Review: Guns Of Icarus Online

You and your crew are soaring through the sky in your trusty and reliable steam-powered airship, when suddenly an enemy ship pulls out of a nearby group of clouds and rams right into you, jostling you and your mates as you run to man your stations!

Harpoons skewer your balloon and flak cannons pound your port-side armor! You and your mates desperately try to hold the ship together, but the smoke and fire fills your eyes and the panic rises in your chest as your realize it's too late and your ship explodes into a ball of flame and scrap metal!

Guns of Icarus is a game like few others. It is a team focused multi-player steam-punk airship battle royal that is so detailed and immersive I guarantee you will be talking like a sky-pirate by the time you're out of the novice bracket. This game offers such a unique setting and game-play that its worth picking up simply for the experience.

There are three classes to choose from: Gunner, Pilot and Engineer. Each is vital to your ship's survival and making sure you have a crew and gear load-out to suit the style of your ship is vital for survival. A large ship needs more engineers to repair damage, a ship with weaker guns could use more gunners to compensate and you probably won't ever need a second pilot. Ever.

The guns are varied and interesting making each combination unique and viable in it's own way. If your ship has heavy armor you could trade broadsides with your enemies, firing mortars at one another to see who breaks first. A fast ship could load up with flamethrowers to set the enemy ship ablaze and escape before taking any damage. There are tons of ways to customize your ship and loadout to suit you and your friends play style.

Speaking of friends, when you step into this game get ready, because your bound to make a few. This game gave me friendliest multi-player experience I have ever had on an online game.

The game's community is very accepting of new players. It encourages players to learn from their mistakes instead of calling them out and has a "thumbs up" system that lets you give a commendation to your fellow crew members for a job well done.

The game made it's debut in October of 2012, but don't let that deter you. This game is still only just getting started. After recovering from some major financial problems, a crooked publisher and capturing the attention of a now thriving niche community, "Musegames" has been working on a major content expansion. This new expansion will prominently feature a new "Adventure Mode" with co-op, factions, an in game economy and boss battles.

"Musegames" is a rare breed of game developer. They have more concern for their patrons than any other any other company I have ever seen.

For example, while I was playing there were some unfortunate server issues that made the game a little laggy. I play a lot of online games and a little lag is to be expected. There some triple A tittles I have played that had more lag then this. Much to my surprise I received an email from the developer that not only apologized for this minor inconvenience, but gave me and everyone else a free in-game item!

These guys have literally braved floods to keep their fans happy!

With plans for such a large addition to the game on the horizon, now is an excellent time to purchase Guns of Icarus Online. The game goes for regular $15 price tag, but the game often goes on sale for prices as low as $3.75. Come on guys, that is less than a sub-sandwich. If anyone deserves your money it's these guys.

Guns Of Icarus Online
Developer: Musegames
Operating Systems:
Price: $15 standard, $3.75 Sale
About: A team based competitive objective game featuring airships in a steam-punk setting.
Release Date: October 31st, 2012

More Information
Guns of Icarus Website
Totalbiscuit's first-impression review
IGN Review

What makes a good MMO? Wildstar Vs. The Elder Scrolls Online

Everyone has a particular field of interest in their life and mine is video games. Everything about them completely enthralls me: how they are made, the industry, the artistic value and just plain old fun.


My particular poison is the MMO genre. Massively Multi-player Online. The key word here is massively. While many games have online multiplayer an MMO takes that to the extreme. We're talking hundreds to thousands of players interacting on screen at once.

This is a very popular genre to focus a game around, but few pull it off in a way that does the genre justice.

There are three things that help me decide if an MMO is good or bad: How the game plays, how much there is to do and how much do I have to pay?




Two recent MMO games which I have recently participated in beta testing for are: Wildstar and The Elder Scrolls Online. These are a perfect exampleson what is a good MMO and what is a bad MMO based on how the game plays, the content progression and the overall business model. Both are MMO-RPGs and are set to release this year.

