‘ Skate park
continued from page 1
covered area surrounding the park.
Noble, 37, of Florence, known to many
locals as “Death,” said he’s not sure where
his sinister nickname originated.
“I mean, (my name) sounds like
‘death,’ but with a ‘g,’ so it’s all just a
misunderstanding I guess,” he said,
chuckling.
As co-owner of Airspeed L.L.G., a
skate park design and construction com
pany he started with his girlfriend less
than three years ago, Noble said he
comes to Eugene once or twice a week
to skate with the locals.
Noble said the city of Eugene contact
ed Airspeed about five months ago,
armed with less than $140,000 to build a
park. In designing it, he said he included
an additional area for younger skaters,
creating a park that “doesn’t stifle, but al
lows skills to grow.”
He said he also connected all the
“speed lines,” the paths bikers and
skaters can take to gain speed, to the “air
hits,” jump off points where more deter
mined individuals can “blast an air” so
skaters and bikers can roll along what he
calls “lines of maximum velocity.”
The park is surrounded by construe
tion in progress, but the dust and debris
are only minor setbaeks for those who
use it most often. The truest of skate park
lovers grin and bear it while forced to do
tricks and flips to a background of bel
lowing dust clouds.
Sophomore Jon Gagnon has been
BMX biking for 12 years and said he sees
more than 50 people at the park at any
given time, with a large majority being
skateboarders and about 75 percent be
ing elementary school children.
“It’s pretty good around here ’til about
2:30 when the younger kids get out,”
Gagnon said. “Death did a good job in
making it very different.”
Senior Chris Bredeson, who has been
skateboarding for 16 years, said he likes
Bethel because the design is functional.
“Everything works together,” he said as
he watched Noble perform a trick to the
hoots and cheers of other skateboarders.
Noble said he thinks it’s a “bag” how
the rainy season keeps skaters and bik
ers from enjoying local parks, pointing
out that youth activism could inspire the
outdoor skatepark covers needed to pre
vent acidic rain from tearing away at the
concrete surfaces.
“The city listens to what kids say,”
he said.
Caron Alarab is a freelance reporter for the
Emerald.
Internet
continued from page 1
plaints are less than cordial.
Meyers said he was irritated by
the incident, but added it could do
some good: If students change
their computing habits, the net
work’s speed could likely increase.
Some students in Carson did
think the notices were authentic,
despite the spelling and grammati
cal errors within the letter.
“I know a few people that turned
it off for a couple of days,” Universi
ty freshman Erik Sogn said.
University senior Chris Brun
ner said he hopes students using
programs like Kazaa will adjust
their settings to reduce band
width usage. By adjusting settings,
students can still use the same
programs without creating such
dramatic slowdowns.
Network clogging has been an
ongoing problem in the residence
halls, and Meyers said the adminis
tration has been evaluating hard
ware called Packeteer, which prior
itizes all Internet usage and makes
file sharing a low priority.
“I’m inclined to believe it will
Adam Amato Emerald
Roommates Ethan Walsh, a sophomore sociology major (right), and Tim
Robinson, an undeclared sophomore (left), live in Carson. "I'm all for pirating
software," Walsh said.
fix the problem,” Meyers said.
“But at that (high) price, we want
to be sure.”
Students who want more infor
mation on how to reduce band
width usage can contact ResNet
at 346-4223.
Contact the reporter
atjodyburruss@daiIyemerald.com.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
o
An Open Letter to all University of Oregon Students
Possible Tuition Surcharge
In its Fifth Special Session, the Oregon Legislature, in an attempt to balance the state budget,
referred an income tax surcharge to the voters. Measure 28, which would raise approximately
$313 million in this biennium, will be on the ballot in a special election on January 28, 2003.
As a backup in the event this revenue measure is rejected, the legislature also passed a set of
provisional budget reductions totaling $313 million. Higher education’s share of this reduction
would be $26.9 million, and the University of Ofegon’s share of that would be about $6 5
million.
