BOARD OF TRUSTEES

BEHIND THE SCENES AT UO BEHIND THE SCENES AT UO

Most students don’t really understand how the university and its board of trustees operates, and “the board can seem super disconnected from the student population,” student representative Julia Lo said.

BY WILL COZINE

While University of Oregon President Michael Schill serves as the face of the UO administration, the board of trustees often remains out of sight and out of mind for students. However, according to state law, the BOT has the authority to govern all aspects of the university.

Although meetings are public, BOT student representative Julia Lo is working to ensure students have an understanding of board affairs and a voice in what it’s doing.

“The board’s responsibility is to help assure the continuous academic, financial and legal performance of the university as a comprehensive, high quality, nationally prominent public university that supports students’ success and world class research,” Board Chair Chuck Lillis said.

The BOT makes decisions about tuition costs, infrastructure projects and health policy, among other things. In 2019, it approved a tuition increase to UO undergraduate students.

However, the board delegates responsibility for most of the day-to-day operations to Schill.

Schill has a base salary of $720,000 and can earn up to $200,000 in annual bonuses.

Board members are not elected officials and are not compensated for their work. The Oregon governor appoints members, who are confirmed by the Oregon Senate.

“The Board trustees represent a variety of professions and backgrounds,” Lillis said. “Regardless of UO affiliation or professional background, all of the trustees are committed to the UO’s future and the success of its students and faculty.”

Among the board members are Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear; Dennis Worden, member of the Coeur d’ Alene tribe and former political staffer; Toya Flick, former health policy advisor to U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton; and Board Vice Chair Genevra Ralph, who has a master’s degree in special education.

Including Schill, there are 15 members currently on the board. Ten members are UO alumni, and one is a current student.

That student is Lo, who serves as the student representative on the BOT.

Lo has the task of bringing the student voice to board meetings. Lillis said all board members try to engage with the student body when possible, but the board relies on the student trustee to bring “invaluable perspective.”

Lo said the other board members have helped her feel welcomed and valued.

“I was very happy to see that they are doing their best to amplify my voice in meetings,” she said.

As a student representative, Lo has to acknowledge her own opinions while remaining cognizant of her role as a representative of all students.

“In this position, it's really important to maintain that objective role as the student trustee,” she said.

Before she joined the BOT, Lo didn’t know much about how the university was run.

“I'm under the impression that the majority of students don't know either, and because of that, I think the board can seem super disconnected from the student population,” Lo said.

She hopes to use her role to help amplify student voices and build a bridge between the BOT and the student body.

Lo recently established office hours where students can bring their concerns to her. She encourages students to email her with thoughts and questions at jlo2@uoregon.edu.

She also hopes the BOT can work more closely with ASUO in the future because ASUO represents the student community.

Lillis believes students have ample opportunities to voice their opinions and concerns to the board.

“All meetings are public, and students and other members of the campus and public are encouraged to provide comment,” Lillis said.

However, not all students believe the board is sufficiently considering the voices of students.

Democratize UO spokesperson Patrick Schranck, speaking during the Day of Demands protest on Oct. 22, said the university has a governance model with no transparency or accountability.

He said the BOT continued tuition increases during the pandemic when many families are experiencing financial instability.

Schranck also said the BOT has routinely ignored the requests of labor groups, namely the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation.

When asked about recent calls from activist groups — like Democratize UO — to democratize the board, Lillis said the university’s growth since the BOT was created is proof that reform is unnecessary.

“I have confidence that our students, campus community and public at large have benefited significantly since the board was created by state legislation in 2014,” Lillis said.

The BOT meets quarterly, and the next meeting will be held on Dec. 1 and 2. The meeting agenda as well as information about signing up to provide public comment can be found on the BOT website.

UO CLUB RECRUITMENT IS WEAK

UO clubs should consider being more like Christians… and use everything they’ve got to convert potential new members.

BY CALE CRUEGER

(Julia Stalnaker/Daily Emerald)

Walking around campus, no matter how hard I try to avoid eye contact with daily Bible peddlers, I can’t help but wonder if I am being spiritually called to look further into my faith.

Of course, if God was trying to communicate with me, it probably wouldn’t be to say, “Hey, you! Let’s talk about Jesus this Wednesday at GSH. Track Town on me.” Still, what do I know, right?

Something I do know is that there are more than 400 student groups at UO. This begs the questions: What are they? Where are they? They certainly aren’t outside the EMU preaching the glories of debate or spikeball or whatever else their clubs have to offer.

