Picture this: like every other weekday morning, you’re asleep in your dorm. You’re jolted awake by a sudden sound and physical shaking that makes you believe there’s a catastrophic event occurring right outside your door. You dart out of bed and into the hallway to find three rooms and one entrance to the restroom blocked off, ceiling to floor, by an opaque piece of plastic. The plastic sheet has a zipper in the middle, resembling a door, and a sign taped to the front that says, “NO ACCESS. WORK IN PROGRESS. Bathroom accessible through other door.”

This is the daily disruption that upended resident life two weeks ago in the Parsons wing of Bean East. Residents woke up to a branch of their hall under renovation, much like the construction underway at Bean West. For the next two weeks, construction workers roamed the halls unannounced while the residents of the floor — all girls — tried not to be uncomfortable walking to and from the showers. Construction workers also took breaks at the table located in Parsons, usually a place for residents to talk to family and friends on the phone if their roommate needs quiet.

Not only did the construction cause spatial disruptions within the hall, it caused major sleep disruptions, too. The construction inside Parsons was the same as the room renovations being done in Bean West, except that people are paying to live in Parsons, and Bean West is completely vacant. So, the sounds of taking down concrete slabs, knocking out windows, and constant jack-hammering filled Parsons every day Monday through Friday, starting at 9 a.m.

“I’m pissed that they decided to do this in the hall that we currently live in,” said Sarah Case, a Parsons resident. “They have three rooms at the end of the hall in Parsons blocked off. And they also blocked off part of the bathroom entrances.”

Jenna Candland is a resident of Parsons, and she doesn’t have class until the afternoon during the week. Candland was very accustomed to sleeping in during the week, when all of the sudden she was woken up at 9 a.m. every day for two weeks. Not only was this going on for two weeks, but it was also happening during midterms week. Residents were unable to live by their normal sleeping schedule during this time, exacerbating studying difficulties.

Other residents have less of an issue with the construction workers being there — it’s that they come and go unannounced. All of Bean East received weekly impact reports of disruptions that might happen and what tools would be used; however, Parsons residents were never informed of any construction that would be happening inside of their hall.

“I think it’s fine that they’re there, but they don’t give us any [warning] when they will be there,” said Claire McNamee, also a Parsons resident. “So we get kind of blindsided when they are there because like it’s quiet back there and all of the sudden the zipper goes flying up and it’s like ‘Shit!’”

Parsons quiet hours are effective until 10 a.m., and this construction started an hour prior to the end of quiet hours. Not only was this during quiet hours, but this was completely unannounced to residents, even in weekly impact reports emailed to the residents of Bean East.

The impact reports tell all residents of Bean East what trucks and tools will be used on which days. The report has no mention of construction inside the hall, or that construction will start at 9 a.m.

“As … part of efforts to continue to provide you with information about the renovation and what to expect, the company has provided Weekly Impact Reports. These are being posted in the communities impacted and will be available to you,” according to the email from University Housing Maintenance that is attached to the report.

Many other residents of Bean East had no idea that the construction was even going on inside of Parsons. Clay Beauvais is the President of Bean’s Resident Hall Government for the 2017-18 year. “We [resident hall government] know just as much as the residents, as soon as the rest of the residents know about it,” said Beauvais. “I didn’t know that there were construction workers going through halls…so that’s insane.”

Rooms in Bean East on the 15th Street side have two windows knocked out just like Bean West’s windows. Residents are living in Bean East two doors down from those knocked out windows. Parsons residents want specific information from the university on when construction workers will be there, and where exactly they’ll be walking through, according to Parson resident Sydney Stephens. Stephens explained that Parsons residents are still paying to live there, and they would like to be treated as such.

As of Oct. 27, the construction inside the hallways has been cleared, and there is no word from University Housing Maintenance on if and when it will be back. The construction noise remains just as disruptive as they continue to demolish parts of Bean West right outside of Parsons. According to Sarah Ramos, a Parsons resident, “It has not ‘Bean’ a good few weeks.”

Follow Rylee Kahan on Twitter: @ryleekahan

The post Bean West construction affects current residents appeared first on Emerald Media.

The Memorial Quadrangle was a dog lover’s paradise on Thursday, Oct. 19. Students and faculty were scattered along the walkways playing with dogs of all sizes. With their tails happily wagging, the dogs seemed ecstatic to play with the participants. The dogs were brought for a partnered fundraiser between the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and Eugene’s Greenhill Humane Society – the biannual Ducks Love Dogs fundraiser. For a small price, dog lover’s were able to play with these fluffy friends for a good cause.  

Greenhill Humane Society is an animal protection organization in Eugene. They see over 3000 animals per year. Along with the shelter, they also operate a crisis care center where animals, whose owners are either hospitalized, incarcerated or seeking shelter from domestic violence can stay for any given time, whether that be weeks or months.

