A Linfield junior’s passion for leadership in the health care field was highlighted when she was elected vice president of the National Student Nurses Association.

Margaret Ngai received the position during the NSNA 59 Annual Convention April 6-10 in Salt Lake City.

She will be vice president of the 56,000-member organization, which provides professional development opportunities and networking for future health care practitioners.

The campaign process at the convention was hard work and time intensive. Ngai said it was filled with attending state caucus presentations, giving speeches and answering questions from delegates. She attended the convention with her campaign manager, senior Stephanie Griffin.

Ngai said the campaign process and her involvement in the NSNA have sharpened a variety of different personal skills and allowed her to build new relationships in the health care field.

“My public speaking skills were definitely refined,” Ngai said. “I also gained a broader understanding of health care from other students across the country. It was cool to hear that people from Arkansas, Maine and Hawaii all share the same concerns about the field.”

Her vice presidential duties include chairing the bylaws and membership committees as well as sitting in on other committee meetings and traveling within the country to give presentations at state conventions.

Ngai said one of her main goals for her term is to make the NSNA more accessible to average nursing students.

“NSNA is what you put into it. There are tremendous professional development opportunities for those who engage themselves in the organization,” Ngai said. “At the same time, we want to make sure that there are benefits for people who can’t dedicate a lot of spare time.”

Ngai’s involvement with the NSNA began during her first day of nursing school when she attended a meeting for the Linfield chapter of the organization.

She said she went to a state conference three weeks later and ran for a state-level position.

This passion for leadership and involvement stemmed from the example her mother set, Ngai said.

“I grew up in an environment that emphasized the importance of getting involved in professional organizations,” she said. “My mother was the executive director of Oregon Women Lawyers, so I remember following her to meetings and events as a child.”

Before enrolling in Linfield’s nursing program, Ngai earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from Portland State University. She said it was a convenient way to take a wide range of classes while completing prerequisites for nursing school.

“I didn’t know I wanted to be a nurse until I was about 18 years old, but health care encompasses a lot of my interests,” Ngai said. “I like science, I like helping people and I like learning.”

Ngai said she hopes to use her experience in the NSNA and her nursing education to impact how health care policies are made, she said.
“I think that the things I’ll learn in the NSNA will definitely help down the road,” she said. “In nursing, we clearly need health care reform. I hope to work on some of those issues eventually.”

Joanna Peterson/Culture editor
Joanna Peterson can be reached at linfieldreviewculture@gmail.com.

The Political Science Department-sponsored Student Debate Series continued April 21 with a four-person debate on the topic of Iran with the following resolution: “A nuclear-armed Iran poses a clear and present threat to the United States.”

The teams were divided into the affirmative, sophomore Kyle Jenkins and junior Brock Johns, and the opposition, senior Jeff Porter and sophomore Keenan Salisbury.

Jenkins and Johns opened the debate stating that Iran’s threat to the United States is largely through its production of nuclear weapons and hostility toward Israel, one of the United States’ greatest allies. Jenkins also brought up the possibility of Iran supplying nuclear weapons to al-Qaida and the dangerous implications that could bring for the United States considering its current involvement in the Middle East.

Porter and Salisbury responded with the definition of a clear and present danger, stating that Iran’s nuclear program is not an immediate concern as the materials to make nuclear weapons have been accessible for years and not one has been produced. He added that it takes seven years for a nuclear weapons construction and that if one was completed and launched by Iran, the missile would not even reach the United States.

After making opening arguments and each conducting three-minute cross examinations, the teams moved into their final rebuttals.

The affirmative ended by proposing that the United States put restrictions on Iran’s involvement in nuclear activities, give more funding to the anti-Iran governments and conduct a cyber attack and then a strategic airstrike on nuclear facilities.

The opposition concluded its arguments, suggesting that the United States create a more constructive, engaged and responsible Iran instead of bombing the nation into submission.

Salisbury quoted Obama in his final statements.

“We should talk to friends and enemies alike,” he said.

Salisbury, a political science major, said that although he debated the opposition, he is impartial to the topic.

“I enjoyed looking at both sides,” he said. “I can’t say I feel strongly one way or the other.”

For Johns, his research for the affirmative influenced his opinion.

“I’m not entirely for the side I argued, but it seems Iran is a threat,” he said.

