Vol. 139, Issue 12

Sthecarlet & Black

ACE chair resignation leaves questions about future of campus events

By Molly Wilcoxson wilcoxso@grinnell.edu

On Thursday, Feb. 2, Natalia

Ramirez Jimenez `24.5 resigned from her position as the Student Government Association’s (SGA) All-Campus Events (ACE) chair, citing concerns with the handling of on-campus student activities. Previously, the ACE chair had complete control of planning on-campus student events, which were funded through the student activity fee — however, Ramirez felt that control was shifting to a balance between the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) and the Weekend coordinators.

In previous academic years, all student-led events were solely handled by SGA, without the direct involvement of DSA. In spring 2022, SGA and DSA were planning to create a programming board to centralize and streamline the process of planning on-campus student events.

“It’s been an evolution,” said Sarah Moschenross, vice president of student affairs. “We’ve been talking about this for years.”

While the exact details of the programming board have not been

confirmed yet, members would include SGA, DSA and Weekend.

DSA would act as an intermediary for all of the parties represented on the board to ensure equal representation of the student body, according to Loyal Terry `23, SGA president, and Maure Smith-Benanti, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of inclusive initiatives.

dents would still have control of planning on-campus events.

“The programming board will not get rid of Relays or Tithead. We are currently working on planning Harris events,” said Terry.

Weekend, a student-led organization, was created in spring 2022 as a substance-free alternative to Harris events. Weekend events are funded partly by DSA and partly by the student activity fee. In the absences of Harris events during the fall 2022 semester, Weekend continued to hold events for students on-campus.

According to Terry, Smith-Benanti and Moschenross, with the introduction of the programming board, stu-

Sawubona House accepts first residents

By Ashley Baek baekashl@grinnell.edu

Grinnell College has created a new project house for Black and Pan-African diasporic students called Sawubona House. Sawubona House-

naming the house this, the Sawubona House fosters connections amongst students and places an emphasis on Black and Pan-African identities.

“The initiatives of the Sawubona House are growing in parallel with

When Ramirez assumed the position of ACE chair at the beginning of fall 2022, she received no training or guidance from DSA regarding how to plan or book events. Smith-Benanti had just taken over the position as SGA supervisor. Furthermore, in the fall of 2022, SGA began the process of rewriting their constitution, which has not been completed. Due to these complications, SGA is still unable to hire a senate, which in previous years had more involvement in student planning.

Throughout the fall 2022 semester, Ramirez repeatedly attempted to book Harris events, but faced obstacles from administration. Oftentimes, she would attempt to book a Harris event, to then be informed by DSA that the date was unavailable or already booked. Terry said that several Harris events were

Education concentration confirmed for fall 2023

By Zach Spindler-Krage spindler@grinnell.edu

Beginning in fall 2023, students will finally be able to register for classes in the education studies concentration. On Dec. 5, faculty voted 79-4 in favor of adding the new concentration. The proposal, spearheaded by Deborah Michaels, professor of education, reflected a decade of deliberation about the addition of a new education program.

Evidence of significant student interest was integral to the proposal’s success. In March 2021, a campus-wide email survey sent by the education Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC) indicated that 72 of the 180 respondents would “seriously consider pursuing a concentration in Education Studies.”

The high rate of graduates pursuing education careers also contributed to the addition of the new program. For the 2020 graduating class, 11% entered education-related professions, making it the third most common career path behind “computing/technology” and “re-

was created by Residence Life while coordinating with the Conney M. Kimbo Black Cultural Center (BCC).

According to an email sent to the S&B from Jazzmine Brooks, director of intercultural affairs and Black student specialist, and Vrinda Varia, assistant chief diversity officer for intercultural student life, BCC’s mission is to “promote exploring Black identity development and unify students … by centering Black voices and experiences … while building a sense of belonging and tradition within the African diasporic community at Grinnell College.”

The BCC and Sawubona House will have programming and initiatives together to support and engage with the Black/Pan-African diasporic student community on campus.

“Sawubona is a Zulu greeting meaning, ‘I see you,’ recognizing each person’s presence, worth and dignity,” wrote Brooks and Varia.

Brooks and Varia stated that by

the College’s residential curriculum,” Brooks and Varia wrote. “The residential experience offers personal identity exploration interests of residents in the house with residential community building. Sawubona House offers a space to explore self, community and culture.”

According to Dennis Perkins, assistant dean of residence life and student conduct, there have been three students living in Sawubona House since August. The house has room for five students in total.

“Sawubona is considered one of our six project houses,” Perkins said.

“This means a space organized around a common theme in which everyone who lives there supports and is willing to live by that theme, rules, regulations and policies.”

The Sawubona House finished applications for the upcoming academic year in January, and new residents will be notified of their acceptance this month.

search/science,” according to the Dec. 5 faculty meeting minutes.

“The concentration was a logical step considering the popularity of the education department,” said Elia Dewey `23, a member of the education SEPC. “Many course sections are completely full. This step helps accommodate the overwhelming enrollment.”

Between 2015 and 2018, there were 55 students who completed at least 16 credits in education. The proposal, created by dozens of professors across departments, argued that many of those students would have completed a concentration had it been available.

“I think there were a lot of students who were hesitant to take upper-level education classes because there was no credential to acknowledge their efforts,” said Dewey.

Sarah Purcell, professor of history, who contributed to the proposal, said she believes that the concentration is a necessary complement to the teacher certification program. “It is a way for students who aren’t seeking certification to

show the world, on their transcript and resume, that they completed an interdisciplinary course of study.”

Dewey, who has taken six education courses, attested to the interdisciplinary nature of studying education. “Whether you’re going into teaching or not, education offers insight into how to interact with people in constructive ways. It can apply to any field from policy to nonprofit work.”

The concentration has a particular eye toward diversity and inclusivity, according to education professor Cori Jakubiak, who chaired the education department until December 2022. “K-12 teaching tends to attract people for whom the school system worked well.”

“Teacher education has tended towards demographics that lean middle-class, white and female-identifying,” said Jakubiak. “Adding an education studies credential system is a way to encourage students from different backgrounds to realize the possibilities

PAUL HANSEN

Paul Hutchison, associate professor of education, teaches How To Learn Physics, a class cross-listed as physics and education.

I realized that my position had become obsolete in programming.

Natalia Ramirez ‘24.5

ROŻNAWSKA

SOFIIA ZARUCHENKO

Sawubona House, located at 1318 East St., will house 5 students in single rooms.

ACE chair resigns

canceled due to instability within the Grinnell community, such as the death of a student and on-campus harassment of students of color.

Moving into spring 2023, SGA and DSA began to discuss more seriously the creation of a programming board. The motivation to plan for the programming board came from concerns from both Terry and DSA about SGA holding too much power over on-campus student events. Terry cited the controversy surrounding Jungle Harris, an event approved by the 2020 ACE chair, whose theme was changed after students raised concerns about harmful racial implications, and the influence of certain student organizations within SGA as examples of SGA mishandling their power in the past.

Ramirez said that prior to winter break, Smith-Benanti referenced future changes to programming, but Ramirez was not aware that following the establishment of a programming board, her job responsibilities as ACE chair would no longer include planning student events. When returning to her position at the beginning of spring 2023, DSA informed her that if a programming board were to be created, her responsibility as ACE chair would instead cover only security measures.

Following this conversation with DSA, Ramirez resigned from her position as ACE chair, feel-

ing that she could no longer carry out her duty to represent the Grinnell student body. “I realized that my position had become obsolete in programming,” said Ramirez.

