GRAND VALLEY
A L L E N D A L E & G R A N D R A P I DS , M I C H I G A N ST U D E N T- R U N P U B L I C A T I O N S // P R I N T · O N L I N E · M O B I L E // L A N T H O R N . C O M
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SPOTLIGHT
GV professor honored by science association BY KARINA LLOYD NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
Grand Valley State University Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Edward Aboufadel was recently named a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as a result of his dedication and hard work toward the advancement of science and its applications. Aboufadel was dumbfounded by the phone call he received announcing his achievement, as he did not know he had been nominated for the position or who nominated him. “It was a pleasant shock,” Aboufadel said. “It was something I kind of hoped for. … It’s not something you can expect. When I got the phone call, I thought (it) may have been a joke at first, but I was very pleased to get the news.” At the yearly AAAS meeting on Feb. 17, 2018, Aboufadel will be recognized for his achievements. He suspects he will find out who nominated him for the recognition during the meeting. Aboufadel has served as a member of the AAAS since 1987, when he worked as secretary of the mathematics section of the organization. He served as secretary for two terms lasting eight years before returning to regular member status. This recognition comes after spending two years serving as a taskforce chair for a new AAAS program. Aboufadel began the job after receiving the call from AAAS CEO Rush Holt asking him to chair a new task force within the fellows program. Following the call, Aboufadel began working on evaluating diversity, prestige and revocation policy within the AAAS fellows program. Throughout his two years leading the group, the members have put together several proposals that have since been approved by the board. “The leadership of the AAAS was very pleased with the work that has come out of the fellows committee the past few years,” Aboufadel said. “I think we went way beyond their expectations as far as what they hoped would happen with the work of the committee. I think that is what ultimately motivated whoever to nominate me.” The board is currently working on structuring a revocation policy for SEE HONOR | A2
SOLUTIONS: Two GVSU students, Brianna Malstrom and Anastasia Tjapkes, present their entries for the Laker Effect Challenge on Thursday, Nov. 30. GVSU community members had the opportunity to present innovative solutions for problems that currently exist in the West Michigan community. GVL | HANNAH ZAJAC
Laker Effect Challenge winners announced BY DREW SCHERTZER DSCHERTZER@LANTHORN.COM
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n order to promote innovation within the West Michigan community, Grand Valley State University challenged community members to come up with solutions to certain problems. On Thursday, Nov. 30, seven winners were selected for their innovative ideas in the Laker Effect Challenge. The Laker Effect Challenge is a competition involving GVSU students, faculty and staff members who are tasked with creating an innovative idea that needs funding and helps the community. A panel of judges chose to spread $5,000 among three groups of presenters. An additional $500 was given to the winner of the poster presentation that took place as well. “These presenters find it tough to get airtime and find it more challeng-
ing to get funding for their projects,” said Linda Chamberlain, Meijer endowed chair of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Frederik Meijer Honors College. “They make positive differences in the community and share a similar passion, as well as a ‘common good’ collective that impacts West Michigan.” Seven groups gave presentations in the Mary Idema Pew Library Multipurpose Room to a crowd of about 100 people. They were given five minutes to explain what their mission was, how funding would help them carry out their goals and the future sustainability of their program. The audience tuned in to learn about the struggles many minority groups face. The topics ranged from Hispanic groups needing help with physical therapy to illiterate children not being given a chance to read. At the end of the day, only four groups walked away with funding.
The first-place winner of the Laker Effect Challenge was “Moms to Moms Breastfeeding Support.” The presenters were nursing majors Jamie Platt and Kayleigh Kibler, and faculty member Kelli Damstra. They spoke about how African-American mothers have lower breast-feeding rates than Hispanic or white mothers in West Michigan. With the $3,000, the team can now offer more seminars to families to improve education about breast feeding. “Establishing a System to Provide Safer Work Environments for Comprenew and Nonprofit Organization Volunteers and Workers” and “Book Bags for Beacon” shared the secondplace prize for $1,000 each. The safety group consisted of GVSU students Patrick Lynch, Avery Moore, Eric Bell and Ronald Friedreichsen. Moore described musculoskeletal disorders, such as tinnitus, carpal
tunnel and back pains, that can occur from improper work safety. The group can now provide more safety equipment for companies like Comprenew, which recycles computer parts and works with computer literacy in the Grand Rapids area. GVSU student Mary Dieterly presented on providing book bags for children. She said the make-or-break point for literacy rates in children is the third grade and that young students need to be able to read by then. “Together, we can put books into the hands of children who need them most,” Dieterly said. She explained that her organization, Beacon of Hope, will now be able to supply backpacks filled with two to three books and either crayons or markers. This will supply materials to many of the 60 families that come in for help regulalry. SEE LAKER | A2
INCLUSION
Student senate meeting covers hunger, LGBT visibility on campus BY ANNE MARIE SMIT NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
MEETING: Student senate meets for its weekly general assembly on Thursday, Nov. 9. On Thursday, Nov. 30, student senate discussed food insecurity for students on campus as well as visibility for LGBT community members. GVL | MATT READ
As part of the Grand Valley State University student senate’s general assembly on Thursday, Nov. 30, the senators provided minutes from a conference some of them had attended and welcomed two guest speakers who discussed student hunger on campus and LGBTQIA+ visibility. Sharalle Arnold, the associate director of the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity (CWGE), shared a report from the College and University Food Bank Alliance, which found that one in three students on college campuses are hungry, compared to one in seven people in the U.S. as a whole. The number of students who have visited Replenish, the food pantry at GVSU, has risen over the last couple of years, Arnold said, necessitating a larger space for the food bank. The last academic year alone totaled more than 900 visits. Access to affordable, healthy food is crucial for student success at GVSU, Arnold said. “I really think it’s important to urge
you all to consider the connection between academic achievement and adequate nutrition,” she said. “When you’re hungry, it’s going to impede your ability to engage in your education. The very fact that food is inaccessible to a large number of our students undermines the very notion of why we are here gathered in the academy, which is to pursue an education.” Arnold pointed out that many firstgeneration students, low-income students and students of color are not getting the nutrition they need. She asked the senate to help Replenish expand its food bank into a larger space. Its current location, Kirkhof 0074, is not large enough for the food and services they would like to provide. “I would ask you to consider the disproportionate number of first-generation students, low-income students and students of color that experience hunger on this campus,” she said. “I would ask you to consider, fan the flames with me, get the conversation going, offer the support that the adSEE SENATE | A2