OCT. 2, 2020
Week of Welcome
Emerald Media
MIAMI UNIVERSITY OF OHIO ALUMNUS
KEITH HARVEY’S FIGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS ILLUSTRATES THAT CHANGE IS POSSIBLE, ALTHOUGH SLOW A&C: FERMATA BALLET COLLECTIVE’S IMPACT P. 6
OPINION: UO HELPING WITH DISASTERS
P. 8
NEWS: SEIU PREPARES FOR THE YEAR P. 9
SPORTS: SPORTS IN A PANDEMIC SOCIETY P. 11 F R I D AY, O C T O B E R 2 , 2 0 2 0
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WELCOME BACK STUDENTS!
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JUST DOOBIE 1553 Oak Street Eugene, Oregon 9701 (541) 345-8904 • KeepEugeneGreen.org
We provide the full range of birth control along with information and education to help you make informed decisions about which birth control method is best for you.
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treet Eugene,EVERYDAY Oregon 97401 • (541) -345-8904 10:00AM 9:00PM• KeepEugeneGreen.org O ASU L @TheGreenerSide CALL@thegreenersideeug FOR DELIVERY OR CURB-SIDE PICK-UP GA twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
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• Legal Services handles a wide range of legal problems from divorces
3 Oak Street Eugene, Oregon 97401 • (541) 345-8904 • KeepEugeneGreen.org to landlord tenant disputes. • There is never a consultation or settlement fee. @thegreenersideeug @TheGreenerSide Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children. PA G E 2
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• Legal Services staff members are experienced, qualified professionals. • Legal Services are FREE to current fee-paying UO students.
To contact Legal Services and schedule an appointment please call 346-4273. www.asuolegal.org
NEWS
‘It’s better than VOL. 122, ISSUE NO. 13
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UO INTRODUCES 2 NEW CAREGIVING RESOURCES FOR PARENTS IN NEED
REGIONAL AND STATE NEWS
BY CLAIRE WARNER The University of Oregon launched two new caregiving resources for UO community members on Sept. 17 to help faculty, staff and students balance their work and personal responsibilities during the coronavirus pandemic. The Care Provider Network aims to connect families with potential caregivers within the UO community. Caregiving may include babysitting, tutoring services or elder care. The Shared Care Network may help UO families looking for mutually beneficial arrangements that share childcare responsibilities. “While UO cannot provide ready-made solutions to childcare and other caregiving issues individuals are encountering,” the UO human resources website read, “we have created new networking opportunities within the UO community to help alleviate some of the
you have to be focused on doing that job and you can’t necessarily multitask between meeting your kids needs and getting your work done,” Heidi Iwashita, doctoral candidate of communication disorders and sciences, said. The UO human resources website provides Excel spreadsheets of potential caregivers and families looking for shared care. Individuals insert their contact information, availability and the type of care they are able to provide. It is up to those seeking arrangements to screen individuals and contact them to discuss payment and scheduling. Gabby Sullivan, private tutor and graduate student of strategic communication, joined the Care Provider Network to expand her services. “The pressures that people can be under as both
“As a parent, your kids are your most valuable asset to protect, and it’s your job to make sure that they’re healthy and safe” -Cat Luna, UO psychology student and mother of three pressure points.” Caregiving can be particularly challenging for individuals working from home, pursuing degrees or helping children with remote school. For Cat Luna, UO psychology student and mother of three, the biggest challenge is her “capacity to be able to shift between mother, student and employee,” all in one space. “If you’re doing a job,
students and parents is a lot,” Sullivan said. “Virtual learning is a lot for anyone, but especially a parent who’s a working student.” Iwashita said she saw potential in the Shared Care Network because it could eliminate the costs associated with hiring a caregiver. “I think it’s really a winwin,” Iwashita said about the Shared Care Network. “We can be there and help support members of the
Around OR
OREGON DISHES OUT NEW UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: On Wednesday, the state of Oregon began providing $300 a week for those claiming unemployment benefits between July 26 and Sept. 5 that did not receive federal assistance due to Congress’ inability to agree on a replacement for the weekly $600 distributed in March. An estimated 87,000 Oregonians are eligible for these retroactive benefits on top of the 147,000 paid on Wednesday. – JACK FORREST
Cat Luna and her three kids. (Courtesy of Cat Luna) community and support each other and also our kids get those opportunities to make friends that they’re not getting as much of if they don’t have in-person school.” “The time to put together these resources for parents were a long time ago, in March, when the daycares closed,” an anonymous UO student and parent said. “Now they’re coming out with this, but for parent families, this was a really urgent need that we needed to take care of right away, so parent families probably already have a system that works for them.” Luna said although the Care Provider Network is “better than nothing,” she wouldn’t use it because providers aren’t necessarily certified caregivers. “As a parent, your kids are your most valuable asset to protect, and it’s your job to make sure that they’re healthy and safe,” Luna said. “It’s always hard to send them out into the world with someone you don’t really know.”
