Ben & Jerry’s
to give away ice cream
The Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor near the University will give away free ice cream today, marking an annual event that last year drew a line of customers that snaked down the sidewalk and into the nearby neighborhood.
Describing the event as a “kick-off to ice cream season,” owner Gary Bertelsen said he expects to top last year’s giveaway of 6,700 scoops and hand over 10,000 ice cream cones this year.
The event is part of a franchise-wide Ben & Jerry’s giveaway that organizers expect will move 1 million free scoops of ice cream across parlor counters around the nation.
“It gets people thinking about ice cream again,” Bertelsen said, adding that success of the event depends on only one factor — the weather. “It doesn’t matter how warm or cold it is. The sun just needs to come up.”
There is no limit on how much ice cream an individual can grab, so in theory, one could eat free ice cream all day, Bertelsen said.
“People can go through as many times as they like, as long as they want to wait in line.”
The store, at 1239 E. Alder St., will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will take donations for the Eugene Relief Nursery, a nonprofit family support service.
— Darren Freeman
State board works on
OSU budget shortfall
The State Board of Higher Education implemented a plan on Friday to ensure Oregon State University recovers from an athletic budget deficit without borrowing heavily from the school’s education funds, student board member Tim Young said.
The plan will toughen checks and balances on OSU’s methods for erasing the remainder of the long-standing deficit by requiring OSU officials to make “periodic” reports to the board, Young said. The plan also establishes target dates for reducing the debt incrementally.
A report by Oregon University System auditors revealed that as of December 2001, the OSU Department of Athletics had borrowed $8 million from the school’s general fund while increasing spending. The general fund covers operating and education expenses. OSU announced a $19 million general fund shortfall in October.
In other business Friday, the board’s Budget and Finance Committee approved an $8.4 million plan to build a residence hall that will house 225 students at the main branch of the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. The project also calls for a $2 million renovation of OIT’s current residence hall.
Erin Watari, student member of the board, said the results of an OUS diversity report indicated a slight increase in the number of students of color attending OUS schools since 1996. The report was presented to the board’s Strategic Planning Committee.
— Eric Martin
