Campus, p. 4
Acknowledging disability and accessibility: HAIC hosts student-led panel
News, p. 8
Shooting in Holland leaves one woman injured
Arts, 10 Tony Hinchcliffe at Park Theater: A case study on cancel culture
Features, p. 12
A conversation with a Ukrainian student about the war
Opinion, p. 14
Women’s History Month is over: Now what?
War continues to rage across the country of Ukraine, leaving millions of refugees displaced and countless communities devastated. Read more about the unfolding crisis on pages 7-8.
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Elijah
Nothing from me this time. Thank you, Claire. You will be missed by many, myself among them. Go spread Hope and Love.
Claire
It’s late afternoon in the Anchor newsroom, and I’m surrounded by a familiar scene. Article drafts in various stages of proofreading lie strewn across the table. Editors are poring over their page layouts or striking out stray Oxford commas. Predictably, two of the computers have already crashed. I’ve done plenty of production days before— first as an editor of the Nation/ World News section, later as a CoEditor-in-Chief, once over texts with my fellow student leader from the confines of a quarantine room in the Haworth—but this Monday, something is different. When I hit “send” on the final PDFs tomorrow morning, it’ll be for the last time.
When I got started at The Anchor, I was filled with the energy that comes with starting out in college and gulping down a clear mug of Phelps Hall coffee at every meal. I was excited about the work, eager to tackle big stories in creative ways, and not yet thoroughly defeated by Adobe InDesign. In the years since, that energy has ebbed. A global pandemic upended everyone’s lives and sent me back across the country to finish my sophomore year in New York. I’ve been knocked off my feet by overwhelming classes, tough interpersonal conflicts, and bouts of mental illness. Even now, I convince myself every few
days that I’ve somehow managed to contract COVID even as the case numbers taper because I’m so unreasonably bone-tired that I feel like I must be sick.
I can’t say there haven’t been positive changes too. I’ve learned— and sometimes been forced— to establish gentler and more sustainable patterns of living and to pay closer attention to my physical and emotional needs. I’ve let myself lean into the good interdependence of community and taken the risk of letting myself be known by the people who care about me. I’ve read—and then made all my friends read—Wendell Berry’s works that challenge the intense individualism of modern American culture and
propose a more interconnected and locally-focused way of life. I’ve dug down to the roots of my religious anxieties and embraced a more expansive and grace-centered vision of faith. I’m not the same person who arrived with her suitcases on the steps of Lichty Hall on a sticky-hot day in August of 2018.
In more ways than I’d like to admit, though, the freshman-year version of myself who tried to please everyone, who was desperate to add lines to her resume, and who panicked in the bathroom of Lubbers after receiving her first B on a paper is still very much with me. All my old fears surface when I look forward into the next few months, especially as the seniors around me secure job offers and grad school acceptances. Whenever I try to settle into a peaceful acceptance of who I am and where I’m headed, I feel a twinge of resistance. What if my newfound habits of selfcompassion are holding me back from pushing myself toward my full potential? Can I live with myself if I don’t meet my own standards? Who am I, really, if I don’t locate my worth in what I’m able to accomplish?
Over the years, I’ve come to realize that ultimately, it doesn’t help to confront these kinds of thoughts with logic and reason. Sure, I know cognitively that valuing myself based on my achievements is thoroughly unfair, but the way I remember that is often not through arguing with myself but through the practices of gratitude. When I notice and name what’s good in my world—homemade meals with old friends, long walks along the Macatawa Bay, the way the sun
falls in my apartment kitchen in the morning, the house finch who sings from the tree by the art building on my way to class—I escape the narrowness of my own small selfcentered and self-defeating brain and breathe in the fresh air of grace.
So as I struggle to end this letter, thinking back on all my years of working here, trying to weigh my successes and failures, wondering where I’m going next, maybe the right place to end is in the simplicity of thankfulness. Thank you to my staff for working week after week to investigate the stories that matter and provide a platform for meaningful dialogue. Thank you to my Co-Editors-in-Chief, past and present, who have been not only my colleagues but my dear friends. Thank you to our readers, to all of you who have engaged with and pushed back against and supported our work. Thank you to this college—as eager as I am to graduate, I can already feel the ache of anticipated loss these days when I walk through the Pine Grove in springtime. Being your Co-Editor-in-Chief has humbled and sharpened and challenged me, but above all, it’s been a joy to serve.
Claire Buck & Eli Maxwell Editors-in-ChiEf This photo was taken before I ever had to pull a college all-nighter, cry about an assignment hours before the deadline, or wrestle with InDesign. This poor girl had no idea what was coming to her. Even though I say I’m sick of being in college at least once a week, I really am going to miss this place. Sarah Stevenson Karen BuckAccording to the Hope College Disability and Accessibility Resources (DAR) website, about 12.5% of the student body is connected with DAR. Hope supplies the department for students with visible and invisible disabilities to make their time spent on campus easier and more accessible. A visible disability is defined as a disability that offers any visible indication that the person is disabled; an invisible disability is not immediately apparent but is a condition that impairs the activities of daily living. The department works very closely with several other departments on campus in order to aid students as best as possible, including the Academic Success Center, Dining Services, Counseling and Psychological Services and Residential Life and Housing. The program acts as a “central point of information and coordination to ensure equal access and full participation for students”. They also promote the belief in the equal rights of all students to gain a higher education through the Office of Civil Rights. However, student experiences with DAR appear differently in person than the statistics present. After being in the works for several weeks, the Hope Advocates for Invisible Conditions (HAIC) presented an entirely student-led panel discussion where students with disabilities spoke on their experience with the campus and its accessibility. A range of seven students spoke on the panel, each with their own unique perspective and conditions that provided them with the insight and stories to better inform the community. The panel began with brief introductions from each student about their conditions, whether they be invisible or visible, along with their own labeling as either disabled or not. The conditions ranged from neurological conditions like epilepsy to birth defects like congenital heart disease to mental illness like borderline personality disorder.
The students were open with explaining the history of their conditions and how they impacted their everyday lives, as well as how they influenced their interactions with school. A lot of the work for
these students comes in the form of advocating for themselves and their conditions to receive the treatment and support they need to function as full-time students. Matthew Summerfield (’22), a senior with idiopathic generalized epilepsy, mentioned that when it comes to learning, “We are our biggest advocate for ourself when we need to be.” Often, even though he is registered through DAR as a student with a condition that impacts the his learning, it becomes Summerfield’s job to inform his professors and ensure there is an understanding between himself and his professors.
