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Issue 6 - Sept. 13, 2010 - Grand Valley Lanthorn
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Grand Valley LanthornGrand Valley’s student-run newspaper www.lanthorn.com Vol. 45 issue 6: Sept. 13, 2010
Grand Valley State University alumnus and State Rep. Brian Calley (R) discovered his initial interest in politics at a young age. Watching President Ronald Reagan’s farewell address with his father, Calley recalled his inspiration, but it was decades before he would fulfi ll his passion for public service.
After campaigning successfully for the 33rd District Seat in the Michigan Senate and winning the Republic primary, Calley decided to bow out of the race at the request of Rick Snyder to join his gubernatorial campaign.
“It was a decision based on merit,” Snyder said of his request to run with Calley. “The thing that impressed me most about Brian was his depth of knowledge. Even though he’s a relatively young guy, he’s already worked on some of the most complex legislative issues out there. I also like that he’s repeatedly demonstrated his ability to work with both Republican and Democrat lawmakers to fi nd solutions - that’s something we need more of in Lansing.”
Often praised for his ability to go beyond party lines to push public policy forward, Calley attributed this quality to an obligation to his constituency.
“When I got into politics I made myself, my family and my community a promise that I would just do what I believe to be the right thing for my district, regardless of whether or not that fell along any particular party lines,” Calley said. “Beyond that, I’d say often times in order to make progress it doesn’t really require as much compromise as you
Snyder picks GV alumnus for
running mate
From local TV reporting to a national CNN correspondent to professor, Keith Oppenheim’s life in broadcasting has taken him around the country and back. After trading in television for textbooks, Oppenheim is tackling his latest assignment: assistant professor of communications at Grand Valley State University.
One of GVSU’s newest tenured professors, Oppenheim is originally
from Massachusetts. He received his bachelor’s in psychology from Brown University in 1982 and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University in 1985. From there, he worked as a general assignment reporter at television stations in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, California and Michigan.
Oppenheim eventually made the jump to cable news in 1997, working for CNN in both Chicago and Atlanta. During his 11-year tenure at the
Former network correspondent ful� lls
teaching goal at GVSUThe LGBT Resource
Center on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus is extending its programming this academic year.
In addition to its ongoing LGBT conferences, support groups and student organizations, the center is introducing the following three new programs: the Freshman Queer Alliance, a support group for fi rst year students, Pipeline, an LGBTA leadership program, and Change U, a social justice training series.
Colette Seguin Beighley,
the center’s assistant director, said the programs were created based on student demand.
“Freshman Queer Alliance and Pipeline were developed directly from our focus groups and online surveys we did last year,” she said. “Our ongoing conferences were based off of students’ interests as well.”
Freshman Queer Alliance will meet weekly throughout the fall semester on Wednesdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m and begins on Sept. 22. The registration deadline for the program is Sept. 20.
“It’s really sort of a safety net, welcoming program for freshmen on campus,” Seguin
LGBT Resource Center introduces new programsNew resources, programs focus on freshmen, leaders, social justice
GVL / Rane MartinInclusion: Greek students are trained to support the LGBT community during the Greek Allies and Advocates Certi� cation Program. It was held at the LGBT center.
Courtesy Photo / mlive.comPolitical policy: State Rep. Brian Calley earned his master’s at GVSU.
INDEX
News......................................................A3
Downtown.......................................................A4
Opinion.........................................................A5
Religion.............................................................A6A BSports...........................................................B1
Laker Life................................................................B5
Marketplace................................................B7
Grand Valley LanthornGVL Archive
Family WeekendFind out what on-campus events GVSU has planned>> See Page B5
FUTURE CITIES
GreenTown draws local leaders for sustainability summitBy Garrett Pelican
GVL Sta� Wrier
SNYDER
By Garrett PelicanGVL Sta� Wrier
See GreenTown, A2 See Calley, A2
Calleycontinued from page A1
By Samantha ButcherGVL Senior Reporter
See LGBT, A2
OPPENHEIM
By Chelsea LaneGVL News Editor
See Faculty, A2
Demonstrating the importance of sustainability in West Michigan, leaders from the public and private sectors conferred at Grand Valley State University’s Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids for “GreenTown: The Future of Community” on Thursday and Friday.
Marking the second time the event has visited Grand Rapids, “GreenTown” invited its attendees to share ideas and set goals in order to promote the development of sustainability in the local community.
“There’s a wonderful quote that’s attributed to Chief Seattle who said, ‘We don’t inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children,’” said Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell. “As a grandfather, I take that quite seriously. I’ve got to be a steward of this world for the generations that are going to follow after I’m long gone.”
As a result of Heartwell’s “green” agenda since taking offi ce, Grand Rapids now receives 20 percent of its power from renewable resources – a fi gure the city has pledged to increase to 100 percent by 2020 – and plans to affect sustainable change using a triple bottom line of environmental, economic and social development.
“I view sustainability as a framework for making a better decision
today using the triple bottom line of social, environmental and economic impact,” said Norman Christopher, executive director of the GVSU Sustainable Community Development Initiative. “What we’re doing is using that lens to make a better decision that we’re passing
on to future generations.”Christopher went on to give
examples of the triple bottom line. “Environmentally, that could mean
ensuring that we’re not polluting the environment or using resources that are not renewable. Certainly meeting economic vitality means having jobs and creating effi ciency. Socially, it could mean having social impact, improving social justice, or it could mean just having a greater social responsibility,” he added.
One of the event’s planners, John Harris, said working toward sustainability can be done in many simple ways that include recycling, purchasing hybrid vehicles or traveling by foot or bicycle.
“I think most people have to choose what they’re passionate about,” he said. “For some, it may be public service like helping the homeless, whether it’s raising
money to mitigate or eliminate homelessness or volunteering at a
HEARTWELL
Photo Manipulation / Alana Holland
“I can safely tell you that at GVSU I’m surrounded by students that are concerned about the environment. They want to serve and make a di� erence.”-NORMAN CHRISTOPHERSCDI executive director
A2 Monday, September 13, 2010 NEWS Grand Valley Lanthorn
Volume 46, Number 6
Grand Valley Lanthorn
The Grand Valley Lanthorn is published twice-weekly by Grand Valley State University students 62 times a year. One copy of this newspaper is available free of charge to any member of the Grand Valley Community. For additional copies, please contact our business offi ces.POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to Grand Valley Lanthorn, 0051 Kirkhof, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, 49401
The Grand Valley Lanthorn is published under the
authorization of the GVSU Newspaper Advisory Board.
CorrectionsAt the Lanthorn we strive to bring
you the most accurate news possible. If we make a mistake, we want to
make it right. If you fi nd any errors of fact in the Lanthorn, let us know by
calling (616) 331-2464 or by e-mailing [email protected].
ADVERTISING STAFFAdvertising Manager
DANIEL DELAMIELLEURE Advertising RepsCHRIS ROWELL
CHANTELL BOYDKEVIN HAUSFELD
AMANDA VILLARREALAdvertising Designers
MATT TYNDALLVALENTINA VALDES
BUSINESS STAFFBusiness Manager
ERIC LEEAssistant Business Manager
BRANDON MERCADODistribution
DAVE BABCOCKJEFF DIMITRIEVSKI
CHRIS ROWELL THOMAS LEE
JASON TERPSTRAJASON LEIBYReceptionistsKIM SANDER
CARIAN WHITEFaculty Adviser
LAWRENCE BEERY
EDITORIAL STAFFEditor in ChiefLAUREN FITCH
Managing EditorEMANUEL JOHNSON
News EditorCHELSEA LANE
Assistant News EditorANYA ZENTMEYER
Sports EditorCODY EDING
Arts and Entertainment EditorELIJAH BRUMBACK
Laker Life EditorHALEY OTMAN
Photography EditorERIC COULTERCopy Editors
CARLA LANDHUISKARA DONALDSON
Layout Editor
ALANA HOLLANDLayout Staff
TAYLOR GEBBENKELLY GRANBACKA
Web TeamJON ROOST CJ RAFTERY
JOSH KOVACH
GreenTowncontinued from page A1
Calleycontinued from page A1
LGBTcontinued from page A1
Facultycontinued from page A1
homeless shelter. If it’s the environment, what can you do in your life? Can you garden? If you garden, can you do it organically with no pesticides?”Featuring four tracks – climate strategies for sustainable communities, community design and building, healthy food and the outdoors – and speakers from the academic, business and civic communities, “GreenTown” illustrated the close ties between Grand Rapids and GVSU.“I’m always amazed when I go out and talk with mayors across the country and I talk about our partnership with Grand Valley, and it’s like a light bulb goes on for them,” Heartwell said. “They’ve never really thought they could work with their local university or their local college in that way. This has been a hugely important relationship for us, and I think it’s mutually benefi cial. It’s been a good
one for Grand Valley. We’re growing together, we’re learning about sustainability together, we’re practicing
sustainability together and we’re measuring our progress together.”GVSU President Thomas Haas echoed Heartwell’s praise, calling the city and university staff’s cooperation a “remarkable partnership.”“We’re also encouraging others in the educational community – in the K-12 – and in the businesses, both in the profi t and not-for-profi t,” Haas explained. “So we’re providing some of that catalyst between the city and Grand Valley to get others more interested in sustainability practices, understanding more about what type of return they can get for these types of investments. I’m really pleased with the efforts the university and the city of Grand Rapids have engaged in, and I know it will continue in years to come.”Along with other accolades, GVSU was named one of the Kaplan College Guide 2009’s top 25 green and
environmentally responsible schools. Spurred by student interest, GVSU now recognizes sustainability as one of its core values and features it in the university’s 2010-15 strategic plan.“We are actually being pushed in a very positive way by our students,” Haas said. “They want to see Grand Valley be one of the leaders in this regard.”Christopher agreed, saying about 14 percent of all student credit hours at GVSU are in sustainability subject matter.“I can safely tell you that at GVSU I’m surrounded by students that are concerned about the environment. They want to serve and make a difference,” he said. “I think there is great not only hope, but if we provide them the opportunities, that’s the leadership that’s going to step up in this space.”Students and faculty interested in learning more about the initiative are encouraged to take advantage of Campus Sustainability Week on Oct. 23-30.
Beighley said. “We really want to provide a place for them to get to know each other, to get to know what’s happening with the queer community on campus and also to get to know campus a little bit better.”
Pipeline will hold bi-monthly meetings on Tuesdays from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The registration deadline is Friday, and registration forms for both programs can be found at http://www.gvsu.edu/
lgbtrc.Attendance at all
sessions is required for both programs. Members of the FQA and Pipeline will have the opportunity to participate in a Spring Break Alternative Experience in Washington, D.C. Seguin Beighley said they plan to visit several LGBTA-rights organizations but will plan the trip around students’ interests.
“It’s an exciting year at the LGBT Resource Center,” she said.
The center’s largest program is Change U,
a social justice training series that will occur during the winter semester. The program will meet on Thursdays once a month from January through April. At each meeting, two speakers who work in various social justice movements will discuss how their work intersects.
“It looks at the power of working together and seeing our issues as interconnected, rather than silo-ed work,” Seguin Beighley said.
Registration for Change U opens on Oct. 1 and closes Nov. 1. Change U is also offered as a special topics course, LIB 380: Social Justice Engagement. Students interested in more information can visit http://www.gvsu.edu/socialjustice.
The LGBT Resource Center will also hold a rainbow social on Wednesday. New and returning students are encouraged to join the center in the piano room in Kirkhof for rainbow sherbet and entertainment by Liz Snively of LVNMUZIQ. The resource center’s five student organizations will also be on hand. Students interested in the LGBT Resource Center, its programs or its organizations are encouraged to attend.
