The University of Oregon hired former Register-Guard reporter Greg Bolt as a communications specialist in the university’s Office of Strategic Communications.

Bolt covered the UO beat at The Register-Guard for years before switching to the courts beat.

According to Senior Director of Communications Julie Brown, Bolt started in his new position two weeks ago.

Bolt’s position includes writing information for the public affairs and communications office. He will also write stories about faculty and students for the College of Arts and Sciences magazine Cascade.

When the position opened, the university posted the information on the web and interviewed dozens of candidates, Brown said, adding that Bolt was not targeted for the position because of his previous experience as a journalist. Having reporters work for the University’s communications and PR offices can be beneficial.

“Being able to hire individuals who have decades of professional journalism experience is a wonderful opportunity,” Brown said.

This isn’t the first time a local reporter has taken a job at the UO. Editor-in-Chief of Athletic Communications for GoDucks.com, Rob Moseley, was a former reporter covering Ducks football. Bolt says that other former RG employees have similarly taken jobs at other Eugene establishments such as EWEB and LTD.

“Everybody who has left RG seemed to have done so for different reasons, but all were kind of looking for different ways to use their skills and tell stores,” Bolt said.

Bolt also commented on the state of the news industry, which may influence the career track of reporters.

“Certainly it’s no secret that print journalism has been struggling for a long time and some of [the RG reporters] thought there was more job security looking elsewhere,” Bolt said.

“I’d been in daily journalism for a long time and was looking for new ways to tell stories and decided to apply for it,” Bolt said. “It was a chance for me to use the skills I’ve acquired for something a little different.”

On the corner of 19th Avenue and Alder Alley is a quaint, unassuming house. In classic Eugene style, its small porch and white-blue wooden siding contrasts with the looming apartment complexes surrounding it.

The “Oregon” logo is painted in the living room. There’s a wall dedicated to music paraphernalia: old gig posters, audition posters, even letters from fans. It’s a commemoration to the group that calls it home: On the Rocks.

On The Rocks, UO’s all-male a cappella group, has made waves beyond singing fans, from success on NBC’s show The Sing Off to the notoriously entertaining Friday shows on campus.

A large part of the success stems from the tight-knit, brotherly community the members have formed. The On The Rocks house, a symbol of the energy they’ve forged as a team, serves as a backdrop for the group’s unity.

Having a house for OTR members to call their own had been a long-time goal for the group.

Before they had a designated space, the singers would meet at members’ apartments. But now, the just-off-campus house offers a place to relax between classes, to meet before shows and ultimately to unite as a group.

“It was a really pivotal point in the OTR history,” OTR member and Music Director Tom Dasso said. Every spring the newest members meet the OTR alumni, including the founder, who return to Eugene for a reunion with the group before the In The Dark performance.

“It is the first place where you get the vibe of what you’re in,” Dasso said. “As soon as you get into the group — and now it happens at this house, thankfully — you get to view the entire legacy in your first week.”

In fact, the OTR house was so important that the group chose to feature it on the cover of its newest album, Alder Alley, as a sort of commemoration to the space.

Jasper Freedom, a freshman music major in OTR, has been living in the house since last Fall term. He thinks the group would be different if it weren’t for the house.

“I don’t know how often we would all hang out outside of OTR stuff,” Freedom said. “Whenever we have a gig or anything where we have to meet beforehand, we meet at the house,” Freedom said.

As with OTR singers in general, Freedom considers the group a serious priority and commitment. But that’s not to say they take themselves too seriously. Dasso says it’s the members’ closeness and lighthearted nature that allows them to achieve the kind of success they have.

“The only reason we’re able to have a good time onstage in the way that we do …  is because we have this sort of brotherhood mentality where we’re constantly teasing each other,” Dasso said. “It’s like we’re hanging out, we just happen to be wearing ties.”

Dasso believes music can connect people at a deep level. But what sets OTR apart from other music groups, he says, is the ability of the members to be themselves and live it up onstage.

