Grand Valley Lanthorn vol. 56 no. 12

G R A N D VA L L E Y L A N T H O R N

Campus Dining’s Relationship with Aramark

Deep dive into Aramark’s history with GV

GV hosts annual climate summit CLIMATE | A5

Students around the state feel safer with COVID-19 vaccine mandates

M O N D A Y, N OV E M B E R 8 , 2 02 1 // VO L . 5 6 N O. 1 2

COVID-19 | A8

@ GV L A N T H O R N

LANTHORN.COM

A2 | NEWS NEWS BRIEFS GV COVID-19 CAMPUS DATA UPDATE

The GVSU community has had a cumulative total of 4,067 cases since Aug. 1, 2020.

The university’s update for this brief was from Friday, Nov. 5.

Through testing results this past week, GVSU’s Virus Action team have so far reported 91 current active cases including five faculty members, 10 staff members, 10 on-campus students, 28 “off-campus Ottawa” students, 29 “off-campus Kent” students and nine “off-campus other” students with active COVID-19 cases.

“Current active cases” is the count of positive cases reported to the Virus Action Team over the past ten days. This is an estimate of those currently in isolation, assuming a ten-day symptomatic period following the reporting of a positive test result.

Actual periods of isolation are specific to the individual and determined by the county health department.

Vaccination: GVSU encourages all students, faculty and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible.

All students, faculty and staff are required to be fully vaccinated, barring a medical or religious exemption or postponement.

According to the COVID-19 data dashboard, an 80% vaccination rate in the GVSU community is required to reach herd immunity and minimal virus transmission.

Currently, approximately 82% of students report being fully vaccinated, while approximately 84% of faculty and staff reports being fully vaccinated.

There are currently 2,098 students and 144 faculty/staff with approved vaccination exemptions.

Testing and Incidence: GVSU’s own testing program has performed 104,923 tests overall since Aug. 1, 2020, for a cumulative positivity rate of 1.8% from the latest update as of last week. A total of 1,498 tests were performed over the last seven days.

“GV Surveillance” includes the GV/ Spectrum administered programs of randomized testing, regular testing of high-risk groups, and invited testing of individuals connected to potential clusters. A calendar is available. “GV Total” includes surveillance testing plus all symptomatic/exposure tests administered by Spectrum.

POLICE

Search continues for GV student missing at MSU

BY HANNA HALSTEAD & PAYTON BRAZZIL NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

The Grand Valley State University community has been sharing posts and spreading the word to find missing student, Brendan Santo.

The GVSU freshman was last seen visiting his friends at Michigan State University on Friday, Oct. 29.

MSU Police and Public Safety said that shortly before midnight, Santo was seen leaving Yakeley Hall. Police said it’s possible he was planning to walk a half-mile to the Brody neighborhood. There is no indication that he left the East Lansing area.

According to the most recent press release, foul play is not suspected in Santo’s disappearance and investigators are focusing on the Red Cedar River. Two miles of the Red Cedar River runs throughout the MSU campus.

“The investigation has led us to focus on the Red Cedar River which is in very close proximity to Brendan’s last known location,” according to the press release. “However, we continue to investigate other possibilities.”

In order to facilitate the water search, police are using specialized resources from the Michigan State Police Marine Services

MISSING STUDENT: GVSU freshman Brendan Santo was last seen leaving Yakeley Hall on MSU’s East Lansing campus. Authorities do not believe Santo left the East Lansing area. COURTESY | LINKEDIN

Division, Ingham County Sheriff ’s Office and the Capital Area Dive Team. The search is being conducted on foot, by helicopter, drone and boat.

“The investigation has included everyone who last had contact or spoke with a review of surveillance cameras, and advanced techniques such as reviewing cellular, smartphone, and GPS data,” MSU Police and Public Safety said.

GVPD Assistant Director of Public Safety Captian Jeff Stoll said GVPD has been in contact with MSU Police and Public Safety regarding Santo. However, because the incident occurred on MSU’s campus, GVPD is not highly involved.

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LAKER EFFECT

GV community responds to student deaths

BY AUDREY WHITAKER & MARY RACETTE NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

In the wake of two student deaths at Grand Valley State University in the last month, members of the GVSU community may be struggling with the loss of a student, classmate, friend or with the trauma of a fellow GVSU student.

PRESIDENT MANTELLA DEDICATES CANTER FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL HEALTH

In a ceremony on Nov. 3, President Mantella officially dedicated the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health.

The Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) is the second building in GVSU’s Health Campus expansion, which began in 2018 with the opening of Raleigh J. Finkelstein Hall. The DCIH opened in May in GVSU’s health campus in Grand Rapids.

Mantella said the DCIH offers opportunities for health-related and adjacent majors, as well as community partners. The 17 classrooms and 12 interactive laboratories at the DCIH have enhanced student performance and garnered attention from programs across the country.

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

TRAGEDY: The University Counseling Center is supporting students struggling with loss in the GVSU community. GVL | ANNABELLE ROBINSON

While the news may seem unprecedented to the GVSU community, acting vice provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Aaron Haight said it is something the university has worked hard to prepare support and resources for.

“In a situation like this, we definitely connect with a family, we try to identify any friends or student connections on campus, and we want to make sure that we provide outreach and support to them,” Haight said.

“Every situation is different, so there isn’t necessarily one way to handle a situation, but our main focus is making sure that family friends are getting the support and resources that they need.”

Haight said that the university works carefully to provide the community with the information they need to feel safe while respecting the privacy of the student’s family.

“The number one thing is making sure that family is okay with how we communicate,” Haight said. “The other thing is depending on a situation, we might communicate with a residence hall where the student resided, sometimes things are making a more of an impact in the broader communi-

ty so sometimes we feel like we might need to make a broader statement.”

Haight said that while President Mantella has sent emails to the GVSU community regarding student deaths this semester, that is not standard practice for GVSU. “The President has sent out a few emails this year; that’s not necessarily been our standard practice,” Haight said. “So we’re actually right now looking at what should and shouldn’t we be doing and communicating.”

While vigils and memorials have been organized in the past, nothing has been organized this semester. Haight said that while events services may work with students to organize such events, it is up to students to take the lead.

“They are welcome to you know, work with Event Services, in Kirkoff and plan that, but we do not do that as a university,” Haight said. “At one point in time, I believe we did an annual remembrance ceremony.”

Haight said that a university committee had evaluated the practice, however, COVID-19 restrictions put an end to the practice.

