UOSW continues ongoing bargaining with UO for inclusive labor contract
By Sasha Love Campus News Reporter
For roughly five months, University of Oregon’s Student Workers Union has been bargaining with the UO in an attempt to win a labor contract. Now, 67 open proposals remain on the table and only one tentative agreement has been reached since bargaining began.
According to Ashton Pressman, a UOSW lead negotiator, the student workers feel that UO is not taking claims of discrimination seriously and is not listening to students and their needs.
One of UOSW’s major disagreements with the university concerns harassment and discrimination. According to Pressman, dozens of student workers testified at the last few sessions about discrimination in the workplace.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY
Have You Acknowledged This Land?
On Oct. 14 at the Special Hours event, Steph Littlebird will be debuting her new exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, highlighting Indigenous culture in Oregon. This free event is open for anyone interested in learning about the Kalapuyan people, whose land we walk upon every day.
By Ryan Krell Arts & Culture Writer
Oct. 14 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and the University of Oregon is celebrating at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art Special Hours event and campus art walk. The museum, normally closed on Mondays, will be open and free to the public on Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to showcase a new Indigenous art exhibit by Steph Littlebird. The exhibit is part of the museum’s multi-year series “Art Acknowledgement of the Land,” and it will give students the opportunity to learn more about the culture that they may not realize surrounds them.
This free event will begin at 1 p.m. with the campus art walk, featuring Littlebird and Danielle Knapp, the JSMA’s McCosh Curator and Pacific Northwest art specialist. The tour will kick off in front of the Knight Library, during
New affordable housing apartments under construction on East Broadway
The Red Lion Hotel, purchased by Lane County using state funds, is being replaced with affordable housing apartments slated to open in summer
By Jess Coronado City News Reporter
A new construction project is underway on East Broadway. Lane County’s housing agency, Homes for Good, is developing a 57-unit apartment complex, called Bridges on Broadway, for people experiencing chronic homelessness.
Chronic homelessness is defined as “an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition” who has been homeless for more than one year, according to the Community Supported Shelters’ website.
OPINION
KAMALA IS BRAT
“Brat summer” has officially affected us, and it’s a very important (political) matter. Whether you’re a Charli XCX stan or voting blue this November, here’s why it carries importance.
By Brianna Carrasquillo Opinion Columnist
A diverse electorate of nearly 41 million “young voters,” according to Tufts University, will shape the 2024 presidential election this year. This is electrifying news for the Democratic Party, which has recently stirred the pot with President Biden’s drop from the race and
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The Daily Emerald is published by Emerald Media Group, Inc., the independent nonprofit media company at the University of Oregon. Formerly the Oregon Daily Emerald, the news organization was founded in 1900.
First of the “Eugene 19” defendants sentenced for “A-15 blockade” involvement
Samuel Joseph Yergler has been officially sentenced for his involvement in the I-5 blockade on April 15. More trials are expected to be held for the remaining defendant.
By Tarek Anthony & Joseph Chiu Daily Emerald Editors
The first of the “Eugene 19” protestors was sentenced on Oct. 10. Samuel Joseph Yergler was convicted of “Disorderly Conduct in the
The School of Music and Dance’s
half million dollar question
A professor within the school has been profiting off of thousands of students for several years with his selfpublished, $89.99 required book. One former student refers to the book as a “glorified Garageband tutorial.”
By Ruby Duncan Investigations Reporter
A professor within the University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance has earned roughly $570,000 in revenue from students in the past four years with his self-published
Budget Bites: 5 Delicious Meals in Eugene for Less Than $10
Emerald Media Group 1395 University St.,#302 Eugene, Or 97403 (541)-346-5511
Your go-to guide to Eugene’s best cheap eats. Explore five Eugene restaurants that serve filling and delicious meals while staying on a budget.
By Fern Peva Arts & Culture Writer
As a foodie, it may seem the only options for dining are sacrificing flavor for budget or breaking the bank. But in Eugene, it’s surprisingly easy to find delicious, filling
Welcome to Overhead Oregon! In our new segment, the Daily Emerald will feature anonymously submitted quotes to be the subject of a cartoon!
These could be anything from the silly to the strange, as long as it is heard in passing and taken completely out of context. Heard your classmate talking about penguin philosophy? Submit it! Hear any juicy gossip? Submit it!