But at times, advocating can be difficult for students, especially if the second party has trouble understanding the extent of different conditions. Selena Capman (’24), who lives with borderline personality disorder, commented on what it’s like having to speak on her own behalf by stating, “It’s difficult to advocate for yourself especially when going against desirable traits that professors are looking for in good students.” It becomes a struggle when two opposing forces go head to head, and when a student with an invisible condition makes claims that go in contrast to what’s expected, backlash often occurs.
And Capman isn’t the only one on the panel who has felt the struggle of needing to advocate for herself when her condition presents in contradictory ways. Gabrielle Rielle (’24), a sophomore with bipolar depression, says, “It’s hard that faculty were questioning my capability of being a student due to my conditions… It does affect my ability to be a student, but it’s offputting to hear that,” in response to her professors disbelieving in her academic abilities and the impact of her condition. Receiving accommodations through DAR, Rielle was expecting to have her condition understood and to feel treated as a normal student regardless of the fact that she might need an extra helping hand.
The panel discussion was more than an acknowledgment of people’s conditions in their lives and the complications that arise with working with those without disabilities; it also covered how these students wanted to see campus improve for
better inclusion and accessibility for all students. One of the attendees asked a question about how Hope can make accommodations for students with disabilities so that they might have a more accessible college experience. Some of the responses were more generalized like better wheelchair accessibility throughout campus where the slopes aren’t as steep. Jessica Kean (’23), who is a junior with epilepsy, asked for better accommodations through Campus Safety off-campus transportation since she can not drive to her field placements for education. Also stated was the need to have designated spaces around campus where masks can be worn more and to just have “safe social spaces.”
Other answers to the question were more specific. Summerfield wishes that the proper procedure for seizures was taught to professors before the academic school year, or that professors have that training before being hired. Riley Checkley (’23), who sometimes has to use a wheelchair for her condition, brought up the fact that Dimnent Chapel does not have wheelchair access. The most common answer through all the panelists was that they were
eager for there to be more education on disabilities in general for faculty and the student body. It was a popular theme that the students struggled with feeling understood and feeling as though they had the proper resources available to them.
Despite the fact that all of these students have sought accommodations through DAR, there was still a disconnect between the expectations and the real life experience of living with their conditions. Disabilities and conditions come in many different forms and they impact all aspects of life in ways that often don’t appear as expected, but that doesn’t mean those students deserve any less than any able bodied student. Influencing change begins with the acknowledgement of an issue and the exposure of truth from those directly involved, and now that the information has been revealed it becomes a waiting game to see the response. Regardless, these people are still students and in the words of Checkley, “For all of us to be sitting up here in college with our diseases and our conditions is an awesome thing because it shows we are persistent.”
Anna Koenig Staff Writer
It’s officially April, which means we have entered into a time on campus where we’ll be seeing a lot of visitors. With the deadline to commit to enrollment quickly approaching, prospective students are coming on campus, some for the first time, others for the millionth time, both with the desire to see if Hope College is the right fit for them. On Friday, April 1, the Admissions Department put on Hope’s first Junior Day in two years.
Junior Day is a visit day centered mainly around the needs of juniors in high school, but oftentimes sophomores and freshmen join as well for a first look at the campus.
Junior Day is a way for students who are in the beginning stages of their search process to engage in campus culture and get a feel for what Hope is about, the opportunities offered and attend on campus events. The day lasts from 8:30 a.m. to around 3:00 p.m. starting with a welcome session at 9:00 a.m. Students are then guided to student panels, so some of their first interactions are with students on campus themselves. After this student panel, the way their day plays out is largely open to the priorities of the student and family themselves. Students can pick and choose their way through the rest of the day, having opportunities such as attending chapel, hearing from the athletic department, offcampus studies, viewing residence halls, hearing from the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and much more. Since Junior Day is often one of the first times students get a glimpse of the culture of Hope, providing as many options as possible gives students a chance to understand Hope from multiple points of view.
The Anchor wanted to hear more from the source about what Junior Day is all about as well as other Admissions events, so we sat down with Admissions Counselor Carrie Olesh. With Junior Day mostly being a broad brushstroke of Hope, Olesh says that the goal is for students to walk away saying, “Oh, I’m interested in this place, it has this for me and that for me.” The hope is that this event will get them interested enough to come back senior year to do a more focused visit to narrow down their options. As for how this event impacts someone’s college decision, Olesh
says that this event mostly gets people to apply to the school due to the fact that when walking away from the event, most students can be able to say either “this could be something good for me” or “this really isn’t for me.” The Admissions Department really tries to showcase the energy of the campus to make it a fun atmosphere where students can experience the Hope community. Speaking of community, Hope is known for its vibrant and connected community, although some people don’t know how far that goes. With Hope being a school with under 3,500 students, smaller than some high schools, the impression is sometimes that it is a “sleepy” community, but when students come on campus for a Junior Day they experience something quite different. Olesh says that students are often “surprised at how engaged Hope students are and how much Hope students talked about what they did.” Another thing Olesh mentioned was how students are impressed with the beauty of the campus and the downtown area of Holland. She mentions, “They think about other schools that are in the middle of nowhere and we talk about it, but to actually just walk downtown, the proximity and how welcoming they are [surprises
them].” Ultimately, through these visit days, it’s important that students get a feel for what Hope offers to the life of a student, not just academically, and the ability to explore the campus and surrounding areas plays a large role in that.
Junior Day and typical Anchor Days aren’t the only events that give a glimpse into life at Hope. Anchor Days, Siblings Weekend, H Club, Scholars Day, Admitted Students Day and more are some of the first steps in cementing a student’s perspective on Hope. Sabrina Blank (‘22) talked about her experience with Anchor Days saying, “It gave me a good foundation of the structure of Hope.” She also mentioned the academic piece and how she was given a lot of information about how the school works. Laura Prince (‘24) says that the events she went to like H Club and Siblings Weekend “made me excited for the school spirit and enthusiasm of campus life.” She also mentioned, “I think they add a more realistic experience to life at Hope. They aren’t surface level. They really go above and beyond to create connections.”
