Student groups mobilize tsunami aid efforts I 6
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www.dailyemerald. com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 82 | Wednesday, January 19, 2005
“Just had a big tidal wave hit. I am not injured but lost some climbing gear, my camera and mobile phone. Please tell family am safe. ”
Sam Nicols, in a text message from Thailand sent to his father, University professor John Nicols, the morning of the tsunami
Courtesy Matt Engbring
Top series: (Left) Rock climbers at a cliff on Tonsai Beach in Thailand. (Middle) The men try to put their gear on a ledge to protect it from
the approaching waves. (Right) The wave has trapped the men against the cliff. Everyone in the picture survived. Bottom: Tonsai Beach
the day after the tsunami.
Sam Nicols, son of a University professor, was on
vacation in Thailand when the lethal tsunami hit
BY AMANDA BOLSINGER
NEWS REPORTER
The Nicols family is used to communicating with their son, Sam, by
text messages. Sam Nicols lives in Sweden, and text messages are a
cheaper way to stay in touch with family.
But the message Sam’s father, John, received at 8:59 p.m. on Dec. 25
didn’t tell the whole story.
“Just had a big tidal wave hit. I am not injured but lost some climbing
gear, my camera and mobile phone. Please tell family am safe.’’
Sam was vacationing in Thailand when he sent the message at
11:59 a.m. on Dec. 26, Thailand time.
John Nicols, a University history professor, said he wasn’t sure ex
actly what Sam was talking about when he received the text message
from his son.
He and his family didn’t know a tsunami had started spreading across
Asia, wiping out entire cities and leaving only destruction behind. They
didn’t know their son’s three-month vacation in Thailand had just been
interrupted by a series of powerful waves sweeping onto shore. And they
didn’t know they almost lost their son to those waves.
Sam’s family members knew he was OK before they knew what was
wrong.
Sam is a rock climber and was in paradise with jagged cliffs overhanging
TSUNAMI, page 6
Current OUS policies prohibit people who have
licenses to carry concealed handguns from
carrying them on Oregon campuses. A random
survey of 100 students showed many believe
concealed handguns should not be allowed on
campus.
OUS should NOT prevent someone with a
license to carry a concealed hangun from
carrying on campus
□
OUS should prevent someone with a
license to carry a concealed hangun
from carrying on campus
Undecided
O
o
CM
£
as
-Q
<L>
PART 2 OF 2
Firearms on campus
Tuesday: Concealed handgun advocates challenge the OUS policy
Today: Seeking solutions to the handgun dilemma
Reconciling lawfulness,
safely of handgun debate
Viewpoints differ on which firearms rules
stay within the law and keep students safe
BY PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
While the Oregon Univer
sity System’s contentious rule
restricting Concealed Hand
gun License holders from car
rying firearms on university
campuses has remained stat
ic since graduate student Bri
an Stubbs challenged it in
court last year, debate contin
ues over what balance of
power between gun owners
and the OUS will create the
safest campuses.
Supporters of concealed
firearms say the OUS policy
violates state law, and con
cealed handguns are a right
necessary for self-defense.
Opponents argue that
handguns on university cam
puses are a safety issue that
the Oregon State Board of
Higher Education has the au
thority to regulate.
The Oregon Revised
Statutes allow CHL holders
to carry concealed weapons
in “public buildings,” includ
ing hospitals, schools and
universities.
Yet the university system
cites an Oregon Administra
tive Rule allowing it to regu
late firearms at its facilities.
Under the rule, the OUS
prohibits CHL holders from
bringing guns on University
property.
Stubbs challenged the poli
cy in January 2004 when he
filed suit against the board
of higher education in feder
al court. Stubbs eventually
lost the case on procedural
grounds.
Reactions to the
Stubbs case
Portland lawyer Kristian
Roggendorf, who was
Stubbs’ attorney for the case,
said Stubbs didn’t file an ap
peal because he was leaving
campus.
“Although I know the case
could technically not be nec
essarily moot in the sense
that Brian could always come
back to campus, it just was
n’t practical from ... a prag
matic standpoint,” Roggen
dorf said.
Roggendorf said he wasn’t
surprised by the court’s
HANDGUNS, page 4
University
to help train
educators
in rural areas
The new project, called QCTeach,
will revise teaching content
in 38 Oregon school districts
BY ADAM CHERRY
NEWS REPORTER
The University’s College of Education
and College of Arts and Sciences have teamed
up for a groundbreaking project intended to
help train teachers and enrich lesson plans
in Oregon’s rural school districts. One of the
first programs of its kind in the nation, the
Quality Content Teaching Program, or
QCTeach, will employ a lesson study model
used in Japanese schools to review and revise
the teaching style and content in ways that
foster a better response from students.
According to a University press release,
the three-year program will focus on 38 school
districts in Coos, Curry, Douglas and Lane
EDUCATION, page 7