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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2001)
Reaction continued from page 1A Despite the protests, University President Dave Frohnmayer signed a contract with the WRC only after the University Senate and other faculty groups made rec ommendations. Fitzpatrick said he didn’t think extra student input was necessary for him to continue with the process. “I think it was viewed as an ad ministrative decision,” he said. “It wasn’t a new situation.” But students will have a chance to voice their opinions on the issue. Fitzpatrick will create an 11-person advisory committee sometime in February that will have student representation. This committee will offer suggestions to the depart ment as it moves toward commis sioning. Breslow said the committee will help with future DPS problems, but the effort comes too late. “Giving students a voice after wards isn’t exactly campus democ racy,” he said. But not all students are angry about the decision or how Fitz patrick made it. Jed McGuire, co chairman for College Democrats, said that after conversations with DPS officers, he believes the offi cers are ready for the extra respon sibility. “They’ve always been ready,” McGuire said. “They were picked because they were qualified to do the job.” He added the decision will help save the University money because fewer University-contracted EPD officers will be needed for lesser crimes such as bike theft and resi dence hall break-ins. “Also, it’s good for [those cases] to go through local courts rather than student conduct,” he said. But Breslow said he was worried when he first heard the announce ment and continues to worry what specific rights the commissioned officers will have. He also said the ASUO Executive is examining what exactly constitutes probable cause arrest. When they have more informa tion, Breslow said, ASUO members will organize informational cam paigns to educate students on their rights and the new rights of DPS of ficers. But he added that he hopes DPS will take some of the educational responsibility as well. “They made the decision. Now get out there and educate the cam pus community,” he said. Protest continued from page 1A our votes,” Rice said. “We were cheated. We won’t forget this.” University professor Edwin Cole man, veteran civil rights activist, also addressed the crowd, saying Bush’s election signified a setback to voter rights and that voters should be outraged. “He’s talking as if he has a man date,” Coleman said. “He has not earned a mandate, and we’re not going to let him off the hook.” Many of the protesters waved signs with such slogans as, “He is not my president” and “Bush was not elected.” Also, a dummy carry ing a makeshift fishnet and wearing a mask resembling Bush was propped up against a wall. At one point, the dummy had a dollar bill stuffed into its mouth. A few people also carried signs supporting former Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nad er. A brief exchange between Nad er and Gore supporters highlighted the resentment and division be tween Nader supporters and main stream liberals, who blame Nader for tipping the election to Bush. After a protester shouted, “Down with the collusion of the two-party system,” another protester yelled back, “Thanks for getting Bush elected.” Piercy told the audience not to despair and that Democrats will mount a vigorous campaign in 2004 to regain the Oval Office. “Let’s make today, a very sad day for us, the beginning of a new foun dation of democracy in Oregon,” she said. Boy Scouts continued from page 1A States of America and Kidsports. The board decision was based on the belief that the Boy Scouts’ stance on gays conflicted with Bethel’s district policies against discrimination and harassment, district spokesman Craig Hawkins said. The recruiting ban would have gone into effect next year, Hawkins said. But after speaking with school district attorney Joel Richards and receiving feedback from the community, the board re scinded its decision. “When we got the original deci sion, we were flooded with com munity input, which was signifi cantly in favor of the Boy Scouts,” Hawkins said. “Our board action has raised the level of discussion in the community. We’re done with the topic at this point.” But discussion in the communi ty continues, and the 4J School District is now reviewing the issue. The district’s Equity Committee is currently collecting information to make a recommendation to the district superintendent. “There are three main questions that the committee is asking it self,” said Jim Slemp, assistant su perintendent of the 4J School Dis trict. First, should the Boy Scouts be allowed to recruit in schools; sec ond, should the organization be al lowed to use school facilities for meetings; and third, should schools sponsor scout troops? “There were a lot of comments about how much good the Boy Scouts do,” Slemp said, referring to a Equity Committee meeting earlier this month. “We’re just checking things out and deciding what is best for the kids in our dis trict.” While the majority of the feed back received agreed that the Boy Scouts are a positive influence in the community, the issue is decid ing exactly how the organization’s decision fits in with district poli cies and the sentiments of the community. “Eugene is going to take its time here and make sure all sides are heard,” said Joel Richards, attor ney for the Bethel and 4J school districts. Another school in Broward County, Fla., took action against the Boy Scouts, but the Boy Scouts fought back with a lawsuit. The Boy Scouts considered the dis trict’s action to be a violation of ex pressive association and that to ex clude the organization from 44 We have never asked our members about their sexual preference, nor do we check on orientation of people who are already members. Mike Marchese Assistant Boy Scout executive for Western Oregon 4 ^ recruiting in schools goes against the constitution. “The key thing here is Scouts are a private organization,” said Mike Marchese, assistant Boy Scout executive for Western Ore gon. “We don’t want to be adver sarial.” The 90-year-old organization, which recently welcomed its 100 millionth youth member, is adamant that sexual orientation is not the topic, said Marchese. The organization represents itself as one that respects diversity and em braces people from all walks of life. “We have never asked our mem bers about their sexual preference, nor do we check on orientation of people who are already members,” Marchese said. “If someone is gay, they can be a scout leader as long as they aren’t an avowed homosex ual and don’t bring it into our pro gram.” Much of the controversy arose when people were misinformed that the Boy Scouts of America was prohibiting gays from the or ganization, Marchese said. The is sue isn’t about discounting homo sexuality, he said, but any empha sis on sexuality. “Any discussion of sexuality is reserved for the family,” Marchese said. “This is not an arena to talk about sex.” And supporters of the Boy Scouts decision agree that the ex perience is an opportunity for young boys to grow, not a forum for sexual expression. “In my family, Boy Scouts have been a wonderful experience for my boys,” said Jean Lorenz, whose two sons are involved with Boy Scouts. “They have learned, grown, became more self-confi dent.” Lorenz said that being “morally straight” is part of the Boy Scouts oath, and that the Scouts have de fined being non-homosexual as traditional morality. But opponents of the Boy Scouts’ decision disagree. Eugene resident Alicia Hays, who is gay, said her family used to be very involved with the Boy Scouts, and, before the Supreme Court decision, she expected her 6-year-old son to continue that tra dition. When her son came home last year with a sticker saying “I want to be in Cub Scouts,” she and her partner had to explain to him having a two-mom family would keep him from being welcomed into the organization. “I don’t want him exposed to an organization who doesn’t respect his family,” Hays said. “I respect their right to exclusivity, but I’m disappointed in the Boy Scouts’ choice because it [excludes] a lot of boys and families.” The hardest part was explaining to her son the difference between the Boy Scouts and his school, Hays said. He didn’t understand the difference that it was the or ganization that didn’t welcome his family, not his school. “If the Boy Scouts of America wants to use the school after hours, fine,” Hays said. “But they shouldn’t have special access to the kids.” Pita Pit FRESH THINKING HEALTHY, EATING $1 ©[?[? Any Pita (Eat-in or Pickup Orders at Eugene Location Only. 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