What can you do in an MMO?
To support those massive numbers an MMO will often times have one large persistent world that players can interact with in a meaningful way. Often times this will mean teaming up to defeat challenges in the game world like powerful bosses or random events or teaming up to fight against other players in potentially massive battles. The terms Player Versus Environment (PVE) and Player Versus Player (PVP) are commonly used terms that describe the former.

Wildstar takes a fresh take on how MMO-RPGs are played by innovating in both PVP, PVE and player customization.

The PVE encounters are fast paced and exciting with players having to constantly keep maneuvering and adapting to the enemies' mechanics and is a refreshing change the standards for such encounters. The new telegraph and nontraditional crowd control abilities make PVP more enjoyable and less frustrating than most titles in this genre. There is also a large amount of customization options for characters that allows you to be rewarded based n what you enjoy doing in game whether it be exploring, fighting or crafting items for yourself and your friends.

The Elder Scrolls on the other hand is less than inspired. The PVE encounters are boring and repetitive and feels like combat from a 90's MMO-RPG. The PVP is the games strong suite, but laggy and unresponsive and most of the mechanics are borrowed from older titles like Dark Age of Camelot. At release the game restricts your customization and crafting options unless you pay an extra $20 dollars on the special edition.

Progression, Content and Social Interactions
An MMO game will often time have some sort of progression system for players to spend time on. Players who spend more time on the game unlock newer features, abilities and become more powerful in the in-game world. This encourages players to keep playing the game and in turn paying money, but often times is a very rewarding system in which players feel the direct effects of their time invested playing the game.

But the biggest part of playing an MMO will ultimately be the social aspect. Players come to play the game but stay for the friends and enemies they make in the game world. Successful MMOs encourage players to team up in PVE and compete in PVP. Many MMOs require you to team up to experience the highest level of content and will often split the player base into factions to give them a little bit of rivalry straight from the get go.

Wildstar has a lot of refreshing innovations when it comes to progression, content and social interactions within the game. Players can pick and choose what they want to spend their time doing and get rewarded for it via the Path system. The game encourages player interaction from the get go by offering opportunities to work together in the game world straight from the get go. The developers have also announced that they already have a year's worth of extra content ready to go for the final release.

Its a shame that The Elder Scrolls Online falls short on all three of these aspects. The progression is slow, repetitive and boring. It tries desperately to cling to the success of it's source material, so much that it fails at being a good MMO or a good Elder Scrolls game. The social interaction of the game is also a total mess making it so players who want to play with their friends are phased in and out at random intervals, can't get credit for working on quests together and overall completely defeats the purpose of an MMO.

Business Models
Creating and sustaining such a massive game world and keeping players interested in the game are two of the most vital parts of an MMO game. It is both expensive and difficult to keep game servers running 24/7 and this is oftentimes reflected in an MMOs business model.

Many MMOs will require purchase of the game and then an additional subscription fee each month. The amount paid for the subscription can vary but is generally $5-$15 dollars monthly. To justify this added costs subscription based MMOs will usually add additional content to keep players entertained and discourage them from unsubscribing.

Another commonly used alternative business model is to instead have a micro-transaction store in the game where players can buy items to boost progression, provide cosmetic effects and other miscellaneous perks to enhance their experience, but not give them any unfair advantage.

Many games will also have a free-to-play model where they provide limited access to certain content or features until players purchase content through a micro-transaction or sign up for a subscription to get full access.

Both Wildstar and The Elder Scrolls Online come at an standard $60 release price with an additional $15 a month subscription fee.

Unfortunately, The Elder Scrolls Online charges an additional fee if you want full access to all available content and already has a micro-transaction model on release. Many people, such as Gamespot Staff Member Eddie Makuch and YouTube personality Joe Vargas (Angry Joe) think that the game will be forced to enter a Free-To-Play business model like other recent subscription based MMOs.