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A3 | NEWS

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

CONTENTS POLICE

| A2

OPINION

| A4

CLIMATE

| A5

SPREAD

| A6&7

POLICY

| A8

INTERNATIONAL

| A9

THEATRE

| A10

BASKETBALL

| A11

CROSS

| A12

VOL. 56

NO. 12

Lan thorn Layout Editor VIVIANA RUBIO

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief ZACK GOODROW Associate Editor MARY RACETTE

Layout Designer KHOI TRAN PROMOTIONS

Associate Editor XAVIER GOLDEN

Promotions Manager ALEX DAGOSTINO

News Editor ADVERTISING STAFF AUDREY WHITAKEN Advertising Manager Sports Editor JOSH HENGTGEN HOLLY BIHLMAN Laker Life Editor BUSINESS STAFF SABRINA EDWARDS Business Manager A&E Editor RACHEL MCDOWELL MARY DUPUIS Image Editor MEGHAN LANGREN

Asst. Business Manager DAYTON HAMMON

Multimedia EditorHAILEIGH HUBER

At 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 find any errors in fact in the Lanthorn, let us know by calling 616-331-2464 or by emailing editorial@lanthorn.com.

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GOVERNMENT

Rusch elected to head GV Student Senate committee

BY JOSH ALBURTUS NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

Amidst efforts to tackle multiple student-related issues, Grand Valley State University’s Student Senate seated its newest Vice President of Campus Affairs, a position critical to addressing such issues.

Running for the position against fellow Senator Taegan Byers, current Vice President Aaron Rusch claimed electoral victory last Thursday, Nov. 4. Transitioning from his former role on the Senate’s Educational Affairs Committee, Rusch will take on a Campus Affairs Committee of only two current members. In his speech of candidacy to the Senate, Rusch said he is committed to the work of the Senate and supporting the efforts of fellow senators.

“I don’t only want to be a backbone and support for my committee, but I want to be a backbone and support for the entire general body,” Rusch said. “I want to help every single one of you guys here in this room succeed with leaving, ultimately, your legacy here at this university, effecting the change you’d like.”

According to the committee’s mandate

VOTE: Aaron Rusch is the newest edition to Student Senate as the vice president of campus affairs.

Rusch is involved in the attempts to address students’ Campus Dining concerns. GVL | SYDNEY LIM

outlined on the Senate’s webpage, Rusch will head the committee that is responsible for communicating student campus issues to the Senate and administration and getting the needs of students achieved.

Rusch will serve as one of the central members of Senate leadership involved in its ongoing attempts to navigate student concerns over Campus Dining. These con-

cerns were reiterated on Thursday during public comment.

“I am once again calling for Student Senate to take any course of action,” said GVSU senior Alex Hicks. “The University Food Committee is not enough.”

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ENVIRONMENT

GV prepares for 2021 campus climate survey

BY SARA COLLINS NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State University is conducting its 2021 climate survey, giving students, staff and faculty an opportunity to anonymously make their voices heard. The survey will be open Nov. 17 through Dec. 1 and will encourage the community to share their experiences and perceptions of what it’s like to be a Laker.

In previous years, the survey was conducted in-house. As a commitment to ensuring the university is making progress, this year’s survey will use an outside vendor, Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS), a group of liberal art colleges and universities that share data for benchmark and comparison purposes.

Jesse Bernal, the Vice President for Inclusion and Equity, said the survey will prioritize three main factors: experiences, perceptions and institutional actions.

Bernal said the experiences portion will explore topics like identity, giving respondents a chance to share times where they

had negative or biased experiences connected to their identity.

The perceptions section is designed to give GVSU a better understanding of how community members perceive their environment. Specifically, taking a look at how welcoming and inclusive the university is towards their own community, as well as other communities they may not identify with, Bernal said.

The questions regarding institutional actions will determine to what extent the respondent believes the university is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Respondents that do believe the university is committed to these goals will be given a space to point out where they have seen this at GVSU, Bernal explained.

Respondents can share their identities, if desired, in a section dedicated to demographics. This will allow GVSU to grasp a better understanding of the communities on campus and create change as a result.

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A4 | OPINIONS GVL EDITORIAL CARTOON

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

By Xavier Golden

EDITORIAL

Progressives demand change, Dems in power freeze up

J

11/08/21

editorial@lanthorn.com

Letter to Editor

Student Senate acknowledges students’ Campus Dining concerns Grand Valley State University Student Senate is very aware that Campus Dining has become a widespread issue at the forefront of many student experiences on GVSU’s campuses.

We acknowledge student concerns and the issues regarding Campus Dining while simultaneously recognizing that these issues are multifaceted and complex in their nature, influenced by a wide array of both internal and external factors.

To address these concerns, Student

Senate has mobilized and taken action by working with the appropriate university administration figures to create the University Food Committee (UFC). The UFC has been adopted by the university, and now stands as a registered University Academic Committee, allowing the committee to work directly with university administration.

During our creation of the committee, Student Senate mindfully created an environment that directly involved students from a variety of organi-

zations and demographics with the intention of representing the student body holistically, along with appropriate participation from faculty and staff. Student Senate has also continued to share public comments that are received at our General Assembly meetings with UFC and the two cochairs of the committee.

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French Dispatch

BY ZACK GOODROW SENIOR MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

It’s ironic that Wes Anderson’s new film, “The French Dispatch,” is marketed as an ode to journalism despite missing

on several key aspects of the profession like story, a cohesive narrative structure and generally highlighting characters.

The basic structure of the movie is told in three parts, highlighting different stories that will be published in the last edition of The French Dispatch magazine, an outlet that must serve some Kansas town in an alternate dimension. It’s amazing how in these 30-minute stories, no emotion is felt towards its individual characters or storylines. If this is how this magazines’ writers tell the stories of their town, they should be immediately fired.

The first story follows a painter, Benicio Del Toro, who is in prison for committing a vicious double homicide.

His work is soon noticed by a young entrepreneur, Adrian Brody, and the rest

of the story follows Del Toro’s character as he struggles to make his art. Tilda Swinton is the journalist covering this story and somehow fails to capture the audience’s attention by making her piece interesting. Instead of using the classic inverted-pyramid format that almost every journalist references in their writing, Swinton’s character tells this story in a jungle gym format that is trapped in a house of mirrors.

The second story is told by Frances McDormand’s character, an older journalist who soon finds herself in a very uncomfortable sexual relationship with Timothee Chalamet.

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ust over a year after the 2020 election, members of the Grand Valley State University community are looking back on the events of last November and looking towards the new political landscape that is being built by the Biden administration. It’s certainly different, and most would agree that it’s better— but the extent to which things have actually progressed is subject to debate.

President Joseph Biden secured his 2020 election victory by winning several swing states— including Michigan, which Democrats lost in 2016. But Dems lost Ottawa County in 2020, and now it’s looking like they could lose all of Michigan, again, in midterm elections. Democratic and Republican voters alike have been disappointed with what the Democrat-controlled White House, Senate and House have managed to accomplish. And that disappointment was reflected in their recent trips to the polls.

