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Monday, May 3, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 105, Issue 146
A nutty pastime
Squirrel fishermen' on campus seek Club Sports recognition for their pursuit
By Chelsea Duncan
. Senior News Reporter
The skilled angler cast his fly fishing line into the sea of green
grass and waited for a nibble. Moments later, the line started
to jerk, and he began to reel. Instead of a hook, he used a
peanut, and he didn't catch a fish — he caught a squirrel.
A group of University students has brought the art of squirrel
» m
fishing to campus, and now they're trying to make it an official
Club sport. The sport involves using fly fishing rods with peanuts
tied to the line to attract squirrels. Once the squirrel latches on,
the "fisherman" tugs on the line until the squirrel lets go or scur
ries away with the peanut.
"The reactions we get around campus are usually really enthu
siastic or really upset," said Jason Mcllhaney, the club's co-presi
dent, adding that people who get upset don't understand the
sport.
"The best analogy really is like playing tug of war with your
dog," Mcllhaney said.
And the sport has definitely raised a few eyebrows around cam
pus.
The University Club Sports executive committee, made up of
five students, met to determine the club's fate Friday, but the
members decided they needed to leam more about the sport be
fore making a final decision.
Executive committee member Lauren Anas said none of the
members were familiar with the concept of squirrel fishing.
"I just want to make sure that we're not doing anything offen
sive to squirrels," she said, adding that with any proposed sport,
the committee members try to familiarize themselves with the ac
tivity before making a decision.
Students proposing a new sport need at least 10 initial mem
bers, and they also need to show they can represent the University
competitively, Anas said.
Mcllhaney said there are plenty of ways to make it a competi
tive sport, which generally involves performing skillful fly fishing
Turn to NUTTY, page 6
Sara Poulter Freelance Photographer
Left: Architecture Professor Christine Theodoropoulos’ son Charlie Henry squirrel-fishes in front of the Pioneer Mother statue Saturday evening.
Right: Students want to make squirrel fishing an official University sport.
Overseas study
offers ample aid
A variety of sources of financial aid are
available to students who wish to pursue
a portion of their education internationally
By Moriah Balingit
News Reporter
Students considering going abroad who are concerned
about finances have various options for paying for their pro
grams.
Senior German major Stephanie Schwenger said her trip to
Germany actually ended up costing less than what she pays at
the University because her scholarships and financial aid
could be applied to overseas study. In addition, she received
the DAAD, a grant for students studying abroad in Germany.
Schwenger said it was no trouble getting her financial aid to
transfer.
"I just had to call the financial aid office to verify, * she said.
The DAAD is one of many scholarships and grants avail
able to students who plan to study abroad. Other scholar
ships include the Benjamin Gilman International Scholar
ship, which is available to Pell Grant recipients; the
Opportunities Abroad scholarship available through the Of
fice of International Programs, and the extremely generous
Rotary International Scholarship.
Students can also apply for many regional scholarships. The
Freeman International Scholarship is an good resource for stu
dents who plan to participate in the University-sponsored
programs in Asia. A number of regional scholarships also are
offered through the Romance Languages department for ro
mance language majors and minors; for example, the Em
manuel Hatzantonis Scholarship is available for students
planning to study in a University-sponsored program in Italy,
and the I lelen Fe Jones scholarship is offered to students plan
ning to study in a Spanish-speaking country.
Another resource for students is the short-term study abroad
loan fund, available through the University's Office of Inter
national Programs for students planning to study abroad
through a University-sponsored program. The loans range
from $300-$2,000 and are available to help pay for up-front
costs such as airline tickets.
As the process to find funding for studying abroad can be
long and tedious, OIP graduate teaching fellow Terri Monk
said students should come in as soon as they decide they want
to study abroad.
"You should always apply for every grant or scholarship
Turn to ABROAD, page 5
Campus security team greets new boss
Sergeant Mark Montes of the Eugene
Police Department aims to improve
and encourage communication
By Lisa Catto
News Reporter
Students may spot a smiling new face from the
Eugene Police Department on campus.
Sgt. Mark Montes took the reigns of the EPD
campus security team — which serves as the liai
son between EPD and the Department of Public
Safety — at the end of March.
The 20-year law enforcement veteran has spent
half of his career working in Los Angeles and the
other half working for the Springfield Police De
partment and EPD. Currently, he supervises a
team of three EPD officers in the DPS office.
DPS Interim Director Thomas Hicks said that
Montes' transition to leading the campus EPD
team is going well.
"We're really happy with Sgt. Montes," Hicks
said. "He continues the cooperative arrangement
between EPD and DPS. We appreciate (his) expe
rience and look forward to being able to take ad
vantage of it. I would expea to see a continuing
improvement in the working relationship (be
tween DPS and EPD)."
After 10 years of working in L.A., Montes said
he decided to move somewhere safer to raise his
children. He said the L.A. lifestyle was too fast
paced and hectic.
He was hired by SPD and worked there for six
years, but he was eventually transferred to EPD
because there were more opportunities for pro
motion. After working for EPD for three
months in 2000, he was promoted
to sergeant.
Montes said his current po
sition primarily involves su
pervising patrol teams.
He also serves on a va
riety of committees, in
cluding a diversity com
mittee, a racial profiling
committee and a crowd
control team.
"(The committees) don't
take a lot from my regular job,"
Montes said. "But it can be
busy, especially when the
weather gets nice."
Turn to OFFICER, page 5
SGT. MARK MONTES
Eugene Police Department
Age: 43
Years on the job: 20
Training: Various law
enforcement classes
and completion of two
police academy
programs
Hometown: LaVerne,
Calif., 30 minutes east of
Los Angeles
Family: Married, with three
children
Began working on campus:
March 2004
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