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NEWS

LRAPA ANNOUNCES FACILITIES IT WILL REVIEW FOR POLLUTION AMID AIR QUALITY CONCERNS

BY ARDESHIR TABRIZIAN

VOL. 121, ISSUE NO. 22

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Formerly the Oregon Daily Emerald, the news organization was founded in 1900.

ON THE COVER

Decorative symbols adorn the side of First United Methodist Church. First United Methodist Church is one of several churches in Eugene, Ore. that is openly accepting of the LGBTQ+ community. (Marissa Willke/Emerald)

The view of Eugene from Spencer’s Butte. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

The Eugene-Springfield metropolitan statistical area was 98th on the American Lung Association’s list of most polluted area in the United States last year for particle pollution — but this year it rose to 38th. In the coming months, the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency will review five local facilities to assess their impact on local air quality.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, air pollution has been linked to cancer, reproductive health problems and heart and lung diseases. The environmental group Beyond Toxics also filed a formal complaint against LRAPA in August 2014, claiming that LRAPA disproportionately exposed communities with high minority and poverty rates to the toxic emissions.

LRAPA named the first set of facilities in a press release on Nov. 26, saying that the full review process would last several years and that the following five would be examined in the first 12 months: • Arauco North America Inc. — Eugene MDF • International Paper, Springfield Mill • J.H. Baxter & Co. — Eugene Plant • Seneca Sustainable Energy, LLC • The Willamette Valley Company LLC Lisa Arkin, Beyond Toxics’s executive director, told the Emerald that the list of the first five facilities was what she “probably would have hoped LRAPA would create.”

“I think they did choose some of the biggest polluters and the ones that have repeatedly had problems with their air permits or complaints from the communities,” she added.

In a blog post from Dec. 20, Arkin said that Eugene has only experienced 14 days of good air quality since Nov. 1, according to data from LRAPA. “That means our air was healthy to breathe less than one third of the days in November and December,” she wrote.

LRAPA’s Review Process

In March 2019, LRAPA changed its

ruleset to resemble that of the statewide program Cleaner Air Oregon, according to the press release. The Environmental Quality Commission approved Cleaner Air Oregon in November 2018 to offer more thorough regulation than what the federal government had previously allowed. LRAPA Permit Section Manager Max Hueftle said that under the federal Clean Air Act, air toxics are regulated on a “control technology basis.”

“If facilities and certain industry sectors have certain technology installed, they’re essentially good to go,” Hueftle said. “They don’t really analyze specific local risks that are still being posed, even though the facility might have control technology installed.” Hueftle said that this was a flaw in the federal government’s approach to regulation that Cleaner Air Oregon addressed.

According to LRAPA Executive Director Merlyn Hough, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality met with “experts from across the country” and formed its own review process based on what has been effective in other states.

“I think that combination of what they came up with is probably the best in the country at this point,” he said. “It certainly ought to prevent anything from slipping through the cracks or also being able to review even known existing facilities periodically.”

Hough outlined a three-step process that the DEQ began using after Cleaner Air Oregon was adopted; the first was “more comprehensive reporting of emissions,” which expanded the 197 chemicals that the Clean Air Act previously recognized to more than 600. The second was to assess the risk of different facilities by prioritizing the most egregious ones and predicting their potential impact on surrounding areas. The third was to find any facilities whose emissions go beyond the threshold established in the rules and then require that they “take additional corrective action to further reduce their emissions.”

Based on product and emission

information from the facilities, the DEQ helped LRAPA prioritize which ones to send “call-in letters” to first.

One of the two facilities to be called in was the biomass plant Seneca Sustainable Energy.Casey Roscoe, a representative, said the company was not surprised to find out that it was among the five facilities LRAPA chose. Roscoe said the company anticipated such issues since the Portland glass company Bullseye Glass was found to have elevated heavy metal emissions in 2016 and Governor Kate Brown began cracking down on emission sources “in a knee-jerk reaction.”

Hueftle described the findings as “a real eye opener” for DEQ and “the catalyst” for Cleaner Air Oregon, stating that without the public interest that came from them, “it would have been difficult for the DEQ to get the political capital or stock or what have you to get that program passed.”

Roscoe said she thinks that Brown’s efforts were misdirected because based on DEQ’s data, the six leading sources of air toxics in the Portland metropolitan area were not from manufacturers, but rather from: • Residential Wood Combustion • On-Road Mobile Sources (vehicles) • Burning Buildings • Construction Equipment • Non-Road Mobile Equipment Other Than Construction • Lawn & Garden Equipment.

