11-16-20 Emerald Media - Monday Edition

Q +A:

Emerald Media

NOV. 16, 2020

PRESIDENT SCHILL ON THE CURRENT STATE OF UO

Monday Edition

THE DAILY EMERALD TALKED WITH UO PRESIDENT MICHAEL SCHILL TO HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY ABOUT COVID-19 ON CAMPUS, POLICE REFORM AND GREEK LIFE.

NEWS: NEW NEUROSCIENCE MAJOR P. 3

A&C: NANOWRIMO DURING A PANDEMIC P. 9

OPINION: ARE HYBRID CLASSES WORTH IT? P. 12 M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 0

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NEWS

Faculty, students reflect on first term of new

Neuroscience Major

Around OR

VOL. 122, ISSUE NO. 22

REGIONAL AND STATE NEWS

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WHALE EXPLOSION TURNS 50: Nov. 12 marked 50 years since the Oregon Highway Division decided to remove a sperm whale carcass from a Florence, Oregon, beach by exploding it. OHD stuffed the carcass with 24 cases of TNT, sending pieces of whale through the air towards bystanders and cars. The Oregon Historical Society released a newly remastered version of a KATU news report showing the explosion, in honor of the golden anniversary.

– DUNCAN BAUMGARTEN

NEWSROOM EDITOR IN CHIEF

Ryan Nguyen MANAGING EDITOR

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Jack Forrest Duncan Baumgarten Ardeshir Tabrizian A&C EDITOR

Sarah-Mae McCullough SPORTS EDITORS

Gabriel Ornelas Shane Hoffmann Charlie Gearing PHOTO EDITOR

Maddie Knight DESIGN EDITOR

Kira Chan COPY CHIEF

(Makena Hervey/Emerald)

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THE DAILY EMERALD

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by Emerald Media Group, Inc., the independent nonprofit media company at the University of Oregon. Formerly the Oregon Daily Emerald, the news organization was founded in 1900.

ON THE COVER

(Emerald Archives)

Minh Nguyen, a fourth-year majoring in neuroscience and human physiology at the University of Oregon, was thankful as she held a human brain in her gloved hands in an anatomy lab last fall.

“It’s just the most amazing feeling ever,” Nguyen said. “I’m so thankful that I got to do that, thankful to the donors and thankful to the faculty or whoever set up that program for us.”

Nguyen said she has been fascinated by neuroscience since she was young and was excited when UO announced its new neuroscience degree in November 2019. She is one of about 25 students who have declared the major, which officially launched this fall.

UO is the first public university in Oregon to offer a neuroscience degree, allowing students to study the brain and behavior. Its interdisciplinary nature requires students to take courses in the biology, human physiology and psychology departments.

“To really get a good understanding of how the mind works, you have to study it at a number of different levels,” said Nicole Dudukovic, director of the neuroscience major. “By bringing in coursework from biology, human physiology and psychology, we’re hitting all of those different levels.”

Undergraduates in the program take foundational natural science courses similar to the lower-division requirements for biology and human physiology majors. Students also take the core neuroscience sequence, which includes human anatomy, human physiology, biopsychology and neurobiology.

Specialized, upper-division electives include clinical neuroscience—which examines brain disorders and their causes—and music and

the brain. Dudukovic will teach cognitive neuroscience winter term, which focuses on brain scanning research, brain injuries and neurological disorders.

To graduate from the neuroscience program, students must conduct research at a neuroscience lab or take advanced skills courses on programming or computational techniques, according to UO’s neuroscience website.

“The purpose of the major is to make sure that students graduate from it with the skills that they need,” Dudukovic said, “whether they decide to go on and pursue a graduate degree in neuroscience or if they decide to pursue a health profession or even an industry job in the sciences.”

Dudukovic said getting involved in research is the biggest challenge neuroscience students are facing due to research restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she remains hopeful, as faculty have found creative ways to involve students in their research and organizations like the Center for Undergraduate Research and Engagement help connect students with opportunities on campus.

Nguyen currently does research at the McCormick lab where she studies the vagus nerve and its effect on the brain and epilepsy.

“Being able to see how my baseline research—my background research in the lab—can potentially contribute to a much bigger cure for epilepsy is something that is just fascinating to me,” she said.

