Don’t Trust the Flock

As this Flock saga has gone on locally, we’ve been seeing an effort by Eugene and Springfield police to try soothing the concerns of the public by promising to lock down data sharing to just Eugene/Springfield or Lane County — as if this actually stops the federal government from getting its hands on our local Flock data. 

Let’s get something straight here: There is no safe version of Flock! EPD Chief Chris Skinner has been forced to admit that if a federal subpoena came for the Flock data to be used for something like immigration enforcement, they would be forced to hand it over. Really, Flock would be forced to hand it over because once again, it’s ultimately Flock’s data, not EPD’s, and they can hold it for much longer than 30 days. 

Not to mention the countless instances in which police departments have been caught sharing data with ICE informally, which only requires one rogue officer to do. This is why community members have had such a staunch opposition to Flock, even with supposed safeguards! The only way to truly safeguard people’s privacy and prevent the federal government from using data to go after certain groups of people is to not collect the data in the first place. If we had ever been given an opportunity to weigh in before these cameras were secretly approved by unelected people and installed, we could’ve stopped the data collection from ever happening. Now we are forced to repeat over and over: Cancel Flock now!

Kamryn Stringfield

Eugene

Fight Back!

Feeling despondent after the recent wave of ICE detentions in Lane County? You can help. If you witness suspicious activity that you believe is ICE, don’t wait, and don’t post to social media. Instead, call the Portland Immigration Rights Coalition (PIRC) hotline at 888-622-1510. Save this number now.

How do I know it’s ICE? In contrast to the well-marked vehicles used by state and local police, ICE vehicles are totally generic and unmarked. Most have heavily tinted windows and very few “cop accessories” (visible lights, push bumpers, antennas, etc.) ICE officers rarely wear uniforms, but often wear tube masks and heavy body armor, usually with a rifle magazine on the vest. They rarely wear a badge, but sometimes their vests have a patch that says ICE or DHS, CBP, ERO, FBI. Often they linger outside apartment buildings or other areas where they are likely to find undocumented folks.  

By reporting to PIRC, you may interrupt the detention/deportation process, or help dispel fear that is based on rumors. Take photos and videos, the PIRC dispatcher will tell you how to send them. If you witness a detention, ask the person being detained for their name, date of birth, and a contact number for a loved one. Be aware that physical obstruction of ICE/DHS is a felony. If you want to join the statewide rapid response team, visit the PIRC website or social media and sign up for a migra watch training. We can all help defend our community.

Lily Pearl Johnson

Eugene

Why She Runs

On Nov. 5, ICE kidnapped valued community members of Eugene and Cottage Grove. This isn’t the first time this has happened here. It is a stark reminder of the disregard for human life and freedom as the onslaught of the Trump administration wrecks havoc on America.

In this head-spinning era, while the federal government devolves into fascism, it is more crucial than ever that all our state and local electeds are on the same page about the necessity of resistance at this critical time. Whatever limited power other bodies of government have must be directed in defiance of what is happening right now.

One thing elected officials can do on an individual level is speak out. Eugene’s elected officials, including Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Val Hoyle, Speaker Julie Fahey, Sen. James Manning and Sen. Floyd Prozanski, among others, all signed onto a joint statement condemning the actions. These leaders all spoke out against the atrocities. 

My city councilor, Mike Clark, was not one of the signers. This is not an aberration, but in line with his consistent defense of white supremacists, homophobic policies and Jan. 6 rioters. This is why I’m running against him, because I believe that we must stand up for the immigrants in our community. I believe a councilor has a duty to protect the people they are supposed to represent. And most of all, I believe that Ward 5 deserves a leader who will fight for them.

Athena Aguiar

Eugene

The Behemoth That is Amazon

Amazon is planning to build a mega-warehouse in Eugene, and doing it secretly to avoid public push back (EW, 11/13). Many people have expressed concerns about traffic impacts, air pollution, undermining local businesses, overuse of electricity, and collusion with the Trump regime.

Yet city officials are being passive in letting Amazon push into Eugene. The public has a right to be informed about, and participate in, decisions about a project of this magnitude, which will impose Amazon’s daily presence on our streets, economy and quality of life.

