Scholarships Available at LBCC

Nearly 100 scholarships are available to students at LBCC.

Nursing, science, welding, environmental technology, foreign language, international student, waste management, pharmacy tech, culinary arts, and automotive are just a few.

Donations for scholarships are made by businesses, organizations, clubs, and individuals. Some are set up by families in memorial of a loved one.

One type of scholarship is a straight cash donation made to be used until the money is gone. A second type of scholarship is called an "endowment" that has a generous minimum of $15,000 donation. An endowment donation stays in an account and only uses the earnings of the initial donation, ensuring that the money will never run out.

Applications are accepted during the first four weeks of Spring and Fall Terms. There may be individual department scholarships offered independently on a case-by-case inquiry, but there are many options for financial assistance if students know where to look. Unfortunately, each year many scholarships go unclaimed.

"Every scholarship cycle there is money not awarded because there aren't enough applicants," said Sharon Wall, financial aid scholarship coordinator.

However, the biggest issue for scholarships not being rewarded to those that do apply are incomplete applications and failure to provide proof of requirements such as veteran status.

"One great thing students can do is have someone proof and review their application for completeness," said Bev Gerig, director of financial aid.

Financial Aid accepts all the applications and does the initial review of applicants to weed out those that don't meet the criteria or are incomplete. Then applications are put together for Paulette Myers and for the scholarship committee, which reads all presented applications and decides who will be the awardees.

The committee looks at the financial needs of the applicant and a snapshot of their financial aid picture. Other criteria may be GPA, extracurricular activities, clubs, and volunteer work. Some require sports or SLC leadership involvement. Some require an essay.

Paulette Myers, foundation coordinator at LBCC, works with high school counselors and the LBCC Financial Aid office to make sure students have as many options as possible and know where to find them.

"I coordinate events and fundraisers like a golf tournament every year. And I sit in on the committee for scholarships,” Myers said. "I get to have fun making the money, and I get to have fun giving out the money.”

The money is up for grabs, but where can students find it?

The LBCC website has a database of scholarships with detailed information attached to each one. Requirements to apply are named for each, ranging from city or county of residence to age, gender, nationality, or major.

Quick access to the list can be found by searching the word "scholarships" on the LBCC homepage.

The complete list of Fall Term scholarships will be available on September 1.

LBCC: Students Respond to Potential Threat

On Friday, May 23, students were asked about their knowledge regarding the potential threat made on the LBCC campus.

The Commuter asked the students if they had heard about the threat on campus. All four students had the same response.


No they did not.

The students were then asked if they noticed the police car that was parked on the lawn in front of Takena Hall. Their reply was again the same.

Yes they did.

The students interviewed were freshmen Zheng Luo, Jacob Walbert, Jimmy Li, and sophmore Luke Yokoyama.

Combined efforts of the Albany Police Department and LBCC Security Department seemed to pay off. No incident occurred on campus as was reported by a tipster on Wednesday, May 21.

A concerned student, after learning of the threat, came into The Commuter office on Friday afternoon and questioned staff present as to why the student body was not notified of the happenings on campus.

Another student reported to The Commuter that they heard of the incident on the radio station KLOO around 6 a.m. on Friday.

The Barometer, the student newspaper at OSU, reported the tip of the threat on their online site Thursday afternoon before The Commuter or LBCC students were informed.

On Tuesday, May 27, The Commuter asked four students if they felt they should have been informed by the administration via the “text alert” system that there was a potential threat. All were aware of the treat from various media coverage over the weekend. 

"Yes, it would have been nice to let people know even though it was a false threat," said freshman Mitchell Widharma.


"Yes, it should have been," said freshman Kevin Freeman.

"Yes, that would've be nice," said sophomore Leni Morris.

"Yes, it's probably a good thing to let students know so they can be aware," said freshman Michael Johnson.

Students Play Sand Vollyball at LBCC

The Linn-Benton Community College campus in Albany swarms with activity in the spring. Students can choose to play soccer, tennis, ping pong, baseball, ultimate frisbee, and basketball for fun or sport. On this sunny Thursday students gather to play sand volleyball, a spring class offered from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Elizabeth Garrett (far left), Ilya Zhimanov, Meagen Urbach, Shayla Dean (far right), Christina Nerys (green tee), and  Matt Trask (red shorts) stand prepared while Jake Fregoso moves for the ball. During the week approaching finals, they keep score of the game, but competition is friendly with high-fives and kudos.

