Vol. 139, Issue 20

& Black

Bob’s Underground reopens with renovations

African diaspora studies department approved by College

By Claire Giannosa giannosa@grinnell.edu

The faculty of Grinnell College recently approved a new African diaspora studies department to be implemented as early as the fall of 2023. According to the proposal for the department submitted to the Executive Council, the department will offer an interdisciplinary curriculum focused on Black intellectual culture and production through a study of historical and contemporary contributions from Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, and will be included in the social studies division. The creation of this department comes after decades of similar but short-lived programs at the College.

Gibel Mevorach, professor of anthropology, the program lasted until 2005 and featured a robust conference series and coursework.

During her time as chair, Mevorach said the concentration as it existed was “never defined by targeting a specific audience.” Rather, she said Africana studies sought to embrace the idea that “the presence of Africanism is global, it’s everywhere.”

Students in the program had the opportunity to publish their papers in two volumes released at the conferences. One student, Fredo Rivera `06, now an assistant professor of art history at the College, wrote an essay about how African studies “was not fixed in one place,” but about how “the law has created ideas about Blackness,” Mevorach said.

Bob’s Underground reopened at an event on Tuesday, April 28. Students attended to play games and listen to music.

By Ellianna Cierpiot cierpiot@grinnell.edu

Music, laughter and the occasional toppling of Jenga blocks once again bounced off the colorful, eclectic walls that characterize Bob’s Underground, following the space’s temporary closing last semester at a re-opening cele-

bration on Tuesday, April 25.

The event featured games, painting, and two student musical performances. Daniel Stewart `26 and Caitlin Ong `26 performed several original songs and covers. The duo have played sets at several Bob’s open mics before the temporary closing. Stewart, whose musical influences range from Fugazi

to Elliott Smith, said he enjoys the casual atmosphere of performing in Bob’s, because it makes the stage accessible to any students who want to share their art.

“It’s really a student-run space,

>> Bob’s reopening continued on page 2

47% of students have considered withdrawal from the College

By Zach Spindler-Krage spindler@grinnell.edu

Amid recent College-administered surveys that reveal nearly half of Grinnell College students have considered leaving the institution, including a disproportionate number of students of color, some faculty and administrators have expressed intentions to address contributing factors, including academic workload and social isolation.

During the April 3, 2023 Grinnell College faculty meeting, faculty discussed potential academic changes targeted at raising the College’s retention and graduation rates. According to the graphs presented in the meeting, the percentage of fall 2021 entrants retained to fall 2022 was 93%, which is comparable to the College’s 16 peer institutions. The percentage of 2016 entrants graduating in 6 years was 88%, which is consistently between 2 and 6 percentage-points lower than the peer average. The 6-year graduation rate

for Black students was roughly 7 percentage-points lower than that of white students in 2022.

At the meeting, Graham Miller, associate director of strategic research, presented spring 2022 survey data that indicates that out of 407 current student respondents, 26% had “seriously considered leaving,” 18% had “thought about leaving, but only a passing consideration,” and 3% had “considered leaving but didn’t know the magnitude.”

According to the April 17 summary of the April 3 faculty meeting, faculty members had “expressed their frustration that multiple studies indicated a culture of overwork, and yet, a lack of action and change prevailed.” Faculty proposed alternative grading methods, changes to curriculum and a student survey aimed at determining reasonable workload expectations. According to the summary, studies and survey data indicated that feeling overworked was disproportionately felt by students of color and low-income students.

Tashanna Johnson, a Black student who transferred to the University of Kansas after completing her second year at Grinnell in the spring 2021 semester, suggested that the graduation rate may be disproportionate because the College falsely presents itself to students of color.

“The College always talks about diversity and inclusion, but a lot of it is falsely advertised,” Johnson said. “Most of the diversity comes from international students. It’s great to have them, but they don’t make up for having domestic Black students.”

Johnson said that she experienced countless incidents of racism and microaggressions both on and off campus in Grinnell, yet nothing was done even after she followed the formal reporting process. Johnson said that these incidents affected her mental health and that the College offered inadequate resources to help her.

Johnson also cited a lack of fi-

In 1971, the Concerned Black Students (CBS) chained the doors to Burling Library and presented 10 demands to make life on campus better for Black students. One of the demands was to create a Black studies major, which was realized in 1972 but quickly ended in 1979 due to a lack of student interest. Variations on the Black studies major have evolved throughout Grinnell’s history, though none lasted as long as the Africana studies concentration implemented in 1996.

Created and chaired by Katya

Eventually, the faculty leading the concentration, including Mevorach, decided it was time to end it. “I stepped down because I thought that a program should succeed based on the program and not the person,” Mevorach said. Once she stepped down as chair, the program dwindled and eventually merged into American studies. Mevorach said part of the reason it dwindled

By Oliver Wolfe wolfeoli@grinnell.edu

“Daisy’s Tale” is a new “mostly true” children’s story written and self-published by Liz Hansen, program coordinator for collective impact in the Office of Community Partnerships, Planning, and Research, and illustrated by one of her former students, Makaella Mitchell.

The project began seven years ago during Hansen’s time as a teacher at Grinnell High School. Hansen started teaching a 12-week “capstone” class required for high-school seniors, in which the students were given the freedom to choose a topic that they were passionate about, conduct research and then present their findings.

>> Continued on thesandb.com

Garrison, Bakopoulos to leave Grinnell College

By Cadence Chen chencade@grinnell.edu

Grinnell College English professors Dean Bakopoulos and John Garrison will leave Grinnell College at the end of the spring 2023 semester.

Both are the only current Guggenheim fellows at the College, recipients of a selective grant given to individuals who excel in the arts.

Bakopoulos, the current director of Writers@Grinnell and Writer-inResidence, will end his 12th year teaching at the College to be associate professor of screenwriting at the University of Iowa’s department of cinematic arts starting this fall.

himself and become friends with some writers in Iowa City he greatly respects. He described the university as idyllic for writers as an institution invested in creative writing and home to the premiere Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

During Bakopoulos’ time at the College, he mainly taught fiction writing and screenwriting. In the last four to five years of his writing career, he pivoted from novel writing to screenwriting, a change he cites as a mid-career shift.

OWEN BARBATO

Dean Bakopoulos will leave the English Department this spring after his 12th year at the College.

Living just outside of Iowa City and having worked as a visiting professor for the university before, Bakopoulos has already familiarized

The demand for creative writing and expression at the College is high, according to Bakopoulos. Because he is one of the only fiction writers in the department, he said his classes would often fill beyond the maximum occupancy. In the 2014-2015 academic year, for example, he said over

100 students tried to register for his 200-level Craft of Fiction seminar.

In the past, he had gotten job offers from institutions with established creative writing programs, and he chose to continue teaching at Grinnell. He said he leaves with nothing but fondness, and his departure from the College was not an easy decision to make.

Although Bakopoulos said that the English department is not currently headed in the creative writing direction, he feels that the College is poised to have one of the greatest creative writing programs in the country at the undergraduate level.

Garrison, who specializes in

PAUL HANSEN

CONTRIBUTED BY JOHN GARRISON

John Garrison will leave to work as an English teacher in California.

African studies returns to Grinnell

was because students did not want to take a concentration.

Clark Lindgren, chair of the faculty and Patricia A. Johnson, professor of neuroscience, described the difference between a concentration, major and a department. Whereas majors are defined by “a collection of courses,” departments are defined by a “collection of faculty,” he said. According to Lindgren, departments are inherently interdisciplinary, and they have the responsibility for serving students beyond the major.

“The problem with concentrations is they are even more elusive than majors. They don’t have any home,” Lindgren said. “They don’t involve as many courses, and they tend to wax and wane depending on student interest.”

