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Scarlet & Black Volume 134, Issue 7
October 6, 2017 • Grinnell, Iowa
thesandb.com
Community questions College's relationship with NRA president
By Alice Herman and Candace Mettle hermanal17@grinnell.edu, mettleca@grinnell.edu In the wake of the most deadly mass-shooting in U.S. history, community members of both the City of Grinnell and the College mourned the deaths of 59 concertgoers in Las Vegas, Nevada. Concerned residents representing the College and the City have encouraged a frank community discussion on gun rights and violence. Discussions are particularly relevant locally as Pete Brownell, current president of the NRA and CEO of the gun retailer Brownells, acts as a major benefactor of College and community programs and organizations. The NRA has attracted controversy in light of the country’s ongoing and polarizing gun control debate. Over the summer, the association received criticism after putting out a commercial that denounced the political left as “violent” and “lying.” More recently, the NRA backed the Sportsman’s Heritage and Recreation and Enhancement Act (SHARE), a bill that includes a provision to ease restrictions on the purchase of gun silencers. The question of silencers has also been an object of debate following the deadly shooting in Las Vegas last week. The NRA’s influence in legislation began in the 1970s when they created their own political action committee (PAC) to fund
CONTRIBUTED
Brownells is located off of I-80, a few miles from Grinnell.
individual legislators and has increased since. The organization defends a literal interpretation of the Second Amendment and has worked to resist gun control efforts following incidents such as the Las Vegas, Sandy Hook and Aurora shootings. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the first Supreme Court case to decide if the Second Amendment allows an individual to keep and bear arms for self-defense, and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), which addressed the state’s rights regarding the right to bear arms, have also galvanized the NRA. Brownell, who sat on the NRA’s board of directors and assumed the position of NRA president in May 2017, enjoys the status of a
“Golden Ring of Freedom” member, a privilege reserved for donors contributing at least one million dollars to the association. Among other acts of local philanthropy, Brownell has funded libraries, the Grinnell Area Arts Council and a child care center. Brownell has not donated exclusively to organizations run by Grinnell community members, however. Adam Laug, Director of Development at the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, wrote in an email to The S&B that “[m]ost recently, the Redmond/ Brownell family has supported the Ignite program.” Pete Brownell also sat on the board of judges for “Pioneer Weekend,” a student
innovation competition. According to Laug, “[t]he College does not share specific gift amounts to protect donors’ privacy and confidentiality unless the donor has approved a gift announcement from the College,” so the size of Brownell family donations is unclear. The College, additionally, has the right to deny gift donations with the guidance of the Gift Acceptance Policy. As their policy states, the College can only accept gifts that can benefit the college and “are in the philanthropic interest of the donor.” An unsubstantiated report available on the NRA’s website emphasizes Brownell’s close relationship with the College, stating that “Pete volunteered to lecture
on Second Amendment issues [at Grinnell College] and, in time, managed to start a shooting club on campus.” The report goes on to describe faculty members on the shooting range: “the majority of the faculty left Brownell’s property giddy with excitement over having actually fired a real handgun. Today these same educators are regulars at the range. The newly committed gun owners have been known to take their guns with them when they return to New York for civic events.” The S&B reached out to President Raynard Kington for a statement on the matter of Brownell donations, but he was not available for comment. The Rev. Wendy Abrahamson of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Grinnell, and a registered lobbyist for the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, has reached out to Brownell for a meeting regarding Brownell’s position at the NRA. Abrahamson, along with Cameron Barr, pastor of United Church of Christ, hope to speak with Brownell to determine his position on gun violence and to build a relationship that can lead to heightened gun safety. “I think as president [of the NRA], he’s in a unique position to speak up,” Abrahamson said. “If he’s president and doesn’t agree with where the organization is, there’s a dissonance there. … The NRA seems to be putting [gun regulations] as all or nothing which is just not >> See Brownell's page 2
Grinnell Prize winner Gina Clayton works Task Force discusses Collegewith women to end mass incarceration owned Poweshiek Petroleum Corporation By Jackson Schulte schultej@grinnell.edu
ANDREW TUCKER
Gina Clayton accepted the Grinnell Prize last week and spoke about her work with Essie Justice Group. By Kate Irwin irwinkat@grinnell.edu Gina Clayton was awarded the Grinnell Prize on Oct. 3, 2017 for her social justice work in founding the Essie Justice Group, an organization Clayton started that supports women with incarcerated loved ones and assists them in mobilizing to reform the criminal justice system. Clayton founded Essie Justice Group in May of 2014. The $100,000 Grinnell Prize is the largest award given by any college in the United States in recognition of social justice. One in four women have a family member in prison, meaning that they are on their own raising children and supporting themselves while facing stigma. This number is even higher for minorities; one in two black women has a loved one in prison. "What we know is that women are not just incredibly hard-hit financially, but hard-hit socially and emotionally, and that has led to the isolation and silencing of millions and millions of black women," Clayton said. The origins of the Essie Justice Group arose from Clayton's personal experience having a loved one who is incarcerated. She also worked in New York where she helped women who faced eviction due to family members or guests being involved in criminal matters, whether that be an accusation or a conviction. These two experiences inspired her to make a difference. Friday Homeless Awareness Night Central Campus Stage, 4:30 p.m.
"I was taking on these cases and began to see my own experience in the lives of women who came through my office door every day. I began to develop a real passion and love for the potential of this collective community," Clayton said in an interview with Iowa Public Radio. "I saw just how powerful these women were. They were expert navigators of the complex systems of oppression, they were fierce advocates for family members and they were deeply invested in seeing the criminal justice system changed, so what better group to engage as we work to build movements of directly impacted people than women with incarcerated loved ones," Clayton said. The Essie Justice Group uses a healing-to-advocacy model in its nine-week program. The process starts with letters received from incarcerated men who nominate their family members to become part of this organization. The Essie Justice Group calls the nominated women and reads them the letter over the phone and invites the women to an information session where they can learn about the three pillars of the program: advocating for self, family and community. At the completion of the nineweek program, there is a graduation. Women are introduced to a wider community and also invited to take a pledge that allows graduates to become part of the Essie Sisterhood, the membership base. "The pledge is to break isolation
and invisibility of women with incarcerated loved ones, starting with myself," Clayton said. The isolation-breaking component of the pledge involves women speaking to men and women in prisons and jails about their experiences, doing peer support or helping to run another Essie group. For the invisibility-breaking component, women can speak with politicians and advocate for policy change or reform, publish their experiences or simply share their stories by word of mouth. Clayton has created the five Essie Essentials to help foster a strong community: “we show up for sisterhood,” “my language not the system's,” “my story is my story; her story is her story,” “I belong here and so does she” and “I know what I carry.” "We use those to acculturate a course of values into our community so that when you come into our space it looks and feels different. It looks and feels loving. … It looks like intimate relationships with other people that form bonds of trust from which you can go and take risks," Clayton said. Clayton hopes to expand her organization to other states. "Social change requires that large numbers of people put themselves and their resources on the line, and it's an incredibly unfair thing to ask women with incarcerated loved ones to do that ... The only way that will happen ... is by providing community, by providing a support system," Clayton said.
Friday Moon Festival Harris Center Concert Hall, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday Latin American Festival Bucksbaum, 6:00 p.m.
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As the College’s Fossil Fuel and Climate Impact Task Force and the Board of Trustees wrap up their meetings this week, participants acknowledged the College’s need to address its carbon footprint, the way the endowment supports the fossil fuel industry and the College’s rights to profitable oil extraction in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Michael Kahn ’74, a trustee and head of the task force, discussed the College’s mineral rights during the third session of open discussions held by the task force. Kahn explained that when Fred Darby, an oil tycoon who graduated in the class of 1895, died, he donated 5 million dollars to the College. “Darby’s estate bequest included mineral rights. Grinnell’s investment team highlighted these mineral rights as part of our endowment fossil fuel holdings during their September 19th presentation,” Kahn wrote in an email to The S&B. “Currently, the College operates these mineral rights through a holding company called Poweshiek Petroleum Corporation (PPC).” In his email, Kahn noted that, while called a “Petroleum
Corporation,” the PPC is technically not an oil company, and thus goes untaxed. “[Poweshiek Petroleum Corporation] is not actually an oil company at all, though it is associated with oil rights. … It is very important that Grinnell College maintain its tax exempt status and some of the holdings in the Darby bequest are taxable assets. So Poweshiek Petroleum was set up to house these taxable mineral rights assets in order to keep these taxable assets separate from our non-taxable assets.” Andrew Choquette ’00, director of investments, also noted in an email to The S&B that “[t]he mineral rights held in Poweshiek Petroleum are certainly tied to oil and gas extraction. The distinction though is that Poweshiek Petroleum is a holding company for those rights versus an operating company where the College is making operational decisions.” Nonetheless, the College profits from the mineral rights by leasing them to energy companies. According to Mineral Holders, a database of mineral rights leases in Texas, the College leases its mineral rights to several energy companies, including >> See Fossil Fuels, page 2
VERONICA THOMAS
Michael Kahn, head of the Fossil Fuels and Climate Impact Task Force, visited the College this week. Tuesday Speaker: Lee DeHaan JRC 101, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday Iowa Attorney General Office Presents... JRC 101, 2:00 p.m.
Arts 3 | Features 5 | Sports 6 | Community 7 | Opinions 9
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News
Edited by hermanal17@grinnell.edu & mettleca@grinnell.edu
Grinnell Police Department, College administration explain process for drug offenses
HELENA GRUENSTEIDL
Dennis Reilly, Chief of Police, has served in his position for six years. By Candace Mettle mettleca@grinnell.edu The Grinnell Police Department (GPD) found that all officers on scene, including officer Ben Gray, complied with department protocols during the on-campus arrest of a Grinnell College student over Labor Day weekend. As such, Gray and the other officers involved will not face any disciplinary actions. Police officers saw the student holding a container of beer between 6th Avenue and High Street. The student ran from the police, but was detained in the south campus loggia. Video of the arrest circulated on social media platforms, where many who saw the arrest firsthand or on video felt concerned by the rough handling of the student. GPD's Dennis Reilly, chief of police, outlined three types of engagements police officers have with civilians. One is voluntary, in which both the officer and the civilian agree to some type of interaction that is not necessarily related to criminal activity or requires the use of force by the officer. A voluntary interaction can take form as a conversation, or for a College-specific example, eating in the Dining Hall with students. Officers use voluntary interactions to instill trust in the communities they serve.
