They obviously spared no expense,” said senior Ben Gotlieb. Gotlieb was checking out the remodeled Leighton Pool, which wasn’t open because the water temperature was not yet up to code. The full court, pick-up basketball games started before lunch and were rolling on all three of the center’s new courts by mid-afternoon. Gonzalo del Real, a soccer and tennis instructor, took a break from helping Turn to Esslinger Page 11 DDS director fired for alleged misuse of fees Senior Brandon Smith allegedly spent student fees on stereo equipment for the DDS office and shuttle vans By Jason George Oregon Daily Emerald The Designated Driver Shuttle — the ser vice that delivers inebriated students to their doorways — is without a director af ter he was fired by the ASUO Executive. Brandon Smith was terminated by ASUO President Wylie Chen and Vice President Mitra Anoushiravani on Aug. 16 because of an alleged misuse of student fees while running DDS. Summer service halt ed temporarily, but the program has re sumed its normal schedule. Smith, who has since moved to Portland and stopped taking classes at the Universi ty, could not be reached for comment for this story. As one of the groups financed by the stu dent incidental fee, DDS reports to the ASUO, the representative body of the stu dents. “We found a lot of unneeded things,” Chen said, citing excessive stereo equip ment for the office and the vans. Smith, a senior majoring in business management and political science, was also making purchases without authorization, said Jennifer Neiwert, ASUO accounting coordinator. Turn to Smith Page 11 Financial aid cuts concern students ■ Federal funding for higher education declines as student reps discuss possible resolutions with members of Congress By Simone Ripke Oregon Daily Emerald Just in time for the beginning of fall term, the ASUO teamed with OSPIRG on Monday to call on Congress to reverse the long-term decline in Federal Student Aid, specifically the Pell Grant. “While both houses of Congress have re cently passed resolutions calling for signifi cant increases in student aid funding, Con gress has yet to provide the dollars to back the resolutions up,” said ASUO President Wylie Chen, who partnered-up with Jereme Grzybowski, ASUO student senator and OS PIRG higher education campaign director. Chen said 3.7 million students currently depend on Pell Grants to finance their edu cation. A proposed cut of 18 percent, which Congress will vote on this fall, would force students to increase their loan burden in or der to stay in school. Chen and Grzybowski expressed concern about students being even more restricted financially when it comes to higher education. “This rise in student borrowing is caused by the long-term decline in federal funding for student aid,” Grzybowski said. In 1976, the maximum Pell Grant paid for 75 percent of the average cost of attendance at a public four-year university and one third of the cost of a private four-year uni versity. Today, the maximum amount of the Pell Grant students can be eligible for cov ers only one-third of a public institution’s cost and one seventh of a private universi ty’s cost. Considering that the government is cur rently looking at a budget surplus, Chen and Grzybowski called on U.S. Rep. Peter De Turn to Funding, Page 17 Kinkel sentencing date set for Nov. The sentencing hearing for KipJand P. Kinkef is slated to begin Nov. 2 at die Lane County Cour thouse, with Circuit Court Judge Jack Mattison presiding.