Given the history of Black and Africana studies majors and concentrations fading quickly at Grinnell, the desire for creating an African diaspora studies department was to give it more permanence.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of faculty and staff met virtually to figure out how to facilitate the development of an African diaspora studies department at Grinnell. The group, including Stephanie Jones, associate professor of education, helped bring in two consultants with experience building departments connected to African diaspora or Black studies, and they gave advice about what the faculty should be aware of when approaching the creation of the department. A report was then sent to the president’s office and the dean’s office, who took over fundraising and organizing a faculty vote.

Beronda Montgomery, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College, worked at the fundraising stage, communicating to external donors the purpose of the program and how it was different from other similar Black studies at Grinnell. “Part of that difference was the establishment of a department and the ongoing fundraising for an endowed chair. Having an endowed chair position and a department communicates a longer term

commitment,” Montgomery said.

Jones said, “situating it as a department was strategic. Rather than bringing in one faculty member to begin a program, we wanted to house it structurally at the College.”

The Executive Council recently passed the faculty’s proposal for the department. The next step will be hiring a senior-level endowed faculty member, who will be integral to the process of developing the curriculum and goals of the department, and hiring two additional faculty members. As such, the future of what the department will look like and what classes will be taught is unknown to everyone involved.

According to Jones, the importance of this department at Grinnell should not be questioned. “I wonder if any other major or concentration has been asked about their importance or of why they should exist. Why do we have chemistry? We’re not hating on chemistry. We totally need that as a major and a field to exist. And I feel the same way about African diaspora studies,” she said. “The reality is that this is something that we need as much as we need air and water.”

“There’s evidence that having such a department can help contribute to a culture that more broadly impacts recruitment and retention of students, staff and faculty from diverse backgrounds,” Montgomery said.

Will Donaldson `23 said he did re-

Bob’s Underground returns with event

like, I can’t have my own recital because I’m not a music major… If I’m not in an ensemble, I can’t perform in Sebring-Lewis or any of those spaces,” Stewart said. “So that’s just a good reason I keep coming back.”

Ong said that the performing space that Bob’s offered helped take some of the stress out of entering as a first-year musician, while larger events could be more intimidating for new performers.

“Regardless of the instrumental or how professional… it is, it’s really nice to have a kind of casual environment that’s, like, no pressure. It’s not a big school-wide thing. I kind of like the smaller atmosphere,” Ong said.

search with Makeba Lavan, professor of English, that would have fit into the African diaspora studies department if it was offered during his time at Grinnell.

“I think Grinnell College should make it a requirement for students to take at least one course in the department when it’s fully established,” Donaldson said. “I think it’s so important for white students to be thrust into that classroom scenario and to actively take part rather than sit silently and watch as Black students take on the emotional labor of educating us.”

Compared to other similarly ranked liberal arts colleges, Grinnell College is the “only one of our peer institutions that does not have something either related to Africana or Black studies,” Jones said. “And for me, that is unacceptable. I want there to be a place for every student to take advantage of what it means to be in the study of Black life. And when we’re talking about Black life, we’re talking about Black life across the globe.”

Jones said she is hopeful for the students and the classes of the African diaspora studies department.

“Just enroll, be interested, be curious, even if you know that this is something that you have an interest in or something you have never heard of before but you thought it might be interesting,” Jones said. “Let’s create a space where you can find time to study about this work.”

College aims to address retention rates

nancial aid, although she said processes may have changed since she left.

“I come from a foster background, so I didn’t have parents to help me pay,” said Johnson, who received a Questbridge scholarship to attend Grinnell College. “The amount that Grinnell expected me to pay per semester was more than I was making for a full year of work, even when I was clocking more hours than the legal limit on campus.”

Vrinda Varia, assistant chief diversity officer for intercultural student life, and Marc Reed, interim vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer for staff equity, wrote in a joint email to the S&B that 2021 campus data indicates that Black students are more likely to experience microaggressions and overt racism, and to not feel safe off campus. In summer 2021, a study produced by Strategic Research and the office of diversity, equity and inclusion also found that racist incidents, racialized experiences and general student life, among others, were contributing to the attrition of Black students.

Charissa Kim, who transferred in 2022 after her first year at the College, said that her experience with the Title IX office ultimately led her to leave. Kim said that she took a medical leave after she was sexually assaulted in fall 2021. When she returned in spring 2022, Kim said that the perpetrator repeatedly broke their no-contact order without any transparent repercussions from the Title IX office. “It was difficult to consider transferring. I loved my friends. I loved my classes. I loved everything about the school,” Kim said. “It was just this one incident, but because it was handled poorly, I ultimately felt that I could no longer deal with it here.”

Bailey Asberry, the Title IX coordinator, wrote in an email to the S&B that the Title IX office is continuously examining its processes and working to be as transparent and consistent as possible while also meeting the

required components laid out by federal law.

Kim said that another factor in her decision to transfer was the rapid spread of personal information and misinformation across campus following the incident.

“A small school is great for a number of reasons, but it can also be really damaging when there’s an incident that circulates instantly among students,” Kim said. “Students need to stop using Yik Yak. If you hear about an incident, be quiet about it. The best way to support whoever is dealing with an issue is to let them figure out their own response.”

terly “Microsurvey,” which asks students to identify how they are doing, is a good way for the College to know which students to direct the most time and resources to. The Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program (PCPOP), Stern said, intends to foster belonging for students from historically marginalized backgrounds, including first-generation students, students of color, students with disabilities and LGBTQ+ students.

“A piece of what we’re focused on is the graduation of students, but we also focus on the quality of the experience,” Stern said. “Just because students graduate doesn’t mean they had a great experience.”

According to Johnson and Kim, the reasons to transfer or withdraw from Grinnell extend far beyond academics to include feelings of social isolation, financial and mental health concerns, overtly racist experiences and the College’s location.

Bob’s Underground temporarily closed in the beginning of spring 2023, as part of an agreement with Facilities Management and other leadership groups on campus, according to Alyson Won `25, a member of the student organization Friends of Bob’s. One of the reasons for this was that the water to the space had been shut off due to structural issues with the plumbing of the café. According to Won, this made it difficult to host events like painting the walls, which is an important tradition of Bob’s.

The cafe re-opened with new tables, chairs and a working sink, as well as wheelchair-accessible ramps to the stage, to better accommodate those with mobility issues. Making the space accessible to students is a priority, according to Megan Szalay `25, another member of Friends of Bob’s.

“As it’s a new space to most, we want to bring awareness first and foremost,” Szalay wrote in an email. “We prioritize community involvement, inviting students to participate in the wall art with painting events and encouraging them to share their talents at open mics.”

In addition to planned events,

Bob’s can be reserved using 25Live on a first-come, first-served basis, to host their own events or gatherings. The function of Bob’s as a gathering space fills an important gap in campus spaces, according to Won.

“At one point, I was told that Bob’s was the only non-academic or resource-based student space on campus,” Won wrote in an email. “Our goal with open hours is to really keep Bob’s as a blank canvas, open to students to choose what they do in the space. To me, the most special thing about Bob’s, especially post-renovation, is the fact that people have access to a space that is uniquely creative, open, and historic.”

Dozens of students attended the re-opening event to play games, listen to music and enjoy the space. The event was a success for Friends of Bob’s, and seeing students enjoy the space and talking to attendees was very exciting for Won.

“I’m so proud of my team for coming together and putting on an event of this caliber, to the student musicians who added to the artsy, creative energy that we’ve worked so hard to re-introduce and re-imagine for the space, and to the students who came and showed up for Bob’s,” Won said. “Bob would be proud, and so am I.”

Guggenheim fellows depart

Shakespeare and Renaissance literature and is chair of peace and conflict studies, is ending his sixth year at the College, the last of which he was on sabbatical. Moving forward, he will be living and teaching high school English classes in Southern California to be closer to his family.

