Constance Kell has seen students ripped to shreds in this competition.

Kell competed in this year’s Civil War Shark Tank, a competition where students present their business ventures to a panel of judges in the style of ABC’s Shark Tank. The prize: $1,000. On Friday, two teams from University of Oregon competed against students at Oregon State University in the third annual competition.

During the application process for the competition, students created an executive summary of their business plan and a one-minute-long pitch video.

Kell, a UO student, said that the competition is similar to Shark Tank the TV show in that students are criticized and must be prepared to answer any questions.

“I went last year and I thought it was awesome and I saw people get their heads bitten off by sharks,” Kell said. “If you’re not prepared with information that they’re looking for by showing that you’ve actually done your research and thought about all the different possibilities, you’re going to get chewed.”

The startup companies from the UO that were chosen to compete this year were Thrift Swap, a subscription-based service that would allow customers to swap their clothes out for other ones every month, and Smarter Marketing, a business that provides blog posts for companies and coordinates events that help companies connect with their target market.

The winner of the competition was Oregon State’s Fuse Machine, a manufacturing company that combines 3D printing and computerized machining. The student heading the business, Nathan Fuller, said that he would continue with his business even if he didn’t win Shark Tank, but winning $1,000 for his startup is helpful.

Jordan Johnson, former president of the Entrepreneurship Club, said that the biggest value in participating in the Civil War Shark Tank is getting feedback from judges. Last year, one of the judges was John Hull, former capital marketing director for Intel. The keynote speaker was Michael Crooke, former CEO of Patagonia.

“That’s some really big names and really powerful people giving straight, honest feedback to the students, so that’s a really big opportunity for them,” Johnson said.

Last year, UO students Orion Falvey and Oliver Alexander won the $1,000.

Alexander said that winning also provided them with networking opportunities and made them more well-known. After being invited to more competitions, their company, Orchid Health, eventually got funding.

Orchid Health is now a primary care clinic in Oakridge, which Oliver and Orion run full-time with 8 employees.

Alexander said the business is growing quickly, and participating in Shark Tank was an initial way of getting its name recognized in the local entrepreneurship community.

“I think innovation and entrepreneurship are the founding of business,” said Johnson. “The Civil War Shark Tank is basically one of the only opportunities here as an undergrad for students to really explore their own entrepreneurial spirit.”

The last case of meningococcemia on the University of Oregon’s campus was about a month ago. This doesn’t mean that students aren’t still at risk for getting infected, and health officials are strongly encouraging students to get each dose of the Meningitis B vaccine.

This vaccine comes in two forms. One is a three-dose vaccination series called Trumenba. The other is a two-dose series called Bexsero.

About 10,000 students have received the first dose of the Trumenba or Bexsero so far, said UO spokeswoman Jen McCulley. In an email to the Emerald, she added that only a small number of people have waited long enough to be eligible to receive subsequent doses.

There are no known risks that come with not getting the subsequent doses of either vaccine, said Lane County Public Health Officer,Patrick Luedtke. However, without the subsequent doses, immunity will not be boosted to an adequate level.

He said that as far as side effects to the vaccine go, he hasn’t heard of any major ones, other than a little more muscle pains or higher fevers than expected.

One student who was vaccinated, Gerald Jakabosky, developed a fever and headache after receiving the first dose of the vaccine. He wanted to make sure he was okay, so health officials suggested he get a spinal tap to be safe. This kept him out of school for a week.

He noted that this was not due to the vaccine itself, but to the procedures he underwent to make sure he was healthy afterwards. He still received the second dose of the vaccine and did not react negatively.

Luedtke added that if students are unable to receive subsequent doses of the vaccine at the appropriate time, they should make arrangements to receive it as soon as they are able.

“This can be a devastating illness and the only magic bullet that we have at present is the vaccine,” Luedtke said. “So, we want to give people the first dose and we want to give them a timely second dose.”

There is currently no data showing that someone has to start the vaccination process over if they don’t get the second dose at the appropriate time, Luedtke said. This could change in five years though, when more people have gotten the vaccine.

Students who received a vaccination dose at the clinic in Matthew Knight Arena in March were given the Trumenba series. A second dose will be offered to these students at Matthew Knight Arena from May 12 to 14. Students who haven’t been vaccinated yet can also receive the first dose of the Trumenba vaccine at this clinic.

