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Takeaways from Oregon men’s basketball’s victory over Oregon State
CAMPUS NEWS
UO wellness center to take up previous Shake Smart location in Student Recreation Center
Men’s Resource Center and Duck Nest will relocate to a more centralized location.
UO partners with Western University of Health Sciences for new pre-health pathway
By Corey Hoffman Senior News Reporter
The University of Oregon has partnered with Western University of Health Sciences to create a new pathway for prehealth students interested in a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree or a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.
Through the partnership, UO students
accepted into the pathway program are guaranteed an interview at one of WesternU’s two Oregon colleges, the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest or the College of Health Sciences-Northwest.
While the partnership does not guarantee admissions to either college, UO Pre-Health Advisor Sonia Gordillo said it creates a “more direct pathway” to med-
ical school by allowing students to stand out from other applicants.
“With the medical school application process being so competitive, being offered an interview in the sea of thousands of applicants is like having your foot halfway through the finish line,” Gordillo said.
Located in Lebanon WesternU Oregon caters to students from Oregon and surrounding areas who have an interest in working in rural and underserved areas of the Pacific Northwest.
“There is a medical shortage, particularly in the Willamette Valley where we are, and so the hope with this was that we would get more Oregon natives that would be interested in practicing in Oregon and help us with that shortage. The
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UO professor arrested on child sex-abuse charges
A University of Oregon history professor was arrested Friday morning on 20 counts of encouraging child sex abuse following the execution of a search warrant.
By Tarek Anthony & Reilly Norgren Editor-in-Chief & News Editor
The Lane County Sheriff’s Office arrested University of Oregon professor Andrew Edmund Goble Nov. 21 morning on 10 counts of encouraging child sex abuse in the first degree and 10 counts of encouraging child sex abuse in the second degree.
The arrest follows a search warrant executed at a residence in Eugene on the morning after. Goble, 72, is a professor of history and medieval studies in the UO College of Arts and Sciences. He is fully tenured and has been at the university since 1990, he was placed on administrative leave Friday pending the outcome of his charges, according to the university.
A statement from the university read, in part: “We understand that this news is deeply concerning to our community. According to law enforcement, the individual does not present any current threat to the university community, and the investigation has found no indication that any students were involved or at risk.”
Encouraging child sex abuse is defined by Oregon law as knowingly publishing, distributing, accessing or viewing a visual recording of sexually explicit content involving a child.
The search warrant stemmed from an investigation by the Lane County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force focusing on child exploitation. Lane County was aided by the Lane County District Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5 p.m. on Nov. 21, when this publication was printed. Goble’s arraignment is expected to occur on Nov. 24. Stay with us at dailyemerald.com for updates.
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University of Oregon seemed like a really good place to find native Oregonians that would be interested in working and living here,” College of Health Sciences-Northwest Director of Operations Clint Edwards said.
According to Edwards, 40% of students from the first cohort of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, which began in 2021, found a job within 40 miles of the WesternU campus. While talks of an official partnership between WesternU Oregon and UO began in the fall of 2024, COMP-Northwest Dean Lisa Warren said UO has always been a top
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Eugene Planning Commission backs code changes allowing taller new UO dorms in East Campus
The commission backed zoning changes Tuesday night that will allow the University of Oregon to build significantly taller residence halls in East Campus.
By Sasha Love Senior News Reporter
The University of Oregon’s Next Generation Housing Development Plan has made the first move toward zone changes that will allow for new residence halls in the East Campus area.
The Eugene Planning Commission backed the changes in a 4–0 vote, with one commissioner abstaining, at a Tuesday work session. The recommendation would zone properties in the East Campus area for institutional use, increasing the height limit to 85 feet.
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Love Our City addresses food insecurity on and off
UO PDX campus
By Mikayla Mesko PDX Reporter
PORTLAND, Ore. – University of Oregon’s Portland campus students entered November with uncertainty of where their next meal would come from. The university’s food drop partner, Love Our City, was quick to action, accommodating students and community members alike.
Love Our City, a nonprofit run by Love City Church Pastors Seth and Kaz Brooks, distributes over 150 boxes of food a week.
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UO partners with Western University of Health Sciences for new pre-health pathway
UO’s new partnership with Western University of Health Sciences gives students a ‘more direct path’ to medical school.
“feeder” into WesternU’s medical school, so the partnership was a “formalization” of a preexisting relationship.