During his time at the College, he has taught many first-year students through Introduction to Shakespeare and tutorial classes, led group Mentor Advanced Projects (MAPs) almost every summer and taught at the Newton Correctional Facility as a part of the Liberal Arts in Prison Program. His desire to be in the classroom began in his high school English classes, he said, where he gained exposure to world-broadening books and developed a lifelong love of discussing literature with others.

“That for me is a certain kind of vision of heaven, or a perfect afterlife — just talking with people about what they think about different kinds of books or texts that I’ve read,” he said.

Shakespeare to tell their own stories. At the time he delivered the Grinnell Lecture, he did not know that he was going to leave the College. Still, he said that the significance of high school English classes has been recurrent in his overall writing and thinking.

“There’s a part of the Grinnell lecture that talks about my own experience in high school and how meaningful English classes were to me in terms of me being able to sort of find my own place in the world,” he said.

Steve Andrews, chair of the English department, wrote in an email to the S&B that the department will submit two replacement position proposals — a fiction writer who may assume Writers@Grinnell directorship and a specialist in Renaissance and Milton studies.

In January 2018, Georgeanna Robinson and the office of analytical support and institutional research published a report that examines why students left Grinnell College. Of the 30 students interviewed, the report indicates that 11 left for mental health reasons, 7 left to find a better institutional fit, 5 left because their desired major was not offered, 3 left because they always planned on transferring and the remaining 6 left for “specific reasons that were individual to them.”

Joyce Stern, dean for student success and academic advising, said that initiatives aimed at student retention are being led by the president’s office, offices ranging from Academic Advising and the Center for Careers, Life, and Services to Residence Life and Student Health and Wellness and faculty development programs. Stern said that the Fall 2022 Strategic Planning Responses document, for example, include suggested resources, policies, practices and educational opportunities to cultivate feelings like belonging based on 700 comments from faculty, staff and students. Stern also said that the semes-

For students of color specifically, Varia and Reed wrote that listening to their needs and experiences at every level — administrative, faculty, alumni and peer — is the first step to raising the quality of their time at Grinnell.

“We’d encourage people to listen and reflect on what they are hearing from people and spaces directly, and consider how they are situated to create pathways of persistence,” Varia and Reed wrote. “For example, the Black Student Union’s 10-point plan offered specific and tangible solutions to address the safety concerns and wellness of Black students.”

According to Varia and Reed, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is already taking steps to help determine new models for the cultural centers, encourage Student Affairs to consider the holistic co-curricular student experience and advocate for culturally and identity informed practices.

The April 3 meeting data indicates that raising the graduation rate to the peer average requires roughly 15 additional graduates per year. To raise the Black student graduation rate to the rate of all students at Grinnell, roughly three additional students would need to graduate per year.

During his sabbatical during the 2022-2023 school year, he completed a book about how Shakespeare’s sonnets reveal different ways that memory works called “The Pleasures of Memory in Shakespeare’s Sonnets.” He has also written books on the theme of pacifism in relation to Shakespeare and what Shakespeare thought would happen after death.

In late February of 2023, Garrison delivered the ninth annual Grinnell Lecture and is the first professor of English to be chosen to do so. He explored Rita Dove’s “Shakespeare Says,” a poem that he said is an example of how people can repurpose

As of now, two professors who are already on term contracts with the College will fill the departing professors’ positions. Sherif Abdelkarim, professor of English, will teach Intro to Shakespeare in the fall of 2023 and a seminar called Studies in Shakespeare in the spring of 2024. Santiago Sanchez, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in English, will teach Craft of Fiction in the fall and spring and a fiction seminar in the fall. Carolyn Jacobson and Hai-Dang Phan, both professors of English, will direct Writers@Grinnell in the fall and spring, respectively.

“As difficult as it may be to do, I try to separate the persons from the positions,” Andrews wrote. “The positions will be filled, the persons are irreplaceable. The loss of two such consummate teachers, mentors and colleagues will be felt for a very long time. Dean and John raised the bar for all of us — and helped us fly a little in the process.”

OHANA SARVOTHAM

Stephanie Jones, associate professor of education, helped bring in consultants to build the department, planned for fall 2023.

OWEN BARBATO

Dean Bakopolous will begin as associate professor of screenwriting at the University of Iowa this fall.

It was difficult to consider transferring. I loved my friends. I loved my classes. I loved everything about the school.

Charissa Kim

PAUL HANSEN

Daniel Stewart `26 (right) and Caitlin Ong `26 (left) perform at Bob’s.

Editors in Chief air their dirty laundry

By Gabby Hernandez hernande6@grinnell.edu

Allison Moore `24The Boob Abode

Sometimes, it is difficult for college residences to feel like homes. Just a single loop through apartment 3 of 1215 Elm St. reveals that Allison Moore `24 and Kayley Ronnkvist `23 were the right duo to take on the challenge. Every object in sight has a story and interpersonal connection.

The living room is the first room every guest must walk through. The windows let in a large amount of natural light that falls directly on a table covered by an unfinished puzzle. Three small frog figurines rest and sunbathe on the windowsill furthest to the right. There is a carpet in the center of the room with a couch on one side and a stereo speaker on the other.

Connected to the living room is the kitchen. On the wall above the stove hangs a small farmhouse figurine and poster with advice for bartending. The fridge is decorated with flowers that Moore said she crafted herself with the hope of making it feel more like home. A clock stuck at 4:41:44 hangs beside the fridge, perpetually frozen in time.

The prized possession of the home is in the bathroom — a white shower curtain featuring breasts of different shapes and sizes protects the floor from excess shower water. “I love taking people in here. I try to find my own [breasts] on it, and then everyone else has to find their own,” said Moore. “There’s two GWSS [gender, women’s and sexuality studies] majors in this apartment, so I thought it’d be fitting. And Kayley did not object.”

Even with Ronnkvist away from the home at the time of this visit, there are still signs of her every-

where. With chicken rain boots by the door, a small plastic chicken on a living room shelf and a chicken-patterned water bottle beside the sink, Ronnkvist’s appreciation of this domesticated jungle fowl species shone through. Moore’s bedroom is decorated with countless gifts, memories and mementos. Pinterest inspired her wall decorations, which include letters, pieces of art and music posters. The nightstand by the door to Moore’s room is the resting place of miscellaneous but sentimental items. There, a Keith Haring doll protects a plastic potted plant, which in turn

shades two little rubber duckies. A Lizzo prayer candle on the nightstand looks longingly across the room at a glass DIY Lizzo album cover on the desk. “My other friend made me that after we graduated high school because I'm obsessed with her music, and her message and everything about her, so she watches over me,” said Moore as she blew layers of dust off of the album cover. “She wrote me a little note on the back because we used to sing the song a bunch.” On the vertical organizer beside her desk rests a mug that matches her shower curtain, filled with DumDum lollipops.

Nadia Langley `23 -

The Bed & Breakfast Penthouse

The dark secrets of the apartment highest above the Carriage House Bed and Breakfast on Broad Street have still yet to be revealed to Nadia Langley and Athena Frasca, both `23, residents of this humble abode. Their aesthetic is a mix of cottagecore, dark academia and “sporto” that combines to create a bright and welcoming home.

The front door opens directly into the living room. A blanket-covered couch rests against a long wall with a comfortable armchair to the right. Normally, Langley can be

seen sitting in that chair knitting. However, these are dangerous times, Langley said. Buried somewhere in the chair is the last needle Langley needs to finish knitting her current sock project.

“I’ve been shoving my hands down the sides of it, and I can’t find it,” she said. “I’m really scared.”

“I think it's embedded in your body somewhere,” said Frasca.

“It’s probably in my butt. I didn’t realize this was becoming a horror story!” said Langley. The furniture all faces a television that rests on top of a small bookshelf. “The Suzanne Collins Hunger Games follow-up is mine,” said Langley. “Most of them are Athena’s. A few of them are some that I gave her.”

Frasca said, “Nadia has a super cute tradition of giving me a book, and then she’ll write a note on the inside. It’s detailed with page numbers and what happens in which chapter. It’s so nice. It’s so cool.”

