Best of Campus 2013

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î Best hangover spot: Brail’s Restaurant î Best place to meet a hottie: The Rec Center î Best ice cream: Prince Puckler’s

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Best coffee Cafe Roma is your choice for the best coffee brew in Eugene. Located just off campus, it’s convenient and has a great atmosphere.

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Best off-campus bar: Jameson’s Bar and Lounge is your best bet away from the crowded campus bars.

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the best Professor Deb Morrison Female athlete Liz Brenner Male athlete De’Anthony Thomas Secret study spot Law library Major Journalism Duck fan Tanner Faris Nap spot My bed Place to meet a hottie Gym Student group Pit Crew Student band On the Rocks Fraternity Delta tau Delta Sorority Alpha Chi Omega

BEST FEMALE ATHLETE: LIZ BRENNER

Best ASUO group: Pit Crew You may recognize Pit Crew members for their outfits, making them look as sharp as the team for which they cheer. You may also recognize them for their energy as they sway their arms back and forth and repeatedly chant, “Go Ducks!” before tip-off.

Competing in four sports hasn’t slowed her down.

Balancing school and all her training keeps her on her toes, but that active lifestyle is what she grew up with in a very competitive family. by beth maiman

For many college students, the daily dose of stress can be a struggle. Between demands of class and school along with finding free time for other activities, the average student can easily be overwhelmed.

Now do all that while being an athlete for a Division-I sport. Now add three more sports to your plate so you have no offseason, and you’re Liz Brenner.

Brenner’s daily routine consists of waking up for practice and weightlifting, then heading straight to class, going home to finish schoolwork and going to bed early enough to tackle it all again the next day.

“There are those days where I literally just think I am crazy for doing this,” she says. “But most of the time, I absolutely love it and can’t get enough.”

Brenner, a sophomore from Portland, participates in volleyball, basketball and track for the Ducks. Last year, as a freshman, she also played softball.

This season, she was a key player for the women’s volleyball team, which made it to the NCAA Championship title game in Kentucky.

Originally, she was recruited for volleyball but knew she also wanted to compete in softball or track.

Yet, when the women’s basketball team suffered injuries

photograph by alex mcdougall, @adougall

at the post position, Brenner, who played basketball in high school, got a call from Oregon head coach Paul Westhead.

“I just finished off my freshman volleyball season, and I got to go home for Christmas break,” she says. “I was there for about a week, and I got a call from the basketball coach. He asked if I would want to play, so I was there for 9 a.m. practice the next morning.”

Her freshman year, she played in 21 games and averaged 5.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

This spring, when volleyball practices begin again, her schedule will include back-toback practices for volleyball and track starting at 8 a.m. — then class in the afternoon.

However, having a hectic schedule is nothing new for her.

“I just grew up having to deal with playing sports with school,” she said. “I have very good time management skills, and I know how to be organized.”

Brenner comes from a family of talented athletes. Both her parents were swimmers in college and her older sister, Mary Claire, played softball at Oregon State. Her younger brother, Doug, is an incoming football recruit for the Ducks.

“My parents got me into sports at a young age and encouraged me to play in any of the sports I wanted to,” she says.

“They were more than willing to

drive me to any practice or take me to any tournament.”

She also credits her family dynamic for instilling a competitive drive in her.

“My family is extremely competitive, just playing card games we get into it, and people get upset,” she says. “Pretty much everything we turn into a competition in my family, but it’s fun.”

With everything going on, she leans on her family for support in times of stress.

“It’s nice that my family is so close,” she says. “So, if I am having a bad day, I am close enough to my family where I can see them if I am stressed out about anything.”

Brenner is studying sports business, and her dream job would be to work for Nike.

After college, she hopes to play professional volleyball overseas.

She says it can be an adjustment jumping into a new sport, especially in the first two weeks. However, she believes playing multiple sports helps her avoid injuries because she never puts too much strain on certain muscles.

As for now, she will stick with her chaotic lifestyle of being a three-sport student athlete and admits she would not have her life any other way.

“I love working out and playing sports,” she says. “(My schedule) is fine by me.”

