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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (June 8, 2006)
ONAMI’s Miniature Tactical Energy Systems initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Army, and the Inherently Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing ini- tiative is sponsored by the U.S. Air Force, ac- cording to the ONAMI website. Eiden said the group would like an official statement describing why the military is in- terested in contributing funds to ONAMI. “It just doesn’t seem like enough is being told about what exactly is going on,” he said. UO chemistry professor Jim Hutchison, who directs ONAMI’s Inherently Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing ini- tiative, has said previously on multiple occa- sions that the UO does not conduct weapons research. Eiden said the group’s actions regarding ONAMI might include informing the citizens of Eugene about the institute, distributing fly- ers and petitions, and lobbying the UO Student Senate to make a statement on the issue. He added that collaborations with SDS chapters in Portland and Corvallis might also be possible, and emphasized the importance of educating people about political issues. “If people want a resource to combat something, it can’t just be throwing yourself in front of a bulldozer,” Eiden said. — Eva Sylwester KNOW YOUR DERECHOS When does a bill become a law? For Spanish-speaking Eugeneans who didn’t grow up watching Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill,” the answer may not be clear. Patricia Cortez, youth program coordinator at Amigos Centro de Servicios Multiculturales and advisor to Latino immigrant youth group Juventud FACETA, says that some unethical groups are trying to take advantage of immi- grants right now. She’s heard reports of groups that convince immigrants that bills have become laws which provide methods to become citizens. “People fall into traps and pay money, and the groups disappear,” she says. The members of Juventud FACETA want to change that. On June 10, FACETA, in con- junction with the American Friends Service Committee’s Project Voice, will present a day-long event at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The event, which is entirely in Spanish, is called Derechos de los Inmigrantes son Derechos Humanos (Immigrant Rights are Human Rights). In workshops like “Nuestra Identidad Individual y Nuestra Identidad Colectiva” and “Los Derechos Humanos y los Derechos Civiles,” FACETA members want to involve the community in lively educational discus- sions. Cortez says they expect around 50 adults to take part. FACETA will provide child care, and local Latino restaurants and businesses are in charge of food for the free event, which also features UO professor Lynn Stephen and KLCC’s Armando Morales. “This helps immigrants know their rights, so they won’t believe dishonest people trying to fool them,” says Cortez. Those still wanting to register can call 746-6022. — Suzi Steffen BUCKS FOR THE DUCKS The UO subsidizes its athletic department with $1.4 million a year in student fees, ac- cording to a database of NCAA financial re- ports compiled by The Indianapolis Star. The use of fees on struggling students to subsidize huge athletic budgets is controver- sial at many universities, the Star recently re- ported. Students at Indiana University re- cently fought successfully to eliminate $1 million in new student fees to subsidize ath- letics, the Star reported. Critics say few stu- dents benefited from the fees, which did not go to increasing the quality of their educa- tion. The UO announced a few years ago that it would stop diverting money from its general fund to subsidize athletics, but subsidies such as student fees continue. Another big public subsidy comes from tax breaks. The UO reported $11.6 million in contributions from boosters in the 2004-05 school year. The UO’s educational mission makes donations to it tax deductible. Sports donations are mostly for entertainment, but money contributed to UO athletics is still tax deductible, costing state and federal govern- ments millions of dollars. About a third of the money the UO has raised for its ongoing Campaign Oregon fundraising drive has gone to athletics, The Oregonian reported recently. That share, $138 million, is far higher than what has gone to athletics at other universities and is more than twice what has been raised for the UO’s College of Arts & Sciences. A big chunk of UO athletic spending goes to recruiting players. The UO led the Pac-10 in spending on football recruiting with $430,000 spent in the 2004-2005 school year, according to the Star database. As part of its recruiting efforts, the UO has also spent mil- lions of dollars on huge billboards of