The Emerald is continuing its series on names of University of Oregon campus buildings this week with Friendly Hall. Check out the previous building stories on Collier House, Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, Lillis Hall, Gerlinger Hall and Condon Hall.

Despite its nondescript appearance on campus, Friendly Hall has served as the location for many historic campus firsts.

Built in 1893, Friendly Hall served as the first dormitory at UO. It was also the first dorm in the United States that was co-ed designed, according to the UO Libraries Architecture of the University of Oregon’s website. The two main entrances — which are still used today — distinguished the living quarters. The northern entrance led to the women’s rooms and the southern entrance led to the men’s rooms.

But this was not the only groundbreaking moment for Friendly Hall. The ex-dorm housed the first students of color at the UO. According to the UO Special Archives “Unbound” blog, Bobby Robinson and Charles Williams, the first African American student athletes at the UO, moved into Friendly Hall as sophomores in the fall of 1927. The university forbade the two football stars from living in the dormitory their freshmen year for fear over the local reaction to desegregation.

“It was a Ku Klux town and they thought there might be trouble from the townspeople,” Williams said in a 1974 Register Guard article. “We accepted that.”

Read the Emerald’s investigation about the history of the Ku Klux Klan in Eugene here.

It was only after their white teammates petitioned for Williams and Robinson to stay in Friendly Hall that the UO granted them space with the rest of the on-campus students. The space they were given was an apartment disconnected from the other dorms that required them to use a separate entrance to access.

“I suppose to the university it wasn’t quite the same as putting us right in the dorm,” Williams said in the same Register Guard article. “But it was to everyone else. We had the use of the dorm. We were right with the fellows we knew. We visited back and forth and did everything we wanted.”

Friendly Hall (Courtesy of UO Libraries)

Another Eugene civil rights icon who made his mark in Friendly Hall was Wiley Griffon, the first African American employee at UO. He served as the janitor for Friendly Hall during the building’s years as a dormitory. Despite Oregon’s exclusion laws that forbade African Americans from entering or owning property in the state, Griffon found his way into Eugene as a street car driver. Once the streetcar service ended, he found his role at the university.

Only two known photos of Griffon remain despite his significance, but accounts by various residents of Friendly Hall held him in high regard as a respected member of the community.

Friendly Hall was relieved of its residential duties when Straub Hall was built in 1928.

Today, the traditional red brick structure houses various liberal arts classes and faculty offices. Other than a few benches scattered around the exterior of Friendly Hall, the building is rarely a social gathering spot for current UO students. It remains today one of the last reminders of what the old campus looked like. Besides one major renovation in 1950, it looks identical to the building that the first UO students called home.

Follow Franklin on Twitter @Flewis_1.

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In the premiere of Animal Planet’s final season of “River Monsters,” host Jeremy Wade hooks the biggest catch in show history: a 14-foot “sixgill,” or cow shark, which he pulled from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Hence its name, the sixgill shark has six gill slits while most other shark species have only five. The shark, which is rarely seen on camera, is more closely related to extinct fossil species of shark than any living species today.

Another jaw-dropping catch for Wade is nothing out of the ordinary. Wade has made a career of investigating mega-aquatic attacks and (literally) catching the suspects, but his days of televised fishing are coming to an end.

In this episode, “Killers from the Abyss,” Wade investigates the aftermath of the RMS Laconia sinking. Eyewitness accounts describe passengers being attacked and dragged underwater while awaiting rescue in the water. Besides the sixgill shark catch, Wade reels in a mahi-mahi, snoak, big-eyed jack and a tiger shark in the special one-hour episode Sunday night. He also plunges into 2,000-foot-deep water with a dead pig strapped to his submersible to take a closer look at the sixgill shark in its natural habitat.

Known normally for unearthing freshwater beasts, Wade broadened his search of aquatic monsters to all bodies of water starting season eight and looks to be continuing this trend for the final season.

“Although we’re getting short of material,” Wade told Metro US while promoting season nine, “We’ve kept the best stuff to the last.”

It is a testament to Wade’s success as an angler that the show has been able to find nine seasons worth of material. He has continued to deliver catch after catch and has inspired anglers from around the world.

One of Wade’s most impressive feats was catching a massive arapaima in Guyana using just a fly fishing rod. Most of these rods are constructed for smaller, tamer species like the bass or salmon found in Oregon. The arapaima hooked in the season six episode weighed well over 100 pounds and could have snapped the flimsy nylon line at any moment during Wade’s battle with the South American river monster.

The production of “River Monsters” has resulted in various achievements in marine biology, too. Wade was the first ever to document the elusive Glyphis shark on camera. He has also tracked rouge bull sharks in Africa and nabbed box jellyfish to harvest their venom.

While Wade has brushed with death multiple times over the course of his career — even surviving a plane crash — arguably his most-dangerous adventure came in season five, when he ventured into Chernobyl in pursuit of a radioactive Wels catfish.

