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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: News: UO APPROVES DIVERSITY PLAN The UO faculty Senate is accustomed to meeting before a sparse audience — perhaps a half-dozen campus politicians and a sleepy student reporter. But on May 24, nearly 400 people packed into 150 Columbia Hall for what would prove to be an unusually emotional Senate meeting. "I didn't know so many people cared about the spring curriculum report," quipped University Senate President Peter Keyes. But everyone in attendance knew the real reason the room was buzzing: The Senate would finally vote on the contentious UO Diversity Plan, which has been in the works for almost four years and revised three times. UO President David Frohnmayer emphasized his support for the plan, calling it "a balance between equity and … economics." He reminded senators that the document does not reflect the views of any individual, but rather the feedback from more than 1,000 members of the university community. Frohnmayer also denied that the plan was conceived in a 2002 lawsuit settlement with a former senior administrator, claiming that the university intended to draft the plan months before the lawsuit was filed. However, the settlement marked the first time that the university committed to the plan in writing, and a federal court retains jurisdiction over the matter. Faculty in favor of and opposed to the plan took turns at the microphone for more than an hour. Supporters described the plan as a long-overdue first step toward equity, though some expressed concerns it doesn't go far enough. Opponents suggested that the plan is oppressive, too expensive and unfairly gives preferential treatment to targeted minority groups. Economics professor Christopher Ellis, a UO senator who opposes the plan, proposed a failed motion to delay the vote. He later drew hisses and boos when he said, "Part of the problem of our society is that the poor fail to achieve. The poor are also largely black and Hispanic." History professor Martin Summers, who supports the plan, called opponents' suggestion to improve campus racial diversity by reaching out to low-income, middle-school students "disingenuous." He also spoke about his decision to leave the UO for the University of Texas, a move that prompted student protests in his support earlier this spring. He said that he accepted the offer from UT not because it pays better than the UO but because that university has demonstrated a stronger commitment to African-American studies and built a critical mass of African-American scholars. Several dozen audience members gave him a standing ovation. The Senate soundly passed the motion to adopt the Diversity Plan by a vote of 32-6. For College of Education staff member Shoshana Kerewsky, the vote reflects the campus community's overwhelming support for the plan. "Most of the senators agree that it's time to do something," she said. "This, at least, is a first step." — Kera Abraham
EWEB WORKERS WANT AVERAGE EWEB union negotiators met with the EWEB board May 29 in an attempt to head off a strike. Bargaining team member and EWEB electric meter technician Rob Dotson says that the main sticking point is the difference between health care proposals. The two sides have been negotiating since September, Dotson says. Last year's contract expired on December 31, 2005. Board members say they're offering a fair contract. But former EWEB relay meter tech Sang Huynh says he disagrees with EWEB board member Sandra Bishop, who wrote in a May 24 R-G opinion piece that the health care offer isn't a take-away. In the first contract, Huynh says, his former co-workers agreed to the company's health care plan, which up to that point had been good. But health care moved from a $15 co-pay to a 20 percent co-pay and much larger out-of-pocket expenses. Dotson says, "Compared to 10 other comparator utilities, we're at the bottom in out-of-pocket costs, with $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a family." When Dotson's son broke his collarbone last year, Dotson says, he "got nailed." Now, Huynh says, he hears from his friends at EWEB that "tension is running high, and safety's on the line for people in the air dealing with 12,000-15,000 volts." The union will strike on June 6 if health care and other issues — like counting Veterans' Day as a holiday — are not resolved in this week's meetings. Dotson says the union isn't asking for the best plan out there: "All we're asking is to be average."