This partnership, Warren said, not only gives students the opportunity to give back to the community, but also to live and work in a familiar area.
“It’s also brand awareness for the students who are looking to become physicians, osteopathic physicians or physicians in general, that think, oh, ‘I didn’t know there was a med school just 40 minutes away. Let me go take a look. Or maybe there’s ways I can help volunteer,’” Warren said.
Ten percent of WesternU Oregon students come from UO, according to Warren.
The WesternU Oregon pathway agreement is one of three partnerships UO Pre-Health has across three different medical professions: pharmacy, physical therapy and medicine. The decision to partner with WesternU Oregon came, in part, due to similar goals and missions.
“Programs like these are developed when UO and the partner school identify mutually beneficial opportunities through outreach and collaborative discussions,” Gordillo said.
WesternU was founded in 1977 in Pomona, California, and expanded to Lebanon in 2004. According to its website, the medical school opened in 2011 with the College of Osteo-
pathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest. The school serves roughly 500 students every year across the two campuses.
The first group of UO pathway applicants are expected to apply to WesternU during the 2025-2026 application season.
“We accomplished what we set out to do, which was to build the pipeline and bring in physicians, primary care physicians, in particular, into the areas that are the greatest needs, which are some of these underserved areas,” Warren said.
UO wellness center to take up previous Shake Smart location in Student Recreation Center
By Sasha Love Senior News Reporter
The University of Oregon’s Men’s Resource Center and Duck Nest will relocate to the Student Recreation Center, creating a wellness center to support students’ physical, mental and sexual health.
The Men’s Resource Center previously occupied room 211 of the Erb Memorial Union for several years, and Duck Nest was located down a long winding hall on the EMU’s basement level. Now, University Health Services has taken the organizations under their wing and is relocating their resources to the bustling Student Recreation Center.
According to Hannah Jayne, the UHS Director of Health and Wellness, the wellness center will host various health services including the MRC and future Duck Nest, as well as Sexual Violence Prevention and Substance Abuse Prevention Education.
The different areas of wellness will program events together or alternate using the space for activities like injury prevention workshops and sexually transmitted infection testing.
Jayne said student health fees will pay for the center.
Changes to the Men’s Resource Center
The MRC was an ASUO-affiliated club until last spring when it transitioned to the hands of UHS. according to Jayne the MRC will still be using ASUO funds until the end of the year.
Along with other interested UO organizations, the MRC applied to renew their center’s occupancy in EMU 211 as an administrative space. Ultimately the new South Asian Southwest Asian and North African Center was awarded the space.
Arian Mobasser was the MRC program director for over four years until last spring. Mobasser said he thought the process was “fair.”
“We need to update our resources and EMU to fit what people want,” Mobasser said.
According to Jayne, one reason for the move was low foot
By Billie Corsetti News Reporter
Housing-affordability organizations in Eugene are urging city officials to including the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act in phase three of the city’s renters protection’s process.
Advocacy groups, including the Springfield-Eugene Tenant Association, SquareOne Villages and the Democratic Party of Lane County, advocated for TOPA during an October city council meeting to ensure renters are more aware when landlords are going to sell a building and give renters the first opportunity to purchase.
TOPA requires property owners to notify residents if they are planning to sell their building, and give the residents a time limit to decide whether or not they will form a tenant association to find an avenue to purchase the building.
“The residents then have a choice of either coming together to identify a property management company, or even potentially run it themselves as their own co-op and purchase the entire building, or to work with local nonprofit organizations,” Timothy Morris, executive director of SETA, said.
For housing-affordability advocates like SETA and
traffic in the MRC’s EMU location. Jayne said UHS collects data on the popularity of several EMU centers, and last year’s numbers showed that only 40 students passed through the MRC.
Mobasser agreed the foot traffic was low, but said that made the space feel more private. He is concerned that the new MRC being located right outside of a gym, a “traditionally masculine” environment, could create stigma.
“Having the MRC being embedded in the general UHS space will undermine how we do our work because one of the obstacles is stigma and it (the center) being more visible might have the reverse effect and create more stigma,” Mobasser said.
That said, Jayne is working hard to make the space as comforting as possible with soft lighting, squishy chairs and lots of plants.
“I really want this to feel like an oasis, like a place where students can ground themselves and relax,” Jayne said.
There are also plans to provide soundproof rooms for students to use telehealth services and have private conversations.