On Feb. 4, Ramirez sent out an email to over 400 Grinnell students, providing her perspective of the programming board as well as a timeline of the events that led to her resignation. In this email, as well as in her interview with the S&B, Ramirez made it clear that she had no intention to directly attack any members of SGA or DSA.

Rabbi Sarah

campus, which may be less safe.

“Being able to have Harrises and Gardeners on campus is genuinely a harm reduction method,” said Gonzalez. Previously, Gonzalez, a 2023 class ambassador, attempted to book a Harris, but was told the date was already occupied.

Gonzalez said, “It felt like a power grab from administration.”

Future negotiations surrounding the programming board have yet to be addressed by DSA. “I think the responsibilities [of the programming board] are yet to be determined,” said Moschenross. “The goal is really that we put the choices in students’s hands and secure the funding for students to bring to campus the entertainment that students want to see.”

Smith-Benanti said, “We’ve been trying really hard to think about diverse interests, diverse ways of engaging and making sure that a range of programming is available.”

BrammerShlay leads discussions on Jewish identity

On Feb. 8, eleven students sent out an email to the student body expressing their frustration surrounding the planning of on-campus events, and referenced a potential loss of institutional memory.

Zoe Gonzalez `23, SGA’s spring 2022 ACE chair who also signed the email, expressed concerns that the introduction of a programming board would incentivize students to hold more events off

Terry said that SGA is open to communication and feedback from the student body. “We want to find people who want to be involved in the process … we are trying to do our best [to address criticisms]. But we are a small team,” said Terry.

The S&B reached out to two Weekend student coordinators with requests to interview, but was redirected to Moschenross. The S&B also contacted two other members of the SGA cabinet, but received no response.

UGSDW President calls for strike date

By Taylor Nunley nunleyta@grinnell.edu

The president of the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW), Lena Wiebe `25, has called for a strike date following the events of the Dec. 8 collective bargaining meeting last semester. During the bargaining session, the UGSDW collective bargaining team officially proposed their base wage of $20 an hour to Grinnell College’s bargaining team; the College responded with a $10.75 an hour base wage.

Both bargaining teams have expressed their desire to continue to negotiate towards an agreed upon contract, but according to some UGSDW members and leadership, the College and UGSDW may quickly be approaching an impasse over wages.

“We’re certainly not at that point [of legal impasse] yet,” Wiebe said. “What I will say is that the College indicated to us at our last bargaining session before break … that we might be close to impasse based on our proposal and their proposal … They also told us that if we were expecting them to meet us somewhere in the middle between wage proposals, we might find it frustrating.”

In her conversation with the S&B, Wiebe also raised the issues of Just Cause, a set of protections that provide guidelines for firings and give legal redress to workers who are found to be fired without just cause. She said she believes if the College and UGSDW bargaining teams were to come to an agreement now, it would not include all the protections UGSDW is negotiating for student workers.

“I think that from where I’ve been sitting at the bargaining table, we won’t be able to get the contract that we want without taking some kind of action. And, I think that action will probably have to be a strike just based on where I’m sitting,” Wiebe said.

Currently, there is no contract covering all student workers of UGSDW. Under the current collective bargaining agreement between the College and UGSDW, which covers only dining workers, dining workers are not able to participate in a lawful strike until this agreement expires on June 30, 2023.

a strike were to happen, Dining Hall workers who report for their shift would be crossing the picket line.

Makaila Hootman `25, a student worker in the mailroom, shared what the implications of a strike might mean for some low-income students. Though UGSDW has a strike-pay fund, which is a fund that would help continue to pay striking workers and is maintained by worker dues, this does not necessarily solve issues with students enrolled in a payroll deduction agreement.

“Strike wages might be great, but a lot of people use this [wages from on-campus jobs] to pay for their tuition. And, the school is not going to take this money as a substitute for their tuition,” Hootman said.

Morgan Lee `26 said the fight for a higher wage would likely benefit low-income students. “I’m all for it [a strike date],” she said. “My roommates talk about how hard it is, especially if you are on financial aid or you’re taking on a loan you have to pay.”

By Marcy Cassidy-Mapp cassidym@grinnell.edu

Sarah Brammer-Shlay led the first “An Exploration of Jewish Identity” session to open the door for open dialogue as a Jewish community on campus. Hosted in JRC 224A, the first three weekly sessions are planned for Feb. 7, 14 and 21, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Brammer-Shlay organized these talks as a rabbi and associate chaplain for Grinnell College to provide an intellectual space for interactive learning.

Coming from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and specializing in community building, Brammer-Shlay joined the College last August. She saw a chance for Grinnell students to explore their relationship with Jewishness and engage with it as more than a religious affiliation.

“We are a people, and we have lived in communities in extremely intentional ways and sculpted our communities to practice in specific ways, and so I really just wanted to give a space for students to explore what their Jewish identity means to them,” said Brammer-Schlay.

Five students attended the first session and were asked to engage with short readings by Jewish scholars provided at the event. They also engaged in an open discussion about belonging, behaving and believing, a framework Brammer-Shlay said she hoped would explore the different facets of Jewish personhood.

“Rabbi Sarah does a great job in creating balance. It was wonderful to have a Jewish intellectual space,” said Katie Babb `25, who attended the first session. “I

would love to see more of this type of event. It was interesting to hear about many different Jewish backgrounds and religious views.”

Brammer-Shlay said her motivation to organize these classes came partially from her experience hosting Friday prayer services in the Dining Hall last semester. In those services, she noticed a desire from students to consider their Jewishness through a political and social justice lens, opening different entryways into Judaism.

Rabbi Sarah does a great job in creating balance. It was wonderful to have a Jewish intellectual space.

“It’s beautiful to be able to support folks as they explore what Judaism means for them, but also who they want to be, what purpose is, what values are, who they are. My job as one of the chaplains and Rabbi is to be a supportive presence in that process,” said Brammer-Shlay.

Brammer-Shlay said she intends to continue using the dining hall space and hopes to instigate further conversation.

“Having space for communal learning and communal conversation feels really core to support[ing] the learning of both Jewish and non-Jewish students on campus,” said Brammer-Shlay. “But it’s also something that fills my cup a lot too, and I really love teaching and facilitating conversation.”

Education concentration confirmed

Education — Continued from Front Page

that studying education affords.”

“While dining workers cannot go on strike, they can honor a strike,” Wiebe said.

Under Article 2, Section 4 of the collective bargaining agreement between the College and UGSDW, dining workers would not be punished for refusing to cross a primary labor union picket line legally established by other Grinnell student workers.

A primary picket line takes place at the workplace of the employers that workers have a dispute with. For Dining Hall workers, this would need to take place outside of the Joe Rosenfield Center (JRC). If

Before a strike were to officially be declared, a vote would have to be called and a majority of UGSDW members would have to be in favor of it.

When the S&B reached out to Vice President for Communications and Marketing Ellen de Graffenreid about the proposed strike date and the implications it had for the College, she declined to comment.

As student workers, all staff members of the S&B will be included in future collective bargaining. The S&B remains an independent newspaper and is committed to maintaining its integrity in reporting

Of Grinnell College’s 16 peer institutions, defined by their similar size and level of academic rigor, 10 offer either a major or minor in education. Washington and Lee University is the only other school that offers a licensure program but no education major or minor. Purcell said she thinks that Grinnell College’s decision to keep pace with peer schools is coming at a critical time.

