News Plans for re-balancing Oregon’s budget deficit continue to develop. Page 3A Seven University graduates receive Fulbright Fellows positions. Page 6A Sports The Oregon women’s basketball team sinks UCLA for a share of second place. Fag® 7 http-yAvww.dailyemerald.com newspaper Monday, January 28,2002 Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 103, Issue 83 LGBTQA supporters go skating for solidarity ■Whether Skate World’s reaction to two men hugging was due to a bias or a rule, many students responded with a show of support By Diane Huber Oregon Daily Emerald About 30 members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Al liance and supporters laced up their roller skates and reminisced about grade school birthday parties at Skate World on Saturday night. But they were also representing visi bility and support in response to dis crimination several members faced the previous Monday at Skate World in Springfield, LGBTQA Director Chicora Martin said. Six or seven members of the 18- to 25 year-old LGBTQA community youth group went skating Monday night, she said. Two of the men were hugging, they told Martin, when a manager came up to them and told them they needed to stop or leave. Skate World management said a family had complained the cou ple was kissing, she said. Skate World Assistant Manager An gus Laird said Skate World is a “G-rat ed” establishment, and doesn’t allow anyone to kiss in the building. The incident had “absolutely nothing to do with any bias — it’s a rule.” he said. . “Otherwise we’d get kids cuddled up in the corner making out,” he added. But Martin noted that the company policy wasn’t posted in a noticeable lo cation. She said she doesn’t think Skate World has a discriminatory policy, but that doesn’t eliminate the possibility that the complaint could have been in stigated by bias. “I’ve been verbally harassed at Gate way Mall in the past. It’s more than like ly that it was an instance of bias, whether it was management, an em Turn to LGBTQA, page 6A Cold, Cruel World Jonathan House Emerald A lone snowperson stands outside Knight Library on a frigid Sunday afternoon. Although perhaps not the most resplendent sculpture that has graced the University’s campus, it represents the quarter-inch of snow the National Weather Service recorded in Eugene on Saturday night. The forecast for this week indicates an increase in temperatures for the southern Willamette Valley, with Eugene seeing highs in the mid-40s with some light rain. Local bars watch for minors, fake IDs ■ ‘Minor decoys’ are frequenting bars and liquor stores to ensure that the drinking-age is enforced By Brook Reinhard Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Liquor Control Commis sion is stepping up efforts to keep alco hol away from minors this year, and University-area bars and liquor stores are ready for the increased scrutiny. “We’re trying to make places mind ful of what it takes to not sell to mi nors,” OLCC spokesman Ken Palke said. The commission, which regu lates alcohol sales in Oregon, offers training to liquor vendors across the state, and checks up on stores through the use of “minor decoys.” The agents are 18- to 20-year-olds who go to liquor stores and bars and at tempt to purchase alcohol. “They’ll pick up a bottle of wine or beer,” OLCC campus intervention spe cialist David Green said. If asked to show ED, they show real identification. Most stores and bars pass the test — 70 percent card the minor decoy and refuse to sell the liquor. That number jumps to 90 percent on subsequent visits, Green said. When Willamette Plaza Liquor Store was tested last year, “We passed with flying colors,” manager Ken Coldeen said. “I asked, ‘How old are you?’ He says ‘20.’ They can’t lie to you,”*he said. Coldeen estimated that 30 percent of the store’s customers are students, and said that local studies have indicated that 10 percent of students visiting stores in the Eugene area are underage. “I don’t think (underage) students are old enough to make decisions around alcohol,” Coldeen said. “When I was young, I thought I was 10 feet tall and bulletproof.” Palke said OLCC is focusing on un derage drinking because alcohol is the Turn to OLCC, page 4A PFC reviews largest proposals of year, sets $1.9 million in budgets ■ Hearings were held for the Student Recreation Center, the Oregon Daily Emerald and the Women’s Center „ By Kara Cogswell Oregon Daily Emerald During the third week of budget hearings, the ASUO Programs Fi nance Committee set budgets for some of the largest programs to go be fore the committee this year, includ ing the Student Recreation Center and the University Career Center. Final 2002-03 budgets for eight groups with hearings last week to taled more than $100,000. PFC increased the Recreational Sports budget by 28.07 percent on Jan. 22 — setting it at $136,670 for 2002-03. PFC Chairwoman Mary Elizabeth Madden said the group received a large increase because some line items that had previous ly been in the SRC budget were moved to the Recreational Sports budget. Recreational Sports is also adding an assistant director posi tion, she said. On Jan. 24, PFC decided budgets for six programs, including the ASUO Women’s Center, Sexual Assault Support Services, the Stu dent Insurgent and the Oregon Daily Emerald. PFC increased the Women’s Cen ter budget, from $120,128 this year to $125,435 for 2002-03. Women’s Center staff requested increases in part to fund a new sexual assault prevention program. PFC increased the SASS budget from $47,767 to $52,758, a 10.45 per cent increase. ASUO Vice President Joy Nair said the amount of funding the service receives from PFC is small in comparison to the number of stu dents it serves, she said. “Sixty-nine percent of (services provided by SASS) are going to UO students and faculty, but we only pay for about 10.9 percent of their budget,” she said. Controversy held up the Insur gent’s 2001 budget hearing, but with in 25 minutes, PFC members voted unanimously to increase the publi cation’s budget by 8.62 percent to cover rising printing costs. PFC also increased funding for the Emerald by more than 10 per cent to $132,870, restoring the paper to the level of funding granted by PFC every year from 1997 to 2000. Last year, PFC cut the Emerald’s funding based partly on the assump tion the paper could make up the loss in fees with advertising rev enue, Student Sen. Eric Bailey said. After hearing about the Emerald’s loss in advertising revenue this year. PFC member Joe Streckert said the committee should increase the pa per's budget. “Perhaps we should end the quote-unquote ‘experiment’ done Turn to PFC, page 4A