This comic series aims to shed a whole new light on the University of Oregon’s day-to-day. Send in your best quotes to nschwartz@dailyemerald.com for a chance to have your quote chosen for Overheard Oregon. Remember, everything is completely anonymous and only the best quotes will be selected.
Overheard Oregon is produced and illustrated by Noa Schwartz, a third year illustrator and editor on the Visuals section. In her free time she loves to ride her bike, listen to music and crochet.
Low out-of-state enrollment will lead to an increase in tuition for upcoming years
Lower than predicted out-of-state enrollment rates are going to cause an increase in tuition for the class of 2029
By Corey Hoffman Campus News Reporter
The University of Oregon’s admissions office overestimated the number of enrolled out-of-state students for the 2024-2025 school year by 448 students, resulting in subsequent tuition increases for next year’s incoming class.
With a tuition-driven budget, the university is expected to raise tuition by 3% for the class of 2029 for both in-state and out-of-state students after not reaching its initial enrollment goal. With the Oregon Guarantee, which locks tuition for students for five years, only next year’s cohort is expected to receive an increase.
According to the Board of Trustees meeting minutes from Sept. 16 and 17, 2,984 out-of-state students were projected to enroll in 2024. The actual enrollment was 2,536 students.
Although the out-of-state numbers are significantly lower than the projected numbers, there is still an increase in out-of-state enrollment from last year. In 2023, the number of enrolled non-resident students was 2,491.
Anna Schmidt-MacKenzie is the university’s associate vice president and chief of staff for the Division of Student Services and Enrollment Management.
“With the Oregon Guarantee, the only increases that happen are for the next cohort, and [students] have a guarantee for five years. So for this year’s students, there will be no increase in tuition or fees. The first possible increase would be for the next cycle,” Schmidt-MacKenzie said.
According to Schmidt-MacKenzie, changes in tuition are proposed by the Tuition and Fees Advisory Board, which is made up of faculty, staff and students. TFAB meets routinely throughout the year and presents the increases to the Board of Trustees in March 2025 for approval.
Tuition for the class of 2029 is expected to rise by 3%, an increase, Schmidt-MacKenzie said.
“That’s pretty normal. I think if you look at the past five years, it’s been three and a half to no more than four and a half percent increases.”
According to the Office of the President, the out-of-state tuition for the 2024 undergraduate cohort is $41,865.30 per year for five years and the in-state tuition is $13,403.25 per year for five years.
Jamie Moffitt is UO’s senior vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer. At the Sept. 16 and 17 Board of Trustees meeting, she projected that despite the smaller than targeted non-resident enrollment, the financial impact won’t be felt for a few years.
“This is due to the fact that the small COVID[-19] class from fall of 2020 completed its fourth year in June 2024 with many of those students graduating. This class is being replaced with the larger, though below target, fall 2024 class, which creates a one-time boost to tuition revenue,” Moffitt said in the Board meeting minutes.
The state of Oregon is currently ranked 44th in the nation for per-student state investments for higher education, according to the State Higher Education Finance Report. UO receives a lower level of state support compared to other Oregon public institutions.
According to the UO Transparency and Accountability website, in 2019, UO received $72.4 million in total funding from the state, while Oregon State University received $211.3 million and Portland State University received $97.6 million. This has resulted in UO relying more heavily on student tuition.
This year, according to UO spokesperson Eric Howald, the school is receiving roughly $90 million from the state with a budget of roughly $600 million.
The two main sources of UO’s budget are student tuition and state government support, and they cover a majority of the university’s academic operating costs.
“Many of our expenses have to do with our faculty and staff. Labor costs are high. They’re roughly 80% of our budget. That three and a half to four [percent] increases in tuition [are] a reflection of those higher costs and many of those rest with the labor market,” Schmidt-MacKenzie said.
In order to predict the number of enrolled students each year, Schmidt-MacKenzie said, an enrollment team creates a “glide path of targets,” using different forms of data.
“We look at how many students are applying to the University of Oregon, we look at data like, ‘How many people are coming to visit campus? Are they enjoying their campus experience?’”
Schmidt-MacKenzie said. “We’re always trying to take that feedback and use that data to say, ‘How many students do we think are going to show up on day one or week four?’”