He even rescued a castaway on an uninhabited Australian island.

While some “River Monsters” purists might oppose some of the new antics the show has taken on — moving away from freshwater, sending Wade in a submersible, etc. — Wade the fish-whisperer continues to astound with his ability to reel in fish other anglers can only dream of attaining.

Watch Jeremy Wade discuss his most frightening catch below:

Follow Franklin on Twitter: @flewis_1

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Among the 23,634 students at the University of Oregon, around one percent are proudly training for war.

Although Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets blend in when they are among their peers, they stand out on Thursdays when they don their military fatigues. The ROTC is a full-time commitment that demands physical and mental endurance.

Caleb Snyder, a sophomore in the ROTC program, said he often wonders what his life would have been like had he not joined the ROTC. He resents the program sometimes because of the sheer time commitment required of him and fellow cadets. He says it can limit him from doing other activities more typical of a college lifestyle.

“Sometimes I wish I could just live a normal life and be a college student,” Snyder said. “Not shave my face every single day like I have to; not have to spend my weekends not with my girlfriend like I want to and go hiking like I love to do. But at the same time, if I didn’t have the full-ride scholarship to the University of Oregon through the ROTC, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

The primary purpose of the ROTC is to train college students how to be officers in the United States Army. But as many cadets will say, it is much more than that. The ROTC calls for a rigid structure and time commitment that members say is demanding yet rewarding.

“I need the structure,” said Joey Fisher, a junior in the ROTC. “I need deadlines, I need the pressure because if I don’t have it I absolutely would slack off and no one would be holding me accountable.”

When Fisher puts on his uniform in the morning, he says that because most people do not distinguish between the ROTC and the active duty military, he acts with a heightened sense of professionalism out of respect for those who are on duty.

“College and the ROTC don’t always mix well. Waking up at 5:30 in the morning three times a week doesn’t mix well with staying up until 2 a.m. studying,” Fisher said.

Hayley Floyd, a UO junior in the ROTC program, said that the time commitment to ROTC as an upperclassman can be a pain, but she also appreciates the structure it provides to her life.

“When I wasn’t doing ROTC, I kind of felt lost,” Floyd said. “I didn’t know what I was doing half the time. When I got out of class I had work, but when I had free time I was like, ‘What do I do with myself?’ And so ROTC provides that structure.”

Floyd said that she too acts more professional in the uniform; however, while most of the time people are respectful, she notices a slight stigma at UO.

“Especially on this campus — I don’t know how it is at other schools — but we do get weird looks,” Floyd said.

(Phillip Quinn/Emerald)

Cadets find the ROTC in a variety of ways. Some enlist in the National Guard out of high school, then enter the program once they enroll in college. Others try the program out of curiosity in college, then sign their contract.

There are many student groups on campus that all have their various codes of conduct. But students in the ROTC are making the ultimate promise to their country, according to Lieutenant Colonel Sharel Pond, head of the ROTC program at UO.

“People know that this is the military,” Pond said, who is also a professor of military science at UO. “While it is serious and the mission is very serious, we want to make it as engaging as possible. As an educator, I want to include every sense I can. So if I have all five senses in their learning environment, then they are going to learn a lot better. It doesn’t have to painful.”

One cornerstone of the ROTC program is the “leadership lab” that takes place every week during the school year. In these labs, cadets are put through drills that mimic aspects of combat situations in order to increase their critical thinking and decision-making skills. These can range from fun team building activities, such as building rope bridges, to more rigorous simulations, such as how to react when under fire by an enemy.

“I want them to be prepared for the worst day they will ever have and pray to God they will never have it,” Pond said.

Pond acknowledges that some labs can be very demanding of students.

“You’re going to come back dirty and tired and sweaty and muddy,” Pond said. “And my experience is that students like those labs just as much because they get to tell their friends what they did. They come back energized because they did something and challenged themselves and learned.”

Pond is also out to change the notion that ROTC is hyper-competitive, composed of purely physical training. She encourages her students to have tough discussion about emotional and psychological issues that might arise in a military environment, like sexual harassment and suicide risk.

“I’m teaching them to look inside themselves to recognize what their biases and stereotypes are and what their leadership style is,” Pond said. “I want them to recognize what gets in their way so they can better lead their soldiers.”

The brawny, aggressive military “dude” is another stereotype that Pond wishes to dispel.

“I want diversity,” Pond said. “I want people of color. I want women. I want everybody that might not think ‘I’m the army guy.’ The army is not about just guys.”

(Phillip Quinn/Emerald)

Contracted ROTC cadets receive full-ride scholarships to UO and after graduating have a guaranteed job as an officer in the Army. But cadets recognize that the program gives them more than just financial security.

Snyder relishes the opportunity to wear his camouflage attire because he understands its significance.

