Casino could provide funds for financial aid I 5
MERALD
An independent newspaper
unvw.dailyemerald.com
Since 1900 \ Volume 106, Issue 145 \ Friday, April 29, 2005
.-.— - —. Kate Horton | Photographer
Drix Rixmann, chairman of West University Neighbors, stands outside City Hall. The City of Eugene is looking
to give the neighborhood associations a louder voice in city decisions.
City Council pushes
for more citizen input
The council's "neighborhood initiative" goal, already in progress,
will attempt to increase involvement of neighborhood associations
BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF
SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
The voices of Eugene neighborhood associa
tions may become louder and stronger as city
officials work on ways to increase neighbor
hood involvement in the Eugene political scene
and to give more citizens a say in the city’s deci
sion-making processes.
The Eugene City Council recently listed
neighborhood improvement as one of its priori
ties, and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy said one of
her big interests is making neighborhood meet
ings a place where all citizens feel welcome to
engage in dialogue about happenings around
the city.
“What I’m interested in is: How do you make
neighborhood associations attract a wider vari
ety of the folks in the neighborhood and be a
place that can facilitate differences of opinion?”
Piercy said.
The City Council is still hammering out the de
tails of its “neighborhood initiative” goal, and
Piercy said the details of the city's plans for the
neighborhoods haven’t been “fully fleshed out
yet” but said some steps are already being taken
NEIGHBORHOOD, page 4
$160,000
grant funds
new African
curriculum
Faculty members will use the
two-year allotment to develop
an African studies program
BY ADAM CHERRY
NEWS REPORTER
Students will soon have a better opportuni
ty to learn about the culture, language
and history of one of the world’s largest
continents.
The College of Arts and Sciences is intro
ducing a new African studies initiative in the
fall, after receiving a two-year, $160,000 grant
from the U.S. Department of Education.
Faculty members involved with the
program said they hope to use the grant to
remedy what they perceive to be a shortcom
ing in the educational opportunities available
to students.
“There’s really been no significant presence
of Africa in the curriculum,” said Stephen
Wooten, program director and assistant pro
fessor of international studies and anthropolo
gy. “The addition of African studies to this
campus is a significant step forward.”
Wooten said the CAS African studies pro
gram will come in four segments: curriculum
development, language program develop
ment, study-abroad program expansion and
public lecture hosting.
A series of public lectures called the
“Baobab Talks,” and new courses entitled
“Africa in Oregon” and “African Experiences”
will be available in the fall.
“We will identify how and where Africa is
represented in Oregon,” Dennis Galvan, asso
ciate professor of international studies and
political science, said of the “Africa in Ore
gon” course, according to a press release.
“One area of focus will be African refugees
who have settled in the upper Willamette Val
ley. The ‘Experiences’ course will be based on
a mentorship model where students who
have been to Africa can come together as a
group and share what they’ve learned.”
Wooten emphasized the importance of
more instruction in African languages.
AFRICA, page 5
Nicole Barker | Photographer
Katya Blissenbach and Autumn Maker listen at the Take Back the Night rally.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy was among those who spoke.
Take Back
the Night
People gathered to 'March, Rally and Speak Out'
as part of Sexual Assault Prevention Week
BY SUSAN GOODWIN
DAILY EMERALD FREELANCE REPORTER
For Tara Alder, Take Back the
Night: March, Rally and
Speak Out meant more than a
march to raise awareness about the
pervasiveness of sexual violence. It
was a turning point away from an
abusive relationship and toward
personal freedom and safety.
“I wasn’t just afraid to speak in
public,” Alder said, “I was afraid
to speak at all. I had no voice. I
arrived in Eugene pregnant after
escaping my abusive boyfriend.
After giving birth I had some rea
sonable support, but it wasn’t un
til the Take Back the Night march
and speak out that I realized I
wasn’t alone. Sharing my story
in front of all those people em
powered me and validated that
what I shared was worthwhile to
others too.”
The annual Take Back the
Night event, organized by the
Women’s Center, took place
Thursday in the EMU Amphithe
ater. As part of Sexual Assault
Prevention Week, Take Back the
Night “is an event to rally women
together, support each other
and walk down the street without
worrying or looking over
our shoulders in fear,” said
Jessie Genther, coordinator for
the event.
Speakers included Eugene
Mayor Kitty Piercy, who dis
cussed the importance of ending
inequalities and discrimination to
achieve a just society, and
Women’s Center Director Erin
O’Brien, who spoke about her
personal experience with sexual
violence and how it led her to
take action using tools such as
theater, writing and therapy.
“I helped to organize Take
Back the Night for four years be
cause, to me, Take Back the Night
made it possible for me to even
acknowledge this part of my
world, this part of my history,
that my body had blocked out for
so long,” O’Brien said. “I spoke
up and I spoke out.”
A demonstration by the Sexual
NIGHT, page 7
AMBER Alert receives electronic update
The system has been expanded to send real-time updates and to link
the 50 states into a partnership through communication devices
BY EMILY SMITH
NEWS REPORTER
Oregon’s AMBER Alert system has been ex
panded to distribute messages concerning child
abductions via cell phones, lottery machines,
personal computers and other wireless devices.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced he was
“proud to be the first citizen of this state to sign
up to receive AMBER Alerts,” at a press confer
ence in Salem on Wednesday morning, encour
aging the public to join him in order to “create a
safer environment for our children.”
The AMBER Alert Web Portal will simultane
ously send real-time updates through all forms
of communication devices and, for the first time,
link all 50 states into a partnership providing de
tailed information on an abducted child, right
down to the nearest cross streets, according to
the Oregon State Police. A consortium com
posed of states, law enforcement, the broadcast
media and private corporations is fueling the
Web portal.
The AMBER Alert, or America’s Missing:
Broadcast Emergency Response Alert, system
began in 1996 when the tragic kidnapping and
murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman in Ar
lington, Texas, motivated her parents and com
munity to work with Dallas radio stations in an
effort to broadcast a special alert in the event of
an abduction.
Today the system operates in all 50 states
and has assisted in the recovery of more than
200 children.
When the system is activated, most children
are located, said Judy Hayes, program coordina
tor for the Missing Children Clearinghouse.
Since Oregon began utilizing the AMBER Alert
system last July, there have been nine activa
tions and all have led to successful recoveries,
she said.
AMBER ALERT, page 3