The Anchor: March 17, 2021

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Carole Chee

After days of sun and thaw, the chill that hit my face when I left my apartment this morning startled me. In so many ways, March feels like a two-steps-forward, onestep-back kind of month. Just when the daffodils are starting to push up along the sidewalk, the ground freezes around their roots. Just when I’m starting to feel like I understand organic chemistry, I get knocked back down with another rough grade on a quiz. Just when it seems like widespread vaccination is so close and normalcy is within reach, the case count starts to climb upward again. So we keep our masks close around our noses against the cold and the contagion, wondering if anything will ever change.

Still, there’s something I love about this time of year that teeters on the border between the death and dormancy of winter and the rich regeneration of spring. Maybe that’s why one of my favorite poems is the section of William Carlos Williams’ “Spring and All” that begins “By the road to the contagious hospital…” As we pass the anniversary of last March’s lockdown and outbreaks continue to flare across the country, the setting of Williams’ meditation on spring seems particularly apt. His imagery steers away from the typical symbols of the season—fresh flowers, singing birds—and instead fixes its focus on the roadside weeds. Each stanza invites us to dwell in the space between death and life as “Lifeless in appearance, sluggish / dazed spring approaches.”

This year especially, “sluggish” and “dazed” fits the mood of the month with an uncanny precision. I keep seeing memes that depict this March creeping up with a knife on someone who’s still processing the previous March. Even as the vaccine starts to turn the tide of the pandemic, we’re all grappling

with the enormity of last year’s loss. I don’t know how to move through these next through months with the right balance of hope and caution, but the words of the poets who’ve already walked the path through uncertainty are showing me where to plant my feet. And so, in this strange and liminal moment of mid-March, I won’t try to offer my own insight or encouragement but simply share with you the last two stanzas of “Spring and All”:

“Now the grass, tomorrow the stiff curl of wildcarrot leaf One by one objects are defined— It quickens: clarity, outline of leaf

But now the stark dignity of entrance—

Still, the profound change has come upon them: rooted, they grip down and begin to awaken.”

Ruth

I don’t have anything good to say today. This isn’t to say that I’m usually endowed with an abundance of wisdom, but as of today, all of the quips and questions that usually stick the walls of my cranial cavity have been scraped off like gum from a high school desk. I don’t feel smart or useful and am not particularly hopeful for what tomorrow might bring.

If I’m being honest, I always feel a bit hopeless whenever the sun goes away after a particularly spring-y stretch of bright days. March is never easy. But this year in particular, I feel like I’m drowning: in my many responsibilities left to carry out on campus, in the big, inky question mark that punctuates the end of my college career, in the ocean of doubt that seems to spread over all that I once knew. I had always assumed that by the latter half of my

final semester, the most difficult thing I’d be dealing with would be senioritis or trying to find an apartment for next year where the rats and roaches don’t claim squatters’ rights. Although I have a few promising leads, I regret to admit that I still don’t know what will become of me come May.

I’m starting to feel grateful that I didn’t give anything up for Lent this year (let’s be real, giving up dessert doesn’t count if you never eat sugar anyway). Since February 17, I’ve been pushed to let go of far more than I was willing to relinquish. Things that once made me feel stable and proud are no longer mine to hold. And yet, although precious things have been taken from them, my hands are now open in a posture of reception. I still don’t know what I’m getting out of all of this, but if I’ve learned anything from the repetitive act of letting go, it’s that I will not remain empty for long.

In the meantime, there isn’t much more to do with open hands than to clasp them together and humble myself before the one who gives. Lent is not only about giving up sinful habits and renouncing our lesser desires, but requires that we dedicate that empty space to the risen Christ; to invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and guide our hearts. Furthermore, it calls us to admit our weakness and to allow our creator to sustain us, in times of plague, famine, isolation and selfdoubt.

Although my hands and heart are empty, I know where to put my hope. As it is written in Psalm 121, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.”

You may feel cast down and emptied out, but I invite you to lift your eyes and abide in the hope that the sun will once again grace the sky; that salvation is coming and you will be filled with joy once more.

It sometimes feels as though spring is just across the lake, except the lake is only half-frozen and you’ll fall in and get hypothermia if you try to cross it. Ain’t that just the way?

Ruth Holloway & Claire Buck Editors-in-ChiEf

Claire

CAMPUS&BEYOND

Students lift hopes at lantern festival

Cameron Geddes Staff Writer

In November the Center for Diversity and Inclusion moved to the Keppel House, a threestory structure situated between Cook Hall and Gilmore Hall on 10th Street. It’s a cozy-looking building but is unfortunately littleknown to many students at Hope College. This is largely due to the limited number of individuals who regularly occupy the building; previously, this building was home to Campus Ministries. Although there is certainly no restriction against stopping by, the event held last Saturday allowed students who were unfamiliar with the building to come inside and socialize while abiding by the current COVID-19 restrictions.

The Lantern Festival was hosted on Saturday, February 27, from 5-7 p.m. at Keppel House and was cosponsored by Asian Student Union as well as Women of Color United. The event allowed students to come and go and enjoy a number of stations emphasizing community, such as playing card games, creating arts and crafts, eating snacks, listening to music and dancing. The event was held in celebration of the Lunar New Year, which officially occurred between February 12 and 26. This year is the Year of the Ox.

The Anchor spoke with the Asian Student Union about the event and what its inspiration was. Its President Susan Par (’22), a business major and Phelps Scholar, said: “We’re just going to decorate lanterns, color, play games, maybe watch a movie [on the big screen downstairs]. We haven’t decided what to watch yet.” The event ended up not involving a movie, as participants were already engaged in the event’s other offerings. “It’s a lot of Asian snacks,” said Par. In the snack room, which was filled with Pocky, Hello Panda and other assorted snacks, participants could work on drawings and/or their homework. In the living room, South Korean girl group BLACKPINK set the ambience, inspiring some dancing and impromptu singing. Par also remarked that while the Keppel House has office space for the managers of CDI and its employees, it is also in part a social space: “The main floor is for

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social [events]. We have a study room, living room and then another study room. The basement is more like a hangout space, and there’s storage for our MSO clubs.” Downstairs, participants worked on decorating lanterns and folding paper cranes. Participants also played Pictionary and socialized, all while maintaining social distancing and observing the occupancy limit guidelines.

The Anchor also spoke with Ayanna Bailey (’23), a member of Women of Color United studying neuroscience and psychology. “We tried to incorporate the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival into a cool

event with Women of Color United and Asian Student Union.” Bailey shared how the collaboration got started and about how the Lantern Festival changed meaning as the collaboration began: “I got the idea from ‘Tangled,’ so I looked it up and it’s actually a Chinese tradition, so I was like, ‘I can reach out to Asian Student Union and we can do something around that.’ But they also had the decorations from Lunar New Year last week.”

Bailey is correct; the floating lights scene in “Tangled” is inspired by many lantern festivals around the world, though the Chinese variant is unmistakably an influence. A simple internet search reveals a number of varying sky lantern traditions. In India for instance, sky lanterns are often used to represent the Star of Bethlehem during Christmas time. They are also used by Buddhists to celebrate the end of a three-month Lenten season and during Diwali to ward away aggressive spirits. Japan also celebrates the Kamihinokinai Paper Balloon Festival, in which enormous “kamifusen” are flown with intricate drawings of samurai or gorgeous women depicted on the side. Taiwan and Thailand also celebrate their own versions of lantern festivals, but Asian countries

are not the only ones; Brazil and Portugal have also dabbled in this tradition. This style of festival, however, may not be fit for modern times; a large number of fires and pollution have been attributed to the flying of sky lanterns.

