Halloween night is the most spooky night of the year — a perfect excuse to gather all your friends and delight in all things eerie. Since the holiday falls on a Wednesday this year, making plans can be complicated. Weekends are the ideal time for parties and events, so Halloween this time around has left some people stumped. In case you’re struggling to make plans and looking for something exciting to do, the Daily Emerald has compiled a short list of ideas to fill up your schedule. Enjoy!

Colonial Harvest Days & Corn Maze at Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm

Oct. 31, 36777 Wheeler Rd, Pleasant Hill, OR 97455, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Adult passes are $9.50, children $7.50 and kids ages three and under are free.

Northern Lights Christmas Tree Farm is a family-oriented and personable property managed by Bob and Lynn Schutte. They have 162 acres of land, 82 of which are dedicated to their trees. According to their website, they are “located 15 minutes from town, but a lifestyle back in time.”

In the spirit of Halloween, the farm has been hosting evenings of fun for people of all ages, with their final event being the night of Halloween. They offer a twisty corn maze and hayrides to the pumpkin patch, while local vendors sell food, fresh produce and flowers. The event also incorporates activities that are more general to fall, as opposed to a strictly Halloween theme.

Halloween Escape Room at Claim 52 Kitchen

Oct. 31, 1203 Willamette St Ste 140, Eugene, OR 97401, $20

Claim 52 Kitchen is a relatively new restaurant to Eugene, and they are proving to be more than just an everyday eatery. On Halloween night they will be hosting an escape room — an activity that has been gaining popularity over the past few years. The plot of the mystery involves a group of students gone missing. Participants in the escape room must put together clues to figure out how to keep the rest of the city safe from haunted spirits.

Tickets for the event include one of Claim 52’s best drinks, 30 minutes in the escape room and happy hour prices if participants successfully make it out. The activity is perfect for a group of friends and is sure to test your problem-solving skills. It’s also a great team building exercise in a fun environment. Five start times are available for the Oct. 31 rooms; contact Claim 52 to sign up.

A Virtual Reality Haunt at multiVRse VR Gaming

Oct. 31, 1374 Willamette St, #6, Eugene, OR 97401, 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.

It’s 2018. Movies about on-the-run serial killers and thousand-year-old curses may not cut it anymore when searching for your next thrilling Halloween fright. To truly immerse yourself in your next bone-chilling rush, consider slapping on a VR headset at multiVRse VR Gaming this Halloween during their Virtual Reality Haunt.

With plenty of scary games (single and multiplayer) offered on a multitude of HTC Vive virtual reality sets, you can bring along your group of friends or come alone to experience one of the newest modes of electronic entertainment. It’s $10 for a half-hour solo session and $19 for a full hour. If you’re coming with a group, it’s $18 each for an hour long session. Come in wearing a Halloween costume between 4-8 p.m. and enter for free!

Tokes ‘N Treats Halloween Bash at HiFi Music Hall

Oct. 31, HiFi Music Hall (44 E 7th Ave.) 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., $15 in advance, $20 at the door

If you’re looking for a more chill way to spend Halloween, the Tokes ‘N Treats Halloween Bash presented by Sugar Top Buddery could be the perfect spot. HiFi’s Halloween celebration kicks off at 8 p.m. and will feature performances from High Step Society, The Dogon Lights, Dirty Revival and Fortune’s Folly, while MC Kiwi Ras hosts.

The event is partnering with the Tokes ‘N Treats month-long passports program that took place during the month of October. Customers at 14 different dispensaries around Eugene were able to receive a passport that would be stamped anytime they shopped at a participating dispensary/purchased a Sugar Top Buddery product. With four stamps, admission to the Halloween Bash is free, otherwise tickets are $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. Additional stamps on a passport yield free prizes, including products like a tote bag, sunglasses and  a limited edition event bong.

The post Stuff to do tonight: Halloween 2018 appeared first on Emerald Media.

It was 6 p.m. The low hum of the room began to develop into animated chatter. Players trickled in and mingled with familiar faces before checking the event list for their seat assignment and settling in.

Decks were laid out and adjusted for precision. One player in a green, zipped sweatshirt cracked his knuckles and rolled his head in a circle to loosen up. Another sat stoically with his hands flat on the tables. Overflowing briefcases and day-packs were stuffed in corners and under tables — the signs of a long work-week ditched for the weekend.

Friday night Magic: The Gathering tournaments at Addictive Behaviors usually start this way; they occur weekly and attract players of all ages and intellects. Sign-ups take place in advance either online or in-store, and a master list is then made to match opponents based on skill level and previous scores.

Magic: The Gathering is a game that revolves around strategy, shop owner Brock Sprunger said. “It has a lot of complicated mechanics that are pretty simple to execute,” he said.

Players can purchase different variations of standard or modern decks every few weeks and trade cards with other players to customize their collection. Because the game can be so complicated, there is a lot of debate and discussion that takes place about certain cards — which creates more interaction between players.

“It’s kind of like our NFL football game,” shop regular James Barnum, 30, said.

Jessica Lambright watched as her 10-year-old son, Sam, sat across from his opponent — a man twice his size and triple his age. They were about to play their first round of Magic: The Gathering. She was talking about the different color decks available for the game when suddenly she stopped mid-sentence — she’d forgotten to teach Sam how to shuffle his cards.

She laughed and shook her head. “That’s going to be a problem.”

Sprunger was at a table against the wall playing with a young boy in an orange beanie. He said he likes to compete alongside everyone else on Friday nights. Sprunger opened the shop in 2004 to satisfy a desire among Eugene gamers for a communal location to play Magic. He said Addictive Behaviors is a hub for people to meet and hang out. Anyone — regardless of background — is welcome.