The second form of engagement is a “stop,” which occurs when an officer sees criminal or suspicious activity. The officer can use force if needed to detain the person, but the person stopped by the police has no obligation to talk to the officer. The third and last type of engagement is arrest. “I have to make sure that I am issuing commands that are stern and clear and send a message to them that they need to go with what I’m saying,” Reilly said. “If they have a complaint or not feel that things were handled appropriately, they can always address them later on. But in that moment, if they are being stopped or detained by law enforcement, they’re required to comply. ” Like all police departments, GPD has an internal affairs department that accepts reported complaints on alleged misconduct made by any concerned person. Depending on the nature of the complaint, it will be assigned to someone within the department to investigate and present the findings and recommendations to Chief Reilly as sustained, not sustained, confounded, exonerated or policy failure and administratively closed. When the complaints are sustained, Chief Reilly administers discipline based on several factors such as the officer’s history,
productivity level and “potential for civil liability.” “We internally initiate more internal affairs investigations every year than are initiated from the public,” Reilly said. “I think we do a very good job of policing ourselves and when a supervisor or somebody from within sees something that may not be right, certainly we look at it.” The College can coach students, faculty and staff on the how to file a complaint regarding an officer, or can relay the concerns directly to the police. Chief Reilly and Andrea Conner, assistant dean of student affairs, believe that the police and the College have a strong relationship. Yet, the relationship does not cause the police to treat the College differently than any other local organization. The relationship allows for transparency and accountability regarding student, faculty and staff conduct and assistance. “Quite frankly, the College could disappear tomorrow, and GPD will have plenty of things to do,” Reilley said. “The College is really not a big blip on our radar. Officers don’t look forward to an alcohol-related incident with a student and getting tied up with that when we have other things going on in town as well.” Reilly spoke as well about the oncampus processes enacted for alcohol violations. According to Conner, since all College staff members are over 21 years old, they may handle alcohol violations in a non-punitive, internal manner. Hence, staff members will not be implicated in illegal activity or require police training to set actions considering underage alcohol use. However, the criminal process can concur with College processes. “Our [College] processes have often been quicker because we don’t have all of the red tape, so we can usually resolve things faster so students can get back to being students,” said Sarah Moschenross, dean of students. “All of our conduct processes are meant to be educational.
Fall Festival offers improvement after last year's piloted program to replace Frisbee-sponsored10/10 By Carter Howe howethom@grinnell.edu This year’s Fall Fest, an event that started last year to replace the annual 10/10 celebration, will take place this Saturday, Oct. 7 and feature a wide range of events, including many more activities geared toward college students than at last year’s event. There are activities scheduled throughout the day at different locations across campus, which is meant to replicate the movement aspect of 10/10 that many students enjoyed. Among other activities planned are lawn games and a set of free food for students by the athletic complex in the early afternoon to coincide with the football and volleyball games, food trucks, live music and massages by the commencement stage later in the day, a “Fall Feast” at the dining hall and performances by rapper CupcakKe and an alumni DJ later at night at the Harris Center. At the same time as the Harris party, there will also be laser tag, zorbs (human-sized hamster balls) and a movie with snacks in the Bear for students that may want a less intense experience.
"To us, this came as an admission that the administration would rather leave students to their own devices with no support while funding events that … won't stop people drinking" Anonymous Frisbee team member Though last year’s event was somewhat successful in reducing some of the destructive effects that both students and administrators associated with 10/10 — no arrests were reported that night — it did not do enough to provide college students with fun events to replace the festivities of 10/10, acknowledged Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Conner.
“Last year didn’t go far enough in choosing actual fun things for college students. Frankly, I feel like the faculty and staff kids that came had more fun [so] … in the first year in some ways, we feel we did interrupt the dangerous behaviors that we were seeing with 10/10, but we didn’t yet build anything that people would want to come back,” Conner said. Another criticism students had of last year’s Fall Fest — and about the cancellation of 10/10 in general — was the lack of student input involved in its planning. This year, Conner said there was much more student involvement, with a committee of dozens of students helping to plan the event and decisions about which activities to include being made using data from a survey sent to students. “The feedback that we got was actually sort of directly translated into making sure we had outdoor music, making sure we had indoor music, making sure there was an opportunity to dance, and food trucks also ranked really highly, and we have those for the afternoon … so yeah I feel really great about the student input that we got through the survey,” Conner said. Absent from the planning committee, however, were members of the Frisbee team, the traditional organizers of 10/10 in the past. “For this year, honestly none of the leadership had time to be involved with ‘Fall Fest’ and none felt compelled to join in,” wrote an anonymous member of the Frisbee leadership in an email to The S&B. Frisbee leadership also believes the administration has not done enough to support off campus 10/10 celebrations as they believe many students will choose to continue the 10/10 tradition off-campus instead of participating in the on-campus Fall Fest activities. After petitioning SGA for funding to provide food and “rescue dogs” — student volunteers who make sure partygoers are safe during the night — Frisbee leaders were denied and told they would also not be officially allowed to sell t-shirts to fund their event.
“To us, this came as an admission that the administration would rather leave students to their own devices with no support while funding events that … won't stop people drinking than give us a little bit of funding to improve the safety of an event that has been pushed to a more unsafe location,” the anonymous member of Frisbee leadership wrote. The Department of Student Affairs hosted a harm reduction workshop earlier in the week for off campus party hosts, however, and the Frisbee leadership appreciates this guidance from the administration and affirmation that students can be responsible party hosts.
"We hope that Fall Fest grows and grows each year and gets better and better and more fun and it becomes something that people look forward to.” Andrea Conner, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs “There was a very comprehensive active bystander and offcampus safety presentation given by Jen Jacobsen this week, giving off campus houses concrete tools to make party environments safer. This is absolutely in the spirit of 10/10 and we greatly appreciated being recognized as students capable of organizing and having fun in safe ways,” the member of Frisbee leadership wrote. Ultimately, Conner said, though many students enjoyed 10/10, she hopes that Fall Fest will become a new tradition for Grinnellians, one that is not built around alcohol. “When you said like what are the traditions that you remember most about Grinnell, they would say 10/10. … It’s troublesome that the fondest memories are these giant drinking parties,” Conner said. “We hope that Fall Fest grows and grows each year and gets better and better and more fun and it becomes something that people look
We don’t think a punitive system is a socially-just way in responding because it disproportionately harms students in low income brackets, and I also don’t think it’s terribly effective. Educational responses are much more effective, especially in a self-governing community.” The College employs the nationally-recognized Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS) program in its dealings with alcohol use by Grinnell-affiliated individuals on and off-campus. Moschenross determines which cases are sent to which processes, depending on the level of severity. Serious cases which may require suspension or dismissal will be sent to the College Hearing Board, a committee that consists of one faculty member, one staff member and one student. Judicial Council (JudCo), an educational disciplinary committee, hears middlelevel offenses where suspension is the most serious outcome. Suspension remains on the student’s transcript until the suspension expires, but the student’s eligibility for on-campus programs is removed in consequence of a suspension-level offense. For first alcohol offenses, students go through the BASICS program. As part of the program, students follow a “readiness to change” model to determine the best resolution for themselves. Last year, the College piloted the same program for first offenses regarding marijuana, with positive results. Second offenses might require another BASICS program, a JudCo hearing or a substance abuse recovery program. Nonetheless, everything must happen with the consent and confidence of the student. “Students will self-select the option that’s in their best [interest] . We really try to tailor our response to the individual, to what they actually really need. If they continue to struggle, we again keep tailoring our response,” Moschenross said.
Brownell's connection to the College raises concerns Continued from Front Page true — you can have sensible gun regulations and still let people have guns.” Although Abrahamson and Barr contacted Brownell as religious leaders, Abrahamson noted that her concern about the NRA’s efforts to prevent gun safety legislation was not only a religious one. Her identities as an American, as an Iowan and as a person who has lost a family member to gun violence have informed her vocal stance on the issue. However, Abrahamson also admits that there are difficulties inherent in such activism, especially in a town in which the Brownells are so involved. When she realized that some organizations of which she was a part had accepted money from the Brownells, Abrahamson quietly gave up her positions within them, rather than advocating for the organizations to divest, knowing that the organizations depended on Brownell’s donations. “[I]f you have enjoyed any of the things we like to enjoy here — and a lot of those things that we all talk about why Grinnell is so great — the Brownells have been a part of the financial support,” Abrahamson said. “So in terms of organizing, anyone who’s going to organize [has] to have some humility about it because you’ve received gifts from the Brownell family.” Neither Brownell nor representatives from Brownells responded to The S&B’s requests for a statement on gun violence and regulation.
Task force discusses College's mineral rights Continued from Front Page Chevron, ConocoPhillips and many more. “Other entities are doing the extraction and the College does not make any operational decisions related to the rights. The College does, though, have the ability to make the decision to sell these rights,” Choquette wrote. Choquette revealed that the College made $710,285 from assets held in Poweshiek Petroleum from fiscal years 2005 through 2017. In fiscal year 2015, it was estimated that the carbon footprint from the College’s mineral rights was roughly 1,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The major hurdle the College would have to address in getting rid of its mineral rights is a financial loss. “One issue highlighted by the investment team is that nobody gets fair market value for mineral rights, so any decision to divest these assets would mean certain loss of income to the College,” Kahn wrote.
"There are many shared social values that we all have. If we had to purify our endowment from all those things that we might take offense at, it could well mean fundamentally changing what Grinnell College is, who can come here, financially..." Michael Kahn, Head of the Fossil Fuels and Climate Impact Task Force In the Fossil Fuels and Climate Impact Task Force’s dialogue sessions in September, a member of the audience asked whether the College could keep the mineral rights but leave the fossil fuels in the ground, preventing any potential buyers from extracting the fossil fuels from the Earth. “The thing that we have to always try to balance is the revenue to the school and the ability to provide an education and support the operating budget,” Choquette responded at the
session. Another audience member asked whether Poweshiek Petroleum could switch its direction and create renewable energy on the land that stores the mineral rights, given topographical viability. “That’s an idea. … The mineral rights are scattered all over the country. If it were just one oil field it might be a little easier to handle, but, you know, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas — that’s a lot of different properties,” responded Angela Clement, associate director of investments. “There are many shared social values that we all have. If we had to purify our endowment from all those things that we might take offense at, it could well mean fundamentally changing what Grinnell College is, who can come here, financially, and many, many other things. This task force exists because we think [the College’s investment in fossil fuels] does merit serious examination,” Kahn said during a September session. In the immediate future, the Fossil Fuel and Climate Impact Task Force will face tough choices regarding the mineral rights. Professor Wayne Moyer, political science and member of the task force, said that the trustees must be transparent when discussing the mineral rights. “There was no effort to conceal anything to anybody. The trustees conveyed that [the mineral rights are] an issue they want to deal with,” said Professor Wayne Moyer, political science and member of the task force. “This is an issue they have to address. … And they have to be public about it. My sense is they haven’t made any final decisions.” Kahn concluded his email with a reminder to Grinnellians that “[t]he three task force trustees are after all Grinnellians who care deeply about environmental issues and want to see the College we love make a difference in addressing the impacts of climate change.” Going forward, it will be important for the Grinnell College community to stay on top of the task force’s agenda and reach out with questions and concerns. Suggestions and feedback for the task force can be sent to fossilfuels@grinnell.edu.