Some Additional Perspectives
Angry Joe's Elder Scrolls Review
Angry Joe's Wildstar Impressions
Jesse Cox's Youtube Channel

At a glance
Taking a look at Massively Multiplayer Online games.
What makes them good or bad?
Wildstar Vs. The Elder Scrolls Online

Warren Coffeen Profile

Studying micro-biology isn't what most people would consider the most interesting topic, but in Warren Coffeen's classroom it's not only interesting, its a good a great time. Whether its picking up seeds with spoons to simulate natural selections, playing high stakes games of jeopardy for extra credit or answering questions about smurfs and hobbits on the final exam, if your in Coffeen's class you'll probably be having a good time.

If you're a student at LBCC and want to have a good time while learning biology Coffeen is your guy.

Coffeen enjoys working at LBCC because of how in depth he can be with the students. After teaching classes of near a thousand students he really appreciates the in depth close interaction he gets out of 20 to 30 person classes here at LBCC. It allows him to conduct more interesting and exciting labs, as well as share his enthusiasm for the topics which he teaches. His passion is for teaching molecular biology and genetics shows in any one of his classes where his energy and interest in topics is unavoidably contagious.

After teaching part time at Oregon State and applying for jobs all over the country Warren noticed that a position opened up at LBCC, so he went ahead and applied here as well. Turns out he was a perfect fit for the position and much to his surprise he landed the job. After being prepared to head anywhere in the country he instead landed a job only 30 minutes away.

"I enjoy teaching students to love and appreciate this very small world.", says Warren when asked about his motivations to teach.

Warren's enthusiasm for biology is only matched by his enthusiasm for his hobbies. Within the last few years Warren has become an avid runner who has competed in several marathons and relays, and is currently in training for the Newport Marathon at the end of May, as well as preparing to compete in the Epic Relay again this year as part of a group of five other LBCC faculty members.

Warren first started running about two years ago after recovering from two knee surgeries that made it hard for him to compete in his former passion: team sports such as basketball and Frisbee.n. He has since fallen in love with both the training process and challenge of running.

Warren's wife is also an avid runner and she along with his four and six year old and incredibly energetic sons live an active lifestyle.

At a Glance
Warren Coffeen, biology teacher at LBCC
Interests: Micro-Biology, Marathon Running, Team Sports


Additional Information
Information on Newport Marathon
Information on Epic Relay

Age of Wonders 3 Review

Explore. Expand. Exploit. Exterminate. Explore your environment, expand your empire, exploit your power and exterminate your enemies. These empire building strategies are not for the casual or fast paced gamer. Only the most hardcore and patient can comprehend, let alone master a game of this genre. But for those that do, awaits one of the most entertaining and fulfilling game genres there is.

One of the new all-stars of this niche genre is "Age of Wonders 3," the newest in a series of games that is often considered a contender for best 4X strategy game ever. This new installment comes out of it's original developer: Triumph Studios. After many development road bumps, financial crisis and ten longs years, the messiah of turn based, empire building RPG games has returned. And it does not disappoint.

"Age of Wonders 3" offers an epic fantasy setting, inspiring soundtrack and some of the most solid game-play of the series so far.

The game's customization options are tremendous and offer plenty of options for a huge array of play styles. There are six classes, six races and over a dozen different schools of magic your leader can choose from making for some very interesting combinations; each of which offers a unique experience. For example you could decide to play as a rouge, but depending on what race you choose can dramatically alter the units you end up with. If you prefer a more straightforward playstyle, you might play a Warlord and focus on building your armies. If you're into political subterfuge you could play a rogue and focus on creating discord in your enemy's empires. The different races also play a factor since each race will vary in stats. For example, A dwarf rogue would like snowy terrain and have more resistance to magic based attacks, but move slower and hate tropical environments. An orc rogue on the other hand would like tropical terrain and do more damage, but hate snowy terrain and be more susceptible to magic damage. Both have noticeably different strengths and weaknesses that may make or break your strategies. 

The game has a large over-world with many different types of terrain and structures to explore. When you enter combat you can either auto-resolve or take control of the battle yourself, commanding each of your individual units in a turn based battle. There are a huge variety of units with a huge amount of different skills and abilities, many of which are tied to what race and class you decide to play.

