Vol. 139, Issue 6

& Black

vandalized among series of other recent racist incidents

By Nick El Hajj elhajjni@grinnell.edu

cars have joined a series of over a dozen recent incidents of racism that have rattled the Grinnell

Kenn Anderson `24 was the first student to report

Sunday, Oct.

9. Anderson, a Black student at the College, saw the markings on a campus map near the Harris Center.

“It was the n-word with a hard ‘er’ and then it was KKK and then it was a penis. It was written in big red letters,” said Anderson.

Anderson took a photo and sent it in an email to Anne Harris, president of the College, urging her to take action.

Harris replied to Anderson’s email shortly after. “I’m treating your message about this vile act as an official report,” wrote Harris.

“You are absolutely right, it is wrong and must be addressed with urgency.”

At 10 p.m. on Sunday, Campus Safety first responded to the racist graffiti on a campus map, according to Director of Grinnell Campus Safety James Shropshire.

The next morning, campus safety officers located 14 vehicles vandalized in a similar manner in the Rathje Hall and the Bear Athletic Center parking lots. At around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Campus Safety received additional reports of sidewalk graffiti and vandalism of

a yield sign nearby.

The incidents of racism continued into Tuesday Oct. 11, according to Shropshire, when students alerted Campus Safety of hateful and racial slurs being yelled at students out of a vehicle traveling eastbound on 8th Street and near the Joe Rosenfield Center at 9:17 p.m. The caller described the vehicle as smaller, brown or black and with four doors,

Grinnell soars to new heights with Elkes Airport Project

By Ellianna Cierpiot cierpiot@grinnell.edu

In the first two collective bargaining sessions since expansion, the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) bargaining team and the bargaining team from Grinnell College discussed UGSDW’s contract propos als, which concern conditions of Just Cause employment and the rights of UGSDW to communicate internally, dis tribute materials and access student data.

UGSDW presented a Just Cause proposal on Oct. 6, and the College’s bargaining team responded the follow ing week with a proposal that, in contrast to the UGSDW proposal, excluded academic workers from receiving the same Just Cause protections.

In UGSDW’s proposals, Just Cause protections pro vide workers with a framework to establish if a termina tion was fair or not — the protections also provide re course upon unfair terminations.

At the second bargaining meeting, the College’s team presented a response proposal that states that research assistants, teaching assistants, mentors and graders (stu dent workers who are performing work duties related to a for-credit class at Grinnell) would be ineligible to receive the protections of Just Cause.

Frank Harty, who is acting as legal counsel to the College, said at the second bargaining session that this change is because the College believes establishing those Just Cause protections would disrupt the relationship be tween student workers and the faculty they are working for.

However, UGSDW’s team disputed that statement and said that there are no faculty members acting as di rect supervisors for student workers because their actual supervisors are not the professors who they work under. They added that it was also against College policy to have professors act as direct supervisors to academic workers.

At Grinnell, faculty can be considered supervisors if they meet the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) defi nition, according to Ellen de Graffenreid, vice president of communications and marketing.

“[A]s a supervisor, a faculty member could discipline or fire an academic worker who is under their supervision for a reason related to their job performance,” wrote de Graffenreid in an email to the S&B.

De Graffenreid specified that, like all other super visors at the College, faculty supervisors cannot fire or discipline any student worker for any reason protected by federal or state law or in violation of the College’s em ployment policies.

A second UGSDW proposal requested information about when students are fired or given disciplinary ac tion, which they say is to allow the union to be aware of the actions and able to contact students, informing them of their rights.

At the bargaining session on Oct. 13, the idea of We ingarten rights was introduced by both parties, who dis agreed on whether or not the refusal to release data would violate these rights. Weingarten rights allow workers in a unionized workplace to have a union member present during disciplinary hearings or meetings that could lead to discipline.

The UGSDW bargaining team said they need the data in order to allow workers to exercise their Weingarten rights.

The UGSDW bargaining team said that they had re ceived data about firings in the Dining Hall previously. According to Brad Lindberg, associate vice president of institutional initiatives and enrollment, the College stopped giving the data to the UGSDW due to recent changes in FERPA case law, which he said during the Oct. 13 bargaining season.

The College’s bargaining team, however, said that the release of information may compromise a student’s agency to choose to not have union involvement in disci plinary action.

“We responded in the way we did because we were concerned that peer pressure, we’re concerned that some one may not want one of their fellow students represent ing them, and that’s why it gives them the choice,” said Harty during the second bargaining meeting.

Lu Johnston `24 is a member of the UGSDW bar gaining team. They said in an interview that the informa tion release is important to allow the workers the option to exercise their Weingarten rights.

“But if we don’t know what’s happening, we can’t check in with that student worker and make sure that they are making an informed decision about whether or not to exercise these rights,” Johnston said.

Additionally, at the first session, UGSDW presented a neutrality and card check memorandum which would provide similar protections to the neutrality agreement for non-tenure track faculty and other full-time non-student workers in the event that they worked to form a union. This was not addressed by the College bargaining team, who said that conditions specific to staff and faculty have been addressed in their other responses.

Bargaining sessions have taken place every Thursday at 4:30 p.m. since their first session on Oct. 6 and will continue until a contract is negotiated.

The Elkes Airport Project, proposed and sponsored by Steven Elkes `83, aims to conduct a feasibility assessment of significantly expanding the Grinnell Regional Airport to allow direct flights from major cities into Grinnell.

In collaboration with the Donald and Winifred Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership (Wilson Center), and under the guidance of Michael Lawrence, director of the Business and Finance Career Community for the Center for Careers, Life and Services, seven newly hired students will aim to conduct research and develop the project into a business plan. It will then be pitched and presented to Grinnell College in March 2023.

The intention behind the project is to initiate subsidized charted flights and ease the commute to Grinnell for students, staff, faculty members and guest speakers. The College already charters buses to and from nearby cities for academic breaks — the airplane service would hypothetically replicate this concept and substitute some of the buses with airplanes.

According to Jefferey Blanchard, director of the Wilson Center, the researchers will look into which companies would charter these flights, which jets would be used, the number of passengers the jets can hold, who would be interested in using this service, the cost of implementation, how this would affect different groups on campus, the environmental impact of direct flights to Grinnell versus current methods of commuting and many other factors that may offer the College a valid reason to participate in this service or not.

Susan Ferrari, director of

corporate, foundation and government relations at the College, approached Blanchard with the project several years after Elkes first proposed the idea, according to Blanchard. Blanchard said he is working with Lawrence to plan the scope of the research, the work streams and other forms of mentorship. Lawrence will work directly with the students to execute the feasibility assessment and business plan.

Given the possible time and cost constraints associated with air transportation, Blanchard said he describes the project as an “ambitious” one. He said that he is hopeful but sees the idea as cost-prohibitive, and a lot of it is speculative.

“I think all we have right now is questions and a plan to answer questions,” Blanchard said. “But like all research, this is research into whether or not this thing will work. Answering questions will raise new questions.”

Though Lawrence and Blanchard said the timeline is not fully figured out, they said they aim to use the Wilson Center’s TedX event at the College on Feb. 18 of next year as the date of a trial run. The event would already require a group of people to fly across the country, come to Grinnell and attend, further supporting the pitch to the College administration, according to Blanchard.

The project is one of four projects which Elkes will be donating $20,000 to this year. Though he went through a period of almost 26 years without direct interaction with the College after his graduation, a call from a student who wished to improve the College’s student-run radio station KDIC as part of a “phonathon” call caused him to re-engage and donate

QINGSHUO DU

MADDI SHINALL

By Cadence Chen chencade@grinnell.edu

Racist harassment at Grinnell College

according to Shropshire in an email to the S&B.

Later that night, Campus Safety received another alert at 10:09 p.m. about racial slurs being yelled out of a vehicle on 10th Street near the Bear and the natatorium.

Campus Safety has documented all these incidents, cleared all discovered vandalism and patrolled the areas of the incidents in search of the perpetrators without success, according to Shropshire.

In an all-campus email sent out at 3:12 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10, a day after the first reported incident of vandalism, Harris condemned the racist acts: “At this time, we cannot be sure who did this. This act occurred in a public area accessible to anyone. Campus Safety is investigating who might be responsible so that we will hold them accountable.”

“Personally, I don’t feel safe. And I know a lot of other Black students, especially freshmen, don’t really feel safe,” said Anderson. “I feel like the town is not safe, just like the campus. I don’t think I can just be Black on campus or in Grinnell, period.”

Personally, I don’t feel safe. And I know a lot of other Black students, especially freshmen, don’t really feel safe.