Instead, most clubs rely simply on word of mouth to recruit new members. This is weak.

Some groups, like the UO Taylor Swift Society, find creative ways to seek new members. UOTSS copresident Ryan Kovatch said making an Instagram account was the club’s “first major outreach” and was met with an unexpected amount of interest.

But many UO students know the struggle of finding a club all too well. The university does little beyond hosting rare club fairs to help the clubs recruit. Instead, it is up to the club organizers themselves to advertise — and I know if business-esque clubs advertised like Chrisitan groups, resume-starved Lundquist students would line up across East 13th Avenue eager to join.

Offering anything from coffee to eternal salvation, Christian student groups over-achieve in encouraging new members to join. Parker Durbin said he was actively sought out by members of nationwide Christian student organization Cru at Oregon, members he didn’t know would text him regularly and even wait outside dorms to talk with him and other students.

“Yeah, it’s some weird stuff,” Durbin said. “But they do a great job of getting around and recruiting people.”

Many students do not keep this blithe attitude about the in-your-face-ism of religious recruitment on campus. With the sporadic appearances of those Christians that yell at people outside the EMU, this is understandable. It is hard for some to not lump together hateful followers with the broader religion.

My advice to these students: If you hate the player, join the game and beat them. Find your own passion, be it debate or Taylor Swift, and seek likeminded souls with intensity.

There is a major limiting aspect here: money. Events, food, fliers and posters are expensive, and smaller clubs may lack the funds that would grant them the ability to grow their groups. In contrast, as Forbes’ 25th largest U.S. charity and the recipient of $591 million in private donations last year, Cru undoubtedly has the resources and motivation to seek members.

On top of millions, I would argue that genuine faith drives groups like Cru to recruit so passionately. Faith is a powerful thing. It makes sense why religious groups have this seeminglyfervent desperation to seek members — they believe they’re doing the right thing. There is a purity and a grind that is admirable there.

Whatever it is keeping the hundreds of UO clubs from advertising like Christians, I hope one day it dissipates. While exploring clubs on ASUO’s engagement page is easy, many clubs offer no further contact information. UO club leaders should use any opportunity and resource available to actively seek potential members.

I feel blessed by Ms. Swift herself that the UOTSS responded to me so quickly and kindly — and I pray that, for now, word of mouth alone will be enough to unite all UO students with the clubs that fit their interests.

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

SHIFTING GEAR: YOUR OWN CUP OF JOE

Shifting Gear is the Daily Emerald’s gear review column. Audrey Kalman recommends everything you could ever need on a biweekly basis.

BY AUDREY KALMAN

(Audrey Kalman/Emerald)

In my family’s house in San Francisco, every day begins with coffee. Each morning, my dad wakes up, goes downstairs to the kitchen and makes my mom a cup of coffee, which he then brings to her in bed. Ask my mom, or anyone on her side of the family, and they will tell you she has been drinking coffee since she was a child. As my grandfather used to say, “We put espresso in her baby bottle!”

In order to create “the elixir of life” — what my mom calls coffee — you have to figure out a setup that works well for your own brewing needs and aspirations. Most people either use a drip coffee machine, a French press or a pour over process.

Drip coffee machines are the most automated options. For instance, take the Mr. Coffee Easy Measure 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker, which the New York Times lists as “The Best Cheap Coffee Maker.” With this machine, as with most, you put in your favorite coffee grounds, add water and the machine does the rest, leaving you with a full, hot carafe. Most Mr. Coffee machines have a “Brew Now” button and a “Brew Later” button, allowing you to delay when the machine makes the coffee. This can be great for mornings and handy if you have a very full schedule. Here in Eugene, a number of larger stores stock Mr. Coffee machines, including Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond and Best Buy. Also, Fred Meyer has a solid Mr Coffee selection, and is currently having a sale on these machines.

There are of course more handson brewing options available too, such as using a French press or a pour over setup. For a French press, you add ground coffee into the glass or plastic carafe, add boiling water, let that sit for a bit (usually four or so minutes) and then press the lid down the bottom of the carafe. This can be a perfect way to brew a strong batch of coffee for a few people. Bodum makes a whole smattering of French presses in different sizes and with different materials, many of which can be found at Eugene’s Down to Earth. I use the glass and metal Bodum Chambord 8 cup whenever I am entertaining fellow coffee drinkers. Bodum also makes a plastic model called the Caffettiera, which is a solid budget pick, especially if you are not ready to commit to a more expensive model. The 3 cup / 12 oz Caffettiera is currently on sale for $9 and the 8 cup / 34 oz option for $12, both on the Bodum website.