“We put $16 million into emission controls when we created that facility so that we have the cleanest running biomass plant in America. So we’re fine with this, we think will come through with flying colors,” Roscoe said.

The second of the first two facilities that LRAPA has called in, J.H. Baxter & Co., did not respond to the Emerald’s request for comment.

Read the full story at dailyemerald.com

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NEWS

TUITION BOARD SEEKS STUDENT INPUT ON TUITION GUARANTEE WITH JAN. 14 FORUM

BY RYAN NGUYEN Tuition meetings are held in Johnson Hall. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

The University of Oregon’s tuition board will host its annual informational forum to get input from students on tuition on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in the Redwood Auditorium from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The forum, which will include free dinner, will provide an opportunity for attendees to discuss a proposal that could change how tuition and fees are calculated for undergraduate students.

The Tuition and Fees Advisory Board intends to discuss the recently proposed concept of the university adopting a guaranteed tuition model, where undergraduate tuition rates would “lock in” for an incoming class for five years. (Graduate tuition rates vary by program, unlike how undergraduates pay the same tuition overall.)

Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management Roger Thompson said that, in a hypothetical model, he wants to guarantee both tuition and fees, something that he felt would be the “most ethical and transparent way” to establish a model. He added that the model would be a useful marketing tool to prospective students.

“That’s a very powerful tool that we’ve never had,” Thompson, who is not a member of the board, said.

UO President Michael Schill asked the tuition board to develop a detailed proposal for a potential university model at a TFAB meeting on Jan. 7, 2020, the first board meeting of the year.

During last December’s board of trustees meeting, President Schill suggested that the tuition board look into the concept of

a guaranteed tuition model, after hearing a presentation from Thompson. Now that the school year has restarted, the board is discussing the pros and cons of adopting such a model and will make an official recommendation to Schill sometime in early February.

During the TFAB meeting, Schill said that administrators are seeing anxiety from parents and students have been worried about being uncertain of how much attending college will cost. Thompson said that one of the things that they’ve also heard from students is how “they didn’t expect tuition to change during their time here.”

Trustees have considered adopting a guaranteed tuition model before. In 2016, the board discussed but ultimately did not establish guaranteed tuition, according to The Register-Guard.

A handful of other universities have adopted the model. At the University of Arizona and the University of Colorado, Boulder, two of UO’s competitors, Thompson said, both programs have a mandatory four-year guaranteed tuition program that includes transfer and part-time students, according to board meeting materials.

“When tuition rates are locked in for five years, families and students have financial predictability,” Thompson said. “They know exactly what the cost of their education is going to be at the time they begin.”

“We’ve had years where 10 students have shown up and years where 110 students have shown up,” Chief Financial Officer Jamie Moffitt, who co-chairs the tuition board, said.

Here is a list of this term’s TFAB meetings, which are open to the public: •

•

• • • • •

Friday, Jan. 17, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Johnson Hall Conference Room: Members will discuss undergraduate tuition, debrief from the student forum and consider proposals for housing, health and counseling services.

Friday, Jan. 24, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Johnson Hall Conference Room: Members will discuss fee proposals for the EMU, PE and the Rec Center and continue discussing undergraduate tuition.

Thursday, Jan. 30, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., location TBD: Members will discuss undergraduate and graduate tuition proposals.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. in the Johnson Hall Conference Room: The board will continue discussing undergraduate and graduate tuition.

Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., location TBD: Members will talk about undergraduate tuition.

Thursday, Feb. 13, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Johnson Hall Conference Room: Members will finalize its recommendations for President Schill.

Monday, Feb. 17, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Johnson Hall Conference Room: Members will have an extra session if needed.

The Daily Emerald will continue to report on the tuition-setting process throughout the year. Questions about tuition? Contact Senior Reporter Ryan Nguyen at rnguyen@dailyemerald.com or Associate News Editor Zack Demars at zdemars@dailyemerald.com.

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A&C

DAVID WALLACE-WELLS’ “THE UNINHABITABLE EARTH,”

A PORTRAIT OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS

“The Uninhabitable Earth,” by David Wallace-Wells. Image credit to Patricia Wall.

Image sourced from The New York Times.

