A panel discussion regarding the renaming of Dunn Hall to Unthank Hall will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, in the Erb Memorial Union’s Redwood Auditorium, according to Around the O. The discussion, which will be moderated by UO President Michael Schill, consists of a civil rights historian, equity and social justice advocate and a member of the Black Student Task Force.

The decision to rename the building came last June after several months of protesting from members of the Black Student Task Force. The university spent over $23,000 to determine the fate of Deady and Dunn Halls, two buildings with controversial names. The university renamed Dunn Hall due to the fact that it was named after a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Deady, a delegate for Oregon’s Constitutional Convention, was in favor of slavery and supported a section of the state’s constitution which prohibited African-Americans from settling in the Oregon. Schill argued that Deady was a constitutional purist and therefore did not change the name.

Around the O quotes Schill as saying that the decision to rename Dunn Hall took the school on “an incredibly educational journey,” and he hopes that the panel discussion “will allow us to reflect on what worked and further what we learned.”

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A panel discussion regarding the renaming of Dunn Hall to Unthank Hall will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15, in the Erb Memorial Union’s Redwood Auditorium, according to Around the O. The discussion, which will be moderated by UO President Michael Schill, consists of a civil rights historian, equity and social justice advocate and a member of the Black Student Task Force.

The decision to rename the building came last June after several months of protesting from members of the Black Student Task Force. The university spent over $23,000 to determine the fate of Deady and Dunn Halls, two buildings with controversial names. The university renamed Dunn Hall due to the fact that it was named after a leader of the Ku Klux Klan. Deady, a delegate for Oregon’s Constitutional Convention, was in favor of slavery and supported a section of the state’s constitution which prohibited African-Americans from settling in the Oregon. Schill argued that Deady was a constitutional purist and therefore did not change the name.

Around the O quotes Schill as saying that the decision to rename Dunn Hall took the school on “an incredibly educational journey,” and he hopes that the panel discussion “will allow us to reflect on what worked and further what we learned.”

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On Wednesday, the ASUO Senate voted not to approve a mandatory per diem food costs for student groups’ travel expenses.

The bylaw, which failed 15 votes to four, required per diem food stipends to be provided to any student group that asks for it. Under the current bylaws, the Senate approves or denies per diem requests on a case-by-case basis.

Per diem expenses cover food costs that student encounter while traveling to conferences and retreats. The standard rate for per diem allocates traveling students $57 for three meals a day while the high cost per diem allocates $68 for the same amount of meals. The differences between standard and high cost localities is meant to account for price changes in different cities.

The vote comes after Senator Luis Pablo Alvarez expressed his concern for underrepresented students’ access to food to the Senate via a post on its Facebook page. Alvarez wrote that the Senate has an obligation to the student body to grant groups per diem.

“Food Security is a platform most of us ran on last year and the year before,” he said. “Here we have a clear opportunity to actually influence the system and make significant change and very little of you seemed to want to do so.”

Senator Cali Hodge said that she is open to providing per diem to student groups but is concerned with the language in Alvarez’s amendment because it would take away the Senate’s discretion to allocate funds.

“Each group has the opportunity to request per diem or to not request per diem” she said.

Other senators, such as Arian Mobasser, said that the language in Alvarez’s bylaw could have unintended consequences

“The bylaw changes as proposed could have unintended consequences of draining our incidental fee budget without creating additional learning opportunities for students who need the most support.” Mobasser said.

Alvarez said that “these are real people on campus” who need assistance from ASUO.

“Most people who ask for funding ask for it because they truly need it,” Alvarez said. “In my opinion it makes no sense that paid professional staff with careers who could probably pay for their own food are guaranteed per diem when they go to conferences on behalf of the University but struggling college students are not.”

In Alvarez’s post, he said that many students told him that food costs were an obstacle to attending events.

“Multiple underrepresented students on campus have repeatedly told me that they do not go to conferences because they depend on food stamps, food pantries or eating cheaply at home — something they can not do while on retreat.”