You may also recognize them for their taunts, which include: turning their backs to the opponents before the game and shouting “Sucks!” as their names are announced; chanting “O” while the other team is on offense; shouting “Up a creek, deep in the woods!” when the visiting team misses a free throw; and even unnerving the away team by showing them a list of personal facts about their lives — “dirt” they found from various sources.

But the Pit Crew’s excellence doesn’t end there.

Before the game, members partake in tunneling, in which they high-five the emerging Oregon basketball team and cheer them on as they run onto the court. And if that wasn’t enough already, the Crew has been known to have ritualistic practices of encircling a member of their own and pumping everyone up by beating the ground with a green stick.

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Electric. Lightning in a bottle. Maybe more often than anything else — fast.

Sophomore De’Anthony Thomas has been called these and more in his short athletic career as a Duck. In fewer than two full years, the Crenshaw High School product has earned Heisman Trophy buzz, two BCS wins and a Sports Illustrated cover. And that’s just what he does on the football field.

He also runs track for the Ducks, anchoring the program’s second-place finish in the 4×100 relay during last year’s Pac-12 Championships. In high school, he won three Los Angeles sprint titles, and Oregon head track coach Robert Johnson said he expects him to run the 60-meter dash indoors this season.

But Thomas has always had a knack for standing out.

Rapper Snoop Lion spotted the speedster in youth football and dubbed him “Black Mamba.” Thomas’ recruitment itself drew national attention when he pulled the rug out from under USC to become a Duck.

During former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly’s last two years, he authored some of the most memorable moments of Oregon — typically by employing

THomas has always had a knack for standing out

his explosive speed and agility on the game’s biggest stages.

Like, say, a Rose Bowl. Or a Fiesta Bowl.

He makes sure he stands out on social media, too, writing all of his @1STCLASSMOMBA tweets IN ALL CAPS. For some, the affectation is maddening, but for others it is refreshing. To all, it is simply De’Anthony. Unlike other big-time college athletes, he isn’t afraid to goof off. His Instagram — 1STCLASSDAT — is a priceless follow full of waffles, his pet dogs, his underwear drawer and whatever else crosses his mind.

Above all else, he puts the college back in collegiate athlete and serves as a reminder that being a stand-out athlete and having fun are not mutually exclusive.

photograph by alex mcdougall, @adougall

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The best barber: Red Rooster Red Rooster is a barber shop — or, as the shop’s manager and barber Jim Lavender said, “It’s where a guy can be a guy.”

On the store’s front glass window is a poster of Steve Prefontaine — the University of Oregon track star with the flowing blonde mane — that has the caption, “Yeah, I got my hair cut here.”

Inside the shop, UO sports posters cover the ceiling, and pictures of UO teams line the wall. And right by the mirrors is a red rooster wall hook.

According to Lavender, when the shop was opened in 1962, it

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Red Rooster manager and barber Jim Lavender has worked at the barber shop for 18 years .

was called something along the lines of “Campus Barber Shop.”

Yet, to him, this name made the shop seem indistinguishable from all the other campus-area barber shops. So when he took over, he wanted a name that would stand out.

When he looked at the very same red rooster wall hook that hangs by the mirrors today, he took that idea and ran with it.

He has been working at Red Rooster for 18 years. When I walked into the store, he was cutting the hair of a man who has been getting his hair cut at this location for 31 years. The man commented that Lavender had been cutting his hair for the past 18.

The barber shop is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. every day.

D av i d C r o s s

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Best of campus

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LATE NIGHT EATS. hango

the best Cheap eats Caspian Mediterranean Restaurant Sandwich Cheba Hut Hangover spot Brail’s Breakfast Glenwood Restaurant Burger Dickie Jos Burgers Pizza Track Town Pizza Coffee shop Espresso Roma Thai Sweet Basil Sushi Mio Sushi Vegetarian Café Yumm!

Burrito Burrito Boy Ice cream/froyo Prince Puckler’s Dessert Sweet Life Patisserie 2 a.m. food The Dough Co.

best food cart: Uly’s

Food cart Uly’s Taco Shack Place to take parents’ credit card Oregon Electric Station Comfort food Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen Date spot Kitchen Chicken Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen Bar food Rennie’s Landing

At night, past Lillis and just short of the Duck Store on the corner of 13th and Kincaid, there is a cute little cart named Uly’s. And when you’re drunk or high — and this is likely considering it’s only open Thursday through Saturday from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. — Uly’s is a magical box where the man inside dispenses tacos in exchange for just a couple bucks.