“You don’t represent just the ROTC; you represent every single person who has ever worn that uniform,” Snyder said. “That’s what they’re really trying to instill in their programs. Common customs and courtesies, how to wear the uniform, how to act in the uniform — you’re not a civilian in the uniform.”

Although Snyder enlisted out of high school to get in-state tuition to attend UO, he now recognizes how much more the military has shaped him as a person and how much it means to him.

Even more, he is learning that his responsibility is not only to educate himself, but to help build up his fellow cadets.

“It makes you look at things above and beyond yourself rather than, ‘I’m just trying to get through college,’” said Snyder. “I’m trying to make the people around me better.”

Video produced by Emerald videographer Eric Schucht and video editor Kylie Davis.

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The Emerald is continuing its series on names of University of Oregon campus buildings this week with McArthur Court. Check out the previous building stories on the Collier House, Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, Lillis Hall, Gerlinger Hall and Condon Hall.

With the men’s basketball team on the verge of advancing to the school’s first national championship game since 1939, the women’s basketball team’s improbable run to the Elite Eight as a No. 10 seed and the continued success of the women’s volleyball team, it is easy to forget that these squads did not always play at the lavishly modern Matthew Knight Arena. As recently as 2010, the teams called McArthur Court home. 

More commonly known as “Mac Court,” the arena was built in 1926 in response to growing student demands for an on-campus arena. Prior to Mac Court, indoor arena games were played at the National Guard Gym in downtown Eugene. To fund the new arena, ASUO self-imposed a $15 fee on all students, and was able to completely pay off the debt by 1931, according to Daily Emerald archives. 

According to the January 1927 edition of Old Oregon, the arena was dedicated to Clifton McArthur, a local hero and university alumnus. Born in The Dalles, Oregon, McArthur was heavily involved as a student with the early development of the UO. In 1900, he drafted the constitution for what would later develop into the Associated Students of University of Oregon (ASUO), and he was elected by the students to be the first president of the ASUO. 

Additionally, McArthur was the first editor of the campus newspaper Oregon Weekly. Being a member of both the track and football teams, he used his editorial space and position in student government to push for a stronger UO athletic program, earning him the moniker the “Father of Athletics” for the university.

McArthur also organized and led UO’s first ever debate team during his undergraduate years. 

After graduating from the UO, McArthur went to work for the Oregonian and the Associated Press wire services in Portland. In 1906 he entered into political life and became secretary of the Oregon Republican State Central Committee. Eventually he was elected to the Oregon state house of representatives where he served from 1909-1910 and again from 1913-1914. He was named speaker of the house during both terms.

As an alumnus, McArthur never lost touch with the university he helped mold. McArthur continued to serve as the alumni representative of the athletic department until 1909 when he was elected to the state house of representatives. During his tenure in the state legislature, he pushed for increased funding for the university and even helped save the UO from bankruptcy by passing a bill to bail out the university, according to Old Oregon.

McArthur kept rising up the ranks, and ultimately became a US congressman, serving four sessions in Washington D.C from 1915 to 1923. After finishing his time in office, McArthur returned to Portland. He died later that year after a botched sinus operation, according to the The Oregonian.

Today “The Pit” itself lies dormant. The last basketball game at Mac Court was played in 2011 and the many corridors of the arena house classes for the Robert D Clark Honors College while Chapman Hall is being renovated. Yet Clifton McArthur’s mark on the university is still seen today in the numerous athletic achievements of the university.

The post Building Legacies: Who was Clifton McArthur? appeared first on Emerald Media.

The Emerald is continuing its series on names of University of Oregon campus buildings this week with the Collier House. Check out the previous building stories on Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, Lillis Hall, Gerlinger Hall and Condon Hall.

Partially obscured by decades of old trees and shrubbery, the Collier House is not immediately noticeable to passers-by, and its history is similarly shrouded in mystery. Built in 1886 by George H. Collier, a former physics and chemistry professor at the University of Oregon, the house has played many roles to the campus community over the years.

After Collier retired from teaching in 1896, he sold the house and corresponding 9.5 acres of surrounding land to the school for $5,000, according to the Historic Survey Resource Form conducted by the UO Cultural Resources Survey.

Charles Hiram Chapman, UO president at the time of the sale, began the tradition of university presidents residing in Collier House in 1896, moving his family into the upstairs level of the house, as the downstairs adopted the university library holdings until a formal library building could be built. In 1900, the Board of Regents voted to make Collier House (at the time simply called South Hall) the official residence of university presidents.

The Collier House circa 1900. (Courtesy of UO special archives)

During the tenure of former President Prince Lucien Campbell from 1902 to 1925, the Collier House was “the very center of university life and activity,” according to a Collier House renovation review in the UO Special Archives. Campbell reportedly encouraged intellectual and cultural mixing, hosting visiting dignitaries, or even concerts and parties at the house. 

The Collier House remained the official residence for UO presidents until 1941, when the building was converted to house the UO Faculty Club. The house was to faculty what the EMU is to students today. It was retrofitted with a dining area, kitchen, billiard table and recreation room. Lunch and tea were routinely served, along with many faculty social events.

