An independent newspaper
http://www.dailyemerald.com
Phinisee ready for junior season Page 13
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 134
University Senate prioritizes students' privacy
The Senate decides privacy rights
override PATRIOT Act requests
for information about students
By Jennifer Marie Bear
News Editor
The University Senate Wednesday affirmed
the need to protect the privacy of student records
and to scale back the provisions of the USA
PATRIOT Act.
The Senate voted to adopt a policy statement
on the subpoena of student records that
instructed faculty and staff members not to com
ply unquestioningly with law enforcement re
quests for information.
"While privacy issues are governed by both
state and federal law, the University's interest in
privacy goes far beyond its commitment to com
ply with law," the statement declared. "Privacy
is an integral part of the academic freedom that
is at the heart of the function of the modem uni
versity. Students, faculty and staff should be
aware that the University supports their freedom
to inquire, discuss and experiment with ideas
without fear of improper government intrusion
or public exposure."
The policy statement states that all outside re
quests for information and student records
should be examined by the University General
Counsel's office before the information is dis
closed, and in no case should any disclosure pro
ceed without the authorization of the University.
The University Senate also voted to petition the
Oregon congressional delegation to seek revi
sions of the USA PATRIOT Act to eliminate what
senators labeled liberty-restricting provisions.
Gordon Lafer, a professor with the Universi
ty's Labor Education and Research Center,
submitted the petition, which states, 'The Uni
versity of Oregon University Senate calls upon
the Oregon Congressional Delegation to pro
mote the First Amendment rights, privacy rights
and traditional civil, intellectual, academic and
political liberties of the University Community
by seeking appropriate revision of those sections
of die PATRIOT Art and other related Orders of
provisions of law that impose unjusdfiable bur
dens on these rights and liberties."
The Senate approved the petition by a nearly
unanimous vote.
Turn to SENATE, page 16
Poll shows
Bush leads
Sen. Kerry
in Oregon
Bush is ahead 2 percentage
points in the state according
to a University-conducted poll
By Chelsea Duncan
. Senior News Reporter
A recently released University survey
shows President George W. Bush has a
'' narrow edge over Democratic presidential
candidate John Kerry in Oregon.
The survey of 444 registered Oregon
voters, conducted between March 19 and
April 7, shows Bush leading Kerry 47 per
cent to 45 percent, according to a Univer
sity press release. The results are within the
poll's margin of error of 4.7 percent.
Political science Assistant Adjunct Pro
fessor Joel Bloom, who directed the sur
vey, said the results show that either party
could succeed in taking Oregon in the No
vember election.
Bloom said Oregon is a close state this
year, much like it was in the 2000 election.
He added that Oregon has typically been
considered a Democratic Party-supporting
state, but over the years the Republican
Party has been making headway.
"Oregon is really less of a safe Democ
ratic state than it was," he said. "This is a
state that Democrats are going to have to
work hard for."
He said even though Democrats have
taken Oregon in the last four elections,
former Vice President Al Gore took Ore
gon by fewer than 7,000 votes in the
2000 election.
"Despite a Democratic edge in party
registration, the state does seem to be
trending Republican, making it a critical
state for Democrats to hold onto, and pro
viding Republicans with a golden oppor
tunity for a pick-up," he said in the release.
Turn to BUSH, page 3
2004 ASUO PRIMARY ELECTIONS
Tim Bobosky Photographer
Rona Yang (bottom center), a freshman running for Student Senate Seat 13, and a crowd of about 20 students read the
ASUO primary election results moments after they were posted on ASUO’s office door Wednesday evening.
And then there were two
Several ASUO races are still upfor grabs after the primaries
By Jared Paben
Senior News Reporter
he ASUO primary election has paired Adam
Petkun and Mena Ravassipour against Ben
Strawn and Diana Aguilar in a battle for
ASUO Executive in the upcoming general election.
The primary election results, which came in at
around 7 p.m. Wednesday, showed students cast
773 votes for the Petkun/Ravassipour ticket and
654 votes for the Strawn/Aguilar ticket. Adrian
Gilmore came in third with 371 votes.
A total of 2,465 students, or 14.05 percent of the
student body, voted in the primary election. That
number falls short of the ASUO Election Board's goal
of 25 percent turnout. Last year, 15.22 percent of stu
dents voted in the primary. Candidates winning more
than 50 percent of the votes win the contested seat.
Petkun said even before seeing the results he was
hopeful about his ticket's chances, citing positive
reactions from students on campus.
"I can't even speak right now," Petkun said. "In
all seriousness, I was definitely hopeful. We were
getting good reactions from everyone. We were
feeling pretty good about things."
Strawn said the results showed that his ticket has
room for improvement.
"I was pretty optimistic about getting into the
generals," Strawn said. "I feel like if you look at the
platforms, I feel like we have the most relevant set
of issues, and I think we have the best chance of
getting our goals accomplished."
Gilmore said he wasn't surprised that he didn't
make it into the general election.
"When you don't have any money and you can't
have your friends dance around in front of the
EMU and do other stuff for you, you're not going
to win," Gilmore said. "I'm disappointed that I
won't be able to continue working for students. I
think the problem is the elections are going to be
OK and the status quo will begin again."
This year's primary election was marred by a
DuckWeb error that kept some students from voting
for ASUO Student Senate academic seat candidates.
Turn to ELECTIONS, page 4
Committee
proposes
EMU space
renovations
The partial plan would affect
the Craft Center, Erb Essentials
and the Women’s Center
By Steven Neuman
News Reporter
The EMU Interim Planning Committee
submitted its final recommendation for
an estimated $223,016 in building reno
vations to the EMU Board of Directors,
which passed the plan 11-1 Wednesday.
The board originally allocated
$ 180,000 for the remodel and will cover
the discrepancy between the two costs
with money from a $ 1.3 million funding
grant the University gave the EMU to im
prove climate control.
The recommendation, which is separate
from a larger EMU remodeling Master
Plan unveiled in May 2003, includes spe
cific proposals for Erb Essentials, along
with changes to the Craft Center, Women's
Center and the north entrance. The reno
vations are scheduled for this summer,
and the proposed construction will be fin
ished by fall.
Board member Brandon Rhodes pre
sented a possible layout for the space pre
viously used by the EMU Child Care and
Development Centers. The recommenda
tion advocated moving the Craft Center
into the free space and expanding the ex
isting Women's Center.
"We had to best use the space vacated
by the CCDC. The Craft Center and the
Women's Center, they're both really
cramped to the point of possibly breaking
health and safety laws," Rhodes said.
EMU Director of Student Activities
Gregg Lobisser said the plan could easily
be completed in the allotted time with
out causing existing offices or organiza
tions to move.
"1 suspect that there won't be much
Turn to EMU, page 16
WEATHER
INSIDE
NEXT ISSUE
LOW
40
HIGH
58
Campus buzz.4
Classifieds.14
Commentary.2
Crossword.15
Pulse.5
Sports.13
Examining
students’
voter apathy