After President-elect Donald Trump won the Presidential election on Nov. 5, 2024, several University of Oregon campus organizations, students and faculty shared their thoughts on how they feel women’s rights will be affected under Trump’s campaign.

UO College Republicans

Cassidy Perkins, president of UO College Republicans, said she “supported Trump back in 2016,” and she “still supports Trump now.”

“I am very satisfied that he was reelected and I am really looking forward to seeing how the next four years go,” Perkins said. 

Perkins said she does not believe Trump’s presidency will result in the loss of any human rights and that his policies would strongly protect human rights. 

“He’ll [Trump] bring us into a better economy where people are able to more freely live their lives and express themselves. I think that in that way, Trump has improved women’s rights and just human rights in general,” Perkins said. 

Perkins also said she feels Trump will protect people’s human rights as stated in the Constitution of the United States. 

“We will be more free under a Trump presidency. [He] has vowed to protect our First Amendment rights. He has vowed to protect our rights of free speech,” Perkins said. 

Perkins, who is also pro-life, said she believes “every unborn child has the right to life” and has the right to be “born no matter the circumstances under which they were conceived.” 

“For me personally, I think it would be good to not have any abortion access period,” Perkins said.

Students for Choice

Audrey Tirrill and Karlie Windle, leaders of Students for Choice, a pro-choice group on campus, discussed their concerns about women’s rights following the election. 

“People had such a problem with a Black woman being the president that they elected a convicted felon and known liar,” Windle said. 

Following the election, both Tirrill and Windle grew concerned about women’s access to abortions. 

“It’s not just about abortion, and I think people center things around abortion,” Windle said. 

According to the World Health Organization, “Around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. Six out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies, and three out of 10 of all pregnancies, end in induced abortion.”

“Abortion is needed and needs to be accessible,” Tirill said. “We have seen time and time again that numbers [abortion-related deaths and unsafe abortions] go down when abortion is completely accessible all over the country.” 

Tirrill said she felt it was “dehumanizing” that some people would prioritize the life of a fetus over a woman. 

“The vast majority who get abortions are already mothers,” Windle said. 

According to Pew Research Center, most abortion procedures in 2021 were “women who had already given birth.” 

Tirrill and Windle said they were concerned that in states where abortion was illegal, people would be left to seek help at crisis pregnancy centers.

“They’re not trained medical professionals,” Windle said. “They’re not only pushing a child on you but also a religion,” Tirrill said. 

Both Tirill and Windle also said they were concerned about Trump’s proposals to close the Department of Education.

“The Department of Education affects reproductive health because that affects how we teach our kids’ health class[es],” Windle said.

UO Student

Lauren, a Christian student who wished to not share her last name because of concerns surrounding her political views, said she is aware that her political views “aren’t the norm on campus.” 

Lauren said she disagreed with the extent of the changes Trump had planned to push for once he entered office. 

“I don’t agree with the level of social reform Trump wants to implement,” Lauren said. “At the same time, I do agree with a good chunk of his policies and believe in the positive impacts of his election.” 

Similar to Perkins, Lauren said she does not believe that Trump’s policies will impact women’s rights. 

“[I do not] feel strongly that Trump is taking away women’s rights by his policies,” Lauren said. “I believe his attitude toward women on stage has not been respectable by any means, but that doesn’t impact my rights as a woman.” 

When it comes to abortion, Lauren said her “stance as a Christian and right-leaning individual is to protect kids.” 

“I don’t believe abortion should be offered to anyone everywhere, but I also do not agree that it should be banned entirely for medical and safety reasons,” Lauren said.

UO Faculty and Staff

Donella-Elizabeth Alston Cleveland, a faculty support specialist, said she was “devastated” by the election results but “not overly surprised.” 

“I think I’m disappointed, in the sense that I dared to hope this country was not who I know this country to be,” Cleveland said.

