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MONDAY, OCT. 20, 2025
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Mock Trial, Speech and Debate face funding uncertainty UO’s forensics program loses CHC support amid university-wide budget cuts, leaving future of Mock Trial and Speech and Debate uncertain.
Take a step foward this Walktober Walktober began this month, offering dozens of walking events that exhibit Lane County’s history and culture.
By Elle Kubiaczyk
News Reporter
In early September, Trond Jacobsen, the head of forensics since 2013, attended a meeting with Clark Honors College leadership to discuss completed travel planning and the upcoming season. Instead, he was informed that the forensics program had been cut. Cutting the program leaves funding uncertain for mock trial and speech and debate. Without faculty leadership at the head of the program, the clubs remain in limbo with their funds. The cut was attributed to budget cuts at the CHC. “I was told that they were going to end honors college support for the program. That also meant laying me off, first as director of forensics on Dec. 3, and then as a faculty member later on,” Jacobsen said.
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SPORTS
Oregon volleyball goes as its freshmen go in Big Ten play By Henry Light
Sports Writer
When Oregon lost back-to-back matches in straight sets to USC on the road and Washington at home in the third week of Big Ten play, head coach Trent Kersten echoed his comments from the week before, when his team beat Iowa and Ohio State at home. “At the end of the day, we’re in the arena that we want to be in. We’re in the arena of the Big Ten, playing really quality teams and we have so much to grow,” Kersten said after the loss to Washington. “We’ve got to be careful not to want it before we give them enough time to get there.” Kersten was able to do so because he has preached patience and growth at every turn for his team that features eight true freshmen and 14 new players total. Several of the freshmen have shouldered heavier workloads six matches into Big Ten play, with opposite hitter Alanah Clemente leading the team Continue story on page 8
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OPINION
Kurihara: Stop hiding it: domestic violence deserves a voice this October Opinion: Stigma thrives in silence, but University of Oregon students can change that – one conversation at a time. Continue story on page 14