The things I need to work on...

Photo credit: Sarah Melcher On Monday, April 30, Senator Jeff Merkley held his 344th town hall in the Russell Tripp Performance Center at LBCC, where he answered questions, gifted a representative of the American Legion Post No. 10 a flag that flew over the capitol, and touched on issues regarding climate change and net neutrality. Albany Mayor Sharon Konopa emceed the town hall and David Solomon a representative from the American Legion Post, who was also a 9/11 first responder, gave an opening statement explaining how the post works with setting up a suicide hotline for veterans. Solomon said, “Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day, and if we can prevent one then we did something right,” Sen. Merkley thanked the representative for his service and gave him a flag that once flew over the U.S. Capitol. The senator spoke about net neutrality before beginning the question-and-answer session. “100 to one of the phone calls I receive are in regards to net neutrality,” ...

Courtesy of Flickr.com So I’m in a bathroom at LBCC standing in front of a sink with my hands up like a heart surgeon. I just dropped a heinous deuce and washed my hands, but there's a problem; I can’t dry them. The only things available to aid this situation are those Dyson jet hand dryers. They do get the job done in regards to drying my hands, but they coat my hands with microbes of poo. Most of which are not my own. Now, I would trust Dyson telling me that their hand dryers are the “ most hygenic ” out there, but I don’t. Honestly, Dyson’s assurance of the cleanliness of their dryers is like a lettuce supplier advertising that their lettuce is E-coli-free. It’d make me a little concerned. So I decided to do a little digging and what I found was surprising. A review done by the Mayo Clinic (“ The Hygienic Efficacy of Different Hand-Drying Methods: A Review of the Evidence ,” Huang, et. al) reports that jet dryers are almost as effective in drying hands as th...

The LBCC student art exhibition in North Santiam Hall transforms the college building from a place of strict academia into a lively art gallery filled with spontaneous and diverse soul. The NSH exhibit runs until the middle of May and will have an opening and awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 2, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The awards ceremony will take place on the second floor. It features a variety of art works from oil, watercolor, and acrylic paintings, to a few collages, ink, and pencil drawings, and even a few ceramic pieces. The student art exhibition in NSH happens in the middle of the busy lives of students and faculty members of LBCC. In their rush to meet deadlines, arrive to classes, and the pressures of their daily lives, they often tend to overlook the artwork featured in the gallery, with the exception of “The Incredulity of Saint Thomas” (“Transgender Jesus”). Right when you enter the gallery the first thing you notice more than anything is a large art piece by James Harle...

Courtesy of Pixabay.com LBCC student Anthony Lusardi walked into the North Santiam Hall and was shocked when he saw a work of art that sparked controversy and eventually helped build the Civil Discourse Club. The art piece displayed in NSH was depicting two men fornicating in explicit detail. Some people found it offensive and encouraged it to be taken down, while others found it expressive and were okay with it being uncensored and displayed. They submitted their opinions to a comment box nearby. However, that didn't spark conversation to drive the discussion forward, instead, some comments contained hateful language. Lusardi wanted to start an effective discussion. He and his peers, along with the help of faculty member Mark Urista , set up a debate that was more of a discourse. Unlike a debate, where there is a right or wrong side, a discourse allows for people of varying views to express their opinions in an open-minded environment in hopes to achieve a mutual un...