Bianne Ries

Assistant editor

An evening theft briefly silenced a buzzing Nicholson Library on Wednesday, Oct. 1.

Students watched as a college-aged man ran from the back of the library just before 9 p.m. after reportedly stealing a wallet. 

Senior Carly Costello said she was tutoring near the front of the library when the  young man weaved through the reference sections.

“He had a terrified look on his face and ran right past me,” Costello said.

The man was chased by senior Yang Shi. Costello said he screamed, “He stole a wallet,” just before the suspect ran out of the library.

“Everyone just sat around staring at each other in awe,” Costello said.

The library and Linfield Campus Safety could not be reached for comment.

The theft came the day LCS released its annual security report. According to the report, there were nine burglaries on the McMinnville campus in 2007, down from 13 burglaries in 2005.

LSC also sent out an e-mail reminder that students and staff can now register their cell phones for FlashAlert. The service sends e-mails or text messages for weather updates and emergency situations.                                          

Heather McClellan

Review staff writer

Skits, car bashing and barbecues were just a few of the activities during last week’s Greek Recruitment.

Greek Recruitment, commonly known as Rush, is a week in which each of the fraternities and sororities hold events to recruit new members. This year, however, turnout was lower than expected.

“Numbers were low for everyone, including the women,” senior Christopher Hawley, president of the Inter-Fraternal Council, said. “The council is going to look and see why numbers were low and hopefully improve rush turnout.”

A new software system was used this year to sign the female rushees up online. It was the first year sign-ups were done in this manner; Other than a few technical errors things went smoothly, senior president of Alpha Phi Bebe Hoffman said.

“[For the women], Rush is an entire week devoted to four parties in each [sorority] room, so members can get to know each girl rushing,” senior Lacey Beth Peck, president of Phi Sigma Sigma, said.

The recruitment format for fraternities is much different than the sororities.

Senior Nathan Solly, president of Pi Kappa Alpha, said each of the fraternities have events throughout the week and formal bids are handed out on Friday morning.”

Opening with a barbecue on Monday Sept. 22, each fraternity held different events, some of which include a poker tournament, flag football, a bonfire, a Wii Sports tournament bowling night and a homemade sushi and game night.

“People should join fraternities for three reasons: opportunities to meet people, travel around the country and jobs; experiences that are hard to find any other place on campus; and the bonds you make with people,” senior Lucas Bensen, former president of Kappa Sigma, said.

The men recruited pledge classes varying in size from eight to 18 people.

“Being in a fraternity gives people opportunities to be involved even though there is a smaller community on campus,” Solly said.

For the sororities, Rush started out with 123 girls but decreased as the week went on.

“Rush was smaller this year than it has been in years past,” senior Peck said. “A lot of girls dropped out in the first couple of nights.”

Even though numbers were lower than normal for the sororities, they have the opportunity to take more members with continuous open bidding and recruitment in the spring.

Bensen said many people are skeptical of the Greek system because of what they see on TV and in movies, but he believes there is different environment at Linfield.

“We are one Greek community but we have different characteristics,” Hawley said. “It is important to find a place where you will be happy.”

Amber McKenna

Editor in chief

With diminishing world markets and billion dollar bailouts, it is hard to find a positive light in the country’s economic crisis, but some at Linfield are using it as a learning experience.

“What has the market done today? What sort of policy action is the government taking?”

These are a few of the questions Professor of Economics Randy Grant asks his classes on a daily basis. Grant said he uses the drop in the market and talks of bailout as subject matter in his classes.

Senior economics major Lacy Smith said hearing her professors’ viewpoints on recent market happenings have been a great source of knowledge for her.

“I’m learning a lot from it,” Smith said. “There is something new everyday.”

Every year macro economics students are required to do a forecasting project on a particular variable in the market; however, this year the market will prove difficult to predict, Grant said.

“It’s an exciting time to be an economist and a scary time to be a person,” he said. “I told all of my classes today, ‘Stay in school.’ It is a haven for people when the economy is doing poorly.”

Grant thinks the downturn in the country’s finances will have an impact on students outside of the classroom.

“The biggest impact on students will be in their ability to pay for schooling,” Grant said.

He cites the availability of student loans and the unwillingness of lenders to take risks during a time of credit crunch as problematic for students. As well, many parents will have trouble financing their children’s education as their financial investments deteriorate, Grant said.

“It is more likely to affect schools like Linfield where the price tag can be higher,” he said.