Kenn

The recent incidents on campus follow earlier reports this year of students experiencing racism when out in town. A special campus memo email sent on Sept. 2 with the subject line “Taking a stand against racism” said, “We are writing today to report incidents of local harassment that have been relayed to the College since students arrived on campus.” According to the email, incidents have included anti-Black slurs and anti-Asian language.

“I remember last year, the racism came in waves. Something happened to one of my friends, then another one of my friends, then another one, and at the very end of the school year it was me. Racism is definitely a pattern here,” said Anderson.

The College and the Grinnell Police Department have already been in talks about racist incidents in the city of Grinnell. According to Grinnell Police Chief Michael McClelland, the College and the police department held their first “Community Partners Meeting” on Sept. 22 at Nollen House. Loyal Terry `23, president of Student Government Association, was also in attendance.

“Based on the reports of minority students being harassed by people passing by in vehicles, and such, the College administration coordinated a Community Partners Meeting to discuss actions going forward and how we can solve these problems as a community,” said McClelland.Subsequent meetings will be held on Oct. 17 and 31.

I feel like the town is not safe, just like the cam pus. I don’t think I can just be Black on campus or in Grinnell, period.

Kenn

According to McClelland, no official report about the recent incidents of racist vandalism has been filed with the Grinnell Police Department (GPD), but it was formally informed of them by Shropshire.

McClelland said the police department has nothing to share about further actions to address these incidents in the future. “We’ll keep talking about it. And we’ll come up with solutions. I’ve told the College that we’re at their disposal,” said McClelland.

Thomas Kriegel, Poweshiek County sheriff, said he has no knowledge of the incidents and has yet to see any report regarding the incidents on campus.

On Oct. 12, the College announced in an all-campus email the actions it will be taking. Thus far, the College has expanded 24/7 on-call transportation and escorts to students and temporarily closed 8th Avenue between Park and East Street with approval from the city of Grinnell. The College has also established a student patrolling force labeled “Neighborhood Watch.”

The email also said they will increase lighting around campus and install two construction lighting units. Additionally, the email listed expediting the release of Informacast Safety, an app that provides users with a ”panic button” feature that immediately calls for assistance, and installing outdoor security cameras.

Sarah Bryan `24 and Oliver Schoenborn `24 were among the first Grinnell students to sign up for a neighborhood watch shift. Their job included driving a golf cart around campus looking out for “people shouting slurs from their car, vandalism and vehicles flying confederate flags,” documenting license plates and identifying features, according to a printed manual given to volunteers by Campus Safety.

“I have a worry that this is not sufficient and that students need to put more pressure on the College to do actual things,” said Bryan. “In a situation where it feels like the College isn’t really being effective, it doesn’t feel like there is much else we can do to help.”

Anderson said, “The only reason that it [racist actions] keeps happening is because it is tolerated and because nobody’s getting consequences for it. I feel like because they keep getting away with it and it keeps happening, each time it’s gonna get more and more blatant, more and more aggressive, more and more criminal and malicious. I just don’t think it’s gonna change for the better and it’s worrisome.”

So, I ask ... What more will it take for us to take action? Will it take another Black student to be yelled at by oncoming traffic, will it take more emails, or will it take my life?

Loyal

Anderson expressed that they do not trust Campus Safety or the GPD to address the incidents. “I feel more unsafe around those people. I’m Black. Me and police, that will never be a union, and as far as Campus Safety, they imitate police so bad with the cars and uniform and everything.”

“Non-Blacks will support us and say that they feel for us and they understand why we’re angry for like the first 12 hours and then the next day, they don’t care, especially since it’s not affecting them,” Anderson said.

In an all-campus email sent out on Oct. 12, Terry wrote: “Let’s make it known, there have been clear and explicit attempts by people of all ages to humiliate, harm, and discourage Black safety on this campus. This has ranged from being called a n***er, seeing Confederate Flags flying on and off campus, and being laughed at for trying to do something to secure this safety that is a right for many others.”

Terry added, “So, I ask ... What more will it take for us to take action? Will it take another Black student to be yelled at by on-coming traffic, will it take more emails, or will it take my life?”

The Black Student Union (BSU) held a “Call to Action Event” on Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. in the atrium of the Humanities and Social Studies Center. At the event, BSU leaders stated that they will release an official statement and list their demands to the College following the event on the BSU Instagram page @gc.bsu.

“This fight isn’t for Black students on this campus to reaffirm the humanity we already have! Silence is complicity, so when forthcoming opportunities present themselves, show up!” wrote Terry in his Oct. 12 email.

Brazilian students cast their votes in contentious election

By Allison Moore mooreall2@grinnell.edu

On Brazil’s first election day, Sunday, Oct. 2, eight Brazilian Grinnell students traveled to Chicago to cast their votes in an election that has been labeled a “test for democracy.” Presidential candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, “Lula,” of the Workers’ Party, and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who is running under the Liberal Party and is regarded to be a far-right conservative, have been neck and neck in the electoral race.

In the Oct. 2 election, Bolsonaro received 43.2% of the vote and Lula received 48.4%. In Brazil, a candidate must secure more than 50% of the ballots to be declared a winner, so the current race for the president has yet to be settled. The run-off election took place on Sunday, Oct. 30.

While abroad in Germany in the 2022 spring semester, Brazilian student Carolina Klauk Novaes `23 sent an email to Emily Perry, assistant director of the Office of International Student Affairs (OISA), to inquire about the possibility of finding a way to get students from Brazil to a consulate where they could vote.

Karen Edwards, dean of International Student Affairs, wrote in an email to the S&B that OISA’s initial response was “super impressed that they were planning so far in advance!”

Klauk Novaes said that she, along with other Brazilian students and Perry, wrote a proposal to request funding for a trip to the Brazilian consulate in Chicago, and the Rosenfield Program offered to support the costs of transportation. So, nearly seven months after the request, Klauk Novaes and seven other Brazilian students cast their votes.

“Being able to go made me feel proud that I am able to participate. It makes me feel like part of it even though I am away,” said Klauk Novaes.

Though a bit nervous about the potential tension in the voting lines at the consulate, both Klauk Novaes and Ana Beatriz Fernandes Costa `24, another student who cast her vote, said that regardless of political opinion, everyone there seemed happy to participate.

Fernandes Costa and Klauk Novaes both laughed when they recalled that a particularly excited Brazilian woman in line behind them danced around with a towel adorned with Bolsonaro’s portrait.

Klauk Novaes joked that everyone in the car on the way back from the consulate continuously refreshed a polling data app, even with only 1% of the votes reported. After the Oct. 30 runoff vote, Klauk Novaes said, “I think in the car on the way back, that’s going to be a

moment of truth, and it’s going to be very tense.”

With support from the Rosenfield Program and the Department of Alumni Relations, Chris Garman `92, now the managing director for the Americas at the Eurasia Group, led a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25 to offer an analysis of Brazil’s electoral contest. At the talk, Garman affirmed that the potential threat to democracy in the election is “a more vivid reality.”

Being able to go made me feel proud that I am able to participate. It makes me feel like part of it even though I am away.

Bolsonaro is known to many as the “Trump of the Tropics” for his ties to Trump strategists, abrasive anti-establishment rhetoric and proclivity for Brazil’s former military dictatorship. During his first run for president in 2018, Bolsonaro told NPR that Brazil’s 1964-1985 dictatorship was “a very good” period. Bolsonaro’s support base primarily consists of evangelical Christians, the Brazilian armed forces, large corporations and rural landowners.

Lula, who was president of Brazil from 2003-2010, temporarily left Brazil’s political arena after being convicted of corruption and sentenced to nine years in prison.

In 2019, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled the conviction unlawful and Lula was released from prison. He maintains that the corruption accusations were false and politically motivated.

Lula’s platform includes combating poverty, opposing deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and building on other social reform programs that he initiated in his presidential tenure.

During the start of the pandemic, Klauk Novaes said, “I was living in constant fear” due to President Bolsonaro’s anti-vaccine stance. “I think we as a group of Brazilians on campus are against him. We don’t want him to come back. But people do have, rightfully, some problems with the other candidate,” she said.

When she returned home to southern Brazil in the summer, Klauk Novaes said she was especially astonished by the high prices of food. Even from an upper middle-class background, she said, her family is concerned about the rate of inflation.

“That’s what shocked me the most when I went home, and that’s what I think about when I’m voting,” said Klauk Novaes.

Fernandes Costa is from the northeastern part of Brazil, as is Lula. She said that although her family is divided (she noted that her mom’s side of the family has a group chat where they frequently discuss politics), she is most hopeful about Lula’s plans for social reform.

However, both Fernandes Costa and Klauk Novaes said they will anxiously await the results of the run-off vote. “I imagine that either way it goes there’s going to be a lot of sentiment of unfairness,” said Fernandes Costa.

