Alyssa TownsendNewspaper PracticesA Selection of Newspaper Articles for The Linfield Review

Linfield Receives Grant that will Help Create Worlds Largest Archive on Wine Industry

Linfield College recently received the Oregon Cultural Trusts $8,000 Cultural Development Grant in order to revive and organize The Oregon Wine History Archive (OWHA). Oregon culture has played a crucial role in our history and will continue to strengthen Oregons future through rich cultural commerce such as the Oregon Wine Industry. Linfield received this grant through a written proposal to the Oregon Cultural Trust, whose purpose is to support programs that help the public get access to the states culture.While the collection is still in the beginning stages, it will emerge as the largest and most comprehensive archive of any wine industry in the world, said Rachael Woody, Linfields archivist and one of the main creators of the grant proposal. The OWHA will eventually house information on all aspects of the wine industry, from planting the grape to selling the wine. Catharine Jarmin Miller, Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations and other main contributor to the grant proposal, quoted part of the grant proposal. As part of the larger agricultural world, the growing and processing of wine grapes can be seen as a microcosm to study the relationships of divergent classes of people, human interaction with the land, and the industrys growing importance to Oregons economy.Woody continued to explain why winning this grant is such a triumph.It is important that Linfield College take up the responsibility of stewardship for our local communitys history, she said. For the wine industrys history specifically, we are at a pivotal time where the original pioneers are retiring and the next generation is taking over. Now is the time to collect as much history as we can before we lose invaluable founding documents, a lifetime of knowledge, and hours upon hundreds of hours of stories. Ultimately, the archive is expected to be a big contribution to Linfield and the surrounding communities. An excerpt from the grant proposal states, These digitized materials have been used by students in a variety of discipline, including history, food, science/technology, sociology/anthropology, and agriculture/resource economics. [The OWHA] is also a tremendous opportunity for students to get hands on experience and for students working with the archivist to learn how to preserve history and provide access through digital media, Miller said. It will increase awareness of our important (and fun!) local history, Woody commented via email. The Oregon Wine History Archive will begin uploading digital content next month at http://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/owha.

Linfield Professor Rewarded for her Outstanding Service to the College.

Linfield College wouldnt be the very well recognized institution it is without the people who work hard every day to better its programs and students, among these supporters is recent Edith Green Distinguished Professor Award winner Deborah Olsen. The Edith Green Distinguished Professor Award is awarded to one outstanding professor every year since its founding in 1980. Since being at the college in 1992 Professor Olsen has held many positions necessary to the wellbeing of Linfield including former history professor, competitive scholarship advisor, and previous director of academic advising. Olsen is also known and praised for her role as supervisor on the Linfield Colloquium program. All incoming freshmen go through Colloquium to help assimilate into the college lifestyle, at the same time making friends and learning about the plethora of opportunities available to Linfield students. Colloquium helps students have cohorts that are in the same boat as them said Liz Atkinson. Atkinson is a Chemistry professor as well as a colloquium advisor who has previously worked with Professor Olsen.Deborah Olsen was an incredible individual to work with. She helped design colloquium, in an effort to help with freshmen with retention and transition from high school to college. It gives them a sense of belonging and makes Linfield home. She organized Colloquium from the very beginning and it has now transitioned into the great program it is today, said Liz Atkinson.Students have been known to hold off taking a history class until they were able to take it from Professor Olsen. Many of my students thought she was a wonderful instructor and very dynamic professor commented Atkinson. As a competitive scholarship advisor Olsen helped many Linfield students apply and win the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship. Atkinson remarked on Professor Olsens role in Linfields competitive scholarship program, She took on a ten person job alone with the Fulbright Scholarship. She did a lot of one on one mentoring and made Linfield an extremely strong competitor with these scholarships because of her work. Even though Olsen is no longer a competitive scholarship advisor, she has established a scholarship to help the students of Linfield even in her absence. The Deborah M. Olsen Public Service Internship provides students with the opportunity to expand their education into practical use in the real world. By learning outside the classroom students are preparing themselves for their future competitive field of choice.Linfield wont be the same without such an influential woman, but after 20 years Professor Olsen is on to new ventures starting with her current trip to Croatia.

