LET TERS
MULTIPLE CELEBRATIONS
I just heard about the cancellation of the
Eugene Celebration. What about this: Let’s
have a Eugene Celebration from EWEB
plaza to the North Polk Community
Garden along the bike path. Two stages,
one at each end. Maybe a third stage at
Skinner Butte Park and a fourth close to
the River House. Booths all along the bike
path. And it could be free!
Maybe see if the outdoor concert folks
are willing to help coordinate with the
neighborhood associations in those areas.
Could be more fun than it has been for
years.
Anand E. Holtham-Keathley
Eugene
SELF-SERVING RANT
After reading Chris Eidemiller’s
Viewpoint [6/5] I have come to the
conclusion that EW will print anything,
including this rant, which is total crap.
First, we need to remember that the
vast majority of scholarships are given to
athletes who fulfi ll their time at the UO,
and very few leave to pursue a pro career.
I do not understand why an early departure
would ruffl e Eidemiller’s feathers. Would
he care if a math scholar left early to work
at NASA or a chemistry student left to
pursue a career with 3M? Also, the UO
does recruit in-state. Many athletes in all
sports are from Oregon and the Northwest.
I could go on about this self-serving
VIEWPOINT
rant, which clearly is an avenue in
which Eidemiller can fulfi ll his desires to
bash the UO, but I will end by saying good
riddance; you will not be missed.
John Carlson
Eugene
Berwick, OBF Executive Director John
Evans and OBF Artistic Director Matthew
Halls deserve enormous praise for funding
and designing this visionary program.
David Wade
Eugene
THANKS TO KITTY
NOT ALL FOR PROFIT
I hope we can all thank you, Mayor
Kitty Piercy, for your important letter
to UO Assistant Vice President Greg
Rikkhoff. Is it just me thinking that gender
inequality has increased? For some, sexual
assault is to be expected? Or for some, we
should only elect men? I really appreciated
her strong position for women and I’m
sure she knows more than most, as mayor,
how we must make some changes.
Ruth Duemler
Eugene
Your recent article neglected some
critical information as to the “marketplace”
for Common Core curricula, at least in
math. There are a number of open, free
or very low-cost resources — some
supplementary, some full curricula —
which teachers can now use thanks to the
Common Core.
• Illustrative Mathematics, which pro-
vides individual tasks along with extensive
commentary to help with classroom use
and promote teacher professional under-
standing. Every task is approved both by
a teacher and a university mathematician.
(Also, see our videos for teachers about
fractions. Coming soon: curricular maps.)
• Eureka Math/EngageNY, a full cur-
riculum developed from the ground up by
teachers working with national experts,
which are freely available (including full
teacher materials) in perpetuity.
• Dan Meyer’s Three-Act Tasks,
teacher-written real-world problems at
middle- and high-school levels. Dan also
has a great TED Talk, “Math Class Needs
a Makeover,” which speaks to the need for
curricula to change signifi cantly.
VISIONARY PROGRAM
The new $7.25-million Berwick Acad-
emy for Historically Informed Performance
Practice cements the Oregon Bach Festi-
val’s position as the preeminent Baroque
music festival in the U.S. The Academy
will impact Baroque music performance
throughout the country for the next 50 years.
It will generate constant national attention
to OBF and to the UO’s already outstand-
ing music department, entitling Eugene to a
new moniker: “Bach Town USA” (thanks to
Nancy Pobanz for this insight).
UO alumni Andrew and Phyllis
CONTRIVED ARTICLE
Since I have previously written with
regards to Jake Klonoski’s views on
Afghanistan, I felt compelled to respond
to his wife’s feelings regarding Memorial
Day [5/22].
BY DENNIS HEBER T
It’s Up to Us
WILL CIVIC STADIUM CONTINUE TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY?
N
ew architectural drawings reveal
a beautiful, renovated fi eld and
grandstand with massive old-growth
structural timbers — capturing the
vision shared by civic leaders and
Works Progress Administration who in 1938 designed
and built Civic Stadium for public use.
