4-17-23 Emerald Media Group - ODE

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VOL . 124, ISSUE NO. 71

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ON THE COVER

{Photo courtesy of UO Athletic Communications}

REMEMBERING FORMER DUCK STORE GM JIM WILLIAMS

The Duck Store has lost its former General Manager of 36 years, Jim Williams.

BY JASMINE SABOORIAN

Before former longtime General Manager Jim Williams took over, The Duck Store was merely a place where students could purchase textbooks.

His renovations turned the store into what it is today, expanding its locations and its merchandise to include books, greeting cards, electronics and more.

After 36 years as head supervisor of The Duck Store and retiring in 2012, Williams passed away.

He had initially acquired the position in his late 20s, after returning from his post in the military during the Vietnam War.

James Terborg, retired professor in the University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business, was a close friend of Williams’. He said Williams gave the store new merchandise and popularity to where they were able to open additional locations all around the state of Oregon.

As the merchandise expanded Williams had the idea of renaming the brand as a whole to cater to all the items of the store, according to Terborg. The name “UO Bookstore” became “The Duck Store.”

Williams was also on the Board of Directors for the Independent College Bookstore Association with The Duck Store. The ICBA is a support system for independent institution bookstores across the nation and how to effectively serve the members of the bookstores.

Jonathan Bibo, CEO of the ICBA, said that Williams had set a good example and standard on what services to offer in the bookstores and their importance to an institution.

“He really took the time to speak with me about the importance of the college store industry and what college stores can do to help students be successful,” Bibo said. “He was aware of what I was doing in the industry and really encouraged me to stay on this course.”

Bibo said it was Williams’ quality of personability that had set him apart from other national bookstore leaders.

One of the biggest impacts Williams made on UO was securing The Walt Disney Company’s Donald Duck character as the UO mascot for merchandise.

According to Terborg and current CEO of The Duck Store Arlyn Schaufler, Williams had received multiple cease and desist letters from The Walt Disney Company telling him to stop using the image of Donald Duck for UO.

According to Schaufler, Williams’ exact words in response to the letters were, “Well, throw me in jail because we are not going to get rid of the Duck.”

According to Schaufler and Terborg, Williams had multiple discussions with Leo Harris, former UO athletic director with connections to Walt

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Disney, as well as meetings with The Walt Disney Company, until he found a picture of Harris and Walt Disney in which Disney is wearing a letterman jacket with the UO Donald Duck logo. This proved that Disney was in support of the usage by the school, Schaufler said.

“His legacy was that he loved the university and he was so much for the students,” Terborg said. “He was willing to be put in jail so the university could continue using the logo they knew and loved.”

One of Williams’ biggest philosophies as the leader of The Duck Store was being an advocate, for the students and for all members of the university, Schaufler said.

According to Terborg, Williams’ role of advocacy turned into his position at the store, as his nametag had the title “Advocate” on it.

According to Terborg, one of Williams’ biggest pushes for The Duck Store was the selling of greeting cards, which is still there to this day.

The Duck Store Board of Directors told Williams multiple times that there was no economic gain in the greeting cards, but Williams knew there was a demand from students in times of holidays and needs, Terborg said.

“He just cared so much about what we do and who we are that a lot of his time was spent day to day trying to serve the university,” Schaufler said. “He was determined to do that with economic gain or without economic gain.”

(Kai Kanzer/Emerald)

Second most read story in the past week:

“Welcome back: Oregon’s star sprinter Micah Williams” by Keiji Patterson

(Molly McPherson/Emerald)

Voices of UO

Do you want your voice heard literally? Scan here to respond to our Voices of UO prompt with a brief voice message, and head to www. dailyemerald. com/ multimedia/ podcasts/ next week to listen to the replies!

We want to hear from you: Email editor@dailyemerald. com to submit a tip or a letter to the editor. The ideal length for a letter is 200500 words, but we publish letters of various

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A young Jim Williams sits at his desk (photo courtesy of Eric Breitenstein).

UO STUDENT WORKERS FILES ITS PETITION FOR CERTIFICATION

UOSW works to change policy and become the largest undergraduate union in the U.S.

