IN BRIEF
Oregon investigates
insurance overcharge
PORTLAND — State insurance
regulators are investigating
Marsh USA, which has acknowl
edged overcharging six Oregon
school districts and Lane Com
munity College since 2000.
Marsh, the nation’s biggest in
surance brokerage, alerted the
districts to the inflated bills in
late October and has offered to
reimburse them, said Ed Healy,
managing partner of Marsh’s of
fice in Portland.
In return for the $1.2 million
in reimbursements, Marsh asked
its clients to sign a release waiv
ing their right to take legal action
against the brokerage. Most of
the districts rejected Marsh’s re
quest, and the company agreed
to repay them anyway.
The Oregon Insurance Divi
sion decided to investigate after
learning of the matter last week,
said Cory Streisinger, director of
the Oregon Department of Con
sumer and Business Services.
Streisinger said Marsh de
serves credit for admitting the
overcharges and offering the re
imbursements. But she was sur
prised to learn that Marsh
had asked for legal releases
in exchange.
“We would expect the broker
age to make restitution uncondi
tionally,” she said. “If a district
came to us with a complaint
about that practice (of requesting
legal releases), that’s certainly
something we’d look into.”
Healy said the overcharges
were unrelated to accusations
out of New York that the compa
ny masterminded widespread in
surance bid-rigging.
— The Associated Press
Illinois: Games must be played unless contract is violated
continued trorn page 1
Dinan said the group was under the
impression playing a team with a
racist mascot would no longer be
an issue.
However, Athletic Director Bill
Moos said in a Feb. 27 Emerald arti
cle ("Athletics scheduling garners
criticism”) that the University is
looking to schedule intersectional
games against Big Ten conference
teams "and Illinois is one of them.”
The University has contracts with
the University of Illinois to play the
Dec. 11 men’s basketball game and
a game next December in Portland
that will be televised live on ESPN.
Greg Walker, assistant athletics
director for media services, said the
University cannot pull out of the
games because contracts cannot be
broken “unless one party violated a
stipulation.”
“Especially for Dec. 11, that’s not
a possibility,” Walker said.
But Natasha Joseph, Native
American Student Union co-direc
tor, said there is precedent for
breaking the contracts because
playing a team that uses an Ameri
can Indian mascot violates
the University’s anti-discriminatory
mission statement.
University of Illinois Athletic Di
rector Kent Brown said it is “inap
propriate” to tie racism to the up
coming basketball game.
“I don’t agree with the comment
that Chief Illiniwek is a racist mas
cot,” Brown said. “This is about two
basketball teams playing each
other. ”
While the University has said it
will be made clear during the ESPN
television broadcast that the Univer
sity does not condone the use of the
mascot, Dinan said, “We can do
something today that would kind of
set the standard, set the bar.”
Both Dinan and Walker said the
University understands that Illinois’
mascot could be potentially harm
ful. Dinan said the University
has pledged to address the issue
in the future.
“We completely understand that
these could be offensive to both Na
tive Americans and non-Native
Americans,” Walker said, but she
added that the fact that contracts
have been signed is inescapable.
“I just don’t understand how we
can all agree on the issue and then
not do anything about it,” Dinan
said. “I don’t think we’d be break
ing the contract in ill faith.”
Walker said it is not the Universi
ty’s place to try to push for a
mascot change at the University
of Illinois.
“I’m not sure it’s really our busi
ness to enforce our views on them,”
he said.
Genevieve Tenoso, vice president
of the University of Illinois’ Native
American Student Organization,
said the school’s use of an Ameri
can Indian mascot has been a con
troversial issue on the school’s cam
pus for many years.
“I would go so far as to say it’s a
racially divisive issue,” she said.
Tenoso said the student opposi
tion on campus welcomes any out
side help and encouragement.
“It’s very encouraging when we
have other schools wanting to get
involved,” Tenoso said.
Dinan agreed.
