The University of Oregon Police Department received two reports of campus area rape over the weekend, bringing the total number of cases reported since Oct. 30 to six. The incidents occurred on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12.

According to UO spokesman Kelly McIver, the Nov. 12 incident occurred in an off-campus residence. The case was reported directly to UOPD and a criminal investigation is ongoing. The parties knew each other.

The Nov. 10 case occurred on campus and was reported through the anonymous SAFE website. The survivor has not come forward to police, so UOPD is not yet investigating. The involved parties also knew each other.

UO has now listed six cases of rape in its Clery crime log since Oct. 30. Five of those six incidents occurred in the last two months.

“Sexual assault is too common of a problem in this age group,” said McIver, noting that UO has increased its resources for sexual assault survivors over the past few years.

“We think we’re seeing this increase in reports because more services are now available,” he said.

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Samuel Carlson, 25, was charged with first degree assault on Monday for his role in an April 17 fight near campus, court documents show.

According to the Lane County Circuit Court information document, Carlson “unlawfully and intentionally caused serious physical injury by means of a dangerous weapon.”

Samuel Carlson was booked in Lane County Jail for DUII on Nov. 10. He has since been charged with first degree assault.

The April incident involved a victim being sent to the hospital after his arm was cut with a hatchet during an off-campus fight on 16th Alley, the Emerald reported. At the time, the University of Oregon sent a mass text message to students warning them to stay away from the area.

According to witnesses at the scene, the victim was a bystander who tried to break up the fight. His arm was cut with the hatchet as he intervened.

Carlson has been charged in two other assault cases since the April incident and was charged with DUII on Nov. 10. He is currently being held at Lane County Jail.

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UOPD received reports of 34 crimes between Nov. 1-13.

Notable incidents include two cases of vehicle theft, separate incidents of “possession of meth and possession of a felony weapon” and an intimidation hate crime at the EMU.

Four cases of rape were also reported to UOPD during this period, but these reports came to UOPD from outside agencies and are not being investigated at this time due to lack of a complainant, UO spokesman Kelly McIver said last week.

Here’s the breakdown of every report UOPD received during the period:

Nov. 1:

Theft 1 from Vehicle, Unlawful Entry Motor Vehicle

Criminal Mischief 2 – Graffiti

Bicycle Theft 2

Assault 4, Harassment

Nov. 2:

Criminal Mischief 2 – Graffiti

Bicycle Theft 2

Rape – Dating Violence

Rape (Separate case)

Nov. 3:

Felony Drug Arrest

Nov. 4:

Theft 2

Intimidation – Hate Crime

Hit & Run – Property Damage

Theft 2 from Vehicle, Unlawful Entry Motor Vehicle

Possess Meth, Felony Possess Weapon, Carry Concealed Weapon

Nov. 6:

Possess Meth, Felon Possess Weapon, Carry Concealed Weapon, Theft 2, Possess Burg Tool, Criminal Trespass

Bicycle Theft 2

Nov. 7:

Rape

Nov. 8:

Attempted Theft 2 – Bike, Possess Burglary Tools, Criminal Mischief 2

Hit & Run – Property Damage

Minor in Possession Alcohol

Theft 3 – Bike Parts

Nov. 9:

Unlawful Entry Motor Vehicle

Harassment

Bicycle Theft 2

Nov. 10:

Warrant Arrest, Unlawful Entry Motor Vehicle

Unlawful Entry Motor Vehicle, Criminal Mischief 2

Criminal Mischief 2 – Graffiti

Criminal Mischief 2 – Graffiti (Separate case)

Warrant Arrest

Nov. 11:

DUII

Bicycle Theft 2

Criminal Mischief 2 – Graffiti

The post Campus Crime Wrap-Up: Nov. 1-13 appeared first on Emerald Media.

UPDATE: Nov. 9, 11:08 p.m. – UO emails a statement to students: “The use of blackface is patently offensive and reinforces historically racist stereotypes … The incident has been reported to student life and the UOPD, which has doubled their patrols on campus this evening.” Full statement available here.

UPDATE: Nov. 9, 10:19 p.m. – ASUO Internal Vice President Zach Lusby gave a statement on the incident: “I find this event extremely deplorable. We are horrified that this is happening on our campus. We know that Oregon has a history of racism, but to see it happening right now is shocking.”

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A video tweeted by University of Oregon student Zoie Gilpin showed three people dressed in blackface on campus Wednesday night.

Gilpin had just left a Black Student Union meeting and saw the people as she walked home.

The group was standing in front of the Lillis Business Complex on 13th Avenue, near the Anstett entrance.

This event comes in the wake of a UO law professor being placed on administrative leave for wearing blackface at a Halloween party last week.

“We were just discussing how we need to stick together as a black community, and as soon as I leave I run into this situation,” Gilpin said. “It’s not fair that we as a minority have to face this discrimination at all.”

“Blackface is just a thing now? And that’s okay? No, it’s not okay at all.”

