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