$1 million donation from Bowerman family

The University of Oregon School of Law started off the 2013-2014 school year with a $1 million donation from a familiar name: Tom Bowerman.

The money went to the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center and allowed the center to nearly double the amount of research fellows and help will students who will soon pursue careers.

“For the ENR center, it’s a very special and important gift. It’s thanks to the ongoing support from the Bowerman family and it’s a really significant and important gift that we appreciate,” said Heather Brinton, the managing director for the ENR center.

As most sports fans know, The Bowerman is a national track and field award named after former UO coach Bill Bowerman.

Oregon Supreme Court hears arguments on murder trial

Every year the Oregon Supreme Court visits the law school to hear oral arguments and take student questions.

This year, the visit was to hear arguments on two cases,  State of Oregon v. Jerrin Lavazie Hickman and Ronald Doyle v. City of Medford.

The Hickman case had drawn some media attention, as he was convicted of murder in 2009, only to have the conviction thrown out in the Oregon Court of Appeals in 2013.

The Oregon Supreme Court heard arguments on the case during their visit in March, and on July 10 they reinstated Hickman’s murder conviction.

Plugged-in Portland connects students with local industries

The UO law school hosted “Plugged-in Portland” on June 20, 2014 in the White Stag building.

The event drew around 100 professionals from around Oregon and featured a number of labs, forums and continuing legal education programs.

Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon’s attorney general, kicked off the event with a few opening remarks about the challenges of the legal field with emerging technologies.

“The event’s scale was ambitious and its scope was broad, touching on several key economic sectors and practical skills,” Rebekah Hanley, assistant dean for the law school’s career center, said on the law school’s website.

2013 – 2014 law school accolades 

The 2013-2014 school year saw the UO law school and its programs earning national recognition.

Among them were three programs being featured in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Graduate Schools” list. The legal research and writing program, the environmental and natural resources law program and the appropriate dispute resolution program were all featured in the top 10 specialty programs in the country.

The School of Law as a whole was ranked 13 in The National Jurist magazine’s list of top schools for public interest law. It also received an exceptional grade from the publication for its practical training compared to other institutions. The School of Law received the highest grade from the publication for law schools in Oregon.

A snowball fight causes campus mayhem 

No one expected the flurry of snow storms that hit Eugene, and the rest of Oregon, this past year.

They also had no idea that a video from one of those snowy days would become a viral hit, covered by everyone from ESPN to Business Insider.

Let’s back up a bit: When the snowfall hit, Eugene and the UO campus closed down. Most took it as a day off to explore the rare sight of Eugene as a winter wonderland and members of the football team even organized a playful snowball fight over Twitter.

However, the snowball fight turned into a group of students and athletes throwing snowballs at passing cars outside the EMU, eventually dumping snow on a retired UO professor as he was exiting his car.

Within a day of the Emerald publishing the video, attention had been garnered on reddit.com and views on the video were pushing a million. Almost overnight, international news picked up the story and UO football player Pharaoh Brown was suspended from playing in the Alamo Bowl for his participation in the incident.

The Portland Water Bureau lifted the boil water warning for Portland at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

The boil water warning was in effect for the majority of Friday, May 23, due to the presence of E. coli that was found after three positive tests for the bacteria over the course of three days.

The water bureau suggests flushing out all taps for at least 2 minutes before using.

Businesses across Portland were forced to shut down for the day, and stores sold out of bottled water within hours, according to The Oregonian.

All water in the City of Portland should be boiled due to the water supply testing positive for the E. coli bacteria, according to a release by the Portland Water Burea Friday morning.

“Until further notice, all Portland Water Bureau customers and those in the affected areas should boil all tap water used for drinking, food preparation, tooth brushing and ice for at least one minute,” the release said.

The presence of the bacteria was confirmed after tests performed from May 20 to May 23 from water collected at the outlets of the Mt. Tabor Reservoir, as well as the SE 2nd Avenue and Salmon Street water stations.

“While we believe at this time that the potential health risk is relatively small, we take any contamination seriously and are taking every precaution to protect public health,” Portland Water Bureau Administrator David Shaff said in the release. 

The warning affects all Portland Water Bureau customers, as well as the following areas:

Burlington Water District
City of Gresham (North of I-84)
Lake Grove Water District
Lorna Portland Water
Palatine Hill Water District
Rockwood Water District
Tigard Water Service Area (including Durham, King City and Bull Mountain)
Valley View Water District
West Slope Water District

There is no time estimate on when the boil warning will be lifted. There is a live blog of updates from The Oregonian.

