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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 2001)
—Q—d1 tL_e w e b ^ www.dailyemerald.com An independent newspaper Intent on finishing strong Oregon is hoping to turn its season around with solid play in its final seven games. PAGE 9 Under the table A man crawling under tables disturbed students in the Lawrence Hall Library last week. PAGE 6 X Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Wednesday February 14,2001 Volume 102, Issue 94 Weather TODAY high 50, low 35 Fundraiser kickoff Tom Patterson Emerald Eileen Beban, board chairwoman for Red Cross Lane County, looks forward to the future of the organization. Red Cross renews 84-year promise The Red Cross kicked off its annual fundraising campaign on Monday night By Lindsay Buchele Oregon Daily Emerald The Red Cross made a prom ise to Lane County in 1917 to al ways be there when disaster strikes. Monday night, the Ore gon Electric Station hosted a dinner for the non-profit organi zation, which vowed to contin ue that promise as it kicks off its annual fundraising campaign. Eileen Beban, chairwoman of the board for Red Cross, said the fundraising efforts will enable the organization to continue serving the community. Red Cross offi cials hope to raise $115,000 through this month’s efforts. Olympic athlete Marla Run yan made a special guest appear ance at the fundraising kickoff, which was held to motivate Red Cross volunteers and employees to get out and raise money. “I just want you all to know that I appreciate all that you do,” said Runyan, who compet ed as a runner in the 2000 Olympic Games. Most of this year’s fundrais ing campaign was handled by Debbie Phillips, Red Cross fi nancial development director, and University Public Relations Intern Melissa O’Connell. Romania Toyota has raised $8,000 for the Red Cross through a telemarketing campaign. Phillips said Steve Romania is paying the salaries of his employ ees who volunteered to take part in the telemarketing, and has said he will attempt to bring in $15,000 through telemarketing. Turn to Red Cross, page 8 Death prompts vaccinations ■ Freshman Jill Dieringer’s death has caused hundreds of students to seek vaccinations and antibiotics for meningococcal disease By Jeremy Lang Oregon Daily Emerald After running on empty during the weekend, the University Health Cen ter received its long-awaited shipment of meningococcal disease vaccina tions, and a new wave of students headed for the health center to get their shots. Bob Petit, medical administrator at the health center, said about 200 stu dents have received the $66 vaccina tion, most of them late Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Petit said an additional 425 students have received the meningococcal an tibiotic, which is less expensive and is meant to cure the immediate symptoms of the disease. The vaccination is a longer-term, preventive measure. The concerns come after the sudden death of freshman Jill Dieringer, who died early Friday morning from the dis ease less than 72 hours after she visited the health center complaining of flu like symptoms and doctors at the health center sent her home. By midnight Thursday, she was in Sacred Heart Medical Center, and she died between 4 and 5 a.m. Friday. Petit said the staff has not discussed the possibility that the health center could be liable for her death. Petit said he believes the staff is not liable.“The course of this disease is so difficult to diagnose,” he said. Housing Director Mike Eyster said Dieringer’s parents have been in contact with housing officials, though they haven’t mentioned taking action against the health center either. The meningococcal bacteria, which can lead to meningitis, is transmitted Turn to Vaccination, page 8 ii The course of this disease is so difficult to diagnose. Bob Petit medical administrator, University Health Center %% The Lane County Bloodbank is asking students not to give blood today if they: Had close contact with Jill Dieringer Live in Cloran Hall or Kappa Delta sorority Spent more than four hours with Dieringer in a confined space between Feb. 1 and Feb. 8 Source: Lane County Bioodbank Beta Alpha Psi to aid students with tax season woes The campus fraternity plans to help students avoid tax frustration and confusion by offering filing services By Beata Mostafavi Oregon Daily Emerald Sour faces and frustrated grum bles caused by the piles of paper work signal the arrival of the least favorite time of year for many people. ‘Tis the season to file tax re turns. Students who find the world of W-2 forms, never-ending num bers, and other paper filings con fusing and chaotic can get free help throughout the next month from Beta Alpha Psi, the account ing honors fraternity. This is the second year the so ciety has offered free tax prepara tion for community members. Volunteers from Beta Alpha Psi, along with IRS experts, will work with students individually and help them fill out their tax forms correctly. The next services will be pro vided between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. March 3, March 17 and April 14 in the Chiles Center, Room 228. Scott Rawitscher, the fraterni ty’s tax preparation coordinator, said last year the group helped nearly 300 people file tax returns. He added that this service espe cially appealed to students be cause it took only 30-45 minutes, sometimes saving them hours of time and energy. “Most students don’t have the time or patience to do their own taxes,” he said. Tracy Fisher, an accounting graduate student and Beta Alpha Psi member who used the serv ice last year, said the program also gives students the option to “e-file,” which processes tax forms electronically. This process allows people to receive tax refunds within 11 days, as opposed to the months it can take when filings are sent through the mail. She said that e-filing would usually cost about $50, but Beta Alpha Psi offers the service for free. Fisher added that the fraterni ty’s service helps prevent stu dents from making errors. She ex plained that through IRS software, tax preparers can enter some general information that au tomatically goes into all the ap propriate forms at one time. This way students can avoid the mis take of copying down the wrong information or making mathemat ical slips as they “go back and forth” between forms. The fraternity prepares its vol unteers with a crash course and provides training focused on common tax issues students come across. IRS experts are also on site to assist volunteers and answer more complex ques tions. ]ulie Heidenreich, a returning volunteer who plans to go into the tax business, said one of the best parts of her job was helping students save money by telling Turn to Taxes, page 8 What: Beta Alpha Psi will help students fill out tax forms correctly. When: Saturday, March 3; Saturday, March 17; Saturday, April 14 Time: 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Where: Chiles Center, Room 228 Source: Beta Alpha Psi
