On April 3, “Punish a Muslim day,” an event that originated in the United Kingdom, will take place, targeting the Muslim community around the world. The UO Muslim Student Association will hold a counter-demonstration on campus throughout the day.

According to the Eugene Islamic Center, there were unconfirmed reports of someone spreading fliers around Lane Community College describing malicious acts toward people who are Muslim.

The fliers listed a point system that would be in effect based on actions taken against members of the Muslim community ranging from verbal abuse and physical assault to bombing Mosques or bombing Mecca.

Police will increase their presence in the Eugene community and around campus to insure safety, according to the Eugene Islamic Center.

The center was warned by the FBI to increase security near its Mosque on April 3 due to the threats of “Punish a Muslim day.”

The UO Muslim Student Association’s counter-demonstration is meant to show they are “Muslim and proud” and stand in solidarity with one another.

“There will be a UOPD sergeant who will be walking around the surroundings to ensure chaos does not happen,” a Facebook Post by the UO Muslim Student Association stated.

The demonstration will be held in the EMU amphitheater from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

“By simply being present and visible we can provide a safe space for those who may feel targeted on a day like this,” an MSA Facebook post said.

The post The Muslim Student Association will counter tomorrow’s “Punish a Muslim day” appeared first on Emerald Media.

Trent Goodman joined the Marines in 2010. He came to the University of Oregon in 2014 because of the outdoor activities that the state of Oregon offers.

Soon after being admitted, Goodman experienced the struggle that many incoming, non-traditional students face; however, he found a home in the Student Veterans Center and went on to be the team leader of the PAVE (Peer Advisors for Veteran Education) program.

The Student Veterans Center received a state grant of $54,000 from the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs last January to expand its resources for student veterans like Goodman.

In the Student Veterans Center, located on the outside of the EMU, there are several resources available to student veterans; these include free coffee, a small library and a space to interact with other student veterans.

There are approximately 400 student veterans on the University of Oregon campus, according to Samantha Roberts, Veterans Program Coordinator.

The grant doubles the UO Student Veterans Center’s annual budget, which is funded by the Dean of Students and the ASUO. This grant will allow the center to hire a part-time employee, sustain an existing peer mentorship program, expand the center’s digital resources and increase orientation programs.

“It’s a huge boost to what we can provide,” Roberts said.

This grant was part of Senate Bill 143 within the State of Oregon that had colleges and universities in the state of Oregon apply for a piece of the main grant of $1 million, according to Roberts.

Lane Community College also received a grant. Roberts said she anticipates the two schools working together with the grant to aid students transferring from Lane to UO.

“We’re almost combining our resources to reach students on both campuses and make that transition a bit smoother,” Roberts said.

Roberts said she hopes the university expands its resources to student veterans.

“We need more support, especially for what these students are bringing to our campus. These are people who are going to go off and do incredible things. They are going to become even better leaders. They are going to be running for office,” Roberts said.

One of the programs the Student Veterans Center runs is PAVE. This program assigns a peer to an incoming student veteran — matched by major — to help ease the transition into college life.

The grant is slated to absorb some of the program costs associated with PAVE and expand it to winter and spring term, alongside further orientation programming for incoming students.

One of the issues the Student Veterans Center is working to address is veteran homelessness. Goodman said after coming to Oregon, housing was one of the biggest challenges he faced.

“Housing is really tough, especially for veterans. Most of them come in as transfer students. so most of them are not going to want to do any dorm living,” Goodman said.

Goodman said he hopes the Student Veterans Center can expand its resources to reach more students on campus through making the center more visible to students.

“Increasing visibility helps bring more resources to the students,” Goodman said.

The post $54,000 state grant given to UO Student Veteran Center to expand resources appeared first on Emerald Media.

The University of Oregon Police Department just welcomed its newest addition to the force — Onyx the dog.

The three-year-old black lab mix will be used as a bomb-sniffing dog at campus events and will also be used for community engagement. UOPD partnered with UO Intercollegiate Athletics, UO student government and federal law enforcement to train and deploy the dog.

For the past seven weeks, Onyx and his handler, Officer Troy Phillips, were completing the Law Dogs police canine training program at the Sacramento Police Department, according to AroundtheO.

Onyx is a bomb-detection dog and does not detect drugs, according to officer Phillips. He is trained to detect 52 different odors that will aid in finding explosives or explosive components.

Onyx is also able to track human scent. If a suspect dropped something at the scene they can use Onyx to track the suspect.

