Portland rapper Wynne — Sina Holwerda — was hit by a car last Monday on her way back to her apartment from class at the University of Oregon, where she is a junior studying music.

“I was walking across 13th and I was probably three-quarters of the way across on a walk signal and all of the sudden I’m just wiped out,” Holwerda said.

Holwerda was struck by a Nissan SUV that was driving south on Patterson Street and turning left onto East 13th. The driver failed to see her in the crosswalk.

“I just felt the impact on my hip and the bystander witness said that I hit the top of the car and flew forward and then I was on the ground,” Holwerda said. Because the scene of the accident is right next to an emergency room, a nurse was there quickly.

Holwerda was transported to a hospital and the driver of the vehicle was issued a ticket for failure to yield to a pedestrian, according to Eugene Police.

i literally got hit by a car and my grandma just texted me to tell me I’m a good stunt woman

— WYNNE (@sinawynne) November 30, 2017

According to Holwerda, the driver was a student and who happened to have lived in the same building as her. She said that a few days after the accident the driver came to Holwerda’s apartment to check on her and to apologize, and she seemed stressed out.

“I’m sure she had a worse day than I did,” Holwerda said of that Monday.

Holwerda had a concussion and several serious bruises and is still recovering.

She said she had been in another car accident just two weeks before this accident, in which she was stopped at a stop sign and was rear-ended by another vehicle. She had dislocated her shoulder during that accident and the injury is still healing.

Sina Holwerda (Phillip Quinn/Emerald)

This accident on Monday occurred shortly before finals for classes and a show she was supposed to perform in the following Wednesday with the Illaquips, UO’s hip-hop ensemble, but was unable to attend.

“In my family, you just tough it out — even if you’re hit by a car,” Holwerda said. She managed the walk to campus several times to do a final presentation and speak to professors about getting extensions on other projects. She plans on taking all of her final exams on time.

“I’ve been trying to chill but I’m not good at not doing things, like relaxing and not working on music and business,” Holwerda said.

Wynne will be performing on Dec. 23 at the Doug Fir lounge in an all-female hip-hop showcase.

i gave a final presentation with a broken body and a concussion and I got a 97% fwm Nissan SUV pic.twitter.com/QQ6RK9H5OY

— WYNNE (@sinawynne) November 30, 2017

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At around 11:30 a.m. a car struck a female pedestrian while walking through the crosswalk across East 13th Avenue three blocks away from campus.

She was struck by a grey Nissan SUV. The driver was driving south on Patterson Street and turning left. The driver failed to see the pedestrian, according to Eugene Police Officer Richard Bremer.

The pedestrian was taken to a hospital for medical care. Bremer said that she looked like she was experiencing pain in her side. She was seen lying on the ground after the incident.

Officers and emergency medical responders were at the scene.

Officers issued the driver a citation for failure to yield to a pedestrian.

This story is developing.

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“You just walk in and walk out with money,” says Cheyenne Johnson, a former Lane Community College student. Twice a week, she visits the Grifols Talecris plasma donation center in Eugene, supplementing her income with money exchanged for the plasma in her veins.

Plasma, a component of blood, is used to make medicine. It can be separated out from a person’s blood, and the remainder safely returned to the donor. At the Eugene Grifols location, donors can make between $25 and $150 a week, depending on how many consecutive visits they make —maximum eight visits per month. Cheyenne, 23, visits regularly because her hours have been cut at work, and has been donating since she was 18.

Cheyenne Johnson stands in front of the Grifols Talecris plasma donation center in Eugene, Ore. on Nov. 21, 2017. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

Plasma donation is a source of income for people all over the United States. ABC News reported that 94 percent of the world’s plasma comes from the United States, and 80 percent of the country’s plasma centers are located in poor neighborhoods. Plasma is a $16.8 billion global industry, and it continues to grow. Grifols sells plasma products in more than 90 countries, and is the third largest global manufacturer of plasma therapies, according to its website.   

In Eugene, many young adults and students go to the donation center in search of quick cash. Its website even boasts that it’s “just minutes away from the University of Oregon,” and that students can do homework while they donate. Beth Vial, a former phlebotomist at the Eugene Grifols location, estimated that about one third of the donors at the Eugene location are between the ages of 18 and 24.

