NEWS
ALITO ALESSI AND EMERY
BLACKWELL PERFORM ‘TANGO,
TANGO’ AT TEDX APRIL 19
RULING ON
IMMIGRATION HOLDS
AFFECTS LANE COUNTY JAIL
The Lane County Jail announced on April 21 that it will no
longer hold inmates on Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) detainers without a warrant or a court order. This is in
response to an April 11 federal court ruling that Clackamas
County violated a woman’s Fourth Amendment rights by hold-
ing her in jail for 19 hours after her case was settled in order to
let federal immigration agents begin investigating her residency
status.
Sergeant Carrie Carver of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office
says the Lane County Jail’s policy was to hold people for ICE
for four hours after local charges were dropped, completed or
disposed. “We are not using jail beds for these folks,” she says.
If ICE didn’t come within four hours, the people were released.
Carver says people were not held solely for ICE; they had to
have had local charges.
Statistics from the Sheriff’s Office show that 133 people
were picked up by ICE from the Lane County Jail from January
2012 until March 2014. This does not include the people ICE
had on detainer that the agency did not come and pick up.
In the Clackamas case, U.S. District Court Judge Janice
M. Stewart ruled that county officials misinterpreted an ICE
request to detain Maria Miranda-Olivares as mandatory. This
ruling has now led police and jails throughout the state to re-
evaluate their ICE holds. Washington, Marion and Polk coun-
ties have all stopped the ICE detainers. The Springfield Police
Department has temporarily discontinued the detainers as well,
pending reviw by the legal department.
Monserrat Alegria was one of several students who pre-
sented concerns over immigration holds to Lane County Sheriff
Tom Turner and Springfield Police Chief Timothy Doney at a
Grupo Latino de Acción Directa (GLAD) meeting in March.
Alegria calls the Lane County Jail decision a “first step.”
Alegria says fears of deportation affect how members of the
immigrant community interact with law enforcement. For ex-
ample, she says victims of domestic violence can be reluctant to
seek help or report incidents of intimate partner violence due to
fears of deportation for themselves or their partners.
UO students have now formed a group, Community United
Against Deportation, to work specifically on the immigration
issue and outreach, which is open to all interested members of
the community, Alegria says. Those interested in the immigra-
tion issue and working with CUAD can contact Paige Corich-
Kleim at pcorichk@uoregon.edu. — Camilla Mortensen
P HOTO: MICK E Y S T EL L AVATO
TANGO ON WHEELS
AT TEDX UOREGON
TEDxUOregon returned April 19 for its sec-
ond year of speakers, student speakers and perfor-
mances at the UO’s Beall Concert Hall. Speakers
from all backgrounds, from the sciences to the
arts, expounded on 2014’s theme, “Intersections:
Diversity is Critical to Creativity,” including UO
physics professor Richard Taylor, UO President
Michael Gottfredson, Tracy MacDonald — co-
producer and director of The Whitelandia Docu-
mentary: Oregon’s Determination to Become a
White Homeland — and Cornel Pewewardy, di-
rector of Indigenous Nations Studies at Portland
State University.
One performance in particular brought the
packed audience to its feet: “Tango, Tango” per-
formed by Alito Alessi and Emery Blackwell of
DanceAbility International. Alessi, artistic direc-
tor of DanceAbility, first gave the talk “All Bod-
ies Speak,” in which he discussed his 30 years of
teaching movement to people of all abilities across
the globe. “DanceAbility believes the more di-
verse a community you have, the more learning
there is,” he said. “Problems arise in communities
when people are isolated.”
Alessi then introduced Blackwell, one of his
dancing partners of 25 years, who announced
his retirement in March. The duo had recently
traveled to Argentina, Alessi explained, and had
learned that “men invented the tango.” While lac-
ing up his roller skates on stage, Alessi said, “He’s
retiring. Who knows? This could be his last show.”
Blackwell joined the stage in a wheelchair (he has
cerebral palsy) and “Tango, Tango” began with the
two stealing coy glances before swirling away into
passionate choreography; Blackwell and Alessi
glided across the floor, using the wheelchair as a
third dancer and prop. The dance received a stand-
ing ovation.
“Tango, Tango” was followed by Wilson Smith,
Nike director of design. Smith spoke about the
Nike and UO Product Design program collabora-
tion, “Adaptive Products, Adaptive Athletes: En-
abling Athletes with Disabilities,” a studio course
where students design athletic gear for athletes
with prosthetic devices and wheelchairs.
“People want to become one with their equip-
ment,” Smith said, adding that “good design
solves problems, it’s not just beautiful.” Among
the athletic inventions were an adhesive bandage
that could be put on with one hand, an ergonomic
handcycle bike and a harness for wheelchair rugby
player Will Groulx, who won bronze at the 2012
Paralympic Games in London. “A student product
started in January was winning in London in Au-
gust,” Smith said. — Alex Notman
SPONSORED BY THE WAYNE MORSE CENTER FOR LAW AND
POLITICS, CINEMA PACIFIC, AND THE GOOD WORKS
FILM FESTIVAL
VISUAL JUSTICE: DEMOCRATIZED VIDEO AS
EVIDENCE
FORBIDDEN VOICES
Featuring Kelly Matheson, Attorney, Filmmaker,
and Human-Rights Activist
1:00 p.m., Saturday, April 26, 2014
Bijou Art Cinemas
492 East 13th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon
5:00 p.m., Thursday, April 24, 2014
110 Knight Law Center
1515 Agate Street, Eugene, Oregon
How To Start A Revolution With A Laptop
Learn from examples in Syria and locations across
the globe where cell-phone and other video have
been used to secure prosecutions of the guilty or
exonerations of the innocent.
The Internet has provided a medium of expression that
can, in the hands of courageous individuals, counter
the power of repressive regimes. This documentary
film accompanies three brave young cyberfeminists as
they risk their lives to challenge their governments.
Discussion to follow.
Free and open to the public
For ticket information, go to cinemapacific.uoregon.edu
waynemorsecenter.uoregon.edu
EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity.
eugeneweekly.com • A pril 24, 2014
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