Dan Savage has been known for his racy remarks about sex and sexuality but some of those comments have passed racy and gone into what some consider derogatory. Past remarks about bisexuality, transgender and women have upset some members of the LGBTQ community and some of those upset members are UO students.

Savage was brought to the UO on Oct. 15 to help promote the UO Health Center’s app SexPositive with a live Q&A at the Ford Alumni Center. Tickets sold out, but his presence was unwanted by some. On a previous visit to the UO campus in 2011, Savage was glitter-bombed and accused of being a transphobic individual.

Theta Pi Sigma, a UO frarority, made it clear that Savage was not welcome on this campus with speech not inclusive to all. “Dan Savage Go Home,” was a protest planned by the group to take place outside of the Ford Alumni Center while Savage spoke. The group aimed to shine light on the controversial issues Savage has been apart of as well as to create conversation with people attending the event.

Theta Pi Sigma was founded in 2011 with the goal to create a more inclusive Fraternity and Sorority life on campus. The group is passionate about inclusion to all and any acts of biphobia, misogyny and transphobia are not welcome, according to Truth Mallon, a member of Theta Pi Sigma.

Earlier in the day, the group arranged a restorative justice meeting with Savage in order to voice their concerns of having him on campus. Based on the outcome of the meeting, the group would either cease the protest or continue on with it.

In an Emerald interview, Savage said he was looking forward to the meeting with the group of students to carry out conversation regarding their concerns.

Mallon was excited for the opportunity to speak with Savage and voice concerns regarding his presence on this campus.

“We’re really hoping that in the conversation he really listens and carries what we say with him as he’s speaking on our campus,” Mallon said.

Despite the meeting, Theta Pi Sigma decided to continue on with the protest mainly because of Savage’s lack of growth on the issue of bisexuality and bisexual erasure — a way of reducing visibility to those who identify as bisexual.

Group members took this remark as excluding a large portion of the LGBTQ community and find it unacceptable on this campus, which is why they chose to continue on with the protest.

Theta Pi Sigma does acknowledged the progress Savage has made in the past 15 years, such as him dropping the transgender slur much of his controversy stemmed from, but still do not welcome him here to campus.

“It does show that he is growing as a person but as of right now we’re still not comfortable with him on our campus,” Mallon said.

Renae DeSautel was an undergrad at Southern Oregon University when she went to her first informational session on sexual violence. It was presented by the campus’ Women’s Center. She left appalled and outraged at what was going on in her community. This began her effort to help victims of sexual assault and her eight-year journey in becoming the University of Oregon’s first Sexual Violence Response and Support Services coordinator.

Out of a pool of 56 applicants, DeSautel was hired this fall by the office of the Dean of Students to help create a stronger connection between services on campus. The interview process consisted of three interviews with different panels, including students, administration and other campus partners.

“You don’t always end up with a unanimous decision,” said Penny Daugherty, director of the office of Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity. “But from what I’ve heard around the edges this one was pretty close to being unanimous.”

DeSautel’s position at the UO is to support survivors while coordinating between different services on campus to make the process as easy as possible. From emotional support to academic or employment accommodations, DeSautel is the point of contact for student survivors to utilize as a resource.

The UO’s sexual violence response network has been established over the years and much of the same procedures will be kept this year, but the aim of DeSautel’s position is to strengthen the coordination between systems.

Now students will no longer have to retell the incident and if wanted, will have step-by-step guidance throughout the process. She will work with the offices of the Dean of Students and Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity, the UO Health Center and UOPD to move through procedures in an institutionally caring way based on the survivor’s wants and needs.

Students often think that if a report is made to the UO, all staff and faculty will know about the incident. But that’s not the case. Only a small number of highly qualified people will be informed and work to not only support the survivor but also prevent future incidents from occurring.

On-campus services provided by the office of the Dean of Students include academic, employment and housing accommodations. If a student misses an exam because of a safety issue, such as the accused being in that class, arrangements can be made without revealing the incident to the professor. This is a resource many students don’t know about and a pro of using the on-campus services. Off-campus resources can provide the anonymity some survivors want as well.

All resources given to survivors are optional to use but are always available regardless of when the event occurred.

DeSautel encourages any student to come to her with questions about sexual assault and violence and said her door is always open.

“I want to be a resource for the entire campus,” DeSautel said.

It’s a tale as old as MySpace: You’re walking to class when you pull your phone out to check the time. Instead being greeted by a photo of you and your best friend on spring break, you see a blank screen. You’d ask someone for a charger, but the odds are it won’t fit your phone.