The university is making plans to increase the number of out-of-state students at a faster rate, according to the Board of Trustees meeting minutes from Sept. 16 and 17. Moffitt announced plans for a new scholarship aimed at non-resident students.
“As was discussed in the Board meeting last September for fall 2024 [FY25], the university launched a new scholarship program to attract more non-resident students,” Moffitt said. “Roughly $16 million in incremental remissions was authorized with the aspiration of reaching a fall 2024 non-resident and international student class of 3,134 students.”
UOSW continues ongoing bargaining with UO for inclusive labor contract
The sessions over the spring and summer have led to concern from UOSW members
UOSW released an anti-harassment and discrimination proposal in a Sept. 9 bargaining session.
The university countered this proposal with their own, saying discrimination isn’t a relevant topic for bargaining sessions.
According to Pressman, who is a Global Scholars Hall dining hall worker, he was told he was “divorced from reality” by Title IX coordinator Nicole Commissiong after discussing his experience with gender-based workplace discrimination.
Then, according to Pressman, the administration told UOSW they wished they didn’t have an anti-discrimination article in the other campus union contracts.
Mae Bracelin, a Global Scholars dining hall worker, described the meetings with the administration as strained and disrespectful.
“The university is out of touch with its workforce’s needs, they are so far away from their workforce that even when our co-workers go to them and say, ‘These are the problems and these are the solutions we need to enact,’ they can’t see it as a problem because they are so high up in their ivory towers,” Bracelin said. “If it wasn’t an issue then we wouldn’t be here,” Bracelin said.
One proposal UO brought to the table would split the Resident Assistant roles into two positions and subsequently lower their pay. Ryan Campbell, a bargaining member and RA at Yasui Hall, stressed the importance of keeping the current RA position.
“For a lot of people, this job is the reason they can come to this school. Having that $1,500 off, having meals and a place to live, all that stuff is really important,” Campbell said.
Campbell, Bracelin and Pressman expressed their concerns that UO is focused solely on profit.
“At the end of the day, it’s like, ‘Are you coming to the table wanting a better university or a better profit margin?’” Bracelin and Pressman said.
Campbell said UOSW and UO have been working together more during the past few meetings compared to the spring, but the union still feels “disrespected” by the university.
Bracelin said that the current rate of negotiations is unreasonable and could lead to state mediation, which would force employers and employees to form a contract through fair bargaining.
According to Bracelin, striking is also on the table, but is a last-resort option.
“We don’t necessarily want to strike, we want them to respect us, we want to get a contract, but if they aren’t going to treat us as adults and like colleagues, we will have to hostage our labor force to win that contract,” Bracelin said.
UO has declined to comment to the Daily Emerald about the active bargaining sessions.
Sundaram/Emerald)
(Kylie Libby /Emerald)
Have You Acknowledged This Land?
which anyone interested will be given the opportunity to hear from and ask questions about the Indigenous art located around campus.
Littlebird, a member of Oregon’s Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes, has been collaborating with the University since the beginning of 2023. Students can see her currently displayed works on the outside of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, as well as in various other locations around campus, including the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.
She has a diverse background working on different Indigenous projects throughout Oregon, including her nationally recognized curation of the exhibit “This IS Kalapuyan Land,” which debuted at the Five Oaks Museum in Portland in 2019.
Littlebird said she’s heavily invested in her work with the university and is excited to see how her collaboration with the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will impact Indigenous-identifying students on campus, as well as the general student body.
titled “You Are Here,” as well as the main exhibit, titled “The Land We Have Always Known,” displayed at the JSMA.
Littlebird’s digital artwork challenges the stereotypes of cultural appropriation that have been experienced by Indigenous communities within Oregon, and it calls attention to the many other cultural inequalities that indigenous tribes across the country have faced.
“More than anything, it feels like a culmination of this collaboration amongst a bunch of passionate people who love what they do, and for me, it’s also about honoring the community that I come from,” Littlebird said. “Ultimately, the University of Oregon is on Kalapuyan land, and my curation work that I am known for is really about raising awareness of people in the Willamette Valley who just don’t know the history of the land and how large the Kalapuyan presence really is.”
