Newsroom: (541) 346-5511
Suite 300, Erb Memorial Union
P.O. Box 3159, Eugene, OR 97403
Email: editor@dailyemerald.com
Online Edition:
www.dailyemerald.com
Tuesday, October 15,2002
-Oregon Daily Emerald
Commentary
Editor in Chief:
Michael J. Kleckner
Managing Editor
Jessica Richelderfer
Editorial Editors:
Salena De La Cruz, Pat Payne
Editorial
ASUO should defer
to spirit of state law,
open election results
to media scrutiny
We’re using this space to try to convince ASUO and
the campus community that it benefits them to allow
the press to observe while they determine election re
sults. Allowing media oversight helps prove our gov
ernment officials aren’t hiding anything. In February’s
ASUO primary election, the press was barred from the
room during the printing of results. One might ask,
did barring the media make any difference in the out
come of the election? The answer is, how would we
know if we weren’t there to find out?
We could take into consideration the legalities of
being barred from overseeing the results of the elec
tions. For example, we could argue that the Oregon
Public Meetings Law and the First Amendment justi
fy our right to watch the process. And the ASUO
could, as they did last year, argue that, technically,
the law doesn’t exactly apply to them in every detail.
Regardless of semantics, the ASUO cloaked the results
gathering process in secrecy. The results could easily
have been altered or mistakes made when, to quote the
ASUO Elections Board, “the e-board looked over a print
out of results... typed them up and posted them.”
But we don’t intend to argue legalities. We’re not, as
of yet, intending to file a grievance with the ASUO
Constitution Court. However, new elections are pend
ing, and a new ASUO Executive is in office, with a
new elections board. Our job is to inform the commu
nity as soon as results are available, and we are now
wondering if we will be allowed to oversee the pro
cessing of election results.
Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy,
and the elections process at all levels has been under
increasing scrutiny since the 2000 presidential elec
tion. In the March ASUO election, only 10.5 percent
of the student body voted.
One way to increase participation is to increase
credibility. By letting the press observe the gathering
of results, student voters may be less likely to believe
the ASUO has something to hide. The ASUO is under
the same scrutiny as any other governing body, and
with that we’d hope they would want to freely provide
information and allow oversight.
Please, ASUO, don’t repeat last year’s mistake. We
take our First Amendment rights seriously, and stu
dents have a right to be informed.
To form a more perfect union
Meghann
Farnsworth
Just think about it
If you haven't already picked up on it,
there is a growing divide between the
“townies,” those who live in Eugene,
and the “gownies,” the students. Yes,
there is a problem with the relationship
between those of us who attend class
everyday, flitting about the University
campus as if this was the only place in
Eugene to go, and the general public
who — gasp! — actually live and work
here. Eugeneans at large are extremely
supportive of our student athletes.
During football games, for example,
Duck gear graces the heads, hoods,
bumpers, windows,
doors, chests and
faces of many Euge
neans. They show
up in record num
bers, walking, bik
ing and driving to
Autzen Stadium to
cheer on the Ducks.
We entertain them.
We take away some
of the monotony
that drowns out
their otherwise bor
ing days. Without the University, Eu
gene would be just another Springfield.
While this show of support (and the
influx of money) to our sports pro
grams is wonderful, and certainly well
deserved for our athletes, Eugeneans
turn a blind eye when it comes to the
rest of us — the students who do not
provide an opportunity for tailgaters
and drunken afterparties.
While I deny nothing to University
athletes, Eugeneans write the rest of us
off. OK, I know the fabulous paper I
wrote in an English class cannot com
pare in interest to a 50-yard touch
down pass. However, students do far
more for this community than we are
given credit for.
As reported by the Emerald on Oct. 8,
the EPD “party patrol” handed out more
than 120 citations on Friday and Satur
day. Of the recipients, 90 percent iden
tified themselves as University students.
Wow. Special police officers went out
and found college students drinking.
What a phenomenon!
To quote the old saying: “Look and
ye shall find.” Undeniably, parties can
become a problem, but party patrols
are a ridiculous infringement on col
lege students’ ability to function out
: puHWN^I
Steve Baggs Emerald
side the campus. Here’s a wake up call
to everyone: This is a college town!
