Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Editorial Editors: Bret Jacobson, Laura Lucas
Newsroom: (541)346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
Monday
January 24,2000
Volume 101, Issue 81
KiM-rakl
fl wrench gears
M
Iachines can throw a cog, and
apparently so can student gov
ernment.
If that metaphor is too me
chanical for your taste, it might be
easier to say that a frustratingly high
number of vacancies now exist
throughout student government:
four resignations in the Student
Senate in the last two weeks,
three open seats on the Consti
tution Court and one vacant
position on the Programs Fi
nance Committee.
While high turnover
rates are not ubiqui
tously a sign of trou
ble, in this case a rash
of resignations in a
short period of time
casts a general doubt
that all is sunshine and
happiness in the ASUO.
While looking at a few in
dividual cases can some
times allay fears of an un
pleasant working
environment, such a trend is
rearing its head now and is
likely to be a sign of much
more.
It seems a logical conclusion
that there could be something
amiss in the working atmos
phere in some realms of student
government, especially for sena
tors.
After spending a great deal of
last term attempting to wade
through a swamp of grievances, the
senate will now face the added
stress of quickly finding a group of
people willing and competent to fill
positions throughout government.
Now there are four new senate posi
tions waiting for people who must be
approved into a situation where
some of their predecessors have had
less them joyful exits, furthering a
stressful environment.
Finding the cause of morale prob
lems can be difficult, and there is re
ally no choice but to keep looking
and hope things settle down.
Whether the problem is personality
conflicts, workload problems or an
overload of grievances, it would
serve all well to find the problem and
begin fixing it. We know this is easier
said than done, but things don’t ap
Letters to the editor
Students: File FAFSA early
We here at the Oregon Student As
sistance Commission want to deliver
this one simple message to all stu
dents seeking financial aid for next
year: File your FAFSA [Free Applica
tion for Federal Student Aid] in Janu
ary.
Each year, a student seeking finan
cial aid must file the FAFSA form,
and filing it on time is the single most
important action you can take. If you
do a good job filling it out, then the
rest of the financial aid determination
process sort of takes care of itself.
Filing a late FAFSA isn’t fatal, but a
late form may mean that by the time
your application is reviewed, some
grant aid awarded through the
Giovanni Salimena Emerald
pear to be running very smoothly at
this point and require the best efforts
of all involved.
Another cause of problems for stu
dent government is a current trend of
leaving a post because of an over
whelming time commitment This is
the same principle in many other
lines of work where one can find
themselves working a great deal
longer and harder than they original
ly envisioned.
With that common tendency in
mind it might be prudent to give
prospective senators and justices as
school's resources could be gone. You
may still qualify for loans, but those
must be repaid. Filing the FAFSA on
time may reduce the amount of funds
a student will need to borrow for next
year.
For more information, check with
your high school counselor, college or
university financial aid office, or log
on to the Student Assistance Commis
sion Web site at
www.osac.state.or.us.
The Oregon Student Assistance
Commission administers a variety of
State of Oregon, Federal, and private
ly-funded student financial aid pro
grams for Oregonians attending insti
tutions of post secondary education.
Last year, the agency awarded $15
million in need-based grant aid and
$6 million in privately funded schol
arships, as well as guaranteeing $103
accurate a vision of time commit
ment necessary for their respective
jobs as is humanly possible. A clearer
idea of what the job will require may
cause some with already heavy loads
to pass on the notion until a time they
can handle it properly.
Last Thursday’s announcement by
Constitution Court Justice Glen Ban
field seems to make sense because he
wants to graduate in the top of his
class, but it would be reasonable to
assume that neither his goals nor the
position he filled changed since he
was hired.
million in college loans.
Gene J. Evans,
Public Information Director
Oregon Student Assistance Commission
William Hosier a great man
I am the son-in-law of William
Holser, and I wanted to share a few
thoughts about him. Aside from the
grandfather after whom 1 am named,
William Holser was the most patient
and considerate man I have ever
known. He was also the only man that
I very sincerely loved and respected
and considered a true role model. He
was without doubt one of the most in
telligent men I* have ever known.
When I decided to go the University
at the age of 30, William not only pro
vided me with the emotional and aca
demic support that I needed to sue
1
Both concerns, environment and
realistic time commitment under
standing, need to take place in a very
brief period of time. ASUO primary
elections are to be held Feb. 23 and
24, with necessary paperwork due
well before those dates.
That leaves very little time to gather
talented and dedicated individuals, but
the positions must be filled for the gov
ernmental process to work as intended.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses may be
sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
ceed, but he also shared his office
with me. To satisfy my degree require
ments I decided to take courses in ge
ology. These courses were a complete
revelation to me and helped to ex
pand my understanding of the world.
I have lots of positive memories of
William from the 15 years that I had
with prior to his death last month. But
the best memories I will hold forever
are the hikes we took together on Mt.
St. Helens, Death Valley and other
place where he shared his knowledge
with me, and how he encouraged me
to express and developing interest in
geology.-1 will miss William Holser’s
presence in my life.
I feel tremendously privileged to
have known him and hope to be as
good a father and husband as he was.
Pasquale Anolfo
son-in-law, William Holser
Thumbs
To lending bis ear
to the unorganized
-Eugene Mayor Jim
Torrey met Friday
afternoon with lo
cal anarchists to
listen to their
thoughts on the
government. It’s
good to see that
he’s willing to lis
ten to a wide range
of voices through
out the local com
munity.
Toaone-dollar
trip to Oregon
Replacing the Su
san B. Anthony sil
ver dollar, a Saca
gawea
gold-colored coin
will now be the to
ken women’s coin
in circulation. The
one dollar coin
commemorates
the Native Ameri
can guide who
helped Lewis and
Clark on their trek
across the country.
To a killer
campaign
Italian clothing
manufacturer
Benetton has re
leased an ad cam
paign featuring
death row prison
ers discussing their
fears of being put
to death-There are
far more appropri
ate and serious
ways of raising the
important death
penalty discussion
than through in
sensitive ads that
don’t take into ac
count the feelings
of the victims.
To a hypocritical
oath
Dr. AllanZarkinof
New York carved
his initials into a
woman’s ab
domen after deliv
ering her baby by
Caesarean section.
After finishing the
procedure he re
portedly said, “l
did such a beauti
ful job, I'll initial
it."