Community engagement is a major reason Onyx was brought to UO, according to officer Phillips. Onyx has been trained to engage with students under the command “make friends.” Students are encouraged to approach Onyx and pet him when he is out on campus.

Onyx was adopted from a shelter, which is cheaper than buying a dog, according to Officer Phillips. Typically, departments could spend as much as $10,000 to $20,000 for a dog and $10,000 to $20,000 for training.

Part of the funding for Onyx comes from the UO athletic department to have Onyx attend the events for safety purposes.

Officer Troy Phillips is Onyx’s handler. (Becca Robbins/Emerald)

Previously, UOPD used a federal dog that was significantly more expensive and was often gone on other assignments or in Washington D.C.

According to Phillips, Onyx is one of only two or three bomb dogs in the state of Oregon.

“Our goal is to change the way Oregon looks at these dogs. We want to make them a more common resource,” Phillips said.

The post Meet UOPD’s bomb-sniffing dog Onyx appeared first on Emerald Media.

The University Senate passed a faculty-sponsored resolution this afternoon to withdraw the North Campus conditional use permit. The permit aims to renovate athletic fields and develop parking lots to accommodate the new Knight Campus.

The resolution calls on the Senate to support their motion to withdraw the plans to renovate the North Campus and urge administration to do the same.

The resolution passed 29 to five after significant debate on how the land would be best used.

The group said they want the Senate to call upon the administration to withdraw the proposal so there can be further discussion on what to do with the area. They also ask the Senate to ask the administration for alternative locations for athletic fields.

Their reasons for the resolution include the ecological harm of renovations, its incompatibility with the university’s mission statement and the great possibility for research at the location. You can read more about this here.

The post Senate passes resolution to withdraw the North Campus renovation proposals appeared first on Emerald Media.

On March 11, a male University of Oregon student was robbed on Hilyard Street south of East 13th Avenue, according to a UO campus crime alert. The student reported the incident to the Eugene Police Department on March 13.

This incident is the sixth armed robbery near the University of Oregon in the past few weeks.

The student was at the Subway at 1304 Hilyard Street alone on March 11 just after midnight when befriended two men at the restaurant, according to the report. After leaving the restaurant to get into a taxi, the student reported that the two men grabbed him and punched him before taking some of his possessions.  

The first suspect was described as a 6-foot black male with a medium build in dark clothing. The second suspect was described as a 6-foot-2 Hispanic male with a heavy build and brown hair with bleached tips.

Eugene PD said to call 541-682-5111 with any information regarding these cases.

The post Another student robbed last Sunday appeared first on Emerald Media.

The University of Oregon Police Department is about to get cuter.

UO Chief of Police Matt Carmichael announced at the Board of Trustees meeting on March 1 that UOPD will be getting a bomb detection dog to promote events and campus security and to improve student-officer relations.

According to Carmichael, the dog, a black Lab mix named Onyx, is finishing training in Sacramento and will be coming to Eugene in the coming weeks.

A UOPD officer has been selected as Onyx’s handler and has been training with the dog in Sacramento.

UOPD is partnering with UO Intercollegiate Athletics, UO student government and federal law enforcement to train and deploy the dog. The program is receiving its funding through its partnership with the UO Intercollegiate Athletics.

The dog will be used primarily for event safety; however, Chief Carmichael said he hopes the dog will make officers seem more approachable to students.

Chief Carmichael piloted a monthly “Pizza Night with the Chief” over the 2016-17 school year to engage with students and hear about their safety concerns.

Carmichael said he hopes having a dog present at these events will attract more students to come and engage with the officers.

The post Bomb sniffing dog to come to UOPD appeared first on Emerald Media.

Over the past week, three businesses and two individuals have been robbed by armed suspects – totaling five armed robberies close to campus.  

The affected businesses were the Subway on West 18th Avenue and Chambers Street, Neighborhood Market on Hilyard and East 24th Street and Tom’s Market on East 19th and Agate Street.

On March 3 and March 8, two women were threatened with a handgun before being robbed of their cash while walking home late at night as well.

The Eugene Police Department (EPD) and University of Oregon Police Department (UOPD) are working together to catch those responsible for the crimes. Both departments are increasing their number of officers in the field and detectives on the case, according to the EPD.

“We have detectives and patrol units working actively on the case,” EPD public information officer Melinda McLaughlin said.

