Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

My Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Trafton B.

January 24, 2010 - 8:30 PM

Okay, I'm sitting at Cafe Roma, the coffee is kicking in and it's time for a study break. So, it's about time I formally and thoroughly address an issue that has been directly influencing my life for the past two months.

Yes, my picture is on the University of Oregon home page.

It's the first picture that scrolls through at the top, which means that anyone that logs on to the homepage at any point in time sees my face smiling as I'm walking down 13th Street with my friend, Lizzy.

Here's the background of the situation. Lizzy and I got out our Landscape Architecture class on Thursday afternoon and as always, we walked home together usually chatting about our mutual detest for the class. When we passed by Lillis, a nice gentleman with a fancy camera approached us and asked, "Would you mind if I took a photo of you for the University website?"

Obviously we obliged and asked if we needed to stop walking or strike a pose or anything like that. "No, just keep on walking. I'll take care of the rest." So, we literally never broke stride. Lizzy kept walking with her bike and we acted as normal as possible. Granted, trying to act normally in front of a camera is fairly difficult, at least for us amateurs.

Our discussion switched to "Well, this is slightly awkward. What do we do?" "I don't know, I guess we just keep on walking and smile." The photographer, who is backpedaling through the bushes to get a good angle of us, is saying "Good stuff. Love the smiling. Laughter is good! Keep it up." And seven seconds later it was all over. The photographer thanked us and we just kept on walking, laughing about how awkward and exposed we felt and wondering if we might become famous.

A week passed by and Wednesday morning, November 4th, 2009, I woke up to an email from the Senior Assistant Director in the UO Office of Admission, who I worked with as a UO tour guide last year, that read, "Look who's famous on the front page of UO's website!" Low and behold I logged onto my computer to find the picture.

Therein lies my first concern; they didn't even let me know the picture was being published. No email notification. No signature for approval. No nothing. Doesn't that seem a little bit odd? What if I was a convicted felon (don't worry I'm not) and needed to keep a low profile? My cover is blown!

Lizzy and I have been on the page every waking moment since that fateful day in November - expect for a few weeks around the end of January when the Rose Bowl hype was at its peak. And it has created nothing but drama every since.

First, if you are wondering whether or not I get recognized or anyone comments on the photo, the answer is yes. I kid you not, at least one person has asked me about the photo or commented on it every day since its appearance. I would say the average is well over one mentioning per day-including winter break and the Rose Bowl period. My roommates, friends, family friends, coworkers, classmates and high school acquaintances that happened to be applying to the UO have taken turns calling me out. The list has reached new levels recently to include the Dough Co delivery guy, my roommate's cousin's girlfriend (who goes to Oregon State) and just last week one of my professors logged onto the webpage, projected it on the big screen and pointed me out to the rest of the class. I'm never sitting in the front row of class again!

It's not that I am angry with the University, because I'm not. There are a number of perks to being the electronic poster child of the U of O. It's a conversation starter if any cute girl happens to recognize me. My parents have spread the news throughout the family network so even my grandmother in Colorado can see her grandson, if she can figure out how to log in with her dial-up Internet connection, that is. I can tell my kids about it in the future. And I can bring it up or joke around about it whenever I'm feeling narcissistic.

My real issue is that I'm going to be remembered for be "That guy on the website." The fame part of it is really fun, but I'd like to be famous for doing something; not just awkwardly smiling in a black Oregon sweatshirt. So, I've made a resolution to get back onto the webpage for doing something important like becoming a Rhodes' Scholar or curing cancer - you know, something that takes actual talent or intelligence.

Okay. . That feels better. I will rest a little easier now that my story is out there. I now understand the price of fame, and I hope you all do too. Thanks for letting me vent. Now it's back to Climate Change policy. Awesome!