I’ll admit, I was wholly unimpressed when I saw the Battle of the Bands lineup. Three bands? Really?
Linfield has more talent than that.

Battle of the Bands should be an exciting display of the best that Linfield has to offer, competing in front of their peers for a title. Three bands just seemed disappointing.

Part of it made sense to me. The seven-band lineup featured last year, filled with Linfield favorites such as Jesse Hughey, Joy Nelson and The Mustaches, have all graduated now. Jack Ruby Presents, the most notable band residing at Linfield over the last few years, has moved on as well.

Still, the assumption would be that those musicians would be replaced by a new generation of artists. That didn’t seem to have occurred last week.

Noticeably absent was the band Na Hemo, who would have been a heavy favorite had it entered. Na Hemo came in first place at Battle of the Bands two years ago and second place a year ago. Without Na Hemo on the roster, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to the show.

However, I was wrong to think of not attending.All three bands came and proved that the show didn’t need to be long to be great. Showcasing different styles and talents, each band rocked the crowd adding its own element to the show.

Evan O’Kelley blew most of the audience away on the electric guitar while Jessie Goergen did what Jessie Goergen always does: She showed impressive stage presence while wowing the audience with her pipes and mixing in a distinctive country overtone.

Brittany Baker and her band followed and mixed it up with some piano, some spoons and several terrific female vocalists. By the time the band Prowler stepped on the stage, I think most of the audience was already trying to decide who should win. Prowler, led by Danny Brown and Andrew Sherman, made the decision a little harder. Fueled by the energy of the crowd, Prowler played two songs that had most of the auditorium up on its feet. Brown, who was talented, playful and loud, was the best kind of frontman.

I don’t think anyone was sure who was going to win as the judges tallied the votes. It didn’t matter too much to me because the show was a success regardless. There were three talented groups of individuals who all deserved to win. The only thing that could’ve made that show better was a few more songs by each, as they only had about ten minutes each to perform.

Prowler was finally announced as the winner, and it wasn’t just the band wearing smiles. Practically everyone in the audience was feeling good, and all three bands were aware they had played well. That’s a pretty good Battle of the Bands.

I guess I need to have a little more faith in the small amount of artists here. They’re talented — really talented.

Matt Olson/Columnist
Matt Olson can be reached at linfieldreviewopinion@gmail.com.

This is my final opinion. I repeat, this is my final opinion. But before I go into a peace-on-Earth conversation, I want to thank you.

My thanks go to you if you’ve read anything I’ve ever written — even if it was just one story or opinion, if you complimented me on an article I wrote, agreed with my position or just got a kick out of my point of view and sense of humor.

My thanks go to you if you’ve ever listened to my show on KSLC, or if you’ve text messaged me while I was live on the air with words of encouragement.

I bid a special, heartfelt thank you Tiffany Helton, Sharon Sweeney and Kelly Bowe, who literally helped me stay in college as a result of their problem solving, efficiency and concern. Thanks to all of you for putting up with me and my Pandora’s-box-full of problems, too.

To the “Bookstore Ladies,” you were the first people I met at Linfield. You became my substitute moms shortly after that. Thank you for your advice and friendship. It will always be a part of my first memories.

To the groundskeepers of Linfield College, I will always hold you in high respect, even if the hard work you do is taken for granted. Becky Knutz and Carol Gallagher, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you two. Becky, I’ll always remember your beautiful garden and your annual get-togethers. Carol, I’m proud to say I know “that buff lady” whose section of the campus includes the Oak Grove.

To President Thomas Hellie, Thanksgiving dinner at your house that year is on my highlight reel of Linfield memories. It has always been nice to know that if I needed to, I could have your listening ear.

And now, for the conversation I promised. I put it in list form so you don’t have to follow along. The list is inspired by behaviors and personalities I have seen on campus, and are suggestions in response to said behaviors. These are not rules to live by, just my observations.

• Don’t be afraid to be great. No, absolutely brilliant. Make your mark; no one can do it for you.

• Be a genuine person and a friend. Balance your give and take.

• Talk about things; ask for help when you need it. Make a plan (even if you don’t stick to it).

• Be resourceful. I think that’s simple enough. Learning how you can help yourself is important. We all have to troubleshoot.

• Be clear in what you say and deliberate in what you do. Express your thoughts and assumptions as opinions not stated facts.

• Learn not to be afraid of having a bad idea, better yet, don’t judge your ideas too harshly; let them fly.

• It’s terrific to be great at many things. Just make sure you’re magnificent at at least one thing. That way, you have something of worth to offer someone else when you begin to realize the benefits of bartering with the people in your life that you love and trust.

• Begin to realize the benefits of bartering with the people in your life that you love and trust.

Linfield was a different place with a different feel when I was a freshman. That was almost four years ago, and I have watched the people and values evolve. Now it’s your turn.

Septembre Russell/Copy chief
Septembre Russell can be reached at linfieldreviewcopy@gmail.com.

With approximately four weeks left in Spring Semester, it is crunch time for students, especially graduating seniors. Many feel that they are running out of time to prepare for life beyond college, and the rest of us are doing our best to simply stay afloat.

Apart from the school work being piled on top of us right now, many of us are also involved in various extracurricular activities, which is one of the great things about Linfield. Extracurricular activities are easy to get involved in, whether you’re using them to beef up a résumé, for leadership experience or personal enjoyment.

For instance, consider the Hawaiian Club. Participants have been busting their butts to prepare for the annual Luau, working almost every night. Students in fraternities and sororities are trying to balance school work and still meet organizational requirements. Students involved in honors societies are trying to attend enough meetings and fulfill their philanthropic goals. Athletes have practice and games all week, music and theater students have rehearsals and performances, and the list goes on.