“Because there’s so much controversy around ideological battles that impact K-12 education,” said Purcell, “Anything that Grinnell College can do to help students equip themselves to participate in society, as effective educators, parents or citizens, is important terrain in U.S. society.”

Emma Kushnirsky `26, who plans on completing the concentration, noted that the politicization of education makes the introduction of the concentration especially timely.

“Education and teaching are inherently political. If you omit something, then that’s a political decision. Same for if you add something in. Curriculum decisions are increasingly relevant,” said Kushnirsky.

The concentration’s proposed credit structure stipulates a minimum of 22 credits. A minimum of 14 credits must come from within the education department, one school practicum course, two electives and a capstone experience. The additional credits can be fulfilled through a diverse range of classes offered in all divisions.

All students who complete the licensure program will automatically meet the concentration requirements. The concentration chair will be chosen later this spring through internal appointment, and the education department is compiling professors who are willing to be advisors.

“With the opportunity to study education critically through the concentration, hopefully that will help people see it as a critical field that is never stagnant,” said Kushnirsky.

MADDI SHINALL

UGSDW bargaining sessions previously took place in JRC 209, but are now closed to audiences. A livestream of the bargaining sessions (which take place on Thursdays at 4:15pm) can be found on the College website.

We won’t be able to get the contract that we want without taking some kind of action. And I think that action will probably have to be a strike.

Lena Wiebe ‘25

Katie Babb ‘25

OWEN BARBATO

Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay is facilitating three discussion sessions on Jewish identity and experiences.

Being able to have Harrises and Gardners on campus is genuinely a harm reduction method.

Zoe Gonzalez ‘23

Edited by corbinel@grinnell.edu

Couples Speak: The first dates that started everything

By Ashley Baek baekashl@grinnell.edu

Mary Higgin `25 and Ben Curren `25

“We met on the first day of NSO and became friends from our first D-Hall dinner,” said Ben. After two months of being friends, Ben asked Mary out on Nov. 3, 2021. A week later, they went on their first date in Newton, Iowa. There, they went shopping at the local Goodwill and Salvation Army, and walked around a park, admiring the fall foliage. Ben said, “I thought it would be fun to do something outside of Grinnell. I have a very vivid memory of being on the second floor of Burling and researching the best spots to go to, knowing that Mary liked thrift stores.”

Maia Janssen `23 and Quinn Kopelman `23

“We met in the spring semester of senior year in high school. We didn’t know each other throughout high school, but we had some mutual friends who set us up and encouraged us to hang out,” said Maia.

As English majors who both studied abroad in London, Maia and Quinn enjoy watching Notting Hill on their anniversary, May 18, every year. Quinn said, “The first time I asked Maia to hang out, we went to a local coffee shop.” Two months later — for what they consider their first technical date — they went to a local diner where they accidentally ordered the same club sandwich.

Maya and Jeev first met during Admitted Students Day in March 2018, before they were students at Grinnell. Afterwards, they reconnected during New Student Orientation as Maya tapped Jeev’s shoulder while going up the stairs of Hotel Grinnell. They then decided to spend more time together, going on nighttime walks around town. Despite not having an official anniversary date, they say that their first date was in the middle of September.

“For our first date, we went on a walk from Rathje Hall to the water towers. When we arrived, it started raining, like a drizzle,” said Jeev.

“We first met at a party and danced around together,” said Will. “He introduced me to his friends where I had a fun time, and I like to think that he had a fun time too. We hit it off and started to hang out more.”

For their first official date, Connor and Will went for a walk and stargazed at the Grinnell soccer fields in early October 2021. They have also had dates outside of not just Grinnell, but the country! When Connor was studying abroad last semester, Will visited him in Paris during fall break. They then went to Champagne country in northern France and the Orangerie Museum in Paris.

David Neville sets sail on virtual Viking longship project

By Krista Spies spieskri@grinnell.edu

The National Endowment of the Humanities has awarded David Neville, digital liberal arts specialist, along with a team of faculty and students a grant of $46,136 to create a virtual-reality (VR) Viking longship as an original, interwoven technology learning pursuit. Neville’s “The Virtual Viking Longship Project” will not only create a VR learning space to replicate elements from the Viking era, including a longship and a mead hall, but will also introduce the concept of a new immersive learning method into academia .

“We can produce things at the College and put it out there for people to use — other institutions, high schools, junior highs,” said Neville. “This is a way for us to amplify and project our voices and our ideals out into the world.”

Neville’s interest in the Viking Age, a period that spanned from 793 to 1066 C.E. and reached from North America to the Middle East, began early when he made Viking armor for picture day in kindergarten. Drawn to the medieval period throughout his academic career, he received his Ph.D. in German language and literature from Washington University with concentrations in medieval studies and Latin language and literature.

The technical side of learning has also always interested Neville. “I like technology because it lets me ask the ‘what if’ questions,” said Neville. He notes that it allows him to push the envelope and try new things.

After applying for other various grants since 2012, Neville began working on building the longship project specifically during COVID-19 lockdown. He began by taking actual drawings and measurements of Viking constructions, creating a 3D model on his laptop with Blender and the Unity game engine. He and his creating team first submitted to this grant in 2021 and were awarded in January of this year.

Neville’s collaborators include Tim Arner, associate dean of curriculum and academic programs and associate professor of English, Vanessa Preast, associate director of the Center of Teaching, Learning and Assessment

History Takeover: Grinnell’s turbulent founding and moving west

By Carter Ottele otteleca@grinnell.edu

This semester, I will be using the History Takeover column, spotlighting moments from Grinnell College’s history with the goal of broadening knowledge about the College. I am focusing on stories that often get misconstrued, misremembered or forgotten.

On the precipice of the Civil War, Grinnell College’s founders gathered all the institution’s belongings into a single wagon and trudged westwards, bound for a tiny town in the sparsely settled Iowa prairie, without a single student enrolled.

Historians can choose to begin the story of Grinnell College at several points, but this particular desperate and determined trek elegantly captures the whole story. As happened several times over the decades that led to Grinnell’s founding, a small group of people collected pieces of the east and headed west, convinced that they were bestowing a gift upon a new land.

and Austin Mason, director of the digital arts and humanities program at Carleton College.

Arner says he is the subject matter expert, as his area of research is in medieval literature. As the team links historical and literary pasts, he speaks on the gaps that come in dealing with Viking history.

“Work as a medievalist has made me comfortable with working in somewhat imagined spaces based very much in the history record,” Arner said. “I’m excited for what this [the project] means in terms of our connection to other institutions, but also in terms of a teaching tool and the public humanities project. It makes these long-lost spaces, all of a sudden, really accessible.”

According to both Neville and Arner, one reason for this project’s focus is to correct misconceptions that people have regarding the medieval age, whether that comes from incorrect movie portrayals or current appropriations of Viking symbols to fit white supremacist narratives.

“One thing that I think is really important is investing in the global Middle Ages and in thinking and understanding the Vikings as being part of a global network of trade and cultural exchange,” said Arner.

Arner and Neville added that the team is looking for students to collab-

orate on this project as a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) for the summer of 2023, and they ask those interested in digital art, 3D modeling, Viking and medieval studies, history and literature, human-computer interaction or similar subjects to contact [arnertim] and [nevilled].

Vanessa Preast serves as an advisor on the assessment piece, especially when students become more involved in what will be a MAP process over the summer. Preast highlighted the importance of the project as a collaboration: “Being able to bring in people with very different areas and all working towards a common goal. That gets me excited,” Preast said.