Wednesday was not the start of the per diem debate in the twenty member Senate. Alvarez said that they discussed a “moderate compromise” on per diem last week with little success. Alvarez’s compromise kept the status quo, but he added that “no negation of per diem shall interfere with a students ability to participate in any ASUO program.” Alvarez said that he believes it gives the Senate the discretion they requested.

The Senate sent the bylaw back to a working committee for revision but according to his Facebook post he received no help from fellow senators.

As a result of the gridlock, Alvarez revised the bylaw and included language which requires that all students be granted per diem.

While the status quo on per diem remains, Alvarez hopes that the Senate will “elevate the needs of students.”

Correction: This post was updated to correct minor grammatical errors 

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Update: UOPD reports Agate Hall will reopen around 4:30 p.m. and security guards will remain in the building.

Update: Police are reopening the roads surrounding Agate Hall. Police say the bomb threat is cleared and Agate Hall will be closed for the rest of the day.

Police evacuated students and staff from Agate Hall Tuesday afternoon after the building received a bomb threat.

Police have not yet determined the validity of the threat and are searching the building for bombs.

UOPD spokesman said that students and faculty won’t be returning to the facility today.

Traffic is blocked on Agate Street and 18th Avenue and police are urging the public to avoid the area.

Check back for developing coverage or follow @dailyemerald.

Rylee Kahan and Will Campbell contributed to reporting for this story.

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The anti-abortion demonstration, known as the “Genocide Awareness Project,” took to the EMU lawn this week to spread its message. It drew similar reactions to last week’s demonstration at Lane Community College, which caught students and community members alike off guard with its graphic displays and Holocaust comparisons.

Even with the protests, GAP demonstrators thought their message was somewhat well received on campus, said Jacqueline Hawkins, the GAP’s minority outreach director.

“Students have told me, ‘Thank you for being here. You’ve made me think about this. I need to do more research.’ And also, ‘F-you.’ Really the gamut of responses,” she said.

UOPD kept a close eye on pro-choice protesters, who attempted to cover the GAP’s graphic images with flags, tarps and bed sheets. Police presence at demonstrations isn’t uncommon, according to UOPD Public Information Officer Kelly McIver.

“UOPD officers have been present at all of the large demonstrations on or around campus in the last year,” McIver said. “The purpose is to make sure that all exercise of free speech on campus can happen safely, and that all laws and university policies are observed.”

Counter-protestors: Monica Olson, Rebecca Callison, Misty Schurbon, and Lynne Romans, holding up bed sheets to hide “Genocide Awareness Project,” on the EMU lawn on Oct. 18, 2017. (Ben Green/Emerald)

The protests on Wednesday were peaceful, apart from one anti-abortion protester rattling the barricades surrounding the GAP’s display. But other protestors were quick to tell agitator to stop shaking the barricades. Even with the attempts to cover up the graphic images, anti-abortion protesters were compliant with the laws and conduct code, said UO spokesman Tobin Klinger.

“Holding up sheets is not infringing on the rights of others free speech since the images can still be seen,” Klinger said.

Free speech has been at the forefront of the conversation regarding the GAP’s presence on campus. Bystander Christian Hartwell, a senior journalism major, said that allowing groups with different beliefs on campus is appropriate and necessary in a dialogue.

“This is a public place, and different parties have the right to express themselves freely,” Hartwell said. “There’s a lot of value in having people express opinions freely.”

The university is a public space and all groups who meet the criteria to hold an event are entitled to hold an event, said Interim Vice President of Student Life Kevin Marbury.

“The area around the EMU is a public forum, which is available for university groups, student groups and outside groups to hold events,” Marbury said. “They [GAP] followed the process, certified they had appropriate insurance and had their structure inspected by the fire marshal.”

Counter-protestors against the “Genocide Awareness Project,” on the EMU lawn on Oct. 18, 2017. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

Some student groups across the campus condemned the demonstration. Groups with traditionally anti-abortion stances, such as College Republicans, criticized the tactics of GAP’s demonstration.

