Ducks lose to Cal by one point I 7
Oregon Daily Emerald
An independent newspaper
www. dailyemerald. com
Since 1900 \ Volume 106, Issue 52 j Monday, November 8,2004
Nicole Barker | photographer
Construction on the Many Nations Longhouse, behind the Knight Law Center, is set
to be completed on Dec. 5. The grand opening will be Jan. 11.
Longhouse to
bring ‘Many
Nations’together
After a 20-year wait, construction on the Many
Nations Longhouse will be completed in December
BY CANEIA WOOD
NEWS REPORTER
It’s been a decade in the mak
ing, but the University is just
a month away from having a
new and improved Many Nations
Longhouse. The building, which
is four times larger than its prede
cessor and is located behind the
Knight Law Center, is a place for
students and community mem
bers to socialize and work on
American Indian crafts, including
bead work and drum making.
“It’s a place where different Na
tive American student groups have
held regular meetings, but it can
be reserved and used by all non
tribe groups as well,” Gordon Bet
ties, the steward for the Many Na
tions Longhouse, said.
Construction began on the
building in March and is set to be
completed by Dec. 5.
The previous longhouse had
been donated to the American In
dian students in the 1970s, accord
ing to Betties. The building was a
World War II army barracks.
“The old longhouse windows
were drafty, it was hard to warm in
the winter and it was losing practi
cability,” Betties said. “President
Myles Brand made a commitment
to rebuild the longhouse.”
Betties said that when Universi
ty President Dave Frohnmayer
took over he followed through
with the commitment, which be
gan fundraising 11 years ago.
It was under Frohnmayer’s Na
tive American Initiative that the
University began working with
nine American Indian tribes in
Oregon and developed a commit
tee to raise funds, according to
Betties.
Executive Assistant President
Dave Hubin said fundraising was
done by groups of American Indians
and University leaders.
“The process of fundraising
LONGHOUSE, page 5
IN BRIEF
State Board of Higher Education
puzzles over enrollment decline
Enrollment increased 0.6 percent this
year across the Oregon University System,
indicating slowing growth for the second
year in a row, according to an OUS press
release. The State Board of Higher Educa
tion met in Beaverton on Thursday, and Fri
day to discuss enrollment numbers and ed
ucational costs at Oregon’s seven public
universities, among other things.
Based on fourth-week enrollment num
bers from the schools, there are now
80,066 students in the system compared to
79,558 in 2003, Director of OUS Institution
al Research Bob Kieran said in the release.
The increase is lower compared to gains
seen between 1999 and 2002 — while en
rollment increased by 6.3 percent and 5.7
percent in 2001 and 2002, respectively,
campuses saw only a 1.9 percent increase
in 2003.
The University reported an enrollment of
20,339 students in the fourth week of fall
term, a 1.5 percent increase. While there
were small increases in undergraduate,
doctoral and professional students at the
universities, there was a decrease in stu
dents enrolling for masters degrees. Also,
the University’s international-student pop
ulation decreased from 1,273 last year to
1,170 this fall, according to the Office of In
ternational Programs.
Kieran said reasons behind the inhibited
growth are still under review. In the last
two years, tuition increased an average of
21 percent across the university system, ac
cording to the release. And while campus
es could depend on the state to cover 51
percent of educational costs in the 1999
2001 biennium, state support has dropped
to just 36 percent for the 2003-2005 bienni
um, putting a greater burden on students.
— Ayisha Yahya
VEHICLE CATCHES FIRE ON CAMPUS, TOTALS CAR
A University employee’s vehicle caught fire
outside the Knight Law Center around 3 p.m.
Friday, totaling one car and causing minor dam
age to another vehicle, but inflicting no injuries.
The fire was likely the result of a ruptured fuel
line, according to the Eugene Fire and Emer
gency Medical Services Department.
University International Programs employee
Eileen Cole had just wrapped up her workday
and started her car to head home when she
paused to plan the remainder of her day, she
said. She sat in the car, parked on Agate Street,
with the engine running for two minutes or less
when she began to smell gas, she said.