Arts Frozen tundra comes to Grinnell in "Nice Fish"
Edited by vitaioli@grinnell.edu
By Amanda Weber weberama@grinnell.edu This weekend, the Grinnell College Theatre Department is putting on a production of the play “Nice Fish” by Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins. The S&B got the chance to attend a tech rehearsal and speak to director Professor Ellen Mease and cast member Joseph Robertson ’19 about the production. The plot of “Nice Fish,” an absurdist comedy in the style of Samuel Beckett, revolves around two old friends ice fishing on a lake in Minnesota. The friends discuss love, mortality and the meaning of life, all while battling storms and desperately seeking a nice fish. “It’s the span of a whole life that’s being depicted in this single day on the ice, with the catastrophe of the storm bringing up essential aspects of the human condition,” Mease said. Written by lauded Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance, “Nice Fish” was heavily influenced by and contains the work of prose poet Louis Jenkins. It made its world premiere at St. Ann’s Warehouse in February of 2016, and now has come to the College for its first Grinnell treatment. Mease is intimately acquainted with the play, as she is a personal friend of Jenkins and has been an audience member at a number of the play’s premieres. Her familiarity with the play and its poet, and the similarities she saw between the Midwestern atmosphere of the play and Grinnell’s own Midwestern vastness, led her to choose “Nice Fish” for the College. She hopes to be as true to the original vision of the play as possible. “There is no directorial innovation here. I’m doing the play as carefully and honestly as it can be done,” Mease said. According to Mease, challenges faced during the rehearsal process have mainly included dealing with the less-than-ideal acoustics in Roberts Theatre and ensuring that the actors are all word-perfect on their poetic monologues. Inflection, Mease believes, should be perfect, as the actors typically only get one shot to present the best possible version of the play to their audience. “We get to study the script. We get to repeat, repeat, repeat, which is what rehearsal is. But the audience only hears it once,” Mease said. In order to ensure that the final product is as polished as possible,
By Kelly Page pagekell@grinnell.edu
HELENA GRUENSTEIDL
Cast members of "Nice Fish" from left to right: Liam Stowe '19, Christina Collins '21, Reed Roffis '18 and Joseph Robertson '19 rehearse for opening night. the rehearsal process has been rigorous. The cast met Sundays through Thursdays for three and a half hours every day. However, there was enjoyment to be found amongst the stress. “It’s just so magical when the lighting and the sound design comes in during tech week,” Robertson said. “It can be a little tedious to have to stop-go, stop-go, but when everyone is on top of their lines and everything is moving smoothly, it’s just a really beautiful, dynamic form of art that’s taking place.” A good portion of the artistry of the show manifests itself in the effects and set as well. The theater is experimenting with some new effects, from a bluescreen to a shoreline that bobs in the background to a mechanized, flopping fish imported from the Guthrie. Furthermore, the entire stage has been transformed into a frozen, snow-dusted lake, making the barren, cold atmosphere of the play all the more convincing. Fortunately, the show is populated by characters colorful enough to keep the desolate tundra engaging. The show’s two focal characters, aging fishermen Erik and Ron, played by Reed Roffis ’18 and Robertson respectively, artfully play off of one another. Erik, cynical and serious, ruminates on life’s heavier
Swarna Chitrakar speaks on Patachitra
By Hallela Hinton-Williams hintonwi@grinnell.edu
Artist Swarna Chitrakar impressed the Grinnell College community with beautiful singing and descriptive and stunning artwork during her gallery talk on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in the Faulconer Gallery. The event was the latest in a series of talks held in Faulconer’s current exhibition, “Many Visions, Many Versions,” which features contemporary indigenous Indian art. The audience got a small taste of her work, which utilizes the art form “patachitra,” a unique folk tradition of storytelling. Patachitra consists of beautifully painted scrolls accompanied by songs to describe the scene, a long tradition in India. The painters, known as Chitrakars or Patuas, travel with the pata, or cloth paintings, and perform the story and song to other villages. The work is “the beginning of modern animation,” Chitrakar related through translator Suravi Sarkar. Traditionally, the stories are mythological tales about Ramayana, Mahabharata and Mangal Kavyas, among many more. After being advised to terminate the pregnancy of her child in case it was a girl in her personal life, Chitrakar decided to integrate women’s rights, social issues and symbols of woman’s power into her work. She also has scrolls dealing with the tsunami and HIV. “I like to paint the Hindu goddess Durga. Durga has the power to protect people and their children. She is an idol for many Bengalis. It is a symbol of embalmment,” Chitrakar said. Chitrakar began this tradition at a young age by helping her father, another Patua, with the sight part of the
CupcakKe brings femme, sex-plicit hip-hop
scroll. When her father would take a break, Chitrakar would mix the colors and fill the figures in. Helping her father shaped Chitrakar into an impressive Patua and allowed her to prevent “patachitra” from declining. The stories are recounted only orally, so, for a bit of time, “patachitra” was a revivalist art form. “The younger generation didn’t want to pursue this art form because of less exposure and decrease in compensation. But since 2004, there has been an intervention of various organizations, such as Banglanatak, and galleries that have turned it to a living tradition.” Chitrakar said. This living tradition needs to be sustained for a lot longer. Without people to take up “patachitra,” a significant part of a culture could be lost. As Sarkar related about Chitrakar, “It’s not her story, but the story of her village.” To leave a legacy is why Chitrakar is training her five daughters and teaching the younger adults and children of her village. She also participates in residencies at colleges to teach students about the mythological stories and the process of “patachitra.” Chitrakar and other Patuas in the village Pingla host a festival, POT Maya, that allows tourists, fellow artists and community members to interact with artists, learn how to extract natural colors and visit the community museum, the Folk Art Centre. Learn more about Swarna Chitrakar, scroll painting and storytelling at Fall Fest, this Saturday Oct. 7, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. “Many Visions, Many Versions,” which features Swarna’s work along with twenty-four other artists, will be on display in Faulconer Gallery until Dec. 10.
burdens, but is offset by the childish humor of Robertson’s Ron. “I love how Ron is either completely focused on something nonsensical or completely open to the whole universe in all of its wonder and never anywhere in between,” Robertson said. “He’s either obsessing over the snowman’s nose or he’s contemplating love.” All of these factors result in a light-hearted, comedic and surreal performance punctuated by moments of poignancy and sincerity. On the whole, Grinnell’s production of “Nice Fish” provides an authentic reflection of Jenkins’ original poems and Rylance’s subsequent adaptation, capturing a mood that is funny, moving and genuine — just like life. In the play’s program, Mease conveys what she wants audiences to take from the show: “What the play gives us … is the gift and sheer pleasure of laughter. Might as well laugh, in spite of everything.” Showings of “Nice Fish” will take place on Oct. 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. in Bucksbaum’s Roberts Theatre, and have an approximately 100 minute run time. For those interested in learning more about Louis Jenkins and hearing more of his poetry, he will be speaking at 4:15 pm on Oct. 6 in Roberts Theatre.
She’s unique, she’s unapologetic, her fans call themselves “slurpers” and she’s coming to Grinnell this weekend. Get ready to see rapper CupcakKe, who will be taking Harris Center by storm at 10 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 7. Having grown up in Chicago, CupcakKe started rapping after a member of her church encouraged her to turn her poetry into music. A few years later her songs “Deepthroat” and “Vagina” went viral for their lyrics that bulldoze sexual taboos with a sense of humor and unabashed confidence. In 2016, she released her mixtape “Cum Cake,” which Pitchfork called “a well-rounded introduction from a skilled writer” and established her as a rapper to watch out for. CupcakKe also gained attention through Twitter and Instagram where her sense of humor has gained thousands of likes and retweets. Since “Cum Cake,” CupcakKe has released another mixtape, “S.T.D. (Shelters To Deltas),” and studio albums “Audacious” and “Queen Elizabitch,” the second of which refers to her birth name Elizabeth. In her two years of releasing music, CupcakKe has made a name for herself by turning portrayals of female sexuality on their heads in a way that is bold and empowering. Songs like “CPR” and “Spider-Man Dick” show her approaching sex in a way that is
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gross, hilarious and completely on her own terms. With nonstop puns, metaphors, descriptions and sound effects, listening to these songs are an experience like no other. Nothing is off-limits when CupcakKe has the mic. Beyond the intense sex positivity she is often known for, CupcakKe’s songs often also deal with major struggles and social ills. In songs about sexual assault, police brutality and poverty, CupcakKe continually spreads messages of empowerment. On her most recent album, “Queen Elizabitch,” she fights unrealistic beauty standards for women in “Biggie Smalls,” confronts slut shaming in “33rd” and shares lessons learned from a difficult childhood in the a cappella track “Reality Pt. 4.” Most recently, CupcakKe released the track “Exit” on Sept. 15, which illustrates the process of telling a significant other to exit her life after cheating on her, over music that is danceable and energetic. CupcakKe constantly asserts herself with confidence and refuses to let anyone stop her. CupcakKe’s concert is one of the most highly anticipated at Grinnell this semester, and for good reason. She is a rapper like no other, portraying sexuality without fear and helping fans find hope with her sense of humor and uplifting lyrics. At only twenty years old, CupcakKe is only getting started in her career, and it will be excited to see what she does next. This show is definitely not to miss.
STEVEN DUONG
CupcakKe is a hip-hop revolutionary at only 20 years old. She's set to dismantle sexual, emotional and political taboos this Saturday in Harris Center.
Music Faculty display their talents in second annual showcase By Carter Howe howethom@grinnell.edu Grinnell College music department faculty performed in the second annual Music Faculty Showcase on Tuesday, Oct. 3 in Sebring-Lewis Hall. Rather than longer, individual pieces, which has been the norm at traditional faculty recitals, the concert consisted of short group pieces of styles including jazz, bossa nova, classical, traditional Latin American music and folk songs from Mozambique, played on native instruments. The concert was organized by Claudia Anderson, flautist and applied music associate. Anderson performed a classical piece as part of a trio and a traditional Venezuelan song as part of a duet. She believes that the structure of shorter pieces gave the faculty an opportunity to perform and collaborate that they would not have had in a traditional faculty recital. “You know, we’re all busy, and doing so many other things, it didn’t seem possible to put together a whole program. That also engendered this idea of the showcase where you can commit ten or fifteen minutes maybe, and you can get to work with more colleagues than you normally would,” Anderson said. Performer Applied Music Associate and vocalist Lisa Neher sang a piece by John Rommereim. The piece is based on a poem that describes a mother talking to her young son, who cannot yet speak complete words, as well as an arrangement of the jazz standard “Good Times” by Nicholas Miguel. Miguel and Rommereim are also both members of the music fac-
ulty. For Neher, one of the fun aspects of the concert was that she and other music faculty got to perform each other’s compositions. “I think when you get a chance to perform a piece by a composer you really get a unique way into their way of looking at the world, because it’s such a personal expression: what notes do they choose, what chords do they choose,” Neher said. Ethnomusicologist and saxophonist Mark Laver performed a bossa nova piece with Director of the Latin American Ensemble Gabriel Espinosa and Applied Music Associate Robert Dunn. On a basic level, Laver is just grateful for the opportunity to perform. “I always wish I could play more. … I came to music first as a performer and secondly as an academic so performing is really something that gives me a lot of joy,” Laver said. Anderson also found that performing together helps the faculty
bond and improve their teaching. “When we do perform together, we always say we should do this more. … I think everybody feels that it’s one of the difficulties of being in the world of music, you know, to carve out time to do that and … there’s nothing like performing for most of us, I think, to enhance our teaching to, you know, increase our own listening skills and awareness. I believe we always need to keep doing that,” Anderson said. Ultimately, Laver believes the concert gives the music faculty an opportunity to show their skills as not just teachers but performers and show the incredible talent they have. “We have an amazing faculty here. … I think it’s pretty clear to the students that the faculty are really wonderful and dedicated teachers, but the performance aspect of what we do isn’t always quite as visible,” Laver said. “So I think this event is a really nice opportunity to showcase how spectacular the music faculty are as artists and performers.”
CHARUN UPARA
Faculty members Claudia Anderson and Robert Dunn performed a piece together at the Showcase.