According to data from the New York Times, the median income of a student’s family at UO is more than double the national average, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That makes UO the 174th richest university out of 2,395 in the United States, in terms of student wealth. Being a low income student at a school like UO can be an isolating experience, and donating plasma to supplement a small income is just one of the things that might separate low income students from their peers.

Laying back in a comfortable chair and listening to the whir of a machine filtering your blood might seem like fast, easy money. But it’s not always quick or painless, and it’s not guaranteed. Donors can be turned away for a variety of reasons.

The Process

A donor’s first visit to the Grifols Telecris building on West 8th Avenue can take several hours. First-timers receive a medical exam and a drug test, and are asked to fill out a long questionnaire and watch an informational video. There are several things that can disqualify a donor, including intravenous drug use, recent tattoos or piercings, or a lack of a permanent address. Vial said homeless people are not allowed to donate because they have a higher chance of being exposed to “high risk activities.”

But young, healthy college students like Corbin Couraud, a senior at UO who regularly donates plasma, have a good chance of qualifying. He said that he once saw a woman who appeared to be homeless come into the donation center holding many of her belongings. “They asked her when the last time she ate was,” Corbin said. When she answered, “Yesterday,” she was turned away.

Cheyenne said she sees all sorts of donors at the center, including “creepy people and weird people, but there’s also put-together people and normal people.” Corbin said that he usually sees other students from UO and LCC. “It’s kind of interesting to look around and think, ‘I have a few really specific things in common with everybody in this room and everything else is a complete mystery,’” he said.

Once the process of signing up with Talecris is completed, visits are straightforward. Donors sit in black chairs until their appointment slot is called. Everyone in the slot shuffles over to the computer kiosks, where they take an abridged version of the questionnaire and return to their seats.

Then donors are individually called into one of four small rooms, where a donor center technician examines them. A quick prick to the finger tests the donor’s blood for iron content and hematocrit level, or red blood cell concentration. They also check the donor’s heart rate, blood pressure, and temperature. If any of these levels fall outside of the approved range, the donor will be turned away and they will not be paid that day.

Donation centers also mark a donor’s finger with a permanent marker that glows under a blacklight to prevent people from donating at multiple centers. They check fingers under a blacklight for marks from other centers, too.

Some donors leave the rooms looking at the ground, defeated.

“I told them not to put me in room two. It’s bad luck,” a woman said as she left a donor room looking upset. “I never pass in room two.”

Both Cheyenne and Corbin usually pass, but Cheyenne has failed the screening process a few times because she biked to the center. Biking caused her heart rate to be too high to donate. Once, Corbin failed because he hadn’t eaten in several hours.

A Grifols Talecris plasma donation center behind a barbed wire fence near Eugene’s industrial Bethel neighborhood. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

If a donor passes, they are directed to walk down a hallway and take a seat in a room full of blue lounge chairs. A movie usually plays on the large TVs all around the donation center for people to watch while they wait. Next, a phlebotomist wearing a clear plastic face mask and a light blue uniform smears the donor’s arm with iodine — a thick, foul-smelling, yellow paste. Then, holding the donor’s arm with their gloved hands, the phlebotomist chooses a vein and inserts a 16-gauge needle. It’s roughly three times as big as a needle for a standard ear piercing. Cheyenne and Corbin both look away while the needle goes in.

According to Cheyenne, the process only really hurts when the needle goes in and gets taken out. Corbin said he kind of likes the experience. “I mean, as much as a person can like getting strapped into a machine and having fluids sucked out of their body,” he laughed. He said if he thinks about it too much, the process is uncomfortable, but you can get used to it.

Blood flows through the clear tube attached to the needle and into the plasmapheresis machine. It looks similar to a cassette player; two metal disks spin while the machine separates the plasma from the rest of the blood. Plasma comes out of the machine and into a bottle. “It’s kind of shocking how much plasma they take — it’s a pretty big bottle,” Corbin said. The color of the plasma varies from person to person, from honey to orange. The rest of the blood is returned to the donor through the same tube.

