Here are live updates from the Emerald’s breaking news team at the Civic Stadium fire near 20th Avenue & Willamette Street in Eugene.

5:25 p.m.: The Eugene Police Department received a call at about a fire at Civic Stadium, according to EPD officer Aron Lindsay.

5:26 p.m.: 38 emergency personnel responded to the two-alarm fire, observing flames that were over twice the height of the stadium, police spokesperson John Hankemeier said. Police set up a perimeter on 18th Avenue and Amazon Parkway and asked people within a two-block radius of the stadium to evacuate.

6:58 p.m.: Eugene Fire Chief Randall Groves said there were no injuries as a result of the fire..

7:02 p.m.: The fire was deemed under control, police spokesperson Melinda McLaughlin said.

9:06 p.m.:  McLaughlin announced that the evacuation order had been lifted, though traffic around the stadium will remain blocked possibly through the night.

Fire officials are asking residents near the stadium to look out for possible embers from the fire that have landed near their homes, McLaughlin said. They are also seeking information from the public that could help with the investigation.

McLaughlin said there will be no further information until tomorrow morning.

**Warning: some of the content in this story could be triggering to survivors of sexual assault.**

A June 18 letter from the Oregon State Bar cleared two University of Oregon attorneys, Samantha Hill and Douglas Park, of misconduct allegations. The letter was addressed to university Health Center employee, Jennifer Morlok, who had “raised concerns” about the way university attorneys handled a student’s counseling records.

Park and Hill are the attorneys representing the UO in an ongoing lawsuit filed by a student in January. In the suit, the plaintiff, “Jane Doe,” said she was denied rights guaranteed by Title IX when she was allegedly gang raped in March 2014 by three former members of the UO men’s basketball team. Though the suit doesn’t specify a dollar amount, it asks for the reimbursement of tuition and costs associated with getting care for the “severe mental anguish” she suffered after the assault.

The suit also claimed that the university attorneys had violated the Family Educational Rights and Protection Act, also known as FERPA, when they requested the counseling records of the plaintiff from Health Center employees without her explicit permission.

The OSB letter, written by Assistant General Counsel Troy Wood, identifies Morlok as the therapist that the student sought care from at the Health Center. She, along with Health Center colleague Karen Stokes, openly criticized the retrieval of the student’s records. The university and the OSB letter maintain that the records, delivered to the attorneys in sealed envelopes, were never opened.

One year after the alleged rape occurred, UO Provost Frances Bronet announced in March 2015 that the records had been returned.

Despite the university’s retreat, Wood wrote to Morlok that “the evidence is insufficient to support a conclusion that it was obviously illegal or fraudulent for the university’s lawyers to take custody of the UCTC (university-operated counseling center) file.”

Under most circumstances (outside of a college or university-operated facility), the student’s records would have been protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, a piece of federal legislation passed in 1996 which protects the confidentiality of medical records.

But since the Health Center is affiliated with the university, it was operating under FEPRA — which has its own set of rules.

FERPA allows the disclosure of records without the student’s permission if they are related to an ongoing suit against the institution in question. Since the student is seeking reimbursement for damages caused by emotional distress, Frank LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center says it was “probably” within legal boundaries for the attorneys to have requested the records.

But FERPA hasn’t stopped the Oregon legislature from taking matters into its own hands. Oregon House Bill 3476, which passed unanimously, protects communications between sexual assault survivors and their advocates and makes records pertaining to these communications impermissible in Oregon courtrooms without the consent of the survivor.

As for the OSB letter, “the university is pleased” with the decision, a UO spokesman said in a statement Thursday to The Oregonian. Morlok can appeal to the Bar’s General Council for a final decision.

Morlok has also brought forward complaints about four other UO psychologists, including the vice president for student life Robin Holmes, and the clinic director Shelley Kerr. The Oregon Board of Psychologist Examiners is currently investigating those complaints.

Noah McGraw also contributed to this report. 

In this week’s episode of the Weekly Show, hosts Dahlia Bazzaz and Alexandra Wallachy discuss the background, details, and significance of both the election of next year’s ASUO president Helena Schlegel and the selection of the University of Oregon’s next president, Michael Schill.

Here are the links to the stories referenced in the podcast, and further reading material:

– Last Monday’s profile of Helena Schlegel
– Initial announcement of Michael Schill’s selection for presidency by the UO Board of Trustees
– 10 things you should know about the UO’s next president

There’s also some first-hand audio of Schill answering questions about his policy plans in a press conference after his selection.

Have a wonderfully sunny Monday, and don’t forget to tune in next week!

Salem lent its hand to the University of Oregon’s meningitis vaccine campaign. This week, Oregon Governor Kate Brown released a public service announcement directed at the UO. In the video, Brown encouraged the student body to get vaccinated and throws up an “O” at the end.

Brown’s office invited the Emerald to watch the production of the PSA and participate in a short Q&A session. Below is a transcript of a conversation with the governor.

Q: Whose idea was it to release a public service announcement? 

A: I became concerned when a sixth student was diagnosed with the disease. I asked, “What can I do to help?” and folks (from the University of Oregon) came up with the PSA. 

Q: What is the state’s goal for the number of students vaccinated? 

A: I hear that our Ducks are doing really well. This is the highest amount of vaccinations we’ve seen during an outbreak, so I have to congratulate our UO students for taking the first step. We just want to make sure that our students are safe and healthy, and vaccinations are the key way to get there.

