Following the results the midterm elections earlier this month, Grand Valley State University has received recognition on the list of Most Engaged Campuses for College Student Voting curated by the nationwide ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge.
According to GVNext, GVSU is one of almost 400 college campuses participating in the program. As part of its efforts to participate in the program and increase on-campus voter engagement and turnout, GVSU has implemented tactics including the university’s Allendale Satellite Clerk’s Office that allowed students to vote via absentee ballot in the local Allendale precinct in the lead-up to, and on, Election Day.
Hundreds of GVSU students utilized the Satellite Clerk’s Office, where, according to results reported by the Ottawa County Clerk’s Office, students voted overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates in an otherwise heavily Republican county.
Following the mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, members of the LGBTQ community and allies across the nation have begun to mourn and call for dramatic changes to a national dialogue rife with anti-LGBTQ policy and rhetoric.
Advocates in the community have pointed to such hateful messaging and a multitude of anti-LGBTQ legislation nationwide as factors encouraging violence against the community like that in Colorado Springs that killed five people and wounded 17 others.
Amidst growing violence, particularly targeted at transgender individuals, legislative efforts remain underway to further enshrine LGBTQ inclusion into the national culture. As the community continues to mobilize following the events at Club Q, the Respect for Marriage Act, enshrining same-sex marriage into federal law, is expected for its next vote in the U.S. Senate on Nov. 28.
Backlash has continued to grow after the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced earlier this month that it would issue yellow cards penalizing soccer players at its 2022 World Cup who wore “OneLove” armbands meant to symbolize solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
The decision came as this year’s FIFA World Cup is being hosted in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar, a country where being a member of the LGBTQ community can carry the death penalty.
This reality pushed fans and captains of teams for the European nations of England, Wales, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark to attempt to wear the armbands during games.
The teams have since backed off their plans to wear the armbands, but not without immense backlash from fans of the sport.
Leaders in the communications sector of Grand Valley State University have begun to implement big changes to the university’s School of Communications as it accepts an innovation grant to better educate its multimedia journalism students through real-world experience.
The grant is facilitated by public media outlets WGVU Public Media and PBS NewsHour.
WGVU Public Media is the public media station for NPR and PBS programming in West Michigan, including the Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo areas, while PBS Newshour is a news program on TV and online.
The grant is specific to the Student Reporting Labs (SRL) area of PBS NewsHour.
James Ford, a professor in GVSU’s multimedia journalism major in its School of Communications, explained the nature of the grant and the program associated with it, which he hopes will improve GVSU’s journalism program.
“PBS NewsHour is a national education program that teaches students how to tell stories through video journalism,” Ford said. “This public media initiative empowers young people to report stories that share the reality of today’s youth, reach authentic audiences, join conversations about the issues that affect their future and recognize their unlimited potential as valued members of society.”
The program will operate under Ford and another journalism professor, Eric Harvey, who will assist with “recruiting, training and working alongside four GVSU multimedia journalism students who will work in participating high schools.”
“Each (multimedia journalism) student will be paired with a College of Education and Community Innovation (CECI) student teacher to assist high school teachers in implementing the curriculum,” Ford said.
The goal is that the high school students will learn from the GVSU students while the GVSU students will benefit from working with them and their teachers in a classroom setting.
“GVSU students work with high
school teachers and students to produce short ‘man-on-the-street’ interviews based on PBS NewsHour ‘prompts’ or questions on current issues, and short news stories,” Ford said.
SRL, Ford said, is a very competitive program that selected GVSU as a recipient among many contenders.
“SRL is only able to work with 170 classrooms nationally, none in West Michigan, with a significant waiting list of interested educators,” Ford said.
This grant attracts notoriety for GVSU’s School of Communications and creates more opportunities and resources for students.
“We will be using their techniques to teach (multimedia journalism) students, who will, in turn, teach high school students how to produce award-winning news stories,” Ford said.
The program’s approach to learning relies heavily on hands-on experience; mentoring other students and learning from professionals. Ford said that a student reporting labs coordinator will be hired by WGVU to assist in running the program.
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BY GRACE SMITH NEWS@LANTHORN.COMAlthough spreading holiday cheer without COVID-19 precautions has been the hope of many for the last two years, it appears that families may have to wait another year. Experts are warning of a forecasted ‘tripledemic’ this winter as cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), Influenza and COVID-19 begin to or are expected to rise.
The data surrounding RSV, a common children’s illness, has already garnered national attention as it continues to dominate pediatric healthcare centers amongst a nationwide children’s antibiotic shortage. Likewise, cases of influenza have risen drastically as they continue to flood children’s hospitals and geriatric care centers.
Although COVID-19 has appeared to begin to fizzle out due to public health initiatives, it’s still prevalent enough to warrant the concern of medical professionals and may make a resurgence in colder months.
As a result, Grand Valley State University community members have begun to take additional pre -
cautions when traveling home to be with friends and family last week for Thanksgiving.