A finance major, Johns said he chose to take Assistant Professor of Political Science Pat Cottrell’s U.S. Foreign Policy and Debate course to participate in the debates.

“I chose this class because it seemed fun and focused on different issues than what I normally see in the business department,” he said. “This is my first debate; the biggest issue [in preparing for debate] is finding credible information and formulating it in a way that will change someone’s ideas.”

Following the debate, Cottrell tallied the responses from the audience to determine who won. He revealed that the opposition had the most persuasive arguments.
The next Student Debate Series event will take place at 2:35 p.m. on April 28 in Ice Auditorium. Students will discuss the topic of
democracy promotion.

Felicia Weller/Copy editor
Felicia Weller can be reached at linfieldreviewcopy@gmail.com.

Police blocked off Walker Sesquicentennial Plaza on April 10 after discovering the body of Chad Alan Brown, 23, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Students and McMinnville community members are expressing outrage concerning the treatment of the suspected suicide case that occurred on campus April 10.

A McMinnville Police Department statement featured in a campus-wide email at 8:36 a.m. April 10 said: “McMinnville officers were dispatched to the area of Linfield College near Linfield Avenue and Pioneer Way to check on the welfare of a subject.”

The email said that when they arrived, officers found a deceased male who had suffered what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

However, the investigation is ongoing.

Friends and acquaintances of the victim, 2006 McMinnville High School graduate, Chad Alan Brown, 23, expressed anger about Linfield College Public Safety’s (CPS) removal of the memorial items that were left at the scene for Brown. They also voiced concern about a lack of sensitivity to the case through Facebook comments left on a picture of the first memorial, posted to a friend’s Facebook page.

Melissa Nalley, a 2007 McMinnville High School graduate, said in an email that she was at the site when CPS officers started bagging the items left on the bench where Brown was found, which included flowers she had bought and a poster that she created.

She said that she spoke with the officer who was bagging the items, and he told her it was for safekeeping and gave her the location of where they could be found. The items were given to Brown’s cousin Neil Young and his sister Lindsy Carmen Gjesvold, she said.

Nalley said that she has no idea what happened to the items that have been left since then.

“I feel his [Brown’s] friends and family were disrespected and most importantly, Chad [Brown] was disrespected,” Nalley said in an email. “This not only made campus security look bad, it made the entire student body look bad. Just because he wasn’t ‘affiliated with the school’ doesn’t mean that he means any less, he was a member of the community and there are a lot of people who love him.”

To address the memorial’s removal, several Facebook commenters expressed interest in taking the story to Fox News and to The News-Register in hopes that Linfield College will allow the memorials to take place on its property and to have the items remain intact for a longer period of time.

Flowers and candles adorn the same bench where the body of a McMinnville resident was discovered in front of Walker Hall on April 10. Photo courtesy of Melissa Nalley

When asked about the case, Robert Cepeda, director and chief of College Public Safety, said in an email that the appropriate person to speak with is Director of Communications Mardi Mileham.

Cepeda commented on the situation later, making some clarifications regarding the removal of memorial items.

He said that there has been communication about the memorial items between the police department, Brown’s family and CPS and that the police department is the liaison between CPS and Brown’s family.

Cepeda said that the items were collected as a result of many factors regarding the case, one of them being the sensitivity and impact that it has had on Linfield and members of the McMinnville community.

He also said that it was explained to individuals at the site why the items were being collected and that they would be given to Brown’s family members.

“Memorials can trigger negative reactions from people who have gone through similar experiences, and our first concern is always our students’ and staffs’ emotional and mental safety,” Mileham said.

“It is a difficult situation all the way around and our hearts go out to the family.”

A sign explaining that any items left will be collected and stored at CPS for safekeeping was posted behind the bench on April 12, Cepeda said.

“A life is precious and it saddens me to hear when an individual feels that the only option they have is to take their life,” he said.

A sign explains that College Public Safety will store any items left in memoriam. Braden Smith/Managing editor

Apart from the removal of memorial items, students conveyed concern and disapproval of the communication efforts made by the school.

Senior Garrett Garceau said that the actions taken by the school were not up to par and that there was too long of a delay between the gunshot, the discovery of Brown’s body and the initial release of information.

“Students don’t enjoy being notified that something happened by noticing police everywhere,” Garceau said.

