Issue 24, Nov. 8, 2012, Grand Valley Lanthorn

“An Identified Enemy” takes the stage.

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GVSU GETS POLITICAL Watch online lanthorn.com/multimedia

Lanthorn

BATTLE OF THE VALLEYS

G R A N D VA L L EY

S T U D E N T- R U N P U B L I C AT I O N S L A N T H O R N . C O M PRINT . ONLINE . MOBILE

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Full speed ahead into four more years: US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden celebrate on stage after Obama delivered his acceptance speech on Nov. 7 in hometown Chicago.

Battleground states snag Obama 303 electoral votes, second term

BY ANYA ZENTMEYER GVL EDITOR IN CHIEF

P

resident Barack Obama was greeted warmly by his hometown of Chicago Tuesday night after news organizations began declaring his victory over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race around 11:20 p.m., carrying America’s first black president into his second term.

“Tonight in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back,” Obama said.

“We know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.”

Predictions of a close race came to fruition, with the New York Times’ most recent numbers at time of publication totaling Obama at 50.4 percent (60,514,893) of the popular vote while Romney trailed behind with 48.1 percent (57,710,818). Republican and democrats nationwide watched nervously as electoral votes – most notably in the battleground states – topped out at 303 for Obama, and 206 for Romney, leaving 29 currently undecided. Obama swept Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Virginia and Wisconsin, also taking all 16 of Michigan’s electoral votes – Romney’s birth state – as well as his home state of Massachusetts.

“This is an affirmation for the Obama presidency,” said Roger Moiles, affiliated professor of political science at Grand Valley State University. “It was a hard-fought battle, of course, but it was an affirmation.

I think it’s a good thing for the country that we had a clear popular vote winner and electoral vote winner; the fact that Governor Romney could concede within a few hours after the polls had closed, that we had a clear definition on that.”

Whit Kilburn, also from GVSU’s political science department, said Obama’s victory was not a surprising one. Howev-

er, much like 2008, his victory was much bigger than himself.

“I think it’s also a victory for the kinds of politics we think America should have,” Kilburn said. “While there’s no doubt that the campaign was at times shrill and negative, this is really nothing new in American politics. But the election, the exit polls, and the pre-election polls showed that ideas and demographics still mattered. It was not enough for Romney to campaign as the anti-Obama. He had to put together a compelling plan for how he would govern, but the results show that most Americans did not find it compelling enough.”

CLOSING THE PARTY GAP At 51, Obama faces a still-shuddering economy, record levels of national debt and a polarized congress. Republicans will still have control of the U.S. House of Representatives, with 209 versus 155 democrats and 71 undecided. Democrats still have Obama’s back in the Senate, however, with 52 democrats versus 44 republican seats – something Moiles said might help Obama in the long run, though it may be a “very difficult and painful process.”

“What Obama and democrats want is some tax increase to go along with spending cuts, and that’s what more or less, the Tea Party has resisted,” he said. “With their particular power in the House and the republican majority, I think maybe with some support from some Senate republicans – not all of them, certainly senate republicans will still hold to their principles and positions – but, I do think he may be able to put together a little bit of a coalition that will put some leverage on that House majority.”

Gov. Romney and Obama both expressed strong sentiments of bipartisanship in their concession and acceptance speeches, respectively, Obama reminding SEE FORWARD, A2

“We know in our hearts that for

the United States of America, the best is yet to come.”

BARACK OBAMA

US PRESIDENT

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BARACK OBAMA

206 MITT ROMNEY

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HOUSING GUIDE November 19

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NEWS

MICHIGAN STATEWIDE PROPOSAL RESULTS PROPOSAL 1 Approved law in authorizing governor to appoint emergency managers for government units in financial emergency?

YES 47.7% NO 52.3% PROPOSAL 2 Amend Constitution to establish right to collective bargaining for private and public workers?