Being in OTR for three years, Dasso observed how the members come into their own with this attitude.

“That’s one thing the group really teaches you. You learn how to laugh at yourself and that’s something a lot of people don’t realize about the group,” Dasso said.

Day in and day out, the house continues to be a haven for the singers to come together. OTR house roommate Stephanie Camberg says that members hang out at the house almost every day.

“It brings them closer,” Camberg said. “They have somewhere they can all go that’s theirs.”

While most UO students contribute to the EMU renovation in student fees, senior Xue Wei “Rita” Wang’s contribution dwarfs them all. She has agreed to donate $25,000 to the University for the student union’s renovation.

Wang met with Associate Vice President John Manotti and EMU Director Laurie Woodward on Wednesday to view the floor plans of the new building and pick out a room to be dedicated in her honor. Manotti guesses this is the first donation of its kind made by a Chinese student.

Student donations today are on another level entirely from previous decades. “When students first built the EMU, students were putting in 50 cents; that was in the ’30s and ’40s. They donated to the EMU instead of buying a coffee,” Woodward said.

The vice president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association came to UO for the AEI program in 2008, as an 18 year old. At the time, the program, she said, had only about 500 Chinese students. Next year, she guesses there will be 3,000 students attending the University for both AEI  and general enrollment.

“I did AEI. The teacher always said go to EMU; [it will] make a difference,” Wang said. Now, she’s making a donation as a way to give back to the community and invest in the future. She wants a space where Chinese students can study together and incorporate American culture as well.

“International students come from so far away and the student union is one of the best ways to make connections,” Woodward said.

Wang mentioned the importance of having a presentable, impressive building.

“Many [international] parents want to come see how their kid is doing in school. The EMU is an important part. I took my parents here,” Wang said.

Chinese students like to stick together, Wang said, and prefer groups to study. That’s part of the reason for dedicating the room to students.

“We want to let American culture and school know that Chinese is more and more our international group and we can do something to help school and help students,” Wang said.

Wang hopes that by making this donation — which will be prominently displayed on a plaque in a glass room at the center of the new EMU — Chinese students will not only feel welcome and know they’re not alone, but be inspired to make donations of their own. She also wants the donation to attract the university’s attention and draw more focus to the Chinese student population.

On an even more personal level, Wang has decided to make this donation out of love for the school and community.

“I’ve lived here almost six years. It’s so amazing here,” Wang said. “… I will come back to Eugene every year. Here, [it’s] like my second home town. [If I] go anywhere, I will miss here.”

Wang plans to graduate in June of next year, and won’t be around to fully experience the new complex. But Woodward assured her that the room will most likely be completed by then — just in time to throw a party in the new space.

UO architecture major Cameron Huber was in an architecture studio this morning when he received notification that a recent project won an award.

Huber, in his third year out of five in the architecture program, took first place in the national Hammer & Hand perFORM 2014 house design competition, winning $2,000.

Huber completed the project singlehandedly, putting in an estimated 72 hours over the first few days of spring break. He was able to draw upon his studies at the UO to help his design.

“I took a studio class this fall term that dealt with a similar building program, and that one is getting built right now in West Eugene. It was a really similar design and size, so I took concepts from the design and applied them,” Huber said.

The house in West Eugene, he said, is completely student-designed and student-built.

Apparently the design carried through with the jury of the competition as well. Huber’s design, called “HO[MIN]ID,” was praised for its “restraint, purity of form, friendliness to neighborhood context and understanding of energy performance within a holistic approach to sustainability.”

Huber says his approach to sustainability is centered around people — making concepts work with everyday life.

“My idea with sustainable design isn’t just a spreadsheet, it isn’t just plugged into a computer, it has to be looked at holistically and incorporate the people that inhabit the building,” Huber said.

California native and junior at the University of Oregon Matt Zebro has been disappointed by a certain aspect of living in Oregon.

He can’t get a medical marijuana card.