In 1976, the Collier House was added to the city of Eugene’s historic landmark list, per request of members of the Collier family. In 1980 the building was formally renamed in George Collier’s honor.

“It’s architecturally significant because it’s one of the rare examples of that style existing in Eugene,” said Ed Teague, head of the Architecture and Allied Arts Library, “and also it’s one of the oldest buildings left on campus.”

However, the Collier House seen today is a far-cry from it’s previous activity over the years. Since the closure of the Faculty Club in 2003, the house is now used for classrooms, small music recitals and faculty offices. The inactivity of the building combined with its centralized location has raised some internal questions in Campus Planning as to its long term value to campus.

“A big building can be put where Collier House is now,” Teague said. “Particularly if it goes up to four stories.”

According to the Campus Physical Framework Project of 2015, on which Teague was a member, the Collier House was identified as a building that is “sensitive to redevelopment in the next 20 years,” opening the door to the possibility of demolishing or replacing the structure.

“Some alternative design schemes were discussed, some of them without Collier House,” Teague said. “That was the same time the EMU was rebuilt and [the proposed] idea was to extend that plaza across the street.”

Teague noted however that several obstacles stand in the way of a possible Collier destruction. Firstly, the historical landmark title would have to be removed from the house in order to perform anything more than a renovation of the building. Additionally, the large trees and landscaping surrounding the house would have to be removed, something Teague said could be the real challenge.

Even if the Collier House is eventually done away with, Teague values the open space a removal of Collier could provide for the campus.

“It’s prime real estate right in the middle of campus,” Teague said, “and it takes up a lot of space — so the fact it has historical value as a city of Eugene landmark and emotional attachment is why it’s contentious.”

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Mike Leckie prefers to work in isolation. Situated deep in the southern Eugene forest, the local sculptor finds his artistic inspiration in the serenity and solitude of the surrounding woods. Here, Leckie is able to focus on his craft without distraction — something he says more artists should do.

“Too many young artists want to talk about what they’re doing with their friends,” said Leckie. “That doesn’t help you make your art. Your art is you, alone in the studio, working.”

A lifelong sculptor with over 35 years of professional experience, Leckie has mastered both carving and bronze sculpting. But his artistic vision was present long before he began selling his work. His earliest sculptures — which he still has — are small balsa wood and cork carvings from around third grade.

“I was always the class artist,” Leckie said. “From when I hit school they looked at me and said ‘Wow, you can do stuff we can’t do.’ They were trying to stay inside the lines, and I’m drawing the lines for them.”

A pair of Mike Leckie’s sculptures. He sculpts many depictions of the human body, which he says he sees as abstract forms. (Savannah Mendoza/Emerald)

Leckie is a self-described “aggressive” sculptor. As a former rodeo star, he taps into the toughness and self-reliance he learned while growing up on a ranch in Eastern Oregon and implements those traits into his artistry.

“I’m not afraid to take one step in front of the other one just to go do it,” Leckie said. “A lot of people hang back. A lot of young artists have trouble finishing work because when you finish a piece and you say, ‘It’s now finished,’ people can criticize it and tell you what’s wrong with it.”

Leckie exclusively sculpts figures, but he noted how the processes of creating abstract and figurative sculptures are more closely related than most observers think. Leckie thinks abstractly about individual body parts — for example, he visualizes the shape of a shoulder, then the shape of a neck and then combines those forms to make the smooth figures.

”Those abstract forms are, to people who don’t see abstract forms, anatomy,” Leckie said. “I’m really trained to use my eyes in a different fashion. I notice detail that a lot of people don’t see. I actually see the world a little differently.” 

Leckie prominently displays many of his past sculptures throughout his home and studio. One of his more recent works, a bronze bust of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe, sits on a bookshelf still alongside its rubber mold and clay model.

He chose to depict Joseph in his youth because he feels Joseph’s perception is one of old age and suffering, when in fact Joseph had immense potential and exuberance.

Leckie’s sculpture of Chief Joseph as a young man. (Savannah Mendoza/Emerald)

“There’s this big problem that we only know him as an old man with severely downturned corners of his mouth,” Leckie said. 

To create a bronze sculpture, Leckie has to first create a clay model of what the finished product will resemble. Then, he creates a wax or rubber mold around the outside of the clay model, which can be removed and filled in with molten bronze.

Many sculptors choose to specialize in either bronze sculpting or carving; however, Leckie appreciates the work required in both processes and feels comfortable with both. 

“Additive is what you do with bronze. You start with an armature and you add clay to come up to the outside surface,” Leckie said. “Carving, you start with something larger and you go in to the outside surface of the piece.”

Leckie is drawn most to carving marble or other precious rocks because he is a self-proclaimed “rock-hound.” 

“When I’m looking at rocks … I’m not thinking about rocks for what they are, but I’m thinking about what I could do with them,” Leckie said.

