Vol. 139, Issue 11

Sthecarlet & Black

February 6, 2023 • Grinnell, Iowa

Black Church at Grinnell hosts service celebrating Black History Month

By Taylor Nunley nunleyta@grinnell.edu

On Feb. 12, Black Church at Grinnell will host their 26th annual Black History Month service at Herrick Chapel to celebrate a Black tradition and worship. Black Church at Grinnell has monthly services with song, prayer and guest preachers. Each service represents a different facet of Black Church aligning with the denominations and traditions of visiting speakers.

“We don’t want people to think there’s one Black tradition,” said Deanna Shorb, Director of the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice (CRSSJ) and Dean of Religious Life. “There are lots of different traditions, and it helps to mix it up.”

This year’s service dedicated to Black History Month will include guest Reverend Benjamin Nicks Jr. hailing from Saint Luke Missionary Baptist Church (St. Luke) in Peoria, Illinois. Nicks has visited for services at Grinnell College in years past, but

TEDxGrinnell set to make a return to campus life

By Zach Spindler-Krage spindler@grinnell.edu

Grinnell College promises to expose students to science, social studies and humanities over the course of four years. TEDxGrinnellCollege only needs three hours. After a one-year hiatus, TEDxGrinnellCollege is back with a large cast of speakers poised to nourish minds on the theme of “Food for Thought.”

The event, curated by the Donald and Winifred Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership (Wilson Center), will be hosted in the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts on Saturday, Feb. 18 from 2 to 5:00 p.m.

Catered to students, faculty, staff and community members, this installment of TEDxGrinnellCollege will feature five local Grin-

nell voices. The speakers bring a diverse array of experience in food activism and sovereignty, restaurant management, microbiome research and culinary sustainability.

Among the speakers are recent alumna Sarina Farb `16, creator of the Born Vegan organization, and Scott

>> Continued on page 2

Chinese Student Association celebrates Lunar New Year with gala

By Claire Giannosa giannosa@grinnell.edu

The Chinese Student Association (CSA) hosted a gala featuring performances, music and traditional foods to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

“It is a very important festival that is celebrated by a lot of international students. It is an event that can make them feel more at home,” said CSA Vice President Jingyi Wang `25. “It is a great chance for other students who do not celebrate this festival to get to know our culture.”

This is the CSA’s first large event

of the semester, and the second event of the academic year, as they held the Mid-Autumn Festival on Sep. 10, 2022. As a member of the CSA cabinet, historically run by second-year students, Wang said the gala is very important to her. “Yeah, it’s basically the last major event that the CSA cabinet is holding, because we’re gonna change our cabinet this semester, so I’m really excited for the event.”

The CSA collaborated with other student groups such as the Vietnamese Student Association and Asian American Association, as well as the Grinnell College

Office of Student Affairs, professors and students within the Chinese department at the College. When asked about working alongside the student affairs office to plan the gala, CSA President Sherry Ding `25 said, “It makes me feel a sense of belonging to the community because I have people to support my culture and help me celebrate my own identity.”

“I think working with the Chi-

>> Continued on page 2

New UGSDW executive board

due to the pandemic, he and his family were not able to return until this year.

Shorb said inviting guest speakers to Black Church is a matter of establishing secure relationships with students. “I’ve invited so many people,” she said. “If I find someone who seems to connect with students, has an eye to what it means to be between 17 and 23 today, can bring the gospel to them, and understands Black church … I have at times said, ‘Would you like to come regularly?’”

Reverend Nicks is one of those people, according to Shorb.

Shorb said Nicks was one of Black Church at Grinnell’s regular ministers for a few years before relocating to Illinois from Des Moines. Due to the short distance to the College, he proposed coming back for the annual Black History Month service each year.

“They [Nicks and his wife] have come back because they always did more. Their kids would memorize poems and do praise dance and maybe sing a

Golf course visioning plan moves ahead

By Cadence Chen chencade@grinnell.edu

Grinnell residents can expect an update on planned landscape improvements and new programming for the Grinnell College Golf Course (GCGC) in spring 2023. The visioning project is led by Monica Chavez-Silva, vice president of community engagement and strategic planning, and her team. With consultation from architects David Bagnoli of StudioMB and Jonathan Ceci of Jonathan Ceci Landscape Architects, and various community members, the project aims to create what the architects referred to as an ecosystem of social, financial and physical wellness.

Following initial conversations between Chavez-Silva and the architects in May 2022, Bagnoli and Ceci hosted 5 GCGC visioning workshops with over 250 attendees, from both the town and the College, to gather community opinions on how the 56-acre GCGC should be utilized and improved.

The hosts presented participants with poster boards that showed different visions and moods for the course — family resort, traditional,

contemporary spa and prairie style. Participants could paste their opinions on the boards with sticky notes, and they were given opportunities to verbally share with the group their ideas and connections to the golf course.

Zoe Robinson `23, a member of the Grinnell College women’s golf team, attended the workshop that was held in the Club House with some of her friends. As someone interested in golf, she said she is like the course’s “little advertiser,” and informs others about the GCGC’s available resources.

“I’d really want more engagement between the community and the College because you can do so much with the golf course,” said Robinson.

With the help of the GCGC’s newsletters, she said she has noticed an increase in community events happening on the course compared to past years. Robinson said she was particularly interested in seeing a glow-in-the-dark mini golf event happen.

“The feedback from the workshops resoundingly revealed that people are looking for a place

CORNELIA DI GIOIA

The Black History Month service will be hosted at Herrick Chapel on Sunday, Feb. 12.

OHANA SARVOTHAM

The Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW) announced their new leadership board for the Spring 2023 semester. From left to right: Lu Johnston `24, Sam Hiller `25, Hannah Sweet `25, Secretary-Treasurer Conrad Dahm `26, Kelly Banfield `24, President Lena Wiebe `25, Amani Alqaisi `25, Jules Covitz `24. Not pictured: Malcolm Galpern-Levin `24, Lyn Guinto `25.

GABRIELA ROŻNAWSKA

TEDxGrinnell Returns

Turley, executive chef and chief culinary officer at Grinnell College. The full list of speakers can be found on the TEDxGrinnellCollege website.

TEDx is the independently organized companion of TED — the prominent nonprofit organization that gives speakers a platform to share “Ideas worth spreading.” TEDxGrinnellCollege speakers will follow the traditional TED presentation format, and video recordings will be posted on the official TED website after the event.

The independent nature of TEDx allowed the Grinnell TEDx committee, made up of both faculty and students, to select a theme that is timely and relevant to the College. “The ‘Food for Thought’ theme comes from the concept of nurturing your own experiences by implementing the speakers’ ideas and advice into your own life,” said Raj Jhanwar `25, a member of the TEDxGrinnellCollege media and publicity subcommittee.

Jhanwar said he encourages attendees to recognize the abundant opportunities the program affords. “TEDx can be an event where people come together to get new thoughts, improve themselves and learn from alumni and community leaders,” he said.

Due to COVID-19, the last chapter of the TEDxGrinnellCollege series took place virtually in Feb. 2021, and the most recent in-person

version was in 2018. The extended time between in-person events and the complete turnover of student organizers have made it challenging to replicate the details of past events. However, Dayana Garcia `26 said that the situation has prompted new ideas and innovations that should elevate the program moving forward.

“I was really excited because we had a fresh slate. There wasn’t a strong expectation of what the event had to be like,” said Garcia. When she began her positions as student media specialist for the Wilson Center and chair of the TEDxGrinnellCollege media and publicity subcommittee in December, Garcia said the unique opportunity drove her to reimagine the orchestration of the program.

“A lot of students haven’t had the opportunity to experience the event before, so I think there is a lot of anticipation for it.” Garcia said that the student committee has been anxiously awaiting this year’s final product.

Ogunmesa

Nifemi Ogunmesa `25, student event coordinator for the Wilson Center, said she hopes that the event prompts people to reevaluate the ways in which they interact with

CRSSJ hosts guest reverend for Black History Month service

Black History Month Service—

Continued from Front Page

special song. They would always offer a little something in addition to regular worship that we did for Black History Month,” Shorb said.

The special service put on for Black History Month may be closer to what many students involved with Black Church are familiar with in churches they attended before Grinnell, according to Shorb and Nicks.