When I am just making a cup of coffee for myself, I like to make a pourover. This allows for more customization in how strong you want your coffee, depending on the grounds-to-water ratio and how you pour the water. I use a plastic filter cone and paper filters, both of which I bought at Market of Choice for about $10 total. These can be found at a number of local grocery stores, and the Whole Foods on Broadway has an especially comprehensive selection. If you want to avoid plastic, many companies make ceramic filter cones. World Market makes one for $7, and Stumptown makes a very aesthetically pleasing one for $21. Reusable filters are also widely available. The key is to match the number on the cone with the number on the filter. For instance, if you have a number four filter, it will fit a number four cone. Mismatched cones and filters will work in a pinch, but often lead to a mess of boiling water and/or coffee grounds.

These are just a few of many ways to make coffee, and pretty much everyone has their own bespoke process. San Francisco-based coffee house Ritual has online Brew Guides that are not only helpful, but also just plain nice to look at, as does Blue Bottle. Locally, the aforementioned Down to Earth Home and Garden has a selection of coffee equipment that I find to be locally unmatched. What is most important is that your system works for you. So have fun with it! Try a few different things, ask that coffeeobsessed friend and then sip away.

Audrey Kalman is a senior here at UO, studying history, art history and media studies. She enjoys reading and writing nonfiction essays, taking photographs, watching SportsCenter and eating breakfast foods.

UOPD Community Service Officers Rex Manu and Rebekah Galick mainly operate out of the East Station, about two minutes away from campus. The presence of Community Service Officers on campus sparks discussions among the student population (Maddie Stellingwerf/Emerald)

COMMUNITY SERVICES OFFICERS: A CALL FOR STUDENT FEEDBACK

UOPD Community Services Officers are already out and about on campus. ASUO wants to collect student feedback before deciding whether to give CSOs their approval.

BY GAVIN GAMEZ• TWITTER @GAV_GAMEZ

ASUO has not decided whether they should support the University of Oregon Police Department’s Community Service Officers, opting instead to hear the opinions of the student body before making a decision.

This comes after an expansion of CSOs on campus in November 2020 and recent meetings between ASUO and UOPD Chief Matthew Carmichael about the role.

According to the job application listed on the UOPD website, the purpose of CSOs “is to protect the campus community through the use of proactive prevention and outreach strategies.” A UOPD document highlighting job descriptions said CSOs are “unarmed, non-sworn UOPD employees.”

While CSOs are already working on campus, ASUO wants to collect student feedback before deciding whether to show its support for the role.

The expansion of the CSO role

Carmichael said the CSOs have been around since UOPD’s inception in 2012. He said in late 2020, UOPD expanded the amount of CSO positions, which allowed them to reevaluate the roles and responsibilities that came with that position. CSOs control traffic, enforce parking regulations and do campus foot patrols and community engagement, among other duties, according to the UOPD website.

Carmichael said the changes to the role began after hearing feedback from student organizations like ASUO. The feedback followed Black Lives Matter protests and the disarm UOPD movement in the summer of 2020. “Some of the topics included ‘You know, Chief, could we have the unarmed, non-sworn type of folks that could be primarily responsible for

things like patrolling in high concentrated student areas?’” he said.

“We opted to make a substantial change to the organization,” Carmichael said, “which was diverting resources toward our community service officer program to cover the very substantial role that they could play on campus.”

Carmichael said UOPD wanted to ensure the safety of students on campus by finding a balance between the CSOs and the regular police force.

“It’s not as simple to say, ‘Oh we just did this.’ It was obviously demonstrating our commitment to community policing, which means listening to your community,” Carmichael said.

He said UOPD shifted funding into the CSO program, raising the number of CSOs to 14. Two of the 14 CSOs are at the UO Portland campus, leaving 12 at the Eugene campus.

Carmichael said today’s CSO program is not the same from when the role was created. “The style of training is different; the job tasks are different,” he said. “Our push has been that community policing philosophy.”

Opinions within ASUO

ASUO president Isaiah Boyd said he urges ASUO to avoid jumping into supporting or opposing CSOs.

“I think a lot of our decisions come out of impulse,” he said. “Let's connect with students first.”

Boyd said he wants to connect with UO students that might be affected by CSOs before ASUO decides to give its support. Boyd said he would like to make a connection between the student body and campus security rather than having ASUO speak for the student body.