The residents of the Carriage House Bed and Breakfast penthouse are avid readers. In addition to the living room bookshelf, a copy of Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Thorns and Roses" keeps a Hulk Hogan nightlight company in the restroom. Langley said that she strategically placed it in front of the toilet with the hopes that guests would exit the restroom and ask her about it.

Langley and Frasca said that they enjoy sharing their home with guests for post-improv get-togethers, games of salad bowl and dinners in their compact kitchen. On top of their microwave rests a bowl of fruit, at the bottom of which lays an apple that Frasca has held onto since May of 2022. The window next to the stove, as well as all other windows on that side of the building, have a lovely view of the large crane at Grinnell’s downtown construction site.

Student programming returns to Mayflower Community with weekly April events

By Charlotte Krone kronecha@grinnell.edu

“Do we get to name ‘em?” asked resident Deena Wellborn at the Mayflower Community’s rock painting table. The table in front of her was scattered with bottles of acrylic paint and markers, and beside her sat other residents, nurses and student volunteers, all working on their own rocks. Wellborn decided to name hers “Elmer.”

Every Saturday during the month of April, student volunteers from the College have been visiting the Mayflower to connect with residents over games and crafts. The Mayflower is

a community for aging Grinnell residents, with a mix of independent and assisted living options. Evelyn Dziekan `24 started the Saturday program through a center for careers, life and services (CLS) work-study designed to integrate the College and surrounding community.

Dziekan said she was inspired to start the program at Mayflower by a discussion about talking to strangers in her SOC 111: Introduction to Sociology class with professor Lara Janson, sociology. “I wanted to see something happen within Mayflower that would bring students in,” said Dziekan.

Dziekan said she thought that a

“major problem” around efforts to build bridges between the College and town communities are the perceptions that students may have of the locals, but the residents of the Mayflower create an environment that is welcoming to students.

“I think it’s always nice to have activities on the weekend,” said Kathy Herman, an independent resident of the Mayflower since 2015. “There used to be not much on the weekends.” Herman, who was born in Northern California, moved to Grinnell when her now retired husband got a job as a professor, but she does not have much family in town. Herman and Dziekan both said

that the Mayflower’s previous programming with students was interrupted by the onset of the COVID pandemic. The rock painting and board game events that have been held April 8, 15, 22 and 29 are part of an effort to bring back events for residents and gauge interest for a program that could continue into next school year. So far, according to Dziekan, it has been successful.

“Every student who’s been here, they’ve all said they really liked it,” said Dziekan. After the program was promoted by the CLS and Dziekan’s sociology professor via an email to the student body, she said that she has received interest from a surplus of student volunteers. “A lot of students who came said they would come back again, and many of them have.” The volunteers in attendance on April 22 ranged from students like Cynthia Hu `23, who has been volunteering with the CLS since her first year, to first-timers.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to get out into the community more,” said volunteer Delaney Owens `25. “I figure, what’s the point of going to school in a small town with such a cool community if I don’t ever really get out there?” Owens said that she saw the event advertised in an email from the CLS and thought it would be a good chance to meet new people and do something fun. “I was right, it is fun!” she said.

Many residents said they are eager to get to know students from the College. “The programs with college students are always very popular,”

said Herman. “We always like to see young people.” Owens, who will be vacationing in Iceland for a week in June, met a resident who used to teach there and has since returned to travel. They got to talking about puffins, waterfalls and all the attractions Owens should be sure not to miss.

I figure, what's the point of

school in

Dziekan said that it was initially a struggle to find her place at Mayflower, but that this program has given her direction. She considered the April events a chance to troubleshoot and prepare to continue programming at Mayflower this coming fall, including more variety –– Dziekan has a carnival in mind –– and weekday events.

“The problem I would see further on is, how much commitment can you get from students?” Dziekan said. Because students’ schedules can get busy, she is concerned about consistency and the need to search for new volunteers. “People should come!” said Dziekan.

going to

a small town with such a cool community if I don't ever really get out there?

Delaney Owens `25

MADDI SHINALL

Allison Moore `24 encourages her guests to pick out their own breasts from those doodled on her decorative shower curtain.

MADDI SHINALL

Nadia Langley `23 fills her bookshelves with books gifted to her roommate, Athena Frasca `23, with notes written inside.

MADDI SHINALL

A Hulk Hogan nightlight is one of many knick-knacks that decorate Langley's apartment in addition to a lost knitting needle.

MADDI SHINALL

Moore's Lizzo prayer candle keeps watch over her decorative boob mug as they sit on her bookshelf.

PAUL HANSEN

Grinnell College students paint rocks with members of the Mayflower Community on Saturday, April 22 as part of Evelyn Dziekan's `24 outreach program.

SPARK pitch contest funds three innovation community projects

merce to implement a project that would allow dining dollars to be used at off-campus restaurants. Cassidy will receive $8,000 to implement this idea.

The second-place award, which will receive $3,086, went to Elisabeth Kille `23, Isabelle Kolleth `24 and Jiayi Chen `23 who partnered with Drake Community Library to implement the idea of building an accessible workstation at the library.

The third-place award, with a funding amount of $2,200, went to Nam Do `25 who partnered with the office of sustainability to implement a sustainable move-out program.

“I noticed that there wasn’t clear guidance on how to move out of dorms. So I reached out to the office of sustainability and decided to solve it and design a move-out system for the College,” Do said.

The other participants were James Snyder `26 who presented on a broken drinking fountain at Arbor Lake and a plan to fix it while partnering with the Grinnell Department of Parks and Recreation, Writam Pal `23, who presented on increasing student engagement through Anthology Engage and partnered with student affairs, Aysha Simmonds `23 who presented

on Lift It while partnering with the office of student involvement and Aruan Shaukenov `25 who presented on Grinnell Calendar and partnered with the disability office.

Many of the participants said they thought the competition was fun and a good way to be involved in the community, said Kille.

Pal said that he decided to participate in the competition because he felt like he could make an impact on the community before he graduated at the end of this school year.

Other students decided to participate because their project could actually be implemented in the community. Simmonds said, “I’ve participated in Pioneer Weekend, and I was like, ‘Maybe I should participate in something that I can actually implement.’”

Do, who received third place in the competition, said that he participated because he is passionate about the environment and sustainability.

The winning students and their community partners will begin to implement their ideas next semester. Cassidy said in the presentation that hopefully by next semester, dining dollars will be possible to use at a number of off-campus restaurants.

Five Grinnell College students will be receiving funds from the Wilson Center to implement projects of their own design to help the Grinnell community.

On Monday, April 24, Grinnell students gave presentations for this year’s Wilson Center SPARK pitch event. Students, who could be in groups or do an individual presentation, pitched their ideas to a panel of judges, and the top three presentations will receive funding to help implement their solutions to community issues while working with community organizations.

In an email to the S&B, Monty Roper, SPARK challenge coordinator and associate professor and chair of anthropology at Grinnell, wrote that the pitch night itself went well with over 30 people in attendance to view 7 different presentations.

“The seven pitches went smooth-

ly, and the judges asked great questions,” wrote Roper. According to Roper, at least one group member must be enrolled in the class WIL: 110-01 for two credits, WIL: 100-01 for a half-credit or WIL: 110A-01 for audit to present a project.

Students then worked with a community partner to identify a problem and create a solution, which included developing a budget that could be implemented to help solve the problem.

Finally, students pitched their idea to a panel of judges who then decided which projects would receive funding.

The judges for this year’s presentations were Rachel Bly, Grinnell College assistant vice president for auxiliary services, Jeff Dickey-Chasens, job board and career site consultant and founder of JobBoardDoctor LLC, and Germaine Gross, Grinnell College vice president for finance and chief financial officer.

