In November, the Black Student Task Force sent a list of 12 demands asking the University of Oregon administration to combat various racial issues on campus. Today, UO President Michael Schill and Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Yvette Alex-Assensoh published a letter to the campus community addressing six of the recommendations that the the university will implement in response to the list.

“We are dedicated to doing all we can to foster a campus climate that embraces diversity, encourages equity and values inclusion,” the letter said. “In particular, we recognize that we can and must do more as an institution to meet the needs of Black students. We cannot and will not shy away from this conversation, and today we are pleased to share some of the progress we’ve made to address this important issue.”

Some of the demands from November’s list, including changing KKK-related names of campus buildings, were not addressed in today’s letter. But Alex-Assensoh said the campus community should expect another update on the demands by the end of the academic term.

“As the president has said from the beginning, he intended to ensure that the university investigate all of the 12 issues that were brought up by the Black Student Task Force, and so he also mentioned at that time that each of those projects would require different amounts of time and different amounts of resources and commitment,” Alex-Assensoh said.

Another one of the demands that she said will require more time is hiring more faculty of color, which first requires hiring deans who play a large role in recruiting faculty.

There are both short-term and long-term benefits to adhering to this list of demands, Alex-Assensoh said..

“In the short term, we to see the benefit of actually opening up access to our students and providing a richer experience where feel like they belong to a community of learners who are respectful,” she said. “In the long term, we really have the benefit of actually enhancing the global stature of this whole university.”

The Black Student Task Force did not immediately respond to requests for comment early Tuesday evening.

Here are the newly implemented recommendations:

African American Opportunities Program—In fall 2016, the university’s enrollment management team will expand efforts to recruit African American students. This includes hiring additional staff members who are experienced in working with the African American Community.

Fraternity and Sorority Life— In fall 2016, six historically Black fraternity and sorority organizations will become part of the UO Greek life. These include:

• Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity
• Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
• Delta Sigma Theta sorority
• Omega Psi Phi fraternity
• Phi Beta Sigma fraternity
• Zeta Phi Beta sorority

Academic Residential Community—The Umoja Pan-African Scholars Academic Residential Community will be launched in fall 2016. It will accommodate 25 students and be housed in the Living-Learning Center.

Student Advisory Boards—Beginning in fall 2016, an African American advisory group — including faculty, staff and students — will be added to the existing multicultural Student Leadership Team in the Division of Equity and Inclusion.

Speaker Series, Seminars, and Workshops—The African American Presidential Lecture Series will aim to bring a range of African American authors, scientists, innovators, world leaders, game-changing policymakers, authors and artists to campus to share concepts, information and perspectives for the intellectual enrichment and development of the UO community. Next year’s speakers include Ta-Nehisi Coates — author of Between the World and Me — and Kelly Mack — vice president for undergraduate STEM education at the American Association of College and Universities. These events are being scheduled and more details will be provided as soon as they become available, the letter said.

Diversity Data—Beginning immediately, the university will publish campus diversity data that includes a link to published safety data from the Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. Published data will be available here.
Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh says that all of the demands are being investigated, but each demand has different needs.

The wait is over: a new Sweet Life Desserts location on East 19th Avenue and Agate Street opened its doors Monday morning — despite a small car accident that occurred the night before.

A new Sweet Life opened its doors on April 25 next to Prince Puckler’s on Agate Street. (Troy Shinn/Emerald)

According to managers at Sweet Life, a car backed up at a higher than usual speed and hit the side of the front entrance.

There is a sizable dent in the red metal door frame where the car made contact with the building, but there is no serious damage to the building.

Sweet Life took over the small 550-square-foot location next to Prince Puckler’s ice cream shop, originally occupied by Eugene City Bakery. This is the bakery’s second location, and will be open from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. daily.

One of the store’s managers, Leah Barber, said that opening day business has been steady.

“We’re excited to be opening here and expect that to continue,” said Barber.

Oregon Ballroom Dance Club has been a part of the University of Oregon and Eugene community for 22 years. This year, it is showing the correlation of consent with dance and applying it to sexual consent as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“Dancing, in my biased opinion, is a fantastic outlet to learn how to dance and you get to meet a lot of people, but it is all based on permission and asking and being polite and courteous to the other people,” club treasurer Grant Pearson said.

Pearson said there are many similarities to courting someone you want to dance with and someone you want to be intimate with.