The Democratic Party suffered heavy losses on election day last week, partly attributed to his difficulty passing the landmark bills that they ran on in 2020.

GVL OPINION POLICY

The goal of the Grand Valley Lanthorn’s opinion page is to act as a forum for public discussion, comment and criticism in the Grand Valley State University community. Student and columnist opinions published here do not necessarily reflect those of the paper as an entity.

The Lanthorn strives to be a safe vehicle for community discussion. With this in mind, the Lanthorn will not publish or entertain any forms of hate speech, but neither will it discriminate against any other views, opinions or beliefs. The content, information and views expressed are not approved by-nor do they necessarily represent those of-the university or its Board of Trustees, officers, faculty or staff.

However, they just barely managed to pass part of the new infrastructure bill— a small victory, which they desperately needed.

However, a facet of the infrastructure bill that didn’t pass was the part that offers incentives for fossil fuel companies to reduce CO2 emissions, a policy that was one of the points in the climate solutions section of Biden’s Build Back Better framework. This development was poorly timed, as last week marked the beginning of the global COP26 summit, where leading nations are meeting to discuss climate change strategies.

Democrats have more power than they have in years— President Obama’s terms in office were plagued

by Republican stonewalling, a conservative strategy offset by Democrats controlling the House and the Senate— but present-day Democrats still struggled to pass a piece of legislation, thanks to the efforts of West Virginian Democrat Joe Manchin and the majority of Republicans.

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Letter to the editor should include the author’s full name, relevant title and a headshot, along with a valid email address and phone number for confirming the identity of the author. Letters should be approximately 500-650 words in length, and they are not edited by the Lanthorn staff except to fix technical errors or to clarify. Reader submissions on the opinion page appear as space permits.

To make a submission, email editorial@lanthorn.com or drop your submission off in person at: 0051 KIRKHOF CENTER GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ALLENDALE, MI 49401 616-826-8276

A5 | NEWS

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS CLIMATE

GV hosts annual climate summit

BY GRACE SMITH NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

Climate change has become a hot-topic issue over the last decade. A group of Grand Valley State University faculty, students and staff, along with teachers from West Michigan schools, hosted a climate summit of their own virtual summit at GVSU Nov. 3-5.

The Climate Change Education Solutions (CCES) Network launched in May 2018. The CCES Network’s coal is to host an annual interdisciplinary Climate Change Education Solutions Summit on climate change education to strengthen dialogue and collaboration among the higher education and K-12 faculty.

This week in Glasgow, politicians gathered for the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) Summit, which continues through Nov. 12. It was at this conference at which the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 which limited the amount of greenhouse gases each country can emit each year. As Elena Lioubimtseva, Climate Change Education Solutions Summit coordinator pointed out, GVSU’s Climate Change Education Solutions Summit is coming at the perfect time. “(The summit will) call for collaborative climate action, highlight the urgency

of climate-related policies, demonstrate the connection between local action and global change (and) call on Michigan universities and communities to step up for climate action and climate justice,” Lioubimtseva said.

One of the issues discussed at the summit was vulnerability and justice, in terms of climate change.

“Urban poor, people of color, immigrants, and other marginalized populations are disproportionately affected by impacts of climate change and extreme events, such as heatwaves, floods and vector-and water-borne infections,” said Lioubimtseva.

Lioubinsteva said that communities tend to perceive climate change as distant and personally irrelevant. One of the goals of the summit is to provide resources for K-12 educators, as the integration of this information is complex and generally neglected by school systems due to its political nature. As a result of the lack of proper education on the subject, many marginalized communities have a general misconception of the consequences of climate change.

Due to this information gap, traditionally marginalized communities become more vulnerable to big corporations, explained Lioubinsteva. These information gaps are often exploited by big corporations, as they continue to make unsustainable choices

MENTAL HEALTH

University Counseling Center provides support as seasons change

BY GILLIAN HANTON NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

As the seasons continue to change, many people are looking forward to the colder months and the holiday cheer that comes with them. Others, however, begin their yearly battle with mental health issues, brought about by the indoor isolation of winter. To alleviate some of these difficulties, the Grand Valley State University Counseling Center has cultivated a variety of services to help students navigate their mental health during this time.

According to recent studies, approximately ten million Americans suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a form of depression that often occurs during the winter months. Those struggling with SAD usually experience symptoms that vary from feeling distressed or overwhelmed to being unable to perform daily responsibilities, for 40% of the calendar year.

However, students don’t have to be diagnosed with SAD to experience mental, physical or academic difficulty during the colder parts of the year. Fall and winter months also signify the start of exam season, one of the most stressful periods for a college student.

“As we go from summer into fall and winter, some people’s moods may change, and some may feel more depressed,” said Director of Clinical and Crisis Services Eric Klingensmith“It can range from people struggling more with feeling sad or irritable, to affecting concentration and energy levels.”

The GVSU Counseling Center is offering services year-round to help students manage their mental health. Although the center is often associated with work in short-term individual therapy, they offer a continuum of care specific to the needs of each student.

“We have some self-guided videos and seminars on our website that deal with stress, anxiety and other mental health-related things,” Klingensmith said. “We also do a lot of workshops in groups, and students learn how to develop skills concerning mental and emotional health there.”

Over the years, the Counseling Center has developed a series of online modules and workshops for student self-help, which contain information on mental health and illnesses, self-care and even COVID-19 specific stressors.

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CALL TO ACTION: CCESS coordinator Elena Lioubimtseva said she hopes the event will inspire the West Michigan community to take action against climate change through education. GVL | ARCHIVES

about land use and climate. These concepts following vulnerability and justice in climate change were a common thread throughout the three days of presentations at the summit. “(It requires) courage to communicate clearly to our decision-makers at all levels that we need very significant changes to achieve carbon neutrality and keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, (along-

side) global solidarity, empathy and understanding that mitigating,” Lioubimtseva said.

“Climate change requires everyone’s effort.”

Students and faculty who attended were able to walk away with an understanding of the urgency of the climate change crisis and perhaps a fueled passion for limiting vulnerability in their communities regarding climate change.

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

A6&7 | NEWS Students concerned with Aramark’s history and GV’s campus dining options

BY JACOB DEWEERD NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

UNIVERSITY RELATIONS: One of the main criticisms of Aramark’s history is their previous ties with Michigan prisons from 2013 to 2015. The contract held for 18 months. COURTESY | ARAMARK CORPORATION

CONTRACT: GVSU’s relationship with Aramark started in 2001. This contract has been renewed multiple times. The most recent renewal was in 2019 and the current contract ends in 2028. FOIA | ALEX HICKS

Since 2001, Grand Valley State University has contracted its campus dining service to a Philadelphia-based food service provider, the Aramark Corporation. Aramark is responsible for supplying food service labor to GVSU, and the company also determines meal choices and operational strategies for the university’s campus dining program.

