Volume 133, Issue 5

Features

Sports

SOL to host Latin American Festival, celebrating Latinx culture

Community

"Watching your rookies play is the most fun part"

Ginseng harvesters in Iowa make the big bucks

page 5

page 8

page 3

the

Scarlet & Black Volume 133, Issue 5

Investigating college rankings

September 23, 2016 • Grinnell, Iowa

Early voting encouraged in Grinnell

>> See COLLEGE RANKINGS page 2

Friday Global Engagement Forum with Sahar Ramadan Burling Lounge, 4:15 p.m.

The S&B: What was particularly influential about your four years at Grinnell?

JS: The really close mentorship that I got from my history professors. When I was here I was also a Mellon Mays undergraduate fellow, so that program helps students … from underrepresented groups go to graduate school and join the professoriate, because in higher education the faculty needs to be more diverse.

The student body, not just at Grinnell, but other institutions, is diversifying faster than the faculty are. And that’s a problem, because, as many sociological studies have found, students who have teachers and professors who look like them learn better.

Through that program, I got not just mentorship from my history advisor, who was [Professor] Sarah Purcell [History], but I also had mentorship from [Professor] Shanna Benjamin [English] who’s now a dean … and also mentorship from [Professor] Caleb Elfenbein [History and Religious Studies], he’s now director of the Center for the Humanities. … I also had a German advisor, because I also majored in German, so [Professor] Vance Byrd [German] is my other major advisor. I have to give a lot of

Tim Burnette ’19 published “An Open Letter to President Kington,” addressing troubling statements made by President Kington regarding social class at Grinnell, in the Grinnell Underground Magazine (GUM) two weeks ago. In response to the article, SGA released a survey concerning social class awareness at Grinnell on Sept. 19. Burnette’s letter, which was also privately sent to President Kington, triggered an outpouring of responses from current Grinnellians and alumni and resulted in immediate notification regarding the coverage of health care provisions at the College.

Burnette, who identifies as a low-income and first-generation student, wrote that Kington’s claim that “all students care about health” was offensive to low-income students for whom health issues are less pressing than financial concerns.

“You [President Kington] and the administration created this situation when you marginalize low-income students on campus,” Burnette wrote in the GUM. He also shared a personal memory of his mother’s struggle in “[putting] her health on the backburner.”

Burnette declined to comment for this article.

After the publication of the letter, President Kington reached out to Burnette, commending him for his bravery and proposing an opportunity to find solutions for the problems he raised. For example, the College clarified health insurance coverage was in fact available in response to Burnette’s recollection of a friend who had to pay out-of-pocket for medicine that was not clearly covered by the College’s insurance, an intense source of stress and financial strain.

“It turns out that you are covered regardless of whether you have the card or not. It’s retroactive, … just because you don’t have the card yet doesn’t mean you’re not covered. That was a big misconception on campus,” said Bailey Dann ’17, SGA Vice President of Student Affairs, who has been working alongside Burnette to present socioeconomic class awareness.

For Dann, who also identifies as a low-income and first generation student, Burnette’s activism was both a personal issue and something that needed a public voice. She worked with Burnette to develop a tangible plan of action that could be reviewed by administrators.

“My experience meeting with admins is that it’s important to have a set goal, a set list of issues and goals and possible solutions to communicate, and so Tim designed a survey which was then released on the SGA website,” Dann said. “We aggregated data from identifiable names, used that as a report to submit to President Kington.

During our meeting with President Kington and [Chief of Staff and Title IX Coordinator] Angela Voos, we presented selected quotes from the surveys.”

Dann noted numerous considerations that low-income students can be particularly sensitive to, such as difficulty buying textbooks, food insecurity over breaks and struggling to afford a visit home.

“You hear about these issues

>> See PROFESSOR SALES page 2

>> See CLASS, page 2

have a lot of people come in and say that they have positions or personal conflicts that keep them from voting during the day. [Early voting] allows people to … take their time and vote As the election season nears its November according to their own schedules,” Dawley said. finale, voters across the country are gradually Any Poweshiek County resident can submit preparing to cast in their ballots. their vote early by following one of several While some voters may still be experiencing official procedures. For voters who prefer to cold feet or confusion surrounding their make their decisions in private, individuals can candidates of choice, many political supporters request an absentee ballot request form and are already poised to finalize their votes in pen submit their ballot via mail. Early voters can and paper. also cast their vote at one of several satellite For residents of the greater Grinnell voting stations. Additionally, community, Poweshiek County "We don't want satellite voting stations will also currently offers a range of different offer opportunities for voter students to have options for early voting. registration.

Early voting, which can be to choose between Currently, three different completed by mail or in person studying and casting satellite voting stations are between Sept. 29 and Nov. 8, scheduled for the Grinnell allows voter to cast their ballots their ballot."

The stations will Anna Schierenbeck '18 community. before Election Day. In the past, be located at a range of rotating Poweshiek Country has registered locations, including Drake Community Library, thousands of early voters, which, in turn, have Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance and Grinnell helped to ease Election Day chaos.

College, and will take place during the day on Anna Schierenbeck ’18, co-chair of Oct. 12, Oct. 29 and Nov 5.

Grinnell’s Campus Democrats student group, Unlike the time intensive process of Election explained the potential benefits of early voting.

Day, early satellite voting offers a streamlined “It is important to vote early because and effective way to cast your ballot. With Election Day can be unpredictable, both in terms reduced wait times and limited paperwork, the of weather and in terms of people’s schedules. entire process takes an average of six to ten In order to make sure that your vote will be minutes. counted and that you will have enough time to Schierenbeck stressed the importance of vote, it is a good idea to know when and how early voting for students at the college. you can vote early,” Schierenbeck said.

“If you go to a [polling location] at six p.m.

Diana Dawley, the county auditor and on Election Day, you may not be able to vote commissioner of elections for Poweshiek until nine p.m.,” Schierenbeck said. “That’s way County, offered a similar perspective. too much time for students to take out of their “I think [early voting] can be a real day. We don’t want students to have to choose advantage for people in Poweshiek County. We >> See EARLY VOTING, page 2

By Megan Tcheng tchengme@grinnell.edu

Joy Sales '13 talks Asian American Activism

CONTRIBUTED

Sales is teaching a short course on Asian-American activism this semester.

Three years after graduating from Grinnell, Joy Sales ’13 is back on campus to teach a short course on Asian-American activism, a key topic to her doctoral research at Northwestern University. The S&B’s Abraham Golden recently sat down with Sales to talk about her time at Grinnell and how her life has unfolded since graduation.

The S&B: What is your current position at Grinnell?

Joy Sales: I’m a Grinnell alum from 2013 and I’m currently sponsored by the Wilson Program and History Department to teach a class on Asian-American activism, which is a history class, and an American Studies class. It’s almost done. My position here is that I’m a visiting faculty.

Monday "Sex Behind the Dining Hall: Diplomacy and Domesticity in Early Modern Istanbul" JRC 101, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday Election Coffee: Electoral Systems of Ancient Athens Burling Lounge, 11 a.m.

Follow us on twitter @thesandb

Admin address social class awareness

By Steve Yang yangsteve17@grinnell.edu

By Philip Kiely kielyphi@grinnell.edu The United States Department of Education recently released its inaugural update to the College Scorecard. Unlike the U.S. News & World Report and similar college rankings, the College Scorecard provides only raw data and statistics and does not impose a definitive ranking. This data includes annual average cost, graduation rate and salary after graduation.

“One of the advantages that I see to the Scorecard is that instead of imposing somebody else’s methodology, it does at least attempt to get you engaged in the process to think about the differences between the institutions,” said Joe Bagnoli,Vice President of Enrollment.

U.S. News & World Report also released its 2017 Best Colleges Rankings on Sept. 13. The report weighs a variety of factors to rank colleges and universities within several categories. Grinnell was ranked at 19 in national liberal arts colleges, tied with West Point.

“If you unpack U.S. News & World Report, you will find a number of interesting metrics associated with their methodology,” Bagnoli said.

The most recent set of US News & World Report rankings were based on seven weighted metrics: graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent), undergraduate academic reputation (22.5 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (12.5 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (7.5 percent) and alumni giving (5 percent).

“College rankings approach ‘quality’ with a narrow scope of quantitative metrics, a large portion of which measure external factors not directly related to the academic quality,” wrote Tariq Habash, a policy associate focusing on higher education at The Century Foundation, in an email to The S&B. This quantitative data does not always line up with educational quality.

“People go to Stanford because Stanford has a good reputation.

You don’t get a better education at Stanford as an undergraduate in economics, probably, than you get in Grinnell,” said Professor Mark Montgomery, Economics.

The problem of narrow criteria in college rankings is compounded by the self-reinforcing nature of the rankings.

“The selectivity is a major factor in reputation, and reputation is a major factor in selectivity. So it’s a self-reinforcing system. That’s why the rankings matter so much,” Montgomery said.

Other rankings systems use different criteria to evaluate the value of colleges.

“I for one have come to appreciate rankings like the Washington Monthly because it attempts to value something different than what U.S. News [and World Report] values,” Bagnoli said. Washington Monthly’s annual ranking evaluates schools based on their contribution to the public good in social mobility, research and service. Grinnell also ranks 19 in Washington Monthly’s 2016 College Guide.

All rankings are based on what the creator believes to be most

thesandb.com

Thursday

Managing Day to Day Finances session for seniors ARH 102, 4 p.m.

Friday "Archipenko: A Modern Legacy" gallery opening Faulconer Gallery, 4:30 p.m.

Features 3 | Sports 5 | Arts 6 | Community 7 | Opinions 9

2

Early voting in Poweshiek county Voting early may be the best option

Continued from Front Page

between studying and casting their ballot.”

For students at the college, satellite voting offers the additional advantage of convenience. Due to changes in location availability, the Election Day polling station was recently moved from the centrally located Grinnell Community Center to the Elks Lodge. Located on East Street and clocking in at a 15 minute walk from campus, the new polling location offers its own set of difficulties in respect to student accessibility.

“We have organized for

News

Edited by cummings@grinnell.edu & friedlan@grinnell.edu

Recently released college rankings offer differing perspectives

transportation to and from the Elks Lodge on Election Day, but, depending on the weather, that can be really rough. … Voting on campus will take way less time, because the JRC location will primarily be filled with students voting on campus. You are not going to have to wait in a line with everyone from Poweshiek County on one day,” Schierenbeck said.

As students on campus and voters across the country prepare for the election, Schierenbeck and Dawley both encourage members of the community to cast their votes early.

ELLEN SCHOENMAKER

Although college ratings are not objective, admissions recognizes their influence over students' college decisions.

Continued from Front Page

Peace Day celebrated with "He Named Me Malala" film screening

valuable and are therefore difficult to consider objectively. The College Scorecard, on the other hand, provides the information that rankings use but individually rather than in rank order.

“The College Scorecard is not a ranking system. It is a database that provides important information to consumers who are looking for the best institutional fit,” Habash wrote.

Nonetheless, the College Scorecard is not a perfect database.

The College Scorecard only shows data gathered from financial aid recipients and median debt statistics exclude private loans, suggesting that debt levels are lower than they are. Additionally, the salary information includes numbers for students who attended but did not graduate, which

shoutouts.

"He Named Me Malala" emphasizes development in peace building.