YES 42.1% NO 57.9% PROPOSAL 3 Amend Constitution to require that 25 percent of state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2025

YES 37.2% NO 62.8% PROPOSAL 4 Amend Constitution to provide collective bargaining for home health care workers?

YES 43.2% NO 56.8% PROPOSAL 5 Amend Constitution to require two-thirds legislative vote or referendum?

YES 31.2% NO 68.8% PROPOSAL 6 Amend Constitution to require statewide and local vote to approve any international bridge or tunnel?

YES 40.5% NO 59.5%

NOVEMBER 8, 2012 Grand Valley Lanthorn

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reminding the country on more than one occasion “we are all in this together.”

“I think it’s a little idealistic that it’s going to continue that way; it’s a good start, it’s a good direction to go into,” Moiles said. “The President talked about meeting with Mitt Romney and talking about ways to bring things together, there was a suggestion of compromise and cooperation on these sorts of things from Mitt Romney in his concession speech – and I think that opens the door.”

this economy, and we are becoming more conservative with our money,” Hogan said.

The economy, Moiles said, will be Obama’s toughest obstacle in gaining back voter support – especially from the youth demographic – namely college students, who are looking ahead apprehensively toward a still unstable job market.

“If the economy shows progress there – now, that’s going to mean avoiding setbacks, problems with the budget, things that will make investors nervous – but if he can accomplish that, if he can work out these deals, then the President’s approval rating will go up out of that and I think that’ll be tied very closely to the economy,” Moiles said.

Don Zinman, assistant professor of political science, said in his second term, one of Obama will have to convince the younger and more idealistic voters of 2008 that “change does not come quickly and without resistance.”

HITTING THE GROUND GAME RUNNING Moiles said Obama’s ground game played an essential role in his victory over Romney, especially when it came down to getting out the vote with targeted demographics like women, youth ages 18-29 and Latino voters, who with 70 percent of the demographic voting in his favor, gave Obama perhaps his biggest popular A CHANGING LANDSCAPE vote advantage in the battleground states.

Moiles said the tone of politics might also “This was something really defined by the have an effect on public attitude and the Presiground game, that’s an advantage they’ve dent’s approval ratings in his second term. had all along,” Moiles said. “It’s when they “The tone of the politics – whether peoreally shifted it into gear in the last several ple feel that their government is working for weeks of getting those populations.” them or if it’s a matter of bickering for po60 percent of the youth vote went to litical gain – I think that’s something that he Obama, versus 37 percent to Romney; which, came into office with this view of post-parat 19 percent of the total electoral, indicates tisanship, that we can get past all of that, and a one-percentage I think he made point increase from efforts to do that, the 2008 election. to an extent,” he Danielle Leek, “ 2012 may show that young said. “But I think associate professor they have to find a voters will reshape the of communications way to rise above ‘party line’ assumption at GVSU, said this that. They have election proves that to accept certain about politics.” young voters will realities on all remain a consistent sides and be able feature of contemDANIELLE LEEK to come to that porary American PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATIONS compromise.” elections.

Kilburn said “A lot of people that this election argued that the proves the need ‘shine’ would wear for Republicans off after the hoopla of social media and a to do some “serious soul searching” to stay first-time African American president in in the game in upcoming elections.

2008,” Leek said. “That lot of people was “It can’t continue to win elections if its wrong.” demographic base is overwhelmingly white, Amanda Hogan, a GVSU senior and old, and male,” he said. “Demographics journalism major, said she isn’t surprised matter, because characteristics such as race, either by the outcome of the race. gender, ethnicity, and age are all markers of “The media and the polls have painted this a shared cultural experience and set of valelection as frighteningly close, but I never ues. The country as a whole is becoming thought Mitt Romney had a chance, espe- rapidly more diverse.” cially when it came to the youth vote,” HoThough voters cannot control the tone of gan, who assisted Leek on Tuesday night at politics in the White House, they can control the WZZM newsroom doing voter data entry. it on the ground floor, and Leek said young “The Obama campaign did an interesting job voters might just be push republican and of making the campaign more about what democrats need to meet in the middle.