The way you experience Hope’s community largely relies on whether or not you have grown up hearing about Hope, have family or friends who have attended and if you live
in the area or not. These visit days and other events play a pivotal role in shaping the campus community for students who might not have ever heard the name Hope until they stumbled upon the website, met a rep at their high school college fair or got a letter in the mail. Creating connections and adding a more realistic experience to your time on campus is done in order to set you up to make an informed decision about where you want to invest yourself for the undergraduate years of your life.
If you think back to when you were making your college decision, some of you might have known you were going to come to Hope from the get go, others probably were weighing their options between many different schools. Year after year, week after week, we welcome high school students and their families onto our campus in the exact position we were in before we made our commitment. Whether they come for Junior Day or Anchor Day, they all want to experience what made all the students here say “yes” to Hope. It’s important that these events showcase the beauty of Hope because even though you can look anything up online, as Carrie Olesh said, “you cannot make a decision based on a website.”
Hope usually hosts Junior Day, a visit day specifically geared towards students that are not on the cusp of the big college decision. Junior Day was not possible for the last two years, but some current Hope students still remember when they participated in the event before the onslaught of the pandemic.
Via Stebbins Staff Writer
This past Thursday, March 31, at 4:00 pm, Hope College welcomed guest speaker Dr. Chantal Rodriguez of Yale University to campus to give a talk entitled “Teatro on the Picket Line: César Chávez, Luis Valdez, and the birth of Chicano Theater.” The event was co-sponsored by Hope’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), the Latino Student Organization (LSO), the Department of Theatre and the campus-wide GROW initiative. It was part of the LSO’s annual César Chávez lecture event. “It’s really exciting to see the Theatre Department collaborating with Multicultural Student Organizations on campus in many different and accessible ways,” said Emily Dykhouse (’23), a theatre major and attendee. Her excitement was echoed by a number of students, many of them theatre students or members of the LSO, who showed up to hear Dr. Rodriguez speak.
Dr. Rodriguez, who is an assistant professor adjunct of dramaturgy and dramatic criticism as well as the Associate Dean of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, spoke not only about theatre, but the relationship it had with the United Farm Workers’ Delano grape strike. She went over several key figures in the labor movement, particularly some who had a strong connection to theatre, and described the development and characteristics of plays and skits from that environment. She is a member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Advisory Committee and the National Advisory Board for the 50 Playwrights Project, and her work has been published in numerous theatrical journals.
This past week Dr. Rodriguez not only gave this lecture, but participated in several other events on campus for theatre students. “I learned a lot from Dr. Rodriguez’s events on campus,” Dykhouse said. “It not only impacted my education in theatre history, most of which has been more Eurocentric than I would like, but through her work I also learned what studying, researching and teaching theatre can look like in higher academia.”
The event began with an introduction from the current president of the LSO, Eliseo Bustillos (’22), who welcomed the speakers and the audience before inviting Violet Rose Peschiera to introduce the speakers. After the introduction, Dr. Rodriguez gave her lecture.
She then had a brief discussion with Hope theatre professor Dr. Richard Perez about the contents of the lecture. Finally, Dr. Rodriguez and Perez opened the floor for questions and discussion, and Bustillos said some closing words.
The lecture was primarily about the role that theatre played in the Delano grape strike of the 1960s, and it centered heavily around the work of Luis Valdez, a theatrically trained activist who worked with César Chávez. Valdez and Chávez organized farm workers in California to strike for higher wages when many were being paid less than $1.25 an hour. For Valdez, theatre was a vital part of this effort. He formed El Teatro Campesino, a theatre troupe dedicated to the workers’ movement.
For most of her lecture, Dr. Rodriguez discussed the acto, a form of short improvisational play invented by Valdez and his contemporaries at El Teatro Campesino. An acto is a collectively created, improvised sketch designed to represent the realities of the farm workers’ struggles and recruit them to the labor movement. Many were performed in the open air or in community centers. According to Dr. Rodriguez, the key elements of an acto are not only in its format (little to no set, liberal use of masks and signs to convey identity, broad character archetypes, audience participation, clear delineation
between good and evil and use of blended Spanish and English) but in its goals (to illuminate specific points about social problems, satirize the opposition, show or hint at a solution and inspire the audience to social action). Often, the solution to the problems the characters face is “join a union” or “call for César Chávez.”
Dr. Rodriguez then explained how these sketches shaped Chicano theater as a whole. El Teatro Campesino became a world-renowned acting troupe, and Valdez helped to found some other Latinx theatre groups. The short actos became longer and began to explore issues other than the farmers’ labor movement, including MexicanAmerican indigenous identity, the Vietnam War and gender roles. Music and myth began to play a larger role in these later actos, and an entirely new form, corrido style, was founded on the use of song to tell a story.
After their conversation, Perez and Dr. Rodriguez answered the audience’s questions, from “Which of the plays you mentioned is your favorite?” to “Have the acto format or the plays themselves been used by other disadvantaged groups?” Both professors had the opportunity to share their research and expertise. At one student’s prompting, they recommended several resources for students looking to learn more about the Chicano Theatre movement by accessing plays. The Van Wylen Library was of course one of them,
but they also suggested checking the website of the Hemispheric Institute, a group that collects politically focused art, for recordings of live performances. Dr. Rodriguez urged undergraduate students to pursue any material they find interesting, even if their courses do not cover it in depth.
The audience reception to this event was positive, and many commented on the importance of its material to diversity. “I think the more conversation we have around these topics, the better,” said Holland community member Beth Carroll. “It centers the experiences of people of color, which is very important….I’m a grad of the Hope College Theatre Department in the ‘90s, and this was not something we ever studied. Seeing theatre used as a form of activism in this way was eye-opening.” Though many of those in attendance were students from the Theatre Department, other students and community members came as well.
The LSO hosts a wide variety of talks and social events, including its widely-anticipated annual Culture and Mocktails event this Friday, April 8. For more information, meet their executive board at the Keppel House or email them at lso@hope. edu. Hope’s Theatre Department puts on events and productions regularly. For more information about future events and performances, feel free to check in.hope.edu.
Dr. Chantal Rodriguez, Associate Dean of the Yale School of Drama, speaks to students about the birth of Chicano theatre as the 2022 Hope College Cesar Chavez speaker. Via StebbinsOn Monday, March 28, Ottawa County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a man accused of the shooting. A 51-year-old woman was shot at the Holland factory on 205 Douglas Avenue. She was rushed to the hospital for treatment for a gunshot wound. Her injuries are not life-threatening. Employees were quickly evacuated from the business as a large police presence gathered to investigate.
