The University of Oregon campus maintenance staff often goes unnoticed for all the hard work they do to keep campus looking beautiful year-round. Gardener John Kraft is one of these people. His love for the environment and appreciation of nature’s beauty has kept him motivated to wake up every day at 4:30 a.m. for the last 7 1/2 years. Even as he is set to retire at the end of December, it’s clear he has enjoyed every day making campus look its best.

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Many college students often face the difficult task of maintaining a healthy diet on a tight budget. Organic food is touted as the best option when grocery shopping, but there are some myths surrounding it. The Emerald got to the root of organic food to separate the facts from the trend.

Peter Laufer, the J. Wallace Chair in the School of Journalism and Communication and author of “Organic: A Journalist’s Quest to Discover the Truth behind Food Labeling,” helps decode food labels and offers suggestions for ways to ensure your food is organic and eco-friendly. Casey Mast, the University Health Center’s dietician, brings insight to the nutritional value of organic food versus non-organic food and suggests tips for maintaining a balanced diet.

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Duck Connect is a new customizable search tool for students to connect with potential employers. Launched by the Career Center in June, the new system replaces the UO-JobLink that allowed students to search for jobs and internships. Duck Connect includes more features than UO JobLink had, making it easier for both students and employers to connect with each other.

Career Center Director Daniel Pascoe says the new tool can be used for finding networking events, career fairs, workshops and making appointments. It allows students to set what is called an “event agent” to be notified when jobs or events in a specific field are posted.

“It’s a tool that can be customized, which is a very exciting part of it,” Pascoe said. The Career Center is working with other advising programs across campus to provide Duck Connect as a useful tool to all students. It is also working with other universities in Oregon to develop a system that would allow employers to post job opportunities at multiple schools at one time.

“The Lundquist career services office, the University of Oregon Alumni Association, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts PODS office and the Career Center — we are administering Duck Connect together,” Pascoe said.

To get started on Duck Connect, log in through the Career Center and be sure to opt-in to receive emails from the system. The more detailed your profile is, the more events and opportunities the system can alert you about.

Pascoe stressed the importance of being motivated when it comes to searching for jobs.

“The students who succeed and who end up in the jobs they want, the jobs we want them to have, are the ones who are proactive. We know that organizing events and putting together opportunities is very important…but we also need a tool that allows us to put up those opportunities. This is the most accessible set of opportunities students have because we make them available for University of Oregon students.”

Whip up these three festive recipes this weekend for an even creepier Halloween. We’re making blood-splattered cupcakes, mummies dipped in blood and bloody vampire cocktails.

Cupcakes
Ingredients:
Red velvet cupcake mix
12 cupcake liners
1 can vanilla or cream cheese frosting
Red gel frosting
Red food coloring
Small paintbrush or new toothbrush

Directions:
Bake the cupcakes according to the box or a recipe from scratch if you’re very daring. Once the cupcakes are cool, frost them to your liking. Now comes the fun part. Squirt about a teaspoon of the gel frosting into a small bowl and add several drops of the food coloring. Mix together, adding more food coloring to make the color resemble blood. You may need to add 1/2 tsp. of warm water if the mix gets too thick. You want it to be slightly thicker than liquid so your paintbrush isn’t dripping. If you want big drops of “blood”, thicker is better. Next, coat your paintbrush with the “blood”. Holding it just over the cupcakes, run your index finger along the bristles to spray the cupcakes until you think they’re bloody enough. To protect your workspace, put some paper towels or wax paper around the area.

Mummies
Ingredients:
1 package of bun-length hot dogs (8-pack)
1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (8 servings)
Some baking flour to keep the dough from getting sticky
Ketchup

Directions:
Cut the hot dogs to look like people by slicing the dog halfway up and then about three quarters of the way up for the arms. Take your dough and roll it into long strips to wrap around the hot dogs. Use some flower if you find the dough is getting too sticky to work with. Wrap the legs, body, arms and head. Once all your mummies are wrapped up, pop them in the oven for nine minutes (or according to the package of rolls you’re using). Serve with ketchup.

Vampire Cocktails (I found that this recipe was off in measurements, so I’m writing down what I used to make two drinks.)
Ingredients:
1 cup raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
4 oz. unflavored vodka
2 oz. amaretto
3 oz. orange juice
6 oz. club soda
2 plastic syringes (You can find these at a Halloween supply store.)

Directions:
Puree the raspberries in a blender. Take a fine mesh strainer and press the puree with a spoon through the strainer into a sauce pan to separate it from the seeds. Discard the seeds. Stir in the sugar and heat the puree over medium-low. Heat for about eight minutes or until the puree resembles blood. Pour the puree into a small bowl and put it in the fridge until you need it. Next, mix the vodka and amaretto for just a few seconds. Use a shaker with ice if you have one; otherwise, a quick stir in the blender will suffice. Then stir in the orange juice and club soda. Pour the drinks into iced glasses. Now grab your “blood” and syringes. Fill the syringes with the raspberry puree and place in the glasses until you’re ready to serve.

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University of Oregon’s Episcopal Campus Ministry started a free student food pantry about three years ago with the goal of helping college students maintain a healthy diet on a low budget.

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Get away from your normal gym routine and try out these fun, free ideas for staying stress-free and in shape.

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It’s the end of the school year and many students are permanently moving out of apartments and houses. Here are some tips for making sure you get back as much of your security deposit as you can.

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The Emerald asked students their thoughts on street harassment, otherwise known as cat calling. Here’s what they had to say.

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You may see people walking around with it all the time, but what exactly is floating at the bottom of bubble tea? Milky Way gave the Emerald the run down on everything you need to know about tapioca and bubble tea.

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Lambda Chi Alpha’s dance was the winner out of all fraternities competing in Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash Sunday evening.

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