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A DARK PAST
THIS IS WILLAMETTE STREET IN EUGENE CIRCA 1921.
The Klu Klux Klan isn’t nearly as active in Oregon as it was in the ‘20s, but its impact is still felt by people of color in Eugene today—many of whom are leaving.
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đ&#x;”Š MUSIC If you’re sick of college bands writing about doing drugs and being lazy — and it seems like just about every college band on earth can’t think of much more to write about — it’s easy to dismiss Face for Radio. Couches, booze, pot, girls, jobs, Netflix, quarter-life anxiety, copious usage of “fuckâ€? and “fucked upâ€?: it’s all here on the Eugene band’s debut album I Can Explain‌ What’s different is the almost virginal purity of the music. There’s hardly any distortion and though horns are one of this band’s big selling points, they mostly just toot contentedly in the background. Singers Spencer Tanner and Billy Zimbrick sound like choirboys. Though they’re inspired by ska-punk, there’s no grit — none of that rough-throated Tim Armstrong shit. In fact, mercifully, they rarely sound like they’re trying to be manly. I was reminded often of early pop-punk bands like the Descendents and the Undertones, which understood it was more punk to be wimpy and soft-spoken than to wave your middle fingers in everyone’s face and start fights. Another tie to punk is how uniform all the songs sound here. They use maybe two guitar tones on the whole album. The horns pretty much do the same thing on each song. There are few frills, enough that when they make use of the studio in any particularly experimental way — like when “Cosmosâ€? disappears into the void and revs back up with a digital whirr — it’s jarring. I like to joke that college bands should be judged by how much their albums sound like the Chili Peppers. Too many young rock bands go into the studio with a mainstream-
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EUGENE’S FACE FOR RADIO DELIVERS ON DEBUT ALBUM ‘I CAN EXPLAIN...’ BROMFIELD, @BROMF3
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rock idea of how their work should sound and come out with disheartening, bonedry EPs. Not these guys; it was refreshing hearing how warm this music sounds. The compression enhances the texture rather than subtracting from it and the instruments are mixed to roughly equal volumes (quiet). At one point on “Educated Guess,� Tanner shouts “Fight back!� and the instrumentation gets ... quieter. The main flaw is that, yeah, pretty much this whole album is about being a lazy 20-something, which is impossible to write compelling songs about unless you’re Curren$y. College is a hermetic place, and it’s nowhere near as inspiring as high school with its pointless drama and endless awkwardness. It’d be one thing if they found clever ways to talk about college, but lyrically, they seem to be going for the hashtag-relatable route: “I tried to write a song, but I got too high and watched Criminal Minds instead,� they sing on “Criminal Minds,� undoubtedly hoping to elicit a smirk of recognition among the friends who might be listening. But if they’re not so bold with their lyrics yet, they’ve displayed remarkable chutzpah just by making such a perfectly listenable, understated, likable and quiet record in spite of possessing all the tools they need to be a lean, mean rage machine. And this really is one of the most phenomenally produced albums I’ve heard from a college band: It’s like they’ve deserted the Loudness War to go find a pub or tree to smoke under. Even more remarkably, the guy who mixed this album is their trumpeter, and the trumpet isn’t even the loudest thing in the mix.
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Howling Mad: A forum on wolves, politics and restoring Oregon’s environmental leadership — University of Oregon School of Law (1515 Agate St.) — 4-6 p.m. — Free.
Little Women presented by the Eugene Roving Park Players at the Petersen Barn Park (870 Berntzen Rd.) — 6-8:30 p.m. — Free.
Wolves might not have yet forgiven us for the wolf bounty, which lasted from 1843 to 1947 and decimated the state’s wolf population. It wasn’t until 2008 that the state’s first wolf pack since the bounty’s end was discovered. This Tuesday, conservation experts and congressman Peter DeFazio are hosting a panel discussion on wolves and their role in Oregon territory. According to Oregon Wild’s website, the discussion will cover “the political mayhem surrounding wolves’ ongoing comeback story.�
Guitarist Chase Clark, drummer Tyler Howard and bassist Emma Hurt play at the Boreal in Eugene on May 5. (Hannah Steinkopf-Frank)
THIS WEEK IN
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17
SATURDAY, AUGUST 20 Eugene Emeralds vs. Everett Aquasox — (2760 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.) — 7:05 p.m. — Tickets are $8-$14.