Sparkle Nicks, who is the Youth Director at St. Luke and married to Reverend Nicks, has often organized a praise dance for the services at Grinnell College she has been involved with and plans to feature the Majestic Praiser Dancers on Feb. 12th’s service.

For students who attended Black Church in the past, a gospel dance element is something they may not have been a part of for years. “Our students get excited when something like that [a praise dance] special happens because, for some of them, they don’t really get that anywhere else,” said Michael Sims, advisor of the Young, Gifted & Black gospel choir (YGB), which will be performing at the service.

Black Church at Grinnell has not only served to benefit students but

Reverend Nicks himself, too. “The first time I came to preach, it was a very fun and fulfilling experience,” Nicks said.

“From there, it just grew. Every time we went, we were seeing the same students, and we had connections... We built something that I felt was very integral to that part. Not only for their lives, but for me, too.”

While Black Church is rooted in traditions of African-American, African, and Afro-Caribbean church, leaders and students alike emphasize the all-encompassing aspect of it.

“Black Church welcomes everyone,” said Bethany Willig `23, a member of YGB who was also involved with the planning of the service.

“Although the title ‘Black Church’ may scare some people away, we still believe it’s important to keep because it draws the people we want to come to the service if they’re looking for belonging,” Willig explained.

“But everyone’s welcome,” Willig said. “It’s a fun time. We dance, we laugh, we talk, we sing … I’m excited.”

The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. All who attend have the option to receive a free meal at the Marketplace after the service. The CRSSJ welcomes anyone interested.

Golf course visioning plan

August 2020, a derecho damaged the golf course’s mature canopy trees. The GCGC now has the opportunity to celebrate and sustain a grassland habitat, said Ceci. He sees this as a paradigm shift from typical East Coast golf course designs.

Some of the architect’s recommendations would thematically build off their previous work with the College. In 2015, the College consulted Ceci, when he was employed with architectural firm Ayers Saint Gross, to work on the Grinnell College’s landscape master plan, which was directed at making outdoor spaces like Kington Plaza more robust.

food. “We want people to be able to consume food in a more ethically conscious way and have more consideration of the cultural dynamics and exploitative practices related to food production,” said Ogunmesa.

“There’s a lot of food production in Iowa, but we don’t always consider how that process brings in diverse points of views and cultures,” said Garcia.

On campus, recent composting and recycling initiatives have sought to engage students in more sustainable food consumption practices, but Jhanwar said he believes that there is more to be done. “One of the takeaways from this event will be learning the strategies for reducing our dining hall waste. We need to be more considerate of where our leftover food goes,” he said.

Past TEDxGrinnellCollege speakers have brought continued attention to the College through their video recordings. Jean Kummerow `71 spoke in 2016 about the professional use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, and she has received more than 997,000 views on the TEDx YouTube account. Adam Lange `11 recently broke 310,000 views on his “Think Like a Lawyer” presentation from 2018.

Ogunmesa said she believes this year can emulate prior installments and that increased program stability is attainable. “Before COVID, the event had a huge audience, and we’re trying to continue that theme. Ideally, it could be an event that happens every year,” said Ogunmesa.

Tickets for the event are available on the TEDxGrinnellCollege website through Feb 10. Seating is limited and likely to reach capacity. American Sign Language interpreters will be provided for the live talks.

Golf

to connect; for others, a place for social and emotional, as well as physical, well-being.” Chavez-Silva wrote in an email to the S&B.

After members of the Grinnell Golf and Country Club nearly unanimously voted to allow Grinnell College to purchase the course, due to severe financial burden in 2016, the GCGC has been accessible to the public. The current visioning project is “a reflection of post-pandemic realities,” according to Bagnoli.

Many workshop participants also indicated that they wanted the GCGC to pursue a prairie style. In

MADDI SHINALL

Lunar New Year Gala

Lunar New Year—

Continued from Front Page

nese student community is a very unique experience for me,” Ding said. “One thing I’m feeling very grateful for is that Grinnell has always been very supportive of these events to celebrate our identity.”

As international students, Ding and Wang echoed the importance of celebrating Lunar New Year with the Grinnell community. “Chinese Lunar New Year is the most important festival in Chinese culture. And for this festival, we often stay together with our family, but since we are international students, we do not have the opportunity to do so because our families are all far away from us,” Ding said.

Students and other members of the Grinnell community were able to attend the gala on Feb. 4, even if they do not normally celebrate Lunar New Year. “I think as Asian and international students our cultures are sometimes ignored.

So, if more domestic students get involved in this event, they will learn about different internation-

al student groups and get interested in their cultures,” Ding said.

The event included student performances and a taste of traditional Chinese food. Many different food stations were organized, including boba tea, tangyan (a traditional Chinese dessert prepared for Lunar New Year) and other foods the CSA ordered from Szechuan House in Iowa City. Attendees also participated in games, learned about the traditional Chinese New Year and watched student performances.

The option to perform was open to all attendees. “It’s okay if someone wants to go to the stage and perform something, I think that’s definitely okay,” said Ding.

Despite the many steps it took to organize, publicize and gather food and decorations for the gala, Ding and Wang said they are very eager to celebrate with the larger Grinnell community.

According to Ding, “the most exciting part is that Chinese students and students in the Asian community can connect in this festival and come together to celebrate our cultures.”

Rachel Bly `93 to be new Vice President of Auxilary Services

ference operations department, Bly said she has been looking forward to the building of the Civic Engagement Quad (CEQ) in downtown Grinnell and improved living conditions in current dorms.

“This may sort of allow me to give back in a slightly different way, a deeper way,” Bly said about her new responsibilities at the college.

“It is a full circle sort of moment.”

Over the past 30 years, she has worked her way through the financial aid office, alumni relations and conference operations. In her new position, she will oversee dining and catering services, mail services, the Pioneer Bookshop, conference operations and events and the Grinnell College Golf Course.

By Kailee Shermak shermakk@grinnell.edu

Rachel Bly `93 officially filled the open role as vice president of auxiliary services at Grinnell College on Jan. 1 after she fulfilled the responsibilities in interim. A long-standing member of the con-

Bly said she is particularly excited about the CEQ and its role in integrating the community more in the life of the students. After living downtown for the past 20 years and serving on the city council, she said she has both the College’s and city’s perspective on this development, and she expects it to be an exciting interaction between them both.

“My goal always has just been to have a positive impact on the institution,” Bly said.

Along with town-college integration, Bly mentioned accessibility improvements and air-conditioned additions within the on-campus dorms.

“I have a kid in college who does not have awesome living quarters, so I am uniquely aware of the struggles,” she said.

Bly’s career at Grinnell College began long before her recent promotion. During her time as a student, she worked in the Dining Hall and the Pioneer Bookshop. At the time, construction of the Alumni Recitation Hall was just beginning and her tutorial class was held in the basement of Mears Cottage.

“If you would have asked me as a student at Grinnell College if I thought I would still be here … I would have said ‘no way,’” Bly said.

Bly said that her passion for the students and staff has kept her at Grinnell College through the upcoming 30th reunion of her graduation class this summer. The ever-changing atmosphere within conference operations has also contributed to the length of her career at the College, according to Bly.

“Things are never dull,” Bly said. “I learn something new every day here.”

ICMA AWARDS 2023

Best Review for her book review of “American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin” by Terrance Hayes.

Mohammad Igbaria `24:

Second Place, Best Print Newspaper

Front Page, for his May front page design following the expansion of the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers (UGSDW).

“A major theme from that landscape master plan was to lean into what makes Grinnell unique. And, instead of apologizing for Iowa, let’s celebrate Iowa instead of pretending we’re a coastal liberal arts college,” said Ceci. “Let’s celebrate our home on the prairie here.”

Those who want to play golf on the course at their own leisure will still need to pay greens fees to access certain numbers of holes. Some open-to-all, community-centered programming, however, is currently in place, with a Friday night gathering and a Super Bowl Party in the month of February. Additional updates will be available in the spring of this year.