BY ALICIA SANTIAGO

On April 7, the University of Oregon Student Worker Union filed its petition for certification. If the process is successful, the group expects to be the largest undergraduate union in the United States, according to UOSW.

After a campus union rally on April 6, the last day for student workers to sign union cards, the group went to Salem to deliver the signed cards to the Oregon Employment Relations Board, marking the beginning of the certification process.

“We had about 25 members of our organizing committee come up to Salem with us. It was a really special moment to be there,” UOSW organizer and social media coordinator Elizabeth White said.

An organizer from the union, Ella Meloy, said the group will now focus on deepening its understanding of issues facing workplaces on campus.

“We need to prepare to bargain for a contract that benefits all workers on campus, especially the workers that are being the most exploited by the university,” Meloy said.

Despite not being certified yet, a UOSW post

on social media said it has been making strides toward policy changes in the workplace.

According to a social media post made by UOSW, the group sent a letter to Tom Driscoll, the director of dining services, addressing a $200 retention bonus that is available to student dining workers during finals week if they work an average of 10 hours per week over the term and a minimum of 10 hours during finals week.

One student in UOSW had a gender-affirming surgery scheduled during finals week, because the surgery prevented the student from working the required hours for the bonus, members of UOSW believed that the student’s non-eligibility for the bonus constituted disparate impact under Title IX’s disparate impact clause.

UOSW requested students be able to provide documentation of a medical concern that would prevent them from working the required number of hours during finals week.

White said UOSW reached out to Driscoll in the letter requesting the policy be adjusted, and that the group plans to continue pursuing policy

change in the future.

Student employees gain sick time with the hours they work, and in response to the letter, UO now allows student employees in dining halls to apply sick leave toward their required hours to get the bonus, according to UOSW.

For Roderique, as a resident assistant in the dorms, certification of the union would mean “that all RAs have access to more mental health services” and all student workers receive higher pay.

UOSW organizer Carolyn Roderique said the certification process should take a few weeks. Until then, UOSW plans to raise money and prepare for its bargaining sessions.

From the beginning to now, organizers said they feel proud of the work they have done this year.

“I’m leaving my time at UO incredibly honored to have been able to organize with a group of students who have inspired me to continue to organize every day,” Meloy said. “I’ve never seen such an impressive, hardworking and dedicated group of students while here at UO.”

UOSW members and rally attendees. (Alicia Santiago/Emerald)

TAPIA’S TAKE: AUTHORITARIAN ATTEMPTS AGAINST TRANS YOUTH

BY CAITLIN TAPIA

The GOP’s efforts at blocking gender-affirming healthcare, other anti-trans bills and negative media coverage share striking similarities to the tactics used by Nazi Germany against minority groups. The GOP bases all of these efforts on nothing.

It is the classic nature versus nurture argument.

However, when leveraged by fascist and authoritarian leaders, this theory is used as justification for the horrific and unjust treatment of certain groups of people, often groups that have already been marginalized and discriminated against before.

One of the largest — and most cruel — examples of this was Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Hitler and the Nazi Party outwardly worked to define and exclude “outsiders” from German society. These “outsiders” included “Jews, Roma (Gypsies), homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Germans viewed as genetically inferior and harmful to ‘national health’ (people with mental illness and intellectual or physical disabilities, epileptics, congenitally deaf and blind persons, chronic alcoholics, drug users, and others).”

[transgender and gender diverse] adolescents.”

Now that it’s been established that the social contagion theory has no impact on cisgender youth, what children are the Republican party trying to protect? It’s certainly not trans children.

A Journal of the American Medical Association study in 2022 found that transgender and nonbinary youth that received gender-affirming healthcare — including puberty blockers and hormone treatments — had a 60% lower rate of experiencing moderate to severe depression and a 73% lower rate of suicidality over one year.

As mentioned above, trans youth face higher rates of bullying, victimization and suicide, and with that, gender-affirming care may serve as a lifeline.

Put in comparison to other depression treatments, the average success rate of antidepressant medications is only 40-60%. Thus, if an established and more effective means of combating depression and suicide exists, to attempt to ban it is to harm children, not protect them.

