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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 1999)
Beta Theta Pi house renovation nearing completion ■ The 75-year-old structure’s restoration project increases the safety and comfort of its residents By Edward Yuen Oregon Daily Emerald Students living In the 1000 block of Pat terson Street may find a new building in the neighborhood this year. But this “new” building is really more than 75 years old. It is the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house, which has recently been renovated. Workers started remodeling last Decem ber and are scheduled to complete the pro ject by the end of this month. The construc tion will restore the fraternity house to its early 1920s appearance and incorporate modern technology into the building. “We have a strong national chapter, but the house had deteriorated,” said Ben Yo der, a junior psychology major who lives in the house. Because of the deterioration of the house, some fraternity alumni donated money for the renovations, which will cost about $1.2 million. In addition to dona tions, rent collected from the residents will be used to cover a portion of the construc tion cost. Despite its classical facade, there are modern technologies inside the building. The house is equipped with a security sys tem and fire sprinklers, and residents can have ethernet access in their rooms. The party room in the basement is equipped with a ventilation system that cir culates air every 15 minutes. All these amenities were not available to the resi dents of the house 76 years ago, Yoder said. Residents of the fraternity welcome the renovation although the construction has been taking place for more than nine months. “The renovation makes the house small er, but it improves the facility extremely,” said Jake Shafer, a junior political science major. He also said the renovation would change the somewhat dilapitated image of the house as well as the general image that the greek system presented to the public. Right now, there are 35 students living in the house, and the chapter is expecting more new members to move in after rush. “It’s a great house,” said sophomore Alika Chung, who has been a resident of the fra ternity house for two years. “And it’s gonna be more comfortable to live in.” Darrell’s Painting employee Samuel Hanna gives a finishing touch to a window frame in the Beta Theta Pi frater nity house across from the University Inn on Patterson Street. The house is under renovation. Students aggravated by mailboxes stuffed with credit card junk mail ■ Two separate laws require the University to release addresses to companies as part of the public record By Jeremy Lang Oregon Daily Emerald Mana Haeri, a sophomore jour nalism major, has received multi ple mailings at her home from credit card companies specifically addressed: “Dear University of Oregon student.” Credit card companies have the ability to look up the names, home addresses and phone numbers of students and faculty in the Uni versity’s Student Directory — and they’re getting it for free. While this may be OK with stu dents looking for a variety of credit cards, some students are sick of the constant mailings. “If we chose to have a credit card, that is our responsibility,” Haeri said. “There are plenty of ta bles in the EMU and by the book store if I really want a card. Extra mailings just cause more confu sion and temptation.” University General Counsel Melinda Grier said two separate laws make students easy targets for companies wanting to send preapproved pieces of plastic. She said the first law, the Fami ly Education Rights and Privacy Act, states student records are pri vate except for directory informa tion. This means that grades and transcripts are protected, but di rectory information, including home and University phone num bers and addresses, is accessible to the public. Under the Oregon Public Records Law, directory informa tion at any public university is public information. When a com pany requests a list of names, this law states that universities must release the information. As a result, students’ names can be given to credit card companies at any time without their knowl edge. University Registrar Herbert Chereck said a credit card compa ny has never asked the University for a directory list. “Most of them are probably just picking up a copy of the student directory and creating a mailing list on their own,” he said. Grier said the University does charge a slight fee to companies asking for student information to cover preparation costs such as printing, mailing or preparing an e-mail list. She also said students get an op portunity to protect themselves from unwanted solicitation. “Every student had the option to have their directory information suppressed when they filled out their registration forms,” Grier said. She added that after a student’s information is suppressed, the University will not even confirm enrollment. But Chereck said suppressing directory information can cause problems for students once they graduate. “People needing to confirm a student’s enrollment, such as a po tential employer, will not have ac cess either,” he said. Grier feels the University is do ing what it is required to by law. “We do not make a profit nor do we make any distinctions between companies’ motives or whether they are commercial or non-com merical,” she said. “We never dis criminate one business over an other. We give out the information because we are required to by law.” While Haeri agrees the Univer sity is not at fault, she thinks it could help alert students to the sit uation. “With all the forms I had to fill out freshman year, I don’t remem ber one that would have kept my information private. I wish that part of registration was more ap parent and the consequences were stated more clearly,” she said. Students who wish to have their information suppressed should call the registrar at 346-3243. However, once suppressed, it can not be made public again until the end of the school year. 007555 A S U O STARTS TODAY Food • Crafts • Music 002406 Los Ancles -to /takldnd Eugene -to Tokyo Eugene "to London f Portland to Puerto V/allav-'ba f^7l * So»e restrictions »ay apply Taxes are not included Travel OEE: Council on International Educational Exchange University of Oregon In the EMU Building Eugene 877 1/2 East 13th Street Eugene (541)344-2263 _■i‘Ynw adapted from Shakespeare’s As You Like It by Susann Suprenant Arena Theatre October 6,7,8,9,14,15 & 16 eight o’clock UNIVERSITY ur in; \iki UT EMU Box Office -w Ticket Office 346-4191 346-4363 P.O.Box 3159, Eugene OR 97403 The Oregon Daily Emerald is published daily Monday through Friday during the school year and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co. Inc., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. A member of the Associated Press, the Emerald operates inde pendently of the University with offices in Suite 300 of the Erb Memorial Union. The Emerald is private property. The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. -—-■—.■;—-r——:— NEWSROOM — (541H46-5511 Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz Managing Editor: Felicity Ayles Community: Sara Lieberth, editor. Darren Freeman, Brian Goodell, reporters. Freelance: Amy Jennaro, editor Higher Education: Stefanie Knowlton, editor Ben Romano, Maggie Young, reporters. Perspectives: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas, editors. Jonathan Gru ber, Beata Mostafavi, columnists. Pulse: Jack Clifford, editor. Sara Jarrett, Yael Menahem, reporters. Student Activities: Jason George, editor. Jeremy Lang, Simone Rip ke, Edward Yuen, reporters. Sports: Tim Pyle, editor. Mirjam Swanson, assistant editor. Scott Pesznecker, Jeff Smith, Brett Williams, reporters. News Aide: Victor Runyan Copy: Monica Hande, Stephen Palermini, copy chiefs. Molly Egan, Laura Lucas, Tom Patterson, Eric Qualheim, Jamie Thomas, Ellen Weisz, copyeditors. Photo: Scott Barnett, editor. Catharine Kendall, Azle Malinao-AI varez, Jeff Stockton, photographers. Michael Crisp, Matthew Lan dan, Tom Patterson, Lindsey Walker, photo technicians. Design: Katie Nesse, editor. Kelly Berggren, Leigh-Ann Cyboron, Katie Miller, designers. Bryan Dixon, Giovanni Salimena, illustrators. On-line: Jake Ortman, editor. Broc Nelson, webmaster. ADVERTISING — (541) S46-3712 Becky Merchant, director. Melissa O'Connell, Van Nguyen, advertis ing assistants. Rachelle Bowden, Doug Hentges, Nicole Hubbard, Jesse Long, Adam Rice, Amy Ruppert, Hillary Shultz, Chad Ve'rly, Emily Wallace, Lisa Wood, advertising sales representatives. ■' ' ' CLASSIFIEDS — (541) 546-4545 Trina Shanaman, manager. Erin Gauthier, Lauren Howry, Tara Rothermel, staff. BUSINESS — (541) 346-5512 Judy Riedl, general manager. Kathy Carbone, business supervisor. Sarah Goracke, receptionist. 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