The Commuter: Mar. 3, 2021

T H E

L I N N - B E N T O N

C O M M U N I T Y

VOL. 52 EDITION 17

C O L L E G E

MARCH 3, 2021

Is it

Spring

Yet!?

Local Wildlife Takes Advantage of the Sunshine

PHOTOS: CHRISSY VEACH

Adult drake mallard swims on the surface of one of many chilly ponds in the Talking Water Gardens, located off NE Waverly Drive in Albany.

Mama Mallard checks up on one of her many little ducklings.

Oblivious to the humans strolling near his pond, a Box turtle sunbathes on a nearby log.

This little duckling makes itself comfortable on a sturdy log while grooming it's fluffy down feathers.

This female mallard bobbs along the crisp pond, with her mate nearby, in hopes of a snack.

On her walk, Bali the Black Lab tries to eat a rose petal that she previously sniffed in anticipation for Spring.

Inside this Edition

BEHIND THE SKETCHBOOK

SEE PAGE 3

CHEF AUDREY ANDERSON

SEE PAGE 7

GRAPHICS FREEPIK.COM

MIKESBIKES

SEE PAGE 8

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MARCH 3, 2021

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How Would You Change the World?

Unity Celebration of 2021 Explores a Meaningful Question

The Commuter is the weekly student-run newspaper 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.

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STORY BY CHRISSY VEACH love between human beings; to take

The Unity Celebration of 2021 was held on Feb. 26.

There were a lot of people performing at this year’s Unity Celebration, including LBCC Poet Laureate Sofia Griffith, the LBCC choir, keynote speaker Christopher Hughbanks, and the winner of the Black History Month Essay Contest Jason Davis.

Hughbanks is earning a Ph.D. at Oregon State University, and his major is Language Equality and Educational Policy. How he has connections to LBCC is that he and English instructor Ramycia McGhee are good friends and he has attended events that are a part of the NAACP. They also hosted the annual freedom fund banquet.

What Hughbanks wants to do when he graduates is to continue teaching and focusing on working for social change in Linn and Benton counties. His goals include continuing to work in his community, he also wants to focus on health and wellness. How he is going to achieve these goals, is to take it one day at a time. He is doing his reading and writing each day to get closer to his Ph.D and celebrating each day because he is a little closer to what he wants to do and he is staying connected with his friends.

If Hughbanks could change the world and he had to pick his top three it would be to create more spaces that cultivate care, connection, and

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Keynote speaker Christopher Hughbanks.

care of the environment; and honor the original caretakers of the land. He also wants better transportation within the state that uses renewable energy. The last thing he would want to change is a better health care policy that supports taking care of ourselves physically and emotionally.

Jason Davis was the award winner of the Black History Month Essay Contest, and was in the unity meeting. What made him want to write a paper for the contest was that his teacher wanted him to enter this contest and he hadn't thought anything about it till his teacher brought it up to him. When he was writing this essay he felt good about how he was sharing his experience.

He loves writing but he doesn't really share his work, but when he won the award it was a real confidence booster to him. He didn't think that he was going to win the award of first place of the Annual Black History Month Essay Contest; he didn't think that his writing was award worthy. When he was writing his essay he felt energized, he felt like there was good energy while writing the story. Davis wanted to create a story that people could connect with.

Davis is currently going to LBCC with a major in psychology.

When he graduates he wants to become a psychologist. He would like to work in schools and work with children.

Davis believes that at a young age it is important to learn about mental illnesses so it can change people’s lives so people can move through it together. His goals include being able to educate parents and children about mental illnesses, especially African American communities. How he is going to achieve his goal is to be honest, so America's school systems will be receptive to teaching mindfulness and mental health.

If Davis could change the top three things in the world he would erase racism because it serves no purpose to have others divided between people. He would also change the perception that material things and monetary wealth are important. “If people were more focused on what was truly important in the arts, science and exploration of the unknown,” he said. He also would want a flying car.

He wants to make our history always be told honestly, not sanitizing it because it may be deserving to some people or

Jason Davis (left) at one of the many BLM protests held at Oregon's Capitol.

because they may be ashamed of the events in the past. Our history can help us dictate what our future looks like but only if we can see the truth.

The celebration, now in its 12th year, began with a song written by LBCC student Mari Estibel Valverde and sung by the college’s choir.

Along with Davis, the other essay contest winners were Lacy Kennedy, second place, and Serenity Wilson took third place.

Adult Basic Skills faculty member Jan West earned the Analee Fuentes Unity Award, which is presented to one employee (or employee group) and one student (or group of students) for their contributions to diversity and social justice on campus. The students honored were Christopher Byers, Alexis Castaneda-Perez, Nyssa Cronin, Cassie Cruze, Shonna Dempsey, Ruta Faifaise, Jessica N. Hampton, Katherine Hemlock, Amy Huskey, Carla Medel, Hannah Morelos, Katie Niemeyer and Wesley Sharps. They were nominated for their contributions to the newly released (open educational resource) text for HDFS 201, “Contemporary Families: An Equity Lens.”

First awarded in 2015, the Gary Westford-Robin Havenick Community Connections Award was presented to Deb Powell, executive director of Love INC of Linn County.

Copy Editor Bowen Orcutt Contributors Karen Canan Brenda Autry David Shaughnessy Megan Oliver Tanner Johnson Natalie Pelc Abby Johnson Leah Biesack Alistair Woods Sydney Greene Aidan Arthur Rachael Buker

Click here for Zoom Link

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MARCH 3, 2021

CAMPUS NEWS

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Behind the Sketchbook Jenny Kroik Joins LBCC Art Enthusiasts

STORY BY RACHAEL BUKER

The faces of art enthusiasts filled the Zoom room as 2 p.m. approached.

