Cupid strikes hard bargain with grads
Some couples believe love
will endure distance, while
others face separation
Caron Alarab
Safety/Crime/Transportation Reporter
Sometimes when the romance
fades, it’s not because there’s some
one else or because the sex is bad —
it might be graduation and the
prospect of making changes and
moving in new directions.
But as some campus couples can at
test, post-commencement love can
overcome all distances, and long-dis
tance friendship isn’t always that bad.
John, a University junior who pre
ferred not to give his last name, has
less than two months with his gradu
ating girlfriend before she leaves Ore
gon for a job in Las Vegas, Nev.
“She really is my best friend,” he
said. “It’s going to be very hard with
out her around.”
The couple, who met through mu
tual friends less than two years ago,
have been talking about their post
graduation relationship plans since fall
term, and have decided to stick it out.
“We really care about each other,”
he said. “Neither of us want to give up
on it.”
But not all those who are split up
by graduation are willing to try the
“long-distance thing.”
Exchange student Benedicte
Schoepflin is returning home to
France after graduation, leaving her
neighbor and boyfriend Esteban
Mendez — and their eight-month ro
mance —behind.
“We’re still on very good terms,”
the 22-year-old said. “But we are not
considering a long-distance relation
ship at this point. We plan to stay in
touch as friends.”
Schoepflin said she hadn’t intend
ed to get involved with anyone when
she moved to Eugene in September,
and that the two began dating be
cause it was convenient.
Mendez, who graduated last year,
agreed that the relationship has been
convenient, but he also said it’s
meant more than that.
“At first, it was just our personali
ties,” he said. “But we definitely love
each other.”
Mendez is planning to visit
Schoepflin in December, and said he
has tried to be realistic about the re
lationship.
“I don’t want her to go, but her visa
is expiring, so that isn’t an option,”
he said. “It’s pretty sad.”
When the end of the year doesn’t send
couples in different directions, some stu
dents say love can make the transition to
into “the real world” a litde easier.
After they graduate, senior Seth
Revoal and his girlfriend Jennifer are
moving to Portland together after dat
ing for more than two years. The two
first met at a party at Revoal’s fraterni
ty house, and he said he is more confi
dent about their relationship now than
ever before. He said Jennifer is “the
best friend I have ever had.”
“I think it’s really easy for some people
to just cut things off because they don’t
always appreciate what they have,” he
said. “But when you are ready to com
mit to someone, you just know it.”
Contact the reporter
at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
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Graduation is a time for many couples to evaluate their commitment to each other
and decide whether or not to stay together.
Unemployment rate
has some graduates
questioning plans
With a state unemployment
rate of 8 percent, many
seniors are unsure of their
career plans after graduation
Peter Sur
Freelance Reporter
Graduating seniors who walk the
line this weekend may soon find
themselves toeing another line — at
the employment office.
The Oregon Employment Depart
ment reported a seasonally adjusted
8 percent unemployment rate for
April, the latest month for which fig
ures are available.
In April, the total non-agricultural
payroll employment added only 100
jobs, instead of an expected 8,400
jobs, according to the press release.
Private education and health servic
es were the only two sectors record
ing growth in April, with an increase
of 800 jobs. During the past two
years, the number of unemployed
increased by 43,200, which is more
than the population of Albany.
“It’s an overall lack of demand in
most industries, except for private
education, which has been doing
better lately,” economic analyst
Chris Greaves said. “Financial serv
ices has been doing better with the
low mortgage rates, and health serv
ices has done well with the aging of
the population.”
Greaves said when the national
economy picks up, Oregon will
tend to improve faster than the na
tional average because of its focus
in manufacturing.
State labor economist Art Ayre
also cited growth in the health
care industry.
“Given the aging of the popula
tion, it seems likely that it’s an in
dustry that will continue to grow, or
at least be strong over the next
decade,” he said.
Career Center Director Larry
Smith chuckled when asked about
hot jobs for graduating seniors.
“The economy is not in a robust
state, and one of the reactions to a
stagnant economy is that employ
ment gets put on hold,” he said.
Smith said he was optimistic that
the economy will rebound. He added
older workers are now deferring
their retirements, but new job open
ings will become available as they
leave the workforce and the econo
my rebounds.
He advised graduating seniors to
give an exemplary performance in
their work, even if it’s not their ideal
job, because when the economy im
proves, those who performed well
will advance their careers.
Students like Chris Covert, a dou
ble m^jor in Japanese and Asian
Studies, could benefit from that ad
vice. When he changed his major
from business, he said he quickly re
alized his career would probably
have nothing to do with what he
learned in school.
“I studied because I wanted to,
not because I wanted to learn a
skill,” he said. “I’m not limiting my
self to that.”
Covert expects to have no trouble
finding a job after this weekend’s
commencement ceremonies. But as
for his long-term goals, “I don’t
know,” he said, a feeling many grad
uating students may be echoing.
Peter Sur is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
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