Bailey went on, “We have lantern decorating upstairs and downstairs. We wanted to do sky lanterns, but Hope said it was a fire hazard, so we decided to decorate our own. We have a Kahoot riddle we’re going to do later, because the Chinese Lantern Festival is about riddles, too.” She finished by talking about CDI’s move to the Keppel House: “We officially opened earlier this month. Every day we have a different MSO come in and have a different event or just hang out so people can get to know each other, and it’s been really awesome.” All in all, it was a great event and noticeably felt similar to and created a nostalgia of pre-COVID get-togethers.

The student body is grateful to Women of Color United and Asian Student Union for hosting this event. With the recent rise in hate crimes and attacks against Asians in the U.S., this lantern festival was both a relevant student event and a pertinent celebration of culture and diversity.

Cameron Geddes

KEPPEL HOUSE — Students who attended the event were free to socialize, play games and create art at the various stations

Political clubs share thoughts post-election

Aubrey Brolsma Staff Writer

During the stressful season of the presidential election last semester, The Anchor sat down with the Hope Republicans and Hope Democrats to get their thoughts about the coming months and political culture on campus. Now that time has passed, a candidate has been selected and a new administration has settled in, The Anchor has decided to go back and see what has changed on campus. We sat down with Juliana Struyk (’23), Secretary of Hope Republicans, and Liam Diephuis (’23), Treasurer of Hope Democrats, to get their thoughts.

One might think that given the tumultuous political climate the United States experienced in the few months after the election that Hope College would have felt a change in atmosphere around politics, but for the most part it hasn’t. Diephuis stated, “Personally, I just haven’t seen the overall campus atmosphere change.” Some have felt a change in a gradual downward slope in political talk on campus. As Struyk explained, “I feel like politics is not as prominent anymore; it seems like election season was a mere dream.” Diephuis went further, commenting on why he believes the atmosphere on campus hasn’t seen much change and what Hope students should do as things go quiet again: “After the political pandemonium of the last year, I don’t think there’s very much that can shock us or change the political atmosphere on campus, at least not in the short term. To me, it seems like the day-to-day operations of government are being increasingly scrutinized by media organizations

and followed by the general public. I hope that this encourages people everywhere to take a closer look at our government and think critically about it. To summarize, I don’t know exactly how Hope’s political climate will change, but I’d like it to have an atmosphere of open-mindedness with regards to necessary changes in U.S. government and politics.”

After the election in November Hope Democrats and Hope Republicans had an event to talk about unity and its importance at Hope. When asked if the importance of unity had diminished, Struyk commented, “This is important to us, especially in light of this past election. We realize everyone has their personal beliefs, and we respect that; but we feel it’s important to internalize the willingness to listen to others’ beliefs and create a space to do so.” Diephuis echoed her sentiments, adding, “Personally, unity on campus is important to me. A sound piece of advice I’ve received is to view each person as a child of God and as a whole, instead of just interacting with blocks of their identity like politics.”

Hope Republicans also had the unique experience of witnessing their candidate leave office after only one term. Former President Trump is only one of ten United States presidents to be denied a second term. Despite this, Struyk said, “The atmosphere within Hope Republicans hasn’t changed much. We have continued reflecting on the Trump administration, but we have kept up discussion about potential candidates for the next election.”

On January 6, 2021, the nation

stood still as the United States Capitol building was breached for the first time since the War of 1812. Students weren’t yet back on campus for the spring semester, but no one could escape the constant media coverage of the event. When asked if their group had made any statements following the attacks, Struyk stated, “We appreciated the statements released by our parent organization, the Michigan Federation of College Republicans and Michigan’s Youth GOP.” This statement was a strong condemnation of the violence and called for healing. Diephuis said that the Hope Democrats hadn’t released a statement but added, “The fact that we would need to condemn an armed insurrection is an unfortunate testament to the fact that our democracy isn’t perfect, and that overt opposition to democracy is very close to home.” The presence of Christian religious symbols and white supremacist rhetoric intermingled with far right violence could not be ignored at the Capitol Protests. For how this applies to Hope’s campus, Diephuis explained, “Democracy dies when any group of people, be it ethnic, religious, political or otherwise, believes itself to be better than another group. As college students, we have more in common than we realize. I hope that we can focus on what we have in common, while not excusing any form of racism, discrimination or harassment on campus.” Many students will remember the bias incident of last semester, when a pro-Trump sticker was placed on Schrier Cottage, a home primarily occupied by women of color, and

a house that flies the Black Lives Matter and Pride flags. This incident inspired a campus-wide email, reaffirming Hope’s commitment to anti-racism. Diephuis added, “While campus administration is making some efforts to increase diversity on campus, the student body is still disproportionately white, and the lack of diversity gives certain people a sense of impunity to harass students of color. It’s disappointing to see how many students don’t acknowledge the problem.”

It has been difficult for both clubs to do outreach during a pandemic. Diephuis stated, “Hope Democrats haven’t hosted any events during this academic year, due to the pandemic. Even with online events, reaching out to prospective members is difficult because the unavailability of in-person organizing makes it hard to raise awareness; next year will be a good opportunity to start over with finding new members and strengthening relationships, once COVID restrictions aren’t necessary.” Struyk stated of Hope Republicans’ plans for the semester, “We have a few opportunities. They are being posted to our social media, so be sure to check it out!” Both Hope Republicans and Hope Democrats can be reached via email, republicans@ hope.edu and democrats@hope. edu, for questions and further information on membership, events and outreach. Both look forward to new student participation. Both clubs can also be found on Instagram, Hope Republicans at @hope_republicans and Hope Democrats at @hopedemocrats.

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CAMPUS&BEYOND

New stimulus checks: Hope College dependents are included

Claire Dwyer Staff Writer

On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package for Americans during the current COVID-19 pandemic. The bill includes provisions for $1,400 checks for most Americans making up to $75,000 a year, and double that for married couples making $150,000 and under. Additionally, the package extends the expanded unemployment benefits, expanding the $3,600-per-child tax credit for families, and $130 billion to help support schools and colleges reopening to in-person instruction, among many more benefits for Americans. The IRS expects most of the checks to reach Americans’ accounts by March 17, but some received it the day after Biden signed the bill into law.

The $1,400 stimulus checks are also available to some adult dependents, including college students dependent on their parents or guardians, and many of the elderly or people with disabilities who are dependent on someone else. These provisions differ greatly from the last round of stimulus checks in the COVID-19 pandemic, and each dependent should receive the same amount as the taxpayer,

according to CNBC. The payments are based on the listed income from the most recent year of taxes filed, and these payments should be received automatically.

The package was passed along party lines, with no Republicans supporting the bill. However, the stimulus package appears to be popular, and according to a Pew Research poll, 70% of American adults support the stimulus package, including 41% of Republicans.

In contrast, 94% of Democrats say they support the bill. Many Republicans saw the bill as too expensive and fiscally irresponsible. However, Democrats have claimed this as one of the greatest antipoverty bills passed yet in Congress.

The package is expected to alleviate the pressures many working families have faced since the start of the pandemic, such as job losses, child care costs and more. For college students, the stimulus package also allows for economic relief for themselves and their families throughout the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate is currently 6.2%, which is about double the pre-pandemic rate, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

For freshman Ellie DiLeonardi, the relief the package provides will greatly impact her community by supporting adults with disabilities. “I think it makes sense to give money to the essential workers, obviously, and adult dependents, and especially those with disabilities. My parents are very involved with my church’s ministry, which supports adults with disabilities through housing programs. These programs support around ten special needs adults and their

caregivers. Usually, those adults have smaller jobs, but they can’t go in and work as much since some of them are immunocompromised.”