The team will collaborate with institutions around the world, including research in Denmark and Iceland, a Viking society in Minnesota, a museum in Germany and the Gokstad ship from Norway in 840 C.E.

“Without the longship there would be no Viking Age as we understand it,” said Neville. He and his team say that the Virtual Viking Longship Project will bring into the academic conversation a new element that combines learning and technology.

“Every little bit helps,” said Neville. “If we put something out there that helps educate people, then I think that’s making the world a little bit of a better place.”

As happened several times over the decades that led to Grinnell’s founding, a small group of people collected pieces of the east and headed west.

Of course, according to Iowa State University, Grinnell’s current location was only a new land in the sense that white, American settlers had rapidly, and often violently, expelled Indigenous peoples from it. Perhaps, then, the story of Grinnell’s founding best starts with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which allowed the U.S. government to seize territories west of the Mississippi River. Or, maybe it begins with the Sac and Fox Treaty of 1842, which ceded Sauk and Meskwaki land in central Iowa to the United States.

Former Grinnell professor Joseph Frazier Walls, author of the authoritative “Grinnell College in the Nineteenth Century,” points to an 1843 meeting in the library basement of Andover Theological Seminary in Massachusetts. There, a group of 12 men who had never crossed the Mississippi decided to establish a university in the Iowa Territory.

Strong beliefs guided them. As ministers-in-training, they hoped to evangelize and bring Christianity to the region. As abolitionists, they sought to nurture a new generation of anti-slavery activists. As white men of the mid-19th century, they understood themselves as small players in Manifest Destiny — America’s supposed divine right to span from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast.

Once graduated, these ministers traveled to Davenport, Iowa, partnered with other missionaries and established Iowa College in 1846. When it first offered courses in 1850, there were only two professors.

All the founders, trustees and professors were committed to the value of liberal arts. They imported the model previously taught to them in East Coast colleges, such as Amherst and Bowdoin, which had in

turn mimicked esteemed European universities. Since the liberal arts were drawn from Ancient Greek practices, as Harry Brighouse of the Mellon Foundation explains, one can trace the liberal arts’s path back eastward: from Davenport to New England, then to England and France and finally back to Rome and Athens.

Thus, the move from Davenport to Grinnell only continued a larger trend. The relationship between the College and the town had soured due to the religious and political differences. As Walls explains, Congregationalists founded Iowa College, while most Davenport residents attended Methodist churches. Likewise, as the country unraveled en route to the Civil War, Iowa College’s abolitionist stance placed it at odds with the town during one of the most divisive times in American history. The city government’s effort to build a road through the college campus further strained tensions. All these factors, alongside competition from newly established colleges in the region, pushed the college’s leaders to consider relocation.

After years of debate, one man galvanized the College to take action: Josiah Bushnell Grinnell. G. Galin Berrier, writing for the University of Iowa’s library, paints a portrait of J.B. Grinnell as a man guided by strict principles and fervent optimism. An ardent anti-slavery activist — passionate enough to make Iowa College’s progressive founders look like centrists — Grinnell had started a community four years earlier in central Iowa. Though less than 100 people currently lived there, he hoped that its prime location by the intersection of two railroads — including the line that cuts through campus today — would spur its development into a major settlement.

Through generous financial concessions, Grinnell convinced the trustees to abandon the Davenport campus. He had less success convincing the students; none of the enrollees at the time chose to continue their education at the new location.

So, Iowa College departed with no students, one wagon of materials and $9,000 in its possession,for a town founded less than half a decade prior. This move embodied several contradictions. The founders perceived themselves as heroes in a noble quest to spread education, yet had just abandoned their pupils. The College had its roots in a theological seminary, yet the founders proclaimed it secular while in Davenport. Many had formerly belonged to the Free Soil Party — a national political party dedicated to containing slavery — yet they ventured to inhabit stolen land.

In that sense, this clash of ideas and reality sets the stage for the future of the College. The voyage out of Davenport symbolizes the dreams, the hypocrisies, the journeys and the risks of Grinnell College in its formation.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, the S&B asked some of the iconic couples of Grinnell College about the first date that left them coming back for more.

OHANA SARVOTHAM Ben `25 (left) and Mary `25 (right) met during NSO.

ASHLEY BAEK Maia `23 (left) and Quinn `23 (right) began dating in high school.

OHANA SARVOTHAM

Maya `23 (left) and Jeev `23 (right) met at an Admitted Students Day.

Maya Gardner `23 and Jeev Prayaga `23

Connor Fahey `24 and Will Chapin `24

OHANA SARVOTHAM Will `24 (right) visited Connor `24 (left) while he studied in France.

The voyage out of Davenport symbolizes the dreams, hypocrises, the journeys and risks of Grinnell College in its formation.

CEQ: Off-campus living and community perspective

By Nina Baker bakernin@grinnell.edu

While Grinnell College presents the new Civic Engagement Quad (CEQ) in downtown Grinnell as "a gateway that fuses and dissolves the barriers between town and institution," according to the College's website, students and Grinnell residents vary in their opinions on the impact the CEQ will have on off-campus housing and creating coherence between students and residents in town.

Changes to off-campus residency

The CEQ will focus on single dorm rooms and apartment-style residencies, according to Dennis Perkins, assistant dean of residence life and student conduct. The dormitory, also named Renfrow Hall after Edith Renfrow Smith `37, will house 110 students. While many of these new spots will go towards reducing the forced triples and doubles in dorms on campus, the added dormitory may also create changes to who can access offcampus residency.

Each year, the department of residence life approves approximately 225 students to live off campus, Perkins said.

“We want to allow those 225 students off campus, and we only want them to be seniors,” Perkins said.

Perkins added that the number of available beds in each dormitory on campus continues to fluctuate as the College renovates residence halls. Norris Hall, which was renovated during the fall 2022 semester, reduced the number of available beds from around 121 to 110. A similar renovation to Main Hall, expected to begin after the construction of the CEQ is completed, will also cause the number of available beds to fluctuate.

“It should be just seniors who go off campus,” Perkins said. “But that’s not the reality. What we’re seeing is the number is coming in well under 200 in terms of seniors, so then we have to go to our third-year class. We don’t want to do that necessarily, but we do have to meet that cap to allow space for our incoming first years.”

“The way I see it is that I should be able to live off campus if I really want to, but there is something that’s integral to the college experience about dorm life,” Nicholas Lampietti `25 said.

Lampietti, who will be abroad his entire third year, said he appreciates both options of living in the CEQ and off campus by the time he enters

his fourth year, but that he currently anticipates living completely off campus.

“If I was going to be here next year, I would really want to live off campus,” he said. “But, in terms of whether it’s a bad idea that the third years will not be allowed to live off campus, I don’t know.”

Outside perspectives to the Civic Engagement Quad

According to a November 2020 survey of 376 students, faculty, staff and community members, 77% of respondents answered, “Yes” to the question “Do you think that more intentional connections between the College and the Town could be beneficial?” The survey, run jointly by Adjaye Associates and OPN Architects, has been the only citywide survey to assess the public opinions of the CEQ.

Sarah Smith, director of outreach programming and events at the College, wrote in an email to the S&B that the College has been dedicated to ensuring that input and feedback for the project has been not just received from residents affiliated with the College, but across all sectors of town through focus groups, online meetings and personal outreach.

