OCT. 26, 2020
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Unsafe Work Conditions MAJOR HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS CONTINUE FOR UO EMPLOYEES DESPITE THE SHIFT TO PRIMARILY REMOTE EDUCATION.
NEWS: WASTEWATER TESTING FOR COVID-19 P. 3
A&C: GRIEF DURING COVID-19 P. 6
OPINION: YOU NEED TO VOTE P. 8
SPORTS: FOOTBALL’S NEW STARTING LINEUP P. 8 M O N D AY, O C T O B E R 2 6 , 2 0 2 0
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Campus Planning Committee & Public Hearing Notice
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The UO Campus Planning Committee will be holding a public hearing to consider amendments to the University of Oregon’s Campus Plan. The purpose of the proposed amendment is to incorporate the university’s land north of Franklin Boulevard into the Campus Plan to guide essential future campus development and connect people to the Willamette River based on Campus Plan principles.The amendment will be consistent with the new Conditional Use Permit (2018). Please visit the project website at https://cpfm.uoregon.edu/campus-plan-amendment to learn more and provide feedback. The public hearing will be the first agenda item at the Campus Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, starting at 10:00am online via Zoom.
Drawing Ends Nov. 2, 2020
Please contact the Office of Campus Planning at uplan@uoregon.edu or 541-346-5024 for the Zoom meeting link and additional information. Everything You Want to Know, Everything UO
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FLUSHING OUT THE VIRUS WHY UO ISN’T TESTING YOUR WASTE AND OSU IS BY SALLY SEGAR • TWITTER @SALLYSEGAR “IF YOU FLUSH, YOU PARTICIPATE,” OSU’S STEVE CLARK SAID. “WASTEWATER SEWER SURVEILLANCE COSTS A FRACTION OF OTHER MONITORING TECHNIQUES AND IS MAXIMIZED WHEN IT COMPLEMENTS OTHER COVID-19 MONITORING TECHNIQUES.”
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ON THE COVER
Liz Fairchild is the Vice President of External Relations for the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation. The GTFF is critical of the University of Oregon’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that the safety of both GE’s and faculty has not been properly protected by the university. (Will Geschke/Emerald)
Wastewater surveillance is a tool used to detect traces of the coronavirus in sewage. Oregon State University has implemented wastewater testing into their COVID-19 response; the University of Oregon has not. Wastewater testing — also known as wastewater sampling or surveillance — can detect viral markers in sewage and also measure changes in the prevalence of these markers, Steve Clark, OSU’s vice president for university relations and marketing, said. At OSU, “sewer surveillance has been helpful in locating populations of students who need additional testing,” Clark said in an email. “With additional testing, we can provide those who test positive with care sooner than otherwise may have occurred.” This type of COVID-19 surveillance alone does not identify infected individuals or tell the exact number of cases from one source, Clark said, “but it can help identify geographic areas of potential concern and monitor trends of the viral loads in these buildings, campuses and communities.” OSU places wastewater collection devices outside of buildings like student housing and collects samples from a few days, Clark said. If wastewater shows a high prevalence of viral markers, OSU responds with rapid response screening of student populations living in residence halls or apartment complexes. OSU’s TRACE-COVID-19 public health project launched Sept. 28, according to the project’s website. Clark said TRACE-OSU involves weekly prevalence testing of as many as 1,000 students, faculty and staff at its campus in Corvallis and hundreds more at the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend and at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Those being tested are selected from a pool of OSU members who voluntarily registered to participate, according to an article from the OSU newsroom. TRACE-OSU and TRACE-Community — the school’s community-wide testing efforts in Corvallis, Bend and Newport — both include wastewater surveillance. Wastewater testing is an integral part of OSU’s TRACE efforts, Clark said. Sewage surveillance prevents further “testing or sampling fatigue” from university communities, among other benefits, he said. “There is always 100% participation. If you flush, you participate,” Clark said. “Wastewater sewer surveillance costs a fraction of other monitoring techniques and is maximized when
it complements other COVID-19 monitoring techniques.” UO is not currently considering wastewater testing, university spokesperson Saul Hubbard said. “There are some inherent challenges with that method of testing, including difficult access for effective sampling in many of the UO’s older buildings,” Hubbard said in an email, “and poor ability to identify the individual or individuals tied to a positive wastewater test in buildings that many people are using or visiting.” Because of these challenges, Hubbard said, UO decided to commit its available resources to testing people themselves with its COVID-19 Monitoring and Assessment Program. Clark said OSU did not experience issues related to the age of buildings on campus. However, it was difficult to initially locate sewer lines outside of buildings, he said. MAP initially conducted two rounds of testing on students living in UO’s residence halls, Hubbard said, and has expanded its capacity to between 3,000 and 4,000 tests per week. Hubbard said MAP will offer voluntary testing for some groups of employees and students. This week, UO’s testing schedule includes target groups like fraternities and sororities, underserved groups and employees working on campus, Hubbard said. Starting in November, UO plans to expand testing to other groups of UO staff and students and eventually the community, he said. UO is providing COVID-19 testing Monday through Thursday to students who live in the residence halls, with at least one student in each room tested weekly, according to its COVID-19 cases webpage. “We encourage the campus community to participate in widespread testing through our voluntary COVID-19 testing for students and employees, offered four days a week,” the site stated. Addy Alfred, secretary of Student Health Advocacy for the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, said she thinks UO should be testing campus wastewater. Announcing results from wastewater testing might help dissuade students from attending or hosting group gatherings, Alfred said, and it might also be useful in the university’s contact tracing efforts. “I’m actually surprised that we haven’t been doing that,” she said.
