In May of 2011, when “Meatless Mondays” were first introduced to Kalamazoo College’s cafeteria, they received a  divided response from the student body. Among the 364 students who completed the response survey, a third claimed they were “opposed to meatless Mondays.” Despite the majority of students who were in favor, the dining staff and administration decided to postpone permanent implementation of the program, until now.

“Less-Meat Mondays,” a considerately redesigned and re-titled version of “Meatless Mondays” made in order to appeal to a larger portion of the student body, is back. The dining coordinators have reintroduced the initiative to decrease (but not eliminate) the amount of meat served in the cafeteria. Meatless options include pasta dishes, vegetable stir-fry, and baked potatoes– sans bacon, of course.

Sophomore and Civic Engagement Scholar for the Farms 2 K group on campus, Charlotte Steele, says that the aim of the initiative is “not meant to deprive students of food that they like to eat, but rather to broaden [their] perspective of food choices.” On Sodexo’s website, Nick Gupta, the vice president of brand management, claims that it “provides a healthy and tasty alternative for people looking to implement a healthy diet change.” Sophomore Fiona Carey agrees, claiming that “it helps [her] personal efforts to eat less meat to have these options available.”

However, some students find the reduction of meat in the cafeteria unappealing. Freshman Grace Gilmore claims that she “would like to see the cafeteria initiative shifted to providing local-farmed, grass-fed meat more frequently, instead of promoting vegetarianism.” Because the cafeteria attempts to serve vegetarian and vegan students by providing meat substitutes at every meal, students like Gilmore question why it is necessary to force a reduced-meat diet on the entire student body. Gilmore says that she would be much more willing to eat vegetarian once in a while if Sodexo’s next initiative is “Manic-Meat Mondays.”

Will the cafeteria staff heed this suggestion in order to appeal to meat-lovers on campus? Time will tell. But for now, Kalamazoo students will have to learn to love textured vegetable protein instead of ground beef in their tacos and trust that students like Steele know what is good for them.

Kalamazoo Women’s Basketball team lost to Adrian on Sunday 77 – 70 in a game that went down to the last minutes.

Adrian jumped out to an early lead, but the Hornets managed to stay in the game and went into halftime only down by four, 35 – 31.  The Bulldogs increased their lead again in the second half, but the Hornets kept fighting and used an 8 – 0 run capped off by a pair of free throws from freshman Querubin Dubois to tie it at 50 with 12:19 remaining.  Kalamazoo kept in the game over the final minutes, but never managed to get out in front.  Adrian sank eight free throws in the final minute to cap off the victory.

Kalamazoo had four players score in the double digits with sophomore Nicole Antoine leading the Hornets with 18 points, three steals, and going perfect at the line with eight buckets.  Freshman Emily Lindsey scored 17 points going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the line.  Senior Carly Zeitlin posted 10 points and four rebounds, and junior Anne Colonius added another 12 points and three rebounds.

Adrian shot 52.9 percent over all while Kalamazoo shot 36.4, but Kalamazoo only turned the ball over 10 times compared to 18 Adrian turnovers, which the Hornets managed to turn into 20 points.

Seniors were honored before the beginning of the men’s game, with Zeitlin, Julia Schroeder, and Kelsey Johnson being recognized.  Despite an ACL injury, Johnson started the game, fighting against the pain in order to play in one last game.

Kalamazoo plays its final home game of the season in Anderson Athletic Center tonight at 7:30 against Albion.

The Hornets celebrated Senior day on Sunday yet fell to Albion College 53 – 48 in a game that went down to the final seconds.

Kalamazoo got out to a strong start, leading for a significant amount of the first half, before going into halftime 25 – 19.  The Hornets continued to play strong, and were leading by eight with 6:46 left on the clock.  Albion evened it up though with just over three minutes remaining, and took the lead soon after.  The game went down to the wire before Albion sank four free throws in the final 12 seconds to put the Hornets away for good.

The main problem for the Hornets this game was Briton junior Kolin Kazen, whose speed and size proved difficult for the Hornet defense to shut down.  He had 13 rebounds and scored 22 points, twice as much as anyone on his team, and leading both teams in scoring.

For the Hornets, senior Joe Prepolec led the team with 14 points, six rebounds, and five blocked shots, while freshman Carter Goetz added another 12 points and seven rebounds.  Sophomore Grant Carey posted nine points and four rebounds off the bench.

The Hornets and the Britons shot even over all, with Kalamazoo at 33.3 percent and Albion at 34, however Albion was held to 24 percent in the first half but doubled their percentage in the second to 48.  The biggest difference comes in the free throws, with Kalamazoo shooting only 5-for-12 while Albion sank 16-for-20.

