1-5-22 Emerald Media - Week of Welcome

JAN. 5, 2022

Week of Welcome

Emerald Media

STUDY DRUG DILEMMA

The increasing demand for prescription stimulants like Adderall creates ethical dilemmas and leaves some students without access to medication.

NEWS NEW ASUO LEADERS PG 5

OPINION

BOYCOTT DUTCH BROS PG 9

VISUALS

STUDY SPOTS IN EUGENE PG 12

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FROM YOU

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

LOOK ONLINE

By Kylie Kranz UO student

Top read story in the past seven days:

UO needs to do more to get off fossil fuels VOL. 123, ISSUE NO. 19

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Scan here or visit the Emerald’s social media to participate in our next Voices of UO. What do you think about UO’s COVID-19 vaccine booster shot requirement?

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I am a student at the University of Oregon concerned with the university’s dependence on natural gas. Natural gas contributes to more than 25% of Eugene’s carbon emissions as of 2017, and with the amount of construction going on on campus, in addition to Eugene’s general population growth, this percentage is bound to increase unless we as a campus do something about it.

While there is an initiative to improve

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infrastructure and reduce emissions, UO cannot buy from NW Natural again as it contributes to environmental racism and climate change through the placement of their harmful natural gas plants and inefficient pipelines. Michael H. Schill, the President and Professor of Law, has acknowledged the various studies being done on campus to try and find a solution, but UO lacks incentive outside of the state’s proposed regulations.

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THE DAILY EMERALD

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by Emerald Media Group, Inc., the independent nonprofit media company at the University of Oregon. Formerly the Oregon Daily Emerald, the news organization was founded in 1900.

ON THE COVER

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TV RECOMMENDATION: “Only Murders in the Building” Summary: The show follows three complete strangers with true crime obsessions played by Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short as they deal with a horrific murder in their apartment complex in New York. They create a podcast together to document their findings as they try to solve the crime together with lots of lies, fear and investigating along the way.

(Julia Stalnaker/Daily Emerald)

We want to hear from you: Email editor@dailyemerald.com to submit a tip or a letter to the editor. The ideal length for a letter is 200-500 words, but we publish letters of various lengths online.

Genre: Drama, thriller, comedy Recommended by: Lily Crane, UO freshman studying journalism.

“Just the suspense. It kept me on the edge of my seat from the very first episode,” Crane said. “I just wanted to keep watching to see what would happen next.”

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W I N T E R T E R M T E X T B O O K S O N L I N E O N LY

Order Your Books Now This term, textbooks and ebooks are available online only. Most orders ship FREE* from The Duck Store, or choose In-Store Pickup from the Flagship Campus or EMU locations.

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NEWS

NEW LEADERS ON THE BLOCK The ASUO senate unanimously confirmed Vanessa Taylor as the new student government vice president and Yadira Ramirez as the elections chair.

BY GAVIN GAMEZ • TWITTER @GAV_GAMEZ (Photo courtesy of Vanessa Taylor) The ASUO senate unanimously confirmed Vanessa Taylor as the new student government vice president and Yadira Ramirez as the ASUO elections chair on Dec. 1. The senate convened for a special meeting on Dec. 1 for the VP appointment, as well as approving a new elections chair.

This follows former vice-president Odalis AguilarAguilar’s departure in November.

Taylor was chosen by ASUO president Isaiah Boyd through an application process and reviewed by a committee consisting of directors on the executive branch. She previously served as the ASUO executive internal director.

With some established contacts within university administration, Taylor said she plans to contact administration regularly along with contacts she has made in the past. “If I get appointed, just being like, ‘let’s meet, let’s discuss my goals, your goals and how we plan to communicate in the future,’” she said. By creating a steady line of communication she said she hopes to build relationships with trust and respect.

Taylor said that her time in ASUO has taught her to delegate her work. “I have an entire team working alongside me,” she said, “and everyone is working towards the same goal.” She said she wants to exercise communication with her team about workloads and stress.

She said she is excited to implement surveys dealing with campus safety and student needs.

“We’re supposed to represent the entire student

body,” she said. Releasing those surveys will help add structure and make programs that help students more sustainable, she said.

