Brianne Ries

The ninth annual UFO Festival, also know as Alien Daze, will begin its celebration today with events
ranging from foil-decorated floats to pet costume contests.

The festival, started by McMenamins Hotel Oregon in 1999, celebrates one of the most credible UFO
sightings to date.

On May 8, 1950, a farmer and his wife saw and photographed what appeared to be an unidentified flying object hovering over their farm in McMinnville.

“It becomes like a conference (for) people who are serious about UFOs along with the silliness of the parade and the pet show,” Jean Caspers, reference and instruction librarian, said.

Friday at 7 p.m. there will be three events catering to college students, local residents, Klingons and coneheads from all over the region.

The  McMinnville Community Center will host author Richard Dolan and filmmaker and director Robert Nichol to discuss everything from UFO sightings to crop circles. Tickets will be sold for $10.

McMenamins will be hosting the band Kirby Swatosh and the Moon Rock Patrol in the cellar bar for audiences 21 and older. The Luminescent Orchestra will perform in Mattie’s Room, which is
open to all ages.

At 7 p.m., there will be a one-mile costume fun run for all ages. More information, and registration forms for the run can be found at www.mcmenamins.com/ufofest07/AlienDaysFunRun.pdf.

Vendors will begin selling merchandise on Evans Street Saturday at 9 a.m. At 9:30 a.m. Nichol’s film “Star Dreams” will be shown at the McMinnville Community Center followed by a discussion. Tickets will be available at the door for $10.

Third Street will host the UFO parade at 1 p.m. Attendants are encouraged to dress up themselves, their children and their pets.

Following the parade at 2 p.m. there will be an alien pet costume contest at the U.S. Bank Plaza. The contest is not limited to dogs and cats and lists turtles and snakes as potential contenders for the award, according to the McMenamins Web site.

In McMenamins’ at 2 p.m., the Willamette Radio Workshop will be doing a live performance in Mattie’s rooms of “The Thing.”

The Alien Daze Ball will be held at 7 p.m. in Mattie’s Room at McMenamins, for Earthlings 21 and older.  Dress up in your best alien disguise and listen to the music of Big Mama Gayle and Her
Sugar Daddies.

Katie Paysinger

Even after the end of housing registration on May 9, rooms are still filling quickly, and it appears just enough rooms and apartments will be available for incoming students next fall.

Jeff Mackay, director of Residence Life, said there were 483 spaces still available in residence halls, and 47 apartments still available on campus. He said he hopes to have more filled in the coming weeks, while still allowing housing for incoming freshman, transfers and exchange students.

“Last year, we had a lot of leftover housing,” Mackay said. “This year we won’t have as many (suburbs left). It really depends on the size of the incoming senior class and transfer students.”

Student Services likes to hold eight to 10 apartments for transfer students in the fall.

“Sometimes students who filed an exemption form to live off campus don’t find anything they like,” Mackay said. “When they ask to come live on campus, we like to have something available.”

Mackay said housing registration went smoothly last week. He said there are never enough quad or double-occupancy apartments. This year, the Green Apartments filled quickly, which was unusual.

In the residence halls, Jane Failing Hall was yet again a popular choice for students, as were Terrell and Elkinton halls where the rooms have sinks.

Freshman Janelle Miller was one of the eager residents hoping to get a room in Jane Failing Hall.

“(My roommates and I) really wanted to be able to get a triple in Jane,” Miller said. “But people with more credits kept taking the good rooms.”  

Mackay said more and more students are entering Linfield with as many as 30 credits from high school.

“Even coming in with just a few credits gets you ahead in the ballgame,” Mackay said.

Ties were broken in extreme circumstances by whoever had the lowest identification card number.

“What made it worse was that it was our fault we didn’t have more credits,” Miller said.

Vacant rooms left over after registration are still filling quickly in Mackay’s office. On Monday, Mackay filled 13 spots in 50 minutes and was expecting to fill more.

He is encouraging around 200 students who have registered for fall semester
classes, but have neglected to arrange housing, to do so immediately. E-mails have been sent to persuade students to find adequate off campus housing or to register with him in Student Services, located in Melrose Hall Room 110.

Amber McKenna

The first Spring Photo Contest hosted by the Office of Admission will give students a chance to win prizes for their everyday snapshots.

The contest is the first of its kind and features four categories: dorm-room shots, on-campus adventures, off-campus adventures and study abroad. Admissions marketing assistant Aaron Larsen is in charge of the contest. He said it was created because the admissions staff believed it was not capturing all Linfield moments with the candid and posed pictures currently used on college promotional materials.