BY AUDREY KALMAN In “The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming,” David WallaceWells unpacks the pressing realities of climate change. In this book, countless examples, both simple and complex, of climate change and its myriad of detriments to humanity are explained in a compelling and genuinely informative way. WallaceWells, an American journalist, became well-known when his essay “The Uninhabitable Earth” was published in New York Magazine in July 2017 before the piece was expanded into the book of the same name. “The Uninhabitable Earth,” published last February, was listed

by The New Yorker as one of their “favorite nonfiction books of 2019;”.

Wallace-Wells does not dull down the harshness of our planet’s condition. In the first chapter, he references how former California governor Jerry Brown described the “state of things in the midst of the state’s wildlife disaster,” as “a new PA G E 6

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normal.” California burning being the new normal is alarming enough. But Wallace-Wells clarifies on the facing page, saying that “we have not, at all, arrived at a new equilibrium. It is more like we’ve taken one step out on the plank off a pirate ship.”

This sets an appropriate stage for a book about climate change. The world we are living in should not be regarded as being normal, or as in an inevitable stage. Wallace-Wells goes about detailing the current circumstances in concise ways, providing a cautionary tale.

In explaining this plankwalk, “The Uninhabitable Earth” details both scientific and cultural changes that the climate crisis has induced. Wallace-Wells quotes Joan Didion’s writing about the Southern California fires, for example: “The city burning is Los Angeles’ deepest image of itself.”

This reference is then tethered to the recent, unprecedented horrors

of California’s wildfire, and then to research about the future the earth faces regarding natural disaster.

This framework is helpful in understanding the current problems we face today; Wallace-Wells provides appropriate cultural and scientific context for the present environment. With this context, the crisis of our world today becomes much more digestible. It also places the current state of climate affairs into a clear timeline, striking down the idea that climate change is a problem for future generations.

Wallace-Wells further explains climate change by tying the overlying issues to not only scientific data — that at times might seem dense or distant — but also by providing everyday examples. For instance, “Every round-trip plane ticket from New York to London,” causes the Arctic to lose “three more square meters of ice.” In addition to more guilt-inducing

examples, Wallace-Wells mentions things like Major League Baseball statistics that are correlated to climate change. Wallace-Wells’ ability to oscillate between more and less grave illustrations is effectively informative. It paints a comprehensive picture of the effects of climate change; these repercussions are dutifully presented and become crystal clear.

Getting past the initial shock of the data in “The Uninhabitable Earth” is difficult. It is tough to wrap one’s head around the fact that, for example, by 2050 the plastic in the ocean will outnumber the fish. But Wallace-Wells writes repeatedly that his research does not lead him to conclude that impending doom is inevitable. “The Uninhabitable Earth” reads like a chilling sort of guide book; it details the path we are on but certainly leaves room for us to figure out a change of course.

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PA G E 7

COVER

LOCAL CHURCHES PROVIDE INCLUSIVE SPACES FOR THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

BY LIZZY PALMQUIST

First United Methodist Church is one of several churches in Eugene, Ore. that is openly accepting of the LGBTQ+ community. (Marissa Willke/Emerald)

The first time she was ostracized for being queer, Kylie Davis was a sophomore at the University of Oregon. As Davis was beginning to acknowledge her identity as a queer person, she sought advice from a campus minister from a local church, whom she trusted. Rather than offering guidance, Davis said the minister peppered her with questions about her personal life, asking whether or not she had experienced sexual trauma in her childhood.

“She started asking these weird questions and I got very offended,” said Davis, who graduated from UO in 2019. “I told her ‘Are you psychoanalyzing me right now?’, and she just, like, stumbled over her words and I got up and left.”

After this experience, Davis said she felt unsafe going back to the church — and she isn’t the first one to experience this. LGBTQ+ Christians are often caught in situations in which they turn to churches for spiritual guidance but are instead met with questions about their sexual orientation, often leading to feelings of rejection and ostracization.

Now, the debate has come to a tipping point.

Leaders within the United Methodist Church signed a proposal on Dec. 17 to split into more than one

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denomination in an effort to end decades of debate surrounding same-sex weddings and LGBTQ+ clergry members.

Since 1972, the church has maintained that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” and that “sexual relations are affirmed only within the covenant of monogamous, heterosexual marriage,” according to the official UMC website. Despite this stance, UMC still encourages LGBTQ+ Christians to participate in services; however, they won’t be able to join clergy or become pastors.

