Joseph Leon Minton drowned trying to swim across the McKenzie river in 1994. Fourteen years later, the University of Oregon’s own redshirt freshman for the football team, Todd Lamar Doxey, died after a swimming accident in 2008. River accidents and fatalities are reported annually due to the cool water temperatures that come as a result from the mountain run off.

As the temperature rises in Eugene, college students love to head to the nearest bodies of water to cool off. Going to the McKenzie River sounds like a fun weekend adventure until, of course, someone gets hurt.

According to the World Health Organization, second to traffic accidents, the most common non-internalized cause of death for children and young adults is drowning and water accidents.

Following simple safety rules and making smart choices can make a visit to the river just as fun and exciting as it should be.

The McKenzie River is a direct runoff from the mountain, so even though the forecast for the day calls for 80 degrees and sun, the water can still be near freezing. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the McKenzie River can get as cold as 38 degrees and no warmer than 58 degrees.

Even the strongest swimmers have a hard time in the cold and quickly become too weak to swim due to hypothermia.

Hypothermia occurs when the body is exposed to abnormally cold surroundings. When this happens, the body temperature begins to decrease, and shivering and mental confusion occurs. Even though hypothermia happens gradually, the human body can become unresponsive in a matter of minutes.

The wave current and water levels on the river are also something to look out for. The McKenzie River has Class 2 and 3 rapids, meaning that the rapids either have inconsistent smaller waves, or that they have larger and irregular waves, making them more difficult to maneuver.

Despite the class of the waves, remember that a current of any size is strong enough to carry a swimmer in any direction.

As far as diving goes, make sure to check the surrounding areas. Cliff diving from any height is one of the most dangerous extreme sports. According to the Glen Canyon Natural History Association, cliff diving puts tremendous stresses on your body. If you jump from 20 feet above the water, you’ll hit the water at 25 mph giving the body an impact that is strong enough to compress your spine, break bones or give you a concussion.

If you still decide that you are experienced enough to jump, preview the surrounding area to ensure that the water is both deep enough and that there are no surrounding rocks or ledges.

John Miller, search and rescue coordinator for Lane County, suggests to play in the water, but to stay within your skill ability.

“There are lots of safety rules to deal with when you are out there. Learn how to read the water, understand how to float, don’t swim in our rivers and lakes alone, always have someone there with you and keep an eye on each other,” Miller said. “You’ve got to take care of yourself.”

Having an imaginary friend is a natural part of growing up. In fact, most preschool-aged kids have an imaginary friend, and by the age of seven, about 65 percent of children have played with at least one imaginary friend at some point in their lives.

About two years ago Marjorie Taylor, psychology professor at the University of Oregon, started the Imagination Research Lab. The research is designed to study children and their imaginary friends.

Experimentation started last fall, and the collection of data is one-third completed. The test is conducted in the UO Imagination Lab by Taylor along with Candee Mottweiler, Emilee Naylor and Jacob Levernier. The project is the first where children, ages 9 to 12, are interviewed about paracosms or imaginary friends.

The research is currently still in progress and consists of a series of interviews where children are asked if they have an imaginary place that they like to think about. The children are also given several other creativity tasks and are asked to make a series of moral judgments based on those tasks.

Despite past research being done on imaginary friends, Taylor’s experiment differs in that before, experiments have relied almost entirely on the perspective of adults, reflecting on their childhood experiences rather then studying children who currently have imaginary worlds.

The goal of Taylor’s study is to discover the relation between creative behaviors, inspired by imaginary friends and the capacity to think through moral issues.

Thinking through moral judgment requires children to consider alternatives to reality, such as imaginary worlds and examine what should have happened or what is the right thing to do in various situations. By creating imaginary friends, children have the opportunity to think about alternative possibilities and try out various moral issues that concern them.

“We are in an early stage with this study, but we have already collected some fascinating descriptions of paracosms and are impressed with the creativity of what our participants are telling us,” Taylor wrote in an email. “We are excited to learn more about paracosms and the role that creative activities like this have in the cognitive and emotional development of school-aged children.”

Raising minimum wage sounds great, especially to a college student, but what most may not realize is that paying students more could potentially cut back on how many jobs are available at the University of Oregon. President Obama’s earlier pledge to raise the national minimum wage to $9 an hour may have unintended consequences.

