“This is the single most important thing happening in congress right now,” University of Oregon professor from the Labor Education and Research Center Gordon Lafer said about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP was the main topic of a forum led by Congressman Peter DeFazio on Jan. 22 in the Fir Room of the Erb Memorial Union.

In addition to DeFazio and Lafer, a Sierra Club Volunteer Debra Higbee-Sudyka and president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization Tom Chamberlain sat on the panel.

The TPP is a proposed trade agreement between the US, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. No one at the panel had positive things to say about the TPP. “The TPP is a lose-lose,” Chamberlain said. “There’s some really evil stuff in there,” said DeFazio.  

The TPP is written in a way that leaves it open-ended, allowing other countries like China to join in later on. Because of this DeFazio said, “this could be the last trade agreement.”

According to DeFazio, “the biggest winners are the pharmaceuticals and wall street.” Higbee-Sudyka said the TPP was “less about trade and more about deregulation.” According to the panel, the agreement would enable foreign investors to sue governments via secret tribunals. Higbee-Sudyka called them “corporation super rights,” and said that this gives foreign investors and corporations “more power than the government.”

On Jan. 9 the Fast Track Authority was brought to Congress. DeFazio called the FTA “the vehicle to get the bad trade agreement.” If passed, the FTA will prevent Congress from adding any amendments to the TPP, limit debate to 20 hours, reduce the voting to an up-down voting system and requires Congress to make their decision within 90 days. “It’s congress giving up all its constitutional rights,” said DeFazio.

Though excerpts from the TPP have leaked to WikiLeaks, it still remains shrouded in mystery. In order for DeFazio to read the document, it would have to be brought to his office with guards. DeFazio would not be allowed to take notes, have any of his staff with him or discuss anything he read afterward because the TPP is considered a “classified document.” DeFazio has not consented to read it because, “it subjects me to a massive personal risk.”

DeFazio, among a group, was granted an audience with President Obama. In regards to the answers DeFazio received from Obama he said, “I don’t think the president has a strong understanding (about the TPP).”

The democrats are not the only political party opposing the TPP. DeFazio said Tea Party opposes it as well, due to either the constitution, sovereignty or just because they want to oppose President Obama.

When asked why students at the UO should care about the TPP, DeFazio said “It matters if you care about humans, the environment and future jobs.” According to DeFazio, if the TPP goes through it will create a “downward pressure on wages,” and “create a huge rush off shore.”

“We’ve got to expose what’s at risk here,” said DeFazio.

According to a news release from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), on Jan. 3 they released a Draft Environmental Impact Service (DEIS) as part of a review, prompted by a petition for a regulatory review of genetically engineered plants from Dow AgroSciences, to see if they should deregulate “genetically engineered corn and soybean plants resistant to several herbicides.”  If the GE plants do not present a “plant pest risk,” APHIS must then progress in the deregulation. The Environmental Protection Agency is also conducting a “concurrent review of the related herbicides” as part of the APHIS regulatory process.

Many people remain uncomfortable with the idea of ingesting genetically modified organisms. “I think food is meant to stay in its natural form so that it can truly nourish the human body … When the genetic structure of the food is manipulated, it becomes unnatural and could have the potential of actually harming the human body rather than doing good to it,” UO senior Sophie Lott said.

According to an APHIS Q&A about the DEIS, “These GE varieties of soybeans and corn have been developed to provide farmers with new tools to manage weeds that have developed resistance to other herbicides.”

Not everyone views this development as positive or necessary. “What is to say plants won’t become resistant to other herbicides,” said Charlotte Baker, vice chair of Oregon State Public Interest Research Group and University of Oregon sophomore. Baker is also OSPIRG’s GMO campaign coordinator.

“OSPIRG doesn’t have a stance on saying GMOs are good or bad. We just think people have the right to make an informed decision,” Baker said. The unavailability of information about GMOs in products prompted the OSPIRG campaign to raise awareness with a main focus on petitions. “Consumers have a right to as much information as possible for any product,” Baker said. “The vast majority of people consume GMOs.”

Dow AgroSciences created three new GE plants—Enlist corn, Enlist soybean and Enlist E3 soybean traits. In their news release Dow AgroSciences said, “New data from November of 2013 indicate an astonishing 86 percent of corn, soybean and cotton growers in the South have herbicide — resistance or hard to control weeds on their farms … growers need new tools now to address this challenge.” Dow AgroSciences has won 4 EPA Presidential Green Chemistry award-winning insecticides. They also produce herbicides, fungicides, fumigants, nitrogen stabilizers, seed traits and oils. Their website reads “We are committed to increasing crop productivity through higher yields, better varieties and more targeted pest management control.”

