4-5-23 Emerald Media Group - Week of Welcome

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ON THE COVER

Daley McClellan (4) serves the ball. Oregon women’s volleyball takes on Washington State at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. on Nov. 6, 2022. (Mary Grosswendt/Emerald)

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Editor Recommends

BY KRISTA KROISS

TV SHOW RECOMMENDATION: “HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER”

Summary: I highly recommend the TV show “How I Met Your Mother,” created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. In this sitcom, protagonist Ted Mosby tells his children the story of how he met their mother, starting from the day his best friends got engaged and inspired his 27-year-old self to search for a wife. The series weaves a complex story navigating the trials and tribulations of love, friendship and the realities of growing up. The show works great as a funny comfort show to get away from daily life stresses. —

Krista Kroiss, arts and culture editor

LOOK ONLINE

By Lauren Leone

(Kai

Kanzer/Emerald)

Second most read story in the past week:

“City of Eugene approves plan for more than $310 million for infrastructure projects” by Alan Torres

(Courtesy of City of Eugene)

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!

(Maisie Plew/Emerald)

For updated coverage of sports and digital-exclusive content, go to www.dailyemerald.com

(Photo courtesy of Krista Kroiss)

EUGENE TENANTS KEEP PUSHING FOR RENTER PROTECTIONS

EUGENE TENANTS KEEP PUSHING FOR RENTER PROTECTIONS

Eight months after the adoption of Phase I renter protections by the Eugene City Council in July 2022, affordable housing activists once again bring renter protections to the forefront of Eugene politics.

BY MATHIAS LEHMAN-WINTERS

The city of Eugene is continuing to consider actions it can take to protect renters from displacement and pricing-out.

Phase II renter protection would include updates to the Eugene Rental Housing Code. Namely, a limit on security deposits charged by landlords to two times the monthly rent, the processing of rental applications in the order they are received, and monetary displacement prevention assistance for no cause evictions. A renter could also receive DPA if they experience a rent increase greater than 5% a year that causes a tenant to move out.

In mid-2022 the Eugene City Council passed Phase I renter protections in a 6-2 vote. These protections included a variety of support services, new documentation requirements, and educational information designed to help relieve some difficulties for Eugene renters.

Tia Politi, a rental owner and President of the Rental Owners Association of Lane County, believes that Phase II will lead to higher rents and fewer rental options, especially the single family and duplex options.

“While it is presented as a way to stabilize housing, in fact, it’s going to have the opposite effect,” Politi said.

Politi said this has been demonstrated in Portland, where they have implemented regulations similar to Phase II and have seen higher rents and fewer rental options. She said many opponents to Phase II say increased regulations around renting will lead to mom-and-pop landlords divesting from Eugene, thus leading to fewer rental options.

During a public hearing on the matter, Eugene landlords said the landlords that stay in Eugene after Phase II is implemented would have to raise rent in order to compensate for new losses.

Furthermore, Politi said she believes that the new DPA would be unfair towards rental owners.

“If landlords are renting say college properties, and they’ve got a renter who’s causing trouble, they may not want to renew the lease. The rental owner now has to pay the tenant thousands of dollars to move forward. The other option is to damage their rental history by serving them a notice and evicting them based on that.” Politi said. “They’re trying to protect people, but they’re doing it at the expense of one group.“

Kevin Cronin is the board president of the Eugene and Springfield Tenant Association. In 2011, while a student at the University of Oregon, Cronin was no-cause evicted from his residence. As a result, he ended up homeless. In 2016, after being no-cause evicted once again, Cronin began petitioning the Eugene City Council for rental protections.

“I’ve been beating the drum on this issue since my days as a student, really working to make sure that we have more consumer protections for renters,” Cronin said.

Cronin said one of the most difficult aspects surrounding being evicted is finding a place to live again.

“When a renter has to move on short notice, Eugene’s rental market has,

according to Multifamily Northwest, a less than a 2% vacancy rate, which means it’s real tight,” Cronin said. “Someone basically has to move out in order for you to be able to move in or find a place.”

High security deposits can often act as a substantial barrier to potential renters, he said. And while would-be tenants may make enough to afford the residence, they often lack the several months rent on hand required as a security deposit.

