M M MO NE MAT NE MATTE Y MAT RS ONEY S S S O O E R R R T M M E E E T ERS ONEY S MONE Y MATT Y MATT EY MA TERS M MATT TTERS ONEY ER T T N T E E EY S M MATT S M TTER MA MA O A N N N R R Y Y M M O O E E O E E R AM N D V A LE LR E YS N ATT EY MA TERS M TERGS NEY TERS M S MON Y MATT ONEY EY MA T M O T Y M M A N N ONE RS MO EY MAT EY MAT NEY M TTERS EY MAT ATTER S MONE TTERS RS MO EY M M O A E E A N N N ATT RS MO ATT ATT RS MO RS MO TERS M NEY M RS MON ONEY ATTER NEY M M M M O O E EY ATTE TE TE S Y M T YM M AT N T T R E T E S M S O A A E A N N R R T YM Y M M M M M O E O E T E E T S Y Y M T Y M A N N T R E E T E S M S O O A E MON ERS M NEY M RS MON ONEY ATTER NEY MA MATT RS MON ATTER ERS M MAT T M M O E ALL E NM D A L E & G RM A NO D R A P I DS , M I CE H IY GAN TT EY T Y Y A N T N E E M MAT ERS M MATTE TTESTRUS S O A O N N EY R Y M M M D E N T- RO U N P U B L I C A T IE O N S // P R I N TS · O N L I N E · M O B I L E // L A N T H O R O N.COM N E T Y M T S Y M O A N T R E T R S N NE TREI L 3 // VO S M MA Y M TTERS Y MMAO N D A Y,AT MO ATTE MA O O AP L . 5 1 N O. 5T 4 ER R E S M M E N R T E T S M M O A A T N R EY RS TE TTE TERS M ONEY M ERS MO MONEY MATTE ONEY M Y MAT MONEY NEY MA S MON ONE M AT ATT TTERS MONEY TERS M S MONE TTERS RS MO ATTER TERS M NE Y M TTERS Y$425k M E MA A N RS Y MAT ATTER EY MA MATTE ONEY M Y MAT ERS MO M Y M E O E $396k T Y M E M S M ON AT ON NE MATT NE EY R$400k Y M M S M O O N E NEY E R S Y M T S M O O E N R E T R S Y M T S M O E E N MA ATT RS MO ATTER TERS M MATT TTERS EY MAT ATTER S MONE TTERS M N EY Y M TTER MA MA O NEY MATTE NEY M Y MAT N E Y Y M O N E E S M O A O N N E R M M $300k NEY TE RS M S MON ATTERS ERS MO MATTE TERS ONEY ERS MO AT TER NEY M ATT ONEY EY MAT TERS M MATT T M YM A N T EY EY Y M S MO SM O A N N E R M M O O E N R O S M MATT TTERS ONEY ERS M TE R T E A T $200k M ATT Club sports, student media EY M Y MAT MONEY NEY MA TTERS Y$170k M E S O A NE among groups set for increase MON ATTER ERS M NEY M RS MO$150k T M O E T MA ATT NEY EY Fiscal Year RS M Y$90k M E T $100k N T E $80k $80k O A BY JESS HODGE N 2017 M M O $65k Y ASSOCIATE@LANTHORN.COM M $59k E S N 2018 R O E $34k S M MATT hree weeks of debates, dis$15k Y $10.5k cussions and $1.2 million ONE later, Grand Valley State
Student senate sets 2017-18 budget
Club Sports
$29k increase
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Cultural
$10k decrease
Service and Advocacy
$25k decrease
Spotlight
$20k increase
T
Media Performing Arts
$15k increase
$4.5k decrease
increase decrease
INCLUSIVITY
Ready for action
Recommendations for improving campus climate released, reviewed BY MEGHAN MCBRADY MMCBRADY@LANTHORN.COM
SIGNING UP: Students wait at the mobile secretary of state. GVL | ARCHIVE
GV designated ‘Voter Friendly Campus’ BY CELIA HARMELINK NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
Grand Valley State University has been designated a “Voter Friendly Campus” by the Campus Vote Project and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). Out of the 83 universities in the country to be awarded this designation, only three are located in Michigan: Hope College, Michigan State University and GVSU. Melissa Baker-Boosamra, associate director of student life, civic engagement and assessment, said GVSU worked closely with Allendale Township, Ottawa County and the Michigan secretary of state authorities to plan the voter registration campaign and make sure they were educated on the process. “Earlier in the spring of 2016, we submitted a proposal to the ‘Voter Friendly Campus’ designation, which has been facilitated by both NASPA and the Campus Vote Project,” she said. “So, in spring of 2016, we put together basically a plan for how we would make Grand Valley a voter friendly campus.” These efforts paid off, as GVSU now holds the record as the university with the most registration applications submitted in one day to the secretary of state mobile unit. “The Michigan mobile secretary of state made the rounds across the state to different campuses throughout the fall in an effort to get students registered to vote, and Grand Valley holds the title for registering the most students during that mobile unit visit,” Baker-Boosamra said. The term “voter friendly campus” can have different meanings to different people. Baker-Boosamra said she would define it as a place where students know their voices are valued. “(Students) know what the issues SEE VOTER | A2
Recommendations for improving the campus climate were discussed in an open forum in the Kirkhof Center Thursday, March 30, in response to the expanded findings of Grand Valley State University’s 2015 Campus Climate Survey. The recommendations were provided by faculty, staff and student action teams who reviewed the survey results and suggested ways in which the campus climate could be made more comfortable for GVSU community members. Despite 87 percent of the total survey respondents saying they felt “comfortable” or “very comfortable” at GVSU, that number was lower for certain individual groups, including people of color, people with disabilities and the transgender population, among others. During his PowerPoint presentation, Jesse Bernal, the vice president for inclusion and equity, discussed the recommendations of the three action teams to clarify and summarize the data and changes needing to be made. Some of the faculty recommendations included expanding and standardizing family leave policies for full-time faculty and restoring parking near buildings for persons with disabilities. Staff recommendations included conducting mandatory supervisor diversity training, creating an employee ombudsman
