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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2005)
Jason Mraz performs at the Hult Center | 5 Oregon Daily Emerald An independent newspaper at the University of Oregon www. dailyemerald. com Since 1900 \ Volume 107, Issue 56 \ Thursday, November 10, 2005 New diversity plan forthcoming The Diversity Executive Working Group has been meeting weekly since June to redraft the University's Five Year Diversity Plan BY KELLY BROWN NEWS REPORTER Those awaiting the University’s revised Five Year Diversity Plan will have to wait a bit longer. According to Charles Martinez, the interim vice provost of institutional equity and diversi ty, the revised diversity plan should be re leased by the end of fall term. “We’re quite hopeful that we can have a report and draft available. It’s realistic to say this term, and if not then shortly thereafter,” Martinez said. r He added that although a release in the spring is a possibility, putting forth a new plan for discussion as quickly as possible is a main goal. “The time line isn’t a certainty at this point, but it’s certain to say very soon,” Mar tinez said. The original plan, led by former Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Gregory Vincent, who now holds a similar po sition at the University of Texas, drew heavy criticism from the campus community. The plan had more than 25 specific recommendations, including establishing cultural competency classes for freshmen and asking each department to explain how new hires tie into the University’s overarch ing plan for a diverse faculty. After the initial draft, 25 faculty members wrote an open letter to University President Dave Frohnmayer that condemned the plan, calling it “Orwellian” and asking that the Uni versity withdraw the plan. Following the controversy, the University appointed a Diversity Executive Working Group to revise the plan in June. Twelve fac ulty and staff members as well as ASUO President Adam Walsh make up the commit tee, which includes two who signed the DIVERSITY, page 4 Author Georgia Durante was invited to be a member of Joint Civilian Orientation Conference 70 and toured military bases around the world. Here Staff Sgt. Chaplin shows Durante the workings of a tank. Courtesy Author Durante reveals her dark side Former model and Mafia getaway driver Georgia Durante spoke at UO Tuesday to promote her book and revile domestic abuse BY NICHOLAS WILBUR NEWS REPORTER Georgia Durante was befriended by uptown New York mobsters when she was only 13. She was pursuing a modeling career, striv ing to overcome the poverty in which her mother was raised, when, sitting in a cafe booth with a friend, she was unintentionally befriended by “the Godfather- of Uptown New York. ” “I’ve seen the mob turn the lights on for people that couldn’t see,” she said. The innocent looks of a pretty young girl appealed to her new friends and soon-to-be quasi-guardians, and before long she was regularly driving getaway cars for them. The police never viewed her as a possible suspect when delivering packages, she said. She outran the police in shoot-outs, made “pickups” all over town and, in one in stance, dumped a bloodied body at the hos pital steps. She discovered later that millions of dollars were in those packages, she said. “They wanted to use me all the time, and DURANTE, page 16 University Senate demands answers Administration officials fielded pointed questions from faculty about the sale of Westmoreland BY MEGHANN M. CUNIFF NEWS EDITOR The University administration's failure to no tify faculty members until after the plan to sell Westmoreland Apartments was put in motion isolates them and is an example of the adminis tration’s detachment from the faculty, profes sors told University officials at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting. “Most of us heard this from the newspaper and not anywhere else,” senator and biology professor Nathan Hiblitz said. “How do you ex pect us to go forward when we are being told of the decision rather than decisions being made by all?” Senator and English professor Lisa Freinkel said the closed-door decision is similar to deci sions made in the past. “How many times do we have to learn the same lesson?” Freinkel said. “If people hear about decisions like this either through the newspaper or getting an e-mail the day before they read it in the newspaper, they will feel not consulted, not respected.” University Vice President for Finance and Ad ministration Frances Dyke said University ad ministrators are charged with being stewards of the University’s resources, and they are doing just that. Dyke emphasized that the administration has not forgotten about the needs of students. She explained the missions of two task groups that have formed to address issues involving how to help students find new housing and how to accommodate the student-parents who have children in care programs at the Westmoreland Child Care Center and may have to seek other child-care options if the property is sold. “We intend to learn how we can better serve the needs of this population as we’re going for ward,” Dyke said. Many students attended the meeting and held signs protesting the sale. Some of the questions from senators cen tered on how the money from the sale will be spent, and Senior Vice President and Provost John Moseley assured the senate that all money from the sale will eventually be spent on stu dent housing. Some of the money may initially be spent on acquiring property closer to campus for other SENATE, page 3 Wilma Mankiller discusses contemporary tribal life The first female chief of the Cherokee Nation deconstructed many stereotypes about Native Americans and delved into tribal history BY KELLY BROWN NEWS REPORTER According to Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation, there is a profound difference between the mindsets of Native Amer icans and of those in the American mainstream. “We’re bom into a set of reciprocal relation ships, and we have respect for one another,” she said. “(In the United States), individual achieve ment means more than common good, and kind ness is perceived as weakness.” Mankiller addressed a crowd of about 650 Wednesday night in the EMU Ballroom as part of the Morse Public Lecture series. Her talk, en titled “Context is Everything: History and Cul ture in Contemporary TVibal Life” discussed the history of native peoples, current challenges and future hopes. The 2005-06 chairwoman of the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics, an independent cen ter at the law school, Mankiller is also serving as a visiting professor in the EtJtmic Studies depart ment through the end of this month. The speech opened with a ceremonial wel come by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Honor Guard and a traditional song performed by the Eagle Beak Singers. Mankiller was introduced by University Presi dent Dave Frohnmayer, who said it was an “hon or to welcome a woman, a leader, a person who understands the relationship between knowledge and morality.” Mankiller began by mentioning the difficulties of having an informed dialogue on Native Ameri can issues. “It’s impossible to understand challenges facing Native Americans without a context,” she said. She gave an overview of the hardships Native Americans suffered at the hands of European in vaders, including the TYail of Tears, when thou sands of her people were forced to migrate from the Southeastern United States to what is now Oklahoma. Mankiller deconstructed many stereotypes about Native Americans and reiterated the MANKILLER, page 3