Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 10, 2001)
www.dailyemerald.com Powerful-10 * There's no question which softball conference is the nation's best: the Pac-10. PAGE 7 Considering the court Professor Frank Michel man lectured on the Supreme Court's role in the 2000 election Monday. PAGE 6 Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Tuesday April 10,2001 Volume 102, Issue 124 Weather today high 53, low 41 Creative adaptation R. Ashley Smith Emerald Dancer Bill “Crutch” Shannon performs in front of an audience at the EMU Ballroom Monday night. Shannon discussed his experiences as a dancer with disabilities and highlighted his points with videos from his travels around the world. Crutchmaster’s stories, dance serve to educate able-bodied In a Monday night presentation, Bill Shannon sought to teach the crowd that disabled doesn’t mean helpless By Kara Cogswell Oregon Daily Emerald Performance artist Bill Shannon spoke at the University last night as part of Disability Awareness Week, but he said the real reason he came was not for the disabled, but for the able-bodied. “This isn’t about me and being dis abled,” Shannon said to the crowd of approximately 60 people gathered in the EMU Ballroom. “This is about you and how you look at me. ” Shannon said many of the chal lenges people with disabilities face are not a result of their disabilities, but of the way the able-bodied treat them. Many people see a person with a disability and immediately assume he or she needs help, Shannon said. This became painfully clear to Shan non one hot summer day in Chicago six years ago. Shannon, disabled since the age of five, said he was performing his trademark acrobatic moves on crutches when a member of the audi ence pointed at the hat he had put out to collect donations and sympatheti cally asked, “Did you drop your hat?” That day in Chicago became a turn ing point in his career, Shannon said. It inspired him to travel the world to put on street performances investigating how the able-bodied react to people with disabilities. As part of his speech, Shannon nar rated while he showed computer video footage depicting several of his performances. Some of the videos were of Shannon performing simple Turn to Crutchmaster, page 4 Breslow testifies at Legislature hearing ■ASUO President Jay Breslow outlined the benefits of the incidental fee when he spoke to the state Legislature Monday By Emily Gust Oregon Daily Emerald SALEM — On his second visit within the week to the state. Capitol to talk about the student incidental fee, ASUO President Jay Breslow finally had his chance Monday to tell members of the Legislature why he thinks the fee is im portant. Last week, about 60 students from the state’s public universities packed the room during a public hearing before the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education. The subcommittee was expecting to hear a panel of five college students speak about higher education funding. But time permitted only one student the chance to voice her opinion. The remaining four students spoke Monday, with two taking the chance to address the likely 8 percent tuition in crease over the next two years, and the other two addressing the student inci dental fee. It was Breslow’s second time before the legislators — the first came during a work session over spring break when questions about the fee were directed to him. Monday, Breslow had the chance to formally testify. Explaining the “three guiding princi ples” he sees governing the student in cidental fee system at the University, Breslow said the fee’s first benefit is that it allows students to explore new ideas and develop critical thinking skills. A second principle, Breslow said, is the important part the fee plays in the University’s mission statement. “The incidental fee gives students the opportunity to learn outside the classroom,” Bres low said. It “allows students to take the theory that we read in books and learn in class and apply it in a real-world situ ation.” Breslow related his own personal experiences in the Multicultural Center, a time that made him realize he wants to work with chil dren for the rest of his life. Without that experience, Breslow said, he might not know that his “true calling is youth ad vocacy.” The third benefit of student control of incidental fees, Breslow said, is that it provides a form of campus democracy. Tu rn to Student fee, page 4 BRESLOW Classified staff wants contract reevaluated ■With budget cuts looming, the classified staff of the Oregon University System has expressed concern over its compensation By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald Classified employees and administra tion officials from all seven institutions in the Oregon University System will meet in Portland Wednesday to begin contract re-negotiations. The current classified contract runs through 2003, but labor representatives said they wanted to reopen their con tract in light of the potential scarcity of available funding for the OUS from the state Legislature. Cheri Smith, a campus union leader, said there are 1,230 classified employ ees on campus, including groundskeep ers, clerical workers, housekeepers and food service personnel, as well as other positions she said are vital to ensuring the campus is run efficiently. Discussion at the Portland meeting will be limited to only “non-economic” issues, since the Legislature has yet to determine the final budget, but Smith said several economic issues remain on the minds of most classified employees. “The one thing we have heard is that if the governor’s budget continues as it is, there could be some layoffs,” she said. While Smith said she understands Oregon may be headed for some tight economic times, she said the Legisla ture should realize that the classified employees are vital to maintaining quality campuses. Mark Zunich, an employee relations manager with University Human Re sources, said even though negotiators are not discussing monetary issues in the opening sessions, salaries will defi nitely be discussed later. “[Salary] is very important for all em ployees on campus,” he said. He said he will join other manage ment representatives from state univer sities and administrators from the OUS at the meeting in Portland. Zunich said he expects sessions to be held on other campuses in the Willamette Valley fol lowing the meeting. Despite the budget constraints, Zu nich said he was fairly confident that any contentious issues that might arise in the re-negotiations would be handled without much discord. “Money is always scarce, and there is an amount of tension,” he said. But he Turn to Classified, page 4