Nguyen said she was happy she had additional opportunities to explore the field within the new major. “It’s really amazing that they’re pushing forward with this and allowing students who are interested in neuroscience to explore classes specifically related to neuroscience,” she said.

DUCKS WIN SECOND GAME: The Ducks played their second football game on Saturday, overcoming three turnovers to take down the Washington State Cougars, 43-29.

They now boast a 2-0 record. Two other Pac-12 games were canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests, but Oregon has gotten lucky so far in that regard. Oregon basketball also announced a matchup with Missouri on Dec. 2 or 3, while Chris Duarte and Will Richardson were named to the preseason Pac-12 allconference first team.

– MOJO HILL

(DL Young/Emerald)

NW DANCE PROJECT CONTINUES TO ADAPT: NW Dance Project, a contemporary dance company based in Portland, has responded to the pandemic by switching to a project-based model that allows company dancers to start their own projects in the community. Principal dancer Franco Nieto is opening his own dance studio, Open Space. Fans can also watch out for a series of new solos set on five NW Dance Project dancers by 19 international choreographers via Zoom.

– SARAH-MAE MCCULLOUGH

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NEWS

STUDENT WORKERS NOTE CHANGES WHILE WORKING THROUGH A PANDEMIC

BY JANE GLAZER When the University of Oregon made the decision to go remote fall term, shops nearby on 13th Avenue had to make the decision on how they would continue to operate. Stores like Yogurt Extreme, Bon Mi and Starbucks have closed. Other stores have adapted their operations to remain open for students and other customers during this time.

Cafe Yumm is new to 13th Avenue. Despite opening in a pandemic, Director of Marketing and Communications for Cafe Yumm Marne Dunder said he is happy they switched from their previous location on the corner of Hilyard Street and East Broadway to 13th Avenue.

“When we decided to close that restaurant down, we actually needed two restaurant spaces to make up for it,” Dunder said. “One was even closer to the students on East 13th so we could be there for the UO students.

This year, it’s pretty important for students to stay in place.”

Hunter DeShaw is a UO student who works at the Cafe Yumm location on 13th Avenue. He said that there have been changes made so the restaurant can function during a pandemic.

The establishment has plexiglass up, employees wearing masks and sanitizing Store front of the restaurant Bon Mi protocols. The location doesn’t have any dine in Vietnamese French Cuisine (Emerald right now.

Archives) DeShaw said that for the most part, he feels

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comfortable working right now. Every once in a while, however, there is a difficult customer.

“I tell people to put their mask on, and having people be like, ‘Oh you know it’s all a sham, right?’” DeShaw said. “Those interactions are never fun. I tell them, ‘if we can’t accommodate you, you can go outside and you can call and pay over the phone or something.’”

Kiana Gellman is also a student worker. Gellman has been working at Bobahead since winter term of 2020. While Bobahead has reduced their hours of operation during this time, Gellman said it is busier than she expected it to be.

“I was working here right when we were finding out about COVID, literally right when the pandemic hit,” Gellman said. “It was kind of mysterious because people weren’t wearing masks yet, like it was kind of a foreign concept still and it was just dead in here, like no one would come in for hours.”

Now, Gellman said they get a significant amount of rushes in the afternoon. She, too, feels comfortable coming into work, and said the precautions — which are centered around being contact free — make her feel safe. She agreed that a difficult part of working right now is interacting with customers.

“It’s a little bit more awkward interacting with customers,” Gellman said. “Sometimes it’s hard to communicate with masks and the curtain. It’s just kind of a different energy in here because you’re not able to have customers sit and hang out. We still have our regulars, like I still enjoy my little interactions with customers.”

Dunder said that the inability for customers to dine in was something they had to plan for when opening the new location. Takeout and delivery has been a big part of Cafe Yumm’s adaptation to the pandemic.

“If you go to that space you’ll see a very roomy interior that was designed and planned for pre-COVID-19,” Dunder said. “And now that we’re there It would be cool if we still had we have all these beautiful booths and tables, but no hazard pay or some sort of a chairs.” bonus for working through a Earlier in the pandemic, pandemic.”

