For Joan Zivi, her son’s story ended the night of the disappearance.

That’s when she says her 24-year-old son, a University of Oregon graduate and former editor of The Oregon Voice, must have died. He had to. Zivi knows that if her son lived past that night, he would have called.

Noah DeWitt would not let his family worry.

Despite the countless hours of searching, chasing leads and handing out flyers up and down Interstate 5 by his mother and family members, DeWitt was found not by a tipster or a member of Zivi’s search committee. He was found by Eugene Public Works Department employees.

His body was discovered inside a wet well at a sewage pumping station.

DeWitt had been reported missing after leaving a friend’s house in a state of distress and barefoot at 2 a.m. on Feb. 14.

DeWitt graduated from the UO in 2013 with a double major in journalism and international studies.

According to Ben Stone, one of DeWitt’s coworkers at The Voice, DeWitt was a diligent worker who had a beautiful lifestyle and an unforgettable presence.

“He had an indescribable way with words,” Stone said. “I enjoyed reading his writing more than anyone (else’s).”

Margaret Appel was the publisher of Oregon Voice when DeWitt was the editor in 2013 and remembers pulling all-nighters with him.

“We would stay up for three days and completely ignore school work,” she said. “He made everything so fun. It was one of the best times of my life.”

Stone said DeWitt helped make The Voice a respectful, fun place. He set the tone for the magazine and accommodated everybody without offending anyone.

“I pitched some horrible stories, but he would take them and make them better,” Stone said.

Prior to DeWitt’s disappearance, Zivi said her son was never hard to reach, especially if he knew his mother was worried. Because of his reliable personality, a disappearance was alarming.

DeWitt and his mother, Joan Zivi, just before her wedding in Portland. (Photo courtesy of Rachael DeWitt.)

Zivi describes DeWitt’s state of mind as “lost” before the disappearance. DeWitt had recently witnessed a school bus crash. Before that, a park he frequented was the site of a shooting. Zivi believes all of this could have contributed to his distress.

“He was just having some weak thoughts about the world, and I think it just all contributed to his state of mind,” Zivi said.

There was a point in the search when DeWitt’s friends thought he may not want to be found.

Sometimes her phone would ring and the caller would have a tip about her son’s whereabouts. These tips served as bits of hope for Zivi — clues that her son could still be alive and they would reunite soon.

One bit of hope led the family to Southern Oregon.

Zivi received a phone call from a man who worked on a mobile health clinic van in Medford. The man said he had seen DeWitt some weeks prior at the clinic, and remembered him not wearing shoes. He couldn’t forget the bare feet, he said, because the temperatures that night were frigid. He also said DeWitt wasn’t requesting services that night, but was simply in the presence of others.

“That sounded promising,” Zivi said. “It was possible. It was plausible.”

After visiting a resource center, where a visitor had reportedly spoken with DeWitt, Zivi and her family traveled into the mountains outside Ashland. The visitor had recalled DeWitt talking about traveling into the mountains, so the family plotted a route and made their way.

After hours of searching, they found nothing. Zivi returned to Portland with just as many passengers in the car as when she left, the tread on the tires a little worse for wear after 570 miles.

The phone rang one last time in late May. Eugene public works employees had found Noah DeWitt. His body was discovered at the Fillmore wastewater station.

A maintenance crew found what they initially reported as “a mass” 15 to 20 feet inside a shaft during a routine check on May 27.

The Eugene Police Department was called in when the crew discovered that it was a body. A forensics team and the violent crimes unit investigated the scene. On May 31, the body was confirmed as DeWitt’s.

City officials said there are only two ways for a person to enter the well: through a manhole or through internalized access — which officials say is unlikely because the building is gated and locked.

Zivi was in Corvallis when she got the phone call. After she laid down her phone, she described a feeling of pure shock. Then utter grief.

“It was an extremely heartbreaking time,” Zivi said.

Two days later, DeWitt’s family posted on his Facebook page that he had passed away.

The medical examiner found no obvious causes of death, but results from a toxicology test are still pending, the Eugene Police told the Emerald on Wednesday. The investigation is ongoing.

Zivi believes her son died the same day that he went missing.

“This was the mystery, that he would not do this,” Zivi said. “He would not disappear without letting us know. He would know that would destroy us, and he wouldn’t want that.”

A time and place has not yet been set for a vigil or funeral.

