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Fishing fest/Page 6
Monday, February 10,2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 104, Issue 95
Sex, drug allegations taint recruitment
A17-year-old high school recruit
tells his local newspaper that he
was offered alcohol, sex and
drugs during his visit to campus
Brad Schmidt
News Editor
After discussion surfaced two weeks
ago about the recruitment of convicted
felon Rodney Woods, University offi
cials deemed the Athletic Department’s
actions acceptable. Despite the bad
press, the University was able to turn
the other cheek.
On Thursday, the Athletic Department
was slapped by accusations of sex, drugs
and alcohol — 17-year-old high school
tailback Lynell Hamilton, a devout Chris
tian, told a California paper that all were
offered to him during an official recruit
ing trip in 2002.
Now, just days after unveiling its sign
ing class of 2003, the Athletic Depart
ment has no more cheeks to offer, and it
is left standing with two black eyes.
Head coach Mike Bellotti and Athletic
Director Bill Moos answered questions
Friday about the University’s recruit
ment of student-athletes, but because of
student privacy laws and NCAA regula
tions, neither would specifically com
ment on Hamilton’s recruitment.
“Some of what has recently been said
in the media is wrong and inaccurate, but
unfortunately we cannot discuss
specifics because of NCAA rules and pri
vacy conditions,” Moos said.
Bellotti agreed.
“Even though the allegations in ques
tion fly and come at me, I really cannot
do anything other than say we run our
program in a first-class manner,” he said.
Hamilton, ranked the nation’s No. 7
running back by Rivals.com, was recruit
ed by Oregon, Colorado, Alabama A&M,
Michigan and San Diego State. He signed
with the latter Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Stockton, Calif.,
newspaper The Record published a sto
ry indicating that Hamilton wanted to
attend the University but was talked
out of it.
“Oregon was my No. 1 choice,” Hamil
ton told The Record. “But they blew it for
both of us.”
According to the report, former Duck
tailback Onterrio Smith served as
Hamilton’s “host” for a weekend recruit
ing trip in October. Hamilton told the
paper that over the course of the week
end, he went to a party where alcohol
Turn to Recruit, page 5
Adam Amato Emerald
Head football coach Mike Bellotti and Athletic Director Bill Moos
address the media Friday afternoon in the Casanova Center.
Skater standards
Skateboarding can be
dangerous and cause
property damage,
according to DPS officials
Caron Alarab
Crime/Safety/Transportation Reporter
To those who love it, skateboard
ing is’a pastime, a spectator sport, a
daily commute and a passion.
“Like boarders to snow,” sopho
more Evan Goulette said, “any
where that is pavement is game.”
But to University officials and the
Department of Public Safety, the
performance and recreation art can
be more like a potential safety haz
ard and a nuisance when it comes
to skating on a crowded campus.
And while it’s hard to let go of the
stereotypical relationship between
boarders and administrators, most
skaters are understanding of com
munity concerns.
“We’re trying to get (skaters) to
cooperate instead of resorting to
enforcement,” DPS Associate Di
rector Tom Hicks said.
According to the Oregon Admin
istrative Rules provided by DPS,
there are several finable violations
related to skateboarding and on
campus “stunting.” Failure to yield
to a pedestrian is a $25 fine, failure
to dismount and walk — including
along the EMU breezeway — war
rants a #10 fine and skating in a
building or structure is a $25 fine.
Acrobatic, or “stunt,” skating guar
antees the largest fine on campus—
$30. Hicks said the majority of
skaters are not fined, but he added
that difficult cases could result in a
confiscated board held at a $ 10 bail.
“I didn’t even know DPS cared,”
sophomore L.J. Groth said.
Groth skates to class any day it’s
not wet and tries to visit local
skate parks up to five days a week.
For safety reasons, DPS officers
advise students to wear helmets,
pads and reflective clothing when
skateboarding, but Groth and
Goulette said the majority don’t
wear any gear.
“I’ll wear a helmet when I’m at a
park,” Goulette added. “That’s
saved me before.”
Keeping wheels in good shape
and bearings free of grit are also
important to safety, yet some feel
it isn’t just equipment but conduct
that’s important.
“Our objective is to be safe as well
as welcome alternative forms of
transportation,” Vice President of
Student Affairs and Dean of Stu
dents Anne Leavitt said. “We have a
very densely populated campus at
this point, and we are oriented to
ward safety on campus for pedestri
ans, bikers, drivers and skaters.”
Goulette and Groth agreed that
skating on campus during the fi
nal 10 minutes of the hour —
when most students are bustling
to class — isn’t the best idea.
“If there are ungodly amounts of
people, I’ll sit down for a second un
til things clear up,” Goulette said.
Hicks said a main concern is
the damage stunt skating causes
on campus, namely the stripped
concrete edges in the EMU Am
phitheater and the roughened
Mark McCambridge Emerald
Kyle Hand, a high school student from Eugene, glides down the walkway
adjacent to the Fishbowl amphitheater outside the EMU.
brick wall edges leading up to the
Knight Law School.
“We’ve seen some serious ac
cidents with bicyclists,” he said,
“but skateboarders are causing
property damage.”
Turn to Skateboarding, page 6
Council
will vote
on pot fine
increase
Eugene City Council
members vote tonight
on whether to increase fines
for marijuana possession
Jan Montry
City/State Politics Reporter
For pot puffers getting busted this
year, the current $100 fine may go up
in smoke.
The Eugene City Council will vote
tonight on an ordinance to increase the
fine for less-than-an-ounce of marijuana
from $100 to $250 — a controversial pro
posal that sent ripples through the pot
smoking community and provoked
heavy criticism at the City Council’s pub
lic forum last month.
Supporters of the proposal hope the in
crease will provide an incentive for mari
juana offenders to join a new, low-cost di
version program called “Marijuana and
Other Drugs,” run by the University’s
Substance Abuse Prevention Program.
Court officials have said the program will
cost $90 and will be open to all offenders.
Without the increase, there would only
be a $10 difference between the new di
version program and the fine, prompting
city leaders to speculate most offenders
would choose the fine.
Ward 3 City Councilor David Kelly,
who represents the University area, said
students with a drug conviction could
Turn to Pot line, page 4
Weather
Today: High 52, Low 28, morning fog, mostly cloudy
Tuesday: High 52, Low 27, morning clouds, then sun
Looking ahead
Tuesday
The City Council votes
on whether to increase
fines for marijuana
Paper waste decreases in computer labs
The 5-cent-per-page printing
charge is one reason computer
labs have seen fewer users
Andrew Black
Environment/Science/Technology
Patrons of the EMU Microcomputing
Lab used 1.3 million sheets of paper in
the 2001-02 school year — enough to
cover 19 acres of farmland.
EMU lab attendant Amery Neuen
schwander said he thinks that nearly half
of that paper, which weighed more than
seven tons, wound up in overflowing re
cycling bins. And even with all that extra
paper laying around, Neuenschwander
didn’t doodle, make paper airplanes or
practice his origami; he was too busy
turning the wasted paper into waiting
lists for the hordes of students lined up to
use the computers.
But now, long lines are shorter and lab
recycling bins are nearly empty. EMU lab
coordinator Amy McCoy said paper use
in the EMU computer lab is down 28 per
cent — with 14,024 fewer users during
fall 2002 than an average term last school
year. The substantial reduction, McCoy
said, was a direct result of a controversial
Turn to Labs, page 10