Does EPD send out extra police pa
trols to make sure the tailgaters stay un
der control? Of course not. But let’s look
further. According to the National Cen
ter for Public Policy and Education’s
2002 independent report, Oregon’s
higher education went from a D- in 2000
to a giant F. The report states that only
25 percent of 18- to 24 -year-olds are
able to go to college, compared with the
41 percent national average.
According to OSPIRG’s Web site, stu
dents graduate with more than 019,000
in debt, and low-income students work
more than 35 hours per week. Making
college an affordable endeavor is simply
not high on Oregon’s list of priories.
Remember Measure 5? I don’t, be
cause I was still in California at the time,
but any Oregonian on campus will. Vot
ed into law in November 1990, Measure
5 reduced property taxes over several
years. Oregon does not have a sales tax,
and anyone with a head on his or her
shoulders should realize that the burden
of funding state schools will come from
somewhere else. And it gets better.
Oregonians passed Measure 47 into
law in November 1996, which further
limited property taxes. In a 1996
speech before Measure 47 was passed,
President Frohnmayer gave a jarring
statistic: “During the past six years,
Oregon slashed public support for
higher education more than any other
state in the Union.”
Just think about it. Oregon, the pro
gressive, liberal and open-minded state
is worse than, say, Texas, Utah and
Nevada. Since our football team is fund
ed largely on private donations (how
convenient), they can plaster Joey Har
rington’s picture all over the country.
Yet, regular students graduate with
heavy debt — or do not to go to college
at all. To simply support an athletic side
of the University is denying the majori
ty of students the credit they’re due.
With the impending 10 percent increase
on every academic credit winter term,
“townies” and “gownies” need to put
their differences aside for the better
ment of higher education.
Contact the columnist
atmeghannfamsworth@dailyemerald.com.
Her views do not necessarily represent those
of the Emerald.
But there never seems to be enough space
Guest Commentary
Last year, the ODE stated there were
1,500 parking spaces for students. Be
ing a driver, I wondered where those
spaces were because I didn't see them
when I was looking for a place to park.
During the winter break of 2001,
with the parking map, I went out to
count these supposed parking spaces.
Including parking not on the map, and
spaces at Autzen Stadium, there are
1,664 total student spaces. Keep in
mind there will be at least five times
this many parking permits sold — not
very good odds — and all student
parking is shared with faculty and
staff. But faculty/staff lots are not ac
cessible to students. Not to worry, it
gets worse.
Upon closer inspection, let me point
out some details in order to get a bet
ter feel for the parking situation. There
are more than 100 spaces for disabled,
• reserved, service vehicle and some 24
fninute limitations.
Outside the residence halls on Co
lumbia Street and Moss Street (119
spaces), the spaces are used by the stu
dents living in the dorms. They’re not
supposed to occupy a space on a perma
nent basis or even a 24-hour period, but
rarely have I seen a vacant space.
There are a few student spaces
across the Eugene Mill Race. How
many students know that? Who do you
think uses these? Faculty and staff. At
a lot next to Looking Glass (41 spaces),
more than 50 percent are reserved.
Another lot is on East 15th Avenue,
next to the artificial turf field — don’t
blink or you’ll miss it. There are sup
posed to be eight student spaces, ac
cording to the parking map. There are
seven reserved and one disabled. Why
is this called student parking?
Parking on University Street com
petes with events at Mac Court. Events
take priority over students. Before an
event, meters are covered to prevent
parking a day or more before the event
and a day or more after an event, leav
ing the space empty and unused.
There are 87 student spaces along Uni
versity Street and for them, or a big
majority of them, to sit there unused
when they are desperately needed
doesn’t make sense.
Considering all this, spaces avail
able to students amount to about
1,092. Public Safety’s parking philoso
phy has been that students only occu
py a single space for a short time, then
vacate, allowing someone else to use
the space. Their philosophy doesn’t
work when there are five times
the permits sold compared to the
spaces available.
I live out of town and use a space from
four to 12 hours per day. How many of
those 1,092 spaces, do you think, will be
used by people needing to be on campus
all day or a large portion of the day?
Maybe in 1988, people weren’t interest
ed in a parking structure, but that was
14 years ago. I find it offensive that this
school can’t bear to live without a new
football stadium but is unable to find the
funds for something as fundamentally
basic as parking.
Susan Johnson is a senior sociology major.