Ian Crosswhite suspended I 13
An independent newspaper
www. da i lyemerald. com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 98 \ Thursday, February 10, 2005
Hundreds of Catholic students
gather near campus to celebrate Ash
Wednesday and the start of Lent
BY AIBING GUO
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
Would you like to give up a beloved ob
ject or habit for 40 days? The answer
is an easy “yes” for hundreds of the
University’s Catholic students who gathered in
the Gerlinger Lounge or at the St. Thomas More
Newman Center on Wednesday during Ash
Wednesday ceremonies.
The assemblages marked the beginning of
Lent, a religious season of soul-searching and
repentance for some Christians, including
Catholics. Lent originated in the earliest days of
the church as a preparatory time for Easter,
when the faithful rededicated themselves and
when converts were instructed in the faith and
prepared for baptism. It usually lasts for
40 days, excluding Sundays.
Lent holds the tradition of sacrificing a
bad habit.
“I will give up fast food,” sophomore Robert
Jones said. “Fast food is bad for health — I know
that — but I just cannot cut it off from my life.
(1) hope I can give it up during Lent.”
Sophomore Pat Ferguson was still wondering
what to give up when the Newman Center’s ear
ly-evening ceremony began.
“You know, people don’t have to give up things
during Lent, (and) they can also take something,”
he said. “I’m going to pick up something good
this year.”
To Ferguson, religion is not an abstract con
cept, but a concrete part of his daily life.
“It’s all about how to help make people’s lives
better, and make your life meaningful,” he said.
Three separate ceremonies marking the holy
day were h«ld on campus and at the Catholic
church across from Hayward Field for the con
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Father David Orique O.P., pastor and director of the Newman Center, recalls the Last Supper in the blessing
communion for Lent on Wednesday evening in the Newman Center.
venience of students.
The noontime ceremony in the Gerlinger
Lounge is an annual event for the University
Catholic community.
“We know some students will be busy with
their class schedules, (so) this arrangement will
make things a lot easier for them,” Father David
Orique of the Newman Center said.
Junior Sarah Fieger had classes in the morning
and afternoon on Wednesday and found the mid
day ceremony useful.
“It’s kind of cool we can have a ceremony on
the campus,” she said. “It takes care of both our
study and religious belief. ”
During the ceremony, participants prayed,
worshiped and shared Communion, a sacred ritu
al. Students and community members participat
ing in the rite ate bread, which represents the
body of Christ; drank of the cup, consuming a
small sip of wine, which represents the blood of
Christ; and finally received a mark of an ash cross
on their foreheads, an action specific to the
service marking the beginning of Lent.
“We say the bread and the wine will become
the body of Jesus. It’s an ancient rite (that) goes
back to early Christians that has Jewish roots,”
Orique said. “So we share the sacred meal and
use that to remember the life and the death and
the resurrection of Jesus.”
As for the ash cross, Orique said in the Bible, a
mark on the forehead is a symbol of a person’s
ownership. Having his or her forehead marked
with the sign of a cross symbolizes that the per
son belongs to Jesus Christ. .
The University’s Catholic community includes
about 1,000 members, half of them students.
As a University community-based church, the
Newman Center has lots of exchanges with other
Catholic churches in Oregon, as well as volunteer
trips to Mexico, Orique said. In June, a group of
volunteers from the church will travel to Mexico
to promote cultural exchange and help the poor.
“We just want to make sure students will get
both religious and social lives in our communi
ty,” he said.
University
finalizes
bakery site
purchase
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
The University has one more piece of prop
erty to add to its inventory — the Williams’
Bakery site.
Allan Price, vice president for University
Advancement, announced that the Univer
sity had finalized the site’s purchase
Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s a win for the University, it’s a win for
the bakery and a win for the community,”
Price said.
The University will not be using the site,
located at the corner of 13th Avenue and
Moss Street, until at least the middle of
2006 in order to allow the bakery time to
relocate, Price said.
The purchase price of the bakery is
$22,231,816, enough to cover the cost of relo
cating the bakery to the Glenwood area be
tween Eugene and Springfield. The University
acquired the approval of the Legislative Emer
gency Board on Jan. 7 to use state-backed
bonds for the purchase.