By Mineta Suzuki suzukimi17@grinnell.edu World leaders, NGOs and even Ringo Starr celebrated The International Day of Peace on Wednesday, Sept. 21, but at Grinnell, the Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) Program Committee observed the day with a film screening of “He Named Me Malala.” The acclaimed documentary traces the footprints of the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and advocate for women’s education, Malala Yousafzai, and her backstage identity crisis.

“The decision to show a film was decided by the students and faculty of the PACS committee as a simple, singular event to bring people together for the evening and engage the theme,” wrote Simone Sidwell, coordinator of the PACS Program, in an email to The S&B. The committee’s choice was thought especially suitable for this year’s Peace Day theme, “The Sustainable Development Goals: Building Blocks for Peace.”

“One could argue that education is one of the most important and basic ‘building blocks’ for sustainable peace and development,” Sidwell wrote. “It’s a basic human right, one that the Taliban brutally attempted to withhold from girls by destroying schools.”

Sidwell expressed hope that by recognizing Peace Day, students will realize their potential to promote peace.

“On one level, I hope that Peace Day inspires students to think about concrete ways to promote peace building … to believe that we can all make a difference,” Sidwell wrote. “On another level, I hope that students simply take as inspiration what they need most in their lives at this moment in terms of peace

and nonviolence.”

International Day of Peace began in 1981, when the United Nations declared that the third Tuesday of September, should be dedicated to promoting the ideals of peace and alleviating tensions around the globe. In 2001, the U.N. passed a resolution designating Sept. 21 as a day of annual global ceasefire.

“Hopefully [this campaign is] planting a seed that grows into a sustainable world view itself,” Sidwell wrote.

To spur the bud of change, Grinnell’s Peace Day activity was linked to the United States Institute of Peace via social media, using the hashtag #PeaceDayChallenge. According to figures, the hashtag has been used by 21 million people in 129 countries since last year.

Grinnell’s efforts toward peacebuilding extend beyond the annual celebration. Last fall, Professor Timothy Dobe, Religious Studies, taught a class called “Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies,” which will be offered again next semester by Professor Gemma Sala, Political Science, due to growing interest.

In addition, the PACS program recently hired its first faculty member, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow Johanna Solomon. Solomon is currently teaching a course on conflict resolution and is a guest lecturer for the PACS department.

Wednesday’s film screening was not the only event on the PACS agenda this semester. Another timely event, “Can Any U.S. President Bring Peace?” is coming up in October and will feature George Lopez, a well-known scholar and peace builder who co-teaches the Introduction to Peace and Conflict Studies course, along with Grinnell faculty.

necessarily enhance everybody’s productivity and give them higher wages because they learned so much in school. It gives them higher wages because it signals the employer that they’re a strong candidate,” Montgomery said.

Ultimately, rankings still play a role in both decisions of prospective students and opportunities for graduates, but both Habash and Bagnoli note that it is important for students to think about the rankings at a deeper level.

“It’s up to the student … to think about a more appropriate methodology for the individual student and weigh variables differently,” Bagnoli said.

“People want to pretend they don’t matter,” Montgomery said.

“But because the students think they matter … that turns out to be true.”

Professor Sales on Asian-American activism and history Continued from Front Page

CONTRIBUTED

downplays the value added by the school on salaries.

“The emphasis on salaries is problematic because there is a need for students who will work in public service areas and this is one of those rankings that … seems not to place much value at that,” Bagnoli said.

Rankings can also influence salaries for graduates, perpetuating the self-reinforcing nature of college rankings.

“To say that employers do not look at rankings as a measure of institutional prestige would be misleading,” Habash wrote.

Recruiters target certain schools based on their reputation, giving additional incentive for students to matriculate at highranking institutions and allowing the schools to be even more selective.

“A lot of education doesn’t

The S&B: What did you do once you got out of Grinnell?

JS: I went straight into graduate school and a PhD program, which is really rare nowadays. Grad school is not anything like undergrad. It’s work, like, that is your job, going to school.

I wasn’t that surprised by the format.

It’s seminar style. If you don’t talk, you’re screwed, so being at Grinnell prepared me for that.

The S&B: Why is Asian-American activism important?

JS: Whenever we talk about activism and race, we don’t talk about AsianAmericans. The question is always worded as “Are there Asian American activists?” when the question should be “What is Asian-American activism, how can I learn more about it?” People already assume that it doesn’t exist and people assume it doesn’t exist because of stereotypes which can be put under the umbrella of the model minority myth. …

The model minority myth was first used on Jewish immigrants, but then it’s mostly been used on AsianAmericans and Asian immigrants, and it was basically created during the Cold War … when the U.S. government, including journalists who worked closely with the government, diplomats, Congressmen … were concerned about the U.S. image in the world. In that time the U.S. was like, “we’re not like the Soviet Union, we’re a democracy, everything here is equal.” But with the U.S. invading Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, also with the

civil rights movement and the black power movement really pointing out how racist the U.S. has been since its founding, the U.S. government was super anxious about its image in the world. So what did it do? Well, in many different circles they were like, “Okay, well here’s a minority in the U.S. that’s doing well.” But it wasn’t true. They were skewing statistics and data and saying that Chinese and Japanese-Americans were doing well.

But what happened 20 years before the mid-1960s with Japanese Americans? … They were thrown in concentration camps … The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the only immigration act in U.S. history to exclude a group based on race.

The S&B: How is Asian-American activism viewed in the U.S. today?

JS: [The Chinese community’s] first form of activism was challenging Chinese exclusion.

Japanese Americans — there are four cases of Japanese-Americans challenging internment. They were all Supreme Court cases, and three of them lost, one of them won. Those are just two of many examples of Asian-Americans contesting discrimination based on race that was backed up by U.S. state policy. But we don’t know about it because of the model minority myth.

The S&B: What does it mean to be a Wilson Alumni Scholar?

JS: I actually wasn’t very familiar with the Wilson Program when I was a student here. I do know that is sponsors alumni short courses, and that is what my course is. One of my former history professors Albert Lacson was trying to get an Asian-American history course here at Grinnell, and

students wanted it. The reason I chose the topic of Asian-American activism was because we wouldn’t have this class without student activists. … So when I was asked to do this, I was like, “Hell yeah, let’s do this course.”

The S&B: What’s it like to be a professor at your recent alma mater?

JS: I know one Filipino student in my class because we had a mutual friend that was here when I was gone and told us about each other, but it doesn’t cause conflicts at all. I established early in the class on the very first day, “Call me Professor Sales, you can’t call me Joy.” Outside of class, if we’re in a casual environment, yeah, call me Joy, but in a classroom and around other professors, call me Professor Sales. And I haven’t had a problem with that at all.

The S&B: Any last thoughts?

JS: With my class, I hope that it inspires them to become activists. Or at least working in a sphere where they are aware of issues with immigration, civil rights, human rights, women’s rights, whatever sector of work my students go into, I hope they have a more critical understanding of how race and gender and immigration are all at play, and use what they learn to make change, because one of my philosophies is that education should be a tool of empowerment. It’s great to accumulate knowledge, but if you’re just an armchair academic activist, that’s not enough. You actually have to go out there and do something …

You also have to fight against what you think is wrong. If you don’t have that personal conviction, then there’s no point.

Kington addresses class at Grinnell Continued from Front Page through the grapevine, [and] it’s not okay for us to just be talking about it,” she said. “I’m here to let students know they’re not alone and that I support them.”

Dann mentioned that another meeting is scheduled soon, and that she hopes more awareness will be raised after President Kington hosts convocation on the lowincome student experience on Oct.

19. Kington will present research from both within Grinnell and peer institutions as to how these issues are handled at other colleges.

“Bureaucracy is a pain in the ass, to be frank, and it does take time, but we are constantly working to make sure that things happen as soon as possible,” Dann said.

Dann added that if a similar situation should arise in the future, students should never be afraid of

reaching out, either to her or Toby Baratta ’17, SGA diversity and outreach coordinator.

“If a student has a complaint about a faculty member saying something inappropriate or insensitive, they’re a great resource to reach out to,” Dann noted.

Editors Note: Angela Voos could not be reached for comment, but this article will be updated on thesandb.com.

Features

Edited by bohlkeli@grinnell.edu

3

Student Organization of Latinx celebrates Latin Heritage Month

HUNG VUONG

Members of the Student Organization of Latinx are working hard to plan events in celebration of Latin culture.

By Graham Dodd doddhenr@grinnell.edu The United States’ Latinx Heritage Month is celebrated from Sept.

15 to Oct. 15. This year, Karolina Mar-

quez-Gil ’17, co-leader of Grinnell’s Student Organization of Latinxs known as SOL, is helping to organize the College’s celebration.

“The whole point of Latinx Heritage Month is just to promote awareness

of Latinx culture throughout the United States so that people could actually celebrate their identity,” Marquez-Gil said.

SOL has already begun holding events and plans to end the month by hosting their annual festival celebrating

various Latinx cultures. Last Friday, SOL started off the month with a Karaoke event. Other events include a panel on the Colombia peace accord.

“George Lopez — not the comedian — was actually involved in making that deal and is coming to speak,” Marquez-Gil said.

In addition, this Saturday, SOL is hosting a retreat to Des Moines to attend the Latino Festival, which is, according to Marquez-Gil, “the biggest ethnic festival in Iowa.”

SOL plans to end the month by hosting their annual Latin American Heritage Festival celebrating various Latinx cultures. The festival will take place around the Nov. 5.

“What we are trying to do with this festival is have different showcases from different cultures in Latin America, so a Brazilian group is hopefully coming to perform Capoeira [a form of Brazilian martial arts], and Samba [a Brazilian music and dance style], and we will have Salvadorian food instead of Mexican food — to change it up from last year.”

Marquez emphasized the open, welcoming nature of the group and their passion for generating awareness of Latinx culture, as well as the issues surrounding the culture. She stated that the group has grown from seven members in 2007 to more than 30 members

this year.

SOL was founded in 1998. Since then, meetings have consisted of discussions about both personal issues and broader global events in members’ home countries. Many Grinnellians are unaware of some of the events occurring in some Latinx countries, so SOL assigns research to its members to help feed the discussion.

“SOL used to stand for the Student Organization of Latinos and Latinas, but this year we changed it to the Student Organization of Latinx to be more inclusive,” Marquez-Gil said. “During our meetings, we just sit together and talk about things that affect us on campus as Latinx, whether they are things that have been told to us or things that happened to us in class discussions.”

SOL has a familial atmosphere, according to Marquez-Gil, and she stressed that non-Latinx students are welcome to attend its meetings and events.

“I guess people always have this idea that SOL is just for Latinx [students], but it isn’t. We all speak English at the meeting, even though we do make side jokes in Spanish. It's good to have allies on campus,” she said. “We maybe aren’t in all the same friend groups outside SOL, but when we are together, we all say jokes, and it is a very comfortable space.”

SEPCs attempt to reduce implicit bias through required trainings

By Lily Bohlke bohlkeli@grinnell.edu This marks the first year that Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC) members have been required to attend implicit bias trainings with Lakesia Johnson, Chief Diversity Officer of the College.

Implicit biases are present everywhere, especially in academic environments. Although people acting according to their implicit biases do not necessarily intend to stereotype or favor those of a certain standing, their unconscious judgements can have consequences, according to Toby Baratta ’17, SGA diversity and outreach coordinator.

“Women in computer science for instance,” Baratta said, referring to an area of academics where implicit biases are very obvious. “It’s been a male-dominated field so there are oftentimes biases of, where is this woman coming from? How did you get there?”

