Thursday, April 24,2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 104, Issue 139
Buzbee pleads guilty to charge
Abuu vice President Ben
Buzbee pleaded guilty
to a reduced charge
in court on Wednesday
Jennifer Bear
Campus/Federal Politics Reporter
A couple of kegs and a roomful
of friends may sound like a fun
way to spend a Friday night, but if
the police catch a whiff of under
age drinking, it gets ugly fast.
ASUO Vice President Ben
Buzbee learned this lesson the
hard way — firsthand — after a
party he hosted at his house on
Jan. 18 was broken up by the Eu
gene Police Department. Buzbee
received a #350 citation for fur
nishing alcohol to minors, and at
his arraignment on Jan. 31.,
Buzbee plead not guilty.
But Buzbee pleaded guilty
Wednesday, after his offense had
been reduced to a violation. He
will now enter into the BUSTED
diversionary program run through
the University’s Substance Abuse
Prevention Program, and go to a
10-hour class on the conse
quences of underage drinking, as
well as pay a $60 court fee and
#40 class fee. If Buzbee has no
other alcohol-related offenses in
the next four months, the viola
tion will not be made part of his
permanent record.
Buzbee said he changed his
plea to guilty because his offense
was reduced from a misdemeanor
to a violation after his lawyer filed
a motion on Monday to suppress
Turn to Charge, page 8
ME won!
Jeremy Forrest Emerald
Senior Jason Cummings and sophomore Diana Aguilar celebrate with a hug while cheering along with the rest of the Maddy Melton and Eddy Morales campaign
team in front of the ASUO office on Wednesday after learning that Melton and Morales were declared the winners of the Executive race.
Leading the future
Maddy Melton and Eddy Morales won
ASUO Executive, and several close races
in the ASUO Senate were decided as
- election voting closed on Wednesday
ASUO elections
Jan Montry
News Editor
At the end of a highly competitive ASUO
Executive race, candidates Maddy Melton and
Eddy Morales were elected 2003-04 president
and vice president on Wednesday with 1,236
votes, taking 54.9 percent of the total 2,249
votes. Candidates Christa Shively and Greg
Bae received 1,013 votes.
Voter turnout in the general election, which
ran Monday through Wednesday, landed at 14.3
percent of the total student body, up from 10.5
percent of the student body a year ago.
“I’m just floored,” Melton said, minutes af
ter hearing the results. “I can’t believe it.
This has been so exciting. ... It’s been a great
experience.”
Melton said that she thought the Shively
and Bae team did a good job campaigning,
adding that she wished them luck in whatever
they both do next.
Bae had no comment, and Shively could
not be reached at press time.
The Executive victory came after an ex
tremely close primary race where Shively and
Bae came in only 21 votes behind Melton and
Morales, resulting in fierce campaign efforts
by both tickets in the days leading up to the
general election.
Turn to Elections, page 4
OUS drops
exchange
program
in China
OUS students studying abroad
in Beijing will return home following
midterms, due to SARS concerns
Lindsay Sauve
Family/Health/Education Reporter
While most University students may
be home relaxing in states of post
midterm bliss, members of an interna
tional exchange program will have to
pack their bags and embark on the long
journey from Beijing to Eugene.
Oregon University System officials de
cided on Monday to suspend the student
exchange program in Beijing, China, due
to the threat of Severe Acute Respirato
ry Syndrome. Sixteen students from var
ious Oregon universities, including six
from the University of Oregon, will have
to return home after their midterm ex
ams next week. The students were for
mally notified by e-mail on Tuesday.
Christine Sproul, director of the China
program at OUS, said it is the first time
in 30 years they’ve had to suspend a
study-abroad program. OUS will assist
the students with financial or academic
obstacles they may face from suspension
of the program, as well advise them about
health precautions to take when they re
turn home, she added.
The OUS Chancellor’s office, medical
experts and representatives from the sev
en OUS universities met last week to dis
cuss the issue and decide what action
should be taken in light of government
issued travel warnings to China. The de
cision was made to end the program and
bring students home after recent reports
that the Chinese government may have
been withholding information about the
severity of SARS.
“It’s just too risky and there are too
many unknowns,” Sproul said. “In hind
sight, we may say it was a hasty decision,
but until it’s known how to contain
(SARS), this is the best course of action.”
OUS spokeswoman Di Saunders said a
survey of other U.S. exchange programs
that revealed nearly all organizations had
decided to discontinue programs and
bring students back also influenced the
decision.
“We’ve had some calls from parents
who are very relieved that the students
are coming home,” Saunders said.
Caroline Vanderkar, the University’s
Overseas Program coordinator, said the
University’s stance on the decision was
congruous with the OUS decision. Rein
statement of the program next fall will
Turn to SARS, page 12
InterSEXtions sits on the corner of sexuality, ethnicity
The upcoming lnte6EXtions conference
will feature dialogue on the place of
ethnic minorities in the LGBT community
John B. Dudrey
Freelance Reporter
In many ways, sophomore Hanna Persson is
like any other student at the University of Ore
gon. She trudges through the same rainy streets
on her way to the same classes that other stu
dents take. At the end of the day, she heads
back to an off-campus apartment not unlike the
ones many students live in. In that sense, she is
the definition of ordinary.
But in other important ways, Persson is
profoundly different: She is an ethnic minori
ty as well as a self-described “butch.” Her dif
ferences can make for a difficult time in the
campus community.
“I have experienced prejudice (on campus),
and I still do from day to day,” Persson said.
“Anything from strange looks to being ignored,
and having friends who have been assaulted in
one form or another.”
There are a few official avenues of support
for Persson and other members of the LGBT
community. One such resource, the Universi
ty’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Educational and Support Services, is sponsor
ing the annual InterSEXtions conference,
which started on Wednesday and ends on Fri
day. The conference is also sponsored by the
English department; the UO Cultural Forum;
the UO Humanities Center; the Ethnic Studies
department and Parents, Family and Friends
of Lesbians and Gays.
According to Director of LGBT Educational
Turn to InterSEXtions, page 4
Weather: Today: H 57, L 40, showers, thunder storms / Friday: H 53, L 43, possible thunder storms I Oil Friday: The University Hawaii Club hosts its annual luau on Saturday