position and creating strategic ally come out in the full results,” he plans for each department to ad- said. “Just moving forward with the dress the campus climate. group, I know that it was a learning Student recommendations in- experience for myself to work with cluded upgrading Banner to let such a large group of people and GVSU students, faculty and staff to try to get people to sustain their control what name is displayed in work and keep going till the end.” interfaces across campus. Other Bernal said the feedback from recommendations included ensur- the 2015 survey and future surveys ing that syllabi reflect GVSU’s pol- would ultimately allow the universiicy on diversity and inclusion and ty to create a safe and positive living creating opportunities for qualita- and learning environment. tive feedback from students. “We are going to continue to Members of the action teams conduct special analysis reports at expressed gratitude for their roles the request of individuals,” he said. and the hard work of those who “This will be on identity, specific participated in the evaluation groups. For example, we have a and writing processes. disability taskforce who will have K a t h l e e n more information VanderVeen, the on just the disability director of Discommunity. “We are going ability and Support “We are going to to continue to Resources and a continue to promise conduct special member of the staff to update the camaction team, said she puses, as annoying as analysis reports appreciated the hard that might be, on the at the request of work of everyone inprogress of the action individuals.” volved in writing the teams, the recomrecommendations mendations, as well and the report and as how we continue JESSE BERNAL analyzing the data. to use the data. That VICE PRESIDENT FOR During the Q&A will be done through INCLUSION AND EQUITY portion of the event, our website.” Brandon Fitzgerald, Further data a GVSU nursing student and co- about the campus climate, hiring chair of the student action team, and promotion practices, and instisaid he was grateful for being tutional actions can be found in the pushed into his role and that he PowerPoint presentation. was happy he could do someGO TO: thing for the whole community. “There was a lot (of) informawww.gvsu.edu/mygvsu FOR MORE INFORMATION tion that I expected that did actu-
MAKING CAMPUS COMFORTABLE: Vice president for inclusion and equity Jesse Bernal reviews the results of the campus climate survey Tuesday, March 22, 2016. The full results were released Thursday, March 30. GVL | ARCHIVE
University’s student senate approved the budget for the Student Life Fund for 2017-18. The money is separated into three categories— campus programming, travel and other— and is then given to clubs and organizations within those denominations with funding requests. Vice president of finance Rachel Travis and her committee members put together a report showing the rest of the senate body how and why funds were being reallocated. The biggest increase was given to club sports. In the fiscal year 201617, they used all of the $396,000 they were allotted. They were approved for $425,000 for FY 2017-18. This increase was one of the more heavily debated changes. While the majority of senators agreed club sports was due for more funding, the $29,000 increase was too much and a portion of the money could go to different funds, such as the performing arts fund or service and advocacy. “Yes we received an extra $25,000 but should all of that, plus more, go to club sports? (I) think that maybe it’s a little unfair,” said student senator River Gibbs. “My concern too is that we took a lot of money and put it in club sports, and took a lot of money and put it in media, (but) that leaves less money in the funds that are requested from.” Gibbs made a motion to decrease club sports and put the money toward the performing arts, service and advocacy and student senate internal budget funds. Travis backed up her reasoning for the large addition to their fund, saying they had not seen an increase in over two years. Additionally, there was an extra $25,000 given to the Student Life Fund for the finance committee to allocate. Earlier in the year, Travis also put in a request for an extra $50,000. She is hoping they get a god portion of that money, if not all. “We have one of the largest club sports organizations in the country, my committee thought (why) not give a decent amount of that to club sports,” Travis said. “They do so many great things for the university, students pay so much money to do a club sport, and by giving club sports more money its going to reduce the student cost to do a club sport and reduce some of the barriers students face.” Some senators were curious as to where the funds would go, but Travis assured them she would recommend to Eric Garvelink, the club sports coordinator, use the money to help pay toward student fees. After more discussion and amendments made to the motion, the motion Gibbs proposed did not pass and the original budget still stood. The funding for media was also significantly increased, from $65,000 to $80,000. The money is split between GVSU’s radio station The Whale, the TV station GVTV and the newspaper, The Lanthorn. Other categories seeing an increase in their money is the interfaith fund from $8,000 to $10,000, the special interest fund from $35,000 to $45,000, recreation sports from $4,000 to $6,000 and the travel fund from $77,000 to $79,500. Since some funds are seeing an increase, that means there will need to be a decrease in other funds. The biggest decrease will come from the service and advocacy fund, where it will go from $59,000 to $34,000. In the document Travis provided, the rationale for this was because during the 2016-17 year, there was only $23,000 of their $59,000 budget. Other categories seeing a decrease are the cultural fund from $90,000 to SEE SENATE | A2