Molly Bedford, former managing editor of the Oregon Daily Emerald

Ryan served as the paper's youngest editor-in-chief when he was only a sophomore in college. As editor he led the paper to 1st place general excellence in region 10 and 3rd place general excellence nationally. But more importantly, Ryan is an inspiration to those in the newsroom. His determination and drive is an example to other reporters. His experience and wisdom make others gravitate toward him for advice.

Kathryn Campbell, coordinator of Undergraduate Studies for the University of Oregon

In my 15 years of teaching and 12 years of professional news work, I have neither met nor had the privilege of working with any young person whom I respect or admire more than Ryan Knutson. He is a top student, a leader among his peers, and a terrific journalist.

He was chosen editor of the independent student newspaper, The Oregon Daily Emerald, as a sophomore. He has returned to the paper last year, exhibiting the same kind of leadership he showed as editor. I believe his influence and mentoring of his peers has been instrumental in the newspaper's achievements.

Quinton Smith, metro editor for The Oregonian

Ryan was an intern at The Oregonian during the summer of 2007, working mostly in a suburban bureau in the southwest part of the Portland area. There he quickly established himself as a smart, energetic and willing-to-do-anything reporter, learning and covering local governments and chasing breaking news stories and features.

My first direct experience with Ryan came during weekend stints as a general assignment reporter in our main downtown newsroom. Based on my experience with summer interns and on how he was performing I thought Ryan was a senior-to-be at the University of Oregon. Gosh, just a sophomore? Glad I’m not competing in that pool of young journalists.

I was hoping Ryan would return to The Oregonian newsroom again this summer for more hands-on training at a large, metropolitan daily. That would be a safe and productive summer. Instead, he’s grabbing the chance to work at a daily newspaper in Ghana. What a great decision; what a great adventure and learning experience.

Eric Florip, news editor for the Oregon Daily Emerald

In covering the University of Oregon's proposed basketball arena project, Ryan has been right in step with The Oregonian and The Register-Guard the entire way. Often, he's been ahead them on a few facets of the story. He's also done a great job of developing relationships with key sources at the University, and he's been tenacious in tracking down and obtaining public records for the Emerald.

Source | The Oregon Daily Emerald
What neither man knew, however, was that their lives were about to collide. They didn't expect that hours after their plans were set, Heyer would drive north on Hilyard Street at the same time Reams would be walking home a friend, and that Reams would step into the street where Heyer's car would hit him at roughly 35 miles per hour.

Source | The Oregon Daily Emerald
Police use 29-year-old John Farrell as an example of the motor vehicle theft problem afflicting Lane County. The Eugene Police Department says he's been connected to the thefts of 48 cars in the past 11 years, and that his spree of crime is one small example of a dramatic rise in car theft during the past decade: In 1995, there were 703 car thefts reported in Eugene; in 2005 there were 1,712.

Source | The Oregon Daily Emerald
The only state requirements for campus safety officer training are that the State Board of Higher Education pays for it and that the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training administers it. Those efforts often add up to 240 training hours before campus officers hit the streets.

Source | The Oregon Daily Emerald
Users explore an Internet-based world with their computer-animated recreations, or avatars in Second Life, which has at least 7 million registered users.