The LGBT Resource Center is located in Room 1161 Kirkhof Center.
network, he covered several momentous events like the 2000 presidential election, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.“I travelled all around the country,” Oppenheim said. “25 to 30 percent of the time we were working out of Chicago or the Midwest, but the other two-thirds of it was Anywhere, USA — all over the map.”Although the quick-fi re travelling was good for an adrenaline rush, Oppenheim eventually wanted a break from the hectic life of a network correspondent.“Working for CNN is really quite a thrill, except it’s a very hard life to maintain,” he said. “It’s very interesting, but it’s hell on your schedule. Any time that there was a hurricane or that there was an event, I’d be like, ‘Where do I have to go now?’ So that sense of always being pulled was not great for me and my family over time.”Oppenheim left the network in 2008 to establish his own business, Keith Oppenheim Communications, a video and television production service for private clients such as Northwestern University and various nonprofi t organizations throughout western Michigan. In 2009, he joined GVSU as a visiting professor of communications. For Oppenheim, the decision to parlay his broadcasting experience into teaching was a
“practical” one.“There was a job posting here,” he said. “Actually, I had been teaching a class and I wanted teaching to be a part of my picture, so that had been part of my goal, and the job here was a full-time visiting professorship when I started ... I wanted to try it and I found that I really like it here a lot. I like the students and it’s a really striving place. It fi t me pretty well.”As a newly-tenured professor, Oppenheim now teaches three courses at GVSU and enjoys sharing his years of broadcasting experience with students. He fi nds the increasing popularity of pundit anchors and citizen news outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to be of particular interest.“The cable landscape has changed from the beginning of my time at CNN to now, with the emergence of MSNBC but mostly Fox News,” he said. “The landscape has really become one weighted in opinion journalism- if those two words go hand-in-hand. I teach a lot about this. It’s very interesting in terms of what you can teach about in classes. Whether it’s good for our democracy is a really separate question.”Though it may not offer the same globe-trotting thrills as the life of an on-air reporter, Oppenheim fi nds life at GVSU suits him and pointed to the enthusiastic student body as the most rewarding part of his
new job.“I think the students are what I know best so far,” he said. “In broadcasting, but also within corners of the School of Communication, despite the large size of this entire place, it actually gets quite incestuous. You have a lot of the same students over and over again and I’ve found that to actually really be quite an advantage because you get to know the kids. So I was surprised how in a short period of time I got to get a really good sense of how the broadcasting students are.”In his spare time, Oppenheim enjoys running, tennis and spending time with his wife Susan and teenage daughter Ellen. But does he ever miss going toe-to-toe with national politicians or donning that CNN rain slicker on a hurricane-ravaged beach?“Yeah, there is an excitement to a lot of that stuff,” Oppenheim said. “For example, when we’d go and cover hurricanes for CNN, I actually sort of disapproved of what we did a lot of the time because it was sort of poor role modeling. You’re standing out on the beach when a storm’s coming, which is not exactly what you should convey or would do. But on the other hand, it was always very exciting to do that, even if it was a little risky. You sometimes do less than wise things to cover a story and that’s just part of the game.”
“ ...We’re far past the point of where we can a� ord to be apathetic, and boldness is re-ally required.”-Brian CalleyState representative
would think. It requires that we focus on the areas we agree on and then build from there. Oftentimes you might fi nd that Republicans and Democrats can agree on 50 percent of is-sues that come before the leg-islature, yet the other half of issues that we disagree on pre-vent progress on areas where we do agree.”
Calley, who got his bach-elor’s degree at Michigan State University before earning a master’s degree at GVSU – pointed out the rivalry between his alma mater and that of Sny-der, a University of Michigan graduate.
“It proves that anybody can work together if we’ve got a Wolverine and a Spartan at the top of this ticket,” Calley said. “Frankly, with the current con-dition of University of Michi-gan’s football team, it hasn’t been much of a rivalry in the last few years. I don’t remind Rick of that too often.”
Prior to his selection as Snyder’s running mate, Calley served a four-year term on the Ionia County Board of Com-missioners starting in 2002. Fol-lowing that, Calley was elected to the Michigan legislature in 2006, subsequently winning his bid for re-election in 2008.
It was during the earlier de-cade that Calley worked as a community banker and small business lender at Ionia County National Bank and Irwin Union Bank. This inspired his ambi-tion to enter the political arena.
“I saw the type of employ-ment potential in small and mid-sized businesses where people are just taking great ideas from their heads right on through to employment, but then I saw a state that was so fi xated on chasing big business around the globe,” he said. “So I decided with the decade of experience that I had as a community bank-er that it was important to take that and utilize it in the arena of public policy because I didn’t really see an effective advocate for small business in state gov-ernment.”
After completing his bache-lor’s degree in business admin-istration at MSU, Calley jug-gled family life and a full-time job while pursuing his MBA at GVSU, an experience that he said left little time for leisure.
“It was all business,” Cal-ley described the hectic period.
“It wasn’t so much the college experience as it was the educa-tional experience.”
Valuing education, Calley always took his studies – high school, undergraduate, gradu-ate – seriously.
“I tried to make the most of every minute of it by forming relationships with the people I was at school with, but then also trying to get my money’s worth out of the education,” Calley said.
In particular, he valued the real-world experience of pro-fessors at GVSU.
“What I really appreciated was that my professors prac-ticed in the private sectors what they taught. For instance, my accounting professor was an accountant and my marketing professor had a marketing com-pany,” he explained.
Despite his passion for pub-lic policy, Calley revealed that there are aspects of the job he fi nds frustrating.
“This state has b e e n looking down for a long time and there are a lot of p e o p l e , p a r -ticularly within the political sys tem, that try to use this negative
atmosphere for political oppor-tunity as opposed to just solving the things that are wrong in our state,” he explained.
Noting the benefi ts of self-examination, Calley said, even criticism can be a good thing if warranted. In the cases that it is unfounded or unfair, he advo-cates ignoring it entirely.
“I don’t recommend that you lower yourself to that type of political discourse,” he warned. “I’ve always followed the phi-losophy that you run for the offi ce, not against another per-son. You need to stay on your message and what you’d like to do because that’s what your constituents deserve as opposed to concentrating on why they shouldn’t vote for somebody else.”
Regardless of the negatives, Calley enjoys the rewarding aspects of the job, citing situ-ations in which he gets to per-
sonally help constituents – as-sisting a young man with an unemployment plan or getting a Michigan Centennial Farm designation for a terminally ill man – or implementing good policy. Calley noted that these aspects make the frustrating ones worthwhile.
“It’s always a long shot in a system where you have to fi nd agreement with so many people to make any changes,” he ex-plained. “It’s an uphill battle no matter what you’re trying to accomplish, and in those cases where that magical for-mula comes together and you fi nd agreement across political divides to move public policy forward, it’s what keeps you coming back. That’s what I love about the job and what I hope to build on here in the future.”
As for his fellow Lakers, Calley advised students to take a proactive role in political dis-course.
“There’s a saying that I kind of like: ‘If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room.’ What I mean by that is that we’re far past the point where we can afford to be apathetic, and boldness is really required,” he said. “We have to take chances today. We have to completely reinvent things in this state. In order to do it right in a way that secures a future for young people, we have to have the voice of younger people at the table. “
Stressing the importance of adequate representation, Cal-ley said it is crucial for young people to seize opportunities to have their voices heard.
“When you’re aloof or silent on the direction of public policy and your voice isn’t at the table, so often the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” he said. “That’s a real danger to young people starting with my generation, which would be Generation X, and those younger are in a very precarious situation. The type of decisions that are being made and the type of overspending that we see with many levels of government, particularly with the federal government, is go-ing to leave a huge price for young people in the future. So I think that we need to have better representation both at the ballot box and right at the political table of young people that say, ‘We need a voice in the future of this country as well.’”
At the start of the fall semester, Grand Valley State University implemented a new policy that will afford students new options for waiving the university’s WRT 305 requirement. GVSU invoked a new test-out policy as well as a new waiver policy for students looking to get out of taking the class.
Students who wish to test out of WRT 305 must now turn in a portfolio with three essays and a cover letter. The portfolio will cost $25 to process, which is the same amount of money that students previously paid when writing a two-page essay to test out.
WRT 305 Coordinator Roger Gilles said the portfolio method was adopted so students could show their best pieces of writing.
“Basically, we just used the same basic guidelines for the WRT 305 portfolio that we use for WRT 150: three pieces of writing, at least one of which cites and documents sources,” Gilles said. “The idea is for students to show us a selection of their best writing.”
Students can also waive WRT 305 if they have completed 55 credits, attained a B or better in WRT 150 and attained a B or better in one SWS course.
“All we did was add the possibility of waiving WRT 305 if the students met those three requirements and
earned a B or better in both WRT 150 and one SWS course,” Gilles said.
As of Sept. 3, more than 700 waivers have been handed out to students. Professor Laura Winther, who teaches WRT 305, said while the new policy will more accurately measure a student’s writing abilities, it will also deter students who could potentially benefi t from taking the course, even if they qualify for the waiver.
“I think that the new policy is much better than the previous one,” she said. “A semester grade in a writing class is a much better representation of a student’s abilities than a single essay. My only concern about the new policy is that students who are eligible to opt out may not consider the benefi ts of taking WRT 305.”
WRT 305 is intended to help juniors and seniors improve their writing skills so they can do better in upper-level courses and in their careers, according to the GVSU testing services website.
Jenni Steinhoff, a junior majoring in special education, is currently taking WRT 305 and said she likes the new waiver policy.
“I think these requirements are a great idea,” Steinhoff said. “Obviously if somebody can pass both an SWS and WRT 150 course, they know how to write and have writing skills that can get them a job.”
From a small town in Pennsylvania, Spanish professor Mandy Menke now joins the Grand Valley State University staff where she hopes to pass on her love of Spanish to students of all levels. Menke attended grad school at the University of Minnesota, where she met her husband Aaron. Between her undergraduate degree and earning her doctorate, Menke gained some teaching experience at a Spanish immersion school in Virginia. The Lanthorn sat down with Menke to discuss more details of what she hopes to accomplish in her time at GVSU.
Lanthorn: Why did you choose Spanish? What do you like about it?
Menke: Why I chose Spanish is funny, because I originally wanted to study French and my dad said that was too girly, so I was going to study German but then he said that was dumb … so I went with Spanish; which is funny, too, because my mom actually had been a professor of Spanish before she had my brother and I. So it kind of kept that in the family. But what do I love in particular about Spanish? I think it’s the people and the culture that I really like and that ties in the language, then. I like other languages, too, but Spanish is the one that I chose to study.
Lanthorn: What are you most excited about doing at GVSU?
Menke: One of the things that I really like and that excites me about the position that I have is the variety of courses that I get to teach this semester. I
get to teach students that have never studied Spanish before, and what I love about getting to teach the lower levels is that it gives me a chance to develop my creative side a little bit more and I get to be an actress. I think that was my second calling maybe.
But at the same time I get to teach upper division level courses in linguistics and then I get to work with individuals who want to become foreign language teachers, which is what I originally wanted to do when I went to graduate school. So this position really affords me a lot of fl exibility and then I just love to teach. I think that’s what I was meant to do and being able to do that on a regular basis and just getting to know the students.
Lanthorn: What do you hope to accomplish
while you are at GVSU? Menke: I think I hope to make an impact in the
lives of students and help them meet their goals. I think it’s because of professors that I’ve had in the past that I’ve been able to get where I am right now. So if I could do that for someone else, I think that would be meaningful. At the same time I want to keep up with research and I think this position allows me to do that as well. But I think the biggest thing about being in education is teaching and helping people get to where they want to go and helping them see where they can go as well.
Lanthorn: What do you want your students to
walk away from your classes with? Menke: I think it depends on the course a little
bit. I want my beginning students to come away with an appreciation for other languages and other peoples and cultures and maybe a desire to continue learning language. In my upper division courses I really try to instill critical thinking skills and help
students. And like I had mentioned before, I want them to get the sense that they are an individual, who they are as a person, and where they could go with their potential.
Lanthorn: What are your hobbies? What do you like to do outside of the classroom?