University of Oregon President Michael Schill sent an email to students on March 9 connecting them with safety resources and urging them to stay safe during this time.

In his email, President Schill said, “If you do find yourself confronted by someone who wants money or personal property, give it to them without a fight and call 911 as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Schill also encouraged students to take advantage of the campus shuttle services and to not walk home alone.

UOPD is now offering a UO Campus Shuttle that operates every 15-20 minutes in a bus stop-style on a fixed route from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. every day of the week.

Safe Ride and the Designated Driver Shuttle are also available to all students, faculty and staff.

Timeline of events:

March 2 The Neighborhood Market on Hilyard Street and East 24th Street was robbed at 11:45 p.m. Read more about it here.

March 3 There were two robberies that occurred. At 3 a.m., a student was robbed at gunpoint near East 16th Avenue and Hilyard Street. At 9:06 p.m., the Subway at West 18th Avenue and Chambers Street was robbed.

March 5 Tom’s Market on East 19th Avenue and Agate Street was robbed at 9:30 p.m. Police officers patrolled the area until 11 p.m. with police dogs.

March 6 Pictures of the robbers from the security footage of Tom’s Market, Subway and Neighborhood Market were released.

March 8 At 12:30 a.m., a woman, 21, was robbed on Hilyard Street near East 15th Avenue. The suspect robbed her of her cash after threatening her with a handgun. Her roommate called 911 approximately 20 minutes later when she got home.

The suspects had similar descriptions from each of the cases, and EPD is looking into possible connections between each of the cases.

“We are definitely looking at the links between all the robberies both on the street and at the businesses in the area and paying attention to all the similarities between in those cases at this point in time,” Lieutenant David Natt of EPD Investigations division said.

EPD encourages students to walk home in pairs and take advantage of the services that the University provides.

“These are very significant crimes that are occurring, and we don’t want to see anyone get hurt,” Natt said.

The EPD said to call them at 541.682.5111 with any information regarding these cases.

The post Five armed robberies near campus in the past week appeared first on Emerald Media.

Early this morning, another armed robbery occurred near the University of Oregon.

At 12:30 a.m. Thursday morning, a woman, 21, was approached by a man on Hilyard Street near East 15th Avenue. The man robbed her of her cash after threatening her with a gun, according to the Eugene Police Department.

The woman walked home and her roommate called 911 twenty minutes after the incident.

The police searched the area but did not find the suspect. He was described as a white male, approximately 5’10 to 6’0 foot, and around 180 pounds and was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt.

This robbery occurred one block from a previous robbery last weekend, and continues a string of five robberies near UO in the last week.

This story is developing and will be updated.

The post Woman robbed at gunpoint near campus Thursday morning appeared first on Emerald Media.

A candlelight vigil will be held this Wednesday in the EMU amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. to honor Nicole Panet-Raymond, who died last weekend after a skiing accident at Mt. Bachelor.

Panet-Raymond, a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority on campus, was reported missing at Mt. Bachelor after a skiing accident last friday.

The vigil is being put on by the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and all students are welcome to attend to remember Nicole, according to Kathryn Adkisson, president of Gamma Phi Beta.

A previous vigil was held last Sunday in Portland at Rieke Elementary School, where Panet-Raymond went to school.

“We are so fortunate to have a sister that was as generous and loving as Nicole, and the memories she has left us with will be remembered and honored,” Adkisson said.

If any students need emotional assistance or counseling they are encouraged to contact the counseling center at 541.346.3227.

The post Candlelight vigil to be held tonight for student who died at Mt. Bachelor appeared first on Emerald Media.

Pictures have been released from the three armed robberies that occurred this weekend.

Tom’s Market on East 19th Avenue and Agate was robbed on Monday evening at 9:27 p.m.

On March 2 at 11:45 p.m., the Neighborhood Market on Hilyard Street and East 24th Avenue was robbed. The Subway on 1720 West 18th Avenue was robbed on March 3 at 9:06 p.m.

Here are the pictures:

Armed robbers at Subway on 1720 East 18th Avenue threatening a cashier. (Courtesy of UOPD)

Armed robber at Tom’s Market on East 19th Avenue and Agate Street pointing a gun at a cashier. (Courtesy of UOPD)

The armed robbers stand outside. (Courtesy of UOPD)

The EPD is asking anyone to call 541.682.5111 with any information or tips on these cases.

The post Pictures released of suspects from three armed robberies last weekend appeared first on Emerald Media.