On Monday, Dec. 21, the Eugene Water and Electric Board’s Willamette electric substation caused a power outage for nearly 2,000 customers, according to Joe Harwood, external communications coordinator for EWEB.

Harwood said that the substation was damaged at around 11:40 a.m. yesterday morning from a combination of high winds and fallen branches. Power services for about 2,000 campus-area customers were out for about an hour. At the 2400 block of Kincaid St., 10 customers were without power for about 90 minutes.

According to Harwood, the power outage was considered minor, as power services were restored in under two hours.

Earlier today, the White House announced the latest recipients of the National Medal of Science, in which University of Oregon chemistry professor and Presidential Chair in Science Geri Richmond was listed, according to a press release from the National Science Foundation.

Richmond will receive the medal, which is one of the nation’s highest honors given to scientists, engineers and inventors for achievement and leadership in science and technology, in a White House ceremony in early 2016. Richmond is one of nine recipients recognized for their contributions to chemistry, engineering, computing, mathematics, and biological, behavioral, social and physical sciences.

Richmond is the second scientist from UO to receive the award, according to AroundtheO.

Students were urged to evacuate from the student union of Arkansas State University at around 1:30 p.m. local time today after an armed man was reported near the area, according to the Register Guard.

University spokesman Bill Smith said that the university was on lockdown after reports emerged that an armed man drove on the campus. Smith said that the man displayed a weapon, but no shots were fired. Local law enforcement has the man surrounded, according to the university.

More to come.

On Wednesday, Dec. 3 and Thursday, Dec. 4 in the Ford Alumni Center, the University of Oregon Board of Trustees discussed sexual assault, prevention and awareness on campus.

Robin Holmes, UO Vice President for Student Life, presented to the board about sexual assault, prevention and education updates at the university. She described many programs and tasks that the university has been working on since June in order to address the issue of sexual violence on campus.

Some of these programs include the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team (SWAT), a student group that uses a theater-based approach for sexual violence education and presents a play called It Can’t Be Rape at every IntroDucktion session in the summer, and the Sexual Violence Prevention Education program. A program that produces web-based prevention information for students, administers the Alcohol EDU and Haven modules that every new enrolled student must take, and provides training for students, faculty and staff members.

A handout was provided that highlighted the efforts the university has made since June to address sexual assault prevention and education on campus.

Holmes told the trustees that 90 percent of sexual assault cases involve alcohol, which led to a discussion on potentially driving down alcohol consumption levels to lower sexual assault numbers, as suggested by trustee Ann Curry, according to the Register Guard.

“Just attacking it from the end of things doesn’t address the cultural permissiveness of people taking advantage of other people,” Holmes said.

On Thursday’s all-board meeting in the Ford Alumni Center, UO President Michael Schill continued the topic of sexual assault prevention and education in his president’s report to the trustees.

“This school obviously has a history in dealing with this issue,” Schill said. “It’s a national issue.”

He mentioned the establishment of a sexual assault advisory council at the university that includes faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members. Schill also noted the redesign of the UO’s sexual violence prevention website that provides sexual violence education and prevention information.

President Schill then discussed the results from two climate surveys concerning sexual violence at the university.

“The numbers show a disturbingly high rate of rape or unwanted sexual conduct on campus,” Schill said.

He continued by saying that 14.5 percent of all UO students have reported being sexually assaulted in some form, and 24.2 percent of all female undergraduate students have reported non-consensual sexual contact. 10.6 percent of those female students reported that they have been raped. Schill also said that there were low numbers of students who did the survey that believed that if they reported that someone had been sexually assaulted or raped, that the report would be taken seriously.

“That’s something that we need to improve, we all know we need to improve it,” Schill said.

He then mentioned climate surveys concerning sexual violence from other universities and said that the UO’s numbers are consistent with their numbers.

However, Schill said, “That doesn’t mean that we stop, that doesn’t mean that we pat ourselves on the back. That just means that there’s a lot of work to be done by a lot of universities, and we [UO] would rather be leaders than followers in that area.”

After Schill’s report, the meeting continued on to a state and federal affairs presentation to the board. After a lunch break, Vice President for Enrollment Management Roger Thompson gave a presentation on another key issue of the meetings, a proposed tuition guarantee program for the university. The meeting concluded after his presentation ended.

UO freshman Will Paustian, the sole student trustee, has an optimistic outlook for the board’s work toward these issues.

“I thought my first meeting as a member of the BoT [Board of Trustees] was an incredible experience that provided some wonderful conversation… such as the guaranteed tuition concept, the prevention of sexual violence, and the future image of the university as a whole,” Paustian said. “I am excited for what the future will hold.”

The University of Oregon Board of Trustees met today at 8 a.m. during its once-a-term meeting to discuss topics such as a potential tuition guarantee concept and racial issues.

At a breakfast meeting in Bean East Conference Room this morning, trustee members spoke with black and African-American students about racial issues at the university and nationwide. The students told the trustees about their experiences as students of color at the UO. When the breakfast ended, the trustees’ public meeting continued in the Giustina Ballroom in the Ford Alumni Center.

