Oregon daily emerald., August 21, 2002, Image 2

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PO. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
E-mail: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Wednesday, August 21,2002
Editor in chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing editor:
Jenni Schultz
State House overrides one veto, sustains other
As expected, representatives allow
$267 million to be shifted into the next
biennium but shoot down a $50 million
tobacco-revenue bonding measure
By Jan Montry
Oregon Daily Emerald
It appears that the state budget battle is
finally over — for now. But the budget cri
sis is likely to continue, as legislators re
main staunchly divided along party lines.
The Oregon House of Representatives
came together Tuesday to decide whether
to override Gov. John Kitzhaber’s vetoes of
House Bill 4056 and Senate Bill 1022, ef
fectively deciding the fate of Oregon
schools over the next budget cycle.
After short debate, House members vot
ed to sustain the HB 4056 veto and over
ride the SB 1022 veto.
House Democratic Leader Deborah
Kafoury of Portland said in a statement
that the victory was bittersweet and was
made with the intention of protecting
schools this year.
“I believe that the House made the right
decision today to sustain the governor’s
veto of (HB 4056), but I cannot call today’s
events a victory,” she said. “We cannot
consider ourselves successful as a legisla
ture or as a state until we commit to re
sponsible, long-term funding for our
schools.”
HB 4056 would have provided $50 mil
lion to schools by borrowing from future
tobacco tax revenue.
House Majority Leader Karen Minnis, R
Wood Village, said in a statement that she
was “outraged” over the sustainment of
HB 4056.
“I am very disappointed by the decision
my Democrat colleagues made today,” she
said. “Simply put, their action today
means $50 million less for public schools.”
Public schools will still benefit from the
$267 million stipulated in SB 1022. Rev
enue from this bill will be created by bor
rowing from the next budget cycle.
The final budget session came after three
special sessions of political wrangling be
tween new-revenue and anti-tax legislators.
For many Democrats, the final decision
was especially difficult because they had
Turn to Budget, page 7A
Princeton Review
hits UO with two
unfavorable ratings
University residence hails are ‘like dungeons’ and
GTFs teach ‘too many upper-level courses,’ according
to the “Best 345 Colleges” reviews released Tuesday
By Jillian Daley
Oregon Daily Emerald
The Princeton Review placed the University in the
“Best 345 Colleges” Tuesday, as well as ranking the
school in two other less-savory categories.
Admissions Director Martha Pitts said that the “Best
345” ranking may attract prospective students.
The University was ranked 15th in the country in the
category of “Dorms Like Dungeons.” For those who live
in the residence halls, this is not encouraging.
However, officials said that the ranking is unfair and
will soon be obsolete.
Housing Director Mike Eyster said that he is propos
ing a new building complete with residence halls and
classrooms, and that if his current proposal does not
go through, the University will build a regular resi
dence hall.
Eyster, who is also the assistant vice president for
student affairs, estimates that the construction on the
proposed residence halls will be complete by fall 2005.
Eyster added that there is more to housing than
appearances.
The University came in third in the country for the
category “Teaching Assistants Teach Too Many Upper
Level Courses.”
Director of Admissions Martha Pitts said that rankings
tend to raise people’s interest because they are compila
tions of original research on unusual topics; however, the
research is based on surveys.
“The number of Graduate Teaching Fellows teaching
at the University of Oregon is only 17 percent of courses
taught,” Pitts said. “I would take issue with (the Prince
ton Review’s) assertion.”
Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies
Richard Linton said that an examination of hard data
might be a better way of establishing a ranking. Linton
added that the University probably compares favorably
against its peer universities.
Turn to Princeton, page 8A
Inspection finds no improper construction in Autzen expansion
Eugene Fire Marshall MikeThrapp clears
Cosco Fire Protection of all allegations
of faulty sprinkler installation work
By Brad Schmidt
Oregon Daily Emerald
After conducting a one-day investigation,
the Eugene Fire Department announced last
week that it found “no merit” to allegations
of faulty sprinkler installation during the $90
million expansion of Autzen Stadium.
The investigation — which spawned
from an anonymous letter citing several
specific building code infractions — report
edly cost the city, University and stadium
contractors “thousands of dollars” and
about 100 man-hours, Eugene Fire Marshal
Mike Thrapp said.
“It wasted a lot of people’s time at a time
when we don’t have a lot of it,” Vice Presi
dent for Administration Dan Williams said.
In a prepared statement released Friday,
Thrapp characterized the letter and its author
as “almost criminal.”
“Writing this type of letter is irresponsible
and negligent,” Thrapp added.
Disproving the allegations and clearing
Cosco Fire Protection of any wrongdoing,
however, proved to be an important step in
ensuring that Autzen Stadium will open by
Aug. 31.
“I’m pleased but not surprised,” Williams
said of die findings.
City officials said they are also satisfied
with the results of the investigation.
“It went very quickly,” Eugene building of
ficial Stuart Ramsing said. “There was a lot
riding on it.”
Ramsing added that the investigation con
cluded so swiftly because “all the players
were committed to getting (it) resolved as
quickly as possible.”
On Aug. 15, a team of investigators con
ducted random inspections of nine areas
throughout the project and found no con
struction, fire or safety code violations.
Originally, Thrapp said the sampling
process could take more than a week.
“It took very little effort to confirm that
these weren’t missed items,” Ramsing said.
“They didn’t exist.”
The allegations — which included im
proper sprinkler pipe installation and inap
propriate craftsmanship — were first made
public Aug. 9 when an anonymous letter was
sent to city officials and local media.
Contact the sports editor
at bradschmidt@dailyemerld.com.
Adam Jones Emerald
Terence Whitehead breaks through the Oregon defense at the first scrimmage of the year, held Saturday at the newly renovated Autzen Stadium.
Fife as dram
Oregon receivers look for a rhythm as Jason Fife helps
to bring the team’s offense together by Aug. 31
SPORTS
By Brad Schmidt
Oregon Daily Emerald
Practice, they say, makes perfect.
But if Oregon’s first scrimmage was any indication of the
team’s ability, the Ducks still have some work to do.
The Ducks faced their first opponent of the season Saturday
—themselves—in a 90-minute scrimmage that most notably
revealed the offensive blemishes of a team trying to mesh.
“I don’t think that was a winning effort,” head coach Mike
Bellotti said. “If we’re going to be the team we want to be, I
think we have to improve. There’s a lot to learn from today.”
Oregon’s offense never looked comfortable Saturday.
Passes were dropped, snaps were mishandled and intercep
tions were thrown.
And while it was only the first scrimmage of the year, it was
clear the Ducks were missing the offensive rhythm that
helped them score more than 34 points per game last season.
“I thought the offense started very slowly, and I think that
was a combination of nervousness and inexperience,” Bel
lotti said. “We dropped too many passes offensively, and the
dropped passes weren’t the kind of the two- and three-yard
variety — they were major plays.”
Tight end George Wrighster, who led all receivers Satur
day with three catches, admitted that the team wasn’t as
sharp as it could have been.
“We didn’t make a lot of the plays that we should have
made,” Wrighster said. “A lot of balls hit us in the hands,
and we didn’t hold on.”
Turn to Scrimmage, page 8A