“People aren’t jerks,” Barnum said about the Friday night crowd.

He talked leisurely about the game and his experience playing while his opponent, Nate Stanley, 19, sat in front of him — neither of them seemed to have trouble multitasking. Both men have been playing since they were teens and they shifted their cards around the table with ease.

“The goal is to win, but I’m more just here to have fun,” said Stanley. “My deck is pretty janky so we’ll see.”

Across the room Kevin Lee stood poised near the counter and shifted his weight every so often as he observed the players; he was checking out the competition.

Lee is a gamer through and through — he said he taught himself how to add and subtract by playing Zelda when he was 3 years old. Other commitments in college forced him to take a break from Magic, but now that his schedule has cleared, Lee is looking to get involved once again.

The skill level of players at Addictive Behaviors looks diverse, he said. He chuckled when he saw Sprunger, who was still playing with the young boy. “The owner is a classy fellow,” Lee said.

Light slashed across the room as the sun began to lower outside. Shadows fell over the Magic and Zelda posters that were plastered on the walls. Players continued to rotate tables as games finished and others started — the tournaments on Friday nights usually don’t end until around 10 p.m.

Barnum lost his game to Stanley in round one but still went on to win the whole tournament. Next week he’ll have a spot at the reserved table. Playing Magic: The Gathering is much better in real life than online, said Barnum.

“It’s like a puzzle combined with a bit of randomness,” he said.

The post Friday Night Magic: Players gather at local game shop appeared first on Emerald Media.

University Day is the longest standing tradition at the University of Oregon. On May 17, over 700 students, faculty and community members participated by offering an hour or more of their time to help beautify the UO campus in preparation for commencement ceremonies that will take place June 18.

This year the main projects mostly included spreading mulch around campus and planting flowers, as well as bee-friendly plants — the UO is making a much more concentrated effort to save the bees, according to Wallace.

“It’s thrilling to see students and staff both — and sometimes community members — participating and giving back,” said Jane Brubaker, the landscape designer for Campus Planning and Facilities Management.

The event was put together and executed by students. Rachael Wallace, a senior at UO studying Political Science, is the University Day Coordinator. She is a part of the Emerging Leaders Program through ASUO, which is how she met a friend who told her about the event coordinator internship. She’s been planning University Day since Fall term and tried to put her own spin on it this year.

Each day of the week leading up to Thursday’s campus beautification event, Wallace chose to plan mini-events that modeled UO spirit. Focus was placed on loyalty, enthusiasm and overall dedication to UO students and the well-being of campus.

Wallace said the event was impactful, but also stressful at times.

“It was almost like a huge sigh of relief,” she said about finally being done with the planning process.

Many students who participate have never done any planting or outdoor work before University Day, Brubaker said. She added that it warms her heart to know that this event gives people their first landscaping experience.

“If they plant an area like Hayward Field or the big Oregon sign, they become part of that place, to watch things grow,” she said.

Junior Javan Bennett finished a midterm for his public relations class and decided to volunteer for an hour before his second midterm later that day. He was by himself pulling weeds between Fenton and Allen Hall.

“I just figured that cramming an hour before the test wouldn’t do anything anyway, so I might as well just hang out here in the sun,” he said. “It’s a beautiful day.”

Bennett wasn’t aware the event was happening until he saw some of his friends wearing University Day T-shirts and noticed the tent on campus. He’s from Eugene and grew up around UO, so he said he’s happy to help out and be involved.

The volunteer tent was located on the lawn outside the Collier House, below a rainbow balloon arch and surrounded by hula hoops and staff wearing vibrant event t-shirts.

Students signed up with the staff at the tent and were then assigned to job sites that were scattered around UO.

The projects done by volunteers make a noticeable difference in the beauty of the campus landscape. Brubaker said walking around the day after the event is always amazing. She thinks it helps people notice the work that the UO grounds crew does year round.

“I think sometimes they’re a little invisible,” she said. “You appreciate what they do, but you don’t always see them or know what they do until you go out and try to dig in the soil.”

Sophomore Amelia Hylton had the chance to talk to some of the grounds crew during her hour of work. She said that interacting with them gave her insight on the behind-the-scenes work done at UO.

Hylton is an RA on campus and gets plenty of emails with opportunities to be more involved at UO. She chose to participate in Thursday’s event because she felt like it was especially important to give back and help beautify the place that she will be spending four years of her life.

“Any opportunity to serve campus and make it a better place to be,” said Hylton, “is one I should take.”

The post Students help prepare UO for commencement on University Day appeared first on Emerald Media.

University Day is the longest standing tradition at the University of Oregon. On May 17, over 700 students, faculty and community members participated by offering an hour or more of their time to help beautify the UO campus in preparation for commencement ceremonies that will take place June 18.

This year the main projects mostly included spreading mulch around campus and planting flowers, as well as bee-friendly plants — the UO is making a much more concentrated effort to save the bees, according to Wallace.

“It’s thrilling to see students and staff both — and sometimes community members — participating and giving back,” said Jane Brubaker, the landscape designer for Campus Planning and Facilities Management.

The event was put together and executed by students. Rachael Wallace, a senior at UO studying Political Science, is the University Day Coordinator. She is a part of the Emerging Leaders Program through ASUO, which is how she met a friend who told her about the event coordinator internship. She’s been planning University Day since Fall term and tried to put her own spin on it this year.

Each day of the week leading up to Thursday’s campus beautification event, Wallace chose to plan mini-events that modeled UO spirit. Focus was placed on loyalty, enthusiasm and overall dedication to UO students and the well-being of campus.