The tweet is going viral as many students express their displeasure on Twitter.

According to Gilpin, the people went down 13th Avenue toward Taylor’s Bar and Grill. She said that she doesn’t think the people were students, as they looked younger than college age.

The original tweet with video is below.

This story is ongoing, more details to come.

Walking home from the BSU meeting and there are 3 kids participating in black face and found it so humorous. This is wtf is wrong. pic.twitter.com/3Lrf4jOFU0

— zoiejaxon (@zoie_jaxon) November 10, 2016

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Four cases of rape have appeared on the University of Oregon Police Department Clery Crime Log since Oct. 30.

According to UOPD Public Information Officer Kelly McIver, three of the four incidents occurred last month, on Oct. 11, Oct. 22 and Oct. 28. The fourth was from 2013, but was only recently reported.

All four cases occurred on the UO campus, according to the log. The 2013 case is classified as “rape-dating violence,” while the other three are classified as “rape.” Case numbers are not attached to any of the four listings.

McIver said the university is obligated to include any reports of crime believed to have been “made in good faith” in the crime log, even if the crime was not directly reported to UOPD. According to McIver, two of these cases were referred to the police department through the Title IX office and the other two through UOPD’s online anonymous reporting form.

Two of the four cases are closed; two were referred by the Title IX office and may be undergoing further investigation through the conduct process.

UOPD is not investigating the cases due to a lack of details in the report and lack of a complainant.

“We need to have that in order to have a criminal investigation,” said McIver.

McIver said that because it was determined that the survivor knew the perpetrator in three of the four cases, UO did not see reason to notify the campus of an ongoing threat.

“When you have parties that are known to one another, at that point then you don’t have a ‘stranger danger’ type situation where you have someone who is at large, unidentified and a potential threat to other people on campus,” said McIver.

He said that due to a lack of detail in the reports the university would not be able to give any meaningful safety tips to students.

The Clery report is available here.

This story is ongoing, updates to follow.

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University of Oregon dining employs hundreds of student and non-student workers. For years, a free meal on each shift was part of an employee’s compensation. That has changed this term.

Student employees are now charged $1 for meals while at work. A dollar for a meal might not break most students’ banks, but the price is going up — next term it will triple to $3.

Some students are not pleased with the change. Rio Lehman, co-director of the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP), says that worker compensation is not where UO should be cutting costs.

“It’s a unilateral cut in worker compensation,” Lehman said. “They’re essentially nickel and diming some of the lowest paid workers on campus, which is absurd and unacceptable to us.”

Lehman has started a petition on behalf of SLAP that demands free shift meals be given back as part of worker compensation. Between print and online, the petition is nearing 600 signatures.

Lehman is concerned that the price will continue to rise in the future.

“There’s absolutely nothing in place to stop dining from raising it as high as they want to, without any worker input on the issue. Regardless, we think it should be free.”

According to Tom Driscoll, director of food services, free shift meals were previously subsidized by the room and board fees paid by students living in the dorms. He says that UO housing thought it would be fairer for student workers to cover the cost themselves, rather than have it subsidized through those fees.

Driscoll says that they are now able to keep the cost of the dorms lower than it otherwise would be in part because of the shift meals cut. But dorm prices didn’t decrease this year – the total cost is up 1.4 percent.

“I think we have struck a balance here that still offers a great discounted meal benefit to our staff and that does not burden this cost onto resident UO students,” Driscoll said.

Driscoll also noted that student forums were held last spring to discuss the change, and that students are now able to select whatever food they want at the discount rate. When shift meals were free, only select items were available.

SLAP takes issue with the forums held last spring and how the change was handled. According to Rio Lehmen, the change was met with a lot of protest when first proposed. Lehman says that the university initially reversed its decision, keeping the free meals. But the discussion re-opened over the summer, and free meals were eliminated for student workers only. Non-student workers, who are protected by a union, kept the benefit.

“The fact that they decided to do this over the summer when no students were present for advocacy was truly despicable, but we’re back in session to fight this,” said ASUO senator Vickie Gimm.

For now, student workers will have to cope with the increased food expense.

“It’s very frustrating,” said Edward Layman, a worker at Dux Bistro. “It would be incredibly helpful for me, a student on a budget, to have access to a free meal while I’m at work.”

The post UO eliminates free shift meals for dining hall workers, students protest appeared first on Emerald Media.

UPDATE: 1:34 p.m. Monday – According to EPD representative Melinda McLaughlin, the case at E. 15th and Ferry Alley is an identity theft. Police reports are not yet in.

***

Eugene Police responded to five separate cases of theft Monday morning, between 11:50 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.

Two cases occurred in the west campus neighborhood, at 12th and Ferry St. and at 15th and Ferry Alley.

It is unknown at this time if any suspects have been arrested. EPD was not immediately available for comment.

This post will be updated.

The post Eugene Police respond to five thefts in 30 minutes on Monday morning appeared first on Emerald Media.