Those on a fixed income, like seniors on social security, can be particularly vulnerable to rent hikes, Cronin said.

Mearl Grabill is a senior who has been living at the Eugene Hotel, a retirement community in the heart of downtown Eugene, for the past year. Around the same time as he moved in, the retirement community was sold to DiNapoli Capital Partners, an investment firm based in California. This year, he said DiNapoli increased the tenant’s rent at the Eugene Hotel by 14.6%.

“Depending on the size of the apartment, that’s anywhere from $220 to $350 a month,” Grabill said. “This is difficult to manage, especially when you have a fixed income, as many seniors do.”

Grabill said his friend, who is 96 and had lived at the retirement community for the past 13 years, had to move out because of the rent hike.

“She is my friend, and she can’t afford to live here anymore,” he said.

Phase I rental protections included a $10 cap on rental application fees, but was ruled as being incompatible with state law in February of 2023 by a county judge and suspended.

Politi said she supported most of Phase I, the exception being the aforementioned $10 cap on application fees. She said she believes that the Eugene and Springfield Tenant Association have done admirable work in the goal of educating renters as to their rights and calls the group “a step in the right direction.”

However, Politi said she disagrees on the issue of security deposits, that security deposits give rental owners the ability to rent to tenants who don’t have credit or rental history, without placing undue risk of damage on their rental units.

Grabill said that he and Cronin are trying to spread awareness amongst seniors about affordable housing. “If we can get both young people and old people working on the same goal. I think that we’ll be much stronger for it.” he said.

The Eugene City Council held a public hearing on the Phase II protections on March 13. However it is still unclear whether they will vote to pass the protections and the expected subsequent Phase III protections.

Grabill and Cronin said they hope to eventually get the state legislature to adopt similar rental protections.

(Julia Stalnaker/Emerald)

ANTISEMITIC PAMPHLETS FLOOD LOCAL EUGENE NEIGHBORHOOD

Residents woke up to antisemitic propaganda littered on their driveways near Tugman Park in late February.

On Feb. 18, some Eugene residents woke up to flyers and pamphlets spread across their driveways and yards. Once again, a national antisemitic group had spread their propaganda in Eugene.

“They’re usually in a plastic baggie of some sort and weighted down with something,” Officer Chris Harrison of the Eugene Police Department said.

Harrison said there had been other incidents recently in the north Eugene area off of River Road and Springfield.

He said he recognizes that the propaganda and packaging are similar to a more national trend spreading across the United States.

“The rhetoric in the flyers and the photos and the packaging looks almost identical to many, many cases across the country. So we looked at them, and obviously, our take is that we don’t condone that type of hate speech in our city or county or community in general,” Harrison said.

According to Harrison, although EPD does not condone the message being spread, there is no criminal offense associated with spreading these pamphlets.

“It’s awful. I wish it didn’t happen, but it’s not a criminal thing,” he said.

While there are no confirmed hate groups residing in Lane County, according to Harrison, he does recognize there are people within the community who sympathize with the message being spread in these flyers. The flyers could have come from someone outside the local community, he said.

“It could very well be someone that you know, passed through and hit communities all up and down I-5,” Harrison said.

Harrison said EPD usually meets with the Human Rights Commission once a month to talk about trends and cases.

EPD has a long standing relationship with leaders in the Jewish community, Harrison said, which is one of the things they’re doing to combat the rise of antisemitism.

According to Harrison, EPD works closely with the FBI to follow the trends of these antisemitic groups.

FBI Special Agent Ryan Dwyer is the Civil Rights Program Coordinator for the Portland Field Office, where he follows hate crimes and color of law investigations throughout the state.

“We in law enforcement and certainly we in the FBI, we’re concerned about threats of violence, threats of action or acts of violence. So our investigations come into play when there’s a threat of violence or advocacy of a sort of force by a particular

group,” said FBI Special Agent Ryan Dwyer.

According to The United States Department of Justice, “hate” in regard to hate crimes means bias against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by the law.

On Feb. 25, neo-Nazi groups observed a day of hate that would nationally target Jewish communities and centers. Dwyer said there were no specific events on that day in Eugene but stresses it is important for communities to be aware.

