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UOSW declares impasse following failed contract negotiations

Following 10 months of bargaining, the University of Oregon Student Workers union, has declared an impasse, meaning they have reached a point in negotiation where they are unable to make further progress with UO administration, UOSW announced in a statement

“The union and university administration are yet to agree on issues including wages, pay period and grievance and arbitration,” UOSW said. 

According to the statement, both sides now have until March 19 to submit “final offers with costing” before a 30-day cooling-off period begins. 

“We obviously don’t want to move toward a strike but our members are fed up,” Mae Bracelin, a bargaining team member and dining worker in Global Scholars Hall, said in the statement. “My coworkers are struggling to afford rent and groceries and are waiting an unreasonably long time for their paychecks.”

According to the state of Oregon’s website, during the 30-day cooling-off period, the union could go on strike after a 10-day notice — meaning UOSW could go on strike after March 19.

The statement also said both sides had the opportunity to call for an impasse on Jan. 21.

According to the statement, Izzie Marshall, a member of UO’s bargaining team and worker in the EMU said the decision to declare impasse was not made “lightly.” 

“10 months is unreasonably long to address some of student workers’ key issues. We’re ready to talk about these things but UO has outright dismissed many of our most important issues,” Marshall said. 

UO could not be reached at the time of publication.



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Equal Protection Project files discrimination complaint against UO

The University of Oregon was named in a civil rights complaint on March 4 regarding four UO scholarships that allegedly discriminate based on race, color, national origin and/or sex.

The complaint, filed by the Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, a conservative non-profit that seeks to ensure equal protection under the law, said that UO’s alleged discrimination violates Title VI, Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. 

According to the complaint, since UO is a public university, violating Title VI and Title IX directly violates the 14th Amendment. 

According to UO’s website, the university offers several scholarships to incoming and current students, and the Equal Protection Project alleged that these four scholarships are violating the laws. 

The Equal Protection Project named four UO scholarships in the complaint, including the  Robert J. Erickson Kaiser Permanente Scholarship and Maradel Gale Pacific Islands Scholarship, which both allegedly violate Title VI and the Miller Family Graduate Award in Technology & Science and Andrea Gellatly Memorial Scholarship, which both allegedly violate Title IX. 

According to UO’s website, the Robert J. Erickson Kaiser Permanente Scholarship is intended to “encourage the higher education of students of color who are underrepresented in the college system.” 

The complaint alleges that the “discriminatory factor” of this scholarship is that it states that “special consideration will be given to students who are Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latinx or Native American.”

The Maradel Gale Pacific Islands Scholarship “supports domestic or international students admitted to the University of Oregon, from the Pacific Island Nations (non-Hawaiian); with special preference given to those with proficiency in an Indigenous language.” 

According to the complaint, the “discriminatory factor” of this scholarship is that an applicant must be a Pacific Islander student. 

The Miller Family Graduate Award in Technology & Science is intended for graduate students who are pursuing research in technology or natural science, and there is a preference for female students. 

The complaint alleges that the scholarship is discriminatory because it states it has a preference for female students. 

The Andrea Gellatly Memorial Scholarship “is awarded to a woman beginning her final year in Clark Honors College who has demonstrated academic excellence, breadth of interest and social concern.” 

According to the complaint, the scholarship is discriminatory because it states “woman beginning her final year.” 

In an email statement to the Daily Emerald, William A. Jacobson, founder of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, calls on the senior administration of UO to make sure “nondiscrimination standards are upheld throughout the university.”

“Where were the administrators and staff whose jobs supposedly are devoted to preventing discrimination? Why was there no intervention to uphold the legally required equal access to education,” Jacobson wrote. 

On Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released a new guidance, clarifying the definition of racial discrimination. 

The new guidance established that any “discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin is, has been and will continue to be illegal,” which includes diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Because of this, the complaint cited the new guidance as a reason why UO is allegedly violating the rights of individuals. 

The Equal Protection Project concluded its complaint by asking the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights to open a formal investigation, impose “remedial relief” to those excluded from UO’s scholarships and ensure that all ongoing and future scholarships and programming “comports” with the U.S. Constitution and federal civil rights laws. 

“Creating educational opportunities based on race, color, national origin or sex is offensive and violates Titles VI and IX, respectively, of the Civil Rights Act, as well as Oregon law,” Jacobson wrote. “Such race and sex-based scholarships also violate UO’s own non-discrimination policies. We are asking UO to live up to the law and its own rules, and remove the discriminatory eligibility barriers it has erected.”