In the few months of 2023, 494 anti-trans pieces of legislation have been introduced. Of those, 39 have passed, 363 are waiting on a decision and 92 of them have failed.

The vilification of transgender and LGBTQ+ populations is not a new phenomenon, but its sharp increase within the past few years is concerning when thinking about the future freedoms of these groups.

The Republican party asserts that trans and LGBTQ+ people are inherently dangerous as a result of the social contagion theory. According to the GOP, because these people are currently allowed to exist in public, they are going to “corrupt” children into believing that they are also transgender.

According to the book “Creativity and Morality,” edited by Hansika Kapoor and James C. Kaufman, social contagion theory is “deceptive behavior [that] is acquired, normalized and practiced via a process of enculturation.” This deceptive behavior is often presented in the form of attitudes, emotions or behaviors which “rapidly spread throughout a group from one member to others without rational thought and reason.” The example the book presents is that a child will learn to lie if their parents are frequently lying.

At a surface-level analysis, this theory seems relatively simple and harmless; we can presume even without naming a specific theory that children will learn how to act as a result of others’ behaviors.

Today, the Republican party is working to mimic an atmosphere of violence and hostility against transgender and LGBTQ+ populations through similar tactics of propaganda and legislative initiatives.

The main platform that Republicans are pushing these narratives through is that blocking and removing trans rights “protects the children.”

As former President Donald Trump stated, gender-affirming healthcare for minors is “child abuse” and “child sexual mutilation.” Additionally, Republicans and right-wing media continue to push scare tactics stating that transgender people are pedophiles dressed up as men or women going into bathrooms or locker rooms to target and prey on children.

The issue with all of these statements is that none of them are true, similar to the Nazi portrayals of Jewish people and other minorities. Instead, these statements are used to incite fear and increase voter turnout rates for Republican party members and transphobic legislation.

On the claim that the percentage of transgender youth is increasing as a result of social contagion theory, a 2022 study in the journal Pediatrics found this to be baseless. The study found that there has been no increase in assigned female at birth people coming out and/or transitioning and — to no surprise — rates of bullying, victimization and suicide were higher among trans youth compared to cisgender youth. As such, the study argued social contagion theory “should not be used to argue against the provision of gender-affirming medical care for

But even if gender-affirming healthcare doesn’t serve to aid a person’s mental health, why should trans people not be able to improve the conditions of their lives when everyone else can?

Finally, on the remark about trans people being pedophiles who use bathrooms and locker rooms to target children: There is no evidence to suggest this is in any way true. A study done by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that the passage of bathroom bills has no effect on assault and sex crimes that occur in the exceedingly rare instance that they happen.

The ultimate question is, at what point will the Republican party draw the line of who they choose to target? Transgender and LGBTQ+ populations may be the current focus of the party’s attention, but if they continue to target each and every minority group the striking comparisons to Nazi Germany will only grow.

Caitlin Tapia is an opinion columnist for the Daily Emerald. She is a senior from Colorado majoring in journalism and political science. She is most passionate about social justice and politics but will also write about her bike being stolen.

(Julia Stalnaker/Emerald)

SPRING TERM IS GREAT… IF YOU’RE NOT ALLERGIC TO GRASS

Opinion: Many students love the spring. But I’m allergic to grass. The warmer weather makes a lot of people happy. But I’m allergic to grass.

BY BEATRICE BYRD

however, is the scenery.

Globus-O’Harra said, “the No. 1 thing is getting the leaves back on the trees.” He likes when the trees switch from their winter bareness to their green and abundant spring picture. I like the trees, too. I am relatively unaffected by their pollen, and no one decides to mow them every three days.

Finally, Globus-O’Harra recounted some family traditions that take place in spring.

“I always go on a camping trip with my family and some friends,” Globus-O’Harra said. “I’ve gone every year except once when I had mono.”

Globus-O’Harra remembers a time in fifth grade when he was unable to go on the trip due to sickness.

“I was in and out of school for a month, and I wasn’t able to go camping with my mom and dad. I was so sad I literally cried,” Globus-O’Harra said.

