Sean Bassinger will be the next editor-in-chief of The Commuter, LBCC’s student newspaper.

Sean Bassinger has been appointed the next editor-in-chief The Commuter, LBCC's student newspaper.

Bassinger was appointed Wednesday afternoon by the college’s Student Publications Committee, which includes LBCC students, staff and faculty. Bassinger will succeed Jill Mahler, who will wrap up her year-long stint as editor with the last edition of Spring Term.

“I’m honored to serve as next year’s editor-in-chief at The Commuter,” Bassinger said. “We have an excellent staff and outstanding incoming contributors, so next year will be exciting for both student journalists and readers alike.”

Over the past year, Bassinger has served The Commuter primarily as a contributing writer and copy editor. He has reported on a variety of campus issues, from changes in campus leadership and tuition to activities such as Day of Silence and Science Week. He also has written commentaries on video gaming and proposed changes in laws concerning internet piracy and privacy.

In his application to become editor-in-chief, Bassinger wrote, “The Commuter must offer readers relevant, up-to-date content for our college and local community. It’s essential for writers and editors to focus on topics they’re passionate about, but we also have a responsibility to provide honest and accurate new on current events.”

Bassinger also noted that he and the other members of the newspaper staff have a responsibility to serve as mentors to other students, giving them “the tools they need to succeed as journalists.”

Bassinger, who lives in Corvallis, has been a contributing writer for IGXPRO.net along with editing for gaming sites Press Pause Radio and Crush! Frag! Destroy! After LBCC, he plans to enroll in the New Media Communications program at Oregon State University.

His term as editor-in-chief at The Commuter runs through the 2012-13 academic year. The duties of editor-in-chief include:

• Appointing and managing the newspaper’s staff of editors, reporters and photographers.
• Coordinating the work of the staff, including assigning and editing stories and photos.
• Leading staff meetings and other newspaper activities.
• Representing the newspaper in the college community.

Johanna Lundahl | Contributing Writer

via flickr

In an email survey that went out to all instructors, the teachers at LB shared their feelings on student incivility in the classroom. The survey asked teachers what they thought of certain classroom behaviors and whether those behaviors were acceptable or not. Marcene Olsen, Manager of the Safety and Loss Prevention Office highlighted the most looked down upon behaviors pointed out by teachers.

Doing unrelated activities in class such as reading a newspaper, doing homework for other classes, or checking Facebook was sometimes or often an issue for 64% of the teachers who took the survey.

Behaviors that caused students to not pay attention during class included chatting in class, which 74% found a concern, and texting which 64% found a problem. 79% said that arriving late or leaving class early was an issue, but comments indicated that arriving late and disrupting the classroom was a much bigger issue than having to leave early.

84% said that being unprepared for class was sometimes/often a problem, while 78% also said that they considered it unacceptable. 50% said that students dominating the class discussion was an issue. §

Some of the most often mentioned negative behaviors from the teachers were gossiping, inappropriate use of technology in class, interrupting others, loud talking, or divisive/negative speech. Also mentioned in the survey by teachers was selfishness, inflexibility, a lack of respect, and a lack of empathy.

“Some bad behaviors seen as very disruptive when they’re seen, but their rarely seen, so you have to balance that type of behavior with the impact on the class.” said Olsen.

Every so often large outbursts from students happen around campus. The kind of class disruptions where campus security needs to get involved have a much larger negative impact on the classroom environment.

Last term there was an incident where a student stood up in class and threatened a female student who had told him to be quiet, the teacher asked him to leave, saying that there was no place for that kind of behavior, and even had security come to class the next day in case the student came back. Gender or racially based conflicts/harassment like that cause the most impact on classroom environments when they happen.

“While they may not happen often. they can have a big impact effect how safe students feel on campus,” said Olsen.

It’s the instructor’s responsibility to manage their classroom, but different teachers have vastly different levels of tolerance when handling student behavior. “Some are just not good at it,” said Alice Sperling, Coordinator for The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence here at LB.

