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Track athletes hit finish line Page 9
Tuesday, June 24,2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 1
High court gives mixed affirmative action rulings
By Jan Crawford Greenburg
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
WASHINGTON — In its most sig
nificant and wide-ranging affirmative
action rulings in a generation, the
Supreme Court said Monday that col
leges and universities can consider an
applicants' race as a factor in attract
ing a diverse student body, but it reit
erated that strict quotas violate the
Constitution.
In a landmark 5-4 decision written
by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the
court said colleges and universities
had compelling educational reasons
for seeking a diverse student body and
that they could take an applicant's
race into account to increase minori
ty enrollment. It marked the first time
a majority of the court had endorsed
that view.
The decision was sweeping in tone
and in scope, agreeing with argu
ments made by university administra
tors, business leaders and military of
ficials that a diverse student body pro
duces important educational and so
cietal benefits. It upheld an admis
sions policy at the University of
Michigan Law School, where officials
considered an applicant's race along
with other factors when making ad
missions decisions.
"Effective participation by mem
bers of all racial and ethnic groups in
the civic life of our nation is essential
if the dream of one nation, indivisi
ble, is to be realized," O'Connor
wrote for the court.
In a separate opinion written by
Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the
court struck down Michigan's under
graduate admissions policy in which
race played a much starker role, with
specific numerical points awarded to
members of preferred minority
groups. The court, in a 6-3 vote, said
the policy was too much like a quota
and failed to individually evaluate
each applicant.
"Unlike the law school admissions
polity the court upholds today. . . the
procedures employed by the Univer
sity of Michigan's Office of Under
graduate Admissions do not provide
for a meaningful review of each appli
cant," O'Connor explained in a con
curring opinion, which Justice
Stephen Breyer joined.
Those on both sides of the issue
said O'Connor's opinion in the law
school case was a defining moment
Turn to Affirmative, page 8
A stash of trash
University housing cleaned 1,750
resident rooms to make way for
summer camps, seminars
By Jared Paben
Freelance Reporter
Interim building coordinator
Liz Hahn wasn't sure at first why
the girl was so desperate to re
trieve her beer. The girl, an inter
national student with a thick ac
cent, called Hahn looking to find
the items she left in her residence
hall room while moving out for
the summer.
"I wondered why she wanted her
three beers," Hahn said. "I won
dered if maybe it was really fancy
stuff. I told her I hadn't heard about
it yet and that I'd ask my co-workers
to look in the Tost and found.' Her
accent was a little bit hard to under
stand right at first and I thought she
was looking for three beers."
That's when Hahn began to
wonder exactly what it was that
they were looking for. After asking
the girl to describe the items,
Hahn said the girl called them
"soft and furry."
"I went 'Ah! Stuffed animals,'
Hahn said. "They were really fan
cy bears."
Hahn said the girl called at exact
ly 3:00 p.m. everyday thereafter,
wondering if they'd found them. Af
ter three days, Hahn could finally
tell the girl that they'd found her
teddy bears.
"That was a happy ending,"
she said.
Putting together a small army of
staff to clean the newly vacated resi
dence halls in those few short days
between the spring and summer
terms can be a monumental task for
Turn to Trash, page 7
Jessica Waters Emerald
Items left behind in the dorms, such as these found in Hamilton Complex, are tagged,
logged, and stored.
WU.Task Force
seeks to upgrade
area standards
The Task Force’s recommendations include establishing basic
housing standards and adding a police officer to patrol the area
By A. Sho Ikeda
Reporter
The West University Task Force met with the Eugene City Coun
cil earlier this month to propose strategies aimed at improving
conditions in the area, and students can expect changes within
a year.
The Task Force's long-term plan suggests that the University
should revise the Student Conduct Code, educate students
about housing, increase police activity and add more lighting
to the area.
Situated between the University and downtown, the West
University Neighborhood was the scene for several cases of ar
son, robbery and rioting over the past few years. Other prob
lems that face the district include aggressive panhandling, van
dalism and public drinking. The Task Force created the presented
goals to reduce the number of crimes and enhance the quality of
lif?in the community.
"Our focus was on day-to-day, month-to-month and year-to
year livability," said Jan Oliver, University associate vice president
of institutional affairs. She stated that the Task Force did not want
to solely focus on riots and parties.
Oliver said she hopes the University can create a partnership
with the city that will result in a safer and cleaner West
University community.
Turn to Task Force, page 6
The Emerald’s new look, new schedule
Thanks for picking up the Emerald and taking an interest in the
campus community. As you may have noticed, the paper has
made some drastic changes in the past few weeks. These changes
were made in an effort to give you, the reader, more accessibility
when reading the paper.
First, we've gone to a cleaner page design that utilizes white
space, helping readers quickly eye a page. Second, we've changed
just about every font. These changes are again directed at helping
readers quickly differentiate between stories. Finally, and perhaps
most notably, we've added a small strip to the bottom of the front
page. This section provides the reader with the day's weather fore
cast, a preview for a story from the next issue and an index to help
locate various features within the paper.
This summer, the Emerald will be published on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, beginning June 24 and ending Aug. 14. The final sum
mer issue will be published Wednesday, Aug. 20.
We hope you enjoy the changes we've made Please tell us what
you think by sending an e-mail to editor@dailyemerald.com.
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