Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 2, 2002)
Wednesday, October 2,2002 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 104, Issue 24 Oregon icon Len Casanova dies at age 97 Former football coach and Athletic Director Len Casanova left a rich legacy at the University^ sports department Peter Hockaday Sports Editor Len Casanova, one of the most successful coaches in Oregon football history and a beloved icon in Eugene, died late Monday night at a local nursing home. He was 97. Casanova was the Ducks’ football coach from 1951-66, and he stepped down as the winningest coach in Oregon history. The next year, Casano va became the second athletic director for the Ducks and served until 1970, when he retired but continued to be active in the Oregon sports community until his death. “He brought respect, dignity and integrity to Oregon athletics,” Athletic Director Bill Moos said. Casanova was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1977, and received the highest honor of the American Football Coaches Association, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, in 1990. In 1991, the Oregon Athletic Department honored the former coach and athletic director by naming its brand new office and training fa cility after him. The facility stands today as a landmark for Oregon sports. “I think of Cas every day as I drive in here,” Moos said from his office in the Casanova Cen ter on Tuesday. “I look at his picture every day before I go up the stairs; it’s just a ritual. I’m glad that we built the tribute that we did in the entryway, so that people can read and learn about this great man and what he did for the University of Oregon.” Casanova started his head coaching career at his alma mater, Santa Clara, where he coached for four seasons before moving on to Pittsburgh for one season. In 1951, he took over a 1-9 Ore gon squad and slowly turned the team around, producing a 6-4 record in 1954 for the Ducks’ first winning season in six years. Casanova went to his first of three bowl games in 1957. In that game, Oregon nearly upset No. 1-ranked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, the last time the Ducks would play in the Rose Bowl until 1994. Casanova finished his Oregon career with an 82-73-8 record, and finished his overall head Turn to Casanova, page 6 RIOT restitution The city of Eugene says the University is partly responsible for the weekend damage and should help pay the costs Brad Schmidt City/State Politics Reporter Eugene city officials called on the University on Tuesday to shoulder some of the responsibil ity for the weekend’s riot and said a “Party Pa trol” could be reinstated to prevent future riots. Making his first public statement since the in cident, City Manager Jim Carlson said the Uni versity — and not just its students — are re sponsible for last week’s riot that cost the Eugene Police Department upwards of #20,000. “This activity happened because of the Uni versity of Oregon,” Carlson said. “They were getting ready to start classes again. There is a relationship between this activity and the Uni versity, and we need to work with them to make sure they help us in preventing this in the future.” Vice President and Dean of Students Anne Leavittrefused to blame the University for the actions of students off campus. “Certainly the University would not take any responsibility at all for (the riot) occur ring,” she said. To prevent future riots from occurring, how ever, Leavitt said the University and city need to establish a partnership. Will Shaver for the Emerald The University says it is n't to blame for riot-related costs, like the cleanup of a charred golf cart carcass (above). City officials hope the University supports them so future riots can be prevented. “I believe the administration of the Univer sity understands the importance of being a good neighbor,” Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey said. “At this point, we haven’t received any funds. We haven’t received any commitment of funds. But I can assure you, they are going to be working very strenuously to see how we can spread the cost of these activities.” Historically, the University hasn’t accepted responsibility for riots in the past. But city of ficials remain optimistic. “We intend to press for this,” Torrey said. Turn to Riot page 8 Summer blazes heat up new initiative The severity of recent fires draws attention to future forest health and the development of a controversial initiative. Jody Burruss Environment/Science/ Technology Reporter A combination of unfavorable weather condi tions and forest management practices boosted the 2002 fire season to nearly double the 10 year average, burning more than 1 million Ore gon acres and costing more than $318 million, a spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Co ordination Center David Widmark said. Because of the seriousness of this fire season, President George W. Bush visited Oregon in Au gust and announced the Healthy Forests Initia tive, something he says is designed to restore the health of our forests. Under this initiative, federal agencies will work with Con gress to create and enact legis lation directed at preventing extreme fire Bureau of Land Man a g e m e n t spokesman Doug Hunting ton said that short- and long term weather patterns played a key role in creating the right weather conditions for a severe fire season. It started with an extended period of below-normal precipi tation and above-average tem peratures, he said. Then a potent storm front in July ignited several fires in remote areas, making the initial response very difficult. Hundreds of fires were ignited by one light ning storm and many merged together to be come huge blazes, Huntington said. This was followed by six weeks of no rain in western Ore gon, accompanied by easterly winds. The warm, dry air helped the fires to spread. Because fire season started early in the year, many Oregon firefighters were already in other Turn to Fire, page 8 Tuition rates are higher in Oregon OUS schools are graded V for affordability by a leading national education group Brook Reinhard News Editor Public universities in Oregon are less affordable than schools in almost every other state, a leading education group an nounced Tuesday. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education released a 200-page report evaluating college systems in all 50 states. The group rated states “A” through “F” in five different categories — Oregon received an “F” for affordability, but posted improved results in other areas compared with its scores two years ago. The failing grade means Oregon Univer sity System schools are some of the most expensive in the nation when compared to the income of an average Oregonian. The news comes at a time when the University of Oregon instituted a variable rate struc ture, with tuition for the 2002-03 school year rising an average 3 percent but as high as 9 percent for some students. Nancy Goldschmidt, associate vice chancellor for performance and planning for OUS, said education funding should be a priority to improve future scores. “We need to be earning higher grades Turn to OUS, page 7 Weather Today: High 65, Low 43, fog turning to clouds Thursday: High 60, Low 45, light rain developing Looking ahead Thursday Missing, lost or stolen: Theft trends on campus Friday To the net for another Civil War — volleyball-style