This year, first place went to Caroline Cassidy `25, who partnered with the Grinnell Area Chamber of Com-

Dari Barn, the beacon that signals the coming of spring

vorite. Right now, McFarland said she is in the market for a chicken statue to join her throng of barnyard animals.

McFarland also contributes to a wide variety of local charity events and organizations through Dari Barn.

In June of 2017, she participated in a campaign called Cones for Helmets which provided a coupon for a free ice cream cone for kids wearing a bike helmet.

“We really like supporting the youth,” McFarland said. “I think that to us is what we really like to support and provide — that opportunity for kids to come here and be able to enjoy ice cream.”

Even the ice cream they serve takes on a personal, local touch. Dari Barn’s cyclones — soft serve ice cream with mixed-in ingredients — are appropriately named after the Iowa State University Cyclones, which McFarland’s aunt and uncle are fans of. The popular Jessie cyclone, too, was named after one of McFarland’s coworkers in the emergency room who came up with the recipe combination — cheesecake bites, strawberries and whipped cream.

During her first year at Grinnell College, Jane Hoffman `25 visited

By Taylor

Dari Barn recently emerged from its annual winter hibernation, much to the delight of Grinnell College students and town residents alike. Located on 6th Ave., the small walk-up ice cream shop offers locally sourced soft-serve ice cream, a rotating menu of frozen yogurt flavors and handmade hot food selections.

Ginette McFarland, 47, has been working at Dari Barn since she was 14 years old. On June 1, 2012, she bought the business from her aunt and uncle, Pat and Bob Slagle. The Slagles previously owned Dari Barn for 25 years before they made the decision to sell it.

“My aunt and uncle really wanted it to stay in the family,” McFarland said.

Along with her job as the sole owner of Dari Barn, McFarland works as an emergency medical technician (EMT) out of Brooklyn, Iowa.

A few years back, Dari Barn became her “full-time gig” — to her, the ice cream shop was a welcome respite from healthcare.

“We always joke with the boys and girls and team that no one’s dying here,” she said. “Everyone’s happy.

We’re getting ice cream.”

“EMS [emergency medical services] especially can be really stressful,” she added. “And you see a lot of things in the emergency room, so coming here and just making people

happy with ice cream is a lot less stressful.”

McFarland said she uses a community-first approach in her business. With Dari Barn’s soft serve coming from Des Moines, and its fresh beef only a short drive from Malcom, McFarland said that despite the fact that buying local is often more expensive, she will continue to do so.

Even the shop’s four farm animal statues that customers are greeted with when walking up to the window to order were locally bought by McFarland. Elsie the cow was her first purchase, named after the dairy company Borden’s cow mascot. She continued the ‘E’ alliteration with each animal she bought — Elmer the pig, Eugene the sheep and Elvira the goat, her fa-

Dari Barn with a group of friends on the Friday after the first week of classes. When she saw the hiring sign, she applied and interviewed, saying she “really connected with Ginette and the other employees” immediately.

“What I really love is there’s this sort of multi-generational aspect of working there, both between the different employees and also between the clientele,” Hoffman said.

McFarland and Hoffman both said they believed Dari Barn’s team has grown over time to include a wider background of employees. Hoffman described it as a “micro-community” between college students, high school students and older adults who all work there.

Although Dari Barn has changed over the 33 years McFarland has worked there, a large part of it remains rooted in tradition. McFarland said many customers have urged her to place indoor seating or to open the shop year-round, but she does not see herself ever entertaining these suggestions in the future.

“There’s something to be said to being closed over the winter,” she said. “That anticipation of ‘spring is here. Dari Barn is opening.’”

OHANA SARVOTHAM

Ginette McFarland, owner of Dari Barn, started working at Dari Barn when she was14 years old and proceeded to buy the ice cream shop from her aunt and uncle nearly 11 years ago.

SOFIIA ZARUCHEKO

Caroline Cassidy `25 received first place at the SPARK pitch contest for the project she designed along with the Grinnell Chamber of Commerce to allow students to use dining dollars at off-campus restaurants.

By Conrad Dahm dahmconr@grinnell.edu

SOFIIA ZARUCHEKO

James Snyder `26 partenered with the Grinnell Department of Parks and Recreation to design a project to fix the broken water fountain at Arbor Lake.

Nunley nunleyta@grinnell.edu

OHANA SARVOTHAM

Dari Barn s products are sourced from local vendors.

By Zach Spindler-Krage spindler@grinnell.edu

At most campus concerts and performances, Hayden Suarez-Davis `25 and Olivia Rikabi `26 are tucked away from the stage, often out of view of the audience, but they play a major role. When they seamlessly execute a show, controlling the audio and lights as well as managing set-up, SuarezDavis and Rikabi may go unnoticed, but their work never does.

Over the past year, Grinnell Concerts Committee has hosted artists Divino Niño, redveil, Pictoria Vark and Saba. Other recent events on campus have included the International Student Organization’s Cultural Evening, Disco Harris, Gardner dances and a number of student-musician performances.

These events, which have each attracted hundreds of students, staff, faculty and community members, have only been possible because of the technical skills of Suarez-Davis and Rikabi, who serve as concert coordinators for Student Government Association.

For Suarez-Davis, his technical production experience began as a young kid when he would experiment with any audio equipment he could find. In high school, he narrowed his interest, helping with student-run theater productions and the audio production of daily school-wide morning announcements.

“The morning announcements finalized my interest in technical work because I realized this work is always new and exciting,” said Suarez-Davis.

Olivia Rikabi `26 & Hayden Suarez-Davis `25

“We would be told the plan for the show five minutes beforehand, and then we would go straight into the announcements without rehearsal. If you messed up, that’s fine. It taught me that for anybody working behind the scenes, the most important skills are being easy to work with, problem solving and thinking on your feet.”

Rikabi’s introduction to the technical side of the industry came from their experience as a musician. In 2018, Rikabi created a post-punk psychedelic metal band, Fervor, with their friends. In addition to playing electric bass for the band, Rikabi took the lead on booking venues, landing numerous concerts in Brooklyn, New York. It wasn’t until 2020 that Rikabi became more serious about audio and lighting work, but they quickly became skilled enough to do freelance work for friends.

“I was definitely a musician first before I was behind the scenes,” said Rikabi. “Which I think has given me a leg up because I understand what it takes to have a good performance.”

This spring marks the third semester Suarez-Davis has been involved in working concerts, and he cites two spring 2022 experiences as being particularly formative.

“The first show that I ever worked was Magdalena Bay. It was the first time that the Gardner equipment had been used in two years. We had to do a lot of awesome troubleshooting, and they put on a phenomenal show,” said Suarez-Davis. “My best memory, and the thing that made me apply for the concert job this year, was working with Japanese Breakfast. Every single

Grinnell Artists: Amanda Lee

member of the band and technical team were exceedingly kind, and I still text them if I need advice about set up.”

For Suarez-Davis and Rikabi, their involvement in campus performances has been the most rewarding aspect of their college experience. Both feel that highlighting the work and personalities of the performers is their top priority. In fact, Suarez-Davis and Rikabi are content to keep themselves out of the spotlight as much as possible.

“I have really terrible social anxiety,” said Suarez-Davis. “It is remarkably difficult for me to talk to people my own age, and the nice thing about working events is that I can still participate in them while having my mind being taken off of the social aspect.”

“I think it’s nice to be unseen by the general public and seen by fellow musicians or music and tech aficionados,” said Rikabi. “It’s so much more meaningful and personal to receive positive feedback from someone who understands the work that we do.”

As Suarez-Davis and Rikabi plan for upcoming years of programming, their primary goal is to maximize the number of people they bring together.

“We see so many different types of people at our shows,” said SuarezDavis. “Grinnell concerts are special because we are in an isolated location. I really like the fact that we keep shows open to the public free of cost, and it has been an effective way to include the broader community in campus events.”

Suarez-Davis and Rikabi have also been advocates for increasing

accessibility to campus events, and they are looking to continue making improvements to the way performances operate.