DeShaw said that he was HUNTER DESHAW UO student who getting hazard pay, receiving works at Cafe Yumm on 13th Street an extra four or five dollars an hour. Because he is working during this time, around campus, he wishes that this were still the case.

“If [COVID-19] were to be out and about, I feel like it would be from campus people not being super smart with what they do,” DeShaw said. “We only had hazard pay for a couple weeks, and then they stopped giving it to us for some reason. Maybe the grant ended from the government, I don’t know. It would be cool if we still had hazard pay or some sort of a bonus for working through a pandemic.”

NEWS

LOCAL UNIONS SAY UO IS NOT TRANSPARENT ENOUGH

BY SILAS SLOAN

Johnson Hall is the center for administrative processes on campus. Essential union workers are dissapointed with the lack of information provided to them regarding new COVID-19 policies. Union workers at the university are frustrated with the lack of transparency and communication from the University Task Force on Long-term Responses to COVID-19. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

Local unions have expressed concerns that the University of Oregon is not being transparent with them regarding its COVID-19 response, causing frustration and eroding their trust in the university.

SEIU Local 85 President Stephanie Prentiss said that classified employees are frustrated with UO’s communication when it comes to contact tracing.

Prentiss said that after contact tracing is done, communication from UO stops.

While Lane County Public Health is responsible for contact tracing, UO conducts its own form of contact tracing, according to Associate Director of Employee and Labor Relations Chris Meade. In an email, Meade wrote that UO contacts employees who were exposed and work closely with supervisors.

“There could be instances when we communicate about a positive test in a department more broadly,” wrote Meade, “but we typically only share that information with those who meet the definition of a close contact because of medical privacy concerns.”

However, Prentiss said that UO does not communicate clearly about the situation with employees who were not contacted by UO or LCPH. “None of us necessarily want to know the person.

We do want to know if there’s been a cluster in areas so that we can prepare,” said Prentiss. “We can also passively reach out to that person, especially if someone’s close to them, or reach out to the people that are involved. And we were told, under no circumstances would they be ever releasing a department for a collector.”

Prentiss also said that there is confusion with COVID-19 data and how it is shared. According to Prentiss, UO “floods” unions with information, but it is challenging for them to comprehend and interpret the data. The data is also on UO’s COVID-19 website, but Prentiss said employees need more support when it comes to getting that data.

“People have to be directed. And if they’re not directed, it’s just like anybody’s website,” she said. “If you’re not directed to look at it, you don’t even know it’s there.”

According to UO spokesperson Saul Hubbard, UO’s COVID-19 website is the primary way the university shares data. That website is updated twice a week and “is the quickest, most transparent, and most inclusive way of keeping our employees informed, as well as the wider Lane County community.”

In an email, Hubbard also wrote that UO has partnered with LCPH to create a COVID Alert Level tool to help interpret data.

United Academics President Chris Sinclair said that UO’s budgetary decision-making process is another point of contention that does not allow for collaborative work with unions. He said that the current process does not allow for collaborative work between the administration and unions.

According to Sinclair, the university wants to move quickly when making decisions, but this makes it difficult for unions to get their input in. He said when issues get brought up early and workers say they

want “X,Y and Z,” those issues are more likely to be addressed.

“Oftentimes decisions can be adjusted in ways that then make that person happy and maybe they only get X and Y, but not Z, but you’ve done the thing where you’ve listened to them, and you’ve adjusted,” Sinclair said. “This sort of process takes a lot of time, quite frankly, any collaborative process takes a lot of time, and administrators and board of trustees are not interested in things taking time.”

“The University absolutely takes our unions’ input seriously and can point to many instances where we have worked collaboratively with them to address their concerns,” Meade wrote, noting the creation of the Covid Relief Fund for employees and the Extended Benefits Program. Meade and other UO HR representatives meet with unions once every week or every other week.

However, Sinclair said that UO’s current decisionmaking process is eroding its trust with UA. He would like to see the university take more time to listen to unions’ input to build trust.

“That kind of leadership, that kind of decisionmaking without first doing the work, building the coalitions necessary and establishing that trust,” Sinclair said. “So that when that day comes, and you have to make an unpopular decision, people are like, ‘Well, I get it,’ you know that they’re trying their best.

