Tuesday
Editor in chief: Jack Clifford
Managing Editor: Jessica Blanchard
Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Room 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: ode@oregon.uoregon.edu
EDITORIAL EDITOR: MICHAEL J. KLECKNER opededitor@journalist.com
Some students are probably do
ing a celebratory dance at the
news of the demise of the Eu
gene Police Department Party
Patrol. Here at the editorial board,
we're breathing a sigh of relief. Ac
cording to EPD patrol captain Becky
Hansen, the patrols were ended for
budgetary reasons, but stopping the
focused weekend patrols brings a note
of sanity to the EPD's relationship
with the campus community.
It was never a good idea to focus so
much police energy on one area of
concern. Admittedly, a few years ago
there were a couple of incidents with
partiers-cum-rioters, but sending spe
cial teams into campus neighbor
hoods with the sole purpose of hunt
ing down college students having
parties was not the way to handle the
situation, for a number of reasons.
First, as was made apparent by the
decision to disband the patrols, it was
a waste of money. The officers doing
special party duty were often working
overtime. Our city has some crime
problems that need genuine attention,
such as methamphetamine produc
tion and a recent string of armed rob
beries, and we need police to be prop
erly rested for duty and available to
combat serious crime.
Second, it is unfair to crime victims
to have officers on the street yet un
available for serious crimes. How fa
vorably do homeowners look at the
EPD's use of resources if they have to
wait for police to respond to someone
breaking into their houses, simply be
cause other officers are knocking on
doors, looking for college kids tap
ping their kegs too early? Police will
still respond to party complaints, but
now those complaints will be priori
tized along with every other police
call. Well, geez, that makes sense. Did
the police really need a budgeting
problem to make this decision?
Finally, the Party Patrol was re
sponsible for more bad feelings be
tween students and police than a few
outreach programs will ever be able to
undo. The patrols cemented the im
age of police as having no common
sense and being like unyielding
moms and dads with guns and the
ability to fine you a lot of money.
With the passing of the purposive pa
trols on parties, perhaps college stu
dents and the EPD can begin to mend
the relationship and see each other as
vital and vibrant parts of the commu
nity, which they both are.
Perhaps it's still a good idea to have
patrols on weekends of big Duck
games and for homecoming. Recent
words about the situation from the
ASUO made it sound as though the
police have no right to bust party-go
ers who are breaking laws. Out-of
control policing is one thing, but for
genuinely out-of-control parties the
police do, in fact, need to crack down.
There's certainly a fair amount of par
tying on home-game weekends, and
we can all guess that some of those
will get out of control, and there will
be minors drinking at many of them.
We hope students will not use the end
of the regular patrols as an excuse to
have parties that disturb their neigh
bors and send trashed minors out into
the community. A little restraint on
both sides will go a long way toward
ensuring that the Party Patrol is never
implemented again.
This editorial represents the opinion of the
Emerald editorial board. Responses can be
sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.
(JOEugene need
to invest in future
of neighborhoods
At last week's state-of-the-city address, Mayor Jim
Torrey spoke of a joint effort between the City of
Eugene and the University in order to help
bring more jobs to the city and revitalize the
downtown. We think this sounds like a good idea.
The University has vast resources at its disposal and a
strong student base for prospective employers to hire, if
students could be tempted to stay in the area after gradu
ation. In the spirit of revitalization, we offer a couple of
quick suggestions for ways the two entities could work
together to build a more thriving Eugene:
• Our city has many features that appeal to the demo
graphic working in the high-tech software and applica
tions industry. Eugene is close to the coast, the moun
tains and Portland, yet still offers a relaxed way of life.
There are also plenty of outdoor recreational opportuni
ties directly in and around the city. The computer sci
ence department can work to train students for the jobs of
tomorrow, and the city can work to lure Internet compa
nies and Web developers, to the benefit of Eugene and
Oregon. Utah is setting up special tax incentives to lure
Silicon Valley companies, and with some effort, Eugene
could do the same thing.
• The unfair depiction of Eugene as a haven for anar
chists and crusty hippies needs to stop. Working with the
University's sociology department and journalism
school, the city could fight the national image of Eugene
and more accurately reflect the colorful culture that ex
ists in our neighborhoods. The sociology department
could work on demographic studies of neighborhoods to
show the real bohemian Eugene and the journalism
school could be enlisted for a national public relations
campaign to end the misnomer that Eugene is a training
ground for disgruntled, brick-wielding, hard-left extrem
ists.
City officials could also help the situation by stopping
the demonization of neighborhoods, such as the
Whiteaker — often portrayed as a nest of black-clad Star
bucks-haters when it's really a compassionate network of
lower-income individuals — and instead work on in- "
tense revitalization of every neighborhood. Rather than
just focusing on tying together the pockets of successful
businesses in the downtown area, why not encourage 4
more successful local businesses in every area of the city,
through tax incentives and small-business assistance pro
grams?
• Focusing on the recreational opportunities Eugene
offers and investing in Eugene's unique culture to make it
flourish would both help our final suggestion: making a
serious effort to boost tourism in the city. The University
has many departments that could assist in such an effort,
from marketing and public relations to small-business
expertise and public planning.
Eugene is a great destination to explore Oregon's natu
ral beauty, and with more bed-and-breakfasts and vaca
tion services, the natural resource could be enjoyed by
many, with economic benefits for the city.
In addition, the University could help by using some of
its land around town to boost the tourism factor. Why not
work with the city on a riverfront project? The mighty
Willamette flows right past the University on its way
through town, and restaurants and shops, along with re
vamped waterfront access, would be a beautiful way to
take advantage of the city's locale. Surely, there will be
environmental issues involved in developing the river,
but with careful planning — the University's science de
partment has the resources — development could hap
pen in tune with nature. Such development would be
more easily embraced than a half-empty Riverfront Re
search Park or another Hyundai.
Eugene and the University both stand to benefit from
an economic development partnership. We hope they
look for innovative ideas that enhance Eugene’s unique
cultural niche, rather than turn the city into just another
strip of big-box stores and transnational industrial devel
opment.
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald editorial board.
Responses can be sent to ode@oregon.uoregon.edu.