The whole situation not only filled me with frustration, but also sadness. It was so irritating to see my culture appropriated and mocked. I’ve seen it so many times with small things like clothing, but I’ve also seen it with social issues, like China — and Asian people in general — being blamed for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Human service programs across Eugene have worked to provide some level of care for houseless individuals, whether it’s through food donations or
homeless shelters. These organizations are driven by volunteers and employees who are dedicated to providing essential services to those in need.

In the past year, the houseless population has increased in Lane County, particularly in the city of Eugene. As a result, houseless individuals may
depend on human service programs designed to provide them with resources that they couldn’t receive otherwise.

Alice Yeager, a case manager at ShelterCare, has worked with the program for a little over two years. ShelterCare primarily focuses on housing
programs, with both short-term and long-term housing opportunities available to those in need in Eugene and Lane County.

In an annual Point in Time survey, Lane County recorded a total of 3,085 unhoused people on Jan. 31, 2024, a 9.2% increase from the previous year.
Out of that number, 2,096 individuals are currently unsheltered, and 1,500 are chronically homeless.

Currently 432 out of 100,000 people in Eugene are experiencing homelessness, according to the City Club of Eugene.

The term “chronic homelessness” refers to individuals who have been homeless for over a year and suffer from chronic illness, which may include
heart disease, arthritis, asthma and diabetes.

Yeager works with ShelterCare’s Birch program, which provides temporary housing for individuals affected by mental illness or recently released from jail. The Birch program is a six-month transition period and is an option for people to live in a stable environment before finding a permanent living space.

“Since I’m primarily helping people into some sort of housing, it’s very difficult to find people housing, especially people with criminal histories,”
Yeager said. “I think personally, the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with is having people exit the program with no transition plan either. They weren’t
able to access housing in six months for whatever reason or just life happens. ”

Another program, Burrito Brigade, was started in 2014 by Jennifer Denison, C.G. Meyers and Heather Beck. It provides vegan meals to hungry individuals in both Eugene and Springfield. After seeing a need for meals in Eugene, the program was made with the mission to “feed every hungry person.”

Denison, the executive director of Burrito Brigade since 2019, said that at the beginning of the program, it was “very hard to function out of a church” on Sundays, when the church was in session, along with packing and delivering food to locations across Lane County.

Every weekend, volunteers gather at Bethesda Lutheran Church on Saturdays and First Christian Church on Sundays. According to Denison, the program now has approximately 100 volunteers all helping to provide meals.

Burrito Brigade, as well as their additional program the Little Free Pantries, provides over 300,000 vegan meals, according to its website. The LFPs are boxes located in residential neighborhoods that are stocked with food from volunteers and community members.

“There’s a lot of need, and I don’t even think we’re really grasping even the minimum. It’s hard to see on a daily basis how much is in need,” Denison said. “Otherwise, it’s a very rewarding job.”

The Gophers men’s basketball team won their first exhibition game of the season 90-65 against Division II Bemidji State University (BSU) on Saturday.

The Gophers started to click in the second half, cutting down on turnovers while also being more in tune with their each other on both sides of the ball. They ended the game on seven straight makes.

The team entered the second half only up one point against BSU since the first half featured several defensive breakdowns until about three minutes left.

Once the second half began, the defensive intensity stepped up, and the Gophers held a nine-point lead with a little over 15 minutes remaining.

The star of the second half was senior Brennan Rigsby, who finished the game with 17 points, four rebounds and two assists.

“I feel like we kind of got into a rhythm, mainly on the defensive side,” Rigsby said. “We started stringing stops and that just got momentum to start running in transition.”

Not only was Rigsby performing well, but he brought some flair to the team from tip-off. That flair rubbed off on senior Mike Mitchell Jr. who threw a no-look pass to redshirt sophomore Kadyn Betts for an early slam dunk.

Despite being an exhibition game, the Gophers front-court players were diving on the floor for loose balls.

Senior Parker Fox picked up where he left off last year and showed his hustle by diving for loose balls, running the court and batting rebounds away from defenders. He finished the game with 14 points and three rebounds, shooting 100% from the field.

Junior Frank Mitchell and senior Trey Edmonds were active in the passing lanes. Each tallied a steal at the top of the key and pushed down the court. Mitchell managed to dunk the ball off his steal.