Cleveland said that after she found out President Biden would be stepping down from the election, she recalled telling her wife that the country would not elect a woman for president. 

“If you think this misogynist, racist country is going to have the first woman president be a woman of color and a Black woman, then you’re out of your mind. It’s not gonna happen,” Cleveland said. 

She said she began to have “some hope” when she saw people around her supporting Harris, but after the election, she realized she may have been right with her initial judgment. 

Similarly to Tirril and Windle, Cleveland said she believed Trump’s motives were mostly based on gaining power.

“With the president-elect [Trump], one does not know where his values are because, in all honesty, he does not value anything other than power in my personal opinion,” Cleveland said.

Jimmy Howard, UO Interim Dean of Students, said there are policies in place on campus to protect women who may have concerns about equality and access to reproductive care. 

“Some of [them are] the recent changes to Title IX, which include protections for folks who are pregnant and continued reminders of making sure that our universities are free from sexual harassment and sexual misconduct,” Howard said. 

According to Howard, he believes that students should know that the state of Oregon is a place that protects and values the rights of women. 

“Oregon, the state and then the University of Oregon are two places that value women’s rights and make sure women have access to healthcare but also ensure that they have a safe place to attend school free of harassment and sexual violence,” Howard said.

Howard said that when “really any [UO] administration change” occurs, more students come to the Dean of Students’ office with concerns. 

“My staff have been consistently thinking about what we communicate to students and continue to support students in a way that helps them feel like they have agency and choice,” Howard said. “We are consistently trying to reiterate that Oregon law hasn’t changed and that there are still protections at the state and federal level.”

On Nov. 15, 2024, the University of Oregon Campus Planning Committee, also known as the CPC,  approved plans to build new beach volleyball courts as part of the Hamilton Walton Transformation Project. 

The courts will replace Hamilton Hall, with construction set to begin in the fall of this year.

The plans have drawn criticism for failing to provide basic amenities, including on-site restrooms, at the new site.

During a CPC meeting on Nov. 15, 2024, it was noted that only portable toilets would be available at the new site for spectator use during events. 

The approval is the recent step in the process for the UO women’s beach volleyball team to have an on-campus facility.  

The team has previously practiced approximately a mile and a half from campus at Amazon Park. 

In December 2023, 32 female student-athletes from the university, including 26 women’s beach volleyball players and six club team rowers, filed a lawsuit concerning Title IX and the facilities being provided to the team.

Numerous inequities have been revealed between the women’s beach volleyball team and other school-sponsored sports, most notably the lack of their own facility. 

Former beach volleyball player Ashley Schroeder said she believes the approval of the plans wouldn’t have happened without the lawsuit being filed. 

Arthur H. Bryant, the lawyer for the women’s beach volleyball team, said building the new courts was a step in the right direction, but not enough to place the team on equal footing with the school’s other teams. 

“The fact that that’s what they’re coming up with and somehow suggesting this is good enough — it is ridiculous,” Bryant said. “To be clear, it is a huge improvement over what they’ve given the women up to now, which is no facility and a bathroom in a cinder block public bathroom with no doors on the stalls.”

According to UO spokesperson Eric Howald, the CPC could not provide comment on this story.

Following the end of the fall term, the University of Oregon is providing a limited list of food resources for students who are staying on or near campus over winter break.  

On Dec. 12, 2024, and Jan. 3, 2025, the Student Sustainability Center and LGBTESS will supply students with free food at their Produce Drops. 

Basic Needs Coordinator for Food Security and Community Access Initiatives Madeline Hager said there will be multiple off-campus resources available to students while campus is closed. 

“This [off-campus resource] includes local food pantries, hot meal sites and FOOD for Lane County’s Trillium Produce Plus program,” Hagar said. “Eligible students can also continue to utilize or apply for SNAP benefits.”

Hager also recommended that students check out the Oregon Food Finder tool, which can “be used to locate free food across the state.” 