That might not be much of a problem anymore.

The University of Oregon libraries purchased 12 new charging stations this fall in hopes of preventing situations like that. With all the types of technology available today students are coming to campus with various devices that require various chargers.

Sara Brownmiller, director of library systems, noticed this and began looking for ways to provide students with a way to charge up.

While at a conference for the American Library Association, Brownmiller passed an exhibit with charging stations and found a solution. After tracking down the manufacturer and getting quotes for how much they would cost, Brownmiller drafted a proposal and presented it to the dean of the library.

The purchase was funded by the Proctor Endowment Fund. The estate of Eleanor C. Proctor has donated to the library for many years in honor of “a commitment of learning and preservation of knowledge,” said Grants Pass attorney James Dole at the Knight Library’s 75th birthday last spring. A check for $500,000 was presented to the library on behalf of Proctors’ son, Peter P. Proctor III. This is an unrestricted fund and can be used for anything the dean of the library deems useful. Each charging station cost $849, which includes a two-year warranty.

KwikBoost, located in Dallas, Texas, provides customizable charging stations with eight cables that have the ability to charge most devices and can be customized with individualized graphics and logos.

There are two charging stations in the Knight Library and one in each branch library: math, science, law, architecture and allied arts and the Global Scholars Hall library. Another two were installed in the Klamath and McKenzie computer labs. One was sent to the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology on the coast and two went to the Portland campus.

The School of Journalism and Communication purchased five, Information Services purchased one for the technology desk and the Yamada Language lab purchased another.

So far students have welcomed the new stations. Shauni Allen, a senior broadcast journalism major, noticed the stations in the journalism school the first day of classes and found them convenient and up to date.

“I think every building should have one,” Allen said, “and it is nice that they have it for several different devices.”

While these stations will help students around campus, students need to be responsible for their own devices — there’s no way to secure a device as it’s charging. The Knight Library placed the stations near chairs so students can sit and read or do homework while their devices charge.

“Students depend increasingly on mobile devices for study, work and life in general,” Karen Munro, head of Portland Library and Learning Commons said. “We see the mobile device charging station as a way to acknowledge that reality and support our students. Having a free, handy way to charge a variety of devices just makes life easier so students can concentrate on more important things  like schoolwork.”

On Friday Oct 4 at 11:37 p.m., Eugene Police received a call about a loud party on 17th and Ferry. Upon arrival at 12:38 a.m. music could be heard from a block away, broken glass and beer cans were outside and people were out front and in the back yard.

Police issued 14 citations early Saturday morning, nine for Minor in Possession, one for Urinate/Defecate in Public, two for Unruly Gathering and two for Allowing Consumption of Alcohol by Minors. Adam Pickus, 22, and Daniel Stern, 21, were arrested for Prohibited Noise.

Pickus and Stern were advised that the party was too loud but were unable to shut it down. Both knew the party had gotten out of hand and were compliant with police.

Fifteen years ago Dan Powell, a professor of art at the University of Oregon, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and for the last several years has been in a wheelchair. Working at the Millrace Studios on the north side of Franklin Boulevard, Powell has to ride the bus from downtown to work each morning and he thinks accessibility at the university could be better.

“I’m not one to complain,” Powell said. “I don’t have a lot of trouble but there are things that could be better. More door operators would be nice.”

Thirty-nine students on the UO campus are registered with the Accessible Education Center with some form of mobility disability. These are just registered students with the AEC — there are likely more who just have not had any problems with class locations yet, AEC senior director Hilary Gerdes said.

Current protocol for issues with inaccessibility routes to a classroom location is for the student to inform the AEC and the class to be relocated.

The Americans with Disabilities Act describes an accessible route as “A continuous unobstructed path connecting all accessible elements and spaces of a building or facility.”

Relocation numbers are down with the increase of campus buildings having accessible routes and Gerdes said fewer than 10 relocations are done a term.

With the exception of Friendly and Volcanology halls, most buildings on campus have some form of accessible route.

“A big issue with Friendly is that the installation of an elevator would have to eliminate at least one office from each floor or the elevator would have to be attached on the outside,” said Fred Tepfer, a planning associate with Campus Planning.

Campus improvements vary from interior remodeling to full on renovations. With certain buildings on campus, such as Deady, special planning was taken into account in order to preserve its historical significance. Allen and Fenton hall were partially gutted and accessible routes and elevators were incorporated into the new design. And these efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“Everyone has been so wonderful and gracious with fixing things to help me out,” Powell said.

