When I saw how damaging last week’s rain and windstorms were, I couldn’t help but ask, “So, how many mathematicians does it take to get a tree off of Fenton?”

– I have to give it to the weather for its impeccable timing. The harshest of storms last week didn’t hit until Thursday at 1 a.m. when it all came crashing down. Almost no one was on campus, with students and staff trickling out of town for break, so the only things that were hurt by the fallen arbors were non-living. Fenton Hall was a victim of the violent rain and winds last week when a 100-year-old California incense cedar toppled onto the building. As of last Saturday, the tree has been removed. Fun fact: according to UO Communications Specialist Laura McGinnis in an article by the Emerald, whenever a tree falls on campus, the wood can be claimed by students, or really anyone, for a wood-intense project. In Oregon, we even reuse and recycle in times of natural catastrophe! *Pats self on back*

– Throughout Eugene, the recent weather conditions caused Governor Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency in 13 counties including Lane County last Thursday evening. Cars were crushed, neat yards ravaged, sidewalks blocked and worst of all to the Eugene locals, bike lanes hindered. An article by the Register Guard includes descriptions and pictures of some pretty major damage that has happened throughout the city because of the storms throughout the week.

– The Boston College campus didn’t experience any recent windstorms, but it did suffer from another disaster that was similar to what several Oregonians and Washingtonians went through earlier this fall. On Tuesday, Dec. 8, it was reported that 80 Boston College students got sick from eating at the same Chipotle restaurant near their campus. Officials don’t think this was related to the big E. Coli outbreak that had occurred, but something along the lines of a norovirus. Among the 80 affected was the school’s men’s basketball team who had to cancel practice last Monday. Eat the Chipotle, but practice due-caution, folks. No one likes a tummy ache.

– Speaking of b-ball, our neighbors down south in the Bay Area were experiencing a (gold) rush this entire season up until they played the Milwaukee Bucks (I’m sorry, who?) on Sunday. Steph Curry is so sad, and I know this because he’s gone three solid days without tweeting #DubNation. The Golden State Warriors are now 24-1 this season after their loss of 95-108. Counting the last four games of the 2014-15 season, the Warriors were on a 28-game winning streak, the NBA’s longest run since the 1971-72 season when the Los Angeles Lakers (gross) won 33 straight games. Fun fact: both of these winning streaks were cut short after games against Milwaukee. Rude.

– And now that school is out for the next few weeks, you will finally have time to enjoy your morning cereal with some new Serial! The crazy-popular podcast show released the first episode of its second season on Thursday. If you haven’t listened to Serial yet, or Sarah Koenig’s tranquil voice, you should. The first season about Adnan Syed and the murder of Hae Min Lee was absolutely addicting, for me and for the roughly 3.4 million others who downloaded each episode of the show. This new season is about a completely new subject that looks into U.S. militant Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl who has been charged for desertion and misbehavior due to his actions back when he was stationed in at an outpost in eastern Afghanistan. Bergdahl’s case, like Syed’s from last year, has two sides and is controversial to say the least. If you don’t want to feel FOMO once school starts back up in early January, make sure you’re up-to-date with the episodes! Since Serial is completely free to download and listen to, there’s really no excuse.

– I’d like to end this week with a congratulatory note to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for becoming the fourth ever woman to become TIME’s 2015 Person of the Year. Prost, m’lady! Side note: SNL’s Kate McKinnon as Merkel (and everyone else she plays) is fire.

I will continue to pond(er) the news for you all through break, sans podcast, though, so stay tuned for continuous weekly updates on current events by yours truly. Happy almost-winter! Don’t get blown away.

I walked up to a floral sheathed table outside of the EMU’s main entrance. In addition to two smiling faces, I was greeted by a spread complete with a basket of sanitary pads and tubes of chapstick along with various buttons and stickers that screamed feminism.

The table belonged to the ASUO Women’s Center, whose mission is to “advocate for the best education and working environment for the women at the University of Oregon,” as stated on its website. Those involved with the organization offer a range of resources to UO women from the smallest of things like panty-liners to large-scale efforts geared towards creating a societal change in regards to the oppression of women.

The two ladies who I got to speak with are both international students: Elsie Fedha from Kenya and Chenle Xu from China. Fedha is a member of the Women’s Center and helps out with group efforts as a volunteer, while Xu holds the official position of international student advocate. The two seem to take pride in advocating for women, both locally and internationally, which is clearly shown through their involvement in the center’s annual International Women’s Day celebration.

