Governor Kate Brown visited the University of Oregon campus yesterday with senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Representative Peter DeFazio to rally students and encourage them to vote by today’s deadline.

Dozens of people filled the EMU Amphitheater with campaign signs and the cutouts of Brown’s face, chanting “Kate, Kate, Kate” before the gubernatorial candidate took the microphone.

Former Independent candidate for governor Patrick Starnes also took the stage to endorse and introduce Brown.

Brown reminded the audience of some of the things she’s accomplished in her term as governor, saying, “We passed an increase in the minimum wage, we passed the nation’s first automatic voter registration, we’ve also been able to move forward on trans equality.”

She also emphasized that rejecting measure 105 and ensuring Oregon have a leader who is willing to stand up to the Trump administration should be voters’ priorities this election.

“Let’s leave no ballot unreturned,” Brown said to cheers. “I know that every votes makes a difference, I literally won my first race for the state house by seven votes. Your vote is your voice and every voice matters.”

After Brown spoke, she made her way into the crowd for selfies with supporters and a llama.

Brown said not only does she love visiting Eugene, that her mission in visiting campus was to “energize the student body,” which she said she sees as a key group that shares her passions.

“Student voices matter,” she told the Emerald. “Students care about climate change. We need to elect pro-climate change candidates. We need to elect candidates that are absolutely committed and have a track record of bringing people together to ensure that we have affordable access to higher education and we need to have candidates who are willing to step up to the plate and tackle common sense firearm safety.”

ASUO Internal Vice President, Imani Dorsey, also spoke after Brown and lead a chant of “Ballot in the box.”

UO senior Lindsey Carmen said she was inspired to come show her support for Wyden and Brown after they attended a memorial for the Pittsburg shooting victims at the Beth Israel synagogue in Portland. Carmen, who is Jewish, said that Brown’s appearance meant a lot to her.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Carmen said. “I didn’t think the government would show up like that. It’s close to my heart.”

As far as voting, Carmen said she’s been carrying her ballot around in her backpack and only has a very more issues and candidates to research before she submits it.

With Election Day here, Brown said they will continue to push for last minute ballots and knocking on a few more doors.

“Honestly I’m going to be spending a lot of time writing thank you notes and calling people to say thank you,” Brown said. “ I’m extremely grateful, win or lose, I’m really grateful for all of the incredible support I’ve received in this campaign.”

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Uber Eats launched in Eugene this morning, offering delivery from dozens of area restaurants through the Uber Eats app, according to an Uber press release.

Following Uber’s return on Sept. 6, this separate app will join the likes of food delivery services such as HungryDucks and JoyRun, which also bring food to students’ doorsteps.

Similar to those services, restaurants set prices and Uber Eats charges a delivery fee.

Some of the restaurants available at launch include The Daily Bagel, The Cannery, El Kiosco, Chao Pra Ya Thai Cuisine and Sixth Street Grill.

For those hoping to make some money by driving for Uber Eats, more people are eligible to be delivery drivers than Uber drivers.

According to Uber spokesperson Nathan Hambley, Uber Eats drivers only have to be 18 years old as opposed to Uber’s 21 minimum age requirement. Cars can be up to 20 years old instead of Uber’s 15-year maximum. Cars also only need to have just two doors for delivery.

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Charlie Kirk, founder and face of Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group, drew supporters and dissenters to the EMU lawn yesterday when he visited the University of Oregon, challenging students to debate him in front of his camera crew.

While some from the UO College Republicans and the UO Turning Point group, like sophomore Shea Calvert, looked on with smiles, others joined Kirk to protest his message, like junior Aidan Wall. He and a hand-full of other students tabled next to Kirk behind signs proclaiming “the real TP USA” while they handed out rolls of toilet paper. A separate group of about five counter-protestors held a YDSA (Young Democratic Socialists of America) flag quietly.

“I think it’s disgusting,” Wall said. “This is a really inflammatory group and they try to show up on campus and start problems by doing things like holding up signs that say ‘There are only two genders’ and stuff like that. They’re trying to get a reaction, that’s why they have cameras out and they’re snapping pictures of people.”