“You think this is just about the burgers huh? Let me tell you it’s about far more than that. Our parents came to this country escaping persecution, poverty and hunger. Hunger, Harold. They were very, very hungry. They wanted to live in a land of equals. A land filled with hamburger stands. And not just one type of hamburger, ok, hundreds of types — of different sizes, condiments … That land was America, Harold. America. This is about achieving what our parents set out for us. Achieving the pursuit of happiness. This night is about the American Dream.”

That’s one of my favorite lines in any movie. It’s so good that it’s hard to believe it comes from one of the greatest stoner movies of our time, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle.

Stoner movies are often seen as the lowest of brow; the bottom of the barrel. And they are — that’s why we love them. The stupid jokes that revolve around getting high are really about so much more. At least in the good movies.

Harold and Kumar deals with social issues, but it is not the central theme of the movie. It does not define these two as individuals. What defines them is their dreams, their goals and their love of the ganj. The fact the two lead characters are not white — while addressed — does not define who the characters are.

Let me put it this way. When I was 10 years old, my dad showed me the classic album Big Bambu — one of the greatest legacies of Cheech and Chong.

They were the first, and still probably are the most well known figures of “stoner comedy.” But think about it — they were two of the first mainstream comedy acts in the non-white demographic at the time. Their first movie, Up in Smoke, came out in 1978 — the same year as Animal House. It also made $44 million in 1978. No small feat. This was the same year that Jaws, Grease, Deer Hunter and Superman came out. All of those feature all white leads and often all-white casts.

Up in Smoke is one of the few movies, if not only movie from that time, to feature non-white actors in the lead roles while maintaining mainstream success without drawing attention to this fact.

Movies like Crash or Gran Torino are social issues movies. They draw attention to a problem by talking about it as a problem. In my opinion, this furthers the idea that people are different. I admit to being heavily influenced the South Park episode “Cartman’s Silly Hate Crime 2000” and the comedy of Dave Chappelle. Which reminds me of another classic stoner comedy, Half Baked. While not a mainstream success (making only $17 million at the box office) it is a great example of this idea within the context of this genre. It also went on to greater success and cult fame status in home video sales.

Weed can be a great equalizer — across my dad’s generation to ours, and from Eugene to India. Many people smoke weed and when it comes down to it, don’t the things we all love define us more than the things that make us different?

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

Countries from around the world will be represented by high schools from around the Pacific Northwest as the 65th annual Oregon Model United Nations Spring Conference began on Thursday morning, April 10.

The conference started today with over 1,000 students from 120 high schools from Oregon, Washington and Idaho gathered to represent 158 countries and work together to pass resolutions.

MUN is a simulation of the United Nations in which high school students participate as delegates on committees. Participants create political positions that reflect the real positions of their countries.

According to Hope Stevens, a new teacher mentor with the OMUN, while teachers and mentors provide infrastructure, the conference is entirely student run.

“We train them to lead and be supportive. It works amazingly — it’s magic,” Stevens said.

According to their website, the goal of OMUN is to “allow for in-depth and stimulating research about [world politics].”

The conference started on April 10 with opening ceremonies at 10 a.m. in Mac Court, and will conclude at 12 p.m. on April 12.

In the early hours today, April 4, the city of Eugene closed down the homeless camp Whoville after the city council voted to have the camp moved out by April 15.

Sections of Hilyard Street and Broadway were closed down while the Eugene Police Department aided in emptying the lot.

“Since this site was first occupied, a police liaison has continued to meet on a regular basis with the group’s representatives. CAHOOTS and other social services have been checking in frequently with trespassers in coordination with City staff.  Providing access to human services and a peaceful resolution have been the central aims of these planning measures,” said a press release sent to the media by EPD Public Information Director Melinda McLaughlin.

The wireless outages across the University of Oregon campus have been restored.

Service returned at 2:05 p.m., according to the UO status page.

Issues began around 1: 30 p.m. today, according to the according to James Barnum, a technology service desk student.

Evening events at the UO Eugene campus have been cancelled, according to UO Alerts.

Faculty and staff who are not designated by their supervisors as essential may leave at 1 p.m.

The Vivian Olum Childcare Center will also close at 1 p.m.

Updated at 1:30 p.m.

Snow and the prospect of more in Eugene and the rest of the Willamette Valley has caused driving delays along I-5 and four flights at the Eugene Airport to be delayed.

Delays along I-5 range from 20 minutes to two hours, with weather hazards throughout, according to TripCheck through the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Accidents and road closures have been reported along I-5, according to The Oregonian.

Primarily, flights to Portland have been delayed. All other flights are on time, currently.

See more about today’s snow here.

Updates to come.