Day: October 8, 2015

This article talks about how the country was once again shaken by a school shooting. Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook all stir terrible memories in the minds of Americans. Roseburg, Oregon is another addition to this list.

President Obama plans to visit Roseburg on Friday to meet with the grieving families. While a fair amount of people continue to push for more gun control laws Obama’s visit is stirring mixed reactions. Many people, including a local newspaper, said that the President is not welcome in Roseburg and accused him of using the town’s anguish to advance his gun-control agenda. There are many citizens who feel the same way. The Mayor stepped in and said Obama is welcomed and they “will extend him every courtesy”.

Gun control is a very hot topic right now and that is what makes this news story very relevant. It is especially important for presidential candidates to take their sides and make their opinions known. It will be interesting to see how Obama’s visit goes and how this affects peoples outlook on gun-violence. There is mourning in Oregon and across the country right now. We will see how leaders and politicians handle this situation and how much they listen to the people of Roseburg.

If you are looking for an experienced traveled man look no further than Patrick Blaine. If his name isn’t intriguing enough, his life is.

On Tuesday we were privileged to have Blaine as our guest in class. It is hard to know where to even start with Dr. Blaine. He is a professor here at Morningside College who teaches English, Spanish, as well as some C&C courses. His degree in Comparative literature allows him to do many things here on campus like advise the Spanish Club and help with the International Student Association. One of his favorite things to do is travel and he values international education so he plays a big role on the Study Abroad Committee. Blaine will be teaching a couple courses in Sicily, Italy for a few months starting in January.

Dr. Blaine was born in Washington D.C. This is rare because not many civilians are born in D.C. at government hospitals, but his dad was serving in the Military at the time. Blaine grew up in Western Pennsylvania most of his life and then decided to study at the University of Washington in Seattle. He followed with graduate school in Iowa City at the University of Iowa. He said that he, “Wasn’t scared of Iowa like many people on the coast are”.

He now has a wife named Monica who grew up in Chile, and a baby on the way. Patrick is fluent in Spanish and English, he speaks some French and plays with a couple other languages as well. Him and his wife speak in Spanish when they are at home alone, but speak English when a guest is present. They have decided that it will be “unacceptable” for their child to not be fluent in both English and Spanish.

If you can name it, Blaine probably plays a role in it. Film Festival? Charities? Downhill Skiing? He does it all. He enjoys playing around and making his own beer. “It makes a nice gift, instead of buying something I can always bring my beer”, said Blaine. Not only does he enjoy making beer he said that he has a “Passion” for it. He went on to tell us that his favorite sport is downhill skiing and he loves taking long motorcycle trips.

Patrick has traveled to many countries already in his life. He said that one of his best experiences was a two week horseback ride from Chile to Argentina through the Andes mountains. Surfing in Spain was another highlight for him as he thought back on his numerous trips. Blaine said, “In general people are friendly all over the world as long as you give them respect”. He really has enjoyed traveling and meeting good people all over the world, but he did give us a warning to stay away from Kelso, Washington. He implied that nothing good happens there, the people are ugly, it is dirty, along with many other disturbing traits.

It was fascinating to listen to Dr. Blaine and his experiences. If you see him on campus, take the time to listen and learn more about him as well as the world he has seen.