President Biden, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Harris, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are expected to visit many different states over the coming days and weeks to talk to community members about the issues they are facing as a result of the pandemic and about how the new relief package can best help their communities.

On-campus homophobia at Calvin: What does this mean for Hope College?

Carole Chee Staff Writer

Last Tuesday, Calvin University students set up a display table on campus with messaging that suggested having an LGBTQ+ orientation is sinful. “LGBTQ IS SIN. THE BIBLE SAYS. Change my mind,” read a sign on the booth, and a nearby poster listed several different Bible verses

that forwarded the students’ message.

Calvin students organized a silent sit-in on Thursday afternoon to protest the anti-LGBTQ display.

“We want to tell the LGBTQ student body that they are loved, that they’re cared for and that they do belong on campus,” said Student Senator

Jasmine Nykamp, who co-organized the protest. Calvin’s President Michael K. Le Roy issued a response to the college’s community the next day, writing that Calvin affirms “that sexual intimacy is a gift from God to be celebrated in marriage between a man and woman,” but also that “we affirm the image of God in our LGBTQ+ friends. We want all of our students to know that they are loved.”

“I was disappointed that there couldn’t have been more of a call for the total acceptance of students,” said Nykamp in response to LeRoy’s message. “I was hoping for more of a condemnation of what had happened, and maybe an acknowledgment that there will be consequences for this action.” According to Mlive. com, she said she wishes the president had condemned what she called “blatantly hateful behavior.”

It’s important to remember that Hope College isn’t far removed from this occurrence. Calvin and Hope may be rivals, but the two private Christian four-year colleges have a lot in common, both good and bad. Only recently did Hope remove its “Hope College Position Statement On Human Sexuality,” which stated that marriage was intended to be between a man and a woman, and create a more welcoming space for students identifying within the LGBTQ+ community.

Why are Americans so obsessed with the British royal family?

Carole Chee Staff Writer

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, made headlines last week in their viral interview with Oprah Winfrey. Across the two-hour primetime special, the couple detailed the challenges they faced as a part of the British royal family and explained the reasons for their exit from the centuries-old institution, which ranged from discussions about “how dark” their son Archie’s skin might be to the continual neglect of Meghan’s mental health. Their interview exposed colonialist and racist sentiments that run deep in the United Kingdom and sparked questions about the inherent injustice that the monarchy represents. “Having a queen as head of state is like having a pirate or a mermaid or Ewok,” wrote Patrick Freyne in The Irish Times and agreed that the monarchy “looks archaic and racist.”

If the British monarchy is outdated and representative of its country’s racial inequality, why are we so obsessed with it? For example, 17 million people in the United States tuned into Harry and Meghan’s interview last Monday, and that demonstrated interest is just the tip of the iceberg. Television shows like "The Crown"

have garnered immense viewership, which set records on Netflix with 3.36 billion viewed minutes; that’s 56 million hours, over 2.3 million days and over 6,000 years.

The media is a major perpetrator that piques our interest in people like the royal family. According to Time Magazine, “Constant media exposure also creates a feedback loop.” Because there is expressed interest in celebrities, the media churns out stories, pictures and other content about them. Because

those celebrities are constantly covered by the media, people take interest in them, and so the cycle repeats. “We live in a mediasaturated time,” Farley says. “In a sense, there’s no escape. Some people will become interested in the details.”

Farah Stockman from the New York Times suggests that American citizens find interest in the British monarchy as an escapist coping mechanism in response to the complications of our own government: “Amid the uncertainty

and bad faith that has overtaken so much of American democracy, it feels good to escape into Avalor, a world [in the television series 'Elena of Avalor'] where kings and queens rule benevolently over contented villagers, and nobody ever has to worry about voter suppression or the Electoral College. As terrible as the wicked witch is on the show, she’s not nearly as terrifying as the thought of millions of American voters who believe in QAnon or Pizzagate.”

We’re captivated by the British monarchy because it’s so remarkably different from our own. Whether we’re quelling our desires for wealth and significance or simply looking for somewhere to escape, it’s easy to turn to something semi-predictable that can distract us from our realities. “There’s nothing wrong with getting caught up in the details of a wedding you’ll never attend, or poring over pictures of the royal baby,” says Lynn McCutcheon, editor of the North American Journal of Psychology, “so long as you keep perspective.” The concept of a royal family is foreign and fascinating, but we must remember that it also represents a dangerous era of colonialism. American fans of British royalty should be careul to not fall prey to upholding harmful racist ideals.

New Court, new rules: Cases that college students should follow

On March 8, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in support of former Georgia Gwinnett College student Chike Uzuegbunam, who was arguing that his right to freedom of speech was violated. When Uzuegbunam was a student at the college, he was peacefully preaching in an outdoor public area when he was told by campus officials that his actions were in violation of campus policy. In Uzuegbunam’s lawsuit, he requested damages of only $1. Eight of the nine judges ruled in favor of Uzuegbunam, but Chief Justice John Roberts dissented. The Chief Justice cited the fact that Uzuegbunam had graduated and that the campus has changed its policy as the reason for his dissent.

Uzuegbunam’s case was pivotal for the discussion of free speech on college campuses, a hot-button issue on many college campuses.

Kristen Waggoner, a lawyer for the

Alliance Defending Freedom, who represented Uzuegbunam, told ABC News that, “When such officials engage in misconduct but face no consequences, it leaves victims without recourse, undermines the nation’s commitment to protecting constitutional rights and emboldens the government to engage in future violations. We are pleased that the Supreme Court weighed in on the side of justice for those victims.”

Additionally, another pivotal court case for college students may make its way to the Supreme Court soon. In Arkansas, Governor Asa Hutchinson signed a near-total abortion ban on March 9. The bill only allows an abortion if the life of the mother is in danger, and it does not have exceptions for rape or incest.

Pro-life advocates have long hoped for a bill such as this to possibly make its way to the Supreme Court to

overturn Roe v. Wade. For political science student Katie DeReus, the possibility of a court overturning precedent is concerning. “As far as the current issues facing the Court right now, the current makeup of the Court has the ability to reverse some of the work done by other Courts. If the Court chooses that path, I think it could definitely undermine the legitimacy of the Court’s decisions. The Court should not ignore precedent based on whatever political affiliation the majority has at a given time. It is the Court’s responsibility to uphold precedent and not let itself become trapped underneath partisan politics,” she said.

For college students, these legal developments are crucial to follow. Supreme Court decisions affect everyone in the United States, and the decisions made by the court affect generations to come. “I think

it’s important for college students to pay attention to the Supreme Court because the decisions that the Court makes have a direct impact on how our country will function in the future,” said DeReus.

POPSUGAR

Claire Dwyer Staff Writer

Chief Justice John Roberts, Supreme Court.

Accessibility and CAPS: Making the call

Eli Maxwell Opinion Editor

For the past week or so, I’ve been staring at a sticky note on my desk that says, “Call CAPS for ADHD testing.” I have not done that yet. This lack of action may be a manifestation of behaviors that I believe could be a result of having ADHD. Let me explain.

Over winter break (also known as the only break we get this term), a conversation about ADHD seemed to be quite prominent on social media, or at least that’s what my algorithms decided to show me. I noticed that many people with ADHD experienced things that I often find myself dealing with. Being a 21st-century individual, I know that the internet is not any kind of replacement for a diagnosis from a real professional, so I didn’t jump to any conclusions. I cannot definitively say that I have ADHD, but based on experiences people have shared and behavior patterns that they find themselves engaging in, I found myself wanting to at least go through some testing.

