Update at 4:21 p.m.: Nicole Panet-Raymond was a sophomore studying at the Robert D. Clark Honors College. For more information on tree wells and skiing safety, visit deepsnowsafety.org.

A University of Oregon student died while skiing at Mt. Bachelor on Friday. According to a press release put out by the resort, ski patrol received a report Friday afternoon that 19-year-old Nicole Panet-Raymond became separated from her friends while skiing. Panet-Raymond was a sophomore studying at the Robert D. Clark Honors College. 

Mt. Bachelor Ski Patrol and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue found her in a tree well located near the White Bark Run around 8:30 p.m Friday. According to KTVZ, Deschutes County Sheriff’s SAR said that “cell phone analytics” played a role in locating Panet-Raymond.

Mt. Bachelor says that she was pronounced dead at the scene, but the sheriff’s office is investigating the incident.

A snowboarder also died Friday afternoon after falling into a tree well. Rescue workers performed CPR on the man after being found, and he was pronounced dead at 1:14 p.m., according to the press release.

The Emerald will continue to report on this story as it develops.

The post UO student, 19, dies on Mt. Bachelor after falling into tree well appeared first on Emerald Media.

Do you ever wonder why you receive advertisements from student housing companies like The Hub even though you have never lived there? If you didn’t already know, student housing companies have your address — and the permanent and mailing addresses of over 21,000 other University of Oregon students — and UO is the one giving it to them.

All UO students’ names, majors, telephone numbers, and permanent and mailing addresses are classified as directory information, which can be obtained by anyone who makes a public records request to the university.

Although anyone can request the directory information, there is a fee for the labor that comes with retrieving the records. In order to see what information could be provided, the Emerald put in a broad public records request for “any and all directory information of currently enrolled students.”

When the Emerald received a receipt for its records request, the fee for the available directory information of over 21,000 students was $47.19. The Emerald did not proceed with the request.

The definition of directory information used in the request came from the Code of Federal Regulations, which defines directory information as:

“students’ names; address; telephone listing; electronic mail address; photograph; date and place of birth; major field of study; grade level; enrollment status (e.g., undergraduate or graduate, full-time or part-time); dates of attendance; participation in officially recognized activities and sports; weight and height of members of athletic teams; degrees, honors, and awards received; and the most recent educational agency or institution attended.”

The Office of Public Records told the Emerald that the photograph, date and place of birth and most recent institution were not UO directory information and would not be provided. Student email addresses are also exempt from disclosure under Oregon law.

While writing this story, the Emerald contacted people who requested students’ directory information in an attempt to figure out what they used it for.

One of the individuals who requested the directory information, Ashley Cissna, works at The Hub and paid $27.36 for students’ directory information.

The Emerald reached out to Cissna several times seeking to clarify why she requested the information and what her intentions were. After attempting to talk to Cissna in person, the Emerald was referred to the corporate offices of American Campus Communities, the parent company of The Hub and 2125 Franklin.

Gina Cowart, The Hub’s media relations spokeswoman, said that The Hub “is being rebranded as The 515” and that “the contact list will be used in the communication campaign announcing the name change and new website.”

Despite The Hub’s effort to promote their rebranding to UO students, many of those who receive their advertisements are doubting the effectiveness of the marketing campaign.

Cyndi Dose lives in Illinois, but her son is a sophomore at the UO. Despite her son not living in The Hub or 2125 Franklin, Dose said that she received two advertisements this year and at least three last year from both apartment complexes.

“I understand that they want to advertise and that is fair enough,” Dose said. “Feel free to reach out to my child, but these postcards reached out to him 2,000 miles from where he is.”

Dose said that she doesn’t think students are the intended targets of The Hub’s marketing; it’s their parents.

“The parents see what is available and the cost. They want their child to be safe and comfortable while they are away from home and working so hard to learn,” Dose said.

She also said that paying out-of-state tuition is expensive and student housing like The Hub can be costly.

“I know how much the great apartments cost when I went to school. I also know that if you picked up the local school paper or the community paper, you could easily find housing for  about 25 percent less,” Dose said. “I felt as though someone was trying to manipulate me when I saw those in the mail.”