Arts
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Edited by vitaioli@grinnell.edu
Liam Stowe was in a student production of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” Reflecting back, Stowe is “most proud of [his] performance in ‘The Tempest’ because it had the most moving parts. It also had a lot of gags outside the show.”
"It’s been exploring my acting range in a way that substantially made me a better actor. " Liam Stowe '18
By Saiham Sharif sharifsa@grinnell.edu For Liam Stowe '18, art is much more than a form of entertainment. “I see it as an impetus to think creatively no matter what I do personally or professionally in the future. I want to continue maintaining its centrality to my life as well because I've found infinitely more personal fulfillment with it than I had in the time that I took it for granted,” Stowe wrote in an email to The S&B.
“I became addicted to the idea of theatre. I got the luxury of finding a really great community.” Liam Stowe '18 His first foray in the arts began with music. “I spent from age seven to seventeen playing classical music,” Stowe said. Yet he didn’t bind himself to just playing music in his adolescence. “I started acting five or six years ago, in community theatre, and then at each school I was at, until Grinnell.” However, playing the same genre
of music for too long wore down on his tastes.
“Instead of doubling down and taking myself out of music, I needed to take a step back and reassess if it was something I needed in my life.” ” Liam Stowe '18 “It got to the point that it felt like something was missing. Instead of doubling down and taking myself out of music, I needed to take a step back and reassess if it was something I needed in my life,” Stowe said. For Stowe, finding himself as an artist required both reflection and experimentation. He’s often tried out different genres, taken breaks and thought about what works for him and what doesn’t. Theatre has become his current mainstay. Beyond just providing him the outlet of acting, it has brought him wonderful personal connections. “I became addicted to the idea of theatre. I got the luxury of finding a really great community,” Stowe said. His first on campus performance
Immediately after acting in “The Tempest,” he moved onto a Salman Rushdie adaptation. Last year, he played a part in “The Playboy of the Western World.” Currently, he is set to play one of the secondary characters in “Nice Fish,” which opens on Oct. 6. Soon he will play Frankfurter in the campus production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” “I’m in a place where I can enjoy acting more and more,” Stowe said. Though he has often worked to make the audience laugh, Stowe doesn’t shy away from trying new roles. “I’ve mainly been in comedy. At that, I’ve tended to be the comedic relief, or the villain in the show,” Stowe said. “But, the last three shows I’ve done, I haven’t been straight comedic characters and that’s been an interesting challenge because I had to be taken out of my comfort zone in a way that I don’t think I ever have. It’s been exploring my acting range in a way that substantially made me a better actor.” While performing in plays provides pleasure, it requires a great amount of effort. His rehearsals for “The Playboy of the Western World” involved “a lot of Irish dialect training. We couldn’t speak in a dialect that wasn’t Irish on stage.” Acting, however, has beneficially provided structure to his life. “I took for granted that I had nights off. I’m very cognizant of the fact that I have a span from 4 to 6 [p.m.] and have to be on [homework].” Theatre and playwriting lends itself to connecting with Stowe’s academic majors, English and political
science. However, “I tend not to write drama,” he said. While studying abroad, he joined the Copenhagen Writing House and renewed his passion for creative writing. He focuses on poetry and other genres. “I would like to star in a Shakespeare [show] at some point in my life, to see if I can maintain the acting range that a protagonist needs,” Stowe said. Remarking on the sad truth that many hegemonic works use sight gags and that the bulk of Shake-
speare’s humor relies on erection jokes, Stowe wants to work on a play with “a dialog and comedic precision that a modern audience would appreciate.” When asked about his inspiration, Stowe wrote “Besides Kay Walkingstick and Claude Shannon for embracing many disciplines, I think probably Philip Seymour Hoffman and Liv Ullman for acting. Simply because they were able to give substantial depth to every role they did and demonstrate to the audience that they had really internalized a character.”
HELENA GRUENSTEIDL
Stowe's first acting experience at Grinnell in Shakespeare's "The Tempest." Currently, he is starring in a production of "Nice Fish." Stowe has recently been pushing himself out of his comfort zone in pure comedic roles.
Poets Tarfia Faizullah and Jamaal May discuss the importance of metaphor in art
GOVIND BRAHMANYAPURA
Tarfia Faizullah and Jamaal May on Thursday night during the roundtable discussion they hosted thursday night in Faulconer gallery. By Kelly Page pagekell@grinnell.edu On Thursday, Oct. 5, Writers@ Grinnell hosted poets Jamaal May and Tarfia Faizullah. May, who grew up in Detroit, has written the poetry collections “Hum” and “The Big Book of Exit Strategies.” His incredible command of poetry explores injustices in America coexisting with
internal struggles, all infused with dark humor and poignant observation. Faizullah was born to Bangladeshi parents who moved to West Texas where she spent her childhood. Her book “Seam” explores human suffering, especially in the context of the Bangladeshi Liberation War of 1971. She relates images and impressions of the world with incredible virtuosity.
Both May and Faizullah are educators of poetry and creative writing, and Grinnellians were lucky enough to hear from them at their round table discussion and poetry reading on Thursday night. Before the roundtable discussion they invited students to read “I Was in a Hurry” by Dunya Mikhail, which describes the speaker’s country as a lost object that they dropped while in a hurry.
This type of metaphor was an important piece of what May and Faizullah explored in the discussion. Faizullah discussed the concept that, as she said, “You are unsafe in the world without a grasp of metaphor,” outlining the importance of being able to draw connections between different ideas that are not obviously linked. She spoke about a small blue dress that she had seen in a museum dedicated to the Bangladeshi Liberation War which had belonged to a young girl who had been crushed by a soldier’s boot, and explained that she became obsessed with that idea because a small blue dress and a boot should not be connected which made the situation all the more horrifying. That connection is where the metaphor lies. “Metaphor,” she said, “allows us to build bridges,” whether between ideas or people. May continued this idea by saying that part of metaphor is your brain filling the space between ideas and their manifestation. He allows experiences to come to him from life, and creates connections between what he has lived in order to form poems. In his words, “metaphor tickles the brain,” and the techniques poets use are what cause writing to be pleasant. He calls poetry “the unity of opposites” because it “lets more than one thing be true at the same time,” growing thoughts and images directly from conflicting
concepts. When asked what drives them to create poems, May pointed to George Orwell’s theory of the four reasons people write: egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse and political purpose. He says in his own life, he perhaps started out of egoism, because the knowledge that he was good at writing poems and that people responded positively to them made him want to explore the craft of poetry further. However, he sees this egoism as a starting point that evolved into something much more complex as he started to see deeper possibilities for poetry. Faizullah said that she writes because, as she said, “We gravitate towards the art forms where we can be most accurate.” She believes that poetry is the best way she can personally express herself by drawing connections between seemingly contrasting ideas. Grinnell was incredibly privileged to hear from these outstanding poets and to learn how poetry is unique in its ability to communicate certain ideas. Even for those who do not intend to write poetry or study it seriously, it is interesting to understand how the craft of poetry has given May and Faizullah a nuanced perspective on the world. As May said, “The poet’s higher self is a philosopher and the philosopher’s higher self is a poet.” Searching for truth in the world, one is bound to encounter something poetic.
Features
Edited by mckechni@grinnell.edu
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Students flock to 10/10 Harm Reduction Workshop By Vera Kahn kahnvera@grinnell.edu This Saturday marks the second iteration of Fall Fest, the Department of Student Affairs’ response to 10/10, a student tradition up until last year. Due to a variety of factors, including excessive drinking and Title IX complaints, the dorm-lounge-based party was shut down. However, the school can’t stop off-campus parties from continuing the tradition. In order to make sure that this year’s off-campus festivities are as safe as possible, a harm reduction workshop and conversation was offered this week to students living off campus. Thirty-seven students, representing 13 different houses off-campus, were in attendance. The workshop was largely organized by Artis Curiskis ’18 and Ella Williams ’18. Last year, Williams helped to coordinate an off-campus active bystander patrol team, and is currently looking to help organize self-defense classes aimed at women, gender nonconforming and non-binary people. Curiskis said that, from his experience at parties during NSO, “off-campus housing need more concrete advice on how to provide a safe, welcoming and fun environment to host parties.” As a soccer player, Curiskis has gone through yearly, mandatory active bystander and substance abuse training that is not required for non-athletes. The workshop was facilitated by Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Wellness and Prevention Jen Jacobsen and Assistant Director of Intercultural Affairs Jordan Brooks. Some of the questions they brought to the group included what students’ aims were in throwing parties, what they wished they could eliminate and
how to facilitate those goals. Active bystanderism was a major topic of the workshop. According to Jacobsen, 97 percent of Grinnellians believe that active bystanderism is integral to self-governance. However, when she asked the room what the steps of active bystanderism were, only one student, from the soccer team, was able to list them. Although not explicitly addressed during the workshop, some discussion focused on the bias-motivated incidents from the past weeks in the Grinnell community: the use of the n-word by white students and the chanting of “USA” at the ISO Rave this past Saturday. Brooks emphasized that active bystanderism “still applies” in instances of bias. He outlined some steps that hosts can take to address bias-motivated incidents. He proposed the idea that one option hosts have is to play cleaned-up versions of songs that contain the n-word. Another crucial step that hosts can take in diffusing bias-motivated conflict is to check in with people in a non-judgemental way. In the case of a conflict that appears to be escalating, he says the best thing to do is to separate the two parties involved. The workshop serves as an indicator that the administration is interested in a dialogue about parties. Instead of simply shutting down 10/10 and condemning attempts to revive it, representatives from Student Affairs came together with off-campus students to discuss how to keep the community safe. However, it is unclear how this commitment to student safety can be carried out when parties occur off-campus. When 10/10 was an on-campus affair, there was plenty of alcohol available, but there were also water bottles and mountains of pizza.
GOVIND BRAHMANYAPURA
Director of Wellness and Prevention, Jen Jacobsen, speaks before a room full of off-campus students. Now that the party is off-campus, it is unclear if funding for food could come from the school. At the time of the workshop, there was no plan to fund food or water for the multihouse, day-long party.
"Some people view that [police officers'] actions might be bias-related. As an active bystander in this community, how does my responsibility to step in ... conflict with the law and order that these cops maintain?" Artis Curiskis '18 For the last half of the meeting, Officer Bryce Doane of the Grinnell
Education SEPC: "Here for students"
CONTRIBUTED
Jherron Sutton '19, Eden Gregory '19, Carrie Stallings '19, Ashley Jackson '18, J'Remi Barnes '19, Rene Ayala '19 and Christian Clark '18 pose. By Hallela Hinton-Williams hintonwi@grinnell.edu The Education Student Educational Policy Committee (SEPC) is here for the students. The members, Ashley Jackson ’18, Christian Clark ’18, Jherron Sutton ’18, Carrie Stallings ’19, Eden Gregory ’19, Rene Ayala ’19 and J’Remi Barnes ’19 have been a part of Grinnell’s education department community for years. Now, they can make active change in the department and be a resource for other students, specifically minority students as an SEPC composed entirely of students of color.
"We're here specifically for you guys ... If you're going to be in our department, I want it to be as easy for you as possible." Ashley Jackson '18 “If there’s anything that you need — if you’re trying to figure out who’s the best advisor for you, classes you can take, or how to navigate classes, we’re here specifically for you guys,” Jackson said. “If you’re going to be in the department, I want it to be as easy for you as possible.” Their help takes many important forms in student life and within the department. They host study breaks — the most recent one was Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) themed, where they played music of HBCU alumni and discussed the similarities between Grinnell and HBCUs and how Grinnell can strive to implement some of the practices of these colleges. The group is also looking to create a brochure that makes student teacher
programs more accessible to all students.