“We’re trying to push for more concert accessibility because we want to accommodate those with disabilities or mobility concerns,” said Rikabi. “It would also be a major step to offer sign language interpreters at our big shows.”

Although Suarez-Davis and Rikabi may ultimately avoid careers in the entertainment industry for ethical concerns, they both want to continue using their technical expertise to support artists.

“I want to keep writing music, jamming with others, setting up and mixing shows,” said Rikabi.

Suarez-Davis says that one of the main things he has learned from his experience is the amount of work that goes into every performance.

He said, “Once you start working events, it gives you a lot more appreciation for the people who work behind the scenes. Keep it in mind when you’re watching a sports broadcast, or concert or theater production. There are a lot of really awesome people putting in a lot of really awesome work to make these things happen.”

Spotlight on Zimbabwean Mbira Ensemble

By Krista Spies spieskri@grinnell.edu

One musical group on campus centers around a single instrument. The Zimbabwean Mbira Ensemble provides students, faculty, staff and community members with the opportunity to not only learn the mbira, but also to experience and share in a collective musical space.

“The music is a vehicle for shaping this potentially profound, potentially transformative shared experience,” said Tony Perman, director of the Mbira Ensemble and assistant professor of music at Grinnell College.

By Molly Wilcoxson wilcoxso@grinnell.edu

When looking at the world of Jewish folk dance, Amanda Lee sees not only a dance, but a form of political protest, community and storytelling.

Lee, who is currently a visiting assistant professor of theatre, dance and performance studies at Grinnell College, is in the process of wrapping up her MFA thesis on Jewish folk dance titled “Communal Acts of Resistance.” The thesis aims to explore the importance of dance to the Jewish diaspora in Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and even the Caribbean. It is the culmination of her MFA program at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, which she will finish in June.

Prior to teaching dance at Grinnell, Lee previously served as an assistant visiting professor at the College from 2019 to 2021 in the French and Arabic department. Her return to Grinnell comes after her time as a visiting assistant professor at Boston University, where she taught both French and Performance Studies. Lee said that she appreciated the opportunity to teach at a liberal arts college again.

“The students’ minds are very interdisciplinary,” said Lee. “One thing I really love is having the chance to dialogue on so many different levels… and knowing my students are going to bring all kinds of interesting research questions to class.”

Lee’s background in dance is extensive. She began her dance career primarily in ballet, before switching to more contemporary styles. Jewish

LEE

BY AMANDA

folk dance, specifically, runs deep in Lee’s family — her grandmother practiced it, dancing for the leftist New Dance Group in the early 20th century. Her Jewish identity as well as her background in dance led her to pursue her master’s degree, hoping to focus more on Jewish folk dance as a whole.

To Lee, studying folk dance is important for many different reasons.

“I like the idea of thinking about folk dance as a way to preserve tradition through body-to-body transmission,” she said. “As a kind of diasporic practice that connects Jewish folk dance through the diaspora.”

Lee also sees Jewish folk dance as a manifestation of how the Jewish diaspora connects to their heritage. In preparation for her thesis, she studied Yiddish music and its connection to storytelling within the Jewish art scene.

In addition to this, her research interests also include international labor movements and the connection between art and politics, a passion that comes from her time with her grandmother. “We would always practice Jewish folk dances together, but she would also [tell me], ‘Okay, these are the ways that we practiced labor organizing through dance.”

Lee is currently teaching a special topic course on Jewish folk dance within the Theatre Department. She routinely holds workshops and events for students to explore the world of Jewish folk dance, including on May 1, in observance of Jewish Culture Week. This will be followed by a performance of the dance on May 5, which serves as the culmination of her MFA research.

Perman specializes in the music of Zimbabwe and the semiotics of music and emotion. He started the ensemble when he first came to work at Grinnell.

“I think it offers something about how to relate to other people in other parts of the world that are hard to get from a book,” he said.

In addition to the creation of collective experience as a motivation for directing the ensemble, Perman also said that there is importance in “connecting students to this musical history from Zimbabwe that is a deeply complex art form with 1,000 years of history in order to shape those kinds of experiences that is maybe unfamiliar to most of us through the classroom doors.”

Shabab Kabir `26 said that when they joined the ensemble, they realized the collective and participatory nature

of the music is different from the other ensemble groups. “I feel like if I make a mistake, I can move on,” Kabir said.

This year, the ensemble has 10 members: five students, two faculty and three community members.

Perman said that the four aspects of the mbira style that the ensemble focuses on, which specifically come from the Shona community in Zimbabwe, involve playing the mbira itself, keeping the beat with hosho gourd rattles, dancing and singing. He said that historically, “it emerged really closely tied to ancestral spirits and other kinds, so it’s played in ceremonies for spirits that are, like, all-night parties basically.”

The mbira instrument itself is a hand-held wooden board with metal keys, played with one’s thumb and index finger. “It’s a unique instrument to Africa, not to Zimbabwe,” Perman said. “There’s different kinds all across Africa. There’s some in the Americas after the slave trade, but they’re really different. This one [that we play] is very specific to Zimbabwe.”

The director acknowledged his position as a white American academic teaching this particular music style in the context of colonialism and racism in the United States. He said he tries to “get students to reflect on what it means to embody, to step foot into these histories. Once they get into it — most of them get hooked in some way and stick around — and once you do get hooked, then you have to start reflecting on what does it mean for me to do this, and what responsibilities

come with this privilege?”

Every year, the Mbira Ensemble brings in a new guest musician from Zimbabwe who has played the music their entire life. “I like to think of myself mostly as just the conduit between students here and the expertise there,” said Perman.

Assistant Professor of Music Putu Tangkas Adi Hiranmayena, who is a member of the group, said that though he was aware of mbira through his studies, he was never able to play it until coming to the College. “It’s just a really good community-building ensemble where there’s no real prerequisites to play. It’s just supposed to just be for us and the community surroundings, not necessarily supposed to be presentational. So, I like that aspect of it.”

Perman said that historically, mbira music is not associated with concerts. The players are “sort of doing work in service of the event so that people can sing and dance and celebrate. It’s hard to do that in a concert because then people are watching them as pressure to perform for those [audiences], whereas the value of the ensemble for me is doing it for yourself as a group,” said Perman. Despite this, the Ensemble has an outdoor concert forthcoming to encourage dance and share their collective musical experience.

The Grinnell Zimbabwean Mbira Ensemble will hold a concert on Wednesday, May 3 at 7:00 p.m. in the Bucksbaum Haight Courtyard outside of the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts.

PAUL HANSEN

Olivia Rikabi `26 (left) and Hayden Suarez-Davis `25 (right) bring artists to campus and orchestrate production as Concerts Coordinators.

CONTRIBUTED

Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies Amanda Lee (bottom).

OWEN BARBATO

The Zimbabwean Mbira Ensemble practicing in the Bucksbaum Haight Courtyard.

Aquapella is ready to sync and swim

By Mohammad Igbaria igbariam@grinnell.edu

All eyes certainly will be on Aquapella this coming Sunday when they debut their Britney Spears show.

Taking place on May 7 from 4-4:30 p.m. in the Charles Benson Bear `39 Recreation and Athletic Center Natatorium diving well, the synchronized swimming group will be taking to the waters for another of their semi-annual shows, but for the first time, they will be in matching team swimsuits.

Originally founded in 2018 as the Raykettes, the club faced some rough waters during the pandemic with only three club members returning to the team, according to Julia Tlapa `23 and Megan LeBlanc `23, the club’s leaders.

Since their return, the club has been able to stay afloat and eventually grow to be 16 members strong.

A student-led organization, the now co-ed group is excited to break the ice with their upcoming performance.

Marcy Cassidy-Mapp contributed reporting.