The bakery provides a large number of
well-paying jobs, and part of the University’s
goal was to purchase the property without
negatively impacting the employees of
Williams’ Bakery, Price said.
Had the purchase price not covered the
cost of the bakery’s relocation, “it’s very pos
sible those jobs would have moved out of the
Eugene/Springfield area and maybe out of
Oregon," Price said.
Price said the announcement is in no way
related to the construction of a
BAKERY, page 16
Minor theft on the rise near campus
Eugene police urge West University residents to more
securely protect their belongings due to a recent
upswing in bike thefts and thefts from automobiles
BY KARA HANSEN
NEWS REPORTER
The thief or thieves who kicked in the window of University graduate stu
dent Jason Didion’s house Saturday night were quick, but stayed long
enough to swipe a computer, a bicycle and a pile of jewelry.
“It was basically the three most expensive items they could find in the
house,” Didion said, adding that sentimental items, such as heirloom silver,
were stolen as well. “1 don’t think they were here very long, but it seems
like a lost cause to me. ”
Didion represents a small sample of victims in a recent upswing in
crime in the West University Neighborhood, said Randy Ellis, a Eugene
Police Department officer who works at the neighborhood’s public
safety station.
Didion’s house was broken into. His neighbor, Zach Davis, had an intrud
er who left without taking anything. But most of the recent increase in crim
inal activity has been smaller crimes, Ellis said.
“What we’re getting more of is the minor thefts,” Ellis said. “Bicycle thefts
are up, and thefts from vehicles are up.”
According to EPD reports, property crime in the West University Neigh
borhood decreased by 8.24 percent between 2002 and 2003, from 1,116 prop
erty crimes to 1,024. But car theft increased by 30.51 percent, from 59 to
77 incidents, and accounted for more than 8.5 percent of Eugene’s total car
theft for 2003. Vandalism increased by 6.17 percent, from 162 incidents to
172 in 2003, constituting 8.6 percent of Eugene’s total.
Ellis said stemming the theft problem isn’t an option with current EPD
staffing levels, because officers would have to stake out areas they suspect
for theft, which is often a waste of time. But there are steps students can
take to protect their bikes and other belongings. Often, minor crimes occur
because students relax their guard too much, he said.
Bret Furtwancler | Graphic artist
“Most kids don’t do it (protect their belongings),” Ellis said. “They’re in a
hurry. They’re not thinking about it.”
West University Neighbors Chairman Drix Rixmann said when he hands
out fliers for neighborhood meetings, every third or fourth person he speaks
to has a story about someone they know who has had their property stolen.
Rixmann said many of the recent crimes could have been stopped with a
little proactive thinking.
“A lot of these don’t have to happen,” Rixmann said. “Many places are
unprotected, insecure and unsafe.”
Rixmann said students sometimes forget to lock the doors and windows
on their houses and cars or don’t notice windows that are open or that have
CRIME, page 4
IN BRIEF
ASUO seeks candidates
to fill Senate Seat 3
In an effort to resume the Programs Fi
nance Committee process, the ASUO Ex
ecutive has reopened applications for Sen
ate Seat 3, which sits on the PFC. The PFC
process stalled on Monday when the
ASUO Constitution Court announced in
junctions against three PFC members, pre
venting the committee from voting and
delaying some groups’ budget hearings for
more than a week.
The court injunctions will last a mini
mum of 10 days, but the committee could
resume functioning if someone is appoint
ed to Seat 3.
ASUO Public Relations Director Nathan
Strauss said the executive opened the seat
“in hopes that by next week’s PFC meet
ing the new senator can be confirmed. ”
Applications are open until Feb. 16 and
are available at the ASUO office.
The PFC will need to reconsider some
groups’ budgets in the coming weeks be
cause the committee is over its bench
mark, PFC Chairwoman Persis Pohowalla
said Tliesday.
She said she is still looking at budgets
as an active PFC member, and the entire
PFC will work on the recall when it has
enough voting members.
“I’m trying to now focus on getting my
committee back and working on my budg
et,” she said.
— Parker Howell