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