It takes between 30 minutes to an hour for the bottle to fill with plasma. Cheyenne donates with her headphones on. “I always have my music blaring,” she said. After finishing the donation, cold saline runs through the tubes, turning them bright red and sending a chill through the donor.

After the saline, a phlebotomist removes the needle, which stings a bit.  The phlebotomist wraps the donor’s arm in a bandage and they are free to leave. The money earned automatically loads onto the donor’s Grifols debit card. They can return to donate again in two days. The needle leaves a mark. Some people scar more than others, but with frequent donations there’s a good chance that donors will have lasting needle marks.

“I don’t like having marks on my arms,” Cheyenne said. “So far it hasn’t been bad. It’s healed before I’ve gone back.” She worries that people might think she’s on heroin or meth because of the needle marks.

Corbin is less worried about it. “I don’t feel like I strike people as someone who does heroin.” He said that if someone asked he’d just tell them he donates plasma and then they would feel bad for assuming.

But for Corbin, it can be a frustrating experience going to school at UO, because sometimes people don’t seem to understand what it means to be worried about money, he said. “It sucks so much. I’m not embarrassed that I am low-income, but I do get jealous. I get salty about being at a school where I look around and there are people with money,” he said.

Many students on campus have never thought about donating plasma for extra income, according to Corbin. “I’ve had people who do have money and they’re like ‘Oh my god I could never,’” he said. “You would be surprised at what you would do if you were actually worried about where your next meal was going to come from.”

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In the foggy Portland Analog theater and cafe, LA rock group Together PANGEA played to a modest crowd. Its provocative lyrics and grungy edge give the band a distinct punk influence. People were in thrifted jackets, colorful hair and beanies. This weekend, the four-man group is finishing out their American tour in support of a new album, “Bulls and Roosters.”

Opener Tall Juan, an Argentinian rock guitarist and vocalist started off the show with feeling. He hopped around energetically, cracking jokes and inviting two audience members on stage to play the drums. Like Together PANGEA, he represents a unique mix of garage rock and punk.

Together PANGEA opened the set with “Alive” from their 2014 album “Badillac.” The audience started cheering and dancing as the dark and heavy guitar intro turned fast paced. The band sounded rebellious and energetic, mixing plenty of rough and smooth vocals. A group of teen girls with buzzed hair had already started a mosh pit. Between songs, frontman William Keegan smirked as he told the crowd: “You guys take care of each other in the pit though, okay?”

But in the middle of the third song, a particularly memorable security guard was already forcibly ejecting a rowdy teen boy out of the theater. The security guard seemed seven feet tall as he roughly elbowed through the crowd and yanked people down from attempts at crowd surfing. He had a long white beard and a huge tribal turtle tattooed on the back of his shaved head.

The band played crowd-pleasing classics, like “Snakedog,” “Too Drunk to Come” and “Sick Shit,” as well as new songs from its recently-released album “Bulls and Roosters,” including the retro-sounding rock song “Alison.”

Bassist Danny Bengston wrote three songs on the new album, including “Alison.” In an interview with the Emerald, Bengtson explained that the inspiration for that song came from real events in his life. “That is a real person. I’m actually going to see her in a couple days,” he said.

Keegan addressed the crowd before launching into “Peach Mirror,” another new track: “Can we play something a little chiller, a little nicer? Is that alright with you guys?” Chiller is a good description of “Bulls and Roosters.” It still sounds uniquely Together PANGEA, but it’s calmed down, and a lot of the punk influence isn’t there anymore.

The show ended a bit abruptly, but not before Keegan reached out to touch the hands of the fans in the front row. Audience members left sweaty, excited and slightly bruised, but happy.

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Students walking into Lawrence Hall will see the same halls, seats and chalkboards. What they won’t see is the newly organized inner-workings of the schools that occupy the building.

All are invited to the new College of Design’s launch party at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, in Lawrence Hall to welcome its new name and a new organizational structure.

The School of Architecture and Allied Arts was one large school with many departments, offering nearly 30 different programs. The restructure to the College of Design created a college of three smaller, more specialized schools and one independent department.

Dean of the College of Design Christoph Lindner led the restructure and said the goal was to prepare the school for the next hundred years.