On March 5, the female-centered organization presented the UO community with a night full of diverse foods and performances from around the world in the LLC Performance Hall to celebrate and honor women, as well as honor the process of peace and human rights in the world.

The event was open to all genders; admission was free and they offered guests complementary gifts.

“When I first came here and saw that no one really pays attention to International Women’s Day, or even knows about it, I was sad,” Xu said. “That’s why, or one of the reasons why, I wanted this position so I could help plan a very big celebration on campus for women.”

Both Xu and Fedha shared this disappointment for the lack of communal commemoration for women on International Women’s Day in the U.S.

“In Kenya, Women’s Day is a big deal, especially in the public sector. Like in the government, there are meetings with the women in parliament, and this is when they work to revise laws in Kenya specifically to help women,” Fedha said.

Inequality between men and women has been a universal struggle, but definitely more prominent in certain regions. The U.S. is often seen as a Western, free country where equality is valued; however, both Xu and Fedha think there is work to be done here.

The type of gender imbalance found in America does not exactly mirror the discrimination of rural women in China and Kenya, as the UO ladies shared examples of with me. There are other forms of discrimination around us on both a national-scale and locally on our college campus.

“Sexual assault,” Xu said. “This is one of the biggest problems I see for young people and it goes back to the inequality between men and women. Sure, women are not the only victims, but we are the majority of victims. Women here are still looked at like objects. The American dating culture is imbalanced, and more of a hook-up culture, and all of these things cause major problems like assault.”

Fedha adds that much of the nation’s social issues stem from how the government works and how there should be a top-down movement to improve life for people, especially for women.

“The U.S. justice system is very flawed in terms of how they react to situations of rape, for example,” Fedha said. “I just don’t get how the justice system doesn’t see the inequality in treatment between men and women.”

Discrimination comes in many forms, but the two that Xu, Fedha and I think need to be tolerated more in our lives today have to do with race and gender. Children are being raised in a society that has the tendency to racially and sexually discriminate, skewing kids’ perceptions of the world from the beginning.

“It’s a matter of fighting for what’s right and against what’s wrong,” Fedha said. “So first, people need to become aware of what really is wrong. A lot of people need to be educated on what women and minority populations have gone through so that new generations can also see this and help with it not getting repeated.”

When I saw how damaging last week’s rain and windstorms were, I couldn’t help but ask, “So, how many mathematicians does it take to get a tree off of Fenton?”

– I have to give it to the weather for its impeccable timing. The harshest of storms last week didn’t hit until Thursday at 1 a.m. when it all came crashing down. Almost no one was on campus, with students and staff trickling out of town for break, so the only things that were hurt by the fallen arbors were non-living. Fenton Hall was a victim of the violent rain and winds last week when a 100-year-old California incense cedar toppled onto the building. As of last Saturday, the tree has been removed. Fun fact: according to UO Communications Specialist Laura McGinnis in an article by the Emerald, whenever a tree falls on campus, the wood can be claimed by students, or really anyone, for a wood-intense project. In Oregon, we even reuse and recycle in times of natural catastrophe! *Pats self on back*

– Throughout Eugene, the recent weather conditions caused Governor Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency in 13 counties including Lane County last Thursday evening. Cars were crushed, neat yards ravaged, sidewalks blocked and worst of all to the Eugene locals, bike lanes hindered. An article by the Register Guard includes descriptions and pictures of some pretty major damage that has happened throughout the city because of the storms throughout the week.

– The Boston College campus didn’t experience any recent windstorms, but it did suffer from another disaster that was similar to what several Oregonians and Washingtonians went through earlier this fall. On Tuesday, Dec. 8, it was reported that 80 Boston College students got sick from eating at the same Chipotle restaurant near their campus. Officials don’t think this was related to the big E. Coli outbreak that had occurred, but something along the lines of a norovirus. Among the 80 affected was the school’s men’s basketball team who had to cancel practice last Monday. Eat the Chipotle, but practice due-caution, folks. No one likes a tummy ache.