The night also had the senior basketball players, Prepolec, Joe Wilson, Evan Levine, and Lee Caldwell honored before the start of the game with their families at center court.  This was the last home game of their careers.

The men are back in action at Adrian tonight at 8 p.m.

I love meat. But even though I’m one of the last people who would become a vegetarian, I have to admit that having “Less Meat Mondays” in the cafeteria was a good idea–and I think they should be permanent. Over-consumption of meat hurts the environment and our health, so we should use “Less Meat Mondays” to reduce meat consumption.

One of meat’s biggest negatives is the damage it causes to the environment. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, animals raised for food create 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2010, the United Nations Environmental Program concluded that a “worldwide diet change, away from animal products” would be needed to contain climate change. Besides contributing to global warming, livestock ruin habitats and pollute the air and rivers. We eat too much meat because consumers don’t directly pay the price for the environmental damage meat causes. Excessive meat consumption reduces everyone’s quality of life, meaning we should reduce how much meat we eat.

We should favor eating less meat not only for the planet’s sake but also for our own. Low-meat diets generally make people healthier. One study in 2003, written in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that those who adhered to a vegetarian or low-meat diet for 20 years had an increased life expectancy of about 3.6 years. These longer life spans probably stemmed from findings that vegetarians are 40% less likely to develop cancer, have lower rates of obesity, and are less at-risk for heart disease. Much like the environmental costs of meat, others often foot the bill for unhealthy meat diets through higher insurance premiums and increased spending on public health-care programs, resulting in too much meat ending up on peoples’ plates.

I’m not saying that eating meat is wrong, or that no one should eat meat. Nor am I saying that K should try to impose vegetarianism on its students. What I am attempting to say is that it is in society’s best interest that we eat less meat. Those who eat less meat impose fewer environmental and health costs on society. Because one of K’s central tenants is promoting environmental sustainability, it’s justifiable that we encourage more sustainable diets. Students who want to see food at K become more sustainable should advocate for making “Less Meat Mondays” permanent and increasing the vegetarian to non-vegetarian food ratio in general. On a larger scale, we should encourage our government to impose higher taxes on meat so that consumers pay a price that more closely aligns to its actual societal cost. I don’t plan on becoming a vegetarian, but I do want a healthy and clean future, even if that means less meat in the cafeteria.

On February 9^th, students gathered in Dewing 103 as Amnesty International presented “Very Young Girls,” an exposé detailing the lives of young girls involved in sex exploitation in New York City. The movie demonstrates girls as early as twelve years old becoming active in what they call “the life” or “the game.” Amnesty member Maya Edery (K’15) explains that though people are becoming aware of human trafficking, but fail to see the locality of it. “When we hear about human trafficking, we assume that it’s something that is happening overseas. But this is something that happens in New York City daily, and could be happening a few blocks away as well,” Edery notes.

According to G.E.M.S. (Girls Educational & Mentoring Services), the average age at which girls become involved in sex exploitation is 13. In “Very Young Girls,” there is a clear importance in showing that these girls are only children, whether the law views them as such or not. In one case, a 15 year-old girl faces a jail-sentence for engaging in prostitution, even though in any other situation, she would be too young to consent to sex. “The law is completely against these girls just because there is money involved,” Edery states.

One of the most common subjects debated during a short discussion after the movie was why these girls are often viewed as criminals, rather than victims. Edery asserts, “In many ways, these girls are similar to people like Elizabeth Smart, only she was viewed as a victim in the media.” In the film, their pimps often hold the girls hostage, and their lives are threatened when they choose not to return.

G.E.M.S. is currently the only program in the state of New York to advocate healthy lifestyles for girls involved in commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. Their mission is to not only prevent discrimination toward these young women, but also to provide them with a safe haven.

As a follow up to the movie, P.O.W.E.R. will be having a discussion during their meeting Tuesday of 8^th week, and Amnesty International has a special speaker coming to K on Thursday of 9^th week to talk more in-depth about working with girls involved in sex exploitation.

Hoping to spark dialogue about feminism, Civic Engagement Scholar Meredith Quinlan welcomed students, faculty, and staff to join her in evaluating the feminist culture within the Kalamazoo College community last Tuesday night in the Olmsted Room with the help of the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning.

To start the event everyone began by reflecting on there own personal experiences and then split up into small groups for discussion. Although the room was dominated by female students, the faculty and males who did attend added perspective on the topics discussed, including: stereotypes, equality, media, self-expression, and male-or-female dominated space on campus.