Jenny Kroik, a New York-based illustrator met with LBCC’s Anne Magratten, offering discussion on her life, career, and inspiration as a professional illustrator and artist. The LBCC Art Gallery Team hosted the event on Feb. 2 to share Kroik’s digital exhibition and give students the opportunity to ask her questions.

Kroik earned her Master’s in Fine Arts at the University of Oregon, where she met Magratten, who was teaching there at the time.

“We actually had this game where we would go to Goodwill and we each would buy something for the other person that we wanted to paint them in,'' said Kroik.

Kroik and Magratten befriended one another with their shared passion for fine arts.

The meeting was relaxed, friendly, casual and more like the experience of having coffee with friends.

“Jenny’s work has been featured on the cover of The New Yorker multiple times and her illustrations have graced many other publications,” said Magratten.

Kroik works on two-dimensional art designs such as paintings and sketches.

She illustrates books and has offered her talents to a variety of clients.

During the interview Kroik shared how some pieces are years in the making.

For example, she shared her illustration of Magratten from 2013 and her recreation of the piece years later.

“Ideas can linger and you always have a reservoir of stuff that you can dip back into,” said Kroik.

Inspiration for Kroik is pulled from constantly interacting with people and creating relationships while illustrating individuals. While painting and creating sketches is by no means a team sport, Kroik finds ways to include others in her process.

“Something I feel like I learned from you is that art can also involve a lovely degree of human interaction and friendship, where I think I was just sort of working in the studio by myself when Jenny was just like ‘No we can have this be something that is playful and fun and together,’ and of course there's an exchange of ideas that happens when we're able to actually talk with one another,” said Magratten.

SAFETY SUGGESTION BOX

Jenny Kroik begins the Zoom session with a smile as art enthusiasts join.

While Kroik has been unable to have these in-person interactions with friends, colleagues and clients over the last year, she explained a great deal of her recent art has been based on photographs. She explained the art of sketching or painting from photographs.

“It’s compulsive to copy it exactly, so I think finding that balance between the photograph and your own vision behind it reinjects three-dimensional and a story,” said Kroik.

Kroik said sketching from real-life models and synthesizing your own style within work hand-in-hand. She listed some advice such as keeping a sketchbook on hand, writing down thoughts, playing with colors, and limiting a color palette.

She shared her sketchbook with the Zoom group and they were able to see it includes not only sketches, but also notes that came to mind, her play with different brushes and even jokes that she doodles.

Fifteen art enthusiasts asked questions during the discussion. “Did Painting of Anne Magratten after their 2013 shopping trip to Goodwill for inspiration.

Recent painting with inspiration taken from 2013.

your style develop naturally, or did you work to develop a specific style of painting/ drawing?” asked Kacey Montgomery.

“When I was in grad school and afterwards I had no particular style, I was just doing everything,” Kroik responded. “When I decided to go back into illustration, I got really excited about new faces and stories, and hearing others’ reactions to me painting them. In terms of content and execution, this style wasn't so much of a plan, it just kind of emerged.”

Kroik also went through her “Artist Talk” Google Slides, directing participants to “Laurel,” an illustration of an adolescent girl peacefully reading in the company of her two animals.

Kroik shared how she changed her approach for finding subjects during the pandemic.

To which Johanna Hennessy said, “You mentioned earlier that you're not really taking pictures anymore of people on the street, you're mostly going through your photo archives and then using those as references now. Are there any other ways that your artistic process has changed since the pandemic started?”

“That’s a perfect question to the first image we’re looking at,” said Kroik, “because I did this project when the pandemic started. A woman sent me a picture of her daughter reading and this came out of that.”

As an illustrator, Kroik is always on the lookout for new people and inspiration.

She explained her use of Instagram as a tool

LBCC has a Safety Committee whose goal is to identify and eliminate risks on our campus, and to prevent accidents and illnesses through the involvement of employees, managers, and students in an effort to provide a safe and healthy place to both work and learn. A "Safety Suggestion Box" is available to provide a way for you to communicate your safety concerns, hazards spotted, and suggestions for promoting safety.

Please email your suggestions, comments, concerns to: safetycommittee@linnbenton.edu

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to connect her art with others.

“I asked my followers, where are you in the world? What are you reading?

Focusing on a positive thing from being inside and isolated.

“I tried to paint as many people as I could, and then people were like ‘Oh, can I have one too?’ So some of these ended up being commissions.”

Kroik was able to continue her work despite the pandemic, keeping from face-to-face artistic interactions and engaging her audience on social media.

She shared her experiences as an artist with regards to illicite creativity and how she finds inspiration to complete her work. She uses the community and people to draw upon.

“Have the community, be playful, meet at a park, be in distance and draw.”

For those interested in pursuing an artistic career, Kroik shared her secrets on how to charge for her artistic pieces.

Kroik mentioned the book “The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines.”

She discussed the earlier struggle of not having the courage or confidence to charge a fee at first and the journey to now, when she feels comfortable to charge for her works and how she has an agent.

For aspiring artists, the meeting was informative and full of artistic knowledge and advice. “Just start with what you love,” said Kroik.

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Black History Essay Winners 1 st

Something Funny

Concerning

Christmas

BY JASON DAVIS

There was a time when I felt I needed to gain my families acknowledgement.