Amazon is not a benevolent customer fulfillment company. Jeff Bezos provides tech infrastructure through Amazon web services for ICE’s mass deportation machine that targets immigrants, trans people, Muslims, people of color, activists and others, and provides cloud tech to the Israeli government for its genocide in Gaza.

Is this the neighbor we want to bring into our city? Amazon won’t bring good jobs. They have a vehement anti-union stance, and plan to replace 75 percent of their workers with AI robotics by 2030. I believe we should stop this project, and boycott Amazon permanently!

If you’re concerned about Amazon’s plans to build in Eugene, come to the City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 24, at 7 pm to sign up for public comment, and join Indivisible Eugene-Springfield’s “Say No to Amazon” campaign at Indivisible-Eug-Spr.org/Action.

Ruth Wren

Eugene

ONLINE EXTRA LETTERS — North Eugene High School Edition! 

A Program for the Future

I am writing about my concern about homelessness and what I think we should do to help resolve this issue at hand. I am in year two of a program called Future Build, and what we do is learn a lot of things about building houses and construction. One thing that stands out about Future Build is we build sheds and houses for the homeless community. Right now they go to a place called Everyone Village and it’s a community full of supported people and where homeless people can go to have free shelter, food, water and a loving and caring community. The way they get to live there is they say they are gonna stay clean off hard drugs and they are allowed to use legal drugs if needed.

I think that this should be in more high schools throughout Oregon and even in other states that are struggling with homelessness. I think this should be funded state by state for our program or programs like ours. In Future Build, we focus on helping out our community and making sure we can get the help they need.

Overall, I think this is a great program and should be funded because the trades are high in demand. It would help get homeless people off the streets, which the Portland metro area alone spent $724 million on homeless services in fiscal year 2024. This could help the state save money, get more people into the trades and have, and help get homeless people off the streets into an environment that cares and wants them to succeed.

Davion Macy, North Eugene High School

Eugene

No to Federal Troops in Portland

As a high schooler living in Oregon, it concerns me that the president of the United States is ordering our National Guard to be deployed to Portland. The Posse Comitatus Act states, “That the National Guard shall be sent to said state if their Governor asks for assistance. The National Guard shall only be used by the Governor of that state to help with the current problems they are having.” President Donald Trump has been bypassing this by using the Insurrection Act of 1807. Without any legitimate evidence, he has used the National Guard on account to suppress his perceived civil disorder.

The president of the United States is in charge of the most powerful country in the world. The control over where the National Guard is to be sent should be up to that state’s governor, not someone who doesn’t know the local issues. The governor of a state knows what is happening in their state, whereas the president is not able to look after every state. 

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek never asked for the president’s help to “defend” her state, and there was no evidence of protests growing out of control in Portland. Because of this, it would be unnecessary to send troops and spend an estimated $3.8 million that could be used elsewhere. As someone who has friends wanting to join the National Guard, I don’t want them spending their time arresting civilians who are peacefully protesting.

Aiden Mumau, North Eugene High School

Eugene

Phones Are Needed

As a senior high schooler, I have thoughts on the phone bans in Oregon schools, which begin in Oregon Jan. 1, 2026, as Gov. Tina Kotek proposes for mental health. Phones will be banned on school campuses. I agree that students shouldn’t have their phones out during class, but I feel the bell-to-bell schedule works better.

One in five high school students work jobs, and they need to respond to work messages. This ban limits their ability to respond until after and before school.

Many high schoolers have family or other people that they need to respond to or read the message immediately if family emergencies or plans come up.

Last year, my aunt’s partner passed away. My mom messaged me to tell me to gather all my school work for the days I wouldn’t be there, we were going to leave town to visit her. If I hadn’t been able to read my messages, I wouldn’t have been able to get the necessary schoolwork, and I would have missed some important assignments.

I’m sure there have been moments in your life where you worry about a family member not in a great situation. You need to be able to receive messages from them if something happens to them. A student’s mental health improves when they are aware of their family’s well-being

In conclusion, I feel phones should be banned from classrooms only. I urge you to consider presenting this idea to Gov. Kotek.

Kaiden Morris, North Eugene High School

Eugene

Don’t Blame the Phones

I’m a student at North Eugene High School, and I believe that cellphone bans in schools are a scapegoat for misbehaved/failing students. Getting rid of phones won’t magically give every student a higher grade. 