HIGH COST OF QUIET TRAINS Residents near the railroad tracks in Eugene have complained for years that the train horns that sound romantic drifting through the valley when heard from miles away are blowing them out of their beds downtown. The Federal Railroad Administration requires the trains to fire their horns at intersections as a safety measure. As an option, the FRA allows cities to install other safety measures to quiet the horns. At High Street near the Fifth Street Public Market, the city's riskiest rail crossing, the necessary four automatic gates would cost about $500,000, according to city staff. Smaller intersections could get away with $15,000 median islands as an alternative safety measure, although medians could block driveway access to some businesses. Another option would be to simply close a crossing. With gates or medians needed at about 10 intersections downtown, quiet could cost the city several million dollars. The City Council plans to take up the issue later this year.— Alan Pittman
GREEN SCARE RESISTANCE Local activists are joining an international "Weekend of Resistance Against the Green Scare" on June 11. Some 20 cities worldwide are showing solidarity and support for those facing charges and harassment in the largest roundup of environmental and animal rights activists in U.S. history. The nationwide sweep, dubbed "Operation Backfire," has so far involved nearly 20 arrests and many grand jury subpoenas. "Despite the lack of human injury in any of the actions these community members are being accused of, the government is threatening extraordinary sentences, ranging from 30 years to life plus 335 years," reads a statement from the Jeff Free Luers Support Network. "Similar crimes committed without political motivation receive far shorter sentences and even different, lesser charges." June 11 also marks the sixth year that Jeff "Free" Luers has been in prison serving 22 years for burning three SUVs. This year's Eugene event, "Resisting the Green Scare: A Night of Solidarity with Eco-Defense Prisoners," will be held at 7 pm Sunday, June 11 at Sam Bond's Garage, 407 Blair Blvd., and will include speakers and music. Author Derrick Jensen is the featured speaker of the evening. Proceeds will benefit the green scare defendants. For more information, visit www.freefreenow.org/june2006.htm
HOUSING DEAL GETS GO-AHEAD On the heels of the UO's adoption of its first-ever diversity plan, university administrators are sealing a deal to sell the roofs over the heads of the UO's most diverse students. University administrators announced a tentative buyer for the 404-unit Westmoreland Family Housing complex, which the university has owned and operated since the '60s, on May 24. Local developer Michael O'Connell plans to buy the property for $18.45 million, and Bell Real Estate will manage it. The Westmoreland Tenants' Council has characterized the low-rent housing complex as a student community that not only is more ethnically and culturally diverse, but also more open-minded and accepting than the university as a whole. As of last fall, international students represented about 5 percent of the UO student body but almost 25 percent of Westmoreland leaseholders. More than a dozen student and community groups, along with several local politicians, have opposed the university's plans to sell the property. The university has offered some concessions for displaced tenants. O'Connell offered to extend current tenants' leases through June 2007, and university administrators have promised grants to subsidize rent increases for tenants in financial need. The State Board of Higher Education must approve the sale before it can be finalized. The Oregon University System will hold public hearings in Eugene on June 5 and 13, and Frohnmayer will present the sale terms to the board at its July 14 meeting. But Frohnmayer will have to inform the board that the UO Senate opposes the sale, in compliance with a successful May 24 Senate vote requiring that he do so. "There is still a compelling need for Westmoreland," said UO Senator Jon Jablonski, who introduced the motion. "Without campus-owned university housing, we're going to lose a certain amount of diversity. We're going to lose a certain amount of excellence." The vote was a 14-14 tie, broken in the motion's favor by Senate President Peter Keyes. The audience cheered the outcome. — Kera Abraham
BUS THUMPERS STORM COUNTY The Bus Project plans a statewide canvassing trip in Lane County for Sunday, June 4. While the Project has been up-ending county politics for a couple of years, this particular effort will add a divine twist: It will pair faith-based and community-based progressives in an effort to reach out to more voters. Dubbed "Double Redemption Sunday," the canvass and service project will support the campaigns of Sen. Vicki Walker and Oregon House candidate Chris Edwards. The day will begin with a free BBQ at 2:30 pm in the Bethel area. The Rev. Dan Bryant and Carmen Urbina will speak at 3:30, followed by a canvass training session. Walker and Edwards will speak at 4:30, and then the crew will hit the road, returning from the canvass/service project after 7 pm. The Bus Project supports education; funding for seniors, people with disabilities and children; and secure equal rights for all Oregonians. "We don't do sales pitches, we don't do canned speeches, and we don't work for anyone we don't think meets our ideals," states a Project press release. "We engage in dialogue with registered voters, about issues that are important to them: taxes, health care, schools, safety, and a good place to live and love. Address RSVPs/questions to Adam.Petkun@busproject.org or call 344-9999.
CITY SUBSIZES FED PROJECT If you build a house, you'll pay a host of permit fees and system development charges. But if you're the federal government, you can stiff the city. The feds have exempted themselves from such local fees, meaning that they didn't pay the roughly $1.13 million in fees they would have owed for the gleaming new courthouse downtown, according to city staff. Lower development fees for the federal courthouse may mean more cash for the Iraq War, but it will mean higher taxes and fees or worse city infrastructure for the rest of us. — Alan Pittman
Lane County Herbicide Spray Schedule • ODOT — Spot spraying for other noxious weeds along highways to begin soon, weather permitting. ODOT District 5 IVM Coordinator Dennis Joll: 686-7526; spray information (888) 996-8080; complaints — Becky Thoreson, (503) 986-4366. • Oregon Department of Forestry — for subscriptions to notifications for chemical applications and other forestry operations, call ODF Western Lane Office at 935-2283 or Eastern Lane Office at 726-3588. • Lane County will start spraying Aquamaster (glyphosate), Garlon 3A (triclopyr), Habitat (imazapyr), Milestone (aminopyralid) and Oust Extra (sulfometuron methyl) herbicides for weeds soon. (IVM Coordinator Orin Shumacher: 682-6908. For a No Spray Area Permit, call 682-6911.) Compiled by Jan Wroncy, Forestland Dwellers 342-8332
CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATIONS In our Happening People profile on Lisa Warnes last week, a tilde was missing in the website listed at the bottom. The correct website address is www.efn.org/~ksl
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