No longer in the lead 9
Alissa Edwards and the Ducks face an uphill bat
tle to reclaim the Pac-10 title. PAGE 7
A second time around
The Program Finance Committee began appellate
hearings Monday to last through the week. PAGE 5
Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Tuesday
February 6,2001
Volume 102, Issue 88
Weather
today
high 47, low 30
Spun in the Web
Doctors say
that too
much time
surfing the
‘Net can
lead to sleep
deprivation,
loneliness,
depression
and skipped
classes
This is the
second in a
two-part se
ries on issues
regarding
the Internet
Today: Inter
net addiction
and its affect
on college
students
Monday:
How the
growing pop
ularity of In
ternet use in
residence
halls and off
campus is
changing the
ways people
communi
cate and
interact with
each other.
By Beata Mostafavi
Oregon Daily Emerald
A night of pizza, poker and
some interesting conversation
is sometimes all a person needs
to feel content. And with a few
clicks of a button, such an
evening can be arranged from
the comfort of one’s own room
- with the help of the Internet.
Some have called this a gift to
communication. But others are
labeling this popular form of
technology dangerous.
Psychologists nationwide are
studying a new phenomenon
known as Internet addiction,
where people experience loneli
ness, depression and anxiety from
excessive use of the Internet —
and several studies have shown
college students are especially
susceptible to getting hooked.
College students spend an av
erage of 9.1 hours a week on
line, according to a fall 2000
survey by Student Monitor. But
most students who use Web
time to chat, e-mail or research
believe the Internet has simply
made their lives easier.
According to Dr. Keith Ander
son, a psychologist at the Rensse
laer Polytechnic Institution in
Troy, N.Y., too much time in cy
berspace can have a negative in
fluence on students’ health, so
cial life and academic habits.
Anderson, who is currently
working on a study about Inter
net use among college students,
said he first became interested in
the concept when one of his pa
tients began doing poorly in
school because of
excessive Internet
use.
He said students
who spend about
two hours a day
online are at risk
and that many of
them will experi
ence symptoms
such as loneliness
and depression, in
addition to suffer
ing academically.
He added that sev
eral students in his
study stayed up
late to be online,
which led to sleep
deprivation and
skipping classes.
Dr. Jonathan
Kandell, author of
“Internet Addic
tion on Campus:
The Vulnerability
of College Stu
dents,” published
in a 1998 issue of
CyberPsychology
& Behavior, com
pares Internet ad
diction to alco
holism and
gambling.
It can be a cop- —-... .
ing mechanism,” --
he said.
Kandell, who is
also a counselor at the Univer
sity of Maryland, said some col
lege students are especially
drawn into the cyber-world be
cause they are in a life stage
T
Russell Weller Emerald
where they’re unsure of them
selves, and they enjoy commu
nication that doesn’t involve
face-to-face contact. He men
Turn to Internet, page 4
/ ONLINE V SETUP
As the World Wide
Web turns...
The percentage of college courses using
e-mail and multimedia resources has
more than doubled in the last few years,
and more than seven million college
students and faculty routinely use the
Internet and World Wide Web as part of
their daily and weekly activities.
2000 Campus Computing Survey
Average time students
spend online per week
Fall 2000
Males 9.7 hours
Females 8.4 hours
Overall 9.1 hours
Fall 1999
Overall 7.2 hours
Spring 2000
Overall 8.1 hours
Student Monitor 2000
Labor author
rallies crowd,
invokes Morse
■ Nelson Lichtenstein’s speech at the Knight Library
launched a new exhibit of materials on labor
arbitration from the Wayne Morse Papers
By Christopher Arnold
For the Emerald
Nelson Lichtenstein believes workplace justice can prevent
workers from having to “lick the boots” of their employers.
The author and labor historian spoke to a diverse and at
tentive crowd for nearly an hour Monday in the Knight Li
brary. He analyzed America’s history of union organization,
collective bargaining and labor arbitration in the 20th century.
“Americans consider workplace discrimination un-Amer
ican,” Lichtenstein said, “but there is no debate on the need to
stop it.”
He cited the formation of unions as key in turning labor
policies upside down.
Lichtenstein said the formation of unions allowed average
workers to regain their rights as human beings—that workers
maintain the same rights at the office that they have at the bal
lots , in the courtroom or speaking out in city hall.
The speech helped launch a new exhibition of papers at the
Knight Library, which focuses on Wayne Morse’s career as a
labor arbitrator.
Morse, a former dean of the University’s law school, repre
sented Oregon for 24 years in the U.S. Senate. He was best
known for his contributions to labor relations on the West
Coast before his death in 1974.
Lichtenstein also addressed current problems in labor rela
tions. He noted lawyers may be able to protect workers, but the
judicial system may not be able to enforce labor laws in mil
lions of workplaces.
“Workers will remain silent unless they have some organi
zation that protects them from the repercussions of speaking
up,” he said.
He continued to emphasize the nation’s retreat from democ
racy in the workplace.
“There is a virtue and a power in appealing to the demo
cratic norms that are still carved in hundreds ofbuildings,” he
Turn to Labor, page 3
4J School Closure Committee passes buck to board
The group
voted to let
the school
board decide
which schools
get the ax
Schools targeted
for closure:
Bailey Hill,
Coburg, Silver
Lea [Corridor,
YujinGakuen],
Whiteaker,
Willakenzie
By Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
The members of Eugene School Dis
trict 4j’s board will have a serious date
on Valentine’s Day — but it won’t be
with their spouses or partners.
On Feb. 14th, the final recommenda
tion will be presented to the school board
by the School Closure Committee, which
is a group of parents, community mem
bers, students and 4J staff appointed by
the board. The board has several meet
ings to receive further analysis before
March 21, when they must vote upon
their final action on the issue.
On Monday night, the committee fi
nalized its recommendation with a vote
of 25-3, choosing to send the entire list
of six schools to the board.
“Forwarding the list as it is now gives
[the school board] maximum flexibili
ty,” said John Owens, a community rep
resentative of the closure board.
The recommendation that will go the
school board will have three parts.
First, it will include a plea to the board
to make closures the last resort in deal
ing with budget cuts. Second, the com
mittee will list reasons brought forth as
to why specific schools should and
shouldn’t be closed. Lastly, the recom
mendation has a statement encouraging
the school board to look at the possibili
ty of dealing with alternative schools
before closures.
Tom Henry, assistant superintendent
for instruction, presented six options to
the closure committee. The options
centered on splitting up the students of
closed schools and sending them to two
other schools, which would eliminate
problems such as redrawing boundary
lines, Henry said.
One of the main concerns of the com
mittee was to have all the options address
the loss of programs in the schools that
would absorb students. In order to fit stu
dents, auxiliary rooms now used for
computer labs, music or reading rooms
in some schools would need to be uti
lized for classrooms, Henry said.
“All the decisions haven’t been made
whether schools will keep computer
Turn to Closures, page 5
Chrystal McConnell Emerald
Empty playgrounds may become commonplace at several area elementary schools facing
possible closure. Final recommendations will be presented to the school board Feb. 14.