GVSU junior Sierra Hilditch said her family plans to take extra precautions to avoid spreading any illnesses to their loved ones during the coming holiday season.
“We’re quarantining once I get home for Christmas break, before we leave for Tennessee, so that we don’t get my grandparents sick,” Hilditch said.
Hilditch said her family has made an effort to stay up to date on their recommended vaccinations before gathering.
Pharmacy technician Emily Orewiler said vaccination-related efforts like the ones Hilditch’s family are taking part in are an important part of managing the tripledemic throughout the holiday season.
“Vaccinations are a great tool for keeping everyone healthy – especially if you know you’re going to be interacting with babies or older adults, which is most likely a majority of us,” Orewiler said.
Calling one’s local pharmacy is one way for GVSU students to check their vaccination status. All pharmacies that provide vaccinations have access to state vaccination registries
that show all vaccinations an individual has received, provided that they are a Michigan resident.
GVSU senior Aaron Pope said he’s implementing similar measures to Hildritch’s family in an effort to keep himself and his family healthy over the holidays.
“I’m keeping myself and others healthy by continuing to practice safe and clean measures with regards to hand washing and getting my yearly flu shot,” Pope said. “Not only do I value my health, but I respect and value the health of others.”
Jessica Hallenbeck, a registered nurse, said even though the worst parts of the pandemic are over, making an effort to keep everyone healthy is still as important as ever -even if it doesn’t warrant the extensive measures that COVID-19 did.
“Everybody should be careful, wash your hands, don’t kiss babies and be smart with your choices,” Hallenbeck said. “We were really good during COVID and being diligent with sanitizing. We don’t necessarily have to be that crazy about it, but still, everyone is inside and the heat is on; it can be like an incubator, so we still need to make an effort.”
Along with the beautiful white winter snow and the excitement of the approaching holiday season comes the dreaded winter slump. It's getting to the point in the
semester where everyone just wants it to end so that we can go on winter break. This time of year, there are several things that can help beat this feeling.
When the weather gets cold, it becomes harder and harder to get outside. Just a little bit of movement for the day can help to boost your mood and get your mind away from the stress of homework and finals. You can walk on a treadmill or the recreation center's indoor track. This way you can still take walks but can stay away from the dropping temperatures.
Another thing that can help with feeling unmotivated is using a point reward system. With finals week approaching, break up your
By Donovan LopezHate Kills: Preventing violence against LGBTQ community
Following a November mass shooting that killed five people and left 17 others wounded at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, violence against the LGBTQ community has once again been a topic of visible and rising concern across the nation.
at least 200 anti-LGBTQ legislation proposals from January to Nov. 4 of this year. These bills range from restrictions on LGBTQinclusive healthcare to exclusion of LGBTQ topics in education.
BY ALLISON BAIR JUNIOR ENGLISH EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM
After weeks of unseasonal warm weather, it finally snowed - a lot. Having grown up in West Michigan, I have become a seasoned winter driver, so I’ll give you some unwarranted tips on how to survive the winter.
Winter driving is a skill. The first big snowfall is the most dreaded one for many people, myself included.
There are a few key tricks to remember for driving safely on snow and ice.
First, stop way earlier than you would in the summer (trust me on this.) Leave a larger following distance behind the car in front of you and go slow. That'll keep you from sliding through intersections or into other drivers’ cars. It’s important to take your time when the roads are bad.
Employers and professors will usually understand that the roads are bad (or the drivers are slow) and would prefer you arriving late and safe versus putting your own life or someone else’s in danger.
If you have a small car, throw a bag of salt, sand or cat litter in your trunk to weigh it down. Adding weight to the car helps with traction, and the contents of the bag can also be spread under the tires
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study days into increments. Once you master studying a chapter or a concept, reward yourself. Eat a piece of candy if you read a certain amount of pages of your textbook or grab a Starbucks drink on the way to the library. This helps associate positive things with studying and will help motivate you. Committing to study dates with friends is a great way to hold yourself accountable. If you are studying alone, sometimes it is easy to skip out on your initial goal of completing a set amount of tasks or meeting your goals for the day.
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of your car if you become stuck.
In the winter, I like to be prepared for anything. You never know if you will get stuck in a certain place because of a snowstorm. Pack a change of clothes for your car with some extra snow gear, hand warmers and snacks as well. It doesn’t have to be nice and it doesn’t even have to fit; the goal (for me personally) is to stay warm and dry in case of an emergency, like if I slide off the road.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be standing in the cold with only a pair of tennis shoes and sweats.
This brings me to another important part of thriving through a West Michigan winter: staying warm.
Invest in a nice coat. Like a big, heavy, waterproof coat.
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This isn’t something new, as many spaces for LGBTQ people have been targets for violence in recent years. In 2016, a man shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 more at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL, becoming one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
The latest devastating instance at Club Q follows a trail of unequal policy, vicious rhetoric and other aggressive actions against the community at many different levels.