"We understand that students here value and understand the importance of education, so we have been working hard to brainstorm meaningful events that students would appreciate." Jherron Sutton '18 A big goal of the Education SEPC this year is generating a scholarship that will facilitate student enrollment in student teacher programs. “People weren’t realizing that the ninth semester of the student licensure program goes unfunded. The funds for transportation, food, residence and a fixed rate to the College for participation come out of the student’s pocket. There’s only a small need-blind coverage, so we want to create a scholarship which would make the program more affordable. We noticed the trend that students of color are less likely to join the teacher licensure program because of the money aspect. It’s not like students aren’t interested in becoming teachers, because they are,” Jackson said. More goals the SEPC are trying to reach include creating education related events for students to enjoy. “We understand that students here value and understand the importance of education, so we have been working hard to brainstorm meaningful events that students would appreciate,” Sutton wrote in an email to The S&B. While education isn’t a major at Grinnell, it does not stop the values
of education and the ways of thinking from being instilled in Grinnell students. “A majority of Grinnell students who graduate end up in the education sector,” Jackson said. “We have a wonderful department with classes that are engaging and allow students to critically think about the education system as a whole. Many Grinnell graduates enter an educated related profession, so I think introducing education as a major would better prepare students for the work they wish to do whether that is in or outside of the classroom,” Sutton added. The Education SEPC wants to mold civically-engaged teachers and students, to help make connections between education and its implementation in daily life. “What you learn about education will apply anywhere to anything that you do. Even for people who are not directly involved in education, they know eventually that their child or somebody they know is about to enter the system. They know how to prevent that child from being wronged. I think that in itself is impactful enough,” Jackson said. “I think it is a job well done by the education department, if they can make students equipped to shake up education at any level.”
"It is so nice to work with students who are just as passionate about and dedicated to education and the department as you are." Jherron Sutton '18 The legacy of the group will continue to improve the department and remain a force on the Grinnell campus, advocating for education and the department. “Our SEPC is filled with super cool and kind members,” Sutton wrote. “It is so nice to work with students who are just as passionate about and dedicated to education and the department as you are.” “I’m proud to be a part of something permanent, that me and my team … help make happen,” Jackson said. Students who want to see change in the education department and have their ideas heard should email the Education SEPC at edsepc@ grinnell.edu. Students can also talk to the thoughtful and kind professors of the department.
Police Department came to answer questions. Officer Doane is going to be working during the evening of 10/10 festivities. His presence was a part of an effort by SGA Vice President of Student Affairs Kahlil Epps to “improve [Grinnell Police Department] and campus body relationships.” Officer Doane explained that the current practice of the GPD is to shut down parties after a single noise complaint. He also emphasized that in the case of an officer coming to a party, it is not advised for everyone to run out of the house. Officer Doane’s presence was a surprise to some, including Williams, who helped to organize the workshop, as the relationship between the Grinnell student body and the GPD is not based in trust. Officer Doane answered
all questions posed to him, although he was stumped by the question of whether or not a person is allowed to urinate in their own backyard, asked by Henry Bolster ’18. There are also questions regarding policing that were not voiced to Officer Doane. As Curiskis put it, “some people view that [police officers’] actions might be bias-related. As an active bystander in this community, how does my responsibility to step in … conflict with the law and order that these cops maintain?” The Harm Reduction Workshop provided some answers on how to throw safer parties, and left some open. However, the impressive turnout and active participation by attendees bodes well for future dialogue surrounding safety at off-campus events.
Grinnell Extreme Society
CONTRIBUTED
Misha Gelnarova '18, extreme sports enthusiast and a leader of Grinnell's Extreme Society, completed a Spartan race in Hawaii this summer. By Caleb Forbes forbesca@grinnell.edu Misha Gelnarova ’18 is an extreme person. A veteran of extreme sports, Gelnarova has been addicted to the extreme since her involvement in Fire Sport in the Czech Republic — a sport for volunteer firefighters, and according to Gelnarova, “if you mess up it can crack your skull and stuff.” In the past, Gelnarova has traveled the U.S. to explore extreme sports as part of a Fischlowitz Fellowship. She now prepares for her possible next adventure, as she has applied for a Watson Fellowship to explore the international world of extreme sports as part of a year-long funded excursion. And as part of Grinnell Extreme Society, Gelnarova will go on an adventure to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons during Fall Break. Gelnarova described the Fischlowitz Fellowship as “a possibility to go and travel the U.S.A. and focus on any part of the culture … and I naturally did it about extreme sports.” “I went to California and Hawaii,” Gelnarova said, “and just went to different parts that are super famous for one or the other activity. And there I participated, I talked to people, I hung out with the locals … soaking in the culture.” Gelnarova visited California as part of the Fischlowitz to rock climb and raft in Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, paddleboard in San Diego and surf and skateboard in the U.S. Open of Surfing in L.A. She also sea kayaked, ladder-climbed a mountain and ran a Spartan race in Hawaii. Gelnarova said of the Spartan race, “you run through mud, and through river and you jump over things and crawl under barbed wire.” Gelnarova's Watson application seems like the natural next step.
“[The Watson] is about exploring any of your passions,” she said. “It can be about whatever, and you get to do it globally, so they give you $30,000 to survive for a year and explore whatever the hell you want.” The Watson fellowship requires one to travel solely outside of one’s home country. Gelnarova said her iteration of the fellowship involves getting to know, “small young extreme sports entrepreneurs who … make handcrafted extreme sports gear.” “It’ll be like kind of shadowing and engaging with those people,” said Gelnarova, “those entrepreneurs, and with that I would get then to the local community of whatever the sport I’m going to be doing there.” The Grinnell Extreme Society also does what it can to participate in extreme sports, the members getting funding from SGA to travel during school breaks to climb mountains and spelunk in the depths of caves. Their original plan for this fall break was to go whitewater rafting in the Yellowstone River. When Yellowstone decided to close whitewater rafting early this year, Gelnarova said, “they offered us a scenic ride or something, and we’re like … We’re the extreme society and you’re asking us for a scenic ride?” “It’s usually like we plan it really nicely and then something goes wrong,” Gelnarova said. Now their plan is to go hiking in Yellowstone, as well visit the Grand Tetons to, “jump off of rocks and cliffs into the water, which is going to be extremely freezing but, I mean extreme, there we go.” “This is like the first time we are actually going to be sleeping inside something that has even a roof,” Gelnarova said. “So we’re going to pack 20 people into a 10-person house, and, yeah, try to survive.” The name of the Airbnb is “secluded cabin in the woods, but we’re like super stoked. It’s going to be extreme.”
Sports
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Edited by schultej@grinnell.edu
Scandal sheds light on financial disparities in college sports
CONTRIBUTED
Rick Pitino, Louisville's suspended head coach, has been implicated in athletic apparel scandal shaking college sports. Pitino took 98 percent of the share of Louisville's current multi-million dollar deal with Adidas. By Sam Rueter ruetersa@grinnell.edu On Sept. 26, the FBI announced the arrests of ten individuals connected to the NCAA on charges of fraud, bribery and money laundering. Included among the defendants were assistant basketball coaches at major Division I powerhouses like USC, Oklahoma State and Arizona, as well as a high-ranking Adidas executive. Those arrested were accused of funneling money to basketball recruits in an attempt to steer them towards various affiliated institutions and enterprises, with the long-term ambition of boosting the parent company's financial bottom line by attaching themselves to up-and-coming star athletes. Contrary to popular belief, corruption within the ranks of collegiate sports is nothing new, and the troubling paradox of amateurism and capitalism has long been a hotly contested topic among fans, media and most notably, players themselves.
Further complicating this issue is the business relationship that many large apparel brands have with educational institutions, in which they agree to provide discounted apparel and other perks in exchange for the right to be the exclusive provider of all sports merchandise and thus, the exclusive rights to profit off of the university's name and image. For its part, Grinnell College has avoided signing apparel deals with any single company, which, according to Athletic Director Andy Hamilton, is a decision spurred both by practicality as well as a weariness of the ethical questions that plague larger, nationally-recognized brands. “We have been approached by a couple of sportswear distributors about becoming an exclusive/sponsored program,” Hamilton wrote in an email to The S&B. "While there are some small financial incentives in the form of discounts and coaching apparel, we have stayed with the concept that certain brands and makes are better for certain sports, therefore, we
have not ‘signed on’ with a sponsor.” Furthermore, a quick glance at Grinnell College's “Apparel Policy” reveals the school's position that “when it is determined that significant ‘social injury’ is being caused by an ‘apparel company,’ the College will take this into account in making its apparel purchasing and licensing decision.” Though much of the outrage stemming from this national scandal relates to the impropriety of authority figures like coaches and large corporations like Adidas, the lost narrative in a sea of wild accusations is also, in some ways, the most important one: whether or not college athletes should be paid. While college sports have long operated as a massively popular touchstone of American culture, the financial viability of star players, and whether such players should be able to profit off of their own image, came to a head with the Fab Five Basketball scandal of the 1990s. In the scandal, it was alleged that
a handful of players on the University of Michigan's men's basketball team, including eventual NBA number one draft pick Chris Webber, took cash payments from booster Ed Martin during their time in college. At that time, however, the Michigan team and its five star freshmen players, dubbed the “Fab Five,” were largely responsible for a series of massive cultural changes going on in the college basketball landscape relating to apparel. They made it even more financially lucrative for companies and brands to make associations with the college sports game. The irony that the only people not making money off of the players’ images were the players themselves wasn't lost on the American sports public, and so began the on-going debate as to the earning rights of college athletes. For those who make the case that Division I athletes shouldn't be paid, it comes down to the fact that the fullride scholarships that many Division I athletes receive are perceived as the equivalent of “money under the table,” and serve as a way to level the playing the field and pay back the athletes. This argument, however, doesn't take into account the kind of education that many athletes are getting, as exemplified by a recent scandal involving the University of North Carolina men's basketball team, in which players were alleged to have been enrolled in fake classes, receiving massively inflated grades in order to maintain their eligibility to play. Clearly, for many big-time college institutions, the pressure to play and perform supersedes any sense of academic responsibility, and compromising the academic integrity of their players is seen as well worth the financial rewards that they may bring. The players themselves, though, are the ones truly being cheated. While a small percentage of col-
lege athletes do turn professional and immediately cash in on large paydays, for the vast majority of Division I athletes, after four years of giving every ounce of themselves for the success of their team (and indirectly the financial earning power of their institutions), they graduate and move on into new careers. And, aside from the social and cultural capital gained from participation in college sports, many of these athletes are not adequately positioned for success outside athletics. Furthermore, because the recruitment of college athletes starts so early, prospective student-athletes and their families are entering into toxic relationships with self-motivated agents, boosters and coaches, who prey on the often precarious financial situations of many up-and-coming athletes. As such, the conversation shouldn't be whether college athletes should be paid, but rather how much they should be paid. Unfortunately, this is a discussion that is complicated by both the disparity between large, Division I institutions and small institutions like Grinnell, as well as a gender pay gap that is inherently linked to the various oppressive patriarchal structures in American sports culture. If the NCAA scandal can tell us anything, it is that the environment surrounding major college sports is plagued by corruption, dominated by inequality and threatened by an inability of the greater public to understand the systematic financial discrimination that college athletes, specifically women, face. We must remove the stigma from “shady” coaches and “selfish” players and instead recognize that they are both byproducts of a larger system which praises their greed and exploits their circumstance — maybe that’s the real scandal in all of this.