Recently, Leckie returned from Quartzsite, Arizona, after visiting a large rock show where he examined and purchased exotic rocks from around the world. Leckie is a regular at these shows because it gives him a chance to view a wide variety of samples in one location; he can also relate to the passion the sellers have for their rocks.

“I’m kind of addicted to rocks,” Leckie added. “When you love them at that level, you don’t want to waste it.”

Leckie’s collection of rocks in his house. These will one day be turned into sculptures. (Savannah Mendoza/Emerald)

Check out an article about a LEGO sculpture exhibit at OMSI here. 

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“You lived in Bean? I’m sorry.”

For all its perceived flaws, Bean Hall’s tiny rooms and concrete walls have housed decades of University of Oregon students. Although the east-campus residence hall will begin a two-year renovation this summer, many residents will remember Bean’s old halls with both fondness and resentment.

Julian Croman, UO freshman and current Bean resident, said he bonded with his floormates over spontaneous shenanigans, like hallway soccer or hitting skateboard tricks over mattresses.

“If you ask me if there is a list of things that I wish would change or get fixed, yeah, I’d go on for hours,” Croman said. “But the friendships I’ve made and the experiences I’ve had in Bean are something that I would not trade for any fancy living area.”

Rendering of Bean by Mahlum Architects

Built in 1963, Bean is one of the older dorms on campus. But it didn’t always have the stigma that surrounds it today. Before the Living Learning Center’s construction in 2006, and Global Scholars Hall’s in 2012, Barnhart Hall — originally built in 1966 — was the most modern residence hall available to students. The upcoming Bean renovation will mark the first major remodel of any 1960-era on-campus dorm.

But according to current and former residents of Bean, the dilapidated residence hall may have created some of the most tight knit communities on campus. Some administrators in the housing department agree.

“The funny thing about Bean is that even though it’s received a bad wrap because it’s one of the vintage buildings with small rooms,” said Kevin Hatfield, director of academic, residential and research initiatives with university housing, “If you talk to students who lived there, they have often had positive experiences just in terms of the community.”

Abi Olson, UO freshman and current resident of Bean, said that living in close quarters with her floormates has led to many of her best friendships.

“In [Global Scholars Hall] for example, they have huge rooms so you can keep your door closed and relax,” Olson said. “You don’t feel super tight in your own room. But in Bean, you have to keep your door open if you want to survive.”

The open-door attitude on her floor is what she said led to such a strong community in her hall.

For other Bean residents, the redeeming community of the hall isn’t enough to counter the horrible reputation it has received.

Students have spread rumors that Bean Hall was designed by an architect who designed prisons, that it was designed after an existing prison, and even that Shawshank Redemption 2 will be filmed in Bean Hall’s prison-like corridors. Although none of these are true, some students have had experiences that validate some of the reputation.

Rendering of Bean by Mahlum Architects

Madi Bradley, UO sophomore and former resident of Bean Hall, said her floormates always kept their doors closed, preventing the sense of community that others have experienced. Bradley said she keeps in contact with just one other person from her wing besides her roommate.

And she said the closed doors weren’t the worst part.

“I wasn’t able to open my window at all during the term because of spiders and spiderwebs,” Bradley said. “If my window was open for five minutes, spiders would come in.”

Bradley acknowledges that for how bad Bean was, she still felt it gave her the college experience she imagined.

But for Jim Smith, a UO alumnus who moved into Bean in 1981, the college experience was less about spiders and more about never counting on a full night’s sleep.

“Usually on Friday nights you didn’t plan on sleeping too much,” Smith said. “Saturday morning, you’d get up and most of the lights would be hanging, the phone would be torn off the wall. The worst part was during parents weekend they’d be coming up to visit your room and you’d have destruction all over the place from everyone partying it up.”

Smith visited campus in 2014 for a Ducks football game, and said Bean looked nearly unchanged from how he remembered it 33 years prior.

“I was having a little deja-vu going on,” Smith said.

The finished renovations will likely dispel any visual deja-vu Smith will have the next time he sees Bean.

Bean West and the old University Catering kitchen will be remodeled first, starting summer of 2017. While construction is in progress, Bean East will remain open and will house students during the 2017-2018 school year. Following completion and reopening of Bean West and the common area, Bean East will close and be remodeled. By the 2019-2020 school year, the complex will be completed.

According to Anna Schmidt, director of residence life and educational initiatives with university housing, the renovation of Bean Hall is part of a larger, 13-year residence hall update. The housing department’s plan with Bean seeks to create continuity between neighboring dorms. The plan will cost about $40 million, which students will partially fund.

According to Schmidt, the renovation will seek to unify Bean Hall by adding additional study spaces, classrooms and faculty apartments. One of the focal points of the project will be creating a centralized entry point to the entire complex. Most of the furniture will be replaced, the halls will be repainted with brighter colors and an elevator will be added near the new front entrance.

