CIRCUMSTANTIAL POMP for Oregon State University campuses. They will be holding live, in-person, real-deal-like graduation ceremonies this year. The pompous circumstances will be conducted outside so that proof of vaccine or negative Covid test is not required. Graduating students circumstanced for the pomposity from Summer of 2021 through Summer of 2022 are encouraged to join. [we’re confused now… go Beavs!]
QUACKY CHEERS for the University of Oregon [yeah, yeah, we know, you hate them, moving on…] for their launch of a children’s behavioral health institute in Northeast Portland. Seems they got their webbed feet on $425 million from Ballmer Group Philanthropy which allowed them to buy the old [but never forgotten for their sudden and possibly-related-to-financial-issues closure in 2020] Concordia University campus.
LOUD OBNOXIOUS JEERS (AND BOOS) for Willamette University’s law school. This week on OPB, we learned about a foreign student with disabilities who alleges that she was discriminated against and expelled [and is therefore eligible for deportation]. We’re not saying that the student was right and the university was wrong, because let’s face it, we don’t really know all the details. So why are we booing? When OPB asked Willamette about the issue, they relied on a PR firm to answer the questions rather than having someone from the school do it. [Man up, WU, and face what you have or have not done, because hiding behind PR just makes you look guilty.]
JEERS [AGAIN] for another Oregon School Superintendent issue. Northwest of Portland [alternatively, Southeast of Astoria] is the town of Jewell, and they’re having Super problems. Did these issues stem from hiring a Superintendent who had been forced to retire from another school district after tweeting inflammatory misinformation about immigrants? Nope. But Steve Phillips did something that made the Jewell School Board put him on administrative leave and start looking for his replacement. [This is like the fifteen-hundredth superintendent Oregon schools have dumped lately… WTH!]
Moving away from schools…
SUBDUED CHEERS for a panel coming next week from OSU called “War in Europe: Context and Implications of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine.” [You might have noticed that we don’t report on this type of story, because we figure you’ve heard all the stuff from other places… such as everywhere else in your entire life, but this seemed important to those of us locally.] So, five really smart people from our local school – ranging from Philosophy and Religion to the Department of History – are conducting this “flash panel” to make their insights accessible to all of us. Join them at 4:00 on March 9 by registering here.
FURROWED BROWS for the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. On February 28, this little known about institution had their storage space burglarized and are missing about 50-75 autographed guitars. Therefore, if you are into autographed guitars and have recently found some new supplier looking to sell fast, shoot an email over to Info@omhof.org or call the sheriff’s office. Let’s all be the solution here.
SAD GOODBYE to Sen. Peter Courtney. On Wednesday, this Senate President, this 40-year veteran of Oregon’s lawmaking masses, made one of his last speeches to the Senate – and it was about outlawing greyhound racing. [BTW greyhounds are the best little couch-potato dogs and deserve our support.] Courtney has decided to not run this time around, leaving his seat and the senate presidency up for grabs in the November elections. [As we have said before, it’s gonna be an interestin’ time come November!]
SADDER GOODBYE to SB 1511. Since nonunanimous jury convictions are no longer “a thing” in Oregon, some people thought, “Hmm, maybe we should rectify past mistakes and give those convicted that way another shot.” There was a kerfuffle or two over the language, the victim rights, and the money it would cost to retry a slew of people. Well, on Thursday, the bill died by Democrat in the House. Speaker Dan Rayfield said it should be a priority next time around.
Moving outside of Oregon for a moment…
NON-COMPLAINT-DRIVEN CHEERS for the Super Bowl Halftime Show of the 2021 season. Featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and a slew of other Hip Hop stars, this show got a record setting 33 complaints coming into the Federal Communications Commission. Why, you may ask, was 33 a number to set records? Because the FCC usually gets waaaaay more. In 2020’s show with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, 1,300 people found something to b**ch about. Which is nothing compared to the Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake debacle of 2004 with over 540,000 irate fans getting all huffy in the FCC’s face. Perhaps Hip Hop has found a new audience… and it’s footie ball fans! [Your friendly copy editor here with a question… Did it occur to anyone to complain about grown dudes risking life, limb, and brain damage over an awkwardly shaped ball?]
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