The Hub is not the only place requesting students’ directory information. Rent College Pads, a national property listing site which hosts dozens of properties in the Eugene area, requested the same data from UO.

The Emerald attempted to contact the requestor, Callie Kollenbroich, on six separate occasions seeking to clarify the purpose of her records request, but received no reply. According to its website, Rent College Pads helps landlords attract college students to their properties by “offering a targeted, in-depth marketing approach that hits college students everywhere they are.”

UO students wishing to restrict the disclosure of their directory information can file a completed Restriction of Directory Information form with the Office of the Registrar. The form is available from the Office of the Registrar, located in 220 Oregon Hall. Students can also edit the information which appears in the UO Online Directory by logging into DuckWeb and selecting the “personal information” section.  

Follow Michael Tobin on Twitter: @Tobin_Tweets

The post Confused about getting housing advertisements? Look at the housing companies that easily obtain your information from the UO appeared first on Emerald Media.

Update Feb. 16 at 7 p.m.: Browning is a sophomore at the University of Oregon studying mathematics and computer science. 

Browning was booked on the evening of Feb. 15 (Lane County Inmate Search)

Eugene Police arrested 21-year-old Dylan Ray Browning Thursday evening on charges of extortion after he allegedly placed a threatening note on the windshield of a resident of The Hub.

According to a press release put out by EPD, the note told the victim to deliver a large sum of money to the mailboxes at 1255 Mill St. and included threats of what would happen if the demands were not met.

Lieutenant David Natt said that the contents of the note would not be released as it’s still under investigation, but the nature of the note was troubling and that the “pressure that was put on the victim would reasonably upset a person under similar circumstances.” Natt said that this type of crime is unusual in Eugene and that the victim of the crime was based on the value of their vehicle.

Natt asked anyone to come forward if they were victims of a similar crime.

The post [Updated] Eugene Police arrest UO student on extortion charges following threatening note at The Hub appeared first on Emerald Media.

On Wednesday, Eugene City council started the process which would allow for a return of ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft.

Eugene city councilors voted on Wednesday to move forward on the process of amending local regulations and ordinances, which halted Uber’s operations.

According to the Register-Guard, city council must vote again to amend the ordinances before Uber can return. This vote can only happen after a public hearing on the matter is held. The public hearing has not been scheduled. The actual amending will start after the public hearing.

Uber has a complicated history in Eugene. The ride-sharing service ran into trouble in 2014 after it failed to secure a required public transportation license and as a result acquired hefty fines that reached tens of thousands of dollars. In March 2015, the city of Eugene filed a lawsuit against Uber for failing to secure the required license and failing to comply with other regulations such as vehicle safety checks and driver background checks performed by the Eugene Police Department. In April 2015, Uber agreed to pay a reduced fine and suspend its ridesharing operations in Eugene.

Watch the Eugene City Council’s discussion of ride-share companies in Eugene:

The Emerald will continue to report on this story as it develops.

Follow Michael Tobin on Twitter at @Tobin_Tweets.

The post Uber, Lyft may return to Eugene appeared first on Emerald Media.

A UO student died in his off-campus house Friday morning. Police and medical personnel responded to reports of an unresponsive 21-year-old male at a house on the 400 block of E. 13th Avenue. He was pronounced dead at 11:46 a.m.

Eugene Police did not immediately identify the victim Friday. The Emerald is waiting to identify the student so there is time for friends and family to be notified. He was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

UO spokesman Tobin Klinger said that the university sent a message to the Fraternity and Sorority Life leadership informing them of the incident.

“The university has learned that a 21-year old fraternity member has died following a medical crisis at an off-campus residence Friday morning,” the message said. “We recognize that this is a difficult time for those in the fraternity and sorority communities, and the larger UO community.”

The message also encourages students to visit the counseling center if they are feeling distressed or call the UO crisis support line at 541-346-3227.

The Emerald will continue to report on this story as it develops.

The post UO student, 21, dies at off-campus residence appeared first on Emerald Media.