“If there’s any help we can pro
vide them, I think it’s our obligation
to do that,” he said.
The University of Illinois Board of
Trustees is the only governing body
that can make a decision regarding
the use of Chief Illiniwek and the
Fighting Illini and is currently exam
ining the issue, board secretary
Michele Thompson said.
The board passed a resolution
Sept. 9 expressing support for a “poli
cy to preserve and recognize the
state’s American Indian heritage” at
the University of Illinois. Thompson
said the university does not consider
Chief Illiniwek to be a mascot and
“prefers the term symbol.”
“A mascot is usually a carica
ture,” Thompson said. Chief Illini
wek only appears with the Illini
Marching Band and never performs
any of the stunts or theatrics typical
of school mascots, Thompson said.
“Chief Illiniwek is not present on
the floor or field during a game,”
Thompson said.
Tenoso said the argument that the
Chief is not a mascot is a fairly new
one and doesn’t hold much
weight with the student opposition
on campus.
“It is a racist issue,” Tenoso said.
Walker questioned why there has
not been protest about the other Uni
versity athletic events with teams
such as Florida State University,
which uses the Seminole as its mas
cot, or the scholarly work that is pro
duced at the University of Illinois.
“If (the University) really wants to
make a statement, should we ban the
literature of the 20 Nobel prize win
ners at the University of Illinois?”
Walker said.
But, Dinan said Florida State’s
mascot is endorsed by the Seminole
tribe and the tribe receives tuition
discounts and other compensations
for the school’s use of its likeness.
Protesting scheduled athletic
events is important because “it’s in
our face and it’s something we can
change,” Dinan said.
In 1995, the Peoria Tfibe, the direct
descendants of the Illini tribe, ex
pressed support for the use of the
Chief Illiniwek symbol, but in 2000
passed a resolution calling for the re
tirement of the symbol.
Dinan said the decision was
made after the tribe saw the effect
the mascot had on American Indian
students at the University of Illinois.
Dinan said the University says
there hasn’t been enough organized
opposition from American Indians,
but it is important to understand
that this issue isn’t just about Amer
ican Indians.
“The administration says the Na
tive American voice isn’t loud
enough,” Dinan said. “If this insti
tution wants to make it a Native
American issue, MEChA won’t
stand for it.”
Walker said he has heard about
“a bit of discussion” pertaining to
the Dec. 11 basketball game but said
the majority of discussion happened
last year.
Joseph said she is willing to start
gathering signatures of students in
favor of the University breaking the
contract for the December 2005
men’s basketball game but is hop
ing the administration will act
without her having to go
through the trouble of such a time
consuming task.
“The U of O could set a big prece
dent,” Joseph said.
The ASUO Student Senate unani
mously passed a resolution
Wednesday night declaring the use
of’indigenous sports mascots” to be
a violation of the University’s non
discrimination and affirmative ac
tion policy.
Student Senator Rodrigo Moreno
Villamar said he will bring a similar
resolution before the University
Senate.
Though Dinan and Joseph said
they’re not satisfied with the current
response from the administration,
they are happy with the future steps
the University has pledged to take.
“We still do appreciate how far
they’re willing to go,” Joseph said.
meghanncuniff@ daily emerald, com
w
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, . ... great events
University of Oregon Cultural Forum
Dec. 2:
Artist Don Voss "Fiat llluminare"
Opening Reception, Adell McMillan Gallery
6 p.m. 2nd Floor EMU • FREE
020953
y
Dec. 3:
Artists Andy Lunday & Risa Masamura
Opening Reception
5 p.m. Aperture Gallery & Buzz Cafe • FREE
Foghorn String Band
w/Accordions Anonymous
Fiddle tunes, high spirited dance music
7 p.m. Fir Room • Student $3, $5 general
Dec. 7:
Holiday Music For All
Classical Holiday Music on Harp & Violin
11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., EMU Fishbowl • FREE
http://culturalforum.uoregon.edu