Community weighs in on University arena plans
Residents who live near the potential building site
wonder how construction will affect them
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
NEWS REPORTER
The neighborhood east of the Uni
versity may seem like any other col
lege neighborhood in America. The
houses vary in size and structure,
some modern, some historic. Some
are rented by different students every
year, some have been occupied by
the same families for decades.
But some residents say one thing
sets the neighborhood apart from
others — it could soon be home to a
multi-million dollar basketball arena.
The University is looking to build a
basketball arena on the site now occu
pied by Williams’ Bakery, leaving area
residents wondering what will become
of their homes and whether the arena
construction will adhere to the current
atmosphere of the neighborhood.
In a written statement dated Nov.
11, University Vice President for Ad
vancement Allan Price said the Uni
versity has been meeting with the
owners of the bakery, United States
Bakery, and is hopeful that a satisfac
tory outcome will be reached soon.
“These meetings have been very
productive, and all parties are work
ing to sort through the remaining de
tails,” the statement reads.
Media Relations Director Pauline
Austin said University officials will
not comment on any other aspects of
the arena planning process because
nothing has been finalized.
Though there is no formal plan to
demolish any houses in the neighbor
hood, some residents say it could be
an inevitable part of the arena’s de
velopment and are worried their
voices will be drowned out by the
sounds of construction.
Sophomore Sean Davis rents a
house two blocks from the tentative
arena site with four friends and said
though he feels no real attachment to
the neighborhood, other residents
have been a part of the neighborhood
for decades and should have a say in
what is built on the blocks surround
ing their homes.
“I don’t think the community real
ly has much input into it,” Davis
said. “I feel bad for people who have
lives here. ”
The Fairmount Neighbors Associa
tion, a coalition of east university
neighborhood residents, has not tak
en a formal stance against the arena,
co-chairman Jeff Nelson said, be
cause the group wants to ensure the
community has a say in what gets
built in the neighborhood while
maintaining a productive relationship
with the University.
The Fairmount Neighbors opposed
a zone change granted to Williams’
Bakery last month because the rezon
ing removed a mandatory site review,
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Williams’ Bakery's space, on 13th Avenue and Moss Street, is one of the possible locations for
the University’s new basketball arena.
which lets the public discuss a site's
impact on the surrounding neighbor
hood and scrutinize any aspects of the
site that may be considered a nuisance.
The city approved the rezoning
earlier this month and Nelson said
the Fairmount Neighbors will not
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ASUO: Panel addresses stipend justification
Continued from page 1
student government is to represent
the students, not the administration,”
he said.
Pohowalla and ASUO Accounting
Coordinator Jennifer Creighton-Nei
wert said the Emerald would have
to file an official records request for
the document, but the University
administration would not release a
copy of Frohnmayer’s letter before
press time.
The current model was developed
“after severe inequities in stipends
became apparent to members of the
PFC and Senate,” according to the
ASUO Stipend Model manual.
Pohowalla said many people incor
rectly view the stipend as a salary or
compensation for the time they
spend fulfilling their administrative
duties. She stressed that stipends are
intended to reimburse group mem
bers for expenses incurred while on
the job and are based on the extent of
the group’s programs.
“Everyone sees it as a compensa
tion, but that’s not what it is,”
she said.
Pohowalla said there should be a
correlation between what a group
does for the campus and its
stipends, noting that Frohnmayer
pointed out the fact that in some
groups as much as 70 percent of the
funding went to stipends.
“To me, I would want to see a good
ratio going on here,” she said. “If you
have less programs than you do
stipends, why are we paying you?”
Ravassipour said the stipend mod
el wasn’t a new issue.
“It was something that we had
thought about, but once the budget
season kinda started, we realized it
was something we felt strongly
about and needed to address,”
Ravassipour said. Creighton-Neiw
ert said the stipend issue came up
during the PFC process because the
PFC is the first group to look at the
program budgets.
She added that no one should take
the blame for the stipend inadequa
cy, calling it a “frustrating issue.”
Pohowalla said the panel will
work to reword the stipend manual
to make it simpler and more
descriptive to counter confusion
about the intent of stipends, adding
that the changes might include
what category and range a position
falls under.
Creighton-Neiwert said although
the model will be revised, the panel
won’t start from scratch.
“We have something that’s been
working for three years,” she said.
“We will in no shape or form throw it
out the window or start over. ”
Yet Creighton-Neiwert said she
didn’t know what the magnitude of
the changes might be.
“It’s just a way to make sure every
one’s on the same page,” she said.
“Does that mean something may
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change? Yeah.”
Strauss said the revision process
might include looking at the stipends
individual groups receive.
Pohowalla said she took it upon
herself to head a group to re-evaluate
the stipend model, saying as PFC
chairwoman she would be reviewing
the individual job descriptions for
group members during the finance
process anyway.
“I knew about a week ago and
everything was happening so quick
ly for me at that point,” she said. “I
was thrown into it, and I guess I had
to step up.”
Pohowalla said groups whose
budgets include stipends and
were slated to present their budgets
to the PFC in the two days before the
senate meeting have been moved to
later sessions to allow their budgets
to be reviewed using the new model.
Pohowalla said some groups have
been upset because their budgets
were tabled while a new model is im
plemented, and said she apologized
to members of those groups.
Strauss also said the decision to re
vise the model reflects the executive’s
goal of fiscal responsibility.
“I just want to emphasize how this
demonstrates the executive’s demon
stration to responsible use of the fee
and affordable education in general,”
he said.
parkerhowell @ dailyemerald. com
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