Thursday, January 8, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 74
High-tech holidays
Digital technology has spawned
dozens of affordable, easy-to-use
devices that made popular
presents this holiday season
By Caron Alarab
Senior News Reporter
When it comes to favorite Christmas pres
ents and holiday gadgets, it seems Santa went
digital this year. From an electronic bar-bud
dy that defines "lush" lingo to cameras that
can store hundreds of precious memories, an
array of neat gizmos proved popular during
the holidays as technology becomes more
user-friendly and affordable.
Junior Anthony Kuchulis said he received
an Excalibur Bar Master from his girlfriend's
father for Christmas, which was by far his fa
vorite gift. Shaped like a small flask, the digital
bartender provides recipes for drinks by
liquor, by occasion, by name and by food. It
also defines bar slang, such as "chits," which
are tickets for buying drinks.
Prior to the break, Kuchulis had only heard
of the Bar Master, which he said could be even
more useful if it could hold alcohol.
"The gift-giver was extremely disappointed
that it wasn't a real flask," he said.
The Bar Master also features a blood alco
hol level calculator, which is designed for
entertainment purposes only. Kuchulis said
it might be difficult to keep the gadget from
his roommates.
"I already have to hide my alcohol; now I
have to hide this," he said.
The Excalibur Bar Master can be purchased
from http://www.thebarmaster.com for the
holiday price of $24.95.
Senior Orion Trist had his heart set on a dig
ital recorder for Christmas, which is why he
was happy to receive money from his family
instead of presents.
"Picking and choosing your own gifts is
nice," he said.
After getting cash from his grandmother
and checking out portable recorders online,
Trist said he decided on the Iriver IHP-120, a
Turn to GADGETS, page 4
Lauren Wimer Photographer
For Christmas, junior Anthony Kuchulis received the Excalibur Bar Master from his girlfriend's father.
Text-writing professors face dilemmas
Professors who write textbooks
and then assign those books
to their students must decide
how to use their royalties fairly
By Jared Paben
Senior News Reporter
Every term University students approach
bookstore checkout counters clutching armfuls
of expensive textbooks, many of which are au
thored by their class professors.
And whether those students think about it or
not, many of those assigned readings yield
royalties for the writer: their professor.
On the surface, a professor's practice of as
signing his or her own textbooks may seem un
ethical. They require students to buy it for class
and then collect royalties from the book's sale
Today: Ethical minefield: stu^ent money.
texts: omitting perspectives? piex issue.
fessor Mark Johnson, who studies and teaches
ethics, explained that there is no consensus on
PART 1 OF 2
— in essence, pay
ing themselves with
professors and royalties
Friday: Teacher’s own
But what seems
wrong on the sur
face is a more com
Philosophy Pro
the ethical thing for professors to do, and the
question of whether to accept royalties remains
tough.
Some professors may choose to simply avoid
the ethical quandary altogether by either distrib
uting their royalties or by not taking them at all.
That's what Assistant Professor of journalism
Kim Sheehan opted to do. Sheehan authored a
textbook for her Advertising and Society class
that was published this fall; however, she decid
ed to donate all of her profits to a journalism
scholarship fund, telling her students about her
decision in her syllabus.
"I certainly heard students talk about it,"
Turn to DILEMMAS, page 4
Torrey
outlines
city goals
for 2004
In his annual State of the City
Address, Mayor Jim Torrey
discusses improvements
he hopes to make this year
By Nika Carlson
News Reporter
Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey remains opti
mistic about the upcoming year and the
changes he hopes to see even though his goals
for the city last year did not come to fruition.
Torrey delivered the annual State of the City
Address on Wednesday to a crowd of more
than 300 people, saying his main goals for the
year are to improve roads and bridges, devel
op a concrete strategy for economic develop
ment and plan a new downtown administra
tion center.
Quoting Abraham Lincoln and Winston
Churchill in his speech at the Eugene Hilton
and Conference Center, Torrey said his three
goals rely on working in partnerships to take
advantage of fleeting opportunities, such as die
Turn to TORREY, page 3
Minimum
wage gets
small boost
Some students believe Oregon's
15-cent minimum wage increase
on Jan. 1 is no match for the
potential costs it could create
By Ayisha Yahya
News Editor
Some Oregon workers can expert to receive
a little more in their paychecks this year. The
state's minimum wage increased from $6.90
to $7.05 starting Jan. 1. This makes it the
fourth-highest minimum wage in the country,
after Washington's $7.16 minimum wage,
Alaska's $7.15 and Connecticut's $7.10.
Many minimum wage earners on campus
are student workers.
The University's Business Affairs Payroll
Manager, Judith Duff, said the department in
creased about 1,800 students' salaries on Jan.
1. She said there are about 3,500 students
who work on-campus each year.
But students had mixed feelings about the
new wage.
Turn to WAGE, page 3
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