IN BRIEF
Teach for America
program enlists students
An information session will be
held at noon on Tuesday for stu
dents interested in learning more
about the nationwide program
Teach For America.
Teach For America enlists college
graduates to teach for two years in a
public school located in a low-in
come community.
The program sends members to
schools in 22 regions of the United
States, both urban and rural.
Tuesday’s information session
will begin with a brief video, nar
rated by actor Harrison Ford, that
outlines the mission of Teach For
America. Annie Lagozzino, a 2004
University graduate who is cur
rently a Teach For America mem
ber in Phoenix, will also answer
questions and provide details
about her experience.
The session will be held in the
Ben Linder Forum on the lower lev
el of the Erb Memorial Union. Food
will be provided.
Campus interest in the program
has grown in recent years, said
University senior and ASUO Fi
nance Coordinator Nick Hudson, a
Teach For America campus
campaign manager.
“Everyone is encouraged to
come. We’re shooting for about 50,
but we’d love to have more,” he
said. “The more people we can get
a hold of, the more our mission gets
out in the open.”
Hudson added that the first appli
cation deadline is fast approaching.
The first application is due Oct. 30.
—Joe Bailey
EPD: Initial investigation
conducted by hired auditor
Continued from page 1
reopen closed cases and require
more investigation.
The city council unanimously
supports an oversight initiative,
but some councilors do not sup
port Measure 20-106 because it
would amend the city charter.
Currently, the charter calls for
the council to appoint only two
positions — the city manager and
the municipal court judge — and
mandates that the city manager
hire all other positions.
Supporters insist that having the
auditor report to the city council
and not the city manager is essen
tial to making the oversight
system independent.
“If this is administratively im
plemented, it’s unlikely the audi
tor will disagree with their boss,”
said Bonny Bettman, Ward 1 city
councilor and a member of the Eu
gene Police Commission.
Having the auditor overseen by
an elected body will ensure com
plaints aren’t ignored, as they
were in the Magana investigation,
Bettman said.
“If the auditor identified prob
lems, and year after year the city
council failed to do anything
about it, they would be voted
out,” Bettman said, adding that
the amendment would also create
a permanent process for
investigating complaints.
"City managers come and go,”
Bettman said, “but this puts in an
independent review of the police
from now on.”
Ward 4 City Councilor George
Poling opposes that independent
review. Amending the charter will
make the positions difficult to get
rid of if the city decides they aren’t
needed, Poling said.
“If we get one complaint every
six months, is that worth the tax
payers’ money?” Poling said.
Poling believes having the auditor
is important but that amending
the charter threatens the city’s
form of government.
“By doing this, what is going to
stop a councilor from putting out
a measure to hire the chief of po
lice?” Poling said. “When is it go
ing to stop, to the point that we
hire the guy that operates the
street sweeper?” Poling believes
that allowing the city manager to
hire the auditor won’t compro
mise the position, and will in
crease the oversight system’s effi
ciency by allowing the auditor to
report to one city manager instead
of nine city councilors, each with
different opinions.
“The auditor will be able to fo
cus on the meat and potatoes,”
Poling said.
Bettman, despite her desire for
an oversight system, wouldn’t
support one in which the city
manager hired the auditor.
“In my opinion, it’s a waste of
money,” Bettman said. “Hie city
manager could have implemented
this two, five, 10 years ago. It will
remain a situation where police
police the police.”
Under the proposed system, all
complaints dealing with the police
department would first go to the
auditor, who would classify the
complaints and conduct the initial
investigation. Complaints would
be classified as either one of the
following: service complaints;
complaints dealing with officer
performance or police policies; or,
allegations of misconduct, which
could be violations of department
Former Congressman
faults Democratic Party
Jim Weaver, former Oregon U.S.
Congressman and University alum
nus, blasted the Democratic Party,
which he described as being in bed
with large corporations and allow
ing mass importation of goods pro
duced by “10-cent Chinese” in a
speech on campus Friday.
Weaver said the biggest economic
issue facing the country is the com
petition U.S. producers face with
the importation of goods from Asia.
He also criticized former President
Clinton for involving the country in
the North American Free Trade
Agreement, which he said benefits
large corporations.
“What’s going to happen to our
middle and working class if they
have to compete with 10-cent Chi
nese?” he said. “The Democratic
Party has got to stop being a party
of cowardice and corporations. ”
Weaver, 78, has represented Ore
gon’s 4th District, which includes
Eugene, for six terms.
Weaver spoke to an audience of
eight people in 128 Chiles, wearing
a muted green button-up shirt and
jeans. He decried the war in Iraq,
the Vietnam War and the Korean
War, although he explained he en
listed after his 17th birthday and
served on an aircraft carrier in the
South Pacific during World War II.
America was defending itself in
World War H, he said. America is the
aggressor in the Iraq war, he said.
“It’s the oil we’re after (in Iraq),”
he said. “There’s no ifs, ands or
buts. Don’t let anybody fool you.”
Weaver said he voted for Sen.
John Kerry, D-Mass., during the
2004 presidential election because
he thought Kerry’s tremendous Viet
nam War record was beyond attack
from the Republican Party. He was
wrong, he said.
“I, who hate the Republicans,
misjudged them on how vicious
they can be,” he said.
He supported former Vermont
Governor Howard Dean for his
strong anti-war stance during the
Craig Volpf. | Freelance photographer
Jim Weaver, former 4th District U.S. Congressman, criticized the war in Iraq and the De
mocratic Party during a speech on campus Friday. He described the Democratic Party as
one of "cowardice and corporations.”
election, but said that “the press,
the media and both political parties
— they murdered Howard Dean in
that election. And that made me so
darn mad.”
Weaver also said he expects Re
publicans to be voted out of office in
large numbers in the next election.
On the other hand, he wouldn’t put
it past them to stage a terrorist at
tack and declare martial law before
the next election, he said.
The speech was organized by the
Pacifica Forum, a group dedicated to
discussion of war and military issues.
— Jared Paben
policy, a person’s civil rights or a
criminal offense.
Investigations would still be han
dled by EPD but would be moni
tored and documented by the audi
tor. The auditor would have access
to all investigative materials and be
able to mandate additional investi
gation. Any discipline would still be
handled by Eugene Police Chief
Robert Lehner.
The city attorney has advised
EPD that they cannot give opinion
or comments on the issue because
of election law, but the Eugene Po
lice Employees Association sup
ports the plan, according to the Po
lice Commission’s report. Bettman
said commission members made
some concessions during their plan
ning of the review board to avoid
conflicts with the EPEA contract.
“We took a lot of authorities
away from the civilian review board
and the auditor to avoid litigation
with the police union,”
Bettman said.
The measure will be the only is
sue on the ballot, something
Bettman hopes will give it greater
visibility than it would have in a
general election.
“It would have been lost in a bar
rage of issues and campaigns in the
May primary,” Bettman said.
Lane County will mail ballots on
Oct. 21. Voters can vote by mail un
til Nov. 4, and all ballots are due by
Nov. 8.
Contact the city and state politics at
ckagan @ dailyemerald. com
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