—Steph
My curation work that I am known for is really about raising awareness of people in the Willamette Valley who just don’t know the history of the land and how large the Kalapuyan presence really is. “
“When the university approached me to do work with them, they had the intention of really trying to enrich the student’s experience, and that was so inspiring to me because I really love to support teachers and students,” Littlebird said. “As someone who came from a more complicated family background, it was really fascinating to be able to collaborate with educators and students because I really believe in these institutions and how they can transform people’s lives.”
Her dedication to assisting the university in its endeavor to bring more awareness to indigenous culture has helped spur interest in the JSMA’s exhibits, which has in turn led to more students taking advantage of everything that the JSMA has to offer.
The event will highlight the main question, “How can I acknowledge the land?” and give students the opportunity to speak with Littlebird about her exterior niche, titled “We’ve Always Been Here,” her interior lobby art piece,
The art walk will be followed by a New Cartographies Draw-In from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Ken Kesey Classroom (room 201N) in the Knight Library, during which participants will get to draw over a number of maps that were collected specifically for this event. After the Draw-In event is finished, head to the opening of “The Land We Have Always Known” and Littlebird’s Artwork Celebration from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Paulson Reading Room in the Knight Library.
Visitors will have the opportunity to view Littlebird’s latest exhibit and celebrate the prominent Indigenous culture of Oregon. “This exhibit looks really interesting. I always hear about how our campus was built on top of Indigenous land, but I feel like I never see any representation of that,” Daniel Margolis, a junior studying film and business, said. “I’ve seen some of the artwork on the outside of the Jordan Schnitzer but I never knew what it represented.
The Indigenous student population at the UO makes up a smaller percent of the undergraduate population, however, the students who do identify as part of Indigenous tribes from across the country seem to be excited about this project.
“I hadn’t heard about this exhibit because I’ve been busy with school work, but I’d love to go,” Emmaline Melton, a senior student and member of the Blackfeet Confederate Tribe in Browning, Montana, said. “I’m excited to see that Indigenous people are getting more recognition on campus.”
This event has and will continue to bring awareness to the prominence of indigenous culture on campus as well as highlight the still-strong resilience of the Kalapuyan people.
“These banners and their declarations stand as a reminder of the lasting Indigenous presence on this land,” Littlebird said in an interview with coordinators at the JSMA. “The Kalapuyan people have lived here, since time immemorial – since before memory. Natives have acted as caretakers of this land for thousands of years. Today, the Kalapuyas remain a resilient and thriving culture and so their role as Indigenous placekeepers continues.”
Her determination for this project shows just how passionate she is about her work, and it is sure to make an impact on every person who has the opportunity to experience it.
Littlebird
Ronde Confederated Tribes (Alyssa Garcia/Emerald)
CITY NEWS
New emergency room to open in Eugene
The closure of Peacehealth’s University District Hospital nearly one year ago has left Eugene without an emergency department. A recent announcement by Mckenzie-Willamette hospital’s CEO revealed a new ER will be opening in Eugene.
By Kellan Quinn City News Reporter
Eugene has been without an emergency room for nearly one year since the closure of PeaceHealth’s ER in December 2023 — but that may soon change. During a citywide healthcare forum on Sept. 26, McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center CEO David Butler announced plans for a new 12bed satellite emergency department that will be built in Eugene.
At the forum, Butler responded to an audience member’s inquiry about the possibility of a new hospital or emergency department in Eugene. According to Butler, McKenzie-Willamette’s plan has already been approved by Oregon Governor Tina Kotek.
“We actually met with the governor of Oregon and got the green light to move forward with a certificate of need application,” Butler said. “We’ve done a lot of due diligence in the Eugene area and found a local investor and a developer willing to help us put this plan together.”
Butler declined to reveal the facility’s exact location but said that a site had been selected.
“I don’t want to tell you about it— you might go out and buy it—but it has great access,” Butler said. “About 25,000 cars go by there every day, and we’re close to signing a contract, which would allow us to move into the design and architectural phase.”
PeaceHealth’s emergency room was a central location for students and residents to access emergency services. Since its closure, some people have been diverted to the nearby urgent care facility on East 13th Avenue.
