On the Rocks
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ADAPTING DISTRACTED? CLUB SPORT MULTITASKING rACES in RELAYS A CAPPELLA SPORTS » PAGE 5 MEANS MISSING OUT VIRAL VIDEOS SPORTS » PAGE 5 ON THE ROCKS TELLS ABOUT ITS WEB SUCCESS OREGON DAILYEMERALD.COM/MULTIMEDIA .COM DA I LYT EMhe independent student newspaperE at the UniversityRAL of Oregon | Since 1900 | Volume 111,D Issue 138 TUESDAY | MAY 4, 2010 STUDENT GOVErnMENT MUSIC On the Rocks, Rousseau ooh la la hires ASUO Men’s a cappella group renditions of “Bad Romance” and “Rick Roll’d” result in viral videos, Internet fame Executive KAITLIN FLANIGAN | NEWS REPORTER The men circled up in the room, slowly harmonizing and smiling with sheets of music on the stands in front of them. It’s a chief of staff Sunday evening in the Beall Concert Hall, and the a cappella group On the Rocks is Sophomore Conrad Hulen, getting down to business. programs administrator, gets The group saw its videos “NYC Subway first of 22 open staff positions gets Rick Roll’d” and “Bad Romance” go viral within hours on YouTube, with more ALEX TOMCHAK SCOTT than 690,000 and 880,000 hits, respectively. NEWS REPORTER Even celebrities Ashton Kutcher and Joe ASUO President-elect Amelie Rous- Jonas tweeted to their combined millions seau hired her chief of staff Monday, of followers, “So awesome! Bad Romance announcing the appointment of ASUO a-Pella Why couldn’t Glee have been Programs Administrator Conrad popular when I was in highschool?” Hulen to the position. News outlets around the country and Hulen, a sophomore, has been online, such as Fox News and the Huff- involved on campus since he came to ington Post, have also featured the group’s the University, having been a member videos. Now, with all of the viral video fame of the Coalition Against Environmental bestowed upon them, On the Rocks remains Racism and OSPIRG during his fresh- down-to-earth and true to its fans at man year. This year, Hulen has been the University. widely praised for his performance as Josh Heying, tenor and music director programs administrator. A Reserve of On the Rocks, chose Lady Gaga’s “Bad Officer Training Corps cadet, he has Romance” for the group because of his per- also been visible in helping push for sonal inclination toward the artist — and Turn TO EXECUTIVE | PAGE 3 because he felt it is her best song. “It’s not made for the Internet,” Heying said. “It’s for our fans. Our biggest thing is CAMPUS our fans. (The video) just blew up.” On the Rocks tenor Jeff Rogers said they watched the Lady Gaga music video “1,000 times” and that it took several practices to get DAVE MARTINEZ | MuLTIMEDIA EDITOR Variety the harmonies and choreography right. On The Rocks members aren’t afraid to strike a pose, especially a Gaga-esque one. The group saw its YouTube videos, in which they As for the “Rick Roll’d” video, which Rick-roll a subway and perform Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” go viral with more than 1.5 million combined views in less than two weeks. showed members in a subway car singing to commuting New Yorkers during the group’s East YouTube account asking me when more videos of vendors Coast tour, the stunt started out as a joke. are coming.” THINK YOU HAVE “As I remember it, we were walking toward Members of the group say that being Internet WHAT IT TAKES TO BE the subway station when we started discuss- sensations is still something they are getting to grace 13th ing how funny it would be for us to Rick Roll the used to. IN ON THE ROCKS? subway car,” Alex Horwitch, baritone and vocal “It’s been pretty surreal,” tenor and vocal percus- What: Auditions for next year’s percussion, said. “I handed Nick (Firth) my cam- sionist Neil Ghosh said. “We’ve all gotten messages On the Rocks from people around the globe with compliments era so he could record it. We got back to the hotel When: Noon, May 23 this week later and watched it over and had a good laugh. of our videos, (which lets) us know each new place I asked someone if I should put it on YouTube, (where) we pop up on the Internet. Most of the Where: School of Music student lounge Four days of ASUO spring and they thought it was a good idea. Next thing I feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.” How: Prepare a 30-second a cappella solo Street Faire team up with know, there are 200-something subscribers to my Turn TO MUSIC | PAGE 3 good weather, music festival ALEX TOMCHAK SCOTT CAMPUS NEWS REPORTER Members of the University commu- nity seeking street food and local prod- DPS detains man yelling, swearing on quad ucts won’t have to leave campus to get them for the rest of the week because the Concerns for campus safety result ASUO’s biannual Street Faire is