Wallace said the event was impactful, but also stressful at times.

“It was almost like a huge sigh of relief,” she said about finally being done with the planning process.

Many students who participate have never done any planting or outdoor work before University Day, Brubaker said. She added that it warms her heart to know that this event gives people their first landscaping experience.

“If they plant an area like Hayward Field or the big Oregon sign, they become part of that place, to watch things grow,” she said.

Junior Javan Bennett finished a midterm for his public relations class and decided to volunteer for an hour before his second midterm later that day. He was by himself pulling weeds between Fenton and Allen Hall.

“I just figured that cramming an hour before the test wouldn’t do anything anyway, so I might as well just hang out here in the sun,” he said. “It’s a beautiful day.”

Bennett wasn’t aware the event was happening until he saw some of his friends wearing University Day T-shirts and noticed the tent on campus. He’s from Eugene and grew up around UO, so he said he’s happy to help out and be involved.

The volunteer tent was located on the lawn outside the Collier House, below a rainbow balloon arch and surrounded by hula hoops and staff wearing vibrant event t-shirts.

Students signed up with the staff at the tent and were then assigned to job sites that were scattered around UO.

The projects done by volunteers make a noticeable difference in the beauty of the campus landscape. Brubaker said walking around the day after the event is always amazing. She thinks it helps people notice the work that the UO grounds crew does year round.

“I think sometimes they’re a little invisible,” she said. “You appreciate what they do, but you don’t always see them or know what they do until you go out and try to dig in the soil.”

Sophomore Amelia Hylton had the chance to talk to some of the grounds crew during her hour of work. She said that interacting with them gave her insight on the behind-the-scenes work done at UO.

Hylton is an RA on campus and gets plenty of emails with opportunities to be more involved at UO. She chose to participate in Thursday’s event because she felt like it was especially important to give back and help beautify the place that she will be spending four years of her life.

“Any opportunity to serve campus and make it a better place to be,” said Hylton, “is one I should take.”

The post Students help prepare UO for commencement on University Day appeared first on Emerald Media.

University of Oregon sports business instructor Josh Gordon hasn’t missed a single day of running in six years. That’s 2,216 consecutive days. Rain, shine, sleet or snow — Gordon averages 11.1 miles per day, and doesn’t let up.

“I don’t even know how to drive around Eugene half the time, but I can get anywhere by running,” said Gordon.

Over the weekend, 2,480 athletes competed in the Eugene Marathon races. Gordon, 43, ran the half marathon (13.1 miles), and finished toward the front of the pack with a time of 1:15:15. He was 18th overall, and 1st among the Masters runners, an age group for athletes over 40.

Josh Gordon runs towards the finish line at Hayward Field during the 2018 Eugene Marathon on April 29. (Adam Eberhardt/Daily Emerald)

Gordon first started running marathons during his 15 years in Boston, after he graduated from the University of Massachusetts. While a part of the strong post-collegiate running community, he worked for John Hancock, a title sponsor for the Boston Marathon, which he ran 10 times. He also started competing with the Boston Athletic Association, which is where he met his wife, Renee Gordon.  

When he moved to Eugene in 2010, Gordon missed the running community that Boston had offered. Tracktown USA is famous for supporting olympians and the UO track team, yet it is lacking a platform for older runners to train hard and experience the thrill of racing in a high-intensity environment, according to Gordon.

“Eugene does some things really well. They encourage people to just get out and jog,” he said. “The gap that they have is around post-collegiate competitors.”

Because of the lack of organization for runners in the city, Gordon created a group on Facebook where people of all ages can coordinate times to workout together. He is known as a connector, someone committed to bringing people together around a common love for the sport.

UO Running Club coach Tom Heinonen tries to do his part to foster the running community as well. He knows each active UO Running Club member by name, and addresses them by such every day he sees them.

“We try to be a lot of things to a lot of people,” said Heinonen. “But most importantly: a place to come where you’re welcome, and there’s always going to be runners to spend time with.”

Gordon almost never runs alone. With a wife and 5-month-old daughter, finding social time is tough; it isn’t often his schedule has room for beer with the guys. Instead, they join him for a run.

According to Gordon, that is where his friendships are maintained.

“You see an entire life cycle of someone,” said Gordon. “You get to experience it through these incremental conversations that are running.”

Some of his closest friends come from the Bowerman Track Club. He races with the group to stay serious and competitive in the post-collegiate runners’ world. There are seven men that make up the core group of the club’s Masters team.

The Bowerman Track Club’s Masters team at the XC National Championship in Tallahassee, Florida. Left to right: Ahrlin Bauman, Greg Mitchell, Josh Gordon, John Howell, Matt Farley, Oscar Bauman (courtesy photo)

With some of these members, Gordon said he’s logged 10,000 miles. And with each step, the men talk, joke and encourage each other. “It’s not easy as you get older to find that depth of relationships,” said Gordon.

“That’s the whole reason I really run,” said Bowerman Masters runner Matt Farley. “I do love to compete and do all of that, but what carries you — keeps you going in the long run — is these people and the relationships.”

Before he started running on the Bowerman Masters team, Orin Schumacher only knew Gordon as the guy who always beat him. He refers to the group as “old guys”’ and says running is their mental therapy.

“It’s the last bit of glory we’ve got I guess,” said Schumacher.