RUN HUB NORTHWEST HOSTS WEEKLY RUNNING GROUP: Every Saturday at 9 a.m. Run Hub Northwest hosts group runs along the river or Pre’s Trail, with some weeks doing both. The weekly runs include distances that range from 4 to 8 miles, but Run Hub welcomes all comers at no cost. Run Hub Northwest’s Facebook page includes all details weekly. – GABRIEL ORNELAS
(Emerald Archives)
WATERCOLOR SOCIETY OF OREGON EXHIBIT: The Watercolor Society of Oregon, an organization formed in 1966 that now has over 800 members, holds exhibits and education opportunities around the state. Its latest exhibit features 80 selected artists and is on display Oct. 3 Nov. 28 in the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg. The show coincides with the group’s annual convention which will be delivered as a series of virtual demos and workshops this year. – SARAH-MAE MCCULLOUGH
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COVER
A DECADES LONG FIGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS CONTINUES IN A PANDEMIC (Billy Lawson/Emerald)
BY SHANE HOFFMANN • TWITTER @SHANE_HOFFMANN Keith Harvey and his teammates at Miami University of Ohio couldn’t have known when they set out to unionize in 1976 that the battle they were beginning would continue for decades to come. In August, a group of Pac-12 football players formed the #WeAreUnited movement to demand better health and safety treatment from their universities, a symbolic continuation of the work started by Harvey and his teammates. Although the Pac-12 reversed an earlier decision to cancel the season, upwards of 10 players have opted out of the season due to safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortened seven-week season presents a test to see if the conference has listened to its players’ demands and concerns. Harvey’s Story Harvey’s fight for equal rights began when he was four years old — whether he knew it or not. His father, the late James Harvey, was an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People who spent many years working to pass the Fair Housing Act, which prohibited local governments from making zoning decisions that would exclude or discriminate against certain demographics or individuals. James Harvey’s efforts soon spread to his family as they toiled to integrate neighborhoods and rental housing in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Once the housing law passed in 1968, Keith said the Harvey family made it their duty to ensure it was being both tested and enforced. They helped coordinate the rental housing in the area to ensure an increase in diversity within the community. Keith Harvey recalled his father telling him about the tough battle ahead of them, saying, “‘This is going to be a little tough, but the reason we are doing this is not just to move into someone’s neighborhood and shove it in their face, but to show people that we are just a family.’ That we can keep a house and the yard’s going to be nice and break stereotypes. It’s all about breaking stereotypes.” During these years, a young Keith realized just how divided things were. Public PA G E 4
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pools became private and non-school sports teams were off-limits to Black players. Throughout his childhood he and his sisters would be some of the only Black students in the four schools they attended. “Kids called me names,” Lisa Harvey, Keith’s younger sister said. “But I didn’t get the brunt of it like Keith did... The teacher had to let him out a few minutes earlier because he would get beat up going home.” “I remember sometimes, I was maybe four, that my mom wouldn’t let me go out and play because kids used to throw rocks at me,” she said. With such volatile environments surrounding the Harvey children, fostering a loving and inviting atmosphere within the household became the family’s priority. “Our house was the house to come to, everybody was welcome,” Lisa Harvey said. “I think from that standpoint is what helped Keith to also kind of overcome and be part of the team type of thing.” The family frequently hosted family gatherings, often allowing the children time to bond with cousins and avoid the feeling of isolation and alienation that their classmates and neighbors presented. As time went on, Keith Harvey began to notice how his developing athletic prowess was helping him meet kids from the community, forming friendships with peers. “I would get picked all the time to be on the team,” he said. “So the race went away. At least for guys, it was, ‘Let’s win this game,’ and that kind of broke things down.” Sports was a getaway and a welcome distraction from the tense environments Harvey remembers. It created the opportunity to start anew. “Maybe one of the reasons why we ended up playing more sports and things was compensating and [creating] an environment where you were part of a team,” said Richard Gray Jr., a cousin and friend to Harvey. “Playing sports, I got a chance to actually forge relationships with people, because it was a different context.” Harvey picked up a knack for football early on and enrolled at St. John’s Prep, a military Catholic school which housed a prolific high school program. There, he would play along the defensive line.