In 2025, the Equal Protection Project filed eight complaints against universities across the U.S., alleging each school has violated Title VI and IX for their racial-based scholarships or programs. 

According to UO Spokesperson and Director of Issues Management Angela Seydel, the university has not received “official notification” of a complaint being filed. 

“(UO) will respond to the Office of Civil Rights should they open a review,” Seydel said.

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UA declares impasse following failed contract negotiations over salary

Following 12 months of negotiations, United Academics of the University of Oregon has declared an impasse, meaning they have reached a point in negotiation where they are unable to make further progress, with the “Scholz/Moffitt administration,” UA announced in a statement

“While nearly all non-economic issues have been resolved, salary negotiations have stalled, with the administration offering little movement since its initial proposal,” UA said. 

According to the statement, both sides now have seven days to submit final contract offers before a 30-day cooling-off period begins.

“United Academics remains committed to advocating for a fair contract and will explore further action if necessary,” UA said. 

According to UO Spokesperson Eric Howald, the cooling-off period will provide an opportunity for a “fresh starting place for the continued negotiations.” 

The statement also said that over half of the membership has pledged support for a potential strike, resulting in a pending vote.

According to UA’s website, UA met with the administration on Feb. 13 and again on Tuesday to discuss a few ideas for a contract. 

“We (UA) offered some ideas for a contract that we believe our members would support while still reducing the overall impact on the University’s finances,” UA said. “While we hoped to have a productive conversation, in the end the administration was not prepared to make an offer remotely close to what faculty need or could possibly agree to.”

Howald described the impasse as a “normal stage of negotiations.” 

“We are fully committed to continuing our negotiations with a goal of coming to a good resolution for both sides,”  Howald said.

 

UPDATE: 

This version has been updated to include comment from the university. 



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University of Oregon delays classes until noon on Thursday due to winter weather conditions

Update 12:30 p.m.

A large group of  students, around 150 in total, were seen at the Recreation Center Turf and Grass Sports Fields, building snowmen, having snowball fights, sledding and enjoying a morning without classes.

Freshmen Izzy Winston, Ava Bousquet and Lizbeth Bonsu said they arrived at the fields early to start work on an igloo.

“I’m having a great time with my friends,” Bonsu said. “We’ve made snowmen and now we’re making this igloo, just a great time.”

For both Winston and Bousquet, snow days are a rarity, with Winston remarking that it was her first big snow. 

“I’m overjoyed as a Texan, we really don’t get snow like this. I’m just trying to take advantage of it all,” Bousquet said.

For the trio, plans for the rest of the day include finishing the igloo and refueling after a long morning of being in the snow.

“We’re going to finish (the igloo) then we’re going to have a huge dinner. (We) didn’t have breakfast. … We just started screaming and running down the halls to get outside, so we had no breakfast, no lunch, so we’re going to get a bunch of food at Duck’s House,” Winston said.

For freshman David Avilez, today marks his first time experiencing snow. Having gone outside multiple times already, Avilez said he “loves” it.

“I love it so far. Classes are canceled, it’s a great day,” Avilez said. 

Despite a delayed flight home due to the weather, freshman Neil Sadarargani said he’s happy to be at the fields enjoying the day with his friends. 

“Everyone’s just out messing around, having fun, being kids,” Sadarargani said.

Freshmen Izzy Winston, Ava Bousquet and Lizbeth Bonsu are building an igloo. (Corey Hoffman)

The University of Oregon will be delayed until noon, due to winter weather conditions, according to an UO Alert Eugene sent via email. 

“Campus community members should use their best judgement in assessing the risk of coming to campus,” the email said. “Walkways may not be clear. Public transportation may be delayed.” 

Early this morning, around 8 a.m., the university said that “classes, services and events (were) delayed until 10 a.m.” 

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.

Corey Hoffman contributed to this reporting.

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UO community reacts to Israel-Hamas deal for potential ceasefire

Following the 15-month long Israel-Hamas war, Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal to pause the conflict. The agreement, laid out in three phases, calls for hostage and prisoner exchanges in the first phase. 

The first phase, if followed, will lead to a stop of the fighting in Gaza for 42 days according to the Associated Press.

Though the agreement does not call for a complete end to the fighting, a Wall Street Journal report said that the two parties are expected to begin negotiations to end the war in the second and third phases of the agreement, 16 days into the pause of fighting.

For now, Israeli troops are to move to the edges of the Gaza Strip and food, medicine and other forms of aid will be distributed to Palestinians.

Salem Younes, an organizer for the University of Oregon Students for Justice in Palestine said  the pause is a “good start.” 