Follow Jennifer Fleck on Twitter @JenniferFleck

While unemployment rates are decreasing, students entering the job market this spring may have to work harder than their predecessors.

According to a news release published on Jan. 10 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “(The) unemployment rate declined from 7.0 percent to 6.7 percent in December.” President Barack Obama’s Twitter feed quoted part of a speech he gave in Raleigh, North Carolina on Jan. 15 stating “Our businesses have now created more than 8 million jobs.” With this positive outlook toward employment starting out 2014, what does this mean for students graduating from the UO this spring?

Director of the UO Career Center Daniel Aguilar emphasizes the importance of students being well rounded for their job search. “Recent data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, CERI, and Internships.com have told us that approximately 80 percent of jobs are never posted, that 59 percent of internships are expected to be converted into jobs, and that 83 percent of recruiters report hiring only college graduates who are going or have gone through meaningful experiential learning,” Aguilar said in a Jan. 21 email.

Aguilar said students who are about to enter the job market must have a focus on networking, previous work experience, internships and volunteer experiences.

“This data, stressed by the current job market pressures, emphasizes the need for students’ shift from career development through only searching for postings and submitting job applications to career development,” he said

UO Human Physiology major Lianne Steinmetz plans to take a year off after her spring graduation before attending graduate school in the hopes of becoming an athletic trainer. “I chose to go to grad school because I feel like I can get a better job with a master’s degree,” Steinmetz said.

Trevor Curtis, UO senior, plans to graduate this spring as well with double major in advertising and journalism to pursue a career in video production. “I am wary of the US job market and don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch even if my connections tell me I will have a job waiting after graduating,” he said.

According to the BLS news release, “Over the year, the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate were down by 1.9 million.”

Oregon mirrors the US in its declining unemployment rate. According to the Oregon Employment Department, the unemployment rate went from 8.4 percent in Nov. 2012 to 7.3 percent in Nov. 2013.

For some students, signs that the job market is starting to recover are enough to push aside fears of what comes after college.

“The current job market doesn’t worry me a lot. It more annoys the hell out of me because I’ve been searching for a job since September and have yet to get one,” Steinmetz said.

Curtis said, “The job market has reached such a bloated state, at this point the only thing I can do is be confident in my abilities and networking and hope for the best.”

Eugene Police Department’s Saturday and Sunday wrap-up:

From this weekend’s Dispatch Log:

58 traffic stops, 16 person stops, 12 theft incidents.

Three assaults called in:

Sunday at 6:01 p.m. on Jacob Lane

Sunday at 9:07 p.m. on West 18th Avenue

Sunday at 10:48 p.m. HWY 99N

Three burglaries called in:

Sunday at 9:39 a.m. on East 14th Avenue

Sunday at 7:20 p.m. on West 7th Avenue

Sunday at 7:48 p.m. on Harris Street/18th Avenue

Three intoxicated subject(s) called in:

Sunday at 12:17 a.m. on  Willakenzie Road/Coburg Road

Sunday at 6:20 p.m. on 445 Blair Blvd.

Sunday at 12:41 p.m. on 457 W. Eighth Ave.

Two shot(s) fired called in:

Sunday at 7:51 a.m. on River Ave./Beltline eastbound

Sunday at 8:31 p.m. 1820 Brewer Ave.

On Thursday, Jan. 16, the Oregon Court of Appeals visited the University of Oregon School of Law. A three-judge panel heard three cases. Lisa Chernaik v. John Kitzhaber, State v. Tyler Mathew Tripp and Casey J. Deckard v. Diana L. Bunch. Students had the chance to ask the judges and attorneys questions.

In Chernaik v. Kitzhaber, Kelsey Juliana, aged 17, Olivia Cherniak, 13, and their mothers charged Governor Kitzhaber with failure to protect Oregon’s environment against climate change. The attorney for the Department of Justice claimed that action on Kitzhaber’s part would violate the separation of power, and that Legislature, rather than the governor, should make the decision and decide what to do. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, citing truth in the allegations but that the claim was not viable.

In State v. Tripp, Tripp was charged with shooting or hunting on private property and cited as a felon in possession of a firearm. Before the trial, the defendant moved to suppress statements he made to the officer, claiming the stop made by the officer was unlawful because, according to Tripp, he was not performing anything indicative of a criminal act. The State argues that the officer had reasonable suspicion.

In Deckard v. Bunch, Deckard charged Bunch of negligence. Bunch got into a car accident with Deckard while under the influence of alcohol. Deckard is also charging King, the host who provided Bunch with alcohol at a party, of “statutory liability.” Deckard had to prove negligence and injury.