“I opened the door to get out and see what
was going on, and suddenly I heard a pop and
felt a flash of heat on my feet,” Cole said.
She turned off the vehicle to stop the flow of
gas, then ran to safety when she saw flames
spitting from beneath her car, she said.
Firefighters spent about 20 minutes hosing
down flames, prying open the hood, smashing
Courtesy
the windshield and chopping through the inner
compartment of Cole’s 1993 Chrysler LeBaron
to contain the majority of the fire. A few stub
born smoldering spots took longer to control,
but were mostly contained within the hour.
Colleen Jones, a nurse practitioner at the Uni
versity Health Center, came upon the fire while
taking a walk. Her Subaru Forrester was parked
behind Cole’s vehicle. She said her only reac
tion at that moment was “surprise,” and her car
was not badly damaged. The fire left a long
black line on the rear bumper.
Ernie Connelly, a Eugene fire captain at a sta
tion about a block away, said the fire was fueled
by gas pumping through a ruptured line, which
could have resulted from normal wear and tear
or from product defects. Such fires are fairly com
mon, he said, but the risk of explosion is low.
“These fires can cause several explosions, in
the tires or in the shock absorbers,” Connelly
said, “but nothing like the Hollywood stuff. ”
— Kara Hansen
Measure 36
protesters
march to
courthouse
Community members trek
from the LGBTQA office to
apply for marriage licenses
BY MORIAH BAUNGIT
NEWS REPORTER
Community members and University stu
dents gathered at the Lane County Court
house on Friday to fill out marriage licenses
for same-sex couples in protest of the passage
of Measure 36. The recently voter-approved
constitutional amendment defines marriage
as a union between a man and a woman.
Many of the protesters were members
and supporters of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisex
ual, Ttansgender and Queer Alliance. The
LGBTQA tried to take a political stand on
Measure 36, but could not because Uni
versity rules prohibit incidental-fee-fund
ed student groups from taking stances on
political issues.
LGBTQA Co-director Crystal Cathcart,
who participated in the protest, emphasized
several times that although the group of pro
testers was largely composed of University
students, many who were LGBTQA mem
bers, and the march began at the group’s
EMU office, she said Queer Sitters, a com
munity activist group, officially sponsored
the protest.
The mood in the LGBTQA office appeared
light as University students assembled to
march to the courthouse. Students joked
and laughed as one student went down on
one knee and delivered a fake marriage pro
posal. But while the mood was light, the is
sue is far from laughable for the protesters
“I want to get married someday,” senior
Ryan Minor, who self-identifies as gay,
said. "(Measure 36) was kind of a slap in
the face. ”
The march took several detours along the
way, as participants debated the exact loca
tion of the courthouse, which is on 125 E.
8th Ave. The geographical setbacks didn’t
put a damper on protest morale, as students
sang, yelled and chanted along the way.
“One, two, three, four, don’t let the city
shut the door!” protesters yelled.
As the participants arrived at the court
house, they faced an entirely new predica
ment.
“Do you want to be the bride or the
groom?” students asked each other. The
forms are designed exclusively for hetero
sexual couples, and in the end, the group
decided to cross out “bride” and “groom”
and put sex-appropriate terms.
In the end, freshmen Amanda Koplin,
who self-identifies as straight, and her pseu
do-fiancee, University student Alec Zimmer
man, faced off with Supervisor of Deeds
and Records Marie Hoehne as she tried to
turn in her application.
Koplin spun an interesting, but untrue,
story about having a baby with Zimmerman
and being in love with her.
“We feel that we should be able to have
the same rights as other people,” she plead
ed to Hoehne. “We don’t understand why
you’re helping them set us apart. ”
Hoehne said his first duty is to follow he
law.
“I can’t (process your application),” he
said to Koplin. “Our mandate is to follow
state law. ”
MARRIAGE LICENSES, page 5