Attending the Men’s Resource Fair, Cash Kowalski, ASUO’s secretary of engagement, said he thinks the Rec serves as an accessible space for the new MRC.
“I think they (the MRC) are getting more connected and I think it is good to have a centralized location because the landscape of college can be hard to navigate,” Kowalski said.
As the center is constructed, Kowalski wants students to be kept in the loop.
“I hope that UO and whoever else is involved receives as much feedback as possible and makes it a space that’s truly centered around students,” Kowalski said.
Jayne said UHS is ensuring the space remains student-centered by receiving input from ASUO committees and offering programming and advertising led by student employees.
“Those employees drive our programming. So, the students dictate what programs they believe their peers need,” Jayne said. “I think students tend to learn the most about their wellness and wellbeing from each other and I want that space to role model what it means to be well at UO.” Jayne is hopeful the center will have a soft opening in spring 2026.
(ABOVE) The former location of Shake Smart in the Student Recreation Centers is prepared for its remodeling into the Men’s Resource Center and Duck Nest.
(Adaleah Carman/Emerald)
Housing-affordability advocates urge city official to enact opportunity to purchase act
Organizations ask city officials to include TOPA in phase three of rent protections.
SquareOne Villages, the goal of TOPA is to give residents the opportunity to stay in their housing, keep prices stabilized and avoid out-of-state corporations pushing them out.
The city of Eugene’s renters protections process first came into effect in August 2022 with phase one, which saw rental protections like mandated move-in/move-out documentation by the landlord and the $10 maximum screening charge for rental applicants. Phase two went into effect in August 2023 and placed limits on security deposit maximums, requiring landlords to consider applications on a first-come first-served basis.
According to the city’s original roadmap for the process, city officials during phase three will consider addressing issues like monthly gross income screenings, no-cause evictions and application requirements.
“Stability and affordability comes from community ownership, and our mission is to create those democratic communities that are permanently affordable and environmentally sustainable,” Chazandra Kern, a project manager for SquareOne Villages, said. “With TOPA, we see it as one of those tools that opens up the prospects for renters to not only maintain that stability, but to become co-owners in the housing communities.”
In Eugene, housing affordability and stability has been one of the top issues on residents’ minds, according to Celine Swenson-Harris, chair of the Democratic Party of Lane County.
“When I am out knocking on doors, when I talk to volunteers who go out knocking on doors and come back and talk to me about the conversations they had, we see housing and affordability show up again and again. No matter where you are in this community, and across so many different age and income demographics, housing and homelessness is one of the topics that we hear pretty much every time,” Swenson-Harris said.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition found that in Oregon, affordable rent for minimum wage-workers caps at $783 a month, but an average one-bedroom’s fair market rent is $1,435 a month. According to Eugene housing stats from January, 51% of the city’s population are renters, and 61% of them experience cost-burdens.
(LEFT) Timothy Morris, executive director of the Springfield-Eugene Tenant Association, supports the passing of the Tenant Opportunity of Purchase Act, which would give tenants priority to buy their building if it’s up for sale.
(Tyler Graham/Emerald)
UO General Counsel member explains ICE protocols and legal boundaries during faculty senate meeting
A UO legal professional fielded questions from university senate members about ICE presence on campus.
By Reilly Norgren News Editor
Amidst Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s presence in Eugene and Springfield and concerns of potential operations on campus, the University of Oregon faculty senate invited a member of the university’s general counsel to their meeting on Nov. 19 to answer questions from senators.
Jessica Price, special counsel for research, ethics and international affairs, was invited to the senate to address potential responses to ICE presence on campus.
Price said that telling someone to run if they see ICE may result in enforcement having cause to pursue them given “evasive action.” Price also cautioned against “creating a human shield” or “otherwise gathering in the midst of ICE activity” because it could result in more people being arrested.
According to a document released by the Oregon General Counsel, while the university’s position is to not directly assist ICE enforcement, individuals are still subject to criminal prosecution if they actively interfere with actions of a federal officer.
“Someone with really good intentions might promise someone safety and say ‘in my class, you are safe,’” Price said. “And I would say, don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
The general counsel’s guide states that university employees are not required to "affirmatively grant permission” to ICE officers to enter limited access spaces if the officers do not have a valid judicial warrant to enter.
General counsel “recommends that if presented with a warrant or subpoena to first contact” to recommends, if presented with a warrant or subpoena, first contacting OGC, giving the office a copy of the document and explaining to the officers that their process is not being obstructed but that they must contact OGC first.