I’ve got a large family a lot of cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Great Aunts, and Great Uncles a lot of people to impress. Every year since 1960 my family on my Grandmothers side has held a Christmas Party. Now many of my family lived in the Bay Area when I was growing up, but we did have some out of staters that would travel for this party. It was the family function of the year, we all looked forward to seeing each other, eating all the great food, and of course the talent show. Anyone who wanted to participate could, my Great Aunt Faye would belly dance, children of a certain age though had to perform.

At the time I didn’t like this I was very shy, and I didn’t believe I had any performable skills that would be able to entertain my boisterous family. So, at 8 or 9 years old it came time for me to perform, I remember asking my Great Aunt Irma if I could be excused from performing in the talent show. What she said exactly I can’t remember but something she said later to some of my younger cousins sounded familiar. She had told them when they didn’t want to perform that the adults worked hard all year to make sure they could all be together for this day and they just want to celebrate their kid’s talents as a family. At my young age I didn’t think of how great of a confidence building exercise this was and was terrified while I sang HELP by The Beatles in front of my family.

I remembered thinking later how funny it was that I had sung that specific song. I’ve loved The Beatles since I was young and I had been given their red album, which was a compilation of their songs from 62-66. I never left home without my Walkman, The Beatles, and a good book. If I haven’t illustrated with my words that I was a nerd, let me state frankly I was and still am a giant nerd. You can see my nerdiness from your house just look to the night sky, a spotlight shining in the sky but instead of bat, there’s a skinny black guy reading comics trying not drip too much of his ramen broth on the aforementioned comics. When I was 11, a couple of years later, I performed again this time I did something that comes very naturally to me, I told jokes. I had everyone in that room busting up and my Great Aunt Irma hugged me after I finished and told me she was glad I performed.

I don’t think I’ve felt as proud of myself since. All my older cousins tell me that I should definitely go into comedy as a career and I’ve considered it. I gained their acknowledgement through believing in myself and that is a gift I am grateful to have been given.

2

nd

Have you ever felt unacknowledged?

BY LACY KENNEDY In a family where you struggle to relate beyond biological ties, acknowledgement is essential. I grew up in a family with six children. My parents were divorced and my twin and I shared a home with my mother; the other four with my father. Feeling acknowledged was difficult because we were not 100% present in either home. We often felt easily left out and forgotten. There was a process of reacquainting each time we arrived back after an absence.

To the benefit of each family member who felt unacknowledged, we spent every Friday night together.

We were rarely allowed a Friday night with friends. We spent this time sharing food, playing games or watching a movie, and catching up on time passed. It was a reminder to me that although we didn’t see or hear from each other during the week, we were not, in fact, forgotten. This time together loving on one another and creating memories to be shared for years, are some of my favorites from childhood. It wasn’t always perfect.

Sometimes the food was burnt or cold, the movie was lackluster, or the game put on pause because arguments broke out. But at the end of the day we were all acknowledged for our role in the family, near or far.

As adults, this time together doesn’t happen often enough. Our relationships are strained and don’t present as pretty as they once were.

But each time I reunite with any of my siblings, there is this time of catching up and acknowledging each other in time passed. We acknowledge each other in our struggles, our triumphs and our absence. The poem of our lives do not fit together seamlessly.

We don’t speak to one another with poise. We are raw and honest.

Sometimes it hurts and others it’s rewarding.

Danez Smith writes this beautiful poem not of a perfect harmonious friendship with eloquent speech but of a messy, bumpy experience with a rawness that I find refreshing. I have often felt lost in the seamless worded poems. They felt distant to me because my life isn’t seamless; I’m not seamless.

Acknowledgement is the affirmation that we are accepted or we belong. No matter the fact that I shared DNA with these people, I never felt that I belonged without some sort of acknowledgement. It is in these situations where I felt that being acknowledged was as vital and life-sustaining as breath no matter how messy it was.

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rd

Beautiful Standards

BY SERENITY WILSON Beauty means all shapes.

Beauty means all colors.

Beauty means all races.

Beauty means all genders.

Beauty means all people.

When you look in the mirror, do you like what is looking back? Looking at each freckle stretched across your cheek reveals a beautiful map of stars. Each wrinkle by your eyes tells a story that is beyond words. Do you see your scars as flaws?

The imperfections that you may see are simply perfections. How you see yourself determines how the world sees you. Flaws that we see do not define or diminish our beauty.

Society has always had its ideal view of ‘beauty’. Beauty is blonde hair and blue eyes. Beauty is tall and skinny. The standards of beauty have changed so often and continue to change. In the fifties, beauty was curves. The sixties evolved a generation of skinnier. The seventies found beauty in the feathered hair. The eighties had beauty in big hair and bright colors.

The beauty of the past is simply in the past.

Beauty is not a hairstyle.

Beauty is not a waist size.

Beauty is not the amount in a paycheck.

Beauty is not one-size-fits-all.

In the world that we live in today, beauty is ever changing. It does not have one universal definition. Beauty varies by culture. What is considered beautiful in one society may not seem that way for others. Something that is considered beautiful for one person may seem diminished for others. Beauty within yourself is not dependent on the world’s standards of beauty. Beauty is not found in how the world sees you. It is found in how we see ourselves.

When you look in the mirror, love what is looking back. Look at each freckle as a star in the sky. Love your wrinkles and the stories that they tell. Look at your scars as medals of honor. Look at the imperfect perfections that encompass your body. If you love yourself then the empowerment that emerges could move mountains.

Beauty means all shapes.

Beauty means all colors.

Beauty means all races.

Beauty means all genders.

Beauty means everybody.