Although Kirk was hoping to talk with people who disagreed with him, Wall wasn’t interested.

“I don’t think it’s responsible to elevate his message,” said Wall. “I don’t want to give his platform any more views than it already has.” He and several other protestors expressed that Kirk’s group would likely edit the video to make the people he argues with look bad.

Calvert said she sees value in talking to those who don’t share her views, and she didn’t believe that the video would be edited to portray opposing beliefs in a bad light.

“People on the opposition do make decent points and those should be heard too,” she said. “You’d be surprised how much people are willing to have a conversation and be fair and chill.”

“Since not many people are conservative on campus it’s kind of a minority so he [Kirk] kind of brings us together. It gives us a chance to really share our views together where normally on campus there’s a lot of opposition. Which is fine, it’s healthy.” Calvert said.

Turning Point USA is scheduled to stop at the University of Washington on Oct. 18 followed by Rutgers University in New Jersey Oct. 22.

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The last day to register to vote in Oregon’s general election is Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Vote OR Vote is tabling on the corner of 13th Avenue and University Street to help students register or update their addresses.

Students can also register online at the Oregon Secretary of State’s website. If students choose to fill it out online, they must print the form, sign it and drop it off at the Lane County Elections Division at 275 W 10th Ave.

Ballots will be mailed to voters on Oct. 18 and a ballot drop box is located outside of the EMU next to the amphitheater for completed ballots.

The Lane County Elections office closes at 4 p.m.

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The City of Eugene has changed its recycling rules and the University of Oregon’s Zero Waste Program is asking students to throw all plastics away except for bottles and jugs.

Cimmeron Gillespie, Zero Waste Program’s marketing and education coordinator, defined accepted bottles as any plastic container that has a mouth smaller than its base — common types are water bottles and juice bottles, and jugs are considered containers with handles. They also consider things like jars to be bottles if they fit the shape requirement.

Zero waste has changed its recycling rules to restrict recycling anything but bottles (any plastic container in which the mouth opening at the top is smaller than its base) and jugs (any plastic containers with handles). (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

“We identify what materials there are markets for so that we can take materials that are able to be recycled,” said Gillespie. “We only want to take materials that we know we can handle and that we know that there’s a market for and we can send.”

Gillespie said the most common mistake they see when sorting the waste is people recycling cups, straws and utensils. Another thing that confuses people is the recycling symbol.

“There’s a common misconception that the recycling mobius, the triangle with the number inside, indicates that item is recyclable,” said Gillespie. “Here we don’t use the mobius to determine what’s recyclable — we use the shape. There are other areas where that system is different and every system across the United States is going to be different.”

Although it can be difficult to remember what goes where, Gillespie said the program tries to make their needs as clear as possible with visual aids on tables and trash cans with colors and pictures.

Zero Waste sorts different recyclable materials into appropriate bins. Certain items are moved in and out faster than others. For instance, plastic cans and bottles move in and out of the facility most days, while items like CDs linger around for much longer. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

According to Gillespie, UO’s waste recovery percentage is about 55 percent, meaning that amount of materials went somewhere other than a landfill.

“That means there’s still room to improve, but we’re excited that the majority of materials are not being thrown away,” said Gillespie.

Gillespie encouraged those with any other questions to visit the Zero Waste Program’s website where they can find the program’s email.

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Two University of Oregon juniors are among 21 plaintiffs suing the federal government over carbon dioxide emissions. Last week a federal judge declined the Trump Administration’s appeal and attempt to delay the case further and announced a trial date of October 29.

Filed in 2015 against the Obama administration, the complaint in the lawsuit reads, “In spite of knowing of the severe dangers posed by carbon pollution, defendants created and enhanced the dangers through fossil fuel extraction, production, consumption, transportation and exportation.”

Social justice and climate change activism have been passions of lead plaintiff and UO student Kelsey Juliana since she was 14.