But not all Methodist churches agree with the official statements from the UMC. In 2016, dozens of United Methodist clergy came out as lesbian, gay or bisexual, in an act of definace towards the churche’s official stance on LGBTQ+ clergy; in Eugene, some churches are making the shift towards inclusion for their LGBTQ+ members, going out of their way to make gestures of support for the queer community.

Like Davis, Rose Nason also faced bigotry from church leaders she felt she could trust. Growing up in a church environment, Nason noticed that the Christian spaces she attended would tiptoe around

the subject of homosexuality. During her time in a Christian youth group, she approached her youth pastor seeking answers to questions about her sexuality. The youth pastor told her plainly that she would “go to hell if [she] were gay.”

“It felt terrible at the time, but now I more so see it as a reflection of the members,” the UO sophomore said. “I don’t think Christianity is inherently bad, but a lot of people who practice it are hypocritical and twist their faith in order to suit their own desires and make themselves feel more powerful.”

But some churches in Eugene are opening their doors and minds to Christians and pastors of all sexual orientations. According to gaychurch.org’s Affirming Church Directory, there are 16 Christian churches in the Eugene-Springfield area that welcome queer people as part of their congregation.

Three of them belong to the Reconciling Ministries Network, a coalition of Methodist churches nationwide that advocate for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people into their congregations.

The network was created in 1984 in response to some feeling a need for “reconciliation” within the church for the exclusion of the queer community.

Kylie Davis graduated from the University of Oregon in 2019. When she was a sophomore, Davis met with a campus minister from Grace City Church at the EMU to talk about her faith and sexuality, and was treated with judgment. (Marissa Willke/Emerald)

In order to be a part of the network, churches are required to make an “affirming statement” in their ministry to demonstrate their acceptance of queer people in their congregation.

Trinity United Methodist Church in Eugene welcomed Rev. Daryl Blanksma to its congregation in 2017, shortly after joining the Reconciling Ministries Network in April of that year. Blanksma, an openly gay man, has been the pastor of the church for about two and a half years. In his time as a member of this church and previous churches he attended that were a part of the network, he has experienced acceptance from his various congregations.

“I certainly faced, before I was out, I faced a lot of folks who had strong feelings about this, and there are probably still folks in the church [that have these feelings]. They don’t really express that to me too much, now that I’m out,” Blanksma said. “And it may be because, again, because these congregations, since I have been out, are reconciling.”

The “strong feelings” Blanksma spoke of stem from verses within the Bible that condemn homosexuality, like those in chapters of Leviticus and in the writings of the Apostle Paul in Romans. These parts of the Bible have been used in the past to justify the ostracization of LGBTQ+ people in Christian spaces. However, people like Rev. Adam Briddell of Eugene’s

Courtesy of Trinity United Methodist Church

consider the cultural context, you First United Methodist Church say see like ‘oh, this doesn’t actually rise that these verses are “reflections of above a cultural reality.” their context” in which they were It’s not only Methodists who are written, and that the use of them working to become more inclusive. against LGBTQ+ people is “Bible study Langford’s church belongs to malpractice.” an organization similar to the “It’s ludicrous to think Paul had any Reconciling Ministries Network, called appreciation for gender identity and ReconcilingWorks. The Lutheran sexual orientation the way that we organization has been an advocate do today,” said Briddell. “We have for the “full inclusion” of learned so much about these the queer community areas just in the last 50 in religious spaces years.” since 1974. Emmaus Other leaders of Lutheran Church Christian spaces is one of three in Eugene share “Reconciling in Briddell’s beliefs, I don’t think Christianity is inherently Christ” communities too. Rachel bad, but a lot of people who practice it in Eugene, and Langford, pastor of are hypocritical and twist their faith in one out of 894 in Emmaus Lutheran order to suit their own desires and make North America.

Church, said that themselves feel more powerful.”

As a member of while the Bible is this organization, “the inspired word ROSE NASON Emmaus Lutheran of God,” it was also University of Oregon Student Church has recently “written by people” for taken steps to make “particular cultures”. their space more accessible For example, he says to people of all gender identities writings in Leviticus reflected the by installing three new gender-neutral needs of the Israelites “in a particular bathrooms in their church building. context, in a particular time,’’ that While churches like Langford’s was dependent on the tribe’s ability to have shown they are willing to take procreate. steps toward inclusion in their own “If you look at them as speaking community, others feel there is more to everyone and all time, yeah, well they can do to be proactive with their then you’re going to use them to say outreach. Rev. Jonathon Morgan, ‘okay well man shouldn’t lie with Senior Minister to the First United another man, or woman with another Congregational Church of Christ, woman’,” said Langford. “But if you

wants to improve the connection his church has with the LGBTQ+ community in Eugene. While Morgan leads an “open and affirming” church that is inclusive of queer people, he acknowledges that simply advertising their inclusion on their website is not enough.