ASUO senator Annika Mayne said she thinks CSOs are a problematic issue on campus. “To be honest, there is a real lack of clarity around what exactly the CSO’s roles are, what they are going to be doing, where they are going to be operating and what specific training they’ll have,” she said.

Mayne said she is concerned due to the “back and forth” nature with the UOPD and Carmichael about the exact roles of the CSOs.

She said one of her biggest concerns was if CSOs would be regularly stationed in the EMU and other buildings.

“They’re supposed to be at the direct response for an emergency, and they’re unarmed,” she said. “Why isn’t that just a crisis counselor?”

Mayne said she is not satisfied with the CSOs’ training. “I don’t think it needs to be UOPD funded, and I don’t think they need to be part of a police force,” she said.

Transparency with ASUO and the student body

Carmichael said the biggest aid when communicating information about the CSO role has been the UOPD matrix document.

“I’m a firm believer in putting things in writing, and I’ve said this before with ASUO,” Carmichael said. “It's one thing for me to say it, but I want to make sure you see it in writing.”

The CSO page on the UOPD website also displays the CSO 2021 Training Program document for public viewing.

“I am all ears for feedback and input from our community as they look at that call for service matrix on potentially what they recommend we could do differently,” Carmichael said.

Negative feedback to some aspects of the CSO position are being acted on as well. Carmichael said when student representatives felt uneasy about fixed CSO positions within the EMU, UOPD paused that decision all together.

Being a CSO

Rex Manu is a UO alum and a CSO who has been on the job for a few months. “A lot of my schedule so far has been training, which has been a real eyeopener,” he said. Manu said a typical day consists of spending as much time on campus as possible.

Manu said duties include offering courtesy rides for students and foot patrols around campus, as well as routine drives around campus. He said CSOs also provide traffic control for campus sports events.

Executive Director of Security Ben McNulty said there are university facilities off campus that CSOs can respond to in case of emergencies like fire panel activations.

“We are very multifaceted, but we definitely go hand-in-hand with police officers, and we definitely want to continue to build that trust with the campus community,” Manu said.

Manu said during his time as a student he had seen now-colleague Rebekah Galick multiple times on campus. He praised “her customer service and how she interacted every time with myself, with other people.”

“It was very inspirational,” he said.

“As a former athlete and student of the university, I’ve grown to love this community, so I feel like being in this position as a CSO will allow me to continue to serve and help out the community,” Manu said.

To distinguish CSOs from regular officers, UOPD has made changes to their everyday attire.

Manu said an everyday carry includes a belt that carries most of their equipment and an internal safety vest which is worn under the shirt to maintain a more casual feel to the uniform.

Carmichael said CSO attire is constantly being updated.

“Belt equipment includes flashlights, radios, a pouch for gloves, some key keepers, and we are permitted to carry OC or pepper spray which we also get extensive training on,” he said.

Going forward

In the future, Carmichael hopes CSOs can fill specific roles in high stakes situations on campus.

During the hostage situation on Nov. 4 — where an armed individual held two students hostage in Hamilton Hall — Carmichael said members from the Campus Planning and Facilities Management team helped to control traffic and direct pedestrian traffic. While CSOs were not involved in that incident, Carmichael hopes they can fill CPFM’s shoes going forward.

“In that case if CSOs would have been on, I would’ve used CSOs to provide that level of support which is traffic control on keeping people out of the area,” Carmichael said.

Boyd said ASUO will be hosting a “couch talk” for students to discuss topics including CSOs. “Let’s air out the dirty laundry. So talk about campus safety as an issue, perhaps dive into COVID,” Boyd said.

To collect student feedback for the couch talk, Boyd said ASUO will be putting out a survey early this week.

Boyd said ASUO was originally planning to have a town hall to discuss these issues, but decided to call it a “couch talk” to make it feel more inviting for students to speak.

He said ASUO will invite the appropriate staff based on the feedback received from the survey to speak at the couch talk, which, he said, is slated for winter term.

Carmichael said he is looking forward to the couch talk and is in full support. “Quite frankly the long term success of this particular program is gonna rely heavily on us listening to what our students' needs are,” he said.

Porter Wheeler contributed reporting to this story.

(Information from UOPD; design by Lynette Slape/Emerald)

ASUO President Isaiah Boyd said he urges ASUO to avoid jumping into supporting or oppossing CSOs. "I think a lot of our decisions come out of impulse," he said. "Let's connect with students first." (Will Geschke/ Emerald)