According to data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union, there have been
Such legislation is supplemented by hateful rhetoric that all but inspires the perpetrators of this kind of violence to deem it both necessary and acceptable.
In one case, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, representing Colorado’s 3rd Congressional that includes areas just south of Colorado Springs, offered her “thoughts and prayers” for the victims of the Club Q violence.
Rightly, advocates were quick to highlight the hypocrisy of Boebert’s statement given her repeated attacks against the LGBTQ community while serving in the House of Representatives.
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The goal of the Grand Valley Lanthorn’s opinion page is to act as a forum for public discussion, comment and criticism in the Grand Valley State University community. Student and columnist opinions published here do not necessarily reflect those of the paper as an entity.
The Lanthorn strives to be a safe vehicle for community discussion. With this in mind, the Lanthorn will not publish or entertain any forms of hate speech, but neither will it discriminate against any other views, opinions or beliefs. The content, information and views expressed are not approved by-nor do they necessarily represent those of-the university or its Board of Trustees, officers, faculty
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Following the results of this month’s midterm elections and the announcement of Donald Trump’s candidacy for president in 2024, many families have had to deal with the divisive nature of dinner table conversations this holiday season.
While many families share political or religious beliefs, it is important to note that there are many families who don’t see eye to eye on philosophical or moral issues. For these folks, it’s often hard to return home.
Ethan McNeilly, 25, originally from Saranac, is an economics major at GVSU who is one of many across West Michigan who struggle with this. McNeilly, who considered himself a conservative in the intense political landscape of 2016 and 2017, has since found himself identifying with liberal social beliefs, as well as contesting the reality of religion and creationism specifically.
This did not sit well with his family. He recalls a family holiday party in 2020 that went off the rails, right around the time that he changed his political beliefs and started questioning his religious upbringing.
“2020, by far, was way crazier than this year, especially for holidays and that sort of thing,” McNeilly said. “Just because of the distance I have been able to have, that is bound to reduce conflict. The media landscape is less toxic than it was then.”
His family was unaware of his recent change of heart, and the surprise shocked them quite a bit.
“Unfortunately, my family was not prepared ahead of time, because everyone is and always has been conservative,” McNeilly said. “There was never any rule against talking politics, because typically everyone would agree. Of course, things change, and no one was prepared for that.”
The disagreement descended into the chaos of a heated disagreement between family members.
“It was definitely a verbal argument,” McNeilly said. “I remember more of Christmas 2020 because that was directly around the insurrection.”
When he and his stepfather began to go back and forth, trying to express their very different opinions, attacks on his character were made.
“As the discussions got more intense, when he couldn’t attack my
ideas, we actually got to the point where my stepdad actually began to get personal with me,” McNeilly said.
His stepfather ridiculed him for spending so many years in college, and not yet receiving his degree.
“For me, it’s not enough that he felt bad for it,” McNeilly said. “He didn’t feel bad for insulting me. It’s just that he understands he broke a social code somewhere by being mad at a Christmas party.”
This disagreement was one of the final straws in the dissolution of their relationship.
“Things were already on the rocks at that point,” McNeilly said. “It was more like one more thing to add to the pile of ‘Yeah, I don’t want to be like you in any way’ type of situation.”
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Recent violence occurring at universities across the U.S. has Grand Valley State University students feeling empathy and concern.
The tragic loss of life at the University of Virginia (UVA) pinches a nerve for GVSU students, as the story brings to mind a consistent string of violent, life-threatening crimes occurring off campus throughout the semester.
On the morning of Nov. 14, news broke that three football players for the University of Virginia had died in a mass shooting event.
The students, Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, were scheduled to play with the team in a game against Coastal Carolina University the next day. The game was called off following the tragedy, and the campus closed the following Monday.
The shooting took place onboard a bus returning from a field trip to Washington, D.C. the evening of Nov. 13. Two other students suffered
non-fatal gunshot wounds.
Area police responded to the shooting in what became a 12-hour manhunt, at which time the entire campus was on lockdown and students were trapped in place.
The lockdown conditions, for the safety of the student body, did not permit any person to exit their area of shelter for any reason until authorities deemed it safe. For some students and community members, that meant they were trapped overnight without access to food.
The charged suspect in the crime was former UVA football player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.
Gun violence impacted the GVSU community earlier this year when two students were injured in a shooting that occurred at the off-campus apartment complex Canvas Townhomes.
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After calls for reform from members of the Grand Valley State University community, the university’s Student Senate passed a proposal with the intent of it being shared with the Vice President for student affairs and University Academic Senate on Nov. 17 aiming to usher in a restructuring of the pay scale that determines on-campus student wages.
In the bill, the Student Senate resolved that student employees are being paid below local market values, with some students being compensated at a 33% lower hourly rate than students working off campus.