ISC brings recreational soccer to Grinnell

By Ashley Baek baekashl@grinnell.edu

If you ever find yourself walking past the Charles Benson Bear `39 Recreation and Athletic Center auxiliary gym, you might hear dull thuds of soccer balls hitting the walls and the squeak of sneakers coming from an International Soccer Club (ISC) scrimmage.

With a focus on recreational soccer, the members of the club play five-versus-five scrimmages at each of the group’s multiple weekly meetings. Teammates switch positions and players rotate in and out throughout each game, according to Hana Leonard `25, club co-president.

“I came to Grinnell with the intent of playing some rec or lowstakes soccer,” said Leonard. Having played soccer since she was just five years old all the way through the varsity level in high school, Leonard said she loves the game. “I know that college is one of my last chances to probably play, so I’m so happy to continue playing here,” she said.

Daniel Cho `25, one of the club’s members, said, “I’ve loved playing soccer since I was younger in South Korea.” He said that playing the game helps in relieving his stress and making new friends who have a common interest.

“There’s a great moment when you score a goal after running around for a while — it’s one of my favorite memories with the club,” he added.

Softball matches nationally ranked Coe College in doubleheader

By Oliver Palmer palmerol@grinnell.edu

Heading into their double header against nationally ranked Coe College (29-5) on April 24, Grinnell softball was on a six-game win streak. After losing the first game 2-9, the Pioneers bounced back to win 5-2, earning softball their first win over a nationally ranked opponent since 2018.

Going into the game, Emma Nelson `23, an outfielder, said the team knew it would be both special and challenging because Coe College was ranked 17th in the nation for Division III teams.

to Leonard, this is one of the club’s fun traditions. She added that last year she got a “Tweety Bird” award because she whistles with her fingers in her mouth before each game.

Osel Tshering `25

Leonard said her favorite memory of the club has been making lasting friendships in a supportive and fun environment. “I remember being this timid first-year [student],” she said. “Being able to exercise and play my sport is super exciting and fun.”

Osel Tshering `25, an ISC member from Bhutan, said that he was motivated to join the club through a general interest in soccer that he has had since he was young.

Despite playing at the Grinnell College Softball Complex, the stands were filled with Coe College parents and families, making it feel as if they were the true home team.

Grinnell took an early lead in the second inning of the first game with a run batted in from Alexa Okada `24, followed by another by Sofia Dicarlo `25 in the third. Coe College eventually came back to win 2-9, snapping Grinnell’s 6-game win streak.

“We have been on a win streak, so we haven’t had a loss like that in a little bit, so it’s kind of a reality check,” said Nelson. “But we lost 15-1 against Central [College] and came back in the second game, so I think we’re able to compartmentalize those really tough losses and move on in the next game,” she said, referring to the March 28 games against Central College.

the second game because we realized that we can beat them,” Taylor Durak `24, another outfielder, said.

“I think realizing that wasn’t our game, and that, you know, this [the second game] is going to be our game,” she added.

really coming together,” Durak said. “And also just having our new coach last season and getting used to her and her coaching style, and now we know what to expect.”

Both Determan and Dalton Meredith, assistant softball coach, joined Grinnell in 2022. Last year, both were named to the Midwest Conference Coaching Staff of the Year. To Determan and Meredith, as well as to the players, the mentality of learning from their mistakes has been a key component in the success of this year and last.

The club started in around 2015 as a place for people who “aren’t quite ready to commit to a sports team and who want a low stakes, supportive environment to play,” said Leonard.

At the end of each year, the club gathers together and the presidents create an award list to be given to each member — according

“I thought this would be a good way for me to stay physically fit and make new friends,” Tshering said. “I really like spending time with people that I wouldn’t know outside of this club.”

The ISC practices three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, at 4:30 p.m. in the Charles Benson Bear `39 Recreation and Athletic Center auxiliary gym.

In between games, Grinnell’s coaches and players discussed the loss and how to bounce back and win the second game. Based on the fact that Grinnell initially had a 2-0 lead in the first game, Lexy Determan, head softball coach, emphasized the need to keep scoring runs and build on their lead in order to beat a good team like Coe College.

“We’ve done that against other good teams, too, like Simpson College, where we lost the first game and then came back and won

The Pioneers showed no signs of demoralization in the second game, scoring five runs in the third inning. Durak had two hits in four at bats, Jasmine Oda `25 had two runs batted in on a single and both Okada and Emma DiGiacomo Zahller `24 brought runners on third home with single hits.

Christin Hartman `25 threw 104 pitches and had 4 strikeouts in what ended up being a 5-2 victory for Grinnell.

”We’re learning from our failures and picking each other up as a team, we’re very cohesive and

Durak also explained that last year, there were no seniors on the team, allowing for the team to build chemistry.

Grinnell softball is currently undefeated in conference play as of Thursday April 27 (10-0, and they faced off against Cornell College and the also undefeated Illinois College this past Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The results of those matchups can be found on the Grinnell Athletics website.)

Last year, Grinnell softball finished second in the Midwest Conference tournament. This year, Durak said they are hungry to return to the tournament and win it.

OWEN BARBATO

Aquapella, Grinnell College’s synchronized swimming club, has been preparing weekly for their upcoming show, “Aquapella’s Britney Spears Show.”

Alexa Okada `24, infielder, at bat against Coe College on April 24.

I think we’re able to compartmentalize those really tough losses and move on in the next game.

Emma Nelson `23

EVAN HEIN

Emma Nelson `23, outfielder, bats against Coe College.

EVAN HEIN

Osel Tshering `25 (right) dribbles past Garikai Gijima `26 (left) during one of International Soccer Club’s scrimmages.

There’s a great moment when you score a goal after running around for a while — it’s one of my favorite memories with the club.

Daniel Cho `25

Being able to exercise and play my sport is super exciting and fun.

EVAN HEIN

Jan Gloor `24 (right) defends against Osel Tshering `25 (left) at an International Soccer Club scrimmage.

Tackling Mental Health’s Greatest Opponent

By Luke Stefan stefanlu@grinnell.edu

The “athlete mentality” is one of the oddest phenomena in the world of mental health. We are taught that if it does not hurt, you are not working out the right muscle. If you’re not tired, you’re not working hard enough, and if you don’t get it, you’re probably not thinking the right way. Watch the film again, replay the match in your head and ruthlessly check the stats sheet because no matter what angle you take, even though you want to blame the referees, bad coaching or unpredictable weather, you know deep down that failure will almost always find its way back to you. Yet on the other end of the spectrum, the moment we sustain the smallest of injuries, it’s often an immediate walk to the training room. We find ways to tape the injury, stretch the muscle so it doesn’t pull or even sit out for weeks so the condition doesn’t worsen. If we place such concern over the health and preservation of our bodies come game day, why is it so difficult for us to apply the same principle of preservation to our mental health?

I understand this sentiment is not generalizable for all sports, but it’s something that I feel needs to be said — as athletes, just like we do with physical injuries, we need to know when we reach the point when poor mental health is inhibiting our ability to compete, or perhaps more importantly, when competition is inhibiting our ability to live a normal life. In the same way you decide not to do the last rep because your hamstring feels too tight, we need to build a culture that proactively encourages taking breaks and seeking out resources.

From baseball in first grade to

football and track in college, I’ve played sports all my life. Growing up, my parents encouraged me to play sports for as many seasons as I could, which, to their credit, helped me develop in many ways, but also ingrained in me this abstract and indescribable commitment to sports. I carried this into Grinnell, forcing myself to play football all fall and then run track from winter to spring. I distinctly remember one day during track practice in the late indoor season where the workout was fairly easy, but I had this incredibly heavy mental block. Sure, the thought of leaving was racing through my head, but it felt like there was this 80-foot wall between me and the 100yard walk to the locker room. But this wall wasn’t a fear of upsetting my coaches nor was it letting down my teammates –– track is mostly an individual sport, after all –– it was this hypothetical barrier that, in reality, was only held up by myself. By the time I did leave, my coaches happily agreed to let me go, but it still felt like I was doing something wrong. It just seemed ironic, because there were countless times in the football season when I had heeded the trainer’s advice for lingering pain in my hamstring just to take the day off, but suddenly when my mind was involved, I refused to take the same precautions.