UO’s Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley and Vice President for Student Affairs
Anne Leavitt met with student leaders on September 27, 2002 to discuss this possible budget
cut, its consequences and solutions. This meeting was the subject of a full report in the Oregon
Daily Emeralcf on September 30, on page 1. Given the size of the possible reduction and the fact
that it would have to be taken in the last three to six months of the biennium, this cut would
reduce general funds available for this time period by either 15% (winter and spring terms) or
30% (spring term only). Since the university spends most of its general fund budget on direct
instruction and related activities, it will not be possible to take these cuts without significant
reductions in classes and programs which UO students need for their educational objectives.
While neither students nor the UO administration wish to see further tuition increases this year,
the group agreed that a tuition surcharge was much more desirable than the course and program
cuts that would be required if the full reduction had to be made. Indeed, such a surcharge
would be significantly less expensive for many students than reducing class availability and
forcing students to stay in school one more term to complete the requirements for graduation.
Possible tuition surcharge plans were discussed with students, which would raise up to $4
million of the $6.5 million potential cut. The University has committed that these funds would
be used first to protect courses and programs, and second to protect other student services and
instructional support.
In the interests of simplicity and a fair distribution of these cuts, students recommended that a
fixed dollar amount per credit hour be imposed on all credits. It was also recommended that all
current discounts remain in place, including the discount for afternoon courses. A surcharge of
$10 per credit hour assessed both winter and spring terms would raise the required $4 million
The University also committed to supply up to $500,000 in additional financial aid to assist the
students most in need, and to honor the commitment of all “full tuition” scholarships by
providing sufficient additional funds to cover full tuition, where necessary. Students
recommended that the surcharge not be collected unless it becomes necessary due to the failure
of Measure 28, and the failure of the legislature to act quickly to find other sources of revenue to
cover this shortfall if the measure does fail. The university agreed to have the surcharge payable
only if necessary, and not before March 1, 2003 for winter term, and May 1, 2003 for spring
Bills mailed to students in mid-December, which include billing for winter term, will include
an updated version of the information here, together with an estimate of the specific potential
effect on the student’s bill and information on additional financial aid. Except for financial aid,
a student can easily estimate the effect of this surcharge by simply multiplying the number of
credit hours planned by $10 per credit hour.
We are all hopeful that this surcharge does not have to be imposed. If Measure 28 passes on
January 28 ’, the surcharge will be dropped, and all university activities will continue to be
funded as currently budgeted. In any case, students can rest assured that the University of
Oregon is fully committed to continue to provide both the number and quality of courses and
programs that our students need and expect. Even if the surcharge is imposed, we are confident
that UO will continue to be, as it has been designated by the Fisk Guide to Higher Education for
the past five years, a “best buy” in higher education, in terms of quality and value for the price.
Sincerely,
Senior Vice President and Provost
OFFICE OF THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND PROVOST
1098 E. 13th Avenue, Eugene OR 97403-1242 T (541) 346-3186 F (541) 346-2023
An equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act
Reaction
continued from page 1
“If there is action to be taken, it
should be done under U.N. direc
tives,” he said.
Nail said the mainstream media is
overlooking opposition to the war.
“Although 100,000 people
turned out in San Francisco and
140,000 turned out in Washington,
D.G., the press coverage was negli
gible,” he said.
Junior anthropology major Kelly
Shaw said that Iraq should not be
held to a different standard than
other countries.
“If we’re going to force any
country to disarm itself, we should
disarm as well,” he said.
Hannah Skelton, a freshman
physics major, said she comes from
a military family. Her father served
in the Air Force during the Vietnam
War. Her brother will graduate from
the Citadel and will go into the Ma
rine Corps this year. Skelton herself
is an Army ROTC cadet bound for
West Point next year.
When asked about the possibility
of her brother seeing combat in
Iraq, Skelton said that it’s all part of
the job.
“You go into that knowing that
the possibility is there,” she said.
Skelton said she believes the
United States has an obligation to
prevent Iraq from harming others.
“Whatever Saddam Hussein is
doing in Iraq, if it is going to be
dangerous for the world, then we
should take care of the situation,”
she said. “We have to do what
needs to be done.”
Contact the senior news reporter
SPAGHETTI
A garlic bread
>3“
Every Tuesday
PIZZA
PETE’S
2506 Willakenzie 344-0998
noc/c p/370
2673 Willamette 484-0996
27th and Willamette