football players, an indoor practice facility and a posh locker room. Oregon spends about $85,000 per player a year on the UO football team. But The Oregonian reported the state spends only about $4,000 per student on higher education, ranking it 46th in the nation. — Alan Pittman CITY PARKS GO PESTICIDE- FREE Sown in the fall like wildflower seeds, pesticide-free parks will root out weeds … through nontoxic means. No Roundup needed. The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) has been working with the Eugene parks department since October to design a one-year pilot program for man- aging five neighborhood parks without pesti- cides: Scobert Gardens, Gilbert, Awbrey, Berkeley and Shadow Wood. It’s a small but symbolic effort, representing about 2 percent of the city’s parkland. But if all goes well, the city will likely extend and expand the pro- gram, said city Parks Maintenance Manager Kevin Finney. Ironically, at the same time that the city BY PAUL NEEVEL GAYLE AND GREG EDWARDS In a west Eugene ware- house, Gayle and Greg Edwards display a few of the 30-plus donated ortho- pedic wheelchairs that they will personally deliver to the Mexican state of Baja California Sur this summer. In 2002, the Edwards founded Mobilize Mankind, a non-profit devoted to finding used orthopedic equipment and bringing it to children with physical challenges and limited resources. “The key word is recycling,” says Greg. “A lot of outgrown equipment is sitting around in garages.” An adventur- ous pair, both of whom had lived and worked in South America, the Edwards met in Eugene, married in 1991, and ran an English school in the Czech Republic for nine years. On their return, Gayle resumed her career as a physical therapist. She learned of the dire need for orthopedic equipment in impoverished areas on a trip to China in 2001. In cooperation with Baja Sur agencies and charities, Mobilize Mankind has supplied 250 kids with specialized wheelchairs, and brought orthopedic equipment to five schools. “We have com- mitted for 10 years,” says Gayle. Learn more at mobilizemankind.org. Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule • Lane County will soon start spraying the following herbicides: Oust Extra (sulfome- turon methyl and metsulfuron methyl), Milestone (aminopyralid), Habitat (imaza- pyr), Garlon 3A (triclopyr) and Aquamaster (glyphosate). (For info or feedback, call IVM Coordinator Orin Shumacher: 682-6908.) • Lane County uses herbicides around Public Works building, including Casoron (dichlobenil), Roundup (glyphosate) and others. (For ground maintenance records, call 682-6911.) • Lane County Vegetation Management Advisory Committee has three openings. Application deadline: 5 pm June 16. For info, call 682-6991 or visit www.co.lane.or.us/BCC/vacancies.htm • For No Spray Area Permit, call 682-6911 or (800) 826-8978. Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers: 342-8332. boots toxic chemicals out of roughly 10 acres of neighborhood parks, Friends of Buford Park has announced plans to start using herbi- cides on 10 acres of Mt. Pisgah to control false brome. Finney sympathizes. “Managing natural areas that have invasive species is ex- tremely challenging, and that’s why we haven’t included them in our pilot program,” he said. But for now, the focus is on the pesticide- free parks, where flame weeding, hand weed- ing, mulching and other nontoxic methods will replace herbicide use. Costs to the city will be minimal. NCAP spokeswoman Megan Kemple, who has worked to implement similar pro- grams in Portland and Salem, hopes that the pilot effort will inspire local residents to try nontoxic weed control methods in their own backyards. The city already minimizes herbicide use through an integrated pest management pro- gram that emphasizes eco-friendly alterna- tives. But park maintenance crews some- times spot-spray synthetic herbicides like gyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) on the toughest weeds, avoiding areas near restrooms, picnic areas and playgrounds. — Kera Abraham SARA RICH AT WAND Sara Rich, MSW, spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the Take Back Our America rally March 18 (see EW web archives for 3/30), describing her daughter’s experiences as a soldier in Iraq. Her daughter went AWOL this winter, citing persistent intimidation and sex- ual harassment from fellow soldiers in addi- tion to the dangers of war. She was also or- dered to return to Iraq for a third tour of duty in less than four years. Rich will be speaking about her daugh- ter’s plight at the 6:30 to 9 pm meeting of Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND) at McNail-Riley House, 13th and Jefferson, Eugene. The meeting is free and open to the public. JUNE 1, 2006 9
