Jana Schmieding, Native American comedian, writer and University of Oregon theatre arts alumna, will speak at the university’s 148th commencement ceremony on June 16 at Autzen Stadium.

Schmieding is originally from Canby, Oregon and is a member of the Cheyenne River Lakota Tribe. She is most known for starring in and writing for Peacock’s situational comedy, “Rutherford Falls.” The sitcom is widely regarded as pushing barriers for Indigenous creatives and breaking down stereotypes typically perpetuated by film and television.

Schmieding graduated from UO in 2005 with a degree in theater arts and has a master’s in teaching from Mercy College. She was a public school teacher in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to start her career in television, according to her IMDB page. While in New York City, she performed and directed regularly in the improv and sketch comedy scene.

As commencement speaker, Schmieding will discuss her journey from “struggling artist” to “success story” and reflect on her memories from UO, according to the commencement website.

The commencement speaker is chosen based on several factors: someone that graduates can relate to, alumni who have made an impact on their community and someone who can accurately reflect and represent the student population,, according to UO Spokesperson Eric Howald.

“The goal of the university commencement elebration is to create a shared experience that resonates with our graduates, leaving them with a sense of pride in their institution,” Howald said in a statement to The Emerald. “The ceremony’s featured commencement speaker rounds out the program with a message of inspiration, shared UO experiences and lessons that have led to their success.”

The information provided to the keynote speaker by the university includes a suggested theme or topic for their speech — to speak about their time at the university, memories and callbacks to specific campus landmarks and moments. It also asks that, in addition to speaking to the graduates, the speaker should also thank families and support systems that guided students to graduation.

During her time at UO, Schmieding was a member of the Native American Student Union and was co-director of the Multicultural Center. In a statement to The Emerald, NASU said that Schmieding’s team has made contact with them and she intends to meet with Native students on campus while she is on campus.

Schmieding joins a list of other distinguished individuals who have previously spoken at UO’s commencement, including actors, athletes and activists.

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The United Academics union of the University of Oregon has passed a sanctuary union policy to protect its non-citizen and naturalized members. The policy was passed by UA’s executive council on April 21.

The sanctuary union will protect both the employees represented by the union and their families, regardless of immigration status or national origin. The union will not voluntarily cooperate with federal agents in the arrest or attempted deportation of employees or their family members.

This is in direct response to the federal administration’s increasing effort to propose harsh immigration laws without due process, according to the policy. In its effort to protect employees, the union will push for university policy that strengthens workplace protections, facilitates trainings to inform faculty of their legal rights and creates a defense fund to assist employees who may be targets of unlawful conduct by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ed Wolf, a professor in the school of music and dance and member of the UA executive council, said that because the federal government has targeted international faculty, the union felt it was important to be supportive of workers in case they find themselves in a situation where they are being threatened with deportation.

“We feel the importance of these workers who are non-citizen workers who might be here on H1-B visas. They’re fulfilling important functions that the university does,” Wolf said. “We felt it was important to let them know that they had a resource in the union.”

Wolf said that he wishes the university would “come out with a more concrete stance” regarding issues of deportation and immigration and that the administration, the university senate and the union should work together to “make sure everyone here at UO feels safe and protected.”

UO offers outside resources to immigrant or international students and faculty. According to its immigration resources website, the university cannot offer legal services or advice.

UA is currently working to appropriate funding as “bridge funding,” or short-term assistance that helps someone be supported in a legal situation until they are able to secure longer-term funding. 

This funding primarily comes from union dues, but there is also support from national affiliates, according to Wolf. UA’s national affiliates include the American Federation of Teachers, the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations. 

A committee would determine what kind of legal funds they would offer on a case-by-case basis, according to Wolf. The committee would not include members of the executive council.

“We feel like we needed to come out strong to help out in a moment of uncertainty,” Wolf said. “To help our members feel just a little more confident in being able to do their jobs here at the UO and be able to feel like they are supported at work.”

Currently, Wolf said that the union is working out the details for appropriating funding for the defense fund.

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The University of Oregon Senate has voted in favor of urging UO President John Karl Scholz to establish a Mutual Academic Defense Compact with other universities of the Big 10 Academic Alliance during a Wednesday senate meeting. The resolution was passed with 31 “yes” votes.

The compact, first written and passed by its senate as a recommendation to its president by Rutgers University, would have each university commit “meaningful resources” to a shared defense fund. This fund would be used to support any of the participating institutions from political or legal infringement. 