Cepeda addressed this issue saying that an individual, who found Brown, contacted the McMinnville Police Department and officers were dispatched and communicated with CPS officers. At the time of the discovery, the CPS officer on patrol was engaged in another incident involving bicycle thefts and that police department protocol had to be followed before information could be released.

Garceau also said that only saying that the victim suffered a gunshot wound was too vague and that for hours students did not know where the wound was sustained and whether the victim survived or not.

“Linfield still hasn’t sent anything else,” he said. “I had to go to The News-Register to find out more information.”

Mileham and Cepeda said that one thing people need to understand is that the school takes timely notifications seriously, but because it was a police investigation, it took time for the situation to be assessed and the information to be released to the school because there is a protocol that police officers must follow to ensure that the evidence is not destroyed or mishandled. This meant that the school received limited information, but that the most important point made was that there was not a threat to campus.

“When we have an outside entity coming to campus and taking over a part of it, there are delays while waiting for information,” Cepeda said. “Fortunately, the McMinnville Police Department has thorough understanding and a good working relationship with Linfield.”

Garceau said that he has heard too many rumors about the incident and that Linfield needs to step it up and make the necessary clarifications.

“Information is key to cutting shock,” he said.

Regarding sensitivity to the case, Linfield only said that it is offering counseling, Garceau said.

The lack of concealment of the body distressed many students who saw it while taking a stroll or walking to Dillin Hall for brunch April 10.

Police cruisers attempt to shield the area where the body of a deceased 23-year-old was discovered April 10. Braden Smith/Managing editor

Garceau said he understood that there was an ongoing investigation and that there were attempts to conceal the body with an overhead tent and by police cars blocking the view from passers-by; but, officials at the crime scene should have taken more time to cover the body with curtains around the tent.

“Frankly, I’m not impressed at all,” Garceau said.

Cepeda and Mileham said that the police officers cannot immediately cover a body because doing so could compromise evidence and possibly hinder an investigation.

“We did have a discussion about other methodologies to employ in the future to contain an area,” Cepeda said.

Jessica Prokop/News editor
Jessica Prokop can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com.

*Updated on 4/15 from the original 4/13 posting*

Seniors and freshmen have the opportunity to tell Linfield about their experiences by completing a nationwide survey conducted by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research titled the National Survey of Student Engagement.

“The more we can learn about what students are experiencing, the more we can improve the experience,” Vice President for Enrollment Services Dan Preston said.

Students have until June 1 to complete the NSSE. Sophomores and juniors are not part of the surveyed group.

“There’s an increasing expectation that we assess what students are doing, how many are involved in certain types of activities and what that means for their educational experience,” Preston said.

Colleges and universities across the nation participate in the NSSE to learn about what Preston called high-impact educational practices that students partake in.

The survey allows colleges and universities to evaluate their students’ college experiences and use the information to improve their programs.

The survey accounts for items such as how many students study abroad, how many attend campus cultural events, etc.

Preston said the NSSE is a good source of information for Linfield because it shows change in student interest over time (Linfield participated in the study in 2005 and 2007) and compares with other schools. NSSE results are evaluated three ways: one, against schools Linfield chooses to be compared with; two, against schools comparable to Linfield; and three, against all colleges and universities that participated in the survey.

The survey comes at a critical time for Linfield because of new accreditation standards and processes that the school must adhere to.

The new accreditation system requires Linfield to develop themes and objectives (“Accreditation changes: Core themes are endorsed,” TLR, March 5) and be accountable for meeting them and evaluating their achievement on a yearly basis instead of every 10 years.

The data will help Linfield in terms of accreditation, budgeting and strategic planning, Director of Institutional Research Jennifer Ballard said.

Linfield will receive more information than ever before from the results because of other surveys the school has and plans to participate in. Freshmen took the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BSSE) in Colloquium in the fall. Ballard said the BSSE gauges student engagement in high school and anticipated engagement during their freshman year.

Because freshmen are now participating in the NSSE, “we’ll look at the contrast between what their expectations were of their first year and what actually happened,” Ballard said.

She said faculty will participate in the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), which measures what activities faculty members think students participate in at Linfield, in the fall.

“Then we have a picture that includes what entering students expect to experience, what faculty expect students to experience and what at least freshmen and seniors are experiencing, plus a snapshot versus other colleges,” Preston said about the combined results of the NSSE, BSSE and FSSE.