COVER “It wasn’t about whether we were going to win or lose, it was how much we were going to win by,” he said. As an upperclassmen, Harvey began to hit his stride, catching the attention of several division one programs. He would become one of only four players on his team to play collegiately. Harvey earned a scholarship to Miami University of Ohio, a collegiate powerhouse that had taken down the likes of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina in years prior to Harvey’s enrollment in the fall of 1976. Harvey said he relished the opportunity. Not only was he one step closer to a dream NFL career, but he was attending a school known for academic excellence. But Harvey said It wasn’t long before he and his teammates began to endure the crushing foot of the NCAA at their backs. The athletes were sold a vision of a bountiful academic landscape, one in which Harvey would have the freedom to major in whatever subject he pleased and explore classes at his disposal. Expectation didn’t meet reality. He said the coaching staff limited the athlete’s academic options, often directing them down preordained paths surrounding general education majors such as finance. It was a disappointing setback for the team, especially those bearing the flag for their families as first generation college students. Midway through his freshman year, Harvey took action. One phone call later and his father was on the next flight to Ohio. James Harvey took his son and several teammates out to eat. There, the group filled him in on the “mickey mouse” courses — courses the athlete’s believed to be too easy — they were being coerced into taking. The next day, the elder Harvey paid the head coach Dick Crum — who coached Harvey through his first two seasons before departing to coach at North Carolina — a visit. “He went in there and said, ‘When you came to our house, you had promised me that my son’s going to get a quality education,’” Cedric Turner, a teammate of Harvey’s, said. “He said, ‘Well, I am going to hold you to that so these here kids are going to be allowed to major in whatever they want to major in.’” “The school told us you can go and major in whatever you want,” Turner said. Harvey said the athletes had earned a heightened sense of academic freedom, but were just scratching the surface of the crippled infrastructure set by the NCAA that many schools around the nation were, and still are, using to entrap student athletes. As Harvey entered the second semester of his freshman year he began to hear faint mumbling surrounding the idea of a player unionization. “Guys [began] to talk about it and what it was we were looking for,” he said. “And in those conversations it wasn’t about money or anything like that it was about getting our degree.” During the recruiting cycle, program recruiters often lead their pitch to potential student athletes with the prospect of four-year scholarships Harvey said. In reality however, the deal more closely resembles four one-year scholarships, ultimately leaving the power in the hands of the institution to decide whether or not to renew the athlete’s financial aid every year. “We, for the most part, played ball so we could have a free education,” Turner said. “There were no real academic offers for African Americans at that time, so we didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities.” This dictatorial-like framework of the universities became a sticking point on the players’ agenda. “Most of us left school without a degree,” Harvey said. “If you give us a scholarship, stay with us until we get our degree. That’s all we’re asking. So that folks know when we leave, if we don’t end up in the pros or whatever, we’re going to have a degree.” Harvey and a small group of teammates began networking with other schools in the area. After some time, representatives from an array of colleges around both Ohio and Indiana, met in Middletown, Ohio, where the group of 25 to 30 studentathletes discussed a potential player’s union. After the first meeting, the group agreed to meet again in the near future to enact further steps. Six or so weeks later, an eager Harvey returned, only to face disappointment. He was met by just a single peer: the student whose father owned the church the group had planned to meet in. He informed Harvey that many had chosen to steer clear of the meeting due to threats from their schools and alumni bases. Players from one school even received notifications from the board of trustees that their scholarships could be in jeopardy should they choose to continue down the path to unionization. It was something many of Harvey’s peers simply couldn’t risk. “He said, ‘Look, I’m the first one in my family ever to go to college,’ and I realized
there’s so many [like him],” Harvey said. “Now I was fortunate, I wasn’t the first.” Miami was a powerhouse, top-ten in the nation. They sent nine of Harvey’s teammates to the NFL, but even so, many players remained focused on the broader picture. Everyone wanted to go pro, and a majority of them believed they could when they arrived on campus as freshmen. But in most cases it was an unrealistic expectation. That’s where problems arose. Just like that, the mission to unionize fizzled out. The time and effort spent were to no avail, and for the meantime, the ball remained in the university’s court. That was in 1978, over forty years ago. #WeAreUnited Movement Today’s landscape delivers a sobering and disheartening reality. Players face many of the same problems athletes faced decades ago with little change. Despite a constant murmur for the need to unionize, player empowerment and compensation, the billion-dollar industry that is the NCAA continues to push forward. COVID-19 has only furthered