Taylor said the surveys were pushed back to week one of winter term to get opinions from student organizations on campus. “Once we get that information and feedback back we are going to alter our surveys to fit a wider stroke of students,” she said. After the organizations respond, ASUO will ask them to share the surveys with their communities through their social media platforms.

Taylor said she would like to see other members in the executive branch fill positions like the internal director. “That way they can start building more of their leadership skills and then we can kind of share our knowledge and our strategies that we’ve made so it’ll be a smooth transition,” she said.

Ramirez was the executive branch’s candidate for the ASUO elections chair. ASUO director of recruitment and HR Michael Yoo said the elections chair primarily deals with the campaigns and elections that occur around late winter term and spring term.

Ramirez said it’s important to make sure that the elections board is diverse. “I would be really excited to get that board situated and well informed first and kind of have preliminary conversations about what justice is, what fairness is and what equity is so that we are all in a place where we can hear these issues or problems that are coming from the board,” she said.

“WE’RE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY." - VANESSA TAYLOR, ASUO VICE PRESIDENT

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PHOTO

OREGON VS. UTAH PHOTOS BY SEREI HENDRIE

SCORE: DUCKS: 79 UTES: 66

Ducks guard De'Vion Harmon (5) leaps for a layup shot.

Ducks guard Will Richardson (0) dribbles the ball down the court. (Serei Hendrie/Emerald)

Ducks Rivaldo Soares (11, left) and Jacob Young (42, right) defend a Utah player on the baseline delaying their advance. (Serei Hendrie/Emerald) PA G E 6

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The Oregon Ducks Men’s Basketball team faces the Utah Utes on Jan. 1 at Matthew Knight Arena. (Serei Hendrie/Emerald)

The Oregon Ducks bench celebrates as their team ties up the score in the second half of the game. (Serei Hendrie/ Emerald)

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OPINION

DUTCH BROS. FOUNDER ROBS INCOME FROM NATIVE TRIBES

Nelson: Travis Boersma, coffee entrepreneur, plans to open a gambling facility featuring hundreds of slot machinelike terminals, which would directly impact the funding of tribal services in Oregon.

BY EMMA J NELSON • TWITTER @EMMAJMXLEAN Several Dutch Bros. Coffee Shops are located around Eugene. The cofounder of Dutch Bros. is set to open an entertainment destination with casino machines, which could direct customers and their money away from Oregon Tribal gaming facilities. (Mary Grosswendt/Emerald)

The Flying Lark, a “gaming, entertainment and dining destination,” is set to open in Grants Pass this winter in connection with the reopening of the Grants Pass Downs racetrack. The entertainment center touts the 250 historic horse racing machines (HHR) it hopes to employ as a major selling point to draw in guests, ultimately distressing the Native tribal leaders of Oregon.

“No matter where you are in Oregon today, remember, you are on Indigenous land,” Gov. Kate Brown’s official statement on Oct. 11, 2021, Indigenous People’s Day, read. “Today, we pay our respects to the nine federally recognized Tribes in Oregon, and honor all the Indigenous peoples who have long called these sacred lands their home.”

Despite such words, the state government refuses to step in as one of the Dutch Bros. co-founders, Travis Boersma, attempts to siphon revenue away from the nine Oregon tribes.

Boersma signed a 50-year lease with Josephine County in 2019 in an attempt to save the horse racing industry in Oregon. To attract more visitors, however, Boersma plans to stuff the facility with HHRs, which are slot machine-like terminals that allow a guest to

bet on replays of races. The Flying Lark, if the Oregon Racing Commission approves its application, will feature an updated form of HHR that is more like a slot machine than its predecessor, having been produced by associated brands and having completely randomized results. With such a large number of terminals, the Flying Lark may as well be a casino.

However, it is not being acknowledged as such because that would be against Oregon law, which criminalizes private casinos.

Native American tribes, however, are considered sovereign nations, so certain state and federal laws do not apply to them. As long as they are built and operated within reservation boundaries, gambling facilities such as casinos are legal under Oregon law. This idea came to be in the 1970s when Native Americans began to operate bingo halls to raise tribal funds — modern tribal casinos are now obliged to invest earnings back into the community in which they dwell.

