Brigadier General Tammy Smith spoke at today’s ROTC commissioning at the University of Oregon, a ceremony where cadets graduate and are sworn in as members of the U.S. military. Smith was the first openly gay general in the military following the repeal of “Don’t ask don’t tell.” A UO grad herself from the class of 1986, Smith relayed her experiences to a crowd in a standing-room-only event.

She sat down with The Emerald yesterday and spoke about her experiences as an openly gay military member and her aspirations for the class of 2013. 

Being from Oregon, how has it affected your experience with the Army?

I grew up in Oakland, Oregon, then I came the UO. I just think there’s something about being an Oregonian that we’re kind of a “live and let live” type of people, and I really think what that means is that you come into the world being civic-minded because we’re collaborative. We get along with our neighbors. We have a real sense of community.

When I ended up in the Army, carrying what I consider to be my Oregonian values and the things I’ve learned from the UO, really contributed to my just being able to get along so well with people. And that’s a lot about what leadership is: finding a way to get along with the group of people you’re working with and finding a way to motivate them to come together and collaborate to achieve whatever that goal might be.

So, would you say that community feeling is a main reason UO has so many generals from the UO? 

We probably can’t prove that scientifically (laughs). But I would have to say that is a contributing factor. When you think about the military, we think of ourselves as a values-based organization, so we this set of foundational values that we aspire to live our life by every day and those values align real well with the sense of community that we are talking about here.

You must be excited to talk at the commissioning.

From my start in the military in 1986, to come around and participate in the rehearsal for the ROTC commissioning and just to see them young, fit, enthusiastic about what they’re about to do — it really brought me full circle. It also made me appreciate what a good solid foundation I had before I started my career in the Army. It was just a nice feeling to come back.

What unique problems and opportunities do these grads have that you might have not had?

It’s a different world from 1986. For one thing, in 1986 we weren’t at war. Now each one of these officers will be going into units that may or not be going onto the deployment list for our continuing engagement in Afghanistan. There is still potential that they may be deployed to a combat zone. We hadn’t even ended the Cold War when I got my commissioning.

They will also be entering the Army in a time when we are tightening our belts fiscally. They will be going through sequestration and the reduction of the military budget. It’s both good and bad. The good thing is they are entering at a time where they are starting to make these changes in our budget. These graduates won’t know any different. We’ve taught them how to be adaptive and flexible. We are sending them in with the skills to make that adjustment as the army itself works out how its going to move forward fiscally.

Could you talk about your experience before the repeal of  “Don’t ask don’t tell,” being the first openly gay brigadier general?

It was like lifting a weight off my shoulders, because under “don’t ask don’t tell” it wasn’t a matter of if someone found that you were gay you might be fired or you might have a hard time at work the law mandated that you must be fired. And so it put a lot of stress on you in your life.

I was married in March 2012 after the repeal, but Tracy and I have been together since 2004. It was a great deal of stress on her as a member of the family because she, too, had to be closeted and live in silence and not call attention to what our relationship was.

It’s really a great sense of relief, not only for myself but for any soldier that may be serving or maybe thinking about serving and maybe didn’t want to hide part of themselves. I’m just so pleased that there will be future generations that have the opportunities to serve if they choose to.

What do you hope cadets will take from your experience?

What I hope is that if people view me as an example, that they view me as solid military leader. I would like to be thought of as a military officer who happens to be gay, not as a gay person who happens to be I the military.

I would like people to look at me as an example by how I live my life, so I want to lead my soldiers. I want to do all the right things for the Army and I want to have a good solid relationship with whoever that is. That is the example I hope I am setting for the people that know my story.

The University of Oregon Police Department’s record and dispatch and the University’s Office of Parking and Transportation have separated and permanently moved out of Straub Hall.

The ongoing need for classroom space and in the University and the University’s ongoing attempt to move non-academic services out of the central campus area lead to decision of relocating the UOPD and the DPT. Starting this summer Straub Hall is undergoing renovations, also created the need for all the operations to in the building to be temporally moved out.

The UOPD’s daily crime log has now joined the rest of the UOPD’s operations at the east station on East 15th Ave. The UOPD’s record and dispatch daily crime log lists crimes that have been reported on campus properties and is provided for the public and is updated as crimes are reported. The crime log is located in the entry vestibule of the east station.

The University’s office of Parking and Transportation moved into a their new facility at the former Department of Motor Vehicles building on the corner of Franklin Blvd and Walnut street on June 17.

“We’re really excited about the move because we have a brand new facility and with that come better customer service,” Paula Ellison, Office Manager for the Department of Parking and Transportation said. “More places for people to park when they’re coming to buy parking permits or key access, and so with any new facility it’s going to improve our customer service as well as our operations.”

