Death prompts safety lessons
■ University greek members
were educated in boat safety
in the wake of their upcoming
excursion to Lake Shasta
By Kara Cogswell
Oregon Daily Emerald
An Oregon State University freshman
died Saturday at California’s Lake Shas
ta after he slipped and fell from the roof
of a houseboat rented by his fraternity,
Sigma Phi Epsilon. Shasta County
deputies believe Sean Kazuo Matsuda,
19, was trying to cross over to another
boat when he lost his footing, possibly
because of wind and choppy waves,
said Sgt. Mark Jenkins of the Shasta
Country Sheriff’s Office.
Matsuda struck his head on the boat
when he fell and was probably uncon
scious when he entered the water, Jenk
ins said. Several students jumped into
the water to rescue him, but it took them
15 to 20 minutes to bring him to the sur
face. Paramedics were unable to resusci
tate him.
Matsuda was pronounced dead after
being flown to a hospital.
The OSU student’s death occurred
one week before many greek members
at the University of Oregon travel to
Shasta for a traditional weekend excur
sion. Amy Stanton, the University’s
Panhellenic Council president, said
that Greek Life has done everything
possible to ensure that the trip is safe
and fun for students.
“We’re doing all we can to make sure
[fraternity and sorority members] know
what’s going on,” she said.
Kevin Gelbrich, Interfraternity Coun
cil President at the University, said
while trips to Lake Shasta are not Greek
Life Department events, the organiza
tion has made an effort to encourage
students to be safe. Last week, Greek
Life sponsored a workshop where
members of Shasta County Sheriff’s Of
fice spoke to students about boat safety
issues. Freshmen and other students
who had not been to Lake Shasta before
were required to attend.
Jenkins said about 60 people attend
ed the University’s workshop, while
about 200 attended the workshop held
at Oregon State. Panhellenic and IFC
representatives asked students in the
greek system at both universities not to
comment on Matsuda’s death.
University freshman Amy Fenning,
who went to school with Matsuda, said
the pre-dentistry major was invol with
many school activities and sports, in
cluding football, basketball and
lacrosse. A popular student, Matsuda
was well liked by everyone, she added.
“He was an all-around good guy,” she
said.
Another Oregon State student was in
jured Friday after she also fell from a
houseboat and struck her head, Jenkins
said. She was taken to a hospital with a
mild concussion, but has since been re
leased.
Even with the recent accidents, Jenk
ins said, the overall number of injuries
among college students at Lake Shasta
has decreased in recent years. Matsu
da’s death was the first fatality among
college students at the lake since a
Southern Oregon University studen
drowned in 1997.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office
tries to educate students on boat safety
before they travel to the lake. But with
so many people at the lake, it is hard to
eliminate every risk, Jenkins said.
Last weekend, he said about 3,000 peo
ple were at Lake Shasta, most of them
Oregon State students. On Memorial Day
weekend, when some University greek
houses will be at the lake, there could be
as many as 30,000 people there, he said.
News briefs
Random car jack attempt in north Eugene
The Eugene Police Department responded to an at
tempted car jacking early Monday, after an armed male at
tempted to enter the vehicle of a woman driving south
bound on Beltline Road in north Eugene, police said.
The 62-year-old woman was driving home from work
around 1 a.m. when her vehicle was approached by a man
wearing a handkerchief over his face and carrying either a
short-barreled rifle or shotgun at a stop sign at the intersec
tion of Beltline Road and Royal Avenue, police said.
EPD Sgt. Scott McKee said the incident does not appear
to be related to any other cases the department has seen
recently.
“We’ve had car jacking in the past,” he said, “but a situ
ation like this one is pretty uncommon.”
McKee said that most car jackings and car jacking at
tempts the department sees occur in parking lots or near
banks, adding that money is usually the motivation for
such crimes.
Police described the suspect as male, 5-feet-5-inches
tall with a medium build. The man was last seen wearing
a dark baseball hat, navy blue sweatshirt and baggy pants,
police said.
The woman heard the suspect attempting to open her
car door while stopped for a red light at the intersection,
however, her car’s door was locked and she was able to
drive away before he could enter the vehicle, police said.
“Leaving the door locked forces [the suspect] to make a
decision — break the window or not,” McKee said. “And
that time allowed her to speed away.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to
call the EPD’s Violent Crimes Unit at 682-5182.
Lecture
continued from page 1
philosophers tend to describe the
« human race, including ideas that
people’s motives are spurred by
self interest and that individuals
can be understood simply by
studying their cultures.
“I think these views are not the
views of how ordinary people
think and feel,” he said.
Wilson said not all people are
the exact products of their cultures
because most people will stand up
against ideas if they think they are
wrong.
“People think cultures are
wrong if they tolerate murder,” he
said, “but they look up to cultures
that behave responsibly.”
To show that individuals do not
act out of their own self interest,
Wilson said people are as quick to
help others as they are to help
themselves. He said society be
lieves threats to others are thought
of as moral problems, whether it
be a relative or a dog in danger.
“Our well being to some degree
depends on the well being of oth
ers,” he said.
Wilson said most people would
likely react to a grandmother in
need, a drowning dog or a hurt
child no matter what a person’s
age because sympathy and fairness
are innate human qualities.
“Even babies of a certain age are
affected by the cries of distress they
hear from other babies,” he said.
Wilson said lying is acceptable
sometimes depending on the situ
ation. For example, he said if a
man with a gun were to show up at
a person’s door demanding to see
his or her daughter, the person
would probably not tell the man
anything.
“Why wouldn’t you lie?” he
said. “Because telling the truth
would violate moral intuitions.”
University President Dave
Frohnmayer said Wilson described
several natural reactions that hu
mans possess.
“He gave a thoughtfully pro
found talk deliberately against the
grain of many schools of individ
ual philosophers,” he said. “I’m
left with a lot of questions to think
about.”
Sarah Nelson, a psychology
graduate student, said she has read
several of Wilson’s books and is a
fan of his way of thinking.
“He’s one of the few people who
actually studies ethics and morals
nowadays,” she said.
mm
KATEE"
GOLF CLUB
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VOLUNTEERS
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Short Comedies by
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