Menke: What would I like to do outside of the classroom might be a better question. I really like going for walks and jogs and spending time with my kids. My husband and I really enjoy traveling and I love to read, also.
Spanish department gains new assistant professor
University implements new WRT 305 policy
Co-founded by Grand Val-ley State University visiting writing professors Christina Olson and Elena Passarello, Cherry Bomb reading series offers the greater Grand Rapids community with an alternative to the formal readings of tradi-tonal texts.
In what can be classifi ed as a Barnum and Bailey-esqe styled reading, authors and perform-ers are paired with a theme and an accompanying cocktail. It all takes place in Corez Neig-borhood Eatery and Bar on 919 Cherry St. tonight.
Lanthorn: Where did the name Cherry Bomb come from? Does it have anything to do with the song by the Runaways?
Olson: Elena (Passarello) and I came up with the idea last summer. While that song was stuck in our heads at the time, we wanted a name that refl ected the venue and also sound dynamic and engag-ing. Corez is on Cherry Street, which makes sense, and what goes well with a cherry? A bomb of course.
Lanthorn: What inspired the idea to start an alternative writing series in here?
Olson: We wanted to in-volve ourselves in this commu-nity we are going to be a part of for a couple of years as both of us are visiting professors at Grand Valley. I live in the east part of town and (Passarello) lives in the west. In part we wanted to encourage students to hop on a bus and come down to a different part of the city.
Lanthorn: GVSU has a touted writing series held in Allendale. What is different about Cherry Bomb?
Olson: Grand Valley has a great visiting writers series with phenomenal authors and this was in no way meant to compete with that. What we’re aiming to do is let Cherry Bomb emphasize a more re-laxed and informal reading series. It’s not as traditional as your average reading, and it’s not just an author standing in front of people reading either. We try to incorporate perform-ers too. If you’re a student, it’s about showing you what litera-ture can be, it doesn’t have to exist in a vacuum.
Lanthorn: How do select writers and performers for the series?
Olson: Generally what we try do is get an emerg-ing writer, or just people from the community. Once we had members from the Super Hap-py Fun-time Burlesque Show accompany a reading with hu-la-hoops. We try and create in-teresting pairings and we also develop a cocktail to go with it, for those of legal age. Some-times it could be a guy in wres-tling mask talking about wine pairings. For this particular reading we were actually con-tacted by the writers who said they wanted to come and share their work. Some contacts are spread all over the country; we just try and keep our ear to the ground.
Lanthorn: Are you going to be featuring some of your own work?
Olson: Yes, I have a book coming out as well.
Lanthorn: What is it called?
Olson: Before I Came Home Naked is a book of poems. It’s weird to talk about it like suc-cumbing to pure nepotism.
Lanthorn: The title is defi -nitely intriguing and hope-fully students see this and get interested in this experience.
Olson : A lot of the people who come to the read-ings are not necessarily writers, so when peo-ple come and say things like “I didn’t think that was go-ing to be good but I like it,” those back-h a n d e d comments are still ap-preciated. I mean at least you can enjoy a cocktail or at least a diet soda and listen to some readings.
Featured writers, all of whom hail from Chicago, for tonight’s series included: Cris Mazza author of Trickle-Down Timeline, Zoe Zolbrod author of Currency, Davis Scheider-man author of Drain: A Noveland Gina Frangello author of Slut Lullabies.
Door open at 6:30 tonight with the readings beginning at 7.
Reading series hosts local, regional literature
Cherry Bomb reading series co-founder Christina Olson speaks with Lanthorn
Chelsea Lane, News [email protected] NEWS Grand Valley Lanthorn
Monday, September 13, 2010 A3
QUICK!Service and advocacy
funding board meeting
For the 2010 - 2011 academic year, the Service and Advocacy Funding Board will meet in Room 0042 of the Kirkhof Center every other week at 6:30 p.m. Funding Requests must be submitted by noon on the Thursday prior to be placed on the agenda.For questions or comments, contact Valerie Jones at [email protected]
Farmers Market coming Parking Lot F
GVSU’s Farmer’s Market will be in Parking Lot F on Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the Allendale Campus. To check out the nutritional guide or to see what fruits and vegetables are in season, go to http://gvsu.edu/healthwellness/farmer-s-market-88.htm
GV NEWS BRIEFS
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New faculty and sta� welcome
Sept. 15 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., the staff and faculty from Women’s Center, Women & Gender Studies and Work Life Connections will be hosting the new Faculty/Staff Women’s Center Welcome Reception. For questions or to RSVP, e-mail [email protected]
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GVL Photo Illustration / Rane MartinWrite on: GVSU student Sarah Watson reviews her WRT 305 portfolio on the Zumberge lawn. Students can now waive the class without a test.
Courtesy Photo / Mandy MenkeHola: Manday Menk was hired to the Spanish department in the 2010-11 academic year. She will teach all levels of Spanish.
By Elijah BrumbackGVL A&E Editor
By Eric HigginsGVL Intern
By Anya ZentmeyerGVL Assistant News
Courtesy Graphic / Cherry BombSeries premire: The Cherry Bomb reading series begins tonight at 7 at Corez Neighborhood Eatery. GVSU visiting professors Elena Passarello and Christina Olson organized the nontraditional series.
Presentation on presidents,
philanthropy
The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies has joined forces with Johnson Center for Philanthropy to host the “American Presidents and Philanthropy” program.The event will take place in the Loosemoore Auditorium of the DeVos Center, starting at 7 p.m. Thursday and running from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday.The keynote speaker is Richard Gunderman of Indiana University. A complete list of speakers, their topics and a time schedule is available on the Hauenstein Center’s website, www.gvsu.edu/hauenstein. Admission is free, but attendees can RSVP online.
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Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The kick off will be today at 11:30 a.m. at the Cook Carillon Tower. A full list of events is available at www.gvsu.edu/oma.edu.
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“It’s not as traditional as your average reading, and its not just an-other author standing in front of people reading either. We try to incorperate performers too.”-Christina OlsonCherry BombCo-Founder
Mandy Menke looks forward to passing on love of Spanish to students in upper, lower level courses
Courtesy Photo / FacebookPlayground: Rob Bliss points to Grand Rapids on his hand. Bliss is known for his social experiments in downtown Grand Rapids.
“I feel like I’ve achieved a lot of the goals I had with the events, proved what I wanted to prove and done a lot of things I wanted to do.” -Rob BlissGrand Rapids native
At the ripe age of 21, Rob Bliss has already fl ooded the streets of downtown Grand Rap-ids with zombies, pa-per airplanes, sidewalk
chalk and pillow fi ghts among other “so-cial experiments” created by him all in the name of having fun.
A self-described event organizer, mu-sician, public speaker and “social me-dia expert,” Bliss grew up in Rockford, Mich., but has lived many of the greater Grand Rapids areas.
The Lanthorn sat down with Bliss, from Rockford, Mich., to talk about how it all got started, what it’s like to be here and where he’d like to end up. Lanthorn: What were you like in high school? Bliss: I would say I was somewhat social, still kind of a quiet kid a little bit though. I was defi nitely no big leader or anything like that. It was just sort of a role I had to take upon myself because it was required to do what I needed to do.
Lanthorn: Sort of like Harry Potter? Bliss: Yes…you could think that analo-gy. I was probably a little bit quieter than most people think I am. A lot of people think I’m some crazy, extremely eccen-tric kid. I’m really not at all. I’m pretty introverted if you actually meet me, but pretty transparent, I guess. I was rela-tively quiet, creative; I wasn’t the best in school at all. I was pretty unmotivitated – the opposite of what I am now – apa-thetic, uncaring...teenager-ish.
Lanthorn: Where did the whole so-cial experiments thing start? Bliss: The real start of that, before I even went public with anything, was an ex-tremely nerdy beginning; that’s funny to even talk about. There was a game in West Michigan and at Western (Michigan University) that I heard about where they re-enact zombie outbreak with nerf guns over a whole week and 10 thousand plus kids play and I was like, “That’s sweet, I’m in high school, I wanna do that.”
So I tried to fi nd a way to bring that and do that here in Grand Rapids so I got started with that, trying to recreate that in a public park. It was seriously just me and like 17 other dudes, but that grew over time to be like 120 people. Once it got bigger and bigger and I was living down-town I thought, “Wow this is really cra-zy” and could I do anything public with it, you know, downtown. Then I got into fl ash mob type stuff, I would say. And all of that was run through Facebook. I didn’t want to just do that because that can get so old so quick and in my opinion it’s just not that cool anymore.
Lanthorn: Was there a moment where you decided to make it less of a hobby and more of a venture? Bliss: The name change from Rob Bliss Urban Experiments to just Rob Bliss Events was one that I very quickly dis-liked ... I’m very boring with my names; I like to be really direct with what I call things, and that’s kind of ambiguous. All of my events are like pillow fi ght, zombie walk, water slide - because that’s what it is. And to title something really ambigu-ously is not something I was interested in doing.
It all just got more serious and I guess that’s because I’m not that kind of person who thinks it’s okay to just do something and do it a million times over and not re-ally get outside of your comfort zone so I was trying to build in size, scale, bud-get, attendance, etc. to what I had previ-ously done. That all required me to get more serious about things and to start a non-profi t around what I was doing. If I
didn’t take myself seriously then other people were not going to be able to and I wouldn’t have been able to do some of the cooler things that I’ve now been able to do that I’m pretty proud of. Lanthorn: What were your initial hopes for Rob Bliss Events and how have they measured up? Bliss: Honestly, they were not serious goals at all at the start. I didn’t even take it that seriously, I was just like, “Yeah, this is kind of cool and fun, I guess I’ll run with this.” … I feel like I’ve achieved a lot of the goals I had with the events, proved what I wanted to prove and done a lot of things I wanted to do. Just like starting out with the pillow fi ghting and trying to do something bigger, I’m always having dreams of mov-ing up and achieving more than I am now. There’s a little bit of a glass ceiling now with the things that I wanted to do and I can’t see getting a million dollar budget unless I wanted to dedicate my life to this, and I don’t. I don’t think I’ll be here doing this in fi ve years for sure, but for now I’m having a lot of fun ... and having fun with other people is really what it’s all about. While I may not be able to always do these events I’m starting to plan and set them up so that they can sort of be passed along to other people so even if I leave they can still be around.
Lanthorn: So where would you like to be in 10 years? Bliss: Honestly, I can’t even pre-dict where I’ll be in two years, so it’s kind of hard to say that. But it would be fantastic to make a living play-ing music. That would be enough. If I could have what I have now, based off of simply playing music, I would be as content as can be…I do think I’ll probably be very ready to be perform-ing a bunch and show-ing off a lot of work, I would estimate, by December or January.
Lanthorn: So you work at Wood TV8, correct? What exactly do you do there? Bliss: Well my title is “Multi-platform Account Executive” but I’m con-fused as to what the heck that means. Probably my biggest claim to fame is running a lot of the social media stuff… I wear a lot of different hats. I like to say that I work in the news department but my desk is technically located in the Internet department and I
was hired for sales.
Lanthorn: Are you doing something for ArtPrize? Bliss: I am not. There’s a bunch of dif-ferent reasons for that… While I loved the event that I was able to do last year, my event’s aren’t something that’s meant to compete. It’s not like it’s better than or worse than someone else’s piece that
someone put a lot of time into, it doesn’t deserve to win when someone else loses. The “brand” I guess, isn’t a competitive thing. I’m not trying to beat anyone and it is a non-profi t, so from a legal stand-point that would probably make things diffi cult. There were some things I was consid-ering for Art Prize but I just do not have the time and mon-
ey… I’m still very supportive of Art Prize; it’ll be fantastic and I’m very excited.