The proposed resolution by UO’s senate was sponsored by Alison Schmitke, the senate president, and Dyana Mason, the senate vice president.

According to Sandy Weintraub, Senate secretary, 10 university senates have passed the resolution and four others currently have it on the agenda. UO is the 11th university to pass the resolution. 

In addition to what Rutgers wrote in their original resolution, UO uniquely added pieces of their own. These include: recognizing that the federal government is undermining due process and targeting scholars and students, carrying out politically motivated detentions, censoring curricula and creating oversight committees to surveil academic activities.

Both Rutgers’ resolution and UO’s proposed resolution outline “escalating political action from governing bodies” as a threat to the autonomy of university governance, integrity of scientific research and freedom of speech.

The resolution urges President Scholz to create this compact and take a leadership role in communicating this resolution to other institutions and convening a summit of Big 10 academic and legal leadership to initiate this compact.

Under the compact, each participating university would have legal counsel, governance experts and public affairs offices at their disposal if they are under direct political infringement in order to create a “unified and vigorous response.” 

This can include countersuit action, strategic public communication and expert testimony. 

Recently, some universities have already faced cuts or threats from the Trump administration. Columbia University and Harvard University have both faced threats of federal funding or had federal funding cuts.

According to Alison Schmitke, members of the Big 10 Academic Alliance will be immediately notified that the resolution has passed.

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At a December 2024 Board of Trustees meeting, quarterly financial and treasury reports shown to the trustees were lower than previous financial projections following the fall census date.

Final enrollment for first-year students following the census date was 5,113, the second-largest class in UO’s history. However, numbers indicated there were 450 fewer nonresident students than initially anticipated. This resulted in a $2.3 million reduction in expected revenue for the fiscal year.

Initial projections from June 2024 showed that the forecasted tuition and fee revenue was $15.1 million. In September, these long-term projections were reduced to a gain of $7.8 million. Based on Quarter One information, those projections were finalized to estimate a $2.3 million shortfall, making the total revenue for tuition and fees $5.5 million.

This was due to the incoming first-year cohort mix, or the fewer nonresident students. However, revenue is projected in long-term estimations to remain up, in the amount of $3.8 million because of circumstances such as students taking higher-than-average credit loads.

Nonresident students pay $44,598 in annual tuition and fees compared to resident students’ $16,137. Nonresident tuition has consistently gone up for incoming cohorts. For example, going from $44,341.41 in 2022 to $47,388.57 in 2024.

According to Brian Fox, the associate vice president for budget, financial analysis and data analytics, non-resident undergraduate tuition was 61% of that total net tuition revenue during the last fiscal year.

“Nonresident enrollment — and tuition — is a significant revenue source for the university,” Fox said. “Net tuition revenue, after scholarships, last fiscal year was approximately 77% of the university’s general operating budget.”

According to Fox, the Office of Admissions and the data team within Student Service and Enrollment Management monitors metrics like applications and student interest in order to forecast the size of a class for the incoming fall. This process is completed for both resident and nonresident student groups. Official enrollment is calculated using the fourth week census date.

According to Fox, this process is done consistently every term so that the university is able to have comparable data over time. The data produced is also used for federal and state reporting purposes.

Fox also said enrollment fluctuates frequently, citing that nonresident enrollment during fall of 2024 was lower than fall of 2023, but current levels are above enrollment levels several years ago. 

Scholarships have an impact on the total revenue, but Fox said that scholarship programs have a direct impact on overall increased enrollment.

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At 12:00 p.m., several University of Oregon student groups including Students for Justice in Palestine and UO Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine held a rally in front of Johnson Hall in support of the freedom of Palestinian activist and Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested by federal agents on March 8. 

Around 50 people, including students and community members, gathered in front of Johnson Hall. Some held signs opposing United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement., including statements such as “Free Khalil,” “Crush ICE” and “Freedom of speech is the law.”

Speakers advocated for the release of Mahmoud Khalil as well as advocated for the freedom of student protestors. Several of the speakers chose not to include their names during their portions of the rally.

“Mahmoud Khalil is a political prisoner. Advocacy is not a crime,” one speaker said. “Now is the time to stand up to fascism and not allow state kidnappings of people to continue.”

In response to the actions taken against Khalil, the crowd shouted “shame.”

Members chanted “Free Mahmoud Khalil.” This was followed by another speaker expressing “disgust” at the legal action taken against Khalil.

