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River raft rampage Page 5
luesday, August 5, 2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 13
City to mull
Sprint PCS
cell phone
tower plan
Sprint PCS won University approval
in February to build a cell phone tower
on campus, and now seeks the city’s
blessing, but critics warn of radiation
By A. Sho Ikeda
Reporter
The city of Eugene will consider plans
for a proposed cell phone tower on Uni
versity property near Hayward Field, with a
decision on the proposal expected from
the city's Planning and Development De
partment by Sept. 15.
Last year, the city denied Sprint PCS's
proposal to build a cell phone tower at
1400 Villard St., in the East University
neighborhood. In a second attempt to
build the structure, the wireless provider in
February gained approval from the Cam
pus Planning Committee to build a tower
on University property.
Sprint PCS is now seeking approval of
its request to build the 120-foot tower and
an adjoining 23-by-44 building to house
communication equipment.
Dave Mellin, spokesman for Sprint PCS,
said the tower will be a single galvanized
steel pole called a 'monopole.' The mono
pole would blend in with light poles near
the west grandstand at Hayward Field. Un
like other cell phone towers, the proposed
tower will have no external antennae.
Mellin added that Sprint PCS has cooper
ated with the University and the city to find
an appropriate site for the cell phone tower.
"We have also tried to design the site as
pleasingly as possible," Mellin said.
Dave Barta, associate director of busi
ness affairs for Telecom Services, said the
University required that the cell phone
tower blend in with its surrounding envi
ronment, adding that he felt the site was
Turn to Cell tower, page 4
"WE TRIED TO PUT IT OUT, THEN WE DECIDED TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE"
Eugene
firefighters initiate
an "exterior
attack” on a fire
that flared up in
the Theta Chi
fraternity house,
sending heavy
black smoke
pouring from the
second and third
floors. A second
crew tackled the
fire from inside.
Jessica Waters
Emerald
Fire singes Theta Chi,
no injuries reported
An unoccupied room in the house caught
fire about 7 p.m. Monday, drawing 10
emergency vehicles to the fraternity
By Jan Tobias Montry
Managing Editor
The University's Theta Chi fraternity
house suffered extensive damage Mon
day night after an unexplained blaze
rampaged through the second and third
floors of the building.
Eugene Fire Department crews respond
ed to the house fire at 1125 E. 19th Ave.
about 7 p.m. with two trucks, six engines
PART 1 OF 2
Today: Unexplained fire burns Theta Chi
Thursday: Fraternity house prepares
to repair damage, meet University standards
and two medical crews, Eugene District
Fire Chief Randy DeWitt said. The heavy
black smoke inside the house indicated the
fire was "charged," or strong, he added.
Nobody was injured in the blaze, and
no fraternity members were living in the
third floor room where the fire started.
Turn to Fire, page 3
Bradbury learns about ‘Computer Harvest’
Bradbury soaked up details of the
University’s computer parts recycling
program, which he hopes can serve as
a model for statewide waste reduction
By Ayisha Yahya
Reporter
Computer waste in landfills is an over
whelming problem nationwide, and peo
ple should continue promoting the prop
er recycling of e-waste, Oregon Secretary
of State Bill Bradbury said Monday.
Bradbury visited campus to learn
about the University's Computer Harvest
program and how it could be imple
mented more widely.
The two-year-old Computer Harvest
program "demanufactures" and recycles
old computers on campus. University
Environmental Manager Nick Williams
said that through the program, the Uni
versity saved 6.5 tons of cathode-ray
tube glass, five tons of metal and miles
of wire from landfills.
Now, Bradbury and University staff
hope the idea can be expanded to all of
Oregon's communities.
"We can leam from what's being done
here at a state level," Bradbury said.
In a computer-demanufacturing
demonstration arranged for his benefit,
Bradbury carefully watched College of Ed
ucation Instructor Irene Smith pull apart
old monitors. As Smith dismantled the
monitor's plastic casing, she warned of the
possible dangerous buildup of electric
charge around the cathode-ray tube
"It's really strong enough to knock you
off your feet," Smith said.
She used simple tools like pliers and a
screwdriver to snip away at wires — dis
assembling a monitor or a computer —
in a process that takes about 15 to 35
minutes, depending on the model.
Smith said that, according to 2002 statis
tics, more than 70 percent of obsolete com
puters were thrown in landfills. One of the
Turn to Bradbury, page 4
NEWS BRIEF
Tuition bill for immigrants, aliens passes House
Oregon's children of illegal immigrants made progress toward
broader access to higher education after the Oregon House of Rep
resentatives passed a bill allowing them to qualify for in-state tuition.
House Bill 3651, sponsored by Rep. Billy Dalto, R-Salem,
passed 42-15.
The bill grants resident status to students who are American
born children of illegal immigrants or legal resident aliens.
Currently, such students must pay out-of-state tuition to attend an
Oregon university, which averages $ 16,000 per year. Oregon students
bom in the United States pay the in-state tuition rate of about $4,000.
The bill is a revised version of Senate Bill 10, which was held
up indefinitely in the House Education Committee in April. The
most significant change from SB 10 is that the House version does
not grant access to in-state tuition to students who are not cur
rently citizens or legal residents of the United States.
— A. Sho Ikeda
WEATHER
HIGH
78
INSIDE
Campus buzz.4
Classifieds.6-7
Commentary.2
Crossword.7
Nation & World.3
Sports.5
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