Matt, if you’re on a first name basis with him (as many are), will politely decline with a smile when you ask if there’s a special deal tonight where you can use your debit card instead of cash, even after you waited 10 minutes in the always-present line.

With individual tacos at $2.50 each, you can choose from chicken, adobada (marinated pork) or carne asada topped with sour cream, cheese, onions and cilantro. These dainty things are a perfect snack after a night out; the Trifecta, one of each kind of taco, is a steal at $6.50 and ideal for the hungry druncher or to split among friends.

If you’re still thirsty after you night of drinking, you can get a Jarritos soda for a bargain too. Most vital in the taco equation, however, is the bottle of green sauce at the counter. While the sauce is to die for, don’t try and steal it — you’re drunk, Matt is not, and eager diners nearly witnessed him throw down with some punks when it went missing.

If you haven’t tried Uly’s yet, stop by not just for the tacos but for some potential new friends and a walk home that will be a little less lonely.

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Best of campus

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over breakfast.

Joy Knudtson: The Brail’s Restaurant owner loves her employees and customers like family. She is always thrilled to see former students and parents come in to enjoy her food.

The best hangover breakfast: Brail’s restaurant Caitlin Feldman

Everybody calls her “eomma,” and she responds with

î The translation from Korean to English: “mom” and “I love you.” î Since 2001, Joy Knudtson “saranghae.”

has owned Brail’s Restaurant, the popular Eugene breakfast spot. From the beginning, she has seen her employees and customers as family. It’s this attitude (and her eccentric personality) that has made her restaurant so successful for over a decade.

î Sure, people come

back for the food, which can cure a hangover faster than not drinking in the first place, but their biggest return incentive is Knudtson. In all reality, she might just be the most popular woman in Eugene.

Once, a group of customers came in but one man didn’t order anything.

She figured out he didn’t have enough money to buy a meal, but she fed him because getting rich from her business has never been a concern.

“As long as I survive and I do business okay, then I’m fine, I’m happy,” Knudtson said.

The way she reaches out and treats customers and employees like sons and daughters ensures that they keep coming back.

“They come from Portland, San Francisco, L.A. — they used to go to school here. They come here and first thing, they come here to see me!” she said, her red-lipsticked lips breaking into a smile. “And when they have Parent’s Week and stuff like that, they all bring parents right here. And the first thing I say to parents is, ‘I see your son more than you do!”

While she spends a lot of her day building relationships with customers, she knows her food still needs to be delicious.

“When you cook, you got to put love into it,” she said. “I try my best to give people good food.”

Knudtson puts love into everything she does, that’s for sure. It’s why she has two kitchens, so wait time is minimal on busy days (She doesn’t like people waiting out in the cold). It’s why most of her employees have worked at Brail’s for over five years. It’s why she feels proud when her “students” come back after graduation with fancy clothes and fancy jobs.

She buzzes around Brail’s, shouting at customers she knows and freshly greeting ones she doesn’t. Knudtson takes care of people. She always has.

The best place to eat at 2 am: Dough Co.

Best Burrito: Burrito Boy

It’s 12:30 on a Saturday night, and four boys walk into Dough Co. Their clothes suggest a barn dance and their swagger suggests underage drinking.

“Hey, man, you need to button up your shirt in here,” says Trevor Norton, a Dough Co. employee of a year and a half.

“I don’t … button … calzone … order,” the perpetrator slurs, moseying to the exit while buttoning his flannel shirt. His hangover is going to be sad because he didn’t stay long enough to order his desired calzone.

So far, he’s one of the few customers appearing to have had one too many drinks in his system. It’s still early by Dough Co. standards, however, which stays open until 3 a.m.

Around 1 a.m., Norton loads up his Jetta with bags upon bags of calzones and cookies and starts delivering to the hungry youth of Eugene. Some are regulars, some aren’t, but they all seem to have one thing in common: They’re not going out tonight.

