Hews
FBI agents continue to investigate a suspicious letter containing a white
powder that was sent to the University in November. Page 4
Sports
Tonight’s men’s basketball game at Mac
Court reaches back 75 years. Page 5
http://www.diiilyemeraid.com
Tuesday, January 15,2002
Since 1 900
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 103, Issue 73
Nice ‘backside grab ’
■ University snowboarders are
taking their sport to another level
—competition and invitationals
By Marcus Hathcock
Oregon Daily Emerald
The EMU Club Sports snowboard
team could be national champions
one day.
But not for a while, club organiz
ers said. The organization has shifted fo
cus from fun to a new challenge for par
ticipants — competition.
Members said this year’s leap into local
invitationals spawns hope for the future.
Though the snowboard club still fo
cuses on having fun and improving tech
nique, a select group are attempting to
take their sport to the next level.
Since 1991, the club has made trips to
Northwest slopes with the goal of estab
lishing a local riding community.
Junior biology major Loic Fabricant,
the club’s organizer, said he envisions
the club as a strong unit, formed by the
love of the sport.
The group religiously takes trips to
Willamette Pass, where they can contin
uously learn more about the sport, Fab
ricant said. He said riders take trips up to
the mountain three to four times a week,
with the ultimate goal of competing.
“The club is about getting up to the
mountain with a bunch of people so you
can push each other to improve your
skill,” Fabricant said.
He added that most of the club’s ap
proximately 90 registered members are
active participants. Any student may
join the group at any time during the aca
demic year, Fabricant said.
“At this point, if someone wanted to
be involved and showed up, showed the
interest and got involved with fundrais
ing, (becoming a member) would be no
question,” he said.
Club organizers are going to be concerned
with fundraising during the next few weeks,
as members organize a T-shirt sale.
“After we get really rolling in these
next couple weeks to do our fundraising,
people could still get involved, but
they’d miss out on a lot of the develop
ment things,” he said. “We’re always
welcoming new members. The more
numbers, the better.”
Club members of years past have trav
eled to faraway slopes for pleasure trips,
but that doesn’t seem to be the case this
year as the group has shifted their focus.
“In the past there have been trips to
Whistler (in British Columbia) but not
this year,” junior business major Nathan
Price said. “We wanted to focus more on
training and competing.”
With this new concentration, the
members have created something
groundbreaking for their organization.
As members have grown in confidence
and skill, the club has formed a group
within itself — a snowboard team.
Twenty-five riders of the nearly 90-mem
ber snowboard club participate on the team,
said Fabricant. As of now, 10 women and
15 men are working toward competition.
“This is really our first year compet
ing,” said Price, the team’s coach. On Jan.
20, the team will represent the Universi
ty in its first competitive event.
Club members and Willamette Pass staff
are working together to plan future events.
Willamette Pass, the team’s home
slope, hosts the competition. Randy
Rogers, skiing director for Willamette
Pass, said although he has seen many
University snowboarders throughout the
years, this year’s group is different.
“I’ve been really impressed with the
group this year,” Rogers said. “They have
great ideas, commitment and follow
through. For all the years there have been
(University) snowboard clubs, this year’s
delivered the best so far.”
Rogers also said some of the snow
boarders helped him design the layout
for the terrain park at Willamette Pass.
The Jan. 20 inaugural event is the
KDUK Slopestyle Competition, and the
team will take to the slopes performing
various technical maneuvers.
On Jan. 26 and 27, Willamette Pass
and the team are sponsoring what Rogers
called the “UO Snowboard Invitational.”
Saturday will feature the halfpipe event,
and Sunday will bring boarders together
for the slopestyle competition.
Competing in halfpipe and slopestyle
events entails virtually the same judging
criteria, but with different physical settings,
Turn to Snowboarding, page 4
Idle task force
waits to work
on athletics
■ Formed Dec. 7 to advise University President
Dave Frohnmayer on athletics issues, the taskforce
has yet to meet and awaits basic instructions
By Eric Martin
Oregon Daily Emerald
The momentum of a new University athletics task force
has slowed, and task force members aren’t sure when the
group will begin meeting or what their objectives are.
The task force, established Dec. 7 to advise University
President Dave Frohnmayer on national athletics issues
and to strengthen the relationship between University
academics and athletics, has yet to meet formally.
A news release in early December said the group of 11
faculty, staff and students would begin work after Jan. 1, but
several members said they are still awaiting instructions.
“We haven’t had any discussions yet,” law professor
James O’Fallon said.
Frohnmayer and University Senate President Nathan
Tublitz appointed the task force members. The group has
yet to name a chair.
The task force will advise Frohnmayer on national
athletic issues, such as a recent joint resolution on
athletics, passed by a Big Ten Conference committee
in early November. In part, the resolution seeks to
slow the rapid construction of athletics facilities on
college campuses. A similar resolution was passed by
university senates in the Pacific-10 Conference in
spring 2001.
Frohnmayer is the Pacific-10 Conference representa
tive to the NCAA board of directors.
The task force members are: Brad Shelton, mathemat
ics professor; Margaret Paris, associate law professor;
Nathan Tublitz, biology professor; Suzanne Clark, Eng
lish professor; Martin Smith, head men’s track coach;
Bill Moos, athletic director; James O’Fallon, law profes
sor and faculty athletic representative to the NCAA and
Pac-10; Dan Williams, vice president for administration
and finance, ex-officio; and students Jenny Kenyon, Jeff
Oliver and Amanda Studdard.
Email higher education reporter Eric Martin
at ericmartin@dailyemerald.com.
EPD officer snags
alleged shoplifters
■An off-duty police officer noticed the suspects
as he ate outside the University bookstore
An off-duty police officer stopped two suspected
shoplifters Monday as they were leaving the University
Bookstore on Monday.
Inside
Crimewatch: The
weekend was active
for criminals and
DPS officers.
PAGE3
The Eugene Police Department
officer was having a sandwich
outside the bookstore about noon
when two people came running
from the store’s security. He
stopped the pair and detained them
until another officer arrived, EPD
spokesperson Pam Alejandre said.
EPD called a probation officer when they discovered
one of the pair had an outstanding parole violation,
Alejandre said.
Alejandre said the official report had not been filed yet
and she had no other information on the crime.
— Marty Too hey