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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2004)
This bus runs on a different kind of oil I 8 An independent newspaper mow. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 \ Volutne 106, Issue 23 j Tuesday September 28, 2004 EUGENE RIOTS May 31 October 31 About 200 people congregated on University Street after being locked out of a party, according to Emerald, archives. About 300 people gathered at East 17th Avenue and Alder Street in a party-turned-riot, the Emerald reported. The Emerald reported that 80 to 100 people gathered outside a party on East 17th Avenue and Alder Street. Police used tear gas to control the crowd and arrested 12 people. No campus- I No campus- I No campus area riots I area riots I area riots reported. I reported. I reported. An estimated 500 people crowded a two-block stretch of Patterspri Street, tipping trash cans, uprooting signs, setting fires and hurling bottles that injured seven of the 40 responding officers, the Emerald reported. Eleven people were arrested after more than two hours of commotion, according to Eugene Police Department. September 27 EPD estimated 1,000 to 1,800 people spilled out of multiple parties and onto the blocks surrounding East 14th Avenue and Ferry Street. Rioters set multiple fires, burned a'golf cart and threw bottles and bricks at police officers. Police gained control after about three hours, arresting 37 people on riot-related charges. Partygoers congregated at East 17th Avenue and Mill Street, tearing down a stop sign and setting one small fire. Police contained the crowd in about one hour, according to Emerald archives. \ \ -----—= III III || Furtwanclek Graphics Editor 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Students + Alcohol = Riots? The University participates in a national study looking to explain why parties cause violent riots BY KARA HANSEN NEWS REPORTER Take a few hundred college students, throw in some al cohol, loud music and the police, and there’s potential for a riot, according to student ac counts gleaned from recent Uni versity research. The University joined 11 schools in a 2003 national study exploring why off-campus parties occasion ally turn violent. The project, which concluded Sept. 9, was the first of its kind in the nation and represented a step toward deter mining why the University and other participating schools have been subject to riots, said Sheryl Eyster, assistant dean and associ ate director of student life. The West University neighbor hood has seen 11 riots since 1988, three of which occurred between 2002 and 2003 after three years without riot activity, according to University Director and Associate Dean of Student Life Laura Blake Jones. Partygoers spilled onto streets, and, in some instances, up rooted street signs, burned a golf cart and hurled rocks and bottles that injured police officers, accord ing to police reports and Emerald archives. On the tail of a five-year increase in parties that sparked vi olence, University students blamed a dangerous combination of booze and negative perceptions of police tactics for fueling violence. The research summary also pro duced a definition of what consti tutes a typical party. It included three ingredients: “boys, girls and alcohol.” Surveys of 381 University stu dents and accounts gathered from six focus groups indicated that many students felt police-enforce ment strategies, which they said were sometimes unnecessary and irrational, could lead to riots. RIOTS, page 6 UO rule expanded for gender concerns The change allows transgender people to file a grievance if they feel discriminated against BY PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTER TYansgender students and staff are now specifically protected from discrimination under a recent change to the University’s non-discrimination policy. The permanent rule change — which al lows transgender people to file grievances alleging they were discriminated against because of their gender expression or gen der identity — went into effect Sept. 14. The policy forbids denying educational or professional opportunities to students and University employees on grounds oth er than intellectual merit. General Counsel to the University Melin da Grier said the change was the result of concerns from members of the University community who did not feel protected by the existing language of the University’s Prohibited Discrimination, Discriminatory Harassment and Sexual Harassment poli cy, which also forbids discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, race, reli gion and other characteristics. “There was a sense that some folks did n’t have the level of protection they want ed,” Grier said. Before the new policy was effected, POLICY, page 8 Bicyclists take 950-mile ride to end voter apathy Ride4America begins its tour of western Oregon to visit college campuses via bike BY MEGHANN CUNIFF NEWS REPORTER When a group of bicyclists departed Sunday morning from Lane Community College to begin an estimated 950-mile journey around Ore gon, University graduate Ja son Elmendorf saw it not just as an exercise of mus cles, but also an exercise of civil rights. The bicyclists are part of Ride4America, a volunteer organization based in Eugene that Elmendorf said is dedi cated to ending voter apathy and encouraging political activism. “We’re trying to encourage our fellow citizens to partici pate in the political process,” volunteer La Vonne Brous said. “It’s the only way we can keep it our country.” Ride4America participants will visit dozens of cities around Oregon, stopping at college campuses and town centers to talk to citizens about the upcoming election and issues that are pertinent to their lives before returning to Eugene on October 25, Elmen dorf said. Though Ride4America sup ports Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, Elmen dorf, who founded the organi zation, said its goal is not to encourage students to vote Democratic, but rather to sim ply encourage them to vote. “My goal is to not make it overtly partisan, but more about showing people what it means to be an American and letting them figure it out from there,” Elmendorf said. Elmendorf said he never considered himself to be much of a political activist but was alarmed by what he perceived as the current administration’s disregard for the basic princi ples of democracy. “There was sense that peo ple had to fear repercussion for being critical of the govern ment,” Elmendorf said. “These are some of the things you don’t do in a democracy.” Elmendorf decided to turn his apathy into activism and began searching for a creative way to encourage Oregonians all across the state to do the same. With his love for bicycling and desire to see the Oregon countryside, Elmendorf said a bike trip around the state struck him as the perfect way to express his right to free speech. Part of Ride4America’s mission is to connect with younger voters, so Elmendorf designed a route that would allow them to visit the maximum number of VOTE, page 7 Tim Bobosky | Photographer Jason Elmendorf and five other riders left Lane Community College Sunday morning to complete another leg in their journey around Oregon in support of Presidential candidate John Kerry.
