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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 2001)
New Duck in town * Onterrio Smith is thrilled to be a part of UO foot ball after transferring from Tennessee. PAGE 7 Leggo my ego A proposed Oregon senate bill promises protection from cases of identity theft. PAGE 3 Wednesday April 25,2001 Volume 102, Issue 135 Weather today MOSTLY CLOUDY high 75, low 50 Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon "<5' The Major Date Rape Drugs: Rohypnol Rohypnol, also known by the street name “rooties,” is 10 times more powerful than Valium and is illegal in the United States. Its effects peak after two hours and can persist for up to 12 hours or more. Rohypnol is used in sexual assaults tosedatea victim. Symptoms of Rohypnol poisoning include memory impairment, disorientation, staggering, an inability to communicate or put up a struggle and a "hungover” feeling. Symptomsclosely mimic that of moderate to extreme alcohol consumption. Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate (GHB) fw GHB was first developed in Europe as an anesthetic i A and is known for its euphoricand sedative effects. It is now made as a “home brew” in basement /"■"s Symptoms of overdose indudenausea, uncontrol* lableseizures and respiratory depression. It is known for its intense intoxication and enhancement Sean Graf Emerald Drugs can facilitate date rape B House Bill 2353 yvoujd increase the penalties for drug-induced sex assaults By Lindsay Buchele Oregon Daily Emerald Tara doesn’t remember much from the night she was raped. She remembers dancing with friends at a local Eugene bar, including a new male acquaintance. Everything else from that night last September has been wiped from her memory. The next thing she remembers is waking up in her own bed next to the man she had met the night before, who then told her she had seduced him. Tara, who already had a boyfriend, was ridden with guilt, confusion and the most incredible physical pain she had ever felt. She vomited pro fusely and experienced extreme pelvic discom fort for the next two days. She later realized she had probably been drugged with a “date rape drug” by her acquain tance and then raped. Knowing the drugs Tara was most likely given the date rape drug known as Rohypnol, also known by its street name, “roofies.” RohypnoLompnlvbe legally obtained outside of the UniteaStates/It’s manufactured as a seda tive and is characterized mostly by a temporary loss of memory and its “hangover” effects, which leave the person feeling as though they had con sumed a large amount of alcohol. According to federal law, it’s illegal to manufacture or bring Rohypnol into the United States. The use of Rohypnol in rape cases is almost al ways the same: The drug is slipped into an un suspecting victim’s drink at a large social gather ing or bar, according to an article published by Peggy Herbert and Jeremy Zerbe in The CAC News, a forensic science journal. The effects of the drug peak after one to two hours, but can last more than 12 hours, accord ing to information from the University Health Center. Upon returning to a conscious state, the victim has no memory of what occurred while under the influence of the drug. The most frightening aspect of Rohypnol is it can only be detected up to 36 hours after inges tion, according to Herbert and Zerbe. Tara real ized too late that she had been drugged and was told by doctors at Sacred Heart Medical Center that the drugs had already passed through her body by the time she inquired about testing. Gamma Hydroxy Butric Acid, also known as GHB, was first developed in Europe as an anes thetic and was used in the early 1990s by body builders who believed it might stimulate muscle growth. Experts agree GHB is largely used on the party scene and as a date rape drug. GHB is more commonly used in date rape cas es than Rohypnol and is mostly “home brewed” in basement laboratories, according to informa tion from a February hearing of the House Judi ciary Subcommittee on Criminal Law. GHB’s ef fects are similar to Rohypnol because it hinders a victim’s ability to fight back, but also heightens sexual interest and creates an intense intoxica tion. Turn to Drugs, page 6 News brief Campus groups present self-defense information tonight In direct response to recent Eugene attacks, three University groups axe offering students a chance to fight back. A free presentation entitled “Am I Safe on Campus?” will be held tonight at 6 p.m. in the Walnut Room in the EMU. Led by Department of Public Safety officer Bob Guse, the session will cover a broad range of safety tips, includ ing self-defense demonstrations. Friday marked the fifth attack against fe male students since February on or near cam pus. The ASUO Women’s Center, ASUO Ex ecutive and Department of Public Safety are sponsoring the presentation in response to the attacks, ASUO president Jay Breslow said. Lara Modisette, a sexual assault prevention and education coordinator with the Women’s Center, said everyone is invited. “It’s going to be really hands-on,” she said. “The presentation is going to cover a broad range of topics that will pertain to both men and women.” Smarter students may see more aid ■A new Oregon Senate bill proposes scholarships based on students’ high school grades By Beata Mostafavi Oregon Daily Emerald For Oregon high school students, the reward for good grades could soon be a cut in the price of an Oregon university education. As an incentive to send more Oregon high school graduates to the state’s uni versities and also to highlight the impor tance of academic achievement, some state senators have sponsored the “Ore gon HOPE bill.” Proposed in early April, the HOPE bill, an acronym for Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally, would provide scholarships to Oregon high school students who graduate with a ‘B’ grade point average or higher. Critics of the bill include organizations such as the Oregon Students Association and the Oregon Students of Color Coali tion, which argue that under-funded need-based grants should take priority over merit-based aid. OSA representa tives say that the Oregon Opportunity grant, a need-based program, is already denied to more than 11,000 students who need aid. This should be fixed before new scholarships are created, they said. But the bill’s supporters say that if they can get the funding they want, they could fulfill both need-based grants and the HOPE scholarship. Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton, a University alumnus, is co-sponsoring the bill with Sen. Tom Hartung, R-Cedar Mill. Deckert said he hopes to approve the bill in the Legislature this year. “Its main goal is insuring that more Oregonians go to college and have the opportunity to attend institutions in Oregon,” he said. The bill closely mirrors Georgia’s HOPE LEGISLATURE scholarship, which began in 1993 and gives scholarships to students with a 3.0 GPA and high SAT scores. Alma Bowen, communications manager of Georgia HOPE, said the program has proved suc cessful, helping 578,370 students and boosting Georgia high school SAT scores. “It was put in to place to really change the thinking of students, to make them aware that studies and good grades were impor tant,” she said. While Georgia HOPE funding does not come from state funding — rather, it comes from a lottery system — the Oregon HOPE version would have to use state funds. Representatives from the Deck ert office said that Oregon lottery funds already go towards other state projects, such as infrastructure plans. Julie Suchanek-Ritchie, communica tions director at OSA, said more than 11,000 students who needed the oppor tunity grant for college this academic year had to be turned away because need-based grants are underfunded. To accommodate everyone who needs money to go to college, the funds would have to increase by $17 million, she said, and the HOPE scholarship is esti mated to cost nearly $22 million. She added that the HOPE scholarship would give money to students who proba bly already have the means to go to college and would have a negative impact on low er-income students and minority groups. “Basically, merit-based aid takes scarce state dollars and gives it to stu dents who are already academically Turn to Student aid, page 5 Movers and Shakers Tom Patterson Emerald Dancers shake their hips to the sounds of “Now or Never,” a Carnival song from Rio de Janiero, as International Week festivities continue in the EMU amphitheater. TTT
