MARCH 7, 2022 • DAILYBAROMETER.COM • VOL. CXXVII NO. 06
CAMPUS
CITY
After two years of COVID-19, this timeline shows how the pandemic has changed life on the OSU campus. 6
The Corvallis Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 74th annual Celebrate Corvallis event on March 18 to commemorate local businesses. 16
Timeline of COVID-19 at Oregon State University
Celebrate Corvallis
Paola, Young win ASOSU presidency, election sees voter turnout of 17.93% By RILEY LECOCQ News Reporter By ZEVA ROSENBAUM News Contributor What do Corvallis, Ore. and Uzhhorod, Ukraine have in common? They’re sister cities. Since 1989 and the founding of the volunteer-run Corvallis Sister Cities Association, Corvallis and Uzhhorod have shared a special relationship spanning decades of medical care, pen pals, exchange students, business training and other resources. CSCA President and Oregon State University faculty member Robert Kokenyesi, who was born and raised in Uzhhorod, said the association between Corvallis and Uzhhorod is still as active as possible, despite setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war with Russia. CSCA board member and Ta k e One Ukrainian Child’s Hand Project Co-Chair Alice Rampton said a TOUCH project delegation delivered $40,000 to Uzhhorod in September 2021, before the omicron variant limited travel again. She said they’ve already raised another $40,000 since then. Past CSCA president and current member Pete Bober said there are three levels of relationships: colleagues, friends and family. He said after 20 years, the people of Uzhhorod are more like family. Bober also said OSU President Robert MacVicar signed and submitted the original incorporation papers with the state of Oregon. MacVicar was president of OSU from 1970 to 1984. Rampton said the CSCA was founded by a group of Corvallis residents who wanted to communicate with citizens of the USSR. They researched multiple
Ukrainian cities but ultimately chose Uzhhorod because it had a university, was located near mountains and a river and was in an agricultural area—much like Corvallis. Rampton said in the 1990s, her husband, family p hy s i c i a n Dr. Mark Rampton, assessed the medical needs of the area and the CSCA shipped two 40-foot semi trailers full of medical supplies to Uzhhorod as the medical situation there was “destitute.” They had a milliondollar grant from the Oregon State Department to fund this endeavor. According to Politico, thanks to their position on the western border, cities like Lviv and Uzhhorod have become an area of refuge for those fleeing the war in eastern Ukraine. Rampton said Uzhhorod is “as far as you can get” from the danger. According to the Council on Foreign Relation’s Global Conflict Tracker, this tension between Ukraine and Russia has been ongoing since early 2014. Though the two countries have been in a stalemate, threats of violence re-escalated as of spring 2021 and culminated in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion on Feb. 24, turning the situation from conflict to all-out war. Patients and refugees have turned to the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod for services after attacks across eastern Ukraine damaged or destroyed numerous civilian centers. SISTER CITIES Continued on page 15
The Associated Students of Oregon State University 2022-23 election concluded on March 4 with a 17.93% voter turnout, over double what it was last year. Matteo Paola and Sierra Young won the president and vice president seats respectively with 1,541 votes, running on the campaign of #YourOSU. “We are very excited and honored to know the student body has chosen us to represent them as their next president and vice president!” Paola said. “We have an open door policy both in our current capacity as president/VP elect and once we are sworn in. We love to hear what issues are most important to students. Connecting with [students] to discuss problems and solutions will be incredibly important in our work!” According to Dylan Perfect, the current ASOSU vice president, when voting for single seat elections such as president, vice president, Student Fee Committee chair and speaker of the house, the winner is decided by rank choice voting. Rank choice voting means voters rank candidates as first choice, second choice, third choice and so on. The candidate with the most first choice votes, if the majority, then wins the election. If there is no majority, they then use the second and third choice votes to determine the winner. Paola’s duties as ASOSU president will include conducting all administrative affairs of ASOSU and budget, policy oversight, representing the students and following the ASOSU statutes. The president is also allowed to sign or veto bills passed by the ASOSU Congress. The duties of vice president are to assist the president, oversee executive officers and staff, follow the duties of ASOSU statutes, and preside over the ASOSU Senate. Both president and vice president positions commonly participate in or lead campus committees or boards as well as their outlined duties. Paola is a fourth-year political science major and chemistry minor on the pre-med track and has been involved in the ASOSU House of Representatives for two years. Currently, Paola sits on the Counseling and Psychological Services advisory board and Joint Projects committee where he has worked ASOSU RESULTS Continued on page 2