Tennis plays at GHS until new courts are installed in 2018
REINA SHAHI
Shannon Hautzinger '18 chases a ball down at tennis practice. Next year, the College will get new home tennis courts. By Quan Tran tranminh2@grinnell.edu For the past few weeks, women’s tennis has been playing its matches on Grinnell-Newburg High School’s new tennis courts. The courts, situated on Sunset Street about a mile from campus, will be the official home to both men’s and women’s tennis this season. The reason for this substitu-
tion is, according to Director of Athletics and Recreation Andrew Hamilton, that the College’s outdoor courts are deemed unplayable at a competitive level. “The courts have been deteriorating for a couple of years. [Now, only] five of the six courts are [suitable] for practice, while typical college tournaments need six courts to operate,” Hamilton said.
“A few are unsafe for collegiate practices and competition due to cracks that have formed as pavement has settled with weather and drainage,” said Paige Madara, head coach of men’s and women’s tennis. Sydney Banach ’18, a member of the women’s tennis team, also cited problems stemming from the cracks. “One of the courts has cracks that make the balls bounce off. You can’t
really play on it anymore,” Banach said. The College is planning to raise the level of its courts and rebuild them at the same location. Construction will take about three and a half months, starting in the spring of 2018. “We’re taking time to work on [the] new courts’ design and construction plan. If all goes well, we will start constructing early May 2018. It will be completed just prior to when students come back, which is August. That’s also when the women’s team comes back and practices,” Hamilton said. In the meantime, however, the team must get used to playing on the new courts, and for Banach so far, the transition has been seamless. Still, like any changes, there remain small struggles to overcome. “They’re good, bright and really orange. They’re really nice and new,” she said. “Sometimes it’s harder to convince my friends to come watch me but once they do, it means a lot. A lot of people did turn up [for our matches], actually.” “Nice and new” are also words Hamilton used to describe the new courts. “[The] high school’s facilities are brand new and have excellent surfaces. The courts here are pretty quick, which means the balls bounce faster
than they do on our courts.” Even though they are playing on new courts, the pre-match rituals for Banach and her teammates remain the same. “We always take a minibus together from the Bear [to the high school]. We usually arrive an hour and fifteen minutes before the match begins because it takes us about an hour to warm up,” Banach said. Using the high school’s tennis courts has not created many problems. Hamilton, however, acknowledges that there were bitter feelings among the team initially, but he chooses to remain optimistic about the situation. “I sensed that the team and the coach were disappointed that they can’t play on campus. It’s regrettable that we have to play the fall and spring season on the high school’s courts. On the other hand, I feel fortunate that we can turn to our local school district and be able to utilize those courts.” The women’s team’s final matches on the high school tennis courts this semester are this weekend, as they host St. Norbert, Ripon and Lawrence on Saturday and Sunday. The men’s team, on the other hand, will begin its one-year tenure on the orange courts in April, when they start their outdoor tennis season.
Athletes reflect on the rigors of offseason training
MAI PHUONG VU
Charles Carr, Ezra Pine, Andrew Shults and Kayla Morrissey (clockwise from top-left) are all offseason varsity athletes. By Saiham Sharif sharifsa@grinnell.edu Universally recognized as athletic practice time, the 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. block holds special importance on campus. Faculty and teaching assis-
tants usually hold mentor sessions and other important academic events in the evening to enable student athletes, who comprise one-third of the total student body, to attend. However, student athletes will often miss other important events such as guest
speakers, special lectures and extracurricular programming due to practice. During their season, student athletes often miss Fridays and Saturdays for travel competitions, keeping them away from events such as concerts and on-campus theatre performances. The time commitment does not stop there. Athletics are a commitment not only during the season, but outside of their official season as well. Student athletes often prepare for their sport throughout the year to perform their best. They maintain fitness by working out, practicing informally with other team members or training on their own. “During the offseason I practice six days a week as a two-sport athlete and lift three days a week,” wrote Kayla Morrissey ’18, a women’s basketball player and member of the softball team, in an email to The S&B. “For basketball, we do open gyms which consist of drills and scrimmaging. For softball, we have captain-led practices. Both of the teams also attend speed and agility sessions twice a week.”
While athletics require a significant time commitment that can take away from other activities, student athletes often report that time spent playing sports is time enjoyed. “Sports can take up a lot of time; however it is something that I love to do, so it is worth all of the time that I spend on it. I'm able to balance my responsibilities by having really good time management skills, for it is necessary to take advantage of any free time that I get, which can be limited,” wrote Ezra Pine ’21, a member of the baseball team, in an email to The S&B. Sports can also empower students by providing structure for their time. “Time commitment for baseball is so ingrained in my life that it doesn't feel like a burden. For the past six or seven years of my life, most of my free time out of school has been dedicated to baseball,” wrote Charles Carr ’19, a member of the baseball team. Balancing academics and athletic commitment can be difficult, and team members often support each other. Each team has a Student Athlete Men-
tor, a person that advocates for their team and can connect fellow members with resources. In addition, the College provides support to students in the form of the recently created Faculty Athlete Mentor program. However, some student athletes feel that more support would be helpful. “Currently, I feel that right now only athletes really support other athletic groups and it would be nice to see partnerships between both athletes and non-athletes here at Grinnell,” wrote Andrew Shults ’19, a member of the baseball team, in an email to The S&B. Yet one place that the 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. block doesn’t hold power is in the dining hall. “I think the school supports student-athletes pretty well,” wrote Daria Guzzo ’19, of the women’s basketball team, in an email to The S&B. “There are some things I feel athletes wish were slightly different such as the dining hall remaining open even just 15 minutes later to accommodate athletes who have late practice.”
Community
Edited by braneckm@grinnell.edu
Canfield to leave mayor's office after 18 years By Seth Taylor taylorse@grinnell.edu Mayor Gordon Canfield’s office resides in the newly renovated Spaulding Building. His window looks out to downtown Grinnell, and the flags of Iowa and the United States sit next to each other against the back wall. His desk and walls are lined with gifts from grateful citizens, plaques of appreciation and rewards — paraphernalia collected over 18 years in office. Now, after nine consecutive terms as mayor of Grinnell, Canfield has decided to step down. “This time, I decided I’m 78 years old so it’s time to do something else,” Canfield said with a laugh. After some thought, he continued, “I got into this thing, being mayor, and I thought, ‘It’s a lot of fun. It’s really an enjoyable job.’” Canfield has lived in Grinnell ever since he was eleven years old, stocking shelves at the local grocery stores and learning the ropes of the community. “I always liked Grinnell because I had these contacts that were comfortable for me. … By the time I had graduated from high school I really knew all the families,” Canfield said. He attended the University of Minnesota after graduating from Grinnell High School, returning to take a job with Grinnell Mutual Insurance Company. He worked at the company for 37 years, eventually rising to the position of executive vice president. Retiring young, Canfield began to volunteer with the city, getting involved in local politics with the Grinnell Hotel-Motel Tax Committee and the Grinnell Sister City Association. In September of 1999, then-mayor Robert Anderson passed away while in office and Canfield was appointed in his place. He has held the office since, acting as a dedicated and engaged public servant for 18 years. Being the mayor of a small, Midwestern town certainly has its challenges. “Everybody knows who you are, what you are, what you do — what you shouldn’t be doing,” Canfield said. And the citizens of Grinnell aren’t hesitant to get involved; Canfield remembers well the controversy stirred by a city ordinance on shoveling sidewalks. Chuckling, Canfield added, “We had people standing out in the hall just screaming at us,” (the ordinance was eventually passed).
Nevertheless, Canfield is proud of Grinnellians’ dedication to their city. He cites redesigning the streets of downtown Grinnell, raising funds for the community pool and the recent update of Central Park as some of his proudest accomplishments. He’s also pleased with the progress made in bridging the gap between the College and the town, although he refuses to take much credit. “There was kind of like an invisible wall around the campus, and that was partly due to the way the college was run and it was partly due to the way the city reacted,” he said. “One of the reasons that it’s only going to improve is the College is expanding the zone of confluence. … And the whole idea is to get more mix between students and town people — just be with each other a little bit more. I think that’s going to be very important. I wish I could be mayor for the next 20 years so I can see how that all plays out.” Canfield’s dedication to Grinnell isn’t partisan either. “One of the things that made this very enjoyable for me is that we are in municipal elections … totally nonpartisan,” Canfield said. “Fixing a sewer and fixing a sidewalk has no political bearings whatsoever. It’s the work that has to be done. We are the government that is closest to the people and we try to make sure that Grinnell is a great place to live, work and play.” Looking to the future, Canfield acknowledged the changing nature of small towns in America and the need to adapt. “There’s got to be creative ways of dealing with a new kind of economy,” he said. But he also had confidence in Grinnell’s adaptability and endurance. “I think that this town is going to go on forever. It’s not going to be a giant lurch forward, but I think we’ll just inch our way through history.” Canfield doesn’t have much planned for what he’s going to do after his term ends. Relaxing and traveling are two things he’s considering. Dan Agnew is the lone candidate running for mayor this year, and while Canfield is confident in Agnew’s abilities, and in the enduring quality of what Canfield calls the “citizen operated town” of Grinnell, it is clear that Agnew has big shoes to fill. The town will go on, but it certainly won’t be the same.
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New director takes charge of Grin City
By Kelly Page pagekell@grinnell.edu
The Grin City Collective is under new leadership. The new director, Nate Logsdon, took over for Molly Rideout ’10 on Sept. 17. Rideout transitioned to serve as a board member for the collective. Logsdon is not new to the Iowa arts scene. He has been involved primarily in the music scene for about 10 years, and when a friend brought the job of Grin City Collective to his attention, he knew he had a lot to offer. “I really care about the mission. I’ve worked on that mission in music primarily, that’s my background,” Logsdon said. “There’s a lot of similarity in trying to develop and maintain a local music community. I think a lot of the same principles and spirit and attitudes are applicable to a local arts community. I just applied because I was familiar with Grin City and I knew they did a lot with food and community agriculture and the land and being Iowan, being an Iowa artist.” The call for a new director was put out in early August. At the same time, it was also announced that the residency program, which has been the main focus of the collective since its inception in 2006, would be discontinued. In its place a micro-grant program would be implemented. “We’re kind of in that new chapter now of supporting rural arts through directly giving people money to finish their project, hiring people, paying them, or the non-profit version of that — giving them a grant,” Logsdon said. “An opportunity to apply for funding or help to see their project through, whether that’s in any type of medium, there’s no restriction to that whatsoever.” The application for the grant was launched on Oct. 1 and will be open until Nov. 1 to applicants within a 40 mile radius of Grinnell. Grants can be requested for up to $1,000 cash, but artists also have the choice to apply for professional assistance from Grin City’s network of artists. The recipients of the grants will be announced in early 2018. Logsdon’s goals for the micro-grant program have grown out
CONTRIBUTED
Nate Logsdon, a veteran of the Iowa arts scene, took over as Grin City's new director, replacing Molly Rideout '10. of what the collective’s overarching mission has been for years. “This organization is designed to be super local and to serve our specific community that we’re based in and to specifically forge connections between rural artists who are our neighbors,” Logsdon said.