“Frankly, I think we could do a better job, in that, we could get the word out,” said Morgan. “Most people are assuming that if you are a Christian church, that you are not open and affirming to LGBTQ+ folk.”

Efforts made by Christian spaces to offer more inclusive environments do not go unnoticed by LGBTQ+ people.

Davis, who now attends an LGBTQ+ inclusive Christian group on campus, appreciates being able to live out both of her identities as a queer and Christian person.

“It was weird in the beginning, because it’s like a whole new environment of people I never really knew existed, but know I have grown to really enjoy it and enjoy those people,” Davis said about her participation in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship.

For Christians like Davis, navigating the complexities of sexual orientation and gender identity in combination with faith and spirituality can be challenging. But in Eugene, there are communities that are willing to accept and guide them on their journeys.

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OPINION

HOW AMAZON HAS RUINED THE HOLIDAYS

BY KIRA OLIVER

Illustration by Billy Lawson.

As I enjoyed the Christmas decorations at Union Square in San Francisco, my spirits were dampened with each “store closing” sign I saw.

For a consumerist hater like me, one might have expected the opposite reaction. The reality isn’t that consumerism is dying — it just looks different.

Amazon has come in and changed the market. While Amazon’s popularity continues to skyrocket, it leaves department stores behind: “Specialty stores and Amazon have also captured customers from department stores, which have been hurt particularly hard by slumping traffic at malls,” CNN Business reports.

Closing department stores mean fewer jobs and a hampered holiday shopping experience.

When my family takes a day trip to San Francisco during the holidays, we purchase items from stores while partaking in other activities that boost the economy, like enjoying pho

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for lunch and skating on the ice rink.

Now, many individuals will sit alone in front of their computer, scrolling on Amazon, placing items in their shopping cart, one after another.

This holiday season, there were six fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared with last year. Amazon greatly benefitted from that shortened period of shopping as they saw a big spike in last-minute purchases. Bloomberg Tech reported that “the number of items that were delivered with one-day or same-day shipping quadrupled compared to last holiday season.”

I saw this happen in my neighborhood. I was expecting to take a morning walk with my mom, but was pleasantly surprised when I noticed a guest.

An Amazon delivery person joined us for our walk down the block. He would drive, stop the car and jump out to deliver a package, crossing in front of us as he dropped it off on the doorstep. It felt like every other house

he had a delivery. When we neared the end of the block, we had outpaced our friend as he continued to haul packages from the van.

In preparation for the holiday season, Amazon beefed up their workforce as they “added more than 250,000 full and part-time seasonal roles across its global customer fulfillment network,” according to a press release from the company.

These workers are offered some healthcare and dental benefits, as well as a 401k depending on how long they have worked for the company.

This December, Vox reported that 36 workers walked off the job from a Sacramento warehouse due to an unaddressed list of concerns. They “left work two hours early after they read a letter to management out loud stating their demands to be granted paid time off (PTO) and meet with management to discuss their concerns,” Vox reported.

Shopping on Amazon may be convenient, but there are unforeseen

challenges that come with its domination, like overworking employees.

Doorstep deliveries have resulted in an increase in stolen packages.

People have taken the problem into their own hands by shipping packages to their work. The New York Times reported that “corporate mailrooms in New York and other cities are overwhelmed by employees shipping personal packages to work for safekeeping, leading companies to ban packages and issue warnings that boxes will be intercepted and returned to the senders.”

Holiday shopping has shifted from strolls around a mall to scrolling on a computer screen. Before we let Amazon take over the holidays with its impact, it is important to recognize what would be lost — walks outside, time with loved ones and reflections on the past year. Consider the traditions you would like your children to inherit and organize your holiday shopping accordingly.

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WED

7:00PM DRS 8:00PM SHW

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SAT

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7:00PM DRS 8:00PM SHW

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FEB 07

JAN 25

DEE WHITE

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FRI

WITH GUEST

7:00PM DRS 8:00PM SHW

SAT

JAN 24

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FRI

16+ TO ATTEND

RESERVED SEATING

ANDY FRASCO & the U.N. opening

WITH GUESTS

the EMU or online

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7:00PM DRS 7:30PM SHW

..........

also avail. at

MAR 20

..........

