Ducks ready for
swing through
Washington
The Oregon men's basketball
team faces the Huskies and
Cougars this weekend, PAGE 11
The Flash
University senior sets sights
on Beaverton mayor position
Senior public policy major Brian Ly
nott is setting an example for student
activism by running for mayor of
Beaverton.
Although he admits his chances of win
ning the post are slim, Lynott says that
he wants to restore public enthusiasm
about government. Lynott is currently
dividing most of his time between dis
cussing his platforms with city employ
ees, business owners and Beaverton
residents and attending city council,
planning commission and neighbor
hood meetings.
Lynott’s interest in public policy was
sparked in part by the urban sprawl
that enveloped his home in Beaverton
over the years. PAGE 4
LTD to track University bus
usage
Lane Transit District is concerned
about how the University’s transit
needs are being met and has devised a
new program to track usage.
Students will now swipe their identifi
cation card in a scanner, which will
then be used to download information
about University transit habits. LTD
wants to make sure demand is met.
ASUO Vice President Mitra Anoushira
vani said that tracking student bus
habits could come in handy when the
ASUO negotiates its contract with LTD,
as the new data should reveal if stu
dents are using their passes. PAGE 6
Oregonians concerned with
population growth
Oregon Survey Research Laboratory re
cently released its second Oregon
Annual Social Indicators Survey to find
out exactly what people think about
the events that have affected Oregoni
ans in'the past year.
Among the most pressing issues were
increasing population, the water sup
ply and the Kip Kinkel sentencing.
Population increases were the most
principle concern, the survey indicat
ed. Sixty-five percent of respondents
said that the state was “about the right
size,” while 29 percent found it too
large. PAGE 5
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Today
Wednesday
January 19,2000
Volume 101, Issue 78
_Q_Qthe w n h ^
www.dailyemerald.com
University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
An independent newspaper
PFC not slowed by grievances
■ Despite a formal complaint filed by Aaron Week, Project
Saferide received a budget increase of 5 percent
By Cathlene McGraw and Jeremy
Lang
Oregon Daily Emerald
Project Saferide, which shuttles
women from place to place at night,
might soon have a male counterpart
after a heated Programs Finance
Committee meeting Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, PFC member Aaron
Week filed a grievance with the
University's Affirmative Action
Center. He took issue with the fact
that Saferide is a shuttle service
only for women that hires only
women as drivers. To comply with
federal law, Saferide needs to offer
equal opportunity for both men and
women.
That would mean adding a shut
tle service for men that hires only
men as drivers.
At Tuesday night’s PFC meeting,
more than 30 students and faculty
packed the EMU’s Century Room A
in support of Saferide. Week at
tempted to postpone a decision on
the group’s 2000-01 budget until his
grievance is decided, but the other
PFC members and ASUO President
Wylie Chen disagreed.
Chen said although Saferide
might not comply with federal law,
it currently complies with ASUO
rules, which are all that matter to
the PFC. He said the PFC had a right
to make the decision based on
precedents set in both the ASUO
Constitution Court and the Oregon
University System.
“Right now, [Saferide] is an
ASUO-recognized program and
completely legal under our jurisdic
tion,” Chen said.
After the PFC decided to hear
Saferide, Week left the meeting un
til the group’s budget hearing was
over. He would not comment on his
grievance or the decision.
Chen said he would start work
ing on creating a male version of
Saferide soon.
“I want to make sure Saferide is
n’t bothered again,” Chen said.
With Week absent from voting,
the PFC approved a 5.6 percent in
crease for Saferide, only slightly less
than its proposed 8 percent increase.
The money will help Saferide better
maintain its four vehicles.
In a similar situation, the PFC
will now hold a budget hearing for
the Oregon Marching Band. The
band’s hearing was postponed last
Tuesday after band member Scott
Austin filed a grievance against the
band in the constitution court.
Austin claimed that the band was
breaking ASUO rules by not allow
ing all OMB members to vote for its
council, which controls the alloca
tion of its incidental fee money.
Austin dropped his grievance af
ter the band agreed to change its
voting procedure. PFC vice chair
person Emily Sedgwick said, at the
time, she thought the PFC was do
ing the right thing.
“We were not aware that we
Turn to PFC, page 4
Remembering MLK
Remembering
"Spirit
Catharine Kendall Emerald
Junior Darlene Espinoza Dadras attends the vigil in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tues
day night.
By Edward Yuen
Oregon Daily Emerald
Students from the Black
Student Union organized
activities for the Martin
Luther King Jr. Day celebra
tion Tuesday night.
The celebration started
with a reception at the Ger
linger Hall Alumni Lounge,
and about 20 students, fac
ulty and community mem
bers attended the gathering.
“I think it is a great day to
celebrate what Martin
Luther King Jr. set out for us
to do,” ASUO President
TurntoMLK, page 4
Students,
faculty and
community
members
gather to sing
“Amazing
Grace” and
give thanks
to Dr. Martin
Luther King
Jr.’s memory
Student runs company
from his residence hall
Gabe Silverman
puts a spin on
working your
way through
school by
running his
own business
By Simone Ripke
Oregon Daily Emerald
Most students in the residence halls can
barely fit a television intd their rooms.
Sophomore Gabe Silverman has found
the space — and the time — to run a suc
cessful business out of his.
When he is not in class, fulfilling his du
ties as a resident assistant or having fun
with his friends, he maintains his busi
ness, Gecko Designs. The 19-year-old en
trepreneur started his company as a sopho
more in high school and now as a
sophomore majoring in visual design, he
operates his business out of his room in
DeBusk Hall.
But his clients don’t know that. Many of
them think Gecko Designs has its office in
an impressive skyscraper, not a small
Turn to Business, page 3
Accurately counting
minorities a challenge
■ Lane County will work toward
including everyone in its 2000
census, which begins in April
By Serena Markstrom
Oregon Daily Emerald
Native Americans in Lane County are
disproportionately under-represented
through the census. This year, the Lane
County Complete Count Committee is
working to remedy that.
The committee, which is co-chaired by
Lane County Commissioner Peter Soren
son and City Counselor Bobby Lee, is try
ing to increase the number of people who
successfully complete the census form,
which will increase revenue for the state.
At the committee’s kick-off meeting
Tuesday night, Rennard Strickland, Uni
Turn to Census, page 4
Census
2000 Meet
ings
Black Americans,
6 p.m., Jan. 20, Pe
terson Barn, 870
Bertzen Road.
Hispanic*, 5:30
p.m., Jan. 27, Li
brary Meeting
Room, Springfield
City Hall, 225 Fifth
St.
Asian Americans,
5:30 p.m., Jan. 27,
Hilyard Communi
ty Center, 2580
Hilyard St.