Sports Are in Her Genes

Bailee Tally laces up during practice.
Photographer Melissa Chandler

Bailee Tally seized sports early on

The intensity of the game, and the feeling of going on a run with her teammates is how Bailee Tally got her passion for sports.  

The speed of the game is what motivates Tally. It constantly has her thinking and keeps her on her toes. When the game gets exciting or the team goes on a run that really gets her fired up.

Tally started playing basketball when she was 5 years old. Since then she hasn’t looked back.

She began shooting hoops at the YMCA with her brother and sisters. It has always been something that her family has done together. All of her siblings, her mother and father played sports; everything from basketball, softball, gymnastics, and track to motocross. Tally has been surrounded by sports her entire life.

“The YMCA is where my family has always played sports, so I started playing basketball there too,” said Tally.

Tally had a couple of influences along the way: her sisters Chandler McElmurry, Delanie Tally and her cousin Britney Knotts. Her sister Delanie plays volleyball and softball at the College of the Siskiyous; her sister Chandler played sports in high school. Tally’s cousin Britney played college basketball for the Chemeketa Storm and the Mt. Hood Saints.

Tally has played softball since she was 5 years old and volleyball since she was 7. She continued to play basketball, softball, and volleyball until her senior year of high school; where she played all three sports that year.

“I played softball because my family played softball,” said Tally. “My parents put me on a T-ball team when I was five-years-old and I continued to play.”

Tally played all three sports congruently because they were in different seasons.

“I had enough time and it was something that I enjoyed and loved to do,” said Tally.

Being a team player defines Tally, because she loves being around people. It also demonstrates her devotion to building relationships with her teammates.

To her, a basketball team is more than a bunch of people on a court. They have to work cohesively. To do that they have to form a relationship, and a friendship. Tally explained her team is more than teammates, they are family.

“I have a very close relationship with my team,” said Tally. “We get along really well and there is no drama on the team. It is like I have nine more sisters now.”

The team practiced every day for two hours. It looked like grueling work, but it was necessary to become a better team. Tally didn’t make a fuss, she took all the advice with a grain of salt and trucked on.

“Our coach makes sure that every practice is like a game and that we learn from our mistakes in practice as we would in a game,” said Tally.

While on the court, Tally takes her position as guard seriously. Basketball is more important than just the game itself.

“Basketball to me is like my job,” said Tally. “But a job that I love to do and would do it every day.”

It isn’t just about shooting hoops, scoring the big points, or winning the game for Tally. For her, it’s a way of life.

“I enjoy that in basketball [we] learn about the game, but [we] also learn life lessons while playing the game; how to be a team, what it takes to be a team, a leader, and to trust one another,” said Tally.

Say Cheese to Social Media

Selfie Contest Winner: Annette Easdale

A selfie contest awards classic tee at LB’s bookstore

Linn-Benton Bookstore orchestrated its first ever “Selfie Contest” on social media via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The contest lasted 24 days.

Selfie participants were to find a spot located in the bookstore and take selfies, tag it #lbccbookstore, and post it to social media.  

The first of the promoting events happened during open house at College Night on Feb. 8. Staff and students snapped pictures while in the bookstore and shared them on their personal social media to start the contest.

It wasn’t until the week of Feb. 22-26 that Marketing Coordinator Tina Leonard sent out a notification to the campus email and campus-wide monitors about the contest.

“I really wanted to see what the response would be if we only posted to social media,” said Leonard.

In the bookstore a sign was posted at a checkout promoting the contest and staff mentioned the contest to customers.

The contest was open to students, staff and faculty. Although it is LB, the store employees however, weren’t eligible to win the contest.

Leonard got the idea for the contest from reading an article from the National Association of College Stores that talked about another school running a similar promotion.  

Even though there wasn’t a huge turnout this time, Leonard is hopeful that with more promoting another contest could be more successful. She looks forward to another contest in the future.

“I'm sure we will try this sort of social media contest again, only with a bigger push at promoting it,” said Leonard.

The contest ended on Friday, Feb. 26 and the winner was announced Monday, Feb. 29.

