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GRAND VALLEY
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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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
VOL . 5 1
NO. 1 9
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27
SAFETY
ENGINEERING
Permanent lights to be installed on 48th Avenue
GV partners with Cornerstone for dual enrollment BY MEGHAN MCBRADY MMCBRADY@LANTHORN.COM
MEETING THE DEMAND: Members of the aMDI team Kevin Weaver (right) and Brent Nowak (left) demonstrate an orthoforge device inside of the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences Wednesday, Oct. 26. GVL | KEVIN SIELAFF
LIGHTS: Strain Electric crews install overhead wiring. GVL | KEVIN SIELAFF
Additional sidewalk project also in works BY JESS HODGE NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
Students, faculty, staff and administrators around Grand Valley State University have been pushing Allendale Charter Township for lighting and sidewalks along 48th Avenue and Pierce Street for years. Earlier in October, there were six temporary light fixtures placed along 48th Avenue. However, the community has been searching for a permanent solution to the lighting problem, which has now been solved. At its meeting Monday, Oct. 24, the Allendale Charter Township Board of Trustees approved a permanent plan for lighting along 48th Avenue. Jerry Alkema, Allendale Township supervisor, said there will be 37 lights on the west side of 48th Avenue, two of which GVSU will be taking care of. The lights will be spaced 150 feet apart from each other. However, there were some concerns with the type of the lights, raised by Laurie Richards, the Allendale Township clerk. The lights in the proposed plan to be put in are high pressure sodium (HPS) lights instead of light emitting diode (LED) lights. Richards believed LED lights might be brighter, last longer and therefore cheaper because they will need to implement less lights as the light will
Testing new technology First applied Medical Devices Institute comes to West Michigan BY HANNAH LENTZ ASSOCIATE@LANTHORN.COM
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rand Rapids is known for many things. From craft beers to diverse museums and a continually growing healthcare industry, businesses related to these industries are moving to West Michigan in search of a new and engaged market. After being approved a year ago following increased interest from the community, Brent Nowak, director of the first applied Medical Devices Institute (aMDI) in West Michigan has been working to serve the healthcare community of the greater Grand Rapids area. Nowak has been involved with the healthcare industry throughout most of his professional life. Throughout his work with various divisions of the healthcare industry, Nowak has worked to found multiple medical device companies and has also worked creating intelligence systems for several organizations to meet the needs of communities.
Located on the Medical Mile in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, the aMDI develops analytical and physical modes of testing medical devices for technical feasibility. Currently, the Grand Rapids aMDI employs three graduate students and two undergraduate students from GVSU as well as a full-time engineer. Student involvement and community application is the driving force behind the institute, Nowak said. “This is a chance to be totally immersed in an educational experience,” Nowak said. “That’s our primary goal. This is a perfect fit for an applied environment.” Though the aMDI focuses on the use and application of medical device technology, the institute provides opportunities for students from all disciplines at GVSU. As part of this idea of comprehensive community involvement, a capstone class from the school of communications is working with aMDI to create a marketing campaign for the institute. Additionally, aMDI is working with faculty
SEE LIGHT | A2
and staff to develop new medical devices to be tested at the institute. Since the institute is new, the main focus for the institute as of now is on meeting demand and getting the necessary work done for the community’s needs, Nowak said. The institute currently provides services to local hospitals, manufacturers and a variety of community organizations. Cody Rash, a junior biomedical sciences major at GVSU, currently works at aMDI testing out some of the new devices and working with prototypes to look at battery life and testing capabilities. Though Rash just started his position with the institute, the amount of hands-on experience he has already gained is invaluable to his future professional goals. “I’ve gotten a lot of great background knowledge as a BMS major,” Rash said. “I get to see what goes on behind the scenes in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to before.” SEE MEDICAL | A2
To increase on engineering opportunities in West Michigan, Grand Valley State University and Cornerstone University are partnering together to have students concurrently enroll at both universities. With the agreement signed Wednesday, Oct. 19, GVSU will expand on the interdisciplinary engineering major by introducing four new emphasis areas, while Cornerstone will be offering engineering degrees for the first time. “Our partnership with Cornerstone University will provide students opportunities to take advantage and expand their educational experiences in relevant course work,” said GVSU President Thomas Haas. “Both universities have wellqualified students and this program allows for them to expand beyond what is available at each campus.” Paul Plotkowski, dean of the Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing, said both universities will have to work closely together throughout this dual enrollment process. While both universities will allow students to enroll in classes without applying to the respective colleges, the two registrar’s offices, Plotkowski said, will have to work closely together in SEE PARTNER | A2
PARTNERING: Chris Clark observes a welding project. GVL | KEVIN SIELAFF
BYSTANDER INTERVENTION
‘My costume is not my consent’ GV theater troupe puts on act about staying safe on Halloween
BY EMILY DORAN EDORAN@LANTHORN.COM
When college students make Halloween plans, they might think about crafting the perfect costume, stocking up on alcohol and scoping out the liveliest parties. What most students might not consider, though, is their potential risk for sexual assault and the role their costumes play in that. To engage students in thinking about sexual assault and brainstorming preventative measures, Grand Valley State University’s anti-violence theater troupe, ReACT!, held an interactive performance Monday, Oct. 24 titled, “My Costume Is Not My Consent: (A)dressing Heroism.” During the performance, Alli Metz, the associate professor of theater education at GVSU and the director of ReACT!, dissected the idea that a woman’s Halloween costume could indicate a willingness to engage in sexual activity. “When we were asked to do this program with the title of ‘My Costume Is Not My Consent,’ we started having these conversations about how strange it is that at Halloween,
people will dress up in these sexy costumes, and for some reason that’s not seen as a costume to other people,” Metz said. “There’s this assumption that they’re looking to get laid.” Nikee Pipoly, a ReACT! cast member, agreed clothing choices are sometimes perceived as implicit permission to engage in sexual conduct. “With sexual assault, one of the big problems is consent,” Pipoly said. “People tend to think that when girls dress a certain way, it gives off the fact that they want something that maybe they don’t.” Metz also said women receive conflicting messages about their Halloween get-ups. While most costumes marketed toward women are “sexy,” women who wear them are labeled as promiscuous, even though their options are largely limited to such styles. To display the potential risks students—particularly women—face at Halloween parties, five ReACT! cast members donned costumes and enacted a fictitious scene from a typical college Halloween party. They pretended to take shots and get drunk while popular music played in the background. Then, one of the male students tried to take a clearly ine-
briated female student with him to another party, even though she had promised to stay with her friends. The students reenacted this scene multiple times, but with each fresh take, demonstrating different strategies for how the bystanders in the scenario could behave to help protect the intoxicated girl and keep her from leaving with the male student. Between takes, Metz asked the audience members for their ideas about handling this situation, focusing on what the bystanders could do to keep the girl from leaving. She also offered some general strategies for bystander intervention, including distracting a potential perpetrator, finding someone in charge to assist in the situation and confronting the problem headon. Metz estimated 50 people attended the performance and said she was “thrilled” with the turnout. “There’s been an increased interest in our programs because of all of the recent timely warnings that have gone out about the sexual assaults,” she said. “I hope (the performance) empowers (the attendees) to do something or to say something if they see something that’s a little bit sketchy, that they feel (might) be unsafe.”
PREVENTION: Students perform a short skit to raise awareness. “It’s On Us: Champions of Change Kickoff” was held Friday, Oct. 7. GVL | LUKE HOLMES
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