Runyan
continued from page 1
according to the Western Australian Retinitis Pigmen
tosa Foundation’s Web site.
At 9 years old, Runyan was diagnosed with Star
gardt’s disease. She described it as a genetic disease
that creates holes in the retinas and impairs vision to
the point of blindness. She said her vision has now
deteriorated to 20/300 in her left eye and 20/400 in
her right eye, and she sees a floating shadow caused
by scar tissue. She can see light, color and shapes, but
caftnot distinguish details.
At this time, there is no cure for Stargardt’s disease.
Her vision has made orientation in large stadiums
difficult, she said. But in general, it has not really af
fected her running.
In her book, Runyan described her aversion to the
word “special.” As a child, she had to take the “spe
cial” bus for kids with disabilities to travel to school.
She had to sit at the back of the classroom with a “spe
cial” closed-circuit television that took up the entire
desktop and made a lot of noise.
“I don’t think of myself as anything ‘special,’” Run
yan said. “I always say there’s a lot more I can accom
plish. I don’t feel like I’m done yet.”
After a stint with the Paralympics, she qualified for
the 1996 Olympic trials and broke the American
record in the heptathlon 800.
In September 1996, Runyan moved to Eugene to
train as a 1,500-meter runner under the tutelage of lo
cal track coach Dick Brown.
“I had seen her in the Olympic trials in the hep
tathlon 800,” Brown said. “Anyone could see the tal
ent there.”
He said Runyan is a marvelous athlete.
“She took a career-ending problem and said, ‘It’s
not going to screw me up,”’ he said.
Brown began to teach her the physiology of running
that would make her a better runner, but a series of in
juries and surgeries prevented her from training.
Then, in the fall of 1998, a friend referred her to
Matt Lonergan, a student massage therapist who
worked at the Oregon Medical Lab, according to
Runyan’s autobiography. She and Lonergan became
best friends and partners in life.
“Matt was the one thing that kept me in it,”
Runyan said. “But the way he kept me in it was
almost as though we ran just for the sake of running.
We didn’t run for the Olympics. We didn’t run for the
Nationals. We went out and said, ‘Let’s go run on the
trail because it’s fun to run on the trail.’”
Runyan wanted to train for the Olympics, she said
in her book, and because she did not have a coach,
Lonergan began training her.
“It seems like every year brings new challenges,”
Lonergan said. “Every year it seems like something
big happens, but it never goes exactly the way you
want it. If you can get a year where nothing goes
wrong, you’ve just got to hold on to that and not take
it for granted.”
Through all her battles, she made the 2000
Olympic team.
Though she did not score as well as she wanted to
in Sydney, Runyan said she does not regret taking the
lead in the 1,500-meter race.
“I don’t think there was much I could’ve done that
would have made the outcome any different for me,”
she said. “I sure as hell would have had a lot more
regret had I stayed in the back and had the pack
made a move. I never would have caught up with
them.”
In 2004, Runyan will be training for the Olympics,
and she said her goal in the meantime is to gain more
experience in cross country and road racing, and to
work on her stamina and strength.
“We’ll take one thing at a time,” she said patient
jMgtarrin9
Friday, Nov. 9th
L.I.E.
On the Long Island Expressway
there are lanes going east,
lanes going west and lanes
going straight to heliH
Nightly S:00 and 7:10pm
Soon JlN-RQH & Grateful Dawg
■TWO ft &
STANDS OUT
UK£ THE
TAJ MAHAL*
“UPft»ftoUSlJ
'ASURFftSEoflW.
«i arias'
ntUMKX
sanum«tan»i.
QHOSt WORK'D
&15,7:30,9:45pm - Sun Hat 3pm ®
MULHQLLANDI
||f* From David Lynch
'*» investigation *nto the powar of mow*# pierces
a void from which you can hear the screens of •
ravenous demon whoee appetites wi* never be
staked * Stephen Holden. NEW YORK TIMES
Nightly 9:2Spm only - Sun M* 2:00pm
New & Used
Vinyls
CDs & Tapes
258 E. 13th Eugene
342-7975
0116301
Community
Center tar the
Pertwming Arts
8th fit
Lincoln
■ Friday ■
Noche De LunaYFlor
(Nifht of the Moon £ Flowers)
Flamenco Dance Performance
$12 advance, $14 door, 8:oopm
■ Saturday ■
Reel Bi$ Fish,
Goldfin?er,
Su?arcult
Ska Punk
$20 advanced, 7:30 pm
All Ages Welcome • 687-2746
FOREIGN • CULT • ANIMATION
ADULT (XXX)» HONG KONG ACTION •
Hours are:
12 to 9:30
Sun-Thurs
12 to 10:30
Fri-Sat
Your University
Area Video Store
Offering:
DVDs & VHS
New Releases &
Old Favorites
Video Game &
System Rentals
We stock LCC/UO
required class films
012947
This & many more new
releases arriving weekly.