Ballard said students can find a link to the survey in an April 6 reminder email about the study.

Bryan

Age: 19

Year: Sophomore

Major/Minor: Accounting/Economics

Hometown: Keizer, Ore.

Qualifications: Bryan’s qualification most related to this position is his experience as the Associated Students of Linfield College Business Manager for the 2010-11 academic year. He also has three years of experience as an accounts payable clerk at an accounting firm and served as the Senate Finance Committee Chair and a Residence Life Adviser.

Reasons for applying: Bryan said that he applied for the position because he wanted to gain more business experience and use his accounting skills within a nonprofit organization. He said he also wants the leadership experience and the opportunity to help change things and make them better.

Goals: One of Bryan’s goals is to ensure that his assistant understands all of the functions of business and better manage ASLC funds.
“I want students to know where their funds are going and promote the Activities Council so that they know that those funds are available,” Bryan said.

Words of Wisdom: “Get involved some way or somehow to get leadership experience before you graduate,” he said. “You will reap the benefits if you are involved.”

Interests: Bryan likes to go wakeboarding, golfing and camping. He also likes working, he said jokingly.
“I can 10-key at 10,000 key strokes per hour.”

Favorites: Bryan said his favorite colors are green and yellow, “Ducks all the way.” His favorite movies are “Meet the Fockers,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Hangover.” He also enjoys the television shows “Modern Family,” “The Office,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “Jersey Shore.” His favorite music genre is rock and roll.

~Compiled by Jessica Prokop/News editor

Oregon Nobel Laureate, Dr. Sir Harold W. Kroto, discusses the importance of science during a symposium April 14 in Ice Auditorium. Katie Pitchford/Photo editor

Kroto is now one of several prestigious individuals, including the groundbreaking Chemist Linus Pauling, who have enriched the Linfield community at an Oregon Nobel Laureate Symposium.

“The lecture-symposium was scheduled two years ago,” Director of Communications Mardi Mileham.

She mentioned that Kroto was selected to participate in the symposium by Dr. Fred Ross who retired from Linfield last spring.

Kroto is well-known for the co-discovery of the form of carbon now known as Buckminsterfullerene, or, “buckyballs” in 1985. This molecule is a spherical arrangement of 60 carbons in a pattern that resembles the stitching on soccer balls.

Up until its discovery, only two stable forms of carbon, graphite and diamond, were known to exist, Professor of Chemistry Thomas Reinert said.

He said this third stable form of carbon changed the way chemists thought about carbon and the bonds between atoms. Chemists learned that this form of carbon occurs in the universe, naturally. “It’s not just made up in a lab,” Reinert said.

Kroto discussed the importance of science and scientific education in his lecture that was interspersed with humorous remarks.

Kroto based his lecture on a quote that says science is the only thing we have to determine the truth to any degree of reliability.

“Science, for me, is a way of life,” Kroto said. He applied his scientific philosophy to several matters such as sustainability and indoctrination. Kroto stressed the importance of questioning everything and seeking evidence to support claims. He considers the acceptance of facts without evidence dangerous.

Kroto explained his “four out of five method.” He stated if you make an observation, make a hypothesis; if four out of five observations are in line with the hypothesis, you are “almost certainly right.”

Kroto’s current project is to try to teach science globally by using the Internet to share educational videos.

Professor of English Lit David Sumner commented on Kroto’s scientific emphasis saying that the sciences and humanities should work hand in hand. “A combination of the two is essential,” he said.

Senior Craig Geffre praised Kroto for his call to the researchers of natural sciences to be mindful of ethics and the outcome of their research. Kroto cited atomic bombs as examples of weapons that should not be further researched.

“Anthropologists and sociologists are careful in deliberating what the outcome of our research will be. I thought it was great that he emphasized ethics,” said Geffre.
For more information about Dr. Sir Harold Kroto and the discovery of buckminsterfullerene visit www.nobelprize.org.

Michele Wong/For the Review
Michele Wong can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com.

Learning Support Services will continue developing a new program that aims to provide a more cohesive overview of academic resources for students.

The program uses five “lead” student tutors and was introduced this year but is still in the early stages of development.

