Hear that? It’s the Winds of Change…
By The Torch Staff
Winter term has come and gone – somehow we’ve blown through another three months that have simultaneously felt like a couple of days and an entire year at the same time. This term, the Torch team has faced countless hurdles, and yet, as always, we have prevailed! Stepping in as editor-in-chief mid-term, with a looming print date coming up and not much news experience, Agostinho Da Silva wasn’t sure how things were going to turn out. The journalists, photographers and support staff here at The Torch showed he had nothing to worry about. As we navigated protests, government hostility, a looming staff strike, SGA elections and the uncertainty of local health care, we also grew together as a team and a family and kept our cool under the pressure.
We are more ready than ever to continue covering the issues that matter most to our fellow LCC students, and we are very excited to welcome new staff to The Torch! No experience is necessary, just come on down and say Hi. On the job training, monthly stipends and an amazing team ready to welcome you awaits.
Protests have persisted across Eugene despite the continued aggression from federal agents. In the crosshairs, especially, have been younger demonstrators, brave residents facing the federal government head-on in lawsuits, and reporters from publications such as The Torch and Eugene Weekly. It almost seems like they don’t like accountability. Unfortunately for them, their actions have turned our local protests into national stories, including an interview Da Silva did with the US Press Freedom Tracker, which specifically tracks incidents of police and federal agencies targeting the press who are simply there covering the events that are unfolding.
Faculty strikes were imminent, until they weren’t with the administration and both faculty and non-faculty unions coming to tentative agreements late this term, we’ve managed to narrowly avert a looming April faculty strike. This term has been rife with back and forth meetings, unhappiness from both sides, and students speaking out in support of our amazing staff here at LCC who teach us day in and day out. We at The Torch want to extend our congratulations to all parties involved in coming to agreements on the continued future of our college staff.
Our emergency health care is in crisis! PeaceHealth has made the wise decision, yet again, to ignore everybody in Eugene, Springfield and our Legislature, literally, in their decision to part ways with Eugene Emergency Physicians, instead deciding to partner with ApolloMD. The new group says they pinky promise to follow the law in a letter response to legislators, while listing out each and every way they are, in fact, planning on doing exactly what SB 951 says is against the law. But, of course, everything is justifiable if the company makes a better profit margin! We will keep you updated on how everything turns out in the end.