Along with the relocations, the UOPD and the office of Parking and Transportation have separated and will no longer be working under the same department.

“There’s still some services or personnel and equipment that parking and transportation uses that is part of UOPD, but the two aren’t really under one roof, physically or in terms of our operational focus,” Kelly McIver said.

Defending outdoor champion Omar Craddock of Florida got the crowd’s attention with his massive wind-aided jump of 55-1.5(16.92m) on his first attempt of the competition earning him a first place position coming into finals.

“It was amazing, when I’d seen it come up on the board, the first thing that went through my mind was ‘Ah it’s not the A standard’ and the second thing was ‘Ok this was my indoor personal record,’” Craddock said. “I jumped my indoor personal record, first jump. I just knew I had more in the tank. I had more speed in me and I could just execute a lot better, and obviously through my progression it showed.”

When Craddock starts off with a good mark, he knows he’s going to go even farther that day, and he was right. All of Craddock’s legal jumps would have not only won the competition but every mark would beat the next best jumper by at least six inches. Not letting other competitor’s marks or his commanding lead affect him, Craddock continued to improve. Craddock matched his first massive jump exactly on his fifth attempt and then went farther jumping 55-6.25(16.92m) on his last attempt.

“In my mind, ‘You’re in last place, the leader’s 55-whatever, go get it.’ And I pretty much did that,” Craddock said.

With competitors nearly a foot or more behind his mark, Craddock said the support from the infamous Historic Hayward Field spectators motivated him to improve his mark.

“Every time I started a clap, they were right there clapping, showing love,” Craddock said.”I love coming here, no matter what team you are on, Oregon fans are going to show love period.”

Ranked 23 prior to competition with a season best of 50-9.84(15.49m), sophomore Manuel Ziegler of Memphis also benefitted from the crowd, jumping a wind-aided personal best 54-1(16.48m), earning him second place and beating New Mexico University senior Floyd Ross’s wind-aided 52-11(16.13m) third place.

National collegiate record holder Brigetta Barrett of Arizona adds one more NCAA high jump championship to her trophy case.

Barrett out jumped the remaining three jumpers — Courtney Anderson of University of Southern Florida, Maya Pressley of Auburn and Leontia Kallenou of Georgia — clearing 6-2.25(1.89m) on her first attempt to secure her third consecutive title.

Barrett continued to raise the bar and cleared the following height of 6-4.75(1.95m) on her third and final attempt.

With her own national collegiate record — 6-6.34 (1.99m) — on her mind, Barrett decided to attempt 6-6.75 (2m) and break the record at her final track meet as a collegiate athlete.

The Historic Hayward Field crowd encouraged Barrett by participating in a slow clap on each of Barrett’s attempts to break her own collegiate national record. Just as each of the perfectly-synched slow claps leading up to her jumps ended, a disappointing sigh would follow.

“Today I was pretty disappointed because I did want to jump higher but its like ‘Wow it’s finally over,’” Barrett said. “So I feel very fulfilled, I mean I can’t take anything back but I don’t want to take anything back.”

Coming into the meet, Barrett was nervous. It wasn’t because this NCAA championships would be her last, it was because Barrett was going to sing the national anthem on the third day of the meet.

“I’m not going to lie, I definitely was more nervous to sing,” Barrett said. “It was very cool to go out there and to sing the national anthem at my last national championship as a collegiate athlete, so I was really honored to be able to do that because I’ve been wanting to do that since I was a freshman.”

Barrett is pursuing a singing career while she continues to pursue her goal of being considered as the best women’s high jumper the world has ever seen. Barrett plans on competing at the world championship track and field meet in Moscow, Russia, in August.

“I definitely feel like I put my mark on the collegiate world of high jump and am very, very happy and grateful to God for the thing I was able to do and for the love that I’ve received over my entire career,” Barrett said. “I’m grateful for a lot of things and couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

Shanieka Thomas of San Diego State hop, skipped and jumped 46 feet and 4.75 inches (14.14m) — only an inch off her personal best — to win her first NCAA championship in the triple jump at Historic Hayward Field after placing second the previous year.

Coming into the finals, Andrea Geubelle of Kansas was only an inch behind her, but Thomas immediately increased the gap to more than a foot and a half.

“I’m never intimidated, I just know what I need to do and I just try to stick to the plan,” Thomas said.

The San Diego State junior not only had the longest jump of the day, she also had the second, third and fourth as well. Which means four of her five legal jumps could have won it for Thomas. But it was her 46 foot leap that would be the winning mark, followed by Geubelle’s mark of 44 feet and 8.75 inches, earning her second place. Freshman LaQue Moen-Davis of Texas A&M jumped 44 feet and 8 inches to place third.