“When we looked at reorganizing, we asked ourselves, ‘Who do we want to be? Where do we want to be in 50 years time, in 100 years time and then what do we need to do now to put ourselves on a course to achieving that?” he said in an interview with the Emerald.

“We are quite unique on the West Coast in our school of arts and design for how many subdisciplines we do. Before, that was all crammed into the smallest category we had — a department. And we’ve expanded that. We’ve said, ‘No, when you do that many things and you do it well, that’s called a school.’ And that’s why we had to become a college — in order to unpack these departments and let them grow into schools.”

The new schools are the School of Architecture and Environment, the School of Art and Design and the School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management. The Department of Art and Architecture remains an independent department.

The newly appointed heads of schools are Liska Chan, associate professor of landscape architecture; Laura Vandenburgh, associate professor of art; and Rich Margerum, professor of planning, public policy and management, respectively. Kate Mondloch continues on as the head of the art and architecture department.

While the shift may seem like a huge change for students in the college, administrators took care not to disturb the trajectory of students who were enrolled before the shift.

“All students will be able to complete the degrees they signed up for. So all change is for incoming and future students.” Lindner said. “We did not want to disrupt anybody’s studies or their experience or their progress.”

More than 60 offices were moved over the summer as part of the restructure. Areas with shared interests were moved together to encourage collaboration.

“We wanted them to also have physical proximity, not just academic proximity,” Lindner said.

“The one thing that we are actively encouraging is more collaboration—between everything,” Linder added. “Boundaries are there to be broken, and disciplinary boundaries are artificial constructions. They are walls. We want our students and our faculty to feel free to go where their interests take them.”

Lindner also encourages collaboration between students, administrators and faculty. Student input as an integral part of the process, he said. In order to remain connected with the interests of students, Lindner teaches two classes per year in the College of Design.

“I teach classes so that I can interact with students in a learning environment and just get a sense of the kind of work they’re interested in doing, the sort of career and professional ambitions that they have, what it’s like when professors have to use Canvas,” he said. “I want to know what it’s like in that environment.”

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The Pagan community in Eugene includes a particularly spiritual individual named “Elan” who said there are a lot of people who have a lot of strange ideas about what being a Pagan is.

“There’s a lot of Pagans in Eugene. Whether you could call it a community or not, I think there are lots of little communities of Pagans. There are thousands of us,” Elan said.

On September 24, the Eugene area celebrated its second annual Pagan Pride Day. The event focuses on sharing Paganism with the public in order to quell the misconceptions that many have about Paganism. The event at Alton Baker Park included informational tables, workshops, vendors, a ritual for the Autumn Equinox, food and more. An estimated 250-300 people attended throughout the day.

Paganism is not a singular religion, but a conglomerate of many religious practices. Most are based in connectedness to the Earth. The term “Paganism” includes Witches, Polytheists, Occultists and hundreds more, according to the Huffington Post.

Elan has been a member of many different Pagan groups in Eugene, including Wiccans, Heathens, Druids and Shamans. As part of Pagan tradition, she does not use her full legal name publically. Professionally, she simply goes by “Elan.”

Elan has been involved in Pagan Pride days in Eugene and Portland. This year she taught a workshop at which attendees made their own herbal charms. Last year she taught attendees how to roll their own smudge sticks, wrapped herbs—commonly sage—used for rituals. For the last eight years, she has volunteered at local prisons, where she guides prisoners in Wicca and other Pagan religions.

She said that in the last two years, Pagan Pride has been by far the largest gathering of Pagans in the area. Pagans don’t often meet as a community, but rather in their respective subgroups, and many practice Paganism by themselves or even in secret.

“A lot of Pagans are solitary. They don’t want people to know. I’ve even worked with people [whose] kids don’t know. They don’t want their kids to know anything about it,” Elan said. She cited misconceptions and distrust towards Paganism as the reason that many choose to practice in private.

Elan said that many people associate Paganism with sinister witchcraft or the devil, but it’s more about feeling a strong connection to the Earth and spiritualism.

The festival was planned by Eugene Pagan Pride, which is lead by Joy Germack Dances. Eugene Pagan Pride is affiliated with the international organization Pagan Pride Project, and follows the guidelines established by the organization.