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An Interview with Audrey Anderson Instructor At LBCC Gives Us An Insight Into Her Work

STORY BY CHRISSY VEACH

Audrey Anderson is a bakery department instructor and co-curricular advisor at LBCC. She has been at LinnBenton Community College for four years.

She has a husband and two dogs, and lives in Corvallis. She has her own business named Roux Events and Catering. She is originally from Independence and went to culinary school in Newport.

She used to be an executive catering chef for Willamette University, and used to manage a lot of catering events. She loves going outside and going camping and hiking. She and her family have Sunday dinners every week and they always make something that is really warming and that everyone likes.

What did you do before your job as an instructor?

Chef Audrey Anderson used to be an executive catering chef for Willamette University in Salem. She did a lot of event management among other things.

What is some background about your life? What do you like to do, hobbies, favorite food?

She likes to go outside and go camping.

She likes hanging out with her dogs and her family. Her favorite food is Thai and Chinese food.

What is the best part about your job as an instructor?

A Red Velvet Naked Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

She loves that she can be an advocate for the students and she is the co-curricular adviser for the curriculum. She gets to talk more directly with the students, more oneon-one time than in a big group and she can be there for them and guide them through the process of cooking and help them relate to the process so they understand it better.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened while being a chef?

When she would manage a lot of people and do a lot of events a day there would sometimes be a drop in communication and it wouldn't be good when she had a staff of 30-60 people that she was managing and she would have to suck it up and take the blame even though some line in the communication there was something that got disrupted.

What is a time where something went really wrong in the kitchen?

When she was managing a restaurant in Independence for a while, they had an oil drain and it got backed up and it started smelling like sewage, and it was in this small little area and they had to shut down the whole restaurant and get it professionally cleaned.

What is your favorite lesson to teach and why?

She really loves to teachlaminated doughs and teach the process of lamination because there is a lot to do with time management and temperature management and with this dough there are a lot of variables that could mess up what you're doing. It

A Flourless Chocolate Tart with Toasted Meringue.

Braised Quail stuffed with Cornbread and Andouille over Potatoes and Charred Green Onions

could make the dough gray sometimes. If you mess up any of the variables the dough can get messed up very easily.

What is the most important thing for LBCC students to know before they leave college?

There is always more to know. The culinary arts instructors give really good information and a baseline of information for them to take and build off in their futures in a restaurant, even if they are working for someone or owning a restaurant of their own. There is always more to learn. Having the accountability to say that they don't know everything and be open to learn more through their career and their life.

What is your dream meal you would like to cook?

Anything that could be shared between her family because her family does Sunday family dinner. When you can cook something that everyone relates to and have a good experience it doesn't matter what you do as long as everyone is happy and having a good time.

What has been the best cake/meal you have ever prepared?

She feels like every time she makes a cake they get better and better every time. She did this cake for her cousin's wedding, it was a simple naked cake with flowers all over it, it was a 3 year cake.

Why did you choose to switch

from your previous career to an instructor?

She's always wanted to be an instructor and by the point when she was in culinary school she had already worked in the industry for seven years. She had an opportunity to become an instructional assistant, where she would tutor students and help them with their cooking methods, notes, homework.

In her school she got a lot of experience with instructing when she went to Oregon Coast Culinary Institute and put a bug in there with her skills on instructing. She loves working in event services and just working in a kitchen.

What classes do you teach outside of the culinary department?

She used to do private classes from her business that were anywhere from two to four people. She hasn't been teaching the private classes since Covid hit and she has put her business to a stop.

What has changed in your culinary department due to Covid?

They have had a big push for a more centered curriculum and they are more on track to teach one-on-one with students and teaching at a very personal level. It could get mixed up a lot because you can have 10 different students doing different things.

They are all on the same page of making the curriculum to help everyone to stay on the same page. They can deliver the instruction so they are more direct.

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Tell Me When Culinary Arts Students Share Experience and Give Advice to New Students

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHRISSY VEACH

Soren Skinner is a Culinary Arts major and is in his second and last year of his degree. When he gets his degree he wants to open his own restaurant.

This program is helping him fine tune his skills in cooking and management.

How COVID has affected this program is that it's affected the organization of the kitchens. Skinner says, “It's impossible to fully teach culinary arts online.” Since March of 2019 when everything shut down because of COVID things were hard for everyone. But since October of 2020 things have gotten better with trying to organize, learning online, and more.

The biggest challenge is the change of pace from high school to college, like the sudden long hours on their feet. It's also a hard way to learn and some people get cut from the program.

Some big highlights are that the students have free reign of what they want to make in their rotations, and also the banquets that happen three times a year. During the banquetes there is a lot of food being made inspired by many different regions and provinces in the world. The banquetes also give them memories and an experience for future events either in college or in life when they open or manage a restaurant.

In this program, they were taught not only how to do things, but also why it was important to do them a certain way. Soren says, “Why vinaigrettes work, why bread is such a fickle creature, why

Soren Skinner

meat behaves in a certain way.” Once the students are taught why things are done it clicks differently in their mind instead of being told what to do and how it's done.

For future students Soren said to not give up even when it gets hard.

Sometimes you will want to pull your hair out, but you have to keep trying and stay organized because that will help you.

Aiden Nielsenis a culinary student who is in his second and last year of the program. He decided to go into the CTE culinary arts program because he has always had a passion for cooking and he wants to take a leap into the STEM program at OSU. COVID has changed the program so much, they can’t have any people in the cafeteria like they could

Aiden Nielsenis

before covid and they can't have a full production crew in the kitchen either. All the students have an online order form that they can give the chefs to order the product for their dishes.