Price also said that designation of sensitive locations such as hospitals, courthouses and schools was rescinded, and that the Trump administration is “intent” on using the harboring statute, citing an example of Milkwaukie County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan that was arrested.
For example, if a student is in a classroom and the professor lets them know ICE is outside, tells them to wait inside, tells them to use a different exit or physically puts themselves between ICE and the student, the professor is at risk of arrest and indictment, according to Price.
Price also advised against posting about Oregon being a sanctuary state because the federal administration may use
the word "sanctuary" to “identify targets.”
“You are balancing between helping your students feel safe and potentially making students a target,” Price said.
Oregon law prohibits local law enforcement agencies from using public resources for the purpose of enforcing federal immigration laws and prevents the use of public funds or personnel to support immigration enforcement efforts. However, Price said that if an area is considered a public space, ICE can enter.
Jessica Price Special counsel for research, ethics and international affairs “ “
Someone with really good intentions might promise someone safety and say ‘in my class, you are safe.’ And I would say, don’t make promises you can’t keep
reality, it’s possible they will proceed.”
When asked if ICE could potentially wait outside of a classroom, Price said that hallways are generally public but every space is “nuanced” and public versus private areas may differ between buildings.
Student Senator Cole Stevenson asked if students would face similar legal risks to professors if they stopped ICE from entering or assisted in leading someone out an alternate exit. Price said it would depend on the specific action, but that student may be subject to university code of conduct.
“If it’s conduct you might be penalized for for other intentions, you could probably be penalized if it involves ICE as well,” Price said.
Classrooms are generally not considered a public space, according to Price.
Price urged faculty members to call the general counsel’s office if an agent is asking for access to something.
“You can say ‘I am required to call this office before I can give you access to anything, please wait,’” Price said. “If I’m talking from the law, they should wait. If I’m talking from
ARTS & CULTURE
Sustainably stylish: The Racks’ second location
The Racks expanded its mission to make secondhand fashion more accessible with the opening of its second location on Oct. 24.
By Ameila Fiore Arts and Culture Writer
On Friday, Oct. 24, The Racks opened the doors to its second in-person location in the 5th Street Market Alley. The thrift store, known for its Y2K-inspired collection, hosted a grand opening event featuring free matcha, gift card giveaways and a custom Italian charm bracelet bar, which drew around 1,500 people. But less than two years ago, this staple small business wasn’t yet imagined.
Allyssa Corpuz is the co-founder and co-owner of The Racks alongside her boyfriend of eight years, Dylan Harloff. Corpuz began her thrifting journey as a seller on Depop, with the name “Rebel Youth Vintage,” before selling in Portland markets in 2021. She enjoyed the energy of selling clothes in person, so she started vending on campus while attending UO.
“We established a really good community on campus, and they were all influencing us to open the stores, so we kind of just did that,” Corpuz said. And so, after six months of searching for the perfect place, The Racks was born in June of 2024.
A year later, the 5th Street Market mall reached out to Allyssa, imploring them to take a spot in the Alley right across from the Gordon Hotel. The team used the momentum of the first store’s success to expand to that second location.
Tamayra-Nicole Corpuz, third-year advertising student at UO, manager of The Racks and Allyssa’s younger sister, remembered how “crazy” opening a storefront sounded when they first started out. Now, after their second has opened, what she especially appreciates are the connections she’s made and the active support her community has shown.
“Selling on campus has been amazing. I feel like I’ve made so many connections with, like, so many students,” she said. “It just feels like a little small community. And it kind of just grew into something so much more, with us opening up one store and the second one.”
Allyssa Corpuz is a recent UO Department of Architecture graduate, and although she had to learn the ins and outs of business on her own, her academic studies and connections made for a smooth transition.
“ “
It
just feels like a little small community. And it kind of just grew into something so much more, with us opening up one store and the second one.
Tamayra Corpuz Manager of The
Racks
“(At) the first store, especially, I had a lot of my peers who were in architecture or interior architecture help with designing the store. We all made renderings and different plans of how the store was going to look, and then we all kind of came together and made it look like our drawings that we had drawn up for it, so that was really cool to see,”
Allyssa Corpuz said.
The amount of dedication that went into both storefronts is apparent. Each has a colorful, exciting energy with retro design and dozens of clothing racks to sift through.