Christina Nerys serves up and slams the ball to her opponents.

Elizabeth Garrett (far left)  and Shayla Dean are prepared to help Ilya Zhimanov get the ball back over the net where Haley Collins awaits to return it.

Nearly Normal's: Corvallis's Strictly Vegetarian Restaurant

Photo courtesy of YELP.com

In 1979 the building now known as Nearly Normal's Gonzo Cuisine was a run-down cafe looking to sell when business failed. 

Five friends got together and decided to do something completely unique—open the first strictly vegetarian restaurant in Corvallis. Since 1980 it has dominated the market remaining the only of its kind.

Marcia Babel was one of the five founders and was the one who spotted the building that is as unique as the menu. With purple trim and adorned with over-sized iris cut-outs to match, one can't miss it when they drive by.

The concept of a no-meat-zone was mutual between the founders who were all vegetarians at the time. They created the menu from scratch. Their continued goal is to maintain a cooperative work environment, a unique style, and a "growth through challenge" attitude at the restaurant.

In 1984 the first remodel went underway on the original space which was only the cramped downstairs dining area. Now Nearly's has an outdoor seating area encompassed by plants and herbs and an upstairs dining area with plentiful sun from large windows.

They remain a single location but have over 20 co-ops, restaurants, and grocery stores in Oregon that sell their retail products. Venders in Eugene, Salem, Albany, Corvallis, Portland, Ashland, and Newport sell Nearly's tofu spice mix, whole wheat pancake mix, Tamari Ginger Vinaigrette dressing, and packaged sun burgers.

"Our sun burgers are the only veggie burger they sell on the OSU campus," said Babel.

The chefs cook with as many local and organic products as possible. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner six days a week and offering catering and take-out, they have creative eats for anyone willing to have a nearly-normal dining experience.

Corvallis: Action at the Willamette River Front

A great place for relaxation or socialization, the river front in Corvallis is alive with activity on a sunny spring day. Readers, runners, bikers, kids, enjoy the community recreation area that parallels the Willamette river.  

Riley Cron grinds the "little bowl" at the skate park under the overpass as Jeffery Bierman looks on. 

The Oregon State University rowing team practices on the Willamette river. 

Gwen Bogard accompanies John McGee  as he strums and sings "There Ain't No T On That" by Hank Williams.

Behind The Comic Strip: Jake Vaughan and Cameron Reed

 

Friends for six years, Cameron Reed draws the comics and Jake Vaughan helps with ideas, dialog, and marketing. These two make quite the team, and a funny one at that.

 

Placing third for the 2014 Oregon Newspaper Publisher Association's Best Cartooning for college papers, Reed and Vaughan are accomplished teens. Not only are they weekly artists for The Commuter but they are regulars in the Lebenon Express.

 

Reed has been creating various characters since 5th grade but when he teamed up with Vaughan in High School it was Vaughan who got them the gig with the Lebenon Express. The Commuter came second.

 

"[Lebenon Express] keeps us on a tight rope there. It's basically politics about Lebenon," said Vaughan.

 

"We use [The Commuter] for our funny ones," said Reed.

 

They're first creative venture together was a band that included Vaughan's brother Adam.

 

"If we could play it we'd call it a song," joked Vaughan. "We used to be known as the guys with the band, now we're the cartoonists."

 

Their inspiration comes from every day situations such as a cougar sighting in Lebenon that got Reed thinking about the other kind of cougar, older ladies. Thus a recent strip featured a punch line incorporating the idea.

 

"I work in the food industry and there's some funny stuff that happens there," said Reed.

 

Both are fans of "Family Guy" and "South Park." Reed enjoys The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbs.

 

They credit each other for inspiration in their comic strip Adventures of R.J. and James.

 

"We use eachother to look at the joke and give us a bigger range of humer. It's fun for us, we hang out and talk," said Reed.

 

Reed graduated from Lebenon High last year while he was duel enrolled and LBCC. He plans on continuing in the graphic design program. His hope is to design products for a large company.

 

Vaughan is a sophmore at Lebenon High but plans on continuing his education at LBCC after graduation. He is undecided what he wants to pursue.

 

"I'm still working on a band," he joked.

 

Their success in the Lebenon Express and The Commuter have brought them a small dose of hometown fame.

