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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2004)
IN BRIEF Student Senate proceeds with accounting system The Student Senate on Wednes day night approved changes to the rules governing how it allocates student fees, preparing the government for the new accounting system the ASUO will use this year. The changes alter three sec tions of the Green Tape Notebook, the rules applied to stu dent government. If the changes are approved by the ASUO Constitution Court, they will be implemented beginning Nov. 1. The new rules forbid student groups from transferring money between accounts and establish a new General Fund for money donat ed to the ASUO Programs Finance Committee for a specific event by any non-ASUO department of the Oregon University System. Senator Kevin Day said the draft ed rule-changes were the best the Senate Rules Committee could produce under such strict time constraints. “The gist behind this is not to make sure to have the i’s and t’s dotted, but to have the general phi losophy of this,” Day said. The changes are “only the begin ning of many changes that rules committee will be proposing throughout the year,” according to a memo Day sent to senators on Oct. 20. Also at the meeting, Senate TYea surer Eden Cortez said the Senate has about $51,862 left in its surplus fund. Senate President James George said the surplus is lower than last year at this time, when the account held about $90,000. He said the surplus is lower this year be cause last year’s PFC process allo cated money to groups more accu rately. The Senate also unanimously vot ed to release $100 from MEChA’s food-holding account for the group’s Nov. 2 celebration of Dia de los Muertos. A representative from the group said MEChA will use the funds to buy marigolds and food items to offer as gifts to the spirits of dead ancestors during the annu al celebration. — Parker Howell IN BRIEF Peace Corps officials visit campus today Tonight, students and communi ty members considering volunteer ing with the United States Peace Corps will be able to learn more about the opportunities available from the program. University Peace Corps representa tive Sarah Schrock will present infor mation in the International Lounge at the EMU from 6-8 p.m. Schrock served as an agroforestry volunteer in Kenya. The Peace Corps is a federal agency that has coordinated interna tional volunteer efforts in areas such as “education, youth outreach, com munity development, the environ ment and information technology” since 1961, according to its Web site. Tracing the agency’s roots back to John F. Kennedy’s leadership in the Senate, Peace Corps volunteers cur rently serve in 71 countries in various parts of the world. All volunteers must be 18 years old and citizens of the United States. Knowledge of a foreign lan guage is not required. However, vol unteers are strongly encouraged to have earned at least a four-year col lege degree before leaving to serve in most programs. For more information on tonight’s meeting, contact Schrock at 346-6026 or visit www.peacecorps.gov. — Gabe Bradley Fraud: Several complaints filed on Sproul and Associates Continued from page 1 throughout the state during this elec tion year. The Count Every Vote Pro ject, a coalition of organizations work ing to ensure that people know their voting rights, has received at least six reports from the Eugene area of peo ple being approached with phony pe titions and then told they have to reg ister as a Republican for their signature to count, according to the group’s spokeswoman Patty Wentz. Wentz said her group has seen the same pattern on other campuses in Oregon, including Western Oregon University, Portland State University, George Fox University, Chemeketa and Mt. Hood community colleges. “There is no such petition and no such requirement to register as a Republican; three people said it happened during a street fair,” Wentz said. Wentz said the Republican Nation al Committee paid $2.8 million to an Arizona-based political consulting company, Sproul and Associates, to r get new Republicans to register to vote. The Oregon Secretary of State’s office is investigating that company, she said. Anne Martens, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Secretary of State, con firmed that after receiving an official complaint the day af ter the voter-registra tion deadline, an in vestigation was opened into possible voter-registration fraud in Oregon. “We received three official complaints; all three involved Sproul and Associates. One was from Multnomah County and two were from Douglas County,” Martens said. Martens added that in addition to the written complaints, the office also received a number of e-mail com plaints, some from the Eugene area. However, she said she couldn’t get into details because it is a criminal in vestigation. Unlike other students who have still not received their ballots, Er ickson said she was able to confirm her registration with the Lane County Elections Office and has re ceived her ballot. BALLOT ISSUES? If you filled out a voter-registration form but have since been told you are not registered, contact Ilona KoleszaratASUO Legal Services at 3464273. If you were surprised to be registered with the Republican Party when you received your ballot, contact the Count Every Vote Project at (503) 2366058. ASUO Legal Ser vices Director Ilona Koleszar said she hasn’t heard any re ports of the use of phony petitions, but that she has gotten complaints from peo ple who still haven’t received their ballots. Koleszar said she’s had people that are sure they have regis tered — some multiple times — but were told by Lane County Elections that they are not registered. Wentz said she is concerned that registration cards may have been destroyed. “This is a horrible manipulation of our democracy,” she said. “We are very concerned that some people have had their (registration) cards de stroyed, which is the worst possible thing to happen to a voter. ” Erickson said she was uneasy about the fact that some people get paid to register voters. “They capitalized on my concern for the cause to make me register as a Republican,” Erickson said. “The fact that someone can get paid to register people to vote seems wrong; there should be a law that registering peo ple should be completely voluntary. ” Aside from these sorts of allega tions, Martens said she doesn’t think that this sort of activity will have a large impact on the election. “We’re not talking about millions or even thousands.” Martens said. “For any person who has been disen franchised this is a terrible thing, but I don’t think this will swing the election one way or another. ” canelawood@ daily emerald, com IN BRIEF Woody Harrelson visits to support Roadless Rule Actor Woody Harrelson will join local activists to support the Roadless Rule at 1 p.m. today in the EMU Amphitheater. Environmental groups OSPIRG, the Oregon Natural Resources Council and Cascadia Wildlands Project have been working to raise awareness and support for the rule, which was implemented by the Clinton administration and is now under threat of being weakened by the Bush administration, accord ing to an OSPIRG press release. The rule covers about 58 million acres of roadless public forests in the nation and limits timber harvest, road con struction and reconstruction. Harrelson is widely known for play ing Woody on “Cheers,” and his roles in movies such as “White Men Can't Jump,” “Indecent Proposal” and “Nat ural Born Killers. ” He is also an activist for the legalization of marijuana. —Parker Howell IT FILLS YOU UP RIGHT." ©2004 CSC wi m m . . . great events University of Oregon Cultural Forum Friday Night Flicks 7:30 & 10 p.m. in PIC 180 ........... Thriller 80s Halloween Dance 10 p.m* until 2 a.m. in the EMU Fishbowl.... ■ I ' ■1IHH mmmm I And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead w/ Forget Cassettes and Dance Disaster Movement 8:30 p.m, at WOW Hall..$12, $14 drs. http://culturalforum.uoregon.edu
