Oregon watershed councils seek new blood
■Volunteer opportunities
include watershed assessment
and water quality monitoring
By Anne Le Chevallier
Oregon Daily Emerald
In Eugene, water is everywhere.
It runs from the tap, falls from the
sky and flows in rivers, tributaries
and streams.
But for University graduate Cindy
Thieman, water is not just a conven
ience — it is the focus of her aca
demic and professional involve
ment in the Long Tom Watershed,
which is located west of Eugene.
Today at 4 p.m., Thieman will ex
tend an invitation to undergraduate
and graduate students to follow the
same path and become involved in
Oregon watershed councils. In 303
Chapman, representatives from the
Mid-Fork Willamette, Coast Fork
Willamette and McKenzie Water
shed Councils will share informa
tion about their organization, activi
ties and volunteer opportunities.
Operating with limited grant
funds, the watershed councils were
formed by and depend on volun
teers. While obtaining her graduate
degree in biology and planning,
public policy and management,
Thieman wrote the grant applica
tion in 1997 that initially funded the
Long Tom Watershed Council. As
the council’s projects and monitor
ing coordinator, Thieman currently
works with a volunteer group of citi
zens to learn about the watershed
and what they can do to improve the
water quality and habitat conditions
of their local streams and tributaries.
Although the council’s members
— environmentalists, farmers and
residents — have diverse back
grounds, they come together at
council meetings to give their opin
ions and see the fruits of their labor.
Changes they have made involve
pesticide-spraying habits, stream
shading and erosion prevention.
Students also can have a direct
impact on Oregon’s water and habi
tat quality.
“Students may become engaged
at many different levels,” Honors
College science Professor Dennis
Todd said. “Some may want an ex
cuse to get out in the open air and
plant trees for a day or two; others
may undertake a terminal project or
thesis topic.”
The councils potentially need
students’ help in their watershed
assessment, water quality moni
toring and restoration activities,
Thieman said. She added that in
the past, student-volunteers have
learned new skills and have also
been a real asset to watershed
councils. They can also gain in
ternship credit.
“It’s a win-win situation for both
(students and watershed councils),”
she said.
University graduate student Ja
son Barney became involved with
the Long Tom Watershed Council
by chance. Barney met a council in
tern in a University computer lab.
At another chance rendezvous on
Spencer’s Butte, Barney volun
teered his geography skills to help
the council.
Now, Barney uses software to an
alyze data and display analysis on
maps. In fact, Barney’s internship
work with the watershed council
has developed into his graduate the
sis. He said he plans to assess
stream-restoration potential, deter
mine the most effective method of
restoring streams and prioritize
them. Because a watershed requires
an inherently interdisciplinary ap
proach, Barney said he must re
search biology, chemistry, ecology
and geography.
Barney said that those passion •
about the environment should vr!
unteer with the councils and test die
career waters.
“It’s practical, hands-on, real
world stuff,” he said.
Anne Le Chevallier is a features reporte for
the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be - ..ched
atannelechevallier@dailyemeraid.com.
National survey shows doctoral candidates generally satisfied
■The opinions of graduate
students at the University,
however, vary by department
By Kara Westervelt
for the Emerald
A recent nationwide survey of
doctoral candidates shows that
while graduate students are satis
fied overall with their doctoral pro
grams, they are less satisfied with
job placement services and the level
of preparation they receive as teach
ing assistants. Graduate students at
the University, however, may not
feel the same way.
The survey was conducted by the
National Association of Graduate
Professional Students and released
Oct. 17. It features data collected
from more than 30,000 doctoral can
didates in various departments at
universities across the United States.
Students were polled via an online
questionnaire from March 30 to Au
gust 15,2000, according to the NAG
PS Web site. Any student enrolled in
a doctoral program for at least one
term was eligible to participate.
The survey asked graduate stu
dents’ opinions about 10 different
subjects, such as Career Guidance &
Placement Services, Teaching and
TA Preparation, and Overall Satis
faction. Each program category gave
a letter grade to each subject.
On average, the students sur
veyed rated their overall satisfac
tion a B, but gave both job place
ment services and TA preparation a
C rating.
Some of the 3,472 graduate stu
dents at the University may feel dif
ferently, however.
“I am very satisfied with my grad
uate school experience,” Lesley
Godfrey, a history graduate student,
said. “The faculty and staff take a
personal interest in my success. ”
Heather Coughlin, a doctoral can
didate in the mathematics depart
ment, agreed. “The math depart
ment at the U of O is very proud of
its students, and they show it.”
Coughlin also said she feels pre
pared to teach.