 

"We get feedback all the time at my school. Since they're political the teachers say something," said Vaughan.

 

"I've gotten feedback from people at work. 'You're the guy that does cartoons' they'll say," said Reed.

 

The duo plans on expanding their readership to other local papers this summer. The New Era in Sweet Home and the Albany Democrat-Herald are next on the list.

 

The works of Reed and Vaughan can be found on their Facebook for R.J. and James Cartoons or on The Commuter comics online.

 

Newport: Bay Front Happenings

The sun was shining Mother's Day weekend. Families flocked to Bay Front in Newport to enjoy the sights and sounds of harbor life. Enjoying art galleries, window shopping, eating sweet treats, and a bowl of Mo's famous clam chowder were a few favorite activities for moms and their loved ones. This historic bay front is listed #6 as a "must see" location on tripadivser.com for coast sight-seeing.

A sailor leaves the harbor in the fishing boat Four Forty for an evening expedition. Some boats returning from fishing will dock at Bay Front and sell seafood off their boats, straight from the ocean to the dinner table.

Judy Coghill cleans a halibut caught by a customer on a Tradewinds Charter boat. Full of hopeful fishermen, it left at 6 a.m. and docked at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 12. Nearly everyone caught their limit. Coghill has been filleting fish for over 25 years. She can filet about 110 fish an hour. 

Tourists and locals alike line the pier and watch in amusement at the sea lion residents play, sleep, and scuffle. Sunning themselves on docks that used to be for the fisherman, they are now permanent fixtures for all to see, hear, and smell.

The Aftermath: LBCC Responds To Student Rights

It's been three weeks since the incident that sparked debate regarding dress code, systemic oppression and de-escalation became abuzz on campus.

In response to last week's article involving Jamaal McGinty and his eventual suspension, LBCC President Greg Hamann released a campus-wide memo addressing the college's core values of intolerance.

A source not authorized to make an official statement has confirmed that the staff member who initially approached McGinty in the Learning Center has been removed from campus permanently. According to the source an investigation was headed by Human Resources. After everyone involved was interviewed HR made the decision to terminate association with the Learning Center staffer.

From information gathered it appears no other formal communication to the faculty has been made since Hamann's memo on May 7. However several staff have stepped up to organize proposals for the president's office and voluntary staff awareness training sessions.

One of the first steps in preventing future incident is drawing the line between acceptable and unacceptable behavior from an authoritative point of view.

"People tend to think they're not racist but that doesn't mean you're culturally fluent. I think it's important to reflect on these instances," said Assistant Dean of Student Engagement Leslie Hammond.

Cultural fluency is to understand and value cultural difference so that staff can embrace and communicate effectively across cultural boundaries. Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Javier Cervantes has teamed up with LBCC instructors to put together a concrete plan of action.

"I just had a meeting last Friday with a number of colleagues that are developing a list of recommendations for the president with a reasonable response of how to best move forward," said Cervantes.

Cervantes has developed a curriculum, Leadership LBCC: Inclusion and Cultural Fluency Program, that will be voluntary for staff to attend. It's designed with one meeting a month that will focus on a new topic of discussion such as cultural awareness, understanding, sensitivity, and interaction. The program will educate enrolled staff for six sessions before completion.

"One of the values we have at the college is learning and that's not only for students," said Cervantes.

Chareane Wimbley-Gouevia, co-coordinator of the Learning Center, has remained proactive since the incident. She has communicated her expectations to all Learning Center staff for future clarification.

"What I've done is sent out an email to all contracted staff and key part-time staff letting them know there is no dress code. I have said explicitly to not approach students about their dress," said Wimbley-Gouevia.

She has also teamed up with the Division Dean for Academic Foundations, Sally Moore, to devise a solid definition of what actually constitutes disruption in a learning environment and addressing Freedom of Speech laws in favor of students to eliminate the possibility of a repeat situation.

"I had an opportunity to meet with the student and express remorse that this happened. It really broke my heart, he did nothing wrong," said Wimbley-Gouevia.

What the incident boiled down to was a breakdown in protocol to ask the right questions about why McGinty was being questioned and subsequently removed from campus after confrontation.

"The initial situation was framed incorrectly. The way he expressed himself was to ask questions," said Wimbley-Gouevia.