Three Oregon dispensaries, including Flowr of Life in Eugene, sold pesticide-tainted strains of marijuana during October, according to a notice from the Oregon Health Authority.

“The Oregon Health Authority is advising customers of three medical marijuana dispensaries that certain products contain high levels of pesticides,” the notice read.

At Flowr of Life, the contaminated strain was called “Dutch Treat” and was sold to about 30 customers between Oct. 15 and Oct. 26. The strain tested above the OHA standard for the pesticide spinosad.

OHA is investigating “why the batches were transferred from grower to dispensary” after testing positive in state labs. According to OHA, “effects of smoking marijuana containing spinosad … are not known.”

Morgan Glenn, the co-founder of Flowr of Life, says that industry inconsistencies and a lack of research makes life frustrating for dispensaries.

Glenn says that in the past, labs would let growers know if their cannabis passed or failed a test as soon as the results came in. But lately, growers have not been getting the lab results, according to Glenn.

“The grower assumed everything was fine, and sold it to four dispensaries. OHA did not call until after the cannabis had been sold,” he said.

Glenn said it doesn’t make sense why OHA wouldn’t tell the grower that the strain was tainted before it was sold. He also says that spinosad, which the Dutch Treat strain tested positive for, is an “organic pesticide” commonly used on tomatoes.

According to Glenn, because of the lack of research done on cannabis due to the federal ban, OHA sets low trigger levels for dozens of different pesticides commonly used in the food industry.

“No one knows what’s dangerous and what’s not,” Glenn said. “It’s a liability issue — labs are scared of being held liable if someone gets sick off a strain, so they set extremely low levels for all kinds of substances.”

According to Mark Pettinger, a public affairs specialist with Oregon Liquor Control Commission, it is normal protocol for labs to report test results to the grower.

“When a lab gets a test result, they report it to the grower,” Pettinger said. “They also report results to the OHA, if there’s a failure.”

Pettinger says the OHA is investigating why the grower was not notified of the failure, and how the strain made it to store shelves. He says it’s possible it could have been a misinterpretation of results or breakdown of communication.

“Test result reports don’t just have a simple ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ written on them,” Pettinger said. “Just glancing at the results, you almost need a code book to interpret them.”

OHA could not immediately be reached for comment.

The post OHA warns of tainted marijuana sold at Eugene dispensary; dispensary co-founder says regulation inconsistencies are frustrating appeared first on Emerald Media.

A Lane County judge ruled Thursday that former University of Oregon student Kevin Christopher Post was not responsible for a fellow UO student’s drug overdose in 2014.

Court documents show that during the sentencing hearing, the state alleged an aggravating factor: that “Mr. Post’s involvement in the delivery of substances, controlled or otherwise, resulted in the death of another human being.”

Lane County Circuit Judge Mustafa Kasubhai found that there was no proof that Post was responsible for Cody Bennett’s death. The defense argued that “[I]f the State could prove causation by Mr. Post in the death of Mr. Bennett, he would have been charged with a death crime,” according to a memorandum.

On Jan. 19, 2014, Post provided Bennett – a UO senior at the time – with Psilocyn mushrooms at Post’s off-campus apartment, court documents show. Bennett died later that night of a drug overdose.

In January 2016, two years after Bennett’s death, Post was charged with 4 counts of possessing and distributing a controlled substance.

With his jury trial set to begin last week, Post changed his plea to guilty for all charges. His sentencing hearing began Thursday.

Court documents allege that Bennett had consumed alcohol and cocaine before arriving at Post’s apartment on the night of his overdose.

Post was previously charged with DUI in 2013.

Another sentencing hearing will be held Oct. 25.

Dr. Kelly Mack, the Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, spoke in the EMU on Monday about attaining diversity in STEM education. Dr. Mack, who was introduced by University of Oregon President Michael Schill, kicked off the five-part UO African American Workshop and Lecture Series.

“We want to make sure that anyone who wants to pursue STEM, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, has access to STEM,” Dr. Mack said.

Her presentation touched on Oregon’s deeply racist history and how that past is at odds with its progressive reputation. She said that higher education in Oregon has made a lot of progress recently with regards to diversity, but there is “a lot more work to be done.”

Dr. Mack pointed out that only 1.6 percent of current Ph.D. candidates in STEM fields at UO are African American. She says that those in positions of privilege and power have to help increase diversity in higher education.

“It’s not about giving up your privilege, it’s about using it to help others,” Dr. Mack said. “Diversity and inclusion has to change from the top down and bottom up.”

The African American Workshop and Lecture Series at UO comes in the wake of the Black Student Task Force’s release of 12 demands last November. Dr. Mack touched on those demands Monday.

“I hope to hear several years down the line that there are no more demands from black students, because there is no longer a need for them. I want to see a campus where everyone feels comfortable.”

The next workshop in the series will take place over four days, from Oct. 31-Nov. 3, when Lady Georgina Theodora Wood, Ghana’s first female Supreme Court Justice, comes to speak on change in the judiciary system.