Because Grinnell College enrolls international students from 59 countries, Edwards said OISA would consider other requests for students who wish to find ways to vote while in the United States.

“Since we were able to help in this specific situation, we felt that it was the right thing to do,” said Edwards.

Elkes Airport Project proposes commercial flights to Grinnell

project to be student guided.

to the College, according to Elkes.

“The earlier in life, you find out that you can actually accomplish something that makes a difference. I think the more inspired you are to do things and to continue that later on,” said Elkes.

As his engagement with the College grew, and he started visiting more often, he said the commute he took in 2012 inconvenienced him. He currently resides in Westchester, New York. To travel to the College, he would have to take a flight from either White Plains Airport or LaGuardia Airport to Des Moines International Airport, followed by a shuttle from Des Moines to the College.

Seeing the Grinnell Airport on the drive down to the College, he thought there was a possible solution there, he said.

The Airport is one mile south of the city alongside state Highway 146. Its one runway is 5,200 by 75 feet. According to Russ Behrens, Grinnell

city manager, who was present at an information session for the project, it currently has three main uses: agricultural applications, business travel and recreational aviation.

“It’s gonna boil down to the economics of it. I am not aware of any physical limitations that would be so challenging that they couldn’t be overcome,” said Behrens. He said that he does not want to speculate on the feasibility but will offer the researchers technical assistance.

Elkes said he believes this project also has the potential to help the College reach its diversity, equity and inclusion goals as the location and costs to come here may prohibit a wide range of people.

He said that if the College is going to spend money, “think of applying some of it to the things that make them [students] even more happy or more inclined.”

Similar to Elkes’ past donations, most of which went directly to projects like the Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab rather than a general fund, he said he wanted the

Gabriela Roznawska `26, one of the students hired for the project, developed an interest in aviation and entrepreneurship while she was in Poland. She also describes the project as ambitious and hopes to bring enthusiasm about making things happen to the table.

“I think it would make a change and make Grinnell stand out from other colleges that may not offer this,” she said.

“Most of the time, when anyone proposes anything new, the default answer is always no,” said Elkes. “Even if it turns out not to be practical, the exercise of going through it is a very valuable, real-world case study.”

CONTRIBUTED BY ANA BEATRIZ FERNANDES COSTA

Brazilian students traveled to Chicago to vote in their national election.

From left: Clara Zioli da Igreja `23, Lívia Stein Freitas, `25 Carolina Klauck Novaes `23, Patrick Sales Garcia `25, Luís Felipe Koehler Domingues `26, Ana Beatriz Fernandes Costa `25, Cristian Sales Garcia `22 and Diogo Tandeta Tartarotti `24.

Carolina Klauk

Elkes Airport Project — Continued from Front Page

I imagine that either way it goes there’s going to be a lot of sentiment of unfairness.

Ana Beatriz Fernandes Costa `24

I think it would make a change and make Grinnell stand out from other colleges that may not offer this.

Your priority

questions answered

By Marcy Cassidy-Mapp cassidym@grinnell.edu

The fall season at Grinnell Col lege is typically a time of change: the leaves fall, the weather tries to sort itself out and, this year specifically, the College is rolling out a new iter ation of the pre-registration system.

Though the new method seeks to ad dress equity and consistency, some students have questions about how the new system impacts the process for major requirements. The S&B has addressed some of these concerns with the registrar.

After WebAdvisor, the previous registration system, was retired by its software company, the College used an updated process as part of the Col league Self-Service. This approach was based on discussion and review by the curriculum committee, faculty, administration and students over the course of the previous academic year.

The curriculum committee, which is comprised of four profes sors from different departmental divisions, worked to ensure that fac ulty had opportunities to review and provide feedback for changes while student educational policy commit

tee groups provided feedback and divisional representation in curricu lum committee meetings. Catherine Ashton, registrar of the College, as serted that the system was created to improve the registration experience for students.

“The goals for adjusting the reg istration system are more transparen cy for students, improved schedules and offerings based on student priori ty selections and an equitable process that ensures every student has the op portunities they are seeking at Grin nell,” said Ashton.

The new system breaks pre-reg

istration into four rounds. All stu dents initially sign-up for up to nine credits in round one. In round two, students that were cut from their firstchoice classes are given the chance to reassign their priority classes. Rounds three and four allow students to place themselves on waitlists and make final changes to their schedules. Unlike previous years, these waitlists are managed institutionally instead of by individual professors.

“Using institutional waitlists ensures equity for all students. The system records data and information that can be used to help inform regis tration practices and schedules in the future,” said Ashton.

The new approach to waitlists also attempts to factor in student concerns regarding progress in their major and their immediate graduation requirements.

“Those priorities will also be built into the waitlist system to help address student concerns about meet ing graduation requirements,” Ash ton said. “Rounds two, three and four also allow students to make informed decisions about registration in a sec tion based on the seats available.”

Within specific majors with rigid requirements, like computer science, there have been concerns within the department that the new system forc es students to prioritize classes re quired for their major in order to meet their graduation requirements.

“If too many people sign up for two courses, it's likely that they'll get stabbed in the foot and not have any courses to take, which is lame because sometimes two interesting courses are only offered during cer tain semesters,” said Jasper Gray `24, a computer science major.

Certain majors also have com paratively linear requirements for

Center of Prairie Studies continues to grow

By Jane Hoffman hoffmanj@grinnell.edu

Just 12 miles from campus, the Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) cuts through the cornfields and provides a robust view into the environmental diversity of Iowa that is often obscured by industrial farms and concrete expanses.

CERA is a 385-acre field station that stretches across a diversity of land scapes. Visitors can explore and study tallgrass prairie, savanna, wetland and oak forest ecosystems. Members of the College community have opportuni ties to learn at CERA through formal class opportunities, weekend ventures and self-directed exploration. With its ecological diversity and abundant op portunities for hands-on learning and activities, CERA is an ideal venue for fostering connections between individ uals and the Iowa landscape.

“CERA has tremendous potential to be a host site for lots of different events moving forward: recreational,

educational and cultural,” said CERA Manager Emily Klein. Klein is also an outreach coordinator for the Center for Prairie Studies (CPS), which is closely connected to CERA.

“Our mission is to promote our Midwest region as a rich site for teach ing, learning, advocacy and wellbe ing,” said education Professor Cori Jakubiak, the director of prairie stud ies. CPS seeks to develop and host programming that helps people learn about and feel more connected to the Iowa region, said Jakubiak.

During the fall semester, students, faculty and staff have had the opportu nity to attend two key campus events: a kayaking trip on Perry Pond on Sept. 10 and a “wild edibles” foraging event on Oct. 8.

The foraging event was a reprise of a foraging trip held in the spring of 2022, when naturalist and foraging expert Chelsea Ewen Rowcliffe gave a presentation on foraging practices before leading students in a hands-on hike and a search for seasonal greens.

The group trekked along the forest paths to collect wild garlic and dan delion greens for a verdant springtime frittata, served alongside a birch-bark spritz.

Foraging targets are innately dic tated by seasonality. The popularity of the spring foraging trip inspired the planning of another event in October. This time, students, faculty and staff were led by Rowcliffe in identifying and collecting mushrooms, nuts and acorns during a morning and afternoon session. Given that the waiting list for the activities stretched to 83 people, CPS looks forward to coordinating more events at CERA and on campus.

In November, the Center will wel come Joe Otto, an environmental his torian, Neil Hamilton, author of “The Land Remains,” a book and memoir focused on environmental issues in the Midwest, to give talks open to the Col lege and town community. Fred Lively, an artist, will also visit and teach two workshops in crafting wooden pinch pots.

Grinnell College acquired the CERA area as farmland in 1968, and by 1988, it had restored pastures and crop areas to a robust spread of tall grass prairie. CERA is frequented by participants in Grinnell science class es, outdoor education activities and is open to the public for hiking, bird watching and artistic endeavors.

Maintenance of the terrain and its ecological development are constant works in progress. Klein noted that she was glad students on the kayaking trip had the chance to see the herd of goats that she had commissioned to munch away brush and overgrowth, stress ing the importance of the experiential learning that the CERA space fosters.

Events at CERA are multi-pronged opportunities. For some, visiting the terrain might help them cultivate a new skill, like kayaking. For others, partic ipating in a hike, aquatic adventure or concert on the prairie can highlight a new and sometimes rare dimension of Iowa’s original ecosystems. “There is a real value added to our college to

200- and 300-level courses, which can incentivize departments to re strict access to certain courses for non-majors who have made progress in the major.

Gray said that in the comput er science department in particular, “many people only have two options of courses to take and that causes is sues because they’ll have to sign up for those courses and will be more likely to get cut from them. Not to mention, if people who aren’t com puter science majors would like to take them just for fun, that’s basically impossible.”