“We do not affiliate with GAP because we feel their approach is too aggressive and ineffective in reaching out to college students,” said College Republican’s Vice Chair Aaron Covarrubias. “As a pro-life student, I feel we can win arguments with logic and reason, not with fear or scare tactics.”

College Democrats President Hannah Argento criticized the demonstrators’ perversion of the term genocide.

“To compare the mass murder of a nation of people or ethnic group to abortion not only diminishes real genocide, it is a gross manipulation of the term,” Argento said.

UOPD and administrative officers keep an eye on the “Genocide Awareness Project” and counter-protesters at the EMU lawn on Oct. 18, 2017. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

While the protests were happening outside, groups inside the EMU were offering support services to students. Fatima Pervaiz, director of the UO Women’s Center, said that students were guiding other students her group’s office for counseling.

“There have been people in crisis and in distress who needed the crisis intervention and sexual violence support services staff that are stationed here,” Pervaiz said.

Pervaiz said that despite the emotionally charged day, more students are becoming aware of the importance of the Women’s Center work.

“I want students to know that the Women’s Center understands how traumatic these images can be,” said Pervaiz. “We want to prevent as much distress and possible, and we’re so sorry that they have to witness such images of violence, it’s not healthy for anyone.”

Follow Michael Tobin on Twitter: @Tobin_Tweets

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An anti-abortion group will erect a twenty-foot tower covered in graphic images comparing abortion to the Holocaust on campus Wednesday.

The group, known as the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, will be on the EMU lawn for a national tour called the “Genocide Awareness Project.” The tower will advocate for its message of “prenatal justice and the right to life for the unborn,” according to its website.

In response, the university is preparing its counseling offices to help students who may have emotional traumatization.

Despite the graphic nature of their display, CBR’s demonstration is protected under the First Amendment. Laurie Woodward, the EMU’s director, says that as long as a group files the proper paperwork, they have the right to use public space.

“Our job is to be content neutral because we’re a public space on a public campus,” Woodward said. “We book groups on whether or not they meet criteria.”

The UO is not the group’s first stop in the Eugene area — the tower’s graphic images were on display at Lane Community College (LCC) last Monday and Tuesday.

According to KVAL, the demonstrators were met by student protestors at LCC. One student, Eric Howanietz, said that he was notified only one day ahead of the group’s arrival. Howanietz expressed frustration with the group’s methods.

“For an outside organization to come into our town, into our community college — to do this is just uncalled for,” he said to KVAL. “These people are cowards in my mind.”

Although the group has toured other colleges in the Pacific Northwest such as Boise State University, two schools in Utah — Weber State University and Salt Lake Community College — the tour continues to Washington and Oregon, to colleges such as Evergreen State College, Portland State University and LCC.

Kris Winter, the dean of students, says that the wellbeing of students is the school’s number one priority.

“Just because the group has the freedom to speak doesn’t mean students are obligated to go,” Winter said. “Our main concern is students’ safety.”

Here is the full list of free speech guidelines from the Safety and Risk Resources website:

Printed Material

• Most building walls and campus fixtures, as well as most bulletin boards, are regulated. Building or department operators may determine what content may be approved (i.e., material related to a particular program, or published by university groups for a university audience). Unapproved or unrelated material may be removed.
• Material may not contain “true” threats of violence.

Demonstrations

• May not interfere with scheduled university activities (such as classes or events)
• May not block doors, hallways, stairways, fire exits, fire lanes, or public rights of way including streets, sidewalks, etc.
• May not pose a threat to health and safety
• May not result in damage, loss, theft or vandalism of property
• May not exceed safe occupancy capacity in a room (Oregon Fire Code, Sections 104.1, 107.5, 107.6)
• May not interfere with scheduled speakers’ presentations or response to questions

Sound

• No amplified sound on campus between 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; no amplified sound indoors (megaphones and other sound-amplifying devices are not allowed inside)
• Sound amplified by event schedulers is allowed in athletics and entertainment venues
• Requests for amplified sound at the EMU Amphitheater must be submitted to Scheduling and Event Services
• Please be considerate of classes and other events when demonstrating outdoors

Signs

• May not have attached sticks inside buildings (safety hazard)
• May not make direct, “true” threats of violence
• May be removed if posted or left in an area that does not allow unregulated postings

Graffiti

• Any marking, including chalking, left on campus buildings or surfaces (including sidewalks and streets) may be removed, consistent with campus maintenance standards and practices.

