VIEWPOINT
BY LUC Y OHL SEN
Mourning
Noah DeWitt
EUGENE LOSES YOUNG CHANGEMAKER,
VISIONHOLDER
N
All of y’all haters can try
But can’t divide the tribe
All we trying to do is get higher
So scram with your negative vibe
PHOTO BY TAYLOR PARTEE JOHNSTON
oah Michael DeWitt was a shining example of how to be. His
sparkling brown eyes would absorb pain from yours when you
were sad. He’d listen to you talk about what makes you happy
with rapt attention. He always carried pen and paper around with
him — in a fanny pack, in the red milk crate on his bicycle or
behind his ear. He’d sway his head
and shoulders side to side with
swagger when he heard a slap-worthy
song. Noah absorbed his experiences
of this world and spread the happy
vibes from them whole-heartedly.
A leader, a rapper, a recycler, a
fermenter, a gardener, a repper of
natural foods stores, a bike rider, a
chicken raiser — Noah left a deep
mark on many hearts. In the chorus
of his track, “Visions of Eyegene,” he
reveals the role he played in countless
groups.
Noah was the glue, the vision-
holder that kept people together. One
UO alum Noah DeWitt
of the prime examples is his leadership
of the Oregon Voice Magazine, a UO-
went missing at 2 am
funded publication. Under Noah’s
Feb. 15. More than three
wings, the OV blossomed. Articles
about bike lanes and acid trips graced
months later on May 27,
the pages displayed in hand-decorated,
“acquired” newspaper boxes. On
his body was found in a
newsstands, it looked and seemed
well at a sewage pump
like a grungy hipster publication. But
behind it all was a warm community
station 3 miles from
of creative and supportive peers
Noah had a vital hand in crafting and
where he was last seen.
culturing.
Noah handed the editorship of OV over to me when he left. In handing me the
torch, he taught me to have greater faith in myself. He inspired me to treat my
staff honestly. He left me with a beautiful example of community and creative
execution, and he let me take it over fully — no expectations other than that I
continued to love the OV like he did.
After leading the OV, Noah became deeply involved in the No Coal movement
in Eugene. He was a member of the intentional community “Heart and Spoon.”
He continued to gather people around him to share big and small passions.
Noah was inspired by change-makers like Tupac and Gandhi. He was very
concerned about our planet and our world, but he was incredibly happy to take
what the world offered him and share it.
Untraditional is not the correct word for Noah. Also known as “Doodoo
mang,” “Noah Dee,” “Doo doo,” “YES-ah,” and “No D,” he was unlike anyone
in this world. He embraced several aspects of hippie-dom: psilocybin, the bulk
section of natural foods stores, Birkenstocks with socks. But he was also OK with
drinking cheap beer, and more than OK with being a diehard fan of Beyonce. He
was unashamed about spending hours perfecting one dance move.
Noah asked very little of the world. He distributed the dopest love and inspired
what might as well be millions. He was not focused on what he could do for
himself. He was focused on how he could bring his friends and family up with
him to a higher place. As he once rapped,
“We all stars though, you should shine with me.” ■
nn
26th A
ual
“A time warp. I get
lost in here for hours.”
“Overwhelming!”
S. Rachel
J. Michael
IR
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Lucy Ohlsen of Eugene has been a freelance legislative reporter for EW, and she will be attending law school
at the UO in the fall.
Sponsored by GEM FAIRE, INC. (503) 252-8300 GemFaire.com
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • JUNE 18, 2015
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