tensions between the NCAA and student athletes. New issues have arisen: Player safety is more in jeopardy than ever before and off the field matters revolving racial tension and the treatment of athletes have intensified to unprecedented levels. But with new obstacles, comes new solutions. “Even though the union idea didn’t accomplish anything, it did,” Gray Jr. said. “As a history major, I’ve realized that when something happens it’s usually because someone has tried to do it before and then they learn from it. [Either] you can’t do it that way or the timing just wasn’t right for it.” Technological advances, with social media the chief among them, have given the voiceless a voice and made organizing towards a common goal a reality, rather than a distant hope. “The idea that we can now connect with people instantly means that they are able to mobilize together,” Gray Jr. said. Collegiate football players, who have endured a nearconstant cycle of indecision, have begun a collective uprising around the nation. In early August, a group of Pac-12 players formed a coalition to protest unjust treatment of student athletes. The players of #WeAreUnited made it clear they wanted to be heard. “To ensure future generations of college athletes will be treated fairly, #WeAreUnited,” the Players’ Tribune piece read. “Because NCAA sports exploit college athletes physically, economically and academically, and also disproportionately harm Black college athletes, #WeAreUnited.” The movement has brought several paramount issues to conference commissioner Larry Scott. Having not yet been met with meaningful change, the Pac-12 and its players have entered a potentially threatening game of chicken, with a handful of players already choosing to opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’re not your entertainment, we’re human beings,” said one of the movement’s leaders and former Oregon safety, who recently opted out of the 2020 season, Jevon Holland. “We don’t know the long-term risks. We have no idea how it’s going to affect the body regardless if we show symptoms or not. I refuse to put my health at risk for somebody else’s benefit.” It’s a brutal clash between players’ needs for safety and NCAA revenue. “The money is huge and so when capitalism kicks in it can overshine a lot of human health needs and other things like that for the dollar,” Harvey said of today’s landscape.“For big change to happen there’s sacrifice. It’s hard to do it and not get some scrapes and bruises … It’s the major athletes that need to come together and their voices come together. The star quarterback. The big running back.” Change happens over time as groups are able to tweak the methods of those who came before them. The Pac-12’s players will still have a chance to make their voices heard as they fight for change and those who will inevitably come after them.
“WE, FOR THE MOST PART, PLAYED BALL SO WE COULD HAVE A FREE EDUCATION,” - Cedric Turner
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A&C
CHANGE DOESN’T REST:
HOW FERMATA BALLET COLLECTIVE REINVENTED THE DANCE COMPANY BY JENNAH PENDLETON • TWITTER @JENNAHPEN
Dancers warm up with stretches and slow rhythmic movements before rehearsal. The Fermata Ballet Collective supports dancers to continue dancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Flex Studios is where dancers come to perfect their art to later showcase their skills. With concerns of COVID-19, the dancers follow safety protocols to help prevent the spread of the virus. (Kevin Wang/ Daily Emerald)
Dancers are not the type of people to be idle and let the world happen around them without taking action. Earlier this summer, Eugene dancers proved this when they created a new dance collective that aims to support the dance community in the face of extraordinary challenges. Fermata Ballet Collective, formed in June, demonstrates the resilience of the local dance community. When met with a global pandemic that made the traditional process of a dance company impossible, as well as the civil unrest that has aimed to change traditional power structures, the seven founders of Fermata saw the dire need for change. “There was really this beautiful opportunity for the re-birth of something new, something healthy, something safe,” said Angela Dunham, dancer and co-founder of Fermata. According to Lindsey Shields, another co-founder, the conception of the group formed over appetizers at McMenamins. Co-founder Jessica Jaye Mackinson said that the idea was the result of friends coming together in an effort to safely create dance after a few months of isolation. Fermata is a performing collective that eschews the traditional structure of a dance company in which most of the power is wielded by the administration and not dancers. Instead, Fermata relies on an egalitarian decision-making process that prioritizes the needs of dancers, Dunham said. The creative and administrative decisions are made collectively, as opposed to a traditional company in which one artistic director and one executive director are in charge of those decisions, respectively. Fermata has set up its class and rehearsal structure to be accessible to the larger dance community. Classes are targeted at all levels of ability in multiple styles of dance and cost $15 for one class or $55 for five. Though labeled as a ballet company, Fermata seeks to be a resource for dancers who are facing hard times as a result of the pandemic. It offers a space for dancers to gather and get what they need out of a class, the co-founders said. Before practicing outside of the studio, the “This has been an incubator for them to maintain dancers rehearsed their set. The Fermata their resume, their career, their bodies, their minds,” Ballet Collective supports dancers to continue Mackinson said. “That resource for them is invaluable.” dancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Flex studios is where dancers come to perfect This type of change is a big deal for the dance their art to later showcase their skills. With world, particularly in ballet. The #MeToo and Black concerns of COVID-19, the dancers follow Lives Matter movements have highlighted the huge amount of discrimination based on race, class, gender safety protocols to help prevent the spread of the virus. (Kevin Wang/ Daily Emerald)