When the students first when into this program as first years they were learning basic skills and using those skills for mass production, but now as second years they are honed on fine tuning their skills, regions, and learn how to cook on the line at the Santiam Grill, which now with COVID the second years can’t do it anymore.

Some of the biggest challenges are time commitment because some days you are there for normal times where you're in the kitchen and some days Aiden is there from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Some of the

biggest highlights are that you can bond with your classmates and instructors.

There are a number of benefits to joining the CTE Culinary arts program.

Like Aiden, he is the president of the culinary club that they have and he has the opportunity to go to different locations and meet different chefs, farmers and more.

For future students who are thinking of going into the CTE culinary arts program Aiden has suggested to make the most of your time and get involved in things. It also helps if you make connections with your classmates and teachers and get every little bit of knowledge that you can that will help you in the long run.

 COMMUTER@LINNBENTON.EDU

MARCH 3, 2021

CAMPUS NEWS

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Q&A with SLC V.P. Nia Alvarado Speaks About Her Experience in College and in SLC

STORY BY DAKOTA GANGE

After announcing the Student Leadership Council election winners for next year in the Feb. 24 edition of The Commuter, here's some attention focused on Linn-Benton’s current vice president, Nia Alvarado.

She is a computer science major at Linn-Benton Community College, and is dual-enrolled at OSU as a computer science major with an option in artificial intelligence.

She’s been at LBCC for two years now, and is about to graduate. She will continue on with OSU, and take some summer classes at Chemeketa Community College.

She has been a Roadrunner for two years, and for five terms she’s been our SLC V.P. Spring term will be her last one in student government.

What inspired you to study COUNCIL ERSHIP computer S Tscience U D ENT LEADwith an option in artificial intelligence?

Oh, it’s actually really interesting. I had to write an essay my senior year about artificial intelligence, and originally I was against it. But I actually found myself loving it and falling in love with computer science.

S T U DENT L

S H I P COUNCIL EADER

I always thought I’d be a politician, which is crazy because I hate politics now. So that essay inspired me to explore engineering as an entire field. I really didn’t know much about it, and I hated math, and didn’t really like science until that year.

What is it about A.I. that you love so much?

I love the connection to the human brain that it has with it, and it’s connection to machinery. I really like how we can take simple everyday things, like my Google Home that I can’t live without, and apply it to make our lives easier. I also really like future technology, and so I wanted to be a part of that push into the future.

What are your plans for after college and your future career?

Interestingly enough, I will probably never touch computer science again, unless it’s for my own personal gain or use. After LB I’ll be finishing up at OSU next year, and after that I’m not sure if I’ll be working full time, going to school, or both.

But, I’m actually going to be pursuing a different degree in a career field I want -- I’ll be doing aerospace engineering.

I don’t want to be a part of space exploration, I want to start off by working on smaller projects like satellites.

Unfortunately, nowhere in Oregon

has this program, and so I’ve actually checked out a program in Florida. I’m also looking into Boulder University in Colorado. I wanted to be closer to home and go to USC, but I don’t want to pay that price; they’re expensive and living in California is super expensive.

Switching gears, talk about your your position as V.P:

I really like it. It was more than I

thought it was going to be, not workload wise, but it has been a great experience. I went in thinking that this is something that will be great for my resume; I would get letters of recommendation, I get to work with staff, and I know how staff connections have always helped me personally.

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STUDENT LEADERSHIP UPDATE

LBCC DANCE CLUB’S CONTEST Show off Your Best Dance Moves for a Chance to Win a $5, $10, or $15 Fred Meyer’s Gift Card!

HOW TO JOIN:

1. Create & film a dance to this clip of “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd 2. Upload your video to your Youtube Google account.

3. Fill out this form to submit your video and enter the contest.

Submit a video by Thursday, March 11th at 11:59pm.

Winners will be announced Monday, March 17th on LBLive and will be contacted by email.

Questions? zenobia.rogers.3664@mail.linnbenton.edu

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MARCH 3, 2021

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Off the Beaten Trail A Foster Lake Getaway Is More Than Meets the Eye

STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOWEN ORCUTT

When most people travel to Foster Lake, they go to one of the two main recreational areas to the northwest.

But along the southern shoreline are many oft-unseen attractions well worth a look.

For the more adventurous, the highway along this southern stretch has a very wide shoulder, perfect for a lengthy bike ride with a breathtaking view.

First along the road is the Shea Viewpoint, a visitor’s area set up like your typical highway rest stop. It comprises a couple bathrooms, an open-air building with the standard posters of interesting facts about the area, and the main attraction: A large wooden balcony with benches and one of the best vistas for viewing the lake you could ever hope for.

Perfect for photography.

Near the Shea Viewpoint are wooden statues of a logger and a miner in that area as, complete with (presumably) fake gold. For those curious, more information on these two can be found on the Albany Democrat Herald website.

Directly across the street from

This wooden landmark makes for a great detour when at Foster Lake.

Foster Lake Offers great views to relax and take in the Sun.

it is a good place to stop for lunch: A nice little establishment called “Point Restaurant.” They provide dine-in services as well as curbside pickup, and offer an excellent view of the lake from their window seats.

Further along the road are a few areas of interest worth a stop to look around. There’s a sheriff’s substation, and a truck weigh

station with a short trail north towards the lake. Perfect place to stop to stretch your legs.

On the southeast corner of the lake is Calkins Park. It has a small boat ramp, and a decent stretch of shoreline to walk along. The main attraction of this park is that it is very off the beaten path.