While waitlists are prioritized by class years, they also operate on a first-come, first-serve basis. Students are no longer able to appeal to profes sors based on personal circumstanc es. In the case of specific double ma jors, this oversight can leave specific demographics of students worried about their ability to complete their degree confidently.

“If someone is doubling in chem and CS, the required courses often conflict with labs. Because it is so systematic, there’s not much wiggle room,” Gray said.

In terms of support and assis tance, the registrar offers itself, advi sors and department chairs as resourc es to address conflicts throughout the process.

“Put your name on the waitlist, notify your advisor and then check your email,” Ashton said. “The reg istrar’s office will be working with advisors and department chairs to en sure students are making appropriate progress through declared programs.”

“This should help all students to make more consistent and conscien tious registration decisions through out their academic experience,” said Ashton.

have a remote campus with such natu ral beauty and potential for learning,” said Klein.

Cribz: The Nightmare on Elm Street

By Jane Hoffman hoffmanj@grinnell.edu

College housing is, by nature, ephemeral. Rapid turnover, travel and global pandemics have all shaped the spaces students call home over the past years, leaving them replete with items passed down, left behind and obtained by creative means (but al ways with lively stories behind them).

The 1033 Elm Street, or “Nightmare on Elm,” experience encapsulates this dynamic and is a delightful stop within a long line of Grinnell student housing history.

This semester, the residents (both official and unofficial) include Luc ien DeJule, Will Donaldson, Maren Gingerich, Isabelle Madorsky, Kaya Matsuura and Lily Thornton, all `23.

They are joined by Mercury, a portly and plush gray cat, who, against her mandate as an indoor cat, bounded out the door and under the porch.

The interior design is eclectic; the house features items that have been lost, found and gifted from previous residents and relations — an aesthetic of accumulation.

A stack of blue chairs, of a dis tinctly middle-school type, sit in the backyard — delivered to the house by a former roommate’s uncle. Across from a large, tie-dye wall tapestry, a wine-themed print, also from an ad jacent family member, hangs in the living room. The sitting room décor is rounded by a St. Patrick’s Day flag with a large leprechaun on its face, purchased by Donaldson.

After the 2020 derecho, DeJule

and a previous roommate came across a pedestrian sign knocked over by the storm. After harvesting and lugging it back to 6th street, the entire sign — post and all — sat in the house for months before two students volun teered to wrest the sign from the post, a task that proved “literally so hard to do,” but allowed them to nail the sign into the wall for posterity. “It’s not coming off,” said Madorsky.

The first Grinnellian to live in 1033 Elm was Harry Hopkins `12, the secretary of commerce and New Deal advisor, who spent his childhood in the home at the turn of the century.

In more recent years, the house was known as Goat House, serving as the official off-campus residence of the football team.

Some callbacks to the days of

Goat House are still visible, like the massive Grinnell College Pioneer Football poster featuring players of yore, which covers what is essential ly a hole in the wall of the basement.

“We put this up for safety reasons. Like not having possums,” said De Jule.

The basement doubles as De Jule’s bedroom and is a favored group hangout spot, complete with a TV for movie nights and gaming sessions and a corner for reading Tarot cards.

Most of the group lived in Cleve land Hall their first year and had talked about eventually living in an off-campus house together. Living to gether as fourth years has been “a nice full circle moment,” said DeJule.

The S&B ventured to Elm St. on the eve of 10/10, and the house was in set-up mode for their 12-2 p.m. host ing shift, complete with games, music

and at least 50 pizzas.

Resting on a tower of 12-packs, Mercury the cat luxuriated in the late afternoon sun, before hopping onto a table adorned with the signatures of past and current die champions.

We wrapped up the tour on the sprawling back porch, as the residents gathered for games, dinners and relax ation at a cozy corner table.

At parties, guests, too, are drawn to the wide porch, to the occasion al chagrin of the hosts. “Everyone always hangs out on the back porch during parties, rather than where they should be: on the dance floor,” said Donaldson.

While this iteration of 1033 Elm is just one step in a longer tradition of off-campus revelry, homemaking and tradition-building, the “Nightmare on Elm” melds old and new in an offbeat and utterly delightful fashion.

OWEN BARBATO

portly

Mercury.

left: Kaya Matsuura, Lucien DeJule, Lily Thornton, Will

Donaldson, Isabelle Madorsky

Maren Gingerich,

CORNELIA DI GIOIA

CONTRIBUTED BY NICK EL HAJJ

Students foraged for “wild edibles” on a trip to CERA.

OWEN BARBATO

The Nightmare on Elm Street lives in a hoader's dream.

A Grinnell Guide to Fall Fun

Though Uncle Bill’s Farm has closed for the season, next year promises just as much fall fun — the farm will reopen on the first weekend of October.

For those willing to travel a little further outside of Grinnell, Appleberry Farm is an orchard only about a half-hour drive away in Marshalltown.

In the fall of 2016, the farm was the owners’s saving grace and hope for something new. Kelly Mason, who co-owns and runs the farm with her husband, said she used to work as an emergency room receptionist and ambulance dispatcher before buying the farm from the previous owners.

"Connecting for Women" event series encourages networking among women

By Taylor Nunley nunleyta@grinnell.edu

As the daily commute to classes comes to require a sweater, leaves pile at the base of the giant oaks around campus and the Grinnell squirrels grow chubbier and chubbier. Fall has certainly arrived in Grinnell. With students returning from fall break and resuming the daily routine of academics, many are looking for fun ways to celebrate the season, and any student set on finding seasonable activities does not have to look too far.

Uncle Bill’s Farm, located south of downtown on 400th Avenue and only a few minutes drive from Grinnell College, boasts of being “one of the best 16 pumpkin farms in America” on the homepage of its website. With a variety of attractions and offerings from tractor rides to magic shows, the farm is home to more than just pumpkins.

Members of Grinnell College’s women’s basketball team made a trip over to the farm during fall break.

“I really liked the apple cider donuts and the jumping pad, and some of my teammates liked being buried in the corn pool. It was a great fall activity that gave us a lot to do,” said Eva Carchidi `24, one of the students in the group who went to Uncle Bill’s.

“I worked at the hospital for 28 years, and it was going downhill, going bankrupt. I didn't know what was going to happen. And so we started looking for other options,” Mason said. “We thought it could be really fun. A lot of work but really fun.”

Appleberry Farm has no formal employees and is run entirely by the Mason family and friends. Activities include hayrides, yard-game setups and the famous orchards where visitors are able to pick their own apples. With over 19 acres of land, and the apple trees covering most of them, they tend to be the main attraction.

Apples are not the only fresh produce visitors can hope to find at Appleberry Farm. The orchard also grows and sells a variety of vegetables — including Carolina Reaper and ghost peppers — and jars of various butters, jams and preserves are all for sale in their shop.

Mason said the family attempts to keep the orchard open year-round, but the busiest times are during the apple-picking season. She said she plans to shift the orchard to a byappointment-only entry in January, and focus on baking homemade treats and growing produce for profit. For now, the orchard is open every day until Dec. 25.

Admission is free, and apples are half-price through the rest of the season.

By Molly Wilcoxson wilcoxso2@grinnell.edu

The Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual series, “Connecting for Women,” centering around networking opportunities for women interested in professional leadership, featured two networking events and keynote speaker Danielle Vidergar in its 2022 programming.

“Connecting for Women” began in 2018, when branches of the chamber of commerce, across the greater Des Moines area, collaborated to create the series. This year, though no other chamber of commerce branches in Iowa were able to participate, the Grinnell branch decided to continue with the series and hold an event over the course of September and October.

Chamber of commerce Member Engagement Coordinator Kendra Vincent oversaw the planning.

The first networking event was held on Sept. 27 at the Periodic Table and invited all women living in Grinnell to drop in, socialize and connect with their peers.

dominated fields. She said it was important to understand your own strengths, so you know what best “aligns with your energy and skill set.” After grasping these concepts, says Vidergar, it is much easier for women to feel confident in leadership roles as well as communicating with their colleagues.

the most, either.”

Vincent added, “We wanted to recognize that networking looks different for those who identify as women simply because we don’t have a lot of the same opportunities as others.”

Following Vidergar’s keynote speech, “Connecting for Women” held their final networking event on Oct. 27 at Solera in downtown Grinnell. Although this concluded 2022’s “Connecting for Women” series, Vincent said that she hopes that the chamber of commerce can hold more events in the future.

Danielle Vidergar

Vincent said that “Connecting for Women” and similar events act as opportunities for women in leadership positions to combat the stereotypes that they may face. In her speech, Vidergar reinforces this sentiment, as she discussed how women in leadership roles may be perceived as “bossy” or overly-controlling, when conducting the same tasks as their male counterparts.