People Under the Stairs plays at HiFi Music Hall (44 East 7th Ave.) — Doors open at 8 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m. — Tickets are $21 in advance; $25 on day of show. — 21+. L.A.-based hip-hop duo People Under the Stairs sidestep some of the typical styles of modern rap where other rappers succeed; Christopher Portugal (Thes One) and Michael Turner (Double K) don’t use their music as a political soapbox, boast about material wealth or dial up the braggadocio to insufferable levels. Rather, PUTS keeps it simple, rapping about day-to-day pleasures and pursuits, often layered over funk and jazz samples.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18 Full Tree Moon Climbing at Mount Pisgah Arboretum (34901 Frank Parrish Rd.) — Admission is $45 (registration required) — 7-9 p.m. See the full moon in its proud, robust form from the comfort of an Oregon white oak tree. Mount Pisgah Arboretum is hosting this special tree-climbing event in conjunction with Eugene Parks and Recreation. Climbing instructions and safety equipment provided.
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Online Feature: Local band VCR releases debut album on cassette. On a cool April night, the band members of VCR — Chase Clark, Emma Hurt and Tyler Howard — climb into Clark’s 1994 Buick Regal Sport. This ride has a purpose. The Eugene group has just finished recording its first album, Season One! and wants to experience it on the open road. As the first track, “Feelin Alright� buzzes warmly through the speakers, the album’s summer inspiration is already clear. Despite the chilly Oregon breeze and the dark, maroon interior of the car, it’s easy to be quickly transported to a sunnier time, one defined by Clark’s crunchy guitar, Hurt’s melodic bass and Howard’s aggressive drums. VCR isn’t a group prone to honing in on a singular sound; Clark admits they never play a song the same way twice. The band’s flexibility holds true on Season One! which ranges in sound
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from ‘60s sunshine pop to punky low-fi. But overall, VCR says they wanted to create an album that simply “feels good.� “Everyone goes through summer,� said Howard. “Everyone has thoughts they associate, emotions they associate with summer. It’s just a good common place to make noise and sing about.� Ever fixated on the antiquated technology, VCR’s new album was released as a cassette last Friday, Aug. 12 through Eugene’s House of Records, Skip’s Records, CD World and on VCR’s Bandcamp. As for VCR’s future plans, the band is already working on its next studio album, Season Two! which will explore the season of fall and embrace darker themes.
Written by Frannie Monahan and Hannah Steinkopf-Frank. Go online to dailyemerald.com see our video about VCR.
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This Friday, director Victoria Harkovitch’s adaptation of the 1868 Louisa May Alcott novel Little Women is coming to the Petersen Barn Park. This story is the epic account of the four March sisters who live with their mother in New England as their father serves as a chaplain in the Civil War. The show is presented by the Eugene Roving Park Players, a non-profit community theater company that adapted Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor earlier this summer season.
Everett, Washington’s Aquasox (27-24) face off the Emeralds (36-15) this Saturday in game one of the series. This game at PK Park will also feature Daniel Browning Smith, deemed The World’s Most Flexible Man. The 37-year-old contortionist’s stunt and acting IMDb credits include Men in Black II (2002), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) and Paranormal Activity 3 (2011). Due to medical condition Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Smith’s flexible body allows him to dislocate his limbs and twist his head 180 degrees.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 21
Love’s Labor’s Lost at Amazon Community Center (2700 Hilyard St.) — Every Saturday and Sunday of August — 6-8 p.m. — Free.
One of the immortal Bard’s first comedies and most obscure works is coming to Amazon Community Center this weekend with performances on both Saturday and Sunday as part of Free Shakespeare in the Park’s 18th season. The play centers on the King of Navarre and three of his men who take an oath to not get romantically involved with any women — which doesn’t quite work. This play also features the longest word in any Shakespeare work —“honorificabilitudinitatibus� (meaning “the state of being able to achieve honors.�) This play is presented by City of Eugene Recreation and Free Shakespeare in the Park.
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A photo of Eugene in 1921 on the corner of eighth Avenue and Willamette Street with the Klu Klux Klan’s letters and cross in the background.
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For Eugene’s minorite racism isn’t just histo
Side by side photos of Willamette Street in Eugene from 1921 and 2016 depicting the KKK’s presence. (color photo by Aaron Nelson; black and white photo in Emerald Archives) PA G E 4
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es, ory
“It’s the hardest place (Eugene) to speak out against it because people don’t want to see it and they don’t want to hear it,” -ROBIN MORRIS COLLIN former UO law professor
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THE KU KLUX KLAN CAME TO OREGON IN 1921.