After approving minutes from the trustees’ meeting back in September, the focus shifted toward a public comment section. Nearly all that spoke were UO students; they voiced their concerns with the tuition guarantee concept that the trustees would later discuss, and provided ideas to the board about what they should do if the concept is approved.

After the public comment section, President Michael Schill addressed the board with a president’s report. He emphasized his goals to build faculty numbers and the importance of research at UO, hiring new academic leadership at the university, providing affordable tuition and access for all students and building a supportive and diverse UO community.

“We learn from each other here,” Schill said. “One of the important things is to make sure this campus has diversity of all kinds.”

A topic that was brought up was the possibility of renaming certain buildings on campus, such as Deady Hall and Dunn Hall, because of their namesakes’ reportedly racist histories.

After a short break, the trustees met again to discuss board committee reports based from the day before. Some of the seconded motions brought up were voting on renaming Howe Field to Jane Sanders Stadium, naming the upcoming College of Arts and Sciences as Willie and Don Tykeson Hall, renovating Bean Hall, and the repeals of outdated student conduct policies and an outdated police concerning the ending of fund balances.

Next up was a state and a federal affairs presentation to the board. A lunch break commenced, and when the trustees returned, Vice President for Enrollment Management, Roger Thompson, gave a presentation on a potential tuition guarantee concept update. Thompson presented examples of other universities in the country that had implemented a guaranteed tuition program, and described the institutions’ respective outcomes with the program. He also presented information from a student listening tour that the UO Enrollment Management staff conducted, where according to their survey, 88 percent of those that participated in the tour “agree that guaranteed tuition benefits students.”

Thompson then listed possible guidelines if the program were to be implemented at UO. Those include:

1. All entering undergraduate students would enroll at a guaranteed rate for their cohort year
2. All entering undergraduate students would have four academic years under their respective guaranteed rate without any increases
3. For students that don’t graduate in four years and enter their fifth academic year, they would be charged the guaranteed rate for the cohort that enters the university immediately after them
4. Mandatory fees would be included in the guaranteed rate

On Nov. 12, the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation held its opening bargaining session for its discussions with the University of Oregon administration in the Erb Memorial Union Ballroom from 1 to 5 p.m. The discussions for this academic year came after last year’s negotiations which led to an eight day GTFF strike in December.

At the opening bargaining session, many of the GTFF’s priorities were presented. Presented ideas included: pay raises to match the costs of living for graduate students in Eugene, creating a welcoming, safe environment for all members of the campus community, improving access and care for parents in the campus community by providing better lactation spaces at UO and fully funding childcare for graduate students that have children.

One of the main goals that the GTFF had in its bargaining sessions over the past two months with the university included having GTF paid sick leave and coming to an agreement on the eligibility and usage of paid sick days. This was accomplished after the opening bargaining session. This goal for the GTFF was emphasized in its discussions for this academic year after Senate Bill 454 was passed by Oregon legislation over the summer requiring employers to provide sick time.

According to a GTFF press release, the GTFF and university came to an agreement that graduate employees would be granted the right to take whole paid sick days off when needed, as opposed to only parts of a workday.

Each graduate employee is now able to accrue two paid sick days per academic term, and have one additional paid day during the first term of the school year. Graduate students that also act as substitutes will be paid time and a half for their efforts to ensure that undergraduate students won’t face any interruptions in their education when their GTFs are sick.

The university’s bargaining team held their opening bargaining session on Nov. 19, and the GTFF is ready to continue their bargaining sessions with the university.

While the GTFF and UO are still in the early stages of their discussions, the recent paid sick leave agreement has left the GTFF feeling ready for the next steps in their discussions.

“We (GTFF) are prepared to work with the administration to work out a contract that will be beneficial to graduate employees and the university community as a whole,” GTFF President Shawna Meechan said. “We are hopeful that this will be a productive and collaborative bargaining cycle.”

Although not every GTF on campus is a part of the GTFF and its sessions, the effects that the discussions between the labor union and university impact them greatly, as they impact the relationship between UO and the GTFs on campus.

“I’m optimistic that the University of Oregon and GTFs will continue to forge a strong relationship that is grounded in the best interests of our collective stakeholders, students, faculty, staff, alumni and the community,” UO GTF Derek Moscato said. “GTFs are proud to be an integral part of the UO community, and I don’t see that ever changing.”

A young man was accused of making online threats to shoot black people on the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus that mimicked threats linked to the shooter of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College on Oct. 1, according to the Register Guard.

19-year-old college sophomore Hunter M. Park was charged with making a terrorist threat. He could face up to seven years in prison. The threats were discovered on Tuesday on the anonymous app Yik Yak, causing many classes on the campus to be cancelled and local businesses to close for the day.

One of the threats on Yik Yak said: “Some of you are alright. Don’t go to campus tomorrow,” was identified by campus police officer Dustin Heckmaster as a similar threat made by the UCC shooter before he killed nine others and himself.