“As I grew up and learned more about climate change, I realized this would be kind of like my issue I would take on because it impacts every facet of my life and certainly every facet of the lives of future generations to come,” said Juliana.

Juliana said she wants to be a teacher, so this issue will continue to be important to her as “climate change will continue to disproportionately affect younger people as this crisis gets worse.”

This lawsuit moving forward represents her years of hard work with another lawsuit of hers against the state of Oregon filed in 2011, also asking for a change in carbon emission legislation.

“For seven years now, I’ve been waiting for my chance to go in front of a judge, asking for the state of Oregon to reduce our carbon emissions,” she said. “All we want is for the courts to enforce a plan to reduce carbon emissions by a set goal in the state of Oregon.”

Juliana noted the federal case has moved much faster than the state case — only taking about two years to get a trial date with her 20 fellow plaintiffs.

“Both federal judges we’ve heard from have made it very very clear we will be going to trial October 29, and both sides better be ready because there are no more delays,” she said.

Fellow plaintiff and UO student Tia Hatton said she got involved in activism when she started to notice the effects of climate change in her hometown of Bend, Oregon.

“After my senior year of high school, we had a really bad year of snow,” said Hatton. “I didn’t know much about climate change, and when I was growing up, it was met with the idea that the science wasn’t clear. I started looking into the causes and the science and I saw it was very certain, and that’s when I got really interested.”

While she said she has high hopes for this trial to create change, Hatton said it’s not as simple as winning a trial and immediately seeing a difference.

“Even if we are successful at trial, it’ll probably take more time to urge those entities, like the EPA and the Department of Transportation, to actually implement the changes that we want, so it’ll probably be a long time that I’m involved in this,” she said. “But I do think since that’s a federal action that it can trickle down into locals taking action.”

Hatton described herself as one of the more “hesitant” plaintiffs when signing on with this case because she initially didn’t have the support of her parents.

“I wasn’t as involved in climate activism before, so I felt like I was a little more of an outsider than some of the other plaintiffs like Kelsey, who’s been doing work since she was 10,” said Hatton. 

While both Juliana and Hatton said they try not to look at negative comments online, some of the other plaintiffs coming from other states have received some harsh feedback, including the loss of friends who don’t talk to them anymore.  

“I consider myself pretty lucky to be living in this community that’s very supportive of us,” said Hatton.

The plaintiffs on the suit are represented by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit organization representing youth seeking climate change legislation.

According to Hatton, Leonardo DiCaprio is expected to come to the trail at the federal courthouse in Eugene.

Editor’s note: This post has been edited for clarity. 

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Construction crews are moving forward with the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, and with this, the University of Oregon community will continue to notice more traffic disruptions on Franklin Boulevard.

The sidewalk budding up against the construction zone is blocked off with orange barriers and a fence depicting the yellow Oregon logo, as well as the construction company’s logo.

The future site of the Knight Science Campus is seen under construction in Eugene, OR on May 24, 2018. (Maddie Knight/ Emerald)

Two westbound lanes of Franklin Boulevard closest to the construction site will be closed at night, between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. through the first week of June. One left turn lane from Agate Street onto Franklin Boulevard leaving campus will be closed, as that lane would turn into the closed lanes.

Developers have also created a website to keep track of future Knight Campus traffic updates here along with a webcam of the construction site here.

Construction began in March and is scheduled to wrap up in December of 2019.

Farther down the street, construction is also underway on a 12-story apartment complex at 959 Franklin Blvd. One westbound lane of Franklin is scheduled to be closed just west of 11th Avenue for the next year, according to Brian Richardson with the City of Eugene Public Works.

The apartment building is slated to open in September of 2019.

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University of Oregon students are putting away the rain boots and pulling out the sunglasses. Some students will be taking advantage of the spring weather by heading to local lakes and rivers.

The Outdoor Program hosts Friday Floats where students can take inflatable kayaks to local rivers and go rafting. This is one of the many ways students take advantage of nature when the sun comes out in Eugene.

