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Thursday, March 13,2003
Since 1900
University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Volume loljllssue 118
With the program
V ' s&ttsZ ''
Buffleheads
members
James Marr
(left) and Dan
Stutzbach
prepare for
the five-hour
test of the
ACM
International
Collegiate
Programming
Contest,
which begins
March 22
AN Shaughnessy
Emerald
Coding for success
The Buffleheads, a three-student
computer programming team,
placed first at a regional contest
Ali Shaughnessy
Environment/Science/Technology Reporter
On Monday nights, Deschutes Hall is
nearly deserted, with only the click
clack sounds of a keyboard emitting
from a small room and filling the emp
ty hallways.
Inside that room, three University
students sit in silence. Two stare at a
packet of problems that lay before
them; the third types at a rapid
speed, stopping only to turn the
pieces of paper in front of him.
After 20 minutes, the silence is
interrupted.
“This is a good problem set,”
University senior James Marr says.
Marr is one of three members of Buf
fleheads, which also includes Dan
Stutzbach and Carl Howells. The three
computer-sawy students formed the
team last year, intent on competing in
a regional computer programming
contest sponsored by the Association
for Computing Machinery.
The top two teams from each region
are invited to the international finals,
which includes students from Africa,
Europe and the South Pacific.
After placing 13th in last year’s re
gional contest, the members of the
Buffleheads worked together and
swept this year’s competition, taking
first place. Only 70 out of 3,850 com
peting teams will attend the interna
tional competition.
“It was something of an accom
plishment,” Marr said. “I’m rather
proud of it.”
The international competition, offi
cially titled the ACM International Col
legiate Programming Contest, pits each
team against a grueling five-hour dead
line as they work to solve eight com
plex problems. Members of each team
must work together to write a comput
er program that implements the solu
tion. According to ACM officials, tack
ling the problems is equivalent to
completing a semester’s worth of com
puter programming in one afternoon.
After a team believes it has a work
ing version of the program, they sub
mit it to the judges, who run the pro
gram with sample data to test its
accuracy. The team’s score is based on
how many problems are completed,
Turn to ACM, page 8
Forum looks
at health care
possibilities
A community forum held on Wednesday explored
solutions to several Oregon health care coverage
pitfalls including high costs in private insurance
Lindsay Sauve
Family/Health/Education Reporter
Money — or a lack of it — was a prominent theme at a com
munity forum on health care coverage at First United Methodist
Church on Wednesday night. Officials, activists and communi
ty members met to discuss the condition of health care in Ore
gon in the wake of massive budget cuts and the failure of uni
versal health-care initiative Measure 23 in November.
State Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, who is chairman of
the senate’s Health Policy Committee, was the event’s featured
speaker. Morrisette lamented what he said was the desperate
situation of the state budget, and the subsequent effects on all
government programs, especially state health programs.
“Oregon Health Plan is dead,” Morrisette said in a somber note.
Budget cuts for assistance programs such as the Oregon
Turn to Health, page 4
ASUO election
Two candidates drop from
ASUO elections
After the first full day of the 2003 ASUO election sea
son, another position will go unfilled and one senate
race will be slightly less competitive.
Mindi Rice announced Wednesday morning that she has
withdrawn her candidacy for a two-year term on the Stu
dent Recreation Center Advisory
Board, and Steven Lockfield an- INSIDE
A full list of
ASUO election
candidates
race for Pro
gramsFinana
Jonah Lee and Courtney Warn
er are still running unopposed for PAGE 3
the other two seats on the rec cen
ter board, and Seat 1 still has a crowded field of sev
en contenders.
Wednesday evening’s mandatory candidate meetings,
covering elections rules and procedures, were heavily at
tended. Candidates who didn’t show up could be dropped
from the race, but the ASUO Elections Board on Wednes
day night could confirm no other immediate changes.
The ASUO primary election runs April 9-11, and the gen
eral election — if it is needed—runs April 21-23. A debate
for ASUO Executive candidates is tentatively scheduled for
April 7, and a full candidate’s fair is scheduled for April 9.
—Michael J. Kleckner
Weather
Today: High 55, Low 48,
wind with heavy rain,
Friday: High 55, Low 47,
light rain and wind
Looking ahead
Friday
EPD searches for a 25-year-oid
, man in connection with the
beating of a University student
Monday
The Emerald suggests you
whizzle your shnizzle as we
presents the last winter issue
Faith inspires football players, others
Student-athletes from many different sports call on
religious values to provide strength on and off the field
Faith on the field
Peter Hockaday
Sports Editor
Jason Fife’s teammates stopped asking long before the sea
son was over.
They just knew he didn’t want to hit the bars. Or hit a party.
Or hit a bong.
“There’s always the peer-pressure thing, where the guys may
want me to come out and celebrate after a game,” Fife said.
“But for the most part they understand that I don’t want to go
drinkin’, I don’t want to go smokin’, I don’t want to do any of
that stuff.”
Fife is a devout Mormon and, like any Mormon college student,
wrestles with issues that pit fun against faith. It just happens that
Fife started every game at quarterback for the Oregon football
Turn to Faith, page 10
Jason Fife (12) is
one of many
faithful athletes
on the religiousiy
diverse Oregon
football team.
Adam Amato
Emerald