Both vaccination series are offered at the University Health Center and pharmacies including Safeway, Albertson’s and Walgreens offer at least one of the series.

McCulley said that students should call the Health Center at (541)-346-2770 if they are behind on vaccinations or to check which vaccinations they have already had.

“We’re not out of the woods. People are still not immune. They’re still at risk,” Luedtke said. “This bacteria is still circulating and the only way to prevent the infection is to get immunity through a vaccine.”

University of Oregon student Bryant King was born with one leg and has had three kidney transplants throughout his lifetime, but he still coaches basketball at his high school and is active on campus. One of the organizations he’s involved in is the Public Relations Student Society of America, which recently coordinated a campaign to raise awareness about organ donation on campus.

The campaign is part of the National Organ Donation Awareness Competition between different schools PRSSA chapters. Each chapter pairs with a Donate Life chapter, which is an organization that encourages people to consider becoming an organ, eye and tissue donor.

UO’s PRSSA has been working with Donate Life Northwest for the past three years. Each organ donation awareness campaign that PRSSA has held focused on deceased organ donation, which means that an organ donor will be eligible to donate after they have passed away.

“I think just in general in our culture we don’t really like to talk about death, and the conversation of organ donation brings up this topic,” Aimee Adelmann, Donate Life NW Program Coordinator said.

She said that she hopes the campaign helps people understand donating their organs after they die, they could save up to eight people’s lives.

Still, she stressed the importance of having a rational conversation about donating and making sure it’s something someone genuinely wants to do.

This represents the idea behind the awareness campaign, as it encouraged students to have the conversation about donating with their family and friends.

“Really take that decision seriously and take it to heart and know that you can make such a huge difference and save so many lives,” said Tatiana Skomski, campaign coordinator. “But make sure you know the facts before you do.”

At PRSSA’s tabling event last week, there was a trivia wheel that asked questions about organ donations to help people learn more. Members also asked students to put their fingerprint on a piece of paper shaped like a duck’s foot and sign their name, signifying their pledge to discuss becoming an organ donor with people they know.

The duck’s foot coincided with the campaign’s slogan: “One Duck Saves Eight Lives.”

And while that’s true of organ donation, a tissue donor can potentially save 50.

67 people signed their names on the board and about five people registered at the table to become a donor.

“It was really fun to see the board fill up,” Skomski said. “We really just want to get people talking about it.”

PRSSA received second place for the awareness competition in 2013, and members will find out where they placed for the current campaign in a few months.

Despite everything King has gone through, he still participates in competitions like this one while maintaining a positive and goal-oriented attitude.

“You don’t know who you’re going to help by becoming an organ donor,” King said. “It’s a tough decision to make but it’s a very inspiring and self-rewarding one.”

With only four years of college, international students don’t have time to focus on their insecurities.

This is the belief of Hailin Zhou and Duxing Liu, UO students from China who co-founded the Love My Accent campaign last year to give advice to international students and encourage them to be confident with their accent throughout their college careers.

When Zhou was a freshman, she struggled to get involved in communities on campus. This was mostly because she wasn’t confident in the way she spoke and she thought that most people couldn’t understand her.

After entering a business fraternity her sophomore year, she realized that she shouldn’t let her accent hold her back.

“I realized the point is not the way you speak,” Zhou said. “It’s what you say.”

She noticed that uncertainty with one’s accent was common among international students, and co-founded the Love My Accent campaign to provide a community for students overcoming the same challenges.

One of these students was Anne Lu, who struggled with being confident with her accent, especially when involved in group projects where other students were native English speakers.

“I can barely catch up with all of their ideas and points so at the very beginning I was afraid to speak in a group and share my ideas,” Lu said.

After discovering the Love My Accent campaign, she could relate to other students that had the same problems.

This was primarily through videos on YouTube called Senior Snap that feature UO seniors and alumnae from different countries. In each video, they offer students advice about how to succeed in college and a career.

Some students focus on how to be confident in an interview, how to network, or how to become involved with different groups on campus. The one piece of advice that is consistent with each video is to stay confident and not allow an accent to become a barrier.

“English is a language; it’s a form of communication and just because somebody doesn’t speak English fluently doesn’t mean that their knowledge level or intelligence level is low,” said Kyungla Chae, a speaker in the videos from South Korea. “It‘s a second language and it’s not going to be perfect.”