“We hope to do this in a similar format in the spring where we’ll have open networking sessions and keynote speakers, but also events open to Grinnell students, too,” said Vincent. She said that she hopes, moving forward, the College’s student body will play a more active role in collaborating with the chamber of commerce for events like these.

The jumping pad is a large inflated rubber cushion that visitors can bounce on, and the corn pool is exactly as it sounds: a large container filled with dried corn where visitors can climb in and mess around.

Aiyana Rockwell `24, another member of the team, shared similar sentiments and said the jumping pad gave her and her teammates a chance to test their “athletic prowess.”

Visitors can also spend time feeding Uncle Bill’s goats and even pick their own pumpkins to purchase from the 10-acre pumpkin patch. Admission is a set price of $13.00 and includes all of the attractions the farm has to offer.

Fall can also be celebrated right in downtown Grinnell with seasonally-appropriate drinks and baked goods.

Indulge in fall flavors with Saints Rest’s seasonal drinks, which include hot coco, cider and horchata, or add October’s pumpkin flavor of the month to a latte for the warm, homely taste of the beverage deemed the “Pumpkin Pie.” The coffee house will be continuing the taste of fall with maple as the flavor of the month for November.

For those wanting a treat along with the hot drink in their hand, Grin City Bakery, located on 934 Main St., also offers their seasonal varieties of pumpkin and apple cider old-fashioned donuts.

“Everyone in our office [chamber of commerce] is not originally from Grinnell, so we’ve seen those struggles that come with making new relationships, professionally or personally,” said Vincent. “We wanted to offer something that bridges that gap.”

On Oct. 11, “Connecting for Women” hosted Vidergar as their keynote speaker. She has 20 years of experience working in human resources, and she currently serves as the director of training at ECW Training Solutions. In her speech, she taught the DiSC model, a method used to help individuals understand their leadership styles to better communicate with others.

“We’re better off being able to understand where our strengths and weaknesses are, so that we can work together better,” said Vidergar. “If you and I were interacting, the more I can understand about you, the greater likelihood we have of being successful, whatever we’re working on.”

Vidergar also spoke on becoming confident in one’s own leadership styles, particularly as women in male-

“There’s this idea that women have played a more nurturing role over time, but that doesn’t mean they have to be,” said Vidergar. “They can show up and be a very effective leader in a different way. And it’s not always about who’s the loudest or who talks

“We recognize that students are an important part of our community, and we want to make sure our programming is accessible for them,” Vincent said. By achieving this, she says that she hopes to “expand the access” of “Connecting for Women” to include all female-identifying residents of Grinnell who are looking to build community and connections

their town.

OWEN BARBATO

Danielle Vidergar spoke on "Owning Your Confidence" on Oct. 11.

ELEANOR HEDGES DUROY

Saint's Rest flavor of the month is pumpkin for October

maple for November.

ELEANOR HEDGES DUROY

Grin City Bakery, located in downtown Grinnell, has old fashioned apple

and pumpkin donuts.

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"Hip-hop for geeks:" DJ Spooky remixes climate change

By Jandry Perez Garcia perezgar@grinnell.edu

and Girl Talk as pioneers within the mashup-heavy movement who, much like Miller, combine auditory and visual elements to create multimedia musical works.

DJ Spooky, also known as Paul Miller, is a genre-bending multimedia artist, having composed several musical pieces, published multiple books and much more.

Miller was named one of National Geographic's “Emerging Explorers” in 2014, during which time he went to Antarctica to work with a team from Dartmouth Cold Regions Research Labs as an artist in residence.

He said that there, he not only gained inspiration for his work, but he also collected temperature differentials that would be transformed into a series of musical pieces he dubbed “Arctic Rhythms.” During his Scholars’ Convocation, Miller explained the background, inspiration and process behind “Arctic Rhythms”. He then performed the collection at Herrick Chapel the following day.

“Once you get to the sense that everything is patterns, the rest is just matching the patterns,” Miller said, describing his process of mapping data patterns — in this case, temperature differentials — onto musical patterns such as tempo and other beat parameters.

DJ Spooky

Ultimately, Miller views his work as a vehicle for creating awareness and change regarding the environment. “We're in a crisis of literacy right now, and especially the way that there’s still climate change denial,” he said.

Miller said that people detach from the issue of global warming thinking that they, as individuals, have no control over it and that it is too complex to accurately comprehend. “As much as possible, I want music and the visual arts and the sound arts, data arts, any of the arts, to help give people a better sense of how we can dimensionalize these issues,” Miller said.

especial

We're in a crisis of liter acy

DJ Spooky

Miller explained that he is not the first to use data as a tool to create music. He described it as “geekcore,” saying that once you begin layering, “you have a statistical model that you can continue to build on. So, this is like hip-hop for geeks.”

Miller named other artists such as DJ Krush, R.J.D., DJ Z-Trip

Miller is currently working on a project as an artist in residence at Yale University, where he said he is seeking to do a series that marries music and quantum physics.

Miller’s performance in Herrick Chapel was a mixture of instrumental classical music and electronic, mixed and remixed in front of the audience in real time.

A string quartet, consisting of two violins, a viola and a cello, performed the instrumental element, which was composed by Miller.

The instrumental version of “Arctic Rhythms” was the first piece played during the performance. It was followed by Miller’s remix which he said was composed using algorithmic music composition. Both pieces shared a dynamic and ethereal nature.

The next piece to be played was called “Icenification.” Miller said that he drew inspiration for this piece from 20th century American writer Iceberg Slim. Projected video added a multidimensionality to the performance, displaying shifting and moving representations of “Koch snowflakes.”

The Koch snowflake, named after Swedish mathematician Helge von Koch, was one of the earliest described fractals in mathematics. In keeping with Miller’s emphasis on patterns, fractals — visual representations of infinitely repeating patterns or formulas — are

a fitting feature of his multimedia musical performances. This piece had a stronger, more futuristic electronic focus in contrast to the mix of instrumental and electronic elements in “Arctic Rhythms”.

Following “Icenification” was “Check Your Math.” This was an instrumental piece that was tense and energetic — its characteristics, shared with the futuristic remix that followed, would have blended seamlessly into the soundtrack of an action movie.

The last two pieces played during the performance were “Invincible Hip Hop” and its remix,

followed by “Of Water and Ice.”

“Of Water and Ice” was a demonstration in contrast, with ambient vocals layered over the upbeat bass. This work was also inspired by climate data and is available on Youtube.

Music major Anna Wilson `24.5 said the performance was a “conversation between generations of musical norms, between math and sound.”

“It literally gave me chills,” Wilson said.

More information on Miller and his work can be found on his website, at djspooky.com.

Writers@Grinnell: Sequoia Nagamatsu `04

By Allison Moore mooreall2@grinnell.edu

Sequoia Nagamatsu has a robot dog. Mostly for research purposes, he explained. “I definitely felt like when the dog was roaming around, it wasn’t just a toy.”

This year, Nagamatsu `04 published his debut novel, “How High We Go in the Dark,” which grapples with themes of grief, familial connection and disconnection, Japanese folklore, and, in one chapter, Sony Aibo robot dogs.

Intrigued by the history of the Aibo dogs, which in some instances have been used as therapy “animals” in elderly care homes, Nagamatsu wanted to see for himself if these robots really could function like real pets.

“I found myself speaking in this high-pitched voice like you would with real pets or babies,” he said. “I actually regarded the robot as a living being.”

In “How High We Go in the Dark,” Nagamatsu’s words dance from page to page, undulating seamlessly between darker themes of loss and familial distance and idiosyncratic stories about Chinese senior citizens bereft after Sony temporarily discontinued the Aibo dogs.

On Tuesday, Oct. 11, Nagamatsu participated in the Writers@ Grinnell series, leading a roundtable discussion and sharing snippets from his novel. At the evening reading,

Nagamatsu, modest and composed, delivered vulnerable passages in a rhythmic voice. His writing borders on surreal, oscillating between verses about the interconnectedness of the universe and genetically modified pigs. Underlying these seemingly disparate topics is a common thread of the hope and resilience of human connection.

As a student at Grinnell College, Nagamatsu described himself as “somewhat of a wayward anthropology major,” mainly interested in classics, archaeology and evolutionary genetics. It was in this academic field that Nagamatsu began to develop the themes that later manifested in his fiction writing.

After graduating and moving to San Francisco, Nagamatsu said he began “diving into research and collating research and thinking about how I would be presenting particular characters and situations in a way that was responsible.”

“Had I been gifted with math skills, I likely would have had another career, but such is not the case. I’ve always been interested in space exploration. I was a huge Star Trek nerd growing up. I still am,” said Nagamatsu.

However, the gift of a liberal arts education to Nagamatsu was the permission and encouragement to explore all of his eccentricities.