Lanthorn: Not that you aren’t normal, but have you ever wanted to stop and just do nothing – be a normal college kid? Bliss: Never. Never, ever, ever. It’s very restrict-ing to be in college. While I defi antly think everyone should go to college, for me at least, I couldn’t go to col-lege. It’s a schedule and I couldn’t do that because with what I was doing I needed to be very fl ex-ible with the events
and if
there was something – like a speaking engagement I was fortunate enough to be a part of - I would have never been able to do that because I would have gotten so behind on my school work. For me, at least and the route that I am taking with life, I know what’s going to get me a job and it’s not going to be college. I did go through a few years of schooling and learned a heck of a lot, but I achieved what I wanted to with those years – it was never about getting a degree or anything because for me at least a degree would not come close to getting me a job work-ing on events while other stuff was going to. So I defi nitely don’t regret it. Things are just fantastic right now; I am serious-ly just having the time of my life.
Lanthorn: Anything else you want the students of GVSU to know? Bliss: No, the only thing I’d like to stress is that I don’t consider myself to be spe-cial: I’m not rich, I don’t know anyone who is rich, I don’t have any connec-tions to powerful people and I don’t have some amazing background or story. I’m simply just a kid who had some ideas of some things he thought could be cool and
tried for them. I’m not a busi-ness man. I do some things
very poorly, and I’m very bad at some of
the stuff I do, yet somehow it hap-pens and people like it. I think other people could do what I’m doing; they just don’t think they can. They could do really cool things with their life as well, but they just have to have the confi -dence to do so.
DOWNTOWNGrand Valley LanthornMonday, September 13, 2010A4
‘Having fun’ key to Rob Bliss events QUICK!Album releases:
Sept. 13Royksopp, Senior
Sept. 14Grinderman, Grinderman 2
Brandon Flowers, Flamingo
Kid Cudi, Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
Kanye West, Dark Twisted Fantasy
Linkin Park, A Thousand Suns
Books:
Sept. 13 Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue –Pinheads and Patriots: Where You Stand in the Age of Obama by Bill O’Reilly
Sept. 28 Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy) by
Ken Follett
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris
Nov. 9 Decision Points by
George W. Bush
NEW RELEASES
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Grand Rapids’ visionary shares the inspiration behind his social experimentsBy Anya ZentemyerGVL Assistant News Editor
Courtesy Photo / Google ImagesBig splash: Bliss’ latest project was a 500 foot water slide on Lyon Street.
There comes a point in every young woman’s life where she wakes up, looks in the mirror and asks herself, “Why aren’t I an ordained minister yet?” Hurriedly, I opened my Google Chrome browser to the Google homepage and typed in “I want to become an ordained minister online for free.”
Google doesn’t like to screw around. Google wants me to be direct with my questions, and therefore Google will be direct with its answers. We have a good relationship in that respect. The fi rst link read “Become a Minister and get Ordained.”
Forget parochial
schooling and studying Bible verses and asking God for guidance while I’m down on my knees with my hands lifted toward the sky. My hands were right where they needed to be, gracing over my keyboard and becoming a minister as fast as my fi ngers would verify that I was I more than 13 years of age.
I clicked. I saw. I conquered. INSTANT ONLINE ORDINATION, the top of the website read. It was perfect because I wanted ordination, I wanted it online, and I wanted it instantly. Per usual, Google came through for me.
The website had some warnings about using the service legally and responsibly, for being an instantly ordained minister online is a “serious religious rite,” according to themonastary.org.
At the end of the information-entering fest, themonastary.org went on to remind me again that by clicking “submit” I was confi rming I was at least 13 years of age. This time I wondered why I had not tried to become a minister about fi ve years ago, when I fi rst turned 13.
Five minutes and one e-mail later, themonastary.org kindly gave me an easy three-step guide to performing weddings that I could download via PDF. It also turned out that my certifi cate was strictly online and really only for my own personal uses – unless, that is, I decided to order a hardcopy from the online store for verifi cation and a letter of good standing. Unfortunately, some states DO require a letter of good standing to legally marry two people.If you are in one of those
states, well, then you’re screwed out of 10 bucks.
What did I learn through this long and scrupulous journey? That America values the sacred institution of marriage enough to let us all be ministers, so that we might never have a shortage of teenagers with ring pops for engagement rings who decide to go for broke and risk it all for each other in the throes of young love and get married in a back alley by a homeless man who has access to a computer in the public library, and thus, themonastary.org.
For a much simpler and less-wordy comparison - I’d say that Bing is to Google what the Rev. Anya Zentmeyer now is to legal ordained ministry – a shoddy and pathetic shell of the real [email protected]
Employment for college students can be diffi cult. It’s hard for employers to take any post-adolescent seriously under the stereotypical, albeit true, notion that they will just use the paychecks to buy cheap vodka.
On the other end of the employment spectrum is the aforementioned student fi nding a job that they fi nd to be a joke in and of itself. The sheer repetition and mindlessness of work continues eating up brain function well after the student has punched out and begun REM cycles for the evening.
Screw that.There is an alternative,
“living off the grid.”
I don’t recommend that everyone live in cardboard boxes and survive on hunted woodland creatures. I am merely pointing out that it is one, and clearly the best, of the many different living situations available here.
If I were so inclined, I’m sure I could begin my plunge into societal anonymity tomorrow, having spent countless hours watching “Man vs. Wild.” The program has taught me many things about surviving in the wilderness, such as raft building, river crossing and cactus eating, none of which are particularly useful in Allendale.
Regardless, I see nothing but positives: people would be more physically fi t, local tent sales would skyrocket and biology classes would be more interesting when
people begin to skin and cook squirrels over an open fi re in a lecture hall.
Perhaps the only downside would be giving up a cell phone and Facebook addiction. But if being completely out of the system requires such a drastic measures, I am willing to give up my embarrassingly-small texting account and status updates.
Before I go further, homelessness is not funny. It’s a serious, problem across the globe and is sadly on the rise without showing signs of stopping.
However, I was taught at a young age that imitation is the most sincere form of fl attery. I was also taught that fl attery will get you everything, so- by the laws of the transitive property- by becoming homeless ourselves, we are helping
the cause.Keep in mind, you
would still have to pay tuition fees and cough up money for textbooks. But after that, you’re completely above the authority that people have placed so confi dently in monetary value.
With unemployment at an exhausting high and tuition reaching comical peaks, we as a student body need to start preparing for the long run. Cut up those credit cards and bring a comfortable pair of shoes, because the time has come to kick it like it’s 1935 (or 2009 in Detroit).
Once this off-the-grid transformation is complete, you will be completely free to do whatever you want.
Just don’t go to Arizona. They still require documentation there ...
[email protected] Valley Lanthorn
Monday, September 13, 2010 A5
“Sustainability” has become a common buzzword on the GVSU campus. Most people recognize the importance of making environmentally-friendly decisions, and the university has set a good example by constructing LEED-certifi ed buildings, emphasizing recycling in the food service department and promoting alternative transportation around campus. In 2008, President Thomas J. Haas signed commitments to sustainability plans, and GVSU received a Sustainability Innovation Award from the Sustainable Endowment Institute. In 2009, Kaplan College Guide named GVSU one of the “cutting-edge green” schools in addition to other national awards the university received. Most recently in 2010, GVSU committed to its own Climate Action Plan to increase the university’s sustainability in the future.
On Friday, Grand Rapids Mayor George Hartwell spoke at the GreenTown conference about Grand Rapids’ sustainability goals and the organizations that help reach them, which includes GVSU.
A shared focus on the triple bottom line of social, environmental and economic sustainability prompted Hartwell’s pledge to have Grand Rapids running on 100 percent renewable energy by 2020 — a lofty goal, but one GVSU plans to help the city reach.
As Grand Rapids continues to set the standard as a successful “green” city, its residents and the extended GVSU community need to promote the sustainability focus elsewhere as well.
Students are a driving force in the university’s sustainability efforts, with opportunities to get involved in the Community Garden, Soil and Water Conservation Society and the Student Enviornmental Coalition as well as the option of taking a variety of courses centered around environmental studies. These students have the chance to make their knowledge mobile as they return to their hometowns or branch out into new areas after graduation. Students have a responsibility to put this sustainability mindset to use in communities that are not currently as focused on it as Grand Rapids.
The green innovations and environmental awareness of Grand Rapids is certainly worthy of praise, but no matter how high Grand Rapids and GVSU set the sustainability standard, one city cannot make up for the nation’s -- or even the state’s -- share of waste. Other areas need to start their own initiatives, and students can be a valuable resource to make that happen.
As graduates and students still enrolled at GVSU reach out to the greater community across the state and nation, they go equipped with the university’s value of sustainability, a value worth sharing wherever they land.
The sustainability-based partnership between Grand Valley State University and the City of Grand Rapids is commendable but should not stop at the local level.
“A continuation of tradition and strong academic values.”
Ray AckermanSophomore Biomedical Science Commerce Twp., Mich.
GreenNation
GVL STUDENT OPINION
YOUR INSIGHTS
EDITORIAL CARTOONEDITORIAL
GVL / Jacob Bowen
What does the 50th anniversary mean to you?
GVL OPINION POLICY
Valley VoteIs August 2011 a realistic date to end U.S.
involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan
Yes: 80% No: 20%
Is it appropriate to build a mosque near “Ground Zero?”
This week’s question: Vote online at Lanthorn.com
Editorial Page Board
Editor in Chief Business ManagerManaging EditorNews Editor
Lauren FitchEric Lee
Emanuel JohnsonChelsea Lane
The student-run newspaper of Grand Valley State University
The ultimate goal of the Grand Valley Lanthorn opinion page is to stimulate discussion and action on topics of interest to the Grand Valley Community.
Student opinions do not refl ect those of the Grand Valley Lanthorn.
The Grand Valley Lanthorn welcomes reader viewpoints and offers three vehicles of expression for reader opinions: letters to the editor, guest columns and phone responses.
Letters must include the author’s name and be accompanied by current picture identifi cation if dropped off in person. Letters will be checked by an employee of the Grand Valley Lanthorn.
Letters appear as space permits each
issue. The limit for letter length is one page, single spaced.
The editor reserves the right to edit and condense letters and columns for length restrictions and clarity.
All letters must be typed.The Grand Valley Lanthorn will not be
held responsible for errors that appear in print as a result of transcribing handwritten letters or e-mail typographic errors.
The name of the author may be withheld for compelling reasons.
The content, information and views expressed are not approved by nor necessarily represent those of the university, its Board of Trustees, offi cers, faculty and staff.
“Opportunity.”
Brendon CraftSophomoreHistory Commerce Twp., Mich.
“I think it’s awesome that Grand Valley is only 50 years old but continues to be named one of the top schools in the Midwest.”
Max BeerensJuniorCommunications Grand Rapids, Mich.
“It means that we’re a good school. We’ve been around for 50 years, here’s to 50 more.”
Alyssa SimmertFreshmanTheaterGrand Blanc, Mich.
“I think it’s cool that I’m going to a school that has a lot of history behind it.”
Lauren MonroeFreshmanPsychologyTraverse City, Mich.
GVL Assistant
News Editor
Anya Zentmeyer
GVL Columnist
Chris Slattery
Call me Rev. Zentmeyer, please
Screw society, live o� the grid
GVL / Eric CoulterHis house: The Cook-DeWitt sanctuary plays host to both Campus Ministry and St. Luke University Parish services. Campus Ministries holds Sunday morning and evening sermons while St. Luke’s holds an afternoon mass.
When college students leave home and acclimate with independent life, they have a tendency to forget about their religious responsibilities. But with so many opportunities to carry on their faith at or around Grand Valley State University, students would
be hard pressed not to � nd a place that suits them. Whether you’re looking for a supplemental service to substitute for your place of worship back home or you’re looking for a new worship place to call home, the Grand Rapids area o� ers a great variety
of religious options that will keep any believer on track.