She stressed the importance of being confident with an accent and embracing its connection to a person’s nationality and culture.

A speaker at the Love My Accent showcase event in March, UO student from China Jing Li, used himself as an example of how accents don’t limit opportunities.

Even though he has an accent, he was offered an internship with Amazon, Jing said. He believes that as long as someone is well rounded, they have a chance at being successful.

The campaign encourages students to enjoy their time in college and be comfortable with their own voice, Zhou said.

“We want international students to be confident to speak their second language and to know that their accent is their identity,” Zhou said. “You don’t need to get rid of it.”

On April 8, Straub Hall filled with people of all ages wondering what happens when physics meets entertainment. The University of Oregon hosted its second Physics Slam, in which six faculty members in the UO physics department presented their research. Each physicist had 10 minutes to present a topic in a way they thought the audience would understand and enjoy. These topics touched on concepts ranging from particle packing to the movement of bacteria, with each physicist telling jokes and showing diagrams to help shape their presentation.

“We’re very happy that there was a very appreciative audience here,” Jim Brau, director of the Center for High Energy Physics, said. “They seemed to be very engaged in the presentations by all of the speakers.”

Of the speakers, UO astronomy lecturer Scott Fisher, discussed how the origins of humans date back to the Big Bang. He elaborated on how although not all of the elements present in the human body existed back then; part of what makes up a person still dates back about 6 billion years ago.

“I think events like this are just really important because they give us a chance to speak to folks we normally wouldn’t see,” Fisher said. “And we all love what we do, so I hope that comes through.”

After each physicist presented, judges voted Fisher as the winner. He received the book “What If?” by Randall Munroe and a weather station as a prize.

The Physics Slam helps show the diverse problems that physicists are researching and the large turnout made the event a success, said UO physics major Eryn Cangi.

“I think it just shows that people are really interested in this stuff,” Cangi said. “They want to make the effort to learn it and I think that’s a really good sign.”

OSPIRG’s ballot measure, which asked students if they support Oregon raising its solar energy consumption from .02 percent to 10 percent by 2025, passed by an 89 percent margin. OSPIRG students are meeting with Governor Kate Brown’s environment and energy office this term to ask for a commitment to increase solar energy consumption.

“(Brown) is pretty progressive and cares about environmental issues,” Kat Lockwood, OSPIRG organizing director said. “We want her to make this part of her agenda for her term in office.”

According to Lockwood, bills pertaining to solar energy conversion will likely pass with Brown’s support. With the student support presented in the election results, OSPIRG will have more leverage in asking Brown to make the commitment.

The results of the ballot measure were out of 2,790 students.

“This sends a really strong message that we can now use to make a real change to solar energy in Oregon,” said UO OSPIRG chapter chair, Hannah Picknell.

She said that although increasing solar energy in Oregon to 10 percent is an ambitious goal, it’s a huge way to prevent global warming and protect the environment.

After meeting with the governor, OSPIRG students plan on supporting the University of Oregon Student Sustainability Coalition’s campaign to increase solar energy on campus, primarily by placing solar panels on top of the EMU. They will find out if they received a grant for these panels on Earth Day, April 22.

How long can you go without looking at your phone? 15 minutes? One hour? Half a class period?

Members of University of Oregon’s student body have pledged to avoid all contact with technology for a full 24 hours for Earth Week this year. This is just one aspect of the celebration at the UO from April 20 to 25, with much of the week focusing on reconnecting with the environment.

One of the groups hosting an event during Earth Week is Analog U, an organization that promotes healthy living in a society overwhelmed by technology. They are encouraging students to abstain from using digital devices for 24 hours.

Analog U member Emily Fiocco hopes that students will become more mindful and reconnect with themselves, others, and the environment during this process.

Students can take the pledge to disconnect online at analogu.uoregon.edu and join others participating for free yoga, tai chi, board games and arts and crafts, at the Collier House during the day.

“We are an extension of the world around us and oftentimes vice versa,” Fiocco said. “That is what we’re exploring with our activities.”

The Analog U event will be taking place during an Earth Day Celebration hosted by the Sustainability Coalition, which will feature 40 different local businesses, community organizations and student groups. They will each be tabling with interactive activities that emphasize mindfulness and respect for the environment.

About 30 other events throughout Earth Week will also be emphasizing these same ideas. These range from workshops, to a service day, to documentary screenings, to an Earth Day Celebration.