Khalil is currently detained in Jena, Louisiana, according to CNN. According to Khalil’s attorney, his green card had been revoked by the Trump administration.

“We resist the occupation, we resist the deportation,” another speaker initiated in a chant.

Three UO police officers and one UOPD vehicle were present at the rally.

“As fascism grows, our unity grows, and that’s where our power is,” an organizer with SJP said.

The rally ended with encouragement to get involved and participate in local community groups.

“When immigrants are under attack, stand up, fight back,” “Free Mahmoud Khalil” and “In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestianians,” were among the final chants.

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The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation filed an Unfair Labor Practice complaint against the University of Oregon on Feb. 24 for the suppression of union activity and exercise of free speech at a rally held by the Campus Labor Council on Oct. 3, 2024.

The rally in October had been held in opposition to “extraordinary safety measures” regarding surveillance measures used by the university.

According to the press release, GTFF believes the university has violated the Oregon Public Employees Collective Bargaining Act by invoking the Student Code of Conduct and “targeting” graduate employees who were participating in protected labor action at the rally.

The CLC is composed of the four main unions at UO, including: GTFF, United Academics, UO Student Workers and Service Employees International Union 503.

At the rally, elected representatives of the unions used a bullhorn to speak. According to the press release, two months after the rally, GTFF President Presence O’Neal and Vice President for Organizing Matthew Tuten received a notice from the UO Office of the Dean of Students; they were being investigated for code of conduct violations because of the use of the bullhorn.

According to the press release, a representative from UOSW received a similar notice. Representatives who spoke from UAUO and SEIU did not receive notices.

The unfair labor complaint has outlined four violations of PECBA by the university:

• By initiating student code of conduct violation action against O’Neal and Tuten, the university has “restrained” or “coerced” O’Neal and Tuten because of the exercise of their PECBA-protected rights.
• By initiating disciplinary action against union leaders, which could impact their future job security or conditions of employment, there is a “reasonably likely” effect that future engagement in union activities will be discouraged.
• By using code of conduct proceeding to “curtail” union activity, the university is attempting to “run around the ‘just cause’ protections in the GTFF contract.”
• The university used public funds in a manner that “assists, promotes or deters” union activity.

The press release states that they have used bullhorns on “dozens of previous occasions, for years” without facing student conduct charges.

According to UO Spokesperson Eric Howald, the university has received the complaint and it is currently under review.

“The university supports students’ and employees’ rights to free speech,” Howald said. “Our policies are in place to control the sound volume, not the content of political speech.”

According to Oregon law, once a complaint is filed, a copy of the complaint will be served to the employer engaging in unfair labor practices and then will be investigated by the Employment Relations Board to determine if the charge is warranted.

Presence O’Neal, president of GTFF, said that the union’s main message by filing this complaint is to protect all unionized workers’ rights on campus.

“We’re protecting our members and trying to ensure that all unionized workers on campus are disciplined legally through PECBA and not because the university decided to use the code of conduct instead,” O’Neal said. “Their status as students shouldn’t be used as a backdoor to discipline them.”

According to O’Neal, the Employee Relations Board will investigate the claim and review evidence and testimonies by both GTFF and UO. If the ERB finds that UO violated state labor laws, ERB can order remedies. Remedies can include monetary remedies or reinstatement offers.

UPDATE: 

This version has been updated to include comment from Presence O’Neal, president of GTFF. 

This is a developing story.

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A 24-hour hackathon sponsored by several university groups happened over the weekend of Jan. 18 inside the Erb Memorial Union’s Redwood Auditorium.

The event had over 100 participants and 22 projects submitted in total.

From Jan.18 at noon to Jan.19 at noon, teams of students set to work on various digital projects. The event was open to all students over 18 of any experience level and was not limited to University of Oregon students. 

Examples of hacking projects include: app development, artificial intelligence models, automation, game development, web design and blockchain.

Projects had to be started after the initial opening ceremony and could not be previously started projects. Teams were allowed to use libraries, frameworks or open-source code.

Students could stay in the auditorium for the duration of the hackathon but were also permitted to leave and come back. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were provided on the first day, and breakfast and lunch on the second day.

The opening speaker for the event was Fedi Aniefuna, a UO alumnus and current software engineer at Amazon Web Services. 

Finished projects were submitted and presented on Sunday, “science fair style,” according to the QuackHacks website. 