That’s the kind of leadership I feel like we need here.”

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COVER

PRESIDENT SCHILL DISCUSSES COVID RESPONSE, UOPD AND GREEK LIFE

BY SILAS SLOAN When the Emerald sat down with University of Oregon President Michael Schill, the first question was about how, regardless of COVID-19, he felt the term was going.

Schill laughed as he recalled an old joke.

“Aside from what happened to your husband, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the

show?” He laughed. “So, you know, you just can’t say ‘aside from the coronavirus.’”

In addition to COVID-19’s effect on the university, Schill touched on UO’s plans for upcoming terms, COVID-19 testing policies and the recent move to partially disarm the University of Oregon Police Department.

HOW FALL TERM HAS GONE Schools across the country are dealing with the challenges of teaching during a pandemic, and UO is no different. But all things considered, Schill said he believes the term has gone well so far. Converting classes to a remote format is a difficult task for professors, but Schill said he is pleased with how they have handled it and believes they have exceeded expectations.

Schill said he is also encouraged by the low rate of COVID-19 infections among

students living in residence halls on campus. According to UO’s COVID-19 website, there has been a significant drop in positive cases since Oct. 23.

“We’ve got to keep our eyes open, we’ve got to keep protecting ourselves against the virus and we have to keep working hard to make sure that we’re delivering the best possible education to all of you,” he said.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

The Lillis Business complex, typically bustling with University of Oregon faculty, staff, and students, is almost entirely empty due to classes being held online. (Summer Surgent-Gough/ Emerald)

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Schill and Provost Patrick Phillips announced that the 2021 winter term would remain primarily remote on Oct. 13, but the university has not made any decisions for subsequent terms. Schill said he is hopeful things will start to change and that, “in the winter we’ll start seeing more and more [in-person classes] and then perhaps in the spring.”

Schill said the university has not set specific thresholds that need to be met for classes to return to an in-person format. Ultimately, he said, it will come down to having a conversation with students and faculty to make sure they feel safe returning to campus.

“We expect that over time, as we get more experience under our belt, we will be moving more and more to in person,” said Schill.

However, if cases continue to rise in Oregon and the pandemic gets out

of control, he said it is possible that UO could go backward rather than forward.

He emphasized that UO is working hard to keep campus safe and that students are being responsible about wearing masks.

University President Michael Schill speaks at the The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award Ceremony in the EMU ballroom on Jan. 15, 2019. (Emerald Archives)

COVER

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS UO is currently one of the largest COVID-19 testers in Oregon, Schill said, and the university recently received state funding to expand testing on campus.

“We’ve got space for people to get tested,” he said. “You want to get tested, you can get tested.”

With residence halls forcing students into tight living spaces, there is an increased chance of the coronavirus spreading. Because of this risk, UO requires testing for those living in the dorms.

However, UO staff are not required to get tested. Schill said this is because the risk of spreading the disease is significantly lower for staff who can wear masks and socially distance from students and coworkers. He said the difference between the two was like comparing “apples to oranges.”

Legally, UO can only require students living on campus who have signed a housing contract to get tested. These terms could be reached with staff, but Schill said they haven’t done so because there is less of a risk for them.

“The level of risk is very different in those two situations, which is why we

want to test regularly in the dorms to try to eliminate or minimize that risk as much as possible,” he said. “By testing regularly, we can move anyone who is exposed, or is positive, into quarantine or isolation before that person has a chance to infect other people in the dorms.”

Schill added that UO unions that expressed frustration with the lack of mandatory testing in previous Daily Emerald articles have yet to make a large showing at the free optional testing events held for staff.

Hand sanitizing stations are placed across the University of Oregon campus in order to encourage cleanliness due to the spread of the coronavirus.

(Maddie Knight/Emerald)

GREEK LIFE We expect that over time, as we get more experience under our belt, we will be moving more and more in person” MICHAEL SCHILL University of Oregon President

According to Lane County Public Health, Greek life accounts for 39% of all current outbreaks in Lane County, with 151 cases.

In response to these high numbers, Schill said, “When someone in the chess club comes down with COVID-19, we don’t say, ‘Oh, it’s the chess club,’” he said.

