Oregon daily emerald., November 18, 2004, Image 1

‘Halo’ 2 hits the ground running in Pulse I 11
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Since 1900 \ Volume 106, Issue 60 | Thursday, November 18, 2004
All in the family
Bret Furtwangler | Graphic artist
University Housing combined the maintenance and cleaning duties
of residence halls and family housing units to increase efficiency
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
NEWS REPORTER
University Housing has undergone a re
structuring that housing officials say
will lead to increased efficiency in the
way business is run and rental units are main
tained. It hopes to also improve the quality of
customer service to residents.
Implemented Oct. 1, the restructuring com
bines residence hall maintenance and clean
ing duties with those of family housing, du
ties that were once kept separate.
University Housing Director Mike Eyster
said residence hall maintenance facilities have
a history of quick and efficient responses, and
moving family housing duties to that area will
allow family housing to concentrate on effi
cient customer service.
“I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of serv
ices we were providing,” Eyster said. “I think
we can do a much better job with the organi
zational structure. ”
Nancy Wright, director of facilities and
capital improvement, is now in charge of
the family housing facilities previously over
seen by Sheri Donahoe, associate director
of residence life.
Donahoe now concentrates on customer
service areas, such as providing quick and ef
ficient responses to residents’ concerns,
Eyster said.
Donahoe said the restructuring has not
been in place long enough for anyone to get a
clear idea of how it will affect day-to-day busi
ness. But because once-separate maintenance
facilities now have “the same sewing pat
tern,” Donahoe said, the restructuring should
prove beneficial in all areas.
"It’s going to be much more streamlined
and efficient,” she said.
The restructuring has resulted in additional
responsibilities for members of upper
HOUSING, page 4
jA# Tech Thursday
Cell phones capture students' attention
Camera phones are popular
on college campuses, although the
high price discourages some buyers
BY ANTHONY LUCERO
NEWS REPORTER
There are moments in life when the photog
rapher within a person suddenly springs to life,
and the desire to capture a defining event burns
bright. Camera phones may be just the gadget
for those kinds of moments.
Lower prices, convenience and more interest
in cell phone features have created a market for
camera phones, especially for college-aged stu
dents, said Vickee Liang, sales representative at
A Plus Wireless, at 841 E. 13th Ave. Liang said
students are very interested in the technology,
but high prices on particular camera phone
models keep many from buying.
“Students are usually looking somewhere
around the $100 area for camera phones,”
Liang said.
While camera phones may be considered a
novelty feature by some, the integration of a
camera into a phone has spawned a plethora of
new features people use often, said Liang.
University sophomore Chris Marler, who
picked up a Samsung A680 for the camera fea
ture, said the phone was “fairly expensive,” but
the price after the rebate made it affordable.
Marler said he uses the camera feature to snap
pictures of notable things throughout the day.
“This past weekend I saw a cool car so I took
a picture and showed it to friends, but I usually
keep the photos to myself and use them for a
screen saver or background on the phone,”
Marler said.
Sophomore Rachel Edwards recently bought
a Samsung SGH-E600, but said she is not tech
nologically advanced and is only now learning
how to use its features. The phone is one of
many new models that can record short
movies, a feature she found after the phone
recorded a movie inside her pocket.
“I’ve taken a few pictures so far, but my
friends say they take up a lot of space on the
phone, so I don’t know how much I’ll use it,”
Edwards said. “It came with software and a
cord to e-mail photos to friends, so I want to
Lauren Wimer | Senior photographer
Sophomore Chris Marler poses with his self portrait, which he took with his Samsung A680 cell phone.
share photos down the road.”
Laura Lawson, a friend of Edwards, said the
feature that lets a photo pop up when some
one calls is what appeals to her most, in ad
dition to the simplicity of not having to carry
around two different gadgets to take pictures
and make calls.
Despite its conveniences, camera phones
have traditionally been a second option, even
for novice photographers, because of the ab
sence of zoom, flash and quality that even
some of the newest models lack.
Digital picture quality is measured by how
many million pixels, or megapixels, compose
a photo. Each pixel is a small dot, so the high
er the megapixel count, the more detail in a
photo. But even the typical 3.2-megapixel dig
ital camera on today’s market beats the best
camera phone.
However, newer phone models are catching
up to digital cameras in an effort to make a
phone the one and only camera one needs to
carry around. The 901 i, recently released by
DoCoMo, has the capability to shoot pictures
with two-megapixel quality.
Top-end models, like the Motorola RAZR V3,
are also beginning to bridge the gap between
phone and mobile multimedia center. In addi
tion to a 2.2” color screen, the phone features
an mp3 player for playing music or movies and
short-range wireless capability, or Bluetooth, in
addition to a camera.
Bluetooth in phones is beneficial because
people can share files and photos over short
range distances, but it also lets Bluetooth-en
abled accessories, like headsets, work with the
phone wirelessly or broadcast to a speaker in a
car without setting up the phone on the speaker
system.
In the end, some students just want phones
to be phones.
“With my phone I can make and receive
phone calls, and that’s all I need it to do,”
sophomore Kit Messinger said.
anthonylucero@dailyemerald.com
Relay race
to inspire a
healthy
awareness
The Men's Center Civil War
Relay team to run 50-mile race
and discuss men's health issues
BY PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
When runners from the University Men’s
Center team pass the baton during Sunday’s
Civil War Relay, they won’t just be competing
for top honors in the 50- mile race — Men’s
Center Director Dave Miller said the race sym
bolizes men transferring knowledge and
awareness of men’s health issues.
Five runners will compete on the Men’s
Center team in the Nov. 21 relay, which
stretches from Eugene to Albany. After the
race, Men’s Center representatives will hold a
public discussion about issues affecting men’s
physical and emotional health.
The annual race, held the day after the Civil
War football game between the University and
Oregon State University, begins at 7 a.m. at
Autzen Stadium. Participants will each run
five two-mile legs, carrying the team up
Coburg Road and along a route east of Inter
state 5 through Brownsville. About eight
hours later, the racers will cross the finish line
at Linn-Benton Community College in Albany.
Counseling and Testing Center psycholo
gist Jon Davies said the relay, which will
also feature teams from OSU among the
nearly 40 competing in the race, is a collabo
rative effort between the men’s centers at
the two universities. He said the teams will
race “not in a competitive spirit, but a spirit
RELAY, page 16
IN BRIEF
Community honors transgender
victims of violent hate crimes
Today is Transgender Day of Remem
brance, which honors the lives of members
of the transgender community who are
victims of violence.
The University’s Gender Outreach and Les
bian, Gay, Bisexual, TVansgender, Queer Al
liance is hosting a speech and candlelight vig
il in the EMU Gumwood Room at 7 p.m.
today. The event will also feature an open mic
session and a film, as well as signs for each
person who died as a result of anti-transgen
der violence in the last year, according to Gen
der Outreach member Maceo Persson. Gender
Outreach is a social support group for people
who are transgender, gender variant or gen
der questioning, Persson said.
“I think it’s important to educate about
oppression (and) transphobia,” he said.
Persson added that many transgender peo
ple have expressed concerns about their
safety or felt threatened.
Persson said there are social and institution
al factors in place reinforcing the need for peo
ple to “police” people’s gender. For instance,
social norms demand that people always be
neady categorized as either male or female.
“It’s really hard for people to get past that,”
he said.
The day of remembrance was initiated
after the brutal murder of William/Rita
Hester of Boston in November, 1998. It is
the second year that the day has been ob
served on campus.
Ayisha Yahya