Grateful also for Grinnell’s lack of general education requirements, Nagamatsu said he “allowed [himself] to bounce around. Maybe

a little bit too much.” Particularly “seduced by ideas and concepts” from his classes in anthropology and art, Nagamatsu asserted that “I would not be where I am today had it not been for Grinnell.”

As a student, Nagamatsu also immersed himself in environmental activism. He became particularly excited and nostalgic when reminiscing about his time in a student organization called Free the Planet and as a co-manager of the forest campaign for the Conard Environmental Research Area student club. These endeavors gave Nagamatsu formative experience in writing press releases, organizing large-scale events and pondering questions about environmental justice.

“Even if I wasn’t making a difference in a small, immediate way, I felt like I was part of the conversation,” said Nagamatsu.

Although the seeds of his first novel were sown early in his career, Nagamatsu said that it took years to flesh out. Since beginning the writing process for what is now a national bestselling novel, Nagamatsu said he has “learned to listen to myself and be really honest with myself … Sometimes time is the best editor.”

Now an associate professor of English at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Nagamatsu teaches creative writing, often focusing on environmental conversations. His wife, author Cole Nagamatsu, also teaches at

St. Olaf and co-parents their robot dog, Calvino. Nagamatsu said that he and his wife are now working on a novel together, tentatively slated for publication in 2024. Nagamatsu is also the author of a collection of short stories titled “Where We Go

When All We Were Is Gone.”

The next Writers@Grinnell event will welcome writer and comedian Amy Silverberg on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Her reading will be held at 8 p.m. in the Joe Rosenfield Center room 101.

As much as possible, I want music and the vi sual arts and the sound arts, data arts, any of the arts, to help give people a better sense of how we can dimen sionalize these issues.

ELEANOR HEDGES-DUROY

DJ Spooky with Grinnell College string instrument faculty, who accompanied him during his performance.

Swirling fractals and live demonstrations of musical mashups were just the beginning of DJ Spooky's Scholars’ Convocation on Oct. 13.

OHANA SARVOTHAM

Nagamatsu read excerpts from his novel "How High We Go in the Dark."

SportS

An investigation into the social divide on campus: Athletics in admissions and recruitment

By Carter Ottele otteleca@grinnell.edu

This is the second installment of An Investigation into the Social Di vide on Campus. The first article in the series was published in the Opin ions section on Sept. 19, 2022.

When I think of athletic recruit ment, I think of the 2019 college ad missions scandal. Commonly known as Operation Varsity Blues, wealthy families paid exorbitant sums to guar antee their children spots at elite uni versities, often taking advantage of an already-dubious Division I athletic recruitment system.

Grinnell and the University of Southern California’s athletics pro grams have little in common. But as I started investigating Grinnell’s social divide between athletes and non-ath letes, I wondered if this feature of college life might originate before students step foot on campus. What if the admissions and recruitment processes draw from certain popula tions more than others, leading to a demographic or cultural imbalance between athletes and non-athletes? What if they enable the social divide in some other manner? I couldn’t answer these questions alone, so I talked with staff in the athletics and admission departments to better un derstand.

Having played football here in the 80s, coached football, basketball and tennis teams, and served as the director of athletics and recreation since 2016, Andy Hamilton `85 is well-acquainted with Grinnell ath

letics. In our talk, he focused on the value of creating a diverse, inclusive, educational culture within the athlet ics department.

“It’s all about helping our stu dents mature,” Hamilton said. “It’s not just about the Saturday at 1 p.m. football game and who wins that.”

In particular, Hamilton highlight ed the social benefits of belonging to a team.

“If someone comes and commits to being a varsity athlete at Grinnell, they have a built-in affinity group the day that they pay their deposit,” he told me. That affinity group expands through years of shared practices and games, early-morning workouts and team dinners and can persist beyond Grinnell. For instance, Hamilton’s undergraduate football teammates are his “best friends in life,” he said. “Right now.”

I also talked with Sarah Fischer, the assistant vice president of admis sions. She stressed the differences be tween Division I recruiting, which of ten supersedes the regular admissions process, and Division III recruiting, which constitutes only one part of a nuanced affair. Prospective athletes are subject to the same admissions process as all applicants.

“There’s nothing different that we’re taking into consideration,” Fischer explained, characterizing ath letic talent as similar to musical tal ent. Unlike musical talent, however, Grinnell coaches convey information to admissions about potential athletes — information gained from the re cruitment process.

In brief, the recruitment process

takes two forms: students reach out to the school, and the school reaches out to students. If students want to initi ate, they can enter data including their age, GPA, test scores and athletic sta tistics into an online form, accessible through the Grinnell athletics website (pioneers.grinnell.edu). They can also demonstrate interest through the Col lege Board, the nonprofit that admin isters standardized tests.

If Grinnell wants to contact students, it buys information about

example, many high school students outside the U.S. are not registered with the College Board. They are also less likely to attend sporting camps in the U.S. where coaches can watch their performance. With two of the three gateways for recruitment closed, it would seem that interna tional students might have more dif ficulty joining athletics at Grinnell. Indeed, international students are underrepresented in the athletics de partment. However, Hamilton said that the college has lessened this gap in recent years.

baseball in the U.S. Sun Belt — it’s possible that sports team members share overlapping traits and interests. The theory seems plausible.

On the other hand, Fischer cau tioned against reading too far into these statistics. Referencing the pro portion of athletes who identify as POC, she called student-athletes a “microcosm of the student body.” When I asked if the admission de partment views sports as a tool for recruiting diversity or an obstacle against it, she hesitated to take either side. “It really is just how the chips fall,” she said.

Andy Hamilton `85, Director of Athletics and Recreation

interested students from the Col lege Board. The College then sends emails, letters and brochures, which include messages about athletics. Ad ditionally, the College deploys coach es on recruiting trips to camps, com bines and other events designed to highlight high school athletes. These coaches cross-reference the College Board data and connect with potential applicants attending the events.

These recruitment tactics target some populations over others. For

Likewise, athletes are more likely to be male compared to the College’s overall demographics. According to data from the school’s Equity in Athletics Disclosure, there are 266 participants on men’s sports teams and 175 on women’s teams. Outside of athletics teams, the College has a “male enrollment” of 543 students and a “female enrollment” of 725 students. While recognizing that this oversimplifies the school’s gender dynamics, it’s clear that athletes are majority male and non-athletes are majority female.

Perhaps these population differ ences contribute to a social divide between athletes and non-athletes, particularly when considering Hamil ton’s theory about affinity groups. If students flock to people with similar interests and experiences, of course social circles would arise contain ing primarily athletes or primarily non-athletes. Especially since cer tain sports are more popular in cer tain countries — like football in the U.S. — or regions of countries — like

In talking with Fischer and Ham ilton, I didn’t find a clear answer to the origins of the social divide. Instead, I encountered the murky boundary between athletic recruit ment and standard application which, coupled with the notoriously opaque world of college admissions, leaves ample room for debate. The demo graphic differences between athletes and non-athletes may contribute to this social divide, but I’m uncon vinced that something so extensive, so ingrained within the fabric of the school, stems from a mere difference in proportions. Affinity groups appear consequential in creating this divide, but I can’t disentangle the admissions process from other factors leading to such groups.

Going forward, then, I’d like to better understand these affinity groups. Where and when do they emerge? How do they include or ex clude (or both)? For my next install ment, I’ll talk with student-athletes about their thoughts and experiences.

Women’s tennis, golf teams repeat as conference champions

CORNELIA DI GIOIA

It’s all about helping our students mature. It’s not just about the Saturday at 1:00 p.m. football game and who wins that.

CONTRIBUTED BY TED SCHULTZ

Grinnell’s women’s tennis team enjoyed plenty of success at the Midwest Conference tournament on the weekend on Oct. 14 - Oct. 16. The team won eight of nine flight titles, while Coach Zack Hasenyager and Utsah Kalra `25 took home individual honors.

CONTRIBUTED BY TED SCHULTZ

Coach Zack Hasenyager won Coach of the Year for the Midwest Conference at the conference’s Women’s Tennis Tournament.

CONTRIBUTED BY TED SCHULTZ

The women’s golf team easily took home the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) title for the fourth consecutive year. Coach David Arseneault Jr. was named Coach of the Year and Kavya Keshav `26 won Player and Newcomer of the Year.

CONTRIBUTED BY TED SCHULTZ

Grinnell has won 10 consecutive conference championships in women’s golf between the Midwest Conference and SLIAC. Kavya Keshav `26, Mary Li `25, Vidushi Keni `26, Lauren Chen `24 and Amy Nguyen `26 were named to the All-Conference first team.