Spaces

• To enable the free sharing of ideas on campus, the UO has rules and procedures for reserving space or other facilities.
• The person or group reserving the facility is entitled to determine how, within university guidelines, that facility is used.
• When campus activities conflict with one another, university officials have the authority to request those involved in one activity to stop, move, or change their behavior, so that the other activity can continue.

Follow Michael Tobin on Twitter: @Tobin_Tweets

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The student government’s Street Faire is back at UO until Friday at 6 p.m. Some rain showers dampened the tents and food trucks on Wednesday and more rain is expected throughout the week.

Marc Winegarden, the owner of Bandon’s Best Kettle Korn, said that turn out will not suffer because of rain. Winegarden has attended the Street Faire for the past 10 years, and he said that some rain is good for business.

“Weather won’t affect turnout; more people like popcorn when it’s like this.”

The fair, which is held every fall and spring, features a variety of food vendors, artisan crafts, nonprofit groups and student organizations. Vendors will line their tents and food trucks along 13th Avenue between Kincaid Street and University Street.

The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) hosts the Street Fair and uses it to raise funds.

Students shuffle through posters at the ASUO Fall Street Faire on Oct. 11, 2017. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

Lauren Duran, a sophomore English major, said it “reminds me that the community is very tightknit and that the community will come together and enjoy this thing they put on every year.”

Various vendors filled the street with food smells and eye-catching tapestries, Duran’s personal favorite.

Though the foot traffic can get congested and the food lines were long, Duran said she was excited to be there to see all the freshman experience it for the first time.

Joshua Simon, a sophomore at the UO majoring in music education, said this week’s fair is the third one he has attended. He likes to go to a lot of different food carts but says his favorite is the one with homemade funnel cakes.

“I was walking out of the EMU and I just saw a bunch of places and I was like, ‘What is this?’ and I go and I am like, ‘Alright. I guess there is a fair here,’ so I just started eating,” said Simon.

Simon advised first-time visitors to the Street Faire to plan out the when they are going to eat at the trucks and tents so that they do not have to wait until the end of the year to enjoy the next fair.

The ASUO Fall Street Faire on Oct. 11, 2017. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

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Protesters swarmed the EMU Ballroom stage last Friday to disrupt University President Michael Schill’s scheduled State of the University speech. Compared to past protests at UO, this was a small one — but it ended the speech before it could begin.

A group of about 45 protesters identifying as “the UO Student Collective” rushed the stage shortly after Interim Vice President of Student Life Kevin Marbury took the podium to introduce Schill. Just a few minutes later administration vacated the ballroom, abandoning efforts to make the formal address.

The protesters sent a press release via email and posted a list of demands on their Facebook page a couple hours later. The list had 22 demands related to a wide range of causes — it included freezing tuition, cutting carbon emissions immediately and creating a Muslim prayer room in the EMU. Protest organizer Charlie Landeros told the Emerald his demands were meant to empower marginalized students on campus.

President of UO Michael Schill at the EMU Ballroom Friday, Oct. 6. (Adam Eberhardt/Emerald)

Schill responded with disdain for the protestors’ methods. “I respect protesters’ rights to share their views, but I do not agree in shutting down another person’s right to speak,” Schill wrote in a university-wide email later that day.

The State of the University speech was intended to exhibit the successes the university has experienced in the last two years, but also acknowledge the problems UO faces — many of the same issues the protesters accused Schill of ignoring.

Schill released a recording of his speech in Friday’s email, speaking about many of the campus’ most divisive subjects.

Friday morning’s speech in the ballroom planned to address the current and future state of UO. Schill’s recorded speech covered multiple subjects, from free speech to enhancing the university’s research programs and the development of the Knight Campus.