One of the best aspects of the game is the depth and detail you can use to customize the hero and leader units. There is an expansive selection of abilities and items you can use to soup up your important units and make them extremely powerful. In later stages of the game you can even create and name your own items making for an immersive and exciting experience, as you come up with new combinations and assemble an arsenal.

There is also quite a variety in game modes as well. You can choose one of the two massive campaigns, engage in one of the challenging premade scenarios or create your own randomly generated world fit to whatever style of play you enjoy. Though the story I for the main campaign is good, the game really shines in the custom play. Its all about having that big open world to explore and being able to experience your own adventures and then tell your own stories.

One of the games few drawbacks is that it can eventually become overwhelming. As you and your enemies empires grows turns will take longer and longer and eventually the sheer number of things you have to micromanage, like your troops and economy can get rather monotonous. Some of the later levels of the campaign involved the enemy having so many units I had to wait nearly ten minutes for him to finish his turn so over and over again.

Luckily Triumph Studios is very connected to it's fan base and most of these issues have already been addressed or are being worked on as we speak. The studio stays connected to it's fan-base via it's website and forum and offers a lot of information on whats going on behind the scenes on it's website. We can expect constant updates, potential DLC and possibly even expansion packs in this games futures.

The game has also reached out to various internet personalities who are well known fans of the series for support. Markus Persson (Notch), creator of Minecraft and long time fan of the series helped the studio when they were in a desperate financial situation. Another personality John Bane (Totalbiscuit), a First Impressions game reviewer also helped the game gain significant exposure shortly after release.

All in all this game is great, its one of the most unique and enjoyable games you will ever play and is expected to have a huge lifespan with extra content and modding support. My recommendation: buy this game now, you will not regret it.

 Age of Wonders 3
Developer: Triumph Studios
Publisher: Triumph Studios
Genre: 4X, Turn Based Strategy
Released: March 31st, 2014
Rated: T for Teen
Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8

More Information
First Impression Review by Totalbscuit (John Baine)
IGN's Review
Age of Wonders Official Website

LBCC's Open Weight Room

From down the hall you can hear the crash of the weights, the whir of the machinery and the hum of the treadmills. You enter the room and immediately notice the smell of rubber and the cool air conditioning. The room is filled with all kinds of machinery and metal weights of all shapes and sizes.

Having a solid workout routine is one of the most highly recommended methods to staying in shape and relieving stress. There's nothing quite like sweating your problems away as you exhaust yourself lifting weights, working your core or just doing some cardio.

People of all ages enjoy working out and LBCC students are no exception and thanks to some recent changes in school policy, any and all students can now enjoy the use the school's exercise facility without having to sign up for a class.

Starting last fall LBCC has opened it's weight facilities for use on weekdays from 4 p.m. 5:45 p.m. Students have been asking for an open weight room for a long time and for the first time since the 90's they are free to come and work out on their own accord thanks to the combined effort of the Leadership Council and Athletic Department.

“The students have, for a long time, wanted access to the weight room without a class.” Says Leslie Hammond, Assistant Dean of Student Engagement. “Its promising that the students care about their wellness.”

Opening the weight room for all the school to use was no simple task. Not only did finding qualified staff members become a challenge, but concern about how an open weight room would effect the attendance of the school's weight lifting classes was also a concern.

To fix these problems the faculty turned to the students themselves to help staff the open weight room. Talent grants were offered for qualified students to earn credits by monitoring the weight room for the purpose of safety and assist students who have any questions about activities.

One such student, David Obando, a dual-enrolled OSU student, receives a talent grant for his time as a supervisor for weight room. Obando's Main job is to insure a safe and friendly environment during open weight room hours. Though his primary job is ensuring the safety of the students Obando is more than willing to answer any questions students might have about exercising. With nearly eight years of sports medicine studies and four years coaching athletes, Obando is capable of assisting anyone from regular students to potential OSU athletes.

Overall the open weight room has been a huge success according to Hammond. Student attendance is high and so far there has been no affect on the attendance school's weight lifting classes, both of which were large concerns about the endeavor.

