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Ducks secure win No. 3 against Gonzaga Page 5
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 64
LUNCHTIME LAUGHTER
Marc Weiss
(center),
a sports
marketing
and
management
student,
works at the
EMU’s
Subway and
even has the
e-mail handle
"subway
dude." He
hangs out
with his co
workers,
history major
Dan Chinnock
(right) and
theater arts
major Tedra
Engle (left),
during a lull in
the Monday
evening flow
of customers.
Tim Bobosky
Photographer
Serving up a smile
By using humor in their workplace,
EMU Subway employees raise
the spirits of stressed students
By Jared Paben
News Reporter
When a spontaneous food fight broke out at
Subway on Monday afternoon, two-year em
ployee Marc Weiss went straight for the vinegar.
With Linkin Park's "Faint" blaring in the back
ground, a battle ensued, with both sides firing
vinegar and oil at each other. Ihen, Weiss land
ed one decisive squirt of vinegar in co-worker
Dan Chinnock's mouth and ended it.
While Weiss went for the vinegar without
hesitation, it isn't usually his weapon of choice.
Usually he lobs tomato slices at his co-workers.
"Sometimes we just start throwing food at
each other, when nobody's looking so we don't
get into trouble," said Weiss, a junior studying
sports marketing and management. 'Tomatoes
are the best to throw. The tomatoes stick and
leave juice all over you. We just pick whatever
veggies are there. We don't pick the meat, just
the veggies, because they fly easier."
The EMU Subway employees may be a
bunch of jokers, but on the positive side, that
makes them a regular therapy session for
grumpy, stressed-out students, Weiss said.
A line of hungry people forms at Subway
between noon and 3 p.m. every weekday
that often extends all the way to the elevator
in the EMU. But, even then, the Subway em
ployees manage to keep their cool. With the
efficiency of a well-oiled machine, or a "per
feet assembly line" as Weiss puts it, they
each take their positions at the line. One
person greets customers and cuts the bread,
the next lays down the cheese and so on.
But, unlike a machine, they manage to keep
the personality in their work, cracking jokes
and teasing each other and their customers.
"Students are students, man," Weiss said.
"Ihey come and they think they need their food
right away and they hate waiting in line. But
once they get there you just joke around with
them and make them laugh and make them
feel like they're welcome. We like joking around
with people. I'm a joker. I'm the biggest
goof-off there. I laugh with everybody."
His co-worker Shanna Brower agreed, calling
Weiss the "loudest, most obnoxious" of any of
Turn to SUBWAY, page 8
Officials
convey
flu shot
benefits
The University Health Center
offers flu shots to students,
and medical professionals
expect a severe flu season
By Ali Shaughnessy
Senior News Reporter
Runny noses, coughing fits and high
fevers have been taking over students as
the influenza rages through Eugene.
The University Health Center has ad
ministered more than 2,000 flu shots dur
ing fall term, Assistant Director of Nursing
Sharon Harbert said.
"It's going to be quite a severe flu sea
son," she said, adding that in her 24 years
at the health center, she has never seen a
flu epidemic hit as early as it has this year.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention Web site, the flu is
a highly infectious disease of the lungs
that can lead to pneumonia.
Every year in the United States, ap
proximately 114,000 people are hospi
talized, and around 36,000 people die
because of the flu. The majority of peo
ple who die are more than 65 years old,
but children younger than 2 years old
can also be hit hard.
1 larbert said getting a flu shot is one so
lution to keeping students and staff as
healthy as possible.
University junior Sonja Greene hasn't
had a flu shot since she moved out of her
parents house, but said she is debating get
ting one this year because of the amount
of people getting sick.
"Everywhere 1 turn, someone new has
the flu," she said. "At work, in class, at
home. It's almost frightening."
There is no reason for the rapid onset of
Turn to FLU, page 8
Course evaluations provide useful measuring tool
Students and faculty find evaluations
helpful for improving the quality
of education and teaching methods
By Chuck Slothower
News Reporter
Each term, students apply their pencils to multiple
choice bubble forms to evaluate their instructors.
These course evaluations help professors and gradu
ate teaching fellows improve their teaching and pro
vide a basis for others to review their performance,
faculty and GTFs said.
"1 find them quite helpful," said English Professor
Warren Ginsberg, who also directs the English de
partment. "Everybody I've talked to, which is just
about everybody in the department, pays a good deal
of attention to them."
Many students also take course evaluations seriously.
"It's just nice to have the knowledge of what stu
dents think," senior Ricky Chen said.
The Office of the Registrar offers results from
course evaluations on its Web site at http://coursee
vals.uoregon.edu/evals.cfm.
The results of four questions listed on course eval
uations — which evaluate the course, instructor, effi
ciency or lack of efficiency in the use of class time and
availability of the instructor outside of class time —
are rated on a numerical scale.
Several faculty members said course evalua
tions are routinely used to assess the perform
ance of professors when considering raises,
tenure and promotions.
"Teaching is always taken into account, and
course evaluations are part of that," Ginsberg said.
Sociology GTF Nick Lougee said course evalua
tions are particularly important for graduate stu
dents who want to become professors because they
weigh more in a hiring decision if a school doesn't
have a graduate school of its own.
"Most of the jobs are in schools without graduate
Turn to EVALUATION, page 8
WEATHER
T
INSIDE
NEXT ISSUE
Campus buzz.8
Classifieds.7
Commentary.2
Crossword.7
Pulse.4
Sports.5
Part one of five:
Why students
cheat