Larbi Al Moutaa, Student Senate’s Vice President of Diversity Affairs and sponsor of the bill, said that students’ frustration was impossible not to notice.
“We received a lot of messages on our social media, complaining about it,” Al Moutaa said. “It was definitely something we needed to address, so we underlined the problem and we researched what was causing this general frustration.”
During their research, Al Moutaa said the Student Senate first noticed the imperfections of the student wage chart, which is currently split into seven classifications to determine wages based on each job’s duties, required experience, skill level and supervision required. The on-campus wage chart is designed for employers and supervisors to review the wages in order to pay their employees.
Al Moutaa said they determined the chart to be too broad and that it does not acclimate to the local market value.
“For one of the characteristics of the student wage chart, they say, ‘for more moderately difficult tasks, or something like high level or related skills,’ that is really broad and it
doesn’t give a proper description to every single position, it’s just a gradient,” Al Moutaa said. “We also noticed that it doesn’t accommodate small local market value, in a way where every single student position has a different local market value based on that specific position, and that chart just puts everything in one.”
Along with research on student wage rates, the Student Senate also met with multiple stakeholders and discovered that student employment contradicts itself when telling employers how to follow the student wage chart.
“From all these meetings, we noticed that student employment says, ‘that chart is just a reference and employers are not mandated to follow it,’ but employers say that it’s the opposite,” Al Moutaa said.
“From what I heard from the employers, they mentioned that there was an example where they tried to give a raise to a student because their budget allowed it, but student employment refused to give them that raise because they didn’t believe that the student had a high difficulty job that deserved that payment.”
He said after researching the on-campus wage chart and meeting with stakeholders and department heads, they defined three faults in the student wage system.
“The student wage charts, the budget - which is based on the student wage charts - is really constricted, and the fact that there is a lot of red tape,” Al Moutaa said. “So, this is where we brought in this legislation which reconstructed the student wage budget and chart.”
In the legislation, the Student Senate called for four resolutions. In the second resolution, the Student Senate wrote that it “recommends that the University restructures the wage rate classification system, in favor of a more comprehensive and flexible chart.”
Al Moutaa referenced that Mich -
igan State University’s wage chart should be used as a model.
“If you see their student wage chart, they have every single position, with a detailed description of what that student does, their daily tasks and a minimum pay and a maximum pay that includes the labor market analysis,” Al Moutaa said.
The Student Senate also created a task force to ensure that the reconstruction will run smoothly, and that changes will not cause an increase in tuition.
Student Academic Success student worker Brittany Snyder said she would appreciate a raise in her wage.
“I love being a student worker, but sometimes it is hard to compare what I make hourly to my friends or people working at fast food places on Lake Michigan Drive,” Snyder said. “Since some of us are working to make money to go to school here, it’s hard knowing that I get paid less than a lot of people.”
If the legislation is approved by the administration, Al Moutaa said he anticipates at least a 30% raise for many student employees, along with more transparency with the wage chart.
As it moves forward, the bill will be sent to both the Vice President of Student Affairs and the University Academic Senate. In order for the bill to be passed by the university administration, Al Moutaa said students must make their voices heard.
“Unfortunately, as much as we’re working hard to create change, with the way the university is organized, it’s like (Student Senate has) no power, so this is where we rely on student voices and student concerns to put pressure on the administration to pull through,” Al Moutaa said.
However, he said it appears that the vast majority of the Student Senate is in favor of the legislation.
If the bill gets implemented, Al Moutaa said results should be noticeable by the beginning of the fall 2023 semester.
As the Fall 2022 semester draws to a close, many Grand Valley State University students are looking forward to graduation in December.
The transition to life after graduation will not be the first major change these students have faced in the last four years; many students graduating this semester had a college experience shaped by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those facing graduation are now reflecting on these events they’ve overcome as they set out into the professional world.
Mckenzie Bridges is a fifth year student planning to graduate this December. She will be graduating with a bachelor’s degree in dance and biomedical sciences. As a 2022 graduate, Bridges has endured various challenges throughout her four and a half years at GVSU.
“Most of my freshman year was pretty normal, until we had the polar vortex in January 2019,” Bridges said.
The persistence of arctic conditions and subzero temperatures facilitated by the event made leaving the house dangerous. Classes were canceled for one week in 2019 due to ice and snow.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which
began in Michigan with a lockdown in March 2020, has also had a lasting impact on students’ college experience, as well as their lives outside of school.
“At first when COVID hit, it felt like no big deal,” Bridges said. “We were all happy that we had two weeks off, and my roommates and I actually went to the mall the day we heard about class being canceled.”
In the beginning of the pandemic, students knew very little about what the next two years would hold. When students like Bridges were welcomed back to GVSU in the midst of the pandemic, every aspect of their college experience had changed.
According to the National Library of Medicine, 71% of students reported an increase in stress and anxiety due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Bridges said it became increasingly difficult to stay focused and optimistic coming back to GVSU for the 2020-2021 academic year.