Although communication from the top down has been limited, several faculty have committed to go from the bottom to the top advocating student rights and faculty awareness of those rights.


-At a Glance-

Systemic Oppression: The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. Socially supported mistreatment and exploitation of a group, category, team of people or individual.
Greg Hamann's Memo: Click Here
Original Article on Suspended Student: Click Here
Jamaal McGinty Steps Out: Exclusive Interview with Chris Trotchie for The Commuter

Cody Utzman: LBCC Graduate and "Chopped" Champion Opens Albany Restaurant

With his quaffed hair and tattooed arms, Cody Utzman, 36, is an accomplished chef and two-time winner of the cooking show "Chopped."

After a 20-year adventure Utzman returns to his roots. His sister Kasey Utzman spotted the location of his new restaurant when it was for lease. His sister Kila Swearinger is his business partner, and the new venture was named after their late father.

Frankie's Restaurant opened last August in North Albany. Customers sat comfortably in the dining room, served-up at mahogany finished tables surrounded by country-chic decor and an accent wall of pieced-together salvaged barn wood handcrafted by Utzman himself.

The space was designed to please the "line of sight" of guests. It combines class and comfort with a view looking at an outdoor seating area. Carefully placed tables shaded by umbrellas are enclosed by manicured, hand-built raised beds alive with fruits, spices, and vegetables.

"I've got so many edibles out here; eggplant, blueberries, fennel. I can come out here and get things on-the-fly," said Utzman.

The outer dining area creates an ambiance perfect for a relaxed lunch in the sun or a fine dinner under the stars.

"It makes it nice for families but respectable in the chef world too. It's important to us to serve everybody," Utzman said.

Once the owner of four restaurants in New York grossing $3-4 million a year, he traded big paydays and fast-paced city life for a chance to slow down and be with his family.

"My master plan was to operate my restaurants in New York and here but during construction I had a change of heart. New York was so much louder and crazier."

He sold two of the restaurants and transferred the others to his business partners.

As customers lounged during happy hour, Utzman and his kitchen staff were hard at work.

Every space is occupied in the attractive stainless steel kitchen. Pots and pans hang from the ceiling, knives are magnetized to the walls, steel racks are stacked with cooking tools, and surfaces are lined with tubs of spices.

It was time to decide what specials would be on the menu for Tuesday night. Swearinger took notes as they discussed the options.

Yesterday's special, fish tacos, sold out. Seafood seems to be a good option. They decide crab cakes accompanied by the chef's risotto of the day for the featured meal of the night.

"After you've been doing this as long as I have you have to change things every day," he said. "It keeps me motivated to do something different."

Customers have the choice of eight different beers on tap. Seven of the brews are a rotating selection of local beers, the eighth is always Coors Light. In a town abundant with farms and pick-up trucks, Coors sells two kegs for every one of micro brew.

Kitchen staffer Maria Torres arrived for her shift and Utzman promptly stopped what he was doing to brief her for the evening plans.

Looking in an industrial sized refrigerator he pointed out neatly stacked fresh produce she will work with. She was to start making tartar sauce, ranch dressing, and blue cheese.

Working the grills on the opposite side of the line was Cameron Anderson.

"What do you want me to set up over here Chef?" asked Anderson.

Utzman directed him to stock the condiments with local, super-sized asparagus big enough to match the length of a forearm. The asparagus was picked by a woman less than a mile away and delivered fresh that morning.

"Local organic is always the best in my book," said Utzman.

All of the salad greens are organic. Any oil used is extra virgin olive oil. Dinner rolls and tortilla chips are hand made. The pasta comes directly from Italy. The meats are local, all natural, and never frozen.

"Do I need to blanch these?" Anderson asked returning from the cooler with greens.

"No, we'll do it to order," said Utzman.

Utzman worked on potato salad for lamb ribs and coleslaw for fish and chips.

Quality is above all else for Utzman.

"People are coming for the food and ambiance. If the food isn't on par you can have the best service in the world and they're not coming back."

Utzman intentionally did not link any of his impressive resume to Frankie's Restaurant. This was a fresh start for him and he didn't want his celebrity chef status to interfere with letting the food speak for itself.

"I used to have a website, blog, Twitter and Instagram, and took down all of that. What I am to somebody on social media is completely out of my control, but when they come in and I look them in the eyes, that's what it's all about."

Indeed he's had his share of  appearances in the media, welcomed or not.