“I think [dance] is a very close correlation to sex because it is really close. My dad used to say that ‘dancing is just the vertical version of the horizontal desire.’ So I think they are very closely connected,” Pearson said.

Club president Corinn Ferwalt said that when the club was approached to be a part of SAAM, she saw many similarities between the month and her club.

“I was really excited to partner with sexual assault awareness month because a lot of the community that we have built at our events is centered around consent and respect and team work,” Ferwalt said. “Partner dancing works with the ideas of sexual assault awareness month so perfectly.”

She said that the structure of the lessons don’t have to change much to promote consent, but that they are adding more conversation about why it ties in with sexual consent.

“We are encouraging the discussion of sexual assault awareness and encouraging people to explore how they interact with their fellow dancers how and partner dancing can be used as a conduit of how do you interact with someone in a way that produces consent,” Ferwalt said.

The structure of a lead and follow dancers also displays consent.

“[Lead and following dancers] really delves down into the ideas of consent because once in a while you will be dancing with a lead that leads something that is either unsafe or something you don’t want to do, and then it depends on what kind of follower you are, you just don’t do it, or you talk to that person about it,” Ferwalt said. “Tango can get really close and personal if you let it, so we encourage people to ask are you comfortable with the closed position (chest to chest).”

Tonight, the club is hosting a free tango lesson in the LLC South Performace Hall at 7:30.

Club member Natalie Eckharet said that the room will be decorated in the teal SAAM color and a member of the SAAM team will be speaking more about the cause.

“It’s a safer was to spend Friday night, especially of you’re not old enough to go to the bars. Our event is a way to come, relax, hang out on campus,” Eckharet said.

Overall, the group said it has always promoted consent in dance situations, but it now sees how well it ties into sexual consent.

“Relating it to sexual assault is a new aspect to it,” Ferwalt said, “but the ideas of consent and working with your partner to make a dance happen is something we’ve always had and something that is necessary for a comfortable dance situation.”

With the rapid addition of food vendors in the Erb Memorial Union, readily compostable products have had a slow start.

Student Mike Schwentner, a member of the Zero Waste Program, a group dedicated to creating sustainable choices around campus, says that EMU vendors are producing too much waste and students need to be more aware.

“I  just wanted to put all the vendors in [the EMU] on blast and put awareness out for students,” Schwentner said. “That awareness can put pressure on the vendors to become more green.”

Schwenter says his biggest issue is with Starbucks.

“The reason I want to pick on Starbucks a little more is because [its] primary product is a drink, so [it] produces a lot of these drink cups and they’re not compostable,” Schwentner said.

Tom Driscoll, Associate Director for Housing and Food Services, says there have been many conversations with Starbucks to combat this issue.

“We’ve talked to Starbucks about the idea of compostable cups. I think [Starbucks is] looking into it. There is a cost issue there and [Starbucks has] other ways to handle that like the 10 cent discount for reusable cups,” Driscoll said. “In some ways, the customer can participate in the solution because reusable is a better solution than compostable.”

On the other hand, Schwentner says that Joe’s Burgers has done a better job of integrating green products.

“One of the most green places here, I feel, is Joe’s because everything is compostable including [its] drink cups,” Schwentner said.

Driscoll says vendors have been proactive in making changes to be more compliant with the Zero Waste Program.

Vendors are encouraged to mimic campus dining procedures, but can run into roadblocks because they are independent businesses and have their own costs to control, Driscoll said.

“You know it was a mad dash to get each one of them open and operating, and now we’re working with them to help them take advantage of the opportunity to compost on campus. That may not necessarily be a part of their normal operation elsewhere, so we’re learning about that and they’re getting up to speed,” Schwentner said.

The Zero Waste Program Manager Karyn Kaplan says she hopes that new vendors will pay more attention to the waste they are producing before they open their doors and that preexisting vendors will make changes.

Kaplan says that when the old EMU was open, Panda Express went to [its] national company and was able to change [its] styrofoam to-go boxes to a material that can be composted.

“People have the opportunity to reduce consumption and do things with care like knowing what goes where,” Kaplan said. “You have an impact by doing the right thing. It affects a much bigger part than just you.”

Mike Schwentner’s views do not reflect those of the Zero Waste Program as a whole.

