The Coast- The Oregon coast is a beautiful place to hangout for an afternoon. Newport is a quick hour drive west and there are plenty of things to do! Peruse many of the small shops along the shoreline or stop by Mo’s for a bowl of their famous clam chowder. Plus a beach trip wouldn’t be complete without running around in the sand, so feel free to visit any of the beach parks around the town. If you have the guts, you should totally jump in the water. It might be freezing cold, but at least you can say you did it! The Coast to Valley Express runs each weekend for $20 round trip.

Portland- The biggest metropolitan area in Oregon is also just an hour and a half away. Portland has so many activities to do I could never name them all. A few favorites have to be Powell’s Books, Voodoo Donuts, and the Saturday Market. Powell’s Books is something every Oregonian must see. It comprises 68,000 square feet of books with over 122 major subjects. You could literally get lost in this store all day and be entertained the entire time. Voodoo donuts is also somewhat of a famous place in Oregon. Voodoo creates their own unique donut creations including the maple bacon bar and many other wild flavors. If you see someone walking around with a pink box, you know they have been to Voodoo! If you have the chance to go up on a weekend, you have to visit the Saturday Market (happens on both days, don’t ask). This market is complete with tons of food vendors and just about any art project you can imagine. Buy anything from an intense tie dye shirt to ceramic wind chimes. Anytime you go Portland you can find something new to do! Greyhound Bus and Amtrak trains (from Albany) run up to Portland daily so check them out if driving in the big city isn’t your thing.

Whatever you end up doing, always bring a great attitude! You never know what will happen while on an adventure, so whatever happens, have an amazing spring!

• Search online: use Craigslist or Zillow.com to see housing options that fit your criteria, ask around, and keep your eyes peeled around the areas you’d like to live in for renting signs.
•  Roommates: make sure that you know what you are getting into with differences in study and sleep habits, the cleaning and food situation, and visiting guests.
• Know what you’re looking for: consider affordability in price of rent and utilities, neighborhood and building safety, proximity to shopping and campus, the laundry situation, parking options, and nearest bus routes.
• Don’t panic. Start looking early and don’t be pressured into signing a lease at a place you don’t really want.
• Do your research! Always view the location and compare prices and amenities before making any commitments. If you can, talk with current tenants about their living experience and the landlord
• Read and study the lease. If you’re having difficulties understanding your lease, the ASOSU Office of Advocacy can assist you with this document.
• Document, document, and document: get everything in writing and take photos of any problems in order to ensure you receive your full security deposit back. You also might want to consider renter’s insurance.

Marine Science Day 2013 is on Saturday, April 13 from 10am-4pm

Join the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon for an open house! Get behind-the-scenes to experience the research, education and outreach in marine sciences that makes this marine laboratory unique in the Pacific Northwest.

Come LEARN what’s new on the Oregon Coast’s most dynamic Marine Science campus!

For more information visit: http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/marinescienceday/

Don’t be fooled that classes start on April 1^st, your professors will still want you there! The last day to add a class without department approval is April 9^th, and the last day to drop a class is April 12^th.

Looking for some exciting events to attend with the great weather? OSU Baseball is still on fire, so go out and support your Beavs! You can catch your number 3 team in the nation on April 2^nd against Portland or April 9^th against the Ducks. Don’t forget the nationally ranked OSU Gymnastics team as well! They host the Regional Championship on April 6th and need all the support we can muster!

Want to play your own sports? Intramural Sports are in full swing over spring term, so get signed up early in the term! Sports available through Dixon include softball, soccer, ultimate frisbee and much more!

Other than sports there is a multitude of events going on during spring term. Cultural nights are a great place to go and learn about the diverse population we have on campus. To name a few, Japanese night takes place on April 7^th and African night is on April 20^th. Then don’t forget Moms and Family Weekend from May 3^rd through the 5^th. There are tons of things to do from art festivals to comedy shows. For all you engineers out there, you have to see the engineering expo on May 7^th. Check out the newest technologies and ideas being developed by your very peers! See everything from clean energy systems to the always popular Robo*Palooza. Lastly don’t forget about Battle of the Bands! It takes place in the MU quad on May 31^st and is always a jam packed fun night.

Make sure you take advantages of all the opportunities spring term throws at you! It’s an exciting time to get out there and enjoy those precious rays!

Dixon Recreation Center & McAlexander Fieldhouse: Check out the indoor track, hot tub and saunas in Dixon and don’t forget McAlexander. With two basketball courts, two volleyball courts, six badminton courts, open recreation turf, and a 43ft tall climbing center and a 60-linear-foot bouldering wall it’s a great expansion of our rec facilities. For more information, visit http://oregonstate.edu/recsports/

MU Basement: This 8,500 sq. ft. recreation facility located beneath the MU Commons includes bowling, billiards, darts, shuffleboard, video games, and the Beaver Den with a 58″ big screen TV.  For more information and to reserve spaces, visit http://oregonstate.edu/dept/basement/

Beaver Athletics: With 17 Division One sports here at the university, there are plenty of chances to cheer on your fellow Beavers throughout the year although our spring sports are just starting up this next week. To check sports schedules for this season, visit http://www.osubeavers.com/

Memorial Union Program Council (MUPC): Coming up in the MUPC calendar are OSU Has Talent on March 1st, Moms and Family Weekend (including an Art Festival!) on May 3^rd – 5^th, and Battle of the Bands and Flat Tail Music Fest coming up later on this year. For more information, visit http://mu.oregonstate.edu/mupc/events.