A6 Grand Valley LanthornMonday, September 13, 2010RELIGION
West Michigan offers variety of religious options
Campus MinistryCampus Ministry is your go-to spot for
general Christian worship. Geared toward servicing a variety of Christian beliefs present on college campuses, Campus
Ministry holds Sunday morning services at 10:30 a.m. each Sunday and evening services at 8 p.m. each Sunday, both of
which are held in the Cook-DeWitt center just outside of the Kirkhof center on the
Allendale Campus.According to its Web site, the worship
sessions “are meant to be a time of praise and teaching, surrounded by a caring
community of college students… while still challenging students to move forward
and grow deeper in their relationships with their Maker.”
For more information, contact the Campus Ministry office at 616-331-3261,
check out the Web site at http://www.gvsu.edu/campusministry or visit one of their
services.
Spring Valley Community ChurchIf you’re looking for an experience outside of the
college spectrum, then Lighthouse Community Church is an option that you may want to consider.
Much like Campus Ministries, LCC is built to be an open and welcoming environment in which a diverse
community of believers can praise and worship.LCC holds two identical Sunday worship sessions –
one at 9 a.m. and one at 10:45 a.m. – as well as several bible study sessions and prayer sessions throughout the week. It is located at 5947 Lake Michigan Dr. in
Allendale.For more information, contact the LCC office at 616-
895-4349 or visit its website at http://www.lighthouse-ministries.org.
St. Luke University ParishAs the closest presence to the Allendale Campus, the St. Luke University Parish (St.LUP) serves
as the primary source of Catholic worship for GVSU. St.LUP holds Sunday morning masses in the gymnasium of Allendale Christian School at 11050 64th Ave. in Allendale at 8 a.m. as well as afternoon
masses in the Cook DeWitt Center at 5:30 p.m.St.LUP is a fairly young parish that just began ministering to GVSU in 2007, but it is founded in
structured Catholic roots.“We will be true to our Catholic roots, and guided by the Holy Spirit, faithful to articulating Church
tradition and understanding in contemporary impact in exciting ways,” said Father rad Schoeberle in a welcome message. “We expect the resident community to support and be challenged by the student
community, just as we expect the student community to invigorate our ministries, and share their faith as the enter their working world.”
For more information, call the St.LUP office at 616-895-2249 or visit its website at http://www.lukespot.com.
St. James Masses While St.LUP is an extremely young ministry, St. James Masses is well practiced in Catholic ministry. Establised in 1870, St.JM is one of the oldest Catholic presences in Michigan, but that doesn’t mean
that it acts as one. Its building, located at 733 Bridge St. NW in Grand Rapids, is completely handicap accessible.
The church holds daily mass at 5:15 p.m. on weekdays as well as a Saturday afternoon mass at 4 p.m. and a Sunday morning mass at 9 a.m.
In addition to its regular services, the church also does a variety of community outreach programs. According to its Web site, “The Parish has worked to adapt to changes in its neighborhood. It has also
focused on community outreach, founding the West Side, now City-Wide, Food Drive among other activities.”
For more information, contact the St.JM office at 616-458-3213 or visit its Web site at http://www.stjamesparish.catholicweb.com.
Temple EmanuelFounded in 1857, Temple Emanuel is
the fifth oldest reform congregation in the United States, according to its Web site. TE is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism and one of few synagogues that service the
Grand Rapids area.Located at 1715 E. Fulton St. in Grand
Rapids, TE holds Shabbat services every Friday at 6:15 p.m. as well as Shabbat
morning services at 10 a.m. during holidays, Bar Mitzvahs and Bat Mitzvahs.
For more information, contact the TE office at 616-459-5976 or visit its website at
templeemanuelgr.org.
By Emanuel JohnsonGVL Managing Editor
GVL / Eric CoulterWorship: Spring Valley Community Church is located on Lake Michigan Drive across from the Allendale Campus.
McMahon threw for 240 yards and the game-winning touchdown while also running for three more scores in his second career start for the Lakers.
GVL / Eric CoulterHelping out: Robert Carlisle � ips the ball to a referee.
SPORTSCody Eding, Sports [email protected] BGrand Valley Lanthorn
Monday, September 13, 2010
Courtesy www.gliac.org
GVL / Eric CoulterHold the line: The GVSU defense lines up before the snap. The Laker defense gave up 451 yards of total o� ense in Saturday’s game.
BRIEFS!Ho� man nabs weekly
conference honors
Grand Valley State University golfer Sarah Hoffman was named the GLIAC women’s golfer of the week following a first-place finish at the Tom Kirinovic Classic in Big Rapids, Mich., during the Labor Day weekend. Hoffman posted a one-over par score of 145 to help the Lakers finish in a tie for second place with California University of Pennsylvania. A three-tournament winner in 2009-10, Hoffman was an NGCA Second Team All-American selection and was named GLIAC women’s golfer of the week twice last season.
GV SPORTS BRIEFS
1
Men’s basketball receives high preseason rank
The Grand Valley State University men’s basketball team is ranked third in The Sporting News preseason top-10 poll. GLIAC rival University of Findlay was chosen as the top-ranked team. The Lakers defeated Findlay in last season’s Midwest Regional Tournament. Senior forward Justin Ringler was tabbed as a Second Team All-American selection by the magazine. Ringler started all 31 games for the Lakers last season and averaged 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. GVSU returns 12 letterwinners from the 2009-10 squad that finished with a 22-9 record.
2
Junior receiver Jovonne Augustus’ leaping touchdown grab over Hillsdale’s Ben Karaba with 16 seconds to play Saturday night capped a spectacular game-winning drive that ended the 44-41 shootout in favor of the Lakers.
The win moved GVSU to 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in the GLIAC.
“We had everybody on the same page,” said senior quarterback Kyle McMahon, who completed fi ve of his nine pass attempts on the fi nal drive. “That’s the reason why we were able to pull it off. Everyone stayed composed; everyone knew that we had enough time to go down even with no timeouts and we did that. We executed the way we needed to and we ended up putting it in the end zone.”
Augustus’ catch ended the game on a high note for the Lakers despite a myriad of defensive struggles that plagued the team throughout the contest. The Chargers’ offense racked up 451 yards of total offense, with Glendening accounting for 224 of those yards on the ground.
“Defensively, not good,” said GVSU head coach Matt Mitchell. “We didn’t stop the run. I think a lot of it has to do with two things: one, we were getting physically abused up front; and secondly, our safeties and linebackers weren’t fi tting stuff up very well at all. We had enough hats down there in the box. We were getting whipped and we weren’t fi tting things up.”
GVSU’s defensive line failed to put adequate pressure Hillsdale quarterback
Troy Weatherhead, and the senior made the Lakers pay by completing 22-of-27 pass attempts for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Through two games this season, the GVSU defense has only managed two sacks.
“There’s no pressure,” Mitchell said. “We didn’t get any pressure whatsoever on Weatherhead.”
Still, the Lakers managed to come up with big plays when the team needed them. Redshirt freshman Luther Ware grabbed a blocked extra point attempt and returned it for two points to swing the momentum in GVSU’s favor before the fi nal drive. Safety Erik Thompson, also a redshirt freshman, intercepted Weatherhead’s last-ditch hail mary to seal the GVSU comeback.
“When I was running, I got kind of tired, I ain’t going to lie,” Ware said of his extra point return. “I felt blessed. The holder fumbled the ball. I was right there. (Senior defensive lineman Steve) Gawronski got a good, wide-open hole for me.”
Offensively, GVSU showed its potency by matching Hillsdale’s output throughout the game. The Lakers totaled 476 yards of total offense and received big contributions from several skill positions.
Senior running back Justin Sherrod pin-balled his way to 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only 16 carries. Both touchdowns came in the third quarter and accounted for all of GVSU’s points in the period.
“Overall, I thought we ran the ball real well throughout the course of the game,” Mitchell said. “And obviously, that last drive, that was pretty big time by Kyle and all of our guys on offense.”
Junior receiver Greg Gay caught fi ve balls for a 100 yards, while Augustus and junior tight end Tony Carreri each had four receptions.
McMahon continued to impress,
completing 22-of-37 passing attempts for 240 yards and the touchdown to Augustus. The signal caller displayed his mobility several times as he evaded would-be tacklers and repeatably bought himself time in the pocket.
In the fi rst half, McMahon scampered for three rushing touchdowns of 12, 10 and fi ve yards. The three rushing scores were the most by a GVSU quarterback since Brad Iciek ran for four against Central Washington University in the 2007 NCAA playoffs.
The oft-overused phrase “never say never” might be an appropriate early-season motto for the Grand Valley State
University football team. With Hillsdale College running back Joe
Glendening busting GVSU’s defense open at the seams and Chargers fans waiting to storm the fi eld in
anticipation of an upset, the top-ranked Lakers proved for the second week in a row they have what it takes to perform in the clutch.
VICTORY!Top-ranked Lakers snatch 44-41
victory from No. 11 Hillsdale
By Cody EdingGVL Sports Editor
GVL / Eric CoulterNorth and south: Justin Sherrod weaves through Hillsdale’s defense for a touchdown.
“We had everybody on the same page. That’s the reason why we were able to pull it o� .”-Kyle McMahonGVSU quarterback
WHAT THEYSAID:
“When it came down to the wire, I just looked at Kyle (McMahon) and told him, ‘Just keep going to me; keep going to me. Just trust me Kyle.’ He just believed in me and I just went up to go get the ball.” -Jovonne Augustus
Junior receiver
KEY PERFORMERS Kyle McMahon, quarterback
Justin Sherrod, running backThe senior racked up 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only 16 carries, an average of 9.25 yards per attempt.
SCORING SUMMARYGrand Valley State University
44, Hillsdale College 41 1st 2n 3r 4th Final
GVSU 7 14 13 10 44Hillsdale 14 0 14 13 41
First Quarter 9:59 HC – Cam White 1 yd run (Colin McGreevy kick)6:57 GVSU – Kyle McMahon 5 yd run (Jay Jandasek kick)0:19 HC – Joe Glendening 1 yd run (McGreevy kick) Second Quarter 12:52 GVSU – McMahon 10 yd run (Jandasek kick)4:28 GVSU – McMahon 12 yd run (Jandasek kick)
Third Quarter 12:37 HC – Mike Blanchard 8 yd pass from Troy Weatherhead (McGreevy kick)10:07 GVSU – Justin Sherrod 47 yd run (Jandasek kick)6:39 HC – Glendening 10 yd run (McGreevy kick)2:17 GVSU – Sherrod 1 yd run (Jandasek kick)
Fourth Quarter 13:31 HC – Anthony Mifsud 3 yd pass from Weatherhead (McGreevy kick)1:17 HC – Glendening 7 yd run (McGreevy kick blocked)1:17 GVSU – Luther Ware PAT return0:16 GVSU – Jovonne Augustus 8 yd pass from McMahon (McMahon rush)
GLIAC STANDINGSFOOTBALLT1. GVSU (1-0, 2-0)T1. Indianapolis (1-0, 2-0)T1. Wayne State (1-0, 2-0)T1. Michigan Tech (1-0, 1-0)T1. Ferris State (1-0, 1-1) T1. Northern Mich. (1-0, 1-1)
VOLLEYBALLT1. Northern Mich. (3-0, 7-0)T1. Hillsdale (3-0, 6-1)T3. Findlay (2-0, 5-2)T3. Tiffi n (2-0, 4-2)T5. Ferris State (1-1, 4-2)T5. GVSU (1-1, 2-4)
WOMEN’S SOCCER(North Division)1. Northern Mich. (2-0, 2-0-2)T2. GVSU (2-0-1, 4-0-1)T2. Saginaw Valley (2-0-1. 3-1-1)4. Ferris State (1-2, 1-4)5. Michigan Tech (0-2, 2-2)6. Northwood (0-3, 1-3)
WOMEN’S TENNIS1. Ferris State (4-0, 4-0)2. GVSU (3-0, 3-0)3. Northwood (1-0, 1-0)4. Ohio Dominican (4-1, 5-1)5. Lake Superior State (2-1, 4-1)T6. Ashland (3-2, 3-2)T6. Wayne State (3-2, 3-2)
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B2 Monday, September 13, 2010 SPORTS Grand Valley Lanthorn
For college students, coming home for the first time in a semester can be a little scary. For the college athlete, playing at home for the first time is no different.