On May 19, a UO sophomore died at an annual student trip to Lake Shasta. While the cause of death has not been released, according to the Shasta County Sheriff’s report water was not involved in his death.

University of Oregon Police Department spokesman Kelly McIver said he has records of five student drownings since 2011, two of them as recently as 2015.

UOPD’s water-safety tips:

• Know how to swim
• Don’t mix alcohol or other intoxicants with water recreation
• Enter the water feet-first
• When boating, wear a life jacket
• Don’t go alone
• When at the beach: always face the ocean, avoid large logs or driftwood, don’t dive from cliffs, observe signs and faces, be aware of tides

McIver also mentioned three student-athlete drownings, one as recent as 2013. In 2008, 19-year-old UO freshman football player Todd Doxey drowned in the McKenzie River while on a tubing trip with teammates.

McIver said the drowning of basketball player Jesse Nash on Mother’s Day of 1987 was while he was a student at UO and “stuck with me,” along with the death of a sorority member on the Lake Shasta trip around 1988.

ASUO President Amy Schenk also sent out an all-student email with water-safety tips as well. Here are her tips:

• Wear a life jacket! About 85 percent of drowning fatalities were people not wearing a life jacket.
• Avoid getting too tired, too cold, too much sun, or too far from safety.
• Be aware of currents, rapids, and waves, as well as underwater obstacles like trees, rocks, and debris.
• Leave the water at the first sign of thunder or lightning.
• Always make sure to let someone know where you are going.

Schenk also reminded students traveling to Lake Shasta to represent the university well and that they may still subject to the Student Code of Conduct.

As the year winds down and students try to squeeze in some memories before leaving for the summer or graduating, McIver said students can’t let the warm weather fool them. He wanted to remind students that rocks and things below the surface might not always be visible and that currents can be stronger than they look from the riverbank or shore.

“With the Willamette River being so close, not to mention other nearby lakes, rivers, the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Shasta, water safety is a life-and-death topic as we get into the warmer months,” McIver said.

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The University of Oregon campus is about to gain three baby ospreys, also sometimes called seahawks. The first two eggs’ due date is May 28, and bird-lovers or curious Ducks can watch a live-feed of the nest on top of the Knight Law School in hopes of seeing the eggs hatch.

Two ospreys have made their home in a four-foot by four-foot nest on a platform constructed 52 feet above the roof of the law school and 110 feet off the ground. While the camera to record the live stream was a more recent addition added in late February, the nest was relocated from a light pole at Hayward Field to the law roof in March 2014.

Jim Horstrup, law School building manager, said this is a much better place for the raptor species.

“Legend has it someone came over the radio and said, ‘Hey, there’s a trout in lane four,’ during a track meet,” said Horstrup.

Because of this, the osprey nest was removed from the light pole at Hayward Field in 2013, and in March of 2014, UO Athletics paid for the new nest that was assembled to match the height of light poles in the area. Horstrup said ospreys choose to nest in the tallest places they can find to protect themselves against predators. Their new location had to be tall enough so the birds wouldn’t return to Hayward the next year.

At the time, Horstrup said the budget for the relocation wasn’t large enough to include installing a camera. Donations paid for the $3,000 camera and $12,000 installation costs in honor of retired Law School dean and bird-lover Margaret Paris so that she, and others, could keep an eye on the family on the roof, according to Horstrup.

Two stories below the roof, the ospreys are broadcasted on a TV at the entrance of the law library. Horstrup said the employees of the library requested the feed after the nest was moved from Hayward field, which they could see from the library windows. A sign below the TV announced that the eggs were lain April 23 and 26 and the first two eggs’ due date is May 28.

A live stream of the Osprey nest is displayed in the libary at the Knight Law Center on Friday, May 11, 2018. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)

According to Joe Stack, Wildlife Biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, ospreys typically lay their eggs sometime from March to May and eggs take about 38 days to incubate. He said at around 52 days, the hatchlets will start to fly.

“People who might be watching this camera in middle July, early August — if you’re not seeing those birds around, it’s probably because they’re out test flying, getting their wings stronger, flying around and foraging,” said Stack.