“It was quite an adjustment,” Bridges said. “I would lay in bed and listen to zoom classes, but I didn’t feel like I was really involved in class.”
Such a slow year full of masks, zoom classes and quarantines made the 202122 academic year, in which restrictions
were reduced.
“In the dance department, we had real shows with audiences, and almost all of my classes were in person,” Bridges said.
While still aware that the pandemic was nowhere near over, the 2021-22 school year gave students a feeling that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel. The ability to have almost all in-person classes added a sense of normalcy to students’ lives.
As the fall 2022 semester comes to a close, graduating students like Bridges have begun to reflect on how they are feeling.
“I feel a little bit of everything,” Bridges said. “I’m excited to move on and see what’s next, but part of me wishes I could still have those two-ish years that we lost to the pandemic.”
Bridges also offered students advice for their college experience prior to graduation.
“Stay in touch with your advisors, get involved as much as you can and try something new because you might learn something about yourself,” Bridges said.
Bridges and her fellow graduates will participate in their commencement ceremony on Dec. 10.
On Nov. 30 the Lettuce Club will be hosting their second meeting of the semester in the Kirkhof Center room 1104. The club will hold its semester competition to see who will become the next president of the club.
The club chooses their president and board based on a lettuce eating competition. Whoever eats their head of lettuce fastest will become the president, with the next placement getting the next spot on the board.
The club will also plan their next meeting after the competition.
This week, the Campus Activities Board (CAB) will be hosting their Winterfest events on campus. The events will be held this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
On Wednesday, CAB is partnering with the Department of Movement Science and hosting an arctic games event. There will be free hot chocolate as well as games, crafts and a real reindeer. This will take place outside of the Kindschi Hall of Science from 10 a.m. to noon.
On Thursday, they’re kicking off the events with a hot chocolate bar. CAB will be giving out free hot chocolate in the Kirkhof Center from 10 a.m. to noon or while supplies last. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be a crepe food truck parked by the clock tower.
From 1 to 2 p.m., students can stop by the Kirkhof center and color in between their classes. If they don’t have time to stop, coloring sheets will be available to take home. All coloring sheets will be holiday themed.
At 5 p.m., students can go to Fusion and make miniature gingerbread houses. This event will run until 6 p.m. and all supplies will be free to students.
Following this will be trivia at Fusion from 6-7 p.m. There will be two 30-minute rounds of trivia and each round the winner will receive a prize. The trivia will be holiday themed.
To close out the night, comedian Stephen Agyei will be coming to the Kirkhof Center from 8-9 p.m. in room 2204.
On Friday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., students can buy gifts for their friends and family at the student small business market in the Kirkhof lobby. There will also be a free gift-wrapping station available.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Patty Matters food truck will be at the clock tower.
A full list of events is available for viewing on the events page on LakerLink.
When returning to campus after Thanksgiving, a holiday focused on food, some students may face a higher risk of food insecurity as holiday expenses rack up.
At GVSU, students struggling with food insecurity can turn to Replenish, an on-campus food pantry available to all students facing food insecurity while they attend the university.
The program has served anywhere from 180-280 students per month this year from August to November at its three locations: Kirkhof Center room 704 on the Allendale campus, Steelcase Library on the Pew Campus and the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences room 347 on the downtown health campus.
Lariesha Lee, Assistant Director in the Center for Women & Gender Equity, helps run Replenish.
“More than 1,000 Grand Valley students struggle with food insecurity each year,” Lee said. “When students don’t have consistent access to enough quality food, it impacts them in the classroom and can derail their dream of earning a degree entirely.”
Students are welcome to shop in Replenish twice a month. The center is self-sustained by the GVSU campus
community through donations. Replenish offers several services such as Laker Meal Share, Laker Laptop Loan Program and a program to help students find other community resources to fit their individual needs.
In preparation for their care bag events, where bags of food and supplies are packed with items for students staying on campus during break, this Giving Tuesday, Nov. 29, Replenish will be opening its doors to students willing to donate. They are looking for non-perishable items and students with on-campus meal plans can donate a meal to a student in need.
“This Giving Tuesday, November 29, the entire GVSU community is rallying around the Replenish Student Food Resource Fund to support students facing food insecurity,” Lee said. “As Lakers, we help each other. This Giving Tuesday is no different. Let’s make sure all Grand Valley students have the nourishment they need to succeed.”
As far as donations go for those who are able, $25 will cover the costs of two bags of groceries and $100 which serves up to eight students for two weeks. Replenish helped serve 287 students and 25 children in September alone.
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Grand Valley State University hosted a collaborative event for their graduate students this past week, showcasing their research design proposals. The event highlighted work by students in the Masters of Arts in Social Innovation program under the School of Community Leadership and Development (SCLD).
The program began in 2019 and GVSU is the only university in Michigan that offers a program like it. Students in this program were able to share the designs they are interested in working on, while getting feedback from their peers and mentors.
