This term put up a good fight. I’ve been attending LBCC for two years now (and because of my attachment issues, administration will likely have to escort me off the premises if they want me to ever leave). So I was under the assumption that once you get the hang of something, it’s a smooth lil’ joy ride sail from there on out. I naively thought that fleeting sleep, lackluster health, an extra job, a polarized country, an overpriced scone that was the driest disappointment of my adult life wouldn’t affect my toolkit of academic skills I have amassed. Thought I could just brush aside the hard factors and churn out the level of schoolwork I’ve done in the past. Believe it or not, I’ve been wrong before.
A.P. course of decisions. And it warrants a really ornate trophy.
With that solidified, it’s about time for some bright and shiny fun. And The Commuter is here to help. To wrap up the term, it was important to us to showcase the creativity of our student body and surrounding community. Cue: the Arts and Lit edition. We’ve got a great lineup this month, featuring student writing, student photography, a local artist, and, of course, our recurring A&E section that is quite literally fun and games.
We’ve made it. It’s been 10 weeks of assigned reading and class forums, field work and work study, critical thinking, critical writing, writing endlessly. We’ve navigated the reintroduction of campus life, and in turn had to chip off the rust from our interpersonal skills, the ones that had taken a sabbatical for the past two years. Maybe you made it to the end of this term feeling strong, with your head high, a polished picture of confidence (inspiring). And maybe you made it here by the skin of your teeth, a bit out of breath, a bit more out of sorts (just as inspiring). I’ll tell you right now — a finish is a finish, no matter how you slice it.
None of this is linear. Life is tricky and tough and it can be hard to show up as our best selves when the routes feel narrow and built from a rock-and-hard-place foundation. Throw in an egregiously dismal scone? It’s impossible not to get set over the edge. Finishing something in this kind of climate, when all the elements are roaring, is nothing short of monumental. I mean that. As the final grades start rolling in, know that if you continued to show up when it would have been lightyears easier to call it quits, then you did the harder thing. The hardest thing, actually. If you kept working in some capacity that brought you to the term’s close, even and especially when you wanted to opt out, then trust me when I say that is the
While we’re signing off for now, you can rest easy as we’ll be back in January with a litany of new ideas to keep this magazine fresh to death for all of you voracious readers. We’re so lucky to get the opportunity to create these publications for you all, for having the chance to try new things with such a supportive audience. So find us again in Winter term. But for now, sit back, relax and recharge, Roadrunners. You’ve earned it.
Leah Biesack Editor-in-Chief
THE COMMUTER IS THE STUDENT-RUN magazine for LBCC, financed by student fees and advertising. Opinions expressed in The Commuter do not necessarily reflect those of the LBCC administration, faculty and students of LBCC. Editorials, columns, letters, and cartoons reflect the opinions of the authors. LBCC is an equal opportunity educator and employer
The Commuter encourages readers to use its “Opinion” section to express their views on campus, community, regional and national issues. The Commuter attempts to print all submissions received, but reserves the right to edit for grammar, length, libel, privacy concerns and taste. Opinions expressed by letter submitters do not represent the views of the Commuter staff or the College.
We’re really nice and fairly cool and we’d love to hear what you have to say. Not big on journalism but love to journal? Perfect. Are you a STEM major with major opinions? Let’s hear ’em. Like writing about ’80s film? Local animals? Snack hacks? Maybe you have a hefty folder of flash fiction on your laptop, just dying to be published and printed. Drop us a line. We’d love to meet you, read you, and support you. Think your ideas might be too weird or too niche for submission? Even better. The Commuter is an award-winning publication because of our wide range of contributions and our unique contributors. So reach out. We’ll be staring at our email inbox in the meantime, not an ounce of chill to be had.
Local artist Betty Turbo talks community, creativity and nourishment words by LEAH BIESACK photos via BETTY TURBO
This year, autumn swept in with all her soft elegance, dripping with panache, with the kind of color scheme that sells out a stadium. She’s a chic season — we know it, and she knows it. And while she never stays for very long, it doesn’t stop us from getting attached (clingy, even). So what do we do? As we move into the incoming rains, how do we temper our mourning? Easy. We turn to the Photojournalism students. For the past ten weeks, they have been hard at work from behind the lens, finding the light, perfecting the focus. And it shows. With an array of still frames exhibiting how this season showed up on our campus, how it swirled within our communities, we’ll be able to slip into the temporary statement of gray that is a Willamette Valley winter with a little more ease. Autumn was here for a sweet spell — we’ve got the photos to prove it, and the Photojournalism students to thank.
photo by KEVIN MCILVENNY
How can the rain make something so bright like the colors of the leaves into something so blue
How can I turn something beautiful like you into such a dark hue Sometimes I wonder if flowers can grow on the moon
I’ll plant a garden just for me and you Maybe we can build a house there too A place far away for just us two
You can help me make something beautiful for us, here on the moon
words by THE CREATIVE WRITING CLUB
words by CODI WOOD
graphics by FREEPIK
words by KAILEY LEGIER
“We all laugh harder around a campfire, because we don’t want to acknowledge that some part of us is deeply concerned about what’s out there just beyond the reach of the firelight.”
(And ever and ever and ever)
words by STEVEN PRYOR photos by DISNEY PRESSDIRECTED BY: Ryan Coogler (Based on the graphic novel series by Marvel Comics)
STARRING: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel and Martin Freeman with Tenoch Huerta and Dominque Thorne
RATED: PG-13
OVERALL RATING: ★★★★★
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the final film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the sequel to the 2018 runaway smash hit. As a sequel to one of the franchise’s most acclaimed standalone films, and a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman (who succumbed to cancer in 2020 at age 43), it marks a worthy successor and one of the franchise’s best standalone films to date.
The story takes place one year after the passing of King T’Challa. As the nation of Wakanda tries to forge a path forward and find a new heir to take up the mantle of Black Panther, a mysterious being known as Namor the Submariner (Tenoch Huerta, Narcos) emerges from the lost city of Atlantis to challenge the rule of the Earth’s surface. The story unfolds in a mammoth 161-minute epic that not only lives up to the hype, but provides a spectacular and touching template for future installments.
Though following up a film as beloved and successful as the first Black Panther was never going to be an easy task, it became one that got even more challenging with the novel coronavirus/ COVID-19 pandemic, along with the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman. Director Ryan Coogler, who has
experience with both personal films such as Fruitvale Station and the spectacle of blockbuster filmmaking from his work on the previous film and the first Creed film in 2015; pays tribute to his late collaborator and friend while also making a thrilling globetrotting adventure.
The film marks the 30th main installment in the franchise, and shows just how far Marvel Studios has come since the release of the first Iron Man. On top of Namor being connected to the much-anticipated entry of the X-Men to the MCU, new characters such as Iron Heart (Dominque Thorne) are a standout. You see every bit of the film’s $250 million budget on the screen, from an opening fight on an offshore drilling rig to Namor’s kingdom in Atlantis to the moment when the new Black Panther is finally crowned to enter the battle.
With a new record box office opening for Veteran’s Day weekend, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marks a fitting finale to Phase Four of the MCU, a worthy sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, and especially as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. It’s an easy recommendation to end this phase of the franchise and as a template for what lies ahead.
Head to The Commuter website (via this handy QR code!) for a second helping of Betty Turbo, along with other engaging stories not featured here. And while you’re at it, sign up for our newsletter so you can be first in line when we dish up the latest campus and local news!