Around OR REGIONAL AND STATE NEWS OREGON BALLET THEATRE’S “WISH LIST”: After its plans for their 2020-21 season were interrupted by the pandemic, Oregon Ballet Theatre is not resting. Its reimagined season will open with a performance called “Wish List,” an evening of solos and duets from company members’ list of classical and contemporary dream roles. The performances will be livestreamed from the OBT warehouse starting Oct. 29 and ending Nov. 15. Tickets can be purchased at obt.org. – JENNAH PENDLETON MAJORITY OF FEDERAL RENT ASSISTANCE YET TO BE DISTRIBUTED: Four months ago, the Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Board allocated $60 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to provide assistance to renters in Oregon. Approximately 38% of those funds had been distributed by Oct. 2, and 11% had been committed to households, although not yet distributed, according to a report from Oregon Housing and Community Services. Housing officials have until Dec. 30 of this year to distribute the funds or otherwise forfeit the money. – JOANNA MANN
(Summer Surgent-Gough/Emerald)
5 FOOTBALL PLAYERS TEST POSITIVE: As the Ducks prepared to kick off the football season Nov. 7, Oregon suffered a major set back when five players tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. This was the first time that the program has had positive tests. Head coach Mario Cristobal said the players are asymptomatic and the team will undergo further testing on Sunday. – OSCAR DUYCK
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‘OPENING A WINDOW ISN’T GOING TO CUT IT’ GTF F C R ITI C I Z E S U O SA F ETY P O LI C I E S BY SILAS SLOAN • TWITTER @SILASLOAN
The Graduate Teaching Fellows Health to do.” Federation raised concerns that the Fairchild said this lack of a robust University of Oregon administration is contact tracing system makes it difficult not doing enough to mitigate COVID-19 for GEs to know if they have been spread among staff, criticizing its current exposed to the coronavirus and if they safety policies during an Oct. 14 press should quarantine, which puts “countless conference. Liz Fairchild, GTFF vice others at risk.” president of external relations, spoke on Should an employee need to selfbehalf of the GTFF. isolate, there are limited resources “University of Oregon administration available and they are not communicated has failed to adequately clearly, she said. meet the needs of not While UO’s testing just graduate student capabilities have been employees, but also primarily focused on faculty and staff in residence halls and regards to COVID-19 communal living safety,” according to on campus, Matella the statement read by said the university is Fairchild. UO’s policies working on expanding and practices continued those capabilities for throughout the summer employees. and now into fall term, With classes disproportionately moving to a primarily affecting research remote structure, graduate students and many GEs don’t have staff, she said. access to a reliable LIZ FAIRCHILD GTFF Vice President of UO’s health and workspace, which External Relations safety operational is forcing them to plan states that safety is a personal combine their personal and professional responsibility for students and staff. lives. According to the statement, GEs Fairchild said while the GTFF agrees are having to be available beyond their with this statement, it believes the typical working hours and make difficult responsibility is also shared with the decisions, such as whether to pay internet university and the board of trustees. bills instead of utility bills. “We as employees cannot do our due “The University of Oregon has diligence if the university doesn’t put us refused to provide funding extensions in a position where we are empowered to for graduate students,” Fairchild said. take that responsibility,” Fairchild said. “This means that many GEs must Current university policy instructs choose between either working in employees to tell a supervisor if they test unsafe conditions to meet graduation positive for the coronavirus, she said, requirements or find a way to pay but its operational plan does not provide astronomical academic costs ourselves additional guidance. in the middle of a global pandemic, or In the event of a positive case on worse, forfeit our degrees.” campus, Missy Matella, UO’s senior As per the current GTFF Collective director of employee and labor relations, Bargaining Agreement, the university said the administration will try to identify is obligated to protect GEs from unsafe and inform close contacts, but there are workplaces by providing a safe and limitations to what the university can do. healthy working environment. While “We can’t contact trace ourselves,” said UO currently has protocols to fulfill Matella. “That’s for Lane County Public these obligations, GTFF President
“WE AS EMPLOYEES CANNOT DO OUR DUE DILIGENCE IF THE UNIVERSITY DOESN’T PUT US IN A POSITION WHERE WE ARE EMPOWERED TO TAKE THAT RESPONSIBILITY.”