The winning project was a system for mining professional reference and job finding by Team Alumno. Second place was an AI Pictionary game by Team Promptly Puzzled, and third place was a machine-learning model that predicts National Basketball Association games by Team Beat The Odds.

The event was entirely student-run, with sponsors that included the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, the UO School of Computer and Data Sciences, the AI Student Association and LeetClub.

In October, QuackHacks hosted a “mini-hackathon” to test audiences and interest. There were 150 participants and over 30 projects.

Noah Weis, event coordinator for the hackathon, said the event was about learning, taking risks and exploring new challenges.

“(It’s all about) pushing yourself to make something pretty cool regardless of what skill level you’re at,” Weis said. “Everyone in there is learning how to do things hands-on.”

QuackHacks Director of Marketing, Jaya Muñoz, said pushing for a beginner friendly space was essential to get people to attend.

“It is beginner friendly and (welcome to) all majors. You don’t need the background,” Muñoz said. “The only thing we really needed is people who are passionate, dedicated and willing to create.”

For future events, Muñoz said that they would like to have more event support and even more beginners attending the event. Weis said that he would like to increase the number of both attendees and staff.

“Looking forward, (the goal) is (to) make it bigger,” Weis said. “We’re constantly recruiting people who are interested in running hackathons. And it’s growing our event from 100 to hopefully 200 people next year.”

Weis also said that as the event increases in size, it should increase in quality too. He said that the off-season is the time they take to grow their team and increase the organization to put on more of these hackathon events.

“It should feel like a premiere experience,” Weis said.

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The University of Oregon has launched an Olympic Studies Hub as part of the Lundquist College of Business, making it the first United States member of a network of Olympic research centers.

The Olympic Studies Hub will be housed in the Warsaw Sports Business Center and will focus on the study of the Olympic Games and the “Olympic Movement,” a global initiative that uses sports to promote understanding. 

According to Yoav Dubinsky, the operational director of the studies hub, there will be a focus on four key pillars: Experiential learning, research and studies, business and philosophy and multidisciplinary collaborations.

“It’s not just something small (that starts and ends) at Warsaw and Lundquist College of Business,” Dubinsky said.

Dubinsky recognized the long history and relationship between UO and the Olympic Games through Nike, as the Nike company is a partner of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committees.

According to the center’s website, Eugene’s long-standing connection with track and field, the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials and more than 100 alumni who have competed in the Olympics makes it a “special place in the country’s Olympic ecosystem.”

“Much of what the Olympic Studies Hub will do is further emphasize (what) has manifested so far through guest lectures, site visits and study abroad programs where we meet different Olympic stakeholders,” Dubinsky said.

Part of the research of the Olympic Studies Hub is scholarly work at the university level, including sports business courses like SBUS 255, Business of the Olympic Games. It will also include research collaborations with other units of UO like the School of Journalism and Communication and the Bowerman Sports Science Center, and other members of the Olympic Studies research network. 

Lausanne, Switzerland is home to the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Studies Centre and was named the Olympic capital of the world. 

According to Dubinsky, it recognizes 80 academic institutions from 29 countries as part of the research network. To become a member, UO had to meet criteria which included having a course in the curriculum, like SBUS 255, and ongoing activities that engage both the academic and professional world with a focus on sports business.

Some of the collaborations include study abroad programs. Dubinsky is the faculty leader of the study abroad program Global Sports Business, where students can learn about business strategies and priorities in London, England. 

For students in the Sports Business Masters of Business Administration program, they have opportunities to visit New York City or various cities in Europe to visit Olympic stakeholders or previous Olympic host cities.

Dubinsky said that as Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympics and Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympics, other schools will likely “see value” in the research network and begin to participate.

“There is significance in being the only one,” Dubinsky said. “But I’m not sure that we will be the only ones going forward.”

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Eugene landlords Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC were named in a United States Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit for an alleged scheme to decrease competition in apartment pricing. 

The lawsuit, originally filed against software company RealPage in August 2024, was amended on Jan. 7 to include six of the largest landlords in the country, including Greystar, for their alleged involvement in algorithmic pricing schemes.

According to its website, RealPage is a technology platform for real estate owners and managers. RealPage serves over 24 million units worldwide.

RealPage provides real estate owners with a suite of products that aim to help manage property operations including automation of renting, leasing, sales and marketing. The company states their services “optimize rents to achieve the highest overall yield.”

The DOJ however alleges that RealPage used their products to collude with apartment developers to provide valuable otherwise private information of apartment management companies including occupancy rates and rental prices to other competing management companies. 