However, urgent care is intended for non-life-threatening illnesses or
New affordable housing apartments under construction on East Broadway
The Bridges on Broadway project will replace the Red Lion Hotel, which was purchased by Lane County using funds from Project Turnkey in 2021. Lane County’s Project Turnkey was initially a program to provide temporary housing to those displaced by wildfires. Today, one of Project Turnkey’s main initiatives is to purchase and convert ‘underused or vacant’ properties into shelters for homeless individuals in Oregon.
opment charge exemption. Both of these funds help pay for building permits and other fees that help with construction developments.
There are currently six other developments underway in Eugene, including Ollie Court, an affordable housing community that will include an Early Learning Center to help with those in need of childcare.
injuries and is not a substitute for emergency services. For those needing immediate or life-saving medical care, the nearest ER is McKenzie-Willamette in Springfield, about 4.5 miles from the University of Oregon campus and on the other side of the Willamette River.
One student affected by the closure was UO junior Lily Thompson, who was struck by a pickup truck while crossing Franklin Boulevard last spring.
“I remember being on the phone with my parents, freaking out and trying to find an ER I could Uber to, but since there were none in the city, I ended up at urgent care,” Thompson said.
Thompson’s experience is not unique. Senior Henos Kissate was skateboarding down 18th Avenue last fall when he fell and knocked out several teeth.
“It was definitely very inconvenient,” Kissate said. “When the firefighters came, all they did was give me some Tylenol. I had to wait until the next day and pay for an Uber to get to where I could receive help. I ended up needing to see a dentist and an oral surgeon. It would have made me feel a lot better if I could have just gone to a nearby ER right away.”
According to Butler, the timeline for the new emergency department’s construction is around two to two and a half years. The satellite facility would operate under McKenzie-Willamette’s existing license and could potentially expand beyond the initial 12 beds.
“At the beginning of August, we held an event — a groundbreaking. We were breaking walls and doing demolition with partners to celebrate and mark the beginning of official construction,” Ela Kubok, deputy director of Homes for Good, said.
Red Lion was initially used as temporary housing for those affected by the Holiday Farms Fire of 2020. Shortly thereafter, it transitioned to temporary housing for residents who lost their housing during COVID-19.
Preparations for BOB began in April after funds from the state and the City of Eugene were approved in 2023.
In 2023, Eugene City Council approved and provided Homes for Good with an estimated $618,000 to help complete the project. $383,434 comes from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which gets its funds from a construction excise tax.
Construction excise tax funds are collected from building permits for new construction in the city. That money is then deposited into a trust fund to help fund affordable housing projects in Eugene, such as BOB.
In addition to money coming from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the city provided HFG a city fee assistance and a systems devel-
The project is adjacent to an American Campus Community apartment building, the 515 on East Broadway.
Madison Moore, a UO sophomore who lives at the 515, said she “thinks it’s a great idea since the homeless population in Eugene is quite large,” but “more needs to be done to help people.”
“I think it’s fine living next to it. We all see homeless people and they are pushing carts. It’s really hard for them to get by,” Neerad Bondhi, a junior computer sciences major at UO who also lives at the 515, said. “I think it would be better for everybody to have a place to live and help get them back on their feet.”
General manager at the neighboring Pizza Hut spoke on the how the Red Lion Hotel was before construction began.
“I am much happier with how they are doing it now than how they did it before,” Ben Musselwhite, general manager at Pizza Hut on East Broadway, said. “Before there was a lot of drug use, a lot of drug paraphernalia, people doing sketchy stuff.”
Musselwhite said theft was an issue in the area as well.
BOB’s completion is expected for the summer of 2025. In order to qualify to live at BOB, applicants have to be experiencing chronic homelessness and meet coordinated entry requirements.
Construction workers renovate
(Eddie Bruning/Emerald)
Brianna Carrasquillo is a Journalism Master’s student and lacrosse player at the University of Oregon.
As an opinion writer for the Daily Emerald, she covers self-care, sports, wellness, politics and mental health and enjoys thrifting, running or hiking in her spare time.
KAMALA IS BRAT
the Democratic Party nominating current Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
A recent study conducted by SSRS for CNN found that nearly 75% of voters in the United States believed the Democratic Party would have a better chance at winning the presidency in 2024 with someone other than Joe Biden at the forefront of the ballot.
Harris is beating former President Trump nationally in a hypothetical showdown. Trump is polling at 46% among registered voters while Harris is at 49%, according to a New York Times poll from Oct. 11, which means an Olympic contest on our hands as we advance closer to the 2024 election.