It also came after Friday morning’s announcement that an anonymous donor gave $50 million to Schill’s Presidential Fund for Excellence. The money will be used to support ‘new and important strategic initiatives,’ according to the speech. The donation is significant not only because of its size but also because there are no conditions on how it can be spent.

Free speech on campus:

The protesters chanted “nothing about us without us” and accused Schill of pricing out students with rising tuition costs.

Interim Vice President of Student Life Kevin Marbury tells attendees to leave the EMU after protesters take over the stage. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

After five minutes, Marbury told the students they were being disrespectful and violating the “amplified noise” statute of the student conduct code through their use of a megaphone.

The group promoted their demonstration on Facebook as “The State of Reality” protest, a reference to their discontent with the current state of the university.

Landeros thanked all students who came out “to take a stand against the fascism at University of Oregon.” He said that the protest was not just against Schill, but “the entire systems of oppression which exist within the halls of our school.”

The group also accused Schill of having an “ignorantly happy-go-lucky attitude” while attempting to “suppress [UO] students and to create a wage/class gap between the haves and havenots.”

Among the group’s concerns were “the recent acceptance of fascism and neo-Nazis” and “the blatant disregard of the student’s requests.”

While they did not specifically articulate their demands during the protest, the protesters demanded on Facebook and in a press release that the administration condemn Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).

But Schill said in an email in early September that he was committed to protecting DACA students.

Schill wants to “redouble his efforts” to help the protesters understand what free speech means. He said that if the students had listened to his speech, they would understand that he plans to bring free speech to the forefront.

“I’m not angry at them,” Schill said in an interview with the Emerald. “I’m just sad that they don’t understand the value of free speech.”

This year, in what he says is an effort to advocate for the First Amendment, Schill is working to coordinate public lectures on the importance of free speech with the assistance of all the schools and colleges within the university.

“My hope is what we’ll do is we’ll have a whole array of views expressed,” he said.

Schill was critical of those who use the First Amendment to silence others or spread hateful and hurtful rhetoric.

“Fringe groups use the openness of the university to spread ugly messages of hate, xenophobia, misogyny, anti-Semitism, and racism,” Schill said in his speech. “They seek to incite a reaction which at some of our sister universities comes all too readily and violently. In other instances and at other universities, students seek to disinvite or shout-down speakers they don’t agree with. Faculty who ask probing questions are sometimes vilified as sexist or racist, creating a chilling effect on campus speech.”

Faculty members are already starting the conversation. UO School of Journalism and Communications (SOJC) Dean Juan-Carlos Molleda initiated a dialogue with students on Twitter Saturday morning.

Past protests on campus:

Protests are nothing new to UO, but few of them have ended in cancelled events. Some have resulted in progressive understanding between the administration and student cultural groups.

“Two years ago we had a protest by a group of black students who ultimately organized themselves into the Black Student Task Force,” said Schill in an interview with the Emerald. “They were outside Johnson Hall and they then were able to convert their passion into discussion. They ended up meeting with me and we ended up making a huge amount of progress.”

The university has raised $1.6 million for the Black Cultural Center, which was one of the demands that the Black Student Task Force listed. Over the next five years the Black Cultural Center will receive an additional $500,000, according to Schill.  

“That’s a group of people who are able to convert protest into meaningful change, but today’s [protest] group will never be able to do that, because they don’t want to listen,” said Schill. “I’m always open to discussing with any student in a structured environment where they want to sit down and they want to have a discussion. I didn’t sense that that’s what they wanted. That’s not what they asked for — it’s not the way they behaved.”  

The rising student debt crisis:

In 2016, the University of Oregon’s average student loan debt was $25,049 per borrower according to statistics on LendEDU. Nationally, the statistics rank the college graduate class of 2016 as the most indebted in history.

During the demonstration, protesters accused Schill of being a “CEO” who treats the university like “a business firm.” This criticism follows Schill’s comments in March that students can “borrow money” and “ask their parents” for help paying the increased 6.6 percent tuition this year.

Schill told the Emerald that he understands student’s concerns about affording college, but he feels that they should be able to.

