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MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013 • OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
DAILYBAROMETER.COM
Baseball drops 2 of 3 against Washington
VOLUME CXVI, NUMBER 119
Author shares experimental style Bonamici n
The creative writing MFA program’s Visiting Writers Series brings Dawn Raffel to OSU By Kyle Reed
The Daily Barometer
Author Dawn Raffel gave a reading in the Valley Library on Friday evening as a part of OSU’s Visiting Writers Series, hosted by the master’s of fine arts in creative writing program. The series focuses on bringing in nationally known authors to present at the campus. For the event, Raffel read excerpts from two of her own works, “Further Adventures in the Restless Universe” and a descriptive memoir, “The Secret Life of Objects.” Her style is described as minimalist, experimental and avant-garde. Raffel’s memoire focuses on everyday objects, many of which hold some sentimental value,
which she then relates to life events. “I realized that my house was full of stuff like this [coffee mug] that you wouldn’t give me five bucks for, but to me is priceless,” Raffel said. “The Secret Life of Objects” was written within the span of a week, and was inspired in part by the discovery of an autobiography that her father had written when he was 17. This gave her the desire to create and record stories of her own that her children could have. After the reading, a question-and-answer panel was opened. Attendees were able to purchase books and have them signed. “The reading was really lovely, I really think that she read her pieces very well,” said graduate student Jennifer Christie. “They are short and sparse, so it’s good for a reading. The descriptions can stay with the audience without getting too abundant
in details. It’s good for the audience to hear those kinds of stories.” OSU’s MFA program, which is ranked as one of the top 25 in the nation, offers its students an opportunity to prepare for the professional world of writing. “The community and professors are very personable,” Christie said. “They work one on one with you and just dedicate everything about themselves to you, and they really foster whatever you are interested in. They don’t tell you, ‘Don’t do that,’ they say, ‘Do that and let’s make it work.’” The MFA program will host one final reading for the series, on May 10 in The Valley Library rotunda, and will feature authors Antonya Nelson and Robert Boswell. Kyle Reed, news reporter news@dailybarometer.com
Conveying culture at Africa Night 2013 n
African Student Association coordinates with other organizations to put together this year’s Africa Night By Hannah Johnson The Daily Barometer
Two cheetahs prowled through LaSells Stewart Center on Saturday. purring down the aisles in the auditorium. “The African Student Association is one of the many cultural groups on campus. We had to coordinate with ISOSU as well as many other organizations,” said Kevin Gatimu, event organizer and Ph.D. candidate in electrical and computer engineering. “ISOSU gave us a lot of freedom of what we could do. We had to coordinate a lot by ourselves and communicate for performance groups outside of Corvallis.” The night began with a dinner made up of fruit cups, mixed veggies, rice and samosas, accompanied by a ginger drink. At one point, a surplus of people showed up to Africa Night, and the staff temporarily ran out of silverware. After everyone finished eating, they moved into the auditorium with projections of elephants on the walls. A large cloth draped down in the background of the stage that had elephants walking on a plain. Many dances filled the night, including one with a group of women wearing different brightly-colored shirts and sashes at their hips. Africa Night featured a comical
tours OSU n
Representative Suzanne Bonamici visits OSU talks about research losing funding from budget sequestration By Kate Virden
The Daily Barometer
United States Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) visited Oregon State University on Friday. She took an informative and private tour of one of OSU’s many research facilities, the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. Oregon State University is one of two institutions in the nation to have sea, sun, space and land grants; with such incredible recognition comes many different kinds of extensive research. Bonamici is on the U.S. House’s Science, Space and Technology Committee and is dedicated to research. She commented on the recent national budget sequestration — she does not support it, because she thinks “there is a better way to cut spending without losing research dollars.” In light of recent catastrophic events like the 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, Bonamici was interested in the Wave Research Laboratory, because Seaside is part of her congressional district. The Cascadian Subduction Zone, located off the coast of Seaside, Ore., See SERIES | page 2
OSU to promote green living during Earth Week kevin ragsdale
| THE DAILY BAROMETER
Africa Night 2013 featured a variation of acts including dance, music, comedy and fashion — as pictured — on stage to entertain the audience at LaSells Student Center on Saturday.
and were dancing with drumsticks in their hands. Then they joined the other drummers in drumming while dancing at the same time. After a short intermission, brothers Kevin and Brian Gatimu went over some of the myths of Africa. Brian Gatimu is a senior in microbiology from Kenya. He chose to be a part of this event because of the entertainment aspect of it. He wanted to make a good show and provide entertainment for all age groups. Brian Gatimu influenced many other people to support the event, including his brother. Another person that Brian Gatimu reached out to was Chidi Okonkwo, a senior in public health. He’s from Nigeria and came to Oregon last year. He thought it was a good way to get connected and show the culture. Okonkwo danced as a part of the entertainment and explained the kevin ragsdale | THE DAILY BAROMETER work put into the event. Two cheetahs took center stage at LaSells Stewart Center, with trainers leading them. “The preparation for video, “Who’s the African on Campus? Season 3—Prince Abubu.” The video was followed by a group of drummers and dancers from Portland. It began with the group of male drummers and then a group of four female dancers came and danced along to the drum music. They left temporarily but came back
the dancing routines took a while,” Okonkwo said. “Dance practice was for three hours. It was fun but also challenging to get that much put together in time.” The coordinators were all pleased with the cheetahs that came. Last year they were only able to get one but this year they were able to get two to come. Kevin Gatimu said they used the cheetahs as a selling point. “Not only am I proud of my dance group because it took a lot of preparation, I was proud of the two cheetahs because a lot of people didn’t believe we’d actually have them brought to Africa Night,” Kevin Gatimu said. The last two acts included a group of rapping. A man from Haiti performed a rap without music for the disaster that struck Haiti in 2010. The night ended with a final dance similar to the starting dance and a fashion show. “The whole process was a bit hectic,” Brian Gatimu said. “There are very few members so one individual had a lot of responsibilities and I didn’t want to have the same thing every year.” “My brother likes to progress and improve it every year. Last year we had one cheetah and this year we had two,” Kevin Gatimu added. Hannah Johnson, news reporter news@dailybarometer.com
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In its 13th year, Earth Week will bring a mix of new, old sustainability events to campus The Daily Barometer
Oregon State University is promoting sustainability and awareness with a broad array of events during Earth Week, which kicked off Saturday. A number of new events will make their first appearance this year. Among them, the Campus Creature Census is inviting the community to contribute to a creative collection of the various plants and animals that inhabit OSU. Participants may submit an entry in prose, field guide, artistic or poetry form, which may be added to the compilation. Returning events include the HooHaa Earth Day Celebration, hosted by the Organic Grower’s Club at their farm on Monday. From 3 to 7 p.m., guests may enjoy free food and live music, watch a bubble artist in action, learn about soil and discover how chickens may be used to till the earth. Transportation is provided by bus, which will leave campus every 15 minutes from outside of the OSU Beaver Store. The 13th Annual Earth Week Community Fair will make its appearance on Tuesday. Around 50 groups, both on and off campus, will be present to offer activities and environmental information. Students may also bring in their Styrofoam for free recycling. Acceptable items include Styrofoam sheets and wraps, as well as both bendSee EARTH WEEK | page 2