At the Iowa College Media Association (ICMA) annual awards ceremony held on Feb. 2, the Scarlet & Black took home eight awards, including two honorable mentions, one third place award, four second place awards, and one first place award. The ICMA is an organization of Iowa colleges and universities dedicated to supporting collegiate multimedia news outlets across the state. The North Carolina and Iowa Press Associations collaborat-

CONTRIBUTED BY LYLE MULLER

ed to determine this year’s award winners. Last year, the S&B had 13 nominations and earned seven awards. This year, the S&B had 33 nominations, ranging from best entertainment video to best investigative reporting.

George Kosinski `23: First Place, Best Review for his article about Oct. Writers@Grinnell event featuring poets Paige Lewis and Kaveh Akbar.

Nina Baker `24: Second Place,

Cornelia Di Gioia `26: Second Place, Best Graphic or Illustration for her graphic for the S&B’s current advice column, Sage&Blunt.

Paul Hansen `23: Second Place, Best Print/Online Sports

Photo for a picture of Grinnell swimming & diving team members preparing for a meet.

Jane Hoffman `25: Third Place, Best Review for her coverage of “Hand Me Down,” a 2022 Smith Gallery student art exhibit.

Isaiah Gutman `23: Honorable Mention, Best Print/Online Sports Reporting for his coverage of the Grinnell men’s basketball team.

Ingrid Meulemans `22: Honorable Mention, Best Sports Feature Reporting for her story about the 2022 Grinnell die league.

OWEN BARBATO

Rachel Bly `93, Vice President of Auxilary Services.

We want people to be able to consume food in a more ethically conscious way.

Nifemi

`25

From left: Gabby Hernandez `24, Lyle Muller, Allison Moore `24, George Kosinski `23, Paul Hansen `23, Mohammad Igbaria `24, Nina Baker `24, Jane Hoffman `25.

Change in winter break policies leads to move-in confusion

By Molly Wilcoxson wilcoxso@grinnell.edu

This year, students requesting to stay on campus over winter break were asked to pay a fee of $1000 to cover their time at the College. This new policy — introduced for the first time this year by the residence life team — contrasts with the College’s previous strategy of letting students stay without any required extra fees.

During the 2021-22 academic year, students intending to stay on campus were expected to petition for extenuating circumstances, which the residence life team reviewed for approval. Residence life did not expect students staying over break to financially contribute to their stay unless they wanted to purchase access to a campus meal plan, which costs $840. Student Pioneer One-Cards (P-Cards) were still active through break.

Although the Extenuating Circumstances Application process remained the same during the 2022-23 academic year, all students were expected to pay $1000, primarily covering the meal plan, unless required to stay on-campus for athletics or other departmental activities. Even if students did not plan to use the Dining Hall, they still were required to pay this fee.

Furthermore, student P-Cards were deactivated following the end of the semester on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 12 p.m. Students could not access campus buildings unless their request to stay on campus had been approved.

Assistant Dean of Residence Life and Student Conduct Dennis Perkins said that this change reflects a shift in mindset toward the College’s students. “When I got here in 2019, we didn’t feed them [the students],” he said. “I didn’t think this was right, so we’ve worked hard on trying to change that. But, of course, that comes at a cost.”

Assistant Director of Housing Operations Britta Meints further noted that the addition of this fee was requested by higher leadership and approved by the board of trustees at the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year.

According to Perkins, the residence life team’s main goal in implementing this policy was communication. “[In the past,] we’ve gotten a lot of criticism about having poor communication, and rightly so. One of the things we set out to do this year was to have more transparency and communication with students.”

The goal of better communication included opening the application portal for extenuating circumstances several months prior to break, allowing students the time to determine their travel plans. When reviewing applications for students to stay on break, the residence life team looks for students who are unable to return home due to reasons such as employment or travel expenses.

kins said, “I thought the process was smooth. There are some questions that still need to be answered, which we will need to talk about as a committee.”

Meints said, “I would say it was as smooth as it could’ve been.”

Some students still encountered issues while navigating the new policies. Emmy Potter `24 asked residence life to move in at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18, less than 24 hours before her approved move-in day and after encountering severe weather issues during her travels. After emailing residence life, however, she was told that this would not be possible unless she was willing to pay the full $1000 for her night on campus.

Upon initially requesting to move on campus early, Potter was informed that she would not have to pay a fee to stay overnight in her dorm. However, two hours after her initial request, residence life recanted, asking her to pay the fee in a follow up email.

“I was obviously very upset,” she said. “I felt like lack of transparency was a huge issue, and I didn’t want to have to leave my electronics in my car overnight while staying somewhere else.”

Thomas Nsereko dishes on balancing life as a student chef

By Krista Spies spieskri@grinnell.edu

From learning to roll out roti when he was three years old to his first gig at a Michelin-starred restaurant in high school, Thomas Nsereko `26 now brings his love of cuisine to the Grinnell community. A cook in several gourmet restaurants, Nsereko spoke about his experience in professional culinary settings that many people may only see in movies.

“Being someone that’s very interested in people, finding that way to connect with people from anywhere around the world, just by sharing a meal, has been a moving force for me in my career as a cook,” says Nsereko.

His parents worked long hours after moving to Des Moines; his mother is from Scotland and his father is from Uganda. As such, a caretaker named Amudhu often looked after young Nsereko, and he helped her cook traditional Indian foods. He said that he became inspired simply by working on those small kitchen tasks, putting him in the direction he has followed his entire life thereafter.

After expressing her frustrations to residence life in an email, they asked her to seek out hotels in Grinnell, something Potter could not readily afford. It was not until several hours later when Perkins — who was not working that day — granted her access to her dorm and apologized for the situation in an email. After this, Potter was allowed to move into her dorm.

Potter, a QuestBridge student, says she is frustrated with the new winter break policy itself due to its inaccessibility for low-income students.

“It feels very inconsiderate for the College to put such a large fine on staying on campus when extenuating circumstances come up, explicitly when you tell them that you’re low-income,” she says.

Potter was not the only student who encountered difficulties while staying on campus over break. Sadie Weiner `24, a head lifeguard, was granted approval to stay in the dorms, with P-Card access, for a part of the break due to her employment status. However, if she and her coworkers wanted to keep the Russell K. Osgood Pool and Natatorium open for longer periods of time, they were expected to pay the $1000 fee. In previous years, Weiner said, the lifeguard team was able to keep the pool open for nearly the entire duration of winter break.

“It was frustrating, since the pool was closed for a lot more time,” she said in comparison to previous years.

Weiner and the other lifeguards were also temporarily denied access to buildings like their dorms and the natatorium due to an issue with the authorization of their P-Cards. Facilities management resolved this issue within 12 hours of arriving on campus. Weiner said that it “seemed like they weren’t ready for us yet.”

Meints, who reviews the Extenuating Circumstance Applications, said that the two primary reasons requests are denied is because they are unnecessary, or because their application does not provide enough information. For example, many students requested to stay on campus for only one or two additional days due to their flight schedules, something the College offered to cover for free as a grace period.

When speaking on the overall success of this policy change, Per-

Despite the issues that some students have encountered with the new policies, Perkins said that administration has no plans to change this fee moving forward. “Right now, we need to figure out, how do we know the folks who truly need to be here, and do we ask them to pay?

I think that’s what we’re figuring out right now.”

Perkins said that the residence life team is also open to feedback from the Grinnell community on how to improve their process moving forward. Meints said, “What we want to do is to help students have the best understanding of them [our policies] … and I’m happy to work with students to [achieve this].”

Nsereko said that for him, food crosses the boundaries of art, passion, work and necessity that highlight the beauty possible from connecting with others and their culture through this practice. He sees cooking, with respect to people, as “an opportunity to engage with their art and their tradi-

tion in a way that hopefully will put a smile on your face and on theirs, as well as respecting the tradition and the love that goes into the dishes that they prepare for their family.”

Some cross-cultural dishes Nsereko makes include the Indian roti, Vietnamese pho, the American burger and Italian uovo ravioli. In addressing some of the different foods he listed as his favorites or important to his experience in some way, Nsereko brought up the intersection between knowledge and practice that comes from cuisines around the world.

Nsereko has worked in several gourmet restaurants from Des Moines to New York. Three of note in Des Moines include Harbinger, Aposto and Proof, where he was a chef de partie, or line cook, running a specific station to prep it, work, clean and break it down. This position includes service work, cooking, plating and serving.

In high school, Nsereko worked long hours after classes in professional settings. He says that he was balancing that stress with maturing in his teen years. “I was always the youngest in the kitchen,” he said.

