Last Fall, an emotionally-charged anonymous letter to the editor to the student newspaper at Lewis & Clark, The Pioneer Log, had several female students calling “rape.” (more…)

The Emerald ran an article on PathwayOregon [see below] today, along with an editorial that says the program “will work effectively, albeit incrementally, toward reversing the University’s sub par levels of access to low-income and minority students.” The University estimates 400 incoming freshman will qualify for free tuition.

The average Pell Grant given nationwide is roughly $2,400. The University website says in-state tuition plus fees is $5,613, minus $2,400 equals $3,213 per student on average, multiplied by 400 students, equals $1,285,200 in grants and scholarships that PathwayOregon will give next fall, not counting the room and board promised to the top 25 eligible students. However, this may not be accurate. I don’t know if PathwayOregon covers the mandatory fees separate from tuition, which leads into another ODE front page story.  (more…)

If the fear-mongerers haven’t already told you, there was an incident today involving five Iranian ships making ‘aggressive manuevers and showing hostile intent’ towards three U.S. Navy ships in international waters.

Following is a transcript of an IM exchange between two American patriots in reaction:

D: Iranian ships just made advances toward US ships in international waters

S: Dude fucking awesome! Ron Paul 2008

D: Yeah but let’s fucking kick some ass first, those bastards want to fight us

S: Alright man! Let’s do this! I’ll book a flight to Iran right now, get your guns ready! Leeeeerooooy Jeeeeeekiiiiiins! 

In other, unrelated news, oil prices are up 49 cents.

It was a big Saturday for me. After I dropt three straight games of chess on Friday, the home teams came through with a 3-0 record.

The day started with an 84-74 win by the Ducks basketball team over the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats at the McKale Center in Tuscon. The Ducks now have a 2-game winning streak at the McKale Center for the first time ever. Coach Ernie Kent said it looked like “Oregon of Old,” and the team overcame losing three of its last four games to mediocre opponents. Malik Hairston led the way with 29 points and Maarty Leunen had his eighth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The women’s team also beat the Wildcats, 59-53 at the Pit. Anyone have an update on when Stingray Schafer will be able to play? (more…)

There is nothing better than the truth to sell some whisky. Canadian Club Whisky, which celebrates its 150^th anniversary this year, has launched its first brand campaign in 20 years under the theme, “Damn Right Your Dad Drank It.” Canadian Club is the No. 2 whisky in the Great White North. Funny stuff, for a bunch of hosers.

Over at Loaded Orygun, Democratic candidate for Attorney General John Kroger has written a blog post outlining his plan to fight the scary meth pandemic. As you’ve probably heard from every news outlet in the state, meth has ravaged at least 95 percent of Oregon’s adult population (and now it’s coming for your kids!). Here’s the opening paragraph of his two-pronged assault on tweak:

As Attorney General, I will work hard every day to tackle Oregon’s number one crime problem – meth addiction. Every year, meth costs us hundreds of millions of dollars in prison and law enforcement costs, health care expenditures, and lost workforce productivity. Meth is the biggest cause of property crime and identity theft in the state. More important, meth is the single greatest cause of serious child abuse in Oregon. That is one reason Oregon recently received a grade of “D” on a child welfare report card issued by a leading child advocacy group. To me, that is simply unacceptable.

To deal with Oregon’s meth crisis, I have proposed a two part plan, emphasizing both a new drug treatment program and tougher enforcement. This plan is based on the lessons I have learned as a federal prosecutor, public policy expert, and law professor.

A lot of things about this catch my eye, such as confusing “meth addiction” with “crimes people commit while on meth” (although you could easily argue the two go hand in hand). Most odd, though, is when Kroger throws out “lost workplace productivity.” Meth results in less productivity? Last time I checked, carnivals wouldn’t exist without meth. Workplace productivity statistics are stupid anyways, but Kroger says his plan is based on experience, so it must have some merit, right? Well, lets see. (more…)

So much hogwash to get to, so little time.  (more…)

The results are in, and Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have clinched first place in the Iowa Caucus. Both Obama and Huckabee are riding high thanks to some campaign trail assistance from helpful deities – Oprah and Jebus, respectively. No, seriously; check out these entrance poll numbers:

60 percent of voters said they consider themselves evangelical Christians. Huckabee is a Baptist minister. Far more than any other characteristic – 45 percent – Republicans said they are looking for a candidate who “shares my values.” Of those respondents, 44 percent said they were supporting Huckabee.

If by “shares my values” they mean “is a total douche,” then yeah, Huckabee’s the candidate of choice. (And here’s some more doucheness for good measure). Also, according to the entrance poll, Democratic women favored Obama over Clinton 35 percent to 30 percent – obviously the Oprah Effect in action. 

In other news, Hillary Clinton came in third place for the Democrats, meaning the apocalypse might not be as nigh as previously feared.

* Headline by Jake “keepin’ it classy” Speicher.

Here’s what I have to say about the Iowa Caucus and all the media hype going on about it:

It’s a small farming state that no one gives a shit about, except Iowans. There is no logical reason for it to have so much political attention. And media doesn’t explain that it is a party-based caucus that is biased and not as indicative of primary results as they would like you to think. Fuck Iowa and the Iowa Caucus.

President Dave Frohmayer announced today the details of PathwayOregon, which promises Oregon-resident, incoming freshman who qualify for the Pell Grant a free ride to the University of Oregon.

“At a time of fluctuating state support, escalating tuition and increased student debt, we are committed to providing more Oregonians than ever the financial boost they need to study at the state’s flagship university,” Frohnmayer said. “I am proud to present PathwayOregon as a cornerstone of that effort.”

According to the program’s website:

Resources for PathwayOregon come from federal, state, and university programs, including funds provided through private donations.

Last year, 3,680 UO students received the Pell Grant, according to this November R-G article, but I can’t find how many recipients of the federal grant are Oregon residents.

This program is all glitter and gleam for families whose children qualify for the grant. Everyone else, however, may be getting screwed. This study put out early 2007 by two UO economics professors (here’s a University press release on it) says the funds dished out for Pell Grants may simply be appropriated through tuition hikes.

In the end, exogenous changes in the Federal Pell Grant program are found to correlate strongly with changes in the distribution of needy students and revenues across institution quality.