On the eve of the first night with a liquor license at Papacitos, one of his New York locations, a guest who drank his limit was escorted out by security. Utzman stood at the front door as the man tried to re-enter and told him he was not welcomed back in. The tipsy tyrant swiftly punched Utzman in the face.

"They covered that in the New York Post. It was below Derek Jeter doing something," he said.

He admits he was loud and proud. His restaurants in the Green Point neighborhood served thousands a day and started creating local buzz.

The Food Network show "Chopped" was new and in the neighborhood. They had scouts looking for contestants and contacted Utzman in 2009. The popularity of his restaurants had got their attention.

"It was a fun experience. I loved it."

After his success on the show and the build of four restaurants in the span of five years, Utzman admits he got farther from the kitchen than he wanted. He managed over 100 people, had two personal assistants and started doing more in the public eye.

"That was the speed in which I moved there. I don't miss it at all."

But life was not always so glamorous.

He has a checkered past of teenage trouble, school suspensions, and trips to the police station. He completed middle school but was kicked out of high school freshman year. He admits he was hanging out with the wrong crowd.

"I was going nowhere and doing nothing."

After getting fired from a BP gas station, Shari's restaurant in Corvallis was opening and he applied for the graveyard shift.  Figuring that was the only position they would consider him for since he had no formal training, he took a shot in the dark and they hired him.

"What that job kind of showed me was I really enjoyed the cooking part and the customers. It was the first time I was really ever good at anything."

He decided to enroll in the Culinary Arts Program at Linn-Benton Community College.

"I started when I was 17 years old and had to get special permissions to start there for insurance purposes."

He saw culinary school as a way to get a job anywhere he wanted because everywhere in the world people have to eat.

"A lot of what I learned [at LBCC] was the names of stuff I already knew how to do."

His cooking experience stemmed from getting suspended from school and going home to cook for his family. His dad had a rotation of two meals he cooked in a crock pot; spaghetti and ham hocks with lima beans. Utzman wanted something different thus began doing the cooking.

"I have a lot good memories of him being at our dad's and him cooking," said Swearinger.

On his first summer break from college he started looking for seasonal employment. A job fair came to Eugene and he saw a listing for a cook in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. He got the job.

"It was adventure living. I was living out of a '77 VW bus."

After graduation he took a job at a fishing resort 250 miles in the bush of Alaska.

"No cars, no women, it was fishing and fighting off bears," he joked.

He found his next adventure on a plane. He sparked up friendly conversation with a lady seated next to him who ran spiritual retreats for women. Conversation paid off, and she hired then 19-year-old Utzman on the spot to cook.

He packed up and started work the following week on Widby Island outside of Seattle. Another retreat took him to a Buddhist monastery in Hawaii. For the next few years he followed her around the country cooking for retreats.

"Service please!" he yelled to the wait staff on the other side of the wall.

Swearinger burst through the swinging stainless steel door and whisked away two plates ready for guests.

"Maria, can you get some fresh parsley out?" Utzman asked as he grabbed the remaining two plates.

Utzman scurried back into the kitchen, and with a deep breathe said "What's next?" as he grabbed a clipboard and started checking off his list.

"We need to make hummus."

The dinner rush had begun.

The kitchen swarmed with staff moving briskly in a maze around each other. The quiet murmur of the walk-in cooler and clanking of dishes getting washed was drowned by pots, chops, and chatter.

Days in the kitchen may be hectic, but life at home is slow and simple, just the way he wanted it. Utzman lives on two acres of land and spends his free time in the garden.

"I enjoy that more than anything, being in the garden. For the last three weeks I've been tilling the gardens and preparing them."

Tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and potatoes are a few of the many crops he grows for the restaurant. His mom helps him harvest, and in the summer will have more produce then he knows what to do with.

"We didn't purchase any side veggies all summer last year," he said. "Sometimes you have to get creative in order to use it all."

For someone who admits he was once on the wrong path in life, Utzman has paved a road of his own and it's taken him from his hometown to headlines and back again.

Welcome home.