According to Hagar, the Student Food Pantry, UO’s off-campus food pantry, will be closed over break. 

UO Spokesperson Eric Howald said that Duck Rides, a UO transportation service, will also not be available over the break.

Farther from campus, the Weekend Burrito Brigade provides vegan meals to those in need across the Eugene and Springfield area. 

Most of the vendors in the Erb Memorial Union will remain open over break, including Chipotle, Chicken Bonz and Subway, according to Howald. 

Jamba Juice in the EMU will close for most of the winter break from Dec. 16, 2024, to Jan. 6, 2025. 

UO students who requested to remain in their dorm rooms from Dec. 14, 2024, to Jan. 5, 2025, were charged $36 a day, or a total price of $792, to room over winter break.

Residents will not receive any boarding amenities, as the $792 fee only covers rooming. 

Regardless of the fees, the dining halls will be closed over winter break.

But for students staying in their dorms, they will be given access to a community kitchen in one of the residence halls, according to Bryson Beck, the director of promotions and student recruitment.

On the night of Oct. 20., 13 MacBooks were stolen from Klamath Hall lab room 13, according to University of Oregon biology lab preparator Misty McLean-Schurbon. The thief broke a window upon entry.

According to McLean-Schurbon, she estimated that the MacBooks cost $1,380 each, totaling about $17,940 of stolen property. 

Katie Perez, another lab preparator, said that the incident has “created a significant disruption.” 

“These laptops are critical for conducting labs, facilitating office hours and hosting student meetings in our lab space, Klamath [Hall, room] 13,” Perez said. “Because the theft happened over the weekend, we had to immediately relocate Monday [Oct. 21] office hours to allow for damage assessment and cleanup.”

Perez also said that reevaluating security measures to prevent theft has increased stress and the work of those working in the labs.

“We’re implementing additional measures to protect our resources, but this has required time and energy that could otherwise go directly toward supporting our students and educational goals,” Perez said.

Jolie F, a biology 214 student whose lab course meets in Klamath Hall room 13, said that the stolen MacBooks were used to run programs like “PyMOL,” a visualization program that creates 3D images of molecules that the students use to complete assignments. 

Jolie, who wished to keep her last name unpublished for privacy concerns, said, “The class now has few MacBooks to distribute to the students, and they have become a first-serve type of situation, and we are urged to share with our partners.”

According to Jolie, she had to find other students to work on assignments with since the break-in limited the number of available MacBooks. 

“As someone whose personal computer is broken and its processing speed is not ideal for larger programs, I have found myself often partnering up with someone who has the program on their own device,” Jolie said. 

She also said that security measures were in place to prevent the laptops from being removed from the room before the break-in. The computers were “tethered to the lab desks with a passcode lock,” she said. 

She said that students have still been able to complete assignments, but, “it is disheartening to know that the security of the classrooms has to be reevaluated.”

This incident is currently under investigation by the University of Oregon Police Department.

On the morning of Nov. 14, the University of Oregon Police Department received two reports of an individual handing out candy and sexually assaulting people on and around campus, according to a UO Crime Alert sent via email by UOPD. 

The UO Crime Alert was sent on Nov. 15 at 5:00 p.m., in compliance with federal law. The incident was reported to all students and employees through their school email accounts. 

According to the alert, the first reported incident occurred at 11:30 a.m. near Straub Hall. The victim reported that she was walking outside the building when a man handed her candy and then “slapped her on the rear end.” 

At 11:40 a.m., the second victim reported their “crotch being grabbed in a similar incident while walking on Alder Street near Dave’s Hot Chicken, 1285 Alder [Street],” according to the alert. 

Additionally, the alert said that UOPD has identified a suspect for both incidents and has taken action to “exclude” them from campus.

The alert asked that anyone with more information or who had experienced a similar situation contact the UOPD non-emergency number, 541-346-2919. 

According to the alert, both reported incidents are currently under investigation.