“It is very important for folks to know that they can and should report these things to law enforcement. If there is no specific threat of violence, law enforcement may not conduct an investigation, [but] they’ll certainly take that information,” he said.

Dwyer said that communication between local communities and groups can help law enforcement better protect vulnerable communities, including different races, religions and LGBTQ groups.

“It’s important for them to know that they can communicate with law enforcement about the challenges and threats that they are feeling to their security so that law enforcement can be responsive to that,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer said a national increase in hate crimes has led the FBI to change how it deals with and monitors these actions.

“In 2021, the FBI raised civil rights, of which hate crimes is our focus, to our top criminal priority,” he said.

According to the FBI’s official website, the change came with the Hate Crimes Prevention act of 2009 and allowed the Bureau “to also investigate crimes committed against those based on biases of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or gender.”

Dwyer said hate crimes are vastly underreported nationally and in the state of Oregon.

Dwyer said there are three main factors that have caused the statistical jump.

One reason, he said, is the fact that there are more hate crimes occurring in general.

“Second, people are reporting them more. Third, law enforcement is getting better and how we track these,” Special Agent Ryan Dwyer said.

One of the FBI’s priorities is encouraging the reporting of hate crimes and making sure minority groups have access to resources to help fight the spread of hate ideology.

Dwyer attended a City Club of Eugene meeting addressing the antisemitic propaganda in Eugene.

BY PAUL ROBINSON

Rabbi Meir Goldstein, a senior Jewish educator at Oregon Hillel Foundation and a Judaic studies instructor at the University of Oregon, spoke during the City Club meeting about how he saw the at-large community respond to the “day of hate.”

“We had members of all different religious groups and community organizations come and stand outside of the synagogue and form a ring around it to make sure that those ill-doers wouldn’t have an opportunity to do so,” Goldstein said.

(Illustration by Brandon Roth)

TRESNIT: WHY ARE WE SO AFRAID OF SOCIALISM?

TRESNIT: WHY ARE WE SO AFRAID OF SOCIALISM?

Opinion: Economic degrowth based on mutual care is viable but falls flat due to fear mongering.

What does the idea of “degrowth” mean to you? As we learned about it in my environmental studies class this term, a degrowth system functions as the opposite of capitalism in that it prioritizes the well-being of people and the planet over constant profit. Today we place so much emphasis not only on corporations earning money, but on increasing profits from previous years. It seems that companies have an insatiable appetite for constant growth, and this comes at the expense of working class people and the future of the planet.

Degrowth, on the other hand, moves away from this incessant need for more. By changing to the end goal from constantly increasing profit to functioning sustainably, we can focus more on the actual needs of the population. This could look like working fewer hours to enable people to spend time with their families or improve their communities, limiting environmental degradation in the form of fossil fuels and mass production and setting up access to food, education, transportation or other necessities. In a system focused on degrowth, the needs of people are prioritized. It’s more important for everyone to access important resources and enjoy their free

time than for massive corporations to rake in another billion dollars. After all, there are only so many people on the planet. At some point, Netflix will run out of new subscribers. Though capitalism pushes the idea of constant movement, it can only expand so far.

Now if you value the well-being of people other than yourself, the aforementioned features of degrowth probably look pretty great. When you consider them being tied to the goals of socialism, does your opinion change? When I say “socialism,” I’m not referring to the dictionary definition but rather the modern colloquial meaning: policies based on the wealthiest members of society sharing resources with the less fortunate. Today you’ll often see it used as a derogatory term for any policy that aims to help people or progress society, like free public transportation or student loan forgiveness. Out of fear of the word, we’ve started to fight the idea of improving anyone’s life if that change leads to any personal expense.

As for me, I’m tired of watching politicians run around in circles debating semantics instead of working to enact policies to actually solve problems and help people. The recent House resolution denouncing “the horrors of socialism” is nothing more than a ridiculous, performative distraction used to fight an imaginary enemy. Oh no, social progress!