Ally Brayton contributed to this report.

At approximately 3:25 p.m. on April 22, a tripped fire alarm in the Student Recreation Center that forced students out of the building.

Twenty-five minutes later, students were able to re-enter.

Taylor Sharman, supervisor at the Rec, confirmed there were no injuries and the Rec had reopened.

Multiple things could have set off the alarm — including steam, sparks or a sprinkler, but staff treated this instance as if it were a real fire, Sharman said.

Summer Haenny, sophomore at the University of Oregon, was on her way to her 4 p.m. yoga class when she was unable to enter the Rec.

“The whole thing sucks, people want to work out,” Haenny said.

The reason for the tripped alarm is currently unknown. The Rec reopened at approximately 3:50 p.m.

The Oregon House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 3476 on April 13 to help protect the confidentiality of communications between sexual assault survivors and their advocates.

The bill was, in part, a response to the controversial request and release of a University of Oregon student’s counseling records while the university was preparing for a potential lawsuit last December. The student threatening legal action claimed the UO had mishandled her alleged sexual assault by three men’s basketball players.

In January of this year, the student eventually sued the UO claiming that the records release was a violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, a piece of federal legislation that protects student privacy rights.

Later, UO attorney Doug Park said he would have acted differently in obtaining these records.

The suit also claimed that her Title IX rights were violated when head UO’s men’s basketball coach Dana Altman recruited Brandon Austin, a former basketball player from Rhode Island with previous sexual assault convictions. Austin was one of the perpetrators named in the alleged assault.

Under the new bill, for any record of these communications to be released, the survivor must give consent. Otherwise, the information requested will not be admissible in Oregon courtrooms, both in civil and criminal cases.

HB 3476 is effective immediately.

Michael H. Schill is the University of Oregon’s next president.

The UO’s board of trustees confirmed the appointment, which was first reported by Willamette Week, during its emergency meeting on April 14.

“This is an opportunity to make a difference,”Schill said at an April 14 press conference. “This is an opportunity to take a great school, a proud school, an exciting school and move it forward. That’s what I’m here for.”

Schill, 56, is dean of the the Harry N. Wyatt law school at the University of Chicago and a former dean of the UCLA’s law school.

“In his positions at UCLA and Chicago, for a variety of reasons associated with his leadership, he was able to increase the national rankings of those school’s during his tenure,” Chuck Lillis said in the April 14 meeting. “He would say he didn’t do that alone, but he was certainly the leader.”

According to press material released April 10, the board negotiated a $660,000 salary, and a five-year contract.

The president’s package also includes standard employee benefits, a car, a retention package and a spot at the McMorran House – the traditional home occupied by UO’s president.

Mark Helfrich, head coach of the football team, said he was excited to get Schill equated with his team.

“I have total confidence in the interim, the rest of the board and Mrs. Ballmer and everybody else that was apart in this decision making process. His track record is impeccable.” Helfrich said. “I’m excited to get to know him better and get him incorporated with our team.”

Schill’s first official day as president will be July 1, 2015. Until then, Scott Coltrane will continue to serve in the interim.

Schill is a first-generation college student, and previously attended Princeton university for his undergrad, and later attended Yale to obtain his law degree. He specializes in real estate and housing law.

Schill will succeed Michael Gottfredson as the university’s 18th official president. Coltrane took over for Gottfredson in the interim after his sudden resignation on Aug. 6, 2014.

During Gottfredson’s tenure, the UO’s independent governing board was created, currently known as the board of trustees. About a month after the board took governance, Gottfredson announced his resignation.

Preceding Gottfredson, Richard Lariviere served as president for two years before being fired from his position for advocating for a “new partnership” with the state of Oregon.

That partnership was what eventually turned into the university’s board of trustees. Then Governor John Kitzhaber was a leading advocate for Lariviere’s dismissal.

Before the board of trustees was established, the State Board of Higher Education, with the governor’s approval decided UO’s president.

“We faced some very difficult situations, some still on going,” Kurt Willcox said on April 14. “Challenges, mistakes, things that have divided people, and I look forward to Mike being someone that can bring us together.”

Schill will be Oregon’s sixth president since 2009, including interim presidents. The last long standing president is Dave Frohnmayer, who passed away on March 9 from prostate cancer. Frohnmayer served the university for 15 years.