Update: The original alert mentioned the location of the second incident on “Agate Street,” and it was corrected to “Alder Street.” The Emerald’s breaking news story has been updated to those corrections.

The post Individual offering candy sexually assaults two victims on and around UO campus appeared first on Daily Emerald.

Members of the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group set up a canopy and tables in the Erb Memorial Union Amphitheater for their “New Voter’s Campaign” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Election Day. Multiple members stood on the walkways directing students to the ballot drop box, offering informational flyers and stickers. 

Kali Kleven, vice chair of OSPIRG and New Voter’s Campaign coordinator, said OSPIRG has historically been the “most effective group at registering youth voters” on campus. 

“I just think that shows today with how many people we’ve been able to talk to,” Kleven said. “We’ve talked to over 200 students in our first hour of tabling.” 

In the center of the Amphitheater, members had a poster board with a map of the United States for students to mark what states they were voting from. They also were taking photos of students posing next to an inflatable goat they had coined, “The Vote Goat.” 

Tristan Jeo and Haley Slaughter stood near the ballot box, asking students if they had voted. 

“We are trying to encourage people and remind people to get out there and vote and of the election date, since a lot of people either forget or don’t realize that they can still vote and it’s not too late,” Jeo said. 

Jeo and Slaughter also had fliers with resources and information students may want access to. 

“We have different information on different ways to vote… it answers some of those questions and fears that students may have,” Slaughter said. 

Slaughter said their goal was to remind students that “they have power in their vote.” 

Another member of OSPIRG, Hugh Arbabi, stood on the other side of the Amphitheater, also encouraging students to vote. 

Arbabi said students on his side of the Amphitheater had mostly reacted positively to his campaigning. 

“There’s just been one or two people who have walked by me and just tried to brush me off just because I’m holding a clipboard on a college campus, and they think I’m probably asking them something stupid,” Arbabi said. 

Arbabi said his positive interactions with students made it fun working on the campaign. 

“A lot of people are excited once they start talking about it. One of my favorite things is, I’ll interrupt [people] as they’re walking and they’ll be holding the ballot and go, ‘I’m just about to. I’m headed to the ballot box right now,’” Arbabi said.

A second, separate report of a “possible drink tampering” has been released, according to a University of Oregon statement earlier today.

The report comes two days after the university announced that a student reported an “unknown substance” was possibly poured into their drink at a fraternity party hosted by Alpha Tau Omega on Oct. 18. The newest report also occurred on Oct. 18. 

The most recent report did not specify where the “drink tampering” took place, but referenced that one of the events the student was at was hosted by Kappa Sigma, an unaffiliated fraternity from UO. 

The KSig fraternity is unaffiliated due to violations of Student Conduct and Community Standards through instances of hazing new members, failure to comply, alcohol, underaged possession or consumption, disruptive behavior and safety hazard, and is currently facing a four-year suspension.

This has resulted in the loss of any “support or advisement” from the university and the inability to participate in any “university-sponsored activity.”

UO clarified in today’s statement that the “reported drugging” related to ATO occurred at 594 E. 16th Ave., not at the fraternity’s chapter house.

The statement also said that “there is no indication” that this report was related to the ATO party. 

This story is breaking and will be updated.

University of Oregon sorority and fraternity recruitments are underway, and members of Greek life at UO are required to pay dues and other fees each term to maintain their membership. 

New members pay higher dues during their first term due to one-time new member fees.

For sorority members, new member dues can range from $537 to $1,372 per quarter, and active member dues range from $500 to $600 per quarter, according to UO’s Panhellenic Council. 

However, these numbers are lower than what members report paying. 

Alessandra Grosjean, a UO alumni and former member of Gamma Phi Beta, said she paid $900 per term as a member not living in the house. 

Abby Nicholson, a member of Alpha Chi Omega who also does not live in her sorority’s house, pays $654 per term. 

All sororities’ financial representatives were contacted and either did not respond or declined to share any financial information with the Emerald. Fraternities with contacts made available did not respond to requests for information. 

