Monthly Archives: May, 2012
Wrapping things up versus keeping things going at the year’s end
Chelsey Shannon, Opinions Editor
And so another year draws to a close. Seniors are prepping to get launched into the world, and many sophomores, myself included, are prepping for the same thing in a difference sense. All of this brings up the question of continuity, a thought that’s been on my mind ever since last week, when I attended a POWER meeting for the first time this year. The theme was building connections between various identity-based StuOrgs, with the tremendous Jaime Grant as a guest speaker. It was a tough but necessary conversation filled with the discomfort and uncertain suggestions common to many discussions of that nature. Toward the end, though, people began to speak more candidly– throwing out some honest observations and suggestions. Ultimately, only one thing was clear: there was a lot of difficult work to be done.
Take their word for it: 10 pieces of advice from departing seniors
Compiled By Emily Guzman and Elaine Ezekiel, Staff Writers “Try not to lose track of who you are or where you come from. Take action on the things you love. Remember … Continue reading
Aspirations now and then: Stetson Chapel through the decades
By Elaine Joy Carlin, Contributor
Overlooking green the quadrangle that sprawls below its lofty height, students travel beneath Stetson Chapel’s bell tower several times a day. This central campus structure has evolved immensely since its conception in the early 1900s.
Back then, in the fall of 1928, President Allen Hoben, requested the construction of a chapel. Seeking to realize a college noted for its scholarship and Christian standards of life, he insisted that a campus chapel was an essential addition to the college. He wrote, “It is no secret that a college of our type needs above everything else literally, practically, morally and imperatively a chapel. There is nothing so formative important and central in the education which we aspire to give.”
Students protest NATO
By Jennifer Wendel, Staff Writer
Two weekends ago Chicago hosted the 25th NATO summit, and the first one ever to be held in the United States. President Obama and leaders from around the world attended the summit. But the clogged city streets were testament to the other attendees: over ten thousand protesters.
Ziggy Zigterman, K’13, made the drive to Chicago to march in the largest protest of the weekend, on May 20th. “I have my problems with NATO and I wanted to go and see what it was like and get involved in some small way,” he said.
A day of recycling with resident expert Robert Townsend
Maggie Kane, Staff Writer
Recycling Coordinator Robert Townsend has a messy office. It overflows with papers and trinkets—I was surprised when he pulled up a cleared-off chair for me when I arrived. Townsend explained that he spends little time in his office during a typical work day.
Townsend gets to K early in the morning and starts work with a sweep of the residence hall recycling centers. He then checks calendars and emails before starting in on his other projects. “I’m a one guy, full-time person that organizes this recycling program for the whole campus,” Townsend said.
Student Commission Update
By Kelsey Donk, Web Editor
To begin the final Student Commission meeting of the 2011-2012 academic year, President Meredith Loomis Quinlan thanked commissioners for their time and dedication throughout the year.
Financial Policies Committee Chair Darrin Camilleri reported that the general Student Commission Fund has a remainder of $7,032 for this school year. They will divide this money between StuComm events for the 2012-2013 school year. StuComm also voted to put $1,000 aside for next year’s Student Commission Emergency Fund.
Andrea Gibson, Students’ favorite spoken word poet, visits campus Memorial weekend
By Colin Smith Staff Writer
As the lights waned and the doors closed, Chelsey Shannon K’15 and Katie Ring K’10 welcomed the internationally recognized spoken word poet Andrea Gibson to Dalton Theater. She looked up to a large audience on a Saturday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend. Despite an early morning of work shopping with the Poetry Collective, Gibson illuminated the dimmed room with her energy.
She tells the audience her first poem is a love poem about her body when she had issues accepting it, which she recommends for everyone to do for a new perspective. She enunciated the title, “I Sing the Body Electric, Especially When My Power’s Out,” and as Gibson moved through another stanza, an acoustic guitar swept through the sound system to match with the rhythm of the loose meters.
Next year’s enrollment 25 students short of 375-student goal
By Kelsey Donk, Web Editor
On May 14, as eighth week was just beginning at Kalamazoo College, faculty and staff received an email from President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran notifying them that first-year enrollment for the 2012-2013 school year is lower than expected. Enrollment for the coming school year falls short of the school’s “budgeted target number 375 students,” the President wrote.
According to Dean of Admissions Eric Staab, the 2012-2013 enrollment total is 25 students less than the college’s original goal, with 350 first-year students committed to Kalamazoo College for the upcoming school year.
Softball team loses another coach after hard season under Richard Harrison
By Emily Townsend Arts and Entertainment Editor
On Monday, May 21 at 4:30 p.m. the Kalamazoo College softball team gathered for a meeting and were informed that Richard (Ritch) Harrison will no longer be coaching the team. Faculty was informed later that afternoon.
While neither the Athletic Department nor Harrison will confirm the reason for his leave, several softball players confirm that Harrison was asked to leave. Harrison’s alleged dismissal came at the end of a hard season. Freshman softball player, Maddy Sinkovich said the season was fraught with difficulties, including drug testing, bullying allegations, suspension of the captains, and an unpopular decision to remove a senior player. Sinkovich says, “Ritch didn’t start the season off with trust. We need a coach with experience.”
Advice From a Senior: Give Credit to the Administration
By Nick Gann Contributor
Every year a few big topics always seem to bubble up to the surface of campus discussion. Facebook groups are made, speeches are given, and students complain. These “issues” are usually summed up into first-world problems. Don’t confuse this with student groups who routinely work to promote the causes they hold dear to them and plan activities for students to become educated about their concerns. There are real problems that exist on campus, but those are often overshadowed by “Save the Whales in Ecuador” petitions.