Follow Alex Cremer on Twitter @alex_cremer92

The University of Oregon may have a new president later today.

The board of trustees called an emergency meeting Tuesday morning, which a release from the university’s department of communications indicates will be a discussion and selection of the new president.

The meeting will be held in room 403 of the Ford Alumni Center at 12:30 p.m. A press conference will be held in the lobby directly afterward.

Michael Gottfredson served the UO as president starting in 2012 before suddenly resigning on Aug. 6, 2014.

In his letter of resignation, he said he was looking forward to spending more time with his wife and family.

Scott Coltrane took over for Gottfredson in the Interim. 

The UO elected a search committee to lead the charge in finding UO’s next president. Connie Ballmer, who graduated from UO’s school of Journalism and Communication in 1984, is heading up that committee.

Follow Alex Cremer on Twitter: @alex_cremer92

The University of Oregon Thursday denied a report in The Oregonian claiming administrators “significantly weakened” confidentiality safeguards for students seeking help from the UO’s Counseling and Testing Center.

UO spokesperson Julie Brown said that no changes have been made to the school’s policies in handling students health and wellness records, and that information was added to the website for clarity.

On Wednesday, The Oregonian reported that UCTC Director Shelly Kerr, working with Assistant Director Joseph DeWitz and the UO’s legal department, had revised the confidentiality policy in ways that “contradicts” Provost Frances Bronet’s promises in a March 20 memo to students that their records would remain confidential except under extraordinary circumstances.

Brown said this untrue.

“It is not accurate that the article suggests that the provost message was out of alignment with the information within the counseling and testing center. They were not changing policies in the interim, what they were attempting to do is clarify the website of existing practices.”

The Oregonian reported that one of the changes allows records to be released without a written statement from the student – something that the former policy banned.

Brown said that in legal exceptions the university has always been allowed to obtain a student’s records without written consent, and the updated information on the website simply clarifies that practice.

The UO has received criticism for its handling of records in a recent sexual assault case involving the alleged rape of a student by three basketball players that occurred last spring. In this case, the university obtained the survivor’s counseling records without a written statement. 

Interim general counsel Doug Park said later that he would have acted differently in requesting the students counseling records.

Shelly Kerr, counseling center director, said in a email obtained by The Oregonian that she worked with UO’s attorneys to update the information, because she wants the information on the website to be as transparent as possible. Brown said that it is a normal practice to work with the general counsel when updating information such as this.

The Oregonian also reported that no other staff members in the counseling center were a part of the conversation to change the policies. Brown didn’t have a comment on this subject.

Follow Alex Cremer on Twitter @Alex_Cremer92

We were surrounded by people from every angle. There was pushing from the front and the back as fans tried to make their way to the front of the stage, waiting for the main show to start. The lights flashed and the crowd roared. Phones flew out of pockets, and selfies were taken as the Seattle-based duo hit the stage.

Odesza took the stage at nearly 10:22 p.m. at Eugene’s McDonald Theatre, where the hipster vibe was alive and well.

Lindsay Lowend was ODESZA’s opener, but wasn’t a huge hit among the crowd. The electro-based artists couldn’t hold the crowds attention, and fans became impatient.

They didn’t scatter during this set, however, they knew the main act was only moments away from taking the stage. Fans began chanting  “ODESZA, ODESZA…” in anticipation.

Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, lead artists of ODESZA, began their set with a spin off of “Say My Name,” their most popular beat. They transitioned into more of their funky beats, including “All We Need” and “My Friends Never Die,” and fans cheered as the music pulsated through the crowd.

Their visuals evolved from a bright orange to a purple facade, clouded with geometrics. The lights really added to the crowd’s involvement, and with every beat that dropped the crowd got down.

Fans with their phones out-crowded the front of the venue, while couples wrapped in each other’s arms stayed in the back. A few electronic fans spirited the venue with shuffling, and the dancing never stopped.

Tickets were sold out long before the show began, and were going on craigslist for quadruple the original price – $80. Doors opened at 7 p.m., but the show didn’t start until 8 p.m.

Fans began lining up at 6:30 p.m., eager to get their spot at center stage.

Women were dressed in crop tops and high-waisted shorts, and lipstick and headbands seemed to be a theme. The men stuck to flannels and t-shirts, dressed a little more casual than the women.