The contract between the University and Aramark has been renewed several times, most recently in 2019.

In the past, Aramark has been criticized for its ties to prisons, contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and reportedly sub-par food quality and unsanitary kitchen conditions.

Some GVSU students, including student-led groups like Students for Food Sovereignty (SFS) have called for the university to end their contract with Aramark and switch to a self-operated dining service model.

Director of Auxiliary Services Doug Wentworth said the university is always reviewing the best options for campus dining service.

“I’ve been to multiple places to look at multiple schools from other providers and self-op, and just to review the service models, the cost, and food options,” Wentworth said. “We get feedback from the customers to determine the best option for our students and the GVSU community, and at the time that we reviewed those, Aramark was that choice.”

In 2013, Aramark was contracted to handle food service in Michigan prisons, but that contract was terminated in 2015, only 18 months after it began. The decision was mutual between the state and Aramark, but it came after reports of many issues including meal shortages, maggot infestations in kitchens, and disciplinary problems among Aramark employees.

Self-operated dining service is an alternative to GVSU’s current method of contracting service out to a third-party company like Aramark. If the university were to switch to a self-op model, it would shoulder all the responsibilities that Aramark currently handles, including training food service staff, sourcing ingredients for meals, and developing operating procedures for on-campus dining locations.

Most Michigan universities, including Michigan State, Northern Michigan, Ferris State, Western Michigan, and Michigan Tech use self-op service models.

“All those models are good, but I’ve been at all (types of) schools,” Wentworth said.

“Some self-ops run very well and some run

very poorly. Some other contractors run very well and some run very poorly. It depends on the people and the involvement that the university that’s managing it has with that partner. If you’re involved in hir-

to a self-operation model. Fourth-year student and Campaign Coordinator for SFS, Alex Hicks, said breaking away from Aramark would allow students access to better food, better working conditions for cam-

CONCERNS: The student organization Student for Food Sovereignty is a leading voice against the contract with Aramark. SFS is in favor of students needs in regard to campus dining. GVL | ARCHIVES

ing people, and you hire the right people, the program can be successful, and it can represent the university well.”

SFS has been the largest on-campus voice pushing for the university to move

pus dining employees, and more options for students with food allergies or other dietary restrictions.

“Honestly, I think Aramark aside, doing self-op is kind of the way that all universities

are innovating themselves,” Hicks said. “So I think doing contracts in general, no matter who it’s through, is really outdated. And I think sometimes, for Grand Valley, it can be kind of painful for us to get out of those comfortable situations. So I think Grand Valley is just really comfortable where they see us (and) where they see themselves right now with Aramark.”

One key difference between GVSU’s campus dining service and other universities is the cost of meal plans. GVSU’s own campus dining website shows the average cost of an unlimited meal plan from both self-op and contracted campus dining programs at the 10 largest public Michigan universities.

The average cost of an unlimited plan from a self-op program is $2,700 per semester, while the same plan from a contracted program is $2,200.

GVSU’s unlimited plan is $1,775 per semester, which is the lowest cost among these 10 public universities. Hicks and Wentworth both said that if GVSU were to switch to a self-op model, the cost of meal plans would likely see an increase for various reasons.

“A lot of the biggest concerns that students have when they talk to us is the increase in meal plan cost,” Hicks said.

“Which, honestly, is probably just going to be inevitable. Because when you get higher quality things, they cost more money.”

Wentworth emphasized that contracting with Aramark provides advantages like access to existing relationships with suppliers and efficient models for serving food. Those factors both affect the current cost of a meal plan at GVSU. “We want to involve student feedback on what things are out there and what we do and what the impact may be on the program and their thoughts on that,” Wentworth said. “But it just depends on each program.

But yes, self-op is more expensive because you don’t get the efficiencies.”

Despite the potential cost increase, Hicks believes that switching to a self-operation model would be worth it for the positive impacts to all GVSU students.

“Even though not every student on Grand Valley’s campus has a meal plan, I think it would impact every single student, in some way, shape or form,” Hicks said. “And I think for Grand Valley it would increase their revenue. I think they would get more people buying meal plans.”

GVSU’s current contract with Aramark ends in 2028. More information on campus dining programs, including cost breakdowns, can be found at www.gvsu.edu/campusdine/.

A8 | NEWS

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

POLICY

Students around the state feel safer with COVID-19 vaccine mandates

BY JAMIE WILSON NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

Universities across the state are requiring daily health screenings, masks indoors on campus, and vaccination of all students.

Three Michigan universities, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Oakland University and Grand Valley State University were evaluated on their COVID-19 policies and statistics. All three schools showed a slight recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases.

“We attribute the latest rise in COVID-19 cases on campus to an increase in travel from fall break, as well as social gatherings moving indoors without masks,” said UofM spokesperson Kim Broekhuizen.

U-M does not attribute any of these positive cases to in-person classroom activities.

OU had its fall break between Oct. 21 and 25. Subsequently, the university’s number of COVID-19 positive cases shot up the week of Oct. 24. GVSU’s positive COVID-19 cases increased slightly between Oct. 24 and

ACTION PLAN: Michigan Universities experience slight increase in COVID-19 cases following fall break. Students speak out about their comfort levels on each campus’ protocols. GVL | ARCHIVES

31, the week following fall break.

All three schools require their students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated. The only exceptions to this are for those with medical or religious exemptions. UofM has currently accepted 754 religious or medical exemptions, while GVSU has accepted over 2,000 and OU has accepted around 1,300.

GVSU senior Faith Davis said she saw the vaccine mandate as positive.

“It increases the chance of a COVID-19 free campus and definitely made me feel safe going on campus this semester,” Davis said.

Overall, Faith feels confident in GVSU’s COVID-19 action plan, stating that the number of GVSU’s COVID-19 positive cases are substantially lower than they were this time last year.

“I feel like the vaccine mandate is necessary for everyone to be back on campus in-person,” said UofM student Dominic Balice. “If people want a normal life again, they need to do their part in achieving that. I understand there are extreme circumstances, so the school has allowed exemptions, but those with exemptions are required to take weekly COVID-19 tests to ensure the safety of others.”

Balice said he is confident in his school’s COVID-19 action plan, as he believes there is not much more that could be done and that the school’s positive COVID-19 cases

have been consistently low all year.

This is true for nearly every school, as even the recent increase in cases is only single digits, compared to the tens of positive cases for most schools in the winter 2021 semester. Despite the vaccine mandate, Rebecca Topor, a junior at OU, feels OU is being too lenient throughout the process.

“Although vaccines were required for staff and students, Oakland University allows several exemptions and has also extended the deadline to receive the first dose, let alone requiring a full vaccination status,” Topor said.