For teaching college, Sperling explained, teachers don’t need to have taken any courses in preparation for teaching. “They need to be highly educated about their subject, and we try to hire teachers that are experienced, but that doesn’t mean that they know anything (about teaching)…. Some teachers come into the classroom thinking that they need an iron control over the students.”

When a conflict occurs and reaches a point where the student need to be excluded from the classroom, that student or students go and see Sandra Shinkle, the Associate Dean of Student Services.

Shinkle works with the students who’ve violated the student Code of Conduct. She receives a complaint from an instructor or member of the staff, and have a meeting with the student who’s having/causing a problem in the classroom. Usually it’s communication gone sideways, but the excluded student must meet with her before being allowed to rejoin the class.

She rarely meets a student who doesn’t wish to go back. After that, she brings the conflicting parties together, and with a conversation they reach common ground.

Linn Benton Community college had a civility forum this last Wednesday the 10th to discuss student levels of politeness and civility on campus. Anyone was invited to come to the DAC to discuss their reactions to a civility survey that went out to all LB students over email. The forum went through each question of the survey and had a discussion with students on what things the campus should be focusing on to improve civility here on campus.

In contrast to the survey, four teachers were asked about the student body’s level of civility and they answered favorably. When asked about his students, English Teacher Peter Jenson explained that they were mostly very polite, and even that he’d prefer for them to express themselves more in class. “I like to talk a little rough in class sometimes, so I don’t mind if they do too,” said Jenson.

Karelia Stetz-Waters, also from the English department, said that “There are a few who need to work on it, but students tend to be civil.”

Kelly Ferrell, a Biology teacher said that a lot of the students are great, and respectful, “but it’s always the small few who make up the dynamics of the class.”

Dan Stone, the Theatre Director said that LB students are generally civil, but one of the biggest problems that he sees is attendance. “It all comes down to the fact that you are shelling out money for your classes. So come and get everything you can out of them.”

Dale Hummel | Contributing Writer

The beautiful 2011 Miss Oregon, Caroline McGowan, shows off her elegance while promoting heath and safety on campus. by Mike Rivera

Last Wednesday’s weather was a beautiful backdrop for the LBCC Safety Fair in the court yard. There were several representatives from safety groups and organizations from around the campus and the community to inform and entertain the public and students of safety features, practices, and services on and around the LB campus.

The fair featured such organizations as the Albany Police Department, LBCC student nurses, Linn County Mental Health, Kidco Head Start, the LBCC Amateur Radio Club, and the Linn County Amateur Radio Emergency Service group and more. Even health and medical organizations made a presence.

Mandy Clark, a nursing student at LB, was practicing with her heart pressure sleeve at the LBCC nursing table on Brigid Clark, (no relation). Brigid’s blood pressure was a little high, but she is fine.

The Albany Police was there showing off their K9 patrol car. Officer Davis informed us the car does not have a Hemi, but is does have a nice V-6. The dog is highly trained and very pleasant.

Pam Woitt and Mellisa Bergstrom from Kidco Head Start were speaking the glories of the Head Start organization and voiced their need for volunteers.

Even the LBCC safety office was there showing off their ability to extinguish a fire and giving out information on all the services that is offered to the LBCC student.

Last but not least, The LBCC, Amateur Radio Club, (call sign K7LBC), and the Linn County Amateur Radio Services group was there presenting their skills in communication and answering questions asked by students about ham radio. Even the LBCC mascot came by to see what was going on.

The fair presented several services and organizations to help the LBCC student, and anyone to keep safe. Everyone seemed to enjoy the beautiful day and the informative activities.

For more information on anything in the Safety Fair, please contact the LBCC safety office at 541-917-4309. For more information on the Linn County Amateur Radio Emergency Services group, go to www.qsl.net/lcares.
Watch video bt Mike Rivera

Alan Boone | Contributing Writer

Being safe and secure on campus is one of LBCC’s top priorities, but not many students know what to do in case of an emergency situation. There are different procedures and protocols for many different situations and emergencies, so it’s very hard to keep track of what to do in each.