Max’s Tavern has a new message for its patrons: Stand down, “Sweet Caroline” singers.

Max’s Tavern is no longer allowing people to stand on the benches during its 2 a.m. tradition of singing “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond — a tradition commonly called “closing Max’s.” The tavern also announced it will stop letting patrons in between 1:15 and 1:30 a.m. to control crowd sizes for the singalong.

According to a Wednesday-morning post on the bar’s Facebook page, the ban on bench standing comes after an incident in which a patron was knocked unconscious by a piece of glassware. Eugene Police said authorities were unable to locate the perpetrator and one 21-year-old victim was transported to the hospital due to a head injury.

Max’s owner, Ward Fairbairn, said standing on benches is “always been a situation where something can go wrong.”

“It has gotten ugly the last few seasons and it’s time to stop,” he said.

Ward said if customers tried to stand on the benches and sing, it would be shut down quickly.

“First of all, we stop all the music, stop serving alcohol and say, ‘Knock it off,’” he said.

Dispatch information obtained from the Eugene Police Department Log shows that Max’s had 24 instances of disputes, assaults and fights since the start of 2015.

But Max’s isn’t the only bar that can be rowdy. Taylor’s had 46 instances of the same offenses over the same time period. Webfoot, located down the street from Taylor’s, only had 11 instances. The dispatch data showed that other campus bars, such as Rennie’s, Agate Alley and Fathom’s, had no notable incidents.

(Illustration by Kelly Kondo)

The bench-standing ban comes as Max’s is facing a $3.7 million lawsuit after a guitarist cut his hand on a shattered pint glass.

Wednesday’s announcement caused a stir among current and former patrons of the bar. Samer Barghouti, an alumnus from the class of 2014, said standing on the benches for the singalong was one of the things he enjoyed the most about Max’s.

“The only thing I ever enjoyed about Max’s was getting up and signing at the end of the night.” he said. “It was a great way to cap a night out on 13th… but I totally understand their safety concerns. It’s just unfortunate.”

The post Max’s Tavern will no longer allow patrons to stand on benches during closing song appeared first on Emerald Media.

With President Trump labeling the opioid epidemic sweeping the country as a “national public health emergency,” the effects of the epidemic in Lane County are visible in a couple ways.

Arrests for heroin possession in Eugene and Springfield increased 68.2 percent between 2016 and 2017. A reported 328 individuals were arrested for possession in Eugene and Springfield in 2017, compared to 195 in 2016. Arrests in 2017 were up 129.4 percent in comparison to data from 2015.

Arrests for possession are not the only statistic indicative of the community’s struggle with heroin. Over the course of 2017, Eugene police responded to 412 calls for service regarding “found syringes” in Eugene, an increase of 19.2 percent compared to 333 calls in 2016. In comparison to 2015, calls for found syringes jumped 69.6 percent.

Eugene isn’t the only community experiencing the fallout of the heroin epidemic sweeping the nation. Portland reported a 64 percent increase in the number of used needles found on city streets and sidewalks. Sidewalks aren’t the only concern; a Portland father told KGW that his toddler was poked by a needle while on the MAX, Portland’s light rail system.  

With the arrests and calls for used syringes shooting up, how many needles were found in Eugene?

According to Eugene Police Department, the number of found syringes have increased in the past couple years. (Illustration by Kelly Kondo)

The exact number is unclear, but data from the HIV Alliance, which provides new needles to IV drug users, gives an estimate of just over 400,000 needles collected from the Alliance’s needle exchange program, which seeks to lower rates of HIV and Hepatitis C transmission.

Renée Yandel, the Alliance’s executive director, said that the number of needles collected in 2017 was a slight drop compared to the roughly 425,000 collected in 2016. But Yandel said that the drop was primarily due to a needle exchange site moving.

“The Springfield syringe site had a big drop,” she said. “It takes time for clients who are understandably concerned about using syringe exchange because of privacy. A new site can be a challenge, but we are seeing the numbers go back up.”