According to Baratta, studies have shown that implicit biases often come out in studies when many people associate certain traits, like empowerment and leadership, with white men. “[These studies] have shown that learning you have these biases is the best way of coming forward and addressing them because it’s not intentional,” Baratta said. “It’s more, [having] racist beliefs because of how someone was raised. How [does someone] move past them and recognize that’s what these beliefs are.”

Last year, the SGA Vice President

of Academic Affairs (VPAA) Emma Lange '16 started working toward creating a codified language for SEPCs. The various SEPCs run differently, but because they sit on hiring committees and are such leaders for the community, they need more language that is applicable to all departments.

“The extent of it is really acknowledging the way we have these implicit biases, so it’s … training to prevent it based off an awareness,” said Rachel Aaronson ’17, SGA VPAA. “[It’s was in part to] create a language that stated explicitly the role of SEPCs in the hiring practice.”

To address both of these concepts, implicit bias presentations are in the process of being given to all members of SEPCs. “Effectively, everyone comes forward with their own bucket of biases and you’re trying to unpack that,” Baratta said. “No one wants to admit they’re a racist, but sometimes you are a racist, even if it’s the most well-intentioned racist there is.”

Although hopefully many groups on campus will begin to go through implicit bias training, SEPCs are an important group to get these concepts to first.

“For SEPCs in particular, it’s because they’re seen as leaders in their field in this community already. The other students look up to them and come to them with questions and advice, and those students need to be aware of their own perceptions and their own biases,” Baratta said.

SARAH RUIZ

The Physics SEPC consists of (clockwise beginning with upper left) Rachel Bass '19, Peter Cipriano '19, Androniki Mitrou '17, Higinio Jasso '17, Allison Bartz '18 and Sarah McCarthy '19.

The training itself is a succinct couple of hours, but it is packed with lots of information. It includes a PowerPoint, a video of psychologists explaining what implicit bias is and a short discussion.

Benson brought up that in a class within the English department, implicit bias would not explicitly be taught, even if it is an important underlying aspect.

“The major point of the video was that implicit bias is this pervasive thing, and that it’s reinforced by how American society has unfortunately been structured and [by] its institutions and its governmental framework, so implicit bias isn’t a topic that is addressed in a

lot of departments,” said English SEPC member Jenkin Benson ’17. “It was good I was re-exposed to that concept.”

Aaronson is hopeful that these trainings will have an effect on SEPCs, even though in terms of hiring more diverse faculty, they are not involved in the screening process.

“Formalizing elements for SECPs [will] give them tools in a more formal way consistent across departments.

[There will] be questions to be asking, types of things to be looking for,” Aaronson said. “It will provide a degree of standardization, certainly in expectations of reports written up, about new

hires.”

According to Aaronson, the College is “moving in the direction that’s it’s committed to ensuring diversity [among] faculty.” Because SEPCs have a role in hiring candidates brought to campus, moving in the direction of being as objective as possible could help achieve that goal.

“I think it was good to remind people when you are dealing with these candidates, try and will yourself to be more objective,” Benson said. “Grinnell thinks it’s inherently an intersectional and fair place, but you still need to check yourself.”

Cypher club provides alternative freestyle and beat forum

GARRETT WANG

Reed Essex '19, Jacob Leder '20, Hameed Weaver '17, Dhruv Gupta '17, Logan Stuart '19 and Deniz Sahin '20 come together to share homemade beats and practice freestyling. A performance is coming up soon.

By Lily Bohlke bohlkeli@grinnell.edu If you walk into Gardner Lounge on a Wednesday or Saturday night, you’ll hear homemade beats and rotating freestyles from the Cypher Club. This club is a student-run organization intended to provide a freestyle forum that serves as an alternative space different from other parts of campus.

Cypher Club came from a Face-

book status. Hameed Weaver ’17, the founder of Cypher Club, decided he wanted to start a freestyling group, so he reached out to the Grinnellians on his Facebook page to try and find a group of students to help him out. Dhruv Gupta ’17 and Abraham Mhaidli ’17 showed interest, and they all got together and just started rapping.

“Cypher is just the concept of, you get a beat and people keep rapping around it and passing it on,”

Gupta said.

In past years, the group found beats on the internet to help them with their improvised rapping. This year, they decided to incorporate Grinnellians who produce beats, so the music they make is “100 percent Grinnell,” Gupta said.

“Here at Grinnell, there are a lot of people that do things as hobbies that you just don’t know about, just because there isn’t a community or a group where people can share these

talents,” Weaver said.

As producers join the Cypher Club, they’ve started to create a new space that has a more hip-hop-y vibe for production.

“I was talking to Hameed about Chicago over the summer and we’re trying to produce more hip-hop here, because FreeSound can have a rock vibe,” said Reed Essex ’19.

Weaver started rapping his second-year at Grinnell. He was at a house off-campus one night late into the morning and he started freestyling to some beats his friends were playing. He liked it and kept at it.

“I’ve always been around hiphop music because of my brother.

I’ve always liked hip-hop music but I’d never rapped,” Weaver said. “I was like, I like this, and I kept freestyling.”

Gupta began his rap career when he was in eighth grade, and he hasn’t stopped since. He freestyles all the time, even when he’s just walking around campus. He attributes his skills to the length of time he’s been practicing, as well as the practice itself.

“I would change countries every three to four years so I didn’t ever have consistent friends or family or anything like that. I wanted a skill so people would like me, so I started rapping,” Gupta said. “If you see me walking around the road, I’m probably just muttering to myself and it looks like of crazy, then you come down here and it doesn’t seem as

crazy.”

Although the members of the Cypher Club make freestyling look easy, it takes lots of preparation.

Having a large rhyme vocabulary is one way Gupta is able to rap off of a single word.

“Each word that there is, I usually have a bunch of rhymes in my head, pre-prepared and then [I] just mold it into that. There are verses I go into that I know every single rhyme that’s possible there, so if I had proclamation I could say generation, patience, sensation, radio station, anything like that,” Gupta said.

Attending club meetings is not the only way to hear some of these freestyles and beats, however. Weaver and Gupta plan to coordinate with FreeSound to throw a concert sometime soon.

“With the new beat makers, eventually we want to incorporate DJs and the Grinnellian Hip-hop Society in a performance,” Weaver said. “It’s an umbrella for Cypher Club, DJs and beat makers.”

Cypher Club’s goal is to have rappers and beat makers come together to show and cultivate their skills, and expand to incorporate more aspects of hip-hop.

“What I wanted to do was cultivate a community where people can come and distribute and show their art to other people whether that’s a beat making or rap,” Weaver said. “[We’re] just finding diamonds in this field we call Grinnell.”

Features

4

Limelight: The Wellness The Wellness has made an impression at student music forums like the newly minted Tiny Dorm concerts, as well as the Grinnellian last year. The band, which is made up of Nathan Calvin ’18, Jacob Getzoff ’18, Justin Leuba ’18, Corey Simmonds ’17 and Michael Owusu ’17, was formed spring semester of last year. This week, The S&B’s Cassidy Hilburn sat down with the band talked with them to learn more about the inner workings of the band and their process of writing, practicing and performing songs.

The S&B: When was The Wellness formed?

Michael Owusu: The Wellness was formed at the beginning of last semester. Corey and I were coming off of another group, and three plus members of our group weren’t coming back into second semester, and Corey and I both asked each other, "What do we do?" I said, "Corey, I think we’ve both been misrepresented in [our previous band], so... I’m not doing anything." It just started. Eventually Justin asked what were were doing musically this semester, and Corey and I just said we were going to jam, and they said they’d

be down to get in on that. Nathan was the last to join, and by that point, we were all just thinking ‘this sounds too good to keep to ourselves. … Corey had songs and Justin had the drive to sit there and ask, "what are you playing?"

Justin Leuba: Once we had the harmonic structures to these songs that [Corey] had written but didn’t know how to explain written down, it just came together, and it’s really awesome to see.

making us feel?” “Are we grooving to this?” It’s very visceral — it’s very physically effective. The name “The Wellness” is indicative of that — we’re trying to make people feel good. … Our goal is to provide a pool of positive energy for people to swim in. Kind of from the start, I think we've just been trying to make music that makes us, a crowd or an individual listener feel something strongly in a constructive way.

How did you come up with the name “The Wellness”?

JL: It’s rare that you get a name and it just fits and everyone in the band feels the same way.

MO: I love the name “The Wellness” — it fits. Especially at the time [we started our band], start of spring semester. And it has become now exactly what I wanted it to be at the time. Flawless execution.

What do you enjoy about The Wellness, compared to other bands you are in?

Nathan Calvin: I really enjoy the spontaneity and informal aspect of rehearsals. There also isn’t a lot of ego, and people are comfortable taking criticism. I think that’s especially important in kinda “jammy” music. If people aren’t receptive then it can become boring or overwhelming pretty fast.

Jacob Getzoff: There really isn’t one person writing and structuring these songs. Again, we all bring our own styles to the table, and I think that when we just jam out and communicate, nine times out of 10 we get a winning combination.

What is your process of writing songs?

JL: So much of what goes into our songwriting is not about thinking about the aesthetic qualities of a songwriter and checking off the boxes. When we write songs as a group, it’s all about “How is it

Edited by bohlkeli@grinnell.edu

Why do you think people will like The Wellness?

NC: I think people will like it because we have a lot of energy. I also think that Corey is a terrific songwriter, and we overall have good chemistry together.

How would you describe The Wellness’s sound?

Corey Simmonds: Somewhere

between funk, rock and R&B … [with] blues in there.

JG: As far as sound goes, you could put us under a “funk” label I think. But it’s worth noting that we all have our own personal styles that we bring to the table — like Corey’s R&B vibes, Justin’s folksiness — and that combination makes us hard to pin down with 100 percent accuracy.

ELLEN SCHOENMAKER

The Wellness ­— Nathan Calvin, Jacob Getzoff, Justin Leuba, all '18, Michael Owusu and Corey Simmonds (not pictured), both '17 — has a sound that can't be categorized into one specific genre.

Trustees form new long-form troupe to diversify comedy scene

By Louise Carhart carhartl17@grinnell.edu In an effort to diversify the comedy options on campus, a new improv troupe has emerged this year. Specializing in long-form improv performance, the Trustees represent an effort to include as many forms of humor based entertainment as possible. Founded by Chris Jones and Michelle Risacher, both ’17, the Trustees have moved away from the short-form improv the two had previously been familiar with.

“I’ve been a little disappoint-

ed in how small our comedy and improv community is, and I think having another troupe will help it explode,” Jones said.

The duo draws inspiration from the larger comedy world and, especially for Risacher, their experiences with comedy outside of Grinnell.

After spending her summer interning at the Arts Center Cinema and Comedy Department and observing a lot of long-form improv, she grew to love the medium.

“Obviously I knew I was [in] a short-form group, so you can’t really ask people ‘let’s be a longform troupe now,’” Risacher said.

“Since it’s my last year, I wanted to be able to pursue long-form before I graduated college.”

Long-form is, as the name suggests, generally longer than shortform performances. Short-form is popular with college troupes but limits the performers to one “game” with a set of rules that prevents the performance from developing. While short-form is highly entertaining and easy to watch, the Trustees felt that pursuing longform would allow them to explore their relationship with comedy further.

“The difference with [the two]

is what their main game is,” Jones said. “Game in improv is what you call the funny thing, that you try to heighten … that’s what’s funny, the game they’re playing.”

In contrast, long-form improv relies on a scenario or a story and requires the actors to develop their characters, relationships and storylines. Performers must be able to anticipate a story line while maintaining character, all without a script.