The guidelines for a Pride Day festival detailed on the Pagan Pride Project’s website are aimed at achieving a better image of Pagans to society. All events include an open ritual, a food drive for a local charitable organization, and press releases. These elements were  “designed to increase community goodwill and public relations towards Paganism,” wrote Dagonet Dewr, Executive Director of Pagan Pride Project.

“It’s about education. It’s a chance to get out there and be seen,” Elan said. “We’re pretty much just like anyone else.”

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Around 60-70 students attended the Holi festival at the Memorial Quad at 6 p.m. Friday. Holi is a Hindu Holiday celebrating the arrival of spring. The event was hosted by UO student group Students of the Indian Subcontinent.

Students threw colored cornstarch powder on each other and into the air. Colorful clouds of powder hung over everyone. Upbeat Indian music was played through a sound system. People of all ages participated. SIS provided snacks and drinks for attendees.

Ashley Cordes and Sudhanshu Sane in the midsts of a color fight. UO Students of the Indian Subcontinent threw the 2017 Holi Festival in front of the Knight Library. (Ben Green/Daily Emerald)

In past years, up to 1,000 students have attended Holi at UO.

This year the weather was fairly cold and rainy.

Holi is celebrated yearly at the University of Oregon. Although Holi is usually celebrated in the Spring between February and March in India, at UO the weather is too cold, so it is celebrated in June.

The origin of Holi is based on a mythological story about the demoness Holika, who was killed in a fire by the god Vishnu. The festival represented the celebration of good versus evil. Holi is celebrated all over the Indian subcontinent, and all over the world by Hindu communities.

Now, according to Rishika Krishna, UO student and incoming president and director of SIS, Holi has a romantic association and it is a day to celebrate and be with family and friends. “It has the Hindu mythological background, but now it’s more associated with people getting together and having fun,” she said.

According to Krishna, anyone is welcome to join, even if they don’t usually celebrate Hindu holidays or know much about the history behind the festival.

“It’s the one time of year that anybody from any family can come together and celebrate,” she said.

“If you watch Bollywood, Holi is always associated with a romantic fling coming to be,” Krishna said, “because it’s the one day where anything can happen.”

Josh Ryerson and Hugo Pineda dumping an umbrella full of color onto their friends. (Ben Green/Daily Emerald)

Ashley Cordes whipping her hair back and forth at the Holi festival. (Ben Green/Daily Emerald)

Josh Ryerson and Hugo Pineda enjoying the Holi festival. (Ben Green/Daily Emerald)

Achyuthan Ramaswany throwing color at his friend. (Ben Green/Daily Emerald)

UO students: Zee Aspandiar, Karishma Shah, David Widder, and Adam Carlton enjoying the Holi festival. (Ben Green/Daily Emerald)

Sudhanshu Sane taking a break at the Holi Festival. (Ben Green/Daily Emerald)

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Swinging swords, firing arrows and wielding shields on a battlefield may seem like activities only seen in movies, but University of Oregon’s Belegarth club has been practicing medieval combat for nearly a decade.

Belegarth Medieval Combat Society is a worldwide organization. There are different smaller regional clubs, called realms, all over the world. Tir na nOg is the name of the UO’s realm, founded in 2008. ASUO recognizes and supports Belegarth as a member of club sports. The club meets every Sunday at 2 p.m. and often participates in events locally and around the country.

“Belegarth takes a lot from fencing and LARP culture,” said Evan Schlesinger, president and director of the UO club.

During meetings, people dress in historically accurate costume or get inspiration from fantasy stories like “Lord of the Rings” or “Game of Thrones.” The difference between LARP (Live Action Role Play) and Belegarth is that Belegarth is much closer to a sport, with organized rules and strategies.

“Tank” and “Voss” fight in an activity as part of the Belegarth Medieval Combat Society on the University of Oregon Campus on Fri. May 18, 2017. (Samuel Marshall/Emerald)

Nationally held events usually consist of thousands of fighters participating in different game modes. A popular game mode is called “One for All,” in which fighters form a circle and fight until a single person is left “alive.” Other game modes use teams.

“It’s a sea of people and there’s spears flying and people shouting. Sometimes it’s really sweaty and crazy, and you have to rely on your training.” Schlesinger said.