Zebro was approved for a California medical marijuana card in April 2012. He obtained his card to help manage stress issues, which worsened when his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

He also used the herb to mitigate pain caused by a detached retina in his right eye, with the recommendation of his eye surgeon.

“I went to my primary doctor (in Oregon), and he said I didn’t qualify,” Zebro said. “I don’t have glaucoma, so I can’t use it, even though it does help my eye. It’s not a qualifying condition in Oregon law.”

Both of his conditions — which were approved for medical marijuana use in California — were denied by his primary doctor in Oregon.

“It’s probably the only thing that’s helped keep my sanity. When my mom was sick … it was bad. She was going through chemotherapy, I was here (in school) … It was literally the only thing that helped me.”

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program lists a handful of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana treatment, including severe pain, spasms, seizures, nausea, cancer and glaucoma. Post-traumatic stress disorder was just added to the approved list this year.

Zebro and his mother were disappointed and concerned that he couldn’t get approved for a medical marijuana card in Oregon. If caught with the drug, the legal consequences would jeopardize his financial aid. The added pressure of school, and his need to keep good grades for financial aid, hasn’t helped his stress.

Chris Campagna, the supervisor at the Oregon Medical Marijuana Clinic of Eugene, said the OMMC sees a lot of patients who struggle with the stricter process for Oregon cards.

“Oregon is unique in that out-of-state residents can get cards,” Campagna said. “It’s one of the only states that allow that, and it’s a bit more challenging to obtain medical cards in Oregon.”

Even if approved Zebro wouldn’t have been able to afford a card.

The approximate cost of an assessment appointment at a medical marijuana clinic is around $175. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program fees are another $200. Though there are state-approved discounts, there are none for low-income students who are not currently on benefits programs like food stamps.

Despite the factors that prevented Zebro from obtaining a card, the number of cardholders in Oregon has seen a dramatic increase in recent years. As of April 1, 2014, the Oregon Health Authority website reported that Oregon currently has about 59,000 medical marijuana patients, and around 30,000 card-holding caregivers.

For reference, as of January 2009, only 21,541 patients in Oregon had an MM card. That’s about a 175 percent increase in patients with cards in the last five years.

The number of card registrants in Lane County was listed at 6,275 — the third highest in the state — behind Multnomah and Jackson counties. The OMMP denied about 1,800 card applications last year. It is possible that Zebro was one of them.

Want more weed? Here are other Emerald stories about the green.

Why a weed issue?

Let’s clear the smoke an introduction to the Emerald’s weed issue

What do you people actually think about pot?

Weed Diaries

Getting high:

The effects of marijuana on your brain

Eugene baker Sharon Cohen makes strides in hemp food market

More than smoke, edibles offer a different marijuana experience

What is your preferred method of flight?

Dank or Schwag: Do G13, Matanuska Thunder Fuck or Peter Danklage disappoint?

Anatomy of a bong

High activities:

Altered states transform ordinary games into memorable highs

Tichenor: You think ‘Harold and Kumar’ is about weed? Think again.

Playlist: Songs to get high to

This is what happens when you listen to Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ while stoned

The legal stuff:

Is it time for Oregon to legalize marijuana?

Getting caught with marijuana on campus can have consequences

Medicinal use:

Eugene’s newest medical marijuana dispensary Oregon Medigreen brings patients relief

Eugene’s Elvy Musikka is one of only four recipients of federal medical marijuana for Glaucoma

Strict medical marijuana restrictions may hinder those in need

For a little-known group of basketball players at the University of Oregon, this Saturday is a big day.

This weekend marks the finals of the UO Asian Basketball Association tournament. The tournament is hosted by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association and organized by the group’s president Yawei Zhang.

The tournament, now in its sixth year, has gained popularity in recent years. The twelve spots for teams to register online go quickly.

“For the two-week slot to sign up, in the first three days, it’s filled,” Zhang said.

Teams form in advance, usually comprised of a group of friends, not based on nationality. Each player is charged a $5 sign-up fee that helps to pay for tournament expenses.

