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