Vol. 117, Issue 9 October 30, 2014
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Neighbors and students meet to discuss off-campus behavior Students take issue with KOIN 6 news reports claiming rowdy students are a neighborhood nuisance Maggie Hannon hannon15@up.edu Dozens of North Portland residents, students and University officials packed the Chiles Center’s Hall of Fame room Monday evening for the University Park Neighborhood Association’s meeting to discuss rowdy student conduct off campus, and possible solutions. Some neighbors said a more visible presence from UP’s Public Safety officers by increasing foot or bicycle patrols might solve the problem. Other solutions discussed were contacting the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) about overserving and underage drinking at local bars, and stationing a Public Safety officer outside the Twilight Room to dampen the enthusiasm of students walking back to campus. The neighborhood association’s chair, Tom Karwaki, said more student participation in the University Park Neighborhood Association would also help. “I think it was important that [the meeting] was on campus so students could participate, and I want to continue having them here,” Karwaki said. “I thought the students added a lot, and I hope that they got something out of it.” In small groups, attendees voiced concerns about students
being too loud on streets late at night and disrespecting neighbors in the community. Former University Park resident Doug Richardson is concerned with local bars over-serving to neighborhood residents and people driving under the influence. “I think some of the taverns are over-serving, and I think the OLCC, I would like to see somebody checking for minors, and I’m sure they do, but also checking ‘are they overserving?’” Richardson said. “Because I see too many people come out that really shouldn’t be driving.” During the small group conversations, ASUP Vice President Josh Clearly addressed the problem of students littering in the neighborhood.
I think it was important that the meeting was on campus so students could participate ... I thought the students added a lot, and I hope that they got something out of it. Tom Karwaki neighborhood association chair “I think part of the problem is on-campus students who don’t live in the neighborhood. It’s really easy to forget that you’re
Many students claim that recent KOIN 6 News stories regarding raucous student behavior in the neighborhood blew the issue out of proportion. Partly in response to the KOIN 6 broadcast, students and administrators met with neighbors Monday night to address the issue of behavior in University Park. walking through someone else’s neighborhood,” Cleary said. “So as a resident myself, I see trash a lot of times, and things like where you can find where the house party was just by following the trail of trash.” University Park resident Mike Cole said he cannot decorate for Halloween early in the week because of vandalism in the neighborhood, although he did not give evidence that UP students were responsible for the vandalism from previous years. “I’m one of the houses that have been doing Halloween for 14 years, but I no longer can
decorate on Halloween until Friday morning,” Cole said. “I’ll start at 6 a.m. because if I put anything out beforehand, like if I put stuff out tonight, it would be broken or gone, and that has been happening for years.” Many of the neighbors discussed Public Safety not having enough of a presence in the neighborhood. At the meeting, Director of Public Safety Gerald Gregg answered questions about how many officers work on the weekends and where they patrol in the neighborhood. Gregg also informed neighbors that anytime Public Safety receives a noise
complaint, they write a report and students are held accountable for their actions. “I can tell you, there have been some student conduct hearings already this year over [the] very issue [of noise] and I don’t know what the resolution is because I’m not judge, jury and executioner,” Gregg said. “But there have been to hearings ,and quite frankly I’d rather go to the courthouse and pay a hundred dollar fine then go put up with the sanctions the University imposes.” Neighbors, page 5
Measure 88 drives debate over right to the road Nastacia Voisin voisin15@up.edu
Photo courtesy of Yuri Hernandez
Senior Yuri Hernandez campaigns in favor of Measure 88 with CAUSA, an immigrant rights organization she interns for. If Measure 88 passes, it will allow people to get four-year driver’s cards without proving legal residence in the state.
Measure 88 – one of the most contentious initiatives of the Nov. 4 ballot – will ask Oregon voters to decide who has the right to drive. If passed, the “Oregon Alternative Driver Licenses Referendum” would grant driving privileges to Oregonians without requiring proof of their legal presence in the United States. Proponents of the measure say it would encourage undocumented drivers to pass the driver’s test and obtain insurance, leading to safer roads. Detractors argue a yes-vote would damage Oregon’s economic health by inciting a spike in immigration. Because undocumented UP students will feel the impact of how the vote swings, some students and professors have taken to advocating for the
measure. With immigration reform stalled at the federal level, Measure 88 is a way for Oregonians to decide how to handle the issue as a state.
Measure 88 Backstory
In 2005, the federal Real ID Act mandated that states have proof of legal presence before issuing driver’s licenses. States can issue other forms of driver identification if they want, but they must look different from regular licenses. Several states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, Utah, Vermont and Washington, D.C., have passed initiatives similar to Oregon’s Measure 88. Last year, Governor John Kitzhaber signed a state law granting four-year licenses to Oregonians who couldn’t prove legal status in the United States.
Shortly after, the interest group Oregonians for Immigration Reform (OFER), gathered enough signatures to put the law on hold and pushed the measure onto Nov. 4 ballot. This gives the vote to Oregon residents, asking them to accept or reject the law. If passed, the initiative would kick in Dec. 4, 2014. To qualify for the driver's card, a person would have to present valid ID and proof of state residency. This card is intended to give driving privileges only – not to be used for air travel identification, to register to vote, buy a gun or obtain government benefits that require proof of citizenship. Oregon’s Latino population, which is the 19th largest in the nation, is the community with the greatest stake in this vote. See 88, page 2