The site was then deeded to School District 4J for
a token $1, and 4J is now selling it. We are determined
to raise the $3 million needed by early September for
the restoration of the stadium and fi eld so the city will
follow through to purchase the property. It will ensure
that the promise is kept: that Civic continues to be
used for the public good. That’s a no-brainer when
the probable alternative is another big-box store with
out-of-state ownership like Fred Meyer.
Civic sits on a large (10.2 acre) property and
potential partners have expressed interest in sharing
the site. Some would like to build a fi eld house
for youth sports in the current parking area. Many
agree that Eugene needs a versatile indoor venue
where cultural and educational events exhibiting
Eugene’s unique commitment to healthy living and
sustainability could be held year-round.
Who is involved in making this historic community
treasure beautiful and utilized again? If not you, then
4
• Mathalicious, computer-based real-
world projects, for example, a great unit
on the dangers of texting while driving
(requires a subscription, but for individual
teachers it is pay-what-you-can).
• Khan Academy, which has been up-
dating its content to be more conceptually
demanding and useful as a classroom sup-
plement (still in process), and still gives it
away for free.
The list goes on. All of these resources
are much better than just about anything
available — free or expensive — four years
ago. Moreover, individual teachers have
better tools to share in a community that
is building across the country. I met just
yesterday with a teacher from Kalapuya
High School in the Bethel School District
who is doing some neat things, and I urged
him to share more widely.
If the corporations are planning to
“cash in,” they’ve made a big mistake.
Those producing high-quality materials
and giving them away can now, thanks to
the Common Core, team up nationally to
serve students and teachers.
Dev Sinha
Assoc. professor of mathematics, UO
June 12, 2014 • eugeneweekly.com
you likely have a friend or neighbor
who says, “I love that place; we’ve
got to save and restore it!”
There is diverse support for the
continued public ownership of the
Civic site. Athletes from neighboring
South Eugene High School want to
use the fi eld for their fi eld sports again.
Adults fondly remember playing and
watching baseball and football at
Civic. Young soccer players would
love to play at Civic, and with their
families watch the minor league teams
of this increasingly popular sport. UO, LCC and NCU
students would like to play ultimate Frisbee, rugby,
lacrosse and other fi eld sports in the heart of the city.
Local bands like The Sugar Beets want to play
concerts on the fi eld. Local promoters have expressed
interest in bringing outdoor summer concerts to
Civic. Area wineries have asked to rent the space
for cultural events. Classic car lovers want to show
their beauties at a classic venue like Civic. Add your
favorite community event to this list!
The Friends of Civic Stadium’s fundraising plan
is based on the viable “community fundraising
pyramid.” The base is comprised of the people
mentioned above — those who have used or would
be using Civic. In addition to donating, some are
sponsoring house parties and benefi t concerts. The
mid-levels of the pyramid represent those of us who
can afford to give a tax deductible gift of $50 to
$5,000. (Donations can go into an escrow account
and will be returned if we are not
able to meet the city’s deadline.)
Individuals giving in this range
join more than 25 businesses in our
new Civic Partnership Program,
helping us get the word out to their
customers (please contact me at
scscivic@gmail.com if your busi-
ness is interested in participating).
We hope you will support Civic by
patronizing our business partners
listed on our website.
Further up the fundraising
pyramid are the foundation and
corporation grants supporting historic preservation
and safe, healthy opportunities for youth recreation.
The pyramid’s “capstone” will be gifts from those
who can make a very large donation to the commu-
nity. Their participation depends on the pyramid base
demonstrating that it deeply values Civic as an im-
portant regional public asset for future generations.
Community support is growing every day and we
hope you will join in. Volunteer, get a lawn sign and
donate at friendsofcivicstadium.org.
Thanks for supporting Civic!
Dennis Hebert of Eugene is president of Friends of Civic Stadium.
To donate go to savecivicstadium.org