Tribal leaders of six Native tribes — the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw; the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation; the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians and the Klamath Tribes — released an official statement regarding the use of HHR on Oct. 6, 2021. The six leaders cite a study which estimated that 250 HHRs would “reduce tribal gaming revenues by $6 million” within the first year.

This is money that would go toward many of the services that tribal governments provide to their people, including healthcare, education and basic infrastructure — services that aren’t allocated by the federal government. By installing the grand sum of HHRs in the Flying Lark, Boersma will essentially redirect the $6 million into his own pocket, adding to his current $2.5 billion net worth.

Should we, a university that begins nearly every presentation with a Kalapuya land acknowledgement, let this financial theft occur without protest?

Ashley Younger, member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and president of UO’s Native American Student Union (NASU), does not consider the actions of the “wannabe casino man” excusable.

“I always think about how people say money is the root of all evil. I don’t believe it at all; I think money brings out the evil in people, but it has to already be there for that to happen,” Younger said. “If it doesn’t bother you to exploit someone’s culture, or to try to steal from them, then it’s not because you were offered some money. You already had that in you.”

The fact that the plans to use HHRs within the Flying Lark continue despite public tribal outcry on the matter displays this “evil” within Boersma. He’d rather add to his overflowing bank account than grant respect to Indigenous Americans.

“I’m tired of people from vulnerable groups — such as people who live on reservations who are supposed to have some shred of dignity after centuries of exploitation and murder and dehumanization — have that completely violated by people who are just trying to make a buck,” Younger said. “This is one of the few things that we are afforded, or supposed to be afforded.”

Greed-driven Americans have been taking from Indigenous populations with no regard for their collective livelihood since before the nation’s founding, and we must break the cycle of exploitation without consequences once and for all.

The UO student body should stand with the Native tribes of Oregon as well as our NASU and boycott Dutch Bros. Coffee until the Flying Lark withdraws its application for the use of HHRs or the application is officially denied by the Oregon Racing Commission.

Emma J Nelson is an opinion columnist for the Daily Emerald.

She is a first year student studying journalism and creative writing. She can form an opinion on anything, but most passionately discusses queer and women’s issues.

EDITORIAL CARTOON Unthank food prices totally make sense

Ian Proctor is an editorial cartoonist for the Daily Emerald.

He is a freshman with interests in journalism, political science and animation, as well as paleontology and biology. Ian’s comics may appear bizarre, but this is just the way he tends to draw things.

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COVER (Illustration by Julia Stalnaker/Emerald)

INSIDE UO'S STUDY DRUG PROBLEM

BY WILL COZINE

The increase in use of prescription stimulants as study drugs has created a shortage of medication and puts students with prescriptions in a challenging ethical bind.

Editors’ note: The Emerald spoke to several UO students who have shared their Adderall prescriptions or used Adderall that wasn’t prescribed to them. These sources are anonymous. In cases where someone telling their story could result in legal repercussions, the Emerald allows the use of anonymous sources.

College students experience high levels of stress on a daily basis. They work jobs, maintain relationships and face debt — all while taking a full load of classes. To overcome tiredness and fatigue, some students drink copious amounts of coffee.

Others will pop an Adderall pill before writing an essay or studying for a test.

An American Journal of College Health study found 34% of college students report misusing at least one prescription stimulant medication. These stimulants are prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder but are sometimes used illicitly as a study drug.

The prevalence of prescription stimulant misuse has led to high demand for pills, putting students with access to medication in uncomfortable situations. The University of Oregon has policies and educational programs intended to reduce misuse.

The student dilemma One UO student said, since starting college, he has been struggling to access the same medication — Adderall — he has been taking for years.

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COVER “Since moving to Eugene, I haven’t been able to find a general care provider who can take me in to talk about renewing my prescription,” he said. “Even though I’ve tried several doctors for the last two years, no one is taking new patients because of COVID.” He believes students using ADHD stimulants without prescriptions are the root cause of his situation.

“Those people make it incredibly difficult for people like me to get the help I need to succeed,” he said.