– Speaking of b-ball, our neighbors down south in the Bay Area were experiencing a (gold) rush this entire season up until they played the Milwaukee Bucks (I’m sorry, who?) on Sunday. Steph Curry is so sad, and I know this because he’s gone three solid days without tweeting #DubNation. The Golden State Warriors are now 24-1 this season after their loss of 95-108. Counting the last four games of the 2014-15 season, the Warriors were on a 28-game winning streak, the NBA’s longest run since the 1971-72 season when the Los Angeles Lakers (gross) won 33 straight games. Fun fact: both of these winning streaks were cut short after games against Milwaukee. Rude.

– And now that school is out for the next few weeks, you will finally have time to enjoy your morning cereal with some new Serial! The crazy-popular podcast show released the first episode of its second season on Thursday. If you haven’t listened to Serial yet, or Sarah Koenig’s tranquil voice, you should. The first season about Adnan Syed and the murder of Hae Min Lee was absolutely addicting, for me and for the roughly 3.4 million others who downloaded each episode of the show. This new season is about a completely new subject that looks into U.S. militant Pfc. Bowe Bergdahl who has been charged for desertion and misbehavior due to his actions back when he was stationed in at an outpost in eastern Afghanistan. Bergdahl’s case, like Syed’s from last year, has two sides and is controversial to say the least. If you don’t want to feel FOMO once school starts back up in early January, make sure you’re up-to-date with the episodes! Since Serial is completely free to download and listen to, there’s really no excuse.

– I’d like to end this week with a congratulatory note to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for becoming the fourth ever woman to become TIME’s 2015 Person of the Year. Prost, m’lady! Side note: SNL’s Kate McKinnon as Merkel (and everyone else she plays) is fire.

I will continue to pond(er) the news for you all through break, sans podcast, though, so stay tuned for continuous weekly updates on current events by yours truly. Happy almost-winter! Don’t get blown away.

Everyone knows of them. Many have befriended one or two. Others want nothing to do with these guys. But still, most people try to visit all three on their birthdays, especially for their 21st. These three boys may seem to belong to the same crowd – each one associated with some type of a “good time” – but the truth is, we don’t actually know who Taylor, Max or Rennie is as much as we think we do.

So, if our favorite bars on 13th Street were real people, these are what their stories would be.

Taylor is the guy who has over a thousand Facebook friends, but fails to keep in close contact with ten of them. He’s not a university student, but he can’t picture himself living outside of a college town. Taylor is the guy you go to when you want to have a good time on a random Wednesday night and you’re in the mood to meet and mingle with a crowd of strangers. He will be sure to introduce you, first names only, to everyone who’s out, but don’t count on a Studio One brunch with him the next day. Taylor is all fun and games, that is, until his sour Gemini traits take over. He has a hidden temper that boils over as the Burnett’s and Southern Comfort overflow fingerprint-stained glasses. However, Taylor is not an easy guy to lose, which is good for someone who gets as out of hand as he does. His head pokes out of the crowds at 894 E. 13th Ave. since he stands at 6’4.” He’s a wall who’s not easy to take down or dress up. On any given day or night, you’ll see Taylor in 5-year-old trends that he refuses to change out of. In just the last year, though, he has tried to spruce himself up, but his go-to outfits of khaki cargo shorts, t-shirt button-ups, Sperry’s with the leather laces untied and his backwards-white Oregon cap have yet to go.

And then, there’s Max who sees himself as the opposite of Taylor. Max is also a cool guy, but doesn’t need try to be as much as Taylor does. His real name isn’t Maximillian – it’s simply just Max. During the week, he’s pretty quiet and laid back. Max would be game for a night in, watching movies coupled with a bowl of Trader Joe’s popcorn. But when the weekends come and midnight strikes, Max’s juices start to flow at 550 E. 13th Ave. Music-wise, he stays true to American classics and thinks a little Journey and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” go a long way. Max’s personality stays true to that of a Sagittarius as he enjoys traveling and being outdoors, while having a bookmark stuck in the pages of Plato’s Republic. He has a fun sense of humor that ranges from South Park references to political satire. However, he’s not always the ideal hipster intellect. Behind his thick-rimmed glasses that he doesn’t actually need to better his vision, and behind his hazel eyes that he hates when people call green, is a guy who suffers from clinginess. When it comes to dating and relationships, Max sees only a fine line between love and sex. He falls hard quickly. He is a culprit of overthinking text messages and wanting more out of his Tinder matches than just raunchy conversations.

