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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2005)
Eugene nights come alive | Section B Oregon Daily Emerald An independent newspaper at the University of Oregon www. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 | Volume 107, Issue 45 | Wednesday, October 26, 2005 Hawaiian student leaves after alleged racism University administrator Charles Martinez's trip to Hawaii will include addressing concerns about student support services BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF NEWS EDITOR A Hawaiian freshman who lived in the resi dence halls left during his first week at the University because of alleged racial harass ment and death threats, prompting a Universi ty administrator to devote part of a future trip to Hawaii to addressing concerns there. Interim Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Charles Martinez could be ac companied by University President Dave Frohnmayer, Martinez said. The parents of Zane Lobetos e-mailed sev eral administrators on Oct. 3, explaining the reasons behind their son’s decision to leave the University. “We don’t know a whole lot” about the in cidents alleged in the e-mail, Martinez said, but “it was clear to me that it was a stressful situation and that the student felt the need to leave the University because of stress. bacts about wnat happened to Lobetos are not available be cause no witness has come forward, no of ficials were informed of the alleged harass ment until after Lobe tos left the University, and University offi cials have been un able to contact him directly, Martinez said. According to the e-mail, Lobetos “was ver bally attacked with racial and derogatory re “It was clear to me that it was a stressful situation and that the student felt the need to leave the University because of stress. ” Charles Martinez | Interim Vice Provost for Instituional Equity and Diversity marks about his race, clothing and threatened wun pnysicai narrn. The e-mail also claims Lobetos received death threats on the message board on the door of his Carson Hall room. Lobetos’ parents flew to Oregon on Sept. 30 to pick him up after he withdrew from classes, according to the e-mail. Interim Dean of Students Robin Holmes HARASSMENT, page 4A RRC sends 8 groups to funding committee Student groups that passed the initial review moved along to the fee-allotment stage of process BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER In the first day of reviews by the student government’s new Recognition Review Committee, a group that determines whether to recognize student programs and make them eligible for funding, all student groups under review Monday were approved for recognition. Six of the eight reviewed programs Mon day were granted approval contingent on the addition of one or more sections of the ASUO Programs By-Laws template, which outlines ASUO expectations required of student pro grams. The groups were given ten days to make the required updates and resubmit then bylaws. The RRC is reviewing mission and goals statements, membership, group history and bylaws to ensure that student fee-funded programs are relevant and compatible with ASUO, University and state regulations and that they don’t duplicate University programs and services. Over the next two weeks, the RRC is decid ing whether to approve 36 student programs, a process which grants the programs’ en trance into the Programs Finance Committee hearings, where incidental fees are allocated. The RRC still doesn’t have bylaws or a for mal appeals process.The ASUO Constitution Court ruled last week that the RRC is legiti mate, but that the lack of documentation is “egregious” and has an unclear purpose. ASUO Programs Administrator and RRC Chairman David Goward distributed the by laws template to two of the groups reviewed Monday, drawing criticism for not distribut ing it to more of them. “When it comes to the requirements of Ex ecutive recommendations, if they haven’t list ed them in their bylaws prior to coming to the RRC, I will give them a call to make sure that they at least” include them, Goward said. “But that’s also a part of the RRC process, to see if those bylaws need to be updated. ” Former Senator Khanh Le said they are “wasting time” by not giving out the tem plate earlier. “I think it would be great if you could hand this out ahead of time so we would know, and in order to be (transparent) and to under stand the process,” Le said. “I think it’s a lack of responsibility that the Exec didn’t do that RRC, page 4A ★ OREGON VOTES 2006 ★ Atkinson caters to young demographic Oregon senator's campaign for governor focuses on relevant issues for his generation of voters BY EMILY SMITH NEWS REPORTER Oregon Sen. Jason Atkinson, 34, has been told he’s too young to be in politics since he started his career in the Oregon legislature seven years ago. Now, the Central Point Republican is running for governor. “Do you want to believe that I can turn it around, or do you want to do it the way it’s always been done? Cause there’s a bunch of candidates out there that are saying ‘Vote for me, I’ve got lots of gray hair, and I’ll give you the same government you’ve got,”’ Atkinson said. “Our campaign is entirely different from the others, certainly based on age and youth and passion.” Atkinson, casually sporting jeans and a pair of cowboy boots during an interview Monday at a Eugene Denny’s, explained that his campaign is grass-roots, relying heavily on the Web and average donations of $25. Most of those, he said, are from private donors all over the state, some of which are unemployed. “I’ve got to tell you, you get a big lump in your throat when you’re writing a thank-you note to someone who doesn’t have a job and wants to believe in politics again,” he said. Atkinson said he wants to be governor be cause he believes in public service and does n’t see that Oregon is moving where his gen eration wants it to. He said his experience and Hasang Cheon | Freelance photographer State Sen. Jason Atkinson, a candidate for governor of Oregon in 2006, talks about being the youngest person in the race. Atkinson, 34, started his career in the Legislature seven years ago. track record speak for themselves. He said he’s in politics to help people like University student Aaron Mathews, people who have brought him individual senate bills asking for help. Mathews said he suffers from a rare condi tion that robs him of his central vision. All he needs is an eye-glass adjustment, like Olympian Marla Runyan, who suffers from the same condition, and many states would allow him to drive. But not Oregon. For a Grants Pass High School senior class project, Mathews wrote a bill that would ATKINSON, page 3A Law professors discuss Measure 37's future BY CHRIS HAGAN NEWS REPORTER Measure 37 is an issue with more questions than answers right now, and that provided fertile ground for a panel discussion at the Knight Law Center last night. The discussion, “First Thoughts on MacPherson — What’s the Fate of Measure 37?” was arranged in the wake of the ruling in MacPherson v. Department of Administrative Ser vices that found Measure 37 uncon stitutional. The panel consisted of four Uni versity law professors, who looked at what the ruling means for land use planning in Oregon. Law professor Garrett Epps ana lyzed the constitutional basis of the criticized decision, finding some in stances in which the ruling held up. He also replied to critics who say that judges ruling on voter-ap proved initiatives are undemocratic. Epps compared that to saying that an umpire should ask the crowd before making a controver sial call. “An umpire is democratic be cause they enforce rules that were decided on democratically,” Epps said. “Without judicial review we simply don’t live under the rule of law.” Adjunct law professor Keith Hi rokawa, the only practicing lawyer in the group, discussed what he called the confusing mess current Measure 37 litigation has become. With the new ruling, a number of laws and jurisdictions have over lapped, Hirokawa said. This creates MEASURE 37, page4A ,*ag..'v ■,.* Tim Bobosky | Photo'echtor Keith Hirokawa, adjunct assistant law professor, talks about land-use laws and Measure 37 with his fellow panelists Garrett Epps, law professor, far right, Keith Aoki, law professor, center, and Thomas Lininger, assistant law professor, in 142 Knight Law Center on Tuesday evening.