He said regardless of whether somebody is living in their fraternity or sorority house or a studio apartment, if they test positive for COVID-19, that data is attributed to the house. Schill acknowledged that there have been parties and risky behavior from UO Greek life but said that there was a double standard when it comes to testing.

Schill recently met with fraternity and sorority presidents and said they were sincere in “wanting to keep their community safe.”

UO has many options to reduce risk and keep the community safe, but there is a problem with students not willing to cooperate with contact tracing, he said. He said that students are hesitant to record what they were doing because they don’t want to get friends in trouble.

“That’s a problem for us. And so we need to balance those two,” said Schill.

“Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about who’s bad. This is about keeping our community safe.”

PARTIALLY DISARMING UOPD Schill announced on Oct. 9 examples of UO police reform that would reduce the amount of armed UOPD officers by 26%.

Schill said that the decision was motivated by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and recent discussions about racial disparities.

“Now is the time to make progress. But as we move towards making progress, we can’t lose our heads as we do it,” he said. “We have to do it in a thoughtful way, a sustainable way, a way that truly helps the people that we’re hoping to help that empowers them and we need to listen to them.”

Schill believes he’s found “a good place for us to launch in” when it comes to UO police reform, and acknowledged that the decision won’t make everybody happy.

About completely disbanding UOPD, he said “I can’t imagine. I can’t imagine an argument that would cause me to do that,” said Schill. “But obviously I’m always open to it.”

Schill said if there is no UOPD, the Eugene Police Department will be called in emergencies, and he would rather have officers that are familiar with students and are trained to deal with them.

“I’m excited. It’s an opportunity,” he said. “It is a tragedy that it took George Floyd being murdered, Breonna Taylor being killed for us to focus on it. But we’re focused on it, we’re ready to make progress.”

The University of Oregon Police Department, formerly the Department of Public Safety, was established in 2012. Now, campus-based activist groups are calling for the disarming, defunding, and dismantling of UOPD. Campus-based activist groups across the country call for disarming and defunding teir university police departments. Some groups at the University of Oregon have recently made these same demands. (Summer Surgent-Gough/Emerald)

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A&C

Sticks & Stones

is worth a food coma

BY EM CHAN • TWITTER @CATCHUPTOEMILY

Sticks & Stones offers a variety of meatball options and sauces, including these beef meatballs covered in heirloom tomato sauce. Sticks & Stones is a pop-up restaurant serving comfort food to go and is located in Lion and Owl, near downtown Eugene, Ore., on E. 11th Ave. (Madi Mather/Emerald)

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Sticks and stones as fries and meatballs.

On one hand, it’s silly, but on the other, it’s really fun. These classic comfort food staples are usually side dishes, but at Sticks & Stones, they’re the main course.

If we weren’t in the middle of a pandemic, I would be writing a traditional food review, describing service, restaurant ambience and other in-person aspects of eating out — but in 2020, everything is different.

Despite these changes, Sticks & Stones is winning the takeout game with their simple but ingenious concept. Its motto of being “comfort food for trying times” definitely delivers.

The eatery opened Oct. 13 on East 11th Ave. and Oak St. Its strange logo is a bunch of meatballs smushed together to make a skull and two crossed fries as the bones, rightly showing how these humble foods can quickly reduce you to a food-comatose state.

You can pick your “stones” from four choices: beef and pork blend, chicken and turkey blend, lamb or vegetarian.

All the meatballs are delicious — juicy, hearty sized and wellseasoned. The idea of a vegetarian meatball might seem weird, but theirs is reminiscent of falafel: with a slightly crispy crust yet a soft inside.

Each selection of a “stone” comes with a sauce, and among the five choices, you can’t go wrong. The most common issue with any saucey dish is being too salty, but Sticks & Stones doesn’t have this issue. The carrot hazelnut is almost a thick and creamy soup, with a nutty and soft flavor. Its heirloom tomato is a thick tomato sauce, more mild than marinara, while pecorino and pepper is a wonderfully smoky, nutty cheese sauce.