Rennie and Max are good friends who’ve gone back in friendship for years. Their friend groups don’t overlap, but the two of them make sure to grab a pint together every few weeks. As a Capricorn, Rennie sticks to his mature and mysterious ways. He is more of a homebody than a partier, and more book-smart than street, but he is known to throw some mad weekly trivia nights. Everyone likes going over to Rennie’s since his place is so much bigger and open than Max’s or Taylor’s. Max graduated and works in town, while Rennie refuses to leave university. But unlike Taylor, Rennie actually goes to school. He has finished three degrees and is working on his fourth in political science. Everyone asks if he plans to go into a Master’s program or even law school, but Rennie is comfortable with his undergraduate studies. He’s doesn’t hang around campus all that much, though, since he lives so close at 13th and Kincaid St. But if you ever need Rennie, just look for his day-to-day uninform of the same dark green Oregon hoodie and ill-fitted jeans.

Every time a new project breaks ground in Eugene, I find myself instantly checking local news outlets and skimming through my social media feeds for any information on what’s to come to my town.

I’ve lived in and around the Eugene area for 19 years now, and with anything that has lasted that long in one’s life, I’ve become possessive. I’d love to see our community’s overall aesthetic to continue to develop, but not at the cost of trampling over local people and all the hard work they continue to put into making Eugene, well, Eugene. If there are ways to help this city of around 160,000 people with its continuous growth that doesn’t cause our local culture to suffer, I’m all for it.

When I first heard the news that the City was considering bringing a Whole Foods Market to Eugene, I immediately disregarded the idea.

For almost ten years now, locals have been going back and forth with city planners, deciding whether or not the national food company would come to this Oregon college town. The idea was initially thrown out during the time that downtown Eugene was in talks for a revamp in 2006.

I had always been on the side of those who opposed the idea of debuting a Whole Foods in Eugene. It was just another large corporation that I initially thought went against everything my town stood for. In my eyes, this giant competitor would cause our local food economy to suffer. Our ethics behind a sustainable foods movement would be challenged. It would provide the city with yet another expensive grocery store alternative that I saw as unnecessary.

But after looking a little deeper into the matter, I now see Whole Foods as something potentially good for Eugene.

In general, the company says it stands for selling high-quality natural and organic products; it serves and supports local and global communities; practicing and advancing environmental stewardship is on the list as well as promoting healthy eating education.

To bring these “core values” closer to home, in a statement about its opening in Eugene, president of Whole Foods Market’s Pacific Northwest Region Joe Rogoff said, “We have long believed that Eugene is a wonderful place for Whole Foods Market because the community’s values mirror so much of what we hold important.”

But does it, Joe?

I was worried that local producers would suffer huge losses with the corporation’s opening in town, but Whole Foods’ work in the past has shown the opposite. The company has proven to feature local products in stores, and it even has a fund of about $25 million that goes towards low-interest loans for independent local farmers and food artisans.

Then, there was the Whole (get it?) non-GMO controversy that came up a few years ago. The business stands with its efforts to be anti-GMO, but people saw the opposite when videos and hidden data surfaced. Since then, Whole Foods learned its lesson and realized it actually had to be against GMOs as it advertised, which has led the company to become fully transparent, unlike another natural grocer (cough, Trader Joe’s, cough).

My final concern had to do with pricing. Whole Foods Market is not-so-secretly more expensive than other supermarkets we have in town. But I think it’s fair to only compare Whole Foods’ prices with businesses in Eugene that offer similar products to it. This includes Natural Grocers, Sundance Natural Foods, Capella Market, Trader Joe’s and Market of Choice. Whole Foods Market is known to be on the bougie-end of natural grocers, but compared to these other Eugene grocery stores, there’s not that much of a difference.

As I visit each of these locations, their prices in-store match the fact that no natural and organic grocer in Eugene is listed with a price range of less than two or three dollar signs on Yelp. The locals and many students who value healthy eating are willing to pay these upward prices, so why not continue to give them what they want in a big way?

Now that Eugene’s downtown has grown and gained some momentum, Whole Foods Market has officially found a spot at the mouth of Ferry Street Bridge at Northeast Broadway and High Street, about a mile off campus. Construction began earlier this year and is scheduled to open its doors in fall 2016, presenting the city with 150 full-time jobs and 38,030 square feet of natural supermarket goodness.