Oregon track and field hosts Pepsi Team Invitational I 5
Oregon Daily Emerald
An independent newspaper
www. dailyemerald. com
Since 1900 | Volume 106, Issue 130 \ Friday, April 8, 2005
War symposium
examines health
effects and safety
The presentation discussed the detrimental effects
ofU.S. government spending and foreign policy
BY EMILY SMITH
NEWS REPORTER
Currently in Iraq, the suicide rate
among soldiers is 35 percent higher
than it was among soldiers in the
Vietnam War and “it is estimated
that somewhere between 15 and 30
percent of all soldiers who come
home from Iraq have clinical Post
Tfaumatic Stress Syndrome,” Dr.
Paul Kaplan said during a sympo
sium Wednesday in the Robert D.
Clark Library.
Kaplan and Dr. Richard Barnhart,
representing the Lane County Chap
ter of Physicians for Social Responsi
bility/Beyond War, presented “The
Health Effects of War and a Sensible
Approach for a Safe America,” a
speech about the far-reaching
health effects of war and alterna
tives to the way the U.S. govern
ment is dealing with terrorism.
PSR/BW is a non-partisan group
whose premise is to solve conflicts
without violence.
“Since World War I there have
been 250 wars in the world and over
110 million war-related deaths,” Ka
plan said.
As he spoke he showed slides de
picting the physical damage war can
induce, apologizing for the graphic
nature but insisting they were nec
essary to get his point across.
“In World War I, about 14 percent
of the people that were killed were
non-military people,” Kaplan said.
“In the 1990s, in the Gulf War and
in the Iraq War, 90 percent of the ca
sualties are now civilian.”
Kaplan went on to discuss land
mines and the consequences of
cluster bombs.
“It’s estimated that 120 million
land mines are still buried in 70
countries around the world,” he
said as he showed a slide of an ele
phant with its hoof blown off as a
result of a land mine.
Kaplan criticized the war on
WAR page 3
Nicole Barker | Photographer
Local doctors Paul Kaplan and Richard Barnhart, members of Physicians for Social
Responsibility/Beyond War, gave a presentation on the health effects of war in the
Robert D. Clark Honors College on Wednesday night.
Residents
continue to
debate over
ex-convicts
Sponsors, Inc. has assured the
West University neighborhood
that parolees pose no extra risk
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
West University neighborhood residents
had the chance at the monthly neighborhood
meeting Thursday night to ask questions and
voice their concerns about felons living in the
neighborhood, the state of the Eugene Police
Department and how to properly throw par
ties in the neighborhood without warranting
noise complaints.
About 40 people attended the meeting, in
cluding Eugene Police Chief Robert Lehner
and four representatives from Sponsors, Inc.,
a non-profit organization looking to purchase
property in the neighborhood to house
parolees and ex-convicts. Sponsors provides
treatment and rehabilitation programs as well
as supervised living situations.
Richard Greene, chair of the Sponsors, Inc.
board of directors, introduced the program at
SPONSORS, page 4
n*suo
I S | elections
Executive
campaign
efforts elicit
grievances
With ASUO primaries drawing
to a close, some have accused
candidates of harassment tactics
BY PARKER HOWELL
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
Three students have filed grievances
against ASUO Executive candidates Ashley
Rees and Jael Anker-Lagos alleging they
violated Oregon and ASUO election
rules, including those governing cam
paigning in the residence halls and intimi
dating voters. But the elections board dis
missed one of the grievances in a ruling
Thursday and one of the students told the
Emerald he no longer wants to pursue the
allegations he made.
Rees said some campaigning rules
weren’t clear and refuted two of the griev
ances, saying they contained inaccurate
accusations.
“In general, I think that we had a few
miscommunications about what the rules
were, and once we were informed about a
rule we instantly complied,” she said.
Elections Coordinator Kelly Cheeseman
said the board is reviewing the remaining
grievances and will likely rule on them
before 5 p.m. today when the primary
ELECTIONS, page 8
African Culture Night tackles old stereotypes
The second-annual event will
feature traditional foods, dress
and a Portland dance troupe
BY SHELDON TRAVER
NEWS REPORTER
The dinner was laid across several tables. The
smell of African cuisine permeated the air as stu
dents lined up to taste traditional foods from sev
eral nations. Chicken, lamb, beef and vegetarian
dishes. Injera, an Ethiopian bread, and Sambusa,
a pastry filled with beef, cabbages or lentils. Stu
dents representing more than seven nations
dressed in the clothing of their homelands and
mingled with the crowd that surged through the
doors just for the opportunity to taste, hear and
see African culture, if only for a few hours.
That’s how
African Students
Association Di
rector Haben
Woldu remem
bered last year’s
inaugural
African Culture
Night, put on by
her group.
Woldu said
she hopes the
group’s second
annual African
Culture Night, to
be held Sunday
at 5:30 p.m., will
be just as suc
cessful. The
event is free for
University stu
dents and $3 for
non-students. Tickets are available through the
EMU Ticket Office.
The event, labeled “Africa Is Calling,” not only
gives University students the chance to enjoy a
meal, but it also allows students from Africa to
FAST FACTS:
AFRICA
Size: Approximately 11,724,000 sq.
miles. Second largest continent in the
world.
Number of countries: 53
Population: 827 million (2002
estimate).
Ethnic groups: About 3,000 speaking
about 1,000 languages
Highest elevation: Mount Kilimanjaro
at 19,340 feet
Lowest point: Lake Assal in Djibouti at
515 feet below sea level
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
Online
Zane RriT | Photographer
Left to right: University senior Haben Woldu and sophomore Ariam Fesaha, and LCC sophomore Mehret Haile
practice their dance routine Wednesday night in the EMU Fir Room for Sunday’s African Culture Night.
teach others about the Africa they may not see on
television, Woldu said.
“We want them to be entertained and be edu
cated by Africans,” Woldu said. “To get education
from the source, not from TV. ”
The group will host the meal to give the audi
ence the opportunity to taste foods they may not
otherwise have the chance to eat. Attendees will
also be treated to a fashion show featuring au
thentic dress from 10 African nations.
“The clothes are very colorful and vibrant,”
Woldu said. She said students from Congo, Zam
bia, Ethiopia and other countries will represent
their own nations in dress.
Also planned are a skit, songs from Africa, an
awards presentation, a raffle with prizes from
Swahili Imports and traditional dance by an
African dance troupe from Portland.
ASA member Leonidas Watson said although
he isn’t African by birth, his involvement in the
ASA has been a rewarding experience. He was
one of the dancers during last year’s event.
“It erased a lot of stereotypes for me,” Watson
said.
Woldu said members have each contributed
more than 100 hours to prepare for the event.
DANCE, page 3