I have the urge to cry, too, when lawnmowers follow me down the street, when I see a hill that I simply can not roll down and when other students describe their spring experiences as I wipe my nose and nod along.

The University of Oregon’s students are as excited as the newly grown flowers scattered around the campus. The sun comes out, and the flowers open their gracious petals to receive it. In the same breath, students around the campus rush toward the green spaces with their hammocks, blankets and books. Warm weather makes people feel better, or at least, that’s what I’ve heard. I, however, have a different experience with the spring term weather.

I am allergic to grass; it’s unfortunate, I know. Do you remember those years you spent as a child, frolicking through open fields and rolling down steep hills of grass? I remember mine, too. Except, they always ended with swollen eyes, itchy arms and a damaged spirit. There was a time in my life when I thought that I could beat this allergy ––that I could stick to artificial grass, and I could run inside at the sound of any lawnmower. This has not been proven truthful since moving to Eugene. What I didn’t know before moving to Eugene was that I am currently placed right outside of what’s called “the grass seed capital of the world”: Linn County. This means Oregon is the world’s number one producer of grass seed, and most of

the seed farms are in Eugene’s neighboring county. Every spring, I pay the price for my ignorance. Last year, while other students were enjoying some of the first sunny days of the term, I was on the phone with my mother, hobbling to Hirons and attempting this new technique where I only breathed out through the mouth. It didn’t work.

I understand that spring term is very exciting for students. The issue is, I can’t relate without Claritin.

Zane Globus-O’Harra, a spring fanatic and fourth year student at UO said, “I just really like it when the weather warms up because I can go outside more, and I can actually enjoy it.”

That must be nice.

As an avid biker, Globus-O’Harra enjoys the extra hours of light in which he can spend time partaking in his favorite activities.

“There’s something about those warm spring evenings and just going on a bike ride with your friends,” Globus-O’Harra said.

Did I mention I also have bad knees? Imagine coupling extreme amounts of pollen inhalations with hyperextensive knees. Now ask me again why I don’t love spring.

One thing Globus-O’Harra and I agree on,

Spring is a tough time for me. But if you are one of the lucky ones, embrace it. Go run through fields of grass. Go find the softest patches to touch. Maybe go on a bike ride and breathe in the fresh, pollinated air. Be unafraid of the smell of freshlycut grass and enjoy the green scenery in whichever way you see fit. I will be in my room, watching the grass blow in “Home on the Range,” taking allergy medication and living vicariously through the people I see on the street.

Beatrice Byrd is a second year opinion columnist for the Daily Emerald. She enjoys walks through campus in her Crocs and petting her cats. She hopes to express fair opinions that generate a stronger sense of understanding in surrounding communities.

Freshmen Josephine Minert and Abby Morgan enjoying a sunny spring day on the EMU lawn. (Brandon Roth/Emerald)

MARK WASIKOWSKI EMPHASIZING GRATITUDE AND JOY IN HEAD COACHING ROLE AT OREGON

The Ducks’ baseball coach has turned this program around both on and off the field.

BY MOJO HILL

When Mark Wasikowski became Oregon baseball’s head coach in 2019, he knew something was broken.

Rather than speculate on what the issue was or try to fix a problem he knew nothing about, he was blunt in his first meeting with the team.

“What’s broken? You guys tell me. I haven’t been here,” he recalled saying. “It was a really quiet room. I asked the team though, ‘What’s going wrong here? Because this is a beautiful place. You’ve got a beautiful field. You’ve got a budget, and it’s plenty good enough for it to be good.’”

He was met with silence and confusion from a locker room full of players decked out in all the Oregon paraphernalia you can imagine — Nike shoes, gear, backpacks and everything a Division I athlete expects to be given. But the shiny clothes and expensive shoes couldn’t hide the reality that the Ducks had

recently gone 10-19 in Pac-12 play or that they hadn’t finished higher than eighth place since 2015. So Wasikowski didn’t hand them all that gear. Instead, he gave them two plain white T-shirts and a pair of basic running shoes.

people that think you guys are spoiled — prove that wrong.”