Twigs decorate the roof below the 52-foot pole, pushed from the nest as the two resident ospreys tend to their three eggs. Horstrup said they have even found fish, eel and snake carcases that have been pushed from the nest. One time he found a 20-inch salmon skeleton on the roof.

Ospreys occasionally build nests at Autzen Stadium as well. Horstrup said they did at the time of the spring game this year, causing crews to block off a section of the stands below the nest to protect football fans from falling twigs and debris.

Stack said traffic is often not a problem to these birds, especially due to the height at which they nest. Horstrup echoed this, saying crews have pressure washed the poop and debris from the roof below the nest and the ospreys didn’t seem to care. Stack said the ospreys in Florida where he used to work were particularly fearless.

“They were all over the place,” said Stack. “They would nest on people’s boat docks, buoys — anything they could put a nest on, they would do it.”

While the osprey population declined in the early to mid-1970s, Stack said that since then, the Oregon population has bounced back. He said that in 1976 there were 13 osprey pairs between Eugene and Portland, but in 2001, the last year he said they have data from, there were 234 pairs of ospreys in Eugene.

“Now you see multiple pairs, just in downtown Eugene,” said Stack. “I would say there’s a benefit to having them here. Maybe people who fish might not agree because they’re competing with fishers.”

Other osprey nests are live streamed on YouTube too, for example in Salem, Seaside, and the University of Montana.

Those who miss the action on camera this year need not worry. According to Stack, they should be back next year.

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Thousands of marathoners and half-marathoners ran through the streets of Eugene and Springfield Sunday morning for the 12th annual Eugene Marathon that started and finished at Hayward Field. People lined the perimeter of the track and filled the stands, cheering on first-time marathoners and personal-record-breakers with signs and enthusiasm.

Although he said it was kind of a last minute decision to register for the half marathon, freshman Stephen Gaughran said running the marathon was an opportunity to connect with his dad who has a history of running, including the Eugene course last year.

“None of my siblings have ever run a marathon or a half-marathon before, so I think he’s happy that someone picked up a hobby that he’s into, even if it was a short-lived hobby,” said Gaughran.

For junior Lizzy Widder, running is also in the family and her grandfather was one reason she decided to register despite playing in a rugby tournament the day before and having an intramural soccer game later that day.

“He’s 82 and he runs every day,” Widder said. “My dad did a marathon with two weeks of training, so I tried to do it too.”

Finishing on Hayward Field was special for fellow freshman Nicole Kiley and Gaughran. For Gaughran, who said he’s never been on Hayward Field, it was a motivator.

“As you start to come out of the woods you can hear people cheering so I started pretending like I’d been running fast the entire time. Finishing on Hayward, that was the highlight. At that point, I was in so much pain but I kind of forgot it once I got to the track,” Gaughran said.

The crowd also did not go unnoticed with signs and even people with a banjo and an accordion.

“Pretty much the whole way the streets were lined with people which was a lot of fun,” said Gaughran. “There’s a lot of energy all around you which made the run a lot easier and helped distract you from how much it hurt.”

Widder said the familiarity of running around campus is one of the reasons she decided to run the half marathon.

One feature Widder and Gaughran utilized was the new tracking feature allowing spectators to track runners on the course. Wider said knowing her friends were watching her run on their phone was a motivator for her.

“We ran past my house and they all came outside to cheer,” she said.

Gaughran said his dad tracked him as well.

“The first thing he did when I called him was remind me that he ran it like 30 minutes faster than me back in the day,” he said. “As a whole, he was definitely excited.”

Although he said his dad wants to run the marathon with him next year, he’s not making any plans yet.

“At the moment I think I’m retiring from running,” said Gaughran. “That’s not to say I won’t come out of retirement, but I’m hanging up the spikes for a while.”

Kiley said she aims to do the full marathon next year.

“It’s such a beautiful track and running next to everyone on the sidelines and in the stands was really cool too,” said Kiley.

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