nn inaepenaem newspaper
unirw. da i lyemera ld.com
since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 29 | Wednesday, October 6, 2004
Facts stretched thin in VP debate
STUDENTS RESPOND TO ATTACKS
EXCHANGED BY RUNNING MATES
The Associated Press
of political
excited
t
BY PARKER HOWELL
& MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
NEWS REPORTERS
Supporters of the
two major presidential
campaigns rallied together
Tuesday night on campus
to watch the first and only
debate between vice presi
dential hopefuls Dick Ch
eney and Sen. John Ed
wards.
Republican congres
sional candidate Jim Feld
kamp joined College Re
publican members and
other University students
at The Break in the EMU to
watch the debate, praising
he said was an inspiring level
involvement at the University.
“It’s great to see young vot
about politics,” Feldkamp said
He said the viewing was a ]
to watch the debates while connec
i with the students he is working so 1
to reach.
Feldkamp said both Cheney and
wards’ performances reflected their
sonalities, reiterating the Republican
tv’s pigference for facts instead of feail
“Fast lines and smooth talking
come natural to Edwards,®.
formal trial
lawyer, but
Cheney’s
reserved
appear
ance and
quiet tone
are a result of
his ‘just the
facts' personali
ty,” Feldkamp
said.
“(Edwards) tried to hammer
and create this atmosphere of distrust
when the facts speak for them
selves,” Feldkamp said. “Ch
eney is by nature more
served and more
factual-oriented. ”
Freshman Paul
Coppe agreed.
“While John Ed
wards is a very good pub
lic speaker, he’s a snake oil
salesman,” Coppe said. “Dick
Cheney speaks more from the
heart,” he said, adding that Ch
eney is much more qualified to lead the country
than Edwards could ever be.
Anyone still undecided about who to vote for
should understand that “it’s better to err on the
side of caution and values you can trust than
ly gimmicks,” Coppe said.
away
I. JUT
The Associated Press
Though Edwards and Sen. John Kerry’s ideas
about America may sound wonderful, most are
not feasible, junior Josh Tlicker said, adding that
neither candidate will discuss the ideas enough
to give citizens adequate information to make a
LOCAL, page 7
viot rKtoiUtiMTIAL CANDIDATES ON OFFENSIVE ABOljT CREDIBILITY, QUALIFICATIONS DURING DEBATES
BYTOMRAUM
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CLEVELAND — Sen. John Edwards accused
the Bush administration Tliesday night o|
bungling the war in Iraq and presiding over a
historic loss of jobs. “Your facts are just wrong,”
Vice President Dick Cheney shot back in a
crackling campaign debate.
In a clash at close quarters, Edwards accused
Cheney of “not being straight” with the Ameri
can people about the war. He said U.S. casual
ties are rising monthly and the United States is
bearing 90 percent of the cost and suffering 90
percent of the dead and wounded.
Cheney promptly challenged those figures,
rds summed up his points like the for
iwyer he is.
at the Bush-Cheney campaign’s
cperience, he said, “Mr. Vice Presi
deif^BBn’t think the country can take four
more years of this type of experience.”
He also said that as a member of Congress
more than a decade ago, Cheney voted against
Head Start and banning plastic guns that can
escape detection in metal detectors.
Edwards was on the attack from the opening
moments of the debate.
He said that in addition to mismanaging the
war in Iraq, the administration had Osama bin
Laden cornered in the mountains of
Afghanistan at one point, but turned over the
hunt for the mastermind behind the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks to Afghan warlords.
“The senator has got his facts wrong," said
Cheney. “We’ve never let up on Osama bin
Laden from Day One. We’ve actively and ag
gressively pursued him.”
In rebuttal to Edwards’ charges on the war,
Cheney repeatedly criticized the Democratic
presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, for shift
ing positions on the conflict.
Referring to Kerry’s debate with President
Bush last week, Cheney said the four-term
Massachusetts senator had declared he would
NATIONAL, page 8
DPS amps up bike rules citations
The renewed effort to enforce bike laws stems from increased
complaints about violations during this past winter and spring
BY KARA HANSEN
NEWS REPORTER
The Department of Public Safety will increase
enforcement of Oregon’s bike rules starting
Wednesday by posting new signs and issuing
warnings to law-breaking riders for about a
week before R begins handing out citations.
The efforts come in response to increased
complaints last winter and spring from faculty
and students on foot who were hit or nearly
hit by bikes, DPS Lt. Herb Horner said.
“We periodically enforce things like this,”
Horner said, noting that a limited staff re
quires DPS to focus on individual issues for
blocks of time. “Last year, complaints came
daily. And the squeaky wheel gets the
grease, so for a period of time officers will be
out notifying people where to dismount and
educating people about the rules.”
Starting Wednesday, four new sandwich
board signs warning riders to dismount will be
posted during enforcement hours, from 7:30
a.m. to 5 p.m., at the ASUO Street Faire on
East 13th Avenue. Beginning Monday, two of
those signs will sit near the EMU, while the
other two will be shifted between campus
“problem areas,” such as the walkway from
the residence halls near Agate Street to the
EMU, Horner said. A pathway near East 15th
Avenue to Franklin Boulevard and a fire lane
by the Knight Library and Gerlinger Annex to
the EMU are the only designated bike routes
on campus, not including main roads. Horner
said riders who fail to dismount and walk at
appropriate areas are subject to a $20 fine, and
no skateboarding is allowed at the EMU.
While bikes are allowed on all main streets,
including lanes on East 13 th Avenue, there are
many other rules that riders can unknowingly
violate. DPS encourages riders to register their
bikes, which is required on campus but has
not been enforced. Students who don’t attach
their bikes to designated racks risk having
them impounded and incurring a $10 fee if
they aren’t registered. Registering a bike in
creases the chance of getting it back if it’s im
pounded, lost or stolen, Horner said.
In addition, bicyclists are subject to general
moving-vehicle rules.
“The rules establish that the speed limit on
a skateboard or bike is 15 mph,” Horner said.
“But some bikes, they’re flying.”
And although the speed limit is difficult to
regulate, at least one Eugene Police Depart
ment officer will*be on campus daily to en
force other moving vehicle regulations, which
restrict bikes as they would cars.
In Oregon, people on bikes have the same
BIKES, page 7
IN BRIEF
The ASUO Street Faire makes
a comeback to satisfy hunger
Students looking to a grab a bite between
classes will be flooded with new options for the
rest of the week.
The ASUO Steet Faire, which has been a
biannual event on campus since 1970, will run
from today until Friday.
“We have about 70 vendors — both craft and
food vendors,” Marketing Director Kelly
O’Brien said.
The vendors will be on East 13th Avenue
near University Street from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. In
addition, nonprofit groups will have tables set
up in the EMU Amphitheater, while Deejays
play music during the day.
Vendors will provide a wide range of goods
from as far north as Canada and as far west as
Kansas, O’Brien said.
Money raised from renting tables to vendors
will go to the ASUO.
“This is one of the office’s biggest fundrais
ers,” O’Brien said.
— Gabe Bradley