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Inclusivity in Practice

My brother was born with a facial deformity. My first peer, it never occurred to me that the way he looked was particularly unusual, not unlike a unique nose or mole. My nonchalance about it sometimes shocked others. One horrified mother’s reaction when I thoughtlessly told her I recognized her daughter, “The girl with the cleft lip!”, will forever be burned into my mind. I forgot that the distinction wasn’t usually considered as neutral as being red-headed or extra tall. After growing up alongside my brother, I don’t fear having a child with a similar issue. Kids born with disabilities are, in entirely un-inspirational terms, normal. The biggest obstacle I fear for a kid with a disability is other kids. In elementary school everyone knew better than to be openly cruel, but there’s a vast distance between not-bullying a kid and recognizing them as one of us .                                                                                                                                
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Spring Term: Update

Life has been very hectic since my last blog post! I’ve gone forward with my applications to transfer to a handful of four-year universities and am anxiously awaiting their acceptance or rejection. My major is still in History with the intention of continuing onto law school. I’m in feature writing because I needed more credits to finish my AAOT degree and it seems like it would be more fun than News Reporting and Writing. I was lucky enough last term to be awarded a talent grant to continue writing for The Commuter this term and so alongside the feature writing I’ll still be writing some no-nonsense news. One story I’m working on that I’m very excited for is on the trip by LBCC students to Texas to perform an experiment during the eclipse on Monday. It’s my most daunting undertaking yet, as it’s so multifaceted and covers topics that I’m personally unfamiliar with. Three goals I have for this term are: 1) Making my turn-around on stories faster than last term. I tried to keep up the b
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One-on-One Chat with Jason Dorsette

Most LBCC students are familiar with the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion office and the clubs that meet there, such as Gay Straight Alliance and Estudiantes Del Sol , but few get to know the office’s executive director, Jason Dorsette. He has worked at LBCC for two years, moving over from OSU after eight years of work there. With a long history of civic engagement, including holding the presidency at the local NAACP chapter, and the board treasurer of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, Dorsette is a paragon in his field. While the office of EDI is on the second floor of Forum Building in room 220 on LBCC’s Albany campus, Dorsette’s office is a short walk to the first floor of Willamette Hall in room 135, directly across from the bookstore. He generously spared a chunk out of his busy schedule to answer some questions: What is EDI? EDI stands for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. What does the office of EDI do? The offi
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Save Yourself A Piece of the Pi: Pi Day Comes to LBCC's Corvallis and Albany Campuses

Source: Maryilang at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Lovers of math and dessert rejoice!   Faculty at both the Albany and Corvallis campuses of LBCC are celebrating pi day with students with activities, games, prizes, and pie.  In the 1980s in San Francisco a physicist at the San Francisco Exploratorium celebrated the first pi day, and the event has stuck. The trend has been to celebrate on March 14 at 1:59 p.m., representing the first six digits of pi: 3.14159. Now the tradition continues locally with the help of LBCC’s annual pi day.  “It’s a day to be math-y and eat pie,” said Nicole Seaders, math faculty at LBCC who’s helping organize the event on the Albany campus.  The celebration on both campuses will include a pi-ku contest. It’s similar to a haiku, with the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, except a pi-ku has a 3-1-4 syllable pattern. On both campuses there will be a vote on the best pi-ku with prizes. The Corvallis campus’ pi-ku prize is a pizza, while the Alb
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LBCC's Clothing Connection Prepares for Upcoming Grand Opening

Photos courtesy of Sarah Rose Larson Need a smart outfit for an interview? The Roadrunner Clothing Connection has your back. Valentine’s Day celebrated the soft-launch of Roadrunner Clothing Connection, a resource for free clothes for Linn-Benton Community College’s students and employees. The grand opening will be on Wednesday, March 6 at noon in room 109 of the Forum Building of LBCC’s Albany Campus. The Roadrunner Clothing Connection’s normal operating hours will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday until the end of spring term. Upon entering a student is greeted at the back wall by a mannequin dressed in some of Roadrunner Clothing Connection's fashions. There are a half-dozen or so full clothing racks and walls of cubby-style shelves filled with folded garments and shoes. Overseen by the American Association for Women in Community Colleges , the Clothing Connection carries donated jackets, coats, dresses, pants, jeans, dresses, pajamas, shoes, bras, ties, and menstrual h
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Finn Johnson Presents on the Constitutionality of Anti-Trans Legislation (or Lack thereof)

  ( Photo courtesy of Finn Johnson) Are your rights under attack? Finn Johnson argued that they are when presenting Jan. 25 at LBCC on the topic of anti-constitutionalist, anti-trans legislation.  Johnson has a bachelor’s degree in sexuality, gender, and queer studies from Portland State University , a master's in women, gender, and sexuality studies from Oregon State University and is currently a doctoral student at OSU in women, gender, and sexuality studies, as well as ethnic studies.  Johnson spoke at LBCC’s Diversity, Equality, and Inclusivity Office on the Albany campus. Upon entering you see a table with event flyers and complementary masks and hand sanitizer. In the back of the room another table displayed a sign up sheet and free drinks. On the left of the room is the podium where presenters speak, and on the right a corner of armchairs surrounding a coffee table. Sprawled across the center of the space are various chairs and tables for the audience.  As students entere
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Roast Runners 101: Inside LBCC's #1 Third Space

(photo courtesy of  Samantha Marsh)  Need somewhere to hang out other than work, class, or home?  Roast Runners is Linn-Benton Community College’s premier space on the Albany campus for students to relax while they work, hang out, or attend events. RoastRunner’s is a good “third space” as described by manager Jonah Wasmer, who has been managing the cafe for about a year. As you enter the cafe a long bar sits against the front window.  As you walk further, several small round tables run against the right wall. The center of the cafe  looks like a living room in the center with black leather chairs arranged in a circle for talking. The color scheme is a sleek black and gray.  The cafe is connected with many other parts of the college. The venue frequently hosts staff and student club meetings and assorted events. For example on Jan. 19 karaoke night filled the space. The graphic design department is involved in the cafe’s logo and merchandise designs; and the art department is gearing u
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