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 // VO L . 5 1 N O. 3 9
Space bound
GV students compete to build space exploration device for NASA contest BY KYLE DOYLE ASSISTANTNEWS@LANTHORN.COM
T
he final frontier. The great unknown. The cosmos. All these words are used to describe space, or the infinitely expanding vacuum in which Earth sits and orbits the sun day after day, month after month and year after year. Since man has gained the technology to do so, conquering the outer reaches of space has been a dream and a goal for many. The idea of being the first man or women to step foot on Mars is slowly becoming a reality for some people, as companies like NASA and Spacex develop massive technologies such as reusable rockets, capsules that are capable of spending over a year in space flight and technologies that will make creating a sustainable environment possible. But with all these big
ADMINISTRATION
The race continues Two new candidates in running for provost position BY JESS HODGE ASSOCIATE@LANTHORN.COM
After narrowing down 75 candidates to three finalists, it looked as though Grand Valley State University was getting ready to make a final choice on who would succeed Gayle Davis as GVSU’s provost and executive vice president for student and academic affairs. However, after one finalist dropped her candidacy, President Thomas Haas called on the search committee to come up with an additional two candidates to interview. The two new candidates are James Hinterlong and Ian Davison. Hinterlong is currently serving as the special assistant to the provost for Virginia Commonwealth University and Davison is the dean for Central Michigan University’s College of Science and Engineering. Both Hinterlong and Davison have been given the same topic as the first three finalists so those who attend can hear them respond to the same questions and prompt. Hinterlong presented Tuesday, Jan. 31 to the campus community and Davison will present Monday, Feb. 6 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Denise Cobb, Stephen Esquith and Jann Joseph were the three original finalists who visited campus and interviewed over the past two weeks. Joseph was the one who withdrew her candidacy, telling the GVSU search committee’s co-chair Jon Jellema many of the things she wished to accomplish had already been done so at GVSU. Cobb and Esquith are still being considered for the position. Jellema expressed the difficulty the search committee had when picking the original three finalists due to many of the candidates being well-qualified for the job. SEE PROVOST | A2
technologies being designed, deThis process is easier said veloped and tested, it’s easy to for- than done. get the smaller ones that are just as “We’re still in the design provital to furthering research, like a cess right now,” said Brianna rocket that is capable Forsthoefel, a of vertical landing. GVSU junior and A team of Grand the team leader. Valley State Uni- “Being able to test “We’re just workversity students is the waters in a lot ing out some of involved in a NASA the bugs with it. of different areas We just printed competition aimed at designing, devel- in aerospace, (it’s) some of the parts oping and testing this past week and just been really a tool that solves a figured out there’s a eye opening.” problem with curcouple things we’ve rent space exploragot to change.” tion. Teams from The contest reBRIANNA FORSTHOEFEL TEAM LEADER colleges and uniquires the teams to versities across the build one of three country are workdifferent tools: a deing on their own vice that anchors an designs to be tested at NASA’s astronaut to the surface in micro Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory or zero gravity, a device that allows (NBL) in late May and possibly picked up by the organization to be used in future missions. SEE NASA | A2
DEMONSTRATION
Creating a safe place More than 30 GV students gather to advocate for the rights of refugees, the need for sanctuary campus BY HANNAH LENTZ AND MEGHAN MCBRADY EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM
With protests against President Donald Trump occurring across the U.S. and worldwide after his controversial election, students, community members and U.S. residents in general have had a lot to say about Trump’s recent executive orders. One of the issues gaining the most attention is Trump’s decision to put in place an order turning back refugees and other visitors from predominantly Muslim countries. In congruence with the national and international protests with the executive order considering refugees, members from the Grand Valley State University community hosted the “Grand Valley Student Sit-in Against Trump” Tuesday, Jan. 31, in the Kirkhof Center on the Allendale Campus. Though the protest looked to show vocal and physical support of refugees in general, the protest also hit closer to home as it
was also a commentary in response to an email sent out to students, faculty and staff of GVSU from university president, Thomas Haas. In the email, Haas touched on the stance of the university in reference to Trump’s executive order on immigration and how that will impact international travel and student’s privacy. Haas mentions that “the university does not release any private student information or records” due to the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The university also prioritizes and focuses on welcoming students of all backgrounds without thought of immigration status, religion or race Haas said. However, student protesters at GVSU want more from Haas and the university including a clear, supportive stance on resistance of Trump’s order and the declaration of the university as a “sanctuary campus.” Megan Bardenhagen, organizer of the sit-in as well as the “Not My President” rally Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 at GVSU, said the purpose of
NO BAN, NO WALL: Students gather around the clock tower Tuesday, Jan. 31, to protest President Trump’s immigration restrictions. COURTESY | JASON BLANKS
COMMUNITY: GVSU students protest the recent executive order signed by President Trump on immigrants and refugees. COURTESY | JASON BLANKS
the sit-in was to create a forum for discussion among the GVSU community about Trump’s stance on various social and political issues. “He (Trump) was elected based on a foundation of white supremacy, what this country was built on, and I think we need to take a stand to change that and reshape our values and beliefs,” she said. Chants of “No ban, no wall, this country is for all” and “Show me what democracy looks like – this is what democracy looks like” resonated throughout the Kirkhof Center, with various students, faculty and staff members walking by or stopping to listen to the group as they discussed ways of making GVSU a sanctuary campus. Limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities, sanctuary campuses are any college or university in the U.S. that
adopts policies to protect undocumented student immigrants. Universities like Portland State University and Reed College are among the few universities in the country to officially declare they are sanctuary campuses. Joe Cadreau, a member of the Native American Student Association (NASA) at GVSU as well as several other student groups also attended the event and spoke to students about the need to make their voices heard. “This just started out as a coalition of students and student orgs and an idea of people getting together and deciding that this is something they needed to take a stand on,” Cadreau said. Cadreau said after Michigan SEE REFUGEE | A2