The fact that the resolution actually passed is insulting. It makes no distinction between socialism, communism and

Sadie is an opinion columnist for the Daily Emerald. She is a second-year English student from Portland. In her free time she reads and plays music, and she likes to write about little inconveniences and trends that disproportionately bother her.

authoritarianism and this willful ignorance is used to gross effect. The resolution ends with the sentiment that “this Congress…opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America.” It’s great to know we won’t be moving forward any time soon.

So if the spineless old politicians proudly oppose socialism from their comfortable homes in the pockets of the country’s wealthiest corporate leaders, who supports it? The answer is overwhelming young people, with a 2019 Gallup poll suggesting that nearly half Americans born after 1980 have a positive view of socialism, which is a marked increase from previous generations. UO even has a Young Democratic Socialists chapter, so the ideology is thriving among the nation’s youth.

While I can’t speculate on the reasoning of this entire group, I can certainly explain my own thinking on the issue: Capitalism isn’t meeting everyone’s needs anymore, and it’s arguable that it never did. One of my earliest memories is of every adult in my life worrying during the 2008 financial crisis. Living in Portland and Eugene, I’ve seen the widespread despair of homelessness. Throughout the pandemic, I saw people struggling to afford rent after unexpectedly finding themselves out of work. The shadow of climate change has lingered over everything, a constant reminder of the necessity of taking action. At the same time, I’ve watched billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos line their pockets while the workers at their companies struggle to afford their basic needs. What kind of system could ethically allow the existence of the ultra wealthy when other people don’t even have access to clean water?

In the end, it all comes back to the classic childhood mantra that “sharing is caring.” Everyone seemingly has an instinctual knee jerk negative reaction to the word “socialism,” but I encourage you to stop and apply some critical thought. Would it really be so terrible if everyone’s needs were taken care of? If you consider the struggles of the people around you, I think you’ll find the right answer.

Attendees begin to file into the amphitheater in crowds prior to the 9 A.M. democratic rally. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders joined Oregon’s Democratic party leaders at the University of Oregon’s Erb Memorial Union for a rally in support of Oregon Democrat Gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek, on Thursday, Oct., 27th, 2022. (Maddie Stellingwerf/ Emerald)

DALEY MCCLELLAN IS LIVING HER CHILDHOOD DREAM

Oregon Volleyball has found a crucial piece locally

BY NINA-GRACE MONTES • TWITTER @NINAGRACEMONTES

Assistant Coach Tayyiba Haneef-Park (left) embraces Daley McClellan (right) after McClellan learned she’d earned a full-time scholarship with the Oregon women’s volleyball team. (Courtesy Image/Oregon WVB)

Daley McClellan knew what the letter said.

After the Oregon Duck handed her an envelope, she opened it up, peaked at the bottom and started to blush.

The letter read: “You represent everything that makes Oregon mighty. You are now on scholarship as a student-athlete at the University of Oregon.”

Tears ran down her cheeks as she read it out loud. Her teammates started cheering and ran into a group hug.

“It’s funny, actually. When I started to read the letter, I peeked at the end and saw what the letter was about so I immediately knew,” McClellan said. “I tried to hold in my excitement and composure.”

Coming off one of the deepest postseason runs in program history in the Elite Eight, smiles flooded the preseason practice with the news regarding McClellan.

McClellan made significant contributions to one of the best seasons in program history last year, one that included a 16-game winning streak in addition to its Elite Eight appearance. During the season, she knew the moment in which she’d earn a full-time scholarship wasn’t all that far off in the future. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that has played with her at any point in her career. Not only is she one of the best all-around players, she’s also a great teammate.

But in that moment, when she peeked at the bottom of the letter, it meant all her hard work this past season and to get to Oregon had been truly validated.

“Daley is the best teammate I have ever had coached,” TJ Schlatter, McClellan’s high school coach, said. “She makes the people around her better, and she’s the best high school player I ever coached. I was privileged to have her in my gym for four years.”

Growing up in Florence, Oregon, McClellan started out in Boys and Girls Club volleyball with all of her friends in elementary school. During that time, people had a hard time looking away while she was playing. She always looked like she belonged on a volleyball court, especially at that age. Even though she was definitely one of the best players that has ever worn Siuslaw across their chest, she was supportive and excited to cheer on her teammates.