Well lucky me, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) offers free ADHD assessments for all Hope students! I’ll just send them a quick email to schedule an assessment for once we get back to campus, and... Oh. What’s this? Does CAPS not have an email address?

I thought I was going crazy. Surely CAPS is reachable by email. Surely, during a global pandemic when everything has been transitioned into online-only appointments, the service that provides therapy and mental health intervention has been made as accessible as possible. Right?

Wrong. CAPS, in fact, does not have an email address. Ok. Well then how do I reach them? Their website says, “To make an appointment: Call our office (616.395.7945) to schedule a time to speak to a CAPS staff counselor.” Ok, I have to call. That means I’ll have to wait until classes start back up and offices reopen. At least I have a plan.

But now we’re back on campus. We’ve been here for almost two months, and I still haven’t called them. I look at my yellow post-it and think “I don’t really want to call them today. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

But then, as Bo Burnham says, “Tomorrow comes and it’s still today. Tomorrow’s a relative term. We’re not getting there.”

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that I am an adult who is capable of making a phone call and talking to a real person to schedule an appointment that I would probably benefit from; it isn’t CAPS’ fault that calling someone on the phone to make an appointment makes my hands visibly shake for 20 minutes, but I would think that the campus resource for mental health would at least account for helping people with some social anxiety issues. Even President Scogin has a Hope email address. In theory, I can reach the president of the college easier than I can reach an essential service like CAPS.

Frankly, this email address fiasco is a symptom of a much larger problem with CAPS. The system would still be imperfect or, at its worst, counterproductive, even if they announced next week, “We fixed it! You can email us now!”

I reached out to a student (who wished to remain anonymous) with a less than ideal past experience with CAPS. I’ll let them speak for themselves:

“I reached out to CAPS last winter when I was having some pretty bad anxiety-related mental health issues. I had to call because they don’t have an email and I really don’t love talking to people on the phone, hence the anxiety. I called anyway, and they asked if I was ‘in crisis,’ which I responded ‘no’ to, but I wasn’t doing great. They then told me I could get an appointment in three weeks, which was way farther away than I was hoping. I waited the three weeks, went in for my appointment and [my counselor] was very impersonal and seemed uninterested/unconcerned about me and my issues. [They] asked a few questions and took some notes but made me feel uncomfortable about the whole thing. [They] then told me [they] would reach out through email to tell me about next steps, but [they] never did. And I didn’t hear back from anyone at CAPS even after telling [my counselor] about my mental health issues. I definitely

did not feel supported and the negative experience actually turned me away from getting therapy until very recently.”

Not only is CAPS not as accessible as it should be, but even when people who are seeking counseling wait three weeks to go to an appointment, the service itself makes students feel unheard and uncomfortable.

I will acknowledge that it’s unfair to blame the scheduling problem on CAPS as an organization; they don’t have control over how much funding they receive, and thus they aren’t in control over how many counselors they employ and how many appointments they can book in a day, week, month or year. CAPS can’t hire more counselors to serve more students if they don’t have the proper funding to do so. I’m sure a number of people go into that budget-making process, so it’s a

mystery to me where the fault lies. If administrators want CAPS to be a genuinely helpful and accessible resource, and if Hope College wants to be able to say that mental health is really a priority, there need to be more counselors so more students can receive help.

I think CAPS could be an amazing resource for students. With increased accessibility, both in terms of communication and increased availability, students would see the value in CAPS and would be more likely to visit. As someone who wants to be a therapist, I think therapy is for everybody; a good therapist can bring insight and counsel to anybody, not only those in a “crisis,” which, in the mental health world, is hard to define anyway.

I look at this post-it note on my desk, telling me to make a call, an appointment. I wonder if it’s worth it. I wonder if they have time for me.

Eli Maxwell

Imposter syndrome and mental health

Ruth Holloway Co-Editor-in-Chief

When I was eight years old, I walked into the living room while my parents were watching “The Mummy 2,” and immediately regretted it. If you’ve seen the film, you’re probably familiar with the scene where the antagonist begins to pull Brendan Fraser’s brain out through his nose, a practice that was common when embalming the deceased in ancient Egypt, and one that I became acutely familiar with that day. For years after, I didn’t allow myself to face my closet door when going to sleep, because if I did, I would see the nasty, ramen-noodleesque brain tissue coming out of the nose of 2007’s most esteemed movie star. It was terrifying, and didn’t stop until I moved out of that house at 16.

You can imagine that it was somewhat nightmarish when I learned that the first viable COVID tests touched the membrane separating one’s nasal cavity from the brain. It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but I once drove an hour and a half from Pennsylvania to Ohio in order to get a test that only swabbed the lower nasal cavity instead of the invasive PCR. I guess fear makes you do silly things.

Why am I recounting my childhood phobias in an article about mental health? Well, this instance is the first memory I can recall in which what I now know to be OCD became evident. At the time, I thought it was normal. I thought a lot of things were normal, which is why I never thought to ask for help.

There are countless red flags that I can recall from my childhood and early adult life that pointed to the reality of my situation — obsessively counting stairs and floor tiles, pulling off my cuticles so my fingers would look “clean,” refusing to swim in lakes with trees too close to the water in fear of getting impaled— but because I never told anyone, no one thought anything was wrong with me. Yeah, some kids are just sensitive, but in my case there was something more serious going on.

It wasn’t until I was 16 that I realized I’d been having panic attacks for years, and not until I was 18 that I felt comfortable admitting I had above average anxiety. Only recently have I felt comfortable saying that I have OCD. Why did it take me so long to realize if all factors clearly indicated that I have

obsessive-compulsive disorder?

There were a number of things that stopped me from making the connection, including the simple fact that mental health issues are rarely spoken of in religious communities. I’m not blaming the church here, but it would be foolish not to note the institutional silence on this topic, especially in Evangelical circles. But, for me at least, the more serious barrier to me seeking help was imposter syndrome.

You hear the term imposter syndrome thrown around a lot these days — I guess it’s Gen Z’s newest favorite thing to have. But in my late teens and early adulthood, everyone and everything was “so OCD.” Every little neat freak within a hundred mile radius suddenly was afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder: the horse girl in your geometry class with the multicolored pens, the roommate who doesn’t want you rearranging the contents of her minifridge, your mom who demanded that the house be spotless before you invited a friend over.

The designation “OCD” basically became synonymous with a type-A personality, or (if you dabble in the Enneagram) type ones. My issue is that I am all of those things — an A, a one — but didn’t want to be another person who claimed to have OCD just because they like to make their bed in the morning.

But the thing is, I don’t just like to make my bed. I have to make my bed, because otherwise I am a bad, lazy, stupid person. There have been days when I’ve left the house with the bed unmade and thought about it up until the moment I got home to fix it. OCD is characterized by obsessive thoughts and (usually, but not always, linked) compulsive actions, as well as by the fact that these behaviors take up a significant amount of time or

pose a threat to your well-being. I’m a high-functioning person, so I didn’t think that my obsessions could be characterized as a real impediment — that is, until last fall.

If you were to ask me what happened in October of 2019, I genuinely couldn’t tell you. There are weeks-long gaps in my memory, which, for someone who doesn’t tend to forget much, is extremely disturbing. I wasn’t getting schoolwork done in a timely fashion because I wanted to do it perfectly, but I didn’t feel like I was in a good headspace to do my best work, so I simply wouldn’t work on it at all. The same logic applied to cleaning my room, seeing my friends calling my family and any work that required selfmotivation. My life was a mess, and furthermore, I couldn’t remember much of it. It was at that point that I decided to get professional help.

