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African Community Night celebrated Page 5
Monday, March 8, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 115
Marriage milestone
Gretchen Miller, a University professor, married longtime partner Sarah Hendrickson Saturday in Eugene
Gretchen
Miller (left)
and Sarah
Hendrickson
share a toast
with Kent
Kullbyand
Tim Smith at
the Eugene
Hilton after
both couples
were
married
Saturday
morning.
Hendrickson
and Miller, a
University
professor,
were the first
same-sex
couple ever
married in
Eugene.
*
I
I
|
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1
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Tim Kupsick
Freelance
Photographer
By Jared Paben
Senior News Reporter
Shortly after 11 a.m. on Saturday, two women
— partners for nearly a quarter of a century —
entered Vista Room 2 on the 12th floor of the
Hilton Eugene and Conference Center, cutting
short numerous conversations and drawing eyes
and smiles their way
Gretchen Miller, a University professor of 15
years, and her soon-to-be wife Sarah Hendrick
son wound their way through the thick crowd to
the front of the room, where they met and em
braced another Eugene couple, Tim Smith and
Kent Kullby.
It was the beginning of a very happy day for the
visibly excited women. For 24 years they have been
together, living as a ONLINE EXTRA
family, raising their -
children. For much To view a photo gallery of last
of that time they week’s Multnomah County
wanted to marry marriages, visit www.daily
-We-ve waited a emerald com and click on
long time,' said 'ma^ Gallenes.
Miller, who will
teach Introduction to Public Law this spring.
"There's no reason to wait any longer."
On Saturday, they were finally married, be
coming the first same-sex couple to wed in Eu
gene history.
The Rev. Carolyn Colbert minister of the local
Unitarian Universalist Church, married the cou
ples. She has known Miller and Hendrickson for
about six years.
"I'm glad that none of you have rushed into
this," she said during the ceremony, drawing laugh
ter from much of the crowd. "Clearly, 24 years and
13 years together, respectively, have given you both
lots of time."
The decision to get married wasn't rushed, but
preparations for the ceremony certainly were. After
getting their marriage license on Wednesday in Port
land, they had only three days to put together the
wedding, which was relatively small and simple.
Miller said that a big ceremony wasn't important
to the women, adding that if they wanted a big
wedding they would have waited and had one.
Next year the women look forward to celebrating
both their 25th anniversary of being together and
their first anniversary of being married, she said.
Turn to WEDDING, page 6
Global
holiday
honors
women
Women and HIV/AIDS
is the topic for this year’s
International Women's Day
By Chelsea Duncan
News Reporter
Today marks International Women's Day,
recognized by the United Nations as a day
when women can come together to reflect
on their achievements and continue the
movement for human rights worldwide.
This year's theme is Women and
HIV/AIDS, according to the Web site for
the United Nations Development Fund
for Women.
"At the beginning many people thought of
AIDS as a disease striking mainly at men,"
U N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a
statement on the Web site. "Even a decade
ago, statistics indicated that women were less
affected. But a terrifying pattern has since
emerged. All over the world, women are in
creasingly bearing the brunt of the epidemic."
The holiday has been celebrated around
the world in different ways and on different
dates for nearly a century. The United Na
tions General Assembly adopted a resolu
tion in 1977 to observe the day on March 8,
according to the Web site
University Women's and Gender Studies
Assistant Professor Elizabeth Reis said the
holiday was taken up by the feminist move
ment in the 1960s.
"Feminists saw that it was kind of a ready
made holiday to celebrate women's lives,"
she said.
She added that since then it has become a
Turn to WOMEN, page 12
NEWS BRIEF
Knight Library open 24/7
during Dead Week
and Finals Week
The Knight Library will remain open
around the clock during Dead Week
and Finals Week this term to give stu
dents, faculty and staff extra time to
study and research, according to a Uni
versity Ubraries press release.
The extended hours begin today at
8:00 a.m. and run through midnight on
March 18. All other University libraries
will maintain their usual schedules.
University Librarian Deborah Carv
er said about 4,000 people have taken
advantage of the extended hours each
term since the schedule was enacted
last spring.
"It really does seem to be a really
useful service," she said. "The com
ments were just so positive."
The library will be open only to stu
dents, faculty and staff with current
University identifications during its ex
tended hours. Access to photocopy ma
chines and Information Technology
Center computers and printers will be
available, but no other services, includ
ing checkout services or reference desk
assistance, will be open during the ex
tended hours, according to the release.
Carver said there have been no prob
lems so far with the schedule, and she
hopes to continue the service in the fu
ture, although it may be difficult to af
ford. She said it costs the library rough
ly $5,000 each term for the extended
service, but she feels it's worth it
Turn to LIBRARY, page 12
Eugeneans, school board at odds
over 4J elementary school name
Despite community support, the board
is showing little enthusiasm to name
a school after the late Cesar Chavez
By Moriah Balingit
Freelance Reporter
Nearly 150 people gathered in the parking lot of the
4J District Education Center on Friday in support of
naming a nearly completed elementary school after the
late labor rights activist Cesar Chavez.
"Si se puede! (Yes we can!)" chanted the crowd, clad
in red headbands and carrying signs.
The 4J Eugene School District Board recently came
under fire after a March 1 work session when few board
members showed support for naming the school for
Chavez despite considerable community endorsement.
"We have a board that's all white deciding for us,"
said Guadalupe Quinn, the program coordinator of the
Network of Immigrant Justice.
School board member Virginia Thompson said she
felt the name was "inclusive of some people and exclu
sive of others."
"I think we have very vocal groups and those can be
defined as segments of our community," she said.
But many rally attendees argued otherwise. Mayoral can
didate Kitty Piercy said Chavez's work benefited everyone
Turn to CHAVEZ, page 12
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