Liz Fairchild is the Vice President of External Relations for the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation. During a press conference addressing the university’s response to COVID-19, she said: “We agree that in a pandemic safety is the responsibilities of employees and students. However, this is a shared responsibility with the University of Oregon, and especially the Board of Trustees. Further, we as employees cannot do our due diligence if the university doesn’t put us in a position where we are empowered to take that responsibility.” The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, or GTFF, is critical of the University of Oregon’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that the safety of both GE’s and faculty has not been properly protected by the university. (Will Geschke/Emerald)
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COVER
The University of Oregon’s transition to remote learning has left many graduate employees without a reliable, on-campus workspace. The Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation, or GTFF, is critical of the University of Oregon’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that the safety of both GEs and faculty has not been properly protected by the university. (Summer Surgent-Gough/Emerald)
Rajeev Ravisankar said the follow-through on these protocols is “uneven.” 84% of campus buildings have had their air handling systems adjusted to increase airflow, according to the operational plan. However, 16% of campus buildings “either do not have the capability to increase outside air or have some other system or operational limitation.” To combat this, the university’s plan suggests individuals open a window to improve airflow. When ventilation may not be sufficient in such buildings, the university will turn to strategies such as physical distancing, face masks and attention to safe behavior, according to Director of Environmental Health and Safety Steve Stuckmeyer. Ravisankar acknowledged the university’s efforts to put safety mechanisms in buildings but said the varying construction among campus buildings still leads to the concern of possible unhealthy work environments for GEs. “It’s not just about people not abiding by protocol,” Ravisankar said. “But it’s about the university administration really not having a plan in place or a mechanism in place to do enforcement, to have more standardization across the units.” Should the university move to a hybrid model, Ravisankar said he believes GEs will still find
themselves in unsafe conditions despite the university’s current plans. “You’d have to really rethink how classes are going to be set up once we even get to that picture,” he said. “And opening windows as a solution is not going to cut it.” The GTFF, UO administration and other unions around campus are currently meeting every other week to try to address these issues. Matella said she hopes to continue the discussion and come up with a course of action; Fairchild echoed the sentiment. “We just have to keep pushing them to make these changes and make these problems more accessible to the public so that they understand that they’re not just speaking to the 1,400 some-odd GTFF members,” Fairchild said at the press conference. “But we’re really advocating for the entire community.” For the GTFF and other unions on campus, these workplace safety concerns are a product of larger, systemic issues within the university, according to the GTFF’s statement. Both Ravisankar and the statement made by the GTFF pointed to the lack of democracy and shared decision-making at UO. “I think better decisions will get made if it’s spread out in that way and that it is actually a model of shared governance at the university,” said Ravisankar. “As opposed to people who are making six-figure
salaries, who, you know, are just really distant from the realities that a lot of us face.” While the GTFF has been involved in UO’s Employee Safety Reopening Committee, according to Ravisankar, graduate employees and classified workers are not on the University Task Force on Long-term Responses to COVID-19, which advises UO president Michael Schill on financial responses to the pandemic. Ravisankar said the university’s response to these student groups not being represented on the task force was that those groups won’t be involved in the decision-making process. He said decisions like these give the illusion that unions and employees are involved when in reality they aren’t; it’s just top university officials calling the shots. This is unacceptable to Ravisankar. He said that since GEs and other campus employees will be feeling the effects of these financial challenges, they should know what they’re dealing with to figure out solutions. “[That] reveals the problem, the wider problem that exists, I think, very sharply,” said Ravisankar, “and I think really calls for something very different, especially during such an extraordinary time.”