People often camp and meet new people from other realms during events.

BMCS is a boffer sport, which means members use padded weapons in combat. Players abide by the rules and if they are “killed” they must lie on the ground.

There are four categories of weapons, and each deals a different amount of damage depending on where on the body the person is struck. Damage is based on a point system. Blue weapons are used for swinging — like swords and axes. Green weapons are for stabbing. Red is for a heavy weapon like a big axe, and these can be used to “break” shields. Yellow means throwing; rocks, arrows and spears are all yellow. Weapons can be more than one color, for example, a sword could be blue and green.

Any student can join the group at no cost. UO’s BMCS club has a cache of boffer weapons and can always fashion more if a student desires a different kind. Every weapon must pass inspection to make sure it is safe to use, and members must follow safety rules, like no hitting anyone in the head, unless it’s a projectile, in which case the head and face are fair game.

“The only time we tell someone something negative is when they are doing something dangerous,” said Schlesinger.

Schlesinger said he wants to make new members feel welcome.

He said they find ways to include everybody because of all of the different ways to participate. People of all abilities can join. “It’s very much whatever you feel comfortable with,” he said.

Schlesinger also said that people often assume that only men participate; however, UO’s BMCS club was founded by two women. Now, the club has an exclusively female unit called the Valkyries.

“Their whole thing is ‘we’re not as good as the boys, we’re better than the boys’ — and I can attest to that,” Schlesinger said.

For anyone who is interested in the sport and the culture but not interested in participating in actual combat, there are also members who are non-combat, or non-com, and Schlesinger explained that those members are just as important as any. “Some of the most amazing non-coms have great skills like sewing.”

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Thousands attended Foam Wonderland at the Cuthbert Amphitheater on Saturday, an annual rave known for DJs, dancing and lots of foam sprayed on the audience; goggles are suggested.

However, one of the biggest headliners, Borgore, couldn’t show up due to a canceled flight, and many of the concert-goers are still waiting to get a refund.

Borgore, an Israeli producer and DJ, wrote in a tweet on the night of the show, “Unfortunately due to mechanical failure on the jet, I am not going to make it to Foam Wonderland tonight. Trust that we have exhausted absolutely all options possible.” He also wrote that he rarely misses shows and wishes everyone at the event a safe and fun night.

Attendees were informed of his absence between songs while one of the openers performed. Some were surprised and upset while others just kept dancing.

“It was a moment of absolute disbelief. I couldn’t believe it was actually happening,” said UO sophomore Ben Ailstock.

Attendees were told that they could receive a refund if they went to the ticket booth before 9 p.m. that night. Attendees were asked to leave the event after returning their tickets, which were priced at around 50 dollars each. Many people chose to return their tickets but many stayed to see the other performers.

Ailstock chose to get a refund. “The cost of the ticket isn’t cheap, and really you’re paying for the headliner,” he said. He waited in line for about an hour and a half to get his name written down in a notebook by staff at the Cuthbert. He said he has not received a refund yet. “It wasn’t very organized. I’m not expecting my money back for a while.”

DJs Party Favor and Arius extended their sets to fill the time that was supposed to be occupied by Borgore.

For Tomer Vagner, UO Freshman and third-time returner to Foam Wonderland, it was still a great experience. He explained that even though Borgore couldn’t make it, he didn’t choose to get a refund. “Either we can exit and get a refund or party it up,” he said.

The event was presented by Red Cube and Crowdsurf. Neither company was available for comment.

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University of Oregon students remember the infamous purple cooler from last year’s Shasta Weekend emblazoned with the phrase, “Do You Wanna Do Some Blow Man?” and the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity letters. The image was just an example of the mess created by University of Oregon students on Slaughterhouse Island during the annual Shasta Weekend trip.

The Facebook post with the image of the cooler went viral and garnered national attention. It was shared over 71,200 times.

Slaughterhouse Island in Lake Shasta was labeled a biohazard, and 25 workers in the forest service were called in to clean up the mess left by the students, including trash, tents and human waste.