One of the largest events features the speeches from various experts on environmental issues, including Tom Goldtooth, the director of the Indigenous Environmental Network. He’s been an advocator for environmental justice globally and within the Native American community for over 37 years.

“Humanity and nature are now standing at a critical place,” Goldtooth said. “Mother Earth is being pushed to her limits.”

He added that the severity of climate change directly impacts the circle of life and transformations need to be made for future generations. During this year’s Earth Week, students should focus on contributing to a society that respects life and building a sustainable world.

Students can listen to Goldtooth touch upon these ideas for free on April 23 in the EMU ballroom at 6 p.m.

“We sit there and we think and read about all these issues, but rarely do we have the opportunity to engage and listen to the people who are doing real on the ground work,” said Niria Garcia, co-director of UO’s Coalition Against Environmental Racism.

By participating in events such as Analog U’s Disconnect to Reconnect, students can already implement some of Goldtooth’s ideas and reconnect with the environment on a small scale.

Erkan said that she hopes every event held during Earth Week will connect students with nature and help them better understand its value.

“Every student here is a global citizen and a member of this world and each of us plays a role in creating a sustainable world for us to live in,” Erkan said. “So the information we’re sharing is of importance to everyone.”

Students can learn more by visiting the Sustainability Coalition’s table in the EMU amphitheater during Earth Week or visiting coalition.uoregon.edu/earthweek.

When UO student Dalton Fusco was told that only .02% of Oregon’s energy was solar, she wanted to make a change. She joined students in the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group’s UO chapter in implementing their Go Solar Oregon campaign, in which they are trying to persuade governor Kate Brown to commit to Oregon going 10% solar by 2025.

President Obama wants the U.S. to get 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 in his climate plan. OSPIRG members thought campaigning for the usage of solar energy would contribute to this plan the most, since the percentage of solar energy used in Oregon is so low.

“Sometimes Oregon isn’t as green as you perceive it from the outside,” Fusco said. “But this is a great way to make Oregon the green state that it is and that it can be.”

Members of OSPIRG agree that using renewable energy is a great way to combat climate change and its negative effects.

One of the main benefits of switching to solar energy is that it doesn’t pollute the environment like fossil fuels do, said Environmental Oregon intern Caitlin Feely.

Feely said that while solar development needs a push on the state level, at the University it has received widespread support.

This was most prevalent when OSPIRG asked students to sign a petition for a ballot measure on ASUO’s election ballots in spring. This measure would ask voting students if they support Oregon’s solar energy conversion. After over 1,500 students signed the petition, the measure was placed on the ballot.

The results of the ballot will mirror this student support, Kat Lockwood, OSPIRG Organizing Director said. She hopes that when the governor sees this, solar energy conversion will become a priority.

“We want to be able to symbolically say that that the entire University of Oregon voted on this,” said UO chapter chair Hannah Picknell.

Students in the Sustainability Coalition are already trying to implement a more solar campus by requesting a grant to place solar panels on top of the EMU during its renovation process.

Fusco, a Sustainability Coalition Outreach Executive, said that this would add to Oregon’s energy portfolio and encourage other campuses to do the same thing.

Environmental Oregon is also enforcing solar energy by trying to renew bills and get new bills passed in Oregon’s legislature that make receiving solar energy easier. They have also been collaborating with OSPIRG by helping them host a town hall meeting next term that will center on the importance of going solar.

“Now is the time to act on solar energy,” Feely said. “Anything we can do to push solar development, we should be doing.”

Feely said the biggest reason solar energy hasn’t been given much attention in recent years is that it’s expensive. However, once solar energy becomes more widely used, economies of scale should drive prices lower.

Lockwood said that global warming and climate change are some of the biggest issues facing young people today and using solar energy is one way to address the problem.

“There’s not any good reason why we haven’t had solar energy in Oregon,” Lockwood said. “So, let’s get some.”

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Former University of Oregon president Dave Frohnmayer had an extensive resume and a busy schedule, but UO student Kevin Frazier said Frohnmayer always found time for students.

Frohnmayer, who died on March 9 from prostate cancer, had a warm and hopeful nature. That prompted Frazier to coordinate a vigil for the late UO president on Monday night at Johnson Hall.

Students, faculty, friends and family held candles to honor Frohnmayer as students and community members spoke of his tenacity and kindness.

