Eugene, Ore.– The May special election is approaching. One issue Eugene residence will be voting on is a city income tax. Measure 20-211 would have households pay a $10 fee to city services. The money would go toward funding such services as firefighters, police, and libraries.

Mayor Kitty Piercy is knocking on doors in Eugene neighborhoods to help rally support behind the ballot issue. Piercy says city services like the library help support struggling families in the Eugene community.

“When you’re in a rough time and your family is having a hard time affording anything, that is the very time you need a library that you can use. This comes from a very honest place. A place of ‘yes, we won’t die if we don’t have these services, but we’ll be a much poorer community’”.

Piercy plans to continue her door-to-door campaign until the May 21^st vote.

Watch the video here.

Christina Kempster, Web Reporter
@cmkempster

Eugene, Ore. – The Warsaw Sports Marketing Center is celebrating its 20^th Anniversary this month. The revolutionary program offers students first hand experience in the sports business world. The program continues to have success, having over 3,200 students enrolled in the participate over the past three years.

Watch the story, here.

-Christina Kempster
@cmkempster

Eugene, Ore. – The annual spring football game will be at Autzen Stadium on Saturday April 27^th. The game will benefit Food for Lane County and pay tribute to the U.S. Armed Forces.

All are invited to come watch the Ducks and see the first appearance for Mark Helfrich as head coach, since Chip Kelly’s departure. Admission to the game will be three non-perishable food items.  All food donations will go to Food for Lane County, which received a record 72,000 pounds of food at last years spring game.

Watch the video, here.

-Christina Kempster
@cmkempster

Sophomore Samantha Stendal felt a different response was needed to the Steubenville rape trials. So during finals week of winter term the cinema studies major put together a quick 27 second video in contrast to the media’s coverage of the case.

“What really scared me about the coverage especially with the Steubenville rape case is just how sympathetic they were to the futures of the boys who raped a girl and there was no discussion about how it affected her future,” Stendal said.

The video opens with a girl passed out on the couch. A man appears in front of the camera   and places a blanket over her and a cup of water by her side.

“Real men treat women with respect,” actor Justin Gotchall says.

The video went viral and in just two weeks had over two million views. The simple but powerful message was soon being picked up by news outlets in the US, Canada, Australia, and more. Samantha says she hopes to continue to do more films on the subject, giving a voice to victims of sexual assault.

To watch the video click here: A Needed Response

Casey Pechan, DuckTV News

Matt Knight Arena has officially been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification by the US Green Building Council. The arena is the second building on campus to receive the Gold L-E-E-D award, the White Stag Block Building on the UO Portland campus being the first. Lillis business complex was the first to receive building certification.

Matt Knight received Gold due to its energy and light efficiency, water usage, and other sustainable strategies within the building. These techniques not only help the U of O campus continue to work towards maintaining a low carbon footprint, but in the long run smart energy usage will save money for taxpayers and students.

Casey Pechan, DuckTV News