“The memories of those practices and games will always stay with me,” McClellan said.

Her family moved shortly thereafter to Wilsonville, Oregon, and even though she was heartbroken that she was moving away from her friends and family and the town she grew up in, it ended up benefiting her volleyball career.

As many athletes know, there’s always ups and downs when it comes to team sports. When McClellan got involved with Canby’s volleyball community, she played with her best friend and faced some of the best players.

She started to see the outcome of everything she went through during her volleyball career. She was a two-time all-state and all-league performer in high school in addition to being named the Three Rivers League Player of the Year in 2019 and 2021. McClellan was also named the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year during her final year at Canby High School.

When she arrived at Matthew Knight Arena, she expected to make some positional changes, but there wasn’t anything that she had problems with because she was just excited to be there and knew that’s what she needed to

do in order for the team to succeed. Before college volleyball, McClellan was a dominant hitter and a strong serve-receive passer.

During her first year in Eugene, she learned new roles and grew as an allaround player. Once it came time to decide what would be the most beneficial to the team, she found herself as a defensive specialist.

Even though McClellan has been on many postseason runs in her career, the 2022 season was an unforgettable one, and she contributed a lot to it. During Oregon’s Sweet 16 game against Nebraska, she set a season high in assists and finished in the top five in team leaders for digs this season.

McClellan remembers being little and watching the NCAA tournament on TV with her family, and after being on that big stage herself, it was a full circle moment for her –– and she couldn’t imagine doing it with a different group of girls.

“The way that our team progressed throughout the season was inspiring,” McClellan said. “I’m so thankful to be a part of that. Those girls are my family, and that is a large part of why we worked together so well and why we won so many games.”

Looking forward to next season, McClellan knows there is so much room for growth as a defensive specialist, and just as a volleyball player in general, but that’s what makes her excited.

During every bit of her career, McClellan has made an impact on her team on and off the court, and at one of the highest levels of the sport, and that hasn’t changed. She’s come a long way from watching the NCAA tournament with her family on TV when she was little. She contributed to one of the longest postseason runs in school history, and her genuine passion and love for the sport and the many teammates she has played with is one of the numerous reasons why a player like her is rare and deserving of a scholarship.

“The Oregon Ducks are so lucky to have her in their gym,” Schlatter said. “I know she will step up to any role they ask of her.”

Oregon women’s volleyball player Daley McClellan reads the letter that informed her of her fulltime scholarship status. (Courtesy Image/Oregon WVB)

Daley McClellan (center) is met with a group hug and cheers from the University of Oregon women’s volleyball team as she receives her full scholarship. (Courtesy Image/Oregon WVB)

OPINION

HOFFMAN: FOCUS ON NUTRIENTS – THAT’S IT

Opinion:

BY TRISTIN HOFFMAN

A saying about food coined by Michael Pollan, renowned author and journalist, sticks with me almost every day, every time I eat. It goes, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

It’s a simple phrase, but it has taken hold of my eating habits since I first heard it. That was during my nutritional anthropology class at UO, a brilliant class instructed by Dr. Larry Ulibarri.

When I first signed up for that class, I was hesitant about the idea of learning about food from a critical perspective. I had disordered eating habits in high school and felt almost fully recovered from it by that point. I didn’t have a need to count calories anymore because I was quite frankly tired of math and the silly game of calories anyway. I knew a little bit about nutrition — enough to make me a healthy person — but not enough to make educated decisions about what I would and would not feed my body. This is why I wanted to take nutritional anthropology. I didn’t want to think of food solely as calories and energy, but as the micro and macronutrients that I know them to be now. I wanted to understand what vitamins are important to eat, what chemicals go into our American diet (cheese, meat, etc.) and when the best times to eat certain produce are. I wanted to learn how to treat my body well with the right food not only so I could survive, but so I could get

back to enjoying what I eat.

I first learned that I must focus on nutrients rather than calories. I shouldn’t look at a tomato and think of the certain number of calories it holds; I should think about the vitamins and minerals it contains. Most importantly, I should think about what it could do for me. In fact, a tomato provides vitamin C, potassium and several antioxidants that help brain and heart health, among other things.