When asked to define feminism, phrases such as “equality in opportunity,” and “eliminating double-standards” were brought up multiple times. While defining feminism in their small groups, many realized how the  “man-hating monster” stereotype of the feminist contrasts so much with their ideals as feminists. “The word ‘feminism’ has a lot of baggage with it,” said one student.  “It’s not all about not getting married or having kids and just pursuing a career,” another student said.

The disconnect between male and female feminists on campus was another big issue brought to light. In addition to POWER (Progressive Organization for Women Engaged in Revolution) there is also a lesser-known feminist group on campus, MAP (Men Against Patriarchy). Glad to be at the dinner where all genders were welcome, a male student brought up the importance of intermingling the male and female feminists on campus. “It’s not only a female problem, it is everyone’s problem,” he said.

At the end of the dinner, all of the groups joined together to discuss how they could involve more people in these dialogues about feminism on campus.

“I think establishing more diversity among the feminism-supporting groups was a majorly important issue that was brought up,” said  Katie Rink (K’15) after the dinner.

With the promise of delicious catered Indian food lingering in the air, attendees of last week’s feminist dinner were split into small groups to discuss feminism, including its meaning to and significance in the individual group members’ lives and how it manifests at K. As a feminist who is quite public about her views on this campus, I was excited to hear some other perspectives on the topic I think so much about. As soon as we started talking about feminism at K, it didn’t take us long to start talking about the problems of feminism at K, including, but not limited to, the (unwitting and undesired) exclusion of certain groups (queer women, women of color, men) from K’s feminism; the lack of interaction between POWER, the campus’s premiere feminist group, and other identity-based organizations; and the ethics of that premiere feminist group being an exclusively women-only space and, by extension, the lack of a mixed-sex feminist space.

These issues were important for me to learn more about. Though I care deeply about these issues and am involved in several feminist projects on campus, I am not involved in POWER or any other identity-based groups. In a way, after feeling that my particular brand of feminism/identity didn’t fit in with any groups or the campus climate toward feminism at large, I dissociated myself from that climate, doing my own thing instead. So it was beneficial for me to be reminded of the issues that do still exist.

I took it as a call to action. Maybe it’s not my place to call for these things, since I hold no stake in these groups, but I think it would be great if, for one thing, identity-based organizations banded together to discuss feminism across a variety of contexts—a major theme that came up in our group was the lack of intersectionality in regards to K’s feminism. There is a huge difference between being a white queer woman, a feminist man who recognizes the detriments of patriarchy for everyone, a straight black woman, and a lesbian biracial genderqueer female (cough). If space could be made to discuss these various experiences—and how they are all connected by the idea of womanhood and the need for feminism—K’s feminism could slowly become a more multifaceted, all-encompassing ideology, one readily accessible to all members of our campus. Kudos to POWER, MAP, and BSO for their efforts at collaboration on these topics; kudos to my small group for bringing these issues to my and the collective attention; and kudos to Meredith Loomis Quinlan and all who helped her with the dinner. A great think tank has been established; now let’s think about acting on those ideas.

“Where are my girls?” asked Alejandra Portillo Taylor during this year’s annual Monte Carlo celebration, hosted by the Student Activities Commission (SAC) at the Air Zoo on Saturday 11th, 2012.

It appears that the SAC-provided bus shuttles to the Air Zoo did not appeal much to students who were anxious to arrive at this year’s Monte Carlo. “It is 11:30 p.m. and my friends are still not here. What is going on?” expressed Taylor (K’13). Michael Chien (K’13) expressed similar sentiments. “The lacking and unpunctual nature of the bus transportation was a great downside to the event,” stated Chien (K’13).

This year, Monte Carlo took on a whole different approach in terms of hosting the event. As opposed to in years’ past, Monte Carlo took place at the Air Zoo because of enforced safety restrictions that did not allow the presence of more than 500 people at the Hicks Center. Due to Monte Carlo’s high anticipated attendance, hosting the event at the Hicks Center was not an option.

Reference Librarian Liz Smith, who volunteered at Monte Carlo, stated that fire marshals provided this notice during fall quarter, and because of this, the SAC had a limited timeframe in which to plan out Monte Carlo 2012′s location.

The general Kalamazoo College student body seems to have enjoyed this year’s Monte Carlo and its location, despite transportation problems. “The venue, at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, provided for a considerably more vibrant atmosphere,” mentioned Chien (K’13). Jose Leonel Zacarías (K’15) described his first experience at Monte Carlo as “amazing.”