The biggest order of the trip — and the biggest delivery order of Norton’s Dough Co. career — is for the dorms. Bean East, to be exact.

I’m reminded of my own time living in Bean, ordering Dough Co. with nowhere to go on the weekend. Life was simpler then, but some things never change, like incoherent barn dance boys and the smell of calzones on a Saturday night.

With an endearing donkey mascot and the formerly punny “the # Juan Burrito!” slogan (now just read as “hashtag Juan”), Burrito Boy is a Eugene rite of passage and always hits the spot. There are six locations sprinkled throughout the Eugene area so it can cater to your cravings even when you’re off campus; however, the most frequented location for students is Broadway. In addition to burritos, they also offer quesadillas, nachos, hard and soft tacos and a kid’s menu for the appetiteless cheapies out there. If a night of going out hasn’t quenched your thirst enough, get a horchata (a cinnamon and vanilla rice milk drink). While it is not, by any means exceptional, you won’t find it many other places around here so you may as well take advantage of it. If you’re a little less daring but still want to be semi-authentic, opt for a Jarritos soda. And remember, always get the green sauce.

Caitlin Feldman

K i m b e r ly U o n g

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E D I T I O N

Cheba Hut is known for its unique options and “coincidental” marijuana references.

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Best of campus

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Best sandwich: Cheba Hut e get it, Cheba Hut. Your restaurant makes more than enough references to marijuana and then deems it all “purely coincidental” — good one. With psychedelic wall murals and a stereotypical crowd, Cheba Hut is always interesting for the first-timer or good for a sandwich, whether you’re sober or stoned.

While it is a little out of the way on 11th and High (another convenient coincidence), the trek is worth it. One may wonder, why not Subway or Jimmy John’s?

Eugene-native Josh Grassauer says, “It has a much more local vibe to it, and the quality of the sammy is a cut above.”

With a large variety of delectable preset choices, one is also more than welcome to “cross-breed,” or rather, make your own sandwich. Cheba offers cold cuts, grilled chicken and vegetarian options for all types of palates in three different sizes: “nug,” “pinner” and “blunt” (4, 8 and 12 inches respectively); however, nug doesn’t really hit the spot unless you have the appetite of an 8-year-old girl. One of the more questionable items on the menu is the Schwag, which consists of bologna, chopped onion and cheese, to which even the Hut proclaims, “Friends

don’t let friends eat Schwag.” If even a blunt doesn’t cure your craving, there’s the supplemental munchies, which includes hemp brownies, Fruity Pebbles Rice Krispies and other snacks.

Providing quality food and a tongue-in-cheek environment, Cheba’s frequenters are stereotypical stoners armed with a longboard or dreadlocks. “I’ll eat here whenever, but sometimes I feel irked being the only sober one in the building,” comments Grassauer.

However, sophomore Sophia June disagrees, declaring, “I would never go there before 1 a.m.” While she finds the environment to be “kind of annoying, but mainly just ridiculous,” she lauds “the great commitment to their theme, as both their sandwiches and employees are baked.” Taking their job to remain authentically high almost too seriously, it once took June’s two sandwiches two hours to be delivered to her house; however, in-store service proves to be fine.

Whether it’s for munchies or simply just a meal, Cheba Hut is somewhere everyone needs to check off of their college bucket list.

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The best chicken: Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen

the best

Dear Papa’s Soul Food, Dance club Cowfish Dance Club Party district West University Brewery Ninkasi Brewing Co. Concert venue McDonald Theatre Under-21 entertainment Saturday Market Campus bar Taylor’s Bar & Grill

Cowfish Lounge and Danceclub is a posh downtown club which offers everything from game nights to gay men’s group nights.

Off-campus bar Jameson’s Bar Cocktails Agate Alley Bistro Sports bar Taylor’s Bar & Grill Drink special Taylor’s $1 beers Karaoke Taylor’s Bar & Grill

photograph by michael arellano

b y K i m b e r ly U o n g

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t downtown Eugene’s posh Cowfish Lounge & Danceclub, patrons begin trickling in around 5 p.m. every day of the week. Though weekdays are pretty low-key with activities such as game night on Mondays or the gay men’s group on Wednesdays, the space serves as a hangout spot until around 9 or 10 p.m. when the music starts.