My therapist is awesome. I feel like everyone says that, but really, the positive changes she’s helped me make in the past year or so have drastically improved my quality of life. The first thing she had me do was make a list of all the rules I had made for myself. I still have the list.

Rule #1 reads: “No jaywalking.” That one is, admittedly, pretty normal, but it really goes down from there in terms of rationality. My first “assignment” was to start breaking the rules in little, but meaningful, ways. The only way to interrupt the cycle of obsessive thoughts and compulsive action is to counteract them with new habits; to change what you tell your brain in hopes that what it’s telling you changes as well. This process, which is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), literally forges new neural paths in your brain. CBT was hard then and is hard now, but as my therapist tells me, “success builds upon success.”

It may not look like success to an outsider, but for me, straightening out my car just twice (instead of five times) or leaving one dish on the drying rack overnight (instead of getting up at 3:00 a.m. to put it away because I can’t sleep) are victories. I am making progress. I am getting better.

I’m not sharing this story just for the sake of transparency. In fact, I don’t really like to tell personal stories unless I think recounting them will be helpful in some way. So what is my point? First, don’t refrain from getting help just because “it always gets better eventually.” Just because you consistently feel better after an episode doesn’t mean it won’t get bad again. These kinds of things are cyclical, so even if you’re feeling fine now, begin to seek out resources. I can guarantee that you’ll want some coping mechanisms in your pocket before “next time” rolls around.

Secondly, a word for those of you who still employ the vocabulary of “so OCD,” or a similar variant involving anxiety or depression: stop it. Your words matter, and they aren’t helping anybody. I don’t say this in order to be a gatekeeper. Everyone can (and probably should) get therapy; it’s super healthy. Even if you usually feel fine but need to talk about your current circumstances with a third party who’s sworn to secrecy, you can get help, too. You should never feel like you’re “not [insert bad feeling here] enough.” However, do consider the impact your words are having on other people who are struggling, and whether your language is constructive or trivializes the experiences of others.

Finally, don’t give into imposter syndrome. I know just how difficult it is to speak up for yourself, but it’s so worth it. The first time I had a session, my therapist asked me, “Why are you here now; right now?” I gave a long, rambling answer about how afraid I was that this is how everyone felt, and that if a professional told me I was fine, I’d just have to live like this for the rest of my life. Chances are that if you feel similarly, it’s not normal, and you should get help. I’m thankful beyond words that I did.

If you take one thing from reading about my experiences, let it be this: you are your own best advocate, and you are absolutely deserving of help. No one can really do it alone.

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Disney’s cultural conquest: Polynesia and the Pacific Islands

Katy Smith Arts Editor

In 1971 Disney opened their newest Walt Disney World resort lodging in Orlando, Florida known as “Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.” Later, in 2011, Disney opened “Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa” in Kapolei, Hawai’i. In 2014 Pixar released the short film “Lava,” a story about two Hawaiian-coded volcanoes falling in love. Lastly and most recently, in 2016 Disney released the hit CGanimated film “Moana,” another female lead within Polynesia.

It is more than clear that the Walt Disney conglomerate has a fixation on Polynesian imagery, language and culture. However, where do they cross the line from positive representation to blatant appropriation? Furthermore, is that a line they walk at all, or are they constantly on one side or the other?

We start with feature films: the undeniable cash grabs… and actual earnest attempts at properly depicting a culture.

“Moana” is about a young woman in a fictionalized Polynesian island (closely related to Sāmoa) who goes through the typical hero’s journey with the help of the mythological demigod Māui. Although on the surface this storyline could be placed under any cultural lens, it is intrinsically tied to its identity within Polynesia.

On the bright side, when making this film, the directors and producers took their previous missteps in telling Indigenous stories (I’m looking at you, “Pocahontas”) into account. They traveled through New Zealand, Tahiti (French Polynesia),

Fiji, and Sāmoa to conduct research. They also had a board of cultural consultants to call upon.

According to Dr. Vilsoni Hereniko, a professor at the University of Hawai’i–Mānoa, “Due to these efforts, ‘Moana’ is the most accurate representation of Polynesia by a major Hollywood studio to date, from the first moving images about Hawai’i in 1898 up to this time of writing in 2017.”

Another positive outlook is perhaps one we cannot avoid, though it may be a given. “Overall, NaHHA supports the education of Native Hawaiian culture through mainstream mediums, because it guarantees an opportunity for the public and our visitors to gain more knowledge about our people and history. [...] We encourage everyone to discover further the beauty of our culture and history to build a better understanding of our islands and our people,” said Pohai Ryan, the executive director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA).

However, the attempt at making this story as historically and culturally accurate as it needs to be (with reasonable exceptions such as not marrying off the 16-year-old female character even though that was the cultural norm back then), doesn’t automatically give it a pass.

I’m sure we all remember the Halloween controversy that came with the premiere of the film involving a tattooed brown skin suit. Responders quickly pointed out the glaring “brownface” within the children’s costume, and

Disney responded by pulling the product. It makes you wonder: who cleared that to begin with?

This brings us to the missteps within “Moana” and its reception. Tagi Qolouvaki, an English professor at Hawai’i Community College, makes some very eloquent and critical points in the following quote that I didn’t feel right about cutting down:

“It is decidedly not okay that Disney appropriates and commodifies our stories, our gods, our mana; and certainly, as scholaractivists like Tina Ngata have made clear, it is abhorrent that this appropriation made plastic will only add to the great garbage patches clogging the oceans—our oceans— that support life. There is a lot to be critical of here, including the lack of Pacific and female representation in the film’s crew of writers and directors, its Polycentrism, and the messianic narrative that would single out one chiefly Polynesian girl from her community as its savior, even if Moana doesn’t do it alone. Disney’s work, ultimately, is not a call for humanity to responsibly steward our oceans; we understand it as a capitalist dream

machine. The loloma/aloha we feel in response to this story is in echo to our own reflections and reflections of our beloved Oceania. For more, we must look to our own work.”

Somehow, this is what brings us to “Lilo & Stitch.” The modern-set film deals with its inclusion of Hawaiian culture in a very different way from “Moana,” which I think goes without saying. Where “Moana” and its music, plot, characterization and animation is intrinsically tied to Polynesia by something more mythological than outright, “Lilo & Stitch” uses Kaua’i and Hawaiian culture to the betterment of the characters and world they live in.

I found this particularly meaningful when researching critical reception of the films. Overall, Polynesian audiences, particularly Hawaiians, had much more negative things to say about “Moana” than they did “Lilo & Stitch”. This ranged from any of the aforementioned grievances to inconsistencies in the mythos, character design (particularly of Māui) and more.

Why did Disney seem to regress from making accuarate, nurturing stories?

I don’t have the answer to

“The Great Ceremonial Hall” at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort--now jam-packed with all the “Moana” toys of your dreams!

“Moana” directors Ron Clements and John Musker

AllEars.net Mel Melcon

Continued from page 10 that, and that’s not to insinuate that “Lilo & Stitch” is the perfect representation of Hawai’ian culture that film has ever had. That said, it is at the very least a story set in Hawaii that stars women of color, as opposed to cinema’s usual blondehaired, blue-eyed protagonist look (hence “50 First Dates,” “Soul Surfer,” “Just Go With It” and more).