Harris’s edge over Trump is fueled largely by a surge in support from women. Polling data reveals that 50% of female voters prefer Harris over Trump when compared to 44% who favored Biden over the same opponent, suggesting a photo finish come November. When University of Oregon students were approached on the matter, the prospect of a female president held great allure.
“The appeal that a woman can be anything she wants to be. That is what ‘brat’ means to me,” UO journalism master’s candidate Saida Guzman said. This year’s election might be one of the most important elections to date. At least, for the sake of democracy.
“A woman can do whatever the f*ck a man can do, and can probably do it better. Not only a woman but a woman of color. That would be so phenomenal,” UO student Abby Snethen said when asked about the potential of a female candidate winning this year’s election.
When it comes to issues about human rights, climate change and solving economic inequality, Harris’s plentiful progressive priorities are held in high esteem by the Gen Z demographic.
“Her influence now on social media is not like we’ve seen before. It’s a unique approach and is definitely helpful,” Guzman said.
At 59 years young, Harris appeals to UO students as a highly receptive lead for defending the values of tomorrow through her leadership today. Certainly, her social media appeal can only bolster these positive reactions for her campaign.
Her personal story of resilience and diversity offers a refreshing, unapologetic narrative that compels a generation to continue the fight for equal representation in the most salient matters of today’s political agenda.
But, the question remains: can she convert TikTok likes and internet fame into actionable change? I’d say the answer is a resounding “yes.” Harris’s youthful, bubbly, spirited campaign trail online has active Democratic supporters gushing over the idea of a “Femininomenon” era of politics.
On X, TikTok and Instagram, her popularity has flourished, cultivating a deeper presence about just how special it is to be a woman in a position of power. Further data from the University of Georgia concludes Harris’ suggestive take is outnumbering Trump’s Twitter finger days, concluding that her internet fame may take her places further than a few X followers.
The iconic neon “brat” meme might just give her the green light to a president-elect position, garnering publicity on all platforms as it coincides with all the right moves that the Biden-Harris administration has made
surrounding lowered prescription drug costs, veteran healthcare services and modernized infrastructure initiatives.
It’s to be decided if the stars align in November in the same way they propelled Harris into the Gen Z quick-switch gaze, but we’ll stay resharing her image with fellow digital nomads in high hopes.
The epic crossover between Madam Vice President and artists such as Charli XCX and Chappell Roan is one for the history books — and the culture. While her internet campaign continues to reach new heights, it’s imperative to understand the raw influence Harris imposes on Gen Z cyber-dwellers, beyond the context of all in which we live.
Eugene Public Library deserves better
Library budget cuts will hurt our community
By Gracie Cox Opinion Associate Editor
Since long before I could read, libraries have played a dynamic role in my life. As the daughter of a single mom, my local public library served as my social circle as well as my access to out-ofschool learning and entertainment.
As reported by the Daily Emerald, the Eugene Public Library absorbed 16% of the city’s total budget cuts, removing 15% of their funding, amounting to $2 million annually. Thanks to the city council’s underappreciation of public libraries, this disproportionate loss of resources will cause significant harm to our city.
These cuts manifest themselves as shifted hours, lost staff and a reduced ability to replenish programs and materials.
“Even though we are not reducing hours, simply moving them around will have an impact on people. Our Sunday morning hours and Monday night
hours shifted, and we will open earlier Tuesday through Saturday,” Angela Ocaña, Eugene Public Library’s library services director, said.
“As someone who worked every Sunday morning, I know the people, the impact and the sense of loss folks will have,” Ocaña said.
Public libraries serve a critical role in connecting people of all ages and introducing them to community-oriented living.
“Our library is a hub for learning and a place for our community to congregate. Part of a library is this idea of a sharing economy where we consume less and share with our neighbors,” Ocaña said. “I don’t know how many people think about that when they check out a book, but they are actively choosing to be environmentally savvy about their consumption, which screams: ‘Eugene!’”
In addition, libraries provide essential resources for low-income citizens. This is often overlooked by policymakers who have private access
to the internet, air-conditioned/heated spaces and professional development resources.