Whether you are training to be a an athlete at a larger college, trying to stay in shape or just need to relieve some stress, all students and staff are welcome to attend.

Upwards of thirty students attend the open weight room daily and so far numbers are only going up according to Hammond. Many students have been asking for morning hours for the weight room as well, but scheduling around classes is an issue. Overall curricular use will take precedence, but with the weight room's current success, expanding the hours seems likely.

For students interested in using the open weight room all you need to do is sign in with your X number and you can start working out. The hours for the open weight room are 4 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.

At a Glance

Open weight room
Free for LBCC Students and Staff.
4 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. weekdays
LBCC campus Activities Center, Weight room.
Providing an environment where students can exercise for free.

Additional Information

More information about LBCC
LBCC Albany Campus Map

South Santiam Hall Gallery Coordinator to Leave

The gallery coordinator for LBCC's South Santiam Hall, Rich Bergeman, has decided to resign in June after the school year has ended.

Bergeman has served at this position since 2009, but has also had a long history here at LBCC.

Bergeman's job has involved various tasks such as contacting artists, organizing and arranging artwork in the gallery and hosting occasional receptions.

So far there has been no word on who will take over as gallery coordinator for South Santiam Hall after Bergman's departure.

He originally started as a public relations writer for the school in the mid 1970's. He later quit to attend grad school and returned in 1981 to take a job as a journalism instructor. He retired from that position  in 2007, and was later asked by the art department to take the position of gallery coordinator. Bergeman has been a member of the LBCC faculty for roughly 25 years.

Bergeman has made several achievements throughout his time at the college including helping build a photography degree within the art department and helping to organize last fall's "Community Ground" exhibit, which spanned all three galleries. The former was unfortunately cancelled several years ago due to budget cuts.

"My wife and I want to do more traveling and I'm a bit restricted on when I can get away by the gallery schedule here." Bergeman said when asked why he had decided to resign. "Five years was enough to satisfy my curiosity about how to handle the various tasks involved in running an art gallery."

Bergeman stated that his original incentive for becoming gallery coordinator was to learn what was associated with running a gallery and to keep him busy during his retirement.

Bergeman is currently one of the oldest faculty members still at the school. "After watching this campus grow during the nearly 40 years I've always been associated with it in one capacity or another. I'll certainly miss being on campus and seeing the people I've worked with over the years." Bergeman said.

Additional Links

Linn-Benton Art Galleries Webpage

At a Glance:

Who: Rich Bergeman, gallery coordinator.
What: Bergeman is leaving his position
Where: LBCC's South Santiam Hall
When: June of 2014

Getting to know Mark Urista

As a student here at LBCC you will likely have to take a communications class as part of your chosen degree program. When you do there is a high chance you will be taught by one of the most interesting and enthusiastic teachers here at LBCC. His name is Mark Urista and he is one of two communications teachers currently teaching here at LBCC.

If you don't know Urista already you may instead know his voice. Mark has voiced many of introductory videos designed to help students settle in at LBCC, but these videos only scratch the surface of how committed Mark is to his job and students.

Urista is a friendly teacher who uses a very hands on approach when teaching his students. He teaches primarily speech and communication classes, many of which focus on practical applications of speaking skills. His classes include short 15 minute lectures, group activities and than having students share what they have learned from their own experiences with the class.
As a teacher, Urista likes to focus on showing students why the course matters and how they will benefit from the class and tries give his classroom a feeling of community by encouraging students to give one another advice and to share their own thoughts and feelings about subjects discussed.

"Its really important to engage students" says Urista, "You need to help students understand what they are learning."

Working at a smaller community college rather than a larger university is a deliberate choice according to Urista. He prefers the smaller, more close knit and community focused setting to the hustle and bustle of larger colleges. At small colleges like these he feels he can develop better relationships with his students and fellow staff members.

"I really love the people that I work with, specifically my students and my colleagues." he says. "I feel like the culture of LBCC really fits who I am."