However, where “Moana” soars, “Lilo & Stitch” plummets. There is a real issue with some of the music used in “Lilo & Stitch”. Let me take us back to the establishing shots of Kaua’i in the film. Lilo is swimming in the ocean, among all of the most colorful fish you’ve ever seen. Behind her, a song called “He Mele No Lilo” plays.

Tom Brislin of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, in his essay “Ethics in the Codification and Commodification of Indigenous Culture,” writes, “Although composed by Mark Keali’I Ho’omalu, and sung by the allHawaiian Kamehameha Schools Children’s Chorus, it sparked controversy among Hawaiian cultural activists as it rewrote two mele inoa, sacred name chants honoring King Kalakaua and Queen Lili’uokalani, now rededicated to a cartoon character.”

Though on the surface Disney made all the right stops to make this an acceptable move for the film, they then went on the copyright “He Mele No Lilo,” stripping the tunes from the sacred meaning they have. It should come as no surprise that Disney, while making this innocent kids’ film seem like a step towards the normalization of abnormal family units and the education of modern Hawaiian culture, would rather commodify and appropriate the marginalized culture than celebrate it.

However, there is a brief glimmer of hope that can be seen in “Moana,” at least as far as music goes. In “Moana,” Polynesian-made music is also reworked and structured, similar to the mele inoa in “Lilo & Stitch.” The difference here is that they worked closely with the originators of these songs and used their reason for making to enhance the story.

For example, Foa’i’s South Pacific fusion group, Te Vaka’s, song “Loimata E Maligi” worked on two important songs in the film: “An Innocent Warrior” and “Know Who You Are.” Candice Elanna Steiner from the University of Hawai’i–Mānoa aid, “While I had known prior to the premiere that the team had incorporated this song,

originally written to lament the death of eighteen young girls and their supervisor in a dormitory fire in Tuvalu in 2000, it wasn’t until I saw the new songs’ roles in the film that I began to see the layers of meaning that this revisiting allows.”

When speaking of its inclusion in “An Innocent Warrior,” a song played when the ocean chooses baby Moana to be its champion, Steiner ame to this conclusion: “It is a very moving scene on its own, but to me, given the original song’s background, it seems almost as if Moana knows the girls’ story and draws her strength from their memory.”

Steiner sadly then found out that there is no conducive way to sing along with the Indigenous languages provided in the film, effectively “othering” Pacific languages. “Curious, I later checked both the subtitles and the closed captioning on the DVD and digital versions of the film, and they are no better, with ‘(SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)’ plastered across the

bottom of the screen instead of the song text. Given everything Pacific Islanders have put into this film— about the Pacific Islands and set in the Pacific Islands—Disney should have done more to privilege their actual words here instead of writing them off as ‘foreign,’” said Steiner.

Where does this leave us? What does all of this actually say about Disney and mean for the culture they’re creating? At the very least, it’s clear the Disney machine has a tight hold on Polynesian commodification, as they tackle these cultures and groups much more often than any other. Does this mean we can’t enjoy a nice watch of “Moana”? No. If it’s your favorite film, that’s okay, and given Disney’s history with writing and designing especially young women, you have every right to want to celebrate the baby steps taken with that movie.

However, as a broader population of media consumers and overall empathetic humans (I beg to assume), we have to educate ourselves. Indigenous voices must be heard and uplifted by those that are most commonly handed the megaphone. So while bringing Pacific stories into the pop culture limelight is in many ways a good thing, it is ultimately regressive when those stories are manhandled by white writers, directors and corporations.

They aren’t uplifting their voices. They are censoring them to fit whatever shape will best suit their narrative. A politically correct attempt for fear of controversy is very different from an earnest willingness to let non-Western stories get the spotlight they deserve, and we as an arts community must do better.

Student Poetry: “Of Future Miracles”

Grant McKenzie

Put your head back, shorn make up some excuse shuffle on down the block. Backwards, Forwards, Inwards crawl the block. and think about calling it quits call the block.

Between you and me, between reaching out and reaching in somewhere deep. Somewhere you can’t reach… I could call her up, we could talk about nothing, but nothing can be beautiful when it’s shared. When the words build worlds of dust and light. Those are miracles.

The water and wine is nothing, but if I knew every word that Jesus said that the disciples didn’t write down I’d say them to you now. I wonder if He’d ask how your day was.

The title screen scene, where Lilo feeds Pudge, the fish that controls the weather, and “He Mele No Lilo” plays.

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Walt Disney Animation Studios Moana, singing her “I want” song entitled “How Far I’ll Go.”

Poet, musician and actor Grant McKenzie (‘24) in one of his many final forms.

Provided by McKenzie

Student Congress dissents against Gen Ed proposal

A proposed revision of Hope College’s General Education Curriculum has been introduced for the first time since 1994. A General Education Revision Committee was put in place about two years ago and has worked to gather data and pursue ways to transform the curriculum. On Monday, February 22, this committee brought a semifinalized plan to Hope’s Student Congress for discussion. On Monday, March 8, after evaluating the proposal, Congress passed a resolution that functioned as a vote of no confidence in the proposed General Education revision plan. A document describing specific ways that the plan failed to accomplish the kind of reform Student Congress intended was sent on March 10 to President Scogin, Provost Dr. Griffin, Dr. VanDuinen and the General Education Revision Committee.

Student Congress had been tasked during the Committee’s formation of the proposal to give voice to the student body’s desires in regards to General Education revisions. The Committee asked Congress what Hope students wanted to see changed. Congress decided to narrow down its desires to one tangible request, improving

the likelihood of the studentproposed change’s implementation. After discussing in depth and reaching out for student opinion, Congress concluded that their one request would be to “add a Diversity and Inclusion requirement to the College’s general education curriculum,” as taken directly from Student Congress’s proposal to the General Education Revision Committee. The request detailed that the class should “expose students to perspectives that are not in the majority at Hope College but are prevalent in a global and increasingly diverse society” and “give students a knowledge of what it means to hold privilege and how to be Christian stewards of an all-encompassing society.”

Student Congress’s proposal, given to the Committee back in October of 2020, explained that the main rationale for this class requirement was that “Hope students are being sent into the workforce unprepared for the global and diverse world that we live in.”

This sentiment was echoed among alumni surveyed by the Revision Committee as well as current Hope students. “The world is changing, and we want to be prepared citizens

in a global workforce,” said Mary Kamara-Hagemeyer (’22), Chief of Student Congress Culture and Inclusion Elect. “Hope students also want to love our neighbors as Christ commanded us, and one way of doing that is educating ourselves on the different challenges and realities that various groups of people face.”

When the proposed plan of General Education revisions was introduced to Student Congress two weeks ago, members did not feel that the revisions adequately addressed this concern. The plan introduced a Human Diversities element that would replace what is now known as Global Learning. A U.S. Diversities component exists within this section. For a course to qualify for this component it must “focus on the perspectives of historically marginalized groups in the United States, with a focus on race as well as other categories such as ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic class and/or disability,” according to the proposal. At least 50% of course content must be authored by or from the perspective of historically marginalized groups.

Congress members were unimpressed with these modifications. “The plan as we saw it, which is not final, did not take the time to increase a variety of diverse perspectives in the curriculum,” said Luke Rufenacht (’22), Student Congress President. “We are hoping to work with the General Education team to address these through increasing the requirement for readings by diverse authors, and opportunities in FYS.” Other members of Congress agreed. “A lot of the changes that they made

really surround the titles of the Gen Ed categories rather than the content,” said Lizzy Bassett (’23), a sophomore class representative. “I will always be a fan of reorganizing, but at the end of the day if students just have to use a new framework to take the same curriculum, nothing will ultimately change.”

