News

Junior Seau’s Death Forces Us to Look in the Mirror

-Erik Gundersen

No matter what time of the year in the sports world, it is evident in our country NFL football is king. Although exciting playoffs in both the NHL and NBA are underway, any football news takes precedent. A bombshell hit early Wednesday morning with the suspension of linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire 2012-2013 season.

Then, breaking news came from Oceanside, California: Junior Seau, one of the greatest defensive players to ever play football, died at the age of 43 in a suspected suicide.

Allegedly, for the second time in a little more than 14 months, an NFL player has taken his own life. Dave Duerson, who had a 10-year NFL career, took his own life last year. He shot himself in the chest after sending a text message to his family saying that he wanted his brain to be studied at the Boston University of School of Medicine. Seau, a far more recognizable figure for our generation, took his life in the same fashion: a gun shot to the chest.

This brought myself and others to start talking about these problems, mainly on Twitter. When will this, and other cases of players suffering long-term damage finally weigh on the conscious of the American people? Is the enjoyment many of us feel on Sunday’s in the fall really worth all of this?

Myles Brown of SLAM Magazine (@mdotbrown) had these remarks: “Lie to yourself, not me. Depression and suicide have been linked to several players with a history of concussions, including NCAA players,” Brown continued, “if you need to deny that to enjoy your Sundays, go for it. But I bet you’ll think twice about putting your kids in harm’s way.”

I doubt football’s popularity will decline, but there has to be a point where viewers start thinking about the players on the field as people.

Last year, former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, who has suffered memory loss long after his playing days, along with six other former players filed a lawsuit against the NFL last August for “negligence and intentional misconduct in its response to the headaches, dizziness and dementia that former players have reported.”  The cases have been piling up, and although NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell has unleashed his recent crusade on the New Orleans Saints, the problem is still not solved.

I love football and as a student these last four years, it has given me some of my lasting college memories. The NFL is the most competitive league in professional sports, but now I find myself reevaluating my love for it.

At what point do we reevaluate the fact that our favorite sport is one that leaves so many that play it, as shells of their former selves?

The feel good story of the day was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signing paralyzed player Eric LeGrand. Bucs coach Greg Schiano was LeGrand’s coach at Rutgers. I saw many of my Facebook friends repost the articles about the signing and comment about how great of a gesture it was.

It was truly a heartwarming gesture on the part of the organization, but I’m sure if you’d ask LeGrand, he’d give it all up just to walk again and live a normal life.

Maybe he will be able to walk again. But would you take a full athletic scholarship and a great public gesture in exchange for the certainty you’d walk again?

But that discussion has its place outside these six hundred or so words.

The Fashion String: Eugene Fashion Week 2012

-Tamara Feingold

You’re sitting in the front row and you could practically reach out and touch the models walking past. The designer is following her models for the final walk and the line features strappy outfits of deep blue velvet next to Springy floral dresses. The crowd applauds the designer and the massive black pit of media at the end of the red carpet runway snap photos.

You’re not in New York. You’re not in Milan. You’re not in Paris. You’re at Fashion Week 2012…in Eugene, Oregon.

I’ll be candid here. When I decided to attend Eugene Fashion Week, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Local styles that come to mind are tie-dye, Birkenstocks, flannel shirts, and biking messenger bags. Eugene may be a mecca of art when it comes to music, visuals, and crafts (a.k.a. things you would find at downtown’s Saturday Market), but let’s be honest- it’s no fashion metropolis.

However, this year’s Fashion Week may have changed my mind. The event took place over three days with the “Lingerie and Bathing Suit show” on Wednesday at the Oak Street Speakeasy, the “Ready to Wear and Evening Wear show” on Friday at the Broadway Commerce Building, and the “All Ages, Avant Garde and Costume Show” on Saturday, also at the Commerce Building.

I chose Friday’s show and was unexpectedly very impressed. Revivall Clothing by designer and co-producer of Eugene Fashion Week Laura Lee Laroux was especially original, with detailed and sometimes fringed leather belts topping full floral skirts with multiple layers and patterns. Paired with either heels or cowboy boots and lavish feathered hair accessories, Laroux’s designs manage to ride the often difficult line between voguish invention and wearably realistic. Laroux herself is flighty and adorable, and she even stopped to talk to me for a few minutes in between shows despite her waiting models backstage. “Each year, Eugene Fashion Week gets bigger,” she said. “We realized we were doing three hour shows last year, so we decided to start splitting it up.”

