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A SURPRISE VETO BY ASUO president leaves Club Sports in need of funds to send teams to national competitions.
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đ&#x;”Ś NEWS Facing increased enforcement, UO stands behind undocumented students ➥ ANDY FIELD, @ ANDYTSUBASAF
At the University of Oregon, administrators are providing scholarships, books and other assistance to so-called “undocumented� students — immigrants who are in the country illegally because they overstayed their visas or entered the country in violation of immigration laws. UO has publicly expressed support for undocumented students, despite the increased enforcement of immigration laws since President Donald Trump took office. “Like other public research universities across the nation, the UO welcomes and supports students without regard for immigration status,� university communications staff wrote in a February AroundtheO post. Since Trump took office, immigration-related arrests in the United States have jumped 33 percent compared to the same period last year. Trump promised his new immigration policies would not target DREAMers — those brought into the United States at a young age, and protected by former President Barack Obama’s 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). However, a DACA-recipient was deported last week, and two were detained by immigration enforcement in February. UO admissions counselors estimate that 35 students are
undocumented. On Feb. 2, the university appointed Jane Irungu to serve as a resource for undocumented students. Irungu sits with faculty and staff on the Dreamers Working Group, which is dedicated toward developing initiatives to support undocumented students. Irungu’s team launched a website, UO Dreamers, which highlights what resources are available for them. Irungu says the university has been helping out Dreamers for two years, but the effort has been somewhat scattered. Now that there’s a point person, she thinks information will be centralized and it will be easier for students to find resources. Undocumented students are ineligible for federal financial aid but can apply for state student aid as long as the application does not require a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). At UO, there are scholarships provided by individuals and departments that do not ask for citizenship status. These include the UO Stamps Scholarship, which awards full tuition for four years to five Oregon students annually. “I know [undocumented students] are often afraid to apply for these scholarships because they think that if they write their name and their [student I.D. number], they will be outed,� said Irungu. “But most of these scholarships rest here
on the fourth floor of Oregon Hall, and don’t go anywhere. So that’s why we are encouraging students to complete them, because that paperwork remains in Oregon. It doesn’t go to the federal government.� Irungu is promoting a book loan program that helps undocumented students with the cost of textbooks. She started the program while she was a director for UO’s Center for Multicultural Excellence (CMAE). The program is based on financial need. Once students are accepted, they can request what books they need before the term begins. The department adds the books to its expanding library and loans books to the students. For those wondering what they can do to help undocumented students, Irungu says donations benefit the university’s work. Three university staff members are holding a fundraising yoga session on May 6 at the Gerlinger Annex. All funds will go towards supporting the Dreamers Working Group and its goals. “There is real fear in the community, and so just the fact that the university itself has extended their resources to support specifically these students is a huge step,� said Megan Cave, one of the organizers. “It gives them a safe place to ask for help and resources.�
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đ&#x;”Ś NEWS WRAP UP WEEK 3 WAS FULL OF ACTION ON THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON CAMPUS. THE EMERALD WAS THERE TO CAPTURE IT ALL. The battle between non-tenure faculty and President Schill continued as the faculty union, United Academics, started a postcard campaign. The group is requesting that members of the UO community sign the postcards in support of the non-tenure faculty, and will deliver the cards to Schill next month. Sexual Assault Awareness Month was in full swing, with events like Bridging the Gap and Breaking the Silence spreading messages of hope and change among the campus community. As Knight Campus construction begins to ramp up, businesses such as Evergreen Indian Restaurant, Domino’s and the UO’s Urban Farm fear displacement. On Thursday, Jimmy Marr, an associate of his who went by Chad and a photographer came to UO spreading a message of white nationalism and hate. Students, grouping in mass, eventually drove them away. On Friday, administrators in Johnson Hall heard the grievances of the UO’s LGBTQ community following cuts to positions for LGBTQ services on campus. The protest inside reached volumes as high as 92 decibels. FOR MORE ON THESE STORIES, MAKE SURE TO CHECK DAILYEMERALD.COM AND LISTEN TO THE WEEKLY NEWS WRAP-UP PODCAST.