I would only caution that peanut curry is basically a thin white curry. For those who love spice, don’t get your hopes too high — it’s got just enough to leave you wanting more. The most disappointing, though still delicious, is the salsa verde. You would think

it would be mildly spiced and saucy, but it’s more of an oily pesto than a typical salsa.

Not to say it isn’t delicious, but don’t expect it to be akin to real salsa verde.

The most fun item on the menu is the poutine. Who doesn’t like the idea of crunchy, thick cut fries drenched in gravy and topped with squeaky cheese curds?

Even if you’re not a big fan of cheese it’s an enjoyable dish. The gravy is a lighter, mild brown sauce, which pairs well with the plentiful, smoky and sharp cheese curds on top.

There are additions that include sherry mushrooms, a flurry of foie gras and maple duck confit. They add extra depth and texture to the poutine if you’re looking to elevate it, but at the end of the day it’s still delicious with or without them.

To be honest, I skipped out on the desserts and the salads. In my opinion, if you’ve got a hankering for a carb load, fully commit to it. I don’t doubt their desserts are decent, but after a hearty meal of meatballs and fries, you’ll probably be too stuffed for them. If you really want a side of veggies, I recommend the broccoli.

You can order by calling in or using their website’s online order form. Currently, Sticks & Stones doesn’t deliver, only offering curbside pickups and scheduled orders.

Whatever option you choose, your food will be tasty regardless of how much time has passed. Those fries hold up their crunch (though the cheese does goop up) and the meatballs remain warm and juicy even when you accidentally come to pick up your order an hour later than expected. If this was prepandemic, I would be more lenient on this particular takeout experience because of how few people would probably be ordering poutine to go. But that lenience is now gone, replaced with an extraordinarily (and unrealistically) high standard of replicating an exact restaurant experience in a few takeout boxes.

So when you place your order, be generous with your tip. A new restaurant providing great service and food that hits the spot each and every time even in the midst of the pandemic deserves our support and will surely have a loyal fanbase soon — if no one else, they’ve won me.

Sticks & Stones is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Tuesdays through Saturdays and is at 60 East 11th Ave.

A&C

NANOWRIMO WRITERS FIND COMMUNITY IN THE FACE OF A PANDEMIC National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a monthlong novel writing challenge that amasses thousands of participants each year.

This year, Wordcrafters in Eugene and the Springfield Public Library are teaming up to host virtual writing sessions throughout the month of November. (Summer Surgent-Gough/Emerald)

PARTICIPANTS IN NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH WORK TOWARD THEIR GOAL WITH THE SUPPORT OF ONLINE COMMUNITIES.

BY JENNAH PENDLETON• TWITTER @JENNAHPEN Iris Greer attempted National Novel Writing Month for the first time in 2014 after a friend challenged her to write a better disaster story than “Sharknado.”

Since then, she has “won” (when writers reach 50,000 words) four times.

“I succeeded by her standards,” Greer said.

As the days get colder and the leaves continue to fall, local writers find themselves about halfway through National Novel Writing Month — often shortened to the melodic NaNoWriMo. In NaNoWriMo, which is held every November, writers seek to complete a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.

The rules are minimal, but clear: writing starts at 12:00 a.m. Nov. 1 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 30.

To complete this daunting task, many writers rely on the community in order to stay focused.

Lierin Woods, a recent college graduate in Coos Bay, is participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time.

She said that the pandemic had a huge role in her decision to attempt a novel this year, because it has allowed her more time to get projects done.

She emphasized the effect of having an online community in her success so far. Having the exact same goal as everyone else has inspired confidence in herself as a writer.

“I think a lot of writers experience imposter syndrome,” Woods said. “They may think, ‘I’m surrounded by all of these gifted genius writers, and I feel so inadequate because I’m nothing like them.’

But then when you get in a community like this, you realize that you are like them, that you have the same goals.”

Daryll Lynne Evans is the executive director of Wordcrafters Eugene, a nonprofit literary arts organization that hosts events, classes and conferences to aid writers in honing their craft. For the past seven years, Wordcrafters has partnered with NaNoWriMo to host “write-ins” where local writers gather at structured events to find inspiration and increase their word count. Evans has moderated these events for several years and is also an annual contender, but this is the first year these events have been held entirely online.