If you’re looking to check out other events from different clubs and organizations on campus, check out the main OSU calendar at http://calendar.oregonstate.edu/ to get started.

There are countless benefits to being a START leader. One of the best parts is the great group of people you get to work with. Everyone that is hired to be a START leader is so enthusiastic about OSU. After working together all summer you have a good group of friends to hang out with whenever. The OSU faculty members you get to interact with are just as cool. I got to work with the College of Forestry advisors and we had great time helping students. As a START leader you also develop a lot of skills that will be helpful in any other job. I definitely grew in my leadership and communication skills after I had incoming students looking at me for guidance about OSU.  My favorite part about being a START leader though is how rewarding the job is. Students coming into college are typically very nervous. It’s a great feeling to be able to settle their nerves and answer all of their questions. The best is when someone comes up to you during the year and thanks you for helping them out. I think it’s pretty tough to get that experience with other jobs around Corvallis.

So if you are looking for a fantastic experience centered around OSU and helping students, I would highly consider applying. It is by far the most fun I’ve had with a job, and the rewards are just as good. We hope to hear from you soon! ” – Former START Leader, Sean Wallstrom

Find out more information and apply now HERE!

As a U-Engage Peer Leader, you may have the opportunity to connect with first-year students, share your experiences when entering OSU, connect with staff and faculty, create a syllabi, facilitate classroom discussions, demonstrate positive classroom behaviors, refer students to appropriate resources on campus, and much more!

The U-Engage Peer Leader position is not paid, but course credit will be given and you will gain great experience. U-Engage leaders are required to participate in a Spring Quarter training course. This position can also offer internship credit.

The deadline for applications is February 4^th, 2013. If you have any questions, please contact New Student Programs & Family Outreach or visit our website to find out more information http://oregonstate.edu/newstudents/employment/uengageposition!

Apply Online Now!

Benny Beaver

Student feedback at OSU is taken very seriously and now is the time to hear from you!  The National Survey of Student Engagement    (NSSE) launches today.  Look for an email in your ONID account inviting you to participate.

The survey takes approximately 20 minute to complete but the results benefit you and other students well into the future.  Past student feedback has lead to the following improvements already:

•             Over $250,000 invested in new advisors in the last year with more planned.

•             Increased personnel in several support services (e.g., counseling, financial aid).

•             Additional tenure and tenure track faculty hired

•             Improved access to key courses.

•             Revision of the baccalaureate core.

•             Improved first year experience, Connect, and START.

Participating in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is good for OSU and you! If you have questions, please contact: Dr. Rebecca Sanderson at Rebecca.sanderson@oregonstate.edu or 541-737-8738

I brought all of my homework and books with me in hopes that I would do a lot of work while I was home for Thanksgiving, but it was my first time back and there were a lot of people who wanted to meet up so I got nothing done! Try and do as much homework/studying as you can before leaving!

Before you go home for winter break, make sure you clean out your room/apartment/fridge because there are a lot of things that can grow in a month! EWW!

It was very difficult coming back to school after a nice long Holiday with my family. There could be possible room changes or different resident rules when you come back so be aware of any possible changes. Also, make sure to take advantage of having your family members near and get lots of flu/cold medicine!

If possible, pack all of your winter clothes from home and take home all your summer clothes! No need for them any time soon and it’s only going to keep raining from here on out!”

When I returned home my sister had moved into my room (I knew this would happen, but still, it sucks). Space was always tight for us so I was happy that she had her own room, but this meant a couple of things for me. One, basically everything I owned was in my residence hall room and it was the only real space I could call mine. And two, I had no space at home to be really alone or to sleep without feeling like I was in the way. Preparing for changes in your home upon your return can be really beneficial! Ask your sibling about any changes around the house just out of curiosity so it’s not as much of a shock.

It’s hard coming back to campus after winter break because it’s almost too long. Four weeks is long enough to lose focus of your classes and even to really forget what you are planning for winter term. It’s long enough to build a new routine and get comfortable with it, but then have to change it pretty abruptly. Returning to work and homework after four weeks is a challenge, especially when you aren’t used to it.

My advice would be to make sure your parents know far enough ahead of time when you plan to be home.

Make plans for the first day back so you don’t get stuck sitting on the couch while your family goes about their daily routine.

Continue to tell yourself this is only a break (that you deserve) and know that school does start again on January 7^th!