Leonard had four selfies submitted to decide from. She randomly selected Annette Easdale as the winner of the first Selfie Contest.

Easdale received a classic LBCC t-shirt from the bookstore.

How to Be Single Movie Review

There are two ways to being single, the right way and the wrong way. After meeting Alice (Dakota Johnson), Robin (Rebel Wilson), Meg (Leslie Mann), and David (Damon Wayans Jr.); you will see single in a new light.

Johnson is best known for her performance in “Fifty Shade of Grey”; where she played a submissive sexual partner, but wants a relationship. Contrary to this film where she wants to be single and fool around. It was distracting to say the least. Johnson’s character is too contradictory.

Wilson is the loud and outrageous single twenty something female who is living it up in New York City. She quickly befriends Johnson and shows her how to be single.

The single life shows it’s true colors when Wilson takes Johnson to her favorite watering hole. The bar scene shows how sexist and stereotypical the male and female bar scene really is. It goes as far as buying drinks for them with their “sausage wallet.” This scene shows how the real world is.

Mann portrays a single gynecologist and obstetrician. Her life is just too busy for love, and all work and no play makes Meg dull. She’s too busy for children, so she opts out for that too.

Children don’t fit into her work schedule and she doesn’t have much patience with them either. Let’s just say she argues with a patient’s little girl and doesn’t win.

Any film that Mann acts in she is brilliant, hilarious, and witty. The last film, “This is 40,” was about their mid-life crisis of sorts and it was awesomely funny. Each character she portrays is similar to the previous, which I think makes her a unique actress and continually shows her abilities.

A big downfall to “How to Be Single” was the predictability. A lot of films are that way, but this one was textbook: open close. There were a couple curve balls thrown in, but nothing too significant to knock me out of my socks.

Also the way they portrayed being single as a bad thing. Not everyone thinks being single is terrible.

Looking for a romantic comedy, go to the nearest cinema and check out “How to Be Single” for some good laughs and real world love life issues; no couples required.

STARRING: Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, and Leslie Mann

DIRECTOR: Christian Ditter

PRODUCTION: Flower Films (II), New Line Cinema, and Wrigley Pictures

GENRE: Comedy, Romance

RATED: R

OVERALL RATING:  3 out of 5

World Hijab Day

Photographer Marwah Alzabidi

Linn-Benton celebrates Muslim women’s right to hijab

Embracing different cultures under one roof, Linn-Benton welcomes diversity among students.

Feb. 1 is known as World Hijab Day. It is a day for Muslims and non-Muslims to come together and experience hijab, the traditional Muslim head scarf, for a day.

The Human and Civil Rights Club put together a Hijab Panel on Monday, Feb. 1, to better inform the campus of the wearing the hijab. The event was held at noon in the library.

Three woman braved the crowd: Elham Maqsood, Maryam Almasoodi, and Mona Gutub. The panel was mediated by social science instructor, Tim Watson.

“Draw the Hijab over your whole body,” said Maqsood. “Cover body from head to toe.”

A hijab is a veil that covers the head and chest. It is worn by some Muslim women after the age of puberty in the presence of adult males outside of their immediate family.

Maqsood began the discussion with “alssalam ealaykum,” which means peace be upon you. She then went on to discuss the religion Islam.

The religion began in Arabia and was revealed to humanity by the Prophet Muhammad. Those who follow Islam are called Muslims. Muslims believe that there is only one God. The Arabic word for God is Allah.

Maqsood explained the Holy Quran, which is a compilation of the verbal revelations given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. The Holy Quran is the Holy Book of the Muslims. It sets forth their law and commandments, codes for their social and moral behavior, and contains comprehensive religious philosophy.

After discussing the religion and the Holy Quran, Maqsood explained the five pillars of Islam. These five pillars put into perspective the framework of Muslim life. The five pillars are: the testimony of faith, prayer, giving Zakat (support of the needy), fasting the month of Ramadan, and the pilgrimage of Makkah.

“Most western people have very negative ideas about Muslim women,” said Maqsood. “They think that we’re ignorant, segregated, and invisible.”