Grand Valley State University’s volleyball squad opened GLIAC play during the weekend with its first two home games of the season. The Lakers defeated Michigan Technological University in three straight sets Saturday before dropping Sunday’s matchup with undefeated Northern Michigan University, 3-2. They shook
off any lingering jetlag from a recent tournament in Tampa, Fla.
“You could tell we had some jitters out there,” said senior outside hitter Rebecca Rapin of the game against Michigan Tech. “It was the first home game playing in front of a lot of people, and we had some new girls out on the court. We definitely took the game into our own hands. We made a lot of unforced errors that we shouldn’t have.”
Though the Lakers defeated the Huskies 25-19, 25-16 and 25-12, the team struggled at times to get the ball over the net.
“I think we got a little stronger as we went on,” said GVSU head coach
Deanne Scanlon. “We had a little bit of jitters to start with. I liked our energy level and our intensity, but we made a lot of errors early on. Once we settled in and got rid of those (jitters), we handled them pretty well.”
The Lakers committed 18 errors while making 46 kills and 18 blocks Saturday. On Sunday, the team had a 2-1 set lead on Northern before the Wildcats rallied to take the fourth and fifth sets and the victory.
Senior Leslie Curtis, a first-year starter, was one player whose performance improved as Saturday’s game progressed.
“I really appreciate it when my teammates talk to me and tell me what’s happening on the court,” Curtis said. “As a team, we did a lot better job communicating as the game went on and that really helped us to execute. We were able to calm each other down by communicating and trying to make sure everybody felt comfortable on the court.”
While the Lakers’ defense grew stronger, Michigan Tech struggled to put the ball in play, looking sluggish in the third set.
“I think (their struggles were) more of a mental thing in some cases, not so much physical,” Scanlon said. “They were struggling to put the ball down on us to get a kill. That can wear on you and make you think, ‘What do I have to do to get it past their block or put it down?’”
Aiding GVSU’s stout blocking strategy was a considerable height advantage. The Lakers feature eight strikers at least six feet tall, while Michigan Tech only had one above that height.
“That’s our recruiting philosophy,” Scanlon said. “We want to be big at the net, we want to try to slow down the other team’s offense with our block and force them into tipping and rolling a lot, which makes it easier for us to transition from there.”
The Lakers next play at home Wednesday against Ferris State University in a 7 p.m. showdown. [email protected]
First home games help get ‘jitters’ out of GVSU spikers
Volleyball can be an aggressive sport, and for senior outside hitter Rebeccah Rap-in, her favorite part is killing — a volley-ball, that is.
The four-year starter recorded her 1,000th career kill on Sept. 4 against the University of Central Missouri at the Tam-pa Classic in Tampa, Fla. Rapin is the 12th player in Grand Valley State University volleyball history to become a member of the 1,000-kill club and is on pace to break into the top-10 this season with the full conference season ahead of her.
“I didn’t even know I had reached (1,000 kills) until my friend’s boyfriend sent me a text message,” said Rapin, who was pre-sented with a commemorative volleyball to mark the milestone before Saturday’s home match against Michigan Technological Uni-versity. “It’s a great accomplishment, but I can’t take all the credit. My teammates are what make me successful. They actually deserve the credit.”
After a stellar freshman season where the Saginaw native earned both the GLIAC and Great Lakes Region Freshman of the Year awards, Rapin has continually worked to improve all aspects of her game.
“I think, as a coach, I always looked to her as a go-to player, even back when she was a freshman,” said GVSU head coach Deanne Scanlon, who is entering her 16th season at the helm of the volleyball pro-gram. “I’ve always been able to put high expectations on her since the start because I know she can handle it, and I know she wants to take on that responsibility.”
A coach usually would not mess with success such as Rapin’s, but Scanlon moved her from her natural position of middle hit-ter to the outside this season. The move is only about four feet, but Scanlon hopes it will have a much larger impact on the Lak-er offense.
“Rebeccah is just someone who likes to be challenged, and I don’t have ask her to be better. I just throw challenges at her,” Scanlon said. “She’s embraced the move to the right side, and we know we can exploit teams with her out there.”
Rapin’s flexibility as a player is one reason why she is the most valuable player on the team, but her ability as a leader is something that impacts everyone involved.
“I’m the kind of player who looks at
stats, but probably not the ones you’re thinking of. I usually keep track of how many errors I have,” Rapin said. “My team-mates know I’m not per-fect. I just try to continue to lead by example and I know it’s going to take our entire team to be suc-cessful this year, so it’s important I keep letting them know that.”
While the achievements may not have been on top of Rapin‘s list of priorities, the impact it has had on GVSU volleyball history is one that will forever notched in the record books. Along with her top-12 ranking in kills, Rapin is also in the top 10 all-time in hitting percentage and assisted blocks.
“Rebeccah is never one to put herself before the team, but this is something great and we need to recognize her achievement,” Scanlon said. “It’s good to acknowledge it because it shows younger players that their hard work is being put in the right place.”
Volleyball’s ‘go-to player’ hits career milestone
GVL / Andrew MillsKiller instinct: GVSU senior Rebeccah Rapin sets up before a serve against Michigan Tech on Saturday.
GVL / Andrew MillsDouble defense: GVSU players Eno Emoh, left, and Leslie Curtis, right, jump for a block in Saturday’s victory over Michigan Tech.
RAPIN
By Brady FredericksenGVL Sta� Writer
Senior outside hitter Rebecca Rapin becomes 12th player in GVSU history to reach 1,000 kills
By Curtis KallewardGVL Sta� Writer
STATS
1,026
Rebeccah Rapin
Kills
2,434Total attacks
.307
Hitting percentage
147Digs
63Solo blocks
332
Assisted blocks
Through Sept. 10
B3Monday, September 13, 2010SPORTSGrand Valley Lanthorn
After opening GLIAC play Wednesday with a win over Ferris State Uni-versity in Big Rapids, the Grand Valley State Univer-sity women’s soccer team continued its success on the road, tearing apart North-wood University on Friday, 5-0, and tying with Saginaw Valley State University 2-2 in a double-overtime thrill-er.
It has been a rough go for Laker opponents so far this season. Not only are the Lakers 4-0-1 on the season with 15 goals scored, but the GVSU women have only surrendered two goals to an opposing team this season, both of which came against Saginaw Valley. Aside from the Cardinals, the Lakers have blanked each of its other four opponents thus far.
For a team that graduated six seniors from last year’s
N a t i o n a l Champion-ship team, G V S U has yet to show any ill effects a quarter of the way into the season.
“ T h e f r e s h m e n are really gelling in nicely with everybody. I think we have a re-ally special team,” said sophomore f o r w a r d A s h l e y Botts. “If we keep c o n t i n u -ing to play how we are and keep getting better every day, we can have an extraordi-nary season like we did last
year.” The defense has been
the highlight for GVSU in their first five games, shut-ting out each opponent and rarely giving up significant chances in their own box. Botts said the effort to con-tinue to shutout opponents is a total team effort, and it has been working.
“One of our big goals this season is to regain our title of least goals against in the nation,” she said. “We lost two big seniors on de-fense, but the people who stepped into the position this year have done really well, and our returners like Megan (Brown) and Jenna (Wenglinski) have been helping the new girls devel-op into who they need to be in that position.”
The team will hit the road again this weekend for a Fri-day game against Michigan Technological University at 7 p.m. and a Saturday game against Northern Michigan University at noon.
Soccer starts season strong
The University of Notre Dame was always a school I hated. Hate is a strong word, but my feelings growing up were as strong against Notre Dame as they were against going to the dentist and having to put my Nintendo 64 controller down to come to dinner.
I was born and raised in Ann Arbor, taught to hate the Irish and the Ohio State University Buckeyes and bred to worship the University of Michigan Wolverines. To me, there truly was no other way. Seriously -- if I started a dynasty in Madden, the first order of business was trading all the former Irish off my team.
Every Saturday in fall, I was almost as excited to see Notre Dame lose as I was to see Michigan win. If they both happened in the same day, it might as well have been Christmas.
And in one offseason, everything changed. Brian Kelly ducks out of the University of Cincinnati and heads to South Bend,
bringing his former assistant from our Division II school with him. One major coaching move -- and one that barely made the back page of national newspapers -- and I found myself whistling the Notre Dame Victory March.
If it was just Kelly heading to ol’ Notre Dame, I
could probably still continue my hatred of the Fighting Irish. But with Chuck Martin, the man whose temper and sweater vests we all grew to love here in Allendale, j o i n i n g Kelly’s staff as a defensive backs coach, I reached the tipping point on my predisposition against the Irish.
I am a Grand Valley State University fan first and still a Michigan fan second, so while watching the Michigan-Notre Dame
game on Saturday, I had a little bit of pull for the same team I used to despise for the first time. When Michigan led, I rooted for Notre Dame to stay in the game. Though I did not
particularly want the Irish to win, I did not want to see Kelly get embarrassed either.
In the past, my two favorite college football teams were Michigan and whoever was playing Notre Dame. Now it’s Michigan and, well, Notre Dame. It might be similar to rooting for both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, but as an Ann Arbor kid with GVSU close to my heart, I just don’t know what else to do.
My brother, sister and father are all University of Michigan alumni. I don’t think they like me anymore. My friends who used to watch Michigan games by my side growing up see me as a Benedict Arnold. Even my own brain is mad at myself; I see the blue jerseys and gold helmets and I have to pause for a moment and think, “Oh that’s right, I like them now.”
Even if I tried to continue to hate Notre Dame, I couldn’t do it. Watching the past two games on NBC, there have been a handful of shots where you could see Martin standing next to Kelly. It was just like GVSU football in 2003, except the colors have changed and the salaries have risen. And though even I cannot believe I’m saying this, as long as those two are in charge in South Bend, then “Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame.”
Turning IrishNotre Dame coaching sta� creates a fan out of
Michigan supporter
GVL ArchiveClutch: Junior Erin Mruz passes the ball in a past game. Mruz scored the only Laker goal in a win over Northwood.
Courtesy Photo / Google ImagesThe switch: Former GVSU coach, Brian Kelly, now coaches at Notre Dame along with Chuck Martin.
Women dominate Northwood, 5-0, tie Saginaw Valley, 2-2, in weekend matchups
“If it was just (Brian) Kelly heading to ol’ Notre Dame, I could probably still continue my hatred of the Fighting Irish. But with Chuck Martin ... I reached the tipping point on my predisposition againt the Irish.”-Monahan
“I think we have a really special team. If we keep continuing to play how we are and keep getting better every day, we can have an extrordinary season like we did last year.”-Ashley BottsGVSU sophomore
GVL Staff Writer
Greg Monahan
By Greg MonahanGVL Sta� Writer
B4 Monday, September 13, 2010 SPORTS Grand Valley Lanthorn
Though rain cancelled the fi rst round of intramural softball games scheduled for last weekend, it did not dampen the spirits of one team that knew it would have plenty of other opportunities for competition.
With the core group all hailing from Cadillac, Mich., these friends have registered about 20 different teams that span in almost all intramural sports since their freshman year, playing two or three different sports each season.
“It’s a lot of fun, a lot of competition and you get to meet a lot of new people,” said Curtis Davy, who played baseball in high school.
Davy was one of the three original Cadillac High School alumni who came to Grand Valley State University and started their intramural careers freshman year after a Resident Assistant recruited them for fl ag football.
Now in their senior year, the men have expanded their roster and athletic ability as they put together teams in softball, fl ag football, basketball, indoor and outdoor soccer and beach and indoor volleyball.
“Our team is good because we’ve added people and we keep meeting new people,” Davy said. “I like getting to play with all my friends in a competitive atmosphere.”
