Opinion: Potholes aren’t the problem; your attitude is
Feb. 14, 2020
It’s time I break my silence. I actually think there aren’t enough potholes in Eugene. I like potholes. I think they’re nice.
Quite honestly, those complaining about potholes need to examine the real holes in their life: the ones in their family relationships. You haven’t called home in weeks, and you’re worried about these whimsical little gaps in the ground? That’s interesting; maybe examine the gaps in your family’s quality time. They miss you. They talk about you to me all the time.
Complaints about potholes damaging vehicles are so played out. If you don’t have the money to replace tires or fix your alignment invariably and repeatedly, consider getting your money up. It’s the holes in your pockets you need to worry about.
“They sent out flyers in the neighborhood last spring saying they would pave over roads — like 15th to 17th — but when I came back in September nothing had changed,” third-year Patrick Evans said. Frankly, I’m glad you were lied to. The city is not responsible for claims the city made.
In this piece, Braydon really found his voice as a writer, connecting his own experience with Eugene and engaging with the community in a hilarious and productive form to call attention to an unnoticed topic. — Parsa Aghel
Opinion: Don’t call me exotic
Petra Molina
Jan.19, 2022
“You are so exotic,” a guy at the University of Oregon told me just moments after we met. Dressed up as a compliment, this comment is afflicted with stereotypes and misconceptions.
One thing I’ve noticed since I moved to Oregon is that many people at UO lack cultural awareness. People simply haven’t been exposed to other cultures enough to have developed the experiential skills necessary to appreciate and understand different cultures.
Consequently, some UO students think it’s okay to call others “exotic.” Unfortunately, I do not feel associated with tropical birds or foreign fruits. I am most definitely not an imported good meant for your consumption. Calling me exotic downgrades my existence to an object. It is a “compliment” that sexualizes and objectifies non-eurocentric beauty.
It is easy to believe these stereotypes when you have never been exposed to the diversity of Latin culture. Get to know and understand a person rather than relying on those distorted ideas. Let beauty exist on its own terms, unrelated to ethnicity, color or race.
Don’t call me exotic.
Petra voiced her experiences really well in this piece and backed it up with stats and fair logic. Her call to action for real interaction with different cultures rather than fantasizing about them and their people is an important note for our campus. — Braydon Iverson
Opinion: No union-busting
Porter Wheeler
Feb. 22, 2022
Eugene is a labor town, a fact that is coming to campus as the EMU Starbucks unionizes. This is a win for the employees and sets a precedent for all student workers to leverage their workplaces. Union-busting is not welcome at our university.
Trinity Smith, a worker at the EMU Starbucks spoke about unionization. “We look at the work we put in, and the pay doesn’t reflect that.”
Campus workers are divided arbitrarily keeping them isolated. Take the EMU, which employs catering, information services and janitorial workers; they’re kept separated despite being paid by the same employer and working in the same space.
UO is adamant workers should see themselves as students first, which I initially thought was a positive message promising security in their academic career. Now I see it as an obfuscation of their essential labor. If students are not conscious of themselves as workers, they are less likely to bargain for their rights.
Show solidarity to the workers who make our campus function, an injury to one is an injury to all.
Porter puts a lot of research into his stories, and you can tell. He’s involved in campus activism and advocates directly on behalf of students. — Shelton Bowman
Opinion: Who hookup culture leaves behind
Sophia Cossette
Jan. 10. 2022
Popular culture sells college to us as a free-for-all cultural experience where we are finally at liberty to indulge in all things deemed previously taboo from partying to no-strings-attached sex. And, while this newfound sexual liberation appears positive on the surface, the realities of college hookup culture prove less ideal for many students.
At predominately White institutions, such as the University of Oregon, minority groups often face their own set of complicated issues regarding hookup culture.
Some groups, such as Black men and Asian women, are eroticized by popular culture and deemed more sexually desirable. Others, such as Black women and Asian men, are less embraced sexually by White culture and thus participate less in hookup culture.
This isn’t to say hookup culture doesn’t have its upsides; we are lucky to live in a day and age where sexual promiscuity is welcomed and accepted for all genders, and we are free to use our bodies for expression. However, we must examine the exclusive nature when discussing the topic as inclusivity and representation are becoming increasingly important in all aspects of life
There has been a mountain of pieces written about the good and bad of hookup culture, but Sophia addressed an aspect I hadn’t considered before. — C. Francis O’Leary