Frazier, one of the speakers, met Frohnmayer through the Wayne Morse Scholars program and had the opportunity to interview him.

“He taught me what it meant to be a true public servant,” Frazier said. “I think we owe it to Dave to challenge ourselves to give back, to serve and to ultimately love others.”

Gordon Bettles, steward of the Many Nations Longhouse, spoke about the support that Frohnmayer offered the Native American community, adding that the Longhouse wouldn’t exist without him.

More students, many of whom took a leadership class from Frohnmayer, spoke of Frohnmayer’s kindness and his investment in students.

David Hubin, current senior assistant to the president and close friend to Frohnmayer, was in attendance and nodded in agreement with everything the speakers said.

He said that Frohnmayer was probably one of the most remarkable intellects he ever met, but that the former president was also humble. He recalled that it was fun to go places with Frohnmayer because people would often approach him to say hi.

This approachability translated into his teaching and presidency.

“He wanted the area outside of his office to be enticing and he always had an open door policy,” Hubin said.

He encouraged those who knew Frohnmayer to sign their names and share their memories in a book dedicated to the former president in Johnson Hall.

Members of Frohnmayer’s family said they were overwhelmed and moved by the outpouring of warmth present at the vigil.

Just before it ended, UO board of trustees member Ginevra Ralph spoke to the candle-holding crowd.

“Your flames will go out, but his never will,” she said. “Peace be to the best Duck of all.”

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When it comes to humanitarian work, J.D. Van Alstyne believes that action shouldn’t be taken without input from those receiving aid. That’s one reason why he founded a Nourish International chapter at University of Oregon, a student-led organization whose members listen to the visions of those in poverty and offer support in a collaborative way.

The organization started at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2003, and now has 60 chapters encompassing over 800 students across the U.S. and Canada.

Alstyne founded the UO’s chapter in fall 2014 after always being told to go to school and get a job.
“This didn’t seem fulfilling,” he said. “So I started to look at ways to start my own business or nonprofit and found Nourish.”

Each year, chapter members seek out an organization they wish to partner with. Last year the University of Washington’s chapter worked with Rural Health Care Foundation in Uganda building clean water sources and educating primary school students about hygiene.

Alstyne said that 780 million people worldwide don’t have access to clean water and over 3.4 million people die from water related illnesses each year. The effects of the clean water sources built last year were so profound that more communities wanted to get involved, Alstyne said.

To accommodate for this, the UO chapter and UW chapter are both partnering with RHCF this year. They will collectively be sending four to eight students to Uganda for a few weeks this summer to continue building clean water sources.
Paige Henderson, UW’s chapter leader, said that Nourish International is a great platform for students to take on responsibilities and be leaders.

“We’re not just young American college students saying ‘you need water’ so we’ll make you something,” she said. “We’re listening to communities’ needs and responding to the needs they have identified as opposed to telling them what to do.”

Nourish International members strive to listen to organizations’ entrepreneurial visions and solutions to eradicate poverty, rather than choosing what is best for a community, Alstyne said. This collaborative way of working on projects creates lasting partnerships between organizations.

Aside from the projects in Uganda, UO’s chapter coordinates business ventures throughout the year. These ventures earn the chapter money for RHCF while also benefiting the community.

An upcoming venture concerns sanding and priming old and new coolers and selling them to sororities.
Another venture involves purchasing coffee at wholesale price from Global Delights. A dollar will be donated to a relief nursery for every pound sold. After purchasing coffee, UO’s chapter will be selling it to faculty on campus and using the proceeds to benefit this year’s project.

“It’s an example of socially responsible business,” Alstyne said. “It’s something that helps local communities and communities abroad while also helping students gain practical skills in social entrepreneurship, leadership, and responsible development.”

He said he hopes to partner on ventures with groups like the Sustainability Coalition, Net Impact, and the Cultural Forum, among others in the future.

And clean water isn’t the only thing they focus on: Projects in places like Guatemala, Uganda and India have included building clean water sources while others have focused on women’s empowerment and business, according to Chancey Rouse, Nourish International’s program director.

“A lot of students have said Nourish is such a huge part of their college experience and lives,” Rouse said. “We were really excited to expand more to the Northwest and University of Oregon would be a really cool campus for us to be on.”

Students can get involved by attending meetings in Fenton 119 Tuesdays at 7 p.m.

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