com- in man being turned over to EFD ing back Wednesday and staying a day longer than usual. ALEX TOMCHAK SCOTT | NEWS REPORTER The Street Faire’s tents, carts and After receiving phone calls about a man behaving booths will be on East 13th Avenue erratically and swearing loudly on the quad outside from Wednesday until Saturday, rather the Knight Library, the Department of Public Safety than until Friday, as they usually are, in detained the man early Monday afternoon. an attempt to coordinate the faire with “We could tell that he has some kind of issues, the Willamette Valley Musicfest, which possibly drug or medical-related,” DPS Lt. Casey happens on campus Saturday. Boyd said. Turn TO FAIRE | PAGE 4 It took four officers to restrain and handcuff the man, who was mostly unresponsive to officers’ questions and yelled intermittently. “For his safety and the campus safety, as well, we’ve NEW FACEBOOK taken him in to custody,” Boyd said. DPS turned the man over to the Eugene Fire POLICY PUTS Department to find whether he needed hospital care. WEB PRIVACY Firefighters put him in an ambulance, which required strapping his body to a gurney, and sent him to Sacred INTO QUESTION Heart Medical Center on East 13th Avenue. Fire department spokesperson Glen Potter said the department would not disclose further information IVAR VONG | PHOTO EDITOR SEE STORY »PAGE 9 about the incident. Four Department of Public Safety officers restrain a man in the quad between PLC and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art [email protected] early Monday af ternoon. DPS responded af ter receiving complaints about the man’s loud swearing. TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY EDITORIAL BOARD Allie Grasgreen | Editor in chief Emily E. Smith | Managing editor Greg Dewar | Opinion editor (541) 346-5511 CHANCE SHOWERS CLOUDY CLOUDY Tyree Harris | Columnist [email protected] 52º/37º 57º/34º 66º/39º OPINION Kaitlin Kenny | Senior copy chief TALK TO US • Limit submissions to 600 words • Submissions should include name, phone number and address • The Emerald reser ves the right to edit all submissions • One submission per person per calendar month NEWS STAFF (541) 346-5511 ONLINE Do you think the University should implement a Good Samaritan or Medical Amnesty Policy? ALLIE GRASGREEN Vote online at dailyemerald.com/opinion. Editor in chief »EXTRA EMILY E. SMITH Managing editor KAITLIN FLANIGAN LETTER TO The EDITOR IAN GERONIMO ALEX TOMCHAK SCOTT — VIEWPOINTS — Respect others’ opinions; harsh SARAH WALTERS News reporters retaliation remarks unnecessary LAUREN FOX Scene and freelance editor I think it’s a dark day when someone is so harsh- ly critiqued for giving his opinion, as Emerald col- ELISABETH BISHOP ANDREW HITZ umnist Thomas Kyle-Milward was in Monday’s SARAH MCNAUGHTON paper regarding his latest column (“Watching Scene reporters words is a lost cause,” ODE, April 30). BEN SCHORZMAN The only part I enjoy about the Emerald is Sports editor the opinion section. I look forward to reading LUCAS CLARK about what other students think about issues ROBERT HUSSEMAN that interest them. I have enjoyed all of Kyle- PATRICK MALEE Milward’s work thus far, especially the piece on Sports reporters activism. I feel like nothing but a handbag full GREG DEWAR of money to those people. Opinion editor For years I have given blood and ensured MARK COSTIGAN TYREE HARRIS the survival of oak groves in the Coburg Hills, THOMAS KYLE-MILWARD but to the people with petitions, I’m probably MATT TELLAM viewed as a callous and selfish individual when I Columnists don’t stop to talk. How am I supposed to make a EDWIN OUELLETTE decision based on the facts they want me to hear Illustrator within a few minutes between classes? His crit- KAITLIN KENNY ics made me feel they are worried his words are Senior copy chief going to warp my mind. Letter-writer Mariah DREW PHILLIPS Thompson said Kyle-Milward “insists that we Copy chief should freely use hate speech.” What?! CELIA DaRROUGH What I got out of his article would have KENNY OCKER helped me when I was a victim of racism when I JACOB PHILLIPS NORA SIMON visited Mexico. Feel bad for the people who use Copy editors that sort of language and move on. I may not JACOB WEST agree with everything I read, but I can sure tol- Design editor erate other people’s ideas and never be so mean TYLER CABLE EDWIN OUELLEttE | ILLusTR ATOR as the retaliation articles I read. EMILY PAPP BRANDON BUTCHko Designers UNDERGRADUATE DANA MACALANDA Junior designer EDITORIAL IVAR VONG Photo editor NICK COTE SHAWN HATJES JACK HUNTER RECOgniZE REtuRning VETERans KEVIN MINDERHOUT Photographers At the end of last month, the largest continue to serve their country abroad.