The Alliance’s needle exchange program, which seeks to lower transmission rates of diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, collected just over 400,000 needles in 2017. The Alliance estimates that it has around 3,000 clients who are tracked using a client number. Divided equally among the 3,000 clients, roughly 133 single-use needles are given to each client.

On top of the 400,000 needles collected through the syringe exchange, the HIV Alliance collected an estimated 23,000 needles from drop boxes located in Eugene and Springfield.

All the needles collected by HIV Alliance are given to PeaceHealth for incineration. Over the course of 2015 and 2016, HIV Alliance said that over 650,000 needles collected from Lane, Douglas and Josephine counties were incinerated.

But the Alliance’s work is not limited to needle exchange. Yandel said it provides a variety of other services to injection drug users such as information about treatment services.

“We provide medical attention to users who may be suffering from injected-related ailments like abscesses,” Yandel said. “We provide free overdose prevention education and even things like socks for the homeless.”

Correction: Renée Yandel is the executive director of the HIV Alliance. 

The post Arrests for heroin possession in Eugene and Springfield increased 129 percent in two years appeared first on Emerald Media.

A man is suing Max’s Tavern for $3.7 million after cutting his hand on a shattered pint glass. He was helping to pull the glass and a metal shaker apart, per the bartender’s request for his help.

According to the complaint obtained by the Emerald, Winston Martin is suing Max’s, also called New Max’s Tavern, following an incident which left him with “severe and permanent injury to his left hand.”

The complaint says that on Jan. 18, 2016, Martin went to Max’s Tavern and was served four pints of beer in one hour as well as several free cocktails, which were free because the bartender was learning to make them. A female patron sitting at the bar ordered a margarita which the bartender mixed using a metal shaker capped with a pint glass. Unable to separate the shaker himself, the bartender asked Martin to help him. Martin placed his left hand on the pint glass and his right hand on the metal shaker which caused the pint glass to shatter in his left hand.

Martin, who hoped to attend medical school and is described in the claim as “an accomplished guitar player,” lost sensation in his finger during the incident. Even after the stitches were removed, the lack of sensation remained except for intermittent pain.

According to the complaint, Martin is suing Max’s Tavern for diminished earnings of over $3.2 million in addition to smaller claims of medical compensation and damages for “pain, suffering and permanent physical impairment.”

Court documents state that Martin is a University of Oregon student but an article in the Register-Guard stated that he is not enrolled in the school.

More updates to this story will come as the case proceeds through court.

The post A guitarist is suing Max’s Tavern over freak accident that left his hand with loss of movement appeared first on Emerald Media.

Across Franklin Boulevard lies the farm up north where all of your waste goes. A row of blue, plastic 55-gallon drums hold anything and everything from hundreds of metal cans to empty Reddi-Wip whipped cream bottles. Every item thrown into the wrong bin ends up here to be sorted. Student workers empty the bins on a table, each bin takes about five minutes to empty, although that depends on the level of “contamination” of other items. What about that cup with the recycling logo you threw in the recycling bin? That’s actually contamination.

The University of Oregon Zero Waste Program handles all the disposal of campus’ waste. Started in March 1991, Zero Waste plays a crucial role in disposing of everything from milk cartons to french fries from the dining halls. Last year, Zero Waste recovered 1475.72 tons of garbage and among other things, 88.82 tons of books.

“Sometimes you’ll find a science book from the 1930s or an outdated law book,” said Cimmeron Gillespie, Zero Waste’s Marketing Coordinator.

Zero Waste boasts a recovery rate of 55 percent, meaning it recovers 55 percent of the materials thrown away and diverts them from landfills or being incinerated. The other 45 percent of UO’s waste is recycled, composted or recovered for reuse. The group receives funds from ASUO in order to pay for student jobs, but also receives revenue from selling recovered materials to contractors.

“We’re all about pulling waste out of the garbage stream,” said Karyn Kaplyn, Zero Waste’s director. “That’s a really multileveled operation, we have to educate the public to focus on zero waste opportunities and it also involves institutional changes.”  

