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NEWS
FEBRUARY 17, 2014 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN
Community Service Learning Center sponsors overnight trip GV students revamp retirement community store, engage in service activities tasks. Some of those tasks included building new shelves, stocking shelves Residents at the Clark Retire- in the store with new products that ment Community in Grand Rapids the residents requested, and rearrangwere excited for the grand open- ing the store so it was less cluttered. “It’s so much more open now,” ing of their remodeled mini-mart on Saturday. The restoration work Burge said. “This gives those residents was done courtesy of Grand Valley who can’t go out some new options. I know they’ll really apState University stupreciate it.” dents volunteering on The night before an overnight trip with volunteering at Clark the Community SerRetirement Commuvice Learning Center. nity, GVSU students “The Overnight It gives them Service Trip seemed the opportunity got together to decorate bags for the Kids’ like a great opportunito come Food Basket proty to connect students gram, a nonprofit orto this organization together... ganization that helps and increase awarehungry children in ness about the ways LAURA MURNEN the Grand Rapids that we can and should CSLC COORDINATOR area. The volunteers give back to this population in our community,” said Jeff then stayed the night at First Park Congregational Church. Mutch, CSLC coordinator. “It gives them the opportunity Wade Burge, Clark Retirement Community volunteer coordinator, to come together, bond as a group said that without the help of volun- and get to connect at a deeper levteers, it would have taken residents el,” said Laura Murnen, CSLC coseveral weeks to complete the same ordinator of the trip. BY ERIN GROGAN
GVL | HANNAH MICO
EGROGAN@LANTHORN.COM
Helping hands: Students Kim Sloboda and Chad Mersino sort through greeting cards in the mini mart at the Clark Retirement Community.
Dancing for awareness
In the morning, the group helped the church set up a breakfast for members of the church community. They then spent the afternoon at the retirement community working in the store and delivering Yellow Pages to the doorsteps of the senior citizens. “The idea behind the overnight service trip is to provide a variety of opportunities to engage in service and address different community needs,” Mutch said. “Service trips like this also allow students to interact with seniors, which can be extremely rewarding for both parties.” Throughout the year, the CSLC sponsors three overnight service trips, each focusing on a different issue. While any student can go on these trips, the first event was geared toward first-year students. On that particular trip, volunteers worked with Feeding America West Michigan to address issues of food insecurity in the region. The last trip of the school year will occur on the weekend of March 21. Registration for the event will open later this month.
Doting on donors
Flash mob dances to stop sexual violence GVS(You) Week gives students opportunity to thank donors
in 2013. State appropriations made up This week, students at Grand 13 percent of the total revenue Valley State University will have with $2,588 per student. The the chance to thank donors and remaining revenue came from ask university officials ques- grants, contracts, self-supporttions about funding. The annual ing enterprises, investment inevent, GVS(You) Week, will run come, gifts, capital grants and additions to endowment. from Feb. 17 through Feb. 22. GVSU reported Friday that the In 2013, about 15,900 students, faculty, staff, alumni, endowment fund reached an allcommunity members, corpora- time high of $98.5 million as of tions and foundations donated Dec. 31, 2013. Lazzar said GVSU(You) Week to GVSU. Private donations totaled $10.3 million, according to isn’t just about monetary donations, though. the 2013 Annual Re“The week shows port on Giving. students how they can “Grand Valley was be a part of running founded on philanour university,” she thropy in the Grand The goal of said. “Students don’t Rapids community, have $5,000 to throw and that tradition of the week is at a building or a projphilanthropy is some- to educate ect, but you can give thing I hope to see back with your skills students carry for- students... that you’ve gained, by ward into the future,” volunteering, or by said Liz Kolberg, co- EMMA LAZZAR showing support for ordinator of student FAA PRESIDENT your fellow students.” philanthropy. “It is The Future Alumni Associaa great way to help ensure the services and opportunities you tion will have tables set up in the enjoy today will be possible for Kirkhof Center on Wednesday for students to sign thank-you students tomorrow.” GVS(You) week is sponsored cards to donors. A table will be by the Future Alumni Asso- set up for students downtown on ciation, a chapter of the GVSU Thursday in the atrium of the DeVos Center. Alumni Association. Each day, members of the as“The goal of the week is to educate students about where sociation will be available at the their tuition dollars are going,” tables from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. said Emma Lazzar, a senior at for students to ask questions GVSU and president of the Fu- about funding and donors. In ture Alumni Association. “Many addition, the group is hosting a don’t understand that they aren’t hot chocolate social tomorrow at paying for a professor to be here. 11:30 a.m. by the clock tower. “I really want students to unTuition goes to the general running of the university, and it derstand the importance of being doesn’t last the whole year. We a Laker for a Lifetime,” Lazzar said. “That doesn’t necessarily have to have private donations.” According to the 2013-2014 mean donating all your money, Accountability Report, first- but to be invested in something time student annual tuition is bigger than yourself. If Grand $10,454. Revenue from tuition Valley gave you something then along with net fees made up 51.1 why not donate a little bit of percent of GVSU’s total revenue yourself back to Grand Valley?” BY CARLY SIMPSON