“There is a distinction to make between loving something and obsessing,” he says of working those 40- to 50-hour shifts, while figuring out if he wanted to commit to the career long-term. “Obsession doesn’t have to be healthy, but when you have that love and respect for something,

at the end of the day, no matter how stressful it is, there’s still some, ‘I want to be here.’”

As he continues to hone his craft between Grinnell’s campus and his home of Des Moines, Nsereko reflects on how coming to the College has influenced how he sees his cooking now. He highlights how he has been able to meet with people from around the world who bring recipes from their respective homes. “Something that’s been really awesome for me,” he said, “is being able to communicate in a way that makes me feel like I’m at home because I’m surrounded by people that care about food so much.”

When asked about his preferred setting for making dishes, Nsereko said, “I speak on behalf of a lot of cooks when I say this, but most of us really, really enjoy cooking for our family and our loved ones.” For Nsereko, that includes individuals at Grinnell College. He excitedly invites anyone interested in a recipe, in learning to cook or about food in general to contact him on @foiemas on Instagram.

As for the near future, Nsereko has been offered positions at a few high-end restaurants for the summer of 2023 and is deciding between the three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, ranked first on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2017, and the one-Michelin-starred One White Street, both in New York City.

Alumni Professors Speak “Finding a way to get back to Grinnell”

Ever wondered what makes Grinnell College alumni want to return to work at their alma mater? The S&B spoke with three alumni professors about their experience returning to Grinnell and how the campus has changed since their time as students.

By Allison Moore mooreall2@grinnell.edu

When Henry Rietz `89, professor of religious studies, traveled from Hawaii to Grinnell for his first year of college, he was eager for the first snowfall.

“I’d seen snow before but had never lived in it, had never seen the seasons,” he said.

Rietz also recalled the tradition of an all-campus scream, during which students would relieve their stress during exam season by shouting at the top of their lungs.

Although Rietz said he never imagined returning to Grinnell, he said that the “fundamental Grinnell trait of learning for the sake of learning” ultimately brought him back.

Over the three decades since he graduated from Grinnell, Rietz said that there is “continuity in that Grinnell students care about each other and the world. Students are not competitive with each other, and I think that ethos has continued.”

After reminiscing about his undergraduate experience Rietz said, “I think having a sense of the College’s history is both inspiring to think about some of the things that we change. I think it’s also humbling because some things are not as appealing about history. I think that knowing the history … is to get a sense that others have gone through similar challenges and transitions.”

“The main thing that attracted me was the social justice at Grinnell — just that I could be around other students and professors that really cared about making the world a better place.”

After taking “Introduction to Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies,” Clara Montague `13, professor of gender, women’s and sexuality studies, knew it was the path for her. She fell in love with the major while at Grinnell, earned a master’s degree in women’s studies at the University of Maryland, and recently argued her dissertation.

When presented with the opportunity to apply for a professor job at Grinnell, Montague jumped at the chance. “I was just so excited because of how much I enjoyed my experience of being in the classroom and how much the discussion and the way that students approach each other with both respect and challenging each other’s ideas.”

When asked about her favorite memory or tradition from her time as a student, Montague remembered getting vegan cookies from the Spencer Grill. “No shade on the vegan cookies, but I wouldn’t always eat them. I’d sometimes give them to the squirrels out the window of my dorm room, but then the squirrels would be looking and would wait for you.”

Professor Sheahan Virgin `08, political science, only applied to three or four colleges, “which was insane,” he said. “I identify as firstgen, and when it came time to apply for college, I wasn’t really sure what the heck I was doing.”

Virgin said he primarily focused his time at Grinnell on his studies. “I was really insular as a student,” he said. “It’s one of my biggest regrets about college and something I like to tell students to not replicate.”

After graduating in 2008 during an economic crisis and unable to find a job, Virgin said he learned that, “life isn’t linear. When you look back, the beauty of it will be that your journey often can be really serpentine. I wish someone had told me that.”

“I jumped at the opportunity to apply for this [assistant professor] position. And I was ecstatic when I got it. I knew instantly I was going to say yes,” Virgin said.

Upon arriving in Grinnell in Aug. 2020, Virgin said the derecho and the pandemic deterred his desire for a nostalgic wander around campus. Nevertheless, over two years later, Virgin said he remains excited to teach at his beloved alma mater. “I hadn’t realized how much I missed Grinnell until I left, and I feel like part of my life journey was finding a way to get back to Grinnell.”

Alumni professors recreate photos they provided from their college years.

Thomas Nsereko `26 hosted a private diner party in Des Moines on Saturday. Jan 28.

Henry Rietz `89 Classics and Religious Studies Major

Clara Montague `13 GWSS and English major Sheehan Virgin `08 Political Science and Russian & Eastern European Studies Major

I felt like lack of transparency was a huge issue.

Emma Potter `24

Right now, we need to figure out, how do we know the folks who truly need to be here, and do we ask them to pay?

Dennis Perkins

Assistant

Dean of Residence Life and Student Conduct

Canary Underground takes flight

Walking down the steps into the Canary Underground Speakeasy, one immediately enters a space unlike any other in Grinnell. Swing jazz hums in the background; floorboards creak softly overhead; rich, yellow light casts a warm glow throughout a room that feels as if it could have been lifted from Gatsby’s world of 1920s opulence.

A color scheme of deep navy blue and iridescent gold adorning the walls, as well as matching velvet furniture, is complemented by Art Deco patterns, ornately framed mirrors and a series of sepia-toned photographs depicting the jazz musicians, flappers and raucous partying for which the prohibition era is famous today. This intimate atmosphere lends an air of secrecy to Grinnell’s new speakeasy which gives it an authentic feel.

Canary Underground Speakeasy is located directly beneath Prairie Canary, accessible via a staircase in the main dining room. It has been open to the public for over a month now, following a soft opening then a larger private opening on Dec. 22 of last year.

“It’s an idea that’s been floating around in my head for a while,” said owner and Executive Chef Paul

Durr.

Durr said he had been exploring different options that did not result in much. He said that the reimagination of the space has been a long time in the making, commencing in the spring of last year.

Durr also said that though he and his wife had initially sought a more industrial aesthetic, they ended up choosing the theme of the speakeasy.

Durr said they wanted a 1920s decoration style, which he said looks fitting for a bar, and would help the establishment stand out. “I also made a point to have representations of African Americans in the prohibition-era pictures on the wall, since that is my background,” he said.

Alex Phillips, manager of Canary Underground Speakeasy as well as the nearby Hometown Heroes, is the mastermind behind the speakeasy’s unique drinks menu. Though it is connected to the restaurant Prairie Canary upstairs, each establishment has its own unique menu with its own signature drinks. Phillips said that many of the cocktails on offer at Canary Underground Speakeasy are named after those popular during the 1920s.

“Some of them are inspired by prohibition-era cocktails, but a lot of them are just what I thought would taste good after years of experience

trying different things together,” Phillips said. Durr and Phillips each focused on developing an extensive selection of high-quality bourbon, scotch and rye around which they plan to shape their menu.

of which come served with smoke bubbles on top, will bring new excitement to Grinnell’s nightlife scene.

“Especially with the smoke bubble, you get a very good reaction, and it’s really nice to see that you created this fun experience for a customer,” Phillips said. “We pride ourselves on being one of the few places where you can get a genuinely handcrafted cocktail, made with fresh ingredients, and something that might be a little bit different from what you can find just anywhere else. It’s not just a Jack and Coke — there’s nothing wrong with that, but this is just a little bit more,” he said.

Canary Underground Speakeasy also offers a short bites menu, featuring appetizer items such as a charcuterie board, hummus and egg-rolls — most for just over $10. Like the drinks exclusive to the speakeasy, the menu is not available at Prairie Canary.

They also pointed towards an array of creatively designed mocktails, which they hope will encourage people to attend and enjoy the experience of going out, regardless of how old they are or if they choose to drink or not.

Ultimately, the two hope that the creative flair of their drinks, some

Durr is happy with how things have gone so far, but he is also expecting business to pick up more as the speakeasy gains more attention as a space to socialize in town.

Durr and Phillips have tried to cultivate a thoroughly unique atmosphere.

