|
Here is a brief overview of places/services around campus that may be of interest, as well as an introduction to Corvallis.
CAMPUS
- Kerr Administration Building (often called Kerr or the Admin building): Located on the corner of Jefferson and 14th, southeast of
the library. Here you will find the registrar, financial aid, business, and graduate school offices. The graduate school office is on the third floor.
- Memorial Union (MU): Centrally located on campus and housing the bookstore, a coffee shop, several places to eat, and
ATM machines.
- Library: Located east of the MU. Since not all journals are available electronically, you will most certainly
become familiar with this building! Journals are located in the basement: older, generally pre-1990 issues are in the condensed
(movable) shelves.
- Dixon Recreation Center: Located south of the MU and newly renovated! Dixon has a weight room, rooms with
cardio equipment, pools, a running track, basketball courts, racquetball courts, and an indoor climbing facility. Classes (aerobics,
spinning, yoga, etc.) are also offered. You can get in with your student identification card as long as you are registered for
classes. Dixon is also the place to get information about intramural sports.
- Outdoor Recreation Center (ORC): Now located in Dixon Recreation Center. The ORC has outdoor equipment
(snowshoes, cross-country skis, mountaineering equipment, backpacks, rafts, etc.) for rent for good prices. The ORC also offers
classes if you need instruction in a certain skill (rock climbing, kayaking, mountaineering, cross-country skiing, etc.).
Additionally, this is a good place to get information about outdoor recreation in Oregon, as they have maps and books you can look at. The ORC also has space and tools for working on bikes and a bike mechanic to help if you’re not mechanically inclined.
- Sports: There are numerous sporting events throughout the year if you want exhibit your Beaver pride.
Football season is always big, as you will no doubt notice at home games when Corvallis is swarming with people dressed in orange!
Tickets are free with your student identification card. Remember that parking at/near the department of forestry is generally
unavailable on football-Saturdays.
- Craft Center: Located in Memorial Union East, south of the library. This is a great place to unwind doing
your favorite craft or to learn a new one. The craft center has pottery wheels, a darkroom, a woodshop, sewing machines, looms, and
space for stained glass work. If you don’t need to take a class, you can attend an orientation and then get to work. If you need a
refresher or want to learn a new craft, classes and workshops are offered every quarter. The craft center also has supplies for
purchase.
- KBVR: KBVR (88.7 FM) is the campus radio station. Tune in for the different shows, or host your own show!
Located in Memorial Union East.
- Theatre: Several plays are presented each year at Withycombe Theatre (located at the corner of Orchard and 30th).
Check out the following website for information on the upcoming season:
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/theatre
- Faculty and staff fitness classes: OSU offers fitness classes, such as yoga, Pilates, swimming, running, and
weight training for faculty and staff (graduate students included!) for a pretty good price. Class schedules and registration
information can be found at http://www.hhs.oregonstate.edu/outreach/fsf/
- Organizations: OSU has many organizations to get involved with. For a complete list (including club sports), check out
the following student involvement website: http://oregonstate.edu/studentinvolvement/organizations.html. Some that may be of particular
interest include I.S.O.S.U. (International Students of OSU) and Women in Science and Engineering (WISE).
CORVALLIS
- Finding a place to live: Probably the best place to start looking for a place to live is to look in the rentals section of
the classified ads in the Corvallis Gazette Times (http://www.gazettetimes.com/classifieds/ click on Rentals). The website has a
full listing of apartments, houses, and rooms for rent as well as roommates wanted. Many places in Corvallis have month-to-month
leases, so if you’re having trouble finding a place you like, you can always find a place that is month-to-month and then keep
looking. Also, flyers for housing are usually posted around town and campus and emails with housing opportunities will occasionally
come through.
- Utilities: The City of Corvallis provides water/sewer/garbage/recycling services. Pacific Power and Consumer’s Power provide
electricity, NW Natural provides gas, and Qwest provides phone service. There is also a recycling center at the intersection of
Walnut Boulevard and Highway 99.
- Food shopping: There are numerous grocery stores throughout Corvallis (Safeway, Albertson’s Winco) as well as a co-op
(First Alternative) with two branches (south on Highway 99 and north at the corner of Grant and 29th). There are also two farmer’s
markets in Corvallis that run from April to November. The Saturday farmer’s market is downtown by the riverfront from 9 am to 1 pm.
The Wednesday farmer’s market is at the Benton County Fairgrounds on 53rd from 8 am to 1 pm.
- Places to eat: Bomb’s Away Café (usually called Bomb’s), American Dream Pizza (usually called the Dream), Tarn Tip (Thai), and
Nearly Normals (vegetarian—usually referred to as Normals) are popular, good, not too expensive and all close to campus. The
Dream has soy cheese if you need it and Tarn Tip has good lunch specials. Evergreen (downtown) has good Indian food. If you have
a lot of money to spend, Big River and Iovino’s (both downtown) have good food and desserts.
- Places to meet for a drink: Bomb’s, Squirrels, Crowbar, McMenamins, and Tommy’s are popular places to convene for a
drink. If you get on the Forest Ecosystems and Society social email list, you will surely pay a visit to these places! Steph Hart is in charge
of the social list, so if you want to be included on it email her (Stephanie.Hart@oregonstate.edu).
- Coffee: The Beanery on the corner of Monroe and 26th is always buzzing with students and faculty. Interzone (farther down
Monroe) is also popular and has some organic options. Sunny Side Up is a nice place to go if you’re downtown. If you’re in
Richardson or Peavy, the closest place for coffee is Marketplace West (across 30th from Peavy).
- Bicycles: New bikes can be purchased at Peak Sports, Corvallis Cyclery, Cyclotopia, and Bike ‘N Hike (all downtown). These
shops also service bikes. Used bikes for sale can be found through auctions at OSU, at Play it Again Sports (on 9th Street), and in
the classifieds of the local paper.
- Outdoor recreation: There are great hiking, biking, running, boating, fishing, climbing, hot springing, skiing, and snowboarding
opportunities and within 10 minutes to 2 ½ hours of Corvallis. Locally, Bald Hill Park (west of campus) and the College of Forestry
MacDonald-Dunn Research Forest (just west and north of town) offer walking, running, hiking, and mountain biking. Mary’s Peak (
30 minutes west of town) has good hiking and mountain biking as well.
- Wine tasting: The Willamette Valley is home to many, many wineries. It’s usually not too hard to get a group together to go
wine tasting….
- Movies: Dark Side Cinema (downtown) shows excellent movies that usually aren’t shown in the standard theaters.
There are also theaters on 9th Street and a huge new cinema complex near the Safeway
on Circle Boulevard. Albany also has theaters.
- Music: Some music rolls through Corvallis. There are some punk bands that play often and Amadan (Irish rock) is a local
favorite. Bigger names in music usually play in Eugene (45 minutes south of Corvallis) and Portland (1 ½ hours north of Corvallis).
If anyone is going to a show, you will most likely hear about it if you’re on the social email list.
- Public radio: KLCC (89.7 FM) out of Eugene is the local NPR station. Oregon Public Radio can be found on 550 AM. Other options
are KOPB, Corvallis at 103.1 FM and it is often possible to pick up a Portland-based community radio station, KBOO at 100.7 FM.
|
