Coalition wants to highlight environmental injustice
■ Students voice concerns
about the placement of
environmental hazards
By Simone Ripke
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Coalition Against Environ
mental Racism is giving students
the opportunity to fight the uneven
distribution of environmental haz
ards and burdens on minority,
low-income and under-represent
ed groups in society.
CAER unites students from the
Multicultural Center, ethnic stu
dent unions and other campus or
ganizations in an effort to have a
collective voice against unfairness
in the placement of environmen
tal hazards.
“This movement involves every
organization on campus,” said Joy
Dilday, a senior majoring in envi
ronmental studies and general sci
ence who is one of the three co-co
ordinators for the coalition.
Dilday said she and the other
co-coordinators for the coalition
attend meetings of various student
unions regularly to spread aware
ness of common issues that can
only be resolved with joint enorts.
The goal of the coalition is to
raise awareness at the University
and in the community about links
between environmental issues
and social inequalities.
Dilday and co-coordinator
Matthew Peckham, a junior major
ing in environmental studies, are
two of 21 University students who
had the chance to learn more
about environmental justice is
sues at the ECOnference 2000 last
weekend in Philadelphia, Pa.
“The energy was absolutely in
credible,” Peckham said.
The two coordinators came
back to Eugene with numerous
ideas for their own annual confer
ence on campus, which is sched
uled for Jan. 21 and 22,2000.
The coordinators said the con
ference in January is one of the
main reasons for the coalition’s
existence. It will provide a vehicle
for students to speak up, get edu
cated and make themselves heard.
Co-coordinator Sarah Harpole,
an environmental studies major,
said she hopes to bring some in
sight about issues of.environmen
tal injustice and racism to this cam
pus and the community.
Harpole said that nationwide 75
percent of hazardous waste is dis
posed of in predominantly
African American neighborhoods.
Bringing different groups togeth
er to help solve these problems is
imperative to Harpole and the oth
er coordinators for the coalition.
“We are all facing the same bat
tles in a lot of ways,” said co-coor
dinator Peckham. For Peckhain,
coalition-building is a major as
pect of the movement.
Last Monday, the main topic of
the coalition’s weekly meeting,
which is open to the public and
takes place in the Multicultural
Center, was brainstorming for
ideas ranging from how to accom
modate visitors and deciding
which speakers to invite to the
conference.
The coordinators said their
ideas for the conference are in a
rudimentary stage at this point
but will develop and clarify dur
ing the next few weeks. They
hope to attract more permanent,
self-motivated members who are
willing to pursue their ideas and
make them a reality.
Scott Barnett Emerald
General science and environmental studies major Joy Dilday discusses plans tor a CAER
sponsored environmental conference to be held January 21 and 22 at the University.
Dr. Hughes
Continued from Page 1A
any person that has a lump grow
ing some place should,” Hughes
said, went to the doctor and had
it checked out.
“I knew as I walked in the office
that it was cancer,” he said. “I’ll
never forget the look on the face of
the doctor.”
The causes for male breast can
cer are unknown. It is thought that
genes and certain DNA changes
could be a reason, but this is only a
theory. Heavy alcohol use, obesi
ty, irregular exercise, estrogen
treatment and environmental ex
posure to pesticides are also con
sidered risk factors, according to
the American Cancer Society.
Men should look for any unusu
al “swelling, skin dimpling or
puckering” of the breast as possible
signs of the cancer. If these are evi
dent, they should consult their
doctors to see if a mammography,
or X-ray of the breast, is necessary.
Men, as well as women, should
also explore their family history for
relatives who had breast cancer.
Men are about 20 percent more
likely to have the cancer if male or
female relatives had the disease.
Hughes thought he was one of
the lucky ones that conquered the
cancer after undergoing surgery.
Unfortunately, Hughes started
having back pains in 1996. He
then returned to the doctor to find
that the cancer had spread to his
spinal cord and his lungs. Cancer
is “ranged” from 0 to 4 on a scale
of severity; Hughes’ cancer is a 4.
Now, the Princeton University
grad lives in a dichotomous world
of receiving medical care and ad
ministering it. Every Monday he re
ceives his chemotherapy, coupled
with a shot of Cortisone to enable
him to work at the health center on
Tuesdays. He said the nausea, a side
effect of the chemotherapy, does not
affect him much at work on Tues
days because of the Cortisone, but
by Wednesdays, his already weak
frame is feeling the strain of the radi
ation and the chemicals.
“But by the weekend, I am
ready to go again,” he said.
When he’s strong enough, Hugh
es enjoys playing golf as much as
he can, but his real love is traveling.
“My wife is a travel freak,” he
said.
The cancer, however, has weak
ened his body and cramped some
of his traveling.
“I was in New Zealand and my
back was hurting so much that I
had to lay reclined in the car as my
wife drove around,” he said.
Hughes said he looks ahead to
traveling in the spring, but he does
not plan much more in advance
than that.
“Every once and a while, when
we start talking about doing some
thing next year, you think, ‘I hope
I will be doing this next year.
For now, Hughes is enjoying
spending time with his wife and
working at the health center.
“Not everyone enjoys working
with students, but I do.
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