Issue 48, March 13th, 2017 - Grand Valley Lanthorn

Page 1

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

For more information and election details, visit: gvsu.edu/studentsenate

M O N D A Y, M A R C H 1 3 // VO L . 5 1 N O. 4 8

‘A Light in the Dark’ Holocaust survivor to share story at GV BY DYLAN GROSSER DGROSSER@LANTHORN.COM

I

SURVIVING THE UNTHINKABLE: Magda Brown speaks during a panel at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Brown, 90, is a Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz and will be speaking at GVSU. COURTESY | AURORA UNIVERSITY

HAUENSTEIN CENTER

t’s tradition in Jewish culture to light a candle on the day of someone’s death. They use a specific kind of candle, the Yahrzeit (or memorial) candle, which burns for 24 hours straight. Every year on Holocaust Memorial Day, candles are lit to honor those killed in the Holocaust and serve as a reminder of the victims’ spirits and the light they carried within them through life. Magda Brown, 90, has lit many such candles, but none yet have been lit for her. She is a Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz who will be coming to Grand Valley State University Wednesday, March 15, to share her life story from childhood to liberation. She will be speaking in the Kirkhof Center Grand

River Room at 7 p.m. The event, “A Light in the Dark: A Survivor’s Story of the Holocaust,” is being organized by GVSU’s chapter of Hillel, an international Jewish organization. Robin Hutchings is the treasurer of Hillel and said she is very excited to hear Brown speak and to meet her in person. “She could’ve so easily just kept it all to herself and locked it away because it was such a traumatic event, but she decided that that can’t happen, and she felt she needed to speak out about (the Holocaust) to make sure it didn’t happen again,” Hutchings said. Brown is a speaker through the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center and shares her story with schools across the country. She SEE HOLOCAUST | A2

ACTIVISM

Fighting against human trafficking with feminism GV Women’s Center to host ‘Fireside Chat” BY CELIA HARMELINK NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

ENGAGEMENT: Stephen Shedletsky poses. Shedletsky will present as part of GVSU’s Wheelhouse Talks Wednesday, March 15. COURTESY | LIMMUD FSU CANADA

Starting with ‘why’ Stephen Shedletzky to deliver Wheelhouse Talk BY MEGHAN MCBRADY MMCBRADY@LANTHORN.COM

The “why” is the purpose, cause and/or belief that inspires individuals to do what they do inand-out of the workplace. To highlight engagement in the workplace, Stephen Shedletzky, the head engagement officer for motivational speaker Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” movement, will speak at the L.V. Eberhard Center Wednesday, March 15, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. During his lecture, which is part of the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies’ Wheelhouse Talks series, Shedletzky will talk about individuals feeling inspired and safe when fulfilling their “why” in the workplace. “Our intent with Stephen is to really expand the scope of the Wheelhouse Talks,” said Chadd Dowding, the program manager at the Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy (CLA). The Wheelhouse Talks series is a CLA program that hosts speakers to share their respective leadership philosophies and experiences with the West Michigan community. Throughout the free talks, perseverance, community and integrity are emphasized in leadership excellence. “The goal is to bring in a diversity of speakers,” Dowding said. “We try to make sure that there is a diversity of thought among the folks who come to speak to the students. Our intent is to kind of cut across all spectrums to provide students with an opportunity to engage with different leaders from

different perspectives.” Dowding said the purpose of having Shedletzky, who also founded InspirAction and whose clients include Rutgers University and Columbia Sportswear, speak at the Wheelhouse Talks session was to focus on the “Start with Why” movement. The movement emphasizes building platforms to inspire individuals to cooperate, trust and change freely within their workplace. Asking “why” doesn’t mean a profit or a result, the “Start with Why” website said. Instead, the goal is for the individual to identify their purpose, cause or belief “that inspires you to do what you do.” “We wanted to capture some of that energy and bring it to Grand Rapids and Grand Valley,” Dowding said. “Our hope is to share the ‘Start with Why’ movement/message with both our Cook Leadership fellows and the broader community.” Emily Neu, a GVSU student majoring in health information management, said having someone like Shedletzky speak at GVSU would demonstrate how being engaged and trusting in their workplaces makes employees perform better. Regarding health care, Neu said having a positive and engaged workforce reflects the quality of care the patients receive and also how new information and technology is utilized. “If you don’t have full participation SEE STEPHEN | A2

To give students a look into a feminist, human-rights-based approach to combating human trafficking, the Grand Valley State University Women’s Center will host another installment of its Fireside Chat series. Tonisha Jones, assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice, will present her views to bring awareness to the issue of human trafficking and feminism’s place within the American criminal justice system. The event will take place in the Women’s Center, located inside the Kirkhof Center, Wednesday, March 15, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Anyone is welcome to come and participate in the discussion. “Never has this issue been discussed more, perhaps not human trafficking specifically, but crimi-

nal justice issues at large,” said Jessica Jennrich, the director of the Women’s Center, via email. “Gathering to discuss these are so important, and thinking about them from different perspectives can help us move away from thinking in stark terms and instead inspire listeners to think differently about such a complicated problem.” Jennrich has been associated with the Women’s Center for almost four years. She believes chats like this one bring together staff and students and provide them with an environment to openly discuss new research and display new academic findings. “We’ve certainly seen criminal justice issues featured prominently in the news such as police brutality,” Jennrich said. “Feminism can help us, as a society, think about these (issues) as gender justice issues and as human rights issues that have far-reaching

implications, which are important for us as a society to address.” Anti-trafficking efforts have increased knowledge of human trafficking issues, which has resulted in a larger presence of educated individuals, but the American criminal justice system is still struggling to adequately protect victims, diminish trafficking and prosecute offenders. Jones will argue in the Fireside Chat that the answer to this issue lies in a feminist, human-rights-based approach. She believes this is necessary in order to stop human trafficking. Marissa Kinney, a GVSU student who has worked in the Women’s Center for more than a year and a half, thinks it is beneficial for students to attend events at the Women’s Center. “It would depend on the event, SEE FIRESIDE | A2

HUMAN RIGHTS: Betsie Schoedel discusses the latest topic during Talk Back Tuesday inside the Women’s Center Tuesday, Feb. 21. The Women’s Center will be discussing human trafficking during their Fireside Chat series. GVL | HANNAH ZAJAC

www.lanthorn.com


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.