OpiniOns

Review: This show didn’t need to exist

By Marcy Cassidy-Mapp cassidym@grinnell.edu

I’ve been an avid horror fan for most of my life. Supernatural horror, monster movies, psychological horror, splatter films, slasher films, body hor ror, I’ve survived them all; however, if there’s one horror-adjacent genre that icks me to my very core, it’s true crime. So, you can imagine my absolute ela tion at receiving a birthday gift from Netflix: the new limited series “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.”

Filmed as a biographical crime drama, the limited series explores the story of the serial killer and the major relation ships involved in it.

First, it’s a shame that I’m literate because Netflix has made the most redundant title I’ve ever had the dis pleasure of reading. Oh, it’s a show about Jeffery Dahmer, and, right, yes, okay, I’d agree he was a monster, and oh, wow, yes, thank you for clarifying that this is in fact a show about Jeffrey Dahmer.

It’s inherently difficult to avoid the glorification of someone like Dahmer, but Evan Peters’ portrayal of Dahmer was actually one of the highlights of the show. I was decently impressed with Peters’ ability to accurately depict the “Milwaukee Monster” as some random awkward white guy who took advan tage of how absolutely average he was when picking and attacking his victims.

Peters’ Dahmer isn’t imposing; he’s a pathetic shell of a person, desperately emulating human interaction through murder and violence out of compul sion, which is definitely more in line with what I look for in true crime.

However, the rest of the cast are the true stars of the show. Lionel Dahmer, Jeffrey’s father, played by Richard Jenks, makes me absolutely miserable every time he’s on screen in the best way possible. He’s best characterized by his naive denial of his son’s guilt, constantly making excuses to enable and justify Jeffrey’s wrongdoing out of a need to absolve himself of responsi bility. Bonding with your schizotypal son by helping him dissect roadkill is the definition of problematically irre sponsible. Overall though, the show made me uncomfortable with its desire to “explain” Dahmer’s actions. I cer tainly don’t need them to perpetuate the narrative that environmental factors, in addition to mental illness, can “make’’ one of the worst serial killers in Amer ican history.

Two side plots that left me rather disappointed were Glenda Cleveland’s experiences with the failings of the Milwaukee Police Department and the broader impacts Dahmer’s actions had on the LGBT+ community.

Netflix tagged the show as LGBT+ friendly on release, but the audience is forced to watch as the police prioritize the relative comfort of a white man

over any level of investigative eth ics. I had to confront the gross reality that an incompetent incel was enabled constantly by law enforcement. Most of the actual engagement with this theme comes from the story of Glenda Cleveland, who spent years reporting Dahmer’s suspicious activity only to be ignored and dismissed. In the context of a show that dramatizes so much of its storytelling, I expected them to use that liberty to make a broader statement about white privilege and underserved communities. Instead, the audience is supposed to sit with an attempt at ca tharsis when the residents of Dahmer’s apartment bond over the smell of dead bodies in the hallway.

Netflix’s decision to place the show in the LGBT+ category is terribly in sensitive considering how traumatic the show can be for queer individuals. It’s understandable to depict the mur ders due to the nature of the show, but dating and socializing in gay spaces can already be unsafe and exploitative since general society can be specifical ly dismissive of assault in those spac es. The repetitive scenes of watching Dahmer pick up men at bars becomes emotionally exhausting, excessive and, honestly, unnecessary.

Overall, this show didn’t need to exist. Yes, the production quality was good. Yes, the actors all did an amazing job and yes, I think it was a good idea to split the focus between Dahmer and his

victims. Though it does its best to shine a spotlight on the victims and families, it still capitalizes on their suffering. In a world where the families weren’t

Mental Musings: It doesn’t have to be this way

By Millie Peck peckcami@grinnell.edu

I started drafting at least four different columns for the Mental Musings series, but in a state of deep irony I just felt too depressed to write anything. I don’t use the word depression lightly, and I don’t just mean simply sad or unmotivated; I mean numb, hopeless and turned off to the world. Even moving my body felt like effort, like I was mov ing through molasses. Feeling this way came as somewhat of a shock because, while I’ve struggled with my mental health, I haven’t been de pressed for well over a year. I forgot what it felt like. And it’s not just that you can’t motivate yourself, it’s that everything shifts out of focus — the edges of life’s beauty dull and every thing feels fuzzy and out of focus.

At a recent mental health talk I co-lead for the cross-country team, someone asked for suggestions for coping with seasonal affective dis order. Another person chimed in about how important it is to go out side even though it’s dark and cold. Sledding is fun, they said. “Put on snow boots.” I chuckled a little. If only it were that easy. When I am depressed, the things I normally love feel strenuous — I walk away from social interactions depleted, food tastes bland and writing, which normally invigorates me, feels over whelming. Sometimes I stay at my house frozen all night because I just can’t get up. I don’t feel as good at my job, or as good of a friend, or as good of a student. In fact, nothing that I do feels good enough. I want to curl up in a ball and never get up. It’s not a matter of pushing through.

Nevertheless, I am fortunate be cause I know that this depression is temporary. I have been to therapy enough to know that I will find a way out of this state, but I haven’t always felt this way. I remember my mother telling me over and over again, “it won’t be this way forever,” and ev ery time I told her “you don’t know that.” Ultimately she was right, but it would be naive to assume the same is true for everyone. Many people in college have felt depressed or anx ious for most of their lives and will continue to feel that way perhaps for

the rest of their lives. This week re minded me of how difficult it is to live this way and how hopeless it feels.

Last spring, I lost a friend to suicide. My emotions went beyond grief. An indescribable empathy poured through me. I had walked the same halls in the same town feeling the same things he did. I got the help I needed in time. He didn’t. In be tween fits of tears, I became angry.

Everyone kept talking about how selfish it was, how senseless, and while I don’t think suicide is ever the answer, I don’t think those labels are fair. As someone who lived with sui cidal ideation for the better part of a decade, I can’t describe the strength it takes to choose life each day when all signs suggest that things won’t ever get better. Each day you blindly choose to ignore the pain of your ex istence with the hope that someday it won’t feel this way. I know that choosing to stay takes grit that many will never understand. If you are reading this right now, that means that you, too, chose to stay, so thank you. I know it isn’t easy.

Often, living becomes an ex tremely selfless act — we choose to stay because we can’t imagine putting our loved ones in that much pain. But just because staying is self less doesn’t mean leaving is inher ently selfish. It’s okay to be angry with someone for taking their life and to be angry with ourselves, but when my friend died, I wondered if blaming him for hurting people was the exact reason he chose to leave.

We invalidated the immensity of the pain they feel. I wonder if some of the anger that we feel is misdirect ed toward the victim when maybe it should be toward ourselves. At least that’s what I tried to do. I wondered what I could have done differently, to aid him in getting the help that he needed. Someone dies from suicide every eleven minutes. Clearly, this issue is more than just individual. We are experiencing a mental health crisis. We all play a role in this epi demic, so maybe rather than asking why they did it, we ask instead what we could have done, and can we do that for someone else or for ourself so this doesn’t happen again.

For me, dealing with my men tal illness took putting everything else in my life on hold. I first spent a month at a partial hospitalization program during my senior year of high school and dropped half my classes upon my return. Then, in my sophomore year of college, I took time off to go to residential treatment for my eating disorder. I resisted going each time, believing I wasn’t sick enough. Sure, I had issues, but there were other people who had it far worse. I had never actually tried to commit suicide, and I wasn’t even emaciated anymore, but there is no barometer to measure how sick someone is, and in many ways, I was on the brink of death.

If you feel like what you are doing isn’t working, if you feel like life feels bad more than it feels good, then it’s time to do something different. Don’t wait until you are too sick, or until it’s too late. Taking time off can feel scary, I know, but we have to take the time to take care of ourselves.

Unfortunately, the biggest rea son for not receiving mental health

treatment is cost barriers. This is a devastating reality, but even if this is the case, I urge you to still try be cause you don’t know what options might be available until you look.

Most people don’t seek help because they don’t know where to go or they don’t have enough time. But I en courage you to reach out to Student Health and Wellness (SHAW), talk to your doctor, check out the Virtu al Care Group or send me an e-mail. This is worth figuring out, I promise.

I fear that time is the single big gest reason Grinnellians don’t get help. It was for me. How could I possibly fit therapy into my sched ule? And taking time off from school to go to treatment didn’t feel like an option. I didn’t want to put my life on hold. I didn’t want to miss out. I learned that by not taking time off to heal and get the tools that I needed, I missed a lot more. If you aren’t in therapy, go to SHAW. If you are, talk to your therapist about other options.