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A&C
WE’RE ALL GRIEVING OVER SOMETHING DURING THE
COVID-19 PANDEMIC BY JENNAH PENDLETON • TWITTER @JENNAHPEN
The word “loss” is purposefully vague because it is used to describe many things. Loss can be a break-up, the death of your pet or the absence of your usual way of life. Grief is the response to loss, and while it is a complicated, arduous process, loss itself is usually specific. COVID-19 has changed this. The effects of a pandemic on a young person’s life are immeasurable, and by that, I mean truly impossible to quantify or qualify. Because of COVID-19, young adults are being torn away from the things they know and love: their comforts, the experiences they were just discovering and the future they were creating for themselves. Most millennials and Gen Zers have never known certainty as a result of years of economic instability and a rapidly changing cultural landscape, but few of us could have predicted loss on COVID-19 has caused people around the world to grieve over the loss of a this scale. loved one. The ongoing nature of the pandemic can make dealing with the Since the trauma even more difficult. (Summer Surgent-Gough/Emerald) beginning of the lockdown, I have contemplated how grief has affected me personally. I have been navigating the process of grief since the sudden passing of my father six years ago. The following period of my life was a blur of pain and desperate reckoning with the world, but the people around me made living bearable. So what does the grieving process look like when isolation from others is the current truth of our world? Marc Zola of Oregon Counseling said that the grieving process has become more complicated since the pandemic began. “All loss brings emotional pain and grief, but there’s a different quality of
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uncertainty to what’s happening now,” Zola said. “I think the fact that we’re all physically separated exacerbates the sense of uncertainty. The result is a different kind of loss, sometimes called ambiguous loss.” Of course, COVID-19 has caused plenty of very specific loss through the deaths of over 200,000 Americans in the last seven months. I personally do not know someone who has died from COVID-19, but I can still feel the weight of the absence of these people and the pain of their loved ones. Whether we are dealing with the death of a loved one or something more vague, the pandemic has also changed how we grieve. Zola said that the path to recovery is not as straightforward as a typical loss, because we are still in the middle of the trauma. Instead of going through the standard cycle of grief, he said we are more likely to bounce around between denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Zola also noted that throughout the lockdown his clientele has increased. However, the feelings his clients express have become more homogenous. People are describing similar All loss brings feelings of loneliness and uncertainty. He said emotional that he has used this as a tool to help clients, by appropriately disclosing that it isn’t just them pain and grief, feeling this way. but there’s a “I hope that in a strange way we can find community by remembering that everyone else different quality is in the same boat and that we’re all in this together,” Zola said. of uncertainty to Despite physical limitations, it seems that the what’s happening answer still lies in supporting one another. Part of “acceptance” means that we must collectively now.” recognize that our current trauma will likely affect us for the rest of our lives. In the most MARC ZOLA of Oregon pragmatic sense, Zola recommends regularly Counseling scheduling time with friends or planning distanced hang-outs. As we navigate how to deal with grief in our daily lives, it is important to remember that it is not a simple process. I have found that the most contradictory part of grief is being angry with the loss, but thankful for the person the resulting grief has made you become. After losing so many opportunities and so many lives, I am hopeful that our collective recovery will lead us to be a more accepting and equitable society, one in which we support each other through our worst moments.
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OPINION
YOU NEED TO VOTE
THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION SINCE 1860. YOU NEED TO STAY EDUCATED AND CAST YOUR VOTE BY NOV. 3. THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON IT.
