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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2005)
LAW SCHOOL EDITION An independent newspaper www. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 \ Volume 107, Issue 17 \ Wednesday, August 17,2005 Candidates start gubernatorial race Gov. Ted Kulongoski hasn't said whether he'll run for reelection, but Commissioner Peter Sorenson has begun an active campaign Tim Bobosky | Photo editor Gov. Ted Kulongoski responds to Pam Hardy’s question about getting people to work together at a forum hosted by the Public Interest Public Service Program. Hardy is a second-year law student. BY AARON BURKHALTER FREELANCE REPORTER As the second longest legislative session in Oregon’s history comes to an end, many politicians may be thinking about vacations. But heading into an election year means it’s time for many to get a head start campaign ing for the primaries. Gov. Ted Kulongoski has not officially announced whether he will run for a second term in 2006. If he does, he may face two Eugene-area Democratic challengers who are dissatisfied with his accomplishments as governor. Lane County Commissioner Peter Sorenson has already started his election campaign for the May 16 Democratic primary. Sorenson is openly critical of the governor’s term and this year’s legislative session. “I think Oregonians need a change, and De mocrats need an alternative to Kulongoski,” said Sorenson. Sorenson placed his bid for governor in January, and has been campaigning since then. He is running a grassroots campaign fo cused on individual voters at house parties and public events. Sorenson recently challenged Gov. Kulon goski to a public debate. He hopes to debate with the incumbent at the Oregon Summit in October, where four years ago the Democratic Party sponsored a forum for the then-guber natorial candidates. “How else are we going to get these issues discussed without a debate?” Sorenson asked. Kulongoski has not yet accepted the chal lenge and is currently vacationing after the close of the legislative session. He has not dis cussed the campaign and said he will wait until he returns from his vacation to officially announce whether he will run for reelection. Sorenson believes that the debate will take place, but he doesn’t know when. “My goal is having the debates early to see if we’re going to get a nominee that’s going to do something instead of the failed policies of our governor,” said Sorenson. “He’s trying to delay the debate so I don’t get any exposure,” Sorenson said. Sorenson criticizes Kulongoski for not be ing consistent with Democratic values, citing the governor’s support of the Iraq war, the current education budget and the civil unions GOVERNOR, page 15A SUNNY celebration The University held its summer commencement ceremony to honor graduates on Saturday BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER Saturday marked the last day of lectures for over 1,000 new graduates of the University. Sum mer commencement 2005 took place in the Uni versity’s Memorial Quadrangle between Prince Lucien Campbell Hall and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on a hot, sunny morning. Stu dents eagerly pointed out family members and guests to their friends as they stood in line wait ing to be seated for the official completion of their careers at the University. Several University officials contributed words of wisdom on how to continue the trends of suc cess that were started at the University. Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley opened with the definition of “commencement. ” “Commencement means ‘to begin some thing,’” Moseley said, “and it is to the future that I invite you.” President of the University Alumni Association Arya Surowidjojo photographs his friends Joga Lasini, left, Didip Kerabat, center, and Deny llnardi at the University's summer commencement Saturday afternoon. Jeffrey Nudelman took the stage to encourage graduates to join the Alumni Association and keep strong the connections made through the Univer sity. He encouraged students to go out into the world and “embark on a life of a lot of choices.” “Find the things for which you have a passion, go out and do those things, and make the world a better place,” he said. CEREMONY, page 16A UO students protest new sports game ticket policy The ASUO Executive recently decided students' spouses can no longer receive free tickets BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER The recent ASUO Executive decision to eliminate football and men’s basketball tick ets from the Spousal Equivalency Card al lowances has struck a chord with many af fected students, law school students particularly. ASUO President Adam Walsh led the effort to eliminate abuses and “bring consistency” to the policy, he said, but Student Bar Associa tion President James Edward Wilson hopes the premature decision can still be negotiated. “It is problematic that there wasn’t more student input,” Wilson said. “Adam told me personally that he wanted to include every one, but he neglected to contact me or anyone at the law school.” Wilson said that law school students are disproportionately affected by the decision be cause they are usually older and more of them are married. "It’s just a bad move (and) it’s inconsider ate,” he said. When asked why Wilson was not contact ed, Walsh said initially that he did not know. “(Wilson) was the one person I didn’t put on the list... I forgot,” Walsh said. The student body president said he did not meet or talk with anyone that was against the decision. “Ed is the person I would have contacted and I wish I would have beforehand, but we knew who wasn’t going to be happy with (the policy change) and we knew why,” but the principle is that only fee-paying students should reap the rewards of free tickets, Walsh said. “The decision was made to benefit students and give the best chance to maximize what they pay for,” he said. Walsh consulted with Athletic Department Finance Committee senators, administration advisors, the athletic department and the Ex ecutive when making the decision; all ap proved of the policy change, Walsh said. “We all thought we were coming to the right decision, and I still feel that we made the best decision for students,” he said. ADFC Senator Kyle McKenzie said in an e-mail the decision was approved for many reasons. TICKETS, page 16A New program teaches conflict mediation Jane Gordon spearheaded the effort to start a class at the University that teaches lawyers to settle disputes outside court BY LEAH JOHNSTON FREELANCE REPORTER Lawyers’ skillfully mediating a satisfying settlement between two adversaries involved in a legal dispute may not be the typical plot for an edgy court-based TV drama series. But for Jane Gordon, associate dean for Student and Program Affairs and director of the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Program at the University’s School of Law, the plot re sults in an outcome lawyers and other profes sionals who deal with conflict need to become familiar with. “What’s possible in mediation is a sharing of information and emotion in a way that is not possible in court,” Gordon says. “It’s ac tually the participants talking to each other, which is completely not possible in court.” Gordon, who graduated from the School of Law in 1980 and rejoined the school as assis tant dean in 1989, led the effort with other professors to launch the law-school-based, in terdisciplinary master’s degree program in conflict and dispute resolution, set to begin this fall. “Jane Gordon was the heart and soul of making this happen,” Rennard Strickland, professor and former dean of the School of Law, said. “She really believed in it.” Gordon, who was trained in mediation in 1982, is considered a veteran of the dispute resolution field. “One of the things this field does is encour age people to look at conflict earlier than the traditional process did,” Gordon said. “The tra ditional process is usually the last resort where we say, ‘OK we’ve really had it with each other and now we have to settle it in court.’” Gordon discovered her interest in dispute res olution while working in family law for Bradley CONFLICT, page 15A Associate Dean for Students and Program Affairs Jane Gordon talks about the conflict resolution program she helped bring to the University.