The National Institute of Health reported some students fake ADHD symptoms in order to get access to medication, which is leading to a shortage of ADHD medication such as Adderall.

Because he can’t legally access medication, he has started buying Adderall off the street — a costly endeavor.

Street Adderall is often given or sold by students who have prescriptions but don’t take their medication every day. Because of how difficult the medications are to obtain, black markets have developed at schools in the U.S. According to the National Institute of Health, a prescription stimulant pill generally costs 50 cents when obtained legally but can cost anywhere from $3 to $15 when obtained illegally.

Some students share or sell their medications.

One student said she gives her medication to friends if they “indicated they were having trouble studying or finishing an assignment.”

Another student said he gives his extra medication to people who need it simply because he has enough to do so.

According to the American Journal of College Health study, most prescribed students don’t take their medication every day and thus have a surplus.

“Selling their leftovers is simply seen as a morally

inconsequential win/win decision,” the study wrote.

Other students never shared or have stopped sharing their medication due to health and safety concerns.

“I’ve talked in great detail with my doctor about taking it responsibly, monitoring the effects and being aware of the potential longterm consequences,” one student said. “Someone who hasn’t had these conversations with their doctor might not understand the gravity of taking stimulants and might get into trouble.”

Stimulants can help students stay awake and focused during times of high academic stress.

However, when taken in improper amounts or in combination with other drugs, there can be significant adverse health effects.

According to Healthline, Adderall can dull the symptoms of being drunk and lead to over-drinking and other risky behaviors.

Adderall and other prescription stimulants are classified as Schedule II drugs, which means they have high potential for abuse and addiction. The misuse of stimulants is associated with dangers like psychosis and heart muscle disease, according to NIH research.

Addressing the issue The University of Oregon attempts to reduce prescription stimulant misuse by educating students about the legal and health ramifications of misuse.

UO spokesperson Saul Hubbard said the university takes the issue of prescription stimulant misuse seriously.

“Abusing these medications is a crime, and doing so can lead to negative health consequences,” Hubbard said.

According to the University Health Services’ website, UHS does not routinely provide ADHD evaluations, diagnose students with ADHD or prescribe medications to students with outside diagnoses. The UHS pharmacy does refill outside prescriptions, although UHS clinicians don’t.

“When filling outside prescriptions, UO staff queries the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program to make sure a patient is not using multiple pharmacies or prescribers and to ensure that the fill interval is appropriate,” Hubbard said.

A study from Chapman University gauging the impact of education on stimulant misuse claims the best way to address the issue is by changing the widely held attitudes of students toward stimulants.

“The communication and culture surrounding misuse on college campuses is a likely facilitator of this growing misuse,” according to the study. “The misuse of prescription stimulants is largely viewed among college students as a necessary, safe, and even respectable means of doing well in school.”

According to the NIH, media reports often condone the use of prescription stimulants for performance, as 95% of articles mentioned at least one possible benefit of using prescription drugs for neuroenhancement, but only 58% mentioned any risks or side effects.

Hubbard said UO’s Substance Abuse Prevention and Education team runs Study Smart campaigns to educate students on prescription stimulant misuse and to provide to students stress reduction tips and resources.

The Chapman study claims that “ideally, college students should be the messengers of any campaign efforts [to reduce stimulant misuse], as it appears that nearly all of the communication surrounding this behavior occurs among peers.”

Since moving to Eugene, I haven’t been able to find a general care provider who can take me in to talk about renewing my prescription.”

(Data from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, graphic

by Lynette Slape/Emerald)

ANONYMOUS UO STUDENT On the difficulty of accessing Adderall for his ADHD, which has previously been prescribed to him

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VISUALS

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OPINION Straub 156 is a lecture hall with 500 seats, making it one of the largest lecture halls at the University of Oregon. UO returned to in-person classes this fall after four consecutive terms of online instruction. (Ian Enger/Emerald)

RATE YOUR PROFESSORS (FAIRLY)

BY CALE CRUEGER

UO tuition apparently does not cover the ability to make informed decisions regarding course selection. An anonymous cyberbullying site steps in.