There are additional expenses sorority members pay, including purchasing sorority merchandise, fees for additional events, fees to bring guests to events and other miscellaneous expenses. 

These extra payments go toward international or national fees, chapter operating expenses, philanthropy events, social functions, lodge expenses and more. In some cases, financial aid and scholarships may apply to membership and housing costs, but these opportunities are limited according to Fraternity and Sorority Life. 

All members of Greek organizations are required to pay a Fraternity and Sorority Life fee at the start of the school year. 

According to the Fraternity and Social Life blog site, the fee’s purpose is to “provide the members of fraternities and sororities with a sustainable advising and programming model to create a membership experience that is congruent with both the university’s and the organization’s mission, purpose and values.” This fee is reassessed each year. 

Fraternity dues are much less expensive than sorority dues. While members still have to pay extra fees that are chapter-specific, most fraternities charge about the same amount per term. 

New member fees for fraternity members range from $200 to $875 per member, with an average cost of $636, according to the Interfraternity Council website.

Sorority recruitment took place from Oct. 5 until Oct. 15. Fraternity recruitment varies by chapter, but takes place this year from Oct. 9 to Oct. 20. 

Javier Sparkman, a UO freshman, said that it is less expensive to live in a fraternity than it is to live in the dorms. This was part of his motivation to go through recruitment. 

“I think that’s one of the benefits of rushing… is that dues are cheaper than staying on campus. Generally, the dues are all similar. They’re all kind of around $500 [per term],” Sparkman said. 

Hunter Handel, a UO freshman, said that some fraternities are “waiving application fees” this year. 

“They’re actually charging no money for pledges. I think it’s pretty interesting because they just want members,” Handle said. “You have to pay to pledge for any frat, but not for Alpha Tau Omega. The only thing you have to pay for is functions.” 

According to the IFC, “Recruitment is free for all participants.” Only if a potential new member decides to accept a bid and join a fraternity will they have to pay any dues or fees.  

Women going through sorority recruitment had to pay a fee to sign up, whether they ended up in a chapter or not. They discussed the cost of becoming a member of a Greek organization with the Daily Emerald.

Hailee Nordstrom, a UO freshman, shared what she had heard from other students going through sorority recruitment. 

“For a lot of the girls I’ve been talking to, the cost does affect how they rank the sororities. Some of the girls I’m friends with are paying for it themselves, so it does affect the way they rank [chapters] when we do our preferences,” Nordstrom said. 

Nordstrom said she will rely on her parents to pay her dues if she ends up joining a sorority on campus. 

Other students said they would use their savings to pay for dues. 

Macy Gusinow, a UO freshman, said she will be relying on her own savings and help from a parent to pay for her future membership. 

“A lot of it is coming out of my savings, as well as tuition. I’m lucky to have my mom helping with most of the expenses,” Gusinow said. 

Gusinow said she is willing to pay however much is necessary to experience sorority life. 

“I feel like overall, the money that I’m going to spend on [a sorority] can always be made back. Experiences can’t be. I think that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Experience over cost is definitely my mindset here,” Gusinow said. 

Some potential new members said they were not aware that prices can change depending on what chapter they are in. 

“I didn’t really realize that different houses cost different amounts. I’m a little worried about the money I’ll have to pay when I’m really in it, like on merch, big and little stuff and whatever,” Gusinow said.

Jimmy Howard has taken on the position of interim dean of students at the University of Oregon. The previous dean, Marcus Langford, left the university after seven years. 

Howard has worked for the university for over six years. He worked for nearly three years as assistant dean of students for prevention and response and deputy Title IX coordinator from October 2018 to July 2021. Then, he became the associate dean of students from July 2021 to May 2024.

He is currently also deputy Title IX coordinator, but quickly took on the responsibilities of Langford’s previous position as the dean’s office is under adjustment.

