words BEN MCPHERSON FICKLIN
art IMOGEN BANKS

Sahaptin is a language. For more than 10,000 years the Yakama, Wanapum, Umatilla, Walla Walla, Palus, Cayuse, and Nez Perce tribes have spoken Sahaptin in what is now the state of Oregon. Words like iwakt (dream) or shwat’ash (cloud) had meaning along the Columbia River and its tributaries, across the Cascade Range, out to the coast, north into Washington, and as far east as Idaho. Now, after European invaders brutally killed and forcibly assimilated Natives, Sahaptin speakers number around 200.

Students of the University of Oregon have a unique opportunity to support these cultures and gain insight into Native Oregon by enrolling in the Sahaptin language program. Sahaptin has been offered at the UO since 1997 by the Northwest Indian Language Institute (NILI) and the University’s Yamada Language Program.

NILI combines culture with language in their mission statement: Through teaching Native languages, they attempt to support native community and culture. Language creates culture as much as culture creates language, and to learn a language from somebody who is unfamiliar with the culture is pointless.

Roger Jacob, the Sahaptin teacher at the UO is a product of a Native Oregon culture. Jacob grew up on the Yakima Indian Reservation, in the Washington Cascades, and has studied and received degrees from nine different universities. In 2010 he graduated from the UO with a Master’s Degree in teaching Native language.

The cultures that speak Sahaptin are adamantly striving to keep their language from dying. By enrolling in the Sahaptin program, anyone can support these cultures and gain a perspective of Oregon that far predates the United States. Americans need to recognize the genocide that Natives have been put through. This racist destruction has erased knowledge of Oregon that had existed for thousands of years. It’s time to cherish Native culture and language.

As most of you know campus is going smoke and tobacco free. To be honest, I don’t really have much of an opinion on the matter. We all know it’s not good for your health, and if people still want to smoke, it’s their choice. What causes me to say “what the fuck” is the policy’s advertising campaign. At first glance, it’s kind of funny. Smoke and Tobacco Free University, STFU, shut the fuck up, I get it. But let’s for a moment think beyond our small bubble of students and faculty. Custodians, construction workers, and other support staff are a major smoker demographic on campus. The message isn’t “We’re concerned for you and our campus’ health.” It’s more like, “Get the fuck out.”

As far as publicity methods go, it fails to meet several key criteria. Is it creative? Yeah, I guess. Does it get your attention? Yep. Is it informative (i.e., does it really tell you anything about the smoke and tobacco free campaign)? Not so much. And last, but certainly not least, does it give you a way to put the movement into action? Not even close. The health center is providing free nicotine patches for those willing to try and quit, but you don’t see anything about that on the poster. Instead it says, “You smoke? You suck, and also you have no say in the matter, so shut the fuck up.” The salt in the wound of this whole issue is that the ad was created by none other than our very own corporate uncle, Nike. Thanks Phil, that’s really nice.

words BEN STONE

A few weeks ago, I rolled through the musty hallways of the EMU to one of the first public info sessions on an upcoming campus referendum. On Nov. 14 through 17, UO students will be able to vote on whether present and future students should pay an extra $100 per term for the next 40 years in order to fund construction on the EMU and the Student Recreation Center. Whoa. So I got busy on some of the cookies and punch they put out and sat down with a bunch of students and leaders of the renovation campaign, including Vice President of Student Affairs Robin Holmes. After an hour of surprisingly fiery dialogue between concerned students and Holmes’ camp, several main ideas were thrown down.

First, the EMU is a wack building. It is not the unifying hub of campus activity that it should be, partly because it is not unified architecturally. It is disjointed as a result of different renovations over the years, and is too small to handle all the fresh business that people are doing there these days. The renovations would increase student organizational space and overall EMU space by 20 to 30 percent, as well as place office spaces closer to the street. The plan will also include a new concert hall, more eateries, a movie space, a pub (chiller connotations than bar?), and new exercise facilities in the SRC.

Strangely, there’s not too much more information to reveal about the proposed changes, which we will be asked to approve this month. According to Holmes, it is important that we “agree on principles” in regards to the design. She means that if you care about sustainability, allocation of student offices, or other issues relating to the design of the EMU, you should start going to the meetings dedicated to this project and speak up.

If the referendum is denied, the leaders of this project will likely wait for a bit and try the referendum again, Holmes said. This project appears inevitable, so we might as well make sure the design actually fits student needs.

If you are interested in the future of these buildings, check out these upcoming meeting times. For more specifics on this project, check out the referendum home page.

“Don’t waste time sucking your thumb when you could be out having your fun,” Dan Savage offered to a packed audience of UO students on November 1. The Ford Alumni Center echoed with the questions of sexually concerned young adults ranging from “What’s the status quo for female pubic hair?” to “Sex with unicorns: magical?” To the latter, Savage casually responded, “Yes,” and moved on to the next question. Despite a brief interruption by a glitter-throwing Savage-hater sweeping the stage and shouting something about transphobia, the Q&A with the acclaimed sex advice columnist had students nodding in agreement between prolonged effusions of laughter. Individuals of all sexual orientations were in attendance, each equipped with questions about how to please, how to tease, and how not to queef.

Savage, whose column “Savage Love” is featured in Eugene Weekly, recently toured 12 universities around the country for a new late-night MTV show titled “Savage U.” How this exhibit fits under the “Music Television” agenda remains a mystery, but viewers can count on being entertained at the very least. So, Mr. Savage, my boyfriend is okay with my vaginal farts, but how do I make them stop? “Well, if he doesn’t care,” Savage replied, “I would simply advise you to count your blessings, and your queefs.”

Don’t miss this opportunity for Oregon Voice to crush the competition.

DIY- Dance it Yourself from Quinn Moticka on Vimeo.

Please refrain from laughing (too hard) at our interview shyness.

The picture quality came out pretty wirey, but I did take liberties with showing off my hebrew skillz (we’ll see about that).

Until next time, shalom! And a quick ‘hello’ from Ami Shalev of Monotonix.