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FACULTY
UAS approves changes to scholarship definitions BY DEVIN DELY DDELY@LANTHORN.COM
a few of whom joined in. However, the event attracted more than just GVSU students. Mariah Wheaton and Sarah Hughes have never attended GVSU but were nonetheless intrigued by the idea of the march. Hughes, who graduated from Ferris State University, said she and a friend saw an advertisement for the event at a coffee shop in downtown Grand Rapids and decided to come check it out. “We were just really interested by the cause,” Hughes said. “Obviously, these things affect us, but these kinds of causes also affect everyone else around us, so it should matter to everyone. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be interested in it.” The original Slut Walk took
Grand Valley State University’s University Academic Senate (UAS) met Friday, April 6, to discuss a motion by the Executive Committee of the Senate (ECS) regarding scholarship and how it is defined across GVSU colleges. The ECS had been debating this for some time and recently passed the proposal within its own committee. On Friday, at a meeting in the John C. Kennedy Hall of Engineering, the UAS voted in favor of the motion. “Over the years, we’ve been trying to align the colleges,” said Felix Ngassa, chemistry professor and chair of the UAS. “In the past, each college had their own guidelines (regarding scholarship). Two or three years ago, we created the University Personnel Review Committee (UPRC), which is kind of like a provost committee. So, there is someone there from every college who can make sure that college is aligned with the university policy for personnel, and one of those things is defining scholarship.” Ngassa said the proposal was “a list of guidelines” for defining scholarship. “As a professor of chemistry, if I’m going to be evaluated on my output and everything that I’ve done, that should not be completely different from someone in philosophy,” he said. “Although in chemistry we have some specific discipline things which will require that our scholarship is (slightly) different, we have an umbrella definition across the university. At least, that’s what this proposal is: It’s a list of guidelines.” The proposal would affect nearly all GVSU colleges, with the likely exception of the Seidman College of Business due to its alreadystrict definitions of scholarship. It involves personnel standards and clear definitions of scholarly activity that can be applied to all colleges. “Every other college will be affected, but the biggest is going to be CLAS, the reason being because they have many departments,” Ngassa said. “Given the fact that they have sciences within CLAS, those departments place an emphasis on scholarship in involvement and participation of undergraduate students. Faculty know that and we like that, and
SEE WALK | A2
SEE UAS | A2
CHANGE: GVSU students participate in a ‘Slut Walk’ on campus on Saturday, April 7. The event was part of It’s on Us as Lakers’ commemoration of Sexual Assault Awareness Week at GVSU. The organization held events during the week to raise awareness of issues relating to sexual assault. GVL | DEVIN DELY
GV students march to end victim blaming, rape culture BY DEVIN DELY DDELY@LANTHORN.COM
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espite the chilly weather, Grand Valley State University students gathered on the Allendale Campus Saturday, April 7, and marched together for the Slut Walk, an event put on by GVSU’s It’s on Us as Lakers, a division of the national It’s on Us campaign to end sexual assault. Event organizers Maddie Vervaeke and Michelle Roldan expressed their thoughts on the event’s significance and their hopes to make a difference on campus. “Basically, this is called an empowerment march,” Roldan said. “It kind of resembles a women’s march, but we’re calling it an empowerment march because this is not just a women’s issue. It happens to every-
one, and I think that there’s such a stigma behind what you were wearing and (people claiming) that’s why you got sexually assaulted or raped. “We actually had an exhibit called ‘What Were You Wearing?’ and we collected Western Michigan data from a lot of universities and got anonymous data of what people were wearing when they were assaulted. When you look at the data, it’s jeans and a sweatshirt.” Vervaeke and Roldan have been involved with It’s on Us as Lakers since it began, less than one full year ago. According to Vervaeke, this event is the first of its kind at GVSU and marks a big step in challenging rape culture on college campuses. “It’s important because a lot of us were not educated about sexual assault in general, or consent,” she said. “I know
talking to a lot of my friends and my boyfriend as well, a lot of people were absolutely shocked going through the exhibit because they don’t understand. What you were wearing shouldn’t even be a question that’s asked of anyone. “This is really about letting those people know that we need to stop asking that question. To me, this is about having everyone’s voices be heard and educating our fellow Lakers and trying to change the climate on campus.” Students gathered in the Kirkhof Center to make signs, and some participants shared powerful poetry and personal accounts before the march began. As participants marched from the Cook Carillon Tower to North Campus and back again, they caught the attention of other passing students,
ACADEMICS
Student Scholars Day returning to campus BY JAMES KILBORN JKILBORN@LANTHORN.COM
On Wednesday, April 11, Grand Valley State University will once again host Student Scholars Day, an event that allows students and faculty to showcase exhibits, research and other projects they’ve worked on throughout the year. Bringing people of all backgrounds and disciplines together, the event will allow students and faculty to network and will give others insight into what GVSU students are accomplishing. Richard Vallery, professor of physics and member of the SSD committee, sees the event as an opportunity for students and faculty to come together over similar interests and showcase projects they’ve devoted extensive time to. “It’s good for students to go,” Vallery said. “It’s a celebration of what’s going on at the university, so it’s a good opportunity for them to celebrate the successes of their classmates. Faculty and students love to talk about what they’re doing, and they often don’t get the opportunity to.” Vallery also sees the event as way to encourage other students, giving
them insight into their classmates’ projects and inspiring them to pursue projects of their own. “I think if you’re a younger student, a freshman, sophomore or even a junior, it’s a good opportunity to see what’s going on and see if there’s something they could be doing,” Vallery said. “We would very much encourage them, and it’s a big part of the Office of Undergraduate Research to get students involved in doing research. It’s not just for going to graduate school—it’s useful for whatever career you go into.” Melissa Morison, professor within the Department of Classics and member of the SSD committee, said the event’s large number of students and faculty from different departments will make the day an intriguing event for people of all interests and backgrounds. “About 575 Grand Valley students are presenting their work this year, and more than 170 faculty members have mentored their work along the way; it’s so exciting,” Morison said via email. “There will be many different kinds of presentations, including posters, SEE SCHOLARS | A2
SHOW YOUR SMARTS: A student displays research during Student Scholars Day on April 12, 2017. This year, Student Scholars Day will take place Wednesday, April 11, giving students the opportunity to display their research projects. GVL | EMILY FRYE