What’s broken? You guys tell me. I haven’t been here. It was a really quiet room. I asked the team though, ‘What’s going wrong here? Because this is a beautiful place. You’ve got a beautiful field. You’ve got a budget, and it’s plenty good enough for it to be good.’”

He was met with more befuddlement. Some of the players were ticked off that they weren’t getting the equipment they thought they deserved. But Wasikowski had a simple message to the team: “If you want to be here, and you want to be here for the right reasons and play for the school and try to play for the

And still, the team’s first issue every year is a pair of white T-shirts. It helps remind Wasikowski and the team of why they show up to play baseball every day and why they need to work hard to prove their worth.

“It means a lot to us, even though it literally is probably the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen,” Wasikowksi said.

Now in his third full season of coaching Oregon under this “white shirt mentality,” Wasikowski’s leadership has paid dividends, turning this program into a national contender and a force in the Pac-12.

His drive and passion for baseball go back to his playing days, a path that led him to an unexpected career in coaching. After being introduced to the game as a kid, he went on to play for Pepperdine as a third baseman. He played under head coach Andy Lopez, who became one of the most influential mentors in Wasikowski’s life.

“He wasn’t a ‘give you a hug and tell you how

Courtesy of UO Athletic Communications

MARK WASIKOWSKI head coach Oregon Baseball

wonderful the day is’ kind of coach,” Wasikowski said. “He was as tough as they got… He coached us like we were a gang, and he was in the gang.”

Wasikowski didn’t need to go to Pepperdine. He had multiple scholarship offers, but he instead joined the Waves as a walk-on.

“My father disowned me at the time,” Wasikowski said. “He told me point blank, ‘You’re stupid. You got all these big scholarships. Who’s gonna pay for it?’”

He insisted he would take out loans, paying for college on his own dime. And so he stayed the course with Pepperdine.

His first job was at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. But 25 minutes into the first day’s training session, he knew he didn’t want to be doing this.

So he called Lopez.

His Pepperdine coach, who he was still in close contact with, recommended he get a second degree. The problem was Wasikowski didn’t have the money, as the loans he took out caught up to him. The next option was to get a teaching credential, but Wasikowski couldn’t get through that before realizing he hated it.

to join his staff, and Wasikowski said no.

But under Horton’s leadership, the program rose to respectability over the following few years. The Ducks went 40-24 in 2010, then hosted regionals in 2012 and 2013.

So in 2012, Wasikowski accepted Horton’s offer and joined Oregon as an assistant.

Wasikowski’s path stayed on the upswing. After he had a few good years at Oregon, Purdue hired him for his first head coaching gig in 2017. He took a team that had gone 10-44 the year prior and made them an above-.500 squad.

In 2019, the Boilermakers took a step back, going 20-34. At the same time, Horton and the Ducks mutually agreed to part ways after a ninth-place finish in the Pac-12. Naturally, Oregon became interested in Wasikowski for the vacant position. And while he was interested, he wasn’t immediately convinced.

“I wanted to ask Rob [Mullens] what his vision was for baseball at Oregon,” Wasikowski said. “If it was just to play, I wasn’t interested. If it was just to have a program or something like that, I wouldn’t be very interested.”

That’s been Wasikowski’s mantra from the beginning, even looking back at his Pepperdine days: He’s in it to win. He won’t accept being on a team that everyone writes off and expects to lose, one that can’t even get its name pronounced correctly at the banquet dinner.

“If you’re not putting in your best effort, you’re kidding yourself. And you know that you’re kidding yourself,” Wasikowski said. “And if you know you’re kidding yourself, you know you’re not giving everything you can in what you desire to

Wasikowski was announced as the new Oregon head baseball coach in 2019. It required him to move from the Midwest, where he met his wife and was geographically closer to her family, as well as spend less time with his two daughters.

“I knew that I wasn’t gonna be around a lot for them, which hurts,” Wasikowski said. “But at the same point in time, when I was around, they saw how much I care about them and love them. I make sure that even when I’m not around, they’re getting little notes or whatever.”

