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UO E-clips, Oct. 21
Top stories for October 21, 2008: The UO's Ken Merrell's name continues to appear in newspapers across the country, including today's AP story in USA Today, in a story about how some experts are calling classroom 'time outs' a form of abuse; UO historian Daniel Pope is quoted in the Seattle Times today in a story about where Obama and McCain stand on energy issues; KOHD News reports on a new UO-Oregon State green chemistry center just funded by the National Science Foundation; and the bike wheels keep turning -- the story about how abandoned bikes at the UO are being turned into loaners, with several broadcast reports, including one by KATU TV Channel 2 Portland
Some experts call school time-out rooms 'abuse' (Associated Press, appearing in USA Today): After failing to finish a reading assignment, 8-year-old Isabel Loeffler was sent to the school's time-out room -- a converted storage area under a staircase -- where she was left alone for three hours. The autistic Iowa girl wet herself before she was finally allowed to leave. Appalled, her parents removed her from the school district and filed a lawsuit. Some educators say time-out rooms are being used with increased frequency to discipline children with behavioral disorders. And the time-outs are probably doing more harm than good, they add. "It really is a form of abuse," said Ken Merrell, head of the Department for Special Education and Clinical Sciences at the University of Oregon. "It's going to do nothing to change the behavior. You're using it as an isolation booth."
Where McCain, Obama stand on environmental, energy issues (Seattle Times): For Michael Weaver, algae and presidential politics are intertwined. That, in a nutshell, is why he's a big fan of Barack Obama's. The 47-year-old entrepreneur's latest venture is a Redmond company, Bionavitas, developing ways to grow algae whose oil can be used as a petroleum replacement. ... "My guess is that at least in this region nobody's going to take the plunge for quite a while," said Daniel Pope, a University of Oregon history professor, and author of a new history of WPPSS.
Developing advanced electronics (KOHD News): Oregon State University and the University of Oregon have received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to form a new Center for Green Materials Chemistry, a reflection of nationally recognized programs in Oregon. This center should lead to the development of advanced electronics with a reduced environmental footprint, higher performance and lower cost. If research programs are successful, the new center will then be in line for continued federal funding of up to $25 million over five years, officials say.
Bike loan program underway at U of O (KATU TV Channel 2 Portland, Similar story appeared on KPTV News 12 Portland): NEWSCASTER: The University of Oregon is putting abandoned bikes to good use. The school is loaning the 30 bikes out for campus commuting. Those bikes were quickly spoken for and 80 other students are now on a waiting list. Students get to keep the bikes for a term or for the whole year. And the cost - a $65 deposit. Eugene officials are keeping an eye on this program, saying if it goes well they may take the idea citywide.