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ON THE COVER
UO Club Sports students cling to ASUO for funding. Illustration by Erica Pahua
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đ&#x;“– COVER Quinn Haaga (Erica Pahua)
HAAGA’S VETO LEAVES CLUB SPORTS SCRAMBLING FOR FUNDS ➥ JACK
BUTLER, @BUTLER917
Approximately 1,500 students participate in the 41 club sports at the University of Oregon each year, but funding issues this year mean many may not be able to attend their end-of-year national competitions. In early February, Club Sports requested $50,000 from ASUO’s surplus fund to subsidize various club teams’ trips to national competitions. ASUO had granted Club Sports’ surplus request for each of the past four years, which is why Club Sports was surprised when ASUO President Quinn Haaga vetoed the proposal after it passed in the senate. Haaga vetoed the request because she thought it was more appropriate for Club Sports to factor nationals expenditures into its annual budget, rather than ask for money out of the surplus. But Club Sports representatives say Haaga did not help them figure out a plan before vetoing the request, in turn sending them scrambling to scrape together funds and putting the ability to go to nationals in jeopardy. Now, two months later, Club Sports still hasn’t compromised with ASUO, but it is considering going back to the senate and asking for around $15,000 instead of $50,000. In its original request, Club Sports attempted to get ASUO to cover 50 percent of its airfare costs, instead of the 25 percent it had previously agreed upon. Club Sports had been steadily increasing its request each of the past few years, and ASUO members say it was overestimating the funds it actually needed. As fallout from the issue, Club Sports participants will likely pay more money out of pocket to get to nationals and potentially dip into pre-allocated funds for each team, a move that would leave little money for teams stuck in a similar predicament next year. Club Sports is also considering asking EMU Board, the body that oversees it, to pull funds from other organizations to support its nationals endeavors. When asked about working with Club Sports’ new request, Haaga said, “I have not had the chance to talk to Club Sports about their new request, so I would not feel comfortable answering questions about it.� Reaction to the Veto
Emi Purice (Erica Pahua) Max Burns (Erica Pahua)
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On February 23, Club Sports brought 120 people to an ASUO meeting to persuade the senate to overturn Haaga’s veto of its $50,000 funding request. The senate was undecided, so the veto stayed. Former Senate President Max Burns said another factor in play was that Club Sports kept asking for more and more money that it didn’t necessarily need. “If you have an allowance, and you keep spending over your allowance and keep coming back for more and more ‌ eventually your dad is going to say no,â€? Burns said. “That’s an argument of the many, internally in the senate.â€? Club Sports representatives, however, argue that they have spent the money responsibly and that they can’t add the cost of nationals to its annual budget because doing
S
so would mean every UO student would have to pay more in incidental fees, something EMU Board Chair Erika Goto said the EMU Board does not want to do. The incidental fee is a fee that all students pay, and it goes to supporting student groups around campus. Without the money, Club Sports members would have to pay even more out of pocket than they already do. Club Sports Advisory Board Member Emi Purice, a member of the rowing team, estimated it would be close to $700 per student for the rowing team to go to nationals in Gainesville, Georgia. Over four years, rowing built its own backup fund of $42,000 through independent fundraising, which will be drawn from to help lower the cost to $350 per athlete. But not every club has been able to build a similar fund, and if issues between ASUO and Club Sports continue, rowing may not be able to pull from a fund like this again. After Club Sports’ request was vetoed, it continued to work with the ASUO executives to try and compromise. No compromise was reached, and Purice and Club Sports Advisory Board Co-Chair Bridget Shepherd felt disrespected throughout the process. “There is no respect. There is nothing,” Purice said. “We’re sitting there going, ‘please work with us; we’re trying to work with you.’” Shepherd added that the relationship between Club Sports and ASUO “is as strained as it’s ever been, by far.” Burns states that some ASUO members feel as though Club Sports has not been handling its money well. Burns claims, “If they’re
overspending past their own procedure, how much of that problem that they have now could have been avoided if they had been good financial stewards of the past?” When the disagreement was discussed during negotiations, according to Purice, it became especially personal. “The way we were treated was so unprofessional,” Purice said. “One of the senators was just head down, yelling at us, saying, ‘I can handle the money better than you guys can’. [They] didn’t want to look at us or answer any questions.” Getting to Nationals Club Sports is in the midst of gathering accurate information on travel costs, which involves planning airline prices, lodging, rental cars and other various expenses. Gathering the specifics of the cost to send teams to nationals is an inherently difficult task. Money for nationals is given by the Advisory Board on a first-come, first-served basis, and some clubs won’t know if they’ve qualified for nationals until later this spring. Club Sports is working with the EMU Board on ways to find funding. The EMU Board will help Club Sports once they “have done some number crunching,” says EMU Board Chair Erika Goto. The approximate $35,000 gap between the first request and the second request was filled in large part by withdrawing money from pre-allocated funds, according to Club Sports Advisory Board Co-Chair Brenda
Heng. That is, Club Sports will take some amount of money from each club that is given to annually through the EMU budget and the incidental fee. The funds do not include the dues that members pay each year or fundraising. Typically, the leftover money will roll back into the Club Sports budget. Starting next year, the clubs will receive similar amounts of money from the yearly budget and incidental fee, but because Club Sports may have this problem again next year, it could be forced to repeat similar action. ASUO president-elect Amy Schenk stated that if there was another funding request from Club Sports next year, she could not give a definite answer on what she would do. “I’ll probably just take it by ear, communicating with the finance committees and EMU board and their budget,” Schenk said. “I want to provide myself with a holistic view of what’s going on, so that’s also talking with Club Sports.” Although all the funds aren’t there, Club Sports teams will continue their efforts to go to nationals; however, the cost of travel could prohibit students from attending national competitions. It remains unclear how Club Sports will attain the remaining funds, or what ASUO’s future role in the issue will be.