It was then that the “white shirt mentality” kicked in. Despite an initial interruption because of COVID-19, Wasikowski has seen the team flourish in his tenure here. The Ducks went 39-16 in his first full season at Oregon, hosting a regional for the first time since 2013. They made it to a regional as well in 2022, and are off to a 20-9 start this season.

While Wasikowski didn’t initially plan on being a college baseball coach, there’s nothing he’d rather be doing at this point. He said if the New York Yankees called him asking him to manage their team, he would decline.

“I’m a PE coach that’s getting paid,” he said. “It’s a blessing where I’m at.”

Despite possessing no prior knowledge of

Courtesy of UO Athletic Communications

If you’re not putting in your best effort, you’re kidding yourself. And you know that you’re kidding yourself. And if you know you’re kidding yourself, you know you’re not giving everything you can in what you desire to do. And if you’re not passionate enough to give everything to what you’re doing, then you probably aren’t doing the right thing.”

MARK WASIKOWSKI head coach Oregon Baseball

4 CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Read with these poems by Louise Glück, Mary Oliver, Laura Gilpin and

Ada Limón

BY PHILIP CHAN

April is the cruelest month, as T.S. Eliot said, but it’s also National Poetry Month — the perfect reason to stay inside and catch up on good poetry! Maybe you’re uninitiated and don’t know where to start, or maybe you just want an excuse to retread a familiar favorite. Regardless, here are four collections to get your Poetry Month on.

“THE WILD IRIS” BY LOUISE GLÜCK

“At the end of my suffering / there was a door,” writes Louise Glück in the titular poem of “The Wild Iris.”

Glück is easily one of the most accomplished living poets in the U.S., having won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature. “The Wild Iris,” a favorite of many poets, was her sixth full length collection, published in 1992. It won her the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1993.

The poem “The Wild Iris” describes the cycle of birth and death from the perspective of a flower with startlingly vivid imagery. The rest of the book’s poems showcase Glück’s distinctive poetic voice, quite authoritative, as she explores her feelings and questions of survival and human nature. She begins the poem “The Red Poppy”:

“The great thing is not having a mind. Feelings: oh, I have those; they govern me.”

The punctuation, enjambment and the interjection “oh” interrupt the rhythm of the thought in a dramatic fashion. It’s an intimate collection, as though Glück were handing her shattered heart straight to the reader.

“DREAM WORK” BY MARY OLIVER

Mary Oliver, who passed away in 2019, was not only a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award but also one of America’s best-selling poets. Her 1986 collection “Dream Work” includes what is perhaps the internet’s best beloved poem: “Wild Geese.” She writes:

“You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.”

Oliver speaks directly to the reader in her commanding but reassuring voice, like a wise friend. The rest of the collection is full of similarly meaningful and inspiring affirmations. It’s the perfect poem to read to your loved ones, to read to yourself and commit to memory. A reminder to take care of oneself in a world

that fatigues us.

“THE HOCUS-POCUS OF THE UNIVERSE” BY LAURA GILPIN

Laura Gilpin only published one collection of poetry during her lifetime. The book, 1977’s “The Hocus-Pocus of the Universe,” won the Academy of American Poets’ Walt Whitman Award. Readers might recognize the widely shared poem “Two-headed Calf.” It delivers the reader with such a romantically rendered moment, unearthing stunning beauty from an otherwise somber scene at dusk. Gilpin accomplishes something similar in the poem “Watching my Mother Sleep”:

“Hospitals at night are such deceptive places and as I watch her sleep in this strange green light she looks so young.”

Gilpin thoughtfully juxtaposes death with youth and birth. Her use of contrasting images is nuanced and heartfelt, typical of her striking ability to see beauty in unexpected places.

“THE CARRYING” BY ADA LIMÓN

Ada Limón has the distinction of being the current Poet Laureate of the U.S. “The Carrying,” her fifth collection from 2018, features one of her most popular poems: “What I Didn’t Know Before.” The poem unexpectedly compares falling in love to the birth of a horse.

Limón triumphs in constructing creative metaphors, honing in on specific moments from her own life to reveal greater meaning to her readers.

