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Slant: Short opinion pieces and rumor-chasing notes News: News: Happening People:Gayle and Greg Edwards WHEN RACE MATTERS A Register-Guard article reporting on changes at Jefferson Middle School prompted local NAACP leaders to organize a community forum on racial bias in local media. About 40 people attended the June 1 event, and County Commissioner Bobby Green facilitated the discussion. The March 25 article by R-G reporter Anne Williams stated that Jefferson's sharply declining enrollment prompted Superintendent George Russell to make big changes at the school, turning it into a K-8 and replacing principal Arbrella Luvert. The article stated that Luvert and her husband, NAACP President Henry Luvert, are "prominent leaders" of the black community, noting that Russell "also is black." Many at the forum took offense at the references to Luvert and Russell's race, as well as the mention of the NAACP, saying that those details were irrelevant to the article and seemed mean-spirited. "You are dividing the community," Arbrella Luvert told R-G Managing Editor David Baker. "You are perpetuating racism. It is time now for the community to hold editors and reporters accountable for what you put out." Green advised Baker that race should be mentioned "only if it adds value to the article," but not if it distracts from the context or adds a negative connotation. Baker said that the article identified Luvert and Russell as black only because Russell had said that "race and gender" issues were at play. "The article was about white supremacy," countered a man in attendance. "Whites are leaving [Jefferson] because of the multicultural curriculum." "From a black perspective, we can see where the problem is," added another participant. "When we are in positions of power, we are always called inadequate." Pressed to describe the general audience the article catered to, Baker replied: "The audience, I'm sure, would be predominantly white." He added that racial makeup at the R-G "does reflect the community because it's mostly white." Anita Johnson, co-owner of Eugene Weekly, asked if it's appropriate to identify a person's race in an article if it's cast in a positive light. "Should we acknowledge that Derrick Bell was the first African-American dean of the law school?" she asked. Participant responses were mixed. People in attendance, speaking from black, white, Asian, Native American, Latino, Arab, Jewish and mixed-race perspectives, then shared observations about race-related issues in Eugene. The word "fear" came up more than 72 times, according to one participant who kept count. "What are we afraid of?" she asked. At the end of the night, participants reached consensus on a number of solutions: Educate the media, define diversity in the most inclusive way possible, step out of your comfort zone, address your fears, speak up about with discrimination as soon as it occurs, embrace others' differences, and hold yourself and others accountable for racism. The NAACP plans to hold more community forums along a similar vein in the near future. — Kera Abraham
SDS BACK ON CAMPUS Four people showed up June 1 for Eugene's first Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) meeting in nearly 40 years on the UO campus. On a national level, current college students and members of the original 1960s SDS joined forces this January to resurrect the organization, which disintegrated in 1969 after playing an influential role in anti-Vietnam War protests, according to the SDS website (www.studentsforademocraticsociety.org).UO sociology student Eric Eiden, who organized the meeting, said most of the organization's new chapters — some of which are at high schools — are on the East Coast. He got the idea to start a chapter from reading about the group on the Monthly Review website. Eiden said he hopes to get Eugene group members to participate in the national "Harass the Brass" campaign SDS is planning for this summer, which will combat military recruitment through counter-recruitment in heavily targeted areas, boycotts of military research companies and sit-ins at military recruitment centers. "As far as this campus is concerned, I think we should try to tag Department of Defense funding onto the Harass the Brass project," Eiden said. Some flyers advertising the meeting said "Stop ONAMI @ U of O." ONAMI refers to the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, a research collaboration involving the UO, OSU, Portland State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and regional industry representatives. "It's not anything against the ONAMI project in general; it's just where the funding is coming from," Eiden said. For the 2006 fiscal year, support for ONAMI initiatives accounted for $5.7 million of a total $67.3 million in federal funding allocated by Congress to defense-related projects in Oregon, according to a release from the office of Sen. Ron Wyden. ONAMI's Miniature Tactical Energy Systems initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Army, and the Inherently Safer Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing initiative is sponsored by the U.S. Air Force, according to the ONAMI website. Eiden said the group would like an official statement describing why the military is interested 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 initiative, has said previously on multiple occasions 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 flyers 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 immigrants 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 conjunction 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 discussions. 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, according to a database of NCAA financial reports compiled by The Indianapolis Star. The use of fees on struggling students to subsidize huge athletic budgets is controversial at many universities, the Star recently reported. Students at Indiana University recently fought successfully to eliminate $1 million in new student fees to subsidize athletics, the Star reported. Critics say few students benefited from the fees, which did not go to increasing the quality of their education. 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 governments 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 millions 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 managing five neighborhood parks without pesticides: 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 program, said city Parks Maintenance Manager Kevin Finney. Ironically, at the same time that the city boots toxic chemicals out of roughly 10 acres of neighborhood parks, Friends of Buford Park has announced plans to start using herbicides on 10 acres of Mt. Pisgah to control false brome. Finney sympathizes. "Managing natural areas that have invasive species is extremely 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 weeding, 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 programs 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 program that emphasizes eco-friendly alternatives. But park maintenance crews sometimes 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 sexual harassment from fellow soldiers in addition to the dangers of war. She was also ordered to return to Iraq for a third tour of duty in less than four years. Rich will be speaking about her daughter'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. LANE COUNTY HERBICIDE SPRAY SCHEDULE • Lane County will soon start spraying the following herbicides: Oust Extra (sulfometuron methyl and metsulfuron methyl), Milestone (aminopyralid), Habitat (imazapyr), 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.
GAYLE AND GREG EDWARDS
In a west Eugene warehouse, Gayle and Greg Edwards display a few of the 30-plus donated orthopedic 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 adventurous 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 committed for 10 years," says Gayle. Learn more at mobilizemankind.org.
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