“With short-form you get the game handed to you, and with long-form you have to create it,” Jones added.

While they see value in both forms of performance, both Risacher and Jones feel that for them right now, long-form is something they’re more focused on which was missing from the campus comedy scene.

"There's more of an opportunity to do weirder stuff, and because it has less structure ... you're kind of put into this sink of swim situation."

Michelle Risacher '17 “There’s more of an opportunity to do weirder stuff, and because it has less structure … you’re kind of put into this sink or swim situa-

tion. It has more room for growth,” Risacher said.

Both Risacher and Jones have been doing improv since high school, and find that it has added to their time at Grinnell in a positive way. Both have performed in other short-form improv groups on campus and believe that having more diverse improv groups on campus will add to the community.

“I almost came to college with one goal — to join an improv troupe,” Risacher said. “Then I made a troupe, and now we’re here.”

The new troupe promises a greater diversity of comedy that both Risacher and Jones are excited about. For their final year, they are excited about the opportunity to spend time expanding their comedy experience and hopefully conducting joint shows with the other improv troupes.

“I’m excited about the newness, the possibilities that could happen. We’ve never directed a troupe and that’s going to be new.

I’m also just excited that this is the first third group on campus, and it seems like there [are] a lot of firstyears who seem more into starting up a theatre community than I’ve seen before,” Jones said.

The Trustees will be holding auditions this Sunday, Sept. 25 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Bucksbaum 154 (the Wall).

Things you might not know about the Pioneer Bookshop.

Did you Know?

• • • • •

We sell discount movie passes to the Strand Theater for $6.00.

We are open until 7pm on Thursday nights.

We are on Snap Chat.

We like to hear from you on our Facebook Page.

We have the books authored by Writers in Grinnell.

Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30am – 6pm ○ Thurs. until 7pm ○ Sat 9am – 5pm

Sports

Edited by mettleca@grinnell.edu

Sports Report Women's Golf The team continues to dominate not only the Midwest region, but the nation. Currently, the Pioneers have placed twenty-sixth place in the NCAA Division III rankings, while Vidushi Sinha ’19 and her twin sister, Vrishali Sinha ’19 have placed respectively in seventh and twenty-seventh. Last Sunday, September 18 at the Division III Midwest Classic in Northfield, Minn., Vidushi won her second tournament title this season. All together, the team tied for fourth place.

The team now looks towards the Illinois Wesleyan University Fall Classic in Normal, Ill., on September 24 and 25.

Volleyball Despite having a successful week earlier, Volleyball lost all four games at Augustana College in Rock Hill, Ill., during the annual Vikings Classic Tournament. However, Olivia Fromm '17 was awarded a titular spot on the All-Tournament Team for her performance.

A few other notable players were Margaret Giles '18, Emma Wilhardt '19 and Sydney Vrecenar '18. The team prepares to take on Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, Wis. Women's Tennis At home, the women’s tennis team continued their main season win streak by defeating all their opponents from Knox, Illinois and Monmouth colleges. In doubles and singles, the Pioneers did not let their opponents get in no more than two points. The team maintained their number one spot while Knox dipped down. The women’s tennis team plans to keep their spot at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament in St. Peter, Minn. on September 23 and 24.

Football The football team played their last home game for a while on Saturday, Sept. 17. The Pioneers lost to their opponent, Beloit College.

However, the College did perform their strongest offensive play to date. Tony Bergida ’18, Jacob Bernholtz ’17 and Vinny Pavoni Gomez ’19 were some of the most notable players of game. The Pioneers now prepare to take on Macalester College at St. Paul, Minn.

5

Elephantitis improves skills Continuing tradition of strengthening players

By Lily Bohlke bohlkel@grinnell.edu Elephantitis is the first Ultimate Frisbee tournament of the season. For 14 years, the tournament has been hosted by the College each fall and is open to any school in the Midwest, regardless of division.

“The focus of the tournament — and this has been from the beginning — has been on new player development for all the teams involved,” said men’s Team Captain Jack Graen ’17. “Once the spring semester rolls around, it’s when the competitive season starts up. … It’s supposed to be a fun tournament — fun, player development, [and] team chemistry building.”

Watching the rookies play is the most fun part because it’s their first experience actually getting to see what Ultimate is like Julia Dornbusch '17 The Grinnell men’s split-squad teams tied for 13th place out of the 18 teams in attendance. The women’s team got 11th place, second-tolast out of the 12 teams. First place for men’s was awarded to a team from the University of Mississippi, and first place for women’s went to a team from Iowa State.

Although neither the men’s nor women’s teams finished outstandingly, they recognized that Elephantitis is not about winning.

“We did terribly, we almost got last, but we didn’t, we beat one team. That’s not something we were really worried about,” said women’s Team Captain Annie Ramey ’17. “Elephantitis is a teaching tournament more than anything and teams come with the expectation everyone has new players and we’re all trying to figure out how to play.”

Ultimate is completely student-run without coaches, so students plan the tournament by themselves under guidance from Graen, Ramey and women’s team President Julia Dornbusch ’17.

“It was communicating with a lot of different people, … the athletic department here, someone who’s in charge of club sports, … the Fairgrounds, Hy-vee and all the teams and their captains,” Dorn busch said. “Most other teams are also organized by students, so it’s a lot of communication between them, [and] some disorganization

on behalf of everyone.”

In the middle of the tournament, Dornbusch and the other organizers faced a challenge — losing one third of the playing fields on Sunday. To resolve the issue, the organizers had to squeeze an extra field onto Mac Field and rearrange the brackets and the number of games each team played. However, despite the hiccup, everything ran smoothly.

“I haven’t been involved in the planning before, so it always appears to be pulled off really smoothly. I’m sure there’s a lot more behind the scenes I never saw,” Dornbusch said. “I think it went well — we had a big turnout of teams, [and] we got really good weather.”

Another one of the many things to be planned includes coordinating a camp site at the Poweshiek County Fairgrounds and a catered meal from Hy-vee. Although many teams at Elephantitis are from nearby, they are not close enough to go home for the night. The College provides lodging and food for the teams at the Fairgrounds, which is said to be a fun, bonding experience and an opportunity to talk

with Ultimate players from other schools.

We’re all exhausted, but we’re all at the Fairgrounds hanging out, chatting, [and] making friends with people we don’t know Annie Ramey'17 “Ultimate is a pretty big community sport, so after day one of planning we’re all exhausted, but we’re all at the Fairgrounds hanging out, chatting, [and] making friends with people we don’t know,” Ramey said. “I had a lot of really interesting conversations with students from other universities, and that was really cool.”

The most important parts of Elephantitis are the learning experience and the fun. The College, as well as other teams, treats Elephantitis mainly as a way to allow the teams to experience a competitive Ultimate environment together.

“Watching the rookies play is the most fun part because it’s their first experience actually getting to see what Ultimate is like,” Dornbusch said. “We really could see them grow from the first game on Saturday to the last game on Sun-

day and just become comfortable with the disc and on the field and with the team. It’s only two days, but you see a huge improvement and comfort.”

Because Elephantitis is a wellknown learning experience, many teams want to participate.

“We were full with teams from all divisions in like a day or two [after announcing the tournament],” Graen said.

This year, Elephantitis lived up to expectations. There was positive feedback all around from Grinnellians and from other schools. Of course there were challenges, but the organizers and the participants were able to work through them and have a fun, successful and informative tournament.

The focus of the tournament and this has been from the beginning — has been on new player development for all the teams involved Jack Graen '17 “It’s unique, and that’s what makes it a Grinnell tournament,” Graen said.

SOFIA MENDEZ

An Ultimate frisbee player preapres for a match during the tournament.

Soccer experiences an awarding week Mens' and womens teams' recover from a rough early season start

By Tommy Odonnel odonnel@grinnell.ed

XIAOXUAN YANG

Noah Fluharty '19 defends the ball from an opponent during Wednesday's game.

Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams recorded victories over tough Nebraska Wesleyan University on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The men’s team, coached by Brian Jaworski, came out on with a final score of 2-1. Not only did this stretch their winning streak to three matches, but it was also Jaworski’s 100th win as head coach at Grinnell — a milestone he was confident he would achieve.

“If you do things the right way in Division III, coaches tend to stay with teams a long time,” Jaworski said. “When you get to coaching position like the one I have, it tends to become your life, and you're not interested in seeing what's greener on the other side.”

While this 100th win has been highly anticipated, the team is nevertheless excited for their coach.

“Coach Jaws [Jaworski] is awesome. He has immense soccer experience, and he really takes care of his guys on and off the field, and it’s huge for him,” Nick Brule ’17 said. “And I am glad that I have been able to be a part of it for the last four years. He’s going to keep winning and doing his stuff because he is good at it.”

The men’s team also swept the Midwest Conference's top individual honors this week, with Brule and Major May ’17 being named the offensive and defensive performers of the week, respectively.

The match itself was certainly a tale of two halves as Grinnell dominated the first half and secured a commanding 2-0 lead going into

half time. Nebraska fought back in the second, but a solid defensive showing helped Grinnell see the match out and record their third consecutive victory.

“I thought our first half went really well,” Brule said. “We came out strong, and we played really fast and we pressed them really hard, which is what we wanted to do, and it seemed to pay off. Second half was a little rougher, but we were able to lock down defensively and ultimately get the win.”

"I’m too old to play now, but if I was on the pitch, I would still be asking for the ball."

Coach Brian Jaworski With the conference season almost upon them, the team is looking to improve on certain parts of their performance. Jaworski pointed to passing speed and a willingness to receive the ball as areas the team could work on.

“I’m too old to play now, but if I was on the pitch, I would still be asking for the ball,” Jaworski said.

In spite of these areas of improvement, the team feels as though they are ready for what lies ahead.

“Our team chemistry is great right now; it has been one of the best parts for sure. I think if we execute our system, we will win matches,” said goalkeeper Jared Cloutier ’20.

The women’s team also scored against the Nebraska Wesleyan team, finishing the game 2-0. This came as a welcome response to their heart-breaking, double-overtime loss earlier in the week against Coe College. Second half-goals from Nora Sahel '17 and Simo Bambi

'20 helped see off the opposition in their final match before conference season.

“I think that we haven't really been playing the way that we want to be playing until the game a couple days ago, so it was nice to see that what we have been doing in practice has paid off on the field,” said Hannah Truesdale ’17. “I think the team is working really well together and we are all giving 110% out there.”

Truesdale was also quick to highlight the importance of team bonding.

“I love the first years,” Truesdale said. “They are all really awesome. They work really hard, and they really want to contribute to the team. I think that they have fit in really nicely to the team culture right away.”

The men’s team holds their newest members in a similarly high regard.

“I think they have done well, they have really tackled the challenge head on and they have done a really good job for us,” Brule said.

The men’s team kicked of their conference season Wednesday night, Sept. 19 at Cornell College, and the women’s team begin their campaign this weekend, Sept. 24, at Beloit College.

"It was nice to see that what we have been doing in practice has paid off on the field" Hannah Truesdale, '17 Both team’s first home conference games of the season will take place on Oct. 1 against Illinois College.

6

Arts

Edited by coghlann17@grinnell.edu

NAO and Kweku Collins charm the college crowd

By Halley Freger fregerhal17@grinnell.edu

On Tuesday, Sept., 20, Gardner Lounge was once again transformed into a club while showcasing two upand-coming artists. Students were transfixed as London-based singer-songwriter NAO and rapper, singer and producer Kweku Collins put on a high-energy concert.