This program trains GVSU students on how to become active citizens in their communities, showing them why it’s important to help contribute to their communities locally, nationally and globally. SCLD also helps students get careers in government, nonprofit and healthcare organizations.
All that social innovation entails was broken down into two separate
events. The first event was about the research projects that graduate students have worked on in the duration of their course and their plan to conduct them. The second event gave graduate students the opportunity to present their completed research projects.
“This is important for students because we do problem solving at the social level in all sectors,” said Graduate Program Director Dr. Azfar Hussain.
The Social Innovation Research
Design Showcase was held in order to highlight student projects. There were a total of six speakers that connected their research projects to their life experiences.
Tonya Pell, a graduate student, made a personal connection between her research and passion for education and youth development.
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On Nov. 29 the GVSU Symphony Orchestra will be performing at the Louis Armstrong Theatre in the Haas Center for Performing Arts.
The performance will consist of musical pieces composed by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Giovanni Gabrieli, Alexander Glazunov, Franz Schubert and Georges Bizet.
This event is free and open to the public. More information can be found on the GVSU Music, Theatre and Dance Department website.
There will be a faculty artists recital entitled “Telling a Story” on Dec. 4 at 12 p.m. in the Sherman van Solkema Recital Hall.
This event is a solo saxophone performance from Dan Graser and will work to tell a distinct story.
The performance will run for an hour and a half.
Grand Valley State University’s Dance Program is set to host their senior concert performance entitled “Marbled Moments.” This performance will be put on by the fall 2022 capstone seniors and feature dance pieces they choreographed as their senior projects.
The performance consists of five different group pieces, a senior group finale and solos choreographed by each of the five seniors. All elements of the performance are run by the seniors in order to present what the group has learned throughout their time at GVSU.
This semester’s seniors are Samantha Tort, Megan Vernier, Claire Berndt, Emma Johnson and Grace Kitching. The group held auditions in September that were open to anyone in the dance program to cast their pieces. Since then, the seniors have worked to prepare for the performance in various ways such as weekly rehearsals and other production elements.
ent pieces that center around different topics and ideas. Kitching said viewers should be able to sense connections between themselves and the concepts being presented.
her dance piece from other art forms such as music, poems and artwork.
All works in the concert display emotions and ideas that hope to connect with the audience through mutual human experiences.
“DOUBLE
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park will be presenting an exhibit called “Double Take: Mel Chin & Elizabeth Turk” that will run from Nov. 28 to Mar. 26.
Chin and Turk’s work explores a variety of techniques utilizing wood, stone, aluminum, water and sound. The pieces in this display focus on sculptures that address topics of the natural world. The artists explore current issues such as memorialization, environmental hazards and endangered species.
More information can be found on the Frederik Meijer Gardens’ website.
On Nov. 30 the GVSU Visual Media Arts Department will be holding their last Cinespace event of the semester. The event will have a screening and discussion of “Before Sunset” at 6:30 p.m. in Lake Superior Hall room 173.
This showing wraps up this semester’s Grand Valley Film Series and is the eighth film shown since October. Previous films included “RoboCop,” “Before Sunrise,” “Don’t Look Now,” “The Blair Witch Project,” “What Happened Was...” and “Under the Skin.”
The series also included an open projector night that was held at Wealthy Theatre in downtown Grand Rapids.
The event is hosted by Professor Spencer Everhart, an adjunct professor in the GVSU film and video production program.
“We’ve hired several people to help professionally with the process of our concert,” Kitching said. “We’ve spent time creating a poster, a program, a press release, professional contracts and social media content.”
Audiences will see eleven differ-
“The concert as a whole is comforting, inspiring and captivating,” Kitching said. “We are striving for the audience to connect with at least one aspect or concept to take and hold in their memory when they leave the building.”
The seniors each held two-hour rehearsals every week for their group pieces where they worked and collaborated with their dancers. Each choreographer’s process was different. For instance, Kitching said she took inspiration for
ORGANIZATION“There is also a variety of styles and genres within our concert; we have some modern and contemporary pieces about grief, loneliness and guilt,” Kitching said. “We also have pieces working with exciting props, inviting imagination and some humor.”
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BY COLLEEN GARCIA ARTS@LANTHORN.COM
Grand Valley State University’s Comic Book Club aims to create a space for students to gather and enjoy comics together. The club had existed in the past, however it has not been active for the last several years.
Club President Sydney Fuller and Vice President Lindsey Schmidt brought the club back to create a community for people who love comics and want to share their interests.
Schmidt said she fell in love with comic books because of her enjoyment of reading. While Schmidt said her passion for reading began with fantasy and science fiction, she eventually started reading comic books as well.
“I fell in love with not just the story but the art as well,” Schmidt said. “Ever since then, I’ve been trying different series and reading all sorts of different types of comic books.”
