LAW SCHOOL EDITION
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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.