For head coach Ben Johnson, the game was more about figuring out rotations and getting some film against another team.

“I wanted to get guys minutes as much as possible,” Johnson said. “I thought, for the most part, we’re going to have a lot of stuff on tape that’s good to see and we can get better from.”

Johnson’s starting five included seniors Mitchell Jr., Rigsby, Dawson Garcia, Betts and Mitchell.

Mitchell Jr. was thankful the Gophers matched up against another team for the first time since March.

Seniors Lu’Cye Patterson, Femi Odukale and Tyler Cochran were all out with injuries, according to Johnson. He added Patterson and Odukale will likely be available for the season opener on Nov. 6.

Since it was an exhibition game, the starting lineup and rotations could change drastically by the team’s season opener against Oral Roberts University.

Earlier in the summer, Mitchell Jr. said both he and Patterson would be taking on the point guard role. Mitchell Jr. finished Saturday’s game against BSU with 19 points and eight assists.

Without Patterson, Mitchell Jr. remained in control of the ball until freshman Isaac Asuma subbed in.

At the Gophers internal media day on Oct. 18, Garcia said having Edmonds and Mitchell makes his job as a big man in the paint easier. 

“Frank and Trey are both monsters on the glass offensively and defensively,” Garcia said. “They do a good job of protecting the paint.” 

Mitchell Jr. said the team needed the first 20 minutes to get the jitters out.

The Gophers have another exhibition against Hamline on Oct. 29 before the season opener on Nov. 6 against Oral Roberts University.

It feels like a lifetime ago that “Joker” (2019) burst onto the scene, sparking endless discourse, memes and — perhaps most importantly for Warner Bros — raking in over $1 billion worldwide. Despite its obvious status as a blockbuster comic book film, “Joker” was championed by fans as something new, a self-contained vision representing a break from the endless conveyor belt of dead-tech superhero franchises. 

However, a billion dollars is a billion dollars, and the opportunity to score another slam-dunk was simply too good to pass up. The first film had already stretched its Scorsese references and faux-gritty aesthetic to their limits. Director Todd Philips had cashed in on superficiality, and his film was summarily rewarded with Oscar glory and box office success. Although, could a sequel really justify itself beyond cynical studio demands? At last, we have our answer — and it’s not an encouraging one.

Joker the Musical?

The best that Phillips and company can offer as justification for this new outing is confusion masquerading as profundity. The French title “Folie à Deux” and the addition of fantasy musical sequences seem designed to repackage the film’s confused nature as something artful or self-reflexive.

Phillips throws in nods to classic Hollywood — characters watch Vincente Minnelli’s “The Band Wagon” (1953) and sing “That’s Entertainment!” as if invoking Minnelli’s masterful emotionality could absolve the picture of its own blandness. However, this dissonance between form and content only amplifies the film’s failure.

The musical sequences, far from enriching, act as a distancing mechanism pulling the audience further away from any meaningful engagement with the protagonists. With each set piece we are increasingly unsure about what’s going on with these characters, and Philips fails to handle this ambiguity with any grace.

Defenders might argue that these musical numbers serve a meta-narrative function, drawing attention to the characters’ obsession with media and the spectacle of entertainment. Indeed, in a culture so consumed by its screens, how else might the Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) and his equally damaged romantic partner Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) express themselves but through cinematic fantasy? The film gestures toward this critique of media-saturated reality, especially the reception of the Joker character. Although, it does so in a way that is too obvious to be insightful and too clumsy to be provocative.

Incoherent Plotline

The real issue, though, goes deeper than these surface-level gestures. The film suffers from an almost shocking inability to maintain tonal or emotional coherence. It flits between uninteresting romance, half-baked psychological drama, and stylized pastiche without committing to any of these modes in a meaningful way.

Take, for instance, the courtroom scenes that dominate the second half of the film, in which our Joker stands trial for his various crimes. Here, the film awkwardly lurches between expositional dumps, bizarre fantasy sequences and an incomprehensible internal conflict about the Joker’s true nature: is he the real Arthur Fleck, or a totally different persona altogether? The film tries to milk dramatic juices out of this question but it’s handled with such ineptitude that the final conclusions fall flat.

