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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2001)
www.dailyemerald.com An independent newspaper The nation’s best * John Stiegeler used to be an OSU football player, but now he's setting records for UO track. PAGE 7 Hoops for a good cause Raising money and awareness for Parkinson's Disease, the Warsaw Classic hits Mac Court. PAGE 9 Wednesday April 18,2001 Volume 102, Issue 130 Weather TODAY high 59, low 41 1 . APRIL21 „« Reach for Success r and performances \EMU Bali room, 3 and 8 p,m. Workshops featuring Ava De Leon, Tim tcMahon. Live musical performances ' by Latin pop singer Christina i The 2001 Edwin Coleman Confer) APRIL 19 Holocaust readings, Affirmative William W. Knight Law Center, The Affirmative Action debate will feature speakers Tim Wise (right) and Dinesh De’Souza APRIL 18 Speak Out, Zero Awards, Holocaust readings EMU Amphitheater, 11 to 3 p.m. APRIL 20 AIDS awareness benefit dinner and keynote speakers EMU Fir Room, Columbia 150, 6 to 7 p.m. Elaine Brown (left) and Amiri jj|j Baraka are the keynote speakers Brooke Mossefin/Katie Miller Emerald MCC gears up for activism, diversity ■Today through Saturday, the Dr. Edwin Coleman Conference brings awareness to campus By Lisa Toth Oregon Daily Emerald As Dr. Edwin Coleman spoke with a longtime friend some three weeks ago, his friend said something to an approaching acquaintance that caught his attention: “I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age.” After the conversation ended, Coleman told his friend that “coon” is a racist term about blacks hailing from the South during the time of slavery. “She was so embarrassed and apologetic,” Coleman said, and she explained that she would have never used the expression in an intention ally derogatory manner. Although he understood that his friend did not understand what she was saying, Coleman said people still have a re sponsibility to educate themselves about the issues they are unfamiliar with, such as civil rights. The fourth annual Dr. Edwin Coleman Confer ence begins today to offer partici pants exposure to issues such as la bor rights, environmental racism, student activism, AIDS awareness and cultural diversity. Through “Reawakening: Remembrance and the Radical Reality,” the Multicultur al Center hopes to recognize Cole man for his accomplishments at the University while sharing with stu dents, faculty and community mem bers an awareness of activism and di versity. “I hope people come away ener gized and ready to make a difference in their campus and community,” said Bola Majekobaje, one of the co ordinators for the event. Majekobaje, who also serves as the networking advocate for the MCC, said Coleman’s commitment to ac tivism and diversity on this campus makes him worth recognizing. Cole man has been a professor at the Uni versity for nearly 40 years. ‘‘He has the power of moving peo ple and uplifting people of all races Turn to Coleman, page 4 Weapon used in latest attack ■Authorities may be closer to finding a suspect in the recent string of attacks in the campus area By Lindsay Buchele Oregon Daily Emerald Police say the attacks against female University students have escalated to a more dangerous level, but authorities may be closer to finding a suspect. Another female student was attacked Friday near the Willie Knickerbocker Bike Bridge in Alton Baker Park, now the fifth attack since February. All of the at tacks have involved either a female Uni versity student or a female of similar age. Sgt. Scott McKee of the Eugene Police Department said Friday’s attack was sim ilar to the other attacks, but differs significantly because the assailant was carrying a knife and attacked' the student around 5 p.m., while the other attacks occurred well after dark. Turn to Attacks, page 6 8 DPS officers get new powers ■The Department of Public Safety hopes the commissioning will increase officers’ efficiency By Andrew Adams and Hank Hager Oregon Daily Emerald Pledging to serve in their best capacity as public safety of ficers for the University, eight Department of Public Safety personnel received a formal commission Tuesday that in creases their powers on campus. Concluding a process that began in early January with DPS Director Tom Fitzpatrick’s announcement that he would be gin screening officers for commissioning, the final oath-tak ing ceremony took place in the Bowerman Building before a crowd of about 30 that included administrative staff, other officers, friends and family. “This is quite a special day for the Department of Public Safety,” Fitzpatrick said. “This is the highest law enforce ment status for University officers.” The commissioned officers will now be able to detain peo ple on campus and make probable cause arrests. They still do not have the authority to carry firearms. Fitzpatrick said the move to commission officers is not in response to more threats on campus or to make DPS a more Turn to DPS, page 5 Bill proposes lowering age requirement for state legislators Proposed constitutional amendment seeks to lower the minimum age for state legislators from 21 to 18 By Lindsay Buchele Oregon Daily Emerald Secretary of State Bill Bradbury is attempting to give more rights to 18-year-old Oregonians by propos ing House Joint Resolution 16, which would amend the Oregon Constitution and lower the age re quirement for service in the Legis lature from 21 to 18. Bradbury said if 18-year-olds can vote and die for their country through service in the armed forces, they should be able to serve in the Legislature. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia al ready allow 18-year-olds to run for legislative positions. Bradbury began work on HJR16 after holding a forum last spring at Portland Community College. A student at the forum asked Brad bury why he could vote but not be come a legislator. Bradbury said he had no idea that the Oregon Constitution re stricted the age to 21, and he had always assumed the service age matched the voting age. “This sends a terrible message to voters,” Bradbury said. Last week, Bradbury testified be fore the Rules, Redistricting and Public Affairs Committee, which is reviewing the bill before it goes to the House floor for a vote. To make his point, Bradbury enlisted the assistance of two of the coun try’s younger elected representa tives, Montana Rep. jesse Laslovich, D-Deer Lodge, and Ver mont Rep. Jason Barney, R Franklin and Highgate. Barney, who was elected to Ver mont’s legislature at the age of 21, said having young legislators will increase voter turnout. “Young legislators are appealing to voters of all ages,” Barney said. “Anyone who sees a young, ap pealing candidate will want to vote for them.” Laslovich, who was elected when he was 19, said he gains re spect from his fellow legislators because he’s more in touch with bills dealing with younger issues and because decisions made by the Montana Legislature will affect his Turn to Minimum age, page 6 ii Young legislators are appealing to voters of all ages. Jason Barney Montana State rep. n