Every year, over the course of a three-day-weekend, Farley hosts a running camp for Masters runners. The usual attendees include the Bowerman crew, as well as some runners from Portland’s Red Lizard Running Club. After long, spartan-style runs on the Pacific Crest Trail, the men hunker down in a cabin near Mt. Rainier to battle it out in a series of competitions — spear throwing, beer chugging, poker playing and bow and arrow aiming. After all the events, they crown a Man of the Mountain.

Gordon often loses — he thinks it’s rigged.

The Bowerman group is split between Eugene and Portland. Despite the distance, they usually meet all together on Sunday mornings for a long run, and try to make room for the occasional Tuesday night group workout. According to Farley, there is absolute commitment among every team member — year-round at a high-intensity level.

Gordon says the Bowerman runners are a unique group because other teams show up to races with different athletes every year, yet he and his crew have been the same runners showing up season after season.

They have won three U.S. Cross Country National Championships in the last five years. In 2017 they placed third — they’re training now to regain the title.

“The funny thing is, if you look at our top five runners, we all train very differently. But we all end up almost around the exact same place,” said Gordon.

Schumacher said the difference between Eugene and other running communities is twofold: Eugene people know running, and runners are everywhere.

“In Eugene it’s an expectation to see people on the street running,” he said. “I love that about this community. Everyone expects to see runners. They know you as a runner — it’s part of your identity.”

Gordon and his wife Renee spend time training with the UO Running Club, where they try to mentor and encourage students to keep running after college. Club member Ryan Jones said he researched Eugene’s running community before moving here.

“If I was that old, I would want to be where Josh is. That would be a cool place to be,” he said.

Josh Gordon runs with his dog Byrun on Saturday before the Eugene Half-Marathon. He almost never runs alone and averages 11.1 miles per day. (Adam Eberhardt/Daily Emerald)

Aside from his ability to bring people together, Gordon is regarded as ruthlessly competitive. Farley said he’s only beaten him a couple times, “But it’s taken every ounce of my soul to do that, and it’s been rare,” he said. “[Gordon] won’t give you even a centimeter of leeway.”

Gordon ran the Eugene half-marathon in 2010, 2011 and 2012 with times of 1:12:27, 1:13:48 and 1:16:19. His fastest mile is 4:16 and he’s even gotten close to running a sub-15-minute 5k. He is competitive, but he said he enjoys the whole process it takes to win a race — training included.

“To me, the training is the cake, and the race is the icing,” Gordon said.

Gordon’s friends are clear about his exceptional sportsmanship. “He does want to fight you and fiercely battle you. But in talking to you before and after the race, he is nothing but encouraging,” said Farley.

Former Bowerman runner Everett Whiteside agreed. “He is one of those guys that is instantly likeable,” he said. “And for all of his accomplishments, and for the status of who he is in his life — he is the most down-to-earth, approachable guy there is.”

Gordon continually chooses to run — he said the habits and principles are cooked into his life.

While he was still living in Massachusetts, Gordon said one time he took his lunch break and ran along the Charles River, through a blizzard. His face was swollen with welts from the ice hitting him, and he had to lean over or hold onto his hat just so he could survive. Still, he’d rather run in those conditions than not run at all — he craves adventure.

“For me, my value system in life; it’s not about things, or status — it’s about experience, and being really alive,” said Gordon.

Running binds Gordon and his friends together. Some of the guys he runs with don’t even care for the sport anymore. In fact, Gordon said he is sure one of his friends hates it. But, if they don’t run, they don’t get to spend as much time with each other. So, they keep running.

The running community in Eugene is a small world, according to Renee Gordon. Competitors see the same faces at races every season.

“That’s the great thing about running — we compete against each other, but we’re happy when the other person wins,” said Schumacher. “Well, ten minutes later we are.”

The Bowerman Track Club at Pier Park in Portland as part of the USATF Oregon State XC Championships. (courtesy photo)

The post In Tracktown USA, the race is just the icing on the cake appeared first on Emerald Media.

Shaluinn Fullove has been running competitively since she was five years old. After growing up in Los Angeles, she became an athlete at Stanford University, where she ran three cross country races during the 1996 NCAA Championships before graduating with an American studies degree in 2000 and landing a job at Google in 2002.

Today, Fullove still works in human resources for Google in Palo Alto, California, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

The past few years have tested Fullove’s commitment and perseverance. In 2017, she underwent a double mastectomy, followed by a breast reconstruction surgery. Between the two procedures, her dad and aunt both passed away.

“Running is always the common thread — it is always the thing you can come back to. It’s an anchor…” said Fullove.

The pain from that season of life was sharp, but it didn’t extinguish her drive. Fullove is planning to run the Eugene Marathon on April 29. She has embraced the difference that her new shape and circumstances bring, and she admits that her training cycle this time around has been different.

“I gotta rebuild,” Fullove said.

Instead of expecting to be a hero every day of training, Fullove said she operates from the perspective that it is a triumph every day just to show up. She decided that at the very least, she is going to start each workout and see what happens.

“I have learned how to give myself a little grace this round,” she said.

According to Fullove, her coach, Michael McKeeman, knows the perfect balance between challenging her during workouts and recognizing that running isn’t her full-time job. Mckeeman grew up a runner himself, and won the Philadelphia Marathon in 2012.

“He is a big reason why I still run,” she said. “You have to have elasticity for coaching the whole person, not just the athlete portion of their day.”.

Running has been a common thread throughout each phase of Fullove’s life. Many of her longest, closest friendships are with old coaches and teammates.

“There is something about when you run together — when you sweat and you persevere and you push through new barriers with one another,” she said. “There is just a bond that gets created, and a mutual respect, and a desire to support one another.”

With a daughter in the first grade and day-to-day work responsibilities, training for the Eugene Marathon has been scattered for Fullove.

