Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Welcome Back to School!

Katie D.

October 3, 2009 - 4:56 PM

The school year has begun! Everywhere I go there are students again: biking the streets, buying coffee, doing homework on the bus, invading the campus pathways between classes, and generally stirring up this sleepy little city again. Part of me wants to resist this transformation: I found the summertime Eugene to be a cozy place, one where I felt comfortable, welcome, and known. The new hordes of students clog things up, and clutter the city a bit. But it's also exciting: there is a whole new generation of Ducks arriving, and I'm in the senior class now, the Big Kid on campus.

In addition to this, there is the absolute joy of seeing the campus activity pick back up again. There are fliers everywhere advertising music, movies, speakers, classes, art, and opportunities. The activity is coming back: the visiting scholars, artists, performances, activism, excitement. There are the sports events (which I don't go in for) but which do elevate the pulse of the campus. But, more than that, it becomes obvious again what an amazing piece of the world this campus is. We are right in the middle of so many exciting things. We are a part of the big happenings in the larger social/scholarly/cultural world.

One of my favorite things in all this activity is how "big thinkers" are coming and going on campus all the time. You could fill an entire calendar with all the special events happening just on campus, and then you'd have to head out into the larger Eugene community as well. Thinkers and innovators are brought here all the time, both by campus faculty and organizations as well as by student groups.

As these visiting intellectuals are coming and going, we also are constantly benefiting from the movement of faculty. Faculty members from other universities come for a year or a semester, then head home. Our professors take a year to teach elsewhere, or to research and travel. A favorite sociology professor of mine is spending a year on her research, while another favorite English prof is on a Fulbright scholarship teaching, researching, and traveling in Germany.

We are in a constant flux of incoming and outflowing intellectuals and ideas.

And we, the students, are a part of it all. With the help of faculty, things we learn in classes, and by the power of our own convictions, we are working to change the world. The idealistic college student might be a stereotypical image, but it is also an individual with some real power. Students band together, use the support of the University, and bring fabulous speakers to campus to speak to and inspire others. I have seen some real heroes come through the University, and have randomly selected interesting events that ended up making a huge impact on my life. My favorite bit of campus reality occurs when I finish some fabulous class reading, then see a flier for some related activism the next week, then the month after that the author her/himself is speaking at the EMU. It's happened more than once, most notably with Cherrie Moraga, a Chicana lesbian feminist who I'd studied in several classes and included in my essay in NOMAD.

Another fabulous example was last night's speaking event by Luis Alberto Urrea at the Eugene Public Library. I have not read any of his books, but I bought one after hearing him speak. I felt vaguely that I had heard his name before, and was interested in attending the talk because I always enjoy author events. A friend of mine insisted we go, and I'm so glad she did. The event was incredibly inspirational and amazingly powerful. Mr. Urrea is an expert storyteller. Much of his subject matter in writing and speaking surrounds issues of the Mexican/American border and the heartbreak and danger of people's lives there. Yet he approaches these subjects with such an attention to the story that it is both deeply moving and often hilarious. He treats reality as it is: which is to say, more complicated than most people want to think about. I purchased The Devil's Highway, a true story about a large group of migrants, half of whom died in the Arizona desert. From my experiences with No More Deaths  working to prevent that very reality, I felt a real connection to his stories. His talk dovetailed nicely not only with that volunteer experience, but also my coursework in Mexican migration, literary theory, and Latin American literature I have studied at the UO.

When I think about that event, and other events on campus and in the community, I am reminded again and again how important it is that the University involves itself with the city and the world. We are such a dynamic center of talent and energy. There is such amazing potential for change held in classrooms and coursework, in extracurricular work and research labs. Of course I believe there is room for improvement in these things at the UO: for example, I would like to see the University require some kind of internship/volunteering/research component for graduation. I wish there was a central location listing campus events and opportunities, which would encourage greater participation. I would also like to see the departments come together more often, working to innovate and cross barriers that sometimes keep natural partners separate. But I also believe that what is happening at the UO is a hopeful sign of what is possible in the larger world. All these people working, living, and studying together has made a huge difference in my life. So we have to work together to keep bringing these scholars to campus. We have to continue to encourage students to take their academic skills into the community and the professors to apply their knowledge in making a difference.

School's back in session, and things are all lined up for another year of events and activities. There is so much to be done, and that is a fundamentally hopeful thing.

Let's keep working to make this place into the center of transformation that it has the potential to be.