Your mental health must take priority. I promise you that you will not be able to cure cancer or solve world hunger, or do any of the oth er things Grinnellians do, if you are deeply depressed. Living with men tal illness causes us to miss out on laughs and smiles and connection and joy on a daily basis. You deserve all of these things, so please, do what you need to take care of you. And if that means taking time off, then do it. Taking time off doesn’t always mean going to residential treatment (although for some it might and there is no shame in that), but it might mean dropping an activity or a class so that you have time to go to therapy or go to support groups.

Often, we are so afraid of miss ing out, but that only results in us only half living the moments we do have. Missing small moments now will ensure that we have more rich, full, beautiful moments. Don’t settle for a life half-lived in the confines of your mental illness. Take the time you need now.

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even warned that the show was in pro duction, I can’t stomach the thought that this is the ninth most popular En glish-language TV show of all time.

The Scarlet & Black Staff Fall 2022

NETFLIX

Evan Peters playing Jeffrey Dahmer in the new Netflix show

HANNAH AGPOON

I fear that time is the sin gle biggest reason Grin nellians don’t get help.

doesn’t

Mingle

and

Ready to Mingle

Dear Ready to Mingle, When I’m looking for friends, the effort that it takes to tolerate the feel ings of forcedness around new social interactions is often enough to make me want to get back into bed. It’s exhausting and discouraging. Here’s my suggestion: outsource the force! Absolve yourself of the pressure of creating social interaction by building out from where you are already forced to be — class, jobs, your dorm floor. This takes no additional plan ning on your part, and it also makes ordinary, often dull situations into playgrounds.

I don’t know what the metaphor is for you — speed dating? National Geographic-style discovery? Make your everyday life the setting for exploration. Get extremely curious about the people sitting near you. Put yourself in more situations where you have to bump up against new folks (clubs, teams, parties, jobs). Go to interesting events on campus, maybe even go to events that are explicitly disinteresting to you, just to scope out the crowd. Go alone — I dare you. Oh, and you have to talk to people when you go. It doesn’t work if you don’t talk to anyone, unfortunately. Practice talking to strangers! Give

out five genuine compliments to strangers every day, especially ones with whom you don’t necessarily foresee a possibility of friendship and strangers who aren’t your peers. It’s good practice, people eat it up and it just greases the wheels of social dynamics. As cheesy as it sounds, it will make you feel more in tune with the living beings around you, and the more of a habit it becomes, the less forced it feels. Essentially, you will have to force yourself to do some things and get really good at seeming like you’re more or less at ease. With time, almost as if by magic, you will become more at ease.

Also, remember: most people you meet will not be your friends. They also probably won’t be, like, your mortal enemies — most people you meet will be inconsequential to your life, but when you are looking for consequential connections, it’s hard to approach a potential companion without a news crawl running across the bottom of your mind that says I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU! Expectations can create a chokehold, so try to release them. If you maintain too tight of a grip on what you feel is missing from your life, it will be harder to make room for cool people to enter it and every rejection will feel like a huge setback.

And I hate to say it, but people can smell desperation. Instead of placing hopes or assumptions onto people you are still getting to know, what will work to your benefit is an in quisitive effect. When you see a new face, say these words to yourself: Who are you? Stay open, open, open.

A final note on annoyance: the beautiful thing about it is that we have absolutely no control over how annoying someone may find us in a given moment. It is one of the most fickle and subjective human reactions I have ever witnessed or experienced. So, on being annoying, I will give you my favorite advice: don’t worry about it! Great friends will find you tremendously funny and charming, and when they do find you annoying from time to time, it will be the same person they know to be so funny and charming, and they will be able to recognize both truths at once.

Good luck out there! I must say I’m excited for you. You can always write back with updates on your new friendships and whatever conflicts or successes they bring — I’m quite the gossip!

Warmly, Sage & Blunt

By Ms Constellation Prize

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov. 21)

The South Campus Bat: Scorpio, em brace your dark, spooky side. Nothing scares your peers more than this bat. The question remains: is there one bat terror izing the loggia or is there a whole fami ly residing in the walls? There’s no doubt that your desire to haunt your friends’s nightmares will be satiated with your spooky costume. Don’t be afraid of your instinct to be mischievous and chaotic. You can add some fear to someone’s day and stir the pot a little. But be careful: like the bat, stories of your mischief will permeate throughout campus.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 21)

The Green M&M: Sagittarius, you need a group or couple’s costume this year! This month you might find yourself yearning to stay inside and hide from the world, but if you commit yourself to activities with your peers, like a group costume, you won’t be able to isolate yourself too much. Fight your instinct to be alone and try to stay social.

Green can help you reflect any envy or jealousy you might be feeling this month, particularly if you’re missing an ex-significant other or ex-friend. Don’t articulate your jealousy or negative feel ings. Instead, try to channel it through creative outlets, like your outfits.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19)

Bed Sheet Ghost: Capricorn, it might feel like life is falling apart right now. Things seem to be crumbling at the seams. It might be in your best interest to hide away, like under a bed sheet. Don’t isolate yourself, but just take a step back. Don’t try to fix your life as it’s falling apart because it’s all geared towards a positive change. Something good is com ing your way, but you need to sit back and let it happen. Towards the end of the month, you will come across an exciting opportunity. Take advantage of it when it comes.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 - Feb. 18)

Angel: Aquarius, the best way to attract love and light into your own life this month is to spread it yourself. Bring positive energy by handing it back to the people around you. Dressing as an angel represents your core desire to be truly good and kind to everyone around you. And don’t just be an angel on Hallow een, try to be one every day of Scorpio

season. How can you practice being a good person today?

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

Cupid: Scorpio season is bringing you love and romance, Pisces! Dressing as a Cupid just affirms your desire for romance and this month that desire will be met. You will be overwhelmed with love, but you need to pursue it yourself. Shoot your shot, Cupid! Don’t be surprised if you have a long-distance romantic encounter. Dis tance does not negate the love coming your way. Later this month, if a lover tries to pick a fight, it’s not about you; they are angry at something else and need some loving support this month. Don’t engage with them and instead try to get to the core of the issue. Maybe you can surprise them with a grand gesture to support them! Continue leading with romance, as Cupid would.

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Lifeguard: Aries, this month you need to put up your walls. Protect your heart and emotions above all else. Dress up as a profession that has an obligation to protect and save people. You might find yourself solving crisis after crisis, like a lifeguard. But, also like a lifeguard, you need to take care of yourself, otherwise, you might find yourself drowning too. Look after your heart.

Also, if you get any opportunities to make some petty cash, dive in. Money should be flowing — manifest this by dressing up as Grinnell College’s high est-paying job.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

Anna Delvey: Delvey was portrayed in Netflix’s 2022 dramatic miniseries, “In venting Anna,” for frauding millions out of New York’s wealthiest. She was stub born and sneaky, which is maybe what you, Taurus, need to embody this month.

Don’t be afraid to fight for something, even if you must be a little malicious. You deserve whatever you want and if you have to take down everyone around you to get it, so be it.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

Ken from Greta Gerwig’s unreleased “Barbie” (2023): Gemini, this month you should sit back and just lean into your greatest asset: your good looks! We can all take a lesson from Ryan Gosling: who needs talent or skills when you’re attrac

tive? Seriously, sit back, take it easy and let the world come to you.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

Chef (or specifically, Jeremy Allen White from “The Bear” (2022)): if you missed out on Hulu’s “The Bear,” you might have missed out on the hottest TV show of the year. But what really made White attractive was his personality, not just his good looks. He took care of everyone on this show, as a person and as a chef. He took care of his family and his staff. He cooked for everyone. If you have the desire to take care of everyone, do it. This month, you need to step back and listen to those around you. How can you help your loved ones? Ask them what they need and how you can be supportive. Can you literally cook them a meal?

Leo (July 23 - Aug. 22)

Queen Elizabeth or Anne Harris: Leo, this month you need to continue to channel your desire to be independent and powerful. If you get an opportunity to assume some power, you should jump on it! Exude this desire by dressing as one of these two powerful ladies for Halloween. Not much more I need to say here — you know who you are. Don’t do anything that is not helping your agenda.

Virgo (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22)

Janine from “Abbott Elementary:” Yes, she is canonically a Sagittarius, but ev erything about her screams Virgo. She’s someone who keeps a bullet journal and has every color of Pilot G-2 0.5mm pens. If you’re feeling anxious or stressed, lean into your desire to plan and prepare. Try to solve any issue by writing it down and making a chart or an extensive to-do list that breaks down a logical and tangible solution to your problem. Follow your mind, not your heart this month.

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22)

Ted Lasso: Libra, your primal desire is to be caring and kind, and you should do that! Be unapologetically yourself. Lasso is annoyingly optimistic, compas sionate and gracious. Give, give, give. Think about giving your favorite sign a thoughtful gift. Don’t forget to be playful and lean into your inner child!

CORNELIA DI GIOIA

QINGSHUO DU