“It concerns me that some students can’t, or that some students think that they can’t [afford college],” Schill said. “So I think there’s work to be done to help students understand financial literacy. That’s something we need to focus on.”

The UO Student Collective wants to see a tuition freeze and a plan developed to decrease tuition over the next five years.

“We are doing our best to control costs. We’re doing our best to increase state funding,” Schill said. “We did this year, and that allowed us to decrease the tuition increase. Some of the concerns about taking on some debt are irrational. Taking on some debt shouldn’t be a problem. Taking on a lot of debt is a problem.”

Forty-five students took the stage at President Schill’s State of the University speech, chanting “nothing about us without us.” (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

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Law students taking the bar exam this year are in luck: they have a better chance of passing.

The newest results from Oregon’s July bar exam show a 21 percent point increase in the number of passing grades, jumping from 58 percent last year to 79 percent this year. The scores were released Sept. 22.

UO Faculty Senate Vice President Bill Harbaugh said that’s due to Oregon Supreme Court’s decision to lower the bar score and adopt a new form of the test.

He’s also concerned about new, less qualified lawyers oversaturating the job market.

“It’s bad news for those 260 students who would have passed the older, harder exam, and who now have to try and find a job in an even more flooded job market.”

But UO law school leaders say that the new test isn’t any easier and students are still studying the same amount.

Nicole Commissiong, Dean of Student Affairs at the UO Law School, said that the current test is not in any way easier despite the score being lowered.

“That has not changed the amount of work that bar applicants are expected to do to prepare to pass the bar exam,” Commissiong said. “It is a difficult 2-day exam that covers many subjects.”

Commissiong said students preparing for the exam should expect to study 40-50 hours a week beginning after graduation on May 20 until the exam itself, which is the last Tuesday and Wednesday of July.

In March, the deans of Oregon’s three law schools penned a letter to the Board of Bar Examiners (BBX) asking to lower the minimum bar score. The deans, from UO, Lewis and Clark

and Willamette, wrote Oregon’s passing score was higher than other states. During that time, Oregon’s minimum passing score was 284, the third highest in the country behind Delaware and California.

In their letter to the BBX, the deans first asked that the score be changed to 264, but ultimately settled on 274. The Oregon Supreme Court approved the change.

With the new test and lower score, 362 people passed the bar exam this year.

Harbaugh said that the actions of the BBX and the Oregon Supreme Court hurt lawyers in the long run.

“In short, the Oregon’s new test, with the new cut-rate, is much easier than the old one, and much easier than the BBX led the Supreme Court to believe, and has given Oregon what is almost the highest pass rate in the country,” he said.

Correction: This article was corrected to accurately reflect the percentage increase of students who passed the bar exam.

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On Monday, August 14, a routine traffic stop in Springfield became a clear sign of a growing problem in the community. Something didn’t seem right with the passenger and driver’s behavior, so police had their drug dog, Danner, sniff out the truck.

Danner led Springfield police to six caulking guns filled with six kilos of heroin worth over $900,000 on the street. This latest bust by Springfield police exposed the magnitude of demand for heroin in Lane County.

Despite pulling a jaw-dropping amount of the deadly drug off the street, arrests for possession of heroin are on the rise in Eugene.

In 2016 and 2015, the Eugene Police Department made 195 and 143 arrests for possession of heroin respectively. As of September 26, Eugene PD arrested 272 individuals for possession of heroin this year.

Heroin itself is harmful to the user, but the societal consequences of addiction also brings damage to the user’s community.

Chris Wig, the programs director at Emergence Addiction and Behavioral Therapies in Eugene, said that drug use is not a victimless crime. Drug use and crime go hand-in-hand.

“People didn’t sign up to get their cars and houses broken into so you could steal money for drugs,” Wig said.

Offenses such as identity theft and property crimes — burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft — are more common in Eugene than they are in Oregon as a whole and other parts of the country.

Eugene has a high property crime rate compared to Oregon and the rest of the nation (Kelly Kondo)

Marty Wilde, the Executive Director of the Lane County Medical Society and a former prosecutor in Eugene, said that certain crimes are often associated with drug use.

