Bowl Preview and Holiday Gift Guide | Sections B and C
An independent newspaper
unvw. dailyemerald. com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 70 | Monday, December 6, 2004
Pell Grant
restricted
by Bush's
new plan
The administration's proposal
would change the formula used
to calculate student need
BY MORIAH BAL1NGIT
NEWS REPORTER
The Bush administration is expected to
soon revise the eligibility formula that quali
fies college students for Pell Grants, possibly
rendering 84,000 students ineligible for the
grant next year, according to the Chronicle of
Higher Education.
The Federal Pell Grant Program is the
largest federal aid program for college stu
dents and provides need-based grants from
$400-$4,050 based on a formula that calcu
lates a student’s need.
Last year, 4,145 University students re
ceived a Pell Grant, and about 700 of those
students received the maximum amount, Di
rector of Student Financial Aid Elizabeth Bick
ford said. The federal Department of Educa
tion estimates that about 4.8 million students
received a Pell Grant this year.
In the administration’s proposed plan, the
amount of state and local taxes paid would
not play as large a role in the formula used to
PELL, page 4A
(Left) Freshman Sarah
Smith studies for finals at
Starbucks on 13th Avenue
on Sunday afternoon. Rain
and temperatures in the
high 40s and low 50s, which
are expected through
Wednesday, drove students
indoors this weekend.
(Above) Campus, seen here
from Franklin Blvd., has be
gun to clear out as many
students finish the term and
leave for a three-week winter
break. Winter term begins
Jan. 3.
(Right) Ducks flock to the
Eugene Millrace, which,
according to
www.abouteagene.com, was
dug in the channel of an old
slough in the mid-1800s
when about 500 people
lived in Eugene. A flour mill
and a wool mill used it for
power.
Photos by Lauren Wimer
Quiet
time
Residential venues may
endanger concert-goers
Advocates say informal locales are invaluable, but campus-area
basements often get noise complaints and don't meet fire codes
BY KARA HANSEN
NEWS REPORTER
In a city with few all-ages venues, informal
settings provide a place for smaller acts to per
form and for minors to access the arts. But at
least one type of informal venue frequently, if
not always, violates safety codes and may put
the people who attend in danger.
Advocates of “basement” venues say they fill
an important role in Eugene’s arts community
by providing smaller-scale shows for people of
all ages. To keep operating underground, the or
ganizers of these events tend to focus on avoid
ing attention by insulating rooms and keeping
crowds indoors.
They often ignore fire codes.
Stonehenge, a basement venue started this fall
that is gaining popularity among University stu
dents, is failing to meet fire codes; it does not
have proper exits for the number of people at
tending shows there.
But Stonehenge, at 2841 Central Blvd., isn’t
the first campus-area venue to encounter prob
lems complying with fire codes. University stu
dents establishing basement venues have histor
ically faced difficulties meeting fire standards.
Sometimes they get shut down.
It’s virtually impossible for a residence to be a
proper venue because houses aren’t built with
the exits needed for large crowds, Deputy Fire
Marshal Mark Thompson said.
“It’s pretty much completely illegal,” Thomp
son said. “You’d really be inviting a liability
problem to have something like that at a person
al residence because if somebody gets hurt,
there are going to be lawsuits. ”
Residential basements rarely meet codes for
fire prevention, much less building codes that re
quire sprinkler systems and a minimum number
of bathrooms.
“Especially when they’re utilizing basements
or second-story types of structures where the ex
iting is going to be limited, and the proper pre
cautions haven’t been taken for flame spread
through interior decorations, there’s always
quite a risk for laige loss of life,” Thompson said.
“That’s where fire codes are based.”
For an occupant load of up to 50 people, the
outside needs to be directly accessible from at
least a 36-inch-wide door with an approved
latching mechanism. For gatherings of more
than 50 people, an establishment must provide
two marked exits to the outside with doors that
swing outward in case of panic.
According to the U.S. Naval Academy Fire De
partment, fires like the 1942 Coconut Grove
nightclub fire that killed nearly 500 people in
Boston usually have similar, if not exact, circum
stances leading to a massive loss of life.
The similarities between these fires seem to
include flammable materials on interior walls;
overcrowding; complex building design or flaws;
illegal occupancy use; open flame; no suppres
sion system; locked, blocked or unseen exits; or
not enough exits, according to the department.
VENUES, page 12A
Employers slow hiring as
the holidays draw closer
Mall madness
In an uncertain economy,
retailers are courting
consumers with frivolous gifts
and incredible sales. Holiday
spending indicators show
shoppers plan to spend about
the same on gifts this year as
they did in 2003.
Christmas spending
expectations, average
1999 ■■■■■■■■■■ $857
2000 $817
2002 MMMM $690
2003 ■■■■■Mi $734
2004 ■MM$730
Intend to
spend this
year
29%
$1,000
or
more
25%
Between
$500 and
$1,000
About this poll: Conducted before
Thanksgiving except for 2001
SOURCE: Gallup Organization
AP
Net increase in employment is at a
five-month low, but shopping season
should 'keep the economy chugging
BY LEIGH STROPE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Employers slowed their hiring
as they headed into the holiday shopping season, adding
just 112,000 new jobs in November for the weakest gain
in five months.
Still, the unemployment rate edged down, raising hopes
that workers drawing paychecks will spend, spend, spend
the rest of the year.
November’s 112,000 net increase in jobs, reported Fri
day by the Labor Department based on a survey of busi
ness payrolls, was the lowest since July. It was about half
what economists had forecast, dampened by high oil
prices and employers, especially retailers, still trying to do
more with fewer workers.
“It’s not great job growth, but it’s decent,” said Joel
Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. “It is de
cent enough to create income,” which should help boost
holiday spending and keep the economy chugging.
November’s unemployment rate slipped to 5.4 percent,
calculated from a separate survey of households. That was
down 0.1 percentage point, as more people looking for
work found jobs.
The department lowered job growth estimates from the
previous two months by about 54,000, tempering Octo
ber’s blockbuster showing of 337,000 to 303,000. Econo
mists said the October job boom appeared artificially high,
fueled by hurricane cleanup activity in Florida and the
Southeast.
“We wondered how much of the October surge was just
a rebound from the hurricanes,” said David Wyss, chief
ECONOMY, page 4A