THE BREAKDOWN • Club Sports requested surplus funds the past four years. • $50,000 is the largest request for funds made by Club Sports. • 1,500 students participate in club sports. • There are 41 different club sports groups. • Some groups have their own surplus funds, but not all. (Equiptment illustrated by Erica Pahua)
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OPINION
Oregon Innocence Project aims to correct a faulty prison system In the movie “Shawshank Redemption,� when Andy Dufresne is asked why he is in prison, he responds by saying “My lawyer fucked me. Everyone’s innocent in here. Didn’t you know that?� Although it seems to be a running joke among inmates to claim their innocence, are there really people in prison who are truly innocent of the crimes that they have been convicted of? According to The National Registry of Exonerations, there have been just over 2,000 exonerations— the release of an inmate and the reversal of their conviction— in the U.S. since 1989. It’s impossible to ever know precisely how many, but there are certainly countless prisoners who are behind bars right now for crimes they didn’t commit. Some estimates have been made, such as the study published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that reported an estimated 1 in 25 inmates who were given the death penalty were later proven innocent. Many exonerations have gained national media attention, such as the “Central Park 5,� a group of juveniles who were wrongfully identified as the perpetrators of an assault and rape in Central Park. In another case, Brian Banks, a promising high school football star who had committed to play for USC, was falsely accused of rape by a fellow high school classmate. Numerous projects around the country, such as the Oregon Innocence Project, which started in Portland in 2014, are working hard to help wrongfully convicted prisoners out of jail. Janis Puracal, an appellate attorney and member of the Oregon Innocence Project, got involved in innocence work after her brother, Jason, was wrongfully convicted and spent two years imprisoned in brutal conditions in a maximum security prison in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan prison didn’t have enough food to go around, and there was no running water or electricity. Jason was cooped up in a 12x15 foot PA G E 6
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cell (picture your dorm room) with 11 other inmates during the time he served. After a grueling two years, and an incredible effort by Janis, Jason was eventually freed and able to come home. Although this was an extreme case of being imprisoned in inhumane conditions in a foreign country, wrongfully convicted prisoners in the U.S. go through their share of suffering as well. So how are wrongful convictions able to happen in our justice system? Mistaken eyewitness identification is one major contributor to the problem. Despite the trust we have in our memory, it may not be the most reliable metric to use for testifications in criminal cases. Researchers have demonstrated “all of the ways our memories can fail us and all of the ways our memories can be contaminated by outside influences to create memories that never actually happened,� explains Janis. It’s possible that pressures to imprison more people from privately owned prisons, false confessions and junk science may be contributing factors as well. Wrongful convictions result in horrible psychological and physical consequences for those convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. It’s bad enough to be spending your life behind bars for a crime that you really did commit, but imagine being in jail surrounded by hardened criminals as punishment for something you didn’t even do, with no one believing in you. You are mostly forgotten by society and enter into the prison-industrial-complex which, let’s be honest, probably creates better criminals instead of reforming them. Prisoners are forced to find ways to survive in violent, corrupt conditions (that don’t resemble normal society whatsoever). Exonerated people often have difficulty transitioning back to society once released. Many states don’t even compensate exonerees for the time they served unjustly behind bars. Although there have been rare cases of
(Creative Commons)