Toward the end of each term, the university asks students to fill out evaluation surveys for their courses and professors. The surveys ask students to explain what they found engaging, helpful or challenging, but the results are kept private by the university. Students are not allowed to benefit by seeing the evaluations from their peers when deciding which course to take. Further, students never know if their own evaluations were listened to or effected any change.

It is no secret that many college students take on mounds of debt and struggle financially to attend university. Shouldn’t they at least have the reassurance that the education they’re paying for is worth it? Publicized course evaluations would allow students to make informed decisions on which courses and professors to choose when registering for classes.

In its place instead, there is a semi-popular platform for this purpose: Rate My Professors. As the name suggests, the website allows people to anonymously rate professors and schools across a variety of fields. Users can search the site and read others’ ratings and comments.

If it sounds like a positive place, it’s not. The site is filled with curse words, and it is clear many people post with rage and a vengeful spirit. (I encourage these online haters to watch the 2011 film “Cyberbully” starring Emily Osment, not just because it may remind them of the consequences of their actions, but because that movie is torture to sit through, and they deserve it.)

I am sure most would agree, especially with a year online, that teachers work extremely hard to make learning engaging and fruitful — and decidedly do not deserve to be bullied mercilessly online. Professors nationwide have taken to blogs, student newspapers and even YouTube to speak about the site’s slanderous culture, often arguing that it allows for users to make baseless accusations, bully and discriminate. According to a Slate published study, female and Asian instructors may be disproportionately low-rated, and sexist and racist attitudes are common on the site. The site’s own functionality has been used to target professors, even allowing users to rate professor’s “hotness.” Basically, it sucks, but, like most sucky technology, people use it.

Without a more official source for sharing or reviewing course evaluations,

though, it makes sense that students who want to make informed decisions when registering for classes may look into sites like Rate My Professors. I have even used the platform, despite its lack of reliability, to compare different professors for the same course. While I understand how the site is essentially baseless, misguided and often cruel, it leads me to wonder why there isn’t a more official option to review peer’s course experiences.

Many could benefit from a publicized platform where course evaluations are shared. If students were required to confirm their enrollment with UO identification, and if offensive language was filtered out, troll-like, bullying content could be censored while still allowing students to authentically share their experiences. Flawed sites like Rate My Professor would have less influence were there an alternative, approved forum for students to use — not to simply rate teachers who never asked to be graded, but instead to share knowledge about courses and connect with other students. Students could make more informed decisions on class selections, and the platform would likely foster better relations between students and teachers.

Students deserve to receive the quality education they are paying for and should take full advantage of this privilege — guiding peers, communicating with professors and demanding care from your university should be commonplace at all colleges.

But it is difficult to advocate for yourself when you feel your voice goes unheard; students deserve to be listened to and for their convictions to create noticeable change. Students deserve to share their course experiences for their university’s benefit and to make informed decisions regarding their own education. Students should be given the resources to do so.

Cale Crueger is a Daily Emerald opinion columnist. She is a junior studying public relations and political science. Cale writes to engage readers in the local issues and trends affecting campus and the Eugene community.

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A&C

VALORANT:

Members of the University of Oregon's “Valorant” teams pose inside of the EMU, where the esports lounge is located. Left (from front to back): Connor Ueyama, Kaden Wheeler, Jackson Zyskowski.

Center (from front to back): Isabelle Chew, Colton Lewis. Right (from front to back): Jarett Nishijo, Jonah Kim, Johnathan Ng. The University of Oregon is home to a thriving esports scene, including a growing number of players joining “Valorant” teams on campus. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

UO STUDENTS TAKE THE GAME TO THE NEXT LEVEL The University of Oregon’s Valorant esports teams are taking aim for the winter term, with a new team on the horizon.

BY CORVO ROHWER • TWITTER @CORVUSCORAX115

The University of Oregon has a growing number of esports teams and players, with “Valorant” attracting both fans and players. Esports is a growing form of competition in which players or teams of players compete within a multiplayer video game, often within tournaments. In the case of “Valorant,” teams of five clash against one another with high-octane abilities and swift gunfights to secure an objective. Having a varsity and junior varsity team with a women’s team soon to come, the UO “Valorant” teams are preparing to enter 2022 with more popularity than ever.