Smith did not respond to further requests for comment as to the frequency these focus groups meet, makeup of these focus groups or what constitutes “personal outreach” on behalf of the College.

The dormitory, to be located at the corner of Broad Street and 7th Avenue, will open the ground floor of the building's south tower to both dormitory residents and all community members. One side of the dormitory will be restricted by Pioneer One-Card access due to safety concerns for students, according to Perkins.

Smith said the types of events, activities and spaces in this area of the CEQ will be determined based on both the 2020 survey and public input as the building nears completion. Venues for eating and drinking, performances and flexible meeting spaces in this first-floor common area received 40%, 35% and 31% approval from respondents in the November 2020 survey, respectively.

“There was a great deal of interest in indoor green spaces for gathering,” Smith wrote. “People think this will be especially attractive during cold Iowa winters and hot Iowa summers.”

Focus groups of students, faculty, staff and other Grinnell residents have continued to be held in order to receive feedback

about the dormitory and shape the mission of the CEQ as the building moves closer to its completion target of fall 2024, according to Smith.

Construction of the CEQ began in October of 2022 following a vote of approval for the project by the Grinnell College Board of Trustees on Oct. 1.

Chance Winburn, 26 and a lifelong Grinnell resident, said that he thinks the plot of land that the CEQ will be built upon should be left for businesses or city buildings that can be fully utilized by all residents, rather than a dormitory mostly utilized by students.

“I feel like this building is invasive to the downtown business district,” Winburn said. “It should be occupied for small businesses.”

Meanwhile, Grinnell resident David Menninga, 44, said that he thinks the CEQ will be great for

Grinnell.

“I think it will hopefully bring more support to our local businesses as well,” he said. He said McNally’s Foods, for example, which will be located adjacent to the CEQ, has been a staple in Grinnell since he was a child.

Menninga said the only concerns he has heard have been from other businesses, often regarding downtown parking.

“I’m hoping that they have the underground parking just to accommodate the other businesses downtown and maintain parking for other customers,” Menninga said.

Smith did not respond to requests for comment about the availability of parking for the CEQ.

Laurie Kramer, 61, said that though she does not know much about the CEQ, she thinks the dormitory will help bring the students and the

community together.

“It will put the students right downtown, which will be helpful,” Kramer said. “But, I don’t see a lot of students out in the community, as a big group or as a whole. It does concern me that we would have that downtown dormitory and they [the students] may not come out within the community.”

Kramer added that since she does not subscribe to Grinnell’s newspaper, the Grinnell HeraldRegister, she does not know how to access updates about the CEQ, and she wishes the College would provide more information online.

“I would just hope that students have the perception that we as a community want to see them,” Kramer said. “We want them to come out, we want them to be a part of what is involved within our community.”

Vinyl Stop turns up the music

“I hope it’s a place that people can come and find a common ground. Music is something that joins us all. I feel like we can get past other boundaries and connect with music in one way or another,” Fenske said. In a place dedicated to people experiencing encounters with each other, memories are bound to form.

Fenske said he views these moments as crucial to the overarching goal of his store.

Fenske to a station in Perry, Iowa that maintained a mobile DJ service that he dabbled in. Flash-forward 20 years and Fenske has DJed weddings, anniversaries and birthday parties, but something was still missing. Fenske briefly worked with the owner of Wax Xtatic, John Blabaum, in Marshalltown, and he learned the basic inner workings of a record store from Blabaum as a starting point.

“I just finally decided I want to have a job that I love,” Fenske said about the career transitions throughout his life, most recently from DJ to record store owner.

Fenske’s DJ career weathered the switch to digital music, which created his unique perspective on different mediums of music. As a homage to Fenske’s earlier work, many of the CDs from his gigs are for sale in the shop.

He said the ease of digital music was appealing for the sake of his DJ gigs, but he maintains a love for the physicality of vinyl records. Fenske said the resurgence of vinyl and this tangible experience are key components of his store.

By Kailee Shermak shermakk@grinnell.edu

On Feb. 3, Steve Fenske opened Vinyl Stop’s doors for the first time. The store is located at 831 Broad St., just a 15-minute walk from campus.

Past the doors, you can find vintage album covers hanging from the walls that watch over customers sifting through records, accompanied by the

sound of records playing. Beyond the appreciation of older forms of media, Fenske said he has a broader purpose in mind for the Vinyl Stop. He said he is placing emphasis on making the store the meeting place of peoples’s lives within the context of music.

Fenske said Vinyl Stop is the culmination of the love for music that has followed him throughout his life. He said this love has been expressed in numerous ways, with Vinyl Stop being his most recent endeavor.

Fenske said he initially satisfied this passion through broadcasting school and radio station jobs in the 1990s. The radio line of work brought

“It’s a totally different type of engagement when you have something physical in your hands, that you can hold and look at a 12-inch piece of art,” Fenske said. “When you drop that needle on the record, there’s a whole thing to the sounds. The crackle, that’s okay.”

Though the Vinyl Stop is officially open and Fenske has had some mentoring from Blabaum on how to curate a successful record shop, he said he is excited to see how the space will adapt over time.

I’ve always thought that I can inspire some sort of memory. Hopefully they’re good, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if they’re not. I kind of like to say memories are free here.

Steve Fenske Owner

CORNEILIA DI GIOLA

OHANA SARVOTHAM

Steve Fenske recently opened Vinyl Stop to create a musical hub in the Grinnell community.

Arts

Storytelling, creativity and community on display at Stewart Gallery

By Claire Giannosa giannosa@grinnell.edu

An exhibit of diverse, original work from six Grinnell College studio art majors is on display at the Grinnell Area Arts Center’s Stewart Gallery. The exhibit, titled “Artist Salon,” is open through March 11.

The showcase opened last Friday, Feb. 10, 5-7 p.m., with a reception open to all members of the Grinnell community. Attendees had the opportunity to converse with the artists before the artist talk at 6 p.m., where the artists described their process and inspiration.

“I think art is something that is innately human that people should do and that should be valued. And so, I do it and I try to value it,” said Henry

Loomis `26, one of the featured artists.

“I always enjoy getting people to see my work. It doesn’t happen that often, so it’s sort of nice to have this outlet.”

Monica St. Angelo, the operations manager for the Grinnell Area Arts Council, said she hoped the event would bring the College and broader Grinnell community together. “Part of the challenge of [the Grinnell Arts Center] is getting people involved … sometimes it’s hard to attract college students to come,” she said.

By having the artists at the reception and the artist talk, St. Angelo hopes it was a “chance to connect and have fun.” St. Angelo brainstormed the idea for the “Artist Salon” with her 2022 summer intern, Georgia Carbone `24, and together the two created an application open to studio art majors.

The “Artist Salon” showcases 28 pieces from 6 students. Although the show is not unified under a specific theme, the artists have thematic consistencies in their work.

Loomis’ two pieces, “Visions of Jonah” and “Firefly Alchemist,” are both pieces of digital art drawn in the app Procreate for iPad. “Visions of Jonah” was inspired by Loomis’ reading of “Moby Dick,” while "Firefly Alchemist" was inspired by Ancient Greece and Ovid’s “Metamorphoses.”

Describing “Visions of Jonah,” Loomis said, “I read ‘Moby Dick’ last semester. I loved it. I was really taken by the homosexuality of the novel.

I think it’s really interesting. So, it depicts two men within Moby Dick surrounded by spermaceti, which is a sort of amber liquid, and they’re sort

of in an amorous embrace.”

