Halloween
Continued from Page 1A
showing of the “Rocky Horror Pic
ture Show” on Halloween night.
“[Police are] encouraging stu
dents to enjoy the Halloween week
end, to celebrate, to have a good
time, but to do it lawfully,” EPD Pa
trol Capt. Becky Hanson said.
The police will increase their
presence on Halloween night and
will respond more severely to ri
otous behavior, police spokesman
Brian Terrett said before the meeting.
“In the past, our focus used to be
on dispersement,” Terrett said.
“This year we’re going to start ar
resting people.”
Terrett said that police officers
are prepared to arrest everybody
who refuses to obey police orders
to disperse.
Also, police are prepared to use
non-lethal weapons, including
“bean-bag rounds,” to subdue any
one poised to throw a rock or a bot
tie, Terrett said.
“Getting hit with a bean-bag is
similar to being hit with a fast
ball,” Terrett said.
Police are distributing pamphlets
about keeping parties under control
and the consequences for hosting
and attending parties where minors
are served alcohol or where noise
levels prompt complaints.
The police are also discussing
the legality of parties at communi
ty meetings and at the University.
The ASUO will be conducting a
communication campaign aimed
at informing students of their
rights and the law regarding drink
ing and parties.
“While there is a lot of room for
improvement in student behavior,
the EPD has to realize that there is
room for improvement on their
part as well,” ASUO Vice Presi
dent Mitra Anoushiravani said.
“[The EPD] needs to understand
that they’re not going to alleviate
under-aged drinking.”
Transplan
Continued from Page 1A
million to bike way maintenance
and construction.
Tom Schwetz, Transportation
Program Manager for Lane Coun
cil of Governments, has worked
on TransPlan for the last seven
years.
“We carried out surveys to get a
sense of what the community
wants,” Schwetz said. “I think the
plan represents what the commu
nity as a whole is looking for.”
While Schwetz predicted there
will be many more revisions to
TransPlan before it is officially
adopted, he also said negative
feedback from groups like Friends
of Eugene is not representative of
the whole community.
For six months, Friends of Eu
gene has worked to create the
CPR Alternative.
“We’d like a plan that makes it
reasonable to walk, bike or take
the bus,” Friends of Eugene Presi
dent Rob Zako said.
Lane County Planning Com
missioner Steve Moe said he re
spects Friends of Eugene, but be
lieves they wish to modify
TransPlan to fit their own agen
da.
“I have no problem with them
having input,” Moe said. “My
problem is that they want to take
TransPlan and reproduce it with
just their input after only six
months of work. ”
Jan Spencer, a member of Citi
zens for Public Accountability
who participated in the protest
march, said he felt the CPR Alter
native is better than the current
version of TransPlan, regardless
of how long it took to make.
The amount of time spent on
a plan doesn’t guarantee that it’s
a worthwhile plan,” Spencer
said.
Students foot bill for thefts
■ Increased incidents of
shoplifting at campus
bookstores leave students
paying the price
By Taylore Lehman
lor the Emerald
Shoplifting, while not a
growing problem at the Uni
- versity, is of
ROBBERY ten a symp
tom of
increased
drug use, as
was illustrat
ed in recent
thefts from lo
___ cal book
stores. And
store officials said students,
more than businesses, are pay
ing the price.
According to the Eugene Po
lice Department, four cases of
shoplifting were reported last
week at the University and
Smith Family bookstores. The
incidents could result in in
creased prices for students.
“The student is the one real
ly being hurt. Theft raises the
price of books,” said M.
Wilkinson, a loss prevention
agent at the University Book
store.
Eugene Police Officer Randy
Ellis, who has patrolled the
University for about nine
years, said that of the four cas
es last week, two were tied to
heroin use.
Ellis added that the case at
Smith Family Bookstore in
volved a couple addicted to
heroin, and a woman arrested
at the Bookstore on charges of
stealing a candy bar was also a
heroin addict.
“Most theft in this area
tracks back to drug use,” he
said.
The Eugene police arrested
116 people for shoplifting at
the Bookstore last year, but
only 43 were University stu
dents. Arrests were fairly even
ly distributed by age, race and
gender, Wilkinson said.
He noted that the common
stereotype of sticky-fingered
students doesn’t stand up to
the facts.
The Bookstore has an elabo
rate security system designed
to deter and catch shoplifters,
Wilkinson said. The store has
about 29 cameras, and there is
“no spot on the floor that is not
covered by cameras,” he said.”
Eventually, everybody sets
caught.”
And when shoplifters are
caught, they will be prosecut
ed. The Bookstore prosecutes
nearly 100 percent of its cases,
Wilkinson said, and the conse
i l Most theft in this area
tracks back to drug use.
Randy Ellis
Eugene Police Officer J J
quences can be severe.
Even though shoplifting is
classified as a misdemeanor
crime, the city will issue a fine
of $500 to $750, the Bookstore
will pursue additional civil
penalties and convicted
thieves will be permanently
banned from the store, he said.
The philosophy at Smith
Family Bookstore is similar,
according to owner Nancy
Smith .
She noted that shoplifting
can easily escalate to a felony
crime. Stealing a book is a mis
demeanor, but selling a stolen
book is a felony that could lead
to jail time and a large fine.
Fighting the problem is ex
pensive, too. She is consider
ing installing a magnetic strip
system to deter would-be
thieves, but is wary of the ini
tial $10,000 to $20,000 cost.
Smith said shoplifting is a
significant problem, with some
businesses losing up to 10 per
cent of their gross income to
theft.
If a shoplifter is caught, “we
prosecute,” she said.
Pitch in!
Recycle your copy of the ODE.
at Mac Court
Saturday, October 30th at 0:00 p.m.
After the game, come to David Spade.
Reserved Seating Tickets:
UO Students $10 (plus service charge)
General Public $20 (plus service charge)
Tickets on sale now at EMU Ticket.
Office and all Fastixx Outlets!
For information please call the UO
Cultural Forum at 346-4373