Not many students are aware of the club’s existence, which might be due to a reluctance for the brief trip downtown, but Cowfish is the closest thing Eugene has to an urban nightclub and has a different vibe than anything else in the area.

An alternative from the usual house party or bar hopping that most of us Ducks do each weekend, the glam environment may not be for everyone, but is refreshing for those who are tired of the more casual scene.

Before senior Lucas Stewart worked there, he thought the club was “kind of grimy, just because it was always the last stop.” Yet, now that he’s on the other side of it, he calls it “by far the classiest club in Eugene.

There’s great alcohol, great decor and it’s pristine before it gets really crazy.”

On Friday and Saturday, you

The best dance club: Cowfish Lounge can count on electronic music pumping from a talented DJ to a packed house. With plenty of new faces and some regulars, Stewart describes the crowd as “the cream of the crop.”

Club-goers are always dressed up, a rarity in laid-back Eugene. With a surprisingly large mid-tolate 20s market, it has been deemed the unofficial gay

Congratulations on being named the best chicken place in Eugene. But I have to ask: why aren’t you open on Sunday? That’s the only day I have a soul. School sucks the soul right out of me from Monday through Friday. Saturday I’m still a little hungover — from academic rigor — so I don’t have much of a soul, but Sunday is perfect.

Now, I know it’s the Sabbath and all, and no one is supposed to work on the Sabbath — you must take that to heart, but so do college students. And that’s just the thing. Imagine the increase in business you’d get if you open your doors to us on Sunday. Of course, I’m not a business major — I’m a philosophy major, but you can trust me on this one. Open up your doors, and it will be worth your while.

Sincerely, Too chicken to put down his name

club and was voted the “Best Same-Sex Pickup Spot” by Eugene Weekly. However, this shouldn’t discourage anyone as the weekly also has it listed as “Best Singles Scene.”

If you’re looking for an escape from red cups or a packed campus bar, grab some friends and hop in a cab over to Cowfish for a night out on the town.

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Best place to meet a hottie: The Student Rec Center

the best Women’s clothes American Apparel Bike shop Blue Heron Bicycles Thirft store Buffalo Exchange

Castle Megastore manager Jenny Rodriguez emphasizes that shopping in a store like this one doesn’t have to be taboo; customers are from all walks of life.

Piercing/tattoo High Priestess Shoe store Shoe-a-holic Outdoor store McKenzie Outfitters Grocery store Market of Choice Shopping district Valley River Center Smoke shop Midtown Direct Salon Gervais Salon & Day City park Hendricks Park Place to ski/snowboard Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort Transportation Safe Ride Hike Spencer Butte Barber Red Rooster Barber Shop Sex store Castle Mega Store

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Best of campus

best sex store: castle megastore Castle megastore has everything you might need — if

what you need is sex toys, porn, bondage, whips, lingerie and a wide selection of erotic books.

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oth knights and damsels are welcome at Castle Megastore near Gateway Mall, according to the sign on the outside of the generic white building. The sex shop is relatively unintimidating for some because of its well-fluorescent-lit sales floor; however, for others, it may be because of the higher facial exposure.

Peg lined walls hold various products, and its normality is almost shocking.

However, take a closer look, and you’ll spy a plethora of vibrators, a decent variety of porn and an S&M section complete with bondage, whips, swings and even canes. There’s also a large selection of apparel and accessories, including wigs, heels and lingerie. Count on the book selection to have titles such as “Wine, Dine and 69 Ways to Get Some” and the “Fifty Shades” trilogy. Not without a sense of humor, penis- and boob-shaped suckers, penis-shaped pacifiers and other fun bachelorette party-style items are also available.

While there are other adult shops in the area, Castle Megastore prides itself on staying contemporary, constantly cycling out the less popular products and updating with new stock as soon as the vendor makes them available.

Manager Jenny Rodriguez emphasizes

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customer service is their main priority.

“We try to thoroughly inform the customer,” she says, “and probably end up telling too much. Sometimes we can get a little nerdy about things.”