Though the nature of the NaNoWriMo community has fundamentally changed, local participation has not dwindled much. Evans said that there are active Discord servers and Zoom write-ins that are keeping the community motivated to write. She said that the new dynamic has its pros and cons but is generally proving successful.

“Our Discord participation is a little bit slower, but we also see some new faces. So that part is really exciting,” Evans said.

Greer, a longtime participant, said that she dislikes the way the pandemic has forced local NaNoWriMo communities to change their dynamic. She misses attending in-person writing events where she could “feed off the energy of other people.”

Despite difficulties, Evans, Woods and Greer remain enthusiastic about the process. Last year, Greer encouraged her seventh-grade granddaughter to participate in a youth version of NaNoWriMo as a part of her homeschooling curriculum. By the end of the month, she reached 18,000 words — more than

twice her original goal — with a story about a T. Rex who is best friends with a hedgehog. This year, she is working on the sequel.

Even if you don’t win, you win.”

Daryll Lynne Evans,

Executive Director of Wordcrafters Eugene

Woods said she is going to encourage every writer she knows to try in the future. Evans said that NaNoWriMo helps people who have trouble getting themselves to write. This may be why this exercise proves to be helpful to so many writers, and why it may be a worthwhile attempt even if one doesn’t succeed in reaching 50,000 words.

“Even if you don’t win, you win,” Evans said. “Those are words that didn’t exist at the beginning of the month, and probably wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t tried.”

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OPINION

IT’S SIMPLE:

DEFUND UOPD

BY EMILY BORCHARDT • TWITTER @EMILYFBORCHA

The University of Oregon Police Department, formerly the Department of Public Safety, was established in 2012. Now, campus-based activist groups are calling for the disarming, defunding and dismantling of UOPD. Campus-based activist groups across the country call for disarming and defunding their university police departments. Some groups at the University of Oregon have recently made these same demands. (Summer Surgent-Gough/Emerald)

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Police departments have always been institutions that represent violence and oppression toward marginalized communities. The only folks who feel comfortable in the presence of police are those who have the privilege of not being profiled and threatened by them for the color of their skin. We have seen time and time again the destruction of race-class subjugated communities that comes from over-policing and police violence. So why does the University of Oregon insist on such an oppressive institution on their campus?

That is a question student groups have asked since UO established its campus police force in 2012. A university is a place where all students are supposed to feel safe and liberated to pursue an education. Students should feel comfortable on their campus, especially students of color, but that has become nearly impossible with the presence of UOPD. Lolade Siyonbola, a Yale graduate student, spoke about her experience with the American Civil Liberties Union about her experience with campus police and racial profiling. Siyonbola, a Black woman, was napping in the common room of her dorm building when she was woken by police who were responding to a call from a White woman that was obviously racially driven.

After this experience, Siyonbola said, “We’re constantly having to prove that we’re allowed to be where we are, that we have permission, that we have freedom papers.”

Is this an environment the UO wants to create for their students of color?

Aren’t we supposed to be striving for an inclusive and diverse campus? It seems that the UO is all talk and no action when it comes to defunding and disarming UOPD. Student groups have not given up the fight with UO on disarming, disbanding and defunding UOPD. In an early October demonstration, students chained themselves to Johnson Hall with very specific demands. One of those demands was disarming UOPD. Activists saw disarming UOPD as a good first step to disband the institution and democratize the board of trustees.

It seemed hopeful when students were able to get university President Michael Schill’s attention and voice

their demands, but his response to their demands was a pathetic excuse for “reform.”

In a letter to campus last week from Schill’s office, he explained that unarmed community service officers will patrol campus and respond to calls for non-emergencies. However, he also wrote, “I want to be upfront about one thing: The university will neither disband the UOPD nor completely shift to an unarmed security force.”

Excuse me, Schill, but how does this create a more inclusive and inviting campus? Having a few unarmed officers patrol campus doesn’t do anything about the broader issue of police on campus. Students want complete disarmament, then steps toward defunding and disbanding UOPD. However, Schill has shown that he isn’t willing to budge.

I find it funny that a White man is making decisions about policing when he will never be stopped by an officer based on the color of his skin. We want to be rid of the presence of police in any form on our campus. We want students, especially students of color, to feel as comfortable as possible at UO. Disarming a few officers does nothing to lessen the threat of police violence.