TIX AVAIL. BY CALLING 1-800-992-TIXX.

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7:00PM DRS 8:00PM SHW

FRI

MAR 10

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6:00PM DRS 7:00PM SHW

TUE

FEB 27

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THU

WITH GUESTS MARC FORD & JACKSON STOKES opening

T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 9 , 2 0 2 0

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Prizes include: 50” Smart TV • Kitchen Aid Mixer • Knife Set • Bose Soundlink • Xbox one S • and More!

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SPORTS

JUWAN JOHNSON’S ONE YEAR AS A DUCK

WAS NEVER PLANNED —

BUT HE WOULDN’T WANT IT ANY OTHER WAY

BY BRADY LIM • TWITTER @BRADYLIM619

Ducks wide receiver Juwan Johnson (6) catches an open field reception and looks around for opposing Trojans. (DL Young/Emerald)

Oregon wasn’t ever supposed to happen for Juwan Johnson.

Coming out of Glassboro High School in New Jersey, he received 15 Division I scholarship offers.

Not a single one was from a school west of the Mississippi River. He eventually committed to Penn State as a highly rated recruit and was expected to be a star on a team, and in a conference, full of them.

But that’s not how it went.

However unfair it may have been, he became more synonymous with dropped passes than touchdown catches.

Five years later, on New Year’s Day 2020 on the West Coast, he capped a roller coaster of a collegiate career by making the game-clinching play that won Oregon the Rose Bowl.

“Throughout this whole year, it’s been tough, but it’s been adventurous and it’s been awesome,” Johnson said. “All I can do is smile.”

When he decided to transfer to Oregon from Penn State for his last year, he was walking into a great unknown. Current Ducks head coach Mario Cristobal was a member of the coaching staff at Alabama that initially recruited Johnson in 2014. But beyond his

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slight familiarity with Cristobal, he didn’t know much at all about the Oregon program — one that had gone just 20-17 the previous three seasons.

“Coming in here, I really didn’t know,” Johnson said.

“I knew Coach Cristobal from high school, so I didn’t know what kind of personality or characteristics he was gonna bring. I came here with blind faith, honestly.”

When he arrived in Eugene in the fall of 2019, everything was different. Quite frankly, football was the easy part. Things that initially seemed insignificant, like communicating across three time zones, were among the most difficult.

“It’s different for my mother and my people back on the East Coast,” Johnson said. “I’ve gotta be considerate of their time as well. I can’t be texting them at 9 at night because it’s 12 o’clock there, so it’s definitely different. I call my mom at 8 o’clock now and she’s up at 11 waiting for my call.”

And around that time, the football part was going just as planned. He arrived on campus as a transfer from a big-time program with high expectations, and was ready to make an immediate impact on a receiving corps that was inexperienced and

decimated by injuries. He looked to be, on paper, the potential No. 1 target for quarterback Justin Herbert.

Instead, when the Ducks opened their season in primetime in front of 60,000 people at AT&T Stadium, Johnson was roaming the sidelines in warmups and glasses. He did the same for the next three weeks, and what was initially seen as a minor injury had suddenly taken away a quarter of his final season.

Talk began to swirl that he wasn’t ever going to suit up for the Ducks, that he was just another failed transfer. Then, a few weeks later, he caught three touchdowns in a blowout win against USC and his presence was announced to the college football world on national television. Three months after that and 14 miles across town, Johnson converted the final first down of Oregon’s season — and the final one of his career. It was the last one either of them needed.

At that moment, his entire journey was validated.

An injury, three time zones, countless critics— all of it. And while none of this was ever planned, it was his unique experience as an Oregon Duck, and he wouldn’t trade that for anything.

“I won’t regret anything about it. It’s been a pleasure being here, and it’s something I won’t ever forget.”

NO. 9 OREGON DUCKS VS NO. 24 ARIZONA WILDCATS

BY NOAH NOTEBOOM • TWITTER @NOAH_BOOM23 Having yet to earn a victory against a top 25 team, the Arizona Wildcats will have their hands full when they come into Eugene to face the No. 9 Oregon Ducks.

It was a rocky start to the new year for the Ducks as they lost to the Colorado Buffaloes and dropped to 0-9 all time in Boulder.