Deluxe by designer and co-producer of Eugene Fashion Week, Mitra Chester was charmingly Candyman-esque with high-waisted double button shorts, vintage red striped bow tops, and white gloves. The line, entitled “Postmodern Pinups,” was refreshingly preppy, and therefore almost anti-Eugene. The designs also stood apart from much of the “repurposed clothes” to appear thoroughly well crafted. Fortunately, it’s easy to find Chester’s designs locally as she co-owns both Deluxe and Kitsch.

Amanda Prussak also presented her new line, “Orphan No More,” and her use of color was perfect for Spring 2012. With bold combinations of cobalt blue, tangerine orange, hot pink, and sage green, Prussak’s designs are sure to bring us out of our rainy Eugene slumps.

With a wide range of innovative designers and talented performers like Mood Area 52, I almost forgot I was in Eugene. Worry not, though. Our city still has, and always will have, its beatnik roots. After all, the hipster sitting in front of me at the show was sipping green yerba maté out of a mason jar. Classic.

Mediators Beyond Borders Founder Kenneth Cloke Lectures at UO

-Sam Bouchat

Mediators Beyond Borders founder, Kenneth Cloke, visited the University of Oregon April 9 and 10 to deliver a lecture and morning workshop to educate about dispute resolution. Cloke delivered an hour and a half lecture sponsored by the UO Conflict Resolution Services entitled “Mediators Beyond Borders and the Beginning of a Conflict Resolution: A Journey into Evil, War, Injustice, and Terrorism.”

Cloke is the director for the Center for Dispute Resolution, an organization that offers conflict resolution services and training for anything from divorces to public policy. In 2007, he founded Mediators Beyond Borders. The organization works to aid in the settling of global disputes, focusing on problems such as climate change and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

During his lecture, Cloke stressed the system surrounding every conflict. “The system, the environment, the context, is not conflict-neutral,” said Cloke.  “Conflicts exist in two additional locations: one is within systems, and the second is between systems.”

Systems, as Cloke defines them, include anything that turns in a circle, such as “a two-year-old or a coffee table with expensive things on it.” Using the system method, Cloke and other mediators are able to predict conflicts and determine whether specific systems are generating chronic conflicts. According to Cloke, conflict is “just the sound made by the cracks in a system.”

“The system does not show up for the mediation—only individuals do,” Cloke said. “It appears that, even within an organization in which hundreds of thousands of people have been fired, there is a systemic problem. Nonetheless, every person who has been fired takes in personally.”

Through examples such as global warming, terrorism, and the H1N1 virus, Cloke demonstrated the importance of mediators on a global scale.

“We are bringing together people who hate each other, people who believe that the other person is evil, people who do not believe at all in our ability to do anything about the problem,” said Cloke. “Yet, out of those people, we end up resolving significant numbers of disputes.”

April 10, Cloke hosted a workshop at the UO Law School entitled “Using Conflict Resolution Techniques to Reduce Stereotyping, Bias, and Prejudice.” The workshop, sponsored by both UO Conflict Resolution Services and the Community Mediation Services of Lane County, helped train those participating in the recognition and reduction of prejudice.

Vote or Vote Gets Active for May Primaries

-Jamie Hershman

They aren’t preaching for the ASUO elections but rather for students to register as voters for elections through the state of Oregon and the nation as a whole. They are the Vote or Vote campaign.

The students volunteering for the Vote or Vote campaign happened to fill the UO campus around the same time as the ASUO elections were occurring. I thought it was just another campaign group vying for my vote in the student elections. I avoided all soliciting because I already knew who I was going to vote for in the elections, and I was fed up with the whole system.

But, when they continued to approach people during the hiatus of the ASUO elections, I realized they weren’t attempting to get people to vote for the school elections, but actually getting people to vote in the Oregon elections.

Vote or Vote volunteers have been storming the campus in order to register students to vote for the upcoming primaries in May. Their goal was to have registered 2500 student voters by Tuesday so as to have a large student voting population that make it hard for politicians to ignore.

Students are highly encouraged to vote first and foremost so they can have a say in their education. Without students being active in voting, in-state and out-of-state tuition could increase. Vote or Vote wants students to understand the voting process and the benefits we can receive through voting. They encourage out-of-state students to vote (the state of Oregon allows non-residents to vote as long as registered) because their tuition is effected just the same, if not more than in-state students, and they live in Oregon for more than half the year.

Their tactics to obtain more registered voters have ranged from clip-boarding passersby making announcements in classes, and door-to-door soliciting. While I feel their campaign is beneficial and positive, I do believe some of their tactics for gaining voters are over-the-top. Going door-to-door feels a like an invasion of privacy, and I, personally, do not appreciate soliciting. They even go as far as to do “dorm storms” and knock on the dorms of students living in the dorms.