If you and your family/friends are looking for a small, secluded area out of the way,

Logging trucks are a common sight on these roads.

Shea Viewpoint offers a great view of Foster Lake.

Boat Season is starting up again at Calkins Park with the sunshine finally coming through.

An old “No Camping” sign borders a hiking trail.

The refreshing lake is perfect for a swim.

Lots of trails offer fun daytime activities while at Foster Lake.

you can’t hope for much better than this.

Also, the lake connects to the Middle Santiam River almost directly east of the park, so if you’re interested in going on a boating trip along it this is literally the best place to launch from.

The highway continues for a very long way east along a scenic byway.

But at Calkins, the road around the lake takes a turn to the north. As a word of warning, the road’s shoulder can get very narrow past this point.There’s not much of note to be found along this northern road, aside from two bridges that make for good photography sites if you’re brave enough to risk the traffic going through there.

Though aside from the bridges, there is one… oddity. An abandoned trail, partially reclaimed by nature. You can easily recognize it from the partiallydefaced signs and the graffiti-covered boulder. The main attraction is a yellow gate like you would see at any park around the lake, completely consumed by the vegetation around it. There are also some occasional, and vague, warning signs that look like they’ve been there for a very, very long time. Because of this, it’s not recommended to go much further past the gate; do so at your own risk. But even the short hike up to that point is just spooky enough to be worth a look.

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MARCH 3, 2021

LOCAL NEWS

MikesBikes

9

Simulation Update Students from LB Compete Against 79 Teams Worldwide

STORY AND PHOTO BY DAKOTA GANGE

Out of 80 teams worldwide, from the U.S. to Asia to Europe, our own Roadrunners made it into the final round of the business simulation competition, MikesBikes Championship.

To make it into the final round, teams from across the globe compete against one another, creating a business simulation where they produce and market various types of bikes, with well over 20 different business variables that they were expected to control/analyze. Each day was equivalent to one year of business, and the teams had one month in total to produce the highest shareholder value for their bike companies.

Coming in hot in sixth place were Linn-Benton students Rachel Tweedy, Cydney Diaz, Alexander Clapp and Isaieh Heiken.

It’s apparent that this team's memorable experience was one for the books, valuing communication and learning to work together in a competition that had no guidance other than a 60-page manual.

“I think it was pretty overwhelming at first, especially because I didn’t know anybody on my team, and it was a lot more challenging than the simulation we did in class,” Tweedy said. “It was a much more advanced version and I just didn’t expect it to be as complicated as it was.”

“I would say that it was intimidating because not only was it more complicated, it was also on such a big stage. Competing against the best teams on such a big stage was exciting and intimidating,” said Heiken. “‘They [MikesBikes] were just like, alright here’s this 60-page manual, read it and do good.’ So it was really neat to be able to sit there, especially for the first meeting, to talk to everybody and see where everyone is at and how they want to do things, because especially when it’s virtual like this, it’s really hard to connect with everyone and see how things are going to work together,” said Clapp.

According to the group, this exercise (or competition) is unique to anything that's typically done in school, as there was no one overseeing their work. They were on their own.

“This was definitely new, we had to just jump into it. I feel like we learned a lot about compromise, weighing benefits and giving into people’s ideas for the good of the group. We just went for it. You open the manual and it’s like ‘Oh, this is going to be very different,’” said LBCC and high school student Diaz.

And as an almost-accidentalput-together-team, boy did they show up. With much of their time spent arguing, this team had to learn to compromise on a lot of ideas with

Linn-Benton business students energetically share about their valuable ‘MikesBikes’ business simulation experience.

(Left to right: Dakota Gange - interviewer, Cydney Diaz, Alex Clapp, Rachel Tweedy, and Isaieh Heiken.)

one another, and in contrast, learn the best way to present and persuade their ideas, which in turn became a very real world-like situation.

“The reason our Zoom calls would last two to three hours was because half that amount of time was spent arguing and talking about all the things we got wrong, so it took a while,” said Heiken.

All together this team spent about 90 hours on this project over a month's time, and finding the time for this competition amid their school studies and personal lives was no easy task.

“We would disagree a lot, but I think that’s what made our team as successful as it was, because we had to really think out every single decision and prove our points as to why we think that,” said Diaz.

However, these Roadrunners agreed on one thing -- that their willingness to work with each other and communicate openly and respectfully was their saving grace.

“There was no easy decision, so when someone wanted to have their way they had to do all the things to show why it would be better than somebody else, and that really helped because we ended up finding out the best and most efficient way to do things,” said Clapp.

“Often times it would be the three of them [Tweedy, Clapp, and Diaz] against me, and I would have to spend a good 20 minutes trying to figure out how to convince them to do something, and sometimes it would work, and sometimes it wouldn’t,” said Heiken as the laughter from the team filled our interviewing Zoom room. “We were open to the debate, and I think that’s what made us such a great team.”

Curious what the most difficult business variable they were judged on was? Me, too.

“Oh that’s an easy question!

The thing about MikesBikes is that once you're behind in the simulation, and not one of the top teams, it’s really hard to climb back up because these teams are constantly going to grab more and more market share.

What really nipped us in the butt before the finals, was in the first two days we seriously messed up in our production. We either missed out on sales or overproduced,” said Heiken.

“Trying to understand that variable [production] was key to every other variable.”

And just like in real life, market share is up in the air.

“It’s so hard to predict what your market share is going to be, and that’s how it is in the real world, too,” said Tweedy. “They just give you a bunch of data, and it’s your job to interpret it, so that’s why I think it was so difficult.”