Be comforted by the fact that customers include all demographics, even by a time schedule. There are the 11 o’clockers — gentlemen who pick up magazines before work; from noon to 1 p.m., there are soccer moms and curious shoppers on their lunch breaks; around 5 p.m., there is a blend of visitors who just finished class, were eating next door at Five Guys or are waiting to go to the movies.

As one can imagine, many shoppers feel the shop is a bit taboo and walk around as if they’re in a museum.

“People will come in the door, and they don’t want to talk to you,” Rodriguez said. “We just want them to know I’m not a creeper, I know my product and I’m not going to judge you.”

Still not sold? Their latest product is the Stronic, a $200 submergible vibrator coming with a two-year warranty. If that doesn’t make you curious to stop by, I don’t know what will.

My sprint had just slowed to a jog when he passed me.

“Hey, nice job,” he said, offering his hand for a high five.

I threw up my hand in response, pressing my fingers to his and gave him the most awkward of smiles.

“Oh, um, thanks,” I said. But he’d already resumed his run.

What does this mean? I anxiously wondered. Does he think I’m cute? No, he can’t think I’m cute — I’m dripping in sweat.

Was he impressed by my running? Maybe, but I’m at the Rec Center — everyone is running.

I’d planned on being done with my workout after that lap, but now I had an audience. Or so I thought.

For the remainder of my workout, hot high-five guy didn’t acknowledge me. I casually looked out the corner of my eye at him as I ran by, wondering if he was watching me. He wasn’t.

What happened, hot guy? Why wouldn’t you make eye contact with me? I thought we had a connection — we could have been something. We could have been one of those couples who works out together and makes everyone else at the Rec hate themselves.

But alas, you’re just like the rest of them, ignoring me once I show interest.

We could have been something, hot guy. We really could have been Caitlin Feldman

K i m b e r ly U o n g

cr e at i v e c o m m o n s p h o t o b y u s e r : z o o r o m a n c e r

YOUR

TIME IS NOW

BE CLOSE. CLOSE TO CAMPUS. CLOSE TO NATURE. CLOSE TO EVERYTHING.

PREMIER STUDENT APARTMENTS COMING FALL 2013 2 BLOCKS FROM CAMPUS

• Located in the Arena District at 15th Ave. & Walnut St. • Individual leases per person • Designer floorplans with upgraded finishes • Eco-friendly furniture, cable and Internet included • Exceptional amenities and lush outdoor courtyard • Green features and energy-efficient appliances

Visit us online or in-store to view our full selection of Swiss timepieces.

Oakway Center Skeies.com 541.345.0354

universityhouse.com LEASING OFFICE NOW OPEN AT 2001 FRANKLIN BLVD. 541.344.1660 T h u r s d ay, F e br u a r y 2 8 , 2 0 1 3

Best of campus

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mr 1/24/13

7 7 7

O F

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E D I T I O N

THE KIVA

2 New parkiNg lots

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CAMPUS 3rd Place best hangover spot

– phoenix inn – across the street

GROCERS, WINE MERCHANTS & BOOKSELLERS

• Specialty, Gourmet & Organic Foods • Fresh Organic Produce • Homeopathic & Herbal Remedies • Bulk Foods, Herbs, Spices, Coffees & Teas.

• Wine, Champagne & Beer

gluteN free paNcakes!

• Deli With Over 200 Cheeses • Sandwiches Made to Order Daily 7 7 7

O F

2 0 1 3

E D I T I O N

7 7 7

CAMPUS

3rd place best grocery store

• Storewide Specials and Everyday Low Prices

OPEN DAILY 9am - 8pm 125 West 11th Ave. DOWNTOWN EUGENE kivagrocery.com 541-342-8666

541-343-7523 • 782 East Broadway, Eugene Corner of Alder & Franklin Blvd.

34002

Walking distance from campus!

CONFLICT happeNs. haven’t decided on graduate school yet?

Consider Conflict Resolution at the University of Oregon.

You can make a difference!

33687

For information, visit conflict.uoregon.edu or contact Tim Hicks, Program Director, at timhicks@uoregon.edu

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Best of campus

T h u r s d ay, F e br u a r y 2 8 , 2 0 1 3

EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity

33999

Open since 1965

• Hormone & Antibiotic Free Meats