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START: From all angles  July 11th, 2012

[Daily Barometer, July 11, 2012] — For all involved in a START orientation session at Oregon State University — from incoming freshmen, to parents, to the START leaders themselves — the process is tiring, anxious and exciting all in one.
For those who never participated in one themselves, or just forgot because it was so long ago, a START session  is a guide for first-time OSU students to get shown the ropes, and be comfortably acquainted to their new life in Corvallis.
A typical START orientation consists of “introductions, team-building stuff, going over information. They also have an academic presentation that they go to for their college,” according to ElyseLipke, a START leader.
On top of those things, there are also academic workshops, an information fair for clubs and groups on campus, tour of the residence halls, Dixon Recreation Night, and of course, registering for classes and picking up an ID card.

Cont. …

Read the full article by Warner Strausbaugh.

 


Famished? We rank the best places to eat on campus  February 9th, 2012

[The Daily Barometer, Feb. 9, 2012] — Oregon State University houses a plethora of conveniently placed cafés that offer a wide variety of delectable delicacies. Depending on your cravings, these eateries can offer you anything from a mid morning snack to a full-blown meal. We feel that these “birds” have flown under the radar and have been greatly underutilized for far too long. It’s time the public knows the truth about the magic happening in and around these refectories on a daily basis.

Alexander Crawford and Kyle Hart decided to let their ferocious appetites fuse with the power of the pen to bring you our list, ranking the best eateries on campus. This list excludes eating establishments that are currently in dining centers. Components that were considered in our write-up include, but are not limited to: customer service, timeliness, creativity, ingenuity, and general taste.

6. Bing’s Café

(Weatherford Hall): Let me start off by saying that although Bing’s is at the bottom of this list, it is by no means a bad spot to eat.  We just felt that the other five eateries we explored were either tastier or had more to offer.  Bing’s is a classic café-sandwiches, coffee, gelato and a modified calzone called a calzini. The sandwiches at Bing’s are always fresh and they allow for you to include a myriad of different veggies.  It is also worth noting that the coffee at Bing’s is from Starbucks.  Every other coffee location at OSU is serves either Allann Bros. or Portland Roasting Company (expect for the Peet’s Coffee in the new International Living-Learning Center which serves…well… Peet’s).  The number one reason to visit Bing’s is actually not the food, but an opportunity to talk to Carol — the Bing’s manager — a legend on the OSU campus.

Read the full article by Alex Crawford and Kyle Hart.


ILLC to hold grand opening on Monday  October 7th, 2011

Never before has an Oregon State University student been able to wake up in their residence hall and walk a few flights of stairs to their first class. Such will be the case upon the development of the International Living Learning Center.

The ILLC will be having its grand opening Monday. The ribbon will be cut at 4 p.m., followed by self-guided tours and an open house from 4:30-6 p.m.

The ILLC is a brand new building that serves as INTO’s headquarters, a residence hall, classroom structure and business center. It is home to over 320 international and domestic students, offers 26 classrooms specifically for INTO-OSU academic classes, and houses INTO-OSU’s administration offices and international programs.

“The ILLC was built to accommodate an increased number of students that would be attending OSU through various programs offered by INTO-OSU,” said Operation Manager Joseph Evans.

The campus resource features a brand new Cascadia market right next to Arnold Dining Center as well as Peet’s Coffee. There is also an all-purpose auditorium that can be used as a lecture hall. The classrooms boast state-of-the art technology.

“The total cost of this building was $52 million. UHDS is carrying the debt on the facility, paying for it through the sale of public bonds,” Evans said. “In other words, paying the mortgage through generated revenue collected from student room fees, sales from Peet’s Coffee, and Cascadia market and the space UHDS leases to INTO-OSU and the University.”

The residence hall is easily one of the most expensive on campus. The facility offers student housing, but it’s by no means cheap.

Per academic year, the student will pay $10,080.  There are three types of rooms offered in the building: double-room with a dining plan for $4,753 per term, double-room with a private bathroom and dining plan for $5,260 per term and single room with dining plan for $5,793.  There are private restrooms as well as public restrooms situated in the halls like other resident halls on campus.

“I like the class so close; it’s very easy,” said Doo RT Kim, who arrived from Korea one week ago.

Some classrooms are right next to floor lounges, where a glass wall separates the class and the lounge.

“It is easy to focus. The lounge does not distract us,” said Teng Jim Yan, a Chinese student who arrived three months ago.

International students who have classes but do not live in the ILLC agreed with their peers.

“I like my listening and speaking class, but the building has bad parking and is too far away,” said Faisal Alshehli from Saudi Arabia.

Parking is a common complaint among the students, as well as there aren’t enough Americans to interact with. The best thing, students agreed, is the conveniently located coffee shop and market place.

“Students seem just as focused as in any other classroom,” said Melody Slothower, an INTO-OSU instructor of two years. “No one’s showed up in their pajamas at all.”

Though ILLC instructors are doing something that other professors on campus haven’t, the overall mood is one of enthusiasm.

“The best thing about teaching in this building is that there’s more room, and it’s a unique place to work,” said Randy Garver, instructor for intensive English and lower-level listening and speaking.

Main concerns have to do with classroom layout and technology issues.

“The rooms next to the lounges have been a concern, but no problems so far,” Garver said. “There might be a technology glitch too.”

Moving past possible distractions technological glitches, another concern stems from the lack of interaction that ILLC faculty, students and residents are experiencing.

“I can’t interact with my colleagues as much because we’re on different floors. It takes a lot more effort to keep up communication,” Slothower said.

However, teachers agree the new building has amazing views from the windows and every resource is state of the art.

To learn more, search International Living-Learning Center on the OSU website.

Read more from The Daily Barometer. (Published Oct. 7, 2011)


Residing at OSU: A glance at student living  October 4th, 2011

A look at the variety of living situations Oregon State students call home

Built in 1948, Sackett Hall is the oldest dormitory on campus, and was originally an all-girls dorm. The hall is divided into four quadrants, with two wings per quadrant and approximately 300 students. Students live on single-gender floors, with a standard floor-bathroom set-up. One wing in Sackett is designated as the quiet wing. Most rooms are doubles, with sleeping porches and walk-in closets. …

Newly completed this year in 2011, the shimmering glass International Living Learning Center across from Halsell, Finley and Bloss is a serious envy-inducer for other residents of University Housing and Dining Service halls. Students live on one of four co-ed floors, with single and double occupancy rooms boasting private and suite-style bathrooms. Most double rooms are supposed to house a domestic and an international student together. …

McNary Hall, the Honors College hall, is home to approximately 350 students on five floors. It offers both single and double rooms as well as special “quad” rooms, on co-ed floors with a standard floor-bathroom set-up. McNary also has a quiet wing, and a women-only wing.

Read more from The Daily Barometer. (Published Oct. 4, 2011)