“The budget is very tight for what we get for the university,” said Paul Shang, assistant vice president and dean of students. “The level of support we get from the state continues to decline, and whether or not there will be anything that makes up for that is questionable.”

Although many students at the UO get paid more than minimum wage for on-campus jobs, raising the minimum wage would give students deeper pockets.

“I feel that the rise of minimum wage will help college students earn a little more than what they are used to,” said Peter Pham, a UO undergraduate who qualifies for work study. “I think that if we have money to build the Jaqua Center then we have money to pay minimum wage students just a little more.”

On paper, it seems as though the UO has plenty of money to pay students livable wages, especially considering its well-established funding architecture and an athletic department that is recognized nationally. This however, is a common misconception. Despite UO’s funds in other departments, student salaries come from a different budget, one that is limited.

The potential increase of minimum wage has advantages and disadvantages. Regardless of whether the national minimum wage will be increased or not, students can take comfort in knowing that student employment will always be an option at the University.

“Everyone is supported and thinks that it’s a great idea, but our budgets are things that don’t increase and we want to hire students,” Shang said. “We will be doing everything we can to minimize the impact of not being able to hire students.”

The federal government, as well as most individual states, has established its own minimum wage laws. The current federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour. However, in President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address, he suggested raising minimum wage to allow individuals a chance to “support their families.”

“Tonight, let’s declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty, and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour,” he said.

Rebecca Bender moved into her boyfriend’s house. Nothing unusual there, right? She had only been seeing him for six months, but soon after she moved in, the beatings began.

Sex trafficking is simply known as trading of sexual slavery or hard labor. Most believe that human trafficking only takes place in Third World countries. What people don’t know, however, is that human trafficking of any kind happens everywhere, even in Eugene.

At 18, Bender, a former Eugene resident, lived with several friends in an apartment just off the University of Oregon campus.

“I met my trafficker at a party near campus and he started dating me, just pretending to be my boyfriend for six months. He lured me away with false promises, pretending to be my boyfriend, when really that was never his intention,” Bender said.

Bender was taken to escort services, a front for the sex trade system, where she was forced into prostitution. She would then be traded between traffickers across the country, one of whom was a Gorilla pimp — a brutal controller who uses violence and threats to ensure prostitutes follow their strict demands. During the six years that she was held against her will, Bender was traded between three pimps, branded twice, arrested seven times, suffered through a handful of hospital visits unsuccessfully and tried to escape her life of fear on four different occasions.

With the intent of bringing awareness of stories like Bender’s to the university community, Andrew Van Asselt has organized the Abolition Project. The project is a fashion show that raises awareness for human trafficking, which will take place in Gerlinger Hall on May 11 at 7 p.m. The event is $10 for general admission, $20 for premium seats. VIP seating goes for $40.

“I didn’t want it to just be another ad that’s sad and depressing, something just to get money. I wanted to show people that they could stop this issue practically and I have always been into clothing,” Asselt said.

During the fashion show, Bender will speak about her experiences as a victim of sex trafficking.

“I am a local survivor of human trafficking. I was trafficked out of Eugene, so you know (it’s) very fitting to come speak in Eugene,” Bender said.

Six years after she was brought into the sex trade, the FBI raided her home, which the pimp was using as a front. This resulted in Bender’s escape from the trafficking system.

“U.S. Marshals raided the house while the FBI S.W.A.T. team ransacked our things, putting everyone in a corner. They took our computers, paperwork and cash,” Bender said. “The U.S. Marshals, built a case from this enterprise that was laundering money from the pizza franchise. They didn’t come in as there is a trafficker abusing four women.”

Deceit is a trait often found in American traffickers, and Bender is not the only woman to be fooled by a false sense of security.

“It is important to change the mindset of our culture and how we tend to envision human trafficking. We think of movies like ‘Taken,’ envisioning girls clawing at the carpet,’” Bender said. “If people don’t see that and if victims don’t see that, neither one can identify human trafficking.”

She wants to share her story and her experience to hopefully prevent future trafficking in Eugene, and inform students of the dangers of not knowing who you are opening your life up to.

“I feel very healed from the trauma that has taken place, I don’t think that anyone would know by looking or talking to me that I have experienced that kind of life, which is truly what we want for survivors. We want true redemption,” Bender said.