Kweku Collins is no stranger to Grinnell — last hear he played a show with two other young rappers, Milwaukee’s IshDarr and Grinnell’s Young Eddy. Back then, he was a recent high school graduate who traveled to Grinnell from Evanston, Illinois, a suburb that borders Chicago. This week he returned to Grinnell as part of a major North American tour with internationally renowned artist NAO. During his set, Collins took a moment to celebrate before performing “Ghost,” which recently hit over 1,000,000 plays on Spotify. This song comes off of his 2016 LP “Nat Love,” whose name is a reference to the former slave, cowboy and author. Nodding to a famous black folk hero, Collins creates his own autobiographical account of growing up outside Chicago.

A l -

though Collins’s music tackles intense subjects, often in philosophical ways, it also feels effortless. His beats aren’t overpowering, but subdued, complementing his smooth voice and highlighting his intricate lyricism. On his track “Death of a Salesman,” he sings in a conversational style. It’s unsettling to hear Collins sing, almost nonchalantly, “Murder, murder, the crows are calling/ We see the news, yeah, we know what’s good.” The systemic oppression and murder of black people is something he has to deal with and fear in his everyday life. When he introduced this song, he spoke out against Donald Trump and anyone who doesn’t want brown or black people in this country.

When Neo Jessica Joshua, who performs under the name NAO, took the stage, there was a palpable excitement in the crowd. Although she’s been releasing her own music since 2014, she received massive exposure from her features, such as on Disclosure’s 2015 track “Superego,” which she helped write and sang on.

NAO’s voice is simply iconic. Her rich soprano sounds as if a computer has altered it. In the internet age where genres such as PC Music are popular, NAO’s bright, synthetic textures are irresistible. She studied vocal jazz at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and her training is evident

in her skillful control of her voice. On her crushing track “Bad Blood,” she suddenly drops into a very deep register and then right back up again. Throughout the song, her voice is often percussive, mimicking the catchy beat of the synths.

Her set mostly included songs from her new album “For All We Know.”

Although the album has a polished pop sound, NAO’s style is also very experimental. NAO’s self-described “wonky

funk” is created with the help of her band, which includes guitar, bass, synth, keys and drums. She combines a variety of sounds that often sound heavy and industrial and contrast against her bright vocals. Her album, despite its clean production, feels intensely focused on process. Throughout the album, there are short interludes composed of voice memo recordings from rehearsals. We get a sense of her creative process and the album as an exploration of sounds.

NAO took few breaks between songs and seemed to be in the zone.

However, she did take a break to tell the audience that she felt like she was at a “secret show.” Perhaps she was just referring to the fact that she was playing in a tiny basement, but something about this show did feel especially intimate.

Many people in the audience emotionally sang along. There’s a specific and surreal feeling that results from being so close to NAO’s ethereal voice.

GARRETT WANG

Kweku Collins and NAO performed to an enthusiastic crowd in Gardner on Tuesday.

: Kazim Ali, poet, essayist, fiction writer fathers — Shiva and Vishnu. The temple was sacred only to men, but a woman once went to the temple and made an offering. As a result, priests had to re-consecrate the temple, and the woman was arrested. I read this story, and I just thought it was so interesting. Who was considered clean, who was considered impure — all of these ideas about gender and spirituality started spinning around in my brain. I knew I couldn’t just write an essay about it — I knew I had to think about it in poetry. When I myself don’t know the answer, I turn to writing.

SARA RUIZ

Poet Kazim Ali answered questions at a round table on Thursday and followed up by reading from his work.

Poet, essayist, fiction writer and translator, Kazim Ali led the newest session of the Writers@Grinnell series this past Thursday, Sept.

22. Kazim has published several volumes of poetry, including “Sky Ward,” winner of the Ohioana Book Award in Poetry; "The Far Mosque,” winner of Alice James Books' New England/New York Award and the genre-changing text “Bright Felon: Autobiography and Cities.” The S&B’s Megan Tcheng sat down with the associate professor of Creative Writing and Comparative Literature at Oberlin College while he reflected on his passion for writing.

The S&B: Where did your passion for poetry take root?

Kazim Ali: I listened to a lot of poetry growing up, although not all of it was in English — a lot of it was actually in Urdu and Arabic and a lot of it was devotional and spiritual poetry. I heard the rhythms of it and the songs built within it and I loved it. Then, after college, I started working as a political organizer and a lobbyist. During those years, poetry was always something that helped me and preserved me.

I was always reading it, and I was always writing it. So, when I left organizing and was forced to figure

out what I was going to do next, I found myself brought back to poetry. That led me down this path.

Over the course of your career, you have compiled an impressive portfolio of work. Where do you find your inspiration and, furthermore, how would you describe your writing process?

Every once and a while I hear a story or something happens in the news that draws me in. I start thinking about all of its implications, and it pulls me along. For example, in India, there was a temple that was devoted to a god that had two

You come from a very diverse and multilayered background, with roots across the country, in India, the US, the UK and more. What effect, if any, has your cultural and personal background had on your career as an author?

I talk a lot about my early childhood, growing up in a multilingual household and my acquisition of language — which was all very unconventional to say the least.

Nonetheless, I think [my background] has kept me open to different perspectives. It has kept me always questioning. The negative side is that I don’t have roots — I don’t have a home town or a mother tongue. At the same time, my lack of roots has created the poet in me.

That’s why language is my home — because I have no other home.

Besides being a prolific poet, essayist and fiction writer, you also

work as a translator. How does your perspective as a translator affect your approach to writing?

I continually feel affected and changed by the people I translate.

When I translated Sohrab Sepehri, an Iranian poet, I started to adopt some of his strategies into my own poetry. He writes very long, lyrical and epic poems that go against the grain of contemporary American poetry. When I was translating his poems, I was really rewriting his poems into English. Doing a translation is precisely like doing a jigsaw puzzle — you’re not just trying to render it into English, you’re trying to make it into a good poem in English. It’s a really nice game to play.

As an assistant professor and the director of the Creative Writing Program at Oberlin, you spend a lot of time mentoring your students in the writing process.

What words of advice do you give to your students and, more specifically, what wisdom would you pass on to anyone who is interested in pursuing creative writing?

I think it’s important to trust the value of your own vision and to keep reading deeply. Trust yourself to move forward and to continue creating new work. Don’t get too caught up in who is going to read it or what’s going to happen next.

Just keep writing. That’s the best advice I could give to a student, a writer or even myself.

Indie filmmaker to visit campus in collaboration with Nutting and Bakopoulos

By Emma Friedlander friedlan@grinnell.edu Indie filmmaker Julian Goldberger is visiting Grinnell this weekend for a filmmaking colloquium on his 1998 film “trans.”The colloquium will take place on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. in JRC 101.

Goldberger is brought to campus by Professor Dean Bakopoulos, English, with whom Goldberger has collaborated on the film adaptation of Bakopoulos’ novel “Please Don’t Come back from the Moon.”

His preliminary visit this weekend precedes an upcoming three-year collaboration with Grinnell, sponsored by an English Department Innovation Fund.

“This is the beginning of a three year partnership,” Bakopoulos said.

“In the final year, if all goes well with this Innovation Fund grant that [Professor Alissa Nutting, English] and I have … he’ll be directing a movie that Alissa and I write, and then students will have the chance to work on that film.”

The Innovation Fund procured

by Bakopolous and Nutting sponsors two television-writing courses this year and two screenwriting courses next year. The program culminates in a full-length film, a rare undertaking at liberal arts colleges.

“I’m not sure there’s ever been a film written, directed and produced at a liberal arts college, and made to be written and produced at a liberal arts college,” Bakopoulos said. “When I approached him with this grant, I thought ‘Which filmmaker in America who I know is crazy enough to say sure, we can make a movie for 25,000 in Grinnell, Iowa?’”

Although Goldberger is primarily visiting Grinnell this weekend to begin planning the film project, his screening on Saturday will also provide Grinnellians with the opportunity to grow familiar with his work. “trans” was Goldberger’s first film and produced entirely outside of the studio system. “trans” focuses on a youth detention center escapee in Lee County, Florida, where the film was shot.

“It was a downhome, handmade kind of thing with a really small crew,” Goldberger said. “We were pretty much free to shoot where we wanted … You make a movie like that once, when you’re really young and out of school and it’s the first thing you do. You bring a certain attitude.”

18 years later, Goldberger remains dedicated to low-budget, regional filmmaking.

“The thing about 'trans' is that the milieu was the show,” Gold-

berger said. “It’s a movie about a place. For somebody that wants to shoot in Iowa or nearby, it celebrates that regional aspect. I don’t want to keep seeing movies set in California or New York. I’d like to see more handmade movies coming out of different parts of the country.”

Goldberger hopes that attendees of the “trans” screening will be inspired to create films on their own. “‘trans’ is a movie that you can see and say, ‘I could do this. That’s doable. I could see how I could do a movie like trans here in Iowa and celebrate all that’s unique about it,’” Goldberger said. “It’s a really dreamy, weird movie. And that’s only because that’s what that place dictated.”

Because Grinnell lacks a filmmaking program, Bakopoulos hopes that Goldberger’s presence will also show students how to make movies with a limited number of resources.

“It’s the chance to see that you can make a beautiful, powerful film without Oscar-winning actors and a huge budget,” Bakopoulos said of the film screening. “You use the landscape you have and the story you have, and you go from there.

Too often filmmakers will wait for a big break and that often never comes.”

CONTRIBUTED

Indie filmmaker Julian Goldberger is collaborating with Professor Alissa Nutting, English, and Professor Dean Bakopoulos, English, to help bring film programming to campus.

Community

Edited by carhartl17@grinnell.edu

7

True Grinnellian: Steve Sieck

By Lily Bohlke bohlkeli@grinnell.edu Grinnellians may think of Professor Stephen Sieck, Biological Chemistry, as just another Noyce professor, but college kids are not the only ones on his mind. He keeps busy thinking about his own three kids as well as every other student enrolled in Grinnell Public Schools.

Sieck was recently appointed to the Grinnell School Board and attended the first meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

“Sometimes I think it’s important we understand there’s a totally different perspective of people that live in this community from the college” Steve Sieck “I’ve attended a lot of meetings regularly over the last couple of years as different issues have propped up,” Sieck said. “When the vacancy opened up, I had some people come up to me and they thought that I would be a potential person that would be interested and encouraged me to submit my interest.”

Previously, Sieck has been involved in several committees and boards supporting Grinnell Public School students. He served as President of the Grinnell Community Daycare and Preschool Board for two of the four years he was involved. He has also been a part of the Grinnell Youth Baseball and Softball Association, the Mid-Iowa Football Club and has helped run swim team events.

“I grew up in a small town in Iowa. So for me, being involved in the community outside the College has always been really important,” he said.

Sieck also serves on the South Central Iowa STEM Advisory Board, which “collaborates to identify, grow and create STEM programs that strengthen the South Central STEM region,” according to iowastem.gov. Because he is a science professor, one of his focuses on the school board will be to have discussions about how the sciences are taught in the public schools.

“Just to be a voice of the community as a scientist is really important to me,” he said. “Just anything I can help guide and give a different perspective potentially.

Being involved with [Grinnell Science Project] here at Grinnell, I wonder, are there things we’re doing to help encourage everyone to participate in science opportunities and science classes? Just making sure those opportunities are afforded to everyone, across the community.”

“I spend time here with students but being a part of Grinnell is really important” Steve Sieck Sieck also plans to focus on accessibility — making sure the resources in town are available to all students, regardless of background, income or other measures that may impede a student’s ability to make use of opportunities.

