An independent newspanpr Scrimmage W /Page 5 http://www.dailyemerald.com Friday, April 11,2003 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 104, Issue 130 Forces take two more cities Patrick Peterson Jonathan S. Landay and Martin Merzer Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) BAGHDAD, Iraq — Two more Iraqi strong holds — the northern oil cities of Kirkuk and Mosul — fell Thursday as U.S. and allied forces pursued the remnants of Saddam Hussein’s army and closed in on his ancestral hometown. At the same time, combat and anarchy flared in Baghdad and elsewhere, illustrating the diffi culty of engineering a smooth transition from dictatorship to democracy: • A suicide bomber seriously wounded four U.S. Marines late Thursday in the capital. To the south, an angry crowd hacked to death two cler ics at a Shiite Muslim shrine in Najaf. To the north, looting swiftly followed liberation in Kirkuk and Mosul. • In Kirkuk, anti-Hussein Kurdish forces swept into the city virtually unopposed, followed by U.S. troops. In Mosul, Iraqi forces and Baath Par ty officials simply slipped away, replaced Thurs day night by U.S. Special Forces. • U.S. officers said four Iraqi army divisions, with up to 30,000 men, signaled their readiness to surrender. The northern oil fields were almost entirely undamaged. By early Friday, U.S. forces stood within 60 miles of Hussein’s home city of Tikrit, where large numbers of Republican Guard forces and other Hussein loyalists were thought to be gath ering for a last stand. U.S. military strategists concentrated their ef forts on tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers said to remain in the north. U.S. warplanes repeated ly struck their units. The Iraqis’ will to fight could not be assessed. “They are the last significant formations on Turn to Forces, page 3 Health precautions Lindsay Sauve Family/Health/Education Reporter Patients visiting the University Health Center with cold or flu symptoms may be surprised when they are asked to use an al ternate entrance. In an attempt to prevent any possible trans mission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syn drome, University health officials have been following strict quarantine guidelines imposed by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, the number of cases of SARS worldwide was 2,781, with 154 in the United States, according to the WHO Web site. No SARS-related deaths have yet been reported in the United States, but 111 people worldwide have died as a result of the disease. SARS, a pneumonia-like disease of un known origin, was discovered in late Febru ary in Hanoi, Vietnam. International trav elers to affected areas — such as Canada, Singapore, China and Vietnam — are ad vised to be aware of the main symptoms of SARS, including a fever higher than 100.4 degrees, dry cough and shortness of breath or breathing difficulties. Anne Mattson, the University Health Cen ter’s director of nursing, said patients who call in with symptoms of a fever and a cough will be directed to use the west entrance, near the counseling center, where they will ring a bell and be greeted by a nurse in a res piratory mask. The patients will then be tak en into an isolation room where the nurse will ask them a series of questions about their travel history and specific symptoms. “We explain carefully to the patient what Photo illustration by Mark McCambridge Emerald To prevent the spread of SARS, a disease similar to pneumonia, students with SARS-like symptoms will be directed to the west entrance of the University Health Center. we are doing and why we are taking these precautions,” said Mattson. “The patients we’ve seen have been very understanding.” Mattson said for patients to be counted as a possible SARS cases, they must have a chest X-ray that tests positive for pneumo nia and have traveled in one of the affected areas. All possible cases of SARS are re ferred to the Oregon Department of Health and Human Services. Various departments around campus are also providing resources for anyone who has questions about SARS. Tom Hicks, as sociate director of the University Depart ment of Public Safety, said their Web site has a link with frequently asked questions about SARS. Other departments, such as Human Resources and University Housing, are in the process of creating links to the Health Center and the CDC. Abe Schafermeyer, an adviser at the Of fice of International Programs said he has received a few inquiries about SARS from Turn to SARS, page 4 Candidate files ASUO elections grievance ASUO elections Student Senate Seat 1 candidate Damion Meany is penalized for violating a rule by campaigning within 50 feet of a voting booth Jennifer Bear Campus/Federal Politics Reporter There is a sordid history behind ASUO elections: improper postering, vote-buy ing and assorted hanky-panky. It can sometimes seem like the elections begin the day the first grievance is filed. If that’s the case, the 2003 elections have begun. Adrian Gilmore, a candidate for ASUO Student Senate Seat 1, filed a grievance Thursday against Damion Meany, one of his competitors, for violating ASUO election rules by campaigning within 50 feet of a voting booth. INSIDE Find out how many students have voted PAGE 4 Gilmore said there was chalking in support of Meany’s candidacy in front of the Student Recreation Center on Wednesday and Thursday. The cam paign sidewalk chalking is a two-fold rule violation. First, it is against ASUO election rules to campaign within 50 feet of a voting booth while the election is going on. The message telling people to vote for Meany was written 20 feet away from a comput er in the lobby of the rec center that al lows students to log onto Duck Web. Second, chalking is against University policy unless you clear it through Uni versity Scheduling, but the Scheduling Office’s rules prohibit chalking to pro mote ballot measures or candidates or any other sort of political campaigning. ASUO Elections Coordinator Andrea Hall said she had spoken with Meany, in structing him that he needed to remove the chalking, but Meany left her a message Turn to Grievance, page 3 Vietnamese student finds strength through cross-cultural learning Asian experience Phong Chan and his family left a life of luxury in Vietnam in 1988 for educational opportunities and a brighter future Roman Gokhman Campus/City Culture Reporter What would parents do in order to ensure their chil dren receive a good education? For the parents of Phong Chan and his four brothers, it meant leaving a comfortable life and learning every thing all over again. Chan’s family left their home in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1988 when Phong was 10 years old, and they arrived in the United States two years later. Anh Lu, Chan’s mother, said her family left most of their belongings and lives behind. “I wanted my children to have a good future,” Lu said. “I wanted my children to go to school.” Chan, now 22 and an architecture student at the Uni versity, went from a life of luxury to being the odd child out in elementary school in Portland, and he is just now starting to feel comfortable in his Asian skin. In Saigon, his parents owned several bakeries and a restaurant and were of high social status — they had Turn to Vietnamese, page 4 Alongwith his family, Phong Chan left behind life in Vietnam for a brighter future in the U.S., which Chan now enjoys as an architecture major at the University. ' Mark McCambridge Emerald Weather; Today: H 60, L 45, cloudy, possible showers / Saturday: H 57, L 40, rain, chance of thunderstorms I Friday Online: Read the results of the ASUO primary election tonight