Had “Joker: Folie à Deux” come out 50 years ago, perhaps it would’ve been a perfectly watchable 80-minute exploitation film. Instead, all we get is this bloated mess of a picture, overstuffed and undercooked, stretched to the point of incoherence.

s.loveland@ustudentmedia.com

The post ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Is as Long as It Is Incoherent first appeared on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

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Giving life. (Jake Berg / Daily Trojan)

FIRE

JAKE BERG

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Giving life. (Jake Berg / Daily Trojan)

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Twin flame. (Jake Berg / Daily Trojan)

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Starburst. (Jake Berg / Daily Trojan)

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Cozy candles. (Jake Berg / Daily Trojan)

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WATER

MALLORY SNYDER

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A flowing fountain overlooks campus. (Mallory Snyder / Daily Trojan)

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​​A refreshing view. (Mallory Snyder / Daily Trojan)

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Captivating reflections. (Mallory Snyder / Daily Trojan)

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The post The Weekly Frame II: Elements appeared first on Daily Trojan.

The Oregon Student Association announced on Oct. 9 that it was closing its doors after almost 50 years of operation. OSA is a student-run, student-led advocacy and organizing nonprofit that exists to represent and advance the shared interests of Oregon’s college and university students.

The organization stated in a post on Instagram that, “for several years, OSA has faced challenges related to our organizational structure and funding mechanisms, which have made it increasingly difficult to maintain sustainable operations.”

Founded in 1975, the organization worked with student governments from institutions across Oregon to provide a collective voice for students in state legislatures. 

Nick Keough, OSA’s legislative director, has been with the non-profit for the past two years. 

“It’s been an incredibly difficult decision to come to the place where we’re at and it’s heavy on my heart and I know it’s heavy on a lot of people that have been connected to OSA through our many decades of advocacy,” Keough said. 

According to Keough, OSA has been a “launchpad” for many of Oregon’s leaders who got their start in the organization and who have gone on to work in the areas of public service, nonprofit management and served in the state legislature.  

OSA has been a fundamental part of securing billions of dollars in state funding and for expanding financial aid such as the Oregon Opportunity Grant, Koeugh said.

According to Keough, OSA had been struggling financially and organizationally since 2019, which significantly impacted its ability to advocate and lobby for equity and accessibility in higher education.

“This decision is the result of long-standing challenges related to our organizational structure and funding mechanisms, which has really impacted our ability to operate sustainably,” said Keough, “This has been compounded by the car accident that our staff was involved in July, where we lost a staff member and our executive was critically injured.”

The nonprofit’s financial struggles were heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, as OSA’s inability to be on campuses distanced them from the students they were helping advocate for, Keough said. 

According to the State Higher Education Finance Report, Oregon is ranked 44th in the nation for public funding of higher education. 

“Our investments in financial aid don’t keep pace with our neighbors in Washington and California, so students are really struggling with tuition and with the escalating student debt crisis. The need for collective student advocacy around these issues has never been greater,” Keough said. 

Although UO’s daily interactions with OSA were limited, according to Associated Students of University of Oregon’s Executive Chief of Strategy, Ravi Cullop, the two were in constant communication.

“OSA reported to a lot more schools than just us so our interactions with them on a day-to-day basis were fairly limited but they would always be in the loop about our lobbying stuff and we would always be included in theirs, and we would vote on what they do,” Collup said.

With the largest delegation on the nonprofit’s Board of Governors, UO held a majority vote on OSA’s bylaws, daily activities and priorities, Cullop said.  

“It’s really unfortunate that OSA will be closing its doors because it will leave a gap in student advocacy around issues that the University of Oregon and students across the state of Oregon care about the most,” Keough said. 

According to Keough, there is so much the organization has to be proud of: it registered 50,000 students to vote in 2012 and helped pass the 2013 tuition equity bill, which granted undocumented students in Oregon access to in-state tuition.

In the 2024 legislative session, OSA helped secure the Behavioral Health Package, which increases the capacity of licensed behavioral health workers at several Oregon institutions.

It also helped pass the School Board Transparency bill, which requires education boards of public school districts, community colleges and universities to video record their meetings and upload those recordings for the public to view online. 

“We know there’s a need for strong student advocacy, and we are hopeful that new leaders, new structures and new approaches emerge that will continue the fight for equitable and affordable higher education,” Keough said.

Looking ahead, Cullop said that ASUO is working to facilitate student forums and town hall meetings to figure out what students want from their lobbying efforts now that OSA is no longer on campuses conducting issue surveys.

