The Linfield Activities Board is one of the many on-campus organizations that make Linfield College as unique as each student who attends it.

The Activities Board is made up of eight Linfield students who meet once a week to plan events and activities for the student body to attend.

The Activities Board positions include Vice President of Programming, Music Chair, Outdoors Chair, Secretary, Sports Chair, Special Events Chair, Cultural Chair, and Social Media Chair.

Vice President of Programming, Kacie Copeland, senior, not only manages the Activities Board but also serves as a liaison between the Activities Board, student senate and cabinet. She was just recently hired and is excited for what this position will teach her.

“I had been a part of the Linfield Activities Board my junior year as the secretary and I decided that I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone,” Copeland said. “I love being a part of the activities.”

Copeland’s biggest project is helping to plan Wildstock.

“I handle a budget for Wildstock and I also keep track of what the chairs are spending for their activities,” Copeland said. “I work with check requests and reconciliations.”

Most of the events the Activities Board puts on are free because the money is given to them by ASLC.

“It is nice for the students to not have to pay anything out of pocket every time they want to walk into a movie,” Copeland said.

One of the Activities board chairs that deals specifically with the showing of movies and other performing events is the Special Events Chair, Cruz Morey, sophomore.

“My position’s responsibility is to organize events such as performers, jugglers, comedians, magicians, hypnotists, spoken word poets, anything like that,” Morey said.

One of Morey’s regular responsibilities is being in charge of planning and scheduling movies to show on the big screen in Ice Auditorium.

“The movies that I show are no longer in theaters, but I have to show them before they come out on DVD,” Morey said. “It’s in that middle period.”

Linfield goes through a movie distributing agency called Swank Motion Pictures, which is how the Activities Board can get access to films that are not available to the general public yet. Their contract states that Linfield must show at least 15 new movie releases per year, but the Activities Board also plays older movies.

Morey knew he wanted to be involved with the Associated Students of Linfield College in some way, which led him down the path to the Activities Board positions available for students to apply for.

“I really enjoy planning events and I like being in positions of responsibility,” Morey said. “This job lets me expand on my skills.”

The Activities Board was set up by ASLC and receives its budget from annual ASLC student body fees. This money is then distributed to the different Activities Board Chairs so they can each use a certain amount to plan and execute the events they plan.

“Essentially, students are paying for us to put these events on for them through their tuition money,” Morey said. “The money that I deal with goes to paying for the comedians or performers that I bring to campus and also the movies that I show.”

The effort Morey puts into his position as Special Events Chair has given him a chance to gain experience in the type of work he plans to continue doing after college.

“This position is teaching me a lot about contracts and talking with agents of people,” Morey said. “Planning isn’t something you can just push aside and say ‘I’ll do it later.’”

In fact, Morey spent last semester planning all of the events scheduled to happen this semester, and is already working on organizing what will happen in the spring.

“You really have to be meticulous with your planning skills and know how to talk with people,” Morey said, “and maybe even bargain sometimes.”

Morey finds fulfillment through his position on the Activities Board because it allows him to give back to the student body.

“I want the students to be happy,” Morey said. “And I know that sometimes they might not be happy with events that have happened in the past but we are really trying to improve this year and max out our attendance.”

The Activities Board’s Culture Chair, Heidi Ambrose, junior, also hopes to maximize attendance at the different events she plans.

“I plan events that are usually off-campus that range from anything between Evergreen Museum and Water Park visits to plays to fancy restaurants,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose finds her position to be a perfect for her due to her passion for and experience planning events.

“I am so excited about not only my events but my coworker’s events too,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose finds specific gratification in her position because there are essentially no limits to what she can plan.

“It’s fantastic,” Ambrose said. “My position gives students rare opportunities that are worth seizing. I help students experience different cultures and appreciate things outside of their daily routine – which is what college is all about.”

Ambrose feels her position is, without a doubt, worth all of the time and dedication that she puts into it.

“Linfield would lost a lot of its uniqueness without LAB,” Ambrose said. “We enable the student body to learn more about the world around us, and we provide great stress relief.”

Ambrose truly embraces the culture aspect of her position, and of Linfield in general.

“I think it’s really important to get off campus every now and then,” Ambrose said, “To see out Oregonian cities and experience life outside of a small, private school. Different cultures are fascinating and there’s so much to be gained from trying new things.”

To be sure that as many students are made aware of the events that the Activities Board puts on, Kelsey Tanouye, senior, the Social Media Chair, monitors and manages the Activities Board’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

“Through the use of social media, my job is to generate and maintain positive relationships with students so that, through our posts, they can be informed about upcoming and current events happening on campus.”

The Activities board recognized that in this technological time, it is greatly needed for any organization to develop and maintain a digital presence. Thus, Tanouye’s position was created.

“I would say that I am definitely passionate about my work for this position,” Tanouye said. “I am an avid social media user and recognize the many benefits it can have.”

Due to the small size of the Linfield student body, there is already a strong sense of community that can be felt on campus.

“I see the use of social media as a tool that can improve, even more, the flow of communication between organizations and the students who benefit from them,” Tanouye said. “As a mass communication major, I have been able to study at length how the use of new media can be a cause of greater societal advancement.”

Tanouye views her use of social media for the Activities board as a way to implement her studies into the real world.

“I think that my position is great because its focus is on updating students with the latest information regarding our events in real time but in a positive and sometimes entertaining way,” Tanouye said.

This is the first year that the Activities Board has hired a Social Media Chair, and Tanouye sees great potential for how her role can better relay information about LAB sponsored events that interest students.

The Linfield Activities Board is, when it comes down to it, students working to entertain and keep Linfield students happy.

“The people I work with keep me motivated,” Morey said. “They inspire me to think outside the box.”

The main thing that the Activities Board needs from the student body in return for all of their time spent planning these activities is participation.

“Come to our events,” Morey said. “We are doing this for everybody. Come to the events and give us feedback. Participate.”

For more information on up and coming events and activities put on by the Activities Board, like “Linfield Activities Board” on Facebook, follow @LinfieldLab on Twitter and @LinfieldActivitiesBoard on Instagram.

“We put so much effort into what we do,” Ambrose said. “I love my team.”