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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2003)
An independent newspaper http://www.dailyemerald.com Friday, October 17, 2003 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 105, Issue 36 Greeks' ample Student Senate representation causes concern Non-greeks question the Student Senate’s fairness because one-third of the senators are affiliated with the University greek system By Chuck Slothower News Reporter Greek students occupy more than one-third of the seats on the ASUO Student Senate, despite making up less than 7 per cent of the general student population, according to numbers provided by the Greek Life office and interviews with individ ual senators. Seven of the senate's 18 members belong to a fraternity or a sorority, senate Ombudsman Mike Sherman and Sen. Jesse Harding confirmed. "We are part of the greater good of the University," Sen. James George said. A greek spokeswoman said that greek students are just doing their part for the University. "The greek community is just as much a part of the University community as any other organization," said Erin Muessle, vice president of community service for the Panhellenic Council. While many students agreed that campus involvement is an admirable pursuit, the heavy involvement of greek stu dents in the senate raised questions of fairness among some non-greek students. "A lot of their decisions may not be fair to the other 93 per cent of the student population (who aren't in the greek sys tem)," freshman Nick Maffe said. But not everybody objects to the over-representation of greek students on senate. "It does seem kind of odd that it's unevenly balanced, but I wouldn't say it's unfair," freshman Emily Scott said. The greek senators cited various reasons for running for senate. "I got involved through members of my fraternity," Day said. He added that while his fraternity encourages involvement in campus generally, no one pushed him to run for senate. Turn to GREEK, page 4 HELPING HANDS Lauren Wimer Photographer Lauren Sowers, a 23-year-old biology major, and Brad Schallert, a 21-year-old international and environmental studies major, both helped an injured hiker during a five-day Outdoor Program hike. Sowers will be depicted on Lifetime television tomorrow night. Accident of a Lifetime The Lifetime television network will air a show on Saturday night about some University students' hazardous hike By Jared Paben News Reporter On Saturday night, University student Lauren Sowers will be parked in front of the IV watching "What Should You Do?" on the Lifetime channel. She's only seen the show a couple of times in the past, but Saturday night she'll be on the edge of her seat, and she'll definitely be recording the show. The story she's eagerly awaiting is her own — the story of a badly injured hiker and the way Sowers helped her during a five-day Outdoor Program trip more than two years ago. It was on April 1 that Sowers first heard from Lifetime. Turn to LIFETIME, page 4 New high-tech portable speakers have design appeal Stereo speaker technology is on the rise and designs are more creative than ever By Caron Alarab News Reporter Stereo speaker technology is rapidly advancing to become more portable and unique in design. Whether it's a speaker that can stick to a forehead or a pair that can be rolled around the pool, there are some interesting new concepts hitting the market. Junior Carl Boehm said he has been fascinated by technology for most of his life, though he admits it can be difficult to stay up-to-date. "It's hard to keep up with accelerat ing technology because newer versions are always being outdated," he said. And although music quality is very important to him, Boehm admits he doesn't have a very "flashy" stereo speaker system at home. "I don't have a big budget for speak ers right now," he said. But Boehm said he still stays current on new technology in electronics. A few months ago, he heard about the Olympia Soundbug, a single silver speaker the size of a small computer mouse, l he speaker attaches to most surfaces through a suction cup and ere ates a sounding-board out of the sur face. Compatible with standard head phone sockets, the speaker gadget works best on glass surfaces and is great for sharing music from a portable de vice with other people. Amazon.com currently offers the speaker for $20. Boehm said he would have to try the Soundbug before buying it. Another technological leap — and one thing Boehm said he never expect ed to see invented in his lifetime — are inflatable speakers. "lhat just sounds cool," he said. An international company called El lula has created the 1 lotAir inflatable speakers, which come in blue, green, yellow and Budweiser patterns. The speakers generate sound with a component called an exciter, which drives high-frequency sound into the inflatable portion through a rigid panel base. The inflatable part generates bass and produces multidirectional sound from the whole surface. Because they are also deflatable, the speakers are great for traveling, holidays and resi dence hall rooms. The speakers cost about $40 online, according to the El lula Web site. Thinking back to his freshman year, Boehm said he could have used either of the new gadgets in his residence hall Turn to MUSIC, page 12 WEATHER LOW 49 HIGH 72 INSIDE Campus buzz.12 Classifieds.11 Commentary..2 Horoscope.11 Nation & World.2 Sports.7 NEXT ISSUE T i Fund raising for social services