Davy has played alongside his high school friends and current roommates, Corey Lake and Matt Schroeder. They usually register for the co-ed C league, the least
competitive of the intramural leagues. Michelle Champlin, also a Cadillac alumna, is one of the women who consistently signs up for their teams. Despite the C league ranking, Davy said they still compete and hope to do well, especially in soccer, this year.
Schroeder, who joked he was “dragged into it by his friends,” said he just likes the change to play.
“Every knows it’s for fun,” said Schroeder, who played tennis and soccer in high school. He also recommended intramurals for current freshmen as a way to get involved on campus and meet more people. Schroeder could not compete last year due to health complications, but he is ready to rejoin some of the teams this year.
During their sophomore year, Davy, Lake and Schroeder reunited with Jordan Bailey, a high school friend who transferred to GVSU after spending a year at Alma College. Bailey also joined the intramural squads.
Bailey described intramurals as cheap and fun, saying “it brings people together through exercise.”
The long history among most of the team members provides added incentive for Bailey.
“We’re closely bonded because not only do we participate in intramural sports together, but we’re such good friends,” he said.
He agreed with his teammates saying soccer is their strongest sport, though Schroeder was the only one who played it in high school.
“Some people may feel like
they should not participate in intramural sports, but I think they should,” Bailey said. He cited maintaining fi tness and building confi dence to meet more people as some of the other advantages to intramural sports.
Registration for most fall sports has closed, though 6-on-6 volleyball and rowing are still accepting teams. A complete schedule of intramural events is available on their website at www.gvsu.edu/rec.
High school friends continue, expand athletic career through intramural athletics
From Cadillac to GVSU, friends formed more than 20 intramural teams throughout college careers
By Lauren FitchGVL Editor in Chief
GVL / Eric CoulterAcademic accolades: Head track coach Jerry Baltes, center, accepts the Scholar Team of the Year award on behalf of the women’s track and � eld team.
DAVY BAILEY SCHROEDER LAKE
GVL / Eric CoulterThe top: Brian Wilder, right, accepts an award from Athletic Director Tim Selgo, center, and Damon Arnold, director of Laker advising, left, on behalf of the men’s cross-country team during half time of Saturday’s football game.
Academic and athletic excellenceGrand Valley State University’s women’s track and � eld and men’s and women’s cross-country teams were honored for academic achievements during halftime of Saturday’s football game. The track and � eld team earned Scholar Team of the Year in Division II, while both cross-country teams earned All-Academic team status from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association in 2010.
Pay no attention to the two students with a camera riding around campus blaring “Come Sail Away” by Styx on Sept. 29.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Greg Kort and Chris Coleman will fi lm volunteer performers, dancers and musicians for a LipDub video to promote Grand Valley State University’s 50th Anniversary.
“We are hoping for at least several hundred volunteer performers, but we would love to see that number top 1,000,” Coleman said.
Kort and Coleman began planning the project last April. It started out as a commercial to promote the fi lm and video program, but soon turned into something much bigger.
“It is going to be an event you do
not want to miss,” Kort said.A lip dub combines a song with
a one-shot lip-synching sequence to create a personalized music video. The challenge Kort and Coleman face is attaining the one-shot footage, which is constantly moving from performer to performer.
The six-minute song is divided into 18 segments of 20 seconds each. Each segment has its own director. Their inspiration came from similar videos fi lmed at both Grandville High School and Calvin College.
To create a video of this magnitude, Coleman stressed the need for more volunteer performers. Students are encouraged to stop by on Sept. 29 to be in the video. Although they will not know until the day of how many volunteers they will have, Coleman said they can never have too many.
Those students who wish not to
appear in the video are asked to ignore the fi lming if they pass one of the locations.
Long boarders, dancers, the marching band, the rowing team and Louie the Laker will make appearances throughout the route.
“It’s important to us that we reveal the diversity of activities and interests available to students at this university,” said Kim Roberts, faculty adviser and the project’s producer.
The route will begin at the Cook Carillon clock tower, circle the Student Services fountain, go across the Little Mac Bridge, travel under the Transitional Link and end at the pond by the Zumberge Library. For the last shot, Coleman said he envisioned the lawn outside of the Kirkhof Center fi lled with students with pom-poms in the shape of the GVSU logo, which changes into a “50.”
Coleman and Kort are holding auditions today from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Grand River Room of the Kirkhof Center. The auditions are for people who want to be featured in the video, and any students who have any special talents are encouraged to audition.
Students who do not want to be featured but would still like to participate can come on Sept. 29. The project’s crew will tell students where to go and what to do.
“Our goal is to emphasize the inclusive nature of our university,” Roberts said.
The project gained the support of
GVSU’s President Thomas J. Haas, who will appear in the video along with Mrs. Haas and Provost Gayle Davis. Other faculty and staff will also appear.
“For three hours our Grand Valley State community will come together to create this video and every single person involved will be a necessary component,” Roberts said.
Anyone interested in learning more can e-mail Coleman and Kort at [email protected] or check out the project’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/gvsulipdub.
LipDub needs Lakers to come sail away
Courtesy Graphic / gvsu.eduHit the road. The LipDub team will take a route that traverses most of the Allendale Campus.
GVL ArchiveFamily gathering: GVSU students and their families participate in events at Family Weekend 2009. This year’s Family Weekend is scheduled for this weekend and will feature numerous family-friendly events.
By Brittney MestdaghGVL Sta� Writer
Family WeekendHaley Otman, Laker Life [email protected] LAKER LIFE Grand Valley Lanthorn
Monday, September 13, 2010 B5
family-friendly activites to showcase GV lifeCampus to host variety of
By Haley OtmanGVL Laker Life Editor
It’s that time of year again. Mom and dad have loaded down the minivan with snacks, siblings and things they deem necessary that you “forgot” (tool kit for your dorm room?) and embarked on
their road trip to visit their golden child, their Grand Valley State University student. Luckily, GVSU has an exhaustive schedule for the entire weekend, assuring you can show your family the entire campus plus a lot of entertainment, and maybe even tire them out enough to avoid any parental advice-doling sessions or “when I went to college” conversations. Below is a sampling of what GVSU has to offer families this weekend as the campus falls into autumn and parents and siblings are as common as red and orange leaves on campus.
Pancakes with presidentsGVSU President Thomas J. Haas will serve up fl apjacks
in River Landing to the whole community on Saturday morning. Other presidents from various on-campus organizations will assist the university president in fl ipping pancakes at this event sponsored by the Panhellenic Association. The breakfast costs $5 and takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pancake varieties include chocolate chip (a Haas family favorite), pumpkin pie and apple cinnamon oatmeal.
Life Journeys postersHispanic members of the GVSU community allowed
their “life journeys” to be made into posters for an exhibit that is part of Hispanic Heritage Month. The posters will allow viewers to learn what makes the Hispanic community unique. Cider and donuts will be on-hand for enjoyment while students and their families take in the photographs and stories from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Kirkhof Center.
Don’t forget to: Take Mom and Dad to the University Bookstore or Brian’s Books and let them buy you new Laker gear
Show your awed little siblings the magic that is the Fresh Food Company’s buffet-style fare As a GVSU insider, point out the incorrect Roman numeral four on the Cook-Carillon Clock Tower to your family
Teach your guests how to row like a Laker before Saturday’s football game against Indianapolis
EVENTS:8 p.m. Laker Late Night in the Fieldhouse Arena
Friday
8 a.m. Meadows Golf Outing at the Meadows Golf Course
10 a.m. and 4 p.m. W.G. Jackson Research Vessel Cruise on Muskegon Lake
Noon to 2 p.m. ArtPrize Surprise with Henry Matthews of the GVSU Art Gallery on the Pew Campus
4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Taste of West Michigan in the Fieldhouse Arena
Saturday
10 a.m. Intramural soccer on the soccer � elds
11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Family Weekend brunch at the Commons and the Fresh Food Company.
For a complete schedule of events, visit gvsu.edu/familyweekend. Tickets can also be purchased at the website as some components of the weekend require additional tickets or tickets purchased in advance.
Sunday
CHOCOLATE CHIP MEMORIES:
“I always enjoyed doing pancakes with our children as they were growing up,” Haas said. “We did it almost as a traditional Saturday morning activity.”
The Haas children’s favorite variety was chocolate chip pancakes.
“Even now as my children are grown and are in their 30s, they will come home on the weekend and ask for chocolate chip pancakes, but now they will do it with their kids,” he added. “That’s the fun part of it.”
50 years of food and fashionA half-century may not be very old in
terms of a university’s age, but it sure is in terms of fashion! Come out to the Kirkhof Center’s Grand River Room to see fashions worn throughout GVSU’s history, while enjoying food from earlier times as well. This luncheon requires an additional ticket that can be purchased for $10. It begins at noon on Saturday.
HAAS
Courtesy Graphic / gvsu.eduLip it up: The GVSU LipDub team wants thousands of student and faculty volunteers to turn out for the � lming on Sept. 29.
B6 Monday, September 13, 2010 LAKER LIFE Grand Valley Lanthorn
Students had the chance to learn about how they can earn their share of nationally competi-tive scholarships and fellowships at the Offi ce of Fellowships on Wednesday.
The offi ce shows junior and senior students the best ways to get that help to attend graduate school or teach Eng-lish abroad. State uni-versity stu-dents, such as those from Grand Valley State University, earn about 80 percent of nationally competitive schol-arships and fellowships com-pared to their Ivy League and private institution counterparts’ 20 percent, said Amanda Cue-vas, director of the Offi ce of Fel-lowships.
Wednesday’s information ses-sion taught students specifi cally about the Fulbright Program, an international educational ex-change program sponsored by the U.S. government to increase understanding between the U.S. and other countries.
“The main goal of the Ful-bright Program is to give stu-dents opportunities to pursue graduate study and research in over 140 nations,” Cuevas said. “It is the largest U.S. interna-tional exchange program offer-ing opportunities for students to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, uni-versity teaching and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.”
The Offi ce of Fellowships helps students identify awards that may be good matches, walks students through the application processes and assists with per-sonal statement and application preparation, Cuevas said. They help students apply for a plethora of awards not limited to the Ful-bright Scholarship Program.
According to its Web site, the offi ce aims “to provide excellent nationally competitive scholar-ship and fellowship advising services to GVSU students and alumni who show extraordinary potential in disciplines all across campus.”
Cuevas said that their fel-lowships offi ce is different from GVSU’s fi nancial aid offi ce in that they serve all of campus like the fi nancial aid offi ce, but offer nationally competitive scholar-ships that have a more vigorous preparation.
“We match award opportuni-ties with students who may be interested based on their career goals,” Cuevas added.
Cuevas said GVSU decided to follow a trend among other state universities when it opened the Offi ce of Fellowships in Dec. 2009.
On its Web site, the offi ce includes some GVSU success stories. One alum, Laura Ken-nedy, received the Fulbright scholarship to teach English in South Korea, which began in July 2008.
“It has been my dream to teach internationally ever since I studied abroad in Nairobi, Ke-nya,” she said in an interview for the website. “My hometown, Greenwood, Wisconsin, is a very small town. I’ve arranged for my students in South Korea to be pen pals with some students from my former high school.”
Kennedy said she felt pre-pared for teaching abroad after spending a year working in an academic enrichment program at a Grand Rapids Public Schools elementary school.
For more information on the Fulbright Program or any other scholarship opportunities the Offi ce of Fellowships has to of-fer, visit one of the informational events the offi ce holds twice on Wednesday.
The “Discovering the Right Fit” Workshop will take place in Henry Hall 115 at 2 p.m. and in Niemeyer Living Center’s room 114 at 7 p.m.
The Offi ce of Fellowships also schedules appointments at 616-331-3219.
O� ce helps students try for Fulbright
Students and faculty -- prepare to go back in time this week with the Archaeological Society of Grand Valley State University.
