Going, Going, Gonzo

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SUMMER 2005RUSSEL

WONG,

STAR

HOTOGRAPHER

LATIN PASSIONHUMANPHYSIOLOGYRISINGESSAY CONTESTWINNERPERSPECTIVE

UNIVERSITY

,

XQ^P

I

to/*

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

OLD OREGONCOUPLE GIVES $1 MILL!FOR SCHOLARSHIPS

Remembering the financial strugglesthey faced in their college years, Joeland Colleen McCloud of Torrance,California, have dedicated a $1

mil

lion pledge to scholarships for needyUO students. "We believe that everykid deserves the opportunity to get agood education," says Joel McCloudMBA

'67.

He and Colleen '67 both hailfrom working-class Oregon families thatmade sacrifices to help their childrenobtain a university education.

'AMAZING' VICTORY

Uchenna Agu '87,

1986 Pac-10

triple-jump champion and a former UOcheerleader (who gained nationalnotoriety in an infamous gum-throwing incident with OSU's Gary Payton),and his wife, Joyce, have won the CBSreality-TV program

The Amazing Race.

The Agus' luck has changed dramatically: from losing jobs in the debacles atEnron and WorldCom to winning $1

mil

lion in

Amazing Race

prize money. Lastyear, UO student

Karli

French and hertwin sister Kami (featured in

OQ

Spring2005) took fifth place in the competition.

JUNE EVENT MINGLES ALUMNIAND RECRUITERS

On the heels of the successful JanuaryCareer Networking Event, the PortlandCenter, Career Center, and the UOAlumni Association will be among thesponsors hosting a UO alumni careernetworking opportunity on Tuesday,June 28, at the Portland Center inDowntown Portland. The UO AlumniNetworking and Career Connectionevent will be held from 5:30

P.M.

until8:00

P.M.

and will provide an exclusiveopportunity for alumni to meet recruiters from top companies and to networkwith fellow Ducks. More information atuoalumni.com.

FOOTBALL FESTIVITIES

While the team finishes up spring football practices, the Alumni Associationis gearing up for the fall's football

pregame

parties. Look for the AlumniAssociation tent at Stanford (October

1),

Arizona State (October 8), andArizona (October 22). Join the Duckspirit and party with your fellow alumniand friends.

Warren

Spady

Civil War gamesengraved, leavingroom for the next

108."

But adoptingany Civil War trophy requires agreement between thetwo university athletic departments,says a circumspectUO Athletic Director Bill Moos. Yet headmits The Platypus "has a history now that it has beenrediscovered," and "could definitely bean option." He hopes for a decisionbefore next fall.Spady hopes he can finally sign hiswork. And Williams, who retires thisJune but has agreed to continue athleticdepartment oversight responsibilities fortwo more years, may play a role in

re

establishing The Platypus as part of thegreat Civil War tradition.He'd like that: "Most of the rivalryis very good natured. ...

It

generates alot of conversation between people; itbrings attention to the two schools. Andit's kind of fun." But he'd like it evenbetter if next fall the UO could reclaimbragging rights to the Civil War — andThe Platypus.

— PETE PETERSON '68 MS '77

MEMORY

GOING, GOING, GONZO

SIX-THIRTY CAME AND GAVE WAY TO 7

o'clock as I anxiously paced the hallwayof the University's Sweetser dormitory.Five friends were coming down to Eugenefrom Corvallis, and they were appallinglylate. The date was February 28, 1991,and we had to get to the ballroom atthe Eugene Hilton by 7:30 in order toget seats at a lecture given by the outlawjournalist Hunter S. Thompson.I shouldn't have worried about running late. Just as we sat down, a woman,presumably with the UO Cultural Forum,which had invited Thompson, tookthe microphone and apologized for thespeaker's tardiness. Last seen at the hotelbar, he had disappeared.Thompson was governed by his owntwisted version of the circadian rhythm.If his daily routine, as described by hisbiographer E. Jean Carroll is accurate,Thompson would typically lunch around7 P.M. on cheeseburgers and fries, severalbottles of Heineken, followed by carrotcake or ice cream, a snort of cocaine, anda "snow cone" — a glass of shaved iceflavored with a generous pour of ChivasRegal. No wonder he was late.An hour late. Ken Kesey '57 and KenBabbs made a brief and disastrous effort toHunter S. Thompson, at a

card game

on

the

Kesey

Farm,

February

28, 1991

40 OREGON QUARTERLY SUMMER 2005

sate

the

increasingly impatient audienceby telling

a few

choice anecdotes abouttheir friend.

The

effort was

cut

short

by

a

surly heckler. Right about then Thompson emerged from wherever

he had

beenhiding

and sat

down

at the

table fromwhich

he'd

speak.

In

his

hand,

he

held

a

yellow plastic

cup

filled with Chivas

and

ice

—

perhaps

the

remnants

of a

"snowcone."

He

opened

by

mumbling incomprehensibly into

the

microphone.Drunk

and

likely stoned,

and

with

no

prepared remarks,

he

rambled

for

aboutten minutes. This changed when someone

in the

audience called

out a

question.Thompson perked

up. His

voice becameclearer.

He

seemed

to

draw strength fromtwo-way dialogue.There

was

much

in the

news

to

talk about. Operation Desert Storm

was

winding down, Kuwait having just beenrecaptured

by

U.S. forces

the day

before."I have

the

tape machine running backhome recording

the

whole war,"

he

said.I piped

in

with

a

strangely prescient question

of my

own:

Should

we go in and

get Saddam? Answer:

"I

don't

see

whatdifference that would make." Ever

the

political junkie,

he

described then-President George

H. W.

Bush

as "the

meanestyuppie

who

ever lived."

He

predictedthat

the

1990s would

be

"like

the

80s

but

without

the

money."

So much

for

ObjectiveJournalism. Don't botherto look

for it

here

—

not

under

any

byline

of

mine;

or

anyone else

I

can think

of

With

the

possible exception

of

things like

box

scores,race results,

and

stockmarket tabulations,there

is no

such thing

as

Objective Journalism.

The

phrase itself is

a

pompouscontradiction

in

terms.

—

Hunter

S.

Thompson

Fear

and

Loathing:On

the

Campaign Trail

'72

Thanks

to You!

These freshmen

are

attending

the

Universityof Oregon this year, thanksto members

of

the

UO

Alumni Association.Members supportscholarships that make

the

difference between

the

brightest studentsattending Oregon

or

goingsomewhere else.1If you would like

to

helpstudents choose

the

UO, joinyour Alumni Association 1today. Call (541) 346-5656or visit

us

online

at

1http://alumni.uoregon.edu1

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University

of

OregonAlumni Association

Your Lifelong

Connection

•

•

UNIVERSITY

OF

OREGON

Hitting

the

Streets!

Show your University of Oregon pride with the new "O" license

plate!

Funds from the plates support merit scholarships forUniversity of Oregon students. I

J|

Now available from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Applyusing Form 268 from the DMV office. Get rolling today, and makethe road a little smoother for the university's best students.

Oreeoti

SUMMER 2005 OREGON QUARTERLY

41

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