For many students, the vaccine mandate makes them feel safer, but vaccines alone will not prevent the spread. Rebecca emphasizes the importance of wearing masks indoors on campus too.

“The staff at Kresge Library work hard to make sure students in the facility are wearing masks, yet many students continue to not wear masks indoors on campus despite these orders,” Topor said. “I believe the university is taking steps in ensuring the health and safety of all of their students yet have not been strict enough in terms of vaccination status.”

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HEALTH

GV continues to keep confirmed COVID-19 cases low as holiday season approaches

BY ELIZABETH SCHANZ NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State University has taken many protections against COVID-19 from mask mandates to self-assessments and individuals becoming vaccinated or getting tested on a regular basis. Even with a slight rise of COVID-19 cases following fall break, the number of recorded cases remains low across the university.

GVSU had been recording COVID-19 tests and cases through the university’s COVID-19 data dashboard since the beginning of Aug. 2020. According to the dashboard, from the end of October through the first week of November in 2020, the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases was 19.12 individuals while during the same week in 2021 the seven-day average was 7.86.

“Cases per day at GVSU have varied in a relatively narrow range since Labor Day,” said the GVSU Virus Action Team, via email. “The number of COVID cases on campus continues to be relatively low compared to the region and state.”

This decrease in case numbers over the year span is widely attributed to the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Virus Action team said that on-campus testing and following face-covering policies have also led to keeping case numbers low.

In the wider community of Ottawa County from Oct. 23 to Nov. 5 there were 2,234 cases in the area. Over the same week, the state of Michigan reported that it had experienced a positivity rate of 12.77% of the state’s population.

Michigan has also reported that over 10 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered as of Nov. 4 2021.

69.5% of the population of individuals 16 and up have received at least one dose and 60.9% of this same age group are considered fully vaccinated.

“You are over six times more likely to test positive for COVID if you are not vaccinated compared to those who are vaccinated,” the GVSU Virus Action team said.

Additionally, on Nov. 2 the CDC approved emergency use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination for children ages five to 11 years old.

The GVSU Virus Action team recently sent out an email to the GVSU community stating that 85% of the campus population is fully vaccinated. Additionally, as of Nov 3, more than 88% of faculty and staff are in compliance with either the vaccine mandate or receiving an exemption.

With students and staff potentially traveling for upcoming holidays and breaks, there can be concerns about a potential rise in case numbers.

“I would be more concerned when it’s a longer break like Thanksgiving or even winter break, but as everyone is taking the right precautions and being vaccinated or getting the boosters then hopefully it will not be a concern for everyone,” said sophomore Carly O’Donohue.

When someone at GVSU finds themselves failing their daily self-assessment, those individuals are then asked to isolate and get a rapid test at one of GVSU’s symptomatic testing sites.

“Definitely teachers could do a better job communicating with students, whether they failed the self-assessment or anything else,” O’Donohue said. “I have had classes

where people are not able to (attend in person), COVID related or not, and there (is) no way for them to be engaged in the class time they missed.”

CASES: GVSU campus population is reported to be 85% vaccinated. 88% of faculty and staff are in compliance of the policy. GVL | SYDNEY LIM

A9 | LAKER LIFE

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLLAKERLIFE

LOOK AT LAKER LIFE MAKE A DIY STRESS BALL Students who’re interested in making their own stress balls can now do that with the Frederik Meijer Honors College Student Council. On Monday Nov. 8 from 7 to 8 p.m. those who are interested can go to Niemeyer to make their free stress balls. There will also be information from the Wellness Information peer educators. FMHC is also hosting multiple study and snack sessions giving students a place to study and get some free food while they do so. The first event will be Nov. 1o from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Holton Hooker Living Center.

GET HELP WITH RESUMES On Monday Nov. 8 from 8 to 9 p.m. the Career Center will be holding a virtual session to aid students with the cover pages and resumes. They will be giving a presentation on what is acceptable to include on resumes for when students go to a more professional setting. This event is in partnership with Pre-Students of the Osteopathic Medicine Association. If students have more specific questions they can contact the Career Center or professors in their majors. The link to the online session is available at LakerLink.

FREUD’S FAMILY FEUD NIGHT Psychology professors and Psych Friends peer mentors will be facing off in a Family Feud on Tuesday Nov. 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. This will be held in Henry Hall in the Loutit Lecture Hall. Students will be able to watch their professors compete against their peer mentors in a live game of psychology-based Family Feud. Both psychology students and faculty are welcome to attend.

DONATE BLOOD WITH RED CROSS The American Red Cross Club is hosting a blood drive Wednesday Nov. 10 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The blood drive will be taking place in the Holton Hooker Multipurpose room. All blood donated will help the greater Grand Rapids community. Those who are interested in donating are being asked to sign up beforehand. The link to sign up is available via LakerLink.

HELP DONATE TO HUNGER FOR HOMELESSNESS On Wednesday Nov. 10 Hunger For Homelessness is partnering with Applebees to help fundraise for their group. Applebees will be donating 20% of all of their take-out and dine-in purchases to HFH. Those attending that are a part of the fundraising just need to inform their servers that they are dining on behalf of HFH. The fundraiser will take place at the Applebees on Lake Michigan Dr from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. All of the proceeds will go back to HFH so they can continue to work to help those in the community who are dealing with food insecurity or homelessness.

INTERNATIONAL

Study Abroad Fair brings new opportunities for students

BY CLÉMENCE DANIERE, LAKERLIFE@LANTHORN.COM

This week Grand Valley State University’s Padnos International Center will be concluding their series of in-person and virtual events as part of the Study Abroad Fair. These events aim to help students with deciding whether or not they want to study abroad during their time at GVSU. To help show students how their time abroad could benefit their degree, as well as where to fit it into their schedules, the advising center will be hosting pop-up advising sessions in Kirkhof on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 and Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 11:00. Advising sessions for students on the downtown campus will be held at DeVos Place on Thursday, Nov. 11 from 12:00 to 4:00.

“Essentially, (I help) students going from thinking about studying to guiding them to an identify a right program, academically, financially, and also as far as location is concerned,” said study abroad advisor Meaghann Myers-Smith.

Students are excited to attend the event to see what the studying abroad provides to students.

“I’ve been interested in studying abroad in France for my French minor for a few years now and I cannot wait to attend sessions online to hear more about what every program has to offer for me,” said an international rela-

CONNECTING: Students attending the Study Abroad Fair to gain more knowledge on the opportunities they can get with studying in different countries and making more connections. GVL | GVSU

tions major at GVSU Eric Calhoun.

Calhoun is interested in attending the L’Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d’Anger (ESSA) for their summer business program, which would not only fulfill his French minor requirements but also focus on some aspects of his major.