By 1922, the KKK had a foothold in the state when it held its first parade through the streets of Eugene and burned a cross atop Skinner Butte. Today, the KKK doesn’t march or burn crosses in public, yet black people like former UO law professor Robin Morris Collin don’t think much has changed. Collin has lived all over the country, including the South, and says Eugene is the most racist place she has ever lived. “It got to the point where I tensed my shoulders every time I walked down the sidewalk,” Collin said. “Because I could tell that when I came up on a group of people, I was expected to step off of the sidewalk to get out of their way.” At UO, administration has been trying to increase its faculty diversity for the last five years, but the administration has to overcome a long history of white supremacy in Eugene. Last November, the Black Student Task Force demanded that UO administration change the name of two halls on campus — Deady Hall, the first campus building, and Dunn Hall — because of their namesakes’ racist pasts. A report on this history conducted by three historians was published on Aug. 5, and revealed that Matthew Deady ran for political office on a pro-slavery platform, and Frederick Dunn was the local Exalted Cyclops, leader of the Eugene Klan. Christina Jackson, an advisor for black and African retention at UO, says the responsibility for change doesn’t all fall on the university. To Jackson, who is black, Eugene is not the all-inclusive community it is often heralded as. “When I was planning to move here from Michigan, people kept on telling me that Eugene was a really friendly and welcoming community,” Jackson said. “But in my experience, Eugene is not as friendly toward people of color as people would lead you to believe.” Eugene has never had a robust black community, and that has contributed a lot to what Jackson sees as cultural ignorance in a lot of Eugenians. “When people have never had to have interactions with or form relationships with black people, they come into those interactions with a lot of preconceived notions of what black people are like,” Jackson said. “I’ve noticed people greet me and others with, ‘What up?’ instead of a normal ‘Hello,’ because there is an assumption that that is how all black people talk.” Eugene is 1.4 percent black, according to the American Community Survey, and the overwhelming whiteness of Eugene comes from a long history of minority exclusion, since before Oregon was even a state. Slavery was illegal in the Oregon Territory, but many settlers brought slaves along the Oregon Trail, according to The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Society. These slaves had to be freed within three years of settling in Oregon, but they were then forced to move elsewhere. Many did not have the means to do so and were then subjected to violent laws. Oregon was the first state to be admitted to the Union with exclusion laws in its constitution, according to Lane Historical Society archives. These laws forbade African-Americans from settling in Oregon. Any who did were required to be whipped twice a year until convinced to leave. This punishment was later reduced to manual labor. Despite this history, Oregonians were by-and-large shocked that the KKK found such a responsive population here in the ‘20s. After recruiting heavily in urban areas, the Klan set its sights on University of Oregon, according to research conducted by former
UO history professor Eckard V. Toy. Toy writes that university administration was opposed to the Klan on campus and discouraged students from joining. Many students rejected it too. “The university is no more a place for the white-robed Ku Klux Klan than is the great state of Oregon,” one 1922 editorial by Oregon Daily Emerald staff read. Governor Ben Olcott denied the KKK had any political or social influence in Oregon, which would be disproven when he was defeated in the 1922 election by KKK-backed Democrat Walter Pierce, who won by a landslide, according to LHS records and the Oregon Encyclopedia. In 1923, the Klan boasted over 35,000 members in a state that had just over 783,000 people, which some historians estimate was the largest per capita of any state in the country. Traces of the KKK still linger. Two Eugene men admitted in a May 2008 trial to pouring flammable liquid in the shape of a cross and the letters “KKK” on the front lawn of a black family’s residence, according to the Human Rights Commission of Eugene. This history still plays a large role in the current lack of diversity in Oregon, according the Jackson. “When you build an institution, it’s going to be affected by what’s already there,” Jackson said. “Racism doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The best thing to do is just acknowledge that history and acknowledge that it creates a certain kind of community here.” There’s current evidence to support this claim. Dr. Anselmo Villanueva, an ethnic studies professor who has taught at UO and Lane Community College, started an informal list 15 years ago of professionals of color who have left Eugene. He still adds to it to date. He calls this list “The eXit Files” and estimates that the number of names today is near 350. Talking to these people, Villanueva found that Eugene’s racist attitude and a lack of support for them in their professions were main reasons for leaving. “Organizations in Eugene say that they are doing everything they can to hire and retain diverse staff, but they are losing all these people,” Villanueva said. One professional, Robin Morris Collin, left Eugene for Salem in 2003, where she joined the faculty of Willamette University. Collin, who teaches environmental law, said that she had very little support for her work from her colleagues, and she noticed racist attitudes while living in Eugene. “It’s the hardest place to speak out against it because people don’t want to see it and they don’t want to hear it,” Collin said. “They are completely blind to anything that goes against that image of Eugene as a liberal and friendly place.” But the City of Eugene has recently worked to create a more welcoming environment, according to Jennifer Van Der Haeghen of the Office of Human Rights and Neighborhood Involvement in Eugene. Eugenians can report acts of discrimination or civil rights issues, not just racial discrimination, to the HRNI Office online, by phone or in person. The office publishes an annual report of hate and bias in Eugene. Race is often the most cited type of discrimination reported. In 2014, the office received 22 reports, and six of these were race-related. “When hate and bias activity occurs it undermines our vision for a safe and welcoming environment,” Van Der Haeghen said. “Hate and bigotry has been, over and over, denounced as not acceptable here.”
