Hikers and runners enjoy Spencer Butte | 5
GON
An independent newspaper
www. da ilyemerald. com
Since 1900 \ Volume 106, Issue 117 | Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Programs Finance Committee
Court rules on 'viewpoint neutrality'
Eden Cortez and Mason Quiroz were removed from
their positions for showing bias at a budget hearing
BY PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
Two members of the commit
tee that allocates student money
who made controversial state
ments at a Feb. 1 budget hearing
for the Oregon Commentator
have been booted from the com
mittee because they “acted in
willful defiance of viewpoint neu
trality,” the ASUO Constitution
Court ruled on Monday.
The judgment removes former
Programs Finance Committee
members Eden Cortez, Dan
Kieffer and Mason Quiroz from
the committee, although Kieffer
resigned last month. The decision
removes Quiroz from the PFC and
Cortez from the PFC and the
ASUO Student Senate.
The ruling came in response to
a petition filed by Commentator
Publisher Dan Atkinson on Feb. 7.
Cortez says he will appeal the
decision by the end of the week,
saying the court acted improperly
by basing its ruling on a quote
he claims he did not say during
the meeting.
Chief Justice Randy Derrick,
writing for the court, stated
Cortez said, “Of course we can
look at content in determining a
group’s value. Otherwise this job
could be done by robots.”
Derrick also said in the deci
sion: “This statement clearly
demonstrates that Cortez was
considering content in his analy
sis of the Oregon Commentator
outside of the bounds set by view
point neutrality.”
But Cortez said he has reviewed
minutes from the meeting and can
verify that he did not make the
statement. He said an audience
member made the statement.
“That’s a false statement to be
making,” he said. “To quote me
on something (they) assume I
said ... that’s just giving wrong in
formation from the Oregon Com
mentator’s part to the Con Court.”
Atkinson told the Emerald that
the statement is “not an exact
quote,” but that Cortez said some
thing to that effect. He said he spec
ified in the petition that he wasn’t
quoting Cortez’s exact words.
“I was just trying to recall my
own experiences of the hearing,”
he said.
He added that he didn’t think
the accuracy of the statement af
fected the court’s overall ruling.
“I don’t know that the court
PFC, page 4
A SCHOLASTIC SMASH
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
(Above) Journalism majors Ashley Cooites, left, and Desi
McCormick, center, pre-education major Jenny Wicker
sham and (right) anthropology major Gavin Walker do
nate to the Start Making a Reader Today program at
Delta Sigma Phi’s car-smashing event near East 13th Av
enue and University Street on Tuesday afternoon.
Community searches for transportation
BY ADAM CHERRY
NEWS REPORTER
Members of the University com
munity scrambled to find alterna
tive means of transportation 1\ies
day, as the Lane Transit District
strike rolled into its second day.
Bus drivers voted to strike Sun
day following 10 contentious
months of contract negotiations
between Amalgamated Transit
Union District 757, which repre
sents the drivers, and LTD. The
strike has completely suspended
bus services in Lane County.
LTD surveys indicate that more
than 10 percent of University stu
dents ride the bus on a daily basis.
The ASUO and Department of
Public Safety worked to provide
transportation options, and is of
fering free parking at Autzen Sta
dium. The University also accept
ed an offer from PeaceHealth to
allow students, faculty and staff
to ride a private shuttle from Lane
County Fairgrounds to Sacred
Heart Medical Center.
Beyond those two alternatives,
DPS encouraged biking or walking
to campus, options which were
further supported by Monday and
Tuesday's fair weather.
“Weather impacts transporta
tion even under normal times,”
said Rand Stamm, DPS parking
and transportation manager.
DPS has received no complaints
of specific incidents or clashes be
tween University members and
picketers, Stamm said. Students
are, most likely, driving and park
ing near campus, then walking the
rest of the way.
“You’re probably seeing a lot
more vehicles parking out into the
neighborhood,” he said.
Stamm added that there aren’t
many options for transportation.
“We have to be creative,” he said.
