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
Wednesday
January 26,2000
Volume 101, Issue 83
EiMrakl
tely?
1
It’s almost the halfway point —
week four, term two. We should
get a halftime break. But we
don’t.
And neither does student govern
ment. It’s a halfway point for the
ASUO Executive as well, and it’s
time for a report card.
While we realize that not all
promises from ASUO President
Wylie Chen and Vice President Mitra
Anoushiravani could have been met
already, let’s see how close they’ve
come.
1. Quicker Internet dial-in access:
The ASUO exec is working on this
promise from last spring. They’ve
met with the University Computing
Center and have figured out a way to
buy more modems and offer more
phone lines for students to connect to
the University server. Look for future
better access.
2. Better, brighter lighting on cam
pus: It’s a slow process to deal with
the Office of Public Safety, and it
probably won’t happen this year. But
the ASUO has done a walk through
the campus to determine areas that
need better lighting.
3. Tuition freeze: This can’t be
done because the Oregon Students
Association Board of Directors voted
not to have a freeze.
4. Create more accessible, more af
fordable child care for student fami
lies: This goal and No. 6 are both a
part of a lobbying effort called Access
2000 — a program that lobbies Con
gress on students’ behalf — that
seems to have had some success and
is still in progress.
5. Increase student representation
on the University Senate: This does
n’t mean adding student seats to the
University Senate, it just means more
students attending meetings to
watchdog the senate. The ASUO has
done this repeatedly.
6. More financial aid grants: Again,
a lobbying effort called Access 2000
that’s giving it it’s all.
7. Retain student seats at McArthur
Court and Autzen Stadium: Fortu
nately, all the student seats weren’t
always filled at Autzen this year, so
this problem hasn’t appeared. But if
the Ducks continue their success in
the Pacific-10 Conference
this year in basketball, look
for this issue to come up.
8. Sponsor more campus
events: This one was a bit
ambiguous to begin vyith, but
the bright side is that the
ASIJO has hired another
programs person, and events
such as the ASUO Street
Faire seemed to run more
smoothly.
9. Increase ASUO out
reach through the Emerald,
newsletters and general pub
licity: Sorry guys. While oth
er groups—Justice for All,
Human Rights Alliance and
others — have made their
presence known on campus
through op/eds in this paper,
you haven’t even attempted
one (until today). While the
Emerald tries to report on happen
ings, students need advance notice of
what’s going on and where you need
help. Ads could be used to fill empty
Student Senate, Programs Finance
Committee and ASUO Constitution
Court seats. Besides just the.Emerald,
there are several other University
publications; just putting up fliers or
posters could be publicity, too. What
about a students’ forum? Outreach-is
crucial to students and to the life
blood of the ASUO.
10. Strengthen all programs with
personnel and resources and the
reestablishment of programs that stu
dent support: Here again the addition
of another programs student in the
ASUO has helped. More importantly,
the exec office itself seems better run
and more accountable than last
year’s. Cleaning up the ASUO office
is a great behind-the-scenes way to
increase productivity and, soon, out
reach.
11. Improve housing contract flexi
bility: Due to low demand for Univer
sity Housing and the fact that hous
ing is completely financially
independent from the University, it’s
not possible to lower the breaking
contract fee. Despite low density in
housing, the same number of em
ployees are working, and their pay
cannot be cut because there are fewer
Giovanni Salimena Emerald
residents.
12. Better relations with Eugene
Police Department and OPS: Here is
another positive note. The ASUO
does have a good relationship with
the EPD. No Halloween riots this year
are in part due to cooperation and re
spect between the two. OPS is also
communicating pretty well with the
exec, and a major issue between them
was the lighting situation, which has
been addressed in part (see No. 2).
13. Better relations with the Uni
versity administration: A big, hard
brick wall. Chen and Anoushirivani
claim that the administration has
been very unreceptive to its prods to
get more cooperation. They see the
ASUO exec as being the voice of stu
dent involvement and student advo
cacy to the powers that be. It seems
that they “trouble deaf heaven with
[their] bootless cries” (Shakespeare).
This is a two-way street, however. If
you’re up there people, LISTEN!
14. Advocating for a film school
and American Sign Language as a for
eign language: On the latter, we’ve
seen great success. The former may
best be characterized as something
they had no business promising or
turning attention to. (Money? Teach
ers? Students? Equipment? Oops.)
15. Increasing birth control acces
sibility on campus: There isn’t a ma
jor birth-control crisis on campus,
but the exec is looking to increase
availability in dorms through resi
dent assistants.
16. More computer and printer
availability: Talks are in the works
with University computing.
17. Covered bike racks: Not going
to happen because it would be too
costly.
While we enumerated the cam
paign goals that Chen and Anoushi
ravani put forth last year, the point is
less nit-picky criticism and more of
an overview. The two biggest issues
that we see are the lack of student
outreach via campus media or even
posters and fliers and the lack of sig
nificant communication between the
University administration and the
ASUO. Because the biggest promise
was that “Wylie and Mitra” wanted
YOU, the reader, the student, the vot
er, to participate. If you don’t know
your options in participation, then
does the goal even matter? The exec
needs to get the word out — any
word — to see if students are interest
ed and what they are interested in.
And the more the exec knows about
students, the more leverage they have
with the administration to say that
they are the voice of the students.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses may be
sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
Quoted
“Tonight is the be
ginning of the end
of the Clinton era."
— Presidential can
didate Gov. George
W. Bush, on his vic
tory Monday in the
Iowa Republican
Caucus.TheRegis
ter-6uard,jan.25.
“New Hampshire
has a history of be
ing independent
thinking, nobody
tel Is them what to
do. They make
their own judg
ments about a can
didateand I’m
lookingforwardto
the next week be
cause I thinkthis is
the opportunity to
turn many of the
people who are
now undecided
over to our side.”
—Presidential can
didate Sen. BHt
Bradley on his hope
forabetterfinishin
theNewHampshire
primaryafter losing
2:1 to Vice Presi
dent Al Gore in
Monday’s Democ
ratic Iowa Caucus.
Reuters, Jan. 25.
"We’veall seen the
numbers.”
—Anonymousaide
to former Republi
can presidential
candidate Sen. Or
rin Hatch, on
Hatch’s decision
Tuesday to quit the
race after less than
1 percent of the
vote in Iowa. AP
wire, Jan. 25.
CORRECTION
The story “DOS
may a Iter focus,
shift service" (ODE,
Jan. 25} should
have read that
Saferide is a pro
gram separate
fromthe ASUO
Women's Center.
Also, Jennie Bres
iow’s name was
misspdied. The
Emerald regrets
these errors.
World Wide What
The Emerald conducted an unscientific poll of 103 University students and faculty members to see whether n n ^ h « - « * h ^
they could recognize ASUO President Wylie Chen, Percentages do not add up to 100 because of rounding. www.dailyemerald.com
JZLali
Bono
lead singer of U2
6.7%
Mitra Anoushiravani
ASUOvice president
11.6%
w
Bobby Lee
city councilor
22.3%
Jessica Timpany
ASUO Student
Senate president
4.9%
Wylie Chen
ASUO president
30%
Glen Banfield
former ASUO Consti
tution Court Justice
242%