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
T H U R S D A Y, F E B R U A RY 2 2 , 2 0 1 8 // VO L . 52 N O. 4 5
GOVERNANCE
Student senate to host week of activities ahead of elections BY SARAH HOLLIS SHOLLIS@LANTHORN.COM
As the end of the winter semester at Grand Valley State University approaches, so does the time for electing new senators and cabinet members for the GVSU student senate. To help create excitement for the upcoming elections, as well as provide necessary information to those interested in running for an open seat, student senate will be hosting Student Senate Week beginning Monday, Feb. 26. “We put it on for a multitude of reasons,” said Morgan Mattler, chair of the public relations committee. “We want to get our student body involved, we want to get our student body informed on what senate is all about and we just want to get the name of student senate out there as well.” Every day from Monday, Feb. 26, through Thursday, March 1, there will be different events and activities on campus related to student senate. Current senators hope to get as many students involved in these events as possible. “We just want as much involvement from our student body as possible,” Mattler said. “We do this through an assortment of ways with all of these events that try to engage students and inform students. A trend that we’ve seen in the past is there’s a slight disconnect between the student body and student senate, and it’s the kind of thing we’ve noticed also through OREs this year. “So, the beautiful thing about Student Senate Week, assuming we get the word out well enough, is we can really bring in a lot of students who can come in and learn what we’re all about and why student senate is here.” This year, for the first time, there will be a Coffee with Coordinators event where students will be able to grab coffee and get information about sexual assault and sexual assault prevention and awareness. “The event is put on by student senate, more specifically the sexual assault awareness committee, which is a committee that I run,” said Rachel Jenkin, chair of the campus affairs committee of student senate. “The event is going to be LIB 100- and 201-approved, and the idea of it is to be a more comfortSEE SENATE | A2
CAMPUS HAPPENINGS: GVSU President Thomas Haas introduces the keynote speaker in the Fieldhouse Arena on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16, 2017. In an email sent out campus-wide Friday, Feb. 16, Haas announced that the university is conducting a search for a full-time victim advocate. GVL | LUKE HOLMES
Search for full-time GV victim advocate underway BY DEVIN DELY DDELY@LANTHORN.COM
I
n a recent email sent to students, Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas announced a number of reviews and changes being made by the university to improve safety and address sexual assault on campus. Among these efforts was an announcement that GVSU is searching for a new full-time victim advocate. “I am proud that we are a campus that values and maintains open communication, transparency, and builds strong relationships across administrative and academic units,” Haas wrote in the email. “This culture of transparency and accountability will not be deterred.” The search began last fall following the departure of Ashley
Schulte, who held the position until September. The search committee is being headed by Marlene Kowalski-Braun, assistant vice president for inclusion and student affairs, and Jessica Jennrich, director of the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity. Jennrich, whose job on the committee is to help coordinate the search and conduct policy review throughout, said the search has been treated with the utmost importance by GVSU. “(The university) realized it’s an absolute priority and that it can’t wait,” she said. “It’s very common when a position is vacant to take a few months and evaluate it before filling it. In this case, President Haas decided we would just go ahead and fill this position rather than continue the long process that
we were in the middle of.” According to Jesse Bernal, vice president for inclusion and equity, the process of finding a new advocate has given the university an opportunity to review some of its sexual assault policies and take a closer look at the future of victim advocacy at GVSU. “When Ashley left and took a job at Ferris (State) last semester, we worked internally to examine the work we’ve been doing for victim survivor services,” he said. “It was a really good opportunity for us to pause and think about how we want to move forward with this role.” Despite sexual assaults on and near campus last semester, as well as an incident last year involving a former student senator’s controversial comments about the existence of rape culture, Jennrich hopes students
continue to use the services offered to them on campus. “Speaking in generalities, I think since the fall, there’s been about 55 people that have utilized the victim advocacy services that I know of, for a multitude of reasons,” Jennrich said. Victim advocacy is a concept that may be unfamiliar to many, even those who may need it. Bernal hopes students will not be deterred by their confusion about its purpose and will not afraid to use it if they need to. “Advocate is an interesting word for this position,” Bernal said. “I think that piece refers to the awareness-building of the position. Then, there’s the support piece, actually connecting with an individual who has SEE ADVOCATE | A2
KNOWLEDGE
TEDxGVSU returns for second installment BY JAMES KILBORN JKILBORN@LANTHORN.COM
TEDxGVSU: The Euphoria a cappella group performs during the TEDxGVSU event held in the Cook-DeWitt Center on Feb. 24, 2017. TEDxGVSU will host another event at GVSU on Friday, March 16. The theme of the event is ‘Shape.’ GVL | KEVIN SIELAFF
TEDxGVSU is proud to announce its second idea-sharing event meant to spur creative thought and discussion on March 16 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the DeVos Center Loosemore Auditorium. The event will bring together a number of students and faculty members from different disciplines and will highlight special projects being worked on by local scholars and professionals. Nikhil Watsa, a GVSU student involved in planning the event, said it took a dedicated student and faculty body to host the event for the second year in a row. “TED is an international corporation, so for us, the X-talks are independently hosted events, so either universities, businesses and cities can host events like this,” Watsa said. “So here at Grand Valley, we have a host of students and a couple faculty members who are helping to host the event here. “We really want to motivate and inspire people in this community. We’re showcasing major work that individuals and groups are doing here, specifically in the Grand Valley and Western
Michigan region. We tried to stay local to Grand Rapids, but we included others from West Michigan. Most of our speakers come from here, though.” GVSU student Alyssa Jones was also involved in establishing the event and highlighted why this year’s theme will be interesting and engaging for the public. “The theme for this event is ‘Shape,’” Jones said via email. “This theme focuses on how everyone plays a role in shaping our societies. From forerunners to critical thinkers to visionaries, all people play a role in shaping our societies. TEDxGVSU challenges the community to look closely at their individual shapes and those around them to embrace broader conceptualizations. “What impressions have shaped your experience? What shape does your identity hold? How can your impact shape society? We hope that from this event, attendees gain a better understanding of how not only themselves but other individuals shape our society.” Both Watsa and Jones spoke highly of last year’s event, emphasizing TED’s SEE TEDX | A2