Juniors who came back with enough time to catch this year’s Monte Carlo also enjoyed the event. “It was wonderful seeing all my friends again,” mentioned Darwin Rodriguez (K’13).

Students expressed that they had hoped for a more apparent presence of a dance floor at the Air Zoo. “There was no dance floor, so that was a bummer,” stated Yesenia Aguilar (K’14). Other students had mixed emotions toward Monte Carlo’s location, in relation to past experiences. “I liked the atmosphere created by the Air Zoo, but felt that last year was more lively,” revealed Megan Walsh (K’14). Walsh further explained that everything was “more spread out,” and as a result, Monte Carlo “felt more empty.”

While some were a bit dissatisfied with the way Monte Carlo was organized, a lot of students remained content with the way things turned out, due to the novel combination of Air Zoo attractions and the usual Monte Carlo gambling. “All of the dealers knew the game they were assigned [to], and there was a good selection to choose from,” stated Chien. “We had the option to get on rides, which was great for those like me who don’t gamble,” mentioned Aguilar.

S3A is anticipated to be a step in the right direction. A newly formed organization and pilot program, S3A was formed at the request of Dean Sarah Westfall, who envisioned a peer support group for students who had either suffered or been accused of sexual misconduct. Funded through student development, their purpose is to provide support and correct information about the misconduct process at Kalamazoo College. Members of the team help students navigate the system and give referral information to on- and off-campus resources.

Their mission statement properly explains their purpose and aims:

“We are a confidential peer-to-peer alliance for members of the K community who are survivors of sexual assault, those who have been affected by sexual assault, and persons accused of sexual misconduct.

We aim to reduce sexual assault on the Kalamazoo College campus by providing confidential support, referrals, and accurate information to men and women about sexual assault, sexual rights, healthy relationships, and campus conduct and response issues.

We aim to work with not only survivors of sexual assault, but with persons accused of sexual misconduct on campus on a peer-to-peer level.  We strive to empower survivors to make decisions at their own pace and get the professional help they need to combat injustices in a way that is most healing for them.”

Team members include seniors MacKenzie Sudol, Meredith Quinlan, Alexandra Crockford, Katy Sly, Britta Seifert, and sophomores Claire Diekman, Rachel Evans, and Francesca DeAnda, along with Counseling Center staff member Dr. Deborah Rose, who remains actively involved with the group.

While there are no formal relationships between S3A and other StuOrgs on campus, they hope to work with POWER, MAP, the CIP, and any other organizations or departments interested.

S3A was formed as a confidential peer-to-peer alliance with the understanding that sexual assault is underreported, and that it is often easier for a student to talk to another than it is for a student to approach faculty, staff, or administration.

While the team members do not provide counseling or therapy, they will help students obtain such needs through the Counseling Center or YWCA. S3A members are currently working to create a website by which students will be able to easily contact team members via email and are also in the process of developing educational materials that will include contact information.

After the recent pipe burst in Trowbridge Hall, students and faculty realized that the problems spread to more than just the first floor of Trow, but all across campus. The College Planning Committee plans on upgrading the dorms by 2013, however, they have no intention of improving the structural interior of the buildings.

The facilities management staff were working on a rotting pipe problem in Trowbridge about two weeks ago, when the pipe burst through the ceiling onto the floor underneath, flooding water into the Women’s Advocacy House living area. This also raised the issue of replacing residents’ items, or even the materials the college provides, such as mattresses. For residents who did not see the e-mail, the construction served as an alarm clock the following Monday morning.

Later that week Tommy Jackson, a resident of Trowbridge, commented “I went into the bathroom the other day, and I had to plunge three or four toilets.”

In their 2007-2017 plan, the College Planning Committee had Hicks renovated, then had the fitness center built in 2010. For 2012-2013, they planned on two residential hall upgrades, which included the refurbishment of Hoben last summer. Despite common problems in the halls, the CPC is not considering an upgrade to the halls aside from the dorm refurbishments.

According to the College Planning Committee’s site via Moodle, their plan for the next five years is, “Cosmetic renovations and furnishing upgrades completed; major structural renovations will not be completed during the timeline of the strategic plan.” The states of the halls will remain the same–if they do not deteriorate any further–after all of current students graduate.

The committee continued, “It is essential that the caliber of our residence halls be as attractive to perspective students as the quality of our programs and personal. Unfortunately in their current state, our residence halls are at a disadvantage relative to the housing provided by our competitors.”

Indeed, current students will have to manage with persisting interior problems in the halls, and they will not see structural improvements by the time they graduate unless the committee changes its plans.