The Commuter - December 2022

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T H E

L I N N - B E N T O N

VOL. 54 EDITION 4

AU REVOIR, AUTUMN

Student Photo Tribute to Fall ’22

WRITING ON THE WALL

Student Poems and Prose

HOW TO GET FED

A Conversation with Artist Betty Turbo

C O M M U N I T Y

C O L L E G E

DECEMBER 2022

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR W

e’ve made it. It’s been 10 weeks of assigned reading and class forums, field work and work study, critical thinking, critical writing, writing endlessly. We’ve navigated the reintroduction of campus life, and in turn had to chip off the rust from our interpersonal skills, the ones that had taken a sabbatical for the past two years. Maybe you made it to the end of this term feeling strong, with your head high, a polished picture of confidence (inspiring). And maybe you made it here by the skin of your teeth, a bit out of breath, a bit more out of sorts (just as inspiring).

I’ll tell you right now — a finish is a finish, no matter how you slice it.

ABOUT US

This term put up a good fight. I’ve been attending LBCC for two years now (and because of my attachment issues, administration will likely have to escort me off the premises if they want me to ever leave). So I was under the assumption that once you get the hang of something, it’s a smooth lil’ joy ride sail from there on out. I naively thought that fleeting sleep, lackluster health, an extra job, a polarized country, an overpriced scone that was the driest disappointment of my adult life wouldn’t affect my toolkit of academic skills I have amassed.

Thought I could just brush aside the hard factors and churn out the level of schoolwork I’ve done in the past. Believe it or not, I’ve been wrong before.

None of this is linear. Life is tricky and tough and it can be hard to show up as our best selves when the routes feel narrow and built from a rock-and-hard-place foundation. Throw in an egregiously dismal scone? It’s impossible not to get set over the edge. Finishing something in this kind of climate, when all the elements are roaring, is nothing short of monumental. I mean that. As the final grades start rolling in, know that if you continued to show up when it would have been lightyears easier to call it quits, then you did the harder thing. The hardest thing, actually. If you kept working in some capacity that brought you to the term’s close, even and especially when you wanted to opt out, then trust me when I say that is the

THE COMMUTER IS THE STUDENT-RUN

magazine for LBCC, financed by student fees and advertising. Opinions expressed in The Commuter do not necessarily reflect those of the LBCC administration, faculty and students of LBCC. Editorials, columns, letters, and cartoons reflect the opinions of the authors. LBCC is an equal opportunity educator and employer

LETTERS WELCOME

The Commuter encourages readers to use its “Opinion” section to express their views on campus, community, regional and national issues. The Commuter attempts to print all submissions received, but reserves the right to edit for grammar, length, libel, privacy concerns and taste. Opinions expressed by letter submitters do not represent the views of the Commuter staff or the College.

A.P. course of decisions. And it warrants a really ornate trophy.

With that solidified, it’s about time for some bright and shiny fun. And The Commuter is here to help. To wrap up the term, it was important to us to showcase the creativity of our student body and surrounding community.

Cue: the Arts and Lit edition. We’ve got a great lineup this month, featuring student writing, student photography, a local artist, and, of course, our recurring A&E section that is quite literally fun and games.

While we’re signing off for now, you can rest easy as we’ll be back in January with a litany of new ideas to keep this magazine fresh to death for all of you voracious readers. We’re so lucky to get the opportunity to create these publications for you all, for having the chance to try new things with such a supportive audience. So find us again in Winter term. But for now, sit back, relax and recharge, Roadrunners. You’ve earned it.

Leah Biesack Editor-in-Chief

JOIN THE TEAM

WANNA GET TOGETHER?

We’re really nice and fairly cool and we’d love to hear what you have to say. Not big on journalism but love to journal? Perfect. Are you a STEM major with major opinions? Let’s hear ’em. Like writing about ’80s film? Local animals? Snack hacks? Maybe you have a hefty folder of flash fiction on your laptop, just dying to be published and printed. Drop us a line. We’d love to meet you, read you, and support you. Think your ideas might be too weird or too niche for submission? Even better. The Commuter is an award-winning publication because of our wide range of contributions and our unique contributors. So reach out. We’ll be staring at our email inbox in the meantime, not an ounce of chill to be had.