We’ve seen what implicit and explicit racial bias has done to Black and Brown folks in the country. And we know there are alternatives that UO can put in place to keep campus safe. Alternatives like having trained mediators available to de-escalate situations without someone feeling like their life is being threatened.

Schill does a great job at making students’ demands seem like they are unattainable and ridiculous. At the end of the day we both claim to want the same thing, a comfortable environment where all the student body feels safe.

However, we’re the ones that have to walk the campus, not him. It’s evident that Schill lacks empathy and compassion towards students who are fighting to make this campus inclusive while he sits and continues to write letters that mean nothing. If we have to keep chaining ourselves to Johnson Hall until our demands are taken seriously and our voices are actually heard, we will. Don’t underestimate the power of student activism.

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OPINION

ARE HYBRID CLASSES WORTH IT?

BY EMILY BORCHARDT AND BAZIL STERLING

THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON WILL REMAIN PRIMARILY ONLINE DURING WINTER TERM, ACCORDING TO AN OCT. 13 ANNOUNCEMENT. THE UNIVERSITY PLANS TO CONTINUE OFFERING IN-PERSON CLASSES WHERE STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS CAN REMAIN SAFE IN DOING SO, BUT COLUMNISTS BAZIL STERLING AND EMILY BORCHARDT DIFFER ON WHETHER THAT SAFETY IS POSSIBLE.

BORCHARDT: HYBRID CLASSES SHOULD REMAIN For my job as a First-Year Program assistant, we attend a hybrid class once a week.

At first, I was very nervous for obvious reasons and concerned about the safety of my students, the professor I work with and myself. It was nerve-wracking walking back into a classroom, but I was surprised at how safe the classroom was.

It was a large classroom that allowed all 12 of us to practice social distancing measures. Hybrid classes can work well when everyone follows the rules. What’s nice about these classes is that students don’t have to attend class in person if they aren’t comfortable and can connect through Zoom. This allows for everyone to participate in the class based on their comfort level.

This has become a highlight of my students’

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days, as well as mine. It’s given us a small sense of normalcy during a time of chaos. I’ve noticed that it’s helped us all with our moods and engagement in the class.

Students have never been more excited to attend class.

It’s one of the few ways they have social interaction with their peers, which has made it easier for them to build relationships.

I’ve seen all the ways hybrid classes have helped my students, but also how it’s helped me survive this term. I’ve noticed the enhancement in my mood and how it helps me create genuine connections with my students. I believe that hybrid classes can be implemented safely while giving students an opportunity for socially distanced interactions.

STERLING: HYBRID COURSES MUST BE ABANDONED The University of Oregon will soon enter its fourth consecutive term of primarily online courses.

Non-coincidentally, the U.S. is once again the proud recordholder of the highest daily total of COVID-19 infections in the world.

I guess we truly are number one.

At the state level, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has announced a two-week freeze, essentially a lockdown.

Brown’s decision is motivated by the absurd aforementioned spike in cases throughout the nation that will continue to overcrowd hospitals.

Online learning has been an overwhelming challenge for us all in the midst of a pandemic and the potential collapse of the free world.

It is undoubtedly challenging to find any sort of silver lining to this never-ending mess. But, the only viable option for flattening the curve and, selfishly, returning to in-person education before I graduate, is to continue online learning and abandon hybrid courses that put students at risk of exposure. Sadly, this looks less

likely every day, and my faith in the UO community to collectively prevent the spread is non-existent.

Aside from the idiotic behavior displayed by some students, UO has failed its community as well.

Although hybrid courses provide students with a sense of normalcy, this benefit does not outweigh the daunting dangers of in-person learning. Many of us have been following COVID-19 safety guidelines, but taking students from different social circles which have their own potential webs of exposure and having them meet in-person is a reckless idea that will cause more harm than good.

It is also completely avoidable. UO must discontinue hybrid courses in order to protect its student population.

In the middle of a statewide freeze due to hospitalization from a virus, unnecessarily sticking people together in a room is the opposite of a solution. The fewer risks we take, the sooner we may be able to safely return to inperson courses.