Oregon University System appoints new vice chancellor I 4
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Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 110 | Monday, February 28, 2005
Union sets strike date of March 7
LTD and the union representing LTD drivers unll
attempt to resolve their disagreement Friday
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
University students and the cam
pus community will be without bus
service during Dead Week and Fi
nals Week if Friday’s bargaining
session between Lane Transit Dis
trict and the union representing
more than 75 percent of its em
ployees fails to produce a contract
agreement. The union has de
clared a strike date of March 7.
“This is the biggest crisis Lane
Transit has been in, ever,” said
Carol Allred, executive board offi
cer for the Amalgamated Transit
Union Division 757 and an
LTD driver.
The two sides met with a profes
sional mediator Friday, and ATU
Vice President Jonathan Hunt said
though he is hopeful a settlement
will be reached, he will be meeting
LTD, page 12
Evynne Smith,
center, of
Divisi, the
University's
only all-female
a cappella
group, won
outstanding
solo at the
International
Championship
of Collegiate A
Cappella
quaterfinal
held Saturday
night at South
Eugene High
School.
aNOTEworthv
performance
The University's all-female singing group Divisi
took first place at a local a cappella quarterfinal
BY EVA SYLWESTER
NEWS REPORTER
Divisi, the University’s all-fe
male a cappella singing group,
marked the International Champi
onship of Collegiate A Cappella’s
first Eugene event Saturday night
with a first place quarterfinals fin
ish and numerous other awards in
front of an oversold auditorium at
South Eugene High School. Divisi
and the three runners-up will trav
el to Stanford University next
weekend to compete in the
ICCA semifinals.
Because Divisi placed first in its
division, the group will go straight
to the finals, while the three run
ners-up, Six in the City from the
University of California, Berkeley,
Everyday People from Stanford
University and Outspoken from
Oregon State University, will have
to participate in semifinals earlier
that day. The winner of the region
al competition will move on to the
national ICCA competition in New
York City.
The ICCA holds competitions all
over the country. Producer Julia
Hoffman said ICCA decided this
year to replace Salt Lake City with
Eugene in the list of host cities.
iiM bobosky | Photographer
“I’m glad that we did, because
there’s a lot of energy here,” Hoff
man said.
Hoffman said that ICCA tries to
pick locations with clusters of pop
ular a cappella groups, while also
trying to keep travel distances fair
for all groups involved.
In the past, Divisi has had to
travel to California to compete in
ICCA events. This year, four
groups from California came to Eu
gene: Six in the City, Cal Jazz
Choir and Decadence from UC
Berkeley and Everyday People.
Kyle Davis of Everyday People
described the trip to Eugene
as “long.”
DIVISI, page 10
Leaders strive
for cultural
diversity at
University
BY AMANDA BOLSINGER
NEWS REPORTER
As Black History Month ends, the Emerald is
taking a look at two prominent black individu
als who have dedicated their time and energy
to promoting diversity and cultural awareness
on campus.
Assistant Vice Provost of Institutional Equity
and Diversity Carla Gary is working to spear
head the administration’s effort to increase di
versity by helping create a five-year diversity
jrogram on campus.
LEADERS, page 3
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
Carla D. Gary, assistant vice provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity, is spearheading a five year diversity program.
Programs Finance
Committee
Student
funding
benchmark
overspent
rrhe group must resolve the 1.9
percent surplus allocation before
it submits its budget on March 7
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
The ASUO Programs Finance Committee
has overspent its funding benchmark by 1.9
percent and is working on a plan to reduce
already approved group budgets in the
fairest way possible, PFC Chair Persis
Pohowalla said.
The committee is allowed to increase to
tal group funding by a maximum of 7 per
cent of the total PFC budget per year, and
its current budget recommendations total
8.9 percent.
The PFC must submit its final budget rec
ommendations by March 7 in order for the
ASUO Student Senate to vote on it at its
March 9 meeting.
Members of the PFC met Friday with
ASUO Vice President Mena Ravassipour,
ASUO Accounting Coordinator Jennifer
Creighton-Neiwert, ASUO Finance Coordi
nator Mike Martell and ASUO Controllers
Christina Diss and Rosie Sweetman to dis
cuss possible ways to mitigate the prob
lem. The PFC will meet tonight to further
discuss possibilities.
Because the group has less than one
week to submit its budget recommenda
tions, discussions emphasized the timeli
ness of the situation and stressed that a de
cision may have to be made without
knowing the exact financial impacts on
each individual group.
The most widely discussed suggestion
was calculating a current service level for
each group and allotting just enough funds
to keep groups at that level, but many ques
tions surround what a current service level
is and what the best way to calculate one is.
The ASUO controllers calculated each
PFC, page 5
Four groups
unite black
students on
UO campus
BY AMANDA BOLSINGER
NEWS REPORTER
Black students have many options to ex
plore their cultures and celebrate their di
verse backgrounds. There are four groups
specifically for black students on campus,
the largest of which is the Black Student
Union. BSU’s primary function is to act as a
support organization for students of African
descent. The group also sponsors activities
to bring more cultural awareness to the Uni
versity. Some of BSU’s annual activities are
UNION, page 3