Grant suggests students steer clear of financial issues while they can.

“It’s a good time to consider alternatives to going straight into the workforce,” he said.

Smith said students think what happens with the economy does not affect them, but unemployment definitely will.

Although the downturn in the market may come as a surprise to the general public, Grant said it is something professionals in the field have been expecting.

“The party can’t last forever,” he said. “You have to face the hangover sooner or later.”

However, the country is not technically in a recession, Grant said. In a traditional sense, a recession occurs when Gross Domestic Index growth is negative for at least two quarters. He said he thinks redefining the meaning of a recession may be necessary but somewhat unlikely as the election draws closer.

“The people in power don’t want a recession on their watch,” Grant said.

Whether in a recession or not, Grant said he thinks learning to think of things economically makes for better decisions.

“Everyday you are making hundreds or thousands of economic decisions,” he said.

Bradley Keliinoi

For the Review

The soon-to-be-named Veggies & Friends club hopes to challenge students to eat healthier and organically by educating them through activities and informational tables.

Changing its name from the Veggie/Vegan club to include members who eat meat, it will be working in cooperation with the Real Food Challenge. Real Food Challenge is a national organization working to encourage colleges to increase the procurement of real food on college and university campuses according to the organization’s Web site.

The club wants to raise awareness of personal health, the nutritional facts of foods students consume and the cost effectiveness of going organic, sophomore club senator Jesse Aerni said.

Soon tables, activities and posters will be up promoting student participation in the Real Food Challenge, which seeks to give students healthier food choices, junior Jillian Haig, official “Hug Master” for the club said. She is responsible for spreading “good vibes” during meetings.

There are many benefits to eating organic foods. Organic produce typically contains fewer chemicals, since pesticides are highly discouraged from being used, Aerni said.

Aerni also said that aside from the fact that organic foods are healthier, studies show that they taste better and appear to be of higher quality.

Other organic foods, including meat and other animal products, also guarantee consumers that no animals were treated inhumanely during the process of the food.

“I really like animals, even though I eat them, [and] I want them to have a good life,” Haig said.

Part of the club’s goal is to have organic foods available in Dillin Hall and the other food establishments on campus. They also want those foods to come from Oregon farms.

In an effort to implement these goals, the club, in previous years, has held monthly meetings with food services management to discuss ways to incorporate organic foods into the menu. The management has been cooperative in the past, and the club plans to continue conversations to accomplish their goals, Haig said.

“Who doesn’t want to have organic choices?” Haig said.

Veggies & Friends meets bimonthly on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in Hewlett-Packard Park Apartment E304. Students interested in learning healthy alternatives to eating are encouraged to join.

Septembre Russell

Copy editor

Obtaining college credit before actually attending college can be beneficial to students. Having an established credit base makes course loads lighter and may offer students flexibility within their four-year plans.

Students are increasingly taking advantage of the opportunity to get a start on their college education by graduating high school with  college credits.

“With the new curriculum, we were wondering how it would affect transfer courses,” Transcript Curriculum Specialist Karlene Robertson said. “More and more of high school students have some sort of credit; there are 8,000 to 10,000 transfer courses in the database.”

Earning elective credits for college-level work completed in high school may be discouraging. Students may question, “What is the benefit of previously earned credit without the possibility of its application toward the Linfield course-load?”

In many cases, acquiring these credits will allow them to register early and have precedence over underclassmen when it comes to choosing campus housing.

Director of Academic Advising Kate Elias said most students are aware that it is necessary to complete the Linfield Curriculum even if they enroll with several transfer credits. Some post-baccalaureate programs require prerequisite course work be completed at four-year colleges instead of accepting transfer credits.

After approval by the Registrar, transfer credit earned in high school or thereafter can be used to satisfy LC requirement. Transfer credit may be applied toward a major or minor with the consent of the chair of the relevant department, Registrar Eileen Bourassa said.

In determining whether credits can transfer from other accredited institutions, the course descriptions are compared, Robertson said. If it is uncertain which way a particular course should go, the description is sent to the department chair.

“Each department makes a decision on what credits are accepted,” Elias said.

When the subject from a separate institution is not taught at Linfield, the student’s credit will not transfer. However, if a student receives credit in a comparable subject that has no exact equivalent, the student will receive an elective credit.

“If we can use [credits] for [the] Linfield Curriculum, [then] we will,” Bourassa said.