GVSU partners with universities around the world to be able to provide opportunities for a wide range of majors and minors. These

partners will also be talking at the fair and sharing information about their schools and programs with any interested students.

Partnership universities will be speaking with students in live sessions on Friday, Nov. 12 at 9:00 a.m.

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SHOWCASING

SIGIL welcomes student creatives YSABELA GOLDEN, LAKERLIFE@LANTHORN.COM

The Student Interest Group for Illustrators— also known as the SIGIL Illustration Club— is a group open to art and non-art majors alike.

Their goal is to build a creative environment for anyone interested in illustrating, whether as a career or purely as recreation. On Thursday, Oct. 28, the club celebrated that creativity with the annual “Graveyard Shift” gallery show, where students could submit spooky or autum-

SEASONAL: SIGIL holds their seasonal showcase for Halloween themed art. GVL | XAVI GOLDEN

nal-themed art to be displayed for the holiday.

“It’s a yearly event that we try to put on,” said club president Bre Arias. “It’s technically done by the VMA department, but SIGIL and SIGIL eboard coordinates getting entries and setting it up. It’s a nice little party and art show. We had a bunch of pieces to display— there was even one animated submission, which was displayed on a laptop.”

In addition to seasonal events like the Graveyard Shift and an upcoming holiday card workshop, the eboard also puts together new activities based on what members want to try out or get more practice in.

“We have been trying to have more life drawing nights because a lot of students don’t have experience with life drawing,” Arias said.

“We have one coming up on the 11th, when we’re actually having hired models come in.

Last time we just had some eboard members model— dress up in costumes, use some props, that sort of thing. But this upcoming one, I’m going through the club advisor, who’s one of my professors. And he’ll go through the process of

hiring the models. It’ll essentially be like a life drawing class, just for a two-hour time.”

Other meetings involve sketching and working on art while attending webinars, like the panel “How to be an Intern at Apple, NASA, Nike, and Tesla,” hosted by Adobe.

“That event was a lot about helpful advice for how to get internships or jobs, improve your resume, that sort of thing,” Arias said. “For illustration students, there is no internship required for our degree.

So I think that kind of info is pretty useful since that’s something we don’t get much experience in. The reason that event came about is because our vice president Beth has a job through Adobe to be a Discord manager, so she’s always in the know with these things and brings up neat events that we can do.

When not attending special events, the club’s meeting place is in the Calder Art Center, room 1510.

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A10 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ARTS AT A GLANCE DOWNTOWN GRAND RAPIDS INC. INTRODUCES NEW MURAL

Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. has a new mural underway, made possible through the Activate This Place grant program.

The mural is located at 800 Ottowa Ave. and local artist Kevin Wolfrom has titled the mural “Dreamchaser.”

Wolfrom began painting in late Oct., and the mural is still developing.

JOHN BALL ZOO FEATURES ANIMAL SCULPTURE EXHIBITION

The John Ball Zoo currently has an exhibition called, “BRICKLIVE Supersized!” featuring massive animal sculptures made entirely out of nearly two million toy bricks.

Until Nov. 14 these sculptures will be placed around the zoo, and include a 12-foot tall blue-legged tarantula, a multicolor tokay gecko, and a bright yellow poison dart frog.

GV ART GALLERY ADDS NEW PHOTOS TO COLLECTION The Grand Valley State University Art Gallery has a new set of photos for their collection taken by photographer Patty Carroll.

Since the 1970s, Carroll has been known for her colorful, highly saturated photographs.

Her most recent project, titled, “Anonymous Woman,” is made up of a threepart series of studio installations that were made to be photographed.

The project is centered around womens’ complicated relationships with domesticity.

To portray this, Carroll took photographs of things like a woman’s figure camouflaging into drapery or domestic objects.

The photos are meant to create a dark, humorous game of hide-and-seek between the viewer, and the “Anonymous Woman.”

Carroll’s photographs were published as a monograph, and the project was officially released in Jan. 2017 by Daylight Books. Most recently, “Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise” was published in 2020 by Aint-Bad Books.

More information about the collection can be found on the gallery’s website.

GRAND RAPIDS SYMPHONY MEMBER TO HOST BASSOONIST MASTERCLASS Metro Detroit native, Bassoonist Brigid Babbish, joined the Grand Rapids Symphony in Sept. 2018.

On Nov. 8 from 5-7:00 p.m. in the CookDewitt Center, Babbish will be hosting a Bassoon Masterclass for anyone interested.

Babbish earned a Master’s Degree in Musical Performance from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse in Lyon, France.

She completed her undergraduate studies in New York as a member of the ColumbiaJuilliard Exchange, which culminated in her pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University while concurrently studying bassoon at The Juilliard School. Babbish has performed in orchestras worldwide and attended numerous festivals, including: the Aspen Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival, and the Banff Centre Orchestra Institute.

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLARTS

THEATRE

GV STAGE group performed short plays in ‘YIKES!’

BY ALLISON RAFFERTY ARTS@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State University student-run theatre organization, STAGE, recently performed their show, “YIKES!” On Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6 the group performed a series of short plays that were all student-written, directed and produced.

The plays included “Blocked Out,” which tells the story of an author with writer’s block, “Gay A-Wake-Ning,” featuring the story of a baseball player with a crush, and “To Hell With That,” which was about a group of friends that end up together in purgatory.

Every member of the group had the opportunity to submit a play they wrote.

From there, the STAGE eboard selected the ones they felt were the best.

STAGE Public Relations Officer and advertising and public relations and film and video major, Georgia Hessel, said the board wanted an assortment of differing plays to give the audience a variety.

“They all combine both serious and humorous topics to be both funny and captivating,” Hessel said.

GVSU Improv Comedy Group, Subject to Change, opened up the performance for STAGE. The two groups had previously crossed paths earlier this year, and have plans to con-

STUDENT LED: GV theatre organization, STAGE, held their show, “YIKES!” featuring short plays that were written, directed, and acted by students to explore different themes. GVL | AUBREE WAGNER

tinue to work together in the future.

“The whole process of working together was fantastic,” STAGE Treasurer and psychology major, Miles Toriani, said.

Hessel said that she hopes those who were in attendance left the show feeling compelled to come to more STAGE productions in the future.

“I love walking out of a theatre and talking about my favorite parts and discussing a

show, and it would be great if GVSU community members left doing the same thing,” Hessel said. “Additionally, I’d love for them to laugh, cheer, and be captivated by the overall performance as it goes on.”

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PERFORMANCE

A 50-minute dive into the world of Shakespearean drama AYRON RUTAN ARTS@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State University welcomed back its Shakespeare festival with an exciting performance of “Bard to Go: What Mighty Magic.”