GVL | EMILY FRYE
NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
Catching attention: Members of the West Michigan Rises team perform as part of a flash mob on Friday afternoon at different locations throughout the Allendale campus to raise awareness about sexual violence. BY PETER CHHUM PCHHUM@LANTHORN.COM
Students walking through the doors of the Kirkhof Center at Grand Valley State University were met with a different sight on Friday. The usual group of students walking to class had been replaced by a flash mob. At first glance, what appeared to many students as a spontaneous dance routine ended up delivering a powerful message. “I just wanted to know what was going on. Out of nowhere I see a bunch of people just dancing around, so naturally I had to stop and see what was happening,” said GVSU student Domenic Curtis. “I saw a bunch of signs that said things like, ‘consent is sexy’ along with other statistics, and it became clear they were spreading a message about preventing rape and trying to get awareness out there. It was a really cool idea. It definitely got people’s attention.” What students encountered was West Michigan Rises, an event that gathered community members and organizations together to raise awareness about sexual violence.
The campaign is a portion of the global movement called One Billion Rising. It’s a universal call to women survivors of sexual violence to break their silence, share their stories and raise awareness about the prevalence of domestic violence through dance, art and other forms of self-expression. The West Michigan Rises team was comprised of the Center for Women in Transition, GVSU’s Eyes Wide Open, the Women’s Center, the Kent County Health Department and the YWCA West Central Michigan, among others. “We want to interrupt business going on as usual to get the word out there,” said Abby Johnson, one of the event’s organizers. “People are here on campus. They’re going to grab a bite to eat, they’re walking to class, and we want to be out there for them to see. We need to be loud. We need to be out there and we need to be fierce in telling people that this happens here. We can’t be quiet. We’re celebrating survivors and celebrating people that are out there trying to make the world a better place.” After three performances — two
in the Kirkhof Center and another at the Connection — Lesley Coghill, the prevention coordinator at the Center for Women in Transition, was happy to see it finally all come together. “I think it was really amazing to see the collaboration among all the different sponsors, organizations and students that put it on. It was very successful because so many community members found it to be so important to be here,” Coghill said. “It felt so good and so empowering to be surrounded by everyone in this unity of dancing and calling for action in this same way.” More than just attracting attention, the dancing was used to capitalize on the effects it has for those watching as well as those participating. “Dancing is such an uplifting and spiritually celebrating type of movement,” said Heather Winia, a movement science adjunct. “There’s negativity and there’s violence around the world, but also here on Grand Valley’s campus. The more we can bring awareness to it, the more we can talk about it and the more we can help to stop it.”
MONEY MATTERS
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there are times when one is preferable over the other. Here’s how to decide which card to use. * Need to build credit? Use a credit card if you are trying to establish a positive credit history. However, you must pay your bill in a timely fashion, and it helps to pay the entire balance each and every billing cycle to develop a good credit score. * Don’t want a large monthly bill? Debit cards withdraw money directly from your account at the moment the transaction occurs. Much like spending with cash, debit cards let users know when they have run out of cash, as cards will be denied if the transaction is not approved. If you do not want to pay a large bill at the end of the month, debit cards are the better choice. * Prefer greater security? Great strides have been made to thwart would-be
identity thieves and keep financial data safe. However, as was evidenced by the major data breach in Target’s payment system in late 2013, when millions of credit and debit card numbers and PIN codes were hacked, no system is entirely foolproof. Credit cards offer added security because if fraudulent purchases are made, your credit card account will be quickly frozen and you will not be held accountable. When using debit cards, you are spending your own money up front. Fraudulent purchases may be fixed over time, but it could leave a deficit in your account until matters are resolved. * Want to minimize fees? Debit cards do not charge interest or minimum charge penalties. There’s no need to worry about being late for a payment and getting charged a fee, and causing your
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