Eventually, Ottawa County Sheriff's deputies trailed the alleged shooter, 55-year-old David Martinez, to an apartment on Falcon Lane in Northern Holland. Crisis teams and negotiators spent several hours outside trying to get him to surrender.
According to Jake Sparks, a Captain with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office, Martinez was taken into custody around 7:45 p.m. on Monday. Martinez faces an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting the woman,
COVER STORY
and three gun charges. Sparks said that Martinez will be taken to the Ottawa County jail as soon as he is medically cleared.
As of Wednesday, he has been medically cleared and officially charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm, domestic violence-third offense (the alleged shooter and victim were in a domestic relationship), carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, felonious assault and felony firearms. Initially, police said that they were seeking charges of assault with intent to commit murder, felon in possession of a firearm and discharge of a firearm inside a building. This will be his fourth offense, which will likely increase his sentence.
Martinez had been under a three-year probation since June 2020 convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began over a month ago, and Europe’s newest war has reached a difficult and tense stalemate. In recent weeks, Zelensky has addressed leaders around the world, including the US Congress. Zelensky has continued to plead for more support with weapons such as fighter jets and anti-aircraft missiles and implementing a no fly zone. Zelensky received a bipartisan standing ovation from members of Congress and praise for his courageous leadership during this invasion. Although Ukrainians are appreciative of the global support, Zelensky insists leaders need to provide less talk and more action.
Recently, President Biden visited Europe to visit NATO and EU leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine. It was announced that the US will accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees,
add new sanctions targeting Russia and Russian oligarchs, and that the US and allies would direct more money for humanitarian and military aid. Leaders also mentioned that significant actions
would be taken if Russian forces used chemical weapons.
Although the Russian military has wreaked havoc in Ukraine, the Russian military is seemingly much weaker than previously
predicted. In addition to not yet capturing the capital of Kyiv and having convoys on the way to Kyiv indefinitely stalled, the morale of Russian troops is said to be very low and numerous logistical issues have made food and weapon distribution difficult. Additionally, NATO has estimated that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers have died in the first month of the war, making this conflict extremely costly and devastating for the Russian people. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, this could mean that 25% of Russia’s initial attacking forces have been lost, and many more may be wounded and unable to return to battle for a while. In comparison, the US lost 2,461 Americans during the 20 year war in Afghanistan, according to the Pentagon.
Ukrainian troops have also launched numerous counteroffensives, and they have been able
to drive back Russian forces in some areas. This has included recapturing towns near Kyiv. In light of this, Russia announced plans to scale back its invasion around Kyiv and focus on other regions, but Ukraine and its allies remain skeptical that this may actually be Russian forces regrouping, including in neighboring Belarus. Russian forces have also retaliated by placing mines in numerous places across recaptured territory, and President
Zelensky warned residents to wait until areas have been cleared of mines before returning to normal activities. According to Reuters, approximately a quarter of Ukraine’s population has had to flee their homes, including 3.7 million people having to flee abroad. Most of these are women and children, and many have fled to neighboring countries such as Poland. These counter offensives, along with logistical supply issues
for Russian forces, have led to a bloody stalemate.
Despite this stalemate, Russian forces have continued to heavily bombard numerous Ukrainian cities, most notably the strategic port city of Mariupol, which has an estimated 160,000 people trapped, according to ABC News. Before the war, around 400,000 people lived in the city. Recently, a theater sheltering at least 1,300 people including children, has been bombed, killing at least 300, and leaving many more trapped or wounded. The Russian word for “children” was written outside the theater in an attempt to prevent an attack, and the letters could be seen in satellite imaging, according to CBS News. Along with the theater, an art school sheltering around 400 people was also bombed, sheltering mostly women, children and elderly. Attempts to find any survivors or count victims were made difficult by the fighting throughout the city. These attacks come as Russia continues to target vulnerable civilian sites, such as maternity hospitals. Russian forces have also established checkpoints across the city in attempts to identify Ukrainian fighters, according to Reuters. The city’s food, water, and electrical supplies have all been cut off for weeks.
Ukraine has also seen some
victories in and near Mariupol as well. On March 24, Ukrainian forces destroyed a large Russian military ship that was docked near Mariupol. Ukraine has been able to recently evacuate some citizens from the besieged city, but said Russian forces have continued to fire on citizens. Plans to provide humanitarian corridors for escape have also fallen through, and according to ABC News, Red Cross evacuations have been canceled. In response to the situation in the city, President Zelensky added, “Europe has no right to react in silence to what is happening in our Mariupol. The whole world must react to this humanitarian catastrophe,” according to CNN.
Peace talks between the two countries have also been tense and difficult. However, the two were able to carry out prisoner exchanges and a few successful humanitarian corridors have been opened, allowing some civilians an opportunity to escape. President Biden, in response to Zelensky’s address to NATO, said in a statement that, “We will continue to support him and his government with significant, and increasing, amounts of security assistance to fight Russian aggression and uphold their right to self-defense.”
To begin, I want to address the fact that I have limited to no moral high ground in writing this article. I am not a public figure nor a standup comedian, but I was a paying member of the audience at one of Austin, Texas-based comedian Tony Hinchliffe’s two shows at Holland’s Park Theater last Friday, February 25th. I had never been to Park before and consider myself a general fan of stand-up comedy, so I jumped on board when a few friends suggested we attend the show.
Hinchcliffe is what is known in the industry as an “insult comedian.” This is a performer whose jokes primarily consist of jabs to either audience members or fellow performers. In May of 2021, this technique was Hinchcliffe’s downfall when he took the insults a little too far. He was dropped from WME talent agency and from two live appearances with Joe Rogan after directing a racial slur at and mocking fellow comedian Peng Dang at a live show. I luckily learned about this context while sitting in the audience waiting for the show to start. If I had not, Hinchcliffe’s direct dive
into the ways “cancel culture” has affected his career would have been confusing. Instead, I understood that what I was witnessing on stage was a man selling out shows for audiences to witness and applaud his inability and unwillingness to reckon with his own privilege.
The set began with Hinchcliffe describing in detail the embarrassment he felt performing a show in Holland, Michigan. Shaming the host city is a common occurrence in insult comedy. Hinchcliffe, used to selling out in larger cities, cited his “cancellation” last year as cause for the current lull in his career. As a non-native Hollander myself, I will never object to someone calling out the absurd number of churches in the area or the bizarre relevance of wooden clogs. I understand it’s Dutch tradition, but that doesn’t make it any less weird. In a more dexterous manner, however, Hinchcliffe was using his insults and amusing observations of Holland to address his cancellation without taking any personal responsibility. While it was impressively elusive writing,
an insult comedian with enough talent should still be able to make a genuine apology sound funny.