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Oregon midfielder Bayley Bruner (12) dribbles the ball against the Portland State Vikings. (Kaylee Domzalski)
OREGON WOMEN’S SOCCER TIES PORTLAND STATE IN SEASON OPENER
Photo by Ryan Kang
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The Ducks’ 2016 soccer season officially began Friday with a 1-1 draw in an exhibition match against Portland State, and the team is ready to start their “revolution.” This is the nickname — and subsequent hashtag — that they have chosen to use when describing their intent for a comeback season, after finishing the 2015 season with a disappointing 6-13-0 record. “I think this year we finally got it in our heads, and we’re just ready to work,” said senior midfielder Maryn Beutler. “I just really think that this is the year for us to make the [NCAA] tournament.” Last season’s top scorers included midfielder Marissa Everett, who finished with four goals, and forward Kyra Fawcett, who finished with three. The duo, now sophomores, also scored eight points apiece last year, tying for first on the team. Oregon’s roster is heavy with underclassmen: the Ducks signed eight freshmen from this year’s incoming class. Still, the camaraderie is evident as the seniors take on the role of mentoring the new faces on the team. “If there’s any advice that I’ve been able to give these younger [players], it’s that you need every single one of these players on this team to work hard,” said Beutler. “And you need every single one of them to win a game, no matter what your role is on the team.”
Senior defender Ashlee Schulz said she works to remind her young teammates to have confidence in themselves. “Just reminding them that they’re good enough to be here. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be here,” Schulz said. Also new to the team is assistant coach Katie Hultin, who came to Eugene from the University of Illinois, where she worked with goalkeepers. With the Ducks, Hultin still specializes in defensive coaching. Last year, the Ducks finished eighth in the Pac-12 in goals allowed with 1.26 a game. “Not only is her knowledge off the charts, but her ability to connect with her players in such a short amount of time has been really rewarding for me,” head coach Kat Mertz said. The Ducks’ Pac-12 schedule begins on Sept. 24 when they play at Stanford. The Cardinals finished last season with a 19-2 record. USC went 15-6 in 2015. The two teams figure to be the conference’s toughest opponents. “The Pac-12 is a beast,” Mertz said. “And it’s a fun beast. It’s awesome. I mean, that’s why all of these players — and coaches — made the choice to come be at the highest level.”