“I wish it was a little more templated. But it’s been more like jenga or tetris,” said Fullove.

Whether early in the morning, with fellow Google employees during lunch or after work, she always makes time. The schedule isn’t always optimal, said Fullove, but “done is better than perfect.”

On April 29, Fullove’s goal is to run smart and execute a race that reflects the work she has put in. In 2008, she qualified for the Olympic Trials as a way to prove to herself that she had beat thyroid cancer. Though she has the potential to qualify again, her focus has shifted this year. Fullove said this race is a celebration of her ability to rebuild and condition her body to withstand the rigorous workouts that are required when training for a marathon.

“To define success for the Eugene Marathon so narrowly to the Olympic Qualifier, I think that would be a missed opportunity,” she said.

The Eugene Marathon will take place on Sunday, April 29. Runners can participate in the marathon, half-marathon or 5k — there will be a 1k available for kids. Races begin as early as 7 a.m. and will finish near Hayward Field.

The post Running smart: Eugene marathoner doesn’t let multiple surgeries stop her appeared first on Emerald Media.

“Your hair is your glory,” Kristen Clayton’s mom told her over and over. She would hover above her daughter’s head and work her hands through the thick, waist-length curls. For Clayton, these moments were a sacred, ritualistic practice.

In Melbourne, Florida, where Clayton grew up, she was the only African American student at her private elementary school. The school required kids’ hair be kept “neat,” — a rule that by nature, excluded her curly and kinky afro. Clayton remembers routinely sitting in front of the television for up to 10 hours as her mother washed and conditioned her hair before straightening it with an iron comb that was heated over the stove.

“It was a way for us to bond but it was also difficult because you knew that it wasn’t necessarily for aesthetic pleasure,” Clayton said. “It was so that I could survive in an environment when kids wanted to touch your hair or play with it because it was so different.”

Clayton — now a first-year graduate student at the University of Oregon — didn’t fully grasp that her hair was curly until she was in the 11th or 12th grade.  

“To not know yourself in your natural state, it’s very strange,” she said.

Kristen Clayton, co-curator of “Don’t Touch My Hair,” poses in front of the exhibit. (Adam Eberhardt/Daily Emerald)

During her role as co-curator of “Don’t Touch My Hair: Expressions of Identity and Community,” an exhibition on display at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Clayton saw her own experience reflected in the exhibit.

The exhibit “investigates the politics of hair, racialized beauty standards, hair rituals and the differences in expectations between men and women with regard to hair,” said guest curator Meredith Lancaster.

Five student-photographers took photos of UO students and faculty who spoke of their hair as a significant part of their identity. These photos, paired with individual hair stories, line the walls of the JSMA.

The idea for the exhibition began circulating after Janelle Crouch, a hairdresser and motivational speaker from Atlanta, Georgia, spoke at UO Ethnic Hair Care Day in May 2017. JSMA staff had a conversation with Crouch, UO student group Black Women of Achievement and Vice President of the UO Division of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Yvette Alex Assensoh to develop the purpose and plan for the project.

Sophomore Aayana Fuller poses for a photo that highlights her hair as a form of self-expression. Photo taken by Ugochukwu Akabike during the creation of the “Don’t Touch My Hair” exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. (Courtesy of Ugochukwu Akabike)

The design of the exhibition revolved around five community conversations that took place in January 2018. At the conversations, UO students and faculty gathered at JSMA to discuss the personal significance of one’s hair. Clayton facilitated these conversations with a list of questions, and assured those in attendance that they were in a safe space to be vulnerable.

“I’m really emotional, but for this project I had to abstract my own emotions because there were so many other emotions going on,” she said. “Whether that’s of the guest curator, the artist, the participant — everyone else was really emotional, so I had to feel nothing.”

Responses varied dramatically. According to Clayton, one participant spoke about feeling suppressed in a major that is dominated by men who have a regulated professional appearance. Another participant opened up about being from a poorer family, and having to wear a buzz cut to avoid lice.

Lancaster was approaching the discussions from a primarily political angle. She was taken aback when one student explained that her relation to hair was wrapped up in a sexual assault incident. The student was physically disarmed by the attacker’s hold on her long ponytail, leaving her relationship to her hair tainted and wrapped up in trauma. Cutting her hair was a symbol of the weight and pain being lifted.

“I was really stunned; I hadn’t thought about that. It added an extra layer to all the things that could be tied up in a person’s hair,” Lancaster said.

Following the discussions, the student photographers conducted photo shoots with those in the community who were willing to have their stories included in the final exhibition.

One photographer, junior Malik Lovette, shot each of his photos with his iPhone X. Another photographer, sophomore Ugochukwu Akabike, set down his phone to use a real camera for the first time. He had only been pursuing photography seriously for around a year.

“Some of the first few sessions you could tell that I was nervous and I didn’t really know what I was doing,” Akabike said. However, as the project progressed, he gained confidence and was able to give clear direction.

Participant Jaria Martin, senior at the UO, said given the current political climate, she felt honored to have her hair celebrated in a state where at one time it was illegal for Black people to reside. “…To have my university be able to showcase this to serve as an education piece, and not just a celebration piece, I think that really encompassed everything, and I was just thankful to be a part of that.” Martin loves her hair; she is known for her confidence and ability to rock the natural look.

A photo of Jaria Martin (left) and other participants taken for the “Don’t Touch My Hair Exhibit.” (Courtesy of Ugochukwu Akabike)

Next to the photos in the exhibit, there are quotes from the community conversations. In one hallway, a small table adorned with an open journal stands opposite of the photos. Inside the journal, viewers of the exhibit are given space to reflect. One writer said that their hair is limp and lifeless, and that it often reminds them of their inadequacies. “But it is the color of warm, honeyed afternoon sunlight,” they continued. “And that I appreciate.”