In contrast, “Firefly Alchemist'' is “based off of this idea that Ovid wrote about in the ‘Metamorphoses’: bees are born from dead cows, flies are born from dead horses and crabs are born from dead horses who die on the beach,” Loomis said. “So, it’s sort of playing with this idea of an alchemist who figures out how to turn the viscera of animals into fireflies.”

Jeremy Chen

By Oliver Wolfe wolfeoli@grinnell.edu

If you stroll into the Grinnell College Museum of Art any day between now and April 8, you will be greeted by a diverse collection of things. Among these — a suitcase with a round hole cut through the middle, a cement block suspended on a spring hanging from the ceiling, a pile of clocks. There are some everyday items displayed in a decidedly not everyday way and some unorthodox materials that are intricately organized in the space, uniquely lighted and intentionally positioned to stimulate deep thoughts and feelings about our interaction with the world around us.

The aptly named “Devices, Tools, Objects, and Props” is the latest exhibit of work by Grinnell College’s Chair of American studies and assistant professor of studio art, Jeremy Chen.

Chen said that he has been interested in art for as long as he can remember, but he has a unique definition of the word “art.” “Everyone starts out interested in art,” Chen said. “We do stuff where we see what happens when we drag a stick though the mud or when we push our food around a plate.”

As Chen got a bit older, he became

more interested in art in the more traditional sense of the word, and he used his art as a way to continue his exploration of the world around him. “There was a time where I liked drawing, painting and building stuff with materials I could find outside or at home,” Chen said.

In high school, Chen started making stop-motion animation. Chen cited this interest in film as an important step in his development as an artist. “I’d always liked art classes, but I was just really interested in what, at that time, was this new thing called ‘video.’”

Hoping to continue his work with video, Chen began his studies at the University of Iowa. However, it was hard for underclassmen to get a spot in film classes, which forced a change of plans for Chen. “I started taking art classes just to get access to video,” Chen said with a chuckle.

This was the moment Chen realized that he had a serious passion for art. “[The things that] people are doing with art is making me think in such different ways,” Chen remembered thinking. Chen ultimately finished his undergraduate degree with a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking and a sculpture minor.

Nowadays, Chen has kept the

approach he learned during his education in the Intermedia Program at Iowa — his art extends beyond any single form or medium. “I’m interested in lots of media because each media has its own language. What is the right media for what my question is?”

For “Devices, Tools, Objects, and Props,” Chen opted for a series of three-dimensional sculptural artworks to answer his recent query.

“I’m wondering about how humans need objects and things, devices, tools, technologies, and how those things need us. I’m curious about that relationship.”

When it comes to creating art, Chen does not have a step-by-step process. “At my studio, I just start to collect things that resonate with something I’m thinking about, and some things do sit around for a long time.”

Chen highlighted the importance of Grinnell’s liberal arts environment for creating. “I think the beauty of where we are […] is that it’s encouraging us to be our whole selves,” he said. “You can sing acapella, play ultimate frisbee, you can take a music lesson, you can crank out some linear algebra.”

Chen went on to say that his art can be inspired by anything, including his work in the American studies

While Loomis described the pieces as “stylistically different,” he said, “I think there’s sort of a thematic through-line of this connection to literature that I’m interested in and art.” Emma Hastie `23 created two pieces for the show using Prismacolor markers on paper.

“I pull a lot of inspiration from dreams … Like a stream of consciousness flow … So, if I’m listening to music and I see images come to my mind, that’s what I would say is my creative process. It’s very fluid in that sense,” Hastie said.

Her pieces, “Meat Factory” and “Juice Box,” are very intense in color and line work. “[‘Meat Factory’] is literally this entire narrative that’s very systematic. I mean, you can kind of tell by the name of it,” Hastie said.

Hastie described the colors of her pieces as vibrant warm and cool tones, creating an “interesting juxtaposition between that systematic nature and the fluid nature when it comes to the technical creation process and the content.” She likes to describe her process as “organized chaos.”

Both artists emphasized the important role art has played in their lives.

“I have this feeling when I don’t create that I’m about to be consumed by a large cavernous void within me. So, it’s sort of this outlet for me to spread the void,” Loomis said. “I just enjoy the act of observation. I like the world, and looking at it and being in it. I wanted it to always be an integral part of my life. Even if I don’t make a career out of it, it’s always going to be there,” Hastie said.

Students and organizers alike were hopeful that the exhibit would create stronger ties between the campus and town communities.

Hastie hopes “townspeople will come and see [the artwork] and then start dialogues. It’s weird because I’m in the Grinnell College bubble but then there is the Grinnell bubble … I think this is a great way to intermingle those two bubbles.”

The “Artist Salon” is open at the Stewart Gallery in the Grinnell Area Arts Center through March 11, and it can be visited during the gallery’s open hours Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon.

Check out more events from the Grinnell Arts Center by visiting their website: www.grinnellarts.org

department. “These ideas don’t come out of a separation of life or a vacuum. They relate to personal things, intellectual ideas, current events or history.” Chen encourages anyone to explore his exhibition. “I would love it if people would just come in and experience the objects in the space. And hopefully, if they spend a little time, it will evoke something with them.” Chen also reflected on the meditative process that pondering art can give, saying, “I hope this slows us all down a bit.”

“Devices, Tools, Objects, and Props” opened on Friday, Jan. 27 at the Grinnell College Museum of Art, where it will remain through April 8.

Additional programming related to the exhibition includes a 20-minute conversation with Jeremy Chen on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 11 a.m.; “Useless

Work: A Short Performance” on Friday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m.; “Human and Thing Entanglements: A Short Performance” on Friday, March 3 at 7 p.m.; and a concluding performance by the MIYUMI Project on Saturday, April 8 at 7 p.m.

Line Dancing Club steps into the spotlight

By Conrad Dahm dahmconr@grinnell.edu

Every Monday night, the Younker Hall first-floor lounge turns into a dance floor as over 20 Grinnell students come together to line dance.

Line dancing involves participants dancing with the same moves while in a line. It is normally done to the tune of country music, but it can be compatible with almost any genre. The club was unofficially started last year, according to Crystal Kaczmarczyk `25, the club’s co-president and co-founder.

“A lot of track and cross country people got together to learn how to line dance. We had a few unofficial events last year,” said Kaczmarczyk.

“There are definitely some people who weren’t a part of track and cross country and really wanted to join,”

said Sophia Ford `25, the club’s other co-founder and co-president.

After several unofficial events, Kaczmarczyk and Ford decided to make the club official. Both Ford and Kaczmarczyk had dabbled in line dancing prior to founding the club.

“I did line dancing in elementary and so did Crystal, so we bonded over that,” said Ford. With that previous experience, both of them wanted to bring their love of line dancing to the Grinnell community.

The club is open to all students, regardless of experience in line dancing. New members are taught the fundamentals of the dance form.

“It’s a social dance where we’re all in lines and we kind of do the same move over and over again. It’s really easy to pick up,” said Kaczmarczyk. After learning the basics, club members

have the opportunity to challenge themselves with more difficult dances.

“There are some more complicated moves that we’re doing right now, but we find that the most successful [moves] are just chunks that we go over and over again,” said Ford.

Regardless of the complexity of the moves, line dancing is more than just dancing to both Ford and Kaczmarczyk — it means taking a break and having fun with friends.

“I like finding so much joy and dancing together with my friends. I like having a space where I can keep working on my dancing skills with my friends and a supportive community,” said Kaczmarczyk.