If you go to the campus website there is a plethora of information on what to do in certain emergencies like fire or even a secure lockdown like we experienced last summer. There are detailed maps for fire evacuation routes, procedures for “sheltering in place”, and other information on how to keep you and others safe while attending class, working or having fun here at Linn-Benton.

Maps are always good to have. I suggest downloading and printing a copy of the maps provided on the campus website. They are very detailed and will be able to show you where to go during times of crisis.

The link is found directly at the top of LBCC’s page (www.linnbenton.edu) labeled “Maps.” If you scroll down to the “About Us” section you will find a link that says “Public Safety.” There you will find many resources to help educate yourself on following the proper procedures during major emergencies.

Within that link you will also find links services offered by Campus Security, LBCC CARE team which assesses potential threats here on campus, safety plans, training, information on the safety committee, and most importantly the LBCC public safety contact information.

It would be a good idea to have contact information handy. Put the numbers (541-917-4440 or for 24/7 emergencies call 541-926-6855) in your phone or write them on a sticky not and put them in your wallet or purse.

LBCC public safety patrols the campus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you don’t have a phone, there are emergency phones wired directly to the security office for your convenience. They are the red boxes you see outside of each building’s main entrances.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Marcene Olson: Safety and Loss Prevention Manager for LBCC’s public safety. Her number is 541-917-4440. Enjoy the nice weather that we are starting to see and be safe Roadrunners!

Michael Rivera | Videographer

Time is money in the news business; therefore, young journalist are learning how to take people’s time using social media. Social media has undoubtedly changed the journalism business; now, it getting newspapers around the world to converge and pioneer their own success via the web.

Alex McDougall, Social Media Coordinator/Photographer for the Oregon Daily Emerald (University of Oregon‘s student newspaper), spoke of the importance of social media outlets in student newspapers. He explained how to properly use these mediums, since not always they are effective.

Alex McDougall, Social Media Coordinator/Photographer for the Oregon Daily Emerald . by Mike Rivera

“You need to figure out how to use Twitter and Facebook to help promote your newspapers and your own brand,” says McDougall.

McDougall spoke at one of the three concurrent seminars held by the ONPA Collegiate Day at LBCC, on May 11. With over 90 students and faculty from all around Oregon in attendance, the event was packed with much information to help and encourage the new journalist into continuing down that path.

McDougall explained an interesting concept that his web designer constructed; taking Instagram photos that were geotagged within three kilometers of the University of Oregon campus and posting them on a separate website for the students to access. It is called “The Garage” on the Daily Emerald’s website.

“This doesn’t break copyright laws since people have to physically make the decision to geotag themselves in a picture,” says McDougall.

He described the use of Twitter in several different ways: news aggregator, sources & stories, networking tools and building your resume in 140 characters.

“Be picky; don’t want to follow a bunch of your friends who tweet irrelevant information. Follow things, such as breaking news, national news, local news, and magazines. This is so you have interesting content, which you can curate,” says McDougall.

Since its creation, Twitter has become a necessity in the journalism world. It comes with the ability to post information with short, concise statement to catch the reader’s attention and to promoting information that will help all the people in your network.

“Ask yourself if you would follow yourself on Twitter and you’ll see if your account is successful. Talk to your readers, community members; this is all tied in with promoting yourself,” says McDougall.

McDougall stressed the need to use bit.ly links, in order to track the following of your links. Bit.ly is a website created to take links you find and convert them with a tracking system. So every time someone clicks that link, it registers and keeps a record for you. Ultimately, this helps the journalist see what their readers are interested in.

“Know when your audience is on Twitter. It’s all about the immediacy of the information,” says McDougall.

McDougall briefly mention Facebook and blogging as a means to promote “your brand without spamming.” He spent less time talking about Facebook, since it was more based on the individual. He did mention the use of Stumbleupon as a way to increase views of photo stories.