Clayton said that her own story was revealed through each story shared. She recalled her time studying abroad in Paris when she took out her braids overnight. The next day in class, her classmates, some of whom she’d known throughout her entire college career, didn’t even recognize her with a new hairdo. She struggled to dissect what that meant.

“I felt such a disconnect between my identity, my hair and how other people saw me,” Clayton said.

A little while later she saw a beautiful Black woman with a big and bold afro walk onto the platform in the train station. Clayton instantly noticed the shameless confidence and fearlessness with which the woman carried herself.

“I looked at her, and then I saw my self in her that I had suppressed for so many years,” she said.

Similar to Clayton, Lancaster grew up in an environment where her hair was something that set her apart from her peers. She remembers being ridiculed and bullied by other children; they called her a lion because of her unruly curls. Lancaster is still working on wearing her natural hair with pride, instead of feeling like a target for judgment and insults. She curated the exhibit hoping that the exhibition would evoke a discussion leading to deeper understanding of others.

“We have to spend more time thinking about the things that make us the same,” Lancaster said.

Isaac Leve, a senior at UO, said he was encouraged by many of his friends and teachers, as well as his mother, to participate in the exhibition. He describes his hair as “a huge ‘fro” and says that he grew it out because he wanted to. And as a white male, he acknowledged that this is a luxury many students aren’t able to exercise.

Another one of the photographers, sophomore Jasmine Jackson, said she was passionate about helping create the exhibition because she recognized that it is not common for Black people to talk about their hair by choice. She enjoyed collaborating with each of the other photographers and curators, noting that each person had their own strengths and utilized them to encourage others who were experiencing doubt.

“I walk into a room and feel as though my hair openly tells the story of my developing confidence and carefree Black girl mentality,” she said.

The purpose of the exhibit was not to restrict this conversation to one cultural group, but to show that all UO students and faculty are connected, and can understand each other better by opening up about their relationships to hair, according to Clayton. Participants in the exhibition came from all different backgrounds, ethnicities and genders.

“I have grown in the way of awareness. I notice when people put work into their hair, I notice when people wear different styles of their hair,” Akabike said now that he has had time to reflect on the exhibition.

Whether curly or straight, black or brown, frizzy or flat, long or short, hair can be a flag representing identity and culture. Individual stories may be scarred and complex, or light and casual, yet they can all carry weight and significance that is deeply kneaded into one’s identity.

Clayton was tired of trying to assimilate herself into a white environment. After graduating high school, she cut her hair.

“It was kind of like a scar, like all those years of me straightening my hair was still on me,” Clayton said. “I’m done with surviving. I want to thrive.”

Don’t Touch My Hair: Expressions of Identity and Community runs in JSMA until May 13, 2018. There will be one final community conversation on May 2 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. This discussion is open to all UO students and faculty and intended for reflection and evaluation of the exhibition.

The JSMA is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Entry is $5, $3 for people 62 and up and free for members, UO students and faculty.

The post “Don’t Touch My Hair” exhibit stirs campus conversations about hair, race and identity appeared first on Emerald Media.

Do you know a woman making a positive impact in the University of Oregon community? Chances are, you probably do — and chances are, she probably doesn’t get enough recognition.

The Emerald asked the UO community to nominate outstanding women as part of Women’s History Month in March. Our newsroom chose one woman from a pool of nominees who are making a difference at UO with their integrity, courage, innovation, creativity, spirit, smarts, leadership, hard work and ambition.

Graduate student Ali Lau was nominated four separate times. But the other nominees also had their own interesting stories. Read about their individual impact on the community and find Lau’s story on the Emerald’s homepage.

Ellen Gillooly-Kress

Ellen Gillooly-Kress wears many different hats. She received her masters in cognitive linguistics from the UO, and is now continuing at UO with the intention of earning a Ph.D in theatre arts. She is heavily involved with the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation Union and is an inspiration to many.

Her impact is widespread and powerful. “Ellen is a leader,” Alisha Rogers, a theatre arts undergraduate who nominated Gillooly-Kress for the honor, said. “She is a strong woman who embraces being a woman in power and [she] helps to empower others.”

Gillooly-Kress said she desires to create a safe space within the theatre department that is less hierarchical and more horizontal. She is currently obtaining the rights to a 1928 play titled “Machinal,” and plans to portray each character using an all femme-identified cast. She doesn’t want to cast exclusive to body parts, but rather allow freedom and expression to bring the production from 1928 into 2018.  

Ellen Gillooly-Kress was nominated by a member of the University of Oregon’s community as an influential and impactful woman for Women’s History Month. (Madi Mather/Emerald)

Gillooly-Kress recognizes that theatre has been overwhelmingly binary in the past. “I think it’s time to start discussing how we can expand that,” she said. To that end, she advocates against linguistic criticism; women are too often judged by the way in which they speak, she said. Instead, the focus should be on the content they are trying to communicate. “I would hope to have any kind of linguistic discrimination eradicated,” Gillooly-Kress said. “There is a power in young women speakers. They lead. They are the vanguard of linguistic change.”

At the heart of Gillooly-Kress’s drive lies her passion for teaching and mentoring. “My goal is to be the supportive person for these people to find their self-confidence,” she said.

Though Gillooly-Kress loves and supports movements such as the Women’s March, which allows women across the country to gather and walk in solidarity with others, she said she feels that the emphasis needs to be placed on bold action.