“My home base role is the senior associate dean of students, so it only made sense for me to step into that leadership role, given some of my other responsibilities,” Howard said. 

Along with Howard taking on this new role, UO also welcomed a new Vice President for Student Life, Angela Chong. Part of Howard’s role will be to act as a leader while all the changes occur within the department. 

“With all those changes, we needed someone to step into the role and to assume some leadership over the Dean of Students office while Angela gets her footing and figures out how she’s going to lead the division,” Howard said. 

Howard is taking on the position of interim dean for now, though the position is not permanent.

“It’s temporary, limited time. We aren’t sure how long it will be. That’s something that will be etched out once we continue to get a feel for how Angela’s going to move the division forward,” Howard said. 

Before working at UO, Howard said he worked for just under a year as interim assistant director for strategic assessment at Oregon State University. He said he was drawn to UO because of its practices around sexual violence prevention. 

“I think Oregon has some of the best practices around prevention work [and] around sexual violence prevention education. It was really attractive to work at a place that took this seriously and [that is] committed to providing services for students. Both preventative work, but also response work,” Howard said. 

According to Howard, his job revolves around supporting students. 

“I would say part of my responsibilities are just making sure that we respond to student crises, making sure that students who are in need get support and have a place that they can go for advocacy. We do basic needs, [including] supporting students around needs with finances, temporary housing needs, child care, textbook subsidies, and things like that,” Howard said. 

Title IX is a federal law that works to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Howard serves as a deputy Title IX coordinator. 

“Our responsibility to students, particularly around sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, [is] making sure we have spaces that are safe for students. This includes their sex, their gender expression and other protected statuses related to Title IX,” Howard said. 

The Office of the Dean of Students includes a large collection of projects and programs. 

Howard said that his office is responsible for their collegiate recovery center, substance misuse and abuse prevention work and sexual violence prevention education work.

“Then we have our multicultural identity-based support services team that includes the women’s center, the black cultural center, LGBTQIA+ services, veterans services,” Howard said. 

“[Our role] is helping students connect and get support based on the identities that they hold while they’re here with us,” he said.

Fraternity and Sorority Life, the Holden Center for Leadership and Community Engagement, CommUniversity and the Dean of Students Advisory Board fall under the dean’s office purview well. 

“It’s a pretty broad portfolio, and then you have the classic student conduct piece as part of the portfolio, which helps students stay accountable to the student code and other university policies,” Howard said. 

Howard said he feels that the university’s involvement in such a vast number of groups and programs is a very positive thing. 

“I think having those services connected really gives us a combined mission and vision to just support students and connect the dots. It’s really nice to work with that broad of a portfolio with care and support in mind at all times,” Howard said.

Howard is also a member of Oregon’s Sexual Misconduct Survey Council and Oregon’s Racial Justice Council. 

“I would say the one that’s the most connected [to my role at UO] is the Sexual Misconduct Survey group. I serve as one of the Title IX representatives in that group. That team is really dedicated to the climate on college campuses around sexual misconduct and sexual violence against students,” Howard said. 

The goal of the Sexual Misconduct Survey Council is to “create a survey [for] the institutions so [they] understand what’s going on on the campuses from the students’ perspectives, but also that the student voice is captured there too in a way that I think is honest and real and also try to do little harm in the process of doing that survey,” Howard said. 

This school year, Howard hopes to focus on connecting with students more than ever. 

“We have a set of goals that we try to meet every year. The first is to make sure that we are going to be student-centered, so making sure that everything that we do centers the needs of students and student learning and student empowerment,” Howard said.

The members of the dean’s office hope that with their efforts throughout the year, students can feel like their individual needs matter.

“We don’t see students as a monolith, we see every individual student’s experience as something that matters,” Howard said.

Individually, Howard said he carries similar hopes and goals for himself for the school year.