In fact, I believe it’s going to cause more off-tasking in class. For example, there’s a student that’s in one of my classes. This student constantly disrupts the class by talking to peers and off-tasking. Our teacher has to constantly tell him other people are trying to learn and not to disrupt the class. 

The phone ban creates an environment where he doesn’t want to learn, so he gets bored and disrupts the class. This student would always be on their phone when phones weren’t banned and keep to themselves to the point where the teacher flips out on the entire class and not the student who is the sole reason. 

It becomes a distraction to other students like myself. I often have a question, but am too afraid to ask it and be lashed out on by the teacher. If he has his phone, he’s distracting nobody other than himself. He would have to make the choice to learn. A much better fix to this is implementing a rule in which if you have a failing grade in a class, you have to do after/during school help. Uplift the ban on cellphones and stop blaming the abundant low grades on phones.

Wilberth Ramos, North Eugene High School

Eugene

Navigating Road Construction

I have been navigating through Eugene since I got my license two years ago. I drive through Eugene almost every day, and lately it feels like road construction has taken over. I understand that the work needs to be done, but it bothers me how often workers step right into active lanes of traffic while cars are actively moving through.

There have been several incidents when I’ve had to slam on my brakes because a worker had stepped out into traffic. I am always cautious but it’s hard to see them at times. Between unclear lane markings, last-second flagging and narrow traffic, it’s becoming more and more stressful to get across town without feeling like an accident could happen at any moment.

I’m not blaming the workers personally by any means, but there needs to be better safety procedures and clearer coordination. In my opinion drivers shouldn’t have to choose between obeying flaggers and slamming on the brakes to avoid someone in the road.

Eugene is rapidly growing, and I appreciate the effort to improve our beloved TrackTown USA. I just hope the city and contractors can put a little more focus on safety.

Spencer Vandeberghe, North Eugene High School

Eugene

Tuition is Out of Control

College tuition in Oregon has gotten too expensive. Most of my senior year of high school has been spent planning for college, but when it comes to deciding where to apply to, my choices are limited due to tuition costs. Out-of-state schools have become too expensive to even consider. For example, at the University of Washington, annual tuition for out-of-state students was approximately $43,494 last year. 

Understandably, I and most other Oregon students look in-state, predominantly at the University of Oregon or Oregon State University. Oregon schools’ in-state tuition, however, while considerably less than out of state, is still too expensive; annual in-state tuition at the U of O was about $16,755 last year and about $15,246 at OSU. Coming from a middle income family, I won’t receive much need-based financial aid, nor will I collect much from my family, which leaves me with a sense of financial uncertainty when I look toward the next four years. 

What can be done to fix this? Since this issue is larger than individual households, I believe one solution is for the State of Oregon to invest more in public education. Oregon currently ranks 44th in the nation for funding public universities. Chronic underfunding from our state remains a fundamental contributor to high tuition costs, and in order to provide stability, investing in public education is a requirement. Funding higher education needs to be a priority if students wish to feel financially secure.

Simon Gillihan, North Eugene High School

Eugene

Address Addiction

In Eugene, the two main factors of homelessness are a lack of affordable housing and substance abuse. It is known that affordable housing is an issue in Eugene, but many people look right past possible substance abuse and are quick to blame the housing market. 

If you drive downtown, even for just five minutes, you can see the toll homelessness has taken on our city. There are roughly 3,000 people who are experiencing homelessness in Eugene currently. Out of those 3,000, it is estimated that 38 percent struggle with alcohol dependency and 26 percent with various drug abuse. These percentages should not be taken lightly. Addiction is a serious issue that needs to stop being overlooked in the homeless community. While providing shelters and food for the homeless is a good start, it doesn’t address the problem. Those who struggle with addiction are not willing to help themselves get off the streets. So we need to either start providing useful resources for them to fight their addiction or enacting consequences for those who are not willing to fight for a better life. 

Most homeless people who just cannot afford housing are at least trying to make do and do whatever they can to get off the streets. However, when it comes to those that are not actively contributing to our community or attempting to fight their addiction, we need to focus a little more on trying to get them off our streets to improve our city streets.

Zoe Caire, North Eugene High School

Eugene