Vintage influence isn’t only in the decor choice, but the wardrobe’s quality, too. The sisters shared a similar senti-
ment on pre-owned, sustainable fashion over “fast” fashion, the practice of rapidly producing large quantities of inexpensive clothing with often devastating environmental impacts. Allyssa Corpuz emphasized that fast fashion wasn’t only an environmentally damaging choice, but also drives buyers to miss out on quality items. “We as a society are trained to buy new items just because they’re new. But the things made nowadays are very cheaply made and are not going to last as long as the items that we are selling in store, because they made stuff way better back then,”
Allyssa Corpuz said.
As for the future of the Racks, the horizon is endless. Tamayra-Nicole hopes to open an additional location on campus to make travel easier for employees and students alike. In the meantime, the Corpuz sisters will continue to make thrifting not only eco-friendly but stylish for everyone.
( ABOVE) Exterior of the The Racks’ new location in 5th Street Market in Eugene, Ore. on Nov. 21, 2025. (Adaleah Carman/Emerald)
Pluribus: a show with potential
The new Apple TV sci-fi show comes from the team behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
By Vinny White Arts and Culture Writer
Science fiction television has truly gripped streaming services this decade, with shows like “Severance,” “Andor,” “The Last of Us,” “Stranger Things” and more consistently creating buzz around the release of new episodes.
“Pluribus,” the new show from the creator and team behind “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” might just be the next sci-fi show to keep people coming back every week.
“Pluribus” follows cynical author Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) as she becomes one of the last people on Earth not to be infected by a disease that makes nearly everyone part of a hive mind. After losing her partner in the wake of the mass infection and becoming the only person left in Albuquerque, NM, Carol learns they are working around the clock to find a way to infect her as well. Everyone infected by the disease is very kind and hospitable as they find out what makes her different, but Carol knows that this infection could lead to the end of humanity as she knows it.
Seehorn is a wonderful lead actor, and it’s great to see her taking the spotlight after her exquisite performance as Kim Wexler in “Better Call Saul.” She plays to the camera, allowing you to see what she’s thinking and feeling. While her character is miserable and a bit mean, she still plays the part with enough reverence to make you want to root for her.
The supporting cast of “Pluribus” is also compelling, but in a very different way. With most of the planet being infected by a hive mind, they are all technically the same person, sharing the same thoughts and feelings at all times. Still, each actor manages to pull off a slightly different interpretation of this hive mind, allowing each person to shine in their own unique ways. Karolina Wydra, who plays Zosia, a frequently recurring member of the hive mind, toes the line between caring and somewhat menacing in a way that almost makes you feel like she may be trustworthy.
Even actors who only show up for a few scenes, such as Peter Bergman and Robert Bailey Jr., manage to make a great impression in their roles.
“Pluribus” has a strong visual identity and is clearly not afraid to try unique pieces of cinematography. The show utilizes techniques rarely seen in television, such as split diopter shots and complex camera rigs that get unique shots of vehicles. The set design and practical effects are similarly impressive, with many of the more awe-inspiring shots being done entirely practically.
Longevity is really the main concern that pops up with a series like this. Kicking off the show with the end of the world is a difficult bar to top, and it’s not exactly clear what Carol is even working towards. While she is at risk of becoming infected, even those a part of the hive mind state that this fate is “months out.” A lack of compelling supporting characters besides those infected by the disease only exacerbates the concern of longevity, since interesting supporting characters are the heartbeat of any successful show.
“Pluribus” is visually stunning, excellently written, and brilliantly acted. It is on the cusp of proving itself, and if the remaining episodes of the series can prove that this concept can keep the story alive for multiple seasons, then it may just become Apple TV’s next sci-fi hit.
Kuhn: What lessons can UO learn from a small liberal arts experience?
Opinion: The liberal arts attitude brings people closer together through an openness and trust in one another. UO should take this attitude to heart for the community to flourish on campus.
By Jimy Kuhn Opinion Columnist
On Nov. 12, ASUO held a town hall to hear from students about the concerns they have facing their community.
Senior Ella Hayden said the most pressing problems facing the college community are “protecting students from ICE on campus, food insecurity and (UO) failing to address the on/off campus divide.”
These are extremely important issues that crop up not only at UO, but at many other colleges across the country. I interviewed junior Shaun Chaney, administrative coordinator for the Student Engagement Team at Goucher College in Baltimore.