“Valorant” is a first-person shooter that features a variety of different playable agents, each with their own unique abilities that can shake up the fight. The game is also free-to-play, which has opened the doors for many people to jump in and give it a try. The popularity means that it has also grown a large amount of competitive esports viewership on various streaming platforms such as Twitch, including teams from the UO. The teams are managed by University of Oregon sophomore Isabelle Chew, who coordinates all team activities and stands as the liaison for tournaments and community outreach. While she is a first time esports team manager, Chew has a history with gaming and the communities within it.

“Esports is relatively new to me, but I have had a very long history with video games on its own.

I started watching pro gaming, like Team Liquid and FaZe Clan with CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), and then it evolved into a new frontier with ‘Valorant’ on the rise,” Chew said. “And I was really excited because it was new and bright and shiny, but it could also be improved on and I wanted to be a part of that.”

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became invested in UO esports after trying out for the team herself prior to moving into her management role. For her, taking charge of the team was both a way to stay involved in the game that she loved, and also shape the course of UO esports.

“They offered me the position as the manager because they didn’t have a manager. It was just the team and the team captain,” Chew said “There wasn’t a lot of structure or organization, at least on a managerial level.”

On top of holding practices and scheduling schrimages against other colleges, Chew also prepares the teams for tournament play. The main tournament that varsity teams compete in is known as Conference One, a collegiate tournament that holds multiple events throughout the year. What she enjoys most about managing the teams is seeing their progress toward achieving these goals as they work together both in game and in their lives.

“It’s a very fun job. It’s rewarding to see my team work together and improve over the season,” she said.

The varsity team consists of five starting members and two substitutes. The junior varsity team follows the same set up, and Chew is also developing the university’s first women's esports team. Posting in the University of Oregon esports Discord server, she wrote, “All women and female-presenting people are invited to try out at any rank.” Chew hopes this will help provide an opportunity for women to congregate and play without any pressure from the male-dominated space, with the goal of integration in the future.

The current team members have grown in their skill as players and enjoy working with one another within the game they all love.

Junior varsity team member Michael MaNguyen said, “Being on the ‘Valorant’ team has been a really

fun experience for me. I’ve enjoyed competing with my teammates and watching how we have grown.

We haven’t practiced together much this break, but I know everyone is working individually to improve for the next season.”

Gaming is a community activity, and at the heart of competition is respect. Not only does the esports team provide a way for students to grow themselves, but it also provides a support space for them to be around their friends.

Varsity team member Colton Lewis said, “My time on the ‘Valorant’ team was a great learning experience for me, and having a support system of friends and teammates to rely on was a very helpful and unique opportunity which I won’t take for granted.”

This sentiment is shared by varsity team member Brady Lucier, who said, “Playing on the Valorant team and being a part of the esports program is amazing because it's a community of like-minded people. I love having teammates to bond and play with.”

Team practice takes place within the UO esports lounge on the ground floor of the Erb Memorial Union, which is now open to all students. This location serves as a place to explore what playing video games in an esports environment is like in a more casual setting. The lounge invites players of any skill level to come and play, even if you have little to no experience playing video games.

Existing team members as well as newcomers are encouraged to attend winter term tryouts, taking place on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. in the EMU esports lounge.

Varsity team qualifications are required to be at rank Immortal in game, while junior varsity ranks can fall between Gold and Diamond. Women’s team tryouts can be at any rank. Sign up links can be found on the University of Oregon esports Discord server.

A&C

A VAST MARKETPLACE OF INTERNATIONAL CUISINE

BY BRANDON ROTH • TWITTER @BSTEEL_R

A variety of produce at El Torito Market lays under rows of hanging piñatas in Eugene, Ore. on Dec. 13, 2021. El Torito Market serves Eugene with traditional Mexican food as well as Peruvian, Middle Eastern and other types of regional food. (Isaac Wasserman/ Emerald).

El Torito Meat & Grocery Store sells a great variety of international fruits, vegetables, meats, baked goods and more for community members.

