Redshirts abound / Page 9 An independent newspaper http://www.dailyemerald.coi Wednesday, April 16,2003 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 104, Issue 133 Bill would give OUS autonomy Senate Bill 437 includes wording that could grant the OUS schools freedom from state legislative rule, possibly giving the university presidents more control Aimee Rudin City/State Politics Reporter Oregon’s higher education is in trouble. As jobless rates continue to increase across Oregon, the state faces a projected $1.3 billion budget shortfall for the 2003-05 biennium, a deficit that could leave public colleges and uni versities grossly underfunded. State legislators have drafted Senate Bill 437, part of the Higher Education Efficiency Act, as a means of cushioning cuts to education. However, many University students, including ASUO Pres ident Rachel Pilliod, say Senate Bill 437 would cause more harm than good. Senate Bill 437 includes wording that could grant each of the seven public colleges and uni versities within the Oregon University System au tonomy from state legislative rule. Each university president could ultimately end up with the control to set pay scales for faculty, tuition for students and run the school as he or she saw fit without having to answer to a separate state agency. Pilliod traveled to the State Capitol on Monday to Turn to Autonomy, page 5 Passover opener Freshman Carly Heims, community member Seth Pollock, Head ChefEsti I Applebaum and sophomore Masha Katz cut celery, carrots and potatoes Monday in preparation for tonight's Seder dinner. Adam Amato E Emerald A feast from the past With the beginning of the Jewish holiday Passover, organizations in Eugene will offer Seder dinners and celebrations for the community Roman Gokhman Campus/City Culture Reporter Passover, a sacred Jewish holiday, begins tonight at sundown, and several Jewish groups in Eugene are planning celebrations. Oregon Hillel, an organization for University Jewish students, is holding a Seder dinner tonight, which will mark the opening of Passover. The Seder begins at 7 p.m. in the Gerlinger Lounge. Tickets are $9 for students and $25 for community members. Hillel Executive Director Hal Applebaum said that the Seder connects the past and pres ent of the Jewish culture. “We don’t say they were delivered from bondage — we say we were,” Applebaum said. Seder translates into “order of the night,” and it is a symbolic meal and religious service meant to remember the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. Turn to Passover, page 7 Senate Seat 4 candidates express passion for people This position includes a responsibility to the EMU Board of Directors, as well as deciding how to spend next year’s senate surplus and fee allocations Jennifer Bear Campus/Federal Politics Reporter The end is in sight. Political cream puffs were eliminated from the ASUO candidate races during the brutal primaries, and now all that remains is for stu dent voters to pick the ultimate winner in the general election April 21 through 23. Gabe V. Kjos, a sophomore and double ma jor in journalism and political science, and Rodrigo Moreno Villamar, a junior political science and anthropology major, will go head , ■ : Elections: Part 2 of 4 . The Emerald takes a more personal look at the candidates for ASUO Today: ASUO Senate Seat 3 & Seat 4 Thursday: Senate Seat 1 & Seat 2 Friday: ASUO Executive to head in the general election for ASUO Stu dent Senate Seat 4, a position that includes a commitment to the EMU Board of Directors. Besides helping decide how to spend next year’s senate surplus, the person who is elected to Seat 4 will have a hand in running Turn to Seat 4, page 3 PFC candidates: Andries prides himself on impartial decision-making, and Overgard loves politics and leadership roles Jennifer Bear Campus/Federal Politics Reporter The University campus has been bom barded with campaign pamphlets, “Vote Now” signs and even felonious sidewalk chalking extolling the virtues of this or that candidate. Such a flood of ASUO election paraphernalia might repel students with al ready hectic lives, but choosing who will run next year’s student government is a crucial matter that shouldn’t be ignored. Students can seize the opportunity to elect Weather: Today: H 60, L 43, cloudy, scattered showers / Thursday: H 55, L 42, rain, light wind I On Thursday: Oregon Legislature considers a bill that would ban using student fees for political groups Postwar leaders gather in Iraq By Peter Smolowitz and Andrea Gerlin Knight Ridder Newspapers BAGHDAD, Iraq (KRT) — In their first tentative steps toward democracy after decades of dictatorship, Iraqi religious and political leaders opened talks in the ancient city of Ur on Tuesday aimed at forging a postwar government. Not much was accomplished. The delegates convened in a tent several hours behind schedule, faced a boycott by key factional leaders, suffered the scorn of thousands of nearby protesters and broke up after agreeing to meet again in 10 days. Still, it was a start toward self-gov ernment, and however halting, it came only one day after U.S. military offi cers declared that major combat in Iraq was over. Elsewhere in Iraq, an eerie peace set tled over war-torn Baghdad as Iraqi po licemen helped U.S. Marines restore or der. Marines will begin to withdraw from Baghdad and northern Iraq on Thursday, to be replaced by Army troops, in prepa ration for the Marines’ post-war role as military rulers of southern Iraq. In Kut on Tuesday, hundreds of pro testers blocked Marines from entering the city hall to meet a radical anti American Shiite cleric. And in the port city of Umm Qasr, 10 civic leaders func tioning as a rudimentary “town coun cil” under British supervision held a press conference on getting their town up and running again. But it was the meeting in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, the biblical birthplace of Abraham, that symbolized Iraq’s state today: Its tentative first step toward democracy was marred by boy cotts, infighting and protests. About 80 Iraqi exiles and others just freed from Saddam’s rule gathered with U.S. sponsors. White House envoy Zal may Khalilzad told delegates that Ameri ca holds “no interest, absolutely no Turn to Iraq, page 3 Senate Seat 3 hopefuls show leadership qualities Read more online Go to www.dailyemerald.com, click ‘News’ and then ‘ASUO elections* the leaders they want in the general election April 21 through 23. For ASUO Student Senate Seat 3, students can choose from Colin Andries, a first-year law student, and Beth Overgard, a freshman political science major with minors in music and business. Seat 3 is also an ASUO Programs Finance Committee position, and the person who is elected will need the abil ity to sit through five-hour-long budget hear ings and allocate more than $5 million in Turn to Seat 3 page 5