The production team, a small group of GVSU students, visited schools throughout the West Michigan area and across the state and

performed at GVSU on Nov. 6.

According to the event’s page on GVSU’s website, Bard to Go was created to take audiences on a journey throughout Shakespeare’s most majestic scenes, filled with supernatural creatures and even a statue that comes alive.

The program lasted 50 minutes and consisted of scenes from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Tempest,” “Macbeth,” “Hamlet” and “The Winter’s Tale,” and was presented

INTRODUCTION: Bard to Go was created by students, for students to serve as an introduction to some of Shakespeare’s most famous characters and fantastical lands. GVL | ANNABELLE ROBINSON

as a fast-paced introduction into the world of Shakespearean drama.

The event was organized by GVSU Associate Professor of Theater, and Shakespeare Festival Managing Director, Dr. James A. Bell.

In addition to organizing the event, Bell explained that he was also the producer for the Bard to Go team.

“My role is as the producer,” Bell said. “I am also the Managing Director for the Shakespeare Festival, which means I oversee and coordinate all events. As producer, I’ve been responsible for arranging our tour dates and performances and also facilitating resources and personnel.”

Bell said each member of the class, which was created solely for the production, had their own role in putting the show together.

“Bard to Go is an annual part of the Grand Valley Shakespeare Festival. It’s a class with 6 performers and a Stage Manager,” Bell said.

“The Director of the production teaches the class, and then there is usually a producer who helps arrange the tour with area schools.”

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A11 | SPORTS

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

QUICK HITS WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SHUTS OUT PURDUE NORTHWEST

During the weekend, the Grand Valley State University (16-8) women’s volleyball team defeated Purdue Northwest (2-22) in all three sets of the second time this season in their penultimate game of regular play.

Senior Ali Thompson led the team with seven kills in set one for the 25-19 win while freshman Julia Blaney led the team with 11 digs. In set two, senior Abby Graham had five kills right in front of junior Sarah Wight with four kills, taking the 25-15 win. In the last set of the game senior Kaily Grulke split ten kills with Wight for another 25-19 win.

Wight left the game with 13 kills and three blocks, Thompson with nine kills, Graham with eight kills, three blocks an 10 digs, and junior Rachel Jacquay finished with 40 assists.

The Lakers return to the courts one last time before the GLIAC Tournament begins to face Parkside University for the second time this season, hoping to repeat their previous 3-0 win over the Rangers.

MEN’S CLUB HOCKEY DEFEATS DAVENPORT AND OAKLAND, ADVANCING RECORD TO 6-8 Last week, the Grand Valley State University men’s club hockey team took on Davenport University at Griff’s Georgetown Wednesday, Nov. 4 and Oakland University Saturday, Nov. 6 at Walker Ice Arena. The team was able to defeat both opponents, now facing a full week of practices and rest before their matchup with Oakland again on Nov. 19.

On Wednesday, sophomore wing Sam Lechel started the scoring off for the Lakers early three minutes into play. Davenport returned the favor with two more goals in the first period before Lechel’s second goal of the night in the second. Junior wing Shane Haggerty scored two of his own goals in the second sandwiching another Davenport goal, followed by Lechel’s third goal in the net to complete his first hat-trick of the season.

Junior center Evan Chomchai and junior wing Zach Borchardt also contributed two goals in the third period for the end score of 7-4.

Freshman Josh Suzio added in three assists as well, all on Lechel’s goals.

Saturday, the Lakers took on Oakland, starting the game off was Suzio’s goal towards the end of the first period, followed by another Laker goal form Chomchai before Oakland put one in the net just before the end. Sophomore center Chris Dundas was the only scorer of the second period.

The high-scoring third period was started off by Oakland just one minute into play and the Lakers would take turns scoring with Oakland for the next three goals. Chomchai, Haggerty and Borchardt would all score before the end of the game, stopping the clock with a final score of 6-3.

Junior wing Zach Kippe was also voted Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League Player of the Week for his two goals against Calvin University for their first win against the Knights this season. The Lakers look to continue working this week before their second matchup against Oakland next Friday, Nov. 19 at Griff’s Georgetown.

BASKETBALL

GV Men’s Basketball splits exhibition games against MSU and Alma

BY HOLLY BIHLMAN SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

For an exciting start to this year’s preseason basketball games, the Grand Valley State University men’s basketball team traveled to Michigan State University on Thursday, Nov. 4 and hosted Alma College on Saturday, Nov. 6. The team was able to compete against the Division I Spartans and the Division III Scots before their season’s official start on Sunday, Nov. 14 against the University of Indianapolis.

On Thursday, the Lakers took to the courts at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, winning the initial tip off to start the game. MSU put the first nine points up on the board five minutes into the game, with the first Laker basket made

by Western Michigan University transfer senior Luke Toliver with a three-pointer. The Lakers struggled to keep up with the Spartans offensively, allowing a 15-point deficit ten minutes into the game before freshman Ethan Alderink made his first three-pointer of the night.

Senior Issac Gassman followed suit with two three-pointers in a row to bump the Laker’s up to 16-29 with just under five minutes left in the half. Alderink responded with a dunk to wrap up the scoring for the Lakers, ending the first half at 20-18.

“They did a good job of kicking us out and keeping us extended on the wings,” said senior Jake VanTubbergen. “It was pretty difficult to get anything to penetrate

PRESEASON: The GVSU men’s basketball team fought hard against MSU, loosing by 23 points, and then came back against Alma to win by 24 in preparation for regular season play. GVL | SYDNEY LIM

towards the basket, so you’ve got to give them a little bit of credit for that.”

Toliver started the second half off for the team with a jumper and a three-pointer just two minutes into play, and his confidence rubbed off on Harris who sunk two free throws off a Malik Hall foul. Toliver’s third and fourth three-pointers of the night sandwiched a layup, bringing the score to 32-57 six minutes into the half as the lead-scorer

of the night with 16 total points.

“He (coach Ric Wesley) expected us to win,” Toliver said. “He had a lot of confidence in us, so he gave us confidence, we came out, had a good warm-up and made a good run.”

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SOCCER

Women’s Soccer takes 16th consecutive GLIAC Championship, going undefeated for 7th season in program history

BY JOSH CARLSON SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

The Grand Valley State University (16-0-2) women’s soccer program clinched their 16th consecutive GLIAC regular-season championship with a win over Parkside on Oct. 29. The Lakers earned the title with two games remaining on their schedule, one against Northwood

UNDEFEATED CHAMPIONS: For the seventh time in GVSU soccer history, the Lakers went undefeated with two ties. GVL | LAUREN SEYMOUR

(10-9-0) on Friday, Nov. 5 that GVSU shut out 3-0, and another Sunday, Nov. 7 against Ferris State University (12-3-3) that the Lakers tied with in double overtime.