STAFF CONTENTS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LEAH BIESACK

DESIGN EDITOR

KAILYN MCQUISTEN

SPORTS EDITOR CARSYN MEYERS

ARTS & LIT EDITOR CODI WOOD

WEB EDITOR

CAROLINA SALLES

REVIEWS

STEVEN PRYOR

HOW TO GET FED

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AU REVOIR, AUTUMN

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WRITING ON THE WALL

09

SEE, HEAR, AND SPEAK SOME EVIL

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STEVEN’S REVIEWS

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A Conversation with Artist Betty Turbo

Student Photo Tribute to Fall ’22

Student Poems and Prose

Hark! The Herald Angels Scream

Wakanda Forever

MARKETING DIRECTOR RYAN JANOWITZ

ADVISOR

ROB PRIEWE

CONTRIBUTORS

BRENDA AUTRY DAMIAN AVALOS JOSH CANDÉ MONET GUTT SHAWN HINZ KAILEY LEGIER KEVIN MCILVENNY SARAH PRIETO REID SODEMAN

@LBCommuter LBCC The Commuter @LBCommuter

front and back cover photos via BETTY TURBO Find past issues of the Commuter at issuu.com/lbcccommuter or lbcommuter.com

Local artist Betty Turbo talks community, creativity and nourishment words by LEAH BIESACK photos via BETTY TURBO

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SECTION TITLE

S photo by LEAH BIESACK

C COMMUTER

This year, autumn swept in with all her soft elegance, dripping with panache, with the kind of color scheme that sells out a stadium. She’s a chic season — we know it, and she knows it. And while she never stays for very long, it doesn’t stop us from getting attached (clingy, even). So what do we do? As we move into the incoming rains, how do we temper our mourning? Easy. We turn to the Photojournalism students. For the past ten weeks, they have been hard at work from behind the lens, finding the light, perfecting the focus. And it shows.

With an array of still frames exhibiting how this season showed up on our campus, how it swirled within our communities, we’ll be able to slip into the temporary statement of gray that is a Willamette Valley winter with a little more ease. Autumn was here for a sweet spell — we’ve got the photos to prove it, and the Photojournalism students to thank.

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photo by KEVIN MCILVENNY

photo by SHAWN HINZ

photo by JOSH CANDÉ ▲ Sunset falling over an autumn campus.

▲ Courthouse in Downtown Corvallis

photo by DAMIAN AVALOS

photo by REID SODEMAN

photo by MONET GUTT ▼ The Albany Historic Carousel

photo by BRENDA AUTRY

▲ One of the window displays you can find in Historic Downtown Albany as the city says “au revoir” to autumn and welcomes a festive winter.

COMMUTER

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"Calling all Roadrunners! Hi, my name’s Danae, and I am your Student Leadership Council (SLC) President for the 22-23 school year. I am a third-year student, majoring in HDFS with a Human Services emphasis and 1-year accounting certificate. Have faith in yourself and get involved! I never thought I was capable of being president of anything, but I am here trying my best for SLC and you!

You are more capable than you perceive so go out, test yourself, and trust yourself. Good luck this Fall term, and I hope to see you applying for SLC in Winter!"

Why join the Student Leadership Council?

Meet new and cool people; Brainstorm, plan and participate in LBCC events;

If you are interested send an email to:

getinvolved@linnbenton.edu OR

come to the Student Union!

Make a difference and help the student body; Improve your leadership skills and the ones particularly related to your position; Make your college experience unique!

