The Daily Barometer, Tuesday, November 17, 2015

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VOL. CXVIII, No. 47

DailyBarometer.com

tuesday, NOVEMBER 17, 2015 Oregon State University

Addressing campus equality

Aaron Newton | THE DAILY BAROMETER

Junior WGSS major Sierra Lantz speaks Monday evening in Gill Coliseum about her experiences with racial intimidation in the classroom at Oregon State University.

Students share their experiences of racial inequalities at OSU By Marcus Trinidad Associate News Editor

Speaking out, students at Oregon State University shared their experiences of prejudice and racism on campus in front of hundreds at Gill Coliseum and an audience who watched from home on a live stream. Experiences shared by student speakers ranged from being questioned about their identity, instructors teaching information that is insensitive to minorities, appropriation or shaming of their culture and even students that felt like their lives are endangered just by being on campus. Multiple speakers spoke about the hate speech being posted on social media and the live chat as the topics being discussed proved to be con-

troversial. The live chat of the video stream was taken down during the event due to the inflammatory comments posted. A white man addressed the room off mic saying ‘everyone is a person of color’ near the beginning of the event. His comments were considered problematic by some of the speakers as they believed it did not provide the open space people of color were wanting from this discussion. OSU students Jesseanne Pope, Jasmine Armas and Haniya Ferrell organized the event in an attempt to generate awareness and to make a direct appeal to faculty and the administration of OSU. Students spoke at the event to request change that would make the campus more inclusive for

students of color. According to Pope, most students of color feel like the university does not offer a place for them to express themselves. “We want to change the climate on campus so students of color and their experiences can be included and validated,” Pope said. Erica Fuller, a student leader at OSU, spoke on how she has tried to fight for more inclusivity for students of color. According to Fuller, the lack of progress the school has made to reach out and institute change that students of color are asking for has been demoralizing. “I stopped helping the administration; I stopped getting involved; I left all those things,” Fuller said. “I

stopped because I got tired fighting for nothing.” According to Fuller, she feels like faculty here at OSU are not protecting or serving students of color and instead mainly serve white students, and she expressed disappointment for the lack of progress being made. “I know a lot of administrators can step up, Fuller said. According to senior Anseta LeonGuerrero, major in sociology, instructors and administration may not be fully aware of how the content they are teaching in the classrooms can be insensitive and disregard minorities’ viewpoints. She said her instructor diminished her culture and the culture

See Voices, Page 6

Cropping up: Industrial hemp at OSU

Potato rescue

Researchers take steps to begin researching Oregon’s crop potential

OSU researchers work to combat zebra chip disease

By Julie Cooper

By Lauren Sluss

News Contributor

News Contributor

Following the recent legalization of the recreational use of marijuana, faculty from Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences are working with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration to begin the process of researching industrial hemp. Section 7606 of 2014’s Farm Bill grants institutions of higher education permission to grow and cultivate hemp for research purposes in states where hemp is legal.

Researchers at Oregon State University received a $2.7 million dollar grant which allows them, along with colleagues in Washington and Idaho, to begin battling potato disease currently impacting Pacific Northwest potato farmers. In recent years, farmers have discovered a new insect-transmitted disease in potatoes called zebra chip. Zebra chip comes from the bacteria potato psyl-

See Hemp, Page 3

Alli Tompkins | THE DAILY BAROMETER

Institutions of higher education in states where hemp is legal can legally grow and cultivate hemp for research purposes.

IN THIS ISSUE >>>

lid which infects the plants and causes black stripes to appear on the potato’s insides, rendering it unmarketable. “We hadn’t seen this disease in the Pacific Northwest before 2011, when there was a widespread outbreak in Washington, Oregon and Idaho,” said department of crop and soil science professor Stuart Rietz. Once the plant is infected there is no cure for it. According to Extension Entomologist Specialist Silvia Rondon, the unmarketability of zebra chip infected potatoes could potentially be very detrimental to not only Oregon, but also to the entire

See Potato, Page 3

Weight loss research, NEWS, PAGE 2 Basketball prepares for Iona, SPORTS, PAGE 4 A Mythed Opportunity, A&E, PAGE 8


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