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Nike continued from page 1 man theater arts major Katie Plein said. “And I think if the entire school is polled, a really large amount would vote to sign up for the WRC.” Recent developments shed light on how little was truly known by many of the students when they did or did not vote. Duncan McDonald, the Universi ty’s vice president for public af fairs and development, attended a Friday meeting in Chicago to dis cuss the WRC. He returned with reports that the WRC is an organi zation still in its infancy and will not even get around to monitoring factories for a few years. Some students said that know ing this would have changed the way things turned out. “I think it would have influ enced it a lot,” sophomore psy chology major Chris Fick said. “Since we only signed a one-year contract, I think we want to go with something that’s a little more established. "Some students said that other students were treading in unfamiliar territory when they decided to involve themselves in the politics of business. “I think they serve for a good cause, but I think they should’ve known all the facts,” senior fine arts major Amanda Fox said. “Even though school is school, it’s also a business, and I don’t think they were being very wise in their decision.” Brian Procter, an undeclared sophomore, declined to cast a vote specifically for or against the WRC because he didn’t know enough about it. Several students have said that arguments claiming the students haven’t been represented because of low voter turnout are simply il logical. “That happens in United States elections — we vote for the presi dent on 10 percent of the popula tion,” said Beth Rogers, a freshman psychology major. “If they didn’t vote, that means they didn’t care. Why would they now have a say [because] we’ve lost money? That doesn’t make sense.” ASUO President Wylie Chen said the WRC measure’s passage should not be blamed on the fact that so few students voted. He said federal election results are not considered invalid because of people’s failure to vote. Consider ing voter turnout for the ASUO election is similar to that of state and federal elections, he said, people should not expect the WRC vote to be invalidated. Students have a right and re sponsibility to be heard, Chen said. “If they choose not to vote, they lose their voice.” The students who did express their opinions during the elec tions, but whose voices were not those of the majority, conceded that the University should follow through with the student vote. Al though it was not the decision they wanted, democracy calls for the University to listen to the will of the students. “I thought it was a bad idea be cause what happened [would happen],’’ said Jon Clements, an undeclared sophomore. “I think they need to stick with the stu dent decision.” Some say the focus on the stu dent vote is a bit drastic. ASUO President-elect Jay Breslow said that scapegoating the students for the signing of the WRC was an in accurate placement of blame. “The vote was one piece of a large puzzle,” he said. That puzzle included not only the student vote but the Universi ty Senate and the Licensing Code of Conduct Committee, which was assembled by Frohnmayer to look at the WRC. Frohnmayer said the student vote did have its effect. If it had gone the other way with students voting against the WRC, things might have been different. “I am sure it would have had some impact,” Frohnmayer said. Frohnmayer also said that the vote may have turned out differ ently if the students had been giv en a choice between the WRC and the Fair Labor Association, anoth er group that monitors labor con ditions. The FLA allows industry representation on its governing board and practices announced factory visits, two factors the WRC opposes. Questions about the future have bubbled up along with the contro versy, and they ask what should be done now that there has been so much outcry about the Univer sity’s decision. Because the Uni versity is signed on to the WRC for a one-year period, that means the process of renewal will meet with new perceptions about the organization. Breslow said that issue will be dealt with when it arises and that he hopes the decision to sign on to the WRC again will go through the same channels it went through this past year. One student suggests not wait ing that long. “I think the best solution might be that now the people are a little bit more informed, give it another vote,” said junior anthropology major Steven Eller. “Give the two sides time to campaign again, [and] put it to a vote next week.” At any rate, the signing onto the WRC and the student part in the process has certainly raised aware ness that there are important issues abounding during elections. “Maybe this will improve voter registration,” ASUO Vice Presi dent Mitra Anoushiravani said. “Maybe students will cast a vote next year.” § CRIME WATCH Reported April 20 through May 1: April 28: Theft, 1300 block West Kin caid Street, University Bookstore employee arrested for stealing more than $700 worth of merchandise April 28: Hit and Run, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, 1300 Hilyard Street, suspect struck pedes trian, fled the scene and was later ar rested April 30: Criminal Mischief II, 1300 block West Kincaid Street, suspects vandalized Alexander’s Great Falafel cart and several bicycles in the area Crime prevention tips of the week from OPS Officer Bob Guse: 1. Do not leave your backpack or laptop unattended at the library. 2. When you go to throw away your “Congratulations, you’re preap proved fora $36,000 credit limit” card application, shred it first. The “just sign here” line doesn’t know what your signature looks like. loin us Applying Psychology to the Real World Department of Psychology, Summer Session, 2000 for an exciting summer of Psychology! Our summer classes are small and are geared towards investigating re<d life issues. Course offerings include: Health Psychology • Psychology of Trauma • Psychology of Religion • Psychology of Gender • Cultural Psychology • and many others. Several courses also fulfdl social science, science and multicultural requirements. Registration begins Monday; May 1, 2000 For a complete course listing and more information, please visit our web page: http://psychweb.uoregon.edu/summer You can spare it... ('•“so why not share it? GIVE BLOOD SAVE A LIFE! BRING PICTURE ID . 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