(Courtesy of Jennifer Vick Cox)

The UO Lambda Chi Alpha chapter was temporarily suspended by its national leadership. The fraternity issued an apology, but the volunteers from the fraternity sent to help with the cleanup were turned away because the site was deemed too hazardous due to the human waste left on the island. The fraternity is no longer suspended, but it refused to comment on whether any of its members are attending Shasta this year.

At Lake Shasta, students rent houseboats and party all weekend. Photos and videos of the trips show students drinking alcohol, swimming, smoking and dancing on boats at the lake, as well as partying on the shore.

The sheriff’s boating safety department at the lake has been working with the National Forest Service and the resorts in the area to keep students safe and prevent littering as much as possible.

Shasta County Deputy Ray Hughes explained that this year the resorts in the area will be providing receptacles for trash.

“If kids don’t want to keep their tents, they can throw them away,” he said.

Marina manager for Jones Valley Resort Ricky Villanueva confirmed, “We provided a dumpster there and apparently the kids would see the dumpster and take in their trash. It made a big difference. We plan on doing it for years to come.”

According to UO sophomore Dani Gomez, who attended Shasta Weekend for the second year in a row, “Everyone was kind of trying to make a bigger effort to not create a situation like last year.”

Gomez said many students attempted to clean up the landscape.

“By the time I packed up onto my boat, there was nothing left on the island. All the tents were gone and boys were walking around with trash bags,” she said.

The Division of Student Life from UO and Oregon State University worked together to send a joint letter addressed to fraternity and sorority chapter advisors at both schools. The letter stressed safety and declared that the trip is not endorsed by either institution. “Their decision to attend is not condoned by their chapter, their international organization, or by UO/OSU.”

(Ben Green/Emerald)

According to the letter, “Students may in certain instances be held accountable individually and organizationally pursuant to the UO and OSU Student Conduct Codes and local laws.”

The annual trip includes students from many different universities, including UO and OSU. Not all students who attend are members of fraternity and sorority life, but many are.

Although UO and OSU officials don’t approve of poor behavior from students at Lake Shasta, the schools have difficulty identifying specific people whom may have violated the student conduct code, and therefore holding students responsible can be difficult. The schools have made efforts to advise students about safety measures.

OSU students visited Lake Shasta during Mother’s Day weekend.

UO students were at Lake Shasta last weekend and are expected next weekend as well.

According to Hughes in an interview on Friday, UO students began arriving Thursday and no arrests had been made.

“So far it’s been all right, just kids out here having a good time,” he said.

UO student Bowen Krause said he never saw students get arrested but did see police officers issue tickets to his peers.

“It did seem unusual the number of officers that were there and the seemingly minor things that they would stop people for,” he said.

The mix of a large body of water and copious amounts of drinking has annually brought concerns of safety from UO and OSU, as well as the local Sheriff’s office.

“There’s really not anything the university can do to stop the event from happening,” said UO spokesman Tobin Klinger. Klinger explained that it can be difficult to enforce the student conduct code off-campus, and that the university would penalize the students if they could. Often it is too difficult to pinpoint which students did what damage, said Klinger.

According to Klinger, an informational session about water safety and personal safety offered by Student Life through the substance abuse prevention and student success office was scheduled to take place on May 18, but was canceled due to low registration. 

In an email from ASUO president Quinn Haaga and ASOSU president Rachel Grisham, the presidents stressed safety and environmental consideration. “Please remember to be good stewards of the environment if you do choose to visit Shasta — which is a national forest,” the email stated.

UO junior Teddy Burnette, a Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity member, said last year made fraternities and sororities look bad and this year was a chance to make it better.

“Everyone didn’t want to do that again, and it’s so easy to clean up, so I think everyone really felt obligated to do a much better job this year and make up for it,” he said.

In order to continue the legacy of Oregon students partying at Lake Shasta every year, Bowen Krause, who attended this year, said cleaning up is important for the students who enjoy the trip.

“We go and have a really good time and we want to continue doing that,” said Krause. “So it’s in our best interest to make sure everything is clean so that we don’t get the spotlight again.”

**A previous version of this story stated that SAPP hosted a safety course leading up to the Shasta weekend and that the program had been cut due to budget cuts. The safety course was to be hosted by the substance abuse prevention and student success office.

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