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.
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