While they only have been focusing on registering students, they are soon going to begin informing about the May primaries and explain the different measures that can be voted on. Also, they will be more active come fall with the November elections approaching.

Overall, the Vote or Vote campaign sends a positive message about voting to our generation. Young people do not tend to be prominent voters in elections, but, with Vote or Vote registering more students, they can have a considerable voter turnout.

Special thanks to Daisy Quiñonez, a volunteer for the Vote or Vote campaign at the University of Oregon.

2012: A Year of Change

-Jamie Hershman

A revolution is starting. It’s one that can’t be stopped, and one that shouldn’t be stopped. A documentary has ignited a fire among thousands of people. Kony 2012, created by Jason Russell, is a heart-wrenching story about Joseph Kony’s rebel acts in Uganda and how he must be stopped immediately.

For 26 years, Joseph Kony has been creating rebel armies of children in Uganda, Africa. He abducts children and forces them to do unspeakable acts such as forcing them to kill their own parents and using young girls as sex slaves. Kony is not supported by the Ugandan government and only continues these acts to gain more power. More than 30,000 children have already been abducted in Uganda.

Jason Russell has lobbied to arrest Kony for about eight years, and he finally believes that his commitment to peace will pull through. On October 14, 2011, Russell and the Invisible Children staff received a letter from President Barack Obama stating that American troops were to be deployed to Africa to advise the Ugandan military in finding Kony and arresting him. Hope and relief had been found, but that was quickly shattered two short months later. Kony had somehow been informed of the American presence and immediately changed his war tactics. All of the Invisible Children’s efforts were shattered.

But Russell knows Kony can still be stopped. His documentary is creating a change and inspiring people across the country to get involved. This unique documentary is only available for viewing for up until December 31, 2012, emphasizing the point that Kony must be arrested this year. But, we won’t be able to see quick results unless the public takes more initiative and becomes more active in the campaign.

The idea is simple: to find Kony there needs to be American advisors with the proper technology to track him. But the U.S. government is in charge of deploying soldiers, and without American citizens backing the cause, there will be no deployment.

In order to do this, Russell has proposed a nationwide wake-up call. On the night of April 20, he has asked supporters to bombard their cities with posters and stickers to inform and raise awareness. Russell’s plan is to inspire people to seek knowledge and hopefully to seek answers. If his documentary is not inspiring enough, this will definitely prompt change.

Innocent children should not be forced into a life where they wake up every day wondering whether or not they will be abducted; whether they will be forced to kill their parents; whether they will be alive at the end of the day. Kony’s arrest is certainly not imminent, but if we are passive and don’t spread the word, children will go on living like this indefinitely.

This is the year we can make a difference. Every voice counts. One person lit the match, but we all can ignite the fire.

To learn more about the movement, visit Kony2012.com

Remembering Whitney

-Neethu Ramchandar

She’s gone. No matter your opinion or musical preference, it’s respectful to take a moment and recognize that on the eve of the 2012 Grammy’s, the famous Whitney Houston passed away. She was only 48 years old.

In her memory, radio stations across the country dug out their favorite Houston albums and blared her lyrics for all to hear. At the Grammy’s Jennifer Hudson will also pay tribute to the artist.  The memories nearly overshadowed the image that she had become by the time of her death. Her voice had been torn by her drug use and her public appearances were often scattered with erratic behavior.

At her peak, Houston was a musical force to be reckoned with. She was a best selling artist across the globe and audiences swooned to her effortlessly powerful lyrics. Houston also experienced success in movies such as “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale.”

However in a 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, Houston confessed to using cocaine, marijuana, and pills. The effects of her drug use showed in her voice as her soothing tones became raspy and strained.

The cause of Whitney’s death is still unknown and officials are reporting that the investigation will take some time. Until then, the world remembers Houston with their favorite record- mine being “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

What’s New?

-Tiana Bouma

The weeks have flown by fast and the news keeps changing every day. After the Super Bowl and its occasionally entertaining halftime show and commercials, it seemed like a good time to break down the news worthy events of the past week. These are topics that caught my eye, were searched a lot on the internet, or talked about with friends.

