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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2005)
2005 celebrity weddings, fresh fashions and gotta-have-’em gadgets | Section B An independent newspaper umnv. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 78 | Wednesday, January 12, 2005 Lane Transit announces impending driver strike BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Students and University employees who rely on the bus system to get to and from campus may soon be searching for other ways to get around Eugene if Lane Transit District represen tatives and the labor union representing 80 per cent of LTD’s workers can’t come up with a last-minute deal to divert a system wide strike. The University has no plan for alternative transportation for the thousands of students who depend on the bus because of how intri cate such a plan would have to be to include everyone who might be affected by a driver strike, Department of Public Safety Interim Di rector Tom Hicks said. “There’s no way we can come close to offering any of the services that LTD does,” Hicks said. Representatives from LTD say a strike could happen as soon as Jan. 25 because the union is required to give a 10-day notice about a strike and Jan. 15 is the final day of the negotiation’s ‘cooling-off period.’ According to LTD, nearly 3,000 University students and employees use the bus on a daily basis. That figure is from 2003, but LTD Service Planning and Marketing Manager Andy Vobo ra said judging by the steady increase in enroll ment at the University, that figure is not expect ed to have decreased this year. The service contract between LTD and the University specifies a budget of $583,250 in student fees to be used in order to provide students with “unlimited ridership on all routes and schedules.” Student money will be refunded for the days when no bus service is available, but how that will be done has not been decided, Vobora said. University efforts to mitigate problems that could arise from a strike has so far been focused on potential parking problems, Hicks said. The influx of vehicles on campus that could result from a lack of public transportation is an ad dressable problem, Hicks said, but the Universi ty has yet to decide on a set course of action. Hicks sat down with Vobora, Department of Public Safety Parking and Transportation Man ager Rand Stamm, ASUO President Adam Petkun, ASUO Community and Housing Coor dinator Scott Lu and Human Resources LTD, page 3A K r Lane Transit District bus drivers are threatening to strike as soon as Jan. 25. IVUIKhN WIMLiK | otNIUR PHOTOGRAPHER FEED THE BIRDS Tim BoBosky | Photographer Duke Cantrelle, a volunteer at FOOD For Lane County, feeds the birds in Skinner Butte Park with bread that is no longer edible for humans. “People forget about these birds during the winter. ... Everyone needs to be able to eat.” Workshops teach professors to use classroom technology BY ANTHONY LUCERO NEWS REPORTER Many students have watched a professor spend 10 minutes trying to figure out why a PowerPoint presentation isn’t showing up on the classroom projector screen or trying to oper ate other classroom technology. These faculty members do not have to struggle on their own — for instructors unfamiliar or uncomfortable with computers, the Teaching Effectiveness Pro gram and the Center for Educational Technolo gy host workshops that help faculty effectively employ different types of technology. The first workshop, which began before fall term, included 62 faculty members and consist ed of four workshops and a fellowship pro gram. On Tliesday, the two programs hosted a seminar allowing University faculty who have attended previous workshops to provide feed back of how technology works in the classroom. “We’re going out of our area of comfort and complacency by embracing technologies, but we’re only doing it if it’s more effective, and not just for the sake of using technology,” Terri Warpinski, vice provost for Academic Affairs, said. Part of the seminar showed faculty how to effectively use software programs and Inter net applications such as Blackboard that ap peal to students and how to allow greater ac cess and interaction with students in and out of the classroom. Some of the improvements faculty members want to address in the next year are options that TECH page 4A WAS TECHNOLOGY USED BY PROFESSORS IN THE CLASSROOM A HELP OR A HINDRANCE? DaMI-UJE RlOCORDI | UNDECLARED "I take Art 101 and there was problems in the first class. They couldn’t get two PowerPoint presentations working and between that and switching computers and professors, it took about a half-hour.” Joe Gianneth | History "Realty frequency they waste time by trying to use the technolog/ in Lillis. It'D take them like five minutes to set up a projection or the screen will be upside-down.” Tori Wilson | Undeclared "I had a bad example because the teacher couldn't get the projector to work. But otherwise, you can look at course information out of class and you have Richard Phamdo | Pre-Med "It helps out. In BA 101, he uses PowerPoint. It's pretty sweet." State board approves University appeal for $57 million in bonds BY ADAM CHERRY NEWS REPORTER The State Board of Higher Education approved the University’s request of more than $57 million in bonds last month to fund five campus mainte nance and expansion projects, includ ing $27.4 million for the acquisition of the Williams Bakery site near Franklin Boulevard. The Living Learning Center, a new residence hall and classroom project that will be built between Hayward Field and Carson Hall, received $14.4 million. The University Health and Counseling Center, whose administration is in the process of planning a remodel, was ap proved for $9 million. The Integrative Science Complex, another project in the planning stages, received $4.7 million, and the EMU heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system got $1.3 million. The bond money approved for the University projects is part of $153.2 mil lion in bonds that will be sold to help fund campus projects at five Oregon pub lic universities, according to the Board. The Living Learning Center is on schedule for completion by fall of 2006, Director of University Housing Michael Eyster said. The project will cost approx imately $27 million. “There were construction bids let in November and we had several compa nies apply,” Eyster said. “Selection will be based not only on price but on inter views with contractors, because we want to get a quality contractor. ” The University Health Center start ed working on its plan for remodeling in 2003. “It’s going to end up being a very nice building — modern and airy,” Health Center Director Thomas Ryan said. “If everything stays on schedule, we’re planning to break ground in August or September of 2005.” EXPANSION, page 8A UNDER CONSTRUCTION bond amounts approved by the state for campus projects: $1,350,000 Health and Counseling Center $9,080,000 EMU Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning System $14,424,000 Learning Center