Despite the loss, senior point guard Payton Pritchard moved into second all time on Oregon’s assist leaderboard, passing Ron Lee. Pritchard needs just 18 points and 24 assists to become the first Pac-12 player to ever reach 1,500 career points, 500 career rebounds and 600 career assists for their career.

Another early encounter with the Utah Utes showed that the Ducks still have areas for improvement.

“Our rebounding numbers aren’t what they should be, and our defensive numbers aren’t what they should be,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said.

Altman is right. The Ducks rank last in the Pac-12

in steals and are letting opponents score more than 66 points per game. Arizona is also struggling to get steals and block shots. The Wildcats rank second to last in both categories in the Pac-12.

Losing three of its last four games heading into conference play, Arizona struggled to find a flow.

Arizona coasted through the first portion of its preseason. The Wildcats won their first nine games in a row by an average of 22 points, until they matched up with with No. 18 Baylor. The Bears proved too much for the young Wildcats. The then-No. 12 Arizona Wildcats fell to the No. 18 Baylor Bears, 63-58.

A 50-point win over Omaha was followed by consecutive losses to No. 6 Gonzaga and unranked St. John’s. But a commanding win over in-state rival Arizona State have given the Wildcats a new sense of confidence heading into their first of two matchups with the Oregon Ducks.

Arizona is led by three talented freshmen: Zeke

Nnaji, Josh Green and potential top 10 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Nico Mannion. The trio is averaging 44 points per game. Nnaji is scoring 16.6 points on 69% field goal percentage, which leads the conference and is fifth in the nation.

The Ducks’ sixth man, Will Richardson, has been aggressively attacking the basket more this season.

The sophomore has scored in double digits in six of the past eight contests. Richardson is one of three different Ducks who are averaging double-digit points on the season. Forward Shakur Juiston has also been contributing in all facets for the Ducks.

Juiston has missed five games this season, but is still averaging 8.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Arizona’s three talented freshmen will look to get its first road win against a top 10 team since 2017.

The Ducks are trying to keep their conference record above .500, and will once again have all players rested and healthy.

Oregon Ducks men’s basketball takes on Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at the Matthew Knight Arena. (Maddie Knight/Emerald)

T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 9 , 2 0 2 0

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2 Historical buffalo hunter 3 “Judgment at Nuremberg” defendant 4 With 29-Down, first story to feature 44-Down 5 With 37-Down, real name of 44-Down 6 Way to turn while tacking 7 Kind of dispenser 8 Steeps 9 Ricardo landlord, in 1950s TV 10 Suffix with theo11 Little pasta 12 Place 13 It might be hammered out 21 “___ Dinka Doo” (Durante tune) 22 Lift others’ spirits?

24 Petroleum ether 25 One not to be trusted 26 Pluck 27 Manual reader, maybe 28 Having a sense of pride?

29 See 4-Down

A C I D S

22

1 Fictional rabbit hunter

30 Etching supplies 31 Get going 32 Clinging, say 37 See 5-Down 41 Antivenins, e.g.

43 Little green ones come from Mars 44 Subject of this puzzle 46 Often 47 Young muchacho 48 Israel’s Weizman 49 Goat sounds 50 Designed to minimize drag 51 Lacoste competitor 52 Hack it 53 Brinks 55 “The Waltons” grandpa

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5 Skip over water, as stones 8 “Brr-r-r!”

14 One of the 12 in the Pac-12 15 “Huzzah!”

16 Descriptor for olde England 17 Show inattention, say 18 Pince-___ 19 Bold 20 What Set committed when he slew Osiris 22 “M.Y.O.B.” 23 Sea urchin, at a sushi bar 24 Woodstock artist who performed while six months pregnant 25 They’re hooked up to breathing tubes 29 Initial offer?

33 British paper vendor 34 Ultimate 35 Littoral eagle 36 Displayed conspicuously 38 Weapon in Clue

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1 Century, for one

39 Bygone Chevy subcompact 40 Like Baha’i houses of worship 42 Slit made with a saw 43 How zombies act 44 Author Grey 45 “Life doesn’t imitate ___, it imitates bad television”: Woody Allen 46 Member of the buttercup family 50 “The spur of industry,” per David Hume 54 Skink, e.g.

55 New York’s Tappan ___ Bridge 56 Sea of ___, outlet of the Don River 57 Difficult kind of pushup 58 100,000 picojoules 59 Colloquial denial 60 Some statuary 61 Diva’s accessory 62 Certain panegyrics

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