Student groups at the University of Oregon have tabbed inclusion as a top priority as many are working together to participate in Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“We are recognizing this month because so many people have been harmed, there are so many people whose voices weren’t heard and whose voices who weren’t respected,” said Kerry Frazee, the UOs director of sexual assault prevention. “It really becomes a community effort to raise awareness to recognize that harm and to be motivated for change.”

Frazee said that the efforts to plan this month have been going on since winter 2016, and this year has been one of the most successful. With the help of Frazee’s graduate teaching fellow, Eric Braman, the team has secured over 30 groups to partner with.

“What I really wanted to help people understand is that no matter what their organization is, they have the ability to contribute to the cause in a really meaningful way,” Braman said. “The greater diversity of voices we have contributing to the month, the greater inclusion and representation we have in that month.”

One of the participating groups is the ASUO Women’s Center, which is co-sponsoring three of the month’s events.

Michele De La Cruz, sexual violence prevention and education coordinator at the women’s center, said that this month is beneficial for all to participate in because everyone has been impacted by sexual assault in one way or another.

“Sexual violence really does affect everyone whether people realize it or not. Statistically someone will know someone one who has been affected,” Cruz said. “Because it’s so prevalent on campus, this month is the opportunity for people to show support to survivors and gain awareness.”

Recently, the UO has seen multiple instances of sexual assault, making now a crucial time for the issue locally.

“I think every day we are given an opportunity and a reminder that we need to take this issue seriously and every day we are given a reminder that we have to treat people with respect,” Frazee said. “Sometimes incidents can spur that on, but the goal for all of us is to continue moving forward, to continue learning and to continue treating people with respect. We need to be inviting our communities to the same and calling people out when they don’t.”

Cruz said she wants people to know that there is university-wide action trying to better the culture surrounding sexual assault.

“Because of the media attention of the negative things that have been going on, I worry that students think that it’s all bad,” Cruz said. “I want them to know there are a lot of people working at the university who are doing good for this issue.”

In the end, the groups said their goal for this month is to make lasting changes to the way UO understands sexual assault.

Braman said he hopes to have a campus that is more educated on bystander intervention, speaks up when problematic conversations occur and supports people who have been impacted — creating a “culture of care.”

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee of the University of Oregon Board of Trustees will hold a meeting to address a continuing lack of diversity among UO faculty.

Lack of diversity among UO faculty has become a more frequently referenced issue on campus, one often brought to the forefront of conversation throughout this year by student-led protests.

In November 2015, UO’s Black Student Task Force made a list of demands, one of which included hiring more faculty of color.

The meeting, according to the release sent out by Board of Trustees Secretary Angela Wilhelms, is also connected to Oregon legislature meant to bolster diversity in teaching in a similar way.

Bill 3375 signed into law on May 28, 2015, as a renaming and renewal of the 1991 Minority Teachers Act. That law originally set a goal for Oregon to have hired a number of minority teachers that is proportional to the number of minority students within 10 years. The state as a whole continues to fall short of that goal. In 2011, the discrepancy between students and teachers was 27.26 percent.

The meeting will take place over the phone on Wednesday April 13, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. HEDCO Education Building, Room 240 will have a phone on which members of the public can listen in.

Today about 100 college and high school students protested in the EMU amphitheater to educate high school students of what political action looks like and protest “anti-immigrant” ballot measures.

Co-Coordinator for the event and Mecha de UO member, Eva Reyas says this is part of a conference that is held every year for high school students.

Each year the conference has a theme — this year’s theme is immigration. The conferences workshops all revolve around that theme.

“We’re just saying immigration is beautiful,” Reyas said.

According to the protestors, the anti-immigrant ballot measures are the following:

• IP 40 Making English the official language of Oregon
  • This would make all published government information and documents written in only in English.
• IP 51: Increasing barriers to voter registration
  • This would eliminate voters off the voter roles within 10 years unless they re-register and show proof of U.S. citizenship.
• IP 52: Mandating Oregon employers use a flawed federal program to check the status of all current and future workers.
  • This could put employees at risk because of a inaccurate federal program

Today the Emerald hosted an ASUO debate featuring the vice presidents and presidents from I’m with UO, One Oregon and Duck Squad.

Candidates from each slate had the opportunity to discuss their platform and respond to questions about their campaign.

Here are some highlights of the debate:

Safe Ride, DDS and Uber

Two of the slates, I’m with UO and Duck Squad, do not see Uber as a good alternative for campus safety. On the other hand, One Oregon sees Uber as an effective way to relieve some of the burdens from Safe Ride and DDS.