Schmidt said Comic Book Club meetings begin with short announcements, followed by activities and discussions for members. Some of these
activities include movies and “group reads,” where the club selects a book for the members to read and discuss.
“The activities and discussions include things like brackets, where we pit characters against each other to figure out our favorites heroes and villains,” Schmidt said. “(The club does) ‘fan casting’ where we discuss which actors we’d like to see play some of our favorite characters on the big screen.”
Additionally, the Comic Book Club occasionally participates in outside activities, which include things like trips to Comic Con, a convention that focuses on comic books and comic book culture.
Schmidt said the club’s trip to Grand Rapids Comic Con a couple of weeks ago was her first time at the event and one of her favorite memories in the organization.
Schmidt encourages students to join comic book clubs to meet other students with similar passions and interests. Comic Book Club’s goal is to build a community that is excited to learn more about the history of comics and enjoy time with others.
Grand Valley State University’s sports management students from the SPM 376 course are hosting the annual Rally with the Rapids basketball fundraiser this week.
Organized by Directors Ally Bayes and Kenleigh West-Wing, the event is an effort to provide the opportunity for two Special Olympic teams from both Grand Rapids and Big Rapids to participate in a professional sports atmosphere.
The GVSU dance team, members of the university’s pep band and cheerleaders will also be in attendance as any and all GVSU community members are welcome to come and support free of cost.
Giveaways and raffle opportunities will also be included for attendees as all proceeds collected through donations, raffles and sponsorships will help to reach the overall goal of $3,000 that will be distributed between both teams.
The basketball game will be held at the GVSU Fieldhouse on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
WWith weekly sports coverage coming to a close for the semester, here’s a glimpse at what teams will continue their action with the winter break around the corner:
Both women’s and men’s basketball teams begin GLIAC action in a twogame road trip against Ferris State University (Dec. 1) and Lake Superior State (Dec. 3) while hosting their crosstown rival Davenport University on Dec. 11 with tip-off at 1 p.m. (women’s) and 3 p.m. (men’s).
The swimming and diving program will also participate in the Calvin Invitational for their final meet of 2022 that begins Dec. 1-3 as the men’s and women’s teams have an overall record of 4-2. GVSU were dominant in their previous invite at Calvin (Oct. 14) as the final scores tallied 192-50 (women’s) and 165-75 (men’s).
Track and field will commence its 2022-23 indoor season in the GVSU Holiday Open at home on Dec. 9 starting at 1 p.m., followed by another home stand in the GVSU Multi Field Event on Dec. 16-17.
Last but not least, the cross country teams will compete in the NCAA National Championships in their quest to complete the hat-trick of GLIAC Champions, Midwest Regional Champions and national champs. The men’s team is the reigning national champion as the women’s team will hope to redeem themselves from last season’s second-place finish.
Information related to GVSU athletics can be found at gvsulakers.com.
In a grit and grind effort, Grand Valley State University’s football team (12-0) narrowly defeated Northwest Missouri State University 13-8 to advance to the quarterfinals in the NCAA DII Playoffs.
“We knew this would be a really tough test for us, a really difficult test,” said Head Coach Matt Mitchell. “There are some things we could’ve done better, but I give the guys a ton of credit. We were down in the fourth quarter and we have a group that never fractures. There’s nobody pointing fingers on the sideline, there’s never anybody that doesn’t believe we can get it done.”
Hosting the game at home as the No. 1 seed in the DII rankings, the Laker defense flipped the switch on the opponent in just the third play from scrimmage as sophomore defensive back Nyzier Fourqurean intercepted a pass at the NWSU 29-yard line.
However, the Bearcats’ defense responded in a much-needed effort as they forced three incomplete pass attempts by junior quarterback Cade Peterson and allowed just a threeyard gain in total on a rush by junior running back Tariq Reid.
10 minutes and 53 seconds of scoreless action would finally produce the first score of the game with just 1:50 remaining in the first quarter.
Facing a third-and-three from their own 18-yard line, Peterson found an opening in the defense and exploited it, scampering for 42 yards to give the Lakers a fresh set of downs on the Bearcat 40-yard line. Two plays later on a thirdand-14 to go, Peterson found sopho-
more wide receiver Jahdae Walker for a 29-yard gain, setting up a four-yard touchdown run by Reid to give GVSU a 7-0 lead with plenty of game left.
“Our offense scored the first possession and the last possession,” Mitchell said. “In between, it was definitely frustrating at times because we were moving the ball, but we just got bogged down in the red zone.”
NMSU’s offense found a hole in the GVSU secondary, completing a 53-yard pass to set themselves up just 22 yards from the endzone. However, the Laker defense came up huge as they prevented any further momentum to be built, ultimately resulting in a missed 36-yard field goal attempt by the Bearcats to preserve their lead.
The offense marched down the field, aided by a 38-yard completion from Peterson to sophomore wide receiver Darrell Johnson. Four plays later, junior kicker Josh Gorball missed a field goal from 37 yards away, shifting the momentum back to the Bearcats.
