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i a king out the windowhf a fast-moving car, most will see
fast v enery of goliath-like snowcapped mountains surround-
j en less seas of what looks to be the same type of plant
Ju me, it’s not). But in order to truly see Death Valley,
u must step outside the box (or in this case, the car) fosee
kaHks relatively young geological feature really has to offer.
Nt you can try to remember to check it out the next time
y head out that way, or you can experience this unbelievable,
eathtaking land through a very unique course provided at
^ckai nas Community College.
Go-log/professor Sarah Hoover and Department Chair of
jence Jennifer Bown make a phenomenal team when they
¡e the students enrolled in BI-165 to Death Valley for nine
ys during spring break.
Hoover and Bown leave no rock unturned, no plant or
ñnal unnamed and work hard all year to make every spring
I to Death Valley one to remember. Every day is filled with
fless streams of interesting information from the scientific
Bes and biology of lizards, scorpions, plants and birds to
¡V rocks and the valley itself formed over millions of years.
'Students enrolled in the Natural History of Death Valley
ss also learn about the different people that call the desert
me, like the Shoshone tribe who are considered to be the
st basket weavers in the world. Students also learn all about
gol rush that stormed the land and sparked “boom towns”
sproi.i up everywhere. They get to tour through ghost towns
e Rhyolite which was built in 1905 as a mining town for
I Frog Mountain where $3.1 million was pulled from the
i.
In the class you are required to have a field journal where
you log all toe information as it comes, information such
as elevation, temperature, species lists and location
notes. At the end of every day students must
write a reflection
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Clackamas Print 5
that summarizes the dai ly events and reactions of the student
The journal hardly seems like work though; aside from helping
you out greatly with your final exam, the journal stands as an
excellent reminder of the breathtaking experiences.
“It’s what we call a living laboratory,” said Bown, who is
known for her bird classes and Natural History of the Oregon
Coast class.
Six nights on the valley floor without any TV or radio may
sound like a daunting task for some technology-addicted col
lege students, but once you’re there it’s actually not half bad.
The view wi 11 have you staring out into the openness for what
would be hours if Hoover or Bown allowed it to happen. The
night sky brings something more unbelievable than anything
TV could provide: a window that reveals the far reaches of the
universe through countless flickering stars and distant moving
objects.
So if you ’ re in need of an adventure, one that will stay with
you for the rest of your life, Death Valley is where it’s at There
are no words to appropriately describe anything that happens
in the Natural History of Death Valley course. The words awe
some, informative, creative and adventurous all seem to fall
short in defining what the experience is 1 ike.
Although the Death Valley lab only takes place during
spring break, you can sti 11 walk around the giant Petri dish on
Bown’s Malheur field trip from May 12-15, Students travel
to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge and stay in the on-site dorms
and visit the John Day Fossil Beds to learn about the geology
of Eastern Oregon. Bown said that because she brings her bird
class there will also be quite a bit of bird watching.
The class is only one credit and is used as a science elec
tive by most students, but again the experience is why
people go. It’s one thing to learn about the geology and
biology of a specific location from a book or class but a ,
complete other to actually see, feel, taste, hear and smell L.
it right where it’s happening.
For more i nformation on the Malheur trip
or any others, talk to Bown (Pauling-124e)
or Hoover (Pauling-124) during their
office hours. There are still quite a
few openings on the Malheur
trip; don’t let the opportu-
nity pass you by.
John Shufelt Clackamas Print
Hoover instructs her Natural History of Death Valley class that takes place over spring break. From left to right: Devon Kennedy, Mary Hosanna Hunt,
I. Porter and instructor Hoover observe fault lines.
+: Home brewers can now find freedom in new bill
By Joshua Baird
As & Culture Editor
's about time.
I hate to mix politics with
teurc, but in this case it is
ton March 28 John Kitzhaber
lifc lii • ;ood choice of his cur-
ministration.
J ne; i one year, the Oregon
legislature has fixed one of
st antagonistic rulings by the
iLiqu Control Commission
ty long time with Senate Bill
fe bill allows home brewers
t again compete at amateur
I and winemaking contests
je.
9 the debacle last summer
Oregon State Fair, where the
made it known that the com-
1 Hilly intended to block all
contests being held statewide with a
reinterpretation of a Prohibition-era
law, many home brewers and brew
supply shops began to express their
discontent with the way that OLCC
was handling the regulation.
Many, myself included, felt that
the only reason that the OLCC was so
gung-ho about enforcing this law after
so many years is that they were unable
to (over) tax homemade alcohol as
they do with beer, wine and liquor at
the store.
Much like a lame DVD, this new
ruling comes with erne extra feature:
no, it isn’t a preview for the movie
you bought, but instead donating your
beer to non-profits is allegedly now
going to be considered tax deductible.
I’m not really sure if it is worth
it to even try and donate my sweet
homebrewed ambrosia-esque beer.
The sheer volume of beer that you
would have to give away would cause
you to lose money on the ingredients
alone, unless the government is will
ing to give a tax deduction to give
your beer away of 10-20 times the
cost of ingredients.
In my opinion, there is nothing
more sawed than a man’s (or wom
an’s) right to share the fruits of his
labors with his friends, family and
co-workers if he so chooses. And
thankfully, most home-brewers love
to share the beer that they make with
others.
In the end, there is very little left
to say about this decision beyond that
it was the right choice for the artistic
types in Oregon, those of us whose
medium is not paints on canvas or
pencil on paper, those of us who
instead chose to carve out our place in
the world with flavorful and intense
(and in some cases highly potent)
beer or wine. Or more simply put, it’s
about time.
Don’t forget to check out www.
twenty-lplus.com for more exclusive
content
Disclaimer We at The Clackamas
Print do not encourage drinking to
excess or underage drinking of any
kind. Remember to drink responsibly.
Home brewers can now enjoy the sharing of their homemade
beer thanks to a new bill passed on March 28.