“We have all sorts of professional shots,” Larsen said. “We want photos that show college life.”

Larsen said he has seen many pictures that would be perfect for the contest while browsing on
facebook.

A similar competition on campus is the annual International Programs photo contest, which offers prizes for pictures students have taken while abroad.

“Our offices share pictures all the time, and we think (the contest is) a great idea,” International Programs Assistant Marie Schmidt said.

Like the International Programs photo contest, prizes will be awarded in each category. First place winners will receive $35, second place $25 and third place $10. However, the biggest reward is to have one’s photos used for future Linfield publications.

Photos will be judged by the admissions staff on originality, creativity and overall quality.

Larsen said extra points will be awarded if photos feature more than one Linfield student and if students are wearing any type of Linfield memorabilia.

Larsen said there is no limit to the number of photos contestants are allowed to submit, but contestants will only be allowed to receive one prize per category.

The deadline for submitting photos has been extended to May 23. CDs and entry forms can be turned into the Office of Admission in Michelbook House or campus mail unit number A448.

For more information on the contest, visit
www.linfield.edu/admission/contest.

Claire Oliver

Wildstock 2008 will continue to build on its success from the previous years, bringing new attractions, providing more food and increasing club involvement.

The festival, coordinated by the Linfield Activities Board, will be held from 4 – 7 p.m. today on the Riley Intramural field.

Wildstock will feature a variety of attractions including a rock-climbing wall, an acroflight machine, a mechanical bull and a surf machine. Face painting, henna tattoos and tie-dye booths are back by popular demand, along with more than a dozen others sponsored by campus clubs and organizations.

The Spanish club will host piñata bashing and serve tamales. The Feel Good club will hand out grilled-cheese sandwiches and the Democrat’s Club will let students try their hand at fast-pitch baseball.

Greek Life will not only help set up, serve food and work the rides, but will have booths of their own.

Students will have the chance to take home prizes from a relay race, among other competitions to be held; campus radio station KSLC 90.3 will be handing out giveaways.

All activities are free for Linfield students.

The involvement of campus clubs highlights the diversity of student interests on campus.

“So many different groups come together (for Wildstock),” Kasey Richter, ASLC vice president of programming, said. “It’s a way to mingle and meet different types of people.”

Wildstock, which until last year centered on a day-long festival of musical acts, saw an increased turnout from its carnival format and chose to expand on that atmosphere for this year’s event.

This year will feature more local cuisine, as last year the food supply ran short.

Muchas Gracias, El Primo Mexican Foods, Cold Stone Creamery, Chan’s Chinese Restaurant and Thai Country Restaurant will contribute. There will be a wide selection of dishes including chicken pad Thai, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and Oregon burritos. Drinks will be provided by Sodexho.

By holding the traditional Wildstock concert Thursday night, LAB was able to showcase the performers and build on the goals of past event coordinators.

“One of the goals of my predecessor, Jody Witt, was to bring bigger names to Linfield,” Richter said.

Thursday’s concert featured campus favorite Tyrone Wells whose song, “What Are We Fighting For”, has recently been playing on national airwaves. Jason Reeves, who opened for Wells, collaborated with Colbie Caillat for her debut album and can be heard in her latest single “Realize.”

“We’ve lost a lot of traditions over the years,” Richter said. “We really wanted to emphasize the ones we have and create new ones.”

Wildstock, she said, is a fitting way to bring the school year to a close and bring back tradition.

“It’s a great way to end off the year, to talk a break from studying and the stress that comes with finals,” sophomore Liz Bell, audio/visual coordinator for LAB, said. “It’s celebrating everything you’ve accomplished throughout the year.”

Jordan Jacobo

In the wake of a large drug bust at San Diego State University on May 6, Linfield administrators and faculty are taking a closer look at the realities and implications of drug use on campus.

More than 75 students at the California university were arrested for involvement in a drug ring. About $100,000 worth of marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription drugs was found during raids of three SDSU fraternity houses.

Last month at Reed College in Portland, a freshman was found dead in his dorm room from a heroine overdose. It was the second time heroine had been found at the school during this academic year.

These two incidents have sparked a discussion at Linfield about the prevalence of drug use.

Director of Campus Safety Mike Dressel said illicit drugs are a concern of his, whether or not they are on campus. In the past two years, LCS has encountered drugs several times.