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You submitted your last paper, drank the obligatory end-of-term tequila and said sayonara to the textbook you never cracked in the first place. You probably forgot all about those course evaluations you submitted the week before finals. But I haven’t stopped thinking about them. A conversation with my classmates got me curious about the effectiveness of evaluations, and I spent the last week investigating. I talked with students, professors and administration, but most eye-opening was the research. Berkeley’s Phillip Stark says that course evaluations are heavily swayed by response rates, statistical averaging and question phrasing. Another study (Dommeyer et al, 2004) found simply setting aside time during class to complete evaluations could improve a professor’s ratings. And according to Michele Pellizzari of the University of Geneva, grade inflation and easy material lead students to rate higher, meaning that evaluations actually motivate bad teaching. If you read enough, a problematic conclusion becomes clear: End-of-course evaluations are inherently imperfect and unfair. Of course, one can’t deny that there is good in the evaluation system. For professors, some useful feedback from students is better than none. And here
at University of Oregon, professors do make changes because of evaluations, said assistant registrar Sherie Snyder. But the stakes placed on course evaluations are high. Because course evaluations are considered when professors get reviewed or are up for tenure, a string of bad evaluations could be career-ending. And for students, evaluations are the primary way to vent dissatisfaction over what we pay an obscene amount of money for. This is where the solution to the evaluationeffectiveness problem lies. We can’t perfect fundamentally imperfect evaluations, but we can lower the emphasis we place on them. We can turn to better methods of assessing professor performance and expressing course dissatisfaction. At the administrative level, we should take a holistic approach to evaluating courses. UO is already headed in that direction, although methods vary in different departments. According to the faculty handbook, student evaluations are just one part of judging both tenured and non-tenured faculty performance. Peer reviews, published work and service to the institution are also considered. Along those lines, the Faculty Senate, the body that determines evaluation questions, could adjust course
evaluations to gather facts rather than opinions. Following advice Stark shared on NPR, evaluations could be used to learn if a professor is frequently cancelling class, arriving late or straying from the syllabus. Students can impact the system too. Snyder put it this way: It’s important that we do course evaluations because professors rely on them, but “they’re not always the most appropriate venue for certain feedback.� Does it really make sense that you point out issues after the course ends? Sometimes telling your professor that something big isn’t working — politely, and in-person — is the best way to influence change. I know it can be tough, but it’s worth it: You’re paying too much to be dissatisfied. If your issue isn’t something you’re willing to discuss with a professor (like you just hate their personality), maybe it isn’t fair that you put that on an evaluation either. Try talking it out with a classmate to ensure you’re in the right. And then head to office hours, take a deep breath and be honest about how you could learn better. You’ll acquire some grown-up skills, your courses will improve and your professors might just thank you. Sounds like a win-win-win to me.
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The fallout the University of Oregon suffered after the alleged 2014 rape involving three basketball players isn’t over. The university has made strides in combating sexual assault, but little has been done to address another facet of the case. The Oregon Board of Psychologist Examiners issued a letter of reprimand and fined Shelly Kerr, director of the University Testing and Counseling Center, $2,500, assigning her to take a six-hour course on “professional ethics� for her actions during the events surrounding 2014 case. Kerr was investigated by the Board to determine whether she violated the ethics of her position as a psychologist on two counts. The Board asked whether she failed to clarify a conflict of interest when the university requested confidential records from her office and if she failed to take steps to protect the information requested. The university is standing behind Kerr according to a statement made last month by Tobin Klinger to the AP saying, “the university has been supporting of Shelly Kerr and that support remains strong.� What that support entails is unclear; Klinger said it was “general support, just that we
are supportive of Shelly as she continues to move forward.� The notice for disciplinary action was issued last September. The case was heard in May with the fine handed down a month later. The director of OBPE Charles Hill attached the press release in an email but gave no comment on the case. Investigator Karen Berry attached the same release and said in an email that all investigations are confidential. Following the alleged rape in March 2014, the student (Jane Doe) began counseling sessions at the University Testing and Counseling Center, which Kerr is still directing. The university settled the lawsuit brought by two former counseling center employees just days before Kerr’s fine was issued. Those employees were concerned with Kerr’s actions when an email sent on behalf of Associate General Counsel for the university, Sam Hill, requested the confidential records of Jane Doe after mediation failed in December 2014. The Board did not address whether the university’s request for the records was improper
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but did note there was not enough evidence to clearly determine if there were any legal violations. However, their interest was with how Kerr responded and determining whether her response was appropriate. From a university standpoint, Kerr’s activity as a university employee won’t be questioned again after the emergency policy concerning confidential records presented in October last year was ratified in April by University President Michael Schill. Section two of the policy expressly gives power to the university to subpoena confidential files “in response to an actual or anticipated lawsuit.� This was the action that placed Kerr in a position to choose between her ethical duties as a psychologist and her duties as an employee of the university, acting in accordance with General Counsel. The potential sanctions that Kerr faced were far greater than what was handed down. Originally, a fine of $5,000 was proposed and a suspension of her license for at least a year or probation were alternatives to her letter of reprimand. Kerr was unavailable or comment and it is unclear whether she will appeal.