In the poem “The Raincoat,” Limón recalls how her mother would drive her 45 minutes to physical therapy to treat her crooked spine. Now grown up and driving herself, she writes:

“... I saw a mom take her raincoat off and give it to her young daughter when a storm took over the afternoon. My god, I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel that I never got wet.”

Limón’s poems are personal, heavy but hopeful, a reflection on grief, love and motherhood that touches the heart.

Poetry helps us notice. It helps us make sense. Live for a moment, however brief, in the poetry of someone else, and discover some new, beautiful way of seeing the world.

Lynette Slape / Daily Emerald

OREGON’S

NATE BITTLE, COMMIT

OREGON’S NATE BITTLE, COMMIT

JACKSON SHELSTAD EMBRACE HEAD

JACKSON SHELSTAD EMBRACE HEAD

COACH DANA ALTMAN’S CHALLENGES

COACH DANA ALTMAN’S CHALLENGES

Oregon commit Jackson Shelstad and forward Nate Bittle expressed their willingness to lead a more hard-working group next season, and teased the potential of Bronny coming to Eugene; and what that would mean for the program.

BY AARON HEISEN

him during his 13-year (and ongoing) stint at Oregon because they’ve worked hard and been able to knock down 3-pointers. It’s certainly what he’s known for preaching across the state of Oregon. Shelstad and Bittle are aware of that.

They grew up idolizing stars who embodied it; guys such as Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey, E.J. Singler and Payton Pritchard made a name off hard work and an ability to shoot.

though, a lot of things became clear; a number of which he hopes to change.

“Guys weren’t holding guys accountable this last year. I think we need to do a better job of that; guys weren’t in the gym enough,” he said. “I’m going to try to do a better job of holding myself accountable this year and show these young guys how to get in the gym.”

But will it really be as easy as getting in the gym to turn this thing around? And should it fall on an incoming freshman in Shelstad to set that example?

It might just have to.

A new face at the helm means a new message and, hopefully, for Oregon’s sake, a new buy-in.

The last few times we’ve heard from Dana Altman, he’s shared his sorrows and issued a number of challenges.

The most recent one being Oregon fans. Before that, regarding himself and his coaching staff’s necessity to improve. And about a month ago, directed rather pointedly at his players.

Thankfully for him, a few of them who have secured their place on the 2023-24 roster have responded to those concerns.

At the Nike Hoops Summit scrimmage on Friday, Oregon natives, forward Nate Bittle and 2023 commit Jackson Shelstad, addressed how they want to be part of the program turnaround following consecutive seasons in which the Ducks missed the NCAA Tournament.

They’re in sync with Altman on what went wrong this past year and what has to be accomplished in order to rebuild.

First, there was the lack of work ethic.

“The guys that choose to return, they’re going to have to make some decisions on how much time they want to spend in the gym,” Altman said after Oregon’s 75-56 loss to UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Then, there was the inability to shoot from three.

“If you’re shooting under 33%, you either gotta be really selective, or not shoot at all,” he said.

Boy, does he love his numbers.

But, there’s something to be said for Altman’s eccentric values. Many have succeeded under

“I’m just going to come in and bring a competitive spirit,” Shelstad said on Friday. “I like to be in the gym. I’m a gym rat. I’m going to try to get everyone in the gym. I mean that’s what Dana loves. Dana loves hard working dudes; so I’m excited to get up there and turn things around a little bit.”

Bittle added: “I’m really excited to get in the gym and work with him.”

In a year where injuries displaced consistency, the Ducks’ lacked connective tissue. There was nobody who set an example; nobody in the gym early, setting a standard and forcing others to meet it. As a freshman, Shelstad’s ready to provide that.

As for Bittle, he sat to Altman’s right in Las Vegas as the head coach called out his players, not batting an eye.

He’s been a reluctant sponge to this process. He came to Oregon as the No. 11 recruit in the 2021 class, according to ESPN’s top 100, and sat on the bench for the majority of his freshman year. He got his taste at an opportunity this past season and showed the positive side of that during the Ducks’ National Invitation Tournament run where he averaged 15 points and 7.7 rebounds over three games, while shooting 50% from three on 3.3 attempts per game.