“Grinnell is a district that has a lot of diverse population in terms of socioeconomic background and so forth and there are a lot of good resources available for a lot of students. But making sure those resources are available appropriately to everyone in the community,” he said.

Sieck pointed out that there is often a divide between the town of

HUNG VUONG

Professor Steve Sieck, Biological Chemistry, plays an integral role in both College and community life.

Grinnell and the College, but he feels that he benefits from staying involved in both the College and the community.

“Sometimes I think it’s important we understand there’s a totally different perspective of people that live in this community from the college,” Sieck said. “The issues that are important on campus are totally different than the issues involved in the community in a lot of ways …

Sometimes they mix well together and other times they don’t.”

Working for the College while having commitments outside of campus allows Sieck to connect with both cultures and brings a unique perspective to all Grinnellians.

“I spend time here with students but being a part of Grinnell is really important,” Sieck said.

“My family’s here now, my kids are involved in lots of things, [and] my wife works in the community. I truly am interested in spending my time like that.”

Kites Over Grinnell promises high-flying fun Grinnell Rotary Club secretary and coordinator of Kites Over Grinnell this year. “Then they put the kites together, and they’ll be all ready to go to fly the kites on Saturday.”

Kites Over Grinnell has run previously in the early 2000s, but has been missing from the community for a few years. The decision to bring the event back came when Dick and Sis Vogel, who previously ran the event, came to a Rotary Club meeting to proffer the idea, which was met with excitement by some members.

CONTRIBUTED

Kites Over Grinnell boasts a large variety of kites and prizes for all ages. The event is this Saturday in Ahrens Park event

By Keli Vitaioli vitaioli@grinnell.edu Fun is flying to new heights this weekend with the Grinnell Rotary Club’s rebooting of a past favorite, Kites Over Grinnell, on Sat., Sept. 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ahrens Park driving range.

The family-focused event will offer a full day of kite flying.

When the park opens, there will be 200 kites available for participants to put together and decorate at the park. The Rotary Club also

By Julia Echikson echikson@grinnell.edu

purchased kites for the Grinnell Community School District’s kindergarten through fourth grade students and the Ahrens Park preschool for children to decorate in advance.

"The Rotary Club will be selling hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and pop."

“Leon Drake, the art teacher for Grinnell [Community School District] got all the kites, and he is letting the kids color the skins of them,” said Bruce Blankenfeld,

“Leon Drake, the art teacher for Grinnell [Community School District] got all the kites, and he is letting the kids color the skins of them” Bruce Blankenfeld Dick and Sis Vogel previously ran the event the last two years it appeared and they wanted it to start back up.

“Bob Riley, who I believe is 89, was talking about when he was a little kid, and he remembered flying kites and winning ribbons,” Blankenfeld said. “Next week, he brought in his ribbons from when he was five or six years old.”

The Rotary Club is also bringing in American Kite Association (AKA) flyers who will have their own sectioned off portion of the driving range where they will be demonstrating their skills. Visitors are welcome to come and go as they please, and Blankenfeld wants to emphasize the free fun for all that will be had. The Rotary Club will be selling hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and pop. Another vendor will be selling cotton candy and popcorn as well.

“I’m hoping that [people] just come out and fly a kite and just have a great time with their kids or grandkids,” Blankenfeld said.

“Everyone is going to be a winner that day. I’ve got some kite ribbons for everybody to win, so whatever little kid flies a kite is going to win a ribbon.”

The Rotary Club began planning for the event six months ago, and will begin even earlier next year if the event is met with a positive response from the community since the AKA are booked a year in advance.

“This is our first year, so we’re just keeping it small and trying to see if this is something the city wants to have again,” Blankenfeld said.

Students from Grinnell College Swimming and Diving will be assisting in the running of the event alongside former Rotary Club President Professor Heriberto Hernandez, Chemistry, who has been a Rotarian for six years and was involved in the decision to bring back Kites Over Grinnell.

“Everyone is going to be a winner that day. I’ve got some kite ribbons for everybody to win, so whatever little kid flies a kite is going to win a ribbon.”

Bruce Blankenfeld The Grinnell Rotary Club was founded in 1938 and prides itself on promoting and providing service in the community. Their main project has been participating in the cross-club Rotary fight to end Polio worldwide, for every dollar the Rotary club raises towards that goal, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation matches that each dollar of the donation with two dollars.

Other Rotary Club projects in the community include sponsoring exchange programs and providing four or five students from Grinnell High School with 500 dollar college scholarships annually.

Jasper County ammonia leak kills 66,500 fish

After receiving a call about dead fish along Wolf Creek in Jasper County, Bill Gibbons, an environmental specialist at the Iowa Department of Natural Reserves (DNR), went to investigate. Upon his arrival, he measured the level of the fertilizer ammonia in the water and found the ammonia levels to be so high that he couldn’t get a reading.

“They’re above the capability of my kit to measure,” he said. Finishing with inspection, the DNR found the ammonia leak had killed 66,500 fish.

The DNR believes last week’s leak stemmed from a tile line coming into the creek. Tile lines are used for draining farm land of wastewater. As Gibbons inspected the creek, he noticed how there were dead fish downstream of tile and live meadow upstream.

The DNR does not know who caused the leak or where it began. Gibbons looked into farm fields near the spillage and an agriculture cooperation in Collins, where the tile line extended, but could not find any evidence of a spill. Ultimately, the leak could have come from other counties, miles away.

To prevent such leaks from happening again, Bill Stowe '81, who works for Des Moines Water Works a company that provides clean drinking water. He recommends finding the culprit and making an example of them. “[Law enforcement should be] fully enforcing the existing regulations,” Stowe said. These regulations are largely composed of fines.

“Regulations should allow for escalations of penalties and fines, if there is a future violation,” Stowe elaborated.

But, that scenario is unlikely.

“Some of those tile lines can go long distances,” Gibbons explained.

The extent of the farming irrigation system makes it hard to locate what caused the leak.

“Failure of tile line is a failure of either inspection or lack of protection," he said. “The state has history of lax regulation.”

This is due to the state’s economy being entrenched in farming and ammonia being a crucial ingredient.

Despite the death of so many fish, the ammonia leak spared everything else in its path. Gibbons claimed the effects of the leak were “pretty localized.”

No crops were harmed due to the

Movies at the Strand

ammonia leak. With harvest season nearing and due to the breeds of plants farmed, crops were mature enough to resist the effects of ammonia. As the water from Wolf Creek entered Indian Creek, a larger waterway, the ammonia became diluted, and its level became insignificant. Gibbons says he couldn’t find large traces of ammonia in Indian Creek. As of now, the DNR is taking a hands off approach in cleaning the creek.

“Natural processes will take place,” Gibbons explains. “There isn’t going to be any active clean up in the creek.”

As the creek’s surroundings were unharmed, the DNR will not take further action that could disrupt the environment. They expect the same process that diluted the ammonia in Indian Creek to resolve any issues that would arise.

Stowe’s business of providing clean water has been affected. “[Ammonia] triggers a need for additional use of disinfected to treat drinking water. More disinfected means more percentage in risk,” Stowe said.

Not all ammonia leaks have had so much mercy. According to press reports, an ammonia leak at the Pur-

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Showtimes: 3:40 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 9:20 p.m.

Some men stomp around the West and wear a lot of leather.

CONTRIBUTED

Although thousands of fish died, the ammonia leak will probably have little lasting damage on the environment.

Service food service plant in Grinnell about a year ago sent almost a dozen people to the hospital, a few of whom had severe breathing difficulties. Crews later determined ammonia leaked from a refrigeration unit in the plant. This past May 11, chicken farm employees were treated for ammonia exposure near George, Iowa.

Ammonia remains an integral part

STORKS

Showtimes: 3:50 p.m. 6:45 p.m.

3D: 8:50 p.m.

Traditionally carrying babies to new homes, late capitalism has commodified storks and now they work for Wal-Mart.

of agriculture and farming in Iowa, as it provides sanitation and fertilization for both industries.

Political pressure can make it difficult to propose and pass legislation that would monitor and prevent leaks into bodies of water.

As of now, there is no regulation on the wastewater that comes from agriculture and farming.

SULLY Showtimes: 4 p.m., 7 p.m., 9:10 p.m.

Tom Hanks reprises his role as every hero ever in this telling of the Miracle on the Hudson.

Community

8

Edited by carhartl17@grinnell.edu

The black market ginseng trade in Iowa: Chasing the root of the problem habitat. Cultivated ginseng, on the other hand, indicates that the plant was nurtured or grown in a controlled setting.

"Three men were arrested over Labor Day weekend of this year for illegally harvesting ginseng from state-managed lands."

CONTRIBUTED

Ginseng is protected in Iowa, and law enforcement closely moniters its harvest.

By Mira Braneck braneckm@grinnell.edu One plant that is relevant in the black market here in Iowa is not what you may expect: ginseng.

“Ginseng is a slow-growing plant, and its root is used in herbal products, supplements and teas in Asian cultures and health food stores. Most of the ginseng collected in Iowa is exported to countries in Asia, with a small portion going to cities along the west coast, like San Francisco,” Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wrote on its website.

"Iowa is one of 19 states in the US that allows legal ginseng harvest."

Iowa is one of 19 states in the U.S. that allows legal ginseng harvest. Much of the ginseng harvested in the US is exported to China and Korea, and growing markets in both countries have caused a major increase in the profitability in ginseng, according to an article pub-

lished by The Gazette.

The price of ginseng depends on the strength of these economies, according to the DNR’s website.

Last year, on average, ginseng sold for 500 to 600 dollars per pound, with particularly high quality ginseng fetching up to 750 dollars per pound.

Iowa exports more than 1,000 pounds of dried ginseng roots per year, according to The Gazette.

This amounts to anywhere between 125,000 and 150,000 ginseng plants.

There are very strict and specific laws concerning the harvest and growth of ginseng. One must obtain a variety of permits, and only harvest plants of a certain maturity. The plant must have three or more leaves or prongs, as well as a flowering or fruiting stalk with red berries, according to the DNR’s website.

In order to harvest wild ginseng, one must obtain an Iowa Ginseng Harvester permit through the

Latino Heritage Festival brings pride and greater learning

By Louise Carhart carhartl17@grinnell.edu To celebrate Latinx Heritage Month this September, the Des Moines Latino Heritage Festival will be held this weekend from Saturday, Sept. 24 to Sunday, Sept. 25 at Western Gateway Park in downtown Des Moines. The Festival, which started in 2001, is celebrating its fifteenth year by moving to the new location.

Previously, the event was held on the river bridges in Des Moines, but has been moved to include the park and various event spaces in Western Gateway.

The event’s organizer, Joe Gonzalez, has worked with the Festival for all fifteen years. 2016 will be the first time he is fully in charge and he is looking forward to a variety of events that have a deep significance for him and Iowa as a whole.

“The setting is a little bit different and we’re looking forward to it,” Gonzalez said. “[I’m looking forward to] the Tapas and Tunes event, which is tomorrow [Friday].

The Festival doesn’t start until Saturday, but on Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. we’re having a free event … this was the perfect opportunity, since we’re in the new venue and we’re downtown, to market our event.”

Those who attend Friday evening’s Tapas and Tunes will not only get to experience free food, beer and entertainment, but will also receive free admission to one of the Festival days. This effort to increase accessibility speaks to the ethos of the Latino Heritage Festival, where attendees are encouraged not only to enjoy the festivities, but also to either take pride in their heritage or realize the place of Latinxs in Iowan culture.