“We don't have any TVs in here, and that's purposeful. We want people to come and just sit and

converse, and hopefully they stay off their phones and have one-on-one interaction,” Durr said. “We've got some games set up so that if people get tired of talking, they can pick one up and play. That’s kind of the lowkey atmosphere we’re going for.”

The two also said they hope to maintain an air of exclusivity, garnering interest via word of mouth just as speakeasies did during prohibition.

Both Durr and Phillips hope to attract the business of Grinnell students specifically. Canary Underground Speakeasy will run a college night on Wednesdays, from open to close, offering $3 off craft cocktails and half price on appetizers when students show their Pioneer One-Cards.

“Hopefully, we can encourage people to head off campus and try the speakeasy out,” Durr said.

There is also a happy hour every Friday from 6-7 p.m., said Durr. He said Canary Underground Speakeasy will be open after 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and after 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“It’s been a while since a new bar, or anything like that, opened here. Hopefully, when people hop around and hit different places, we can be one of those places on that list,” said Phillips.

The Lily Lou Company gifts itself to Grinnell

New local store, the Lily Lou Company, fills the gift and party shop niche at Grinnell, and owners hope to promote a sense of community and help support other small stores with their business model.

The Lily Lou Company is a gift shop located at 827 4th Avenue, Grinnell, and it had its grand opening on Dec. 21. It was initially conceived as a bridal retailer, but opted to fill the underrepresented gift and party shop category in Grinnell instead. The company carries various types of party supplies, gifts and apparel, expanding from store owner Mollie O’Dell’s previous work with balloon garlands and bouquets.

co-owner, Ryan O’Dell, focuses on logistics and shipping.

O’Dell primarily focuses her business practices on building a holistic customer experience. She attempts to improve the shopping experience by talking customers through products and engaging with them personally.

community and potential customers during its grand opening in December, O’Dell hosted a vision board event. Patrons designed a poster or sign that depicted their goals and manifestations for the coming year.

Seeing a desire for more community engagement as a common theme, the Lily Lou Company saw an opportunity to give back to the town of Grinnell.

The Lily Lou Company partnered with the Poweshiek Trading Post and Sharp Barbering to enter customers into a lottery for a Valentine’s Day meal at Prairie Canary after shopping at one of the partnering businesses. The ticket also offers a 10% discount to the other businesses, said Ryan O’Dell. The promotion will end on Feb. 14, and the winner of the dinner at Prairie Canary will be drawn on the Friday before Valentine’s Day, Feb. 10.

O’Dell described the Lily Lou Company as a woman-owned business, since she holds majority ownership and is the face of the company. O’Dell focuses on storefront operations while her husband and

“It was very big for me to promote other women, entrepreneurs, minorities, and I want to make sure that reflects in the stuff I carry here,” said O’Dell.

Reflecting O’Dell’s commitment to supporting local entrepreneurs, the store currently sources a majority of its merchandise from other small retailers, similar to local Iowa business Doe A Deer, through the wholesale app, Faire.

“Bringing in other small entrepreneurs or other companies that can provide options really helps build community and get[s] you talking with people you normally wouldn't,” O’Dell said. As a way to bond with the

“I have a feeling that we'll be doing lots of them because we are very appreciative of our customers and it's an easy way, especially when we work together, to give something of value,” said O’Dell.

It's just a different branch into what we already have available [in Grinnell], you know, and it's beneficial because it takes us away from big box stores.

Morgan Uhl Customer

By George Kosinski kosinski@grinnell.ewwdu

Building community and giving back to the community is something that's very hardcore instilled into our values here.

Mollie O'Dell Owner

We try to make the cocktails stand apart a little bit, with smoke bubbles, and [we are] just trying to make them as creative as possible. We want to offer things that you might not see every day

Alex Phillips Manager of Canary Underground

By Marcy Cassidy-Mapp cassidym@grinnell.edu

I love the idea of a shop because I love that it's bringing in happiness and joy into somebody's life during a very exciting time.

Mollie O'Dell Owner

PAUL HANSEN

Canary Underground's facilities, featuring one of its exotic drinks.

Mollie O'Dell showcasing some of her products.

Edited by morrishl@grinnell.edu

Young, Gifted, and Black Gospel Choir perseveres Arts

By Taylor Nunley nunleyta@grinnell.edu

56 years ago, in 1967, six Black Grinnell College students came together to share their love for gospel music and worship. From there, the Young, Gifted, and Black Gospel Choir (YGB) was formed. A place where Black students could embrace their religion and celebrate their faith in a Black Church tradition, YGB was a welcome respite from classes or work. YGB only grew after its inception — in numbers, events, ideas and diversity.

After the COVID-19 pandemic struck in spring 2020, the choir dwindled to a fraction of its rich, flourishing assembly of members. Once filled with over 40 students, YGB now has less than 13 active members in the choir. “It’s not as robust as far as participation,” said Michael Sims, adviser to YGB and dean of student involvement. “Prior to the pandemic, on average, we probably would have between 26 and 35 students registered for the class.”

Sims said he believes a multitude of causes are contributing to YGB’s lower numbers. Due to the pandemic, upperclassmen student leaders who may have been more enthusiastic about the choir left the College. With

By Zach Spindler-Krage spindler@grinnell.edu

Four years of interdisciplinary studies by Chase Holdener `23 are culminating this month in an exhibition of original artwork. Holdener is double-majoring in biology and computer science, but his passion for art rivals his dedication to science. Fortunately, Holdener has not had to choose between his interests — in fact, he has combined them.

Holdener’s exhibition, “Breadth of Biology,” opened in Smith Gallery on Jan. 30 and received over one hundred visitors during the two-hour opening ceremony. The exhibition features eight prints inspired by biology that depict the diversity of life. If viewed in clockwise order, the artwork successively zooms out in biological scope from microscopic to macroscopic.

“The artwork reflects varying scales of biology from molecular in ‘Central Dogma’ to cellular in ‘Cell Suspension.’ At the organism level, I made ‘Trilobite Fossils,’ and ‘Bug Feast’ represents the ecological scale,” said Holdener, referring to the titles of his works.

Although Holdener produced all of the art on display within the past five months, the ideas were collected over four years of classes and research. One of the pieces, “Cell Suspension,” is based on a photo that Holdener captured during his summer 2022 research internship at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Missouri. “We had inserted DNA into cells that contained genes for a fluorescent protein. When we imaged the cells, I saw how pretty the photo was and wanted to incorporate the image into my art,” said Holdener.

To translate the photograph into an art piece, Holdener used screen printing. “Essentially, the image becomes a highly-detailed stencil that blocks the ink, creating the art around it. I used this technique in order to replicate the precision of the image and vary the color scheme to make it visually pleasing.”

Holdener learned about screen printing from art professor Matthew Kluber’s course on print media in fall 2022. Kluber recommended that

that loss of passion, Sims said he believes certain students may feel that they may not be able to join YGB.

“We were a very diverse group,”

Sims said, referring to the choir before the pandemic. “We’ve had folks from all over … From many countries, in many states … and I think sometimes people take the name and think, ‘Oh, well, I don’t belong,’ whereas before the pandemic it wasn’t an issue.”

“The name stays out of namesake out of respect [for] all those before and because of what the tradition is. It’s not about makeup,” Sims added.

Sonia Benitez Torres `23 said she found Black Church at Grinnell, during her first year, in her search for a regular church to attend. “I went to a church in town, and I didn’t really like it … The sermon was not my cup of tea.” In contrast, at Black Church at Grinnell, Benitez Torres found a sense of belonging. “I enjoyed the music. And I liked that there were other students of color there.”

After learning about YGB from Black Church at Grinnell, Benitez Torres joined in the spring semester of her first year. But she remembers a different YGB, too. “I remember joining and feeling overwhelmed. There were a lot of people, and everyone kind of knew each other and was very welcoming. It was

overwhelming in a good way … Now, there’s just like one row of us when we go to the meetings.”

After involvement with choir and directing a religious group in high school, Essi Adokou `25 said YGB allows her to keep practicing her faith. “I was already involved in my religious life before coming here, and so to not fall apart from my culture and my religion, YGB kept me grounded and connected to my religious life,” Adokou said.