I learned how truly unhealthy our meat is in the U.S., and it surprised me. Cows bred in the U.S. are fed corn, which is a food cows are not meant to eat, and they experience symptoms from their lifestyle diet such as gas and stress, which then affects how healthy or unhealthy the

cows are to eat. Not only this, but due to their poor lifestyle, cows are fed antibiotics, which then increases our immunity to antibiotics. Overall, not a great situation for cows — or us, as Americans consume 30 billion pounds of beef per year.

I think the most crucial thing I learned in this class was that in order to be healthy, there is no exact diet to follow. A healthy lifestyle comes from balance. All I need to do is to make sure I balance the different kinds of vegetables, proteins and carbohydrates I

eat with plenty of water to help all functioning parts of my body.

As long as there is variety in the nutrients I consume, I don’t have to rely on a “cheat day” every week. I can balance a nutritious breakfast with eggs, salad and a form of carbohydrate with ice cream.

It’s a freeing idea to not focus on calories anymore. I’ve found myself finally enjoying cooking and the different flavors, textures and combinations that are possible. Food is no longer a negative part of my lifestyle, but a positive, creative and intellectual part of my life. Learning about the nutrients and positive effects they can bring to my body is uplifting and inspires me to continue to eat food — mostly plants — and not too much. Now I eat for the sake of satisfaction, not curing my negative emotions.

Tristin is a sophomore student studying journalism. This is her first year writing for the Emerald and couldn’t be more thrilled. She loves a good debate and plans to carry this into her opinion columns.

I’ve struggled with eating for quite some time now. After taking my nutritional anthropology class, eating has become a way to enjoy life, rather than merely survive.

A variety of produce at El Torito Market lays under rows of hanging piñatas in Eugene, Ore. El Torito Market serves Eugene with traditional Mexican food but also food from Peruvian, Middle Eastern and many other regions (Isaac Wasserman/ Emerald)

Canned goods line grocery store aisles, providing shelf-stable foods for the community. (Maddie Stellingwerf/Emerald)

WHAT DOES HAPPINESS MEAN TO YOU?

UO students creatively sketch out their happiest moments in a notebook.

BY KEYRY HERNANDEZ

With the school breaks gone and a busy spring term close up ahead, it can be challenging to feel inspired and finish off the academic year strong. Stress and sickness are only some things that make it all the more difficult to remain motivated. Taking a step back and reminding yourself of the good in this world can go a long way.

According to research done by the Mayo Clinical Health System, 44% of college students reported symptoms of anxiety and depression. This alarming number is attributed to the high social pressure to succeed within college communities. Loaded schedules often lead to sleep deprivation, malnutrition and a difficult time accessing mental health resources.

If it counts for anything, everyone around you is also pushing through in preparation for the blossoming flowers and sunny weather. Take a look around. People giving up their hoodies for their friends, bringing back colorful outfits, running alongside their dogs, revealing out-of-breath laughter and once again ordering iced lattes are only some bits of beauty that can be spotted throughout campus.

In case you want more reminders, I gave UO students a notebook and a Sharpie and asked them to draw what happiness means to them.

With no rules, students were able to freely express themselves. Overall, there seems to be an overarching theme of gratitude for the smaller things in life. It shows that when people are going through the mud, they tend to take a step back and remind themselves of the simple pleasures. Maybe you can do the same. After all, the small bits of happiness are what make up the bigger picture.

One person drew a portrait of their partner and titled it “Mi Cariño,” which translates into “My Darling.” This duo can be found exchanging joyful smiles on campus while sitting on the same side of a table.

Another person drew their baby brother who their family calls “Fuchi.” Fuchi, along with the rest of their siblings, live in Bend, and they only get to cherish each other’s presence every once in a while.

Someone else drew themselves sharing a meal with their mother at the dinner table. With a parent who works graveyard shifts in a different city, quality time together is scarce. So, they do what they can and eat right before one gets ready for bed and the other for work.

According to The National Library of Medicine, “participating in creative activities can help people cope with stress and despair and alleviate the burden of chronic mental illnesses.” Creating happiness may take more than a simple drawing, but for a moment there, students’ eyes lit up as they sketched the things they love most in this world: lovers, planes, road trips, chicken, books, music, stargazing, flowers, mountains, weed, cats, dogs, rain, sleep and so much more.

