Slant 6-9-2016

• Calls to EW’s front desk can be crazy and fun. The latest comes from a reader (maybe) wondering what
kind of paper and ink goes into our finished product. He has been using EW to start his barbecue, and the food is tasting bad. Oops! We recommend trying The Register-Guard or The Oregonian.

• Perhaps, like us, you’ve been scratching your heads over the proliferation of a symbol spray-painted across town — a circle with a vertical line down the middle and a horizontal radius line. We’ve seen it downtown, all along West 11th and on the UO campus. The UO police department tells EW that they have seen the symbol, but have no further info. John Hankemeier, a public information coordinator for the Eugene Police Department, says the EPD is not familiar with it. Of course, we have our own working theories, from the wack to the plausible. Could it be “ED” for some ground-level erectile dysfunction awareness campaign, or perhaps an insanely well-coordinated Ellen Degeneres prank? Some folks on the Eugene Reddit page say it’s hobo code, others say it’s code for LSD and still others say it looks like the medieval “T-O” world maps, which may be referencing the apocalypse. Theories abound about gang activity, but maybe it’s just the handiwork of some bored kid? Got any leads? Email alex@eugeneweekly.com.

• Three generations of activists offered an important history of the African-American experience in Eugene and Lane County June 3 to the City Club of Eugene. Panelists were: Willie Mims, octogenarian born in Eugene who is trustee of the Mims Historical Houses, the first black-owned property within the city of Eugene; Erik Richardson, president of local NAACP since 2013; Tarik Richardson, Gilman Scholar and former director of the UO Black Student Union, who will graduate this month; Shaniece Curry, first to graduate in her family of eight, having earned a BS in Ethnic Studies and planning, Public Policy and Management. When asked about the next generation of African-American activists, Mims said, “I have a lot of hope … simply because we can only go up. We have to work on each and every issue at the time. It takes all of us to lift the boat.”

• A cautionary tale comes out of Baylor University in Texas for every American university playing today on the big-time athletic stage. The president, the head football coach and athletic director have all lost their jobs because of a scandal charging the mishandling of sexual assaults against several football players. According to The New York Times, the Baylor Board of Regents condemned university leadership that, it said, “created a cultural perception that football was above the rules.” One story reported that the president even ran onto the field with the football team. Meanwhile, the judge and the father of the Stanford rapist also have us appalled. Six months because he’s a swimmer? “20 minutes of action”? That’s the response to a woman who was raped and violated? Despicable. The victim’s statement should be required reading. You can find it on BuzzFeed at goo.gl/0Ycb8j.

• As we first reported back in March 2105, there is talk of relocating First Avenue Animal Shelter, which houses animals from Lane County, Eugene and Springfield, out to Greenhill’s rural property west of Eugene city limits. Without question, both First Avenue and Greenhill need new kennels. The old concrete runs at both shelters are loud and scary. But for many who have lost a pet or are looking to adopt, heading out to Green Hill Road is a prohibitive trek. We’d like to see discussion of a downtown adoption storefront. Let’s make it easy to find our area pets forever homes.