Zhang said this year CSSA put a lot of money into the event. Sponsorships include Chase Bank of Eugene, Chase Village Apartments, and Mercedes-Benz of Eugene.

In the past this tournament was held in an effort to connect the Asian student population with domestic students, but after a few years of overwhelming registration by Asian students, the scope of the tournament was limited. Students must self-identify as Asian in order to compete.

Teams are not allowed to communicate in their native languages, but must rely on English, which helps improve language skills. Zhang says students appreciate the opportunity to play among similar peers.

“It’s no so much about winning,” Zhang says. The point of the tournament, rather, is uniting Asian cultures.

But even so, he says the teams get very competitive and are evenly matched, making for exciting games.

The tournament’s finals will be held in Gerlinger Annex this Saturday at 5 pm.

Cases of beer, iPod house speakers and a rental house are the familiar ingredients of many college parties in Eugene.

Some parties, though, have champagne, professional DJs and a lounge-style venue.

These parties are organized single-handedly by a group of ambitious University of Oregon students: the Pretty in China Entertainment Association.

The group, which is not part of the ASUO, is a non-profit that throws these not-so-everyday parties to provide both domestic and international students, and the whole community — with a professional level entertainment experience. The group’s name is symbolic of personal, not physical beauty, and is supposed to be representative of bringing the bringing the spirit of the Chinese culture to the local community and celebrating it.

In November the association filled out Studio 44 for its Black and White Party, complete with several bouncers, multiple DJs, catering, VIP and VVIP areas, photographers and videographers.

On the Facebook event page for the China Red Lunar New Years Party in January, PiC posted: “…we will send a free bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne to each table” in the VIP section, for guests of drinking age.

When the group’s president, Junhao “Inc” Chen, came to the UO in 2010, he noticed that many of his international peers had trouble assimilating in the average college social scene.

Chen’s solution was to facilitate a social atmosphere. By organizing events, he hoped to give international students an outlet and an easier environment to connect with other students.

The parties are also intended to offer a fun escape from everyday college stresses. In general, Chen said that because Eugene is a small town, there is a lack of professional party-like events. PiC aims to appeal to those seeking to experience a more formal and upscale event.

“We are really trying our best to be a professional entertainment group,” Chen said.

PiC was formed in 2010 and was officially recognized by the state of Oregon as a non-profit corporation in May 2012. The association has 18 members — all UO students from a variety of majors. The members — referred to as associates — operate four departments: finance, marketing, creative and public relations.

Chen selects his associates by an application and interview process — which is open to all students.

“We want to see if these people want to have experience,” Chen said.

PiC provides an internship-style experience for those who wish to work in the field.

UO graduate Bryce Clark worked for PiC doing secretarial, organizational and public relations work until last June.

“I learned a lot about what a career in the entertainment or event planning industry would be like,” Clark said. “It increased my network within the Eugene community.”

PiC holds two Asian Night parties each year, called “rounds,” that pull in an average of 500 attendees. Round Six is to be held in May.

PiC also aims to incorporate other cultures into their events.

“It is welcome for different students – American, all nationalities,” Chen says. “We respect different cultures.”

Recent UO graduate Garrett Dunlavey, who attended the Black and White party, noticed the variety of attendees – Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Arab and American. The goal of PiC parties, he believes, is meshing cultures.

“I think deep down what PiC was trying to do was involve a very fun, playful environment for introducing other, more local people,” Dunlavey said.

Piper Benson, a freshman at the University of Oregon, says that the university is a big change from her home in Georgia. Here, she says, there is a higher level of health awareness.

“The people are realer, and it’s more health-concerned,” Benson said of the Eugene community.

Chantelle Russell, assistant director of fitness at the Student Recreation Center, says that students are more likely to be active and doing healthy things because UO has an active campus, not because there is undue pressure to have a perfect body. This positive encouragement to be healthy is good for the UO in this way, she said.