Article by Duda Reolon

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SECTION TITLE

BLOOM

on the

MOON words by SARAH PRIETO

How can the rain make something so bright like the colors of the leaves into something so blue How can I turn something beautiful like you into such a dark hue Sometimes I wonder if flowers can grow on the moon I’ll plant a garden just for me and you Maybe we can build a house there too A place far away for just us two You can help me make something beautiful for us, here on the moon

graphics by STARLINE via FREEPIK

COMMUTER

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Exquisite

CORPSE words by THE CREATIVE WRITING CLUB

graphics by CREATIVEPACK and BRGFX via FREEPIK and KAILYN MCQUISTEN

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WRITING ON THE WALL

my memories tied to those

UNKNOWN words by CODI WOOD

graphics by FREEPIK

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DO YOU WANT TO HELP OUT OUR COMMUNITY? Consider joining the LBCC Volunteer Program. You can earn stickers, beanies, t-shirts, and free credits for all the hard work you do.

The next big volunteer opportunity is the

Blood Drive with the Red Cross.

Help us check-in donators!

Tuesday 1/10 & Wednesday 1/11 Fireside Room, 10am-3pm

Scan me!

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A&E

SOME EVIL A Monthly Horror Media Review words by KAILEY LEGIER

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BOOK

REVIEWS

SEE, HEAR, AND SPEAK

word

reviews by LEAH BIESACK

The Pillow Book Sei Shōnagon

Mundanity spun into pure loveliness.

The New Year’s Sacrifice Lu Xun

Expertly crafted. Exposes fractured society.

The Sorrow of War Bào Ninh

It’s heavy, but presented beautifully.

“We all laugh harder around a campfire, because we don’t want to acknowledge that some part of us is deeply concerned about what’s out there just beyond the reach of the firelight.”

graphic by MACROVECTOR via FREEPIK COMMUTER 13

FOREVER

WAKANDA

(And ever and ever and ever)

words by STEVEN PRYOR photos by DISNEY PRESS

DIRECTED BY: Ryan Coogler (Based on the graphic novel series by Marvel Comics) STARRING: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel and Martin Freeman with Tenoch Huerta and Dominque Thorne RATED: PG-13 OVERALL RATING: ★★★★★ 14

A&E

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lack Panther: Wakanda Forever is the final film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the sequel to the 2018 runaway smash hit. As a sequel to one of the franchise’s most acclaimed standalone films, and a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman (who succumbed to cancer in 2020 at age 43), it marks a worthy successor and one of the franchise’s best standalone films to date.

The story takes place one year after the passing of King T’Challa. As the nation of Wakanda tries to forge a path forward and find a new heir to take up the mantle of Black Panther, a mysterious being known as Namor the Submariner (Tenoch Huerta, Narcos) emerges from the lost city of Atlantis to challenge the rule of the Earth’s surface. The story unfolds in a mammoth 161-minute epic that not only lives up to the hype, but provides a spectacular and touching template for future installments.

Though following up a film as beloved and successful as the first Black Panther was never going to be an easy task, it became one that got even more challenging with the novel coronavirus/ COVID-19 pandemic, along with the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman.

Director Ryan Coogler, who has

experience with both personal films such as Fruitvale Station and the spectacle of blockbuster filmmaking from his work on the previous film and the first Creed film in 2015; pays tribute to his late collaborator and friend while also making a thrilling globetrotting adventure.

The film marks the 30th main installment in the franchise, and shows just how far Marvel Studios has come since the release of the first Iron Man. On top of Namor being connected to the much-anticipated entry of the X-Men to the MCU, new characters such as Iron Heart (Dominque Thorne) are a standout. You see every bit of the film’s $250 million budget on the screen, from an opening fight on an offshore drilling rig to Namor’s kingdom in Atlantis to the moment when the new Black Panther is finally crowned to enter the battle.

With a new record box office opening for Veteran’s Day weekend, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marks a fitting finale to Phase Four of the MCU, a worthy sequel to 2018’s Black Panther, and especially as a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. It’s an easy recommendation to end this phase of the franchise and as a template for what lies ahead.

Complete the grid so each row, column, and 3x3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit.

Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.53)

2

4

7

3

1

3 4 4

2 8

5

8 8

5

4

9

1 8

2

1 3

ACROSS 01) ___ Rica 06) Style hair 10) Standardized HS exam 14) Re. vision 15) Spiritual leader 16) Spartan queen 17.) Volunteer org. established by JFK in 1961 19) Word of closing 20) Indefinite amount 21) Fling 22) Stressful 24) Biore target 25) Jai ___ 26) Mysterious; secret 29) Winter wear 33) Glistened 34) Algerian port 35) Small weight 36) Said 3 times, a film about Pearl Harbor 37) Roofing material

38) Concluding passage 39) Dutch export 40) News magazine 41) Star Wars character 42) Family reunion attendee 44) Caregiver 45) Sugar source 46) Sharp curve 47) Comment 50) Indian garment 51) Flower-to-be 54) Range feature 55) Music, art, etc., embraced by the mainstream 58) Bristle 59) Miscellany 60) Sizeable 61) Sea near Uzbekistan 62) Grand Ole Opry's state 63) Fury

DOWN

01) NYC nightclub, shortly 02) Ready for business 03) Stopover 04) Twitch 05) Common solvent 06) In the vicinity 07) Crew members 08) Mischief-maker 09) Eagles: "Life in the ___" 10) One in a pack, perhaps 11) Big rig 12) Mideast port 13) Zest 18) Nucleus 23) Operated 24) Waterway project completed in 1914 25) Winged 26) Fall bloomer 27) ___ Island 28) Pink shade

29) 30) 31) 32) 34) 37) 41) 43) 44) 46) 47)

Art shop purchase Wear away Burdened Chic Shade of green Musk turtle Popular flavor Pavement Lima's land Breakfast favorite Parks of civil rights fame 48) At any time 49) I ___ man with seven wives. . .

50) Washer cycle 51) Town 52) Compulsion 53) Forest dweller 56) Corrida cheer 57) Bronzed

“It’s All PC” by Allen Vaughan

▼ View last edition’s answers!

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6 4

3 9

6

1

2

4

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Thu Nov 24 01:34:42 2022 GMT. Enjoy!

Tuesdays at the Co-op

15% off produce

FOR STUDENTS

with valid student ID from an Oregon college

2 Corvallis locations open 7am-9pm daily

North: 2855 NW Grant Ave. South: 1007 SE Third St. @firstaltcoop ACROSS 01 ) Killarney's isle 05) Desert Storm weapons 10 ) Date tree 14 ) Fruity flavored cereal for kids 15 ) Ike's bride 16 ) Double-reed woodwind 17 ) Gemini grp.

18 ) Country club set 20) Creates Looney Tunes 22) Kathy of country 23) Veto, slangily

39) Madison Avenue catchphrases 41 ) Grazing spot 42) Unwilling (to) 44) Campbell of Hollywood 45) Winglike 46) DiMaggio's was 56 48) Kind of permit 50) Lanka leader?

51) First name in the James Bond series 52) Word with metric or nervous 55) Plant sprout

DOWN

01 ) Mediterranean peak 02) Land where Farsi is spoken 03) Emerging talent 04) Scrutinize 05) Obscene material 06) Good Hope or Fear 07) Strike arbiters?

08) Run out of gas 09) Oration from the Mount 10) Foreshadowing sign 11 ) Touch 12) Misplace 13) Prefix with physics or

31 ) Has-been diva 32) "Don't shed ___" 33) Russian emperors until 1917 36) Roof overhang 39) Unselfish sort 40) Educators org.

43) Examination administrators 45) Clocks with sweepng hands 47) Korean pickled cabbage 49) Eliminate 52) Tennis grand ___

COMMUTER

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Head to The Commuter website (via this handy QR code!) for a second helping of Betty Turbo, along with other engaging stories not featured here. And while you’re at it, sign up for our newsletter so you can be first in line when we dish up the latest campus and local news!