“I feel that the [’math] depart
ment tries, to the best of its ability,
to prep the GTFs for teaching,”
said Coughlin.
The department requires all
Graduate Teaching Fellows to take
a week-long prep course to discuss
various aspects of teaching, she
said.
Another concern for the partici
pants of the NAGPS survey was
job placement assistance and how
well their programs prepared them
for a career.
“I am very confident that my advis
er and my department, including
professors and other grad students,
will help me in my job search,”
Coughlin said. “They will offer opin
ions, hear my presentations and
make comments, and cover my class
es when I have to go on interviews. ”
Students in other programs may
feel differently, however.
“As far as I know, the arts depart
ment doesn’t have a whole lot of job
placement assistance available,”
said Joseph Stengel-Goetz, a visual
design graduate student.
“The lack of up-to-date technolo
gy is the biggest thing that holds (vi
sual design) students back from be
ing prepared for the workplace,”
Stengel-Goetz said. “Because Web
technology has only been around
since the ’90s, visual design is still
trying to get a firm footing. ”
Most of the professors have had
experience in the workplace,
though, he added, and can offer
ideas about what to pursue after
graduation.
In addition to adviser and depart
mental support, the University Ca
reer Center offers several services to
graduate students. It provides cus
tomized career counseling and em
ployment searches. Also, its Refer
ence Letter Service keeps students’
reference letters on file and send?
them out to potential employers.
“Our services are sought out by
graduate students who seek nonaca
demic careers,” said Lawrence
Smith, the Career Center director.
“For students who are seeking aca
demic careers, their academic ad
visers can best help them.”
Doctoral students at the Univer
sity have a strong placement record
in the academic field, particularly
in English, psychology and the sci
ences, Smith said.
“The University’s students are
very well-prepared to enter the
workforce,” he said.
Kara Westervelt is a freelance reporter
for the Oregon Daily Emerald.
News briefs
Lane County plans
for redistricting
Lane County Commissioners
will decide on a redistricting plan
for the county 9 a.m. Tuesday in
the Commissioners’ Conference
Room at 125 E. Eighth Ave. Dis
tricts are being adjusted to reflect
changes in Lane County’s popula
tion from the 2000 Census. The
county has five voter districts:
West Lane, Springfield, South Eu
gene, North Eugene and East
Lane.
The commissioners have con
sidered three options for redistrict
ing and must implement new
boundaries six months before the
May primary election.
Sue Ryan
ASUO fundraising
dinner canceled
The fundraising dinner to aid in
the relief effort for victims of the
Sept. 11 attacks, sponsored by
ASUO, the International Students
Association and Students of the In
dian Subcontinent, has been can
celed.
The event was originally sched
uled for tonight, but ASUO Presi
dent Hilda Brooklyn said the plan
ning committee decided to cancel
it. She said they didn’t want to put
on a dinner that wasn’t a quality
event.
“Why put on a fundraising din
ner that could raise $600 when we
could do one that raised $4,000?”
she said.
Although it was not ASUO that
initiated the project, Brooklyn said
there has been interest to hold a
fundraiser for victims of Sept. 11,
and that the dinner could be
rescheduled.
“It is definitely something we
are considering doing for next
term,” she said.
— Anna Seeley
PFC, EMU Board
see budget increases
The ASUO Student Senate dis
cussed benchmarks for the ASUO
Programs Finance Committee and
the EMU Board at Tuesday’s meet
ing.
A 69 percent increase for the
PFC passed 9 to 2, with one ab
stention, and a 6 percent increase
for the EMU passed 8 to 5.
The benchmarks serve as a goal
for the organizations when they
create their budgets next term.
Senate Vice President Andy Elliott
said if the groups want an increase
higher than their benchmark, they
must have justification.
The PFC’s unusually high
benchmark was due to the new
ballot measure passed in the Fall
2001 Special Election that gives
the PFC a one-year exemption
from the 7 percent budget-growth
limit. Senator Mary Elizabeth
Madden said the benchmark could
increase student fees by approxi
mately 3 to 4 percent.
The EMU Board requested a 7
percent benchmark, but some sen
ators worried that too high an in
crease would discourage groups
from making possible cutbacks in
their budgets.
The Senate debated allocating a
5 percent benchmark, which the
EMU Board said would hardly
the cover the 5.15 percent needed
to maintain current service lev
els.
Diane Huber
Visit Us On Campus For An Interview
I o Work During Winter Break:
Dates TODAY!
Times 9 a.m. to 3 p.m*
Places EMU
Must Re Available Thru Dec. 23rd
Get results with Oregon Daily Emerald Classifieds! 34-6*4-343