The Linfield Review August 25, 2014
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Linfield College
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McMinnville, Ore.
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120th Year
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Issue No. 1
Students of any gender allowed as overnight guests Helen Lee and Rosa Johnson @linfieldreview Students will be allowed to have guests of the opposite gender stay the night in co-ed residential halls starting this fall semester. The Overnight Guest Policy is an extension of Linfield’s general “Guests/Visitation Policy,” and has been revised for the 2014-2015 school year. “Like all Residence Life policies, the Guest Policy is in place to provide students a safe environment to live and learn. Several years ago, Residence Life removed sex restrictions on overnight guests in College-owned apartments, and this fall, we will extend this policy to co-ed residence halls,” Associate dean of students and director of residence life Jeff Mackay wrote in an email. The change in policy primarily aims to promote communication between residents and their resident advisors, as well as to be more inclusive to more students. “While Residence Life’s previous guest policy minimized conflict between roommates over the presence of romantic partners or guest of the opposite sex, we recognize it limited students’ ability to develop com-
munication in this area, and was not inclusive of same-sex romantic relationships or of students and guests whose biological sex does not correspond with their gender identity,” Mackay wrote in an email. Due to the fact that single-sex dorms do not have the appropriate restrooms for the other gender, this change only applies to co-ed residential halls. Only those living in college-owned apartments were allowed to have people of the opposite sex as overnight guests before the recent policy change. “Our Guest Policies are now consistent throughout College Apartments and Residence Halls – any student must have their roommate’s permission to host a guest, students are responsible for guests’ behavior, and there are limits to the length of guests’ visits,” Area Director for Training and Assessment for Residence Life Sarah Burkhardt-Beckley said in an email. These policies for Residence Halls were discussed in the first hall meeting on Sunday Aug. 24, and can also be found on the Guide to Living at Linfield online. An “overnight guest” is defined as any person who is not a resident of the assigned room. The host must
obtain permission at least 24 hours in advance from their roommate(s) and resident advisor. Possible consequences of breaking the Overnight Guest Policy are the loss of overnight guest visitation privileges, relocation of the violating host(s), or cancellation of the housing agreement of the violating host(s). One of the largest impacts this updated rule will have is on the roommates of students who want to have guests of the opposite gender stay the night. “One of the things that could be an issue is the roommates. But if an issue does come up, it will be handled just like we would handle any other roommate conflict,” sophomore and resident advisor for Memorial Hall Emily Eisert said. Eisert does not expect many problems from policy, however, and encourages students to view it as an opportunity to make life decisions on their own. “I think it’s a good change. It’s not a super big deal having people of the opposite gender over. People who are in college can make these sorts of decisions for themselves and be adult >> Continue to Overnight on Page 3
Inside:
• “In a single-sex hall, all overnight guests must be of the same sex as the residents. Residents in co-ed halls and suburb apartments may host overnight guests of any sex, provided they have the consent of their roommate(s), and the guest uses appropriate restrooms at all times. • The residents’ roommate agreement must address expectations for hosting overnight guests of the same and different sex than the residents. • The right of a resident to occupy her or his room/apartment without the presence of an overnight guest takes precedence over the privilege of a resident to host overnight guests. • Prior to hosting an overnight guest, the host resident must obtain the consent of the roommate(s) at least 24 hours in advance. In a Residence Hall, the host resident must inform the hall’s RAs at least 24 hours in advance. • No overnight guests will be allowed during orientation, any breaks and the week preceding and during finals week. • Residents are allowed to have guests stay overnight for no more than three consecutive nights and six nights out of a thirty-day period.” Information from The Guide to Living at Linfield
Convocation speaker kicks off the 2014-2015 PLACE theme Jonathan Williams @linfieldreview
Emilie Skladzien/Photo editor Stuart Firestein a professor at Columbia University speaks at convocation on Aug. 22. His book, “Ignorance: How it Drives Science,” was the assigned summer reading for freshmen.
The Rule:
“As knowledge increases, so does ignorance,” said a professor of Columbia University to Linfield College’s fifth largest admitted class at this year’s Convocation on August 22, in the Ted Wilson Gymnasium. Stuart Firestein, author of “Ignorance: How it Drives Science” and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, gave the Convocation address kicking off this year’s Program For Liberal Arts and Civic Engagement theme: “How Do We Know? Paths to Wisdom.” The purpose of the PLACE program is to make connections among disciplines as well as to expand they way students look at events and ideas presented to them. According to the Linfield PLACE website, the current
theme “How Do We Know” asks how “epistemological inquiry through the liberal arts enhance citizenship and strengthen community.” Throughout the year, students will have the chance to attend PLACE lectures and panel discussions on their own or for classes that will be centered on different topics of the current theme. At Columbia, Firestein has a laboratory dedicated to finding answers to the question of ‘how do people smell?’ He can be heard online giving a TED talk concerning the pursuit of ignorance, as this is a major topic concerning much of his recent research and the book that he wrote. Firestein quoted the famous physicist James Clerk Maxwell and said, “Thoroughly conscious ignorance is the prelude to every real advance in science.”
This was to express the power that the right kind of ignorance can have. Firestein also presented the example of the well known ‘peeling the onion’ idea in which as people peel off layers of the onion they not only gain knowledge but they also gain ignorance surrounding what they are learning about. Dean of Faculty Susan Agre-Kippenhan presented the winners of the essay contest, which was based on topics that appeared in Firestein’s book that all incoming and transfer student read during the summer, which serves as in introduction to the PLACE theme. Vice President for Enrollment Management Dan Preston implored incoming students to “take hold of your education,” as well as to make the most of students’ time at Linfield College. Jonathan Williams can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com
News
Sports
Features
Freshmen and current students geared up through Linfield’s pre-orientation leadership program in First CLAS. >> Page 2
Maxwell Field was renovated this summer. Read about its previous turf jobs along with its latest makeover. >> Page 3
The Linfield Review staff offers freshmen some personal advice about life lessons learned at Linfield. >> Page 4