“We know that the torch is going to be carried by student governments, by organizations and student leaders across Oregon and we’re really encouraging everyone to continue engaging in this important work,” Keough said.

Senior quarterback Donovan Smith in the second quarter of an NCAA football game on Oct. 19 in Kansas City, Mo. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

Houston entered its Oct. 19 matchup against Kansas at Arrowhead Stadium but played as though still stuck in last week’s bye, struggling to shake off the rust and erasing any momentum they had built.

The offensive line allowed six sacks, the defense gave up 220 yards and Cougar quarterbacks ended up on the wrong side of history as senior defensive back Cobee Bryant tied Kansas’ single-game school record with three interceptions.

If that wasn’t enough, Kansas got their first win since week one.

The Jayhawks set the tone early, eating up nearly nine minutes on the opening drive as they traveled 71 yards down the field.

On Houston’s first drive, sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss threw an interception that immediately turned into a one-play, 48-yard touchdown for the Jayhawks.

On their next possession, Kansas senior quarterback Jalon Daniels connected with senior wide receiver Lawrence Arnold for a miraculous 40-yard catch right along the sideline. The Cougar defense remained silent as senior wide receiver Luke Grimm followed it up with a 37-yard rush to the Houston 1-yard line.

Down three scores, the Cougars scrambled for answers.

Senior quarterback Donovan Smith entered the game in the second quarter, due to a hamstring injury to Chriss. On a crucial drive, junior running back Stacy Sneed caught a pass at the Kansas 10-yard line and brought it into the end zone. Houston cut the deficit further on the next drive when Smith threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Mekhi Mews, making it a two-score game.

However, any hopes of a comeback faded quickly after halftime. Smith threw two more interceptions and the defense collapsed, surrendering two rushing touchdowns and nearly 100 rushing yards in the fourth quarter alone.

Sophomore quarterback Ui Ale finished the game as a result of Kansas pouring on 42 points.

The Cougars now sit at 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12. They’ll return home to face Utah on Oct. 26. 

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“Cougars crumble in 42-14 loss to Kansas” was originally posted on The Cougar

Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.

Voting can be intimidating, stressful and time consuming, especially for new voters, but it is crucial. Most of us would rather just cozy up on the couch with a glass of ice water and a bag of Cheetos watching Family Feud than put in the effort to vote.

Voting in the national election is a big deal, as it only happens every four years. Usually, people are constantly updated about the candidates, as it is impossible to avoid. The chatter about the candidates takes over every news source, every social media platform and the dinner table. The national election is everywhere. It’s like getting sand in your hair at the beach — it is simply unavoidable.

“Once you vote the first time, you may be more likely to stay up to date with the elections in the future. And if the ballot seems confusing, I am sure most people would be happy to help you understand it, even the internet.”

Local elections, on the other hand, seem to be more like sunscreen: very important but forgotten daily. But in reality, voting in local elections is just as important as voting in national elections. Sure, the national election may seem more important because the president vetoes bills, negotiates treaties, directs foreign policy and executes laws. But the candidates in local elections directly affect you and the place you live.

First things first, voting in general is a privilege. We all need to honor that privilege and use it to every extent we can, including local and state elections. Voting is an opportunity to use your voice, impact your community and honor your rights.

In local elections, people elect state representatives, senators, governors, mayors, city council members, county commissioners, state legislators and more. Even though you might not know exactly what these people do, each of them make decisions that influence your life. Therefore, you should have a say in who assumes each position, especially because the election pool is much smaller, so the ballots cast carry much more weight.

Many may not realize it, but these local elections affect schools, public transportation, health care access, job security, pay equity, crime policies, environmental laws and gun safety. They could even decide whether that pothole you hit every day on the way to work will get repaired. A major factor local elections cover is taxation, and people should always have a say in where their tax dollars go.

I know it might seem like a hassle to research the candidates and decide which one your values align with. But I promise — an hour of research is going to be well worth it because it impacts you and your community. Once you vote the first time, you may be more likely to stay up to date with the elections in the future. And if the ballot seems confusing, I am sure most people would be happy to help you understand it, even the internet.