Mark has taken a rather non-traditional role to becoming an educator after he dropped out of high school his senior year. After living on his own for several years circumstance found him at El Camino College, in his hometown of Torrance California. Having to wait for a friend to finish taking the entrance exam Mark decided to take it as well and much to his surprised he passed. He then decided to start attending classes and eventually did so well he was invited to join the school's debate team.

His junior year of college he began to think about what he would want to do after college and he decided to take the necessary steps to becoming a community college teacher himself. He was offered a full scholarship to University Of The Pacific and went on to become a student, teacher assistant and debate team coach. The latter of which was very successful. Eventually he made his way to LBCC and is currently employed as a Communication Faculty member where his responsibilities include teaching, working with students and overall helping the college achieve it's goals.

Mark feels that his job is one of the best ways to make a difference to people these days. There is something about the spirit of Oregon that and its focus on making communities better that Mark is greatly attracted to.

Additional Links

"Mark Urista: Meet the Faculty" Video
Mark's Instructor Website

At a Glance:
Who: Mark Urista, Communications teacher,
What: Mark's life and how he came to work at LBCC
Where: Linn-Benton Community college

South Santiam Hall iPhone Photography Exhibit

Photography has been considered an art form for a long time and with the ever expanding accessibility to higher resolution cameras many photographers new and old have taken advantage of this. The new

On Wednesday, February 19th an all iPhone photography exhibit held a reception for viewers. There were various photos featured from local photographers Kat Sloma and Bill Laing. The reception had been moved from Thursday, February 6th after being cancelled due to bad weather conditions.

South Santiam Hall is a well lit, traditionally styled exhibit hall, which often features exhibits from many different kinds of artists and art forms. This includes everything from poetry to graphic art and most recently photography pieces taken and artistically altered using various available iPhone apps. The attendance at the reception was a decent size and many of the attendees were familiar with the artists as well as one another.

According to Bill Laing he first started using his iPhone for photography when he left his regular camera at home during a trip to Portland. Eventually he discovered various apps he could use to process and stylize his photos while on the go and soon became enthusiastic about the quickly growing iPhonegraphy genre. His work at this exhibit features various ocean oriented pieces that vary in style, such as dulled browning vintage style photos to intensely colorful and brightened scenery shots. Laing enjoys the accessibility of his phone as well the spontaneous nature of iPhone photography.

"It's very liberating" Laing said, ""Its very spontaneous, very immediate. Its available to everybody."

Kat Sloma is the second artist featured at the exhibit and this is the largest  display she has had in an exhibit so far. Her featured pieces focus on various abstractly styled photos of trees mainly in a abstract painted style. Though she has always been a photographer she has a deep love of abstract painting. One of her goals for her exhibits is to help promote the use of smart phones as versatile photography tools.

"Its a great opportunity to show people what you can do with an I-Phone." Sloma said, "My goal is to get people to try it, its in their hands already."

Both artists were approached by Rich Bergeman, the part time gallery coordinator of 6 years, to participate in this exhibit. According to Bergeman this gallery does not usually receive a reception for it's exhibits, but local artists tend to be an exception due to the amount of local enthusiasts who decide to attend.

The show will continue to run until Wednesday, February 26th.

You can view additional work from either artists at the links listed below.

More Information Online:

Now Showing In South Santiam Hall
Kat Sloma's Website
Bill Laing's Website

At a glance:

Who: Kat Sloma and Bill Laing, Photographers
What: iPhone Photogrophy exhibit
When: Wednesday February  5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Where: LBCC, South Santiam Hall

Where are the Student Discounts?

One of the biggest obstacles for college students these days is the ever growing cost of tuition and living expenses.

Many students across America have been able to help cut their costs by taking advantage of the wide variety of discounts and benefits available to help make student life easier. From local businesses to major chains to worldwide companies, there are tons of great deals and discounts to help students keep their wallet just a little heavier. It just takes a little looking.

Unfortunately, LBCC students may have to look a little harder than others. Discounts at major franchises around the city of Albany are few and far between. There are many local businesses that offer discounts, but they may require a bit more effort to discover. Mainly, businesses that offer services such as haircuts, oil changes or tailoring are good places to start.