Because PRSSA has new board members every year, it’s hard to know exactly how many years they’ve partnered with Greenhill Humane Society, but the PRSSA Events Coordinator Cassidy Scott estimates that they’ve put on this fundraiser for about six years. PRSSA has chapters across the nation, and at UO is operated out of the School of Journalism and Communication.

The two organizations aren’t the only groups that benefit from this fundraiser. Students and faculty also get the benefit of brightening their day by playing with dogs. “I have like nine dogs at home,” said Marissa Cortez, a Ducks Love Dogs participant. “I love that I am able to play with a dog… I feel more at home that way.”

The event raised an estimated $300 from about 50 participants. Sixty percent of the funds go to Greenhill, and the other 40 percent goes to PRSSA. Scott said the funds go to a general fundraiser account where the money gets used for certain events that PRSSA puts on, such as social and public relations workshops in Portland and Seattle.

Greenhill Humane Society partners with Ducks Love Dogs on the Univeristy of Oregon campus in Euegene, Ore. Oct. 19, 2017. (Madi Mather/Emerald)

According to Sasha Elliott, community engagement manager at Greenhill, it can cost $5 to $10 per day to feed each animal, $25 to $35 to vaccinate each animal and $50 to $100 to spay or neuter each animal. “The money raised is very beneficial to providing the animals with safe shelter, medical care, and other necessary care,” Elliott said.

All the dogs that were brought to the event were Greenhill staff-owned dogs, and while there are usually almost all new dogs every time, there are also two or three regulars. One of them, named Bear, is a fluffy Pomeranian and a regular fan favorite, according to Scott. They don’t bring shelter dogs to the event because it’s too risky to introduce them to strangers, since the staff doesn’t know the shelter dogs as well as their own pets.

Greenhill received almost 100 owner-surrendered dogs last week, 49 of which will remain there. Due to space concerns, the other 49 dogs will be relocated to the Oregon Humane Society and the Willamette Humane Society. Greenhill is always looking for people who might want to adopt a dog or donate to their cause.

This is Scott’s first year coordinating the fundraiser, and she said she’s eager to do it again in the spring. The task “was daunting at first,” Scott said. Finding the space, the dogs and figuring out the logistics of it all were some of the hardest parts, according to her.

Scott’s favorite part was “at the beginning when Greenhill set up and all the dogs were there. Class just got out and there was this feeling of wow we did it, and this is going to be a success,” she said.

In the past, the fundraiser has been a success for both parties, and this term was no exception. The event will be held again in spring 2018.

Greenhill Humane Society partners with Ducks Love Dogs on the Univeristy of Oregon campus in Euegene, Ore. Oct. 19, 2017. (Madi Mather-Emerald)

The post Ducks Love Dogs helps students and animals appeared first on Emerald Media.

After surveying over 3,500 students from colleges across the country, the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness revealed last year that almost half of respondents felt they didn’t have reliable access to sufficient food at some point. At the University of Oregon, the student food pantry is one way to help struggling students.

The Student Food Pantry is a local non-profit organization that provides nutritious foods to students so they don’t have to worry about not being able to afford groceries. Those with valid student IDs can bring a bag on either Wednesday or Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to the Episcopal Campus Ministry’s garage and fill it with as much food as they need. However, even though opened twice a week, students are limited to one visit per week.

The SFP started six years ago, at 1329 E. 19 Ave., when a student associated with the ministry had concerns about a friend who couldn’t afford groceries. When the organization first started, they helped around 20 students every week. This month, the Student Food Pantry started operating twice a week on Wednesday and Thursday and set a new record of 150 students per week.

The organization has been adamant about confidentiality.

“We won’t record student ID numbers. It’s something that I won’t do,” said Doug Hale, who runs the SFP. “Even though we record students’ names, they stay in the organization and are not shared with anyone outside.”

Just like the number of students looking for help is rising, so is awareness of food insecurity issues on campus. The SFP isn’t officially associated with the UO; however, that’s one of the goals they’re working towards.

“[We would like to] find a larger space [and] create a resource center,” said Hale. He talked about a proposed center including the food pantry, dieticians, food studies representatives and an information center.

ASUO President Amy Schenk has advocated to administration, not only about having a center like this, but also to raise awareness of food insecurity among students. Schenk looks to take care of the financial, contracting and insurance paperwork in her next nine months as president. Taking care of the preliminary needs this year sets up the SFP to start the physical plans for the center next year. ASUO is also in the process of making flyers with a list of food security resources, including the SFP, to hand out to students.

Administration is realizing that the issue of food insecurity “needs to be addressed immediately,” said Schenk. Food insecurity is an issue that is currently happening, not something that is going to happen, she added.

For now, the SFP and ASUO continue to do their best to help students at the UO avoid food insecurity.

“It really has to do with working with people,” Hale said. “[And] knowing that someone’s got your back.”

The post The Student Food Pantry helps those struggling to pay for meals appeared first on Emerald Media.