“It’s a very small percentage of the student body we’ve become involved with,” Dressel said. “Drugs are here–to what level, I’m not sure. I’m not convinced it is going to be a high-volume issue for campus safety.”

Dressel said he could not envision a large-scale drug ring like the one at SDSU being present at Linfield. Campus safety’s priority is enforcing the policies of the college, not acting as a campus police, he said.

According to the 2007 Linfield Health Behavior Survey, 12 percent of students had smoked marijuana in the past 30 days. This percentage has been relatively steady since 2003.

Linfield’s usage rate has significantly dropped since 2001, when the survey showed 24 percent of students had smoked marijuana in the past 30 days.

Susan Chambers, adjunct professor of health and human performance, said the trends are often more important than the raw numbers. According to a comparative study of seven Oregon colleges and universities, Linfield has a much lower usage rate than other campuses.

“It’s a self-reported survey, so some people are going to underestimate and some will overestimate their actual use,” Chambers said. “But from year to year, populations will do that at the same rate.”

Chambers said marijuana is popular because it is cheaper and easier to obtain than most drugs.

Director of Residence Life Jeff Mackay said other drugs on campus, such as cocaine, heroine and methamphetamine, have low usage rates.

Mackay said illicit drug use is still a concern for the college.

Residence Life and campus safety have the right to search a room if it is suspected of holding drugs, Mackay said. Suspicion usually arises from the smell of marijuana smoke in a hall or because of complaints, he said.

Mackay said 14 students were cited for violating the college drug policy last year.

“Often times, when we run into those situations, and it’s apparent that marijuana is being used, the students are very cooperative and will simply hand over the paraphernalia and the drugs,” he said.

Mackay said the school only involves the McMinnville Police Department if it finds large-scale possession or evidence of distribution. This has not happened this year.

Drug violations are treated in conjunction with alcohol violations for students. A three-strike policy is used, and both drug and alcohol incidents are counted toward the three violations.

“It’s an educational process first and foremost,” Mackay said.

Dominic Baez

With the Oregon Democratic primary four days away, it is more important than ever for students to participate in what is shaping up to be an election of epic proportions.

With the race for the Democratic presidential nomination so close this year, it seems Oregon will have a say in which candidate will receive the nomination. However, with a narrow gap between the candidates, some think that might not be true.

“Oregon isn’t really important,” senior Corey Crowley-Hall, co-president of Linfield Democrats club, said. “With the race being so close, it’s going to be decided by Superdelegates. (Our primary) won’t be enough to push any candidate over for the nomination.”

He said it is now a race aimed at convincing the Superdelegates, not the general population.

Crowley-Hall said he believes  state official positions are extremely important and students should be taking special interest in those elections.

“Certainly, the presidential race is important, but the Oregon primary is just not as meaningful when the race is this close,” Crowley-Hall said.

Crowley-Hall also said the current electoral process leaves much to be desired, and it is in need
of massive reform.

“Because of the current system, states like Oregon, which are later in the process, are disenfranchised from the voting system,” he said.

That is not general consensus among students, though. Junior Josh Planton, president of Linfield Republicans club, said this primary is quite important, at least where it concerns Republicans.

“Oregon could give Hillary (Clinton) the push she needs to stay in the race,” Planton said. “Or it could be the final slash for her.”

However, he did agree the Oregon primary is not a big concern, considering how close the race is.

Planton said the Democratic primary is too close to call at the moment. Planton said because Oregon was more prone to vote for Sen. Obama, Sen. McCain still needs to push hard to secure votes for the general election.

“As a Republican, this close race is somewhat good for us,” Planton said. “However, McCain still has some problems to face.”

McCain will have to work hard in order to stand a chance in the West Coast states, Planton said, because those states tend to be more Democrat than Republican.

The 2008 Oregon Democratic primary is a mail-only primary. Ballots were mailed to registered Democratic voters between May 2 and 6. To be counted, all ballots must be received by county elections offices by 8 p.m. on May 20. It is a closed primary, and voters must have registered Democrats by April 29 to be eligible to vote in any of the partisan races.

News:

- Wildstock preview
- Bill Apel Award
- 2008 photo contest/IPO issue
- Oregon Primary Elections
- Alien Daze preview
- Leftover housing
- Drugs on campus update

Features:
- Best Java
- Brew Master

Arts:
- Studio practices and senior thesis exhibit
- Spring choral concert
- Comedian preview

Sports:
- Track
- Column
- NWC all-league for baseball/softball
- Baseball
- Men’s golf
- Softball