The much maligned bathrooms will also be redesigned with increased privacy and gender inclusiveness in mind. With the new layout of bathrooms, Schmidt noted that floors may no longer be gender restricted, but no decision has been reached.

“We’re trying to be as affordable as we possibly can be with the construction, thinking of students and how much they spend to stay on campus, and at the same time trying to really create a jewel,” Schmidt said. “Right now, we have GSH, which is this brand new construction, and literally across the street you have Bean that is just very much not.”

For those who lived there, like UO sophomore Jake Perris, the discomfort of its rugged conditions doesn’t matter as much as the community it forged. He remembers the ability to walk down the hall at any point and greet anyone.

“Just knock on the door if it wasn’t open — pretty much everyone would let you in,” Perris said.

Bean Hall may be entirely unrecognizable by the time renovations are complete, but decades of residents will recall its unpleasant charm.

“It was truly awful, but everyone was in it together,” Perris said.

Robert Sharp Bean

Bean Hall was named in honor of Robert Sharp Bean, who, among other achievements, served as Oregon District Judge (two levels removed from the US Supreme Court) from 1909 to 1931.

Robert Sharp Bean (UO Special Archives)

Although not born in Oregon, Bean was as involved with the state as one could be. Bean attended Monmouth Christian College before becoming a member of the first graduating class of the University of Oregon in 1878. 20 years later in 1898, Bean was appointed to the UO board of regents, becoming the first ever UO graduate to serve on the board.

According to Charles H Carey’s obituary/biography of Bean, Bean was first elected state circuit judge in 1882. He then was nominated and elected to the state supreme court  of Oregon in 1890. In 1909, Bean was selected by United States President Taft to serve as a district judge to federal court for the state of Oregon, two steps down from the federal supreme court.

Bean married Elizabeth Condon, daughter of Thomas Condon. He served as district judge for 22 years until his death in 1931.

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For some, the idea of martial arts involves high-flying acrobats throwing spinning heel kicks.

But for the growing community of martial artists in Eugene, the art form is a workout, a therapeutic release and a lifelong hobby wrapped up in one.

“It’s like a game of chess where you set someone up thinking they’re going to do one thing and they do something completely different,” said Alex Spangler, co-leader of the University of Oregon’s jiu-jitsu club.

Martial arts as an activity is hard to classify. It combines competition found in traditional sports like basketball or football, and blends it with the grace and mental dexterity found in performance arts like dancing.

According to Spangler, the jiu-jitsu club has existed at UO since at least the early 1990s, and accepts students of all levels, leading to a wide range of experience in the club. Spangler said that this diversity is what gives the club its comfortable yet productive environment: The more advanced students teach the beginners, fostering a strong sense of community among the members.

Alex Spangler makes a move to break through the guard of a fellow Jiu Jitsu Club member. (Aaron Nelson/Emerald)

“Starting out is going to be really slow and hard-going,” Spangler said. “But it’s going to be a very rewarding experience. No one’s going to be able to take that feeling of reward away.”

Spangler uses jiu-jitsu as an outlet for any pent-up physical energy he might have because of its grappling, wrestling style qualities. But as with all martial arts, the physical is just as important as the mental.

“My go-to move is called the hip-bump sweep,” Spangler said. “If I have someone in my close guard, [a jiu-jitsu position where one is lying on his or her back while the opponent/attacker is between one’s legs] I can sit up, open my legs and then I knock them over. You use your own explosiveness and just carry that through.”

The maneuver described by Spangler is a basic one by jiu-jitsu standards. Even the simplest techniques require months, even years of training to perfect, according to Adam Roberts, owner and head instructor of Mckenzie Martial Arts in Eugene.

Although Roberts is now an accomplished martial artist, he didn’t enjoy the training methods in traditional martial arts school when he was younger.

“It was phony to me,” Roberts said. “Line up, punch this bag, go to the back of the line. Come up, break this board, then go to the back of the line. I was watching professional wrestling with Hulk Hogan. Fake wrestling looked more real to me than martial arts.”

As martial arts gained notoriety in the 1960s with the arrival of revolutionary martial artist Bruce Lee, Roberts became more involved until he had worked his way to an apprenticeship under Dan Inosanto, Lee’s top student and closest friend. With years of formal training under his belt, Roberts transitioned from coaching basketball to offering one-on-one mixed martial arts lessons from his garage.

His approach to teaching mixed-martial arts is a practical one. Roberts tailors his classes around the question of what would most likely happen in a physical confrontation. He believes that martial arts can be for everyone, regardless of body type or age.

Members of the Jiu Jitsu Club spar during a practice. (Aaron Nelson/Emerald)

“Someone who won’t be able to play sports or won’t make the team, you have that team atmosphere through martial arts,” Roberts said.

