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T H U R S D A Y, O C TO B E R 1 9, 2 0 1 7 // VO L . 52 N O. 1 7
GRAND VALLEY
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FOOTBALL PREVIEW INITIATIVES
GRANT: GVSU will get $1.3 million for VUB over five years. GVL | EMILY FRYE
GV receives federal grant to support degree-seeking veterans BY THERESA MUELLER TMUELLER@LANTHORN.COM
‘JACK-O’-LAKER’: A set of Laker-themed jack-o’-lanterns are featured on GVSU’s Allendale Campus in the spirit of fall. Laker Traditions and Alumni Relations collaborated to choose the 2017 Homecoming theme, “Halloween Tricks, Laker Treats,” largely in relation to the week’s proximity to Halloween. COURTESY | GVSU.EDU
Haunted Homecoming
Annual celebration to feature Halloween-themed events
BY SARAH HOLLIS NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
T
he fall season is in full swing, and Halloween is right around the corner. Next week, the Grand Valley State University campus will be transformed into a spooky Halloween town for the annual Homecoming celebration, one of Laker Traditions’ biggest events. “Laker Traditions hosts some of the biggest events on campus,” said
Haley Biondo, Homecoming event coordinator, via email. “The goal of these traditions is to provide a way for students to get involved on campus more and to have an unforgettable experience. Homecoming is a great way to do just that: It is a week-long competition between student organizations and a great way to get involved on campus and to meet other students.” The theme for this year’s weeklong celebration is “Halloween Tricks, Laker Treats.”
“With it being so close to Halloween, it kind of seemed like a fun theme to just go ahead and do, and it’s something you can incorporate really well into a lot of different stuff,” said Alyssa Jones, Homecoming coordinator for the Laker Traditions team. Jones said this theme was chosen through a collaboration between Laker Traditions and Alumni Relations. From Sunday, Oct. 22, through Saturday, Oct. 28, there will be fun activities for everyone to come watch
and enjoy. Some of these activities are included in Homecoming festivities every year, such as “Sculpt-It,” “LipSync,” the spirit banner competition and the regent reveal. In addition to these annual events, Laker Traditions has added some new activities for students and community members to participate in. “This year, we are going to be having a game show on Tuesday night, SEE HOMECOMING | A2
COMMUNITY
FALL FUN: Two children laugh and play at the Children’s Enrichment Center Wednesday, Oct. 18. The CEC, on the Allendale Campus, contains three classrooms led by full-time teachers and enrolls children from 2 to 5 years old, giving GVSU families the freedom to study or work during the day. GVL | DYLAN MCINTYRE
Meeting the ‘Littlest Lakers’ Children’s Enrichment Center to engage students during homecoming week, Halloween BY ANNE MARIE SMIT NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
The Children’s Enrichment Center (CEC), located on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale Campus, will be holding several events in the coming weeks to engage GVSU students with the children enrolled at the CEC. The CEC calls itself the “home
of the ‘Littlest Lakers’” and has been serving students, faculty and staff at GVSU, as well as the surrounding community, since 1970. The CEC contains three classrooms led by full-time teachers, enrolling children from 2 to 5 years old. The center gives families at GVSU the freedom to study or work during the daytime hours, with students receiving a discounted weekly rate.
Daphnea Sutherland, assistant director and preschool 2 lead teacher at the CEC, said the children at the center are called the Littlest Lakers because they are so involved with students and the university. “We have a lot of children who have a better understanding of what college is,” Sutherland said. “We even have a little boy whose mom works in the library, and he always
says that he’s going to be a college engineer when he grows up.” Sarah Lord, CEC director and preschool 1 program administrator and lead teacher, said the center is equally comprised of children of GVSU families and the surrounding community. SEE CEC | A2
Grand Valley State University will be expanding its services for veteran students with the formation of Veterans Upward Bound (VUB), a federally funded TRIO program. GVSU received a $1.3 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund the development of VUB. Funds for VUB will enable lowincome veterans seeking to complete degree programs at GVSU to receive free services. The Division of Inclusion and Equity submitted an application for the federal grant to the Department of Education this past June. Despite the competitive process, the university received notice for the award in late September. Currently, GVSU’s Division of Inclusion and Equity provides services to students through the Veteran Network program. “The Division of Inclusion and Equity strives to continually extend our efforts to advance the educational pipeline for veterans,” said Kathleen VanderVeen, assistant vice president for equity, planning and compliance, and ADA officer, via email. “Our objectives are to improve veteran readiness for post-secondary opportunities, improve admittance to post-secondary programs and improve graduation rates for the veterans who enter these institutions.” GVSU’s Veteran Network program is a campus resource that supports veterans, active service members and dependents in transition from military to student roles. The federal grant enables the university to extend its services to veteran students in the community through VUB. “VUB is designed to motivate and assist veterans in the development of academic skills necessary for acceptance and success in the development of post-secondary education,” VanderVeen said. The grant will provide GVSU the opportunity to develop a dedicated staff and provide free academic support services annually for five years to 125 pre-college veterans from Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon and Allegan counties. “I am thrilled that West Michigan, in particular Grand Valley State University, is going to be able to provide these kinds of resources for the individuals who served our country,” VanderVeen said. “This grant is going to make a difference in the lives of many veterans.” The process for finding a director for VUB is underway. Once that role is filled, the recruitment process for program participants will follow. The majority of the effort to establish the new veterans’ education program has been fulfilled by the Division of Inclusion and Equity, but other members of the GVSU community have shown their support as well. As a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, GVSU President Thomas Haas is passionate about the university’s outreach to veterans in the community. He sees VUB as an opportunity for GVSU to “serve those who serve us.” “I will give my full support and let our great staff figure out the right pathway (for veterans),” Haas said.
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