Now, those institutional changes are being made. Since In 2014, Zero Waste placed so called “zero waste stations” in buildings like Deady Hall which offer trash containers compost and recycling.

“By having everything in the same place, we’re giving people the opportunity to put waste in the right place,” Gillespie said. “If there’s only a trash can in the room, odds are you’ll throw something in the trash.”

UO Zero Waste does not only deal with “traditional” forms of waste like recyclables and trash, it also started a reusable office supply exchange (ROSE) for student groups. Tucked inside PLC is a room no bigger than a broom closet, which holds everything from Liberty Bell mousepads to laptop bags and label makers.

“It’s pretty much like a little Office Depot,” Gillespie said. “One time we got a laptop bag that belonged to UO President Michael Schill.”

The ROSE distributes these and many more items to student groups and according to last years’ numbers, saved the UO almost $17,000. Since ROSE’s start in 1997, the program saved over $300,000 worth of paper, pens, binders and bookends.

Gillespie is quick to note that Zero Waste’s success isn’t caused by one single factor.

“Tens of thousands are people are using our system,” Gillespie said. “To me, that’s something that is really meaningful. All this takes people being thoughtful and careful and I think Zero Waste represents those attitudes on our campus.”

Follow Michael Tobin on Twitter: @Tobin_Tweets

The post UO’s Zero Waste Program plays important role in university’s recycling process appeared first on Emerald Media.

From Congress to Hollywood, sexual assault scandals are hitting the headlines in a pervasive wave of call-outs and push-backs against rape culture. At universities, rape culture is magnified in fraternity and sorority life — numerous academic studies and statistics trace campus rape culture’s influence back to the party culture of fraternities.

But the possible beginnings of a cultural shift within Greek culture are emerging at the University of Oregon. Leaders in the Greek community are emphasizing accountability and transparency, mirroring the conversations around sexual assault happening at the national level.

Joey Alongi, a member of PIKE, is pushing for a “Transparency Policy” among fraternities at UO. Phillip Quinn/Emerald

Joey Alongi, a sophomore political science major and member of Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE), is pushing for increased cooperation and communication between fraternities in order to prevent sexual violence. During fall term, Alongi proposed a rule he calls the “Transparency Policy” to  UO’s Director of Prevention Services, Kerry Frazee.

The policy is simple, according to Alongi: if a pledge or initiated member of a fraternity is expelled from a chapter for sexual misconduct, his name would be placed on a list which would then be distributed to presidents of other chapters. The objective of the policy is to make sure that perpetrators of sexual misconduct are identified early and do not have the chance to rush another fraternity.

Frazee estimates that 3,250 students currently enrolled at UO have experienced sexual assault, using statistics from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center that says one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college.

The true number of sexual assaults can be difficult to track because the vast majority of them go unreported. A 2014 Department of Justice Study found that only 20 percent of female college students report instances of sexual assault. UO’s 2016 Annual Title IX report shows 97 incidents of sexual assault and rape, 120 incidents of sexual harassment and 66 incidents of dating or domestic violence. Data provided from the 2016 UOPD clery crime log reported that there were 36 instances of fondling and rape over the course of the year, 20 of which were received from Title IX.

UOPD spokesman Kelly McIver wrote via email that sexual assaults that occur within the Greek community can be difficult to track.

“We do track Clery crimes reported for chapter houses of UO-affiliated fraternities and sororities,” McIver wrote. “Incidents that may occur at privately owned residences [live-outs] that are in some way connected to fraternity or sorority people or functions would not be tracked, or even known.”

Alongi said his determination to create such a policy came after he witnessed a pledge at PIKE grope another fraternity brother’s girlfriend. The pledge, who was later kicked out of PIKE, was expelled from another fraternity before pledging at PIKE. Alongi said he doesn’t know what the pledge was initially expelled for, but speculates sexual misconduct may have played a role after witnessing the pledge’s behavior.

“His story was that he didn’t mesh well with the guys at the other fraternity,” Alongi said.

Alongi said that if nothing was done, similar incidents will continue to happen.

“I thought to myself, ‘There’s nothing stopping this guy from going to another fraternity and doing the same thing as he did at ours.’”