As the show continued, it was clear that Hinchcliffe had warmly welcomed the audiences that were still following him after his incident last May. He embraced the odd kind of immunity that “canceled” public figures sometimes get; once the world knows that you’ve been called out by mainstream media, you become a haven for consumers who cringe at political correctness and thrive on insensitivity. This opens a door of affirmation to a world of jokes
that many modern comedians refuse to touch. Audience participation was a minefield of eyebrow-raising cheers throughout the set; many audience members were quite enthusiastic after a joke about disabled women and clapped eagerly at Hinchcliffe’s long bit detailing Caitlyn Jenner’s surgical transition.
To bring the show home, Hinchcliffe solidified his vitriol for his recent career setback with a series of disparaging comments about the far more successful comedian Amy Schumer. His jealousy of her success spewed out in the form of attacks on Schumer’s weight, appearance, and numerous lucrative comedy specials. What better way to please a passionate post-cancellation audience than to insult a leading female comedian? This bit cemented Hinchcliffe’s juvenile need for external validation and child-like ability to take out bitterness on those around him. While I have immense respect for the craft of stand-up comedy and could never feasibly do it myself, some jokes are better off unwritten and some comedians better off unseen.
The latest album from Rex Orange County, titled “WHO CARES?”, was released Friday, March 11, 2022. The album keeps true to the artist’s style and is a beautiful masterpiece that tackles topics of mental health with ease and grace. It contains eleven tracks that not only build on one another but constantly bring up new themes and melodies. Each song is an independent work of art that calls out to the audience and speaks to them individually. The artist stays true to his roots and continues to create music that speaks to who he is as a person as well as the message he wishes to convey to his listeners. Some notable mentions include the songs “KEEP IT UP,” “AMAZING,” “ONE IN A MILLION” and “WHO CARES?”
The first track, “KEEP IT UP,” gives the listener a taste of what is to be expected during the entirety of the album. This song was released
as a single on January 26, 2022, prior to the album’s complete release. Its melody is very rhythmic, containing violins, a drum kit and the artist’s soothing voice. This delicate combination of sounds transports the listener into the shoes of Rex Orange County, to get the feeling of both melancholy and contentment. The lyrics speak to wanting to feel like you are enough for the people around you while combating the feeling of not wanting to be around people. Lyrics such as “You no longer owe the strangers, it’s enough, it’s enough,” speak to this feeling extremely well. The song, somehow, simultaneously empowers listeners as well as inspires feelings of sadness if they relate to the song. Jubilant melodies contrast with the lyrics and create an individualized experience for the listener, which will let them take away whatever message they want to get from the song, whether it be happy or sad.
The next song, “AMAZING,”
was also released as a single, on Valentine’s Day of this year. It opens with a beautiful serenade of strings, set against a drum kit that gives the song a sense of rhythm, and the artist’s voice fits seamlessly with the melodic strings and synths. This song’s message is gorgeous, praising the person the artist loves and giving them the appreciation they deserve. The artist talks about how he was in a very dark place, with uncertainty around every corner and nowhere for him to turn, and because of this special person, he was able to bring himself out of the dark hole and appreciate how amazing they are. The track instantly makes the listener think of that special person in their life and makes them want to text or call them to tell them that they are appreciated.
The final song is “WHO CARES?” which shares its name with the album’s title. The song draws listeners in with a beat that’s very simple, done only with a piano and a
drum kit, but it does its job well. Rex Orange County’s vocals, yet again, match perfectly with the vibe of the music. Lyrics present the listener with themes of self-empowerment that should be heard by everyone, as they tell the listener to stop caring about what those around them think, because as the song states several times, who cares? The song creates a world for the listener to explore at their own pace, making them feel at home with every note the artist hits.
“WHO CARES?” is a melodic and rhythmic work of art. Rex Orange County does not shy away from themes he uses in some of his older songs but improves on them vastly. He creates new melodies and beats that still give off the charm and aesthetic that he strives for. I highly recommend giving this album a listen, especially if you are a fan of indie music or simply want an album with which to relax.
On a particular day two years ago in Phelps Dining Hall, a few theatre students gathered and watched the Lego stop-motion animation of “The Murder of Gonzago,” created by faculty member Eric Van Tassell, inspired by a scene within the famous Shakespearean play, “Hamlet.” From this, an idea bloomed from the ashes. “What if we put on a production of ‘Hamlet’?” an ambitious voice chimed in, which was then understandably followed by laughter.
But not long after, the idea took root, and what started out as a joke came to full fruition on March 31.
Hope College’s production of “Hamlet” was directed/light designed by theatre and English literature student Emi Herman (‘22), and stage-managed/set designed by theatre and political science student Lisbeth Franzon (‘22). We decided to sit down over coffee with these two wonderful minds to discuss their process, ideas, and experience directing and managing this production.
What is the plot of “Hamlet” and what is your vision for this production?
In simple terms, “Hamlet” is about a prince, Hamlet, who experiences grief over the murder of his father, the king of Denmark. The play follows his plot for revenge against his uncle Claudius, and how this drive impacts his romantic life, his friendships and his familial relations. In this dramatic, actionpacked play, the audience is left wondering if any character will still be standing in its conclusion.
One thing that Herman and
Franzon are playing with is the idea that Hamlet does not think anything of the play’s challenging events due to his childlike state of mind.
To play with this theme, they made the interesting choice of including Legos and lightsabers in their production. Herman says, “When people ask why I’m doing ‘Hamlet,’ they usually give me the ‘You’re actually doing that?’ And my usual pitch is: it’s ‘Hamlet’ with lightsabers and Legos.”
But how exactly do they plan to incorporate these elements? “For ages, I have joked about having a set made completely out of Legos,” remarks Franzon. “Now, clearly, that’s not going to happen because this is a student production, but we’re doing our best to run with that with the time that we have. So we are going to have Legos involved, it’s going to be a very childlike element. It’s going to be very reminiscent of childhood because that is a theme that we’re playing with around this.”
What is a 490?