According to Bruce Clemetsen, Vice President of Student Services at LBCC, there was a movement about ten years ago to establish a program for student discounts, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

"There was virtually no interest in the business community to offer discounts and the large chain stores did not have the authority to create discounts. General sentiments were that students already have services they go to in the community because they live here and discounts would not be large enough to get students to change."

Fortunately, there are still options available for LBCC students looking to save a buck or two.

 

Local businesses can still be a valuable resource when trying to save money.  All students need to do is keep an eye out for signs posted either outside, at front counters, or in menus.

 

Restaurant chains such as Burger King and Arby's have good student discount programs, offering 10% off orders. Not all stores participate in these programs so it is important for students looking to take advantage of these great offers is to simply ask after them. The worst they can do is say no.

Even though there are overall programs for both Supercuts and Burger King to offer student discounts, both of the establishments in Albany have stated that they do no honor those policies.

One of the best options that many students overlook are the amazing deals offered through online companies such as Apple or Amazon. Apple often has great back to school discounts. Amazon also has many great perks, like six free months of two day delivery for students and great deals on new, used, and rental textbooks.

 

Also keep in mind that the local bus routes also offer free rides for anyone with a student ID and a current term sticker.

 

There are plenty of deals out there for people looking to save a bit of cash, all you have to do is find them.

More Information on Student Discounts

Apple's Policy
Amazon's Policy
Ultimate List of College Student Discounts
82 Student Discounts
Student ID Discounts & Deals Cheatsheet
Student Discounts: 40+ Stores Offering Discounts for College Students
Super Student Discounts!
104 Organizations That Offer Student Discounts
The Big List of Student Discounts and Freebies

At a glance:

Who: LBCC students

What: Student discounts

Where: City of Albany

No spring sports, LBCC sports programs in decline.

The amount of sports programs here at Linn-Benton Community College have been steadily decreasing over the years and this upcoming spring will be the first in the school’s history where there will be no spring sports programs whatsoever.

LBCC once had many extracurricular sports programs to choose from and a multitude of facilities to accommodate them, but over the years many of these programs have been shut down and their facilities have fallen into disrepair. Examples of some programs no longer available to LBCC students are: track and field, wrestling, and most recently baseball.

The reason for the decline in athletic programs over the years is simply due to a lack of funding. The cancellation of the baseball team last year was primarily due to budget cuts. Currently, the baseball program and both men's and women's soccer are the most likely to return because of their popularity.  The financial situation however, is currently unsure and there are still some important decisions to be made.

“I'm optimistic, but there are some issues that need to be resolved,“ said Randy Falk, the current athletic director and long time faculty member,  when asked about the program's potential return. "We're looking at different financial models."

According to Brad Carman , a member of the LBCC teaching staff and former Track and Field coach, one of the first major programs to go was the Track and Field program in 2002 due to lack of interest and heavy financial costs associated with a botched refurbishment job on the school’s all-weather track. Since then, more and more of the school’s athletic programs have shut down due to the rising financial costs and budget cuts.

“It would take a tremendous amount of effort,” said Brad Carman, when asked how hard it would be to reinstate the team. There would need to be signifigant interest from the student body as well as large amounts of funding to revive many of the old teams.

Unfortunately, the longer these programs are gone, the harder they can be to bring back, this is another reason sports like baseball and soccer are a higher priority. As facilities decay and new equipment needs to be purchased, the costs only rise. Interest in said programs has also became lower and many programs seem to have dropped off the radar completely.

Extracurricular sports can have a very positive effect on academic institutions, offering great opportunites for student bonding, fundraising and school notoriety.

According to the college's athletics page on its public website, the only extracurricular athletic opportunities currently available to students are Men’s Basketball and Women’s Volleyball.

At a glance:

Who: LBCC students and faculty

What: No Springtime Sports, Baseball program cancelled and sports programs generally in decline.

When: This upcoming spring season.

Where: Linn Benton Community College

You can contact Randy Falk, the school's athletic director at: falkr@linnbenton.edu

Online Information

School Athletics Page

Benefits of playing college sports