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and body type that are institutionalized in classical ballet companies across the country. By establishing a dancer-oriented non-hierarchy, this structure “eliminates that opportunity for abuse of power,” Dunham said. Though the collective’s co-founders recognize the dire need for change within classical ballet companies, they thought it essential to keep the word “ballet” in the name over something more general. “It was important to our name and brand that we are an exemplary institution of healthy ballet, diverse ballet and representative ballet,” Dunham said. Fermata’s next performance will be at ArtCity’s BEAM, an all-ages pop-up event that will showcase works by local artists that incorporate light. The piece it is creating for BEAM is not pre-choreographed in the studio, but a reaction to their environment — much like Fermata itself. After a lively in-studio warm-up and improv session one evening, Fermata company dancers ventured a few blocks over from their rehearsal space to the Eugene Park Blocks where BEAM will take place. What is usually a vivacious public space in the day was eerily vacant and ethereally lit. The dancers immediately took to the space, creating improvisational movement around the park infrastructure. The piece being created developed organically, inspired by the urban environment in which it will be performed. “There is something so beautiful and special happening in this time and space,” Dunham said. Fermata currently offers five open classes a week at several venues that range from ballet to contemporary to heels hip-hop. There are several additional workshops where Fermata company dancers collaborate on choreography for an upcoming project, or sometimes just for fun. The fluid nature of these rehearsals makes for a fun and energetic atmosphere within the studio; dancers seem to forget everyone is masked up due to a worldwide health crisis. Fermata follows state-regulated precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus by limiting class sizes and requiring face coverings. You can see Fermata perform on Friday, Oct. 16, at the Eugene Park Blocks as a part of ArtCity’s BEAM. You can also take class with Fermata at various venues, which are announced weekly on their website and Instagram.
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OPINION
SAFETY AND CLEAN AIR QUALITY IS AN EARNED PRIVILEGE AT UO BY EMILY BORCHARDT • TWITTER @EMILYFBORCHA
The Holiday Farm Fire has taken so much from and even surpassed 700. Amy MacPherson, a our neighboring communities. It has burned public information officer from the California down at least 430 homes and over 20 commercial Air Resources board, told Grist that breathing buildings, according to The Register-Guard, leaving in particles from the fires can increase the risk many with nowhere to go and no choice but to find of asthma and heart attacks, as well as cardiac shelter in Eugene where the air quality index arrhythmias. was reaching extremely dangerous levels. With few clean air shelters came a great Several shelters sprang up, but too deal of stress on where to go. UO few weren’t open for overnight facilities would be a great place use. Some folks found shelter in to house disaster evacuees. hotels, but even that situation As a public university, UO seemed tenuous, as many has the power to open its were told to vacate shortly doors and work to keep after arrival. A decision its community safe and which has since been healthy. There are many reversed. large, vacant buildings It is unfortunate that could be put to that so many lost good use, so why has their homes and the university stayed communities, but we silent? cannot forget the most vulnerable during this The answer is time: those experiencing obvious: The homelessness. administration Nationwide, Eugene has only wants to the highest per capita protect those that population of the unhoused. bring in financial For every 100,000 residents gain to the university. there are 432 people experiencing UO had made it very homelessness. During the fires, clear that faculty, staff and there were not many options students were the for them to find safe shelter. Smoke lingers over the center of the University of Oregon campus. only ones allowed to The Expo Center operated The Eugene-Springfield area is filled with ash and smoke due to the find shelter, safety and as an overnight clean air clean air because they’re Holiday Farm Fire. (Summer Surgent-Gough/Emerald) shelter, but could only house seen as financial assets that 15 people at a time and required a referral from the school doesn’t want to lose. White Bird, according to The Register-Guard. Being a UO student, I’m no longer surprised An air quality index of over 300 is considered by the school’s selfish choices when it comes hazardous by the Environmental Protection to serving the community, but I am deeply Agency, and being exposed to this air for over disappointed. Access to clean air and shelter is not a 24 hours qualifies as “emergency conditions.” privilege, but a human right. As a college town, the The AQI in Eugene was well over the 300 range school is the epicenter of the city and has some of