Alongi, a former sexual violence prevention representative for PIKE, says that sometimes education is simply not enough to stop predatory behavior among some fraternity members.

“Predators are presented with facts and education like the definition of consent and disassociate themselves from that information,” he said. “They lack understanding through a mix of denial and misunderstanding. Essentially, it’s a lack of empathy.”

Due to the private nature of fraternities, their expulsion processes are often kept secret. Only one fraternity on campus, Delta Upsilon, has a non-secretive process that is stated in their bylaws. Given the secrecy of the expulsion, a member can say that he chose to leave the chapter for a reason like not fitting in with others despite being kicked out for sexual assault or misconduct.

High profile expulsions — like those for sexual assault — aren’t always common knowledge to other members of the Greek community.

Alongi’s example is not an isolated incident.

Dominic Black, Delta Upsilon’s former president, said that an individual kicked out of another fraternity for sexual assault tried to join his chapter.

“We’ve had a couple people who have rushed who were kicked out of other fraternities and one of them was for a sexual assault allegation,” he said. “Luckily, Sam Michaan, the president of Theta Chi at the time, reached out to me and let me know.”

Black said that even with Michaan informing him, he believes that having a policy advocating for transparency between presidents is beneficial to the community as a whole.

“I think that is a wonderful idea; it would better our community,” he said. “There’s people who would sneak through the cracks. Having that information come from the presidents could be super beneficial to improve fraternity and sorority life as a whole.”

Even with some members of the Greek community supporting Alongi’s policy, administrators said the policy violates the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), which establishes and protects students’ privacy rights.

Over the course of writing this story, the Emerald contacted Frazee five times requesting a comment explaining the administration’s stance. Frazee’s only response contained links to UO’s student records privacy policy as well as other links related to Title IX processes and investigations. Frazee recommended that the Emerald contact Fraternity and Sorority Life Director Caitlin Roberts for a “more accurate response about overall fraternity and sorority life accountability.” When the Emerald contacted Roberts’ front desk requesting a comment, Roberts’ office referred the Emerald to UO spokesman Tobin Klinger.

Klinger described the inability to translate proposed policy into practice as a “straightforward FERPA issue” and that the personal information the policy requires could not be shared with fraternity presidents due to the fact that it lacks “a clear academic reason.”

Klinger defines “clear academic reason” as anything “reason to know something based on your direct role in their academic process.”

While Alongi and Black support the policy change, another member of the Greek community says that enforcing social consequences for fraternities that don’t participate in sexual violence prevention education is a step towards reducing sexual violence.

Paige Price is a sexual violence prevention representative from Pi Beta Phi. Phillip Quinn/Emerald

Paige Price, a sexual violence prevention representative from Pi Beta Phi, said that new social consequences for taking shortcuts on sexual violence prevention education will hopefully soon become community standards. Price and other representatives from the Greek community meet weekly with Frazee to discuss sexual violence prevention education.

In addition to existing monetary fines, Price said that fraternities will face social consequences for skipping the meetings. Starting this term, if a fraternity misses two or more meetings, the Panhellenic Council will cancel their social functions with the chapter for the rest of the term.

While Price plans on this practice becoming a community standard, it has been the norm for her sorority since last fall.  

“We have been waiting for a change like this in our community. Pi Beta Phi was already holding other fraternities accountable for their attendance at the SVP meetings,” she said. “We simply let their social chairs know that if they were missing meetings, we would be canceling our upcoming functions with them.”

Price is quick to acknowledge that fraternities have stepped up and taken issue of sexual violence prevention seriously, saying that she’s seen a positive shift in some chapters’ cultures. Ultimately, Price says that education is an obligation chapters have to their communities.

“If a chapter cares about members of their own community and those outside of it, they should be willing to participate in actions necessary to ensure everyone in those communities feel safe, and when it comes to social events, sexual violence prevention education is a huge part.”

Correction: The clery crime log provided by UOPD was from 2016.

The post Challenging rape culture in Greek spaces appeared first on Emerald Media.