Despite the gospel choir’s low numbers, leaders and students alike

stay positive. Sims said this is not the first time in the history of YGB that numbers have dipped. After its initial six members grew to over 30, they dropped back down in the early 1990s. “For the most part, it has been a pretty strong number, which is something that we hope to get back,” said Sims.

Spring Tour, an event held during Grinnell College’s spring break that involves YGB members traveling across the country to sing and perform a service project, has not happened post-pandemic. 2023 is the first year that YGB leaders have entertained the

idea of Spring Tour because of health safety, but due to numbers, Spring Tout will continue to be delayed. “We’d like numbers to get up because in order to do Tour, we really need to have more bodies,” Sims said.

Although YGB members will not be performing during Spring Tour, they will be performing at the upcoming annual Black History Month service on Feb. 12 at 10 a.m. in Herrick Chapel.

YGB encourages all interested to join the choir. Students involved in YGB earn one music credit.

Holdener apply to exhibit in the Smith Gallery with five of the pieces he had completed in class. Upon acceptance, Holdener finished three additional pieces over winter break.

Many of Holdener’s artistic strategies come from prior classes and personal experimentation. In high school, Holdener took two art classes — two of his pieces were accepted to the Ohio Governor's Youth Art Exhibition — and he continued his art education by taking “Introduction to Studio Art” the spring of his first year at Grinnell College. Holdener has found that the intersection of his artistic and academic interests offers a new perspective on science.

“When you make art about biology, it's different from images in a textbook. I wanted to catch peoples’s eye and get them excited about artwork, but then also take away a few things about biology.” Holdener believes that his academic background has been formative in the quality of his work. “When you’re passionate about what you’re communicating, it makes for effective art.”

Holdener — who is also a Goldwater scholar, member of the biology major Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC) and founder of the College plant club — plans to do a five-year graduate program in computational biology before pursuing a career in biology research. “I can see myself becoming a professor. Academia would likely offer me the most freedom in deciding what I want to research,” said Holdener.

To Holdener, this exhibition is a reminder that breadth and depth are not mutually exclusive. Instead, intense dedication to numerous fields can strengthen understanding. “I learned that you can enjoy biology and computer science before switching gears to make an art show. It's all interdisciplinary. Capitalize on the freedom to intertwine your goals.”

Holdener’s exhibition, “Breadth of Biology,” is open through Feb. 10 in Smith Gallery (located inside the Joe Rosenfield Center). Smith Gallery applications are announced bi-annually by the art SEPC and art department. Applicants must be studio art or art history majors, or be currently enrolled in a studio art course.

2023 Art History fourth years present their theses

By Nina Baker bakernin@grinnell.edu

Japanese bodysuit tattoos, artificial intelligence and fantasy animation have one thing in common — this Thursday, all three of these topics will be presented separately by Kaya Matsuura, David Gales and Melena Johnson, all `23, as part of their senior thesis projects in art history. Grinnell College requires all students who major in art history to complete the major with “ARH-400: Art History Seminar,” resulting in a final thesis on a topic chosen by the student. This fall, professor of art history Eiren Shea guided Matsuura, Gales and Johnson in the seminar as each student researched and wrote their thesis.

"Art history as a discipline is itself interdisciplinary," Shea said. "I don't know a single art historian who doesn't engage in other disciplines, and these three projects are so illustrative of that."

The presentations will take place at the Grinnell College Museum of Art (GCMOA) from 4-5 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9.

Japanese body tattoos, or Irezumi, cover nearly the entire body, except the neck and hands. The process of receiving these tattoos can last from three years to a lifetime. While tattoos are not illegal in Japan, the government does not issue licenses for tattoo artists, keeping the industry underground.

"Tattoo artists have to be quiet and hidden from society," Matsuura said. "You can't look it up. It has to be word of mouth."

In her thesis, which analyzes both contemporary and Edo Japan, Matsuura examines the public and private artistic relationships of Japanese bodysuit tattoos, arguing that this artwork presents a collaborative yet autonomous relationship between the tattooed body and the public.

"These tattoos are not meant for the public to see or anybody else to see," she said. "It's very much personal, and even more private in the sense that the people themselves can't actually see some of their tattoos because a lot of the pieces are on their backside."

Matsuura said that, for example, tattoo artists typically sign their signature on the bodies of those who receive tattoos. “In a way, it's like the customer's body is being taken away. They're like an art object. And it's literally signed by somebody else. So, in that way, do they have agency?”

After presenting at the museum, Matsuura will present her thesis at the 30th Anniversary ASIANetwork Conference in Columbus, Ohio, on the weekend of April 14.

"The ability to create spontaneous images anywhere, anytime has irrevocably changed the face of the contemporary art world, whether we like it or not. There is no going back," Gales wrote in their thesis’s first chapter, "Robots Ate My Homework.”

Gales said that there is prominent discourse, especially online, centered on whether humans should be using AI-generated art and whether AI-generated art can even be defined as art in the first place. But for Gales, these questions have become increasingly meaningless as AI-generated art continues to be posted online thousands of times a day, with consumers treating these images as artwork.

"I got really angry about it on Twitter," Gales said. "Which, if you use Twitter, happens a lot to you."

Their thesis attempts to look beyond these questions and provide a concrete framework for understanding AI-generated art as its own artistic medium. The tools art historians have for analyzing artwork are inadequate for talking about art made with AI, Gales said.

“I wanted there to be a discussion out there somewhere less so [about] whether we do something with this and more ‘how do we talk about it? How do we look at it?’” Gales said. "The ways we talk about art are directly stemming from how we talk about human art. The big takeaway now is you need to think very differently about what you're looking at."

From its inception to its end, the unfinished animated fantasy film "The Thief and the Cobbler" took 29 years to create before its release in 1993. The lead animator, Richard Williams, worked on the project on and off until 1992, when the Completion Bond Company seized the project, ousted Williams from production and installed Animation Director and Producer Frank Calver to complete the remaining scenes. The film was released later as a box-office flop.

According to Johnson's thesis, Calver’s changes to "The Thief and the Cobbler'' were so widely disliked that Williams' son told his father that watching the released versions would make Williams want to kill himself.

"What is artistic failure?" Johnson asked. "The broader question I attempt to explore in the thesis is failure, why we're so drawn to it and why we jump to the narrative of failure in art."

Johnson said she has always been interested in animation, so when the time came to choose a topic for her thesis, she knew she wanted to focus on the medium. While her original idea was to broadly investigate the labor and ethics of animation, specifically hand-drawn animation like in "The Thief and the Cobbler," Johnson said she reduced the scope of the project to focus exclusively on Williams' film.

"There is the thesis of my own thoughts and opinions, especially when it comes to the analysis of artistic failure," she said. "But a large portion of the paper is documenting the past of Richard Williams, his impact and his legacy."

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY BETHANY WILLIG

Young, Gifted, and Black Gospel Choir in Herrick Chapel.

"Breadth of Biology" is original, organic

Women’s soccer raises the bar with a commanding season

By Oliver Palmer palmerol@grinnell.edu

In an exciting season, the women’s soccer team went undefeated in Midwest Conference games and made the first program appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III tournament in over a decade, a dramatic turnaround from last season where they only won 3 out of 17 games.

“I think a lot of times last season we were looking around at each other saying, we’re not a bad team. We’re good. We have so much potential,” said Kirsten Koester, head women’s soccer coach.

This season, the team realized their potential in a big way with an overall record of 11-3-5 (Win-LossTie), a Midwest Conference record of 7-0-1 and 6 of 7 home games ending in a win. After defeating Beloit 4-2 in penalties, Grinnell was crowned Midwest Conference Champion and secured their spot in the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time since 2006.

According to Koester, the addition of assistant women’s soccer coach Liza Stone since the 2021 season was a major contributor to the team’s recent success. “She just became an immediate part of our family and just

a really great addition,” said Koester. The team’s mantra of #raisethebar energized them from as early on as their pregame practices, with the fourth-year members taking the lead in setting a tone for a successful season, said Koester.

“I think we just felt really strongly about the team, community and environment, and we were ready to commit to soccer,” said Tali Berk `24, a forward.

“Preseason was a lot of fun,” said Antarah Chopra `23, a defender. “The energy that our team brought, just the vibes were infectious. And we just had a lot of fun at practice every day.”

