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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