The practice allegedly allowed the companies to collectively raise rent at a similar pace, effectively price gouging residents who had little choice but to pay the increased rates. 

“RealPage replaces competition with coordination. It substitutes unity for rivalry. It subverts competition and the competitive process. It does so openly and directly — and American renters are left paying the price,” the complaint read. 

According to the release, together the six accused landlords own more than 1.3 million units in 43 different states. Greystar operates 11 apartment complexes in Eugene, including student housing building Union on Broadway — a 357-unit apartment complex near the University of Oregon campus.

When reached for comment by the Emerald, Brunswick Group associate Deirdre Walsh directed the Emerald to a statement issued on the company’s website that stated it was “disappointed” that the DOJ named the company in suit. 

“Greystar has and will conduct its business with the utmost integrity. At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices,” the statement read. “We will vigorously defend ourselves in this lawsuit.”

Participation in this scheme harmed “millions of American renters,” according to the DOJ’s press release.

Antitrust laws are regulations that prevent companies from colluding to limit competition and choices in a market. These laws ensure that consumers have access to fair pricing and a sufficient supply of goods, including apartments.

The complaint alleges that landlords communicated with competitors’ about sensitive occupancy information. 

According to the release, Greystar provided information about renewal rates and their approach to pricing with Camden Property Trust — a competitor and another landlord named in the lawsuit. Camden, in turn, allegedly communicated with a third company named in the lawsuit, Blackstone’s LivCor LLC, about price increases.

The complaint also alleges that landlords used calls, emails and user groups hosted by the RealPage software to discuss information regarding rent, pricing strategies, discount and how to modify the software’s pricing methodology. These calls and emails were indirectly referred to as “market surveys.”

An example provided from the press release states that Greystar provided its “standard auto-accept parameters for RealPage’s software” at the request of Willow Bridge, another competitor and named company in the complaint. 

As alleged in the complaint, RealPage built a function that automatically accepts price recommendations created by RealPage’s pricing software, YieldStar. 

According to the complaint, license agreements identify the data being shared as confidential and nonpublic. RealPage then takes this information and uses it to process rent price recommendations to competitors. 

The justice department has proposed a consent decree for one of the named companies, Cortland Management LLC, that, if approved by the court, would resolve the claims against the company. A consent decree is a settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt or liability.

If Cortland agrees, they would cooperate in investigation and litigation and be barred from using competitors’ data to train pricing models and using softwares to price apartments without a court monitor.

“Today’s action against RealPage and six major landlords seeks to end their practice of putting profits over people and make housing more affordable for millions of people across the country,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said about the complaint.

In its introduction, the complaint states that Greystar has built a business out of countering the benefits of competition for renters.  

The University of Oregon implemented an emergency policy on Aug. 1 to comply with federal changes to Title IX regulations. Title IX is the federal law that protects against discrimination based on gender in any school.

The changes to the Title IX regulations will shift the reporting responsibilities of UO employees. Per the new regulations on the UO Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance website, all faculty and staff must report disclosures of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. 

There will no longer be what was previously known as a “designated reporter,” or a specific group of individuals who were required to report instances of harassment. 

Now, all employees are designated reporters, except for most student employees and confidential employees. This includes anyone responsible for teaching, advising and administering leadership. The policy also applies to graduate employees, resident assistants and orientation leaders.

A confidential employee, exempt from reporting, includes employees such as health care and mental health professionals, employees and contract attorneys representing students in Student Conduct processes and the university’s ombudsperson, a neutral third party who investigates complaints and conflicts, according to the civil rights compliance website.

Nicole Commissiong, associate vice president of the UO Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance, said that the university will be designating additional employees as confidential employees. Those employees will be provided with stickers on their doors to identify themselves as confidential.

“We will advertise to students who those people are,” Commissiong said. “We really want students to know so that they can make their own choices about what to share and with whom.”

During the federal rulemaking process, UO provided input expressing that they wanted to keep the current policy, according to Commissiong.

“The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking made it pretty clear that they were going in the direction of almost everyone will be a required reporter,” Commissiong said. “Our current policy, what was current as of July 31, where we had a lot more flexibility was something that was important for a lot of people on campus to retain.”

Commissiong said that the university submitted a comment about this flexibility being retained, but, “ultimately, that decision lies with the Department of Education, not UO.”

A committee will be formed in the fall to develop a permanent policy that best complies with the federal regulations.