http://www.dailyemerald.com
Friday, February 14,2003
Since 1900
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Volume 104, Issue 99
Long lost love
photo courtesy Marge Vinton, photo illustration Emerald
Steve Hesse, a Vietnam veteran, and Marge Vinton, a UO employee, reunited after more than 35 years apart
Love’s second chance
UO employee Mange Vinton
reunites with her long lost love, a
Vietnam veteran whom she met
through letter correspondence
Jennifer Bear
Campus/Federal Politics Reporter
For many people, Valentine’s Day sig
nifies nothing more than a commercial
ized attempt to push people into buy
ing cards, candy, flowers and jewelry.
It’s more about spending money than
honoring love, and the sullied senti
mental significance of the holiday has
left many people asking the question:
Where has all the romance gone?
For Marge Vinton, student records spe
cialist in the Office of the Registrar, the an
swer is Connecticut. Steve Hesse, the
man she fell in love with more than 35
years ago has unexpectedly come back
into her life — and today, they are cele
brating their first Valentine’s Day together.
“Even though all that time has
passed, it’s like we never missed a beat,”
Vinton said.
The beginning of Vinton and
Hesse’s love story goes all the way
back to the tumultuous 1960s, when
Vinton was 19 years old and decided
on a whim to join the ranks of other
American girls across the country and
write to a soldier in Vietnam.
Hesse was in the U.S. Air Force, sta
tioned at Ton Son Nhut Air Base, just
outside of Saigon. He was working in
the mailroom and handled incoming
mail and goods sent to soldiers in that
part of Vietnam. When the mailroom
was flooded with letters addressed to
“any soldier” from girls back in the
United States, he chose Vinton’s letter
for himself.
“I remember receiving her picture one
day and wondering why such a beautiful
young woman was taking the time from
her life to write to me,” Hesse said.
Vinton and Hesse grew closer
through their long correspondence, and
they wrote to each other every day that
he was away. Even though they had
never met in person, Vinton and Hesse
fell deeply in love.
“I was attracted to her because her
letters were very sensitive and caring,”
Hesse said. “She had a way of inspiring
me and placing me on a pedestal. ”
After returning from the war, Hesse
stole what little time he could to stay with
Vinton, who then lived in California. But
soon, he had to return home to Connecti
cut and see his family before reporting to
his next assignment in Delaware.
Vinton and Hesse wrote to each other
for a little while after he left her in Califor
nia, but life got in the way for both of
them, and after a few years their stream
of letters slowed to a trickle.
Vinton never forgot Hesse, and after
many years she was able to find him
through phone calls and the help of the
Internet. But she was afraid to reach out
—her fear was that Hesse had moved on
with his life.
In fact, Hesse was married and had
two sons. However, his 27-year
Turn to Love, page 5
PFC recalls
two groups
for budgets
The Oregon Daily Emerald and Career Center
will have hearings on Monday; PFC approved
the budgets of four recalled groups Thursday
Brook Reinhard
News Editor
The ASUO Programs Finance Committee recalled two stu
dent groups’ budgets at its Thursday meeting. The PFC will hear
the Oregon Daily Emerald’s and Career Center’s budgets at 5
p.m. Monday. However, PFC did not vote to discuss recalls be
fore it began discussing and voting on them.
“I just realized we didn’t vote to bring up recalls yet,” PFC
chairwoman Kate Shull said while the committee discussed the
process after the votes. Members discussed the recall decision
in detail because PFC had not previously formulated any guide
lines in its bylaws that dictated how recalls could take place.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, the committee heard recalls for
Turn to PFC, page 6
Wyden pushes
use of Title IX
as guideline
Title IX prohibits gender-based discrimination; Wyden
pushes its use as a guide for hiring and scholarships
Andrew Black
Environment/Science/Technology
College science and college sports have a lot in common:
They are number games, require good chemistry and can be
broken down into averages, rates and percentages.
But while more than 110,000 women compete in inter
collegiate sports, some lawmakers feel women aren’t getting
equal playing time in science classrooms and laboratories
across the nation.
This week, University computer and information science
Professor Jan Cuny met with staff members of U.S. Sen. Ron
Wyden, D-Ore., to discuss how to give women who are pursu
ing careers in science the same opportunities as those who
play sports.
According to a letter signed by Cuny and more than 200 of
the nation’s top science, math and engineering educators,
women are “grossly underrepresented” in the fields of math,
science and engineering. Specifically, the letter said, women
make up only 23 percent of physical scientists and 10 percent
Turn to Title IX, page 10
Center supports medical marijuana use
The Compassion Center offers
cultivation classes, confidential
consultations to patients
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
Nearly four years after the implemen
tation of the Oregon Medical Marijuana
Act, there are still few support services for
OMMA patients in Eugene.
But the Compassion Center, a nonprof
it corporation that opened in Eugene two
years ago, is striving to create a “model
organization” for the support of medical
marijuana users that the rest of the state
could follow.
The center offers many services to its
members, including classes on cultiva
tion of the plant, confidential consulta
tion and assistance for patients register
ing with Oregon Health Services. An
“introduction” night that provides a ba
sic understanding of the OMMA takes
place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. the first
Thursday of every month.
Teaching patients how to grow marijua
na is especially important, because while
Oregon allows possession and use of the
drug for medical marijuana card-holders,
it’s still a crime to buy the substance.
The clinic, located at 1055 Bertelsen
Road in Eugene, opened in December
2000. It is funded by donations, clinic rev
enue and membership dues. The center is
also applying for non-profit status with
the IRS, which will allow people to make
tax-exempt donations.
Compassion Center President Todd
Dalotto, who co-founded the organiza
tion, said he’s pleased with the progress
of the center during the last two years.
Turn to Marijuana, page 5
Steve McCauley for the Emerald
Corrine (who would not give her last name) is the receptionist at the
Compassion Center, which opened in Eugene two years ago.
Weather
Today: High 52, Low 35,
morning drizzle, light rain
Saturday: High 52, Low 42,
rain at times, light winds
Looking ahead
Monday
The movement to slow athletic
growth is well under way —
and it all started at the University
Tuesday
NYU Professor Judith Helfand
brings to campus "Blue Vinyl," a
toxic comedy for the whole family