Goucher is a liberal arts college with a student population of just under 1,000 students, 84% of which live on-campus, a very different campus climate than UO. I hashed it out with Chaney to figure out what works at Goucher that could also work at UO.
One of the great things about a smaller college experience is how close you get to your peers and professors alike.
“Small class sizes allow professors to give more personal attention to their students and encourage them to produce their best work. As a liberal arts college, Goucher places strong emphasis on this kind of close engagement,” Chaney said.
This close engagement is what allows teaching to succeed. A connection between student and teacher is vital to thriving in the classroom. This
David is an opinion columnist for The Daily Emerald and a senior studying data science, economics and philosophy. In his writing, he enjoys finding the abstract relationships between systems and the decisions we make everyday, weaving them into a tangible story readers can easily digest.
is difficult at UO, due to larger class sizes, but it starts by recognizing that professors are human beings who will gladly entertain a conversation when given the opportunity. Knowing this will remind you to seize this rare opportunity when it arises, and students should want to seize it because it will help you grow.
This opportunity to become closer extends also to your peers. “There are always familiar, friendly faces, and those daily interactions create a genuine sense of community that I don’t think I’d find at a larger university,” Chaney said.
One of Goucher’s best strengths is this valuation of student effort. When students want to do something and prove themselves capable, they are able to make the changes they want to see in their communities.
“Students who consistently show up, give their best effort and contribute meaningfully are often the ones who step into leadership roles,” Chaney said. “I think more colleges should strive to create that kind of environment.”
So how do we make UO the kind of environment where it’s not who you know that matters, but how you show up and the dedication you give? At Goucher, it’s an attitude of trust and openness. Students are truly protected when they can trust and rely on others to find the things they need to be safe. This attitude also allows driven students to become student leaders or organizers that will thrive in their own unique efforts to make their communities a better place.
“Many students make Goucher a better place
by organizing events, being kind to one another, keeping open minds and advocating for change when issues arise… Efforts, both big and small, help make Goucher a more supportive, vibrant, and connected community for everyone,” Chaney said. All college students should have this shared goal: to make this campus, and the formative years spent here, beneficial for all who attend. Whether you focus on student power, protecting marginalized students, academic accommodations, being kind or whatever, it should be toward this goal.
Students and student leaders should use their individual strengths to make UO feel closer because when we are all here together, we do better.
Jimy is a nontraditional third-year from Baltimore studying philosophy. He spends most of his time thinking, reading, and exploring. He enjoys a fresh conversation with anyone, and aims to create a sense of community however he can, including in his writings. Jimy loves drinking coffee, spending time in the woods and being fashionable.
Mitrovčan Morgan: Robots grading robots
Opinion: The price of tuition pays not just for content, but for human judgment alongside it. Handing grading to machines would break that bargain.
By David Mitrovčan Morgan Opinion Columnist
College is a strange kind of purchase; you pay a small fortune and in exchange, a group of experts teach you, then judge you. “This academic endeavor is one of human confidence; we vet each other’s ability to interact with the world,” Cy Abbott said. Abbott is a geography doctoral candidate.
Beneath the pomp and circumstance of celebrating learning, what students pay for is that vetting; the person who reads their work and certifies it shows aptitude. As Abbott said, “I can lecture you all day long, but ultimately it’s the grading … (that) you pay for.”
That is why the idea of substituting human judgment with AI is a bait and switch. “It feels disingenuous,” senior computer and data science major zain saeed said. “We pay for a certain service, and if you’re outsourcing that service to a third party, why wouldn’t I just use that third party myself?”
And it’s not just that AI grading violates an expectation; it is genuinely an inferior service because grading is relational. “Part of my job is to get to know you as a student and what your capacity is, so I can tell when you’re trying to learn and engage,” Abbott said. What students are paying for, in other words, is context: someone who knows their name, understands their history in the class and can read an assignment as part of a larger story.
AI erases all context and treats each assignment in isolation, and a statistical model that only sees decontextualized documents can’t recognize the student who grew and improved, or one that finally took a risk in expressing their thoughts. It can only score the page in front of it.
AI is also shallow. It can’t weigh whether an argument is honest, courageous or intellectually ambitious, but merely scans for surface patterns like word count, vocabulary range, grammar and sentence length. “The best it can do is follow directions and find the things it’s been instructed to look for, but it can’t get a real sense of the writing,” Nadia Foster said. Foster is a senior human physiology major.