“Use contest on Facebook to bring in more views. Stuff that has blogs that cover information that has happened today also works, as well,” says McDougall.

Most people think that being a journalist means that these social media sites are just be strictly professional. McDougall argues that it will this could get boring to the viewers. Thus, he ended with advice to young journalist to be themselves.

“Let your personality come through on your online resume. Tweet, Facebook, or blog about things you doing in college, not just your work,” says McDougall.

Hiwot Kassahun | Contributing Writer

Photo courtesy of Corvallis Sister Cities Assn.

Let us walk together on Saturday, May 19, to bring safe water to the people of Ethiopia! This Saturday come to the Benton County Fairgrounds to undertake a meaningful journey, walking 5K, the same distance that countless women and children in developing nations must travel to bring water to their families each day.

Corvallis has had a sister city partnership with Gondar, Ethiopia, since 2005. Citizens and city officials from Corvallis and Gondar have worked jointly to identify mutual goals, which have formed the basis of the Corvallis Gondar Sister Cities Association.

Water is one of life’s most basic needs. Nearly a billion people lack access to a safe water supply, so all of the proceeds from this charitable event will go towards drilling wells in Gondar, Ethiopia. After the Walk participants are encouraged to stay for a lunch of authentic Ethiopian food.

EVENT SCHEDULE

• 8:30 a.m. – Registration/Check-in at Benton County Fairgrounds (110 SW 53rd Street, Corvallis)
• 9:30 a.m. – Start 5K (3.1miles) Walk
• 10 a.m.-1 p.m. “Market Village” with Ethiopian food and a special blend of Ethiopian coffee, live music, kids area, and nonprofit booths.

Price: Individual: $10, Family 3 or more: $30

Kay Roth | Staff Writer

via Twitter

John Canzano, sports columnist for The Oregonian, was the keynote speaker at the Oregon Newspaper Foundation’s annual Collegiate Day, held at Linn-Benton Community College on Friday, May 11 in the school’s commons area. Canzano was introduced by Ryan Frank, the publisher of the Oregon Daily Emerald.

Canzano’s goal for the day was to share something he learned about journalism at each of his stops before landing at The Oregonian.

“You are never as good or as bad as you think you are,” he told the nearly 100 collegiate journalists and their instructors. He said the newspaper business is not dying but “has changed and reinvented itself.” Canzano observed that he never expected that, in addition to the newspaper, he was also doing television and radio shows.

Probably his best piece of advice in his hour long talk was to “stay flexible but stay true to the content.” He said that journalists who are flexible and open-minded are the ones who thrive.

Canzano described how he had, at age 17, gone to his local newspaper, asking to write editorials. His pitch was that he could bring a new voice to the paper. The editor decided to give him a chance and Canzano wrote a commentary on the lack of respect from people during the National Anthem during a high school football game. From there, he wrote one commentary a month before going off to college.

Following his graduation, he taught English and Spanish at a public high school but decided that was not what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. His first newspaper job was for that same small community newspaper where he found himself as the lone sports writer. He had found his niche. “You have to love this if you are going to excel,” he told the collegiate journalists. “It didn’t feel like work to me,” he said of his sports writing job.

He moved up to the Santa Cruz Sentinel where suddenly, he became recognized as “a sports guy.” With the title came reporting on sports he really didn’t know a lot about. “I learned how to write about them.” His goal was to connect with the people so he could get something that was compelling to write about.

Next, Canzano found himself at the Fort Wayne News Sentinel where he covered Indiana basketball during Bobby Knight’s heyday and Notre Dame football. “This is where I learned how to cover a beat.” In order to get good stories on a consistent basis, “I never turned my tape recorder off.” He also learned how to work for a bad boss until he decided to quit.

He drove from Ft. Wayne to Tallahassee, Florida, “for no reason,” deciding he was done with the news business. He got a job at Barnes & Noble and applied for grad school at Florida State University. As the sports season drifted further away, he realized he missed writing.