Garett Shrode (’22), Junior Class representative, feels similarly: “The proposed anchor plan… has the potential to allow many students to fall through the cracks, which is unacceptable when it comes to an issue as important as this… Hope as a college has promised to be an antiracist institution and to provide a cutting-edge education for its students. This plan simply fails to meet that goal.”

The most specific student concern with the proposal was the percentage of course content required to be authored by historically marginalized groups. “We thought, at the very least, could it be 90%? Could it be 70%?” asked Bassett. “If this is the area where we’re supposed to get a diverse exposure, maybe it could be a little bit more.” Shrode echoed this sentiment: “The plan should increase the percentage of diverse sources required in order to allow a class to qualify for that flag.”

In recent years, such a strong oppositional opinion from Student Congress has been a rare occurrence. Shrode recalled the discussion that took place in 2019 between Campus Safety and Student Congress regarding the arming of its officers. This dialogue favored the opinions of the student body and ultimately decided

Molly Douma, Gillian Skiba, Staff Writers Cont. on pg. 13

Facebook.com, Hope College Student Congress

Hope.edu

Student congress President and VP, Luke Rufenacht and Abby Holm.

against arming its officers. This dialogue favored the opinions of the student body and ultimately decided against the arming initiative. “We hope this strong relationship with the administration continues to allow us to provide feedback to ultimately make Hope the best place it can be,” he said.

“Our vote of no confidence says that Hope’s Student Congress is not afraid to truly advocate for student

needs,” said Kamara-Hagemeyer. “We know our place, and that is to make student needs clear to the college. That is always our main objective and this vote of no confidence was motivated by the desire to represent student concerns.” Congress members hope that their resolution will prompt change at a scale larger than what was proposed. “I hope the faculty see [the resolution] as a cry for help from the student body,”

said Kamara-Hagemeyer. Bassett elaborates on this cry for help: “The education we want matters, and it needs to be treated like it matters. Student Congress has a voice. If a vote of no confidence is the strongest voice that we can use, I think we should absolutely use it as much as we can.” President Rufenacht described his goal for the resolution that passed Monday night: “I hope that this resolution

pushes faculty to think about the future of education, and how the college needs to be continually pursuing cutting-edge curriculum opportunities. This is another great opportunity for collaboration with faculty on an important issue.”

The General Education Revision Committee’s proposal is scheduled to be sent out to faculty for review before a vote in the coming months if no new revisions are made.

Vaccine stress stems from debunked myths

Vaccines are something that we have heard far too much about in the recent months. While it is important to stay on top of new developments, these kinds of things have the potential to cause more stress than information. Today I will be featuring vaccines in a bit of a different light, talking about them in an informative fashion and trying to ease the anxiety that comes with this word.

Right now the CDC has approved three vaccines for use: Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson. There are also two different vaccines in stage three of clinical trials, AstraZeneca and Novavax. In recent news, countries such as Denmark have jumped the gun and already started using them. However, Denmark stopped the use of stagethree AstraZenca after a couple of weeks of use due to a side effect of blood clots. This is not information to scare you, but to make you feel safer knowing that this vaccine has not yet been approved by the CDC.

There are many different fears associated with vaccines, and nearly all of them are understandable and rational. I will present a few myths that the CDC debunks on its website. Hopefully this will ease some anxiety and help you to understand these myths better. The first is that a vaccine will give you COVID-19. This is not true, but it makes sense because of the previous vaccines that we have experienced. There are absolutely no vaccines that give you the full unaltered version of a virus, that would simply give you exactly what you are vaccinating against. The COVID vaccines are a little different though, because they are mRNA vaccines, meaning that they do not use the virus. Rather, they use your own body. For more information on exactly how mRNA vaccines

work, you can visit www.cdc.gov.

Another big concern is that the vaccine will interact with our DNA and cause mutations. This is simply a myth, but an easy one to believe. A few points to prove this are that the mRNA never enters the nucleus, which we all learned in sixth grade is the “brain” of the cell. This is also where genetic material is stored, which is a little easier to understand. Another thing I didn’t know was that the cell actually breaks down the “instructions” after it is done using them. Imagine mRNA as a set of instructions, like one that comes with a new coffee maker. After you have used the coffee maker a few times and understand the process, the instructions are tossed in the garbage because they take up too much space. This is essentially what is happening in your body — of course over-simplified for ease of understanding.

The final thing I am going to note to ease your stress is that while the production of the vaccines was rushed, they have been held to the same rigorous standards as other vaccines. mRNA has been studied for decades. Scientists understand how it interacts with our bodies, and it has also been used in cancer research, rabies and flu research, as well as many other areas of clinical investigation that everyday folks wouldn’t commonly know.

I hope that you will take this information and use it to ease your stress about vaccines. Of course, I am not an expert; I’m just an editor. So do your own research and understand that this will soon be a historic piece of the past that you got to experience. Not only that, you will get to say that you took part in ending a global pandemic.

Recently, news has come out that any Michigander aged 16 and up will have the opportunity to get vaccinated as of April 15. The next phase starts on March 22, allowing

all residents aged 50 and over to receive the vaccine. When it is time to get the vaccine, residents can choose between their normal provider or a retail pharmacy such as Meijer or Rite Aid. There is a hotline that Michiganders can call to set up an appointment, or they can just call the vaccination site, ask if they are eligible and make an appointment directly. Because there are limited vaccines, it may be hard to get the vaccine right away, especially as a healthy college student. This means that while our age group is technically allowed to sign up for a vaccine on April 15,

there may be a long wait list, or the actual vaccine that you want may be unavailable. It is suggested that you bring some form of ID (state issued is preferable) as well as a health insurance card, if possible, to your vaccination appointment. While insurance will not be charged for the actual vaccine, they may be charged for the administration of the vaccine. It is a little confusing, but it is a quick Google search to find the information that you may be looking for. I encourage all people to research the how they can get the vaccine that’s right for them and their needs.

Annie Kopp, Features Editor

SPORTS & WELLNESS

Hope’s female athletes establish MIAA dominance

Spencer Turbin Staff Writer

As winter sports concluded this year, final meets, games and championships took place, giving Hope College athletes their final chances to compete. As truncated as the season may have been, titles this year were not in short supply. Three Hope women’s sports teams earned MIAA Championship titles, an incredible feat for not only the individual teams but the Hope College Athletic Department as well.

Due to COVID-19, the MIAA championships represented the last competitions of the season, as the NCAA has cancelled the majority of national championships for Division III sports this year. Fayneese Miller, the chair of the president’s council, explained the NCAA’s decision:

“Today, we made the difficult decision to cancel our Division III winter championships. While some institutions have been able to safely return to sport, the recent declaration form data show that more than half of our division has not returned to winter sport practice and competition to be in a position for NCAA national championship participation.”

This decision from the NCAA was extremely disheartening for schools like Hope that have diligently practiced and prepared for a COVIDsafe sports season. Many teams will now lose the chance to claim a possible championship title, such as Hope’s women’s basketball team.

The women’s basketball team finished their season with a perfect record for the second year in a row,

maintaining an undefeated streak of 45 games. This cancellation that left them unable to compete in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament is the second occurrence in two years for the Hope women’s team. Both this year and the last they were favored to win and ranked #1 in the country, taking an inopportune decision to new disappointing lengths. The heartbreaking end to both seasons leaves many players saddened yet particularly grateful for their time with the team.

The Hope women’s team will be graduating many seniors this year. These vital players will be leaving a strong legacy and room for growth. The strong legacy will hopefully propel the team to a successful and normal 2021-2022 season.