“Maybe we should start working and maybe we should start striking to get people to realize the value of all women do in society,” she said.

Fatima Roohi Pervaiz

As the Director of the Women’s Center at UO, Fatima Roohi Pervaiz interacts daily with dozens of students. “I am mentoring and educating the feminist hive all day. That’s what I do,” she said. Pervaiz doesn’t see her position as a job, but instead, a lifestyle. With 20 student staff, the Women’s Center is a hub for acceptance and a catalyst for change.

Pervaiz was ignited at a young age by the injustice of patriarchal religion in her home. She says she knows trauma and oppression and claims that she will fight to the death in defense of her students’ happiness, health and success. “I want to make sure that others don’t experience the darkness that I’ve known,” she said.

After working with at-risk youth in Northwest Ohio, Pervaiz went on to be an educator in schools, churches and eventually at a juvenile detention center. “It was some of the most incredible fulfilling work with kids, who literally were kids,” she said. Pervaiz described them as fundamentally good and sweet, yet acknowledged that somewhere along the way, they were failed by someone in their life.

Fatima Roohi Pervaiz, from the UO Women’s Center, was nominated by a member of the University of Oregon’s community as an influential and impactful woman for Women’s History Month. (Madi Mather/Emerald)

Now, at the UO, Pervaiz is working hard to make activism accessible, rather than elitist. She exudes passion and embodies love: her students know that she is their biggest fan. “I want to make her proud,” Vanessa Linne Sanchez wrote. Pervaiz encourages her students to treat everyone with dignity and respect and to remember that everyone is a human with their own agency and autonomy.

Pervaiz operates with intentionality behind everything she does. She runs the Women’s Center firmly, with a trauma informed, student and survivor centered intersectional feminist lens.

“She can be fierce when she needs to be, but she is protective and gentle as well,”  Sanchez said.

Harley Emery

Harley Emery co-founded the No Lost Generation club at UO. “Ever since I started school here, I wanted to be a part of some kind of refugee advocacy group,” she said.

Emery won Miss Oregon in June 2017 and competed in the Miss America Pageant this past September. She initially became involved in order to receive scholarships and improve her public speaking and interview skills, but met amazing people and had incredible experiences along the way. Emery is recognized by those around her as selfless and dedicated. Former undergraduate Shivali Kadam describes her as self-motivated. “Instead of waiting for opportunities, she creates them,” said Kadam.

Harley Emery was nominated as an influential and impactful woman in the University of Oregon community. (Phillip Quinn/Emerald)

Emery approaches her activism on a personal level. “If you can help one individual, that is completely changing one person’s world,” she said. No Lost Generation engages in a Skype video call once a week with students in the Gaza Strip. Together, they discuss cultural issues and work on English proficiency. For Emery, these Skype calls have had a powerful impact and been very moving.

Emery, as well as No Lost Generation as a whole, intends to expand their work beyond UO to the Eugene community. She says many people live under oppression, and she sees it a human responsibility to help, “…Having the general mindset that it could be any of us born into that situation.”

The post Celebrating Women: Here are three women making a significant impact in the UO community appeared first on Emerald Media.

Do you know a woman making a positive impact in the University of Oregon community? Chances are, you probably do — and chances are, she probably doesn’t get enough recognition.

The Emerald asked the UO community to nominate outstanding women as part of Women’s History Month in March. Our newsroom chose one woman from a pool of nominees who are making a difference at UO with their integrity, courage, innovation, creativity, spirit, smarts, leadership, hard work and ambition.

Graduate student Ali Lau was nominated four separate times. But the other nominees also had their own interesting stories. Read about their individual impact on the community and find Lau’s story on the Emerald’s homepage.

Ellen Gillooly-Kress

Ellen Gillooly-Kress wears many different hats. She received her masters in cognitive linguistics from the UO, and is now continuing at UO with the intention of earning a Ph.D in theatre arts. She is heavily involved with the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation Union and is an inspiration to many.

Her impact is widespread and powerful. “Ellen is a leader,” Alisha Rogers, a theatre arts undergraduate who nominated Gillooly-Kress for the honor, said. “She is a strong woman who embraces being a woman in power and [she] helps to empower others.”

Gillooly-Kress said she desires to create a safe space within the theatre department that is less hierarchical and more horizontal. She is currently obtaining the rights to a 1928 play titled “Machinal,” and plans to portray each character using an all femme-identified cast. She doesn’t want to cast exclusive to body parts, but rather allow freedom and expression to bring the production from 1928 into 2018.  

Ellen Gillooly-Kress was nominated by a member of the University of Oregon’s community as an influential and impactful woman for Women’s History Month. (Madi Mather/Emerald)

Gillooly-Kress recognizes that theatre has been overwhelmingly binary in the past. “I think it’s time to start discussing how we can expand that,” she said. To that end, she advocates against linguistic criticism; women are too often judged by the way in which they speak, she said. Instead, the focus should be on the content they are trying to communicate. “I would hope to have any kind of linguistic discrimination eradicated,” Gillooly-Kress said. “There is a power in young women speakers. They lead. They are the vanguard of linguistic change.”

At the heart of Gillooly-Kress’s drive lies her passion for teaching and mentoring. “My goal is to be the supportive person for these people to find their self-confidence,” she said.

Though Gillooly-Kress loves and supports movements such as the Women’s March, which allows women across the country to gather and walk in solidarity with others, she said she feels that the emphasis needs to be placed on bold action.

“Maybe we should start working and maybe we should start striking to get people to realize the value of all women do in society,” she said.