344-2691
1888 Franklin Bl»d.
Franklin Blvd
Tobacco ban
continued from page 1
worried the board would make a
decision too quickly.
EMU Board chairwoman Christa
Shively said that although she was
hoping to finalize the debate at
Wednesday’s meeting, the only way
for the board members to make a
confident decision was to put the
issue on hold until more informa
tion was found.
“I was hoping people would
come prepared to make a decision
to vote today, but I feel like we hit a
gridlock,” she said.
At-large member Jake Holcombe
suggested that the board should
look at the fiscal situation of other
universities that had banned tobac
co sales to see how funding was
affected.
Shively said that while OSU had
banned tobacco sales, it faced a fi
nancial loss of $4,000 — signifi
cantly less than the approximately
$30,000 in profit the University
makes each year. She said that be
cause the University’s situation was
much different, it is difficult to
make a comparison between the
schools.
But Holcombe argued that fur
ther research should be done before
any decisions are-made.
Health Education director Paula
Straight said her biggest concern
was that the board was focusing on
whether to continue selling tobac
co, rather than brainstorming alter
native solutions to tobacco sales.
“What concerns me is that we
aren’t brainstorming ideas for re
placing the money,” she said.
Vice chair Jackie Reed suggested
the board assign a business class
the task of brainstorming ideas for
how the University could compen
sate for lost revenue. She said to
bacco sales could possibly be
phased out after several years.
“Obviously the EMU is not pre
pared to ban tobacco now, but
maybe in the future it is a possibil
ity,” she said.
She also recommended the
board conduct a schoolwide poll
before making a decision that will
affect students.
“(The board members) are only a
small representative. Waiting for a
survey to make our decision is not
going to hurt anything,” she said.
But ASUO representative Bren
da Tincher said the board’s job is to
advocate for students, especially
when the issue is complicated.
“I think a survey is just another
delay to making a decision,” she
said.
The board also discussed raising
the cost of cigarettes to discourage
students from buying cigarettes.
Members discussed the possibility
of funneling the money back to the
EMU or using it to increase aware
ness about the health risks of
smoking.
Diane Huber is a student activities reporter for
the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be reached
atdianehuber@dailyemerald.com.
Assisted suicide
continued from page 1
physicians and patients to comply
with the (new ruling on the) law,”
said George Eighmey, executive di
rector of Compassion in Dying of
Oregon, a group that advocates
physician-assisted suicide.
“Ashcroft has basically stated
that, ‘I’m not going to put you in
jail, I’m just going to destroy your
livelihood,”’ Eighmey said.
It’s unclear right now how the
Department of Justice will enforce
the new ruling. Doctors have a way
of getting around the ruling; they
are currently required to file a form
with Oregon Health Services
whenever they prescribe federally
controlled medication, including
medications used for physician as
sisted suicide. But confidentiality
laws may prohibit the Justice De
partment from getting that infor
mation without a subpoena, giving
doctors a loophole.
“(Doctors) have to state their in
tent,” said Dr. Greg Hamilton, pres
ident of Physicians for Compas
sionate Care, a right to life group.
He said that the law requiring
physicians to list federally con
trolled medication is entirely
reasonable.
“Ashcroft has basically
stated that, ‘I’m not going to
put you in jail, I’m just going
to destroy your livelihood. ’”
George Eighmey
executive director,
Compassion in Dying of Oregon
Oregon Death With Dignity, the*
group that supported the passage
of the controversial state law, also
wants to stop Ashcroft. Their
lawyer will submit the group’s
case for an injunction today at
noon at the U.S. Courthouse in
Portland.
“The people of Oregon are well
represented in the case introduced
by Attorney General Myers,” said
Scott Swenson spokesman for
ODWD.
John Lysaker, assistant professor
of philosophy at the University,
agreed that the issue fundamental
ly centers on democratic freedoms.
“We can debate the morality of
physician assisted suicide,” he
said, “but the administration is
forcing a moral agenda upon the
state of Oregon.”
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Eugene,
agreed.
“This is an outrageous infringe
ment on states’ rights,” DeFazio
said. “Doctors will underprescribe
pain medication for terminally ill
patients.”
Hamilton, the compassionate
care advocate, disagreed with that
assertion.
“That’s an ill-informed and un
founded statement,” Hamilton
said. “The DEA is not looking at
pursuing physicians (who are sim
ply prescribing pain medication).”
Brook Reinhard is a community reporter for
the Oregon Daily Emerald. He can be reached
atbrookreinhard@dailyemerald.com.