Even when facing an early loss to Carleton College on Sept. 10 and a tie with Nebraska Wesleyan University on Sept. 17, the team’s spirit held strong even despite the prior season’s struggles.

“There’s a great resilience that the players displayed that started last November,” said Koester. “It wasn’t just starting in August. It was

in direct response to last season.”

Facing a post-COVID season with a team that had neither played nor practiced as a complete unit since 2019, the return to play in 2021 brought with it challenges both on and off the field, according to Chopra.

“Part of it was like bouncing back from COVID,” said Chopra. “A lot of teams in our division did get a COVID year. A lot of their soccer teams got to compete and we didn’t. I mean, we tried training in the spring, but it definitely wasn’t what other teams had.”

With the return of the whole community to campus in the fall of 2021, the resumption of regular sports seasons and the transition back to in-person classes proved difficult, according to Chopra.

“Thrown in right away,. I think it was pretty overwhelming,” Chopra said. This year was different, however. The team was practiced and ready to return to the field.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club rolls into another semester

By Conrad Dahm dahmconr@grinnell.edu

If you were to look inside the dance studio in the Russell K. Osborne Pool and Natatorium on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday night, you would see a club hard at work training. The members of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club can be found practicing their techniques, learning new takedowns and building a tight-knit community.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a grappling-based martial art practiced around the world. “The nice thing about jiu-jitsu is we don’t practice striking. It’s a grappling art,” said Professor Leo Rodriguez, physics, one of the club’s coaches. This grappling makes BJJ different from sports like boxing where more striking is involved,

as it focuses more on grabbing and controlling an opponent’s body.

Rodriguez started the club back in 2011 and has been coaching ever since. “I’ve been training Jiu Jitsu [for] half my life, over 20 years now,” said Rodriguez. At the time he started the club, there was no existing club or academy for BJJ in Grinnell. This lack of a club or academy inspired Rodriguez to establish the class.

“I started to run this class so I could keep training, and progressing and then teach what I know to other beginners here,” Rodriguez said.

Sergio Martelo Estevez `23, club president, joined the club during his first year at Grinnell after previously having an interest in martial arts growing up. He learned about the club and lessons while taking a class with Profes-

sor Peter-Michael Osera, computer science, the other coach for BJJ at Grinnell. “He mentioned it, so that piqued my interest,” said Estevez.

Estevez is proud of what the club has developed into since his first year, and he enjoys the sense of community it provides. “We have a really tight-knit group,” Estevez said.

The club has two main goals according to Rodriguez. “I think what’s important to us here is safety and camaraderie,” he said. “One of the reasons we built a strong community is because I emphasize that everybody should be responsible for your training partner,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez said that the club is meant to bring BJJ to the Grinnell community and provide a safe and accepting place for people to learn and practice the sport.

Safety precautions are taught as part of the class to ensure that each participant understands how Jiu Jitsu works and how to ensure their training partners’ safety, so even complete novices can join. According to both Rodriguez and Estevez, people from all skill sets attend, ranging from beginners to Black Belts in jiu jitsu.

“Very few people came here with experience beforehand, and we all fall in love with it,” said Estevez.

The club starts with the fundamentals, which involve basic safety techniques and simple moves. Each participant will build the foundation to eventually learn more complex moves. The club has optional rolling, which entails putting everything together and doing the moves safely with a partner in a sparring format.

Rodriguez also emphasized that BJJ at Grinnell is accepting of all people from all backgrounds. “The group is very diverse, and it includes people from the faculty, staff, students and people from the community. We have people around the neighboring areas come,” Rodriguez said.

The club meets Mondays and Fridays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and is open to all skill levels and backgrounds.

“I think it was just kind of like a new team, a new vibe,” said Chopra. “Just a really fresh start.”

With their first Midwest Conference game ending in a 4-2 win against Illinois College, and all but one of their subsequent conference games also ending in victory (the only exception being a 0-0 tie against Knox College), the team found their rhythm.

spot since 2006 after defeating Beloit College 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the Midwest Conference tournament championship.

Though their NCAA Division III run was cut short by a 2-5 loss to Wartburg College on Nov. 12, the team more than surpassed their own expectations.

“Conference championship was our goal,” said Chopra. “We didn’t even think that was attainable.”

KristenKoester

Head women’s soccer coach

“Everybody felt that any game could be our game for the taking,” said Koester.

Indeed, the team continued to win. They even managed to secure their first NCAA tournament

Following the season, Koester was named Midwest Conference Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year, and Chopra, Elinor Arneson `23, Jane March `24, Maddie Beltramo `25 and Keiko Smith `25 were named to College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, with March also was named to the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III All-Region Team, specifically the Region IX second team at a defender spot. As far as next season’s expectations, head coach Kirsten Koester simply said: “Repeat.”

Cross Country keeps pace with another award-winning season

By Marcy Cassidy-Mapp

The Grinnell College cross country teams earned several academic honors from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) following a strong performance last season.

Team coaches can submit nominations after each season. To be eligible, student-athletes must have a minimum 3.3 GPA through the end of the fall semester; they also must have either placed top 35 overall within their respective National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III regional championship or in the top 50% at the NCAA Division III national championships.

Head women’s cross country coach Sarah Burnell `14 handles Grinnell College’s nominations with assistance from the registrar’s office in assessing students’s GPA reports.

“I feel pretty strongly about them doing well both in the classroom and in running. So usually, when one is going really well, the other one is going well, too,” said Burnell. “We just like being really mindful about both pieces of the experience.”

Midwest Conference Newcomer of the Year Keely Miyamoto `26 was named one of Grinnell College’s NCAA Division III Cross Country All-Academic Athletes following their performance at the regional championship, after placing 41st overall.

“It was really exciting to read about it, and it also speaks to how supportive everyone on the team is. I was really grateful,” Miyamoto said. “It’s so cool to be a part of a group of people that are all so dedicated, and that all work hard and that are all super smart.”

The cross country team also continued its decade-long streak by earning another USTFCCCA All-Academic Honor, an award reserved for teams with a cumulative GPA of 3.1 or higher. Both the men’s and women’s squads exceeded that threshold with a 3.64 and 3.71 respectively.

“The academic drive of Grinnell students is a big reason why I wanted to come back and work at Grinnell. It aligns very much with my own experience as an alum here,” Burnell said. “You can be both good at athletics, good with your body and good with your mind and I think that creates a really special person.”

CONTRIBUTED BY TALI BERK

After a lackluster 2021 season, the women’s soccer team entered this season rejuvinated and ready to #raisethebar. They would go on to win the title of Midwest Conference Champions and secure a spot in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III tournament.

Everybody felt that any game could be our game for the taking.

cassidym@grinnell.edu

The women’s cross country (above) and men’s cross country (not pictured) both continued their decade-long streak earning All-Academic Honors from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Keely Miyamoto `26 was named National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III All-Academic Athlete.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club has been rolling since 2011 when Leo Rodriguez (upper right) wanted to keep training and practicing while in Grinnell.

Food For Thought: Prairie’s Pungent Pizza

By Gabby Hernandez hernande6@grinnell.edu

Oh Prairie Canary, we all knew this day would come. I am speaking of the glorious day when your kingdom falls and your deepest flaws are laid bare for the world to see. I knew deep inside that my readers were waiting in eager anticipation for your downfall. Let me set the scene. It is frigid. I am car-less. So, a toilsome twenty-minute walk later, the S&B sports editor and I arrived at your door. We opened it and entered. Without any reservation, the hostess guided us to the tall tables near the bar on the far wall. I was excited because these tables are positioned such that I could see all who existed in that space and at that time. According to my calculations, Grinnellians on dates comprised 30 percent of Prairie’s inhabitants.

Our waitress gave us our menus and told us about their specials for the day: the flatbread, a boring steak and a steak with apple marmalade. I wished to know what was so special about this $12 flatbread, so I asked. The waitress started listing ingredients, each one

making me feel more and more like I was in a fever dream. Provolone, blue and goat cheese, oh my! Who thought

that was a good idea?

The toppings included bacon, caramelized onions, dried cherries

and a honey drizzle. At the sound of the word “bacon” my heart fluttered. Maybe the taste of this charmingly crunchy breakfast meat would be enough to bear the triple-cheese-terror. Against my better judgment, I ordered the flatbread.

