Wednesday, February 19,2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
.
Volume 104, Issue 102
Bookstore fumes irritate employees
The nonhazardous fumes were
a byproduct of the cleaning
chemical Nuegenic, used to
clean glue and asbestos residue
Aimee Rudin
Family/Health/Education Reporter
The University Bookstore’s doors will
be wide open for most of the week be
cause of chemical fumes lingering in the
building. The fumes were discovered
Tuesday morning after several bookstore
employees complained of headaches.
Several employees went home sick, and
one cashier, Robert Findlay was taken to
Sacred Heart Medical Center’s emer
gency room and later discharged, ac
cording to a hospital spokeswoman.
The fumes were a byproduct of the
chemical detergent, Nuegenic, which is
being used to clean residual glue and as
bestos from the bookstore floor during
remodeling.
University Bookstore general manag
er Jim Williams said the construction of
the new tile floor is another stage of the
bookstore’s remodeling, which has been
taking place during the past six months.
“We’ve been replacing and removing
all of the floors in the bookstore,”
Williams said. “ATEZ comes in and seals
the area then takes up the tiles; every
thing is done professionally. There is no
risk of exposure to asbestos.”
Williams said scent-sensitive employ
ees were affected by the residual odor of
chemicals, not exposure to asbestos. He
compared the toxicity of the fumes to
Turn to Bookstore, page 6
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The University
Bookstore will be
aired out for a few
days after several
employees became
sick from fumes.
The fumes arose
from a chemical
used to clean glue
and asbestos
residue from
old tiles.
Scott Abts Emerald
Coordinators of the Queer Film
Festival believe it will appeal
to a wide variety of tastes, and
they expect a diverse crowd
Ryan Bornheimer
Senior Pulse Reporter
A University tradition continues
this weekend when the UO Cultural
Forum presents the 11th Annual Uni
versity of Oregon Queer Film Festival.
The event, which addresses varied
topics from gay fatherhood in America
to drag performance, begins at 8 p.m.
Friday and continues through Sunday.
Festival Coordinator Jamie June said
filmgoers can expect something a little dif
ferent from this years collection of short
and feature-length entries in the event, en
titled “Queer Cinema (Re)defined. ”
“The centerpiece of this year’s fes
tival is the notion of presenting a
broad representation of what queer
Turn to Film festival, page 5
Danielle Hickey Emerald
Liz Lessner, visual arts coordinator for the Cultural Forum, puts up art
for the Queer Photo Show, which will augment the film festival.
Con Court vote
drops Emerald
PFC grievance
The court stopped PFCs recall process, after the
editor in chiefs petition was submitted for review;
PFC can now move forward with its agenda
Jennifer Bear
Campus/Federal Politics Reporter
The ASUO Constitution Court voted unanimously Tues
day evening to dismiss Emerald editor in chief Michael J.
Kleckner’s grievance against the ASUO Programs Finance
Committee.
The court had issued a temporary halt to PFC’s budget re
call process after receiving Kleckner’s petition for review on
Friday, but PFC can now move forward with its agenda.
In his petition, Kleckner asked justices to rule that it was
unconstitutional for PFC to vote on or conduct recall hearings
because it has no specific procedures or protocols regarding
the recall process in its bylaws. Additionally, Kleckner asked
the court to issue an injunction because he wanted the proto
col issue to be addressed before the Emerald’s recall hearing,
which had originally been scheduled for Monday.
The court said it decided not to hear Kleckner’s grievance
because he hadn’t gone through the established channels of
first addressing his concerns to the ASUO Programs Adminis
trator and then the ASUO president before appealing to the
Constitution Court.
Although the court chose not to rule on the grievance itself,
Chief Justice Megan Macy issued an opinion on the interpre
tation of PFC’s bylaws regarding recalls. Macy stated the com
mittee does not need to publish “explicit rules governing a re
call proceeding.” She argued that because PFC stated in its
bylaws that it would follow “Robert’s Rules of Order” as a
Turn to PFC, page 6
Weather
Today: High 52, Low 40,
partly cloudy morning
Thursday: High 50, Low 42,
rain showers
Looking ahead
Thursday
University Assembly will meet
Feb. 28 to hear resolution on Iraq
Friday
Author David Horowitz will speak
on campus during the weekend
DPS looks into masturbation reports at library
The Department of Public Safety gave
trespass letters to suspects accused
of masturbating at the Knight Library
Caron Alarab
Safety/Crime/Transportation Reporter
Two men have been accused of, but not cited
for, indecent exposure within the past two weeks
after similar yet unrelated incidents of alleged
masturbation at Knight Library.
Both suspects were issued letters of trespass
by the Department of Public Safety, but because
of a lack of evidence, Eugene Police Department
officers were unable to cite the accused for inde
cent exposure.
In response to the most recent incident,
which occurred Monday, Associate University
Librarian Andrew Bonamici said more students
need to be aware of the crime and their sur
roundings when studying in the library.
“This is criminal behavior,” he said. “We re
ally appreciate it when other patrons pay at
tention and support DPS in its role to enforce
campus safety.”
On Monday, a male staff member called DPS
at 4 p.m. to report a person masturbating on the
fourth floor of the Knight Library. By the time
DPS and assisting EPD officers arrived at the
scene, the suspect had relocated. A witness as
sisted the officers in finding the suspect. The
suspect was then issued a letter of trespass after
an extended conversation with DPS on the main
floor of the building.
“We take these incidents very seriously,” DPS
Associate Director Tom Hicks said.
Despite witness descriptions and accounts,
EPD officers could not issue a citation, partly be
cause they did not catch him in the act.
“It’s a little more difficult to gather evidence
for these incidents,” Hicks said.
The suspect was then escorted off the prem
ises and instructed to stay off Knight Library
property.
On Feb. 4, a female subject called DPS at
2:30 p.m. to report a male suspect masturbat
ing in the library. As was the case with the
most recent incident, the suspect relocated
from the fourth floor before DPS and EPD offi
cers arrived, and there was little evidence for
Turn to Exposure, page 4