Working for the Rec for the past nine years and being a fitness instructor, Russell has heard people practice self-demeaning “fat talk” everywhere from the locker rooms to the fitness classrooms. However, she also thinks that while fitness was based more on appearances in the past, there are signs of change.

“I’m seeing more people exercise to feel a certain way or to be healthy, but I definitely still think society hasn’t changed completely,” Russell said. These feeling-based returns are what motivate Benson to exercise.

Living in LLC and going to the Rec daily, Benson hasn’t noticed students talking negatively about their bodies, or what Russell calls “fat talk.” She believes that students, like her, are exercising for the positive attitude benefits.

“It’s a stress reliever for me,” Benson said, citing cardio especially. “It’s freeing, to breathe hard.”

Still, the possible sense of expectation that comes with attending a school known for its athleticism can mean that some people take it too far.

The Rec Center collaborates with the University Counseling and Testing Center every February to host All Sizes Fit, a week of activities and campaigning to raise awareness about that exact issue. In addition, the Rec is about to distribute stickers with positive messages that will be placed on mirrors, in lockers rooms, etc.

The facility is actively involved in creating dialogue around the issue, Russel said. Student staffers can influence their peers to have a positive body image. Additionally, fitness instructors for P.E. classes educate their students on moderation in exercise and how to incorporate physical activity into their lives in a balanced way.

The UCTC also offers a variety of services that target eating disorders and body image issues, including individual counseling as well as two support groups that create a space to discuss these issues among peers.

At UCTC, several specialists, like Dr. Liz Asta, work directly with eating disorder and body image issues. According to Asta, the most common contributing factors to eating disorders include major life transitions, dieting, relationships, genetics, personality struggles, trauma, and social and cultural pressures.

Russell adds that the college years can be another influencing factor.

“It’s a new space for student to address and acknowledge and decide what are the healthy lifestyles they want to adopt,” Russell said. “How are they going to sleep, eat, and study, which all tie into body image.”

While many students may not come to the Counseling Center specifically for disordered eating or body image, Asta says many students of all gender identities ultimately report these concerns during treatment. She believes that the conversation around obesity in American culture contributes to the stigma of “sizeism” which ignores that people can be healthy in many sizes.

While Asta says eating disorders are still diagnosed more often in women, she’s noticed more men being diagnosed in the last five years.

“Males are reporting more body dissatisfaction than they have in the past,” Asta said, but this may not reflect an increase in negative body image. “It may be that men are feeling more comfortable acknowledging their struggles in these areas.

Russell agrees. She sees concerning behavior coming from men as well as women.

“Whether they have a different level of confidence or how they exude or communicate that body image concern, lots of people are in here trying to get stronger, trying to get bigger,” Russell said.

In working to help students through these issues and get to a healthy place, the UCTC takes a multi-faceted approach. Those that work with eating disorders deemphasize body mass index and instead focus on “intuitive and flexible eating,” moderate exercise, medical indicators of physical health, and mental health. They seek to educate students about alternative activities that are both enjoyable and lead to health, maintaining long-term health, and examining what personal factors may contribute to disordered eating and body image issues.

At the Rec, instructors and employees continually seek to promote positivity around exercising, health, and appearances.

“Fitness should be taking care of our bodies and a way that we show love and try to make our bodies healthier,” Russell said.

Some people are surprised to learn that Sabeen Waqar is a devout Muslim. Unlike many Muslim women, the University of Oregon sophomore does not cover her head.

“A lot of Muslims here assume that I’m not super practicing because I don’t wear (a head covering),” Waqar said. “When they get to know me, their assumptions change.”

Waqar is working to change assumptions beyond just misleading appearances. As the vice president of the Muslim Student Association on campus, she’s one of the only women in the group’s history to have a role in leadership.

Waqar is not only the vice president of MSA, but also an office manager in Mills International Center and a peer advisor for the College of Business.

“Hobbies? I don’t have time for that anymore. I guess you could call studying Arabic as a third language,” Waqar said.