Transferring credits negates a student’s ability to repeat the same course for credit. Advanced Placement courses follow the same structure; college credit and advanced placement credit cannot be given simultaneously for a single course. If the course is repeated, the student will receive the Linfield credit and grade and the transfer or advanced placement credit will be removed from the transcript, Bourassa said.

“One important thing for students to understand is they can’t get credit for the same content twice,” Bourassa said.

Katie Armes

Review staff writer

The Linfield Good Samaritan School of Nursing’s accelerated baccalaureate program will offer 12 incoming students $10,000 scholarships in June 2009,  thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Careers in Nursing Scholarship Program.

RWJF awarded 58 nursing schools across America more than seven million dollars in scholarships to increase enrollment of underrepresented groups in nursing, such as men, minorities and disadvantaged students.

“I believe in the long run what they are attempting to do is provide more nurses because of the nursing shortage and also increase diversity in the nursing profession,” Dean of Nursing Bonnie Saucier said.

Enrollment in Linfield’s accelerated baccalaureate program, which allows students with previous bachelor’s degrees to earn a nursing degree in 18 months, will jump from 48 to 60 students because of the RWJF funding. The scholarship recipients have not been chosen yet but will be by the end of the semester.

“Getting recognized by the RWJF is a really amazing opportunity for a college of our size,” Kate Elias, pre-health professions advisor and director of academic advising, said.

The Good Samaritan School of Nursing is well-equipped to handle the expanded enrollment of 12 students required by the RWJF because of the recent expansion and renovation of Peterson Hall on the Portland campus.

Renovations included dividing classroom space to fit modern teaching practices and improving the nursing simulation lab. Additional faculty will be hired to cover the increase in number of classes and clinicals.

“It was another factor in the success of the grant that we could handle additional students,” Catherine Jarmin Miller, director of foundation and corporate relations, said.

Other funding helped Linfield lay a foundation for serving minority nursing students, proving that it was worthy of support from the RWJF. Miller said the Health Resources and Services Administration grant was a major reason why Linfield was awarded the RWJF scholarship.

Linfield first received the HRSA grant for the entire nursing school in 2004 to promote the enrollment of Hispanic students. It was renewed in 2007 to support other minorities in nursing.

“[The nursing program] had already created a really rich retention program and recruitment program for minority students,” Miller said.

Linfield has the option of reapplying for the RWJF funding for the next class of accelerated baccalaureate students, but receiving the money would require another increase in class size. Saucier said Linfield is not planning to reapply for the scholarship at this time because 60 students is near the limit the school can comfortably support.

Sports Commentary

Matt Jonathan

For the Review

The regular season in Major League Baseball sees each team play more than 160 games. That’s a minimum of 1,440 innings. How many games matter? Possibly the last 20, when things start to get interesting.

Then comes the postseason where everything is finally decided following eight months of play. The postseason is the time when fans get the most excited and games start to heat up. In a league where a single game seems trivial, wins, losses and league records seem insignificant until the last 20 or 30 games when a team really has to pay attention to what they are doing. However, as with most things, there are exceptions.

After an ever-astounding 162 regular season games, the Twins and the White Sox ended up tied. A single-game playoff was needed. While this is not unheard of, I had never known such a result was possible, or that the MLB, which often has gaps of 10-20 games between teams, had a process for breaking a tie.

I actually thought about what a single game in MLB could mean for the two teams. If either team won or lost one more game, this tiebreaker would have been unnecessary. Each team had 162 chances to change their fate. In actuality, the beginning of the season was just as important as the later part. Twins fans will be thinking about all the close games where a single run decided their team’s outcome. White Sox fans will be thinking of 2005 when the Sox won the World Series. Their hopes remain for the season’s grand prize.

But, of course, this is an exception. Look at the rest of the league. There was a 21-game difference between the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers and a 7.5-game gap between the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukie Brewers. Three divisions were determined by a gap of one or two games between first and second place.

The gap between first and last was, on average, 27 games in all divisions.

One major question comes out of this: Does MLB need 162 games in a season?

To determine which teams are the best, most likely not; to generate the most revenue, absolutely.

To be fair, a longer season  helps prevent ties similar to the one decided Tuesday night. But is this worth it when games at the beginning of the season seem as close to meaningless as any professional game can be? How many teams look back and say that one game three weeks into the season made a difference? Not many.

MLB, and most American professional sports leagues for that matter, make up for the lack of regular season excitement with playoffs and drama of the postseason. The whole reason behind a wildcard bid is to put in another team to potentially go on a run and create a real-life fairy tale.