That’s why it’s no accident that AI tends to favor work done by itself. A study by Zhong et al. found that AI “consistently assigned higher scores to AI-generated essays” compared to human reviews, simply because AI tends to “perform systematically better on many language features.”
In that kind of grading regime, the honest and messy work of a human gets penalized. The student who actually labors over an imperfect assignment is at a systemic disadvantage to their cheating counterparts. As a result, AI grading will train students to see sincerity as naïve. Then there’s the ethical whiplash. “It’s unfair to ask students to honestly do work without AI and then use AI to grade it,” Saeed said. This will only further justify students using AI to cheat. The
classroom will drift toward a pointless equilibrium: AI-generated work, AI-generated grades, what Abbott aptly put as “robots talking to robots.”
Used carefully, AI can help at the margins though, like “computation-heavy classes where there is only one way to do the problem,” Moaaz Alqady said. Alqady is a math doctoral candidate who thinks AI grading may be doable in some math courses, but warns it makes “logical fallacies and errors” when questions have multiple valid approaches. Abbott believes AI could also “aggregate patterns on grades and mistakes” to help flag for the instructor where students are struggling. But both draw the same line: when it comes to the actual verdict for a student’s work, that belongs to the human.
AI grading would be very convenient for instructors, but the strange trade at the heart of higher education was never about convenience. It’s about being seen, known, taught and judged by someone who knows your name, your effort and your growth. If universities hand that judgment to machines, they are not modernizing the bargain, but merely replacing human grading with an inferior machine and still charging human prices for it.
ACROSS
1 Sir’s counterpart
5 Trendy bag accessory with a 24K gold variant
7 Neptune’s neighbor
8 Typing speed stat.
9 Org. seen before entering an airport terminal
10 Grateful Dead fan, stereotypically
12 “Once upon ___ ...”
13 Yoga surfaces
DOWN
1 Deg. that a Lundquist grad student might be studying for
2 Your parent’s sister, informally
3 Mistreatment
4 Mansa ___ (richest king in history)
5 Nyong’o of “Us” and “Black Panther”
6 Place to apply deodorant
8 “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” band
11 UK leaders
Mia Jacobs ends drought for Oregon women’s basketball program
Marist Girl’s Soccer program with fourth straight state championship run
Takeaways from Oregon men’s basketball’s victory over Oregon State
Heading into a bulky stretch of solid non-conference foes, the Ducks will need to improve in all facets to ensure success.
By Jack Lazarus Sports Editor
Nate Bittle leads by example
He never necessarily needed to pass. Nor did he ever need to move around that much off-ball.
Bittle, the Ducks’ longest tenured player, definitely didn’t need to be as much of a team player as he was, which made it so much more surprising to see the team rally behind him. While he’s usually the one giving the pregame speeches in the tunnel, Bittle appears to be a fairly quiet big man on court.
Bittle’s strong showing on the low block saw him finish the night with a game-leading 24 points on 7-9 shooting and 8-10 on free throws. Many of those points came from well-executed pick-androlls that forced the defense to collapse on Bittle and the rest of the frontcourt, opening the rest of the floor.
“(Head coach Dana Altman) made it a point this week in practice to set screens and roll hard,” Bittle said. “I think we did a good job tonight of holding our screens and rolling hard.”
Bittle’s versatility shone all game, especially within the first minute of the second half.
Being backed down by Oregon State’s big man Noah Amenhauser, Bittle stymied his layup attempt. In transition, Bittle creeped up toward the top of the key where he received a Dezdrick Lindsay pass, spotted up and drained his second triple of the night.
His versatility as well as a willingness to do some of the dirty work at times made him an unsung hero against their in state rival.
Kwame Evans Jr. has taken that step up
While it’s only one game, Evans Jr.’s dominant performance against the Beavers gives hope that the junior forward has finally made major improvements from year to year. Evans Jr., a former 5-star recruit by 247Sports, came to Eugene with a great deal of hype, but underwhelmed as an underclassman.
Vaulted into a larger role as one of the three returning producers, Evans Jr. has excelled as Bittle’s frontcourt mate and he has carved out his own role on each side of the ball.
Evans Jr. tallied 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds against the Beavers while shooting 10-14 from the free throw line. Like Bittle, his aggressive drives to the hoop both opened the game for the shooters and gave him easy chances at scoring from the stripe.
“(Evans Jr.) went out there and rebounded super hard and that got him involved in the game,” Bittle said. “From there, it led to him attacking the rim, getting fouled and hitting free throws. We’re gonna need that from him all the time.”