Obama’s Courts

A second term for President Barack Obama would allow him to expand his replacement of Republican-appointed majorities with Democratic ones in the nation’s appeals courts.  For those who don’t follow judiciary news, these courts are the final stop for almost all federal court rulings that have been challenged. Obama has already managed to alter the balance on power on four of the nation’s 13 circuit courts of appeals. On top of this, the next president, whoever that may be, has a decent shot at transforming the majority of the Supreme Court. Three justices will be turning 80 before the next presidential term ends. It looks like we could see a major shift of power in the United States courts. Is that good or bad?

US Embassy in Syria

The United States has decided to close its embassy in Damacus, Syria and has already removed all remaining diplomats from the contry. Operations have been suspended in Damacus because the violence there has continued to increase. The skeletal staff departed quietly despite some staff members being denied exit visas by Syrian authorities. The latest effort by the United Nations to oust President Assad from power in Syria was proposed by Morocco and backed by the Arab League. Unfortunately, it was vetoed by Russia and China who support Assad and are reluctant to endorse another revolution that could include foreign intervention. I hope that Syria can find a peaceful resolution soon, the United Nations stopped counting the dead late last month, citing that it was hard to keep up with and verify body count. At that time, the death toll was above 5,400 and counting.

Fukushima Zone

The most striking part of Japan’s nuclear exclusion zone (where the nuclear meltdown occurred after the tsunami and earthquake in 2011) is that there is nothing to see. There are no people, no cars, and no signs of life except the occasional wandering livestock. The area that was once home to 80,000 people is now a ghost town frozen in time. Workers of the Fukushima plants are bused in daily and the government has maintained a 12-mile no-go radius around the area for everyone else. Only brief, supervised visits home are allowed for residents who still have homes there. The Japanese government has said it will take at least 30 years to decommission the crippled reactors. In reality, this nuclear wasteland may not be livable for years, but residents are still fighting to save and stay with their contaminated livestock and livelihoods.

Follow Tiana at @TianaBouma

What’s New?

photo by Gregorio Borgia AP

-Tiana Bouma

With the internet bringing together stories from across the world, it is easy to get lost in the constant streaming updates that most news organizations provide on their websites. With so many different phone applications, email updates, and websites’ bookmarked,  my phone is always vibrating to let me know of a new story. So to help myself keep up on current news and to inform others, I’ll be writing a weekly series on the top stories that have been trending over the past week.

1.Italian Cruise Ship

On Friday the 13th, an Italian cruise ship captained by Francesco Schettino hit a reef off the coast of Italy and ran aground. The 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia was on a trip around the Mediterranean when it “hit an obstacle”. Rumors have spread about Captain Schettino, who is being accused of steering the cruise ship too close to shore while performing a maneuver known as a “salute”. As events continue to unfold, I hope that Captain Schettino is not blamed unjustly as a scapegoat. Although one question does come to mind, whatever happened to the idea of the “captain goes down with the ship”?

 2. Giffords Leaving Congress

One year after a gunman attempted to take her life, Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced that she would forgo re-election plans in order to focus on her ongoing recovery.  Six people were killed in the shooting and 13 were wounded. Much like other national issues, the shooting brought the members of Congress together in a symbolic show of bipartisanship, but did not bring any lasting changes.  I remember the sadness I felt at the original time of the shooting, but Giffords’ strength in recovering after the attack has given the American people something to hold on to. Although she will be missed in Congress, it is important that Giffords can completely recover and I do believe we will see her in public service in the future.

3. Year of the Dragon

The Chinese New Year means that millions of Chinese families travel back to their homes to celebrate the New Year.  The spring festival is the most celebrated holiday in China and the celebrations kicked off on January 23, 2012 as the year of the dragon started.  My best memory from the Chinese New Year celebrations was the red envelopes that teachers passed out to us in elementary school. I can still taste the white rabbit candy with rice paper wrappers. I got a little laugh from a news article I stumbled across this morning; “New Year celebrations in Beijing caused 194 fires, mostly due to fireworks.” Hopefully there weren’t too many people celebrating the New Year by nursing firework burns.

4. Joe Paterno Dies at Age 85

Joe Paterno, who was college football’s winningest head coach and a Penn State icon, died on Sunday January 21st of health complications at the age of 85.  Paterno’s death comes after a stressful ordeal with Penn State. He was fired mid-season, in November, due to sexual abuse charges against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Paterno coached for 62 years at Penn State, where he rose from assistant to head coach in 1966. He led the team to 409 wins, three Big Ten Conference titles and two national championships during his 46 seasons as program leader. Even with a lack of information and interest in football besides UO, I can see the legend that Paterno was.  I do believe that some college football fans shed some tears for the passing of a man they held dear to their hearts. All I can say is, what a way to go after such an amazing career.