This marks GVSU’s 7th undefeated regular season in the program’s history, this time under first-year coach Jim Conlon, who has kept the momentum going on the team’s success.

Sophomore forward Kennedy Bearden was a part of the Laker program that won the 2019 Championship and has had a breakout year on offense this season with 27 overall points on the no. 2 ranked Division II offense and the no. 1 ranked overall team. Bearden was excited when they got the news of their 16th consecutive title ahead of schedule.

“I think it was great,” Bearden said. “It showed a lot about our team, and we proved ourselves to everyone and showed how good we really are. It gave us a lot of confidence as well going forward, especially with the GLIAC tournament coming up. It was really good for us but obviously, we still have games left and our work isn’t done, but I do think it was really

good overall for our team.”

A mantra for the Lakers this season has been “one game at a time;” a phrase coach Jim Conlon has stuck by all season. That didn’t change for Conlon as they headed into the Parkside game knowing that there was a chance a win meant the title, who said that their only focus is going undefeated for the week, not the season.

For Conlon, this marks his first GLIAC regular-season championship as the new head coach for the Lakers. Conlon was happy that he was able to continue the success of the program that he joined this year.

“We are always looking to maximize the potential of each team,” Conlon said.

“There have been great coaches before me, and there have been great student-athletes that have built this program. We were able to retain two of the great coaches on our staff, and then add Becca (Roller) and myself, and we have got some unbelievable current players.

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A12 | SPORTS

NOVEMBER 8, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

CROSS COUNTRY

GV Cross Country dominates DII Midwest Regional Championships and looks ahead to Nationals

BY BRIAN BLOOM SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

The Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Evansville, Indiana to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship. The men’s team dominated the 10k race, finishing with 49 points way ahead of the second-place team, Lewis University, who scored 118 points. The women’s team won the 6k race in commanding fashion, scoring 40 points, outscoring Southern Indiana University by 70.

“We wanted to advance to the championship,” coach Jerry Baltes said. “We ran this meet as controlled as possible and we wanted to compete to win. We wanted to keep the streak of making Nationals going. (Now we) get back to work and prepare for Tampa.”

In the men’s race, three of the top 10 spots were occupied by GVSU runners. The group was led by junior Tanner Chada, who tied for first with a time of 30:02.6.

“Going into the meet, we were told by the coaches to conserve our energy,” Chada said.

“We planned (to tie). It was exciting to be at the front of the pack; it was a strong, controlled effort through the (finish) line.”

Freshman Caleb Futter finished in sixth place overall, running a time of 30:20.7.

Rounding out the top 10 was senior Jacob Lee, who ran a time of 30:40.5. “(This meet prepared us) really well,”

CHAMPIONS AGAIN: The men’s team has won the GLIAC Championship every year since 2002 and the women since 2001, marking the 19th year both teams have won. COURTESY | GVSU LAKERS

Chada said. “We’re super excited for training these next couple of weeks. It was good to get the 10k under our legs again and feel what that’s like.”

In the women’s race, GVSU saw four runners crack into the top 10 on the leaderboard.

The group was led by junior Hannah Becker and sophomore Klaudia O’Malley, who tied for third with a time of 20:47.6.

“Running together with Hannah was

like a harder workout,” O’Malley said. “(During the race) we pushed each other and we talked often at different times during the race. Coach told us to run together because we are comparable and he didn’t want us going all out and to save ourselves for the National Championship.”

Freshman Taryn Chapko and sophomore Kayce Rympa placed eighth and ninth respectively. Chapko ran a time of 21:10.8 and

Rympa ran a time of 21:13.2.

“I feel really good (about our team) after this meet,” O’Malley said. “We have great depth and our team camaraderie is really good. We’re not running for ourselves, but for the team.”

According to Baltes, this meet was only step two of a three-step process towards the National Championship, and that the team needs to prepare hard in the weeks leading up to it.

“We’ll get back to it on Tuesday with hard sessions all week,” Baltes said. “We’re in a good spot. We had three runners that didn’t race, but we had guys that stepped in, especially Sam Martens. We have some tough decisions to make, but we’ll be ready mentally.”

With the National Championship meet just two weeks away, Chada says that there are a number of emotions about it.

“There is a lot of excitement--definitely nerves,” Chada said. “We’re all really anticipated to get to Florida. We need to stay healthy and make sure we get to Florida safe.”

The team will compete next at St. Leo, Florida to battle for the National Championship trophy on Nov. 20. Baltes says there is still room for the team to improve before this.

“We need to stay locked in when the gun goes off in Tampa,” Baltes said. “We need to get guys linked up with each other. The girls did great with that Saturday, but we need to tighten some gaps and connect with each other.”

FOOTBALL

GV Football brings home last road-win of the season against Wayne State for 8-1 overall record

BY SHAWN ROBINSON SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

The no. 7 ranked Grand Valley State University football team improved their record to 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the GLIAC after a thrilling 62-13 victory over Wayne State University (2-8) this past Saturday, Nov. 6 at Tom Adams Field. The 62 points scored was the second-highest total ever scored by GVSU in the series and the most scored

by GVSU at Wayne State.

The Lakers got off to a fast start on their first offensive drive. Sophomore quarterback Cade Peterson found a hole in the defense and ran for 18 yards for a touchdown to give GVSU an early 7-0 lead. With 9:12 remaining in the first, WSU looked to tie the game as running back Kendall Williams found

the endzone after a 12-yard run, evening the score at 7-7.

Just before the quarter ended, Warrior’s kicker Griffin Milovanski converted a 26-yard field goal after a nine play, 55-yard drive giving Wayne State a 10-7 lead after the opening 15 minutes of play. GVSU came into the second looking to take to lead back. With 9:59 left, Peterson ran six yards for his second touchdown of the night and putting his team back up 14-10.

After Wayne State muffed a punt on the GVSU 49-yard line, the Lakers were in great position to score again.

Sophomore running back Tariq Reid ran for 25-yards into the endzone, extending the Laker’s lead to 10.

With 2:05 left in the first half, GVSU found itself crossing the goal-

line once more after junior running back Aryuan Cain-Veasey rushed for 37-yards capping a three-play, 39-yard drive. As time was running out, the Lakers had enough on the clock to score once again. Peterson found an open junior tight end Jayk Slager for a five-yard touchdown pass with just 56 seconds remaining to extend the GVSU lead to 24.

Wayne State wasn’t done just yet for the half as Milovanski made a 33-yard field goal to reduce the deficit to 21.

“I think we did a great job, as I told the team, we got a lot of competitive people, coaches and players on that side of the ball,” said coach Matt Mitchell.

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EIGHT TOUCHDOWNS: The Lakers played a high-scoring game against the Warriors ending with a 49-point lead. GVL | LAUREN SEYMOUR