Q: Do you have a target number, though?

A: We’d obviously like to get everyone (undergraduates) but we know that’s probably not going to happen.

Q: And why is that?

A: I think students are just busy. They’re worried about their next final, they’re juggling classes, and it’s just a challenge. It’s not unusual. The vaccination rate is high; we just want to get it higher so we can prevent any future outbreaks. 

Q: This strain of vaccine hasn’t been used on a large amount of people before. What would you say to those who are hesitant? 

A: This is a generational challenge. In my generation, we grew up with the possibility of getting any number of serious childhood diseases, so my generation was quite rigorous about getting our vaccines. As a result, a number of diseases that were present when I was born are virtually disappearing. I think there’s a lot of mythology now surrounding vaccinations, and I think we need to look at the facts. 

Q: Is there a fear that this disease could spread to the rest of the state if enough students don’t get vaccinated? 

A: We’re just concerned about students at this point. 

The PSA comes after a mass-vaccination effort hosted by the university at Matthew Knight Arena in early March. About 8,000 undergraduates received the first round of shots for the new Type B meningitis vaccine.

Since January, six students have been diagnosed with meningococcemia, and on Feb. 16 freshman student Lauren Jones died from complications related to the illness.

Over spring break, two sexual assaults on March 25 were recorded on the University of Oregon Police Department’s daily campus crime log. The log did not indicate any information about where the assaults happened, but the incidents were referred to the department by UO’s Title IX office.

Trespassing was the most prevalent crime over the break, with a total of six incidents. A plurality of the incidents recorded happened at UO’s Riverfront Research Park, behind Franklin Boulevard on Millrace Drive.

Below is a map of the incidents.

On March 23, Oregon Governor Kate Brown will release a Public Service Announcement along with the Oregon Health Authority in response to a sixth case of bacterial meningitis at the University of Oregon.

The PSA is about “the importance of getting a vaccination” against meningitis said Melissa Navas, Brown’s press secretary. It’s geared toward the UO student body.

Navas added that Brown has been in constant communication with the Oregon Health Authority about the status of the disease in the state.

About 8,000 UO students have gotten the vaccine. Earlier this month, the UO held a mass vaccination clinic at Matthew Knight arena and started a social media campaign called “#GetTheVax” to encourage more vaccinations. Local area pharmacies have also started carrying the vaccines.

The post Oregon governor to release PSA about meningitis vaccine appeared first on Emerald Media.

Nineteen crimes were logged during Dead Week on the University of Oregon Police Department’s daily campus crime record. Here’s a breakdown by each type of crime:

– Drugs/alcohol: 8

– Criminal mischief/trespassing/graffiti: 5

– Theft/other: 6

March 12 was the most crime-heavy day this week, with a total of seven crimes recorded. Only one crime was logged on Friday.

On the log, three drug violations had their locations recorded as “420 tree.” The “420 tree” is a term UOPD officers use to refer to a tree on the eastern edge of campus where students and others are often seen smoking marijuana.

The post Campus crime wrap-up, week 10 appeared first on Emerald Media.

In November 2014, a University of Oregon freshman said she was inappropriately touched by a former UO College of Education professor, while at an event in Portland, according to The Register Guard. 

The student did not press charges against 55-year-old Donald Michael Pavel — who left the UO in January after being a fully tenured professor for over five years.

Pavel and the student attended the annual gala for the Native American Youth and Family Center separately. According to the police report, Pavel asked the student to step out into the hallway where the inappropriate touching took place.

After the student reported the incident to the UOPD, the UO took measures to make sure that Pavel was forbidden access to students while an investigation was conducted.

UO administration and the UOPD could not be reached immediately for comment.

The post UO professor’s departure may be linked with student claim of inappropriate touching appeared first on Emerald Media.

If you’re a graduate student at the University of Oregon, chances are that you won’t be lining up for a meningitis vaccine at Matthew Knight Arena anytime soon.

According to an email sent by the UO Grad School’s Assistant Dean, Kassy Fisher, yesterday morning, grad students that aren’t living on campus or suffering from certain “high risk medical conditions” won’t be eligible for the type B meningitis vaccine being offered to all UO undergraduates.

Dr. Patrick Luedtke, a senior public health officer for Lane County Public Health, said that eligibility for the vaccine is determined by a trio of public health entities: Lane County Public Health, the Center for Disease Control based in Atlanta and the Oregon Health Authority.

Though there aren’t any significant physiological differences from, “an 18-year-old freshman and 23-year-old grad student,” health officials decided eligibility based on “certain collaborative behaviors” that undergraduates are more likely to hold, Luedtke said. This includes things like sharing drinks and living in dorms — both of which increase the risk for meningococcal disease to spread.

Fisher’s email said that if grad students were interested in getting the vaccine from a local pharmacy, they would need to get a prescription and discuss coverage for the vaccine with a health insurance provider.

To Luedtke’s knowledge, no graduate students have been affected by this year’s meningococcemia outbreak — but the eligibilities are not set in stone. If additional studies reveal that grad students are more or equally at risk for contracting the disease than undergraduates, “they could change on occasion.”

The post The University of Oregon isn’t offering meningitis vaccine to off-campus grad students appeared first on Emerald Media.