Update: A previous version of this story inaccurately stated that Bender’s former pimp used a pizza parlor as a front for his escort business and that when she moved in with her alleged boyfriend, that the knobs were missing from the doors.

As the Macklemore concert brought University of Oregon students together in Matthew Knight Arena, girls in long dresses and young men in suits entered the Jaqua Academic Center for the Mackenzie High School prom.

With about 60 students attending, McKenzie High School rented out the atrium in the Jaqua Center to celebrate prom night.

“It was one of those happy accidents,” said Cathy Kelso, music teacher and one of the prom coordinators at McKenzie High School. “I took a few kids to look at the location and they absolutely loved it. We are so thankful we were able to hold our prom there.”

Costing around $100 per hour for non-university related organizations and $50 for university programs, the Jaqua Center’s auditorium and atrium are available to be rented for a variety of events.

In addition to events, academic programs can rent out the Jaqua classrooms free of charge.

However, the Jaqua Center is not the only place on the UO campus that can be rented by the outside community. The UO Student Recreational Center has a variety of rooms that can be rented  for about $35 per hour, while non-university students can rent them for about $55 an hour.

The Rec Center can also be rented as a whole for about $1,800, including additional fees for the Rock Climbing wall, swimming pool and additional costs. South Eugene High School has often rented the Rec Center for its overnight graduation party.

“They chose the Rec Center because of how many activities people can engage in,” Joe Holvey said, former South Eugene High School graduate and current undergraduate at the UO. “I think it was a good idea. Sort of boring, but better than most anything else I can think of.”

One of out every 88 American children is identified with an autism spectrum disorder.

In order to raise awareness about autism, the University of Oregon brought renowned autism researchers and specialists — and family members of autistic individuals — to speak at the panel The Science of Autism.

The event, co-sponsored by the UO Alumni Associate and the College of Education, will discuss autism prevalence, identification and family-based services.

The event featured a keynote speech from Dr. Eric Fombonne, a Professor of Psychiatry at the Oregon Health and Science University and the Director of Autism Research at OHSU’s Institute for Developmental Disabilities and Child Development and Rehabilitation Center.

Along with Fombonne, the event also featured a variety of impressive guest speakers. Philip Washbourne, associate professor in the Institute of Neuroscience and the Department of Biology at the UO shared some of his research in animal models of autism, including the renowned zebra fish project. Also speaking, Judith Newman, the co-director and co-founder of Early Childhood CARES, discussed local services for children with autism and their families, as well as state legislature surrounding special education. Finally, Wendy Ricketts, who is a mother of two children, one of whom is on the autism spectrum discussed her family’s experiences taking care of the son.

“A year ago, the Alumi Association did research to come up with a strategic plan for a new direction. While we like being involved in sports, we wanted to be involved in more than that,” Tim Clevenger said, associate vice president of alumni affairs. “We wanted to find something that was relevant and meaningful to not only the world but to families as well.”

Handmade clothing, specially crafted jewelry, and a bevy of food and music will once again sweep the University of Oregon campus for the bi-annual ASUO Street Faire.

Per tradition, the fair will take place in the heart of campus between Kincaid and University streets on 13th Avenue May 8 through May 11.

The fair invites students, faculty and the surrounding Eugene community to come and enjoy what the local community has to offer.

“The event has been done for a while. It is a time that brings people together to help our community out, and for everyone to have a good time on campus,” said ASUO member Lainie Vinikoor. “The event will increase the number of students and their interactions on campus.”

The ASUO Street Faire is a cohesive event where artisans, vendors, nonprofit organizations and student programs join together to sell their handmade goods. From chocolate covered bananas, to animal T-shirts, the ASUO spring Street Faire has got it all.

“The kids are so great,” said Mike Walker of Aloha Grill. ”They are so polite and it is awesome to be around them and feed them.”

Walker and his daughters will be returning this year to share their restaurants food for the fourth year in a row. “There is always a new group of students and it’s always a really good time. It’s really just a blast.”

During the fall fair there were several security problems as well as a lack of bike racks. Many of the bike racks that students use for classes and UO parking were removed to make enough space to accommodate for all the vendors in the market. This caused problems because of the lack of accessibility to bike riders. These inconveniences have been adjusted, providing more bike racks and the ASUO is continuing to improve the overall satisfaction of not only fair goers, but to surrounding students and faculty on campus.