“I used to joke with my friends and say that out of the dozens of identity theft cases I prosecuted maybe one wasn’t related to drug use,” said Wilde.

With the increased rates of arrests for possession of heroin and the high rates of property crime, the debate around treating addicts is rising to the forefront of public dialogue.

Wig said that when Patricia Perlow became Lane County’s District Attorney in July 2015, she increased focus on addiction treatment; the previous district attorney did not have enough money to prosecute every case of drug possession.

“Addicts were let out and [would] reoffend and rack up several possession charges, then the prosecutor would file on all those charges and they would go to prison,” Wig said.

Wig explained that the new district attorney champions the idea of treating addicts instead of incarcerating them.

“It saves people’s lives in the community, but it also limits the effects of mass incarceration. It stops people from committing crimes and stops destroying families,” Wig said.

One method for treating addicts is through drug court, which Wig and his organization work with. The DA will offer treatment as an option if they plead guilty to the charge.

“In order to get into drug court, one must first plead guilty to a crime involving drugs,” Wig said. “There’s not a lot of soft admits to drug court — you have to be pretty deep in your addiction to be offered drug court.”

From Prescriptions to Syringes

One of the main contributors to heroin use is prescription painkillers.

From small Rust Belt towns to sleepy beach communities, pills such as oxycodone and morphine are turning recovering patients into everyday heroin users.

On top of being cheap and abundant, heroin can be even more potent and potentially lethal when dealers add cutting agents — substances as dangerous as fentanyl, which is 50 to 100 times as potent as morphine.

Wig said about two-thirds of his clients in drug court started their addictions by abusing prescription painkillers, and then switched to heroin.

Having knowledge of his patient’s stories allows Wig to identify what he thinks is the main culprit behind the rise of addiction. He said the pharmaceutical industry is “at best complicit” and “is probably the main driver of the opiate crisis.” And he credits this to the industry misinforming doctors in the late ‘80s through early 2000s about when and how to prescribe prescription painkillers.

“Opiate painkillers are good for about seven days after a procedure, maybe even 14,” Wig said. “They shouldn’t be refillable prescriptions. Opiates just mask the pain.”

Wilde shares the same opinion. With the available information given at the time, doctors did not necessarily know the dangers of opiates.

“Doctors wanted their patients to be comfortable, and opiates were very easy to prescribe at the time,” Wilde said.

The crisis is not limited to small Rust Belt towns. Wig referenced New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as a politician who is personally aware of drugs’ toll on families and communities.

“Christie talks about this guy who he went to law school with and made partner at his firm,” Wig said. “He had the family, the money, the white picket fence. Then he got a back injury and started taking pills. It unraveled. He lost his prescription and started buying pills on the street. Then he started doing heroin and his wife and kids left

Dirty needle drop bin in an alley near 12th Avenue and High Street in Eugene, Ore. (Sarah Northrop/Emerald)

him. He ended up dying homeless. This guy who made millions of dollars ended up dying on the street because of opiates.”

In an effort to limit mass incarceration and expand access to treatment, the Oregon Legislature took action to address the issue of drug possession. House Bill 2355, which became law on August 15, reclassifies possession of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to a misdemeanor.

The bill attracted criticism from both sides of the aisle, and even Wig has reservations about the outcomes of the law.

Wig said that more drug users in rural counties will spend up to 364 days in jail for a misdemeanor, and that there will be less access to treatment due to the fact that misdemeanor crimes are not worthy of rehabilitation.

“The reclassification will have pretty serious unintended consequences, and will hurt the people it intends to help.”

Holding Pharmaceutical Companies Accountable

Several states, counties and cities are already taking legal action against the pharmaceutical industry. Multnomah County is suing several large drug companies for $250 million for doctors over-prescribing painkillers.

With more overdoses occurring every day, Wig has one prediction for the fate of the pharmaceutical industry and the states affected by the crisis.

“I see tobacco-level settlements coming to states affected by prescription painkillers, especially states in the Rust Belt.”

Correction: Marty Wilde is a former prosecutor. 

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