BY JAEL CALLOWAY• TWITTER @JAEL_CALLOWAY The 2020 election is almost a week away, and with the days getting closer it’s important that you know that your voice matters. Your opinion matters. Your vote matters. This isn’t just a presidential election – it’s a showdown between justice and injustice. Between human rights and dehumanization. And if you’re not worried about the outcome, you’re not paying attention. This year’s election is being named “the most important in our lifetime,” and for good reason. This is to vote out President Trump, who has done nothing but lie to our faces, ignore the cries coming from marginalized communities and announce that he is a big enough star that he can “grab ‘em by the pussy.” That’s not “boy talk,” it’s sexual assault. For four years, Trump’s administration has continued to disparage immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, African Americans, women, the disabled community and so many more. He has neglected the significance and impact that COVID-19 has made. He has failed the American people and has directly damaged what American democracy should stand for. Democracy is what gives individuals their freedom of political expression and their freedom of speech. Voting is an exercise of rights. When you don’t vote you are silencing your voice. You’re allowing someone to take your voice and apply to what works best for them. And none of us can afford that this year. Not voting is a vote for Trump. This year, younger generations, including millennials, Generation X and young voters, will out-vote baby boomers and older generations. In the 2018 midterm elections, voters younger than 53 cast 62.2 million votes while the older
(Makena Hervey/Emerald)
generations cast 60.1 million votes. His slogan “Make America Great Again” appeals to those who no longer view America as the great country they grew up in. Trump’s supporters believe that he has and will continue to make this country “great again.” But this year younger generations have the upper hand. This year younger generations have the chance to restructure this truly broken country. Joe Biden has made it abundantly clear that he will not only restore the dignity and civility the Oval Office is lacking, but he is going to emphasize a proper sense of what the president’s role should look like. Biden has spent his adult life in elective office, has put together a clear gun control plan, supports the Green New Deal (because climate change is real) and recognizes this country needs a conclusive public health response to curb the spread of COVID-19. He’s ready and determined to listen and respond appropriately to the American people. So, stay educated and vote. If not for you, vote for the immigrants who have had their families ripped apart. Vote for the African Americans who have had to fight for the acknowledgment of their own humanity. Vote for women who are losing rights over their own body. Because this year, like Barack Obama said, “democracy itself is on the ballot.”
SPORTS
OREGON SECONDARY LOOKS TO REGROUP AFTER DEPARTURES BY OSCAR DUYCK As the Pac-12 season finally begins this November, Duck fans will see a starting lineup with unfamiliar faces. With the college football season in flux, many members of the 2019 squad decided to leave the program. The Ducks lost Jevon Holland, Thomas Graham Jr. and Brady Breeze. As the new season approaches, it’s going to be up to a new corps of players to step up. One fortunate development for Oregon is the return of cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. After initially declaring for the NFL draft, Lenoir decided to return to the program for his senior year. Lenoir brings a wealth of experience to the position as he enters 2020 with 27 consecutive starts. He was one of only four defensive players to start every game for the Ducks. Lenoir’s return staunches some of the bleeding that the defensive side has experienced over the last six months. During the pandemic, it’s hard for players to work on their game and to keep up with their teammates. However, the Oregon defense has communicated with each other and kept up with a chaotic college football landscape. Take sophomore safety Verone McKinley III for example. He’s been watching both college and NFL tape and critiquing it for Elite Media, a collaborative effort between journalists and athletes and has been hosting a podcast called “The Check Fade.” “The concepts are pretty much the same. We run a lot of things at Oregon that are seen in the NFL. I’m just trying to strengthen my mind,” McKinley said. McKinley will be a critical returning starter for Oregon. In the 2019 season he had four interceptions and was named to The Athletic’s Freshman All-American second PA G E 8
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team. He is a versatile player that can both play the nickel and free safety positions, giving Oregon more flexibility. Another potential breakout candidate in the secondary is senior safety Nick Pickett. Pickett is an experienced defender that can help fill the leadership void. “I feel like I had great mentors throughout college,” Pickett said. “The past three years I’ve had great role models. This is the year I just exploded and could be myself.” New playmakers are needed to keep Oregon’s secondary atop the Pac-12. One possibility is Dontae Manning, a five star freshman cornerback from Kansas City. Manning is the 11th highest rated prospect to commit to the Ducks. Sophomores Mykeal Wright and DJ James should see more snaps as well. Redshirt freshman Trikweze Bridges may also see more playing time after not being utilized in 2019. In any case, Oregon has extensive reserve depth to find impact players. According to veteran players, the young secondary players are making an impact in camp. “Every freshman that comes through comes in hungry,” Pickett said. “Regardless of where they are in the depth chart. They intend to get better in any way possible.” In what will be the weirdest season in Oregon football history, the Ducks secondary will have to adjust on the fly. With the return of Lenoir and the growth of McKinley and Pickett, there is reason to believe that the 2020 Oregon secondary can be special.