-At a Glance-

Who: Cody Utzman
Claim to Fame: Three-time contestant, two-time winner of "Chopped"
Favorite Ingredients: Local Organics
Hometown: Albany, Ore.
Education: Linn-Benton Community College, Culinary Arts
Owner: Frankie's Restaurant
Address:  641 N.W. Hickory St. #160, North Albany 
Phone: (541) 248-3671

LBCC: Student Suspended for "Dress Code" Violation

Photo courtesy of The Commuter

On the same afternoon of Diversity Day festivities, LBCC faculty sat down for a serious conversation regarding an African-American student suspended because of a "dress code" violation.

Last Friday 40 concerned staff gathered to discuss student rights, discrimination and systematic oppression.

On April 23, Jamaal McGinty was confronted in the Learning Center by a staff member who felt he was dressed inappropriately. McGinty was wearing saggy jeans exposing his boxers.

After declining the request to pull his pants up he was asked to leave the Learning Center. McGinty refused and security was called. He was unable to produce student identification, so he was escorted from the building and suspended from campus for two days.

Terryl Ross, director of community and diversity at Oregon State University, was invited to the meeting to lead discussion about this scenario.

When the events surrounding the issue in question were recited to the crowd, a confused staff member asked, "What's the dress code?" An immediate, confident and simultaneous response from several colleagues was, "There is no dress code!"

Here lies the problem.

“There were lots of people outraged, upset, stressed out, and whispering," said Librarian Richenda Hawkins.

The Student Code of Conduct states that students disrupting the learning process can be removed from a classroom or work area. However in this case it appears the student's behavior was not disruptive. He was seated, doing homework.

It boils down to a conflict of preference in dress attire between the staffer and the student.

“Why do we think my comfort level takes away from someone’s right to be an individual?” said Dana Emerson, communication instructor.

The subject can be a slippery slope. On campus many styles are seen. Rebel flag logos, cross-dressing, turbans, and "goth attire" to name a few.

Is it fair to ask a student wearing a rebel flag on their shirt to cover it or leave the classroom? It too can be offensive, but is it unlawful to wear it? 

The answer is no.

Students are protected under freedom of speech laws in school just as they are outside of school. Disagreeing with a fashion choice does not give the right to remove a student unless it specifically disrupts the learning process, according to campus policy. 

“If we’re going to name what happened last week, it’s racial profiling,” said Javier Cervantes, director of the Diversity Achievement Center.

In order to suspend the student, several staffers were involved in green-lighting the action. The suspension fell during week five of a 10-week-term, in the midst of mid-terms.

“Every step of the way there was an assumption of guilt on the student’s part," said Hawkins.

After suspension, that assumption became a question.

Upon returning from his disciplinary action, the suspension was erased from his official record. The school recognized injustice and attempted to correct it. 

However, no internal announcement of failed protocol was made to staff nor was a suggestion of how to avoid it in the future. Instead a bothered librarian, Bryan Miyagishina, got the ball rolling with a staff-wide email initiating a sit-down.

“I’m optimistic that our administration is listening,” said Miyagishina.

Among attendees were several representatives of Oregon State University. The student was dual-enrolled on both campuses.

“The impact has a ripple effect and it spreads and gets to those communities,” said OSU faculty Earlean Wilson-Huey.

Indeed it impacts neighboring communities and those involved. Not only were McGinty's rights violated but he has two campuses to talk among peers about the questionable practices of LBCC.

“I can’t believe we did this here to one of our students. Something like this changes us fundamentally. As a group of faculty it is our job to protect our students and we failed them," said Jenny Strooband, animal science instructor.

Faculty that were present, and many that were not, are determined to learn from this situation and set motion to a plan that will stop something like this from happening again.

Notes were taken, action plans were outlined, and departments were assigned to the next step in continuing to address and correct this issue campus-wide.

“It has come down from people at the top that this is important,” said Jane Tillman, student affairs specialist.

The included staff felt it was important for students to know their rights and where to go if they feel they are being violated. Any concerns on campus should be brought to the Human Resources Department in the Calapooia Center.

A supervisor in the department, Scott Rolen, was present at the meeting. He made it clear that all complaints brought to their attention will be investigated moving forward.

“There’s a lot of eyes here and there’s a lot of mouths here, so let’s speak up," said Rolen.

-Extras-

Systemic Oppression: The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. Socially supported mistreatment and exploitation of a group, category, team of people or individual.
Memo of Tolerance from LBCC President: Click Here
Jamaal McGinty Steps Out: Exclusive Interview with Chris Trotchie for The Commuter
LBCC Responds to Student Rights: Click Here