Linfield review issue #12 april 25

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The Linfield Review April 25, 2016

Linfield College

McMinnville, Ore.

121st Year

Students gather for annual burn

Issue No. 12

Graduation speaker announced By Elizabeth Stoeger Staff Writer

Griffin Yerian/Staff photographer Students juggle fire sticks during the annual built to burn event. This year’s sculpture “Roots” was burned under a full moon on April 22.

New loan scam targets college students By Elizabeth Stoeger Staff Writer Students in Corvallis, Eugene, and Salem have received calls from a fake number purporting to be from the State Treasury asking for loan payments. Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler issued a statement warning students of this new scam on Thursday. Oregonians have reported receiving calls from a “threatening impersonator” who claims to be from the Oregon 529 Network at the State Treasury, according to the press release. At least one person has reportedly pain $1,000 in nearly untraceable gift cards. The Oregon 529 Network is an office that assists people in creating

INSIDE Editorial .......... 2 News ............... 4 Features............ 7 Arts................... 8 Sports................ 10

savings accounts devoted to educational expenses. The scammers use technology to hide behind this false number and lure people into thinking State loan collectors are seeking money. The Treasury does not collect nor seek student loan payments. The Linfield financial aid office has been notified of this most recent scam. Keri Burke, Director of Financial Aid, said, “I would encourage anyone who receives a phone call of this nature to not provide any information, hang up and call the local police.” No students affiliated with Linfield have been contacted so far, according to Burke. Scams aimed at college students are nothing new. This is the third loan scam directed at students since

January. Two debt relief companies were sent cease and desist orders for misrepresenting their affiliation with the Department of Education (ED), implying the ED was associated to their programs. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Student Aid Institute, Inc. in March for “illegally marketing debt relief to student loan borrowers struggling with their debt and misrepresenting that fees were required to participate in federal student loan programs that are, in fact, free,” according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) press release. This came 15 days after another CFPB request to close Student Loan Processing.US for illegal practices,

which included charging its customers millions of dollars in fees for federal student loan services. Wheeler said, “Students and recent graduates are just starting out and the last thing they need is to fall prey to a cynical scam . . . Protect yourself and your finances and hang up.” The Treasury Department recommends hanging up immediately and contacting local police or the state Department of Justice if called by this scammer. College students and recent graduates should stay vigilant, be aware that a plethora of schemes like this one exist, and notify the proper authorities if they are contacted. Elizabeth Stoeger can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com

News

Features

Arts

The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity will be holding its annual “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” event on April 30.

Linfield board of trustees member and wine maker Ronni LaCroute makes time to support the arts at Linfield.

Linfield’s Culture Show displays a wide range of traditions from countries across the globe.

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Michael Lindblad, Oregon Teacher of the Year and 1994 Linfield graduate, will be the commencement speaker at this year’s graduation ceremony. Lindblad has been a high school bilingual teacher and coach for 20 years. He developed Gresham High’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program in history and stressed outreach efforts aimed at minority students. Lindblad also engineered a special IB history class for those learning English as a second language that coupled the rigorous high standards of the IB program with an admiration and respect for the student’s own language and culture. Oregon State Teacher of the Year in 2015 and the 2013 Oregon Social Studies Teacher of the Year rank among his many accolades. Lindblad graduated from Linfield with majors in history and mass communication. He was on the baseball team and found the time to study abroad in Nottingham, England. Studying abroad exposed Lindblad to diverse cultures, “I learned more than I ever imagined and I realized I wanted to work with Latino students, increase awareness of different cultures and use my Spanish to create more equity in the schools,” he said in an interview with the Linfield Magazine in 2015. Wanting his students to have a more engaging history course than he had as a high school student, Lindblad fashioned games like history Jeopardy, had students sing songs, and create collages. He said, “I swore that if I ever taught, I would make it fun through projects, debates, and discussions.” His teaching philosophy centers on allowing students to form and voice their own opinions without much interference. Commencement will be Sunday, May 29, at the 10 a.m. in the Oak Grove. Elizabeth Stoeger can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com


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