“It’s a good start to (the) liberation of our people, but there’s a bunch of nuance,” Younes said. “This deal could not (be) implemented properly due to someone or the other, or aggression could start back up again.” 

UO student Michael Gonzalez said that he’s “glad” both parties have agreed to pause the conflict. 

“Essentially war between the two has gone on long enough,” Gonzalez said. “I’m glad there is at least some attempts, some talks on how to move on from here and release some hostages.” 

Gonzalez also said that he thinks many people will be “happy” with the pause. 

“I remember last year all of the encampments, the marches, the protests, everyone was definitely upset about the stuff that’s happening in Gaza,” Gonzalez said.  

Similarly, UO student ​​Devlin Christansen said that “stopping the conflict at any point is good.” 

“It’s (the conflict) just pretty negative all around.” 

Christansen also said that he thinks the pause will “alleviate a little bit of stress” on campus. 

“Hopefully this is the end of the war,” Christansen said.

 

<p>A person holds an Israeli flag toward the protesters outside of the EMU on April 18, 2024. The UO Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace demonstration was held in protest of an event organized by the student group Ducks 4 Israel—"60 Days of Uncertainty," a presentation and Q&A by former IDF soldier, Adiel Cohen. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)</p>
A person holds an Israeli flag toward the protesters outside of the EMU on April 18, 2024. (Alexander Hernandez)

In a social media post, UO Jewish Voice for Peace released a statement in response to the pause. 

“We hold tightly to the hope of a halt to the Israeli military’s bombardments, an end to the starvation of Palestinians by the Israeli government, a beginning of rebuilding in Gaza, and the return of hostages held in Israel and in Gaza to their families,” JVP said in the statement. 

The statement also said in the coming days it will be “critical for the Palestine solidarity movement.” 

“The coming days and weeks during this fragile ceasefire will be critical for the Palestine solidarity movement to turn this temporary agreement into a full halt of the genocide, including the unrestricted flow of humanitarian aid and an end to the Israeli military occupation and siege of Gaza,” the statement said. 

The statement ended by stating “together, we must ensure this agreement becomes a step on the path toward Palestinian liberation.”

In a message to the Daily Emerald, Rachel Lennard, vice president for Ducks 4 Israel said that Ducks 4 Israel hopes that students “continue to feel safe” amidst the pause. 

“Ducks 4 Israel is a space for open dialogue and we welcome all students,” Lennard said. “Ducks 4 Israel also hopes that students continue to feel safe on campus and urge students to reach out to us if they ever feel unsafe.”

Lennard also said the pause is a “step in the right direction.” 

“This is still the first stage of ceasefire discussions and we are hoping for the return of the 98 hostages that remain in Gaza,” Lennard said. “This is a step in the right direction, but there are still discussions that need to be held and the rest of the hostages need to be released.” 

Lennard said that the university has not reached out to Ducks 4 Israel.

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Former Ducks football player arrested for alleged assault with deadly weapon

On Jan. 8, former University of Oregon Ducks football player Ryan Tristan Chance Taylor, also known as Ryan Pellum, was arrested and charged with being a “fugitive from justice,” after he was accused of assaulting a victim in California, according to court documents

According to the documents, Taylor was found at his residence in Eugene’s neighboring city, Springfield, where he was arrested and placed in custody weeks after a warrant was issued for his arrest in Los Angeles County, California.  

On Dec. 25, 2024, Taylor allegedly assaulted someone with a firearm, which left the victim with a laceration to the head in Long Beach, California.

“Taylor was armed with a 9mm pistol, which he used to pistol whip the victim before firing two rounds from his gun in an unknown direction,” court records noted.  

According to the same records, a nationwide “extraditable warrant” was then issued for Taylor’s accused criminal charges. An extraditable warrant allows law enforcement to arrest someone in another state and bring them back to the state that issued the warrant.

Taylor is currently not located in the Lane County Jail after his $17,500 bail was posted on Jan. 9, and is due back in court on Jan. 23 at the Lane County Circuit Court.

Taylor entered the NCAA transfer portal on Jan. 6, two days before his arrest.

According to UO spokesperson Angela Seydel, UO does not have a comment regarding Taylor and confirmed that Taylor is no longer a member of the Ducks football team or a UO student.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Taylor was charged with assault with a deadly firearm. This is not the case. Taylor was charged for assault with a deadly weapon.

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UO FSL leader Leonard Serrato placed on administrative leave following anti-Trump comments

According to Director of Issues Management and University of Oregon Spokesperson Angela Seydel, the university found Serrato’s statements in his Instagram video “abhorrent and not in alignment with our values or mission.” 

