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Volume CXXI, No. 14
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Friday, April 12, 2019
April 12, 2019
FREE
Candidates Discuss the Issues at Presidential, Vice Presidential Forums B y G auri M angala N ews E ditor The Monday, Apr. 8 Student Senate meeting was consumed by election forums for the body’s presidential and vice presidential elections, which began Monday evening and continue through Sunday. The forums were moderated by The Gettysburgian‘s editor-in-chief, Benjamin Pontz ’20. The presidential candidates, Secretary Marisa Balanda ‘21, Senator Patrick McKenna ‘20, and Diversity Committee Chair Hannah Dalzell ‘20 delivered opening statements on why they believed that they should be elected Student Senate President for the 2019-20 academic year that largely tacked with their statements of purpose. Pontz asked the entire panel a few questions that probed their assessments of the Budget Management Committee (BMC) and current President Nick Arbaugh ‘20. Then, Pontz asked what contributions each candidate had made
to improve diversity and inclusion at the college, especially considering each candidate mentioned diversity and inclusion as part of their campaign platform. “I look around today, and I see more people from all walks of life and I think that’s a really awesome thing,” McKenna said, adding that his specific contribution came through his work as parliamentarian last year. “I think that making the changes to the Constitution that were carried out by the current executive board is it for that with Senate.” Balanda said materially improving diversity and inclusion is beyond her purview but affirmed the importance of addressing these issues. “Upon announcing my candidacy, I did email a variety of club leaders from across cultural clubs and asked them if they wanted to talk about issues that were pertaining to their clubs and organizations.” Dalzell referenced her work with facilities to update the “You are here” maps on campus to include the ADA accessible
pathways on campus. Pontz then went to ask McKenna about his involvement with, what Pontz called, “last year’s election imbroglio,” wherein current Treasurer Haley Gluhanich ‘19 and Balanda were found responsible for violating Senate election rules regarding voter intimidation. Last spring, Gluhanich stated that a member of the Senate Executive Board “reached out to me and said that I needed to, ‘get moving’ and I needed to ‘go hard,’ and that they were legitimately worried because people hadn’t been voting for me and that they were nervous I was not going to win.” McKenna, who was at the time Senate Parliamentarian and worked closely with Vice President Aimee Bosman ’18 in managing the election, later asserted that he was the one who talked to Gluhanich. Pontz asked McKenna if he had been in any possession of non-public information about voting of any kind. McKenna said he had not, but he conceded that, on the whole, the executive board
Clockwise, from top L: Vice Presidential Candidates Rock Swartz and Jack Lashendock; Presidential Candidates Patrick McKenna, Hannah Dalzell, and Marisa Balanda (Photos provided) did not communicate well either to the student body or the individuals accused. “I think where it really fell through was the communication aspect,” McKenna said. “I don’t think we did a good job communicating what was going on to the whole campus. I don’t think we did a good job communicating what was going on to the
people involved. And that was, maybe, a bit of an understatement even, my statement just there.” Following up on McKenna’s answer, Balanda was asked about her opinion piece in The Gettysburgian, “Marisa and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week.” In the piece, Marisa asserted that she believed
that Senate needed more adult supervision. Balanda said that she feels that Jon Allen, Director of the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life (OSAGL) and advisor of Student Senate, embodies the adult supervision that she was seeking. -Continued on next page-
President Riggs Reflects on Her Time as an Administrator B y S am S hourds and D anielle S icotte S taff W riters After her time as a student and full-time psychology professor here at Gettysburg College, Janet Morgan Riggs ‘77 adopted a new title within the Gettysburg community: administrator. From 1991 to 2008, Riggs served our college through various administrative positions, from executive assistant to provost, before working her way up to president. H e r f i r s t administrative role, executive assistant to the president, was a position formerly occupied by Julie Ramsey, current Vice
Blasts from the past These archived “blasts from the past” were compiled by copyeditor Shannon Zeltmann utilizing Special Collections in Musselman Library.
President of College Life and Dean of Students. Ramsey reflects on this time, saying “I was assistant to the president, and I did that job for a number of years. In 1990, we got a new president, and he came in and he asked me to be Dean of Students.” After Ramsey assumed her new administrative role, the executive assistant position was open, and President Gordon Haaland began searching for possible candidates. According to Ramsey, “He wanted a faculty person; he wanted a faculty voice near him, somebody he could turn to and say, ‘Help me to understand how the faculty
would think about this.’” In order to uphold the connection to the faculty, this position would follow a three-year rotation amongst the faculty members. President Haaland naturally consulted with Julie Ramsey to help find a suitable candidate. When asked who she would recommend for the position, Ramsey responded, “The only person I can recommend you without any hesitation, any qualms whatsoever, is Janet Riggs.” Haaland took this suggestion to heart and asked Riggs to assume the position. While Riggs was skeptical about leaving the teaching position she loved, she eventually agreed, thinking, “It might be a really
This week in 1939, the classes had their nominations ready for student council election. There were 98 students nominated for that election across the four classes. There were fifteen seniors, twentythree juniors, twenty-five sophomores, and thirtyfive first-years nominated for the various positions. On one day in the middle of the month, students in good standing could stop by to receive their ballot to vote from nine to five.
This week in 1949, the college was looking for patrons of next year’s G-Book, which was given to first-year students each year. For one dollar, students, staff, and “professional men in Gettysburg” could have their names published in the next G-Book with their compliments to the incoming class. Sororities and fraternities could have an entire page if almost all their members contributed to the G-Book. Anyone who wanted to be a patron
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interesting thing to do.” She held the position from 1991 to 1994, then returned to her
position in the psychology ended up lasting only a single d e p a r t m e n t . H o w e v e r , year. what was supposed to be a permanent return to teaching -Continued on Page 9-
had to send their dollar in by the beginning of May before the handbook was sent off to the printer. This week in 1964, the Military Ball took place with the theme “lift off” in the ballroom on campus. The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra was playing that night under the direction of the trumpeter, from 9pm until one in the morning. There were several small events, including the senior cadets with their dates do a traditional procession
and the crowning of the 1964 Military Ball Queen by the previous year’s queen. Decorations were to follow the themes of NATO and SEATO, with a world map on one wall. This week in 2004, the Majestic Theater closed at the end of March for renovations that would take 20 months. This $12 million renovation was to restore the theater back to its original 1925 state. They believed the theater would be open back up again by November 2005
for its 80th anniversary. The biggest change was the 900-seat theater we know today at the time was divided into three small theaters. The 200-seat stadiumstyle room for films and other events was added, which at the time was used as a storage area. The original decor of the theater was in the colonial revival style, which Majestic has today thanks to this renovation.