This year it is up to the Brewers to be the underdog and get the borderline fans motivated.

Playoffs give teams a fresh start and are practically a season all their own.

My point is further justified through the concept of Division Champions. Division champs are at the end of the regular season, and then teams go onto the new season trying to win the World Series.

Today, we talk about the drawn-out season of the “American pasttime.” Personally, I would prefer a shorter season with plenty of drama, because a shorter season means games would mean more. A team does not have as many opportunities to make up for past screw-ups.

A shorter season means less revenue for the league and franchises as well as fewer games for the die-hard fans. I don’t think a shorter season would detract from or hurt the game for the game’s sake.

It may get the borderline fans, who I like to call “playoff fans,” more into the game. This is just a different perspective and, of course, has pros and cons that can be debated.

With the White Sox and the Twins playing a tiebreaker to determine who goes to the playoffs, I suppose you can’t really say there wasn’t drama before the postseason. We’ll see what the postseason can do. Until then, ignore the stats.

Greg Larson

For the Review

It has been an exhilarating week for the cross country program. With the help of local coordinators from McMinnville Parks and Recreation staff and set-up aid from the Linfield’s women’s basketball squad, the Wildcats hosted a home meet against Western Oregon University on Sept. 26.

The event’s small numbers allowed the runners to develop an air of comfort on the course.  The ’Cats led the way, with the men sweeping the podium with junior Shawn Fisher, freshman Scott Gage, and junior Chris McIsaac.

Linfield was able to enter a healthy team of nine. After getting over some injuries, the team was coming together.

Juniors Marci Klimek and Frances Corcorran took the top two spots on the women’s side.

Fisher and Klimek earned the Northwest Conference Student Athlete of the Week awards. Fisher said though this was a small meet, he feels honored to receive the award.

Linfield had a strong showing in its home meet, winning both the men’s and women’s events.

The men’s team finished with an average time of 27 minutes, 51.81 seconds on the 8k course, and Fisher set the course record with a time of 26:39.44.

The women also sailed to victory, boasting an average time of 24:30.18. All in all, this small home event allowed the runners on both sides to taste victory and feel that they belong at the front of the pack.

The Wildcats look forward to the Willamette Open on Oct. 4. This is the biggest college cross country event west of the Mississippi River. Because of the event’s participation size, there will be high levels of competition.

“This course is very fast,”  head coach Garry Killgore said. “It will be a good mid-season gauge.”

The Willamette course is also the same course the team will race for regionals, so it will be an opportunity for the team to familiarize itself with the course.

These two back-to-back events, although polar opposites, bring a wide range of experience to the Wildcats and help prepare them for the big races such as the NWC Championships on Nov. 1.

Rachel Mills

Review staff writer

The women’s soccer team started its game Sept. 28, confident they would win.

The team gathered for a meeting before the game to discuss goals and strategy, junior forward Rachel Miles said.

“We decided to play for each other,” senior forward Kelli Gillespie said. “There was no question in any of our minds that we were going to win.”

After a frustrating loss the day before against Pacific University, the Wildcats rallied for a victory against Lewis & Clark College, earning their first Northwest Conference victory of the season.

“[The first game] was disappointing,” head coach Yi Lin Liu said.

Though the Wildcats started strong, emerging with a 3-0 lead at halftime, Pacific came back in the second half and cinched a 4-3 win in the final seconds of overtime.

Miles said they had the advantage in the first half, but the team just couldn’t hold onto it.

“We worked so hard,” Gillespie said. “To lose that was so heartbreaking.”

Judging by the numbers, it was Pacific’s game from the start. The Boxers shot 21 times throughout the game to the Wildcats’ 14.

Linfield senior defender Martha Inouye began the game with intensity when she scored off a header after just three minutes. Freshman forward Sarah Walton followed Inouye’s lead with two more goals in the first half.

But the Boxers stepped up during the second period. Seven minutes in, Pacific freshman forward Ashley Carillo put the team on the scoreboard with a header to the upper right corner of the net. Successful shots by sophomore midfielder Jenny Novak and junior midfielder Cheryl Yasumoto tied the game as the second period ended.

In a second overtime, Pacific surged ahead when senior forward Shelley Martindale scored off a corner kick with one second left on the clock.

But Linfield’s upset was tempered by its play against Lewis & Clark.

“We handled the pressure so much better,” Liu said.