The ASUO hasn’t taken a posi
tion on the strike; ASUO officers
indicated that the student govern
ment wanted to avoid the appear
ance of strike breaking.
ASUO President Adam Petkun
said the ASUO will try to stay
above the fray. Petkun defined
Tim Bobosky | Photographer
Buses sit
unused in the
Lane Transit
District’s bus
depot at
3500 17th
<We. in
Glenwood.
strike-breaking as a large-scale
effort to provide an alternative
and equivalent source of trans
portation,” something the ASUO
cannot afford. “We’re trying to ed
ucate students on what is avail
able,” said Nathan Strauss, the
ASUO public relations director.
Strauss added that the Assault
Prevention Shuttle is a transporta
tion option as well. APS runs from
6 p.m. to midnight Sunday
through Thursday and 6 p.m. to
2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Strauss added that the ASUO
incurred no costs in connection
with the strike other than print
ing costs for fliers.
Some members of the campus
community simply need the bus
es. Angee Langenberg, who
works at the University Book
store Duck Stop coffee shop, said
she lives about 40 minutes away
from the University.
“I’m not really sure what I’m
going to do, to be honest, if it
LTD, page 8
Inspectors
divulge area
health code
violations
Campus Sub Shop received the
highest score, 99 out of 100, of
the eateries near the University
BY EVA SYLWESTER
NEWS REPORTER
The square block just west of campus, bound
by East 13th Avenue, East 12th Avenue, Alder
Street and Kincaid Street, is home to several
restaurants students frequent. The Lane County
Environmental Health Department inspects all
restaurants in the county, including these restau
rants, to ensure health codes are followed and
writes semi-annual food service inspection re
ports for each restaurant.
According to Lane County’s food safety rules, if
a restaurant obtains a sanitation score of less than
70 out of 100 points upon an unannounced com
plete inspection, the operator or person in charge
is notified that the restaurant will be closed if the
score of another inspection conducted within the
next 30 days is not at least 70.
“We try to afford people the opportunity to
correct things, and if they’re not willing to work
at it, they’re going to be closed,” Lane County
Environmental Health Department sanitarian
Scott Kruger said. “But if people find out they’re
going to be closed, they usually correct things
and keep them corrected.”
Kruger described restaurant closure as a
last resort.
“It’s not fun for them, and it’s not fun for us,
either, so if we don’t have to go down that road,
we won’t,” he said.
Points are deducted from a restaurant’s score
for violations, which are divided into two cate
gories: critical and non-critical. Restaurants deter
mined to have critical violations, which pose di
rect threats to customer safety, are re-inspected
within 14 days of the original inspection. If the vi
olations are not corrected upon re-inspection, the
restaurant may be closed.
Common critical violations found at Univer
sity-area restaurants included not keeping foods
above 140 or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit and
storing raw meat above ready-to-eat foods.
China Blue Inn received a score of 80 on its
last evaluation in November 2004. Because it
had critical violations, including storing food at
room temperature and storing raw meat and
eggs above vegetables, Kruger came back for
two more inspections until the problems were
deemed corrected.
“He said we put something on (the) wrong
plate,” China Blue Inn manager Li Tsui said, de
scribing the inspection. However, Tsui added that
the inspector gave detailed, written instructions
on how to correct the violations.
“We follow everything,” Tsui said. “Right
now, we do everything right.”
Maple Garden Restaurant received the lowest
score in the neighborhood, 72 out of 100 points.
According to the November 2004 food service in
spection report, the restaurant lost points for stor
ing food at improper temperatures, holding
chopped, cooked meats for longer than 24 hours
and not date-labeling the meats, storing raw
meats above ready-to-eat foods and storing
knives with food debris, in addition to assorted
non-critical violations. The violations were pro
nounced resolved after two follow-up visits by
Kruger. As of press time, Maple Garden Restau
rant could not be reached for comment.
Non-critical violations are not likely to immedi
ately endanger the health of customers, but can
detract from the restaurant’s general sanitary
SANITATION, page 8