The idea of universal design is a concept that has been gaining popularity and the UO has been a leader, along with Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin, Tepfer said.

While the university is ahead in campus design, there are still things planning cannot control such as the distance between student’s classes and the reliability of elevators and door operators.

The university offers resources like the Access Shuttle to reduce the time and distance a student must travel for class. The Access Shuttle runs Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“The shuttle currently requires a student to call ahead and request service,” said Penelope Daugherty, director of Affirmative Action, “and the hours aren’t necessarily convenient if a student has a late class or is studying late on campus.”

According to Governing Magazine, in 2011, just over 7 percent of workers commuted by bicycle in Eugene Ore. The congestion from cyclists, pedestrians and cars along East 13th Avenue moving at different speeds and directions can lead to accidents and run-ins.

Cycling is an efficient method of transportation, but according to Oregon law a bicycle is a vehicle and is required to follow the rules of the road. Failure to follow these rules can lead to traffic violations just as in a motorized vehicle.

On Sept. 25, two cyclists were riding on the sidewalk down East 13th Avenue when a car leaving an alley between Ferry and Mill streets struck one of the riders, one of whom was sent to the hospital with a minor leg injury.

The cyclists were riding against traffic and witnesses said they were traveling at a fast pace. Police cited the two for unsafe operation of a bicycle on the sidewalk. Riding on walkways leads to unnecessary interactions with pedestrians as well as cars when visibility is limited from driveways and alleyways.

UOPD Communications Director Kelly McIver said that, because Eugene is such a bicycle-heavy community, there are responsibilities for the rider to follow the rules of the road.

“The biggest issues we see are blowing through stop signs, not signaling and not being aware of surroundings,” McIver said.

The UO brings new people to Eugene each year and for some, cycling as transportation is a new concept. For those who have never cycled before and may not understand the rules of bicycling, it is easy to follow the example of others. Susan Kelly, owner of Blue Heron Bicycles on 13th Avenue has watched cyclists throughout the years, and a practice that is becoming more prevalent is using the sidewalk as a bicycle path.

“It’s easy for someone who doesn’t know how to bike to lead a path for others who don’t know,” Kelly said. “It’s a habitual behavior.”

And while she acknowledges the positive changes that have been made toward a more bicycle-friendly campus, such as the in-street cycling path along 13th Avenue, Kelly still believes there are many improvements that could be made.

LiveMove, a UO transportation and livability student group, has come up with a plan to create a safe and more efficient paths for bicycles along 13th Avenue between downtown and campus.

“It’s really easy to funnel people into campus,” said Nick Meltzer, a community and regional planning graduate student who works with LiveMove. “But then you go two blocks out and you kind of run out of options.”

The group plans on creating a two-way cycle track such as the one on Alder Street to encourage people to ride bicycles but also feel safe in doing so.

As the number of bicyclists and pedestrians flowing throughout campus rises with the addition of new housing complexes around Eugene, being aware of one’s surroundings is crucial. As a primary artery from downtown to campus, 13th Avenue is currently in a state of “organized chaos,” Kelly said. “I’m surprised more accidents haven’t happened.”

Along with clearly defined bike paths, proper safety gear is key. The Oregon Bicyclist Manual states that a bike must have a white light visible at least 500 feet to the front and a red light or reflector visible at least 600 feet to the rear.

These are basic lights that have been highly rated and are relatively inexpensive. They are available at bike shops around Eugene and on Amazon.com.

Knog Frog Strobe $14.99 (Blue Heron)

This basic front LED headlight strobe comes with a battery life of approximately 50-hours of steady beam and 80-hours of strobe beam. It has a water resistant silicone body, a beam visible up to 600 meters and runs on two CR2032 batteries.

CatEye HL-EL135 Headlight $20 (Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life)

An OptiCube lens leads to a wider output of light for greater visibility. The two light modes available are steady beam and flashing beam. It runs on two AA batteries and has a run life of approximately 80 hours of steady beam and 320 hours of flashing beam.

Knog Frog Strobe Ft+Rr Twinpack $25.16 (Amazon)

Comes with both the front headlight and rear red light. Both are water resistant and have approximately 50 hours of steady battery life or 80 hours of strobe life. Choose from black, white or transparent and four different light modes: steady beam, strobe, fast strobe or random. Batteries are included.