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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 2001)
y01,3,4RW 1/26/01 12:50 AM Page 1 (Black plate) _Q__nh. r_w e h www.dailyemerald.com Friday An independent newspaper Lengthy discussion Debate dominated the Multicultural Center’s Programs Finance Committee hearing. PAGE 3 A hard pill to swallow Jamie Craighead and the Ducks lose to upstart Southern California, 55-53. PAGE 5 January 26,2001 Volume 102, Issue 81 Weather TODAY RAIN high 50, low 37 Laura Smit Emerald Paul Olum’s daughter, Joyce Galaski (center), and his two granddaughters, Aviva (left) and Rebecca, shared stories that evoked laughter and tears among more than 100 people attending Olum’s memorial service. Tears, laughter hail Olum’s life During a memorial held Thursday, friends and family shared fond memories of former University President Paul Olum By Brooke Ross Oregon Daily Emerald When University Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Theodore Palmer asked Paul Olum in 1981 what he thought of his new job as University president, Olum told Palmer he had learned he should always go to the bathroom whenever he had a free moment. This was just one of the many shared stories that evoked laughter and tears from more than 100 people attending Olum’s memorial service yes terday afternoon in the Paul Olum Atrium in Willamette Hall. Olum, who served as Univer sity president from 1981 to 1989, died on Friday, Jan. 19, but the mark he left on his fami ly, friends and colleagues will not be forgotten. “Truly, he was a giant among people; he had so many quali ties that stood out,” Palmer said. During Olum’s presidency, the University faced budget cuts and could not afford facul ty pay increases for three con secutive years. Palmer said Olum struggled to keep the University together by convinc ing the faculty that teaching was noble, and they were all in the situation together. “Paul loved people and was always caring,” he said. “He al ways thought before he spoke, but said what he truly be lieved.” Besides being president, Olum was a lover of both math ematics and poetry, and he Turn to Memorial, page 4 List of closures sparks reaction ■A4J School District proposal to make budget cuts by closing schools has the Eugene City Council and the community seeking alternatives By Rebecca Newell Oregon Daily Emerald As always with budget cuts, some thing has to go. And for the Eugene School District, closing schools seems to be the only solution to the financial strain facing the district. A committee of school staff and com munity numbers examined elementary schools to decide which would be the best candidates for the closure, said Jim Slemp, assistant superintendent for the 4J School District. After reviewing ex tensive data covering attendance and operational costs, the committee last week announced its list for possible short-term closures. No schools will be added to the list, though some of the schools marked for closure could be re moved. The committee will review the schools on the list, and after its Feb. 5 meeting, it will make a recommenda tion to the school board. Since the district must cut $3.5 mil lion to $4 million in next year alone, Slemp said cuts could be in effect next fall. “We are looking for ways to save money, and for each school cut you save about $200,000 a year,” Slemp said. “You eliminate the administrative staff of principals and secretaries, and the teachers stay with the kids.” Shutting down the schools is a solu tion to two problems: low enrollments in the 4J district, coupled with budget cuts.“Over the next six years, our en rollment is decreasing by 600 kids,” Slemp said. “We have a lot of small schools of 150 to 200 students, which can’t offer as much to students.” But the announcement that there was a proposal to shut down schools was Turn to Schools, page 4 Schools targeted for closure: Short-Term list: Whiteaker, Santa Clara, Coburg, Willakenzie, Bailey Hill and Silver Lea. Silver Lea includes Corridor and YujinGakuen alternative eiementaries. Long-Term List: Westmoreland, Edison, Fox Hollow, Washington and Bailey Hill. For more information, call 687-3309 or visit the district’s Web site at www.4j.lane. edu. LaDuke tops speaker list for environmental conference The Environmental and Economic Justice Conference will focus on the relationship between the environment and racism By Beata Mostafavi Oregon Daily Emerald Environmental racism will be the hot topic at the 7th Annual Environmental and Economic Justice Conference, where featured speakers such as former Green Party vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke will share problems of their respective communities. The annual conference, titled “The Environment Sees No Color,” begins at 6 p.m. today in the EMU Ballroom and will continue with events Saturday and Sunday. LaDuke, who has stepped into a whirlpool of environmental and eco nomic policy issues since her last visit to the University four years ago, is tonight’s key speaker. She said she plans to address environmental issues that will surface in the years to come. “I will speak about the challenge of facing the new.xniUennium. in terms pf where we are and reconciling relations with thb environment and each other,” she said. The Coalition Against Environmental Racism (CAER) organizes the event. The group is unique because it tackles envi ronmental issues from the local to the in ternational level, but focuses on how communities of color fit into the wide variety of environmental problems. CAER director Glen Banfield said the relationship between the environment and racism will be one of the confer ence’s biggest themes, because most people don’t understand how the two relate. Banfield said environmental racism occurs when industries place themselves in areas where “disenfran chised” people live, because those resi dents usually don’t have the power to make changes or voice their health con cerns. He mentioned that many, indu$$£l regions are in communities of color in big cities because residents are minori ties or live in poverty, and not because of the land’s geology. “Race and economics [are] the No. 1 indicator of where America is dumping garbage and polluting the air and water,” he said. “Most people have no idea how to make that connection.” Banfield also said the conference will unite people who can share their per sonal experiences with environmental racism and speak about successful strategies to overcome injustices in com munities. CAER member Kristen Stiegler said because of Oregon’s homogeneous pop ulation, many local residents aren’t ex posed to environmental racism issues. She said during the coming weekend, students will gain insight on community of color issues that are overlooked by the n^ip^treamiB^j^ - LaDuke, author and program director for Honor the Earth Fund, a national foundation that supports Native Ameri can environmental work, is the star of this year’s conference. Named by Time Magazine in 1994 as one of America’s 50 most promising leaders under the age of 40, LaDuke cur rently lives on the White Earth Reserva tion in Minnesota and works on restor ing local land base and culture. Although she was the running mate of former Green Party presidential candi date Ralph Nader and caused great con troversy in last year’s chaotic election, LaDuke said she stayed out of the lime light and kept a less rigorous schedule, mainly because of her 11-month-old son, Gwekaanimid Gasco. But LaDuke will take time out of her life as a busy mother and activist to speak at the University. Turn to CAER, page 3