Fatima Roohi Pervaiz

As the Director of the Women’s Center at UO, Fatima Roohi Pervaiz interacts daily with dozens of students. “I am mentoring and educating the feminist hive all day. That’s what I do,” she said. Pervaiz doesn’t see her position as a job, but instead, a lifestyle. With 20 student staff, the Women’s Center is a hub for acceptance and a catalyst for change.

Pervaiz was ignited at a young age by the injustice of patriarchal religion in her home. She says she knows trauma and oppression and claims that she will fight to the death in defense of her students’ happiness, health and success. “I want to make sure that others don’t experience the darkness that I’ve known,” she said.

After working with at-risk youth in Northwest Ohio, Pervaiz went on to be an educator in schools, churches and eventually at a juvenile detention center. “It was some of the most incredible fulfilling work with kids, who literally were kids,” she said. Pervaiz described them as fundamentally good and sweet, yet acknowledged that somewhere along the way, they were failed by someone in their life.

Fatima Roohi Pervaiz, from the UO Women’s Center, was nominated by a member of the University of Oregon’s community as an influential and impactful woman for Women’s History Month. (Madi Mather/Emerald)

Now, at the UO, Pervaiz is working hard to make activism accessible, rather than elitist. She exudes passion and embodies love: her students know that she is their biggest fan. “I want to make her proud,” Vanessa Linne Sanchez wrote. Pervaiz encourages her students to treat everyone with dignity and respect and to remember that everyone is a human with their own agency and autonomy.

Pervaiz operates with intentionality behind everything she does. She runs the Women’s Center firmly, with a trauma informed, student and survivor centered intersectional feminist lens.

“She can be fierce when she needs to be, but she is protective and gentle as well,”  Sanchez said.

Harley Emery

Harley Emery co-founded the No Lost Generation club at UO. “Ever since I started school here, I wanted to be a part of some kind of refugee advocacy group,” she said.

Emery won Miss Oregon in June 2017 and competed in the Miss America Pageant this past September. She initially became involved in order to receive scholarships and improve her public speaking and interview skills, but met amazing people and had incredible experiences along the way. Emery is recognized by those around her as selfless and dedicated. Former undergraduate Shivali Kadam describes her as self-motivated. “Instead of waiting for opportunities, she creates them,” said Kadam.

Harley Emery was nominated as an influential and impactful woman in the University of Oregon community. (Phillip Quinn/Emerald)

Emery approaches her activism on a personal level. “If you can help one individual, that is completely changing one person’s world,” she said. No Lost Generation engages in a Skype video call once a week with students in the Gaza Strip. Together, they discuss cultural issues and work on English proficiency. For Emery, these Skype calls have had a powerful impact and been very moving.

Emery, as well as No Lost Generation as a whole, intends to expand their work beyond UO to the Eugene community. She says many people live under oppression, and she sees it a human responsibility to help, “…Having the general mindset that it could be any of us born into that situation.”

The post Celebrating Women: Here are three women making a significant impact in the UO community appeared first on Emerald Media.

Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 90th annual Oscars on Sunday night, March 4. In his opening monologue, he offered guests a jet ski as a reward for the shortest speech, acknowledged the #metoo and #timesup movements and won over the audience with witty remarks about Harvey Weinstein. In case you missed the glamorous evening, the Emerald has you covered with the highlights of the event.

Best dressed:

Allison Janney wearing Reem Acra

.@AllisonBJanney is ravishing in red at the #Oscars. Do you think she’ll win supporting actress tonight? https://t.co/2xFYHDkscT pic.twitter.com/KTI2VxdaC8

— Variety (@Variety) March 4, 2018

Greta Gerwig wearing Rodarte

#LadyBird director and the fifth ever female directing nominee #GretaGerwig keeps it classy at the #Oscars https://t.co/LycQ7Gvt5c pic.twitter.com/P3VIJoqHNc

— Variety (@Variety) March 5, 2018

Janet Mock wearing Christian Siriano

.@janetmock arrives at the #Oscars.. See every look from the evening: https://t.co/CC7u3XzdXK pic.twitter.com/MOK0ln9Thf

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) March 5, 2018

Emma Stone wearing Louis Vuitton 

Emma Stone stands out on the #Oscars red carpet https://t.co/2xFYHDkscT pic.twitter.com/c34IaK4wBw

— Variety (@Variety) March 5, 2018

Best moments:

Watch Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph’s very funny #Oscars intro. pic.twitter.com/8VlvxK5l7N

— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) March 5, 2018

Sometimes, you just gotta double-check. #oscars @RealGDT pic.twitter.com/yxf2AJP8PV

— IGN (@IGN) March 5, 2018

Best tweets:

.@janetmock arrives at the #Oscars.. See every look from the evening: https://t.co/CC7u3XzdXK pic.twitter.com/MOK0ln9Thf

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) March 5, 2018

I just won an Oscar. WTF?!?

— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) March 5, 2018

#Oscars2018 if this CALL ME BY YOUR NAME thing catches on, it’s gonna put the nametag industry out of business.

— Paula Poundstone (@paulapoundstone) March 5, 2018

Woke up with a cold but I’m still cute tho

— Zendaya (@Zendaya) March 4, 2018

This pic makes the Oscars feel worth it. pic.twitter.com/k2euJfoYuk

— Emily Nussbaum (@emilynussbaum) March 7, 2018

If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. – African Proverb #Oscars 2018. pic.twitter.com/DJS3mJOulR

— Lupita Nyong’o (@Lupita_Nyongo) March 6, 2018

The post Oscars round-up: The 90th annual Academy Awards’s best moments, tweets and style appeared first on Emerald Media.