Tuesday
'"'""Mlailyenierald.com
independent newspaper
May 15,2001
Volume 102, Issue 149
Weather
Laying the foundation *
The women's tennis team knows that despite the
down year, better days lie ahead. PAGE 7
TODAY
Plug in to the energy debate
Peter DeFazio participated in a panel discussion on
California's energy deregulation Monday. PAGE 3
high 57, low 50
Since 1900
University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Transforming.
transactions
■ While people are increasingly
making electronic transactions,
some doubt whether the way of
the future will be ‘cashless’
By Brooke Ross
Oregon Daily Emerald
Many people today may not actually
see a penny of the money from their
paychecks, thanks to advances in elec
tronic funds transfers and other cash
less transactions.
Although plastic cards and electronic
funds seem to be slowly replacing hard
currency, some think we’re a long way
from turning into a cashless economy.
The University is no stranger to to
day’s increasingly technological econ
omy, which faculty members and stu
dents have said is both convenient and
dangerous. Some faculty members’
paychecks are automatically deposited
into their bank accounts, and many
people today admit to using debit cards
and online banking more than going to
the actual bank to withdraw cash.
Robert Madrigal, an assistant market
ing professor, is familiar with using the
latest financial technology. He said his
paychecks are automatically deposited
into his bank account, and he and his
family make most of their purchases
with credit or debit cards.
“At no point do I really ever see the
money from my job,” he said.
Madrigal, who teaches the class Con
sumer Behavior 360, said using technol
ogy instead of cash is a time-saver, but it
can also get people into financial trouble.
“When you take the tangible element
out of money, it doesn’t seem like mon
ey anymore,” he said. “People use cred
it cards to purchase things they don’t
have the money to back up.”
t... . _ —IIWWJW
Jon House Emerald
Economics and computer science major Steve Tachouet presents his senior thesis on the elec
tronic cash industry. Some risks, Tachouet said, are software incompatibility and Internet fraud.
In his class, Madrigal said his students
study how consumers tend to look for
the easiest way to spend their money.
“If there’s a way people can avoid
processing a lot of information, they
lean toward it,” he said. “And a cash
less society makes that easier.”
One easier way to spend money may
be to use electronic cash via the Internet.
Electronic cash is a way of transferring
funds in online transactions, and it
serves as computer data that can eventu
ally be exchanged for real money.
Steve Tachouet, an economics and
computer and information science ma
jor, presented his senior thesis last
week in which he compared and con
trasted the risks of the developing elec
tronic cash system to the Free Banking
Era of the 1800s.
“For the most part, nobody uses ‘e
cash’ because it’s still kind of a theory,”
he said. “But if obstacles can be over
Turn to Economics, page 3
Bob Capuozzo, a
preschool teacher at
the Vivian Olum
Child Development
Center, helps
children from the
center leave a
bouquet for the
University Fire
Station on Agate
Street during a
birthday parade
Monday morning.
The preschoolers
brought flowers from
home as the parade
wound around the
block from the
center’s Columbia
Street location near
campus. Monday
marked the fifth
birthday of the
center and was also
the birthday of the
late Vivian Olum,
wife of former
University President
Paul Olum.
Medicinal pot
debate persists
■The Supreme Court rules that people cannot sell
marijuana under a medical necessity defense; state
legislators may expand medical marijuana laws
By Aaron K. Breniman
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon legislators are considering a bill to expand the
state’s medical marijuana laws. However, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled Monday that a medical necessity de
fense does not allow individuals or cooperatives to sell
marijuana.In an opinion delivered by Supreme Court Jus
tice Clarence Thomas, the court stated that the Oakland
Cannabis Buyers Cooperative’s request for a “a common
law medical necessity defense ... is rejected.”
The Controlled Substance Act classifies marijuana as a
Schedule I drug, and its only permitted use under the act is
“government-approved research projects.”
While Monday’s ruling does not directly address the
Oregon law, it has the possibility of affecting Oregon’s
medical marijuana laws and a current House bill, said
Leslie Harris, a criminal law professor in the University’s
School of Law.
Turn to Marijuana, page 6
Frohnmayer joins
campus fraternity
■The University president was initiated into the
Delta Upsilon fraternity in a public ceremony last
night before a large crowd of students and alumni
By Kara Cogswell
Oregon Daily Emerald
Dave Frohnmayer has held many titles in his lifetime:
Oregon attorney general, state representative, dean of the
University law school, and, of course, University presi
dent.
And now, he has one more credential to add to his re
sume: member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.
President Frohnmayer was initiated into the chapter last
night in a public ceremony, held in the EMU Ballroom, be
fore a crowd of about 400 students and alumni representing
the greek community.
The night kicked off Greek Week, an annual event cele
brating greek life through philanthropic events and other ac
tivities. This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the
Greek System at the University.
Philip Benton, president of Delta Upsilon fraternity, said
he and other members of his house asked Frohnmayer to
join last fall. They thought Delta Upsilon would be an ap
propriate house for the president to join because his father
had been a member when he attended the University in the
1920s, Benton said.
Because the Delta Upsilon house is non-secretive, every
thing that happens during initiation is open to the public,
Benton said. Frohnmayer’s initiation was very similar to
what goes on during ceremonies held at the house, he said.
“We’ve nothing to hide,” he said.
Frohnmayer said being a member of Delta Upsilon al
lowed his father, a German immigrant, to learn strong social
skills, and it gave him the chance to make lifelong friends.
His father died a little more than a year ago, but Frohnmayer
said if he were still alive he would have wanted to be pres
ent last night.
“This would be a proud day for my father,” he said.
In addition to continuing his father’s legacy, Frohnmayer
said another reason he joined was to show his support of the
Greek System as it celebrates its 100th anniversary.
“Symbolically, it seemed like a very appropriate thing to
Turn to Frohnmayer, page 3