An independent newspaper
http: / /www. dailyemerald. com
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
.
Volume 105, Issue 101
Against the odds
Jodene Heider makes a good friend who helps her through the hard times
By Jared Paben
Senior News Reporter
Spring term in the University's Central
Oregon program brought the return of
Jodene Heider's old enemy — statistics
and probability.
More than 20 years earlier, she took a class
^ in the subject,
’ - passed it and
thought she
was forever
free of it. But,
after forget
ting much of
the material,
she was forced
to take it
again.
Ironically,
it was the sta
tistics and
probability
class that
helped
launch a
friendship
that would
later rescue
Heider from
homelessness and help her through the
misery of her sickness.
One day, she introduced herself to Ang
ie Gass — a woman she'd seen around
campus — and asked for her help with the
math classwork.
Editor’s note: The story
of University student
Jodene Heider is a four-part
series examining the
hardships of living with a
tumor. For Monday’s story,
see www.dailyemerald.com.
Monday: The sickness
appears
Today: Kicking off a
friendship
Wednesday: Finding a
home
Thursday: School and life
struggles
After that first day, the two women rou
tinely helped each other during and after
class. One day, during a break in class, Hei
der turned around in her front-row seat
and handed Gass a slip of paper with her
phone number written on it, she said.
Gass did the same.
The friendship blossomed quickly. In
only a couple of weeks they were calling
each other once, sometimes twice a day.
They quickly became inseparable Gass, who
was one year behind Heider in school, took
enough credits to catch up with her new
friend, just so she could take the same
Turn to PROBLEMS, page 5
Root of the problem
PFC overrules ASUO’s veto of Emerald budget
PFC upholds its allocation to the
Emerald after the ASUO Executive
line-item vetoes the paper’s budget
By Jennifer Marie Bear
News Editor
The ASUO Executive on Monday line-item
vetoed the Emerald's budget allocation for
2004-05, but the ASUO Programs Finance
Committee overrode the veto by a 5-1-1 vote
and upheld the Emerald's budget of $120,407.
The Executive veto was the only imposed on
the more than 120 student-incidental-fee fund
ed groups.
ASUO Vice President Eddy Morales said the
Executive felt PFC acted irresponsibly by not
using an Emerald readership survey in the
budget calculation. He added that the Execu
tive met with University marketing Associate
Professor Marian Friestad, who said the reader
ship survey provided a sufficient sample to be
used in a budget-allocation formula.
PFC member Colin Andries argued that the
readership survey was not intended as a vehi
cle for budget allocations, and that a survey
specific to allocations should be used instead.
In a memo to PFC, the Executive also stated
that it objected to the funding allocation be
cause the Emerald distributes papers at off
campus locations.
"The Executive also feels that the PFC-allocated
money that does not physically or culturally en
hance the University campus, because student fees
will be paying for the publication of papers that are
distributed in areas where students are not the tar
get audience," the Executive stated in the memo.
But some PFC members found the Execu
tive's continuing opposition to the Emerald's
budget allocation a source of irritation.
Andries reprimanded the Executive for fail
ing to inform the Emerald that it would be try
ing to veto the group's budget. He said the Ex
ecutive should have told the Emerald out of
simple professional courtesy.
"That's upsetting to me that you wouldn't take
Turn to VETO, page 6
Melton
defends
hiring
delays
ASUO President Maddy Melton
told the Constitutional Court
that little interest has been
expressed for the vacant seats
By Chuck Slothower
News Reporter
The ASUO Constitution Court ruled
by a 2-1 majority Monday that ASUO
President Maddy Melton's efforts to fill
two vacancies on the court were "consti
tutionally sufficient."
Justice Stephen Yoshida, writing for the
majority, said the alternative — finding
Melton in nonfulfillment of her duties —
would be "a drastic remedy" given her ef
forts to fill the vacancies. Melton pub
lished three classified advertisements in
the Emerald, none of which yielded a stu
dent eager to work on the court.
"There can be no doubt that the ASUO
president is required to appoint persons to
vacant positions of the (constitution)
court within thirty days of said vacancy,"
Yoshida wrote. "There is no requirement,
Turn to CON COURT, page 5
Tensions
explode
at ‘Vagina’
discussion
Critics and crew agree the
controversy could have been
avoided with more sensitivity
By Nika Carlson
News Reporter
Some cried. Some said they didn't feel
represented. Others said they did the best
they could. Nearly everyone agreed, howev
er, that the ASUO Women's Center's pro
duction of 'The Vagina Monologues" could
have been done differently.
Tension and emotion permeated the
EMU Fir Room on Monday as partici
pants, observers and protesters of the pro
duction aired their thoughts and feelings
about last weekend's play and initiated
Turn to CONFLICT, page 6
WEATHER
LOW
40
HIGH
53
INSIDE
Campus buzz.6 Crossword.11
Classifieds.11 Nation & World.3
Commentary..2 Sports.7
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