On Saturday, February 6, the MIAA Women’s Swim and Dive League Championship took place at Calvin University. The Hope women entered the meet as one of the top teams, adjacent to their rivals, Calvin University.

Emma Schaefer (’21) delivered a particularly stunning performance, winning the 100-yard breaststroke with a Hope record-breaking time of 1:03.75. She also broke her own previously held record by approximately one second. This win helped Schaefer earn the title of MIAA Most Valuable Swimmer, her second time earning the title since last year’s championship, and so Schaefer will be graduating this year as one of Hope’s most

successful and decorated swimmers.

Hope’s swimming dominance appears to be becoming a possible reigning dynasty as several freshmen outperform the competition.

Madeline Tessin (’24) won the 50-yard-freestyle with a time of 23.60, the second-fastest Hope recorded time. Freshmen divers added to Hope’s win as Sophia Farbarzhevich (’24) earned second place in the 3-meter dive with a score of 347.45 points, followed with third place by Cameron Hamilton (’24) with a score of 335.45 points.

The Hope women finished first overall at the meet, claiming the title of MIAA Champions. They finished with a total team score of 961.5 points. Calvin University earned second place with 931 points, followed by Albion College (732), Kalamazoo College (403.5), Alma College (307) and Olivet College (246).

The MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championships were also held at Calvin University. A large number of events and COVID-19 protocols created a very long meet, totaling to approximately 9.5 hours for the athletes. At the end of the day the Hope women would become the reigning MIAA champions.

Hope running star and MIAA phenom Ana Tucker (’23) set the foundation for Hope’s win. She claimed first place in both the mile and the 3,000 meter. She not only won both events but also beat both Hope’s and the MIAA’s records in

both. The sophomore track star continues to break records and push the limits for Division III running, propelling both her team and herself to victory and an optimistic future.

Along with Tucker’s two victories, Hope claimed first place in both high-point-yielding relay events, the distance medley and the 4×400. With a time of 12:58.21, the distance medley victory was carried out by Rebecca Markham (’24), Samantha Schermerhorn (’23), Jessica Schamanek (’24) and Anna Mason (’23). Conversely the 4×400 won in a time of 4:08.82. The winning foursome included Claire Benedict (’23), Hannah Kenney (’21), Jacinda Cole (’21) and Grace Behrens (’23).

The Hope women earned a total of 183 points claiming first place and the championship.

As the end of the winter season is upon us, Hope looks forward to the spring. This year’s spring season will be the first spring season in two years, as the entirety of the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID-19. This creates an exciting opportunity as warm weather increases the attractiveness of outdoor venues and as the Hope administration allows for limited fan attendance adhering to social distancing standards.

Hope College and the surrounding community rejoice as inklings of spring and possible COVID-19 improvement positively affect everyday life, maintaining cautious optimism about a return to normalcy.

Hope women’s basketball celebrates their MIAA victory

An example of Hope’s excellent MIAA results Hope College

Hope College

“The rivalry”: 101 years of West Michigan hoops

Spencer Turbin Staff Writer

Calvin University, known as Calvin College until 2019, is a private reformed Christian academic institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Established in 1876, Calvin’s proximity in age and location stands as a counterpart to Hope College, also featuring a historically successful NCAA Division III basketball team, an undergraduate education influenced by Christian principles and a campus set in West Michigan. The juxtaposition of the two schools has created “The Rivalry”, the historic tension between Hope’s Flying Dutchmen and Calvin’s Knights, specifically on the basketball court.

The rivalry of the men’s basketball teams has spanned a total of 101 years. The teams have faced off a total of 204 times, with Hope slightly leading the series with 104 wins compared to Calvin’s 100. The first game between the two was in 1921, where Hope defeated Calvin in a relatively low-scoring game of 31-30. While Hope maintains a slight lead in the series against Calvin, the margin is exceptionally thin. The total point difference in all 204 games of the rivalry is only 62, averaging to a difference of 0.30 points per game. The most recent face-off between the two teams was at the Van Noord Arena on January 30. At this particular game, the stands were exceptionally empty due to COVID guidelines. This led to the game being devoid of the usual crowd-fueled energy at arguably the

most contentious basketball game of the year for these two rivals. The Dutchmen took an early lead, but the Knights caught up at halftime reducing the lead to only a few points. The Knights added to the pressure against Hope by outshooting them on the free throw line at 48.6%, a reasonable margin compared to Hope’s 40.3%. Scoring leaders for Calvin included Thad Shymanski (’21) and Brandon Paul (’23), each scoring 23 points. For the Dutchmen, Preston Granger (’21) brought in a total of 25 points, followed by sixth man Clayton Dykhouse (’23) with an incredible performance of 16 points outscoring all but Granger. With 1.8 seconds remaining in the game, the score stood tied at 77 points. So, in a last-ditch effort, Granger attempted a layup but was fouled by Paul. However, Granger then proceeded to sink both free throw shots, once again giving Hope the lead. Calvin’s last gamewinning attempt was unsuccessful with a failed half-court shot ending the game at 79-77, another win for the Flying Dutchmen.

Later in the week, a trip to Angola, Indiana ended in a disappointing Hope loss to Trine University with a resounding score of 91-52. Following this, the men’s team was set to take on the Kalamazoo Hornets on Saturday, February 6. Unfortunately, due to a possible COVID case on the Kalamazoo team, the game was canceled. A makeup game is

yet to be determined. The men continue their season 2-2 overall.

Meanwhile, Hope’s NCAA Women’s Division III #1-ranked basketball team continues its winning streak. After an unfortunately unresolved 2020 season, the women’s team has returned to claim their spot, starting with their rivals, Calvin University. The women’s team rivalry has spanned 51 years, starting in 1965. With a series total of 126 games, the Calvin women lead with 71 games to 55. However, since 2000, Hope has commanded a dominant lead in the serieswinning 41 games out of the 56.

This season, the Hope women had home-court advantage hosting the Knights at DeVos Fieldhouse on Saturday, January 30. The scoring

leader, Kennedy Schoonveld (’21), number 20, earned the team a total of 19 points closely followed by Olivia Voskuil (’21), number 5, with 16 points. Calvin University’s top scorers were Leah Harris (’23), number 20, with 18 points and Stephanie Coors (’22), number 10, with 10 points. The Hope women’s massive defensive effort and excellent offense proved to be too much for Calvin, leading to an unstoppable momentum change. Hope declared a substantial victory, defeating Calvin 74-58. For Hope seniors, this win marked a special accomplishment. This ninth win further strengthened their undefeated record against Calvin during their careers at Hope. It also marked the longest winning streak the Flying Dutchmen women have had against Calvin since the 1960s.

The Hope women gained another home-court team win against Trine University on Wednesday, February 3. This game featured a closer score of 61-52. The women’s team will also be facing off against the MIAA-ranked #8 team, Kalamazoo, on the Hornets’ home turf on Saturday, February 6th.

While many similar themes of 2020 are still alive and well in the continued uncertainty of 2021, many would say something new has emerged: hope. As vaccine distribution continues, old rivalries are continued and kept alive, and sports are beginning to look real again. Hope students and others alike are finding comfort in the possibility of returning to normalcy, both on and off the basketball court.

Hope women’s basketball victory over Calvin University

Hope men’s basketball victory against Trine University Hope College

Hope College

This month brought not only a stretch of warmer days but a return to in-person chapel on campus. With COVID cases falling and vaccination rates rising across the state, worship in Dimnent Chapel has returned on a limited, reservation-only basis

Sarah Stevenson