After moving from Yucatan, Mexico, to Eugene to live with extended family, 19-year-old Beto Solis and his family members went out to lunch at El Torito Meat & Grocery Store. He ordered a burrito — his favorite dish — and a horchata, and started to feel at home. The decorations and layout in El Torito made him feel like he was in a supermarket back in Mexico.

“It is laid out exactly as it would be in Mexico,” Solis said. “It is very authentic.”

El Torito Meat & Grocery Store is more than a corner market of dulce de leche and tamarind candies — it is a “carnicería,” which means butcher shop in Spanish, with multicultural meat preparations, a “quesería,” a cheese shop and a “taqueria” — a restaurant that serves tacos accompanied by agua frescas and salsas.

On Saturdays and Sundays, the smell of grilling chicken on the outdoor stoves greets people as they arrive at the store with their grocery lists. The store’s walls have colorful banners and streamers and an array of “pan dulces,” Mexican sweet breads, at the front entrance. Employees offer assistance to those who are curious about the diverse Central American, South American and Middle Eastern food options available.

El Torito is a chain based in the Willamette Valley. El Torito owners Alfredo Mendez and Liliana Perez opened their Eugene location in 2019. They also have locations in Salem, Woodburn and Lincoln City, Oregon.

Rosita Rivera, the store manager of two years, said the grocery store is important for the Eugene community because it offers a “lot of various products from regions other than Mexico,” such as Peru and the Middle East. The food options range from fresh plantains, empanada dough and regional candies. Rivera enjoys listening to customers when they want to make a food request on a product not found in a store.

“We always want to hear from the customers on what product they are looking for so we can bring it in,” Rivera said.

Ivan Mariscal, a butcher in the carnicería for over a year, said he purchases meat from the store to make “carnitas tacos or beef stew” at home. Mariscal recommends that customers check out the carnicería because of its high-quality products. He is in charge of creating different beef, pork and fish cuts for the display case.

“I like to work at the butcher shop because of the customer service and making different kinds of cuts of meat,” Mariscal said.

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A&C “I enjoy this store because the food is versatile,” Jewels Metzner, a local customer, said. Metzner and her husband visited the store to stock up on tamale husks and dried chilies for salsas before their Christmas road trip to Nashville, Tennessee.

Metzner likes to make all her foods from scratch during the holidays.

“I don’t necessarily come here a lot, but it usually has what we need for Mexican meals,” Metzner said. “I am originally from Arizona. You can’t go to Albertsons here and get the tortillas or husks you need.”

Rivera's business succeeded despite the pandemic's effects on the economy.

The store was able to meet its growing demands by increasing the menus in the carnicería and adding more diverse products. Rivera also credits the store’s success to the employees’ hospitality.

“It is a very friendly and helpful atmosphere,” Rivera said. “The employees always answer a lot of questions. We try our best to answer the best way we can, and if we can’t, we will try to find an answer for you.”

El Torito is a local destination for the expert traveler or the Instagram foodie who do not want to go far to eat their favorite dishes. The staff serve a big part in sharing Latin American cuisine with the local community and dedicate themselves through laborious food preparations. El Torito takes customers out of Eugene, Oregon, and places them into a typical marketplace one would find in Latin America.

El Torito is located at West 7th Avenue and Polk Street. It is open all week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Business promotions and updates can be found on their Facebook page.

Faustino Vargas Cruz stands cooking char broiled chicken, a weekend special, outside of El Torito Market in Eugene on Dec. 13, 2021. El Torito Market serves Eugene with traditional Mexican food as well as Peruvian, Middle Eastern and other types of regional food. (Isaac Wasserman/ Emerald).

Store Manager Rosita Rivera stands for a photo at El Torito Market in Eugene on Dec. 13, 2021. El Torito Market serves Eugene with traditional Mexican food as well as Peruvian, Middle Eastern and other types of regional food. (Isaac Wasserman/ Emerald).

“I ENJOY THIS STORE BECAUSE THE FOOD IS VERSATILE.” Butcher Ivan Mariscal prepares meat for the meat counter display at El Torito Market in Eugene on Dec. 13, 2021. El Torito Market serves Eugene with traditional Mexican food as well as Peruvian, Middle Eastern and other types of regional food. (Isaac Wasserman/ Emerald).

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