Thomas plans to continue improving and will compete at the world championship trials for her home country of Jamaica and the world university games.

After placing second to the defending national champion Erik Kynard of Kansas State for the last two NCAA Outdoor Championships, Derek Drouin of Indiana made sure it didn’t happen again.

One week before Friday’s NCAA championship competition, Drouin set the national record for his home country Canada of 7 feet and 8.91 inches (2.36m) on the same high jump made at the Prefontaine Classic coming in third behind Kynard placing second. The two have been fiercely competing against one another for both of their collegiate careers. Both jumpers made it to the 2012 Olympics last year which Kynard claimed the victory between the two receiving a silver medal while Drouin received bronze.

“It’s not a friendly rivalry so-to-speak, we are true rivals in all sense of the word,” Kynard said.

Drouin and Kynard were the only jumpers left in the competition and tied for first at the height of 7 feet and 7 inches (2.31m). Kynard cleared the height on his first attempt putting the pressure on Drouin to do the same but was unsuccessful. Drouin strategically decided to save his energy and pass on the height knowing he would have to at least make the following height of 7 feet and 8 inches(2.43m) to win.

“It’s only the second time I think I’ve ever done that, It’s the first time it’s worked,” Drouin said in regards to passing 7 feet and 8 inches after not clearing it on his first attempt. “So it definitely became a tactical competition, but I’m glad it worked out in the end.”

With both grandstands filled with track fans clapping him on, slowly increasing their pace, Drouin soared over the bar on his second attempt, which would end the two year outdoor losing streak with Kynard after the defending champion failed to clear the height.

“It’s just the name of the game, we were playing chess and he took my king,” Kynard said. “He had to make it to win it and he did.”

Already declared the NCAA champion, Drouin decided to attempt the national collegiate record of 7 feet and 10 inches (2.39m). Even with the Historic Hayward Field crowd once again behind him, Drouin was unable to get the record.

“It was a little disappointing but it was hard to be disappointed with a NCAA title,” Drouin said. “I’m definitely happy.”

For the second time in a row Virginia Tech claimed the NCAA championship in the hammer throw, only this time it was with a freshman.

Slovakian born Tomas Kruzliak of Virginia Tech won the hammer throw with a huge throw of 224-3 (69.26m) on his second attempt of the prelims. Kruzliak won the championship but said he had more.

“With each throw I felt more comfortable but I didn’t feel like I hit my best throw,” Kruzliak said.

Kruzliak isn’t the first freshman to win the NCAA championship title in the hammer throw; four years ago Marcel Lomnicky of Virginia Tech claimed the title.

“It kind of a tradition in Virginia Tech, my friend from Slovakia, he was also NCAA champion as a freshman, so I just kind of followed his foot steps,” Kruzliak said.

Lomnicky is from the same town as Kruzkliak and trained together in Slovakia.

Remy Conaster of USC was right behind Kruzliak with a personal record throw of 224-1(68.30m) placing second. Jeremy Postin of Florida placed third throwing a mark of 224-0(68.27m) only a inch behind Conaster.

TCU sophomore Lorraine Ugen won the national title in the women’s long jump with a mark that was just over a foot further than second place.

Ugen was ranked twelfth with a season best of 20 feet 9.75 inches coming into the Wednesday’s competition. Through out the year, Ugen has been working through multiple injuries from her indoor track and field season. Ugen has had to work around the injuries and would switch the foot she would jump with.

“My first two jumps were off my left foot, which was hurting, so I changed it to my right,” Ugen said. “My right is my stronger foot but I injured it during the indoor season but I just thought I’d have a better chance if I go off my right then my left.”

She was right-on. Ugen jumped a personal best of 22 feet and 2.5 inches to win the national the title.

“I’m feeling really happy right now obviously my season hadn’t gone so great because I had a lot injury problems,” Ugen said. “I wasn’t sure how things were going to go coming into the NCAA championships and I’m just really happy I was able to pull one out today and take the title.”

London born Ugen competed in the British Olympic Trials last year but missed out of the Olympics by one centimeter. After not making the Olympics last year Ugen said she was just ecstatic to hear her winning mark qualified her for the world championships this summer.

“I wasn’t sure what was going to happen because of all the injuries but I wanted to win the NCAA’s and qualify for the world championships so I’ve done both of them in one day so I’m happy,” Ugen said.

Senior Christabel Nettey of Arizona State placed second with a leap of 21 feet and 3.9 inches. Nettey placed eighth at the NCAA championship meet last year. Jen Clayton of University of Central Florida placed third with a leap of 21 feet even.