Herman says it best with this little snippet: “A 490 is basically the theatre department’s version of a senior capstone. You can write a play, produce a play, direct a play, stage manage a play, you can do all of the above. I think they’re important because it is a very student-led project.”
She also talks about the importance of participating in 490 projects, saying “When you’re doing a mainstage production, your faculty is involved no matter what. When that happens, sometimes there can be limitations to how comfortable you are in a room, just because there is the power of your seniors. So when it is a studentled piece, it’s just freeing in a way that normal productions aren’t. And for whoever’s project it is, it’s also an opportunity for them to have a really intense creative outlet for a semester. I have never been involved with a production like I have with this. Beginning, middle, end, I was there at its conception, and that doesn’t happen with mainstage because you don’t even know what production you’re producing until the year before, and so working on this for 3 years has been super eye-opening for me in how I want to pursue my career later on. It’s also important because it’s sometimes easier to manage for nonmajors, so a lot of people get involved who are usually not in a mainstage production or not taking classes with us, so you’re just building an even
broader community within that.”
The Team
Production cannot work with just two people. Herman and Franzon are joined on the production team by two other seniors: sound designer, Zach Pickle (‘22) and costume designer, Valerie Dien (‘22).
Herman says fondly, “My sound designer, Zach Pickle, has been really helpful. He co-wrote a song with Grant McKenzie (‘24), and that is so cool. It’s stuck in my head all the time, and I can’t wait for people to hear it. And Valerie Dien is our costume designer; she’s got some really cool ideas.”
On top of these creative minds, the show is supported by an excellent cast:
Hamlet- Payton Johnson (‘22)
Ophelia- Abby Doonan (‘24)
Horatio- Lydia Konings (‘24)
Gertrude- Emily Dykhouse (‘23)
Polonius- Leslie Olivarez (‘22)
Laertes/Lucianus-Isabella GaetjensOleson (‘24)
Rosencrantz/Oseric/BarnardoEden Comer (‘25)
Guildenstern/Francisco/DoctorAshley Lauraine (‘25)
Marcellus/Captain/PlayerQueen/ Gentleman/Gravedigger- Sophie Reay (‘25)
Ghost/Player King/Sailor/ Messenger/Fortinbras- Rachel Leep (‘25)
Herman says that her favorite show that she has been in is “Twelfth Night” during the fall of 2020. This should come as no surprise because it’s another Shakespeare, but also because it has been the only play done outside in recent years, which is an experience that not many people get during their time at Hope.
Franzon has also acted in many shows (she was in “Twelfth Night” along with Herman), but one remarkable thing that Franzon has done is her work in stage management—she has stage managed for 3 shows. She assistant stage managed “Cry it Out” her freshman year, then in her sophomore year she stage managed 490 project “Hippolytus,” and, during the fall of 2020, she stagemanaged “The Thanksgiving Play” while acting in “Twelfth Night.”
These women never fail to show their commitment and love to Hope’s theatre department.
Yelyzaveta (Liza) Slabchenko is a foreign exchange student at Zeeland West High School and has been living in West Michigan with a host family since August of 2021. Liza shared her thoughts of her beautiful country, Ukraine, and what it’s like to be far away from home during such difficult times.
Tell me about Ukraine.
“It’s been an independent country for 30 years, since 1991. I’ll tell you about our flag. It is blue and yellow, and blue represents blue sky and yellow represents fields. We have a lot of fields because we grow our own vegetables and fruits, and agriculture is our thing.
We have lots of big rivers and we have access to two seas, the Black Sea and Azov Sea. We also have the Carpathian Mountains. I’ve been there two or three times with my classmates.
Our capitol is Kyiv. I have been there many times. I have relatives who live there who I visit often. I like it but I don’t know if I would live there. There are millions of people. Our big cities have more flats and apartments than houses, though we do have villages. In our villages, we have fences and small gardens where we can grow our own vegetables and raise our own animals.”
has military bases was bombed.
I came up upstairs and saw it on the news that there was an invasion of Ukraine. At school, no one asked me about it except for a few teachers. They asked me how my family was doing and I told them that they were pretty safe, until the bombing got closer to my city.
Every day my family can hear the bombing. The bomb shelters have been prepared for people with water and electricity. My mom packed bags for my little sister with documents, clothes, and food. My grandma was at work the first day and helped prepare a bomb shelter there. About ten million people have left Ukraine, including some of my friends.
that they had gone downstairs and they could feel the ground shaking and hear the sound of explosions. Sometimes, they even hear the sound of helicopters up above.
Everything is closed, including schools, so everyone pretty much stays home. They have curfew and so there can be no one out after curfew in the streets. My mom lives in a separate home and has her own basement that she prepared for shelter. But they still have online communication and alternative ways for schooling. They all have life despite the war.”
How are you feeling about living in America during this difficult time?
and I won’t be able to reach them.”
In what ways can we help?
“Basic necessities are needed, especially for the people who are in the bomb cities who don’t have access to things like clothes, food and medication.”
It’s easy to feel helpless during this time, but there are many ways to offer support to Ukraine during this time. Donations are one simple yet important way to do this. Here are just a few of many organizations that are working to help the people of Ukraine: CARE, an international humanitarian organization, is providing food, water and other items to families fleeing violence in Ukraine.
Convoy of Hope, the disaster relief group, is partnering with a local Polish organization to provide meals to refugees entering Poland. Doctors Without Borders, the medical relief organization, remains in Ukraine and is responding to the medical and humanitarian needs of the people there.
How did you first find out about the war?
“It started February 24 and I woke up here at 6:30 in the morning and the first thing I saw was messages from my mom. My mom texted me that morning and told me that the war started. I immediately asked them if they were okay because I didn’t know what was going on in my city, Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk. But the first day it was just mainly military bases, and almost every big city that
I follow the president of Ukraine on Instagram and he posts every day about how it is going. He has met a few times with the president of Russia, but nothing has been decided upon. We also have an Instagram page for our city and people are reaching out to one another, meeting together and cleaning everything. I have never seen our people so united.”
“Yes. There were two or three missiles above my city, but nothing has been destroyed yet. I heard from friends that there was something going on in Dnipro, the main city of our region. So I texted my mom and she told me
“This is a difficult question because in some ways, I would rather be in Ukraine right now with my family and friends. The unknown of what is going on is really hard. I keep texting them and scrolling the news. But my family is glad that I am here and totally safe. “
How often are you in contact with your family and friends?