If you missed them, or weren’t able to snag a ticket off craigslist, ODESZA will also be playing this year at several festivals including Sasquatch!, Coachella and What The Festival.

No personal attacks. No hidden agendas. Everyone is equal. No rolled eyes.

Those were the rules that staff had to follow during meetings when Dave Frohnmayer was leading the law school.

Before Frohnmayer was elected Dean in 1992 when the University of Oregon law school was in financial trouble. This tended to cause stress to the faculty in meetings, and his “rules of order” were his solution.

According to law Professor Caroline Forell, his rules were one way Frohnmayer’s leadership brought the law school back through it’s hardships.

“The only person who could really pull us out of that hole was Mr. Dave Frohnmayer,” Forell said. “He was Mr. Oregon… He saved us.”

Prior to Frohnmayer’s first year as dean, the law school hadn’t received any public endowments for funding.

According to Forell, the law school needed outside funding to hire new faculty to pull through the hard times.

In his first year as dean, Frohnmayer secured four endowments.

Frohnmayer died on March 9 from prostate cancer. A native Oregonian, Frohnmayer served as the University of Oregon president from 1994 to 2009 — the first Oregonian to be a president of a flagship university. After retiring from his presidency, Frohnmayer continued to serve the university as a professor teaching leadership courses through the Clark Honors College.

During Frohnmayer’s 15 years as president student enrollment increased from 16,700 students to 21,000. He led the university in two public fundraising campaigns, totaling over $1.1 billion. He also oversaw construction projects totaling over $650 million.

Included in that budget were the $89.7 million expansion of Autzen stadium, which added 12,000 seats, and the $24.5 million creation of the Knight Law Center, which increased space by nearly 50 percent.

Frohnmayer also oversaw the construction of the Moshofsky Center, budgeted for nearly $14 million, and the $11.7 million construction of the Casanova Center at Autzen Stadium. Both facilities benefited athletics, with the creation of an indoor practice field for the football team and an administrative section for coaches. Acrobatics and tumbling, women’s soccer, lacrosse and baseball were added to the UO athletic department under Frohnmayer’s presidency.

Throughout the expansive growth of the university, Frohnmayer always put his community first.

In 2009, the university faced a particularly difficult financial situation. Jim Bean, former senior vice president and provost, told university faculty that he was going to take five days of unpaid work to help the deficit.

Frohnmayer took six.

Bill Gary, solicitor general for Oregon during Frohnmayer’s first term as attorney general, said that Frohnmayer really believed in students at the university.

Former ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz was one of those students. Dotters-Katz first term as ASUO president was Frohnmayer’s last year in Johnson Hall.

Dotters-Katz recalls attending several political marches to the capital beside Frohnmayer, and a meeting with him and Ginny Burdick, current Oregon legislature senate president pro temp.

Dotters-Katz remembers a day when Frohnmayer brought him and Burdick to a window facing a tree that has been sculpted into a bench.

Frohnmayer told Dotters-Katz that the bench was dedicated to his daughters, Katie and Kirsten Frohnmayer, who passed away from a rare blood disorder called Fanconi anemia, which can lead to bone marrow failure and cancer.

“He was the kind of person that could take any moment and make it personal,” Dotters-Katz said.

Gary said that after Katie’s death in 1991, he made a commitment to his family that he refused to let this disease shape the way they lived their lives.

“Everybody says they love their kids and family is important, but in Dave and Lynn’s case, that was really challenged in ways that most of us never have to experience because of the battles that their kids have fought with Fanconi anemia,” Dotters-Katz said.

Frohnmayer also lived with this disease, though his death is not believed to be related.

Frohnmayer and his wife started a support group for Fanconi anemia in 1986. The fund morphed into the Fanconi Research Institute in 1989.

In the first meeting to expand research on the disease, 12 scientists attended. In their most recent meeting that number grew to 220.

Laura Hayes, the executive director of the institute, said the success of the institute would not have been possible without Frohnmayer.

“He was the face of the fund,” Hayes said. The institute has raised over $29 million in 25 years.

Lauren Maloney was enrolled in Frohnmayer’s leadership course fall term.

Maloney often attended Frohnmayer’s office hours, and recalls asking Frohnmayer once to edit a paper. When he was done editing, he was heading to a basketball game and called Maloney to ask where on campus he could drop the paper off to her.

Frohnmayer also stressed to Maloney to write down her long term goals, and not lose sight of them in the midst of her undergraduate experience.