Trust me — I know this is overwhelming. Take it from me: I am freshly 18 years old and know very little about voting and elections. I have only voted one time, and it was for the county commissioner back home in Oregon. I knew I wanted to vote, but I had absolutely no clue who I was going to vote for. That night, I put on some music, cuddled up with my cat and researched each of the candidates on my laptop. I spent around an hour and a half reviewing the candidate’s ideals and found the one who best fit my opinions.

The next morning, I filled out the ballot, handed it to my dad and went to school. I remember I told all my friends I had voted for the first time. It doesn’t seem like much of a victory, but it was rewarding because I knew I was making an impact and I had just honored a right I had recently obtained. 

Regardless of your age, voting is simple. It can even be fun sometimes. Plus, here in Colorado, we are lucky enough to have mail-in voting, so all voters have to do is fill out their ballot, slap a stamp on it and throw it in the mailbox.

Reach Charlotte Seymour at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.

The Boston University men’s soccer team, now the No. 1 seed in Patriot League standings, secured their third in-conference win at Colgate University, 1-0, on Saturday. 

Tucked away in the basement of Cooke Hall, the smell of chlorine lurks in the hallway, accompanied by swimmers shouting counts and splashing as they execute stunts in aesthetic fashion.

The swimmers in Cooke Hall on Wednesday night were not members of the Gophers swim team, but rather a group of about 20 women training as part of the University’s club artistic swimming team, formerly known as synchronized swimming.

Some members started artistic swimming a decade ago, while others started just a few years ago. The women hold backgrounds in dance, swim and dive, and gymnastics, but they all ended up on the same club team. 

The team got in the water around 8 p.m. and started with warm-up laps to loosen their muscles before doing some heavy lifting.

Minnesota’s team consists of 15 underclassmen who established bonds that go beyond the pool.

Sophomores Olivia Succio and MJ Florkey, who are roommates, said they love the team more than the sport at times. 

“You’re so close in the water and spend so much time together,” Florkey said. 

When asked if they spend time together outside of the pool, Succio and Florkey, along with senior Maya Kittelson said, “Yeah, a lot,” in unison. 

Throughout practice, the team demonstrated a willingness to learn and take in feedback from their assistant coach Rina Horii, who took videos of the team’s routine and broke down areas to focus on.

Horii attended the University of Stanford and competed on their varsity artistic swimming team in 2015 and 2016. 

“It gave me a lot of experiences, like how to organize practice,” Horii said. “We’ve been drawing on the training I did in college.” 

Horii said they have been using the University’s new dry-land training facility, something they did not have the option to do before. 

Horii helped the Stanford artistic swimming team win the national title in 2016, but now she is more focused on building bonds with others who love the sport. 

“I think the most enjoyable thing is being able to come to the pool and have fun,” Horii said. “Everyone can have a stressful day, but then they come and they bring a really great attitude, and it makes the whole experience really rewarding.” 

According to Florkey, dance is the generic comparison for artistic swimming, but these women feel that artistic swimming is even more difficult. 

In the pool, they have to focus on their breathing while lifting each other as well. Sophomore Isabella Collins even wonders if it is a contact sport. 

“A lot of people are like ‘No, football is a contact sport,’ but I think that synchro is a contact sport,” Collins said. “There’s so many concussions, so many injuries. I always say that it’s a contact sport.” 

When asked why people should watch artistic swimming, sophomore Delaney Chelgren had a very quick response. 

“It’s so much fun and you won’t regret it. I promise,” Chelgren said. 

Sophomore Richa Advani started artistic swimming during her freshman year of high school because her mom said she would buy her Spotify Premium if she did. She said she invites her friends to watch. 

“All my friends that I’ve invited are like ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know what you were talking about before I came and saw it,’” Advani said. 

The swimmers on the team are not just building relationships with their teammates, but the swimming community as a whole. 

“I think something unique about this sport is you go to nationals, you go to big competitions, and you’re cheering for every team,” Collins said. “Because it’s such a niche sport, it’s really cool that even across state lines you can cheer for people.” 

Collins added that there is a strong community from high school, club and even varsity artistic swimming. 

Advani and Chelgren said they often meet other artistic swimmers outside of the pool who recognize them or have heard of their coaches. 

When practice is done for the night, the team works together to set up the pool for the next day. They swim the lane lines to the other end of the pool, hook them in and tighten them with a wrench.

Despite only competing a few times a year, the artistic swimming season starts in early September and does not end until after May. According to Kittelson, their only home meet is in mid-April.