Duck Squad wants to expand Safe Ride and DDS to improve campus safety for those with lower incomes.

“I wanted to make sure that Safe Ride and DDS expanded to students who couldn’t afford to live so close to the heart of campus due to financial reasons, and we realize that this is something that other campaigns have done,” said Samara Mokaya, Duck Squad presidential candidate. “The thing that is different with our campaign is that we are organizers. The things we say we’re going to do, we actually do them.”

Mokaya says that implementing services like Uber will not make campus safer for people who cannot afford $10 every time they need to get home.

“In order to make things safe for students, we also need to make them feasible,” Mokaya said.

I’m with UO also supports the expansion of Safe Ride and DDS.

“Our campaign believes that getting home safely at night is a basic student right,” said Quinn Haaga, I’m with UO presidential candidate. “Our plan would be to put pressure on administration to help fund these services.”

One Oregon‘s presidential candidate Zachary Rentschler says that Uber will lessen the number of students who need service from Safe Ride and DDS.

“In order to make Safe Ride and DDS work we have to bring back late night bus services and we have to bring other alternatives such as Uber so that Safe Ride and DDS have the capability to go and answer the rides they have quickly,” Rentschler said.

In response to Rentschler, Haaga vocalized that she does not support additional student spending for transportation services.

“I’m confused how encouraging students to pay more money for things such as bus services and Uber is good for the students rather than prioritizing services such as Safe Ride and DDS that the [incidental-fee] is paying for,” Haaga said.

One Oregon‘s campaign spending

One Oregon has been scrutinized for the amount spent on its campaign. One Oregon has spent over $15,000, which is more than double the amount spent by Duck Squad and I’m with UO combined.

Senator Max Burns accused One Oregon of buying the election.

Rentschler did not comment on campaign spending caps, but did comment on his campaign’s own finances.

“We have no idea how much the other campaigns are fundraising so we never stopped fundraising and we never will stop fundraising because there is no way of knowing where other people are at going into elections,” Rentschler said.

Tuition transparency 

All campaigns see a need for better tuition transparency.

Haaga says that forcing administration to be transparent is one of the best ways to hold it accountable. Mokaya agreed.

Rentschler says administration buries facts in reports, and that the ASUO is patient enough to go through those reports, find what’s buried and let the campus community know.

Here’s the live coverage from the Emerald‘s annual ASUO elections debate:

Tweets by @laurengaretto

Listen to the highlights of the debate here:

Today is the first day to vote in the ASUO elections. Voting will be open four days, closing April 8 at 4 p.m.

This year’s slates are I’m with UO, Duck Squad and One Oregon.

Here’s how to vote:
Sign in to DuckWeb, click “Student Menu” then click “Vote Now: 2016 ASUO Regular Election.”

What will voting look like?
Each person will vote on three ballot measures and electing over 100 candidates. Elected positions are divided by branch senate, finance committees and executive.

How will the winner be determined?
For a candidate or slate to win an election, it must receive at least 50 percent of the votes. If this does not happen, a runoff election will take place. In a runoff election the two candidates or executive slates with the highest number of votes, or at least 10 percent of the general votes, will be placed on a runoff ballot. Voting on this ballot will take place April 11 and results will be available April 15.

To learn more about the ASUO elections, come to our debate between the president and VP candidates on April 5, 6-7:30 p.m. in room 123 of Global Scholars Hall. Click here to see all of our ASUO coverage from the last few weeks. 

With the 100 year celebration of the “Mighty Oregon” fight song, Oregon senators and alumnus officially declare March 10 as “Mighty Oregon Day.”

According to “Around the O,” chief sponsors of the bill were State Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, and Reps. Val Hoyle, D-West Eugene-Junction City, and Caddy McKeown, D-Coos Bay. Oregon alumnus and former ASUO President Greg Leo, a 1974 graduate, championed the bill in the Legislature.

To celebrate the day, all are encouraged to participate in a social media competition spreading the words of Oregon’s fight song.

To participate, applicants must record themself singing a cover of the fight song and upload it to Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #MightyOregon100.

Submissions uploaded by March 25 will be entered into a competition. First place prize are four tickets to the Ducks’ football season opener Sept. 3 at Autzen Stadium, second place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate from The Duck Store and third place wins three copies of the Mighty Oregon CD.

Click here to see the submission rules and guidelines.