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the best resources available to serve its community. The argument that there isn’t enough space in these buildings is completely invalid. Mackenzi V. Ní Flainn, an employee at Occupy Medical, told The Register-Guard: “We responded when COVID came out, we responded and we made shelters that were designed for these people to be safe during the pandemic. If nothing else, we should have learned already how to implement those things. The pandemic is not an excuse.” Although she directed this towards the city of Eugene and its pushback on creating overnight shelters that could house more people, it’s relevant to the university. It’s been done before because of COVID-19, and it can be done again to provide safety to those who need it. UO also chose to blatantly ignore community members when they called upon the school to open its doors to those who needed shelter. There were campaigns on social media calling on the university to open its buildings. The university chose to not serve the community that serves them in so many ways and plays a major factor in the school’s financial gain. UO President Michael Schill chose to leave the community members in danger. I’m tired of this university always choosing capital gain over helping its community. What will Schill do when Eugene and surrounding communities face more inevitable natural disasters? Will he continue to choose to close UO’s doors and remain silent even when his own community demands safety and begs for help? Based on the lack of empathy he’s shown in the past weeks, it appears UO will always prioritize money over serving the community.
NEWS
‘THEY’RE NOT TELLING US ANYTHING’: STAFF UNION PRESIDENT CONCERNED ABOUT EMPLOYEE SAFETY, UNIVERSITY TRANSPARENCY BY SALLY SEGAR • TWITTER @SALLYSEGAR
Carson Dining, located inside Carson Hall, is open for students who moved into the dormitory. The freshman class of 2024 officially moved into the dorms the last weekend of September at the University of Oregon. The university requires first-year students to live in dorms their first year attending. The university follows the state’s protocols regarding COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the virus. (Kevin Wang/Daily Emerald)
The University of Oregon has released COVID-19 resources and policies for its students and faculty, but the school’s classified-staff union is concerned for the health and safety of its members going into fall term. Service Employees International Union Sublocal 085 represents over 1,500 classified staff at UO, Stephanie Prentiss, SEIU president, said. Classified staff work in departments like custodial, University Housing and Campus Planning and Facilities Management. UO has “done great by the students,” Prentiss said, but hasn’t done enough for employees currently on campus and those scheduled to return. “The students are super important,” Prentiss said. “If they weren’t there, we wouldn’t have jobs. But you also have to remember that if they’re there, somebody’s gotta do the work.” The university has been flexible with staff whose jobs can be done remotely, Prentiss said, but has rejected SEIU’s pushes for hazard pay. “There are people that have been here since before campus shut down for spring, that were working 40 hours a week on campus and haven’t left,” Prentiss said. “They’re essential workers, they deserve hazard pay as far as I’m concerned.” In an email, Missy Matella, UO’s
senior director for employee and labor relations, said the university “follows applicable collective bargaining agreements and UO policies with respect to pay.” In the spring, UO implemented an emergency sick leave program, allowing employees to use additional paid leave hours. However, Prentiss said, a sick employee could be without suitable pay while quarantining or recovering before returning to work. Even solutions like remote work and training might not be enough, Prentiss said. “People can’t afford not to work. They just can’t afford it,” Prentiss said. “And if they go home, there’s nothing in place in writing, as it stands right now, that’s going to ensure that employees will have anything to live on once they’re home.” UO hasn’t implemented mandatory COVID-19 testing for staff, Prentiss said, including student employees in UO’s dining halls. She is concerned testing might not be readily available and accessible. The university provides voluntary testing for staff, prioritizing employees on campus, UO spokesperson Saul Hubbard said via email. UO asks students and employees to self-check for symptoms before coming to campus, Hubbard said, in
accordance with the Oregon Health Authority. OHA does not recommend testing people without symptoms, as it “represents an unnecessary burden for the employee.” Rogelio Lozano, a junior working at Hamilton Dining Hall, said exposure to COVID-19 is in the back of everyone’s minds. However, he said he feels pretty safe, given UO’s safety measures and because he expects to see less students. “If their whole goal is to protect the students, you would think that they would test the people serving them,” Lozano said. The university’s steps for ensuring campus safety include providing face coverings, posting signage regarding face masks and providing flexibility to caregivers and others with personal needs, Matella said. SEIU members are feeling helpless and worried about their health and safety, Prentiss said. “They know there’s no chance of them really being protected even with a mask on because they’re going to be indoors, with students, in very close proximity with them.” Prentiss wishes UO would communicate more with union leadership about its plans and locations of positive campus COVID-19 cases.