“Commitment to inclusivity, along with a persistent ability to adapt to changing times, has kept public libraries vital in an era of divisive politics and disruptive technological change. But it has also put pressure on them to be all things to all people, and to meet a vast range of social needs without correspondingly vast budgets,” explained journalist Jennifer Howard in “The Complicated Role of the Modern Public Library.”
Often unconsciously, cutting library budgets can be a slippery slope toward devaluing access to information and literary freedom. As seen in the national popularity of book bans, the political backbone for the hypercriticism of libraries is readily apparent.
“While budget insecurity can be hard to navigate, the scarier future for libraries is when budgets and censorship align,” Ocaña said.“When legislators get involved and demand that books be removed or they will remove all funding, we are inching closer to a place where the choice to read what you want is stripped away.”
While Eugene’s City Council has not spoken in support of censorship and presents cuts as a necessary evil, their choice to reduce funding leaves the department vulnerable to politicized demands and restrictions.
To avoid this future there is one simple action: visit the library. The best way to show support is to become a patron yourself. Take advantage of its many offerings and protect this resource for generations to come.
Policy and
Gracie Cox is the associate opinion editor of the Daily Emerald and a second-year Planning, Public
Management student. You can find her sharing her opinions on UO culture and drinking copious amounts of Red Bull.
(Alyssa Garcia/Emerald)
(Kylie Libby /Emerald)
Crossword
1 Hefeweizen, for one
Scouring pad brand
Nine, in Spanish
Some fiddle songs
Stevenson novel with buccaneers and buried gold
Method: Abbr.
Up in arms
AT&T, for one
Girder
Small, cutesily
33 Second half of a famous tourism slogan, and what 16-, 22-, 43-, and 51-Across literally are
“9-1-1: Lone Star” actress Gina
Je t’__: French words of endearment
43 The city so nice they named it twice 47 Like some shoes
48 Adjust, as an apron 49 “Will they __ learn?”
51 U-shaped object pitched at a stake 54 Feathered friend
55 Former U.N. head Kofi
56 Key sometimes used with Ctrl 57 Hunting/fishing retailer __ Pro Shops
Triumphs over
The NFL’s Travis Kelce and others, for short
1 Some airport helpers 2 Sumptuous comfort
Hosts an award show
Areas between hills 5 D’backs, in box scores
6 Beirut’s country: Abbr.
African antelope 39 Steel-cut grain
7 Accustomed (to)
8 “Would this be too risky for me?”
9 Confront boldly
10 Taco eater’s topping choice
11 “If u ask me ... ”
12 Brick-shaped candy in a dispenser
17 Director DuVernay
21 Idolize
23 New England sch.
24 Malek of “Bohemian Rhapsody”
25 CBS franchise with the 2024 prequel series “Origins”
26 Mama deer
30 Livestock locales
31 Ophthalmologist, casually
32 Paperless party announcement
33 Fish that may be served amandine
34 Fishing boats
35 Tandoori-baked flatbread
36 Sundial X
39 “There, finished”
40 “Yeah, since you brought it up ... ”
41 Baltimore ballplayer
Sudoku
42 Rockabilly legend McDonald
44 Physical therapy, informally
45 Small songbirds
46 Exclamation of success
49 Flow out, as the tide
50 By way of, in itineraries
TPTEY
52 Genetic messenger molecule
53 Parked oneself
VCREO
KROENB UENAYS
SPORTS
Oregon Volleyball beats USC in three sets
Oregon ranks No. 11 and sweeps USC No. 16 after returning to Eugene on Wednesday night.
(Eric Becker/Emerald)
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Haley McWhirter
The transfer midfielder has played a role in shaping the present — and future — of Ducks soccer
By Lily Crane Sports Reporter
Players on the Oregon women’s soccer team shouted words of encouragement to each other during their fiery scrimmage on a chilly October morning.
If it weren’t for the empty stands and prac tice pennies, someone walking by Papé Field may have mistaken practice for an actual game. The energy going into every moment the team has together is part of the shifting results the program has witnessed this season.
“We all get along. We work very well to gether. On the field, it’s starting to come together more,” senior midfielder Haley McWhirter said about the team’s relation ship. “We’re very competitive, especially in team practice.”
The Ducks saw an influx of veteran trans fers in the offseason. Seven of the eight trans
ESPN Gameday touched down in Eugene on Fri., Oct. 11
