•  We’re not convinced that UO campus police should be armed with lethal weapons. Eugene police are nearby and more guns on campus increases the likelihood of accidental shootings and the use of deadly force when it’s not needed. The campus cops are already training to use Glocks purchased for them, so we wonder if the decision to arm them is a done deal, with little public input. Two more informational meetings are scheduled: 4:30 to 6 pm Tuesday, Feb. 26, in the Fir Room in the EMU, and from 11:30 am to 1 pm  Wednesday, March 6, at the Knight Library Browsing room. 

• Last week’s cover story (“Guns on the Street”) showed the variety of opinions and misinformation circulating about guns, who can own them and how to get them. One common thread we noticed, among gun proponents and opponents alike who we interviewed, is that most people favor across-the-board background checks, mental health checks and gun safety classes. That would be a step in the right direction. Too many people are injured and killed by gun violence and gun stupidity. Witness the woman who recently dropped her derringer on the floor of the Bend McDonald’s restaurant, shooting her husband in the stomach. Witness the school kids who recently found a loaded gun on the floor of an Oregon theater, unwittingly dropped from a moviegoer’s pocket.

• We hear the Health Care for All Oregon rally in Salem Feb. 4 drew more than 1,000 people from all over the state, including three busloads from Eugene and a strong contingency from Corvallis and Florence. Rep. Mike Dembrow asked the crowd to help him gather support and co-sponsors for the universal health care bill he will introduce this session. Dembrow and other reform leaders object to the 30 percent of private health insurance premiums that gets sucked up by administration and profits, saying Oregonians could save billions of bucks by implementing universal, taxpayer-supported health care in the state. Oregon could do something significant here with a potential impact on national policy. Local organizing is continuing. Health Care for All-Eugene will meet at 7 pm Thursday, Feb. 21, at EWEB. Call Ruth Duemler at 484-6145 for more information.

• The UO’s first TEDx event was terrific, filling the Global Scholars Hall all day Feb. 9 for the TED model in pursuit of “ideas worth spreading,” 18-minute presentations, with time to talk about them. Rita Radostitz from the Center on Diversity and Community and her team put on the show around the theme “Curiosity and Resistance” with their core belief that “diversity is critical to thinking.” We were most moved by dancers Karen Daly and Laura Hiszczynskyj from DanceAbility International, performing a dance choreographed by Alito Alessi.

• Look out! The Portland Timbers Army is coming to Eugene on Saturday, Feb. 16, to party with their Eugene compatriots, the Echo Squadron, our wild local soccer fans who cruise up the freeway to all the matches in Portland. Never mind that it’s now off-season for major league soccer. The well-organized Army gathers twice monthly in the off-season for full-throated partying, strategizing about the season ahead and spirit building, what the Brits call “a good piss-up.” Open to any soccer fans, their Eugene visit will start at 7 pm in Agate Alley Laboratory, 2645 Willamette St. First comes the Timbers Army and then maybe the Timbers themselves. Imagine a rip-roaring pro match at Civic Stadium. Why not? 

 • Back in our Dec. 13 issue we ran a story about Lief O’Neill and his medical crisis. Lief is awaiting a new heart at a California hospital and almost got one, but the surgery was canceled at the last minute due to tissue incompatibility. His family is hoping to have him moved to the Ronald McDonald House, a home away from home for critically ill children and their families. Meanwhile, a Life for Lief fundraiser with the Red Raven Follies is planned for the evening of Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Mallard Hall, 725 W 1st Ave., Eugene. Tickets available at brownpapertickets.com or call 686-6182.

• As of Dec. 15, 2012, the UO got its own PostSecret (you know, the site that posts anonymous, mailed-in secrets that can range from hilarious to tragic to creepy). The UO Confessions Facebook page already has over 8,500 likes and lets users submit their confessions anonymously via SurveyMonkey.com. Confessions range from hilarious (“Who the fuck is always singing Lion King in the Capri Woodside apartments?”) to controversial (“This school has made me hate white people more than I ever thought possible” — one of the most commented on submissions on the page). And just in time for Valentine’s Day, there’s this gem: “My favorite part about living in Bean was the towel bar above the beds. Best sex handlebar ever.”