Both Ford and Kaczmarczyk expressed that line dancing is open to anyone from any grade and regardless of skill. They both also encourage

people to come to a club meeting and experience what line dancing is.

“Just come try it out! Even if you’re not a dancer, we’ll teach you how to do it, and it’s super fun,” Kaczmarczyk said.

“Regardless if you like it or not, it’s an hour of dancing and you get to meet new people,” said Ford.

Line Dancing Club meets every Monday at 9:15 p.m. in the first-floor lounge of Younker Hall.

EVAN HEIN

Professor of Studio Art and Chair of American Studies Jeremy Chen.

I have this feeling when I don't create that I'm about to be consumed by a large cavernous void within me.

Henry Loomis `26

EVAN HEIN

“Artist Salon” at the Grinnell Arts Center showcases work from six Grinnell College studio art majors.

PAUL HANSEN

Line Dancing Club gathers for a night of fun, friends and footwork.

Biz-ness as usual, Die League kicks off another season

By George Kosinski kosinski@grinnell.edu

It’s that time of year again. No, not for Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day or the Super Bowl. As the spring 2023 semester kicks off, so too does competition in Grinnell students’s annual Die League.

Beer die, a popular drinking game at colleges nationwide, has become a fixture of campus culture at Grinnell. According to Oliver Palmer `24, the league co-commissioner, the game fosters a spirit of camaraderie among students.

“It’s shaped my experience here for the better,” Palmer said. “Die has allowed me to meet a lot of people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met, and I think the friendly yet competitive environment brings you closer than if you were to just sit down with someone over a meal. You’re still sitting at a table regardless, but something about it just brings out the best in people.”

strongly associated with the athletic teams at Grinnell, and both Palmer and Thurmgreene were introduced to it in that context. “I got involved through the tennis team,” Palmer said. “I went to their house off campus and they were playing a lot. It’s really essential to tennis culture here.”

Similarly, Thurmgreene said that, “on the basketball team, it’s part of our culture. My first year, when I got here, I saw the guys playing and that’s how I started playing die at Grinnell.”

Like any other collegiate athletic endeavor, Die League maintains a spirit of healthy competition. “A lot of athletes from men’s and women’s teams participate, and we’re just naturally competitive,” Thurmgreene said.

“It feels like a real sport,” Palmer said. “There are some teams who are just in it for fun, but for the most part, everyone takes it pretty seriously,” he continued.

Despite the at-times fiery competition, Palmer said that ultimately everyone who participates does so because the sport promises a fun time, evidenced by teams’s creative and humorous names. “There can be some funny ones,” he said. “A personal favorite is my team’s name, the Nut Hole Butters. I also like Lucky Lefties. Some people like to play on words using the term ‘biz,’” referencing the die-specific terminology for the number between four and six.

Fellow co-commissioner Moze

Thurmgreene `23 emphasized how important it is that the game is inclusive of everyone on campus. “Everyone plays no matter if you play sports or don’t play sports — whatever kind of social group you’re in, it’s like a universal thing,” he said. “Die League brings people from all walks of life at the college together.”

However, the game remains

Played every year for more than a decade, according to Thurmgreene, Die League has a rich history at Grinnell. Over the years, rivalries have developed and certain groups have come to be recognized for their prowess in the game.

Palmer said that the most capable teams have historically been associated with the swim and dive, tennis

and basketball teams or the South Asian Student Organization. “At one point I would say the biggest rivalry was between tennis and swim, but this year the swim team doesn’t have any good die teams,” he said.

Now, both commissioners are looking forward to the rivalry between the tennis and basketball teams this season. “We want to beat each other,” Palmer said. “We definitely each think our teams are best.” Thurmgreene agreed but emphasized the fact that ultimately, the rivalry is a friendly one.

Palmer and Thurmgreene also highlighted a need to avoid repeating the controversy of last season, when a team of Bowen Mince `22 and Lili Pangborn `22, both league commissioners and both

associated with the tennis team, claimed the Die League Crown.

Oliver Palmer `24

“I think a lot of people had an issue with that,” Thurmgreene said. “I definitely thought it was controversial.” Palmer disagreed, however, saying that “there was some drama, but I don’t think the controversy was well-founded.”

Looking forward to the upcoming season, Thurmgreene said that he hopes to run a fair league that everyone can enjoy. “We’re trying to improve the culture by keeping it as open as possible,” Palmer said, emphasizing how he and Thurmgreene want to make the game accessible for everyone, regardless of how much experience people have or whether they want to drink or not.

“I really just want to make sure the tradition lives on,” said Moze. “I think it’s so cool to be a part of this, and hopefully I can come back to Grinnell in 5 or 10 years as an alumni and see die league still going strong.”

Editor’s note: Oliver Palmer is a staff writer for the S&B. He was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

Men’s and women’s swim and dive ready to set the water on fire at championships

stead are focusing more on visualization and reaction time training.

“I finally get to rest, so that I can give it my all,” said Lopez.

In recent years, the men’s swim and dive team has dominated, having won the last six consecutive Midwest Conference titles. They are looking to keep the streak alive and take home their seventh. Hurley said she feels that they are well-positioned to do so, saying, “On the men’s side, we have probably our most competitive team that we’ve had in my tenure. We’ve already broken a relay record during [our] season, which we’ve never done before.”

Hurley also said she feels optimistic about the women’s team, pointing to their improvement throughout the season, but their success will have to be earned. “Our women are competitive and strong, but so are some other schools in the conference, as well,” she said.

By Oliver Wolfe wolfeoli@grinnell.edu

With just days to go, the men’s and women’s swim and dive teams are getting ready for the rapidly approaching Midwest Conference championships, which are set to take place at the end of this week.

“It’s an exciting time,” said Erin Hurley, head swimming and diving coach, before adding, “for some, it’s a little nerve-wracking.”

An accurate assessment, according to Sarah Lopez `26, who said, “there’s butterflies in my stomach, and they’re ready to fly out.”

Despite the feeling of pressure, the conference championships are exactly what the athletes have been training for all season, according to Hurley.

“It’s the culminating performance. They’ve been practicing for 18 weeks,” she said. “Now, it’s time to show up and perform.”

Both the men’s and women’s teams have had successful seasons so far, leading 5-1 and 4-2, respectively. “We’ve had some really good swims and some good diving performances throughout the season,” said Hurley. She said that they are looking to keep that momentum going and deliver a strong performance at the championships.

To prepare, the teams have slowed down their intensive training and practice schedules and in-

Among the teams’s strengths is their cohesiveness, which they will look to use to their advan-

tage. “It doesn’t necessarily come down to who has the most individual wins,” said Hurley. “It takes the entire team, and everyone has an opportunity to contribute.”

The championships are set to begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, and it will continue through Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Russell K. Osgood Natatorium. “If you want to see the water on fire, the conference championships is where it will happen,” said Hurley. More information and a complete schedule can be found at the Grinnell Athletics website.

ISABEL TORRENCE

Beer die has become a fixture of Grinnell College culture. For its players, the number between four and six, known only as “biz,” is sacred.

Die has allowed me to meet a lot of people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met.

Oliver Palmer `24

There are some teams who are just in it for fun, but for the most part everyone takes it pretty seriously.

The men’s swimming and diving team (left) and the women’s team (right) have had a successful season thus far with a record of 5-1 for the men’s team and 4-2 for the women’s team.