Now, the spring Street Faire will continue to be one of the most popular spring events on campus, even more popular than the fair in the fall.

“I took my high school-aged sister last year and we bought animal T-shirts. We call them our street faire swag,” said Mackenzie Mansfield, UO undergraduate and residential assistant. “My favorite thing is the chocolate dipped bananas. As many would say, “There is always money in the banana stand.”

Smiles stretched across faces and tears rolled down cheeks — but more importantly — voices were heard.

Nearly 200 students gathered in the EMU on Thursday with a common goal during the two-part Dear World event.

Using his unique message-on-skin style, Robert X Fogarty, a University of Oregon alum, helped students spread their personal messages to the world.

He started the Dear World idea with a project called Dear New Orleans, honoring those involved in Hurricane Katrina, and soon the project transformed into a constantly moving event.

“We started to see people writing things that became more personal,” he said, “and that’s how I realized that this could take on a different set of stories using the same method. It is another way to tell great stories and there is no end in sight. I don’t really have an end goal except to keep on telling beautiful stories in this distinct way. I feel really honored.”

As a touching way to wrap-up the event, Fogarty hosted a keynote speech sharing his personal experiences, as well as presenting six unique UO students to share their stories behind their messages.

Guest speakers included Byron Etta, sharing his message “Climb On;” Antonia DeMichiel, “Stop seeing my disability, start seeing my ability;” Jo Niehaus, “Ignorance is fatal;” Win Min, “Terrorism has no religion;” Marita Barger, “Depression does not define me;” and Dante Jordán, ” Self sacrifice.”

“It gives a chance for students to see that we all have unique stories,” DeMichiel said, “but that we are all united because of the fact that we all go to school here together, and it gives us a chance to really get to know each other beyond the surface details.”

The guest speakers, accompanied by their personal portraits, created a moving and inspiring atmosphere for all who attended. It was truly remarkable how little we know about the true identity of our surrounding individuals.

“I have the opportunity to look into the eyes of thousands who’ve shared their hopes and fears,” Fogarty said in his keynote speech, “their losses and regrets with me. I consider each person’s portrait as a gift to the rest of us.”

Polly Irungu

Age: 18

Year: Freshman

Major: Journalism

Polly Irungu is an independent photographer, an outreach coordinator for the Black Women of Achievement and a volunteer in the childcare department at her church. She was nominated as one of our 25 Ducks because she “gives her all to help others around her.”

How do you want to change the world?

When you stop believing one person in the world cannot make a difference, differences in the world will be made. I believe every little thing adds up and so far I think I’m on the right track. I don’t know what the future holds for me but I would like to inspire others, like my little brother, that anything is possible when you have faith and determination. Education is really important to me and the rest of my family and I hope to take what I learn here at Oregon back to Kenya or wherever else life takes me and impact at least one person’s life for the better.  Change starts with ourselves and coming to Oregon from Kansas and Kenya has changed me for the better because I’ve learned and grown tremendously as a person. Just taking things one step at a time.

Why are you at the UO?

My mom works here at the UO and I also received the diversity excellence scholarship. The scholarship is for people who are really involved in high school, have a good GPA, involved in the community and will add diversity to the campus.

Hanna Oimoen

Age: 20
Year: Sophomore
Major: Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance

Hailing from Chicago, Hanna Oimoen consistently retains outstanding grades in some of the university’s most rigorous programs, from architecture to business. She is a two-term dean’s lister who seeks to do good through her passion for real estate development.

Why are you at the University of Oregon?

I initially came to the U of O because of its Architecture program, and the strength of its environmental focus. Once I came on a campus tour, I fell in love with the campus and the strong sense of community this college has. I have now switched my major because my real passion lies in Real Estate Development. Now, I am very involved on campus, I am an Ambassador for the University, a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, the business fraternity, and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, a social sorority. My ties all over UO have made it easy to meet people.

How do you want to change the world?

My career goal is to be able to design and develop sustainable housing for lower-income families. I had an internship with an architect in Chicago who focused on sustainable design and that is when I realized my calling. Now that I have changed my major from architecture to finance, I understand the financial needs to these endeavors. These renovated neighborhoods will then open people’s eyes to the many simple and easy ways you can change a house to make it sustainable.