Muslim women are not represented in the media the way that they would like to be portrayed.

“Both genders are equal,” said Maqsood.

In Islam, sex is only allowed in matrimony. Men and women are not to engage in any sexual contact before marriage. When Muslim women wear a hijab they’re covering up and limiting the temptations. They also practice “lowering the gaze,” which also helps avoid any misleading behaviors.

“The face is what tempts men,” said Watson.

In America, Muslim women wear hijabs with their faces revealed for the communication factor, as American culture tends to rely on facial expressions for nonverbal communication. However, when traveling to Saudi Arabia they might cover their faces up because it’s less acceptable in their culture to reveal it.

“When I used to go to Saudi Arabia I would cover my face...over there it is tradition,” said Maqsood.

After presenting Maqsood fielded questions from the audience.

Christina Johnson a sociology student asked, “Do you see us objectifying ourselves as women?”

“No,” replied Maqsood.

Chelsey Mick, SLC clubs and engagement director asked, “Is it ever hot or uncomfortable?”

“It is good, we do it for god. It is not for us,” said Almasoodi.

Social science instructor Arfa Aflatooni asked hot button topics.

“Why don’t men cover their face? It’s a double standard here. It puts men in a difficult position.”

No matter the question the panel didn’t back down.

Maqsood closed by telling a story about discrimination her daughter has faced as a teenager.

“Don’t care about them,” said Maqsood.

She went on to tell a story about how her daughter’s classmates tried to convince her to take off her hijab because her mother wasn’t there. She stood up for her faith.

“If you're not from a society you can't judge it.”

To Wash or Not to Wash

Hand washing can save lives

Throughout the Linn-Benton campus there are 18 separate buildings. Among these buildings are restrooms.

Located inside all the restrooms are sinks, soap, paper towels, or hand dryers. There is even a friendly reminder posted to wash your hands after using the restroom.

A survey conducted on campus by The Commuter, 15 percent of staff and students do not wash their hands.

Honestly, how many of you remember to wash your hands after using the restroom? How to properly wash your hands? These are questions that every person should be asking themselves.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “keeping hands clean is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness.”

Hand washing is as simple as tying your shoe. It is most effective in all settings if done properly.

Keeping your hands clean can stop germs from spreading person to person and through the community. This is very important as Linn-Benton is a community college with thousands on campus daily.

There are times a minimum of four times before activities and five times after activities in which hand washing is necessary to help prevent the spread of infection and illness. When in doubt, a good hand wash never hurt anyone.  

The most important part is how simple it really is: wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry. These five steps are easy, but just remember that while performing these steps to scrub for at least 20 seconds. It is very important to scrub the germs away.  

The CDC suggests humming the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.

When asked how long you should wash your hands for, student Brittney Holder said, “Counting the ABC’s.”

If water and soap are not available then use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.

According to the CDC, “Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs.” “Hand sanitizers may not be as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy.”

When should you wash your hands?

• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before eating food
• Before and after caring for someone who is sick
• Before and after treating a cut or wound
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
• After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
• After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
• After touching garbage

What is the right way to wash your hands?

• Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
• Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
• Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
• Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
• Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

How do you use hand sanitizers?

• Apply the product to the palm of one hand (read the label to learn the correct amount).
• Rub your hands together.
• Rub the product over all surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry.

State Representative, Dan Rayfield visits LB

History instructor Scott McAleer and his History of Western Civilization classes welcomed the sixteenth House of Representatives, Dan Rayfield on Tuesday, Jan. 19 to discuss several important topics.

Rayfield discussed refinancing loans, state budgets, expenditures, fafsa issues, lobbyists, ballot measures, and internships.

There are Legislative Internship Opportunity and a Political Campaign Internship Opportunity during winter, spring and summer 2016.

Positions available are field intern, fundraising intern, and legislative intern.

Application deadline for internships will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Anyone interested should send a resume and cover letter discussing their interest in the position, qualifications for the position, and availability to Zach Baker at zach.baker@state.or.us.

