Al Gore
continued from page 1
most questions addressed health
care, University ASUO President
elect Jay Breslow asked Gore if he
plans to increase public funding
for higher education to make uni
versities less reliant on private
donors. Breslow said private
donors often use their contribu
tions gain influence in a universi
ty’s decision-making processes.
Breslow illustrated his question
by saying the University was
deeply affected when Nike CEO
Phil Knight curtailed future con
tributions to the campus in re
sponse to the University’s deci
sion to join the Worker Rights
Consortium.
Gore responded by reiterating
his commitment to improving ed
ucation. “Education is my num
ber one priority for investing in
the future,” he said. “We live in
an information age, and learning
is far more important than it’s ever
been in any previous periods.
And it’s getting more and more
important all the time.”
Gore also expressed concern
about medical researchers keep
ing breakthroughs secret to maxi
mize profits.
Though Breslow said he didn’t
believe Gore dodged the question,
he did say Gore gave “a political
answer.” Breslow said he was
hoping Gore would directly voice
support for dedicating more fed
eral dollars to higher education.
Gore also described his tuition
savings plan, which would allow
parents to save money for their
children’s education in tax-free
savings accounts shielded from
inflation, and pointed out his past
support of Pell Grants, Hope
Scholarships and student loans.
“While I’m a strong supporter
of the student loan program, I
think we’ve allowed ourselves to
rely a little too heavily on loans
rather than a mix of grants and
loans,” he said, adding that stu
dents often graduate so deep in
debt that they in essence have “a .
home mortgage without a home.”
Breslow criticized Gore’s pro
posed tuition savings plan and
said it wouldn’t help families
with low incomes.
“I would have rather heard
someone talking about Pell Grants
and need-based scholarships,”
Breslow said, “He needs to make
education affordable if he wants a
(.amarine Kendall tmerald
Vice President Al Gore became the first major presidential candidate to visit Oregon
this election year. Gore spoke at the Portland Community College Sylvania campus.
viable workforce to pay into his
Social Security plan.”
Before his speech, Gore met pri
vately with Sen. Wyden and Gov.
Kitzhaber to discuss salmon
preservation along the Columbia
Snake river system.
Kitzhaber, who advocates
breaching dams to allow salmon
to freely spawn through the
rivers, has been critical of Gore for
not taking a stance on the issue.
At the beginning of his address,
however, Gore announced that he
would develop a plan to protect
the river and restore salmon runs,
though he didn’t say whether he
supported breaching dams.
“I pledge to work toward a
quick resolution that will involve
all of the effected parties, based
on hard science,” he said. “Ex
tinction, here, is not an option.”
Kitzhaber, who only months
before endorsed former New York
senator Bill Bradley during early
primary elections, emerged from
the event saying he fully endorsed
Gore.
“He will be a leader in environ
mental issues ... and will look af
ter Northwest economies,”
Kitzhaber said.
Wyden also expressed support
for Gore after the meeting.
“What Al Gore demonstrated in
the last hour-and-a-half is that he
understands what this state is all
about,” he said.
While the microphone made its
way around the audience, Gore
answered questions and clarified
his positions on health care, hate
crimes, the environment and ear
ly education.
He said he would work toward
providing universal health care
and ensure federal assistance for
pharmaceutical drugs, strive to
eliminate discrimination of ho
mosexuals in the workplace, find
solutions to global warming and
make preschool available to all
families.
Further elaborating his Social
Security plan, Gore said he would
balance America’s budget and pay
back government loans, allowing
the Federal government to funnel
money, which is otherwise re
served to pay interest on loans,
into Social Security.
Gore criticized the Republican
plan to privatize Social Security,
a program that will be strained
when the baby boom generation
reaches retirement age, saying the
plan would leave the program
vulnerable to market fluctuations
and that taxpayers would have to
bail it out in a severe bear market.
Storage
SERVING
ALL OF EUGENE & SPRINGFIELD
Electronic Gates
7 day access
Resident Managers
RV Storage
Special rates
Big Doors/Wide Drives
• Truck rentals
»Free Moving Guide
- Free Use of Hand.Trucks
■ Locks & Moving Supplies
Student Specials
FREE STORAGE
Pay 3 months, 4th month FREE
expires 6/15/00, new rentals only
008902
SAV-N-LOCK
485-8654
3210 West 11th
(across from Fred Meyer)
EUGENE MINI
WAREHOUSE
485-0011
3550 West 11th (next to Pietro’s)
SPRINGFIELD MINI
STORAGE
746-8251
2656 Olympic Ave. (next to Coast to Coast)
OONT TAKE YOUR CREDIT CARD DEDTS__
TO YOUR FfflST JOR
* Have you accepted a credit card company’s “generous” offer to provide you
with a credit card?
* Do you have significant credit card debt?
* Is your credit rating in danger?
if your answer to any of these questions is “yes”, consider
a chapter 7 bankruptcy. Get your fresh start and enter
the business world free of credit card debt.
§ Call our office for complete information on bankruptcy.
i___ Appointments close to campus.
Robert W. Nowack, Attorney at Law. 434-9112
We can work it out
FREE kirth Control Supplies &
inEE Sexual Health Services
Call or stop by to see if you qualify.
P Planned Parenthood
1 670 High, Eugene 344-941 1
^atienf^
for a Clinical Trial
Do you have...
ASTHMA SYMPTOMS that wake
you up at night, cause you to seek
medical treatment because you can’t
breathe, or otherwise interfere with
your daily activity?
If so, and you are between 15 and 65 years old,
you may qualify for a medical research study to test
a medication to treat asthma.
Benefits of being in the study include free study medication,
study related physician visits, and tab work.
To find out how you may participate in this study contact:
683-4324
Allergy & Asthma
Research Group
1488 Oak S^seet, Eugene
e,®rra I Ne°e&
Kraig W. Jacobson, M.D. • Robert F. Jones, M.D.
r
8:00 pm
Thursday, May 18th
U of 0 Amphitheater
!ome early to see the Clothesline Project and make yo^ ovm
sign! Music begins at 7:00 pm. This event wdl be ASL
interpreted and child care scholarships are available, <Z&72
hois in advance 346-409S. Organized by the ASUO
Women's Center & co-sponsored by the Eugene Weekly,
iden's discussion at 6:4B pm & 900 pm in the Walnut Room.