Seydel also said that Serrato has been placed on “administrative leave” and an investigation has been opened. 

Administrative leave means that Serrato is taking paid time off, pending a university investigation. 

In the post, Serrato said to followers, which included some UO students, to “go f— yourself if you voted for Donald Trump.” 

Serrato concluded his story, saying “I hope you go jump off of a f—ing bridge,” with a peace sign.

Seydel said that the university has opened an investigation into the matter and are reviewing it under “university policies and the individual’s role as a public employee.” 

According to Seydel, while the university is investigating, they will be providing “support for concerned students and employees, including resources for mental and emotional health.” 

Seydel said the university can confirm that the social media post has been taken down after the university “counseled” with “the individual.” 

Earlier today, the son of president-elect Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., responded to Serrato’s post on social media platform X.  

Trump Jr. wrote, “Feel sort of ironic that the guy that runs fraternity and sorority life at University of Oregon probably could have never gotten into a fraternity. It’s disgusting, but not surprising, that an employee at a state University would speak this way about MORE THAN HALF of the country.” 

UO Alumni Chip Messenger commented on Donald Trump Jr.’s post in response to Serrato’s comments, threatening to pull his funds out of the university. 

“I’m pulling a $100k gift if this guy is still affiliated with my university by month end,” Messenger said in response to Trump Jr.’s post. 

In an interview with the Daily Emerald, Messenger said Serrato’s comments were “not acceptable.” 

“Regardless of who people vote for, this type of language is not acceptable, especially [on] the public platform,” Messenger said. “You’re held [to] a high standard if you were employed by a public university or a public company, and one person isn’t more important than an institution.” 

Messenger also said that bringing this “unwanted attention” to the university is “not acceptable.” 

“Not to mention, but people’s mental well-being is especially challenged since the pandemic, and suggesting people [to] harm themselves, is not okay.” 

Messenger confirmed that he is serious about pulling his $100,000 funding from the university if Serrato is not dismissed by the end of the month. 

“Yeah, my next round of funding will not go out by the beginning of November if people like this are saying these sorts of things,” Messenger said. “You can’t just be saying stuff like this and work for a public university and expect people who write checks to just take it.”

 

 

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Donald Trump Jr. responds to UO FSL leader Leonard Serrato’s anti-Trump comments

Following the Daily Emerald’s article of University of Oregon Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority of Life Leonard Serrato telling followers, some being UO students, to “jump off of a f—ing bridge,” president-elect Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., responded in X post. 

In the X post, Trump Jr. wrote, “Feel sort of ironic that the guy that runs fraternity and sorority life at University of Oregon probably could have never gotten into a fraternity. It’s disgusting, but not surprising, that an employee at a state University would speak this way about MORE THAN HALF of the country.” 

Trump Jr. reposted the Daily Emerald video, which had been reformatted onto the TikTok account, “Libs of TikTok.”

UO spokesperson, Eric Howald, did not comment at this time.

This is a developing story. 

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UO FSL leader Leonard Serrato tells Trump voters on Instagram, “jump off of a f—ing bridge”

Following the 2024 presidential election, University of Oregon Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Leonard Serrato took his thoughts to his public social media page about newly re-elected President Donald Trump. 

In an Instagram story, Serrato said to followers, which included some UO students, to “go f— yourself if you voted for Donald Trump.” 

Serrato also described Trump voters as “stupid” and that he doesn’t “care” if any life-long friends disagreed with him.

“If you are sad about your groceries being expensive, get a better f—ing paying job. Do better in life,” Serrato said. “Get a f—ing education. Do something, cause you’re f—ing stupid.” 

Serrato concluded his story, saying “I hope you go jump off of a f—ing bridge,” with a peace sign.

Serrato later posted an Instagram Reel where he was discussing the results of the presidential election. He addressed his students, including of “color” and “LGBTQIA” and said to “take care of yourself and know that you have my support.” 

Following the post, Serrato made his Instagram account private. 

Eric Howald, a UO spokesperson, said that the “university is currently collecting more information about the situation.” 

“At this time, it appears that the individual made the post on their own time, which is well within their rights,” Howald said. 

Serrato declined to comment on this story.

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Eleven UO students issued conduct charges relating to pro-Palestine demonstrations

While the University of Oregon was on summer break, 11 students were issued several student conduct code charges, months after the pro-Palestine encampment.

After nearly a month of demonstrations, the UO Coalition for Palestine encampment came to an end in late May after an agreement was reached between the coalition and UO administration.  

Students were not charged based on their involvement with the encampment, but on activities that “violated the student conduct code,” according to Eric Howald, UO spokesperson.