“This organization is designed to be super local and to serve our specific community that we're based in and to specifically forge connections between rural artists who are our neighbors. Nate Logsdon, director of Grin City Logsdon hopes that artists will use the funding to build community and see their artistic dreams come to life. “They might consider using the funding or help that we’re offering to execute a project, execute an idea or a dream that is about creativity or bringing people together.” Logsdon’s personal emphasis on
What to do this weekend in Grinnell Attention all book worms!
This weekend, the Friends of the Drake Community Library will be hosting a used book sale to raise funds to support the library. According to the announcement on the library’s website, the event will be taking place in the library’s Community Room on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. As the used book sale benefits a nonprofit, the prices will all be unbelievably low, and there are sure to be some unexpected treasures for anyone willing to seek them out. The book sale is open to all members of the Grinnell community and the College, and will be perfect for all book lovers, although non-readers are welcome too, especially if they are buying. This event also presents a particularly good opportunity for thrifty college students to get their hands on the notoriously expensive commodity that is a good book. Furthermore, the location and nature of the event lend themselves to interactions between the students and the community, and provide a good way to step outside the Grinnell College bubble. Most importantly, however, the proceeds go to support Grinnell’s community library and, by extension, the town of Grinnell. So get out this weekend — stop by the Drake Community Library, pick up a book or two, meet people and take the opportunity to support a vital community center. Reporting by Amanda Weber
Roll through the skate park fundraiser
Did you know that Grinnell has its own skate/BMX park? Currently, the park is fundraising to “revamp and re-ramp.” The park had wooden ramps, until they were removed for safety reasons. A modern, concrete skate park is in the works, to help provide a safe, central space for kids to practice their sport. The skate park also opens the possibility of Grinnell hosting competitions. Dana Rich, the Executive Director of Imagine Grinnell, emphasizes on the fundraiser Facebook page that the people who frequent skate parks are not people who participate in better-funded, organized and institutionally recognized team sports. The skate park shows a commitment to these kids, and shows that Grinnell places value in their activities. The $250,000 project has gained the attention of skateboard legend Tony Hawk, whose foundation donated $5,000 to the park. The park is set to open on July 4, 2018. This Friday, there will be a cookout fundraiser at Bailey Park. There will be free food, as well as a chance to ride with some of the skate/ BMX community! Bring some dollars to donate and support — the College is currently matching every dollar donated to the park. Reporting by Vera Kahn
Time capsule to see light after 100 years
While organizing the centennial celebration for Grinnell’s Davis Elementary School, the planning committee learned of a pleasant surprise — a time capsule had been placed in a cornerstone of the school in 1917. This Friday, as a part of the school’s centennial celebrations, the time capsule will be opened! The century-old contents will be on display to the public from 3 to 5 p.m. The school is located at 818 Hamilton Ave. Reporting by Vera Kahn
CONTRIBUTED
Grin City has begun a new micro-grant program, funding local artists.
the micro-grant project is his hope that it will reach as many artists, artisans and individual makers as possible, but also entrepreneurs, community organizers, even farmers. “It’s about making, creating, but a very broad definition of that,” Logsdon said of his interest with the work Grin City has done to promote community-based agriculture, and his hopes for such works continuation. “People who are in some way building community through their land, through their farming practices. I would love for them to think of themselves as worthy applicants to this program as well. Land and community are very intertwined in Iowa historically and philosophically … that’s part of our heritage, and part of our arts heritage as well, and that’s a big part of what Grin City has done. So we want to continue that tradition with having an open mind in this particular grant program.” Logsdon, who is new to the Grinnell community, is still learning the ropes. “I’m still really learning the Grinnell community, I’m pretty new to it, I’m still meeting a lot of people and starting to get a feeling for what the Grinnell Community is like,” he said. “I’m very grateful that the board already had this project for me to get started working on that is completely geared towards serving people … so I get to jump right in, delivering a tangible purpose to people who are around us who could just use a little extra funding or a little extra help to get their project over the finish line.” “I’m really appreciative of it being such a strong organization and for having so much to pass on and for having so much history with the community that they’ve built on,” Logsdon said about coming into his new role. He has strong hopes for the positive influence the grant program can have on the community, directly impacting the arts and economy.
Community
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Edited by braneckm@grinnell.edu
The S&B reviews Peace Tree Brewing Company: the beauty is in the brew
By Alice Herman hermanal17@grinnell.edu The S&B's News Editor took a break from reporting on breaking news and left the Pubs office to enjoy a beer (or two) at the VIP opening of Peace Tree Brewery. She drank, she socialized and she reviewed. Here are her thoughts on the newest addition to the downtown Grinnell scene. The ritziness of Peace Tree Brewing Company is striking: a brick facade, nearly identical to that of the College Bookstore two doors down, doesn’t hint at the brewery’s cavernous marble-and-wood interior, where on Wednesday, a VIP-worthy crowd of Grinnellians and College affiliates mingled over specialty brews. At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, I step through those tall oak doors and enter the Peace Tree fray. The crowd is heavy enough to elicit from me a stream of Midwestern apologies as I bump from the dining room to the bar, where Ella Williams ’18 — a recent Peace Tree hire and my ticket to the event — describes the flavor of her favorite brew, “Orange Gose.” Orange Gose, “a sour beer brewed with salt and coriander,” is tangy and sweet. Following an Orange Gose and a trip to the lavatory (where I choose between ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ and ‘unisex’ bathrooms), I find myself back at the bar, sandwiched between an old friend
and an older gentleman who, imbibing heartily, suggests I sample as many beers as possible. Taking his suggestion seriously, but without Williams’ expert advice from before, I am suddenly acutely aware of my own inability to distinguish between the beers listed next to the tap. “What’s your favorite flavor!” I shout at the bartender, gesturing at the row of beers on tap and then at my notebook, and back again. I hope that my inexperience in beer is eclipsed by obvious journalistic prowess. Jon, the bartender, doesn’t ask why I am waving my arms around, but smiles warmly at me and rattles off a short list of his preferred drinks, before suggesting a sample of each. At ease with my five beers, I settle into a spirited debate with the gentleman to my right over the importance of table manners, which yields to a more serious discussion of the cultural relevance of Sesame Street. No sooner has another friendly bartender passed me a cup of Wee Heavy — a scotch ale that tastes like whiskey — than I am sampling Orange Belgo, Wee Heavy’s flowery pair. At another bar, I realize, all of these beers would be the eccentric ones. Maybe that’s what makes Peace Tree so mod. Or maybe it’s the decór: hanging lights beam down on the expansive marble bar, which is empty save for a cash register and two decorative glass urns filled, spookily, with what look like giant balls of weed. The vibe of the place isn’t in the details, because the details here are sort of weird. But the atmosphere isn’t weird at all: it’s relaxed and fun. The bartenders, even those off-duty, like Williams, seem genuinely enthusiastic about their product, and the crowd seems just as into it. An array of characters float by the bar: my academic advisor, who suggests that I address in my review the cool and rare fact of female entrepreneurship in the brew business; a friend from school, who intones dark-
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"I sample as many beers as possible." ly that female entrepreneurship is just as much a fact of capitalism as male entrepreneurship (“but I LOVE women CEOs,” I respond, brilliantly); and finally, Meghan McKay, the female entrepreneur herself. McKay is a pro. She speaks lucidly about Saisons One and Two, which, aged in twin barrels, adopt mysteriously distinct flavors in the fermentation process. She dives briefly into a
discussion of the difference between commercial brewing and “spontaneous fermentation,” and explains that a flowery beer — maybe the Orange Gose from before — is fermented on a farm, and should pick up the wild bacteria of the bees and prairie. When I ask how she thinks the night is going, she smiles and shrugs. This her third business — there are already two Peace Trees in Iowa, one in Knoxville
and another in Des Moines. Opening night, for McKay, is old hat. For me, it is anything but. I am impressed by the exceptionally trendy beers and the ease with which the barpeople dole them out to the masses. Peace Tree, decked out in VIP business-casual and open for just a few short hours Wednesday, will operate by its scheduled business hours going forward.
Kites overtake the skies of Grinnell
Every year, the Grinnell Rotary Club hosts Kites Over Grinnell. Flashes of color overtake Ahrens Park. The S&B's Video Editor Helena Gruensteidl captured the scenic day this past Saturday.
Movies at the Strand
BLADE RUNNER 2049
Showtimes: 3:30p.m., 6:45 p.m., 10:00 p.m. The Community Editor thought this was a sequel to Will Ferrell's "Blades of Glory." It's not. just a heads up.
