UO E-Clips, Jan. 14

Colleges rushing to fill state grant shortfall (The Oregonian): Oregon's public universities are rushing to help students who are losing some of their state grant money by coming up with cash to keep them in school. The universities want to make up for the $40 or $80 reduction in state aid this spring for about 38,500 students who received the grants in the fall, because students need all the money they were awarded, campus leaders said. "To a student who is putting together all the financial pieces, $80 is significant," said Elizabeth Bickford, financial aid and scholarships director at the University of Oregon.

Oregon universities make up state’s grant shortfall (OPB News): A handful of Oregon universities have announced they will backfill a state funding shortfall for lower income students. Last month, universities found out that the state didn’t have enough money to fully fund the Oregon Opportunity Grants program. Ethan Lindsey reports. Every student receiving an Oregon Opportunity Grant was going to have to share the pain.

Obama’s message a boon for merchandisers (New York Times): In the days leading up to President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration, his message of hope and change has become tangible -- and commercial -- here. On the sides of buses, inside Metro stations and over the radio, Ikea promotes its home furnishings by proclaiming “Change Begins at Home.” ... Lynn R. Kahle, a marketing professor at the Lundquist College of Business of the University of Oregon, said, “People are looking for all sorts of things, even outlandish things, to show their support because they want to say: ‘I was there. I supported Obama in his historic road to the presidency.’ ”

Traffic rules part of UO education (Register-Guard): There are times, says former Eugene police Lt. Carolyn McDermed, when the brazenness of traffic offenses on the University of Oregon campus stuns her. “If you were to come down here to maybe 13th and Agate or 15th and Agate, you would see some blatant violations occurring, like running through a stop sign,” she said. “And you catch your breath because you hope they make it.” Now the newly appointed deputy director of the UO’s public safety department, McDermed hopes that some uniformed persuasion will help persuade students, staff and visitors to campus to start taking the traffic rules more seriously.

Secret ballot argument against Employee Free Choice Act is a canard (The Examiner, Portland): Opponents of the right to organize have framed their message against the Employee Free Choice Act as a defense of the secret ballot. It’s ironic that employers who spy on their employees, listen in on their phone calls and monitor their computer use have developed a sudden sensitivity to the right to privacy. ... In the following video, Gordon Lafer, a professor at the University of Oregon, discusses how employers and their "union-avoidance" consultants have undermined secret ballots under current NLRB election rules. (View Video)

Computer with personal information stolen from UO employee (The Oregonian, similar stories in the Register-Guard and KTVZ.com): A laptop computer with the names and social security numbers of disabled youth in a state employment program was stolen in October from a University of Oregon employee, the university announced today. The personal information was password protected, but the university is urging participants in the Youth Transition Program from 2004 to 2007 to monitor their financial accounts and credit reports.