As 2014 begins, 17 states now legally allow same-sex marriages, including Washington and California. Nine of the 17 states began allowing same-sex marriage in 2013. Oregon still does not.

On Oct. 18, 2013, Oregon started recognizing marriages of same-sex couples from out of state. Oregon currently provides “broad domestic partnership” which, defined by the Society for Human Resource Management, “can be broadly defined as an unrelated and unmarried person who shares common living quarters with an employee and lives in a committed, intimate relationship that is not legally defined as marriage by the state in which the partners reside.”

“I think some progress is being made. Not quite as much as the media is making it out to be, since there are some problems which are, unfortunately, being ignored. But things appear to be moving forward,” said Alex Stein, a UO senior and office assistant for the UO Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans Queer Alliance.

According to a 2010 census conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA, there were 11,773 same sex couples residing in Oregon, 61 percent female and 39 percent male. Of these couples, 2,002 were married and 9,771 were unmarried.

Though same-sex marriage is currently not recognized in Oregon, advocacy groups hope to put the Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection Initiative on the November ballot. Oregon United for Marriage is currently collecting signatures in order to put the initiative on the ballot. “We need 116,284 signatures to qualify. We’ve collected more than that, 124,008, but not every signature is valid,” said Peter Zuckerman, who is in charge of press inquiries for Oregon United for Marriage. The signatures are due in July.

“A growing majority of Oregonians now support marriage for same-sex couples, and we are slated to vote to allow marriage for gay and lesbian couples in November,” Zuckerman said.

Despite the numbers, some students lack optimism toward the cause. “While marriage is a good thing to push for, the danger that people are falling into is seeing it as a solution to the whole problem, as opposed to one piece of the puzzle,” Stein said.

According to Colin Crader, statewide chair of Students United for Marriage, students have far from just stood aside in the push to legalize same-sex marriage.

“The University of Oregon had a team of coordinators and interns working very hard to collect signatures and building leaders in Eugene,” Crader said.

Zuckerman also emphasized the importance of student aid. “Students are going to be, and to some extent already are, leaders of the campaign to win the freedom to marry in Oregon,” he said.

On Jan. 1, Maryland‘s marriage equality law went into effect. In May, Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island passed marriage rights legislation. The Supreme Court voted down California’s Proposition 8 in June and in November Hawaii and Illinois passed freedom to marry. In December, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously voted for same-sex marriage.

“I do think things are slowly coming around, but striving to improve is always good,” Stein said.

Billboards, television commercials, radio advertisements — all communicating the dangers of cellphone use while driving. It is common knowledge that driving while using a mobile device is dangerous, but does that stop drivers on the road today?

“An estimated 9 percent of all persons who drive during the day do so while dialing or talking on a cell phone or sending or receiving text messages,” reports a study released by the New England Journal of Medicine researching the main causes of distracted driving on Jan. 2.

“Despite knowing that texting and driving is dangerous and stupid I’ve still done it. Not very often though,” senior Jessi Alden said. “It’s usually if I’m on a longer drive and need something important, then I’ll call rather than text. Most of the time though I try to make sure my phone is in my purse so it doesn’t distract me.”

The study tested new and more experienced drivers and observed their driving while they performed a number of secondary tasks including dialing a cellphone, sending and receiving text messages, reaching for objects other than their cellphone, looking at roadside objects and eating. Out of all the possible distractions, the study cited cellphone use as the biggest cause of  both distracted driving accidents and near accidents.

Cellphone use among all drivers increases the risk of a crash by a factor of four according to the study. The study also reported that younger drivers are more prone to accidents caused by distracted driving. “The risk of a crash or near crash among novice drivers increased significantly if they were dialing a cellphone,” stated the study. These younger drivers are between the ages of 15-20 and makeup 6.4 percent of current drivers, 10 percent of motor vehicle deaths and 14 percent of motor vehicle injuries.

“With regards to the new study, I am not surprised,” said Jim Ball, a sergeant of the  Eugene Police Department Traffic Enforcement Unit. “More and more studies are being done as it becomes more apparent there is a relationship between crashes and cellphone use.”

In an attempt to reduce these crashes, Oregon passed House Bill 3186 in June 2011, which outlaws the use of mobile devices while operating a motor vehicle. The bill went into effect January 2012.

In regards to the specific amount of car accidents and ticketing due to using phones while driving after the passing of the law, Melinda McLaughlin, EPD spokeswoman, said, “We haven’t done any studies lately and crime analysis doesn’t have capacity right now to pull a new study out. The national data pretty much holds true here.”