HOME AGAIN
Showtimes: 3:40 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 8:40 p.m. The Naked Brothers Band grew up good ;)
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
Showtimes: 4:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 9:50 p.m. "Everything about this movie reminded me of puberty" — our Business Manager, who hasn't seen it
Opinions
Edited by fentonma@grinnell.edu
Letter to the editor: The case for divestment
Grinnell College has a fundamental misunderstanding of divestment as a political tool. The Fossil Fuels and Climate Impact Task Force presents the tactic as a potential means for lowering the College’s carbon footprint, but that is not the most important consequence of divestment. I am writing to consider the following perspective: that the global discourse of climate change, including that of our Grinnell College community, glosses over the stark political implications of divestment from the fossil fuel industry by equating divestment with local energy-saving and carbon reduction. The Task Force, established by the Board of Trustees of Grinnell College, has completed another round of open dialogue with the community. This marks a critical moment for establishing clarity about what student organizers mean when we talk about divestment. While I am not a member of Grinnell College Student Action (GCSA) or Grinnell Divest, my extensive work in non-Grinnell College climate activism has taught me something crucial about divestment: It’s not just about the environment! In truth, the fossil fuel industry’s egregious abuses reach far beyond the simplistic label of climate change. As of 2008, 51 members of federal Congressional committees overseeing the fossil fuel industry had substantial personal holdings in oil companies. Trump’s cabinet also maintains a constant economic interest in the fossil fuel industry. Right-wing figures such as Steve Bannon, Rex Tillerson and Jeff Sessions all hold pivotal and profitable roles in the oil industry. Even Trump himself raised over 10 percent of his campaign funding from oil, gas and coal companies. It is apparent that lobbying and donations from such companies play a significant role in keeping conservatives in positions of public power. The establishment,
maintenance and execution of rightwing ideology and its material effects on the lives of humans worldwide are all made possible with money from fossil fuel corporations. Even the environmental impacts of the fossil fuel industry are deeply political. Pollution, limited access to resources, sea level rise and other environmental threats kill poor communities of color first. This past spring, I attended a panel discussion on international water rights at the Jewish Voice for Peace National Member Meeting in Chicago, where I met Monica Lewis-Patrick, a prominent water rights activist who leads water justice initiatives in Detroit and Flint, MI. Lewis-Patrick described, along with her organizing efforts, the racialized nature of water and energy companies’ control over Michigan politics. She explained that environmental injustice underscores a much more deeply and intentionally racist pattern than does disparate access to resources. She detailed how corporate control of governments has led local water systems to be privately operated by companies that purposefully and knowingly deprived communities of color of clean water. So how can we begin to address the horrors of the fossil fuel industry and fight their hold over worldwide politics? Consider the political power of large tobacco companies throughout the twentieth century. Activists had to use unique tactics to fight tobacco corruption because of the product’s direct relationship to consumers, but many similarities still exist between tobacco and big oil powers. A World Health Organization study of the tobacco industry’s strategies for maintaining relevancy and influence identifies 14 main tactics, 13 of which are related to convincing the public of their innocence or using money to influence politics at all levels. In the case of to-
bacco, a community coming together and agreeing not to smoke would have achieved almost nothing without a coordinated action that challenged tobacco’s hold over politics. Such an action is what we need now to fight fossil fuel’s hold over politics, and that action is divestment. As of this writing, the Task Force’s public events have included the Investment Office discussing the College’s endowment and operating budget and representatives of Alliant Energy and Berkshire Hathaway Energy discussing clean energy practices. The events have overwhelmingly focused on alternatives to divestment. There is a lack of evidence that any climate activists from poor, POC, colonized and other targeted communities will be invited to have a place in the discussions. I am pushed to believe that the Task Force has been implemented with the main purpose of distracting our community from the issue of divestment in order to quell the intense public pressure that students have amassed. The conversation of divestment came from direct action, not from Board discussions. In her presentation on Grinnell’s operating budget, Kate Walker stated that we “can’t rob the students of the future for what we want to do today.” Given that the humanitarian organization DARA estimates that six million people will die each year due to climate change and carbon pollution by 2030, I believe that we are compromising the students of the future if we don’t make the social and political statement that our society will no longer accept the evils of the fossil fuel industry. This version of my article is a short overview. Please read the full version online, which includes more details about the fossil fuel industry and how we can fight it. — Nate Williams '20
IoWhat is Going on in Politics? On hurricanes and home
by Austin Wadle The idea of home is one of the most important forces in politics. At almost every candidate event, you will hear a politician state how many generations their family has lived in Iowa. They’ll talk about their home on a family farm. But “home” is not just an abstract rhetorical device for candidates to stress their relatability — it dictates the districts in which they run. Candidates still rely on their strongest supporters to open their homes and host “house parties” to organize and fundraise for them. It’s hard to think about home when I spend more time than I should at political events. This is especially when I don’t really have a home anymore. In the literal sense, yes, I still do. I am renting a beautiful house in Grinnell with three of my best friends. I have a comfy bed that I return to after late nights on campus doing homework. It’s heated, which we accidentally discovered when one of the editors of this newspaper ran into the thermostat. People in undergrad, however, don’t really think of that as home. In terms of where my parents are, what I could call home, I don’t have that anymore. I haven’t had one for a while. My parents sold my childhood home in Miami after I graduated high school, and have been living in the Florida Keys ever since. And so, that home nestled in a tropical paradise on a small island was my home for a while. It was
a nice place to leave campus for, especially in the winter. I didn’t really have any friends down there, but it was nice to sit in the sun with the ocean just a short walk away. But after Hurricane Irma, our house is now too damaged to live in. Just a couple of miles from my family's home, there are piles of fridges and washing machines collecting from the rummage of homes, next to beaches that were washed to the other sides of islands. After spending the couple of weeks away from Florida while the hurricane hit, my parents have moved back to Miami and are renting an apartment.
Just a couple of miles from my family's home, there are piles of fridges and washing machines collecting from the rummage of homes, next to beaches that were washed to the other sides of islands. Despite my roots further south, it’s no secret that I love Iowa. I’m writing a biweekly column about politics that features Iowa-based wordplay. I have made Iowa a home of sorts. For the most part, I have been welcomed with open arms. I think that’s because most people forget that I am not from here. It’s easy to assume I am from Des Moines or Cedar Rapids. They don’t realize I grew up just a couple of miles away from a swamp, where I saw beautiful mangrove forests and made sure to keep an eye out for alligators. Sometimes even I forget that I was raised in one of the southernmost points on the continental United States. I lose so much when I forget that.
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I lose sight of the fact that both places are facing the loss of the nature that made the places what they are. Iowa land, which is the most agriculturally productive land in the world, cannot sustain the current farming practices. Florida will soon be underwater if action isn’t taken quickly, or, more likely, it will be blown away by the increasing frequency of tropical storms.
People in undergrad, however, don’t really think of that as home. In terms of where my parents are, what I could call home, I don’t have that anymore. I haven’t had one for a while. As I am working my way through fourth year, I am thinking more about what home means. Hurricane Irma brought this question to the forefront of my mind, especially with so many homes in the south destroyed. Right now, I feel comfortable calling both Grinnell and Miami home. A huge part of me is back in Miami. It’s where I developed my love for floral prints, where I learned how to sing and where I got my start on political campaigns. I also will never forget where I have lived for the past few years. I learned that sweet corn can be one of the tastiest dishes in the world, where rolling hills of corn lead to the best sunsets and that if you work hard you make something bigger than yourself happen. But my literal and figurative home here at Grinnell is inherently temporary. That may be the case for many of us at Grinnell, but that should not stop us from making an impact and caring while we are here.
9
Staff Editorial: Gun violence after Vegas
Following the deadliest mass shooting in American history, The S&B has both a journalistic and moral obligation to confront the pervasiveness of gun violence in our society. The massacre at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is of a sort that remains all too common in the United States. In any other mature democracy, the death of at least 58 people and injury of at least 515 others in a mass shooting would be a call to action. There would be meaningful declarations of “never again,” as people mourned the deaths of their countrymen. There would be calls for impactful policy change and legislation that weren’t hollow and infeasible. There would be no political cowardice in the face of massive vested interests and gun lobbies. There would be a great coming together of people, a unity that transcends whatever evil caused the death of so many. But we do not live in such a nation. Rather, we live in a place soaked in gun violence. No other comparable country has this problem with such regularity. Being killed with a gun in Japan is as likely as being killed by a lightning strike in the United States. The 1996 Port Arthur Massacre in Australia brought that nation to pass sweeping, bipartisan gun control legislation. The Australian government restricted and in some cases banned the ownership of assault weapons and bought back half of the country’s guns. After decades of mass shootings, what concrete solutions does the United States have to show for it? Even though practical gun policies enjoy bipartisan public support, we apparently lack the political wherewithal to make coherent policy. Potentially dangerous people can still buy guns. There exists no real system for universal background checks on gun buyers. The S&B thus condemns the continued lack of response by elected officials to the epidemic of gun violence in the
United States. What is to account for our national inability to tackle this issue? One aspect is our desensitization to gun violence, a phenomenon which stretches locally to Grinnell. Our community is home to Brownells, the self-described “World’s Largest Supplier of Gun Parts.” On their interactive website, one can purchase the parts required for an AR-15, one of the weapons used in the Las Vegas shooting. The presence of Brownells in town was met with suspicion when their Grinnell distribution center opened in 2013, but has seemingly been forgotten as it has become a fixture in our community. The CEO of Brownells, Pete Brownell, also serves as president of the National Rifle Association. He is the recipient of the NRA’s “Golden Ring of Freedom,” which recognizes his donation of over $1 million. But the NRA is not the only beneficiary of his apparent generosity. He has donated considerable sums to the Grin City Collective, the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation and other such local causes. His charity is willingly accepted by the College as well, which seemingly contradicts our commitment to social justice. The College’s Ignite Institute for young people was funded in part by a gift from Brownell. According to the NRA Ring of Freedom site, College faculty visited Brownells for a day at the shooting range and “left … giddy with excitement.” Brownell’s charity is embraced by our college community despite his controversial business and role in the NRA. It is with these facts in mind that the S&B reminds our community that gun culture and violence are never too far beyond the surface of society, and that Grinnell is no exception. Our nation, our community and our college are seemingly entangled with guns, but that should not discourage us from taking action.
Grinnell has a deep history of activism. From the history of the town’s founding to the New Deal to the Vietnam War, our community has been generally on the right side of history and has taken an active stance on issues of political and social justice, responsibility and activism. So, with that in mind, I have a question for you all. What happened? Where are our activists taking to the streets protesting injustices? To steal the opening lines I wrote in a Letter to the Editor last year: “We hear a lot about Grinnell’s commitment to social responsibility. It’s plastered all over the College’s website and the glossy brochures it sends out every fall. But what does that commitment look like in practice?” Now, you might say, “Well, last year the March 1st Day of Resistance was hugely successful. It brought students and faculty together to protest and educate themselves about the hateful ideologies of those in power.” You may even cite the creation of the advisory group to the climate change task force to the investment committee of the Board of Trustees on the issue of climate impacted investment as examples of how the community here comes together to rally around issues of great importance. Well, to you, fine member of the community that you are, I say this: where were the other 1590 students during the Climate Change Advisory Committee Panels? Where is the outrage that Grinnell owns an oil company? What about the fact that I’m writing this piece while sitting on a desk made by prison labor? How about the frequent Civil Rights Act and EEOC/ ADA violations that we see on our
campus? Where were our social activists when the deplorable events of Kanye Gardner occurred? I know that a disproportionate amount of my time is spent looking at the issues I’m actively involved in on campus. That means that I don’t have the time to go to certain events or dedicate myself to certain problems we face, and I’m sure that the same problem happens to many of you too. Everyone is nigh constantly doing something. So what’s the point? If everyone is doing something, then everything should have someone doing it, right? Well, yes, but also no. What happens when that something is important to all students on campus and no more than a handful of students show up? If the College was being challenged by the community consistently about Title VII, Title IX, ADA and NLRA violations, would they still be doing those things? No. Because when we have in the past, they have stopped, or at least they started to listen for a time. Can we muster the people necessary to successfully protest these things? Yes, clearly so. So why aren’t we? That’s a question I think each student individually needs to answer for themselves. I can’t make value judgments for you, nor would I want to. But maybe consider that there are things happening on this campus larger than any one of us, and while you can’t be everywhere at once, you can be and are somewhere, doing things that can profoundly help or hurt others. The full version of this article is available online.
Letter to the editor: Whatever happened to activism?
— Quinn Ercolani '20
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, Riley Murphy, who can be reached at sandbads@ grinnell.edu or by mail at 1115 8th Avenue Grinnell College Box 5886, Grinnell, IA 50112.
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Arbitrary Analysis Social Calendar
Snedge
This week, Mira Berkson '20 and Keli Vitaioli '19 polled students asking: Aristotle or Chipotle?
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From one Blade Runner to another
Everyone should know that Grinnell professors and administrators visited the Brownells shooting range and had a great time. It is currently being promoted by Brownells as community engagement PR. This is unacceptable after Vegas. Sandy Hook. Aurora. Pulse. We should not be supporting the NRA at this or anytime.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.
- Thicc and Undercover '18
- Roy Batty
Grade Definition
A Excellent A- Excellent B+ Good B Good B- Good Since I must submit grades, how do I tell excellence from excellence? And shouldn't that be Good, Gooder, Goodest? Surely we can muster a vocabulary to match our hair-splitting judgment of student scholarship. Even the Ferrovia della Stata, which only ran on time under Il Duce, has the wit to distinguish its top three trains as Expresso, Accelerato, and Rapido. - The Bemused Instructor
A Comment on Chuong HEY CURRENT STUDENTS, don't take Chuong Garden for granted... Enjoy it while you can. It is the perfect comfort food. You WILL miss it later. - A [2017] with regrets