Unbeknownst to Canzano, the Fresno Bee was searching for him to offer him a job. He went through a number of interviews before meeting up with the man who would become his mentor, Charley Waters. “I was 28 years old and the youngest sports columnist in that size paper in the country.” He was thrilled and he heeded Waters’ advise. “There’s no more influential person than Charley.” He said he always paid attention to what Waters said. “It’s like having a grandpa who knows the business.” He encouraged everyone to find their mentor.

He was a finalist for a job at the Chicago Tribune but didn’t get it. Canzano’s dream job was to work for the San Jose newspaper but when he got it, he realized the news business had shifted. He knew he needed to find an angle to be happy.

That was when the Oregonian discovered him. He went to Portland for an informal interview, thinking that he could stay in San Jose as the number five sports reporter in a large market or move to a smaller market but as the number one columnist. He called the move a no brainer.

He writes about people- not just the Blazers or Ducks. He finds an angle. A great example was a story he mentioned written the end of April. He wrote about a young girl with Downs Syndrome who not only gained Canzano’s respect but also that of the other athletes and parents at a local youth track meet.

“Don’t let anyone tell you this industry is dying.” He said it is changing but that journalists are still important to people. As to the collegiate journalists, his advice is to get that dream job and “make it your own.”

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Kay Roth | Staff Writer

Author Joyce Carol Oates. by Kay Roth

On Wednesday, May 9, the ballroom at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center on the OSU campus almost filled to capacity to hear world renowned author Joyce Carol Oates. The author was recently named the first recipient of the OSU Stone Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement and was scheduled to receive the actual award the following day. Her words, her smile and her quick wit when answering questions kept audience members mesmerized for over an hour.

Lawrence Rodgers, the executive dean of the Division of Arts and Sciences at OSU began the evening with a welcome, some special thanks and a brief description of the Stone Award. He also thanked Marjorie Sandor and Molly Brown and her staff at the OSU Foundation.

Keith Scribner, an English and Creative Writing associate professor, then had the privilege of introducing Oates. He gave a brief bio of Oates’ accomplishments and some of the reasons why she was receiving the inaugural Stone Award. “Her work compels us, speaks to us like no others.” He added that it is easy to get lost in Oates’s words. “To read Oates is to be inhabited by her.”

Oates took the podium with a rousing welcome by the audience. She spoke briefly about her writing, especially regarding the many voices she uses in her stories. “All the voices become universal voices,” she said before beginning with the first short story of the night, San Quentin.

Set in the famous California prison, the story is based partly on her own experience teaching there. The audience listened in rapt attention as Oates’ wove the narrative, using two of the voices she spoke of earlier. The story had two very distinct voices- that of the teacher and that of the prisoner. She also used many descriptive analogies to move the story along.

Brutal Murder in a Public Place proved to be a rather whimsical story about a bird stuck in the Newark Airport. Oates explained that the story came to her when she was in that airport and heard a bird chirping inside the airport. After she completed the reading, she said this was another voice that she decided needed to be heard. “It’s a strange story,” she added.

With Scribner moderating, Oates spent the next half hour or so answering questions. She also offered up some words of wisdom. “Most passionate writing is not premeditated.” She told the audience that she likes to write about common people and become the “voice of forgotten people.”

One of the things I found the most interesting was how easily and quickly she was able to answer some of the questions. She also showed a lot of humor, especially when bantering back and forth with Scribner.

Oates’s successes with the printed word gives hope that books will indeed survive. The thoughts of Jeff Jarvis about killing books to reinvent them did not seem to be relevant in Oates’s world. She firmly believes in sharing the written word in both her books and when she gives readings. As she was signing autographs after the reading, it was very obvious that she enjoyed the experience of interacting with readers. Would that happen if no books were being offered for autographs?

Matt Chatham, contributing writer

“Are you a student in the mid

Albany Democrat-Herald building (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

-valley who thinks the newspaper should do more to report on topics of interest to young people?” This comes from a notice that has been running for several weeks in the Albany Democrat-Herald and Corvallis Gazette-Times that is aimed at generating interest among youths for a new Lifestyles feature in the Sunday edition.