“We’re all assuming. And this is the problem,” Prentiss said. “Because if they’re not telling us these specific questions that we’re asking — and they’re not telling us anything — it feels like they’re not considering it.” SEIU 503, the state’s classified staff union, ratified a Letter of Agreement with Oregon’s seven public universities regarding COVID-19 workplace issues on Sept. 9. The LOA clarifies safety equipment, flexible scheduling options and COVID-19 exposure notice expectations. To prepare SEIU 085’s members, Prentiss recommends utilizing temporary COVID-19 protections under the federal Family Medical Leave Act or Oregon Family Leave Act. Employees caring for children due to COVID-19-related closures are eligible for up to 12 weeks of additional leave until Dec. 31, UO’s human resources website stated. Prentiss suggests keeping a daily journal. She is worried that certain departments might blame staff for not adhering to social distancing when it isn’t their fault. “Universities don’t work unless we do,” she said.
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I N C O R P O R AT E D
SPORTS
THE ROLE OF SPORTS THROUGH PANDEMIC DISRUPTION BY CHARLES GEARING • TWITTER @GEARINGCHARLIE
“SPORTS PROVIDE AN ESCAPE, A SENSE OF SCHOOL SPIRIT AND COMMUNITY, AND SO MUCH MORE.”
If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has given us, it’s insight towards what we all, as humans, truly need. Whether that means watching sports, socializing with friends and family, going to work or class or the million other things we all took for granted, COVID-19 offers us a window into the requirements of the human soul. With the spread of COVID-19 and the return of sports, it’s become clear that sports mean much more to people than just leisure. The value of sports goes beyond simple entertainment, especially in times of distress. Whether it be through Major League Baseball, NBA basketball or watching your hometown team compete for the Stanley Cup, this is about more than just sports. I recently put together a 10-question survey to help gauge the room on what sports really mean to all of us during this turbulent, hectic and sometimes even scary time. Looking at the results, the conclusion becomes clear. About 40% of the sampled group said that during the pandemic, they’ve watched sports more than four times a week. This is in stark contrast to that of normal, pre-pandemic times, where only 33.3% of individuals watch more than four times a week. Why is this, though? Is it because generally, people have more time? Or is it deeper than that? I’d say the latter. Of the 55 survey respondents, over half felt that sports during this time have offered them some form of “therapeutic relief.” This, to me, is
meaningful. When society is surrounded by chaos, sports offer an escape. Looking to the future, it’s easy to tell why this matters. Think about college football, for example. Certain conferences, including the Pac-12, have decided to cancel their fall seasons altogether. But again, this is bigger than college football. The lopsided majority of the surveyed group, 75.9%, to be exact, felt that the decision made by the Pac-12 and other conferences to cancel fall sports was the right decision. At the same time, 64.1% feel that football provides a highly-significant piece of the college experience. Saturdays in Eugene, Columbus, Ann Arbor and other college towns across the country will be quieter than usual this year; much, much quieter. Although it’s widely agreed upon that this was the right, and possibly the only choice, given the circumstances, that doesn’t make it any less of a bummer. Sports provide an escape, a sense of school spirit and community, and so much more. Their presence in the fall will be missed.
(Emerald Archives)
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