“We didn’t talk to anybody from the program, other than emailing the help desk once!” said Clapp.

“It’s hard to say [what we would have done differently] because at the end of the day, we still don’t know what went wrong; we kind of know, but not really,” said Heiken.

Moving forward, Tweedy is a business administration major and wants to go into Human Resources, or that kind of management side of business where she can make a large difference in the world of business and for individuals. However, she says it's been really hard to look for jobs and go to career fairs since everything has been online. We all know how things have changed since the pandemic, and it’s vastly spilling over into students' lives.

Heiken is a business administration and marketing major.

He aims to get involved with lots of things, where he can practice

his skills in communicating and donate his time and knowledge to meaningful causes. He currently sits on a couple of local boards -- serving as the marketing coordinator for the Linn County Animal Rescue Board, vice president for the Corvallis New Business Generation Board, and is the social media manager for the Lebanon New Business Generation Board. He also works as the marketing director for The Commuter.

Clapp is moving on to OSU to study accounting and join the investors club, and eventually earn his business master’s at either OSU or UO. He dreams of helping people invest safely and smartly with their money, in order to grow their futures comfortably. The pandemic has also significantly made it difficult for him to get an internship, since everything is online.

Diaz is finishing up her high school career this spring, and then will be dual-enrolled with OSU and LBCC this fall, and plans to study business agriculture, where she can find something that pairs business and the outdoors.

This Roadrunner team emphasized and recommended that anyone who is invited to the MikesBikes Championship should absolutely go.

“This was arguably one of the most valuable things I’ve done in a long time,” said Heiken.

“This was a really good experience to work as a team outside of the classroom, especially as a student if you don’t have business experience, this can really give you a taste of what it’s like to work without a rubric, without that teacher guidance.

It was a really good opportunity to really grow and develop on your own without that guidance boxing you in,” said Tweedy.

10

SPORTS

MARCH 3, 2021

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50 for 50

In 2021 LB celebrates the 50-year anniversary of its athletics program. We will highlight people, teams and moments from the past five decades of Roadrunner Athletics. You can nominate a former athlete, coach, team, supporter or memorable moment from LB athletics.

The Early Years: 1969-1979

Kurt Souvey, Baseball

Dennis Balmer, Baseball

Balmer was a pitcher for the Linn-Benton baseball team, and led the Roadrunners to back-to-back OCCAA titles in 1975 and '76.

In 1976, Balmer was one of seven LB all-Conference players. He posted a perfect 14-0 everall record on the mound, helping lead the Roadrunners to a 26-2 record.

In his freshman year Balmer pitched a no-hitter against Linfield's JV team, striking out 11 batters, leading the Roadrunners to an 11-0 win. Balmer earned the team's Most Improved Award his first year.

Balmer worked for Hewlett-Packard in Roseville, Calif., serving many years its Financial Operations Manager.

Balmer was inducted into the NWAC Hall of Fame in 1996.

Souvey, from Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, was an infielder for Linn-Benton in 1975 and 1976. He helped lead the Roadrunners to two OCCAA titles and a runner-up finish at the 1976 Region 18 Tournament.

Went on to major in Economics and play baseball at Willamette University, earning 1st Team all-Northwest Conference honors as an infielder for the Bearcats.

Souvey went on to work at IBM and Hitachi in a variety of roles and is currently the Chief Operating Officer for THStyme, Inc. Souvey was inducted in the NWAC Hall of Fame in 2002.

Beaks Briefing's Special Guest Seth Brown and His Baseball Journey

STORY BY (LBCC) history,” said Mark Majeski, athletics director at LBCC, “and not SYDNEY GREENE forget where we came from.”

Oakland A’s outfielder Seth Brown started his baseball career at OSU as a walk-on and soon realized LinnBenton would be a better fit due to struggling with academics, so he made the switch.

When sophomore year came around, however, Brown left LBCC and took that year off from school and baseball. He ended up working at a gravel pit in Medford.

Student athletes, coaches, former teammates, and fans from the LinnBenton community listened as Brown shared his journey full of tears, sweat, and hard work -- a journey that all started right here at LBCC. Every month Linn-Benton athletics hosts a “Beaks Briefing” live via Zoom with updates on athletics from head coaches, stories from student athletes, and an “Alumni Spotlight” where a former student athlete from LB shares their story. On Feb. 10 listeners enjoyed catching up with Brown, the former Linn-Benton baseball player who now plays for the Oakland A’s.

“It’s important to embrace our

In the live Zoom call, Brown described what was going through his head while he was working at the gravel pit.

“I was in a weird place mentally,” he said. “I was thinking my days of playing were over and realized what a huge mistake I made.”

Soon enough, Coach Greg Hawk, Brown’s baseball coach at Linn-Benton, gave Brown another chance. Hawk called him up and offered him the opportunity to come back and Brown took it. Brown built good habits at LBCC and was in the process of getting his degree in criminal justice.

At the end of Brown’s years at LBCC, Hawk recommended that he continue his baseball career at LewisClark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.

“Lewis State showed me the person I wanted to be,” Brown said.

Brown redshirted his first year at Lewis-Clark due to being far behind in school and got eligible to play his junior year. His last year at Lewis-Clark he knew he had to put in extra work in the batting cage.

“All the cliche things you guys

hear as student athletes (about putting extra work in),” he said. “I truly immersed myself in the baseball and school aspect of it.”

He was drafted by the A’s in the 19th round of the 2015 draft and continued to put in that extra work by lifting weights harder, running harder, and showing up early. As a result, he continued to move up in the minor league baseball ranks.

