He’s staying
With rumors floating
around cyberspace and
other media outlets,
Oregon head coach
Ernie Kent quelled all
talk by turning down
Notre Dame and stay
ing as the head man at
Oregon. PAGE 5
The Flash
Senate OKs $1,000
funds request
The ASUO Senate met Mon
day night for its second meet
ing of the summer. The main
issue of the evening was a re
quest from the Survival Cen
ter for $1,000. The requested
money would go toward the
annual joint organizing con
ference of United Students
Against Sweatshops and 180
Movement for Democracy
and Education, which will be
held August 16-20 on the
University campus. Six hun
dred dollars of the requested
money would go towards a
deposit for dorm rooms in
which participants in the
conference will stay. The re
maining $400 will be split be
tween the cost of speakers
and renting space on cam
pus. The Senate voted 3-2 in
favor of giving the Survival
Center $600 to cover the im
mediate need for the dorm
deposit.
Logging protester
climbs building
PORTLAND (AP) — A man
who spent 11 days on the
ledge of a downtown build
ing in a protest over logging
descended Monday into the
waiting arms of dozens of
cheering supporters.
Arrow climbed to the ledge
of the U.S. Forest Service
Building July 7, saying he
would stay there until the
Forest Service reversed its de
cision to allow logging on
1,030 acres of forest in the
shadow of Mount Hood. Sev
eral people camping outside
the downtown building had |
been hoisting food and water
uptohim.
According to a police re
port, his real name is Michael
James Scarpitti, and he is 26.
“This is a catalyst for a huge
grass-roots effort to take back
our land,” he said before be
ing taken away to jail.
Weather
Today Wednesday
high 80, low 55 high 82, low 57
Tuesday
July 18,2000
Volume 102, Issue 8
—Q—01 h e w r h
www.dailyemerald.com
University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
An independent newspaper
LTD litigation
varez Emerald
• ••' wu'»5U,lC5 peiiuoners cam siana wnnm eigni feet of a bus door, a distance that LTD offi
cials say it is not enough and creates an imbalance between petitioners’ right and passnegers’ needs.
Petitioner wins approval
to gather names at stops
A circuit
court judge
delivers
verdict that
petitioners
can solicit
signatures
on LTD
property,
but not on
or near
buses
By Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
Two years ago, Steve Lep
panen was exercising his
rights as a citizen, gathering
signatures for the Parks and
Salmon and the Medical Mar
ijuana initiatives. When he
chose to exercise those rights
on the property of LTD’s
downtown station and at bus
stops, a controversy arose that
has yet to be resolved.
After being restricted from
certain LTD property, Leppa
nen joined the American Civil
Liberties Union, and brought
his concerns to its board. A
year later, the board took up
his complaint as a cause and
began the legal process
against LTD.
Leppanen’s case was filed
in May, and all parties agreed
to fast-track it, holding the tri
al in June. Circuit Court Judge
Gregory Foote returned a de
cision in favor of Leppanen
and the ACLU.
Foote ruled that the ordi
nance is unconstitutional and
Turn to Petitioner, page 4
Multicultural
Center director
secured at last
By Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
After a national search that
lasted several months and un
certainty regarding the details of
the position, the Multicultural
Center found their third offer to
one candidate was a charm in
securing a director.
Director of Student Activities
Greg Lobisser had initially of
fered the position to first-choice
candidate Erica Fuller-Shindler
in May, but she turned it down
for personal reasons. The sec
ond choice for the job also
turned down the position, and
the search committee regrouped
to decide what course of action
to pursue.
After her circumstances
changed, Fuller-Shindler noti
fied the committee last week
that she was still interested and
available for the position.
“Things were better all
around for this opportunity,”
Fuller-Shindler said.
At an informal meeting July
12, remnants of the original hir
ing committee and representa
tives from various facets of the
University decided to offer the
position as a one-year interim
position.
Lobisser then offered the po
sition on Friday to Fuller
Shindler, who accepted that day
and made plans to start within
the week.
“It’s been six years since I’ve
lived on the West Coast,” said
Fuller-Shindler, an Oregon na
tive who spent her first two col
lege years at the University. “It
was about time for me to come
back over this way. ”
Both Lobisser and ASUO
President Jay Breslow, who has
been instrumental in the search
process, expressed relief and
confidence over the progress.
“It’s a real advantage to the
MCC to have Erica come on
board so quickly,” Lobisser said.
“She’ll have time to become es
tablished here before welcom
Turn to MCC director, page 3
The position in
flux for more
than three
months has
been filled by a
former
University
student
Police review group examines dubious tactics
The
Independent
Police Review
Project offers a
forum for
complaints
toward the
Eugene Police
Department
By Jack Clifford
Oregon Daily Emerald
The inaugural meeting for Eu
gene’s newest watchdog group,
formed to focus on police be
havior toward city residents,
kicked off not with a bang, but
more of a drumbeat.
The seven committee mem
bers and approximately 50 sup
porters of the Independent Po
lice Review Project, which was
organized in late May to shed
light on issues of police ac
countability, met Friday evening
at EWEB to recount tales of what
organizers say is an increasing
amount of police misconduct.
“The turnout wasn’t as great
as I thought it would be, but I
think we accomplished our goal
Turn to Review project, page 4
Azle Malinao-Alvarez Emerald
Betsy Brown speaks out at Friday’s meeting of the Independent Police Review Project. The group formed
to help citizens with resources and referrals in regards to complaints against police misconduct.