“I text them frequently with general questions of “how are you?”. I can see what is going on on the news and if there is something close to my family and my city, I will text or call them. But I also know if they are in the bomb shelters, there is no internet connection
“I have never seen our people so united”
When you ask the Hope College students why they choose Hope, most state that the sense of community was a big factor in their decision. The Admissions Office has many programs that help recruit prospective students, such as the Night At Hope program.
What is Night at Hope and what is its aim for prospective students?
A leader of the Night At Hope program and admissions recruiter Laura Bainbridge says the program used to be called Overnight Host, but because of COVID-19, they changed it to Night at Hope. The purpose of the program is to help prospective students experience the Hope College community for themselves. “We work with current college students and have them host or hang out with prospective students for a couple evenings, which gives them the opportunity to interact with students on our campus,” Bainbridge said. When asked what prompted the start of this program, Bainbridge says that they wanted prospective students to get an authentic view of what Hope College looks like outside of the academic setting. She elaborated, “We wanted prospective students to experience the unique distinctive community that differentiates us from other colleges.”
For over 25 years, the Night at Hope program was an overnight program where students would come in the evening, eat dinner,
spend the evening with host students, stay overnight and then leave after breakfast time. In addition to the overnight stay, the prospective student would get an opportunity to participate in one of the day visit options. This changed as a result of COVID-19. Bainbridge said, “When COVID hit we had to pivot. We realized that the program was a valuable experience for prospective students. Over half of the prospective student participants choose to enroll at Hope. So, we brainstormed and came up with Night at Hope.” Bainbridge said that participating in campus events such as attending Coffee House and the Gathering, trying a game of intramural sports, watching athletic events, hanging out in residential halls or going to a coffee shop downtown is a valuable experience for prospective students because it allows them to get a glimpse of college life.
“It is important to choose a college for more than one reason such as an academic program, fine arts or an opportunity to play in a division sport,” said Bainbridge. “It is important that we introduce students to the various aspects of the Hope College community.”
What differentiates the Night at Hope program from any other day-time tour is the opportunity to spend unscripted time with a host. Alongside showing the prospective students the Hope College community, the goal of this program is to make sure that there are no surprises that a
student might have once they are committed to Hope. “We want them to see how the values of Hope align with campus and student life, how student life enhances the Christian dimension or how the Christian dimension enhances student life,” Bainbridge said. The Night at Hope program seeks to help students understand the Hope College community so that they can make a decision with as much information and ease as possible.
The best part about this program is that it is free for participants. Prospective students get to spend an evening with the host and enjoy the community of Hope at no cost. The Night at Hope program provides meals and other costs of entertainment on campus unless they go off campus to explore the beautiful downtown.
What does the program look like from the point of view of the host?
The Night at Hope program is hosted by the Admissions Office. It hires current students that are freshmen or sophomores to host the prospective students. At many other college institutions, hosts are volunteers; however, Hope believes hosts should be compensated for their time because they play a valuable role as a college student. “Typically, we invest a hundred dollars per prospective student by hosting. Usually, two students host together as roommates, which gives the student a fifty dollar compensation,” Bainbridge said.
In the past, the program only allowed students to apply to host after freshman year. This is because they felt that students in their first year did not have enough experience to be able to know what Hope has to offer. The program also wanted them to become more involved on campus so that when they are hired, they have a good sense of the Hope College community. Now, the program allows students to apply at the end of their fall semester.
As a host, Erin Matheny (’25) says that her experience has been rewarding. Matheny is a nursing major with a minor in Spanish. On campus, she is involved in Nykerk, intramural sports and Bible studies. Matheny says that her motivation to be a part of the program was her experience when she visited Hope.
“When I first visited Hope, my tour guides did a very good job of showing me around and I felt welcomed. The community at Hope was pleasant; everybody was kind and cared for one another. I wanted to do the same for another student and show them that they belong at Hope,” she said.
Like many other hosts, Matheny was inspired by the idea of encouraging students during a transformational period in their lives. She explained, “The program allows us to connect with students and calm their fears or join in the excitement of their journey.”
When she hosted, Matheny said that it was fun to sit down and eat dinner with a prospective student and get to know them. She also mentions that it was rewarding to show the students around Hope and have them experience what a day in the life of a college student might look like. Matheny agrees that it is important for prospective students to get the perspective of current college students. “We can relate to the same struggles that they are having, so it is important to acknowledge their concerns and assure them that all will be okay. College is more than just striving for excellence in academics,” she said.
The Night at Hope program in its entirety is meant to help students experience and observe the Hope College community. It allows students to see what life would be like as a Hope student, which is necessary for making a college decision. It is a helpful, fun and informative program that every prospective student should consider participating in.
Lizzy Bassett Guest Writer
Women’s History Month is meant to celebrate all women of diverse skin color, sexual orientation, gender and ideology.
Earlier this week, I traveled to a research conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Despite the snow and the winding drive around Lake Michigan, I was so excited for this experience. It was my first time attending a conference for highlevel research that reached far beyond an undergrad context. As young professionals often do, I wanted to see myself in the diverse mix of academics, hear others’ presentations unfold and feel their vocabulary stretch my own. Though when my co-author and I walked into the conference venue, the homogeneity hit me immediately. Twelve research presentations in, and only one was a woman. Now, she was also the only nonwhite presenter we had seen thus far and the only one who seemed to be under the age of 30. This conference looked like an old boys club, and, might I add, this was a communication conference–not even one of the sciences. My coauthor and I shared our research in the “Women in the Media” panel, and even there we were the only women.
Here I was stuck with two questions: is there any professional realm that is not demographically identical at the top? How long will this gender imbalance last in each discipline, sector, industry and field? Because to me, it felt as though my 2022 experience exploring professional realms was strikingly reminiscent of the male-dominated landscapes depicted in historical media. How liberated are we if each career path ends with white men with doctorates and the authority to craft the blueprint of what happens next?
In the last decade “Hamilton”, “Bridgerton”, “Hidden Figures”, various Women’s History Instagram infographics and historical womenrelated media have brought our generation into a vibrant and
digestible examination of our past. Narratives lost, diversity reimagined, women remembered— they engage and entertain. They inform us, yes, but only to the point of challenging our historical understanding, rarely to the point of doing something in the real world.