“Embrace the things that are hard,” he said.

Brown was in the minor leagues for five years when a spot in Triple A -the highest level of the minor leagues --

opened up for him.

“I was excited and pumped, it felt like I was going to the big leagues just getting called to Triple A,” he said.

When Brown got to Triple A he was informed that he was only going to be playing two days a week. But that did not phase Brown one bit. He continued to work hard while showing improvements and he started to get more playing time.

September call-ups rolled around and Brown’s manager told him he was going to be a big leaguer.

“I’m pretty sure I almost fainted, I was frozen and didn’t know what to do,” Brown said.

After he received this outstanding news, his first phone call was to his dad.

“I immediately lost it, I mean I couldn’t even get words out. All I could end up getting out to him was I did it,” Brown said.

“You kept outperforming everyone,” Hawk told Brown during the Zoom meeting. “You made it with hard work and effort.”

Brown elaborated on overcoming negative thoughts by having a positive mindset while having fun in the present.

“Even though you have goals, enjoy where you are at,” Brown said.

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A&E

MARCH 3, 2021

11

5-Word Book

Reviews

BY LEAH BIESACK

The Pearl, John Steinbeck: ‘Gift of the Magi’ irony.

Songs of Experience, William Blake: Centered around the nitty gritty.

Jagannath, Karin Tidbeck: Bizarre, but pleasantly so. Fun. The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon: Halfway point is my limit.

Roadrunner

Resources LB Spring Fitness Options Looking for some options to ramp up your personal fitness this spring? ► Physical Activity classes both

▪ online & in person (mask required) ► workout plans and instruction for:

▪ Yoga

▪ Body Conditioning (weight room) ▪ Circuit Weight training (weight room) ▪ Walking/Jogging

For more information, email Brad Carman (carmanb@ linnbenton.edu) (OPEN HOURS FOR THE WEIGHT ROOM ARE NOT AVAILABLE)

12

A&E

MARCH 3, 2021

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Against the Raging Tide Newport Metal Band is a Screaming Good Time REVIEW BY ALISTAIR WOODS

Against the Raging Tide is a hard rock/metal band formed in Newport, Oregon in 2013. The band consists of Aaron Burright, Jace Bennett, Correy Ware, and Mike Ewing. Currently the band has four released albums; “The Trust Issue”, “Cartographer and Conspiracy”, and “Betrayed by Daylight” which were all released in 2017, and “Throat of the Earth” which was released in 2019.

Currently, they are working on their fifth album. Their Spotify shows only 44 monthly listeners and their YouTube only has 178 subscribers, making them a smaller band.

These guys have however opened for some rather popular bands though, such as 10 Years, Trivium, Saving Abel, Alien Ant Farm, He Is Legend, and From Ashes To New.

Upon listening to what they’ve put on Spotify, their music gives off a very similar impression to early 2000’s Linkin Park. There’s this vague sense of nostalgia while listening, and it’s fairly hard to ignore if you were ever into Linkin Park or similar bands. That being said, they do have their own style and lean more into screams than Linkin Park ever did which does set the bands apart.

The vocalist, Aaron Burright, carries a lot of power behind it. For those who enjoy

PHOTO COURTESY: AGAINST THE RAGING TIDE

songs with more morbid themes or lyrics, this band delivers in that aspect. While the screaming often takes away from a song in other contexts, it seems to only

compliment the regular singing for them and it isn’t done in excess like in some other bands.

If you are looking for a smaller band to support and happen to like metal, Against the Raging Tide is a good addition to your playlist. Not only do they deserve the support, both in the form of whatever money they make and in better numbers for their social media, but they’re also local and perform within driving distance of Albany and Corvallis with the furthest they’ve gone away from the area being Seattle, Washington. Despite the lack of awareness of their work, one can only hope that they continue to create and thrive as they have been.

A Step In the Right Direction EDITORIAL BY

STEVEN PRYOR

@STEVENPRR2PRYOR

(Note: This editorial is based on the latest build of the game available as of this writing. Some experiences may be different depending on which build you’re playing.)

In January of 2021, “Cyberpunk 2077” saw its first major software update on PCs and consoles. Though the game is still not without its issues, this update presents a step in the right direction for the ambitious role-playing game from Polish developer CD Projekt RED.

The update, which entails version 1.1 of the game alongside an assortment of “Hotfix” patches; contains many key technical improvements over the initial

build of the game that launched on December 10, 2020. While this update also was not without its own problems (such as bugs impacting progress on certain missions), it was also given its own “Hotfix” to coincide with the more substantial changes made.

Of course, the strongest element still remains the world-building. Both as a game on its own and an adaptation of the “Cyberpunk 2020” tabletop game, the setting of the fictional Night City; CA is an impressive sight to behold. No matter what platform you play the game on, the vision developers CD Projekt RED have of a near-future depiction of Northern California is one that pushes existing hardware to its limits and makes an ideal showcase for the next generation of consoles (development continues on ports for the Playstation 5 and Xbox

CYBERPUNK 2077

PUBLISHER: WB Interactive DEVELOPER: CD Projekt RED PLATFORM: Playstation 4 (Also Available on Xbox One and PC, Coming Soon to Playstation 5 and Xbox Series) ESRB RATING: M Series console lines).

Though development of the version 1.2 update has been impacted by both internal and external factors; a full review of the game will follow once it goes live. Still, the v1.1 update provides

an imperfect, but promising step forward for this game. Even if v1.2 has been delayed past its intended February release date; keep an eye out for a full review of “Cyberpunk 2077.”

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