Busy as she is, Waqar is taking on more. She and her friend Fahmo Mohommad are working to create the Women’s Muslim Student Association. Waqar felt that the MSA — comprised mostly of males from the Middle East — lacked diversity. She saw a need for more inclusion in the UO Muslim community.

“We’re trying to establish that group not to separate girls from MSA, but to make it a more comfortable environment,” Waqar said. “With cultural differences, a lot of girls don’t feel comfortable joining MSA. And we feel like they have an equal right and they should contribute what they think.”

Waqar’s Arabic professor, Hanan Mohammad Hassan Ahmad believes the WMSA will benefit the increasing Muslim population and the larger UO community.

“This could help a lot,” Ahmad said. “The number of Saudi students coming to study here is increasing this year … It’s important for (the women) to have a forum to share their thoughts and meaningful time to do active service in the university.”

“I just admire what she’s doing and I praise her for doing this. I wish her the best,” Adhmad said.

Through her service, Waqar has found a niche at the UO. Until college she had always been the only Muslim in school.

“I speak Urdu at home,” Waqar said. “My family is from Pakistan, but I was born and raised here, so I understand American culture just as well. And of course I have my religion, which plays a huge role in my life.”

Waqar’s experience at the university has allowed her to form meaningful connections with her Muslim peers — from an array of cultural backgrounds like hers. She takes it upon herself to help Muslims who are new to the UO community, like Mohommad, feel at home.

“She knew a lot about Eugene … and the Muslim community outside of campus. For our other friend studying abroad in AEI, Sabeen was the one who helped her get involved (at the mosque),” Mohommad said. “She’s a great resource to have, but a better friend.”

Waqar sees her leadership role not as a burden, but an opportunity.

“I’m really grateful for this position,” Waqar said. “I just hope that we can positively impact someone and tell someone about what Islam is in a positive way and break the stereotypes.”

UO’s own Samantha Stendal and Aaron Blanton are among the newest recipients of this year’s Peabody Awards. Their 25-second YouTube video, “A Needed Response,” went viral last year, gaining national attention.

The video centered around simple message: respecting women. It shows a girl passed out on a couch and a man talking to the camera. After giving the girl water and a blanket, he says, “Real men treat women with respect.” Stendal and Blanton’s clip was partly a response to the Steubenville case and the rape culture conversations surrounding it.

The University of Georgia’s Peabody Awards, which recognize the best of the years work in electronic media, included a record high of 46 awards this year, out of nearly 1,100 entries. Other winning submissions included the wildly popular shows House of Cards, Breaking Bad, and Orange is the New Black.

Blanton says he found out this morning when an email notified him that he had won. The President of the Peabody Awards called him at 7:45 am to tell him personally.

“Honestly I’m just kind of bewildered. It’s a complete surprise. I had no anticipation of winning,” Blanton said. He noted that he and Stendal were the only college winners, and theirs was the only viral video among the winning entries.

The Peabody Awards president was apparently taken with his entry as well.

“He said, ‘We’ve never had a video like this before,’” Blanton said.

Blanton and Stendal’s video has in part been noticed for its brevity and simplicity in delivering a social message.

“What [the president] said was to that tune was, our video was a perfect example of what social media can excel at in terms of motivation change in society,” Blanton said. “It took a message that people were already thinking and gave them a way to really succinctly share it with people they know.”

The success of the video has made Blanton realize what it means to produce socially impactful work, and how it differs with our generation.

“In a way, it’s empowering that we’re in an age where we didn’t spend a dollar making this.. it was a student project and we just uploaded it on YouTube. There was nothing special about it. We’re living in a age where a video like that, based on the merit of its ideas alone, can stand up against a show like House of Cards… that’s amazing.”

Moving forward, the 23-year-old cinema studies grad looks to continue working in Seattle, both with his job at a production company and on his own outside projects.

“No matter what the story is, you can’t sit by and be a passive spectator,” Blanton said. “There are all these horrible things about our culture, but there are also so many people that are working to make these better, and you can join them. ”