The Daily Barometer OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY • CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013 • VOLUME CXVI, NUMBER 12
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Shutdown hits Oregon State hard Federal funds halt many OSU research projects, impact grows each day
Fisheries and wildlife forced to relocate, 5 federal scientists sent home
By Sean Bassinger
By Dacotah-Victoria Splichalova
The recent government shutdown continues to affect nearly two-thirds of Oregon State University’s research projects. The shutdown occurred Tuesday when Congress failed to reach a consensus on a national budget plan before the end of the fiscal year. The result has been a widespread halt of major government services, agencies and institutions nationwide. In some cases, workOur people are charging ahead ers continue to work without pay. and continuing their work. According to research office administration, Rich Holdren Associate vice president of research at OSU workers at the Hatfield Marine Science Center were removed from the facilities and forced to set up remote office locations using Internet connections elsewhere. “Our people are charging ahead and continuing their work,” said Rich Holdren, associate vice president of research at Oregon State. Overall, OSU has more than 1,000 research projects, many of which rely on federal funds and assistance from government employees. For instance, the College of Agricultural Sciences works closely with the United States Department of Agriculture, so many of their projects have come to a standstill. OSU’s geology department works closely with the United States Geologic Survey, another government institution affected by the shutdowns. In addition to the Hatfield Marine Science Center shutting down various facilities, OSU vice president
No access to their own research. No access to their research offices. The Oregon State University department of fisheries and wildlife has been forced to innovate. OSU has researchers and students that collaborate with scientists and several federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, U.S. Forest Service and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. Due to the federal government shutdown, the usual research activities carried out will be delayed until further notice. The effect of this week’s federal government shutdown has directly impacted the research arm of the forest service, especially Researchers can’t get into in the department of the building, so they have fisheries and wildlife. Faculty and graduate to go somewhere else. researchers have been displaced from their Tim Lawes offices in the Forest Faculty research assistant Science Laboratory in fisheries and wildlife building and relocated to temporary office spaces in Hovland and in Weniger. “Researchers can’t get into the building, so they have to go somewhere else,” said Tim Lawes, faculty research assistant in fisheries and wildlife. Graduate student researchers, whose research is federally funded, arrived Tuesday to locked office doors. “Access has been completely shut off,” said Pete Loschl, faculty research assistant in fisheries and wildlife. “We
The Daily Barometer
See RESEARCH | page 2
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Dacotah-Victoria Splichalova
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
The researchers in the fisheries and wildlife department were one of many research groups at Oregon State that were forced to relocate.
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The Daily Barometer
See FISHERIES | page 2
Clearing up the Clery Act Report n
Department of Public Safety, OSP release 3-year report on crime in Corvallis By Sean Wallstrom The Daily Barometer
A report was sent out Tuesday to every student and faculty member at Oregon State University summarizing the criminal and fire reports from the previous calendar year. The Clery Act requires all secondary schools receiving Title IV financial aid to produce a report that summarizes police protocols and safety information about campus, as well as a few statistics. This information covers how timely responses go out, how Oregon State Police interact with campus and alcohol-use policies. But the attention begins and ends with the statistics. The main statistics table displays a variety of crimes located on campus, at off campus facilities such as fraternities and sororities and public property like the streets on campus.
Many of the statistics are low due to the relative safety of Corvallis, with alcohol and drug arrests, as well as disciplinary referrals, being the exception. Liquor arrests stayed relatively similar between 2011 and 2012, but the referrals tell a different story. There was an increase from 303 in 2011 to 463 in 2012 — a 52.8 percent increase. A referral can be anything that violates part of the student code of conduct or university housing and dining policy. Department of Public Safety Public Coordinator Bob Brown is the main author of the report. Distinguishing the difference between the Oregon State Police records and the university’s can sometimes be confusing. “I now have access to student conduct records,” Brown said. “I can go through them with a fine-tooth comb and really try to make sure if the person was arrested, we don’t count the referral.” But that goes both ways. “In some cases, a student was contacted by OSP or housing and assumed they were given a citation, but in fact, they were not,” Brown said. “Therefore
that pushes the statistic out of the arrest column and into referrals.” This newfound clarity is what Brown accounts for the huge increase. There shouldn’t be a concern for students that authorities are handing out referrals in droves. At first glance, there seem to be relatively few cases of sexual assault around OSU. However, Judy Neighbours, a sexual assault support services coordinator, had a different take. “The figure in the Clery Act is going to be a huge underrepresentation of actually what happens, not only on campus but nationwide,” Neighbours said. According to the Department of Justice, a person is sexually assaulted every two minutes in the United States, more than 200,000 per year. The goal of the Clery Act report is to inform OSU students and faculty of helpful information about crimes committed on campus. Sean Wallstrom
Cops reporter managing@dailybarometer.com
Graphic By Alyssa Johnson
| THE DAILY BAROMETER