Saferide to host fundraiser music event
Saferide will host ‘Come Play
With Us’ tonight to raise
funds; the program shares
a budget with Nightride
Lindsay Sauve
Family/Health/Education Reporter
Project Saferide’s mission is in its
name. Women stuck somewhere at
night without transportation have
relied on the service for a safe ride
home since 1985. But right now, the
free service is financially strapped.
Saferide is hosting “Gome Play
With Us” tonight in the EMU Fir
Room from 8 p.m. to midnight. The
benefit will feature hip-hop perform
ances by female artists from the
Portland area. There is no cover
charge, but Saferide hopes to receive
enough through donations to fill the
hole in its budget.
“The campus community is abuzz
about ‘Gome Play with Us,’” said
Casey Rohter, the program’s co-di
rector and event coordinator. “We’ve
devoted a lot of time and energy to
making this work.”
Project Coordinator Melissa Win
kler said Saferide has been experi
encing budget problems because it’s
had to share the budget with
Nightride, a service that offers rides
to both men and women. Recent ve
hicle repairs have also left a substan
tial need for funds.
Winkler said the program is also
looking to invest in battery cell
packs to increase safety for stranded
drivers. The cell packs will be used
to jump-start vehicles, a safer option
than having to hunt for help.
“I think it’s one of the most im
portant programs on campus be
cause it gives women a sense of
unity in protecting one another,”
Winkler said. “It’s all about women
helping women.”
Kaitlin Kerwin has been volun
teering as a driver for Saferide since
fall of 2002. She and other volun
teers are expected to commit one
night a week and one weekend night
per month. The service is most pop
ular after 9 p.m. on weekdays, but
weekends are very busy.
“(Saferide) helps to equalize
men’s and women’s rights,” Kerwin
said. “Men who go out at night don’t
usually have to worry about sexual
assault. Now women have the ability
to go out freely without having to
take a chance.”
Department of Public Safety As
sociate Director Tom Hicks said of
ficers will often escort callers who
need to get from one area of the
campus to another, but for most
students who need a ride to an off
campus location, DPS will refer
them to Saferide.
According to Rohter, Saferide is
one of the only all-women sexual as
sault prevention shuttles in the na
tion and provides more than 9,000
rides per year to female students.
Contact the reporter
atlindsaysauve@dailyemerald.com.
EMU
continued from page 1
students and faculty to evaluate and
modify the team’s original mission
statement. The survey received 511
student and 897 total responses and
indicated broad support for the
team’s initial vision. They used the
survey results and trips to other uni
versities, such as University of Col
orado, Colorado State, University of
Arizona and Arizona State, to pro
duce a finalized mission statement.
The team then focused on deter
mining what the University and
community needed. The group con
ducted another Internet survey, a
week of meetings with University fo
cus groups and multiple Eugene
town hall meetings. It then priori
tized 10 major goals for the EMU re
design, such as creating a single or
ganizing or thematic element
throughout the building, establish
ing four clear and visible main en
trances and creating a floor plan
flexible enough to accommodate all
University and community groups.
Finally, the team collected infor
mation from more than 20 one-on
one interviews and then compiled
the two years’ worth of feedback into
a final plan.
The plan highlights conceptual
design principles from the renova
tion of the mezzanine level to the
complete reconstruction of the East
Wing and outlines a 48-month, four
phase construction plan to make the
recommendations a reality.
“I am really pleased at how this
has turned out. I think this sets us up
really well for the future,” EMU
Board Chairwoman and Core Team
member Christa Shively said.
The EMU Master Plan recom
mends several major alterations to
the building. The most visible
changes would be rendered to the
section of the building designed in
the early 1970s that includes the
winding ramp and skylight areas.
This portion, called the East Wing,
will be tom down and replaced with
a larger U-shaped structure during
the final two constmction phases.
The new area will also be partially
extended over the east side lawn.
“There were some people op
posed to it,” Miller said, referring to
the decision to rebuild the East
Wing. “It’s not that I don’t appreci
ate the aesthetics of (the current
structure). I am looking at function.”
The plan seeks to improve space
efficiency by up to 10 percent. In ad
dition to the new East Wing, much
of the new space will come from an
expansion to the existing ballroom.
The new ballroom will extended out
above the southeast parking lot to
the Straub Quad. This new ballroom
could be partitioned off to form up
to three smaller meeting rooms and
would also include a new entrance
and ticketing area.
The placement of facilities and an
overall layout redesign are also rec
ommended in the plan. In the new
EMU, all meeting and conference
rooms would be located on the sec
Telr down the 70s win;
Brook Reinhard Emerald
The EMU remodel highlights include the renovation of the mezzanine level and the complete reconstruction of the East Wing.
ond floor, with the third floor dedicat
ed to administrative offices. Plans for
the ground floor include the potential
for 24-hour access, including an all
hours computer lab, extension of The
Break hours, and around-the-clock
access to Graft Center resources.
While the plan calls for the elimi
nation of the striking 70s section of
the building, the new East Wing will
not be without a visual landmark. In
the interests of maintaining the
EMU’s character and aesthetic ap
peal, the Master Plan calls for the
creation of a two-and-a-half story
atrium intended to serve as a hub of
student activity in the building.
“The indoor atrium will be a
crossroads,” Miller said. “It’s going to
be big, it’s going to be wide, it’s going
to be bold.”
The overall redesign is projected
to increase the square footage of the
EMU by 50,000 square feet, or near
ly 20 percent. With the addition of
staff salary costs and other factors,
the completed project could run a
tab of $42 million.
The plan isn’t ready yet. If the de
signs are approved at the next EMU
Board meeting, there will still be
chances for more public input. Even
then, the EMU will have to solicit
bids on the project before any work
actually starts.
“Construction probably won’t be
gin until 2006 at the earliest,” Shive
ly said.
Those interested in learning more
about the Master Plan’s recommen
dations are invited to attend an open
house next week in Century Room
F of the EMU from noon to 2 p.m. on
Wednesday and 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
on Thursday.
Andrew Shipley is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
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