Student conduct charges were made against 11 students based on activities that violated the student conduct code,” Howald said. “These behaviors include disruptive behavior, damage and/or destruction, unauthorized access or use and violation of university policy.” 

A commitment in the agreement said that individual students who did violate the campus policies of overnight camping, utilizing space without reservations and improper use of amplified sound would be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards.

The agreement also said that ending the encampment would be used as “favorable mitigating factors” in the resolution of these violations.

In a social media post, the coalition released a statement in response to the charges, saying that three students that were charged were “directly involved in implementing” the agreement. 

According to a representative of the coalition who wished to not disclose their name due to the ongoing charges, the charges highlighted events that occurred “during and after the encampment.” 

“There were a few events that were cited during the encampment—the ‘catastrophe’ of the Nakba on May 15 and the ‘100 Hours in Chains’ rally on May 20,” they said. “There were also two events that happened after the encampment — one of which was the demonstration at [UO President John] Karl Scholz’s investiture and the other [was] a rally at the Prefontaine [Classic] track event.” 

Howald said the charges “were related to incidents that occurred before and after the negotiated agreement was signed.”

He said that five students were charged with “chalking.” Scott Lambert, a member of the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, said that among the five charged was a graduate student. 

With the university’s decision to issue student conduct code charges, the coalition said in the social media post that the decision “violates” the agreement. 

According to the representative, the coalition had an understanding that the agreement would bring “amnesty” to any student who participated in encampment activities. 

“The understanding that came to agreement was that students would not face any consequences for their participation in encampment activities, which obviously includes marches, rallies, protests, etc.,” the representative said.

Gerard Sandoval, the former president of UO Senate who helped implement the agreement, said he was also under the impression that students would not face consequences for violating the student conduct code.

“I would say that while we negotiated [the agreement], there was an informal understanding that there weren’t going to be any student misconduct repercussions based on the encampment because of this [agreement],” Sandoval said. 

The agreement said students would not “face adverse action” for “protected speech activities.” 

“No […] faculty, staff, graduate students or alumni undergraduate students – found to have been present at the encampment or involved with related encampment activity will face adverse action as a result of their participation in protected speech activities,” the agreement said. 

Both Howald and Sandoval said the agreement was not considered an “amnesty agreement,” which was unknown to the coalition.

“The university only agreed that the removal of the camp would be taken into consideration when looking at some student conduct violations [overnight camping, utilizing space without a reservation, improper use of amplified sound],” Howald said.

Lambert called the agreement “incredibly weak.” 

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t contain anything binding, and the university is milking that to the greatest possible extent that it can to target protesters who were involved in the encampment,” Lambert said.  

The coalition representative said the university chose “to single out these 11 students” because they were present at Scholz’s investiture, where pro-Palestine protesters interrupted the ceremony and vandalized a statue of the Duck

“The vast majority of students who received notices were present at the investiture of Scholz, which was a relatively smaller event relative to most of the protests that happened but [it was] much more personal to the president,” they said.

Presence O’Neal, president of GTFF, said that students were “target[ed]” based on sharing their names at the UO Board of Trustees meeting

“The university has actually been quite clear that the reason these 11 students were given code of conduct violations is because they shared their names at a public Board of Trustees meeting,” O’Neal said. “It’s very concerning…for the administration to then use that space to surveil students, collecting their information to use later on when they decide that they want to target students based on their speech acts, like chalking.” 

According to Howald, students who chose to attend the board meeting shared their names in a public setting. 

Student identification and supporting documentation is needed to initiate student conduct proceedings,” Howald said. “The students who chose to attend the Board of Trustees meeting shared their names in a public forum.”

Carver Goldstein, a member of GTFF, said the charges are a case of the university violating the freedom of speech and right to assembly.

“They [university] are targeting political speech because they don’t agree with the messaging,” Goldstein said. “I see chalk on campus all the time, but when it’s speech that the university disagrees with, then they target their students.”

Dianne Tanjuaquio, director of student conduct and community standards, said that none of the students were charged for “expressing their right to free speech,” but based on a violation of the student code.

“Expressing a right to free speech doesn’t necessarily mean that you utilize spaces that the university requires that you reserve,” Tranjuaquio said. “We [UO] would never say that a student cannot express their right to free speech, but we have to uphold university policies related to behavior, and we have to address it when that behavior potentially violates the code.” 

In the case of the five students charged with chalking, Howald confirmed that “follow-up letters” were sent indicating that “suspension/expulsion/negative transcript notation would not be considered” in the resolution process.

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