“That’s definitely something that I’ve started doing since then – this is only two weeks ago, but I’ve definitely started,” Maloney said.

Frohnmayer’s kindness to Maloney is just one example of his dedication to the service to others.

Frohnmayer also led a notable career in politics. He was elected to three terms in the House of the Oregon Legislature, from 1975 to 1981 and served as attorney general of Oregon from 1981 to 1991. During Frohnmayer’s time as attorney general, he argued seven cases in front of the Supreme Court – the most of any contemporary state attorney general to date.

He won six.

“I’ve never seen anybody command that courtroom the way that he could,” Gary said

During Frohnmayer’s political career, Gary said he inspired several public figures.

“If you look around the ranks of judges, professors, attorney’s elected officials, legislators — not just in Oregon but around the country, there are literally thousands of people just like me, who would say that their career in public service was inspired by Dave Frohnmayer,” Gary said.

Gary remembered a promise that Frohnmayer made him following a meeting of Attorney Generals in Juneau, Alaska.

The Attorney General of North Dakota posed the question to Dave, “When are you going to let Bill argue a case in front of the Supreme Court?”

Dave replied, “I think he ought to have the next one.”

Being a trained lawyer, Gary took out a napkin and outlined a contract of Dave’s promise.

He put the napkin in his wallet.

Upholding his promise, Frohnmayer gave Gary the opportunity to argue the case Employment Division v. Smith about two Native Americans that were fired and unable to receive unemployment benefits because they participated in their religious ritual of smoking peyote.

Today, Gary is a lawyer for the private practice Harrang Long Gary Rudnick P.C., and for the past five year Frohnmayer has been of council to this firm.

“We had the opportunity at the end of his career to work together again, as we did in the department of justice.

Dotters-Katz said that Frohnmayer was the best president the UO has seen, and he will be dearly missed.

“The world was a better place when people like him were running it,” Dotters-Katz said.

A celebration of life will be held in Matthew Knight Area on March 21 at 2 p.m.

Follow Alexandria Cremer on Twitter @alex_cremer92

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Dahlia Bazzaz has been selected as the 2015-2016 Emerald Media Group editor-in-chief

Dahlia is currently the senior correspondent for community news at Emerald Media Group. She interned at OPB under the Snowden internship program last summer, and was a news reporter at KWVA, the University of Oregon campus radio station from fall 2012 until January 2014.

Bazzaz is a founding member of the Emerald Podcast Network, and began her career at the Emerald as a columnist in March 2014.

Peter Milliron, chair of the Emerald board of directors, highlighted Bazzaz’s plan to integrate stories on different platforms with an emphasis on visual storytelling. He said Bazzaz stressed focus on multimedia, social media, and visual elements such as maps and infographics.

“I want us to be able to tell stories in all different types of ways.” Bazzaz said. “I want the Emerald to be a place where if have a unique way that you want to tell a story that you can come here and you can do that.”

Milliron also commented on Bazzaz’s demeanor, and why it will lead the newsroom to success in the midst of chaos and breaking news.

“We felt that she keeps a level head about herself and remains calm in a storm,” he said.

Bayley Sandy, opinion editor at the Emerald said that Bazzaz is the perfect candidate for the position.

“In her short time here she has already done so much, I think that she is going to lead the newsroom in a really positive way.”

Bazzaz said that the Emerald is like her second home, and a place where she truly feels she can be herself. She wants to bring the same opportunity for every employee that walks through the Emerald doors during her tenure.

“When I walk out of class it’s like I am auto programmed to head to Suite 300 – there’s just no question in it.” Bazzaz said.

Follow Alex Cremer on Twitter: @alex_cremer92

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A celebration of life for Dave Frohnmayer, former president of the University of Oregon, will be held at Matthew Knight arena on March 21 at 2 p.m., family friend Marla Rae told The Emerald.

Frohnmayer passed away in his sleep Monday, March 9 from prostate cancer. He was 74.

Frohnmayer fought prostate cancer for 5 1/2 years. He kept his struggles with the disease private among friends and family.

Frohnmayer also served the UO as the dean of students for the School of Law, law professor and legal counsel to the university. He was the Oregon attorney general from 1981 to 1991.

His first day as president of the UO was in July of 1994.

Follow Alex Cremer on Twitter: @alex_cremer92

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