The Forest Movie Review

Identical twins have a connection stronger than average siblings; so when Sara Price’s (Natalie Dormer) twin sister Jess Price (also played by Dormer) goes missing she knows something isn’t right.

The scene is set; Japan, a secluded forest, a missing person, and a potential suicide.

Despite its lackluster performance on screen, “The Forest” brought in over $13 million opening weekend.

This movie had a few good scares. The scariest was the scene with the elderly woman in the hallway. There is a long dark hallway where Sara is walking. The lights are barely flickering on and then BAM! there is an elderly asian woman who looks blind and she is right in Sara’s face. It makes you jump out of your seat.

Throughout the movie the forest plays tricks on Sara’s sadness, which makes her turn against Aiden (Taylor Kinney).

Once Sara feels betrayed by Aiden, she begins to run frantically through the Aokigahara forest without knowing which direction to go, or if Aiden is close behind.

In the movie Aokigahara forest is said to play on your fears. Earlier in the movie Sara had seen a suicide victim, which was very traumatic for her. After running away from Aiden she starts hearing voices and then the “victim” appears and scares Sara into another sporadic run.

A scene that caused a lot of screams in the theater was in a cave. Sara falls into the cave while running away. A girl appears and tells her that miss Jess wants to see her. It seemed like Sara was going to be reunited with her missing sister at last, but it was too good to be true. Dead creatures start appearing and yelling at Sara. They chase her through the cave to the opening. And there at the opening Aiden is waiting to rescue her.

The maggot scene by the river was also a real stomach turner. Nothing screams disgusting like a bunch of maggots crawling in human flesh.

One aspect of the movie that didn’t work was the scene where Sara was by herself, the scare to come was obvious. Of course something scary was about to happen.

The final downfall was the ending. It was a major letdown. Just when all seemed to be going in one direction it went the opposite. It wasn’t the ending I expected, and it definitely didn’t work.

If a semi-jump out of your seat horror flick is your thing, then head over to the nearest cinema and check out “The Forest.” It’ll do the job.

STARRING: Natalie Dormer and Taylor Kinney

DIRECTOR: Jason Zada

PRODUCTION: AI-Film and Lava Bear Films

GENRE: Horror

RATED: PG-13

OVERALL RATING:  2.5 out of 5

Sisters Movie Review

When sisters Maura Ellis (Amy Poehler) and Kate Ellis (Tina Fey) are hell bent on wrecking their parents plans for selling their childhood home; nothing will stop them, or so they thought.

This film had several well known actors and actresses including Maya Rudolph (Brinda), James Brolin (Bucky Ellis), Dianne Wiest (Deana Ellis), John Cena (Pazuzu), and John Leguizamo (Dave).

“Sisters” is definitely a movie for friends to check out or sisters who want to relive those days together growing up.

Opening weekend “Sisters” brought in $13.9 million.

“Sisters” isn’t the first time Poehler and Fey worked together cohesively and hilariously. They starred together in “Baby Mama” in 2008. Also in 2004 they appeared in “Mean Girls”.

Compared to “Baby Mama” “Sisters” is amusing in its own sense. It has its own humor. Poehler and Fey play two different characters in each movie and bring to life two individual personalities.

The movie was full of laughs. Especially the scene where Maura (Poehler) is completely wasted and basically tells off an officer and gets away with it. I’m not condoning her behavior by any means, but it was just too damn hilarious not to mention. She spells out S-H-I-T, flips the bird and makes a reference about a particular pastry. Let’s just say it was hilarious and I couldn’t hold back the laughter.

I really liked that the movie showed the real side of being sisters, and what it is like when siblings are dead set on destroying their parents plans no matter the circumstances.

After a seriously awesome house party and a few lessons learned, Maura and Kate realized that the house was just a building and that a home is a feeling.

If you like sisterly love and a walk down memory lane, then this movie is the one for you.

STARRING: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Dianne Wiest, James Brolin, John Leguizamo, Maya Rudolph

DIRECTOR: Jason Moore

PRODUCTION: Little Stranger

GENRE: Comedy

RATED: R

OVERALL RATING: 4 out of 5