After teaching his first class for children at the Eugene Downtown Athletic Club, Roberts opened Mckenzie Martial Arts and now teaches classes for all ages. What Roberts appreciates most about teaching martial arts is the diversity of students he sees in his classes.

“There’s people from all walks of life that are my students,” said Roberts. “We have people who work at the mill, there’s people that are nurses, we have a judge, there are police officers.”

At age 41, Shannon Collins was looking for an alternative to the traditional gym workout. After trying out kickboxing and kung-fu at other locations, she tried mixed martial arts at Roberts’ studio. Collins saw her self-confidence grow as a result of training and said she feels much safer doing daily activities like walking home or buying groceries.

She also noted how martial arts can be intimidating at first, especially for women. But now, at 51 years old, she teaches a women’s self-defense class. She also said her reflexes, agility and mental health have all improved as a result from training.

“It’s mentally challenging. I’m constantly learning,” she said. “There’s always something, whether it’s footwork or keeping your hands up or learning a new drill. I can’t think of anything except what I’m doing on the mat right there. I think that’s what keeps me going year after year.”

For people like UO student Emily Wade, martial arts provides an outlet for her physical energy and competitive drive. Wade first picked up martial arts at the American Taekwondo Association branch in her hometown after quitting ballet.

“I was bored and needed something else to do,” Wade said. “My sister had recently started martial arts, and I had been watching the classes like, ‘Oh hey that looks kind of cool. I’ll try that out.’ ”

Wade continued to practice martial arts throughout college, not only for the workout, but also for the mental training and discipline she gained.

“A big thing is saying ‘Yes sir,’ ‘Yes ma’am,’ and that’s carried on into other aspects of my life,” Wade said. “Having that respect for other people started in martial arts.”

Alex Spangler prepares to make a move during a sparing session. (Aaron Nelson/Emerald)

Russ Duer, owner and head instructor at Duer’s ATA martial arts studio, has been hooked on martial arts since he was a kid. He attended Lane Community College for culinary school, where he met his first formal martial arts instructor in 1993. When he realized culinary school wasn’t the path for him, he shifted his focus entirely to martial arts and doesn’t ever see himself giving it up.

“I’m going to stay with this until I retire, and then I probably won’t even retire because I love it so much,” Duer said. “Our grandmaster, he did it all the way till he died.”

Duer, having practiced martial arts all his life, now gets satisfaction every day from teaching and watching his students grow the same way he did.

“My adults come in — whether they’ve had a bad day or not — they come in here and they just feel better after working out,” said Duer. “That’s what the rewards are for me right there.”

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The Emerald is continuing its series on names of University of Oregon campus buildings this week with Prince Lucien Campbell Hall. Check out the previous building stories on Lillis Hall, Gerlinger Hall and Condon Hall. 

Prince Lucien Campbell Hall towers over west campus. Known to most students as simply “PLC,” the structure was built in three parts over six years beginning in 1962, according to the UO Libraries Architecture of the University website.

The core five-story unit and two-story west wing were first completed in 1963. The 108-foot-tall campus skyscraper seen today was created when eight more stories were added atop the two-story west addition, along with the auditorium unit, in 1968.

PLC middle right, circa 1965, without eight-story addition (UO Special Collections and the Digital Scholar Center)

Soon after the initial structure was completed, the building was dedicated to the university’s fourth president, Prince Lucien Campbell. No, he was not an actual prince, but Campbell was instrumental in establishing the university that exists today in Eugene.

At the beginning of Campbell’s tenure as president in 1902, only about 250 students were enrolled at the university. When Campbell died in 1925, enrollment reached around 3,000 students. Campbell also garnered substantial financial support for the university, increasing funding from $47,000 annually to nearly $1 million, according to UO Special Collections and University Archives.

Campbell also reshaped the curriculum at UO to emphasize art, architecture and physical education along with the core curriculum already in place. He was also responsible for hiring prominent faculty members like Ellis Lawrence, a campus architect and former head of the architecture school.

“[Architecture and Allied Arts] eventually became its own school itself, but it took a lot of buildup to do that,” said Jennifer O’Neal, university historian and archivist at Knight Library. “Back then it was seen as not one of the foundational courses. It existed but it wasn’t seen as important. So it really took bringing in someone like Ellis Lawrence and other faculty members to build up that program.”

Throughout his career, Campbell displayed a passion for education. Even as a young man at Harvard, he was already writing and observing the cultural differences between large universities and small colleges, comparing Harvard to the small Christian College in Monmouth, Oregon, where Campbell had initially gone to school and his father had served as president. He also wrote for the Kansas City Star between his junior and senior year at Harvard, according to the UO Special Archives.

“It’s interesting as a man who went to a very private school that [Campbell] was then able to recruit so many students to come here to a public school,” O’Neal said. “He was able to see the value in a public university, which is great.”

After graduating Harvard, Campbell returned to Monmouth in 1886 to teach classics at the Oregon State Normal School [previously Christian College]. Three years later, the school promoted him to president despite Campbell still being in his 20s.