He said he was happy to see his team work together, especially under pressure.

The game started as a repeat of Saturday’s, with the Wildcats scoring early and continuing to score throughout the first half. The opening goal came after 12 minutes of play when Miles received a pass from Gillespie on the right. Miles sent a curving ball across the field and toward the far goal post. The Pioneers keeper snagged the ball but not before it passed the line.

A second opportunity presented itself three minutes later when the referee gave the ’Cats an indirect kick near the midfield line. Senior defender Kristine Siler took the kick, sending a ball arcing toward the net.

Both teams scrambled for the ball, and Pioneer goalkeeper freshman Kate MacDougall managed to grab it with the tips of her fingers. But when she lost control, Gillespie darted in and sent the ball flying into the net, putting the ’Cats ahead by two.

In the second half, the Pioneers tried to make a comeback. An indirect kick for Lewis & Clark, taken by senior midfielder Brittany Larson, sent a long cross into the center of the goal box, and freshman midfielder Natalie Stratton ran in to volley the ball into the corner of the net.

Linfield retaliated with another goal, a shot from Miles in the 78th minute. Siler assisted, sending an indirect kick toward the goal.

Others reached for it, but Miles volleyed it into the left side, giving Linfield its final two-point lead.

Though Miles said the NWC contains many good teams who capitalize on the slightest mistake, she is confident they will hold their own.

Kurtis Williams

Review staff writer

In a matter of days, sophomore Cole Franklin went from being a relatively unknown backup to a hero as he led the football team to a 14-7 overtime victory against Southern Oregon University on Sept. 27.

Franklin took the Linfield offense on his back while making his first career start against a stingy SOU defense.

“It was pretty routine,” Franklin said. “We practiced for two weeks, so we knew what we were about to do. It was so routine that a lot of the butterflies were gone.”

Head coach Joe Smith and his staff were impressed at Franklin’s performance and described it as anything but routine.

“We thought he played, in terms of effort and desire, tremendously,” Smith said. “The guy’s a fierce competitor, and he’s fun to watch. He just exudes confidence as far as effort goes.”

Despite Smith’s assertion that the offense would be unchanged with Franklin in for injured junior starter Aaron Boehme, fans saw Linfield attempt 18 passes out of 70 total plays. Some of the running attempts were Franklin, trying to avoid the rabid rush of SOU’s defensive line.

“When he did decide to run on pass plays, the protection did break down,” Smith said during a press conference Sept. 29. “That was by far the best front that we’ve seen all year. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he is the most talented we’ll see all season. Western Oregon, maybe, but I’m not so sure Southern has bigger, faster guys.”

Against Southern Oregon, Franklin was 9-16 throwing the ball and gained 63 rushing yards on 21 attempts.

Late in the first quarter, on a scramble play, Franklin was injured at the hands of the heralded SOU defensive line. The medical staff was prompted to bring a stretcher onto the field, but Franklin gingerly walked off the field with help from a few teammates. The injury placed former third-stringer sophomore Cole Bixenman in SOU’s line of fire.

“I thought I broke my leg; the pain started localizing in the ankle area,” Franklin said. “Once I saw the stretcher I immediately started trying to move my ankle. Once I could move my ankle I knew I had to get out of there without being on a stretcher, because once I was on the stretcher I would never play [in the game] again.”

Smith was more worried about who would play if Bixenman was injured. Freshmen Ryan Cook and Andy Hunthausen are behind Bixenman on the depth chart.

Those thoughts faded after one series as Franklin returned despite a substantial leg injury.

“I started realizing adrenaline was taking over, and at that time I had to make a decision whether I wanted to play,” Franklin said. “So I told the doctor to tape me up. He put me in a cast, basically. I knew it was questionable so the only way I was going to be able to tell was if I went in.”

Despite Franklin’s valiant finish, to continue the healing process the coaches will sit Franklin this week against Menlo College on Oct. 4. Franklin suffered a grade-three high ankle sprain and fractured bone spur in his ankle but expects to be fully recovered against Whitworth College. Grade-three sprains are considered the worst of their kind.

Bixenman will be at the helm of the Linfield team, which has a home-field record of 26-3 in the past five years.

“It’s easier to play at home for a variety of factors,” Smith said. “It’s just the home-field noise factor that’s disruptive to the offense.”

Franklin said he agrees, and hopes the team and fans can duplicate the atmosphere from last week’s game.

Menlo, 1-3 overall, will be the first league game for the Wildcats.