CONTRIBUTED BY TED SCHULTZ

At the Grinnell Mini-Invite on Feb. 4, Theo Mott `24 (above) won the 200 Y freestyle with a time of 1:47.76.

CONTRIBUTED BY TED SCHULTZ Also at the Grinnell Mini-Invite, Andi Fox `23 (above) won the 200 Y individual medlay with a time of 2:21.96.

We’ve had some really good swims and some good diving performances throughout the season.

Erin Hurley

Head swimming and diving coach

I finally get to rest, so that I can give it my all.

Sarah Lopez `26

Sage & Blunt Advice: Vexed Valentine

Dear Sage & Blunt,

I’ve been sleeping with someone since the start of the semester, and to be honest I’m not really into them, but, you know, I’m horny. I told them I’m not interested, but they said they’re down to continue knowing things are just physical, so I thought we were on the same page. But then they asked if I wanted to hang out on Valentine’s Day, so now I’m confused. I feel like I should break it off now, but I don’t want to leave them alone on V-Day either. Thoughts?

Sincerely,

Vexed Valentine

Feeling like you too could use some advice? Use the QR code above to contact Sage&Blunt!

Dear Vexed Valentine,

I’m confused too. Your “someone” is probably the least confused of the three of us. It sounds to me like they hear you loud and clear, want to keep having sex with you and are wondering if you’re free on Tuesday night. Did they say they wanted to have a candlelit dinner and exchange love poems? Do they want to hang out on Valentine’s Day because they’ve decided they want to marry you? Did you even ask?

If it’s at all reassuring, my parents went on their first date on February 14, and neither realized what

day it was until they arrived at the restaurant, which actually made for a very romantic surprise — they are now acrimoniously divorced! I guess I’m saying that you can’t know what asking to hang out on Valentine’s Day means to your person, and it doesn’t say much about what your future holds.

Valentine’s Day is a thing people feel one hundred different ways about, and I don’t mean to yuck anybody’s yum. Presents, chocolate, handwritten expressions of affection, kissing and the color pink are all things I love, but not everyone wants or expects these things.

(Author’s note: sometimes I think I could retire from writing this column and just publish a final letter that reads, TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU WANT, ASK THEM WHAT THEY WANT!)

If you want to break it off, you should do so at your earliest convenience. Leaving them alone is leaving them alone. It sucks if you do it right before Valentine’s Day, it sucks if you do it right after Valentine’s Day, it sucks if you spend weeks wanting to do it but waiting to because you didn’t want to right around Valentine’s Day. It just sucks to leave people.

Of course, dear Valentine, it also sucks to leave yourself alone. Make sure you’re telling the truth, to yourself most of all, about why you’re hesitating to end things — and do not keep someone around so you can avoid leaving yourself alone. It’s rude.

I know I can’t speak for you on this because I am always interested, but I have my doubts that people have “not interested” sex just because they’re horny. We have sex to feel less alone! Even totally romance-less sex. A relationship that is purely physical (again, I will take your word for it) is still an exchange between two people. You are into them, in at least one way, or at one point you were. They are not incidental to your situation here.

So, whether you decide to maintain this specific connection through the holiday, show it (and this person!) respect by at least acknowledging their place in your life. Be nice about it. Honor and be humbled by your need for human exchange. Celebrate all the different kinds of love and desire and affection you get to give and receive! Give your friends sugary things to eat. Write love letters. Call someone on the damn telephone. Do what you have been put on this earth to do: flirt. I hope it’s a good day, regardless of how you spend it.

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers! XOXO, Sage & Blunt

A love letter to my emotional support cat, Winona

By Lucia Cheng chengluc@grinnell.edu

To my stinky, chonky, attention whore of a furbaby (affectionately), You have turned me into a white suburban mother, and I have accepted my fate willingly. I count the time you’ve stuck by me in months, like a toddler. I lovingly tie off each poopy pet bag every night. My dorm neighbors think I’m insane from the baby talk that spews from my room. And I have to admit, even though you are a pervert who likes to watch dirty deeds happen from the windowsill, I would choose you over any partner to have by my side (but it would also be cool if you could stop staring, though).

Even though I probably exacerbate your abandonment issues by leaving the room each day – like

mother, like daughter – I always hate closing the door on your big ol’ golden eyes. I would much rather spend the day spooning your above-average primordial pouch. You make my room feel less lonely. You remind me that love can be found anywhere. Quite loudly actually, when you yell at me to scratch you behind the ears when I come home. I want to lift you up by the armpits on the tallest mountain in the world and scream about how you’ve saved my life – and then set you down straight afterwards because I know you don’t like being held. My beautiful, intrepid explorer. You deserve everything. I love you so, so much.

Extra tube of tuna tonight.

Love, Your equally stinky, silly mother

The signs on Valentine’s Day

By Raunchy Rising & Dirty Descending

Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18)

Drops half of their dining dollars on 36 raspberry-strawberry smoothies from the Grill to place in the shape of a heart on Mac Field, visible from the window of their crush’s dorm in the Gates tower.

Pisces (Feb. 19 - March 20)

Finishes a first date in the emergency room after a well-intentioned box of chocolates makes them feel things in a way that it really shouldn’t. Currently petitioning, “What are you allergic to?” to be an acceptable opening line.

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Commissions a bestie to dress up in a tuxedo and act as a waiter for their black tie dinner date in D-Hall. Table cloth: placed. Vase of roses: present. Plate of stir fry: hand-delivered.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

A night in with their recent adoptee from PALS turns weird when boredom and a brownie baked by their friend in Cleve leads to an impromptu sampling of Fancy Feast.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

A night with the gals in Bob’s Underground turns decidedly un-romantic when a suggestion to whip out the ol’ ouija board leaves the status of all friendships involved in flux.

The Scarlet & Black Staff Spring 2023

Nadia Langley

Allison Moore

Lucia Cheng

Ellianna Cierpiot

Eleanor Corbin

Lilli Morrish

Mohammad Igbaria

Jandry Perez Garcia

Millie Peck

Samuel Bates

Nora Kohnhorst

Maddi Shinall

Cornelia Di Gioia

Gabriela Rożnawska Liv

Lucia’s

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

Gets jealous of Galentine’s Day traditions and decides to recite poetry with their favorite bros on Mac Field. A passerby tells them to watch Dead Poets Society, but luckily they all fall asleep before making it to the end — cuddling was just too comfy.

Leo (July 23 - Aug. 22)

Talks their way out of an awkward conversation with a Facilities Management worker when the sex swing they screwed into their dorm ceiling on Rose third floor ultimately could not handle the velocity of their late-night activities.

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22)

Hitchhikes to Lion’s Den in full uwu regalia to create a sexy surprise for their partner.

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22)

Stocks up on rose petals, bath bombs, duct tape and a plastic tarp at Walmart. East Campus dorms might not have bathtubs, but Libras are crafty and WILL be having a sexy spa night.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21)

Finally achieves bingo on their campus boinking chart by taking a little adventure to the Burling Library jungle gym. Signs their name under the hang-

ing lampshade to commemorate the passionate affair.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21)

One-on-one turns to four, then to 17 when half the football team decides to join in their intimate movie date showing of “The Proposal” just to get a peek at Ryan Reynolds.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19)

Spends the evening alone in their dorm mourning their recent break up. Ends up knocking Oliva Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” off the charts for best breakup ballads with a new single titled, “SO Many Squirrels.”

By Sage & Blunt CORNELIA DI GIOIA

Allison Moore