The opponents were able to re-
spond to the miss with a 76-yard drive in just six plays, but the GVSU defense demonstrated why they remained undefeated in the regular season.
With their backs against the wall, GVSU forced a fumble at their own seven-yard line as redshirt sophomore defensive back Damonte McCurdy scooped up the ball to give the Lakers possession once more. However, the team’s second forced turnover would prove fruitless as the remaining 6 minutes and 40 seconds saw no scoring action, resulting in the halftime break.
Starting the third quarter with possession, the Laker offense drove into the red zone once again, threatening to extend their lead to two touchdowns. However, the offense was halted and faced a fourth-andgoal at the one-yard line when Reid was stopped short of the endzone, giving the ball back to the Bearcats.
BY ANTHONY CLARK JR. SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM
Grand Valley State University’s women’s basketball team overcame a second half surge by Northwood University in an 89-63 victory to remain undefeated (5-0).
After two corner threes by the Timberwolves to put the lead in their favor at 4-6, the Lakers would respond with a 10-0 scoring run as just over four minutes remained in the first period (4:37).
The Lakers’ full-court press would prevent Northwood from coming within five points (16-11) as the scoreboard read 24-13 after a layup by senior forward Hannah Kulas (assist from redshirt freshman guard Molly Anderson) just 16 seconds before the buzzer.
Even with a comfortable lead at the halftime break, the Timberwolves would ramp up their efforts on defense in the second quarter as a zone set would force the Lakers to cough up the ball seven different times after a few picked pockets and forced passes inside the painted area.
Two turnovers and a missed threepoint attempt would finally lead to the first points scored in the second period as redshirt freshman guard Paige Vanstee tallied one of two free throw attempts at the 7:27 marker.
However, three more turnovers by the Lakers would lead to a layup made by Northwood to bring the deficit to 10 points (25-10) just over the halfway point. Sophomore guard Abrie Cabana would respond with a much-needed three pointer for GVSU (assisted by redshirt freshman guard Nicole Kamin) as an 18-18 scoreline would ensue
from each side and finish the quarter at 43-28 in favor of the Lakers.
“We didn’t take care of the ball for a stretch and we turned it over a bit,” said Head Coach Mike Williams. “We do have to do a better job, when we do turn it over or get outran on a long rebound, of getting back (on defense) and we have to get stops.”
The Timberwolves would miss their first attempt in the third period which led to a foul on the other end and allowed for GVSU to create an opportunity behind the arc redshirt freshman guard Lexi Plitzuweit from an assist by Kulas, 46-28. The three-point conversion would create a spark for the team to build a lead as high as 25 points (6439) with 4:44 remaining in the period, but costly turnovers began to build again for the Lakers.
All of GVSU’s five turnovers in the quarter would come within a threeminute,15-second window as Northwood went on a 0-12 scoring run and shaved their deficit to 51-64 with 48 seconds left to play. However, the surge wouldn’t last as the Lakers were able to capitalize on four free throws from senior guard Emily Spitzley and push the lead to 68-51.
“We have to lock in defensively and try to make up for those turnovers,” Williams said. “That’s something we’re trying to work through with this group and I thought we did a better job in the fourth quarter as we pulled off the press a little bit and back to a man (defense).”
Any hope of a comeback by the Timberwolves diminished with each possession as the Laker defense al -
lowed just eight points to be scored in seven minutes and 19 seconds (2:41 remaining) as the team went on a total scoring run of 21-12 to finish the game in commanding fashion.
Spitzley would finish as the game’s leading scorer with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Kulas and Vanstee added 13 points each as Plitzuweit and Cabana also tied one another with 11 points apiece.
In total, the team shot 55.2% from the field (12-29 3PT) and struggled to convert the easy points as they finished 13 of 22 from the free throw line (59%). Another huge bench output saw 41 points coming from the rotation players as over a third of the team’s total points came from inside the paint (34).
As a part of the 12 redshirt players on a team of 17-total athletes, guard Ellie Droste believes the time spent analyzing the play style from the bench last season has allowed the younger players to translate their knowledge into the flow of the games.
“This year we have a really special team,” Droste said. “Last year we had a big group of redshirt freshmen that never really got to see the floor… (and) this year is their first chance to get on the floor and show what they can do. They have been really stepping up and today really showed that.”
With a three-game home stand behind them and currently No. 2 in the GLIAC rankings, the Lakers are finally heading into conference action as a twogame road trip lies ahead of them; including a challenging game against Ferris State (No. 1 position in GLIAC, 5-0).
“Making certain plays, taking care
of the basketball and being sure of our passes (will allow for success this upcoming week),” Williams said. “Some of those tight-knit plays (is what) we’re going to have to get better at.”
GVSU will face the Bulldogs on Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. followed by a game upstate against Lake Superior State University on Dec. 5 at 1 p.m.