“We’re not changing the essentials of tutoring. What we’re bringing is an opportunity for experienced tutors to gain some actual, hands-on experience which is good for any student,” LSS Coordinator Eileen Dowty said.

Essentially, the lead tutors provide resources for students who are in need of academic support. Their duties can be as involved as sitting down with students and assisting them in the development of study skills, or as simple as directing students to other academic resources.

“We have lead tutors that have some familiarity in almost all the subjects, so we can get you general study help or we can help you with your class if we’ve taken it before,” senior Austin Hocker, who is a lead tutor this year, said.

Generally, the subjects for which LSS receives the most tutor requests and the lead tutors spend the most time assisting with are math, science and business.

Departments with more of a writing emphasis have less tutor offerings save for lower level classes.

Because many departments hold separate tutoring sessions independent of LSS, Dowty stressed that the lead tutoring program is not meant to infringe upon any of the already available resources, but rather to make students aware that those resources exist.

“What were not trying to do is develop an empire to take over all tutoring. We want to be very respectful there,” she said.

“But maybe, through the lead tutors, we can enhance communication across campus.”

Senior Katie Paradis, who is also a lead tutor this year, emphasized that the program is all about connecting students to what they need academically.

“Our goal is to get the word out about these drop in hours. We just want students to feel free to come by if they have any questions, or they just need to talk through things or find a tutor, or even if they want to be a tutor,” she said.

Dowty said the program has not reached its full potential and is still in the opening stages.

“Our lead tutors are sifting through ideas, deciding what will work now and what can be saved for three years from now,” she said.

All students are welcome to attend lead tutors’ open hours, which are Sunday through Thursday from 8 to 9 p.m. in Walker 125.

Brittany Baker/Staff writer
Brittany Baker can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com.

Last week a sign in Dillin Hall addressed the use of cage-free eggs.

Sophomore Anna Statz said she became aware of the change after Sodexo chef Nick Nivari told her the eggs were not just cage-free but were from local, vegetarian-fed hens as well.

“I’m friends with Nick who cooks the omelets [at Dillin] and he told me ‘you’re really going to appreciate these new eggs; they’re healthier and they cook better,’”Statz said.

A vegetarian and advocate for nutrition, Statz explained the health benefits of cage-free eggs for the hens and for consumers’ bodies.

“Non cage-free eggs are those laid by several hens living in a cage built for only one hen; their beaks and talons are cut-off to prevent them from hurting each other and they are fed additives to keep them laying the eggs despite the poor living conditions which inhibit them from doing so naturally,” Statz said.

“With cage-free eggs, the hens are able to walk around and choose a place to lay their eggs. It’s also important that the hens are fed vegetarian diets, because whatever they eat is passed directly into the eggs and then into our bodies.”

Sodexo General Manager, Bill Masullo said that he requested the switch four years ago but that it had just recently been approved within the last year.

Masullo said he pushed to make the change because he is an advocate for locally and naturally based food sources, and because he knew that Sodexo could purchase the cage-free eggs from nearby sources in Canby, Ore. and Everett, Wash.

“We try to be responsible,” Masullo said about the Sodexo staff’s approach to the selection of food served in Dillin.

“Cage-free eggs are what I buy in my house for my kids, so I felt they should be used here as well.”

Masullo explained that he and Executive Chef Noah Bekofsky have implemented several changes within the last year to provide natural, organic foods.

The duo’s efforts often go unnoticed as a result a lack of advertising.

“We don’t tell the story very well, we’re bad marketers,” Masullo said.

Statz agreed.

“There have been changes made to provide more local, organic food and no one knows about it. The students are just really misinformed; when they [the Sodexo staff] make a change, they should make a big deal about it.”

In addition to the cage-free eggs, Masullo and Bekofsky have provided local, organic produce, hormone-free yogurt, homemade honey mustard and balsamic dressings and pizza dough made from scratch, daily.

Bekofsky said providing healthy choices and a variety of food is the primary focus of the Sodexo staff.

The Sodexo staff takes care to keep taste and seasonality in mind, Bekofsky said.

“I want students to have options. I implement the ‘mamma rule’ here with the chefs,” he said.
“If I wouldn’t serve it to my momma, I’m not going to serve it to my guests.”

Felicia Weller/Copy editor
Felicia Weller can be reached at linfieldreviewcopy@gmail.com.