The Daily Barometer OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY • CORVALLIS, OREGON 97331
DAILYBAROMETER.COM • 737-2231
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2013 • VOLUME CXVI, NUMBER 27
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da Vinci Days canceled in 2014 n
Waning ticket sales, donor support results in festival’s cancelation, reorganization for future By Emma-Kate Schaake The Daily Barometer
After 25 years, the da Vinci Days celebration of art and science will not be held this coming summer. Michael Dalton, board chairman and temporary director of da Vinci days, said the festival needs to reevaluate its structure for financial solvency as well as continued community involvement and enjoyment. “What would da Vinci do?” Dalton said. “We are going to reinvent.” While the festival has remained popular throughout the years, ticket sales and donor support have been declining, forcing the festival board to take loans to continue. At the end of last year, the festival still owed $10,000 to the City of Corvallis and $31,000 to Wells Fargo Bank. “We need to reinvent a new business model,” Dalton said. “The financial model has been a problem for 12 to 15 years — this is not a brand-new phenomena.”
The three-day art, science, innovation and technology festival has been a way for the greater Corvallis community to come together and share their passions. The festival was founded in 1988. According to the da Vinci Days website, “Corvallis is a community of volunteers and active citizens, and da Vinci Days is one way that we celebrate our passion for creativity and innovation.” The festival only has one full-time staff position. It relies on its board of directors and its 1,400 year-round volunteers to help manage the event every summer. The festival is unique to Oregon and the board has every intention of bringing it back. “We intend to try and continue,” Dalton said. “We are just taking a pause to get community input to restructure, reevaluate and reinvent.” While money is certainly an issue, the board, with community input, will be evaluating every aspect of the festival. “Everything is on the table,” Dalton said. “Recommendations are going to be across lots of dimensions.” The board will assess the goverEmma-Kate Schaake | THE DAILY BAROMETER nance, partnerships, mission and Angelica Garcia and Marilyn Kurka greet fans and answer questions outside their creation, “Toon Taxi,” before heading out on the parade at the festival in July. See DA VINCI | page 3
Special election affects taxes, land use n
Measures propose to raise property taxes for public services, annex land for residences By Emma-Kate Schaake The Daily Barometer
Federal aid reliance continues to increase n
Thousands of OSU students awarded, need federal assistance to pay for college By Sean Bassinger The Daily Barometer
Property taxes for community service funding and an approval of land annexation are at stake in the two measures in Corvallis’ November special election. The property tax levy, Measure 02-86, is an increase in the local option tax levy that passed in May 2011. The previous levy raised $1.9 million annually for social services and facilities and is set to expire June 30, 2014. The new levy, beginning July 1, 2014, would significantly increase the public funds raised, more than $3 million per year, by charging property owners approximately 82 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. These funds would pay for services at the CorvallisBenton County Public Library, the Osborn Aquatic Center and the Senior Center, as well as new hires in the Corvallis Police, Fire and Community Developments departments. Chris Saltveit, owner of Preferred Properties Northwest, said that if
First-year graduate student Matt Berger is one of many who rely on federal aid for college. “I just needed something to support in addition to the funding I do have,” Berger said. Federal Student Aid accounts for more than $150 million awarded in grants, loans and work-study programs assigned to more than 15 million students nationwide, according to information from the Office of the U.S. Department of Education’s website. Berger is one of many students who, regardless of various misconceptions, qualifies for federal assistance even though he has funding incoming elsewhere. Doug Severs, director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at Oregon State University, said nearly 9,400 students received subsidized loans this term to help with finances and 10,400 received unsubsidized loans. Fewer than 8,000 students currently receive Pell grants, an increase from 29 percent to 36 percent since last year. Though interest levels begin compounding while students are enrolled, Severs said more students accept unsubsidized loans depending on eligibility. “All students can borrow unsubsidized funds, but not all students can borrow subsidized funds,” Severs said. Severs expects the number of students who receive Pell grants will increase to 9,000 by the end of the academic year. Severs added that the recession continues to influence
See ELECTION | page 3
See FAFSA | page 3