The law did carry some weight in dissuading some drivers from combining cellphones and driving.

“When I first started driving I did (use a cellphone while driving), but then the law got passed and I got really paranoid about being pulled over. I hate when people text and drive. They never pay attention,” said UO senior Lauren Hoffman.

Stores across Colorado opened their doors and began selling marijuana legally starting on the first day of 2014.

According to The Denver Post, 37 licensed stores across Colorado were allowed to begin selling at 8 a.m.

“In terms of legalization in Colorado, I think it’s a step in the right direction. The only real way we stand a chance of getting the federal ban repealed is to have the states fall in line one by one,” said Michael Butler , a current resident of Boulder, Colo. and former University of Oregon graduate student.Colorado democratic representative Jared Polis continues to push for the federal legalization of marijuana. In a statement released on Jan. 1 Polis said, “By regulating marijuana like alcohol, Colorado voters hope to reduce crime and keep marijuana away from kids. I applaud Colorado’s efforts to implement the will of the voters and will continue my work to pass H.R. 499 to regulate marijuana like alcohol federally.”

H.R 499 or Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act 2013 “directs the Attorney General to issue a final order that removes marijuana in any form from all schedules of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act.”

Though stores in Denver opened on the first, Butler hasn’t frequented any.

“Despite Boulder being full of nothing but college-age stoners, we aren’t getting any proper recreational retail locations until February or so there,” he said.

Oregon’s own attempt at marijuana legalization, Measure 80, failed to pass when on the Nov. 2012 ballot. According to the Portland Tribune, advocacy groups for the legalization of marijuana in Oregon hope to get a legalization initiative on the Nov. 2014 Ballot.

“I’d say that there is a harder fight ahead than a lot of the legalization advocates think,” Butler said. “Most of them seem centralized in Eugene and Portland, the two cities in which I have seen more drug use (weed and otherwise) than anywhere else I have lived. The rest of the state is more traditionally conservative, and changing their minds may actually take longer than simply waiting for those against legalization to die.”

UO senior Jasmin Zech said about the possibility of legalization in Oregon, “I feel like there are a lot worse things that are legal. If they did make it legal I think it would reduce crime and make the state money.”

“It ruins the lives of young people caught with it. Legalization would stop that and boost the economy,” said UO junior Kelsey Ketcham.

Aug. 14 2013, Governor John Kitzhaber signed House Bill 3460, an act for medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon. According to the bill, the “Oregon Health Authority shall establish by rule medical marijuana facility registration system to authorize the transfer of usable marijuana and immature marijuana plants.” The registration system will go into effect March 3, 2014.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will host a new exhibit featuring the work of Kara Walker, Jan. 25 through April 6.

“Emancipating the Past: Kara Walker’s Tales of Slavery and Power” features 60 objects from the collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation. The curator of this exhibit is Jessi DiTillio, assistant curator of  contemporary art at the JSMA.

“The artworks presented in this exhibition display the range of approaches she has taken to the silhouette and the human figure, to printmaking and to narrative. Beginning with some of her early works in the style for which she is best known, the exhibition moves forward to show some of her most recent and innovative artistic experiments, including sculpture and video,” said DiTillio.

In 2007, Walker was voted as one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in The World, Artists and Entertainers.

The exhibit has seven accompanying events through April including a discussion with the curator about Walker’s career and her interest in the antebellum South and race relations on Jan. 29 and a Tardis Ensemble Concert, “The American South” Feb. 9. A full list of events can be found here.

To kick off the exhibit a free public reception will be held Friday, Jan. 24 from 6-8 pm.

Time is running out to go visit the National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

The exhibit, which opened Sept. 28, closes Dec. 31 and showcases the photographs of Sam Abell, Ansel Adams, William Albert Allard, Edward Curtis, David Alan Harvey, William Henry Jackson, Sarah Leen, Joe Sartore and others. The pieces are taken from the National Geographic Archive, and according to the JSMA website, “offers a broad understanding of a region that has long captivated photographers.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a book put together by the former director of photography at National Geographic, Rich Clarkson, entitled National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West: Capturing 125 Years of Majesty, Spirit and Adventure. There are four sections, Legends, Encounters, Boundaries and Visions each showcasing different aspects of the American West. Cowboys, Native Americans, wildlife and landscape.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for students,” said Communications Manager for the JSMA, Debbie Williamson Smith. “People associate National Geographic with far-off places, but I think people view the photography from our own backyard as a treat,” Williamson Smith said.

The exhibit features photos taken from a 125 year-old photo archive. The photography mediums range from contemporary tools to photography tools no longer used.

JSMA exhibits are always free for students.