The second-annual Archaeology Week will take place from today through Friday.
Multiple lectures and demonstrations will be given by professors within the interdisciplinary program of the Archaeology minor on campus. Activities and events to add entertainment will also be held through the week.
“I hope that the university in general are aware of the events and what’s going on with this group as well as the faculty and students involved in Archaeology,” said Archaeological Society adviser Melissa Morison.
Morison has been the advisor for the two years the club has been active. In preparing for Archaeology week, Morison has been available for the students for encouragement and extra help on everything from planning events to helping students to take part with the research presentations.
“The planning of a whole week of events speaks to the dedication of these students,” she said.
Archaeology Society President Ashley Taylor and her fellow members have been planning the week-long event since the beginning of last semester.
“It’s been a big project,” she said. “I wanted to get all of the departments from the Archaeological minor involved, including faculty and students. Even my family has been helping me build parts for the Paleo-Olympics.”
The Paleo-Olympics will be held on Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Kirkhof Center lawn. As the biggest event of the week, the Olympics will be the culmination of all week’s festivities.
They will involve numerous activities and games. Some of the activities include pictograph making with a professor, a Mesoamerican ball game that GVSU President Thomas J. Haas participated in last year, a Hunter-Gatherer relay race, an Ancient Egyptian game Senet, as well as basket weaving, cave wall signing, presentations and readings.
Taylor said she excited for the Mesoamerican ball game.
“You can only use your hips to hit the ball and you have to keep the ball in play the entire time while trying to shoot it into about nine-foot high hoops,” she said.
Adjunct Anthropology professor Angela Reed is heading the cave wall signing for the Paleo-Olympics. The cave art is a hands-on project in which people can participate by dipping their hands in paint and placing the print on the wall.
“We’re doing the cave wall painting in the relief style, the most common kind of art for cave painting,” she said. “I will be handling this demonstration as well as distributing information sheets to participants.”
Planners behind the event said they hope the Paleo-Olympics on Friday and the other events for Archaeological week will prove to be fun, interesting, different and educational for students not familiar with archaeology.
“I want other students to gain from the Paleo-Olympics experience that they’re not used to, as well as become more aware of our society on campus and the historical aspects of it,” Taylor said.
Archaeological Society o� ers week full of pictographs, Senet, lectures
The Multicultural Cohort Program showed students how to start “Making the Most of Your College Experience” Wednesday.
The leadership event was
brought to Grand Valley State University through the Offi ce of Multicultural Affairs to allow students an opportunity to be a part of a community, gain leadership skills and experience success.
According to its Web site, MCP offers a cohesive and comprehensive experience linking student development services with co-curricular activities and academic learning.
Wednesday’s event had fi ve speakers who presented students with opportunities to volunteer and get involved on campus: Liz Smith from the Padnos International Center, Brett Kosmicki from Campus Recreation, Bumi Fadase from the Community Service Learning Center, Valerie Jones from Laker Leadership and Student Life and Brandie Tenney from Housing and Residence Life.
Kristie Scanlon, assistant director of the OMA, said students can join the MCP at any time.
“There are four unique cohorts that are geared toward and focused on students becoming more acquainted with campus and (being)
successful during their four or fi ve years at the university,” she said.
The four programs are: Multicultural Business Education Cohort, Multicultural Higher Education Cohort, Multicultural Science Education Cohort and Multicultural Teacher Education Cohort.
“We focus a lot on career and personal development… so that they are experienced and ready to hit the ground running,” Scanlon said.
New members do have requirements to meet upon joining MCP.
“We do have a participation agreement and a participation log,” Scanlon said.
Students work on fi ve areas the cohort is based on academic skills, intercultural development, professional development, leadership development and community service.
“The requirements are pretty easy; we really aren’t trying to put more on students’ plates because they’re already overscheduled,” Scanlon added. She said they concentrate on these fi ve areas because they are proven areas of success for students.
“If they focus on their academics, their leadership, professional and intercultural development and provide and give some community service they’re going to be successful during their time at the university and their life beyond,” she said.
Students are required to complete fi ve hours in each of the fi ve areas within an academic year, but many fulfi ll that faster, Scanlon said. They track their progress with a participation log and turn it in at the end of each semester where they do recognition for students who go above and beyond.
“I had one student complete 60 hours of community service in one semester,” said Scanlon.
Multicultural Cohort Program creates leaders
GVL / Lyanna HamptonRoll call: Students must � ll out participation logs for the MCP.
Courtesy Photo / Ashley TaylorBuilding blocks: Student reconstruct pottery is one of many events to occur during Archaeology Week.
QUICK!Hispanic Heritage
Month begins
Hispanic Heritage Month will begin with a kick-off celebration at the Cook Carillon Tower on GVSU’s Allendale Campus today from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Latino student organizations will be present, along with music, snacks and information.It will continue with the Life Journeys Reception on Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center on GVSU’s Allendale Campus. Posters of Hispanics in the GVSU community who shared their life journeys will be on display.Sept. 22 will include the Serenade Under the Moon, an event with a traditional Mariachi band and lunar serenade. It will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the DeVos Center Courtyard on GVSU’s Pew Campus.
LAKER LIFE BRIEFS
1
Student Leader Networking Reception
A reception for student leaders to make professional contacts will take place Sept. 20 in the Kirkhof Center’s Pere Marquette Room. Students from any student organization, living center or campus department may attend, in addition to anyone else interested in networking. The reception takes place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and RSVPs are encouraged at gvsu.edu/leadership. There will be hors d’oeuvres served.
2
Web site makes local classi� eds student-
accessible
The new Web site CollegeTownTraders.com, launched by two recent college graduates, offers another avenue for the GVSU community to establish online classifieds. The classifieds boast Facebook connect, allowing the seller’s posted for-sale items to be posted on his Facebook profile. Sellers can describe their item, put a price, add a photo and more on the Web site.
3
CUEVAS
By Lyanna R. HamptonGVL Intern
Courtesy Photo / Ashley TaylorTracing the past: Students participate in the events during last year’s Archeology week. This year’s event will begin today and run until Friday.
By Maya SoterGVL Sta� Writer
MORE!Reception
EVENTS
Monday
Student Ecperiences in the Field
Tuesday
Movie NightWednesday
“Big Hurrah” - Paleo-OlympicsFor more details, visit their Facebook page by searching “GVSU Archaeology Week.”
Friday
Student presentations in the evening
Thursday
“There are four unique cohorts that are geared toward and focused on students becoming more acquainted with campus and being succsessful.”-Kristie ScanlonOMA assistant director
By Lyanna R. HamptonGVL Laker Life Intern
MARKETPLACE Grand Valley LanthornMonday, September 13, 2010 B7
Announcements
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Catholic Campus Ministry.
St. Luke University Parish.Your catholic connection at
GVSU. Sunday Masses: Al-lendale Christian School 8:00
& 10:30 am Grand ValleyCook-DeWitt 5:30pm.
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Back to school Dance Party
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B8 Monday, September 13, 2010 LAKER LIFE Grand Valley Lanthorn
Wildlife adapts to university environmentBy Susie Skowronek
GVL Sta� Writer
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
While the Grand Valley State University Allendale Campus’ placement on the ravine invites natural beauty, it also welcomes a variety of woodland creatures.With wooded areas, open grass, ponds and wetlands, the campus o� ers an array of habitats in which critters can settle.“When you have a lot of di� erent environments, you have a lot of animal and plant diversity,” said Michael Lombardo, a GVSU biology professor.
Although most of the animals seen on campus are relatively common, they have developed unique methods to cope with living in the university setting. From the fuzzy to the feathered, campus animals have adapted to the GVSU lifestyle.
deer
racoon
skunk
woodchuck
snake birds
feral cat
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
� sh
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
In the winter, deer enjoy munching foliage and trampling the landscape maintained by the GVSU grounds department.
The deer cause the most problems in the arboretum and around the Calder Art Center. At times, the grounds m a i n t e n a n c e crew puts up fences to keep the deer population away from the landscaping.
“It’s convenient for them to come out of the ravine and eat the shrubs,” said Ken Stanton, grounds
supervisor. The deer used to target the shrubbery
around Lake Huron Hall, which had been in place since the 1960s. To deter the deer, the grounds supervisors opted for grass and perennials, which would die in the winter when the deer tend to feed.
Similar to bandits in black masks, the dumpster-diving raccoons have surprised students at trash receptacles on several occasions.
“Campus is adjacent to the woods,” Stanton said. “We’re in their environment, so they will come and make use of the dumpsters.”
Stanton said he has seen raccoons most frequently in the dumpsters at the Ravine Apartments, Laker Village
Apartments and Grand Valley Apartments.He puts a two-by-four across the top of the dumpster and allows the
critters to climb out.
A popular sight around Mackinac Hall, the skunks at GVSU have gained a following on Facebook under the group “I’ve seen the Grand Valley Skunk.”
To trap the skunks and other problematic small animals, the grounds maintenance crew sets live traps. Wild animals are released at a local park after capture.
However, the proliferation of such small mammals is a growing concern.
Part of the LEED landscaping includes allowing grass to grow tall around the buildings. While allowing the grass to grow cuts back on maintenance, it creates a new environment for the GVSU animal populations.
Although the increase in small mammals has yet to become an issue, Stanton said it is a concern.
Occasionally when a student graduates GVSU, the student leaves behind a companion cat. The cat becomes one of about six cats currently living on the campus grounds.
Several years ago, a pest control company that works with the university sent the cats to a local farm.
“Now, we live and let live,” said Edward Simon, assistant grounds supervisor. “We are not in the animal control business unless they become a problem.”
When students come across the cats, many will assist the felines by offering bits of food, Stanton said.
Tossing sand as they burrow holes into the earth, woodchucks create hazards at the football stadium and golf course. In front of the Alumni House next to a beech tree, a woodchuck has left a clear pile of sand where it has scurried into the ground.
The woodchucks – also known as groundhogs – present no great harm because they typically dig holes away from human traffi c, Lombardo said. But the woodchucks do create large tunnels, so if a person accidentally tripped into a hole, he could sprain an ankle.The snakes of
GVSU remain dormant for the most part, popping
out of bushes around the Calder Art Center when the grounds crew mows nearby grass.
But snakes have made appearances in other locations as well.
Senior Rachel Powers encountered some campus snakes during fi nals week of the Winter 2010 semester.
On the library side of the arboretum she sat studying her microbiology text on a bench with red-fl owered bushes on either side.
“It wasn’t windy out, but I could hear leaves rustling around me,” Powers said. “Then, there were snakes dripping out of the branches.”
She sprung from the bench and looked back to see two foot-long brown snakes curling in and out of the shrubbery.
Powers might have seen a brown snake, one of many snake varieties common on campus.
The arboretum hosts the diamond-patterned garter snakes, the aptly-named brown snakes and the dark-scaled water snakes. The water snakes appear in the arboretum pond and in the pond behind the Zumberge Library.
Orange, black and white milk snakes have also made appearances.
The pond is off-limits for fi shing.Rather, the blue gill, perch, bass, koi
and other members of the ecosystem – various amphibians and reptiles – create a sample population for biology students to study for fi eldwork.
However, the pond has endured its share of assaults. A collection of muskrats tore the bank of the lake, leading to their exile from campus.
Then, when Kirkhof Center underwent renovation, run-off pooled into the water and killed the fi sh population. After building was complete, new fi sh were transported to the waters.
While bald eagles from nests along the Grand River can be seen gliding overhead, the Blue Heron dives for fi sh and frogs at the pond behind the Zumberge Library.
Red-tailed hawks visit the golf c o u r s e and nest in the r a v i n e , while the s t r i p e -tailed Cooper’s hawk and the snow-bellied sharp-shinned hawk remain in the woods, where they feast on other birds. The ravine also hosts the great Horned Owl, only awake at night to eat other birds or rodents such as small squirrels.
CREATURE FEATURE
Courtesy Photo / Google Images