When Park was questioned by Heckmaster on Wednesday morning about the threat, Park said, “I was quoting something”, and when Heckmaster asked if the threat mimicked that of the UCC shooter’s, he replied, “Mmhmm.”

President Michael Schill called for increased affordability and higher graduation rates as he hosted his first University of Oregon all-campus address in the Erb Memorial Union Ballroom at 11 a.m. today. The public address came after he announced on Oct. 30 his commitment to improve access, retention and graduation rates for UO students.

Schill took the stage after a large audience watched a video about students’ experiences with PathwayOregon, a UO scholarship program that offers free tuition and fees for four years to Oregonian students that are Pell Grant eligible.

“Today, we are here to celebrate the accomplishments of PathwayOregon,” Schill said. “We are here to celebrate, but also to say that is not enough.”

He discussed three main objectives that he wanted to complete as president: ensuring student access and affordability, building academic programs by hiring new faculty and investing in research and delivering a diverse experience for students both inside and outside the classroom. Schill also addressed the need to overcome barriers that are preventing current and future students from graduating college.

“There are four primary barriers: institutional, financial, academic and social,” Schill said. “If we are to keep our promise of access and success, we must address all four.”

Another goal that he addressed was increasing UO’s graduation rate by at least 10 percentage points by 2020.

Schill then announced the Oregon Commitment, a plan of seven initiatives and investments totaling $17 million over five years to support his goals. The first is supporting pipeline programs that will improve the quality of K-12 education in Oregon, as he stated earlier in his address that in 2014, Oregon ranked 46th out of 50 states for K-12 graduation rates. The second initiative is expanding funding for scholarships and financial aid for students. Third was Schill’s announcement that the university will immediately invest over $500,000 each academic year to reinvent advising and tutoring programs at the university in order to improve graduation rates.

“We must all join together to assess, on a department-by-department basis, what impediments exist to graduation and reduce those barriers,” Schill said.

His fourth initiative is providing graduation completion grants to over 100 juniors and seniors who are at the highest risk of dropping out due to financial circumstances. Fifth is hiring more faculty that will emphasize the importance of students graduating in four years. The sixth is the plan to incentivize on-time graduation through university-related structural changes. Schill’s seventh and final initiative is expanding programs such as First-Year Interest Groups and study abroad for students, as these activities will help students become more connected to the university.

“This promise of access and success for all of our students – the Oregon commitment – is one we must keep,” Schill said. “Students all across our campus must succeed.”

On Nov. 10 at 11 a.m., President Schill will host his first all-campus address in the EMU Ballroom since becoming the University of Oregon’s president five months ago.

Schill will discuss his specific plans to improve access, retention and graduation rates for students at the UO, according to a press release. The “Access and Opportunity” event will be free and open to the public and university communities.

President Schill’s speech will be broadcast live on the UO’s live stream channel.

A shooting took place at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg at around 10:40 a.m. Thursday morning, killing 10 people and injuring at least seven others, authorities said. Three of those wounded are in critical condition.

Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said that the names of victims will not be released for at least one day due to ongoing investigations, the Washington Post reported.

The male shooter was confirmed deceased at the scene, according to Hanlin at a press conference. Two officers responded on the scene quickly, Hanlin said. Police engaged with the shooter at the scene, where there was an exchange of gunfire, and he acted alone. No officers were injured.

LifeFlight sent six aircrafts to the scene, according to Justin Dillingham, a chief customer officer at LifeFlight.

Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg tweeted at 2:22 p.m. that they received 10 victims from the shooting. PeaceHealth Oregon tweeted at 1:35 p.m. that three female victims arrived at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend in Springfield and that they are expecting others. They are between the ages of 18-34, and all have gunshot wounds. 

According to CNN, the identity of the shooter is 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer. Hanlin would not confirm the shooter’s name during a press conference at 7:20 p.m.

According to UOPD spokesman Kelly McIver, a Douglas County Dispatcher said the suspect involved in the shooting was detained at 11:38 a.m.

“At this point, people [at UO] should go about their day with classes and research as usual,” McIver said.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office released in a statement that all students and faculty are being transported by bus to the Douglas County Fairgrounds and are recommending that families of students and faculty go there to meet with their family members.  According to sports reporter Joseph Hoyt, on scene reporting for the Washington Post, people at the fairgrounds are volunteering to drive students home.

OSP issued a press release stating that they believe there is only one shooter that is not a threat and that there is no current threat to the community.

At 2:34 p.m. on Thursday, University of Oregon President Michael Schill sent an email to the campus community with a comment on the Umpqua Community College shooting.

“Today’s heinous act of violence at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg is a terrible tragedy that affects all of us,” Schill said. “Our hearts go out to the students, faculty, and staff of our sister institution, and to their loved ones.”

Umpqua Community College tweeted that the campus will be closed until Monday, October 5th, and all student activities for this weekend have been cancelled.

More updates to come.