Abstract expressionist painter Robert Motherwell once said, “Art is an experience, not an object.” Art isn’t the answer to everyone’s problems, but it might provide a moment of emotional release.

Although many students shyly chuckled or were even taken aback when asked if they wanted to participate, none of them rejected the opportunity to draw when given the chance. Whether they consider themselves artists or not, students did not refrain from freely expressing themselves while reliving special moments, which Motherwell would definitely approve of.

Student Leila used a sketch to show how their happiness comes from within and radiates out into the world around them. (Keyry Hernandez/Emerald)

Student Lucero Perez responded to the question of what makes them happy by sketching a walk in nature, surrounded by music. (Keyry Hernandez/ Emerald)

Magic. There’s no other way to describe it at this point.

Oregon baseball got off to a tremendously terrible start Saturday night. The Ducks played sloppy defense, and Logan Mercado had a brutal start on the mound. They faced an early deficit that would have caused most fans to call it a night.

But oh, the night was so far from over.

Down 10-0, the Ducks’ lethal offense just kept chipping away, storming back to take the lead in the ninth inning and beat Arizona 13-11 at Hi Corbett Field. It extended Oregon’s winning streak to eight, scoring an absurd 101 runs in that span. They surpassed 20 hits for the second consecutive game, with all of the Ducks’ starters recording at least one hit.

It started with an ugly first inning, where Oregon got knocked around for four runs. On a fly ball to deep center by Arizona’s Nik McClaughry, Colby Shade misplayed it, allowing the ball to get down and roll around. Two runners scored on the play, including McClaughry himself — it was ruled a triple and an error on Shade.

Oregon’s sloppy defense continued. The Wildcats got a free base on a misplay by Tanner Smith, and Sabin Ceballos bobbled a soft nubber in the infield. Mercado surrendered a walk and a tworun single, and Arizona took a 4-0 lead.

The second inning was even uglier, as the Ducks gave up five more runs. On a bloop hit, Smith fielded the ball and then threw it away, allowing one to come in. With still no outs in the inning, Kiko Romero poked one through the right side to drive in a pair, and a two-out double from Tyler

OREGON ERASES 10-0 DEFICIT, COMPLETES ASTONISHING 13-11 COMEBACK WIN OVER ARIZONA

The Ducks extended their winning streak to eight games with one of the wildest games in recent memory.

BY MOJO HILL • TWITTER @MOJOHILL

Casagrande drove in another.

Mercado nearly ended things there, but shortstop Drew Cowley flubbed a routine ground ball, knocking in Arizona’s ninth run of the game. That brought an end to Mercado’s evening.

Matthew Grabmann came in and immediately surrendered a run-scoring single, extending Arizona’s lead to 10-0. He issued a four-pitch walk to load the bases, but was able to escape without any more damage. It brought a merciful end to a disastrous inning.

The Wildcats made an error of their own in the third inning, helping the Ducks scratch out their first run. They chipped away some more in the fourth, aided by Arizona’s second error. Rikuu Nishida and Shade came through with two-out RBI singles to cut the deficit to 10-3.

Grabmann kept things under control, at least as much as he could with 10 runs already on the board. He set down the side in order in the third inning with a couple strikeouts, then struck out two more in a scoreless fourth.

Grabmann got into a little more of a pickle in the fifth, as Arizona loaded the bases on a walk and a pair of singles. But he induced a clutch double play, as catcher Bennett Thompson fielded a soft roller, stepped on home and fired to first to end the inning.

The Ducks tacked on two more in the sixth as they continued their daunting comeback effort. After singles from Dominic Hellman and Gavin Grant, Nishida hit an RBI double. Shade hit a fly ball that was only barely deep enough to score the run, but it got the job done, making it 10-5.

The Wildcats scored a run against Grayson Grinsell in the bottom of the sixth, even with Oregon getting an out on a pickoff and a rundown. They hit a triple and a double back-to-back with two outs.