Yet to be named, the feature will provide a forum and outlet for the creativity of young writers, photographers, and artists in the Albany-Corvallis region and will be operated mainly by the students themselves in order to gain hands-on journalistic experience.

The venture is being spearheaded at the DH by Steve Lundeberg, current Associate Editor and editor of the former section entitled “Young Voices,” a similar project which was axed some years ago in the attempt to“save pennies,” as he puts it.

According to Lundeberg, the DH had been looking for some time for something to “spice up” the Sunday edition; inspired in part by the media class that I was taking at the time, I happened to bring up the possibility of a youth paper at what was apparently the most fortuitous of times.

Lundeberg said that the idea was received well at the office, partly due to the popularity of Young Voices: although it was eventually ended due to financial constraints, the former section was quite successful not only with youth, but also with the general readership who appreciated a younger perspective.

Two weeks ago at an organizational meeting, about half a dozen students met to discuss ideas and were given a tour of the premises. The group is diverse in age, interests, and experience, with one, Rachel Bulder, currently the editor-in-chief of South Albany High School’s “Sentry.”

“I believe participating in this project would benefit me in so many ways,” she said when explaining her interest. “I would love to get the chance to feature some of my articles in the Democrat Herald. It would provide me with experience on how an actual newspaper works, which I would love to attain.”

The project is still in the planning stage; for instance, it has yet to be given any certain name. At the moment the aim is to continue generating interest and getting together a team, in hopes of making a “splashy” launch in the fall.

The section will accept a broad array of submissions, including photographs, news articles, commentary, poems, and comics; especially needed are those with graphic design skills.

Anyone who is interested in having their work published or wishes to make suggestions is encouraged to send an email to news@dhonline.com; in two hundred words or less please explain why you are interested in the project and provide a short bio of yourself. In the email’s subject line, please put “youth journalism.”

William Allison | Contributing Writer

Recycling bins around campus. by Mike Rivera

In looking around campus, the parking lot in particular, it’s easy to see the amount of litter that is scattered about, and sometimes it leaves people wondering if anybody even cleans it up.

According to Kevin Lacey, the Associate Director of Facilities, there really isn’t anyone in particular to take care of this. Linn-Benton only has two groundskeepers, and two custodians, so the janitorial staff picks up the trash as they see it.

Due to budget cuts and lack of funding, the school has lost a groundskeeper and two custodians in the past few years, leaving LBCC with fewer than ever janitorial staff to take care of the 100+ acres that makes up the campus.

“We appreciate the folks that use the trash containers,” Lacey said.  “There really isn’t any reason to just dump [trash] outside your car.”

He went on to say that when enough trash builds up, it can clog the storm drains, causing parts of campus to flood.

What can you do to help?
First and foremost, pick up your trash.  You may not think that a single candy wrapper will make a difference, but when hundreds of other people do the same thing, it adds up.  There are not enough janitorial staff to go around campus picking up trash all the time; they have many other things to keep up on.

If you see a piece of trash, pick it up.  Instead of passing by that McDonald’s bag and Dutch Bros cup, pick it up, and simply toss it in the closest trashcan, or better yet, recycle it.  In addition to the countless trashcans around campus, students also have the option to recycle.

Bookstore manager Lawrence LaJoie has been working hard to continue and expand the efforts of Green Club Advisor Lori Fluge-Brunker, who helped expand the recycling program to students many years ago.

Support the recycling program.  LaJoie has come up with an idea to fund the current recycling program by making merchandise and using all of the proceeds from that.  The green-on-black t-shirts, hoodies, water bottles, and lanyards that are sold at the bookstore have raised about $1,800 so far, which has purchased six of the three part recycling units that can be found around campus.  Ideally, LaJoie would like to have at least 12-14 of the $300 units on campus.

When asked about the litter that can be seen on campus, he said, “It’s disgusting; I question the respect of the students for the campus they’re a part of.”

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