Under Campbell’s leadership, OSNS thrived. Enrollment, funding and faculty population increased while he was president — all changes that he would introduce at the University of Oregon a decade later.

“Education was so important to him,” said O’Neal. “He wanted to have it available to as many people as possible despite whatever background they were coming from, and that a university degree was useful no matter what type of family you were coming from or what type of profession you wanted to embark upon. He believed having that university experience and education was important.”

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Come January, many new exhibitions will open at local museums in Oregon, ranging from historic French bronze sculptures to paintings inspired by the Qur’an. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, trying to impress an artsy friend or are attempting to live up to your New Year’s resolution to be more cultured, the Emerald has a breakdown of art exhibits to catch at three in-state museums. 

Portland Art Museum (Portland; 1219 SW Park Avenue)

New exhibitions for 2017 at the Portland Art Museum include “Rodin: The Human Experience” (Jan. 21-Apr. 16). One of the most heralded minds in art, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) is known best for his bronze sculptures. Much of his work focuses on realism and the human form — rare for his time period as other artists were concerned with idealized mythology or historical events. 

On display in “Rodin: The Human Experience” are studies from The Burghers of Calais and The Gates of Hell, two of his better-known works. The exhibition features some of Rodin’s renowned portraiture, including depictions of the writers Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac, the composer Gustav Mahler and the artist Claude Lorraine. 

“There is no substitute for seeing these works in person to understand the fascination with the expression and movement of the human figure that made Auguste Rodin the first truly modern sculptor,” said Brian Ferriso, the Portland Art Museum’s Director and Chief Curator. 

Another imminent Portland Art Museum exhibit is “Constructing Identity” (Jan. 29-Jun. 18). This exhibit combines creations from contemporary African-American artists and historical pieces from the 1930s through the Civil Rights era. 

Artists featured include Henry Ossawa Tanner, a widely respected painter from the 19th and 20th century; Elizabeth Catlett, printmaker and sculptor who broke through numerous barriers for female African-American artists in the 20th century; and Romare Bearden, whose collages of African-American life in the 1960s helped popularize collage itself as an art form.

“Along with Constructing Identity, we’re celebrating African-American art through public programs including artist conversations, jazz, poetry, film and more,” Ferriso said. “We are exploring the power of art making to shape how African Americans both see themselves and are seen by the world.”

Auguste Rodin (French, 1840–1917), Head of Pope Benedict XV, modeled 1915; Musée Rodin cast 10 in 1978. Bronze; Georges Rudier Foundry; 10 x 7 x 9 1/2 in. Lent by Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (Eugene; UO campus)

The JSMA is featuring a timely show tackling the relationship between American culture and Islam. “Sandow Birk: American Qur’an” (Jan. 21-Mar. 19) is a decade-long project by Sandow Birk of his individual gouache paintings of text from the Qur’an in elaborate script. 

Drawing from his Southern California base, Birk uses a style of script based on Los Angeles graffiti tags. He juxtaposes these passages in front of scenes from contemporary American life, representing the connections between lessons found in Islam’s Holy Book and American culture. The exhibition displays approximately 200 ink and gouaches paintings and is accompanied by a 400-page book.

“Through his scholarly research and travel to countries with significant Muslim populations Sandow Birk gained an appreciation of the richness and diversity of Islam and its practice today,” said Jill Hartz, JSMA executive director and in-house curator of the exhibition in a press release. “He then conceived of this project, which aims to build a bridge or dialog between Islam and American life for the purpose of appreciating our shared humanity.” 

Hallie Ford Museum of Art (Salem; Willamette University campus) 

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is ringing in the new year with “Louis Bunce: Dialogue with Modernism” (Jan. 21-Mar. 26), a large exhibition compiling the works of the Oregon artist. It looks back on the former painter and printmaker’s 57-year career through 49 paintings acquired from collections across the US.

“Portrait of Louis Bunce,” (1955, gelatin silver print, collection of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, gift of Mutsumi and Gerald Robinson.)

“Bunce was Oregon’s archetypal modern artist of the mid-20th century,” said Roger Hull, Professor Emeritus of Art History and senior faculty curator at Willamette University in a description of the show. “He was deadly serious when it came to art-making and engaged with it all: Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Post-Modernism, and at the end of his life, almost operatic Romanticism.”

The exhibition displays Bunce’s range of style throughout his career. Bunce’s painting under the Works Project Administration (WPA) in the 1930s inspired his inventive Surrealist forms in the 1940s. The picturesque landscapes of Oregon also pushed him to nature-based Abstract Expressionist work in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, he experimented with hard-edge geometric compositions and Pop-related imagery while his late works feature light-saturated seascapes. 

​Louis Bunce, “Burned Land No. 2,” 1951, oil on canvas, 45″ x 22 7/8″, collection of Olivia Leiken Schmierer. The inspiration for this painting was the “Tillamook Burn.”

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