“The way we see it, number one, this is an opportunity to showcase our community,” Gonzalez said.

“When we have people within our community that come to it it’s a perfect opportunity to show their pride and share their culture. Also, it lets

them show what they contribute to this city, this state and this country because oftentimes the view on immigration, especially with the political climate, is negative. This showcases what we’re all about, traditions and everything.”

As the Festival has grown over the past 15 years, it has become the largest ethnic event in Iowa, according to the Festival’s website. The first Festival, in 2001, was postponed due to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. “9/11 happened two weeks before our first Festival and as a courtesy and sign of respect we canceled the event, but we’ve been going ever since,” Gonzalez said.

One of the benefits of the event is that it allows Latinx communities in Iowa to show the pride they have for their specific community or country, as often the countries that fall under the “Latinx” category are grouped together and become singular.

“It’s 22 countries represented, it gives us a chance to educate folks that it’s not just Mexico, that it is many other countries,” Gonzalez said. “It educates the greater community about that culture and how better to learn than through music, art, food.”

The Festival has always been highly popular in Des Moines and well received. For both the Latinx and non-Latinx communities, it represents a chance for broader understanding and exposure to different cultures. This year’s event promises to be no different, with plans for multiples music acts including DJs and youth music groups, cultural booths that exhibit different facets of Latinx culture and food vendors selling a variety of things to consume.

“We’ve had a good reaction because people enjoy coming to our event. We want to continue to grow it … ours is a paid event and people come and have fun, they learn and experience culture and new things,” Gonzalez said.

DNR, which manages both the harvest and export of ginseng. These cost 37 dollars, and there are currently 154 individuals with these permits in Iowa. To grow ginseng, one must obtain an Iowa’s Grower permit, which are valid for five years. Iowa Ginseng Dealer permits are necessary to buy ginseng. Dealers are required to file monthly and annual reports. Iowa Ginseng Dealer permits are valid for a year, from April 1 to March 31, according to the DNR’s website.

The ginseng harvest seasons spans from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31. For the rest of the year, no one can harvest ginseng, whether it is harvested or cultivated, even on private land.

After harvesting wild ginseng, one must plant all seeds that were collected from the plant within 100 feet of the parent plant. There are also specific methods in which one must plant the seeds, as dictated by the DNR website. It is illegal to take these seeds when found, as well as sell them.

It is illegal to harvest ginseng

from any state-owned or managed land. In fact, three men were arrested over Labor Day weekend of this year for illegally harvesting ginseng from state-managed lands.

All three had valid harvesting permits and were within the legal two-month long harvest season; however, they were harvesting from an area in which it is illegal to do so. The DNR asked for the equivalent of 150 percent of the value of the ginseng that was illegally harvested, which amounts to 292.50 dollars from each individual, according to the DNR’s website.

"It is illegal to harvest ginseng from any state-owned or managed land."

So while ginseng harvesting may seem like a lucrative post-grad plan, entrepreneurial Grinnellians should make sure to learn the letter of the law before trying their hand at the trade.

"Last year, on average, ginseng sold for 500 to 600 dollars per pound, with particularly high quality ginseng fetching up to 750 dollars per pound."

Wild ginseng, according to the DNR, is classified as any unprocessed part of the ginseng plant, which is growing or has been harvested from its native

DSM Fashion Week showcases Iowa talent

By Carter Howe howethom@grinnell.edu

Elevated style will be coming to Des Moines on Sept. 21 in the form of the first ever Des Moines (DSM) Fashion Week, a three-day event featuring designers from the Midwest and even New York and Los Angeles. Although Grinnellians may recognize the name DSM Fashion Week from The Onion’s headlines, the week’s real life proceedings are assuredly not a joke.

The event will feature a wide range of styles and designers such as menswear designer Christian Micheal Shuster from Kansas City, avant-garde designer Dan Richters from Omaha, Italian handbag designer Massimiliano Stanco and contemporary womenswear designer Dalton Taylor from New York City. In addition, the show will feature pieces from many selftaught designers and fashion students, such as Kate Walz, a 19-year-old student at Parsons: The New School for Design in New York City and Amber Vokt, a self-taught womenswear designer who makes clothing from recycled fabrics.

Photographer, designer and executive producer of the event Camille Renee predicts that DSM Fashion Week will be an elegant cultural celebration for the people of Des Moines.

“We’re having appetizers and hors d'oeuvres and drinks and just really celebrating fashion on a high-end scale that Des Moines deserves,” Renee said.

In addition to fashion, DSM Fashion Week will feature local musicians and chefs. The second night of the event will feature a performance from jazz singer Max Wellman, a house musician at classy Des Moines jazz cabaret, Noce. The final night of the event will be held at presenting sponsor Splash Seafood Bar and Grill, an upscale seafood restaurant run by locally-renowned restaurateur Bruce Gerleman, where executive chef and Iowa Restaurant Association 2014 Chef of the Year Dominic Iannarelli will prepare a five course meal.

“Not only are we celebrating local designers but we’re also just really opening the door for designers of all different types of genres from different cities coming to Des Moines to celebrate it at Splash,” Renee said.

“We really want it to be edgy and modern, showcasing sophistication in Des Moines,” Renee said. “We have refined fashion from boutiques in the East Village.”

The show will also feature the work of high-end designer Christian Michael Shuster. “[He] designs menswear and is

really fun and sporty and a little bit preppy,” Renee said. “Closing the show will be Dalton Taylor who is this amazing designer from New York. He designs dresses and street-wear.”

DSM Fashion Week’s choice to use models of all different body types and levels of experience is another aspect of its openness. “We’re not really of all the same body type as of a New York or a Milan or a Paris fashion show. … Here in Des Moines, we’re really welcoming women and men of all different sizes … that’s one thing that really makes us different is that we are open to all different types of people, and it’s not so high-end that we expect them to be stick-thin and you know [how] to runway and only come from a talent agency,” Renee said.

Renee also said that some of the models will be students and athletes from Iowa State.

In the end, though, Renee said that DSM Fashion Week is really about showing that despite its size and location, Des Moines is a sophisticated, fun city to live in. “[When people say] I can’t live in Iowa, I have to go to New York, that’s not true. I mean Des Moines is a really awesome place to live, not only is it affordable but there are so many things to do in Des Moines,” Renee said.

Opinions

Edited by sundbyjo17@grinnell.edu

9

Hijacked Heros On Nov. 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed in to law HR 5890, an act declaring the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to be a federal legal holiday. At the official remarks for the signing, where he was joined by King’s widow and children, congressional leaders and a veritable who’s-who of social activists, Reagan was quoted as saying: “As a democratic people, we can take pride in the knowledge that we Americans recognized a grave injustice and took action to correct it. And we should remember that in far too many countries, people like Dr. King never have the opportunity to speak out at all.”

Reagan was right that grave injustices existed in the United States. And he was right that King’s speech was protected by our Constitution. Dr. King is known as the most famous American activist in recent history for a reason. But the vision of Dr. King that Reagan presented in his speech casts a shadow on our historical perspective of his legacy today.

Public school curricula nationwide rightfully teach children about the civil rights movement and Dr. King’s legacy. While they discuss American racism and learn a basic history of the civil rights movement, the curriculum avoids talking about Dr. King’s more radical edges. They do not learn about his radical opposition to the

butchery of the Vietnam War or his progressive views on economic justice and redistribution. They do not know that he considered the American military-industrial complex to be “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.”

Rather, what Americans are taught about Dr. King is watered-down version of his belief in racial equality that scrubs our collective conscience clean. It acquits the powerful forces and vested interests in this country that created inequality in the first place, and it makes the disgusting claim that King’s message was only realized because he lived in the United States, the very nation that was in opposition to his message of racial harmony and critique of American power.

King’s message has warped into a trite message of refusal to indict American failures — the ones that led to unjust laws in the first place. #AllLivesMatter activists post Dr. King’s quotes out of context to justify the murder of Black people by racist police — a failure to understand King’s legacy. Dr. King has become a sanitized caricature that is safe for the powerful, and his legacy has been twisted to support the status quo.

We follow this same trend with social activists today. Malala Yousafzai has rightfully been hailed as an international hero for her girls’ education campaign and inspiring story of recovery. But her true politics are sanitized in favor of a “clean” version that supports the status quo. In a statement to

the Pakistani International Marxist Tendency, the largest organization of its kind in Pakistan, Malala wrote: “I am convinced Socialism is the only answer, and I urge all comrades to take this struggle to a victorious conclusion. Only this will free us from the chains of bigotry and exploitation.”

In a meeting with President Obama in 2013, she discussed her fears that drone strikes as a war tactic fuel terrorism and that education was a good place to refocus efforts to combat terrorism. Nowhere in American media or official White House press dispatches were either of these instances of Malala’s radicalism discussed.

Only the progressive press and Malala herself inform us of these occurrences.

In order to justify our own failings as a nation, the powers-that-be sanitize the historical records of activists to fulfill the obligations of the status quo. They become saints of the status quo, and not the radicals they were and are. Despite tritely claiming we want to make meaningful change, avoiding the actual progressivism impedes our efforts to do good in this world.

Ultimately, smoothing the radical edges of beloved figures like Dr. King or Malala Yousafzai buys into the clean mythologies created about them by the powerful. If we want to make real change in the world, we need to also learn about the progressive legacies of our most famous activists instead of passively accepting the twisted messages of the status quo.

A Field of Daydreams Editors note: The writer dedicates this column to Lyle Bauman A common complaint I’ve heard about Grinnell is how flat the land around us is, but drive more than five minutes in any direction and you can clearly see that’s not true. Southern Iowa is not flat but filled with rolling foothills, covered in leafy old timber, new cornfields and prairie grasses that stretch high above your head. In brightest day and darkest night, it is vivaciously beautiful, and simply sitting in a field can make you feel like you’re living in a Renaissance painting.

I will never forget the first time I was lucky enough to sit in one of these fields: it was by permission from Lyle Bauman, a beloved dining hall supervisor and the namesake of Lyle’s Pub. We were tasked with taking out some coyotes, also known as ‘yotes or dogs.

The next night, Eli Freese ’14, Tyler Anderson ’16 and I went out into the pitch darkness to one of Lyle’s fields.

We were hauling along a few buckets of old food as bait for any wandering coyotes. As I had no flashlight or headlamp, my two buddies went off into the woods and left me by the truck, and suddenly it felt like I had the whole world to myself.

Left alone, I leaned back against the truck and looked up. A giant blanket of stars seemed to reach out and embrace me, so close that they felt like Christmas lights in a dorm room that had slipped off and fallen onto your face. Everything was twinkling and sparkling at once, as

if a million gemstones were hovering above me.

The next morning, as our hapless trio stewed in 90-degree heat, we stared at hazy mirages far away and tried to puzzle out whether a random shape was just a branch or a coyote slinking around our bait. Head resting against a hay bale, I looked up again: this time, the sky was a tranquil blue dotted with puffy white clouds, like I had been transported into a “Calvin and Hobbes” comic. My buddies sat beside me, each lost in their own thoughts, or perhaps just cursing their dehydration and the humidity. It was hard to tell.

Anyway, we didn’t have any luck that day, but decided to stop by to visit Lyle on our way home. It was my first time meeting him, but he greeted me like an old friend: he asked about what we saw and told us to make ourselves at home. We talked about fishing, the crop that season and how Lyle had gotten a nice buck recently. It was an unspoken fact that it would be one of his last hunts, and so a story of that deer had particular significance for all of us in the room.