However, when does it become too much?

The Spring Semester is clearly a busy time for everyone: faculty, staff and administration included. To top it off, the bulk of the year’s events also take place during the spring; and while these events help students maintain their sanity, for others, it becomes another thing on their to-do lists.

Don’t get me wrong: I, like many others, love being involved, but sometimes it can be too much for a person. And, yeah, I know, students bring it upon themselves when they sign up to participate in or lead an event, but one can’t always plan out how everything is going to go or predict any bumps that might pop up down the road.

To help remedy some of this stress and still have it possible for students to participate in whatever their hearts desire, events should be scheduled more evenly throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. I understand that the weather is always better this time of year, for the most part (although I’ve yet to see any one spectacular day so far), but a lot of the indoor events, such as sorority and fraternity event fundraisers, club performances, LAB events, etc., could fit just as easily into the Fall Semester and still be as effective. It would certainly help with the event overload that many of us are now experiencing.

But since nothing can be done now, good luck, everyone.

Have fun with whatever you are doing and remember to only take on what is manageable.

Oh, and try to maintain some sanity along the way.

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

I don’t know when it started, but a lot of my classmates began using laptops during all of their classes. They take notes, pay attention to what the professors are talking about and raise their hands to ask or answer some questions. But they also check email, sign onto Facebook and look through random Web pages.

I have a 4-year-old laptop, and it’s not a Mac, Dell or HP. So far, the battery lasts only 10 minutes and needs to plug into an ethernet cable if I want to surf the Internet. I hope it can be used until graduation. I doubt it, though.

If you think my argument is to tell students not to use laptops in class because I am jealous, I don’t even need to write this opinion piece. I’d just ask facilities to put a mirror on the wall at the back of every classroom.

Using a laptop in class is an interesting phenomenon. I noticed that if one student starts to use a laptop in class, others will do it also. It makes me feel like I am wasting my time if I don’t.

There are two sides to every debate. Students can use the Internet to search terms they don’t know and look at other related sources about a theory discussed in class. Students can aslo carry a 4 lb. laptop instead of multiple notebooks and textbooks.

On the other hand, using a laptop is distracting. We are a small college; most classes have fewer than 25 students. Small classes need students to be highly interactive.

If you want to take notes, listen to the class, be involved in class discussion, check your email, look at your friends’ Facebook, search for the day’s sports game results and even finish your homework for another class at the same time, you should consider why you can’t do that after the class.

I understand some classes are pretty boring. A friend just told me she uses her laptop in class just because it keeps her awake. She thinks sleeping in the class would make her professor more upset.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of technology. Technology itself is never a bad thing, but how to use it depends on the purpose. The decision differs based on the needs of certain types of classes and your own study habits. Think ahead, if you can handle it, instead of following what your classmates are doing. Don’t use a laptop in class if you know it causes distractions.

Jaffy Xiao/Features editor
Jaffy Xiao can be reached at linfieldreviewfeatures@gmail.com.

Although it doesn’t always show, I value my education at Linfield. I think learning is one of the coolest things in the world.

That’s why I find it so frustrating when professors teachinadequately. Don’t get me wrong: Many of the professors at Linfield are amazing at what they do and are great people in general. However, education is a difficult art to perfect, and teachers are only shortchanging their students by not constantly trying to improve their methods.

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine that seems to work, but if the routine isn’t that great, it can be deadening to students. For example, if a professor has reading assignments required every day and then just lectures on exactly what was read in the text, class becomes counterproductive and often boring. Why should I come to class if my professors are just going to rehash what I’ve already read? Or, on the other hand, why should I do the reading if they are going to cover the exact same material in class the next day?

I remember being quite surprised during my freshman year when I discovered that many students simply wouldn’t do any of the assigned reading if they could get away with it — and they do. In some classes, you can do little to no reading and still get an A.

If professors are going to assign reading in a class, there needs to be some incentive for students to actually read the material. Simple reading quizzes have worked well for me, but lecture material also needs to cover more than just whatever is in the textbook.

Books provide the facts, but professors need to provide and encourage analysis, particularly in terms of class discussion. This means asking probing questions (not just summarizeing what has been read) and facilitating discussion. If no one answers, don’t just answer for the students or call on the kid who always wants to answer. Wait until someone does answer or force someone else to.

Textbooks aren’t always interesting, but professionals have the ability to make them so. Ideally, this will make students want to read so they can talk more in class. Some students won’t care either way, of course, but they still deserve the opportunity to engage in class. If you allow that much and push your students enough, overall engagement will jump at least a little bit and students who are genuinely interested in the course material will get a chance to flourish.

Professors should constantly be experimenting with different methods of teaching to find what works well for them and for their students. This means breaking out of the old reading and PowerPoint-based lecture model if necessary. One of the best teachers I ever had taught at my high school and he often used PowerPoint presentations, but they rarely, if ever, had any text. These slides featured pictures and graphics that helped students remember all of the different concepts in class.

I’m sure it’s nice to have lectures textually organized, but PowerPoint is a visual tool and has a ton of potential if used efficiently.

I don’t mean to tell professors how to do their jobs, but, in reality, students are the best place to look when it comes to seeking advice on teaching. Course evaluations are convenient, but nobody actually takes the time to fill them out thoughtfully because they don’t want to hold up the student who has to deliver them at the end of class.

These are just a couple of points that I think professors could improve on. Students will still always have to take that initiative to engage in their learning, but professors have a responsibility to open as many doors as possible for students. We should never settle for less when it comes to education.

Braden Smith/Managing editor
Braden Smith can be reached at linfieldreviewmanaging@gmail.com.