wrongfully convicted inmates who worked on their own case in jail to find evidence that resulted in an exoneration, those who are wrongfully convicted usually need help from family members or innocence projects to help get them out of jail. “Once you’re in prison you’re pretty much cut off from the resources of the outside world,� said Carrie Leonetti, an associate professor and the leader of the Criminal Justice Initiative at the UO School of Law in Portland. It took an unrelenting effort from Janis to get her brother freed from the Nicaraguan prison. She assembled a large team of attorneys, lobbyists and PR people in order to get Jason home. This is why organizations like the Oregon Innocence Project are crucial to help assemble the resources needed in order to overturn a wrongful conviction. There have been 16 exonerations in Oregon so far, and while the newly formed Oregon Innocence Project has yet to have their first exoneration, they currently have five exoneration cases in litigation. Luckily, there is hope for people who have been imprisoned for a crime they didn’t commit. The introduction of DNA evidence in the 1980s was able to prove the innocence of many inmates. Longtime prisoners and even some on death row were able to use DNA evidence to revisit their cases and show that they didn’t commit the crime they were accused of. Not everyone behind bars is a criminal. It’s not an easy process, but people who are wrongfully convicted do have the chance for freedom again. Innocence projects are working hard across the country to supply the vast amount of resources to wrongfully convicted inmates needed to result in an exoneration. B Y T O B Y PA S M A N
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5 Bunny’s movement 6 Noah’s Ark groupings 7 Her Royal Highness, e.g. 8 Mexican moolah 9 Winter attire in Vail 10 Ice cream drink 11 Beelike 12 Knockdown of all the pins in two bowls 13 Couldn’t say no 18 Protector of stray cats and dogs, for short 22 Goes back and forth, as a tail 24 “___ the season …” 27 Scatters, as seeds 28 The “E” of Q.E.D. 29 Tex-Mex serving 30 Wife of Jacob and in-law of 25-Across 32 Best black female friend 35 Philosopher ___-tzu 36 Swedish version of Lawrence 37 When doubled, a child’s train 38 City on the Rhine, to locals 39 Layered hairdo 44 It’s left when ocean water evaporates 45 Variety show segment 46 I.R.S. money
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47 The “she” in the lyric “I’m not the world’s most physical guy, / But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine” 48 “Yikes!” 49 Something to take and “make it better,” in the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” 51 Boob tubes 54 Is under the weather 57 12 on a grandfather clock 58 Quits fidgeting 61 “Hardball” airer 65 Nasal stimulus 66 Reels from a haymaker 68 Get tangled up 69 Greek philosopher known for paradoxes 70 Actor Morales 71 Icy precipitation 72 Some boxing results, for short 73 “Darn it!”
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Coalessence Dance group offers a transcendent experience for participants ➥ LEVI
GITTLEMAN
As people trickled onto the dance floor at WOW Hall, they were welcomed by a couple sweatily practicing “touch improv.� The couple looked like two playful puppies nudging and touching each other, but they were two full-grown adults rolling on the ground. Beside them, a large, burly man with long, curly hair that bounced like a slinky swayed and jumped to the trance-inducing music. Coalessence Dance is a group that meets twice weekly on Sundays at Wow Hall and Tuesdays at the Vet’s Club. It’s an all-welcoming group of dancers whose mission is to “inspire dynamic dance journeys — celebrate and explore movement, connection, and true expression, guided by a rich, diverse soundscape.� In short, it’s a bunch of people who gather to dance to trance music in a spiritual way. On Sunday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the event began with slow-paced sounds similar to what it might feel like to float through space while unable to breathe. The tempo increased as participants grew more comfortable with the quicker rhythms and vibrations. The group formed a large circle while the music transitioned and dancers warmed up. Paul Deering, a calm man wearing thick, fuzzy pants and an embroidered tank top, was the facilitator of the event. He set the ground rules
before the dancers broke off: no talking on the dance floor, all touching must be consensual and be mindful of your surroundings. The group held hands for a moment and then slowly disintegrated and spread out across the floor. Victoria Lawton-DĂez, a regular Coalessence Dance attendee and sophomore at the University of Oregon, said she participates every Sunday. “I do ecstatic dance because to me, it’s a form of therapy — both physical, and mental. It’s a form of self-expression through movement, and it helps me understand what’s going on internally with my emotions by allowing me to release them externally.â€? Throughout the entire two-hour session, Lawton-DĂez could be found all across the dance floor. She fluttered around elegantly, occasionally breaking her focus with bouts of laughter and shouts of happiness. As the session came to an end, the amoeba of movement slowly formed a circle. Tiny kids skipped and stumbled toward their parents as adults held each other in exhaustion and the elderly slipped out of their meditational dance moves with ease. “Young, old, abled, disabled — everyone manages to find some sort of joy in dancing, which is what I truly love about it,â€? Lawton-DĂez said.
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Victoria Lawton-DĂaz participates during the Sunday Coalessence Dance group. (Levi Gittleman)