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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
Confusion abounds over the WRC question ■A Columbia University law professor claims the WRC already meets University requirements By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald The legal fog surrounding the Worker Rights Consortium became even thicker Monday, when a WRC official issued a state ment saying the organiza tion has al ready met the University’s conditions for membership. University President Dave Frohnmayer said in an Oct. 25 statement that the Univer sity could not pay its membership dues because the WRC was neither an incorporated entity nor had tax exempt status. Citing a legal opinion written by University Counsel Melinda Grier, Genetic rally continued from page 1 He said when people consume these “marker genes,” which are of ten bacterial genes, it may reduce their antibodies’ ability to fight off disease, because the diseases will figure out how to get around the an tibodies. (( OSPIRG has a long his tory of defending the con sumer right to know and protecting the health of consumers in public health issues. Jessica Smitana However, he said “the only stud ies that have been done [on whether these bacterial genes lower antibiot ic resistance] were done on rats.” Tuesday’s event was one of many events sponsored by the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group this year about health, the en vironment and consumer safety. “OSPIRG has a long history of de fending the consumer right to know and protecting the health of con sumers in public health issues,” said OSPIRG organizer Jessica Smi tana, speaking about why the rally was organized. “People need to be informed that these products are out there, and that they represent a po tential risk.” Calendar Wednesday, Nov. 1 — Film: Sergei Paradjanov’s “Shad ows of Forgotten Ancestors.” 6:30 p.m., 115 Pacific Hall. Free. — Literary arts: Ralph Salisbury signs copies of “ Rainbows of Stone. ” 7:30 p.m., Knight Library Browsing Room. Free. — Film: “The Canterbury Tales,” 1998 version of Chaucer's classic work. 7 p.m., 180 PLC. Free. — Lecture: Carol Silverman discuss es “Gender Display in the Diaspora: Performance and Music Among East European Roma (Gypsies).” Noon, 330 Hendricks Hall. Free.. Frohnmayer also said the University could not move ahead with joining the WRC because of state laws gov erning the University’s contractual powers and liability issues. But Mark Barenberg, a law profes sor at Columbia University and chair man of the WRC Board of Directors, released a statement responding to each reason why the University said it could not pay an invoice for mem bership dues to the WRC. Barenberg made his statement to clarify the WRC’s position in the hopes that “the president of the Uni versity of Oregon will reconsider his decision and will honor his commit ment to affiliate with the WRC. ” He then stated that the WRC is “a fully certified corporation, incorpo rated pursuant to the not-for profit corporation law of New York state,” and that the “purposes and activities of the WRC fall well within the fed eral requirements of a ... tax exempt organization.” Two of the main reasons for the University’s decision not to pay the WRC membership dues arose from its belief that the organization had not become an incorporated entity and that it did not have non-profit tax sta tus. Barenberg replied to those points, as wall as to University’s chief argu ment that it could be held liable for the WRC’s actions. “The WRC is not a membership or ganization,” he writes. “Universities which contribute to, and affiliate with, the WRC are therefore not legal ly liable as members for any conjec tured legal liabilities that the WRC may incur.” Frohnmayer returned to Eugene af ter attending a medical symposium in the Netherlands and said he stood by his decision despite Barenberg’s assertions. He said the University was bound to Grier’s opinion, which has been publicly confirmed by the state Attorney General’s office. To pay the WRC, Frohnmayer said, would be a violation of state law. “We don’t have any choice in the matter,” he said. He said that while Barenberg may be highly educated in law, his argu ments are only assertions, and the University can’t ignore its general counsel in matters regarding the WRC. In regards to Barenberg’s argument about the University not being held liable, Frohnmayer said it was open to interpretation. “Notwithstanding an organiza tion’s attempt to shield its members, a court could impose liability any way,” he said. Frohnmayer added it would be highly irresponsible to expose the University to even the slightest chance of the “significant, if not crip pling” liability that could be incurred though WRC actions in foreign coun tries, which have different court sys tems than the United States. While reaction on campus to the impasse between the WRC and Uni versity has been subdued, a few fac ulty members and students have ex pressed their confusion about where exactly the University stands on the issue. Frohnmayer said progress in the relationship between the two largely depends on how the WRC responds to the University’s criticism. “We’ve been trying to work with them since last April, and much of our correspondence hasn’t been re sponded to,” he said. He said issues over the group’s re fusal to allow input from the garment industry and its lack of openness to the press still remain unresolved, and new issues have just been raised. Philosophy professor Cheyney Ryan, co-chair of the Faculty Adviso ry Council that meets with Frohn mayer each week, said the council had not discussed the matter official ly, but said he personally thinks the issues surrounding the WRC need to be clarified. “One thing we’re just trying to get clear... is what the University’s con cerns about the WRC are, and what [its] position is,” he said. He said the recent flare-up of dis agreements between the University and the WRC doesn’t make sense, given the long process it has taken to join in the first place. “It’s obvious the WRC is a group in formation, but that’s something we’ve always known,” Ryan said. “I don’t understand why now that is a problem.” PARENTAL cipucii tmm ?, 1 . v j ppgjjfMilLJHMiFlUM ifri Now open until 10:00 p.m. Monday - Saturday COALITION INDEPENDENT HgMUSIC ^STORES www.FaceThe.bom ON CAMPUS: 860 East 13th Ave. 345-1010 CIMSmusic.com