“I work with lots of students, lots of community members, and my hope is to be a person that connects dots, but also provides more space for folks to meet their goals, get surprised by what they can accomplish and to continue to be a leader that listens to students, particularly while I’m in this role,” Howard said. 

University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication has adopted a new curriculum, introduced in spring 2024. It will be in place for the first time this year. 

The previous “J” subject code has now changed to a new “JCOM” code and new classes have been implemented. The SOJC offers a guide for returning students to see how the previous “J” courses have translated to the new “JCOM” curriculum. 

Deb Morrison, the SOJC associate dean for undergraduate affairs and distinguished professor of advertising, led the effort to refresh the old “J” courses. 

“When I came into this position, I said ‘As hard as it will be, let’s go after this. Let’s rethink how we want our curriculum and our culture to be,’” Morrison said. 

The whole process required lots of research and time, according to Morrison. 

“It was a team of us, sitting over a year. We researched our comparators. We looked at how one little class worked here or there or here. We talked to writing experts at Poynter [Institute]. We thought about how you make a culture of belonging, which, post-pandemic we all needed,” Morrison said. 

According to Morrison, the courses J101: Grammar for Communicators and J213: Fact or Fiction have been retired. J100: Media Professions has now become JCOM 101 and is a four-credit course instead of a two-credit course. 

J211: Gateway to Media, previously an eight-credit course, has now been split into JCOM 102 Story Craft: Audio for two credits, JCOM 103 Story Craft: Visual for two credits and JCOM 202 How Stories Work for four credits. 

“We exploded Gateway and put it into separate entities that we’ll assess at the end of the first year and the end of the second year,” Morrison said. 

The number of 400-level core context courses has increased from three to 15, according to the course guide, and the number of 300 and 400-level courses for all four majors under the SOJC has also increased significantly. 

Morrison said that the goal when creating this new curriculum was to get students working in closer proximity to their professors. Many of the new courses will now be formatted for around 30 students instead of being large lectures. 

“I love the idea of a first-year student getting to know Professor Ed Madison who does all this amazing stuff. They’re going to sit with him and get to know him and be able to come back to him the next term and say, ‘Help me, I want to do this.’ I love that idea of building those relationships and so we’re really working on that,” Morrison said. 

According to Morrison, the goal of this refresh was to allow students for more hands-on learning with as much feedback as possible. 

“You know, we have two important constituents. We want our students to be ready and we want them to have a full set of experiences,” Morrison said. 

Sally Garner, senior director for student success, provided insight on the process of piecing these ideas into an organized pathway of courses that made sense for students.

“With an entire curriculum overhaul like this one, it’s actually a two-step process, and this process is the same for any new major or minor. First the courses have to be “built” and once all the individual courses are there, the program structure has to be approved,” Garner said. 

Garner explains the process as “similar to creating a Lego set.” 

“All summer, I’ve been describing it this way: we had to first build each individual Lego piece. Then we had to submit the picture on the Lego box for approval,” Garner said.   

According to Garner, efforts from multiple groups of faculty went into executing the new courses. 

“Internally, it’s with faculty and the area directors. It’s Deb Morrison and her curriculum team, Marcia Stuart and Melody Olmsted, and with my own team of advisors who help me test run the courses and the prerequisite logic…,” Garner said. “…I work more behind the scenes with partners in the Registrar’s Office to update the UO Catalog, degree guides and now, Ducks on Track.” 

While the goal of these new courses is to connect students with professors and hands-on learning, Garner explained why prerequisites will still be in place. 

“Prerequisites can be tedious and annoying, but they are there for good reasons. Learning and skill development best happens when you let things breathe. Give yourself time to learn, give yourself time to practice the craft that you’re building,” Garner said. 

Returning students will be “grandfathered” into the new curriculum, according to Garner, and their previous credits will still count towards their major.

Most returning students follow the “Fall 2021” curriculum, with some under the “Fall 2018” curriculum. All incoming first-year and transfer students are placed under the “Fall 2024” curriculum.