I don’t say this to exclusively complain — the spirit of competition has helped me persevere through some of the toughest parts of my life, built unbreakable bonds and forged unforgettable memories. I love my sport — it has served as a haven from tough times and an outlet for wordless emotions, but the mental toll is undeniable. Athletes at the professional level like Simone Biles, Michael Phelps and Kevin Love are beginning to speak more about mental health, but this culture change needs to be encouraged by athletes at every level. In other words, while I believe this is a shared commitment to change, the most important people who need to realize this culture change are not fans, coaches, trainers or families. It’s us as athletes.

However, many of the individuals that are speaking out tend to not only subtract agency from athletes but cite suicide as the chief indicator of mental health problems. First and foremost, suicide is not an accurate determinant of mental health. If we define athlete mental health primarily by struggling with suicidal ideations, we substantially limit the validity of individuals battling a plethora of other mental health struggles like depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder and mood disorders, among so many others. Secondly, we need to promote the agency

Sage & Blunt: Ex on Eggshells

By Sage & Blunt

Dear Sage & Blunt, My ex and I dated pretty seriously at the beginning of college. Our breakup started amicable and then became messy, and in a heated fight, we decided not to speak to each other. It’s now been well over a year, and we still haven’t talked. All I have received are glares and avoidance, and I’ve followed their lead because they wanted space.

But graduation is coming up and I’m wondering if I should reach out. It’s sad that someone I once shared so much with is now a stranger. I’d like to know how they’re doing, but on the other hand, I did the dumping and I don’t want to cause them more harm. Should I reach out before graduation, or just let it go?

Sincerely,

Ex on Eggshells

Dear Ex on Eggshells, I’m sorry to hear that things are strained with your ex. Oh, how I know the pain of becoming strangers. I imagine the feeling of finality

that surrounds graduation is only exacerbating that ache. Of course, you would like to know how they’re doing. I have limited intel here, but let’s face it, Eggshells, it does not seem like they want anything to do with you.

Often, we like to make ourselves believe that the people we miss are secretly harboring hopes that we will write them a letter or extend some token that otherwise proves we still think about them. And while maybe sometimes that’s true — we all love to be thought of — if all they are willing to do in front of you is glare and avoid, that’s the impression you need to work from. Clearly, they have decided that any feelings they are having about estrangement and commencement are not for you to see.

Look, I am a terribly sentimental person. I keep a diary, I re-read old texts, I accumulate souvenirs. I think of new things to say to past companions every day because I spend a lot of time ruminating on what has already happened. The urge to share my meditations can be overpowering and quite romantic, but I have weath-

The Scarlet & Black Staff Spring 2023

Nadia Langley

Allison Moore

Nina Baker

Ellianna Cierpiot

Eleanor Corbin

Lilli Morrish

Mohammad Igbaria

Jandry Perez Garcia

Millie Peck

Samuel Bates

Nora Kohnhorst

Maddi Shinall

Cornelia Di Gioia

Gabriela Rożnawska

ered enough temptation to realize that urges are for you and the people you are still close with — they are not for strangers. Instead, I project everything onto the advice column I write, and I call my mom a lot.

It’s hard for me to imagine that you reaching out would harm your ex unless you effed up in a graver way than you are willing to admit in your letter, but do you actually have something to say? I do not know if “It’s sad that we used to share so much and now we’re strangers” counts because everybody knows that already.

The thing to remember is that you will still feel sad about becoming strangers with someone you once knew intimately, no matter what you decide to do before graduation. It’s unlikely that reaching out will soothe that feeling. You will probably just have to live with it for a while, which –– make no mistake –– sucks. There will be more people to share your life with who you will eventually need to leave behind. This might be a good chance to practice.

Here’s what I think you should do — do not bother your ex and re-

that athletes have when fighting their own mental health problems. Mental health struggles often are invisible. For teams over 50 players, it is completely unreasonable to hold coaches accountable to measure an athlete’s ability to compete based on mental health status. Additionally, as a generation that discourages the stigmatization of mental health struggles, we cannot place the responsibility for removing these pressures on coaches and parents who were raised in a different world.

That is not to say that this is an easy task. Speaking out about your mental health struggles can often be extremely challenging, especially if you participate in a sport where taking a break is seen as a weakness. Convincing yourself that you shouldn’t practice because you fractured your foot, for example, is significantly easier than reminding yourself that you haven’t been able to complete assignments because getting out of bed has been exceedingly challenging lately. Additionally, it is much more difficult to watch your teammates continue to practice when you’re suffering a “mental injury” as opposed to a physical one. Overcoming personal history, social stigmas and external stress is an uphill battle, but I believe by setting the standard now, we as a generation can begin to create change.

I want to emphasize that I am not in any way saying this is a battle you should take on alone. While I suggest that athletes enable ourselves as a collective to fight against stigmas and pressures, I encourage individual athletes to pursue resources and relationships that foster growth and help share those mental burdens. But most importantly, remind yourself sometimes that it’s okay to not be okay. Getting out of bed when you’re fighting a depressive episode can be a tough challenge for many people, and that challenge only becomes larger when you must maintain a certain weight, earn a certain GPA, make a certain amount of money and perform a certain way, athletically, just to keep your spot on the roster.

To encourage this change, I suggest two things. First, seek out resources so that you can take care of yourself before these battles begin, while these battles happen and even after you think they might be over. In the same way one preventatively stretches against shin splints in track, one should also go to therapy or find an outlet or space where they can cope with these feelings. I cannot begin to emphasize enough the importance of seeking out help, even if you think the problem will go away eventually. Secondly, check on your friends, especially the friends that check on you. Just because someone doesn’t seem like they need to be checked on doesn’t mean they don’t need to be checked on. However, checking on your friends doesn’t always look like saying, “How’s it going?” in D-Hall. Find and create spaces where you can genuinely ensure that your friends and teammates aren’t fighting their battles alone.

Conversely, be honest with your friends when they ask you these questions. Personally, this is the hardest part because whenever a friend asks me how I’m doing, I’ll immediately say I’m ‘good’ or ‘okay’ because I feel that I’m too busy to actually talk about my problems. But I promise you, no matter how busy your schedule is, no matter how worried you may be about whatever the future holds, you always have enough time to check in on those close to you, and those close to you always have enough time to check in on you. Please check in on your friends, and even more importantly, confide in those who care because those minutes we decided not to give can turn into a lifetime of regret.

gard them with warmth even when they glare and get yourself to the commencement stage on May 22. Afterwards, when everyone is milling about on the grass, teary, and hugging and drinking champagne with their parents, find a free moment to go up to your ex. Congratulate them, wish them well, tell them you love them if that’s still true/the way you two do things –– again, working with a terribly sentimental personality over here –– and then let it be. They have your number.

Graduation feels like the end of so much because it is, but it’s not the end of everything. This season kicks

up so much nostalgia that it’s hard to keep your head on straight. But your ex still exists after you both move on from college. And, per my last column, a year is so little time. Who knows what’s in store after this. Maybe you will never speak again, maybe things between you will cool off enough to form a kind of friendship, maybe something else will happen. But it does not all come down to what you do or do not say in the next few weeks. Take it one day at a time — that’s advice I would apply generally and liberally. And congrats, grad.

With love, truly, Sage & Blunt

CORNELIA DI GIOIA

MADDI SHINALL

Luke Stefan `25.5 has made the difficult decision to step away from competing in order to prioritize his mental health.

Just like we do with physical injuries, we need to know when we reach the point when poor mental health is inhibiting our ability to compete, or perhaps more importantly, when competition is inhibiting our ability to live a normal life.