When the flatbread arrived, I was slightly disappointed with its puniness. When I opened my hand and held it over the pizza, I found them to be of equal size. With my first bite came the calming texture of a gentle yet elastic cheese cloud. The pungent goat cheese and stomach-turning blue cheese fought with each other throughout the entire digestive process. I couldn’t finish more than half of what I was served, and for the first time, I neither finished my meal nor brought it home as a leftover.

After eating that monstrosity of a pizza, I finally understood the true meaning of “forsaken.” There is no way you thought this pizza would be a good idea, Prairie. I suppose I should have known better. Truly terrible food is sometimes both affordable and not on the menu. Maybe it is because of their hatred for college students that

they put unruly cheese on everything that would otherwise be delicious.

There was one bite where I found the needle in the haystack. It contained a slight amount of caramelized onion and a generous amount of bacon. The onion and bacon were a duo as powerful as Applejacks apple and cinnamon cereal. Together, they were able to conquer the unappetizing blanket of cheese that lay upon a beautifully cooked flatbread.

Prairie is amazing at squashing their own potential. Had the cheeses been replaced, they would likely have a signature dish in the flatbread. The toppings, when found in the correct proportions, were remarkably novel.

My critics in the past have poked at my everlasting and omnipresent kindness towards Grinnell restaurants. “Chuong’s deserved worse,” they said. To them I respond: I save my energy for establishments that are deliberate in their disgusting-ness. Prairie’s greatest fault is its passion for gross cheese. Then again, maybe I was the unwise person in this whole ordeal. After all, I am lactose-intolerant.

Sage & Blunt Advice: Fretting Fourth Year

Dear Sage & Blunt,

I really like someone on campus, but they’ve expressed to me that they’re seeing someone else. I’m trying to do my best to keep my distance and respect their autonomy, but I feel like I’m running out of time (I’m a fourth year). It’s sometimes difficult to try to determine if someone I like is queer and whether or not they would have an interest in me. I’m not a party person, I stick with my main friend group and I don’t spend a lot of time with people in or outside my major. Like last week’s submission, I have friends who are hit on when I never have been, and I am not thin or fit, which unfortunately are points against me. What should I do?

Signed, Fretting Fourth Year

Dear Fretting Fourth Year, I’m happy that you got to experience the giddy human pleasure of really liking someone, and I’m bummed that it didn’t work out this time. It sounds like you’re being quite gracious about the whole thing.

I know it can feel like you’re running out of time. It can feel like everyone around us is boinking or, God forbid, falling in love, and those experiences will help others change and grow while you are missing out. But, the truth is that dating only gets better after college (you heard it here first!), and you have so much time. You might even be a completely different version of yourself by the time you start dating exciting people — let that possibility liberate you rather than scare you.

As a fourth year, the only thing you’re really running out of time for is simply spending time in Grinnell with your favorite people. You have one more semester! You should be listening extra closely to the way the snow sounds crunching under your boots on the way to the library, figuring out if there are any D-Hall desserts you’ve never tried, soaking everything up and paying your re-

spects. Dare I say you might even try one last college party or get to know someone in your major cohort, just to see how it goes or to say you did.

I am also, unfortunately, going to advise you (with managed expectations) to get on the apps — either here or after you leave. There, you will not need to wonder who is queer and it will be explicitly clear who is interested in you and who is not. Even if you don’t meet up with anyone, at the very least the apps will assure you that there are people who will be interested in you. No matter how not thin or fit you may be, there are people who will be interested in you (because, after all, being thin and/or fit are two of the least interesting possible qualities a person can have).

The apps are good for so many other things, too. They help you practice putting yourself out there from a safe-ish distance. Use them to practice flirting and as an excuse to make other people look at hot pictures of you. How might it feel to present yourself to others in this way without waiting for them to come to you?

In sum, there are many things you will not get to do again after

commencement, but having crushes is not one of them. All seasons of life have some kind of expiration date and each deserves to be treated with reverence. For you, this simply may not be a season of love, but it is a season of a hundred other great things, so focus on those. The lovers will come and go, as will schools, workplaces, living situations, passions and sorrows. There will come

times when you miss your single life, believe it or not. I encourage you to make the best of it now so that the reminiscing can be sweeter, and to use the rest of your time here thoughtfully, intentionally and joyously.

Regards, Sage & Blunt

On the same Paige: sexplanations and other equity tips

By Paige Olowu olowupaig@grinnell.edu

I just accepted an internship abroad for the summer and I’m slightly nervous about the street harassment culture there.

Any tips?

First of all, congrats on the new internship — traveling abroad is such an exciting adventure! I want to recognize the major step you’re taking to venture into a space that may be new and unfamiliar to you. While I was not a part of the 50 percent of students who participated in a program abroad before graduating, I do have a couple of tips that I picked up through research and from traveling with family. Exploring a new country can often also mean exploring a new culture. There may be different attitudes, morals and protocols that require some navigation and adjustment.

For general concerns about cultural differences, I recommend that you:

Research the culture. Spend time learning about customs, values and norms of the country you will be staying in.

Be aware. While you’re there, pay attention to the way people around you

interact with each other. Plan ahead. Try to arrange your accommodations and transportation plans well in advance.

Trust your instincts. Even if something presents itself as a norm, if any part of the activity makes you feel unsafe then you can remove yourself from that situation.

For concerns related to sexual safety,

The Scarlet & Black Staff Spring 2023

Nadia Langley

Allison Moore

Lucia Cheng

Ellianna Cierpiot

Eleanor Corbin

Lilli Morrish

Mohammad Igbaria

Jandry Perez Garcia

Millie Peck

Samuel Bates

Nora Kohnhorst

Maddi Shinall

Cornelia Di Gioia

Gabriela Rożnawska

I want to stress that there is no universal way to respond to being violated. It’s important to allow yourself the grace to be right where you are at any given moment. For these times, I recommend: Have a relationship with your program staff or supervisor. They can help guide you towards resources or support services in a foreign country.

Keep in mind the support resources you have here. Friends and family are great resources to lean on in times of need. You can also talk about options with our Title IX Coordinator Bailey Asberry or reach out to confidential resources such as Grinnell Advocates.

Take note of local authorities. I recognize that it is not always attainable for individuals to report instances of sexual violence to authorities in their home country let alone abroad, but I want to present it as a potential option.

Preparing for an immersive experience abroad will require taking a number of steps to ensure a smooth transition. These steps may range in difficulty from remembering to buy a travel plug adapter to being cognizant of some preventative measures above that you can take to make your trip as comfortable as possible. Hap-

py traveling!

Why is it so hard for me to stop talking to someone I broke up with, even though I know it’s not healthy?

I want to applaud you for even taking the steps to recognize unhealthy behaviors when you see them! It’s natural to still care for a former partner after a breakup, so please be patient with yourself. The love and affection that you carried for someone likely will not disappear overnight. It will take time to heal from the experience. Changing the way in which you communicate with a past partner can be one of the biggest challenges in navigating a new era of your relationship.

It may feel frustrating to find yourself drawn to some you don’t believe you should associate with; in these instances, it is best to acknowledge those feelings and try to understand what prompted you to reach out or respond to a message in the first place. This process may involve being mindful of your triggers, letting go of old memories and focusing on creating new ones. It may be helpful to practice self care like spending time with those important to you, engaging in hobbies and

activities that bring you joy and concentrating on your personal growth.

When you find yourself struggling, it may be helpful to seek support from friends, family or a trusted counselor. They can provide guidance and support as you navigate this difficult time. Remember, you are not alone and with time and care, you will get through this.

HANNAH AGPOON

By Sage & Blunt

CORNELIA DI GIOIA

By Raunchy Rising & Dirty Descending

Beauty of Nature

Libra (Sept. 23 - Oct. 22)

Revamp your wardrobe so hard that GOGUE does an entire special issue on Grinnell’s newest fashion mogul.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 - Nov.

never going to take things to the next level with that sexy writing mentor if they don’t know that you’re extremely dedicated to the craft.

The S&B Mini By Allison Moore `24

Oh Deer

SOPHIA MASON

This

Krista

`26 and Zach

`25 polled 100 students, asking the difficult question: Fresh Snowfall or New Semester Book Haul?

Noyce 38% HSSC 44%