It wasn’t exactly the plan to have the top recruit from that 2021 class brought along slowly, but here we are. During that time he sat on the bench,

One thing is for sure: Having three of the top kids being from Oregon — when you include commit Mookie Cook — they know what the standard is from watching it over the past decadeplus, and they have an added incentive to not let Oregon fail.

What comes from that regards Altman’s most recent quarrel.

“I think with three home Oregon kids, the crowd should be there,” Bittle said on Friday. “Hopefully people will come out next year and support us.”

Both Shelstad and Bittle know how that hope is solidified.

They teased it on Friday, when they were asked the looming question regarding LeBron “Bronny” James Jr.’s recruiting decision.

“I just think [Bronny] would fit really good with our recruiting class and the way that Dana likes to play at Oregon,” Shelstad said. “I think we have a lot of unselfish players. Oregon needs more shooters, and he can shoot the ball really well. I mean he would just help us out a lot.”

“Walking around campus, I get questions like, ‘Do you know him,’” Bittle said. “I see signs at our games: ‘Eugene wants Bronny.’”

They all know it would bring a circus. And, Altman’s not one for circuses. Shelstad confirmed it would be more than that: a good basketball fit; and Bronny’s a great teammate, he said.

So whether Altman likes it or not, maybe a circus is just what Oregon needs to fulfill his most recent grievance.

Nathan Bittle smiles and laughs at the conclusion of the game and his big double double night. The Oregon Mens Basketball team host the University of Central Florida at Matthew Knight Arena for the second round of the NIT in Eugene, Ore., on March 19th, 2023. (Jonathan Suni, Emerald)

All candidates must be The Duck Store Members enrolled in the academic year of the position as of Spring Term 2023. Nominations are accepted during the Annual Meeting or by emailing elections@uoduckstore.com prior to the annual meeting.

APRIL 18 APRIL 20

On April 18, Natalia Molina an American Studies and Ethnicity professor from the University of Southern California will speak at the Ford Alumni Center, Giustina Ballroom in part of Oregon Humanities Center Belonging series “A Place in the Narrative: Telling Underdocumented Stories.” This conversation is based on searching for one’s identity while living and working in a new place. Molina will speak about her own identity as a Mexican-American growing up in Los Angeles and retelling the stories of her grandmother feeding Mexican workers longing for their place of origin. Molina will deliver her talk between 5:30–6:30 p.m. and it will be livestreamed as well.

On April 20, the Holden Center (EMU 047) will be hosting its first Social Justice workshop series called “Intersection of Identity and Leadership.” In this workshop, participants will learn why social justice is important, how one may experience it and the ways to adopt new social justice practices. The session is also a chance for people to gain new leadership skills. The workshop series continues with four more sessions every Thursday between 4:00–5:30 p.m

APRIL 27 APRIL 24

On April 24, the McDonald Theatre is hosting Tennis, an indie pop group from Denver, Colorado. The group members are Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley and they will be performing songs from their latest album Pollen which was released on February 10. Song recommendations from this album include “Gibraltar”— a soothing song with nice guitar solos and faded vocal tracks, “Pollen Song”— a poetic song about being allergic to pollen or “Let’s Make a Mistake Tonight”— a modern glam rock song of fooling around at night. The venue opens its door at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. The concert is $25 for general admission and $35 for lower balcony seating for individuals 21 and up.

On April 27, the William W. Knight Law Center is hosting an event called “Reforming Police for Racial Equality: Lessons from the Civil Rights Era” featuring Andrew McCall, an assistant professor of political science at Columbia University. McCall will discuss the solutions since the mid-20th century of community–police interactions. Micall discussion will take participants back to the origins of police violence in the United States and the reforms that have been made up to the present. The event is located in room 100 in the William W. Knight Law Center between 12–1:45 p.m. The event will be livestreamed as well. The event is part of the Wayne Morse Center’s Public Affairs Speaker Series.

(Photo Courtesy by Oregon Humanities Center)

(Hannah Kanik/Emerald)

(Tristan Loper/ Creative Commons)

(Tabatha Natsues/Emerald)