The Ducks’ offense needs to move the ball more
According to Altman’s summation of the game, the key to opening the offense is simply ball movement. Oregon shot much more efficiently when it passed the ball to two or three of the three “sides” rather than not passing it much.
“On three sides tonight, we shot 70%,” Altman said. “Two sides, 52%, but when we get impatient, we were 30% on one side. We just got to do a better job of moving the ball; that’s who we are.”
The team revolved around Jackson Shelstad and Bittle, who each have a tendency to hold the ball for stretches of time, but both shot well against Oregon State. Against Power Four teams, however, having just Bittle and Shelstad engaged at that level will not lead to wins, as the Ducks will need to find a way to get role players much more involved.
SATURDAY
Nov. 29, 2025
Oregon vs. Washington
The Ducks football team gears up to play the Huskies this Saturday evening in Seattle.
Alumni spotlight: Kyle Waters
A proud UO alum, Waters is excelling as the Seattle Storm’s chief sales officer.
By Joe Krasnowski Senior Sports Writer
SEATTLE — Kyle Waters is running through his day, and I’m already dizzy.
Countless meetings, only outdone by the glitzy walls and decorations adorning the brand-new BECU Storm Center for Basketball Performance, line the chief sales officer for the Seattle Storm’s day. It’s a Friday, about a month and a half into the team’s “offseason” by the way.
Waters is what many would define as a self-starter. He majored in sports business at the University of Oregon, worked in recruiting for the football team during his time at school and has now taken what started as a job in ticket sales for the then-Seattle SuperSonics and Storm into a successful career in the Pacific Northwest.
He started in the sports industry as an intern with the athletic department, where he assisted with all facets of recruiting. Then, in his senior year, he was promoted to an assistant for now-Director of Football Operations Jeff Hawkins, where he was recruited based “on the quality of their character, their integrity and their ability to work within the framework of a team.” per Hawkins.
It wasn’t the last time he would be needed in that capacity.
Now in Seattle, with this next season being his 20th in the Storm organization, Waters is at the forefront of bringing people into the team’s community.
The Storm’s sales team and social impact team work hand in hand with people on the fan engagement team responsible for keeping them coming back.
“So much of life is who you know, of course,” Waters said. “I’m thankful to be surrounded by some of the best in the world at what they do.”
Hawkins still follows Waters’ career and originally recommended “he try the ticket business route because it is integral to the entertainment industry and it’s not the place that most people gravitate to,” Hawkins said.
“And lo and behold he took my advice, ran with it, embraced it… and look at him now.”
Excelling at building and keeping connections puts Waters in an exceptional spot, with the Storm “tripling to quadrupling where we were at three or four years ago,” in part due to the rise of the WNBA.
“We have such a great product,” Waters said. “So (by) being able to find different ways to market it, even if we aren’t having the best year as a team, there’s always a superstar and a draw to fans coming to town.”
Of course, there’s the technical side of things as well. Waters could speak for hours about getting season ticket holders to renew and getting new fans to the stadium. It’s also driving him crazy that the Storm’s Climate Pledge Arena isn’t always filled to the brim with its large 18,300 capacity.
“Curtains (which are commonly used to block off sections of seats not being utilized) are not our friend,” Waters said.
His Oregon fandom, in a world that bleeds Husky Purple, might just be Waters’ greatest test as well — far greater than competing for ticket sales in a city that three other major sports teams call home.
“Of course, being a Duck fan is interesting out here,” Waters said. “It’s all in good fun, of course.”
Home has become Seattle now for Waters, too. He could have gone to Oklahoma City when the SuperSonics moved. He’s also surely had other opportunities elsewhere. But he’s decided to stay in the city with the Storm, reinvesting in a community that he loves and working for a team he wants to continue to see succeed.
“We have such a great fan base and group of people here,” Waters said. “Working in social justice and with community issues is just another great reason to continue pushing forward.”
But, of course, his time at Oregon and livelihood as a Ducks fan have been with him the entire way.
“I love my Ducks,” he said. “I hope this is our year in football.”
Ducks center Nate Bittle jumps for a lay-in with two Beaver defenders around him. Oregon Ducks Men’s Basketball took on the Oregon State Beavers at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore., on Nov. 17, 2025. (Tyler Graham/Emerald)
The reign continues for Marist Catholic High School after winning back-to-back state titles.
