An independent newspaper
http://www.dailyemerald.com
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 144
Board votes to ban tobacco sales in Erb Essentials
EMU Director Dusty Miller
says the convenience store
will be tobacco-free in the fal
as per the recommendationl
By Moriah Balingit
News Reporter
The long debated question of
whether or not Erb Essentials should
sell tobacco products was finally set
tled Wednesday when the EMU
Board voted to ban tobacco sales in
the EMU.
Officially, the EMU Board's vote is
only a recommendation to EMU
Director Dusty Miller. But Miller said
after the meeting that he will follow
through with the recommendation.
"We will open fall term not selling
cigarettes," he said.
The Campus Advisory Board, a
University Health Center group that
works to educate students about
smoking, launched its campaign
April 19 to ban tobacco sales on
campus when it presented to both
the EMU Board and the ASUO Sen
ate its proposal to end tobacco sales
in the EMU.
The presentations inspired a fiery
debate, with some calling the plan
"paternalistic."
EMU Food Service Director John
Costello, who was present at the
meeting Wednesday, explained the
potential financial impact of the ban.
I le said tobacco sales won't be the only
revenue lost but also "secondary sales,"
or purchases made by customers in ad
dition to tobacco products.
"We're looking theoretically at
$100,000 in lost sales," he said,
which would result in about $25,000
in lost revenue.
Costello added that he has been
doing research — via student surveys
and looking at how other universities
have dealt with similar bans — to find
products that could replace the tobac
co revenue. Sushi was one of the pro
posed replacement products.
Some of the board members
expressed concerns about the financial
well-being of the store, but EMU Board
Chairwoman Christa Shively said that
this should not be a concern.
"I trust (John Costello's) entrepre
neurial skill,” she said.
Board member Slade Leeson felt it
was the board's obligation to provide
services the students want.
"I feel like that by selling tobacco
we provide a service students want,"
he said. "Why have this student build
ing when we can't give them the serv
ices they want?"
Despite the objections, the decision
passed 8-4 to the jubilant applause of
supporters.
Board member Ethan Firpo said
he felt the board's decision set a bad
precedent.
"We have to be careful when we try
to protect other people's health be
cause you have to ask when do we
overstep the bounds of personal free
doms," he said after the meeting.
Board member Brandon Rhodes,
who voted in favor of the ban, was
pleased with the result.
"I think it's an excellent step toward
a smoke-free campus and therefore
the freedom from second-hand
smoke in public areas," he said.
Contact the people/
culture/faith reporter
at moriahbalingit@dailyemerald.com.
ASUO voter turnout
reflects wider trend
ASUO government members
are trying to establish ways
to reach more student voters
By Jared Paben
Senior News Reporter
College-age voters are a dying breed.
On the University campus and across
the nation, statistics reveal a noticeable de
cline in college-age voter participation.
_ Here, few
PART 2 OF 2
Wednesday: Low voter
turnout worries ASUO
Today: Causes and solutions
to voter apathy
er than
one of 10
students
cast a bal
lot for
ASUO
elections
last week, a percentage that falls short of the
already-low turnout rate for 18 to 24-year
olds in local, state and federal elections.
Both the causes and solutions to this
trend are elusive, although many ASUO
leaders say the solutions may come with
an outreach program informing students
about the ASUO's importance.
Even then, leaders disagree over who is
responsible for coordinating those out
reach programs. Members of the ASUO
Elections Board say they aren't responsible
for increasing voter turnout, but ASUO
President-elect Adam Petkun said the Elec
tions Board coordinator should pick up
the slack for increasing voter awareness
outside the election season.
Causes of low turnout
Many student government leaders be
lieve non-voting students are aware of
elections and know how to vote but sim
ply don't care about voting. Others said
non-voters feel voting is pointless because
they believe ASUO doesn't do anything.
ASUO Student Senate President Ben
Strawn said students fail to see changes
from one ASUO administration to the
next and assume student government is
inconsequential.
Turn to VOTERS, page 4
A DAY WITH DAVE
Lauren Wimer Senior Photographer
Journalism major Stacey MacFarlane watches as University President Dave Frohnmayer signs a few papers among the piles.
MacFarlane was chosen by lottery through the Student Alumni Relations Board to spend a day with Frohnmayer.
Ethics Week addresses public’s perceptions of media
The week’s events are intended
to promote relations between
the media and the general public
By Chelsea Duncan
Senior News Reporter
Media credibility has taken a few hits on a na
tional scale recently, which is why members of
the University's Society of Professional Journal
ists chapter say it's more important than ever to
educate students and community members
about media ethics.
The group is hosting "Ethics Week," which
kicks off today and is intended to promote
ethics in the professional world of journalism.
University SPJ Publicity Chairman Tirn Ri
naker said he hopes the week will help build a
more misting relationship between the media
and the public.
"A lot of people just are inherently mistrusting
of the mass media," he said, adding that people
think "there's always more than meets the eye."
The series of events lasts through May 6, when
Los Angeles Times Editor John Carroll will give
the keynote speech at the 2004 Ruhl Lecture.
The event is sponsored by the School of Journal
ism and Communication.
Tonight's event is a panel discussion about
ethical practices in radio news. Journalism
school Associate Dean Al Stavitsky, along with
other professionals from the field, will be part
of the panel.
Stavitsky authored an ethics guide commis
sioned by the Corporation for Public Broad
casting, and a new edition was published in
January. Stavitsky said the increase in techno
logical news sources, including the Internet,
bring even more questions about media ethics
to the table. Add to that the recent media scan
dals, such as The New York Times' Jayson Blair
incident, and faith continues to fall.
"This is a time when the public is very skepti
cal of journalists and their motives," he said,
adding that it's important for news organiza
tions to "put their ethics on the line."
Stavitsky's media guide, "Independence and
Integrity II," can be viewed online at
http://www.cpb.org/radio/ethicsguide.
Students with questions or comments about
the Emerald's practices this year will have the
chance to speak with Emerald Managing Editor
Jan Tobias Montry at Tuesday's public forum.
Oregon Commentator Editor in Chief Timothy
Dreier, I he Insurgent Editor Jack Grocihsso and
Duck U TV's Cascene Gibson will also join the
panel to discuss ethical issues journalists face as
they work in a student community, according
to an SPJ press release.
University journalism Professor Tom Bivins,
who teaches media ethics, said one of the key
reasons people distrust the media is because
news organizations are not being responsible
when it comes to distinguishing between edito
rial content and actual news.
"Look at what passes as news today," he said.
Opinions and news are often mixed into broad
cast programs making it difficult to tell them
apart, he added.
Bivins said this practice makes the media less
credible because people feel opinions and news
Turn to ETHICS, page 3
WEATHER
LOW
38
HIGH
75
INSIDE
Campus buzz.3 Crossword.15
Classifieds.15 Pulse.5
Commentary.2 Sports.13
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