Lyle passed away the next March, surrounded by loved ones. A photo of him still hangs in Lyle’s Pub, looking out upon all the students and friends he made at Grinnell College. When I look at it, I feel a sense of serenity, a human touch that reminds you that every day isn’t just about work and internships and stress and textbooks.

It’s about being kind to others, and kind to yourself.

Forget Self-Gov, Focus on Self-Love

Grinnell College’s new alcohol policy, put into effect this year, has poured metaphorical Hawkeye onto our campus’ fiery Self-Gov debate. Is Self-Gov dead, or alive? In my opinion, you shouldn’t care. Arguing SelfGov semantics does nothing to improve Grinnell students’ ability to function in an academically-rigorous school (see: GrinnHell) that has come under repeated fire for inadequate mental health care. Our school discourse on SelfGov’s vitality has reached the point where our insubstantial arguments about life-or-death absolutes rest upon

the subjective opinion. If you believe Self-Gov is alive at Grinnell College, then your belief is all that matters. The converse is equally true.

So let’s talk about topics that can make a difference for daily student life.

Let’s talk about Self-Love. In my view, Self-Love is a personal realization everyone can use effectively to tackle life’s daily challenges, such as deciding to get out of bed in the morning.

In my column every week (the name of which unfortunately sounds similar to the popular literary trivialization of the BDSM community), I will be conducting four interviews, each with different people of various backgrounds.

This week’s question is: “What does Self-Love mean to you?” I posed this question to better understand the differences, as well as the similarities, we all derive from the concept of Self-Love.

Sam Han ’17 posed the idea that

Self-Love inevitably stems from one’s self worth: “It’s like [South Korean entertainer Rain] once said. He took out a hundred dollar bill and said to one of his disciples: do you want this hundred dollar bill? The disciple said yes. He then took that bill and stepped on it, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. He said do you still want the hundred dollar bill?

The disciple still said yes. The point of the exercise was to show that no matter what happened, whether it was crumpled on or stepped on, the hundred dollar bill kept its value.”

Another member of the Grinnell community, who wished to remain anonymous, added an important point about how self-worth shouldn’t be a competition. “You want to be … not better than. Don’t go for better than, because nobody is better than anyone else. Say ‘I’m as good as anyone else.’”

Han pushed further to the topic of real-world application. “A very secure person [who loves themselves] is vocal through their actions.”

Catherine Cuddy ’19 built on Han’s model of personal security-then-action by contributing her personal experience.

“I started to focus on a system. For every negative thought I had, I would force myself to recognize something positive. … [Negative thoughts] would still come to my mind, but I would make a deliberate effort to not stay them aloud. After a few months of really pushing it, I was able to change my inner monologue so it was more positive. It has really helped overall with my ability to feel confident all the time.”

But what do those methods look like for each person? Could you write a comprehensive step-by-step WikiHow

guide (with pictures!) to achieve selflove? John McNamara ’18 agreed that Self-Love is entirely based on one’s circumstances.

“Self-Love is taking care of myself at a base level and working my way slowly up to more complex tasks. For example, taking a shower leads to being more motivated leads to getting a paper done!”

Self-Love’s feeling of “satisfaction” occurs at the chemical level for everyone, but the pathway to that chemical release varies greatly across social, ideological, and cultural borders. The crux I found in this week’s five-person discussion was this philosophical kernel: Self-Love is understanding that you have inherent worth as a human being, independent of anyone else’s achievements. If I could make a personal plug, let me say this: you are worth it.

Go enjoy life the way you want to.

Letter to the Editor: Parent's Weekend I have been living in residence halls for seven years, four of which were in my home country, where my family lived an hour away. However, I never invited my family to parents’ weekend, open houses or parent-teacher conferences. The only time my mom saw my residence hall since freshmen movein day was my graduation. This is not because I didn’t love my family or that they’re not involved, but I just didn’t see the value in it. For one, my mom doesn’t speak English, and as my classes were conducted all in English, there was no point for her to sit in on my classes.

As the years went on, I went from being indifferent to parents’ weekend to resenting it. Parents’ weekend exemplified for me the flaws of an elite private education. First, I realized that parents’ weekend is a performance. Parents have to pretend to be interested in the calculus class their kid is taking. The child puts on a good student façade: wears jeans and a blouse rather than their usual pajamas, introduces their parents to their professors and friends, etc. The institu-

tion also puts on a performance as well.

It is well known that during the weekend Dining Hall food is better, there are cool events and lots of talk about wellness.

So for me, there is something unsettling about the performance aspect of parents’ weekend, the façade that masks some real aspects of the student’s lives.

Second, the weekend amplifies the trend that private educations are modeled like a business where students and families are treated like customers. This module, facilitated by the cost of sending kids to expensive elite institutions, produces a sense of entitlement that some parents have to be involved in the decision making. For my high school this meant a committee of parents regularly made suggestions to the school that made our lives considerably more difficult. Additionally, last Friday I saw this sense of entitlement manifest in the parent’s interactions at Grinnell. When I saw a friend on break from her Spencer Grill shift eating dinner at 8:30 p.m., I sat down with her and we chatted a little bit. After a few minutes a man walked up to her and said,

The Scarlet & Black Staff Editors-in-Chief Managing Editor News Editors Features Editor Sports Editor Arts Editor Community Editor Opinions Editor Copy Editors Photo Editor Graphics Editor Business Manager Honorary Editor

Teresa Fleming Eva Lilienfeld Steve Yang Michael Cummings Emma Friedlander Lily Bohlke Candace Mettle Nora Coghlan Louise Carhart Jon Sundby Mira Braneck Keli Vitaioli Jeff Li Lica Ishida Jenny Dong Joy Sales

“Did you put our orders through?” It was evident that he was a parent sitting at the Grill with his wife and son. There was some mistake with the order, but all was straightened out and the family did get their order. What stunned me was how the father interacted with the student worker. There seemed to be sense of entitlement and annoyance in how he talked with my friend and the other workers.

His behavior not only as a parent, but also as a white male towards students

of color made me very uncomfortable.

I wondered why a customer would feel so entitled that they can come up to an employee during her break? And more importantly, why would a parent talk to a student, their child’s peer, that way?

Third, I resent parents’ weekend because once I came to the States I realized that I could no longer choose whether to invite my parents or not. The absence of choice and not having my family 40 minutes away bothers me at times. But

I’m not known to be the warm and fuzzy type. I don’t weep about it because I know it is part of a choice I made to study 12,000 kilometers away. So it doesn’t help that whenever a friend introduces me to their parent they engage with me in a pitiful tone. I know that they mean well by acknowledging my geographical distance, but it frustrates me that they think they can comprehend the actuality of my situation or my capabilities of dealing with it.

Finally, this article is not intended to diminish or dismiss the work that this community does to support international students. Just this weekend, a staff member invited me to join her family at the ice cream social. Those moments of connection help me appreciate the intentions of the weekend. It also not intended to speak for all international students. It will be naïve to assume that international students, even those from the same country, have the same experiences.

-Farah Omar '18 is an international student from Somaliland.

SPARC Policy The Scarlet & Black is published on Fridays by students of Grinnell College and is printed by Times Republican of Marshalltown.

The newspaper is funded in part by the Student Publications and Radio Committee (SPARC) and also relies on advertising revenue to cover operating costs. All publications funded by SPARC are copyright of SPARC and cannot be reproduced elsewhere without specific written consent from SPARC. Contributions The Scarlet & Black welcomes story ideas from students, faculty and other members of the town and college community. If there is any story that should be covered, please email newspapr@grinnell.edu or visit thesandb.com Send letters to the editor via email at newspapr@grinnell.edu or mail them to Box 5886. The author’s name must be included, but letters can be published anonymously in certain occasions. Letters will be printed at the discretion of the editor. The opinions expressed in this section do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff. The S&B reserves the right to edit any and all submissions.

Advertising Advertising inquiries should be directed to the business manager, Jenny Dong, who can be reached at sandbads@ grinnell.edu or by mail at 1115 8th Avenue Grinnell College Box 5886, Grinnell, IA 50112.

the

Back Page

"The best thing since the front page!"

Volume 133, Issue 5

Photo of the Week

thesandb.com

Got a backpage-worthy photo? Submit it to [sundbyjo17] and earn $5 for contributing a winner!

Precipice Lake glistens in the backcountry of Sequoia National Park.

Arbitrary Analysis Pub Quiz Winners

Kites

This week, Louise Carhart '17 and Nora Coghlan '17 polled students asking: Parent's Weekend or Alumni Weekend

JRC

4 p.m. Julien Goldberger Film Screening @ JRC 101 5 p.m. Mid-Autumn Festival with CSA @ Harris 7:30 p.m. Zo Manfredi Violin Recital @ Sebring-Lewis

ARH

Staff Shoutout

or

Shoutout to Steven GruberMiller '15, for the gift of friendship and soft drinks. You'll forever be our EIC.

@thesandb /thescarletandblack thesandb.com @newspapr

Students speak about what’s on their minds in 100 words or fewer, and you’re invited! If you have a rant or a rave, email it to [sundbyjo17]

Stranger Things and Parks and Rec crossover: I die

I just want to enjoy the great outdoors

I lost my shit this week when Ben Schwartz (Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on Parks and Recreation) posted an Instagram video with his biological father, Steve from Stranger Things.

From the first moments of my binge-watching Stranger Things over the summer, I was obsessed with the likeness between these two ridiculous men. That the internet confirmed my favorite TV show crossover theory confirms my undying love for everything that is media.

Can we just take a moment to talk about these little wannabe-mosquito flies?

No. No you little gnat looking thing. Stay off.

We are not friends and you are the bane of my exsistence.

I'm just trying to enjoy the remaining warm days before winter hits and you're all really putting a crutch on my life.

Emma "What about Barb?" Friedlander '18

Friday

Saturday​

check us out:

Rants & Raves:

Social Calendar

4:15 p.m. Fall Forum on Global Engagement @ Burling Library 7 p.m. Watch "Howl's Moving Castle" with AAA @ ARH 302 7:30 p.m. Grinnell Jazz Ensemble plays John Coltrane @ Herrick Chapel 9 p.m. Azizi Gibson and Adamn Killa @ Gardner

2. Pubic Undercut 3. Lawrence of my Labia

Like what you see?

Blowhorns at 8 a.m.

Frisbees

Snedge

1. The Fempire Strikes

Back

ALEXANDER MOHN

Thanks Blair Kamin!

Going to a school without a formal journalism pogram means most of our learning comes from activities like The S&B and visitors coming to campus. Getting the opportunity to listen to the Chicago Tribune's Architecture Critic Blair Kamin and talk with him afterwards was incredible. It must be tough to remain humble and helpful for young journalists when you have a Pulitzer, Respect my space and I won't squish you. but he made it work!

That's all I'm saying.

Eva Lilienfeld '17 Jenny "Lets negotiate your life" Dong '17

Etc.

my sweet old etcetera aunt lucy during the recent war could and what is more did tell you just what everybody was fighting for, my sister Isabel created hundreds (and hundreds)of socks not to mention fleaproof earwarmers etcetera wristers etcetera, my mother hoped that I would die etcetera bravely of course my father used to become hoarse talking about how it was a privilege and if only he could meanwhile my self etcetera lay quietly in the deep mud et cetera (dreaming, etcetera, of Your smile eyes knees and of your Etcetera)