Linfield Student excels at improving hometown community

When a student takes action into their own hands it deserves to be recognized, and that is exactly what the Debra Olsen Public Service Scholarship did for Linfield senior Katharine Holm. As an environment studies major, Holm decided to apply for the scholarship after receiving a campus wide email. This scholarship is for really talented students, giving them a chance at intellectually advancing summers. I wanted to help them grow as people and professionals, said Debra Olsen, founder of the scholarship and past competitive scholarship advisor at Linfield. Olsen contributed money slowly until she could get a scholarship of her own endowed. This was my gift to Linfield after the many wonderful years I spent here, Olsen said. This particular scholarship was made for those students who have majors that dont have many internship opportunities. The scholarship gives students from different majors, like French and history, the chance to get prepared for life after college. Now, liberal arts majors have a chance to be equally prepared for competitive career fields thanks to opportunities like the Debra Olsen Public Service ScholarshipAfter completing an application and interviewing with Olsen, Holm was selected for the chance to have a career enriching summer that she was able to define for herself. Holm decided to use the scholarship to work with a nonprofit that deals with reducing pesticide usage in her hometown. I did projects dealing with environmental policy and community organizing, said Holm. I was able to work on a large county project, meeting with county, decision makers, and ensuring that the least toxic pest management was being used throughout the county. This was a big project because the decisions they made on how to deal with pests impacts everyone in the county and all things in the ecosystem as well, Holm said. We wanted to make sure the county wasnt doing unnecessary damage. In addition to this, Holm tried to create awareness on the harmful side effects of pesticides by doing community outreach and petitions at different venues. She also contacted large organizations to help get more political support. Winning this scholarship was a huge validation that what I was doing was important and that it needed to be done, Holm said. My hope is that others will be able to use the scholarship for a rewarding experience, as I did.

Remember to stay safe on campus

Just over a year ago Linfield was stuck by a string of crimes. A few backpacks were stolen, a student was mugged and another student was abducted, but luckily returned. These incidents made campus have a sense of hyper-awareness. Everyone was watching out for each other and campus grew stronger from it. With time, students began to forget to look out for one another. As students continue to forget to be safe, the potential for calamities rise. As a whole, the Linfield community often forgets that we are still a part of the rest of the world, where bad people do exist and disasters out of your control do happen. This is just a reminder to take care of one another. You might not even realize that you and your friends arent doing a good enough job at keep each other safe. Odds are you have found yourself in an uncomfortable situation that could have been prevented. For example, it is 1 a.m. after the library closed, you dont know anyone else leaving the library and you live Pioneer. What do you do? Most students dont want to call and wake up their friend for a ride or call campo because youve never done that before. Fact is that this is an issue of safety. Campus is safe, dont get me wrong, but random people do have the ability to walk around the campus whenever they want. Swallow your pride and take that ride from campo. Or call your friend for a ride, if they are a good one they will come. Dont risk walking back across an empty campus alone late at night, it can give even the bravest students the goose bumps. Many situations like this come up on a daily basis, when this happens take a second to really think about your safety. As children we relied on our parents for everything, from fulfilling physiological needs to safety. As college students we are finally responsible for our own decisions. But this responsibility shouldnt stop at just yourself; it should include every other student on campus whether they are your best friend or that quiet girl that sits in the back of your psych class. Doing the right thing isnt always easy, but it also isnt that hard. Linfield prides itself as a tight knit community where everyone cares and looks out for one another. Remember that motto. Take care of one another as though were all siblings or close friends. Watching each others backs is as simple as not letting your friend text while driving, walk home in the dark or leaving with a random guy at a party. Take every step possible to create and maintain a safe campus for your friends and yourself. Care for one another and make smart choices. Linfield is a very safe campus in comparison to most colleges, so dont be afraid but instead just be thoughtful of everyones safety.