Down 11-5, the Ducks’ offense made things interesting in the seventh. They scored five runs on five hits to storm within a run. Owen Diodati pinch hit and recorded a clutch RBI double to get things started, and singles from Hellman and Nishida drove in runs. It was Nishida’s fourth hit of the night.

Shade’s second sacrifice fly of the game was the first out of the inning, cutting the deficit to 11-10. With Nishida representing the tying run on third, Ceballos lined out as he just missed knotting the game up. Still, in a contest that the Ducks once trailed 10-0, the fact that they made it a one-run game was miraculous in itself.

But it wasn’t miraculous enough for them. Not yet, at least. In the ninth, Nishida hit a one-out double for his fifth hit, and Shade followed with another double, tying it at 11 apiece. Cowley kept the line moving with a hit, and Ceballos lined a triumphant single into left field, driving in two runs to put Oregon on top 13-11 — its first lead of the game.

Josh Mollerus, Oregon’s lockdown closer, manned the bottom of the ninth. He was a strike away from finishing the game on two occasions before he finally dropped the hammer, working around a walk and a hit batter to complete the victory.

Jacob Walsh (25) celebrates a home run. The Oregon Baseball team takes on Xavier for their season opening series on March 10th, 2023, at PK Park. (Jonathan Suni/Emerald)

THE FUTURE HOPES OF DUCK QUARTERBACKS REST ON AUSTIN NOVOSAD, FOR NOW

Head Coach Dan Lanning is impressed, but sees room for improvement.

BY JACK AARON • TWITTER @JACKAARON

After the decommitment of Dante Moore on Dec. 19, 2022 a five-star recruit and No. 3 quarterback in the class of 2023, Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning and his staff found themselves in a predicament.

With a future star such as Moore decommitting, nobody was sure what the future of the quarterback position would look like. Nix ended up deciding to prolong his stay in Eugene as the starter, but only for a year. The Ducks’ program desperately needed to add a quarterback to ensure the flow of talent.

Just as the Moore domino fell, so did another. Lanning and his staff turned their attention towards four-star Austin Novosad who at the time was firmly committed to the University of Baylor. The Ducks convinced Novosad to flip his commitment just two days after news of Moore’s decommitment.

While Novosad wasn’t as highly ranked as Moore, he still comes to Eugene with plenty of arm talent and upside. Gabe Brooks, a national scouting analyst for 247Sports, had this to say about Novosad coming out of Dripping Springs High School.

“[Novosad has] good height and length with big hands and a lean, athletic frame. He should be able to add considerable mass,” Brooks wrote. “The physical upside is a plus. He excels at delivering from the pocket over the middle in the shortto-intermediate passing game. [Novosad has] shown impressive ball placement consistency at multiple levels. He’s particularly dangerous hitting moving targets on slants and other inward-breaking routes. Keeps the ball fairly high with a relatively overheard release

and generates encouraging throw power on the run.”

Looking at the stats, it’s easy to see how Brooks justified his evaluation. Through three years as Dripping Springs’ starting quarterback , Novosad threw for 9,197 yards, 115 touchdowns and only 20 interceptions. Over that span, Novosad led his squad to a 31-7 record while earning Texas District 12-5A-I Overall MVP in 2021.

Novosad enrolled early and is currently going through his first weeks at the team’s spring practice.

“Austin is a great player, obviously someone we’re really excited about. I think this is one where you can look at the relationship of Will Stein, our new offensive coordinator,” Lanning said. “That relationship with Austin goes a long way back to when Austin was in eighth grade. They’re very familiar with each other. He knew what Oregon could do for him and was excited about the weapons he could throw to. After getting to spend some time with him he’s a perfect fit for what we’re trying to do going forward.”

When Novosad visited Eugene the weekend before the early national signing period, Stein was the one who sold him on his future as a Duck. Without Stein’s recruiting presence, it’s unsure if Novosad would’ve ended up at Oregon.

After the 2024 season, Novosad will have the opportunity to stake his claim as starting quarterback and leader of Ducks football, but he’ll have to go through Ty Thompson and other future recruits to secure that spot atop the depth chart.

Freshman quarterback Austin Novosad drops back to make a pass in Oregon football’s spring practice. (Photo credit: Craig Strobeck)