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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2004)
An independent newspaper http://www.dailyemerald.com Ducks face a week of traveling Page 7 Friday, April 16, 2004 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 105, Issue 135 Student drops claim against ASUO vice president Senior Erica Hass withdrew her charges against Eduardo Morales By Jared Paben Senior News Reporter The University student who lodged assault and criminal mischief charges against ASUO Vice President Eduardo Morales has dropped the charges, Eugene Municipal Court trial clerk Michelle Dunn said. Morales released a statement Wednesday through his attorney, ASUO Legal Services Di rector Ilona Koleszar, but declined to com ment further. "Eddy has asked me to convey that he is very relieved that the case was dismissed," the statement read. "Because he is sensitive to the fact that the situation involved not only him but another University of Oregon student, he does not want to say anything further regard ing this case." University senior Erica Hass alleged that Morales pushed her down, dragged her several feet by her ankle and broke her cell phone out side Taylor's Bar and Grill on Sept. 12, 2003. Hass dropped the charges against Morales last month, Dunn said. "I just didn't want to deal with it anymore," I lass said. "It just was very stressful." The city prosecutor's office had the option to continue pressing charges but choose not to, Dunn added. The prosecutor's office also would not discuss the case. Despite dropping the charges, Hass maintains that the Sept. 12 incident took place as she described it to the Eugene Police Department. Turn to MORALES, page 6 KOOKY CAMPAIGNING Jk From left to right: Hugh Harris, a campaigner for Adam Petkun and Mena Ravassipour, Travis Edwards, BJ De Hut and vice presidential candidate Joe Giannetti compete for voter attention on the corner of East 13th Avenue and University Street. Erik R. Bishoff Photographer Calling all voters Student voter apathy rises despite campaigning efforts, a trend that is also evident on the neighboring campus of Oregon State University By Chelsea Duncan Senior News Reporter SUO Executive candidates shell out hundreds of dollars every year in an Jl JL effort to get students motivated to vote. But new and old campaigning tactics seem to have little effect, since the majority of students simply refuse to vote. Despite the personalized T-shirts that have dotted the campus over the last couple weeks and hundreds of fliers slipping from hand to hand each day, fewer students voted in this year's primary election than in the past year. The number dropped from last year's 15.22 percent to 14.05 percent, which is about 11 percent short of ASUO's goal. Junior journalism major Colby Reade said he liked that this year's candidates have used more grassroots techniques, such as talking to students face-to-face, but he still feels the methods tend to get old. "It just seems to be a big annoyance," he said, adding that he found the candidates' T shirts confusing. "You can't tell them apart." He added that this year's campaigns seem to be more about getting the most votes rather than educating students on the issues. ASUO Executive candidate Nick Popenuk, who was unsuccessful in the primary elec tion, said he avoided approaching random students on the street and handing out fliers, adding that harassing people does not make them want to vote. He said his methods Turn to ELECTION, page 5 for ASUO general election A total of 11 student government seats, including the ASUO Executive, are still up for grabs in the gener al election beginning today, Students can vote for candidates to fill the remain ing contested spots anytime after 9 a.m. Voting ends on Monday at 5 p.m, To vote, dick on DuckWeb on the main University Web' page, http://www.uoregon.edu/. Log onto DuckWeb and click on Student Menu and a link for the 2004 elec tions will appear. ASUO Elections spokesman Nathan Strauss said voter turnout for the general election tends to be lower than the turnout for the primary This decrease is be cause fewer candidates are running, less campaigning is heid and many students aren't even aware there is a second election, he said. He added that the general election is, in many ways, more important than the primary election. Last year, 14.3 percent of students voted in the gen eral election. In this year's primary election, 14.05 per cent of the student body voted. Jared Paben Senators decrease incidental fee by $4 Wednesday’s Student Senate meeting also saw discussion of tobacco sales in the EMU By Moriah Balingit News Reporter The ASUO Student Senate decided at its Wednesday meeting to reduce next year's proposed incidental fee by $4 and use overrealized funds to cover the deficit. The meeting also included a de bate on a proposition to ban tobacco sales at Erb Essentials. Most senators appeared to support the use of overrealized funds to decrease next year's $ 184.75 fee, which is a $ 12 increase from this year, but they quarreled over whether to use the entire $300,000 in overrealized funds. Sen. Colin Andries said he felt the Sen ate should be prudent in its decision. "It doesn't seem realistic or very smart to blow the entire overrealized fund," he said. Sen. Kevin Day noted that the highly valued EMU Amphitheater was built with overrealized funds. Senate Ombudsman Mike Sherman, however, responded that this argument was not viable for maintaining the overre alized fund. "1 don't think we should not spend the money because there could be some other great project on the horizon," he said. "Personally, 1 believe that we should return that money to students ... and really send the message that the Senate is committed to lowering the costs on campus." Sen. Jesse 1 larding added that using the overrealized funds to reduce the inciden tal fee might improve the Senate's spend ing habits. "Maybe we'll be a little more ... particu lar with what to spend that money on," he said. Sen. Adrian Gilmore suggested a Turn to FEE, page 6 WEATHER LOW 40 HIGH 60 INSIDE Campus buzz.3 Classifieds.11 Commentary.2 Horoscope.11 News Briefs.12 Sports.7 NEXT ISSUE IMarissa takes on McDonald's