As we reach the end of Women’s History Month, it is due time to relearn what honoring such history truly means. For me, this is action. Political action. We have not passed through centuries of these women taking risks and resisting only for us to believe that feminism is about “empowering women” or worse, telling women to “lean in.” It is my belief that women need this morale so much less than they need policies, structures and political movements that create equal opportunities.
At both national and institutional levels this can mean Title IX process and policy changes that protect survivors rather than revictimize them, maternity and paternity leave agreements that protect job security and women’s careers, legislation that protects abortion rights and gives justice to women, processes to protect trans people with housing and bathrooms, equitable unemployment welfare for women who have compromised their own career to raise children (as society and men expect them to), privacy and safety, policies that prohibit exploitative price-jacking on gendered products such as women’s razors, cosmetics, women’s clothes and undergarments and especially period products. These are just a handful of the larger action steps we can work towards to honor Women’s History Month.
Let’s be clear though. We are just college students. Our avenues for action are limited. We are asked to just focus on our education, learn, be a student. In the non-stop
information absorption students must do, we are almost expected to forget that we can be generative too. We may be customers of a higher education institution, but we are also community members, neighbors and mentors to each other. We have stake in our own experiences which means we can have ownership in it too. Pushing for equity, dismantling sexist systems and short-stopping gendered culture on a daily level is, in fact, in our reach. Sexism and sexist systems impact us all locally and intimately. So as students, what can we do? This is the question I can never stop asking myself. After a few years of mulling this over, here are the action steps I’ve come up with and invite you to consider on behalf of our own community here at Hope: Put some pressure on gendered programming.
Not only do men- and womenspecific programming completely ostracize nonbinary students, but it reinforces that the interests of men and women altogether are different. This also dangerously predetermines and reinforces what each gender should be interested in. Do you ever feel that someone who shares your gender is vastly different from you? As exhausting as it is to say, not all women are the same. Not all men are the same. But what can we do? This school values tradition, which means gendered organizations and events are not going anywhere anytime soon. But some inclusive language and brave individuals can make a huge impact. If the Pull can cross gender roles, so can every other organization and event. If you are involved with recruitment for a gender specific event, maybe push the “ladies and gentleman” language a little less. If you are looking to participate in a gendered activity and feel interested in the opposite gender’s programming, then I
encourage you to go after it. Be brave. Stand with survivors.
If you know someone who was assaulted or harassed, believe them, support them and do not try to be the judge of their experience. If you know someone who has assaulted or harassed someone else, hold them accountable. Cut them off if need be. Ask yourself what you stand for. The structures–both social and those administered through the Title IX process–are brutal for survivors. The last thing they need is another person discrediting their trauma or empowering their perpetrator. Be wary who you give a platform to and who you defend.
Speak up against sexist, homophobic, racist comments. Intersectionality is key here. A sexist comment doubles down on intersectional people. So if you want to be feminist, be antiracist too. Be an ally to every marginalized community. But let’s be real: this is so hard to do. Discriminatory moments come and go so quickly that noticing it before the moment passes can be difficult, and mustering the courage can take more than a second. So here’s a tool I learned: just ask them, “What did you mean by that?” Your tone need not be accusatory, just ask the question. Hold them accountable. They will either back pedal or be more overt. Either way, you are calling them to own up to their subtext. It’s a subtle and effective way to pull verbal discrimination out from between the lines.
No matter what you do, do something. Learn, yes, but also act. Women’s history is happening now too, so we might as well write ourselves into it to honor the historical activists before us.
This summer, Hope College
President Matthew Scogin introduced Hope Forward–a model that will drastically change the way that students pay for a Hope experience. The college hopes to implement the plan in the next 10 to 15 years. When it comes to fruition, all students would be offered a full-tuition scholarship with the expectation that upon graduation, alumni pay back their education through donations to the college. This plan, built on generosity, accessibility and community, would remove barriers to higher education, including, most notably, the high cost of tuition.
With a change to the financial model of higher education comes changes to the demographics of the student population here at Hope. Hope is a predominantly white institution (PWI) with around 80% of our student body identifying
as white. Along with this, 15% of our student population is made up of first-generation students. This is very misrepresentative of the world that we will be stepping into after graduation. However, with the Hope Forward model, Hope will become far more accessible to each and every population of students. In 10 to 15 years, the student body at Hope will be very different from what it is today. As the benefactors of this education, we should feel called to advocate for those students who will follow in our footsteps.
Over the past two years, I have had the opportunity to serve as President of Student Congress. In this role, my life has become all about student voice and advocacy.
I have been able to watch students fight for change in the new general education program that will be coming out in Fall ’23. This past fall, I saw Student Congress advocate for
changes in academic advising and campus wages. Through Congress’ assessments wing, I have been able to see how survey responses have caused direct changes in Campus Safety, Dining Services and the Boerigter Center for Calling and Career. Throughout my time in Student Congress, students have been able to have more of a respected voice in decisions made by the administration than ever before. This voice will only continue to become more important, especially as Hope Forward comes into fruition.
While the student body at Hope continues to shift into becoming increasingly representative of the world, student needs will change. As students, we know what we need to get out of our Hope experience, and it is our responsibility to advocate for it. A Hope Forward student body will need more resources for student support, such as advising and work opportunities. It will need a curriculum that meets the needs of a changing workplace. Students will need programming that supports an increasingly diverse community.
In order for these things to happen, and for future Hope students to succeed, it is our job to stand up and be advocates. Change cannot come from passivity, it takes a student body that knows how to push for change. From my experience, here are three strategies that help students fight for change.
Know what you want out of your Hope experience. In order
to push for change, we have to know what will benefit us at Hope and after graduation.
Start with relationships and humility. To have students’ voices heard, we must start by building relationships with faculty, staff and administrators. Take the time to meet these people; odds are anyone at Hope is willing to grab coffee. By going into these conversations with humility to listen and understand first, we will gain the respect of being a partner in this work rather than an adversary. Do not be afraid to speak up. After understanding what you need and building relationships, do not shy away from the opportunity to make your voice heard. Hope is a four-year undergraduate institution. There is a reason we do not have graduate programs. Faculty, staff and administrators are here to support us as undergraduates. Take this to heart and speak your mind about what Hope students need now and going forward. Both Hope and the world around us are changing, and in order to prepare ourselves and the institution for what is to come it takes students being prepared to stand up for our experience. If we as a student body can commit to using the platform that we have, Hope will continue to grow into a better institution. Over my four years, I have seen the student voice be used to do incredible things, and I know that there is much more to come.