Romney can’t do, and why he is wrong for “2012 may show that young voters will the presidency, than focusing on what Obama reshape the “party line” assumption about has done and will do for the next four years.” politics,” she said. “In a number of races, ReHogan said she never felt like Romney publicans won Congressional house & sentried to appeal to younger voters, coming off ate seats in the same districts where Obama as a “stiff elitist.” won the presidency. This means more vot“I think that the younger generation would ers are willing to split their ticket, and I behave been more accepting of a Republican can- lieve that a number of those voters are young didate if the right one had been chosen, espe- Americans who are willing to think outside cially since, as college students, we know how the traditional frames of political parties.” high the stakes are going to be to find a job in editorial@lanthorn.com

At the Lanthorn we strive to bring you the most accurate news possible. If we make a mistake, we want to make it right. If you find any errors in fact in the Lanthorn, let us know by calling 616-331-2464 or by emailing editorial@lanthorn.com.

Lanthorn Volume 47, Number 24 The Grand Valley Lanthorn is published twice-weekly by Grand Valley State University students 62 times a year.

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GVSU looks to end 4-0 run in Battle of the Valleys

N E W S

BRIEFS

BY LIZZY BALBOA GVL NEWS EDITOR

Biology Thesis submitted to competition The Office of Graduate Studies is honored to announce the submission of a GVSU thesis to the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools Thesis Competition. For this year’s submission, 5 nominations from several graduate programs were picked at GVSU. Only one school will submit one thesis in the competition. This is the third year that GVSU has participated in the MAGS Thesis Competition, and this year’s nomination is Whitney Nelson. Nelson graduated from GVSU in December 2011 with a Master of Science in Biology and is currently working at the University of Arkansas on her PhD.

GVSU looks for King award nominations Grand Valley State University officials recently announced that they will be recognizing and acknowledging Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by giving an award to a West Michigan individual or organization that exhibits the teachings and leadership of Dr. King himself.

This award, called the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award, will be presented at Grand Valley’s 2013 MLK Commemoration Week, which will be held from January 21-26. The deadline to submit a nomination will be December 17, and applications can be retrieved at www.gvsu. edu/mlk. These nominations can be sent to: Division of Inclusion and Equity Grand Valley State University 1 Campus Drive 10 JHZ Allendale, MI 49401

Campus Dining celebrating 25 years The Campus Dining office at Grand Valley State University has created its first scholarship that is awarded to one GVSU student each year. Tom Minor, the general manager of Campus Dining, emphasized that he wanted to do something unique to honor the office’s anniversary.

The first scholarship recipient is Judy Ingles, who is a senior biomedical science major. Ingles has been a campus dining employee for more than three years and is also a student manager for Classic Fair Catering. This year, the award is for $2,500 for the anniversary but it is typically $1,500.

Students that want to apply for the scholarship have to take at least 12 credit hours with a minimum GPA of 2.75. It is recommended that students applying have been employed with Campus Dining for two semesters, and recipients are chosen through Career Services and the Hospitality and Tourism Management offices.

W

ith this year’s seniors having never won the coveted Battle of the Valleys trophy, Grand Valley State University is looking to redeem itself with a win over Saginaw Valley State University, ending the rival school’s 4-0 winning streak.

Since the annual Battle began in 2003, SVSU has won six of the nine competitions and has retained possession of the trophy since 2008.

Last year, SVSU more than doubled GVSU’s $12,381 with almost $25,000.

However, both schools have succeeded in advancing the efforts of local and national charities, a welcome victory for all parties.

Over the last nine years, the schools have donated a total of $369,637 to charities ranging from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

This year, GVSU’s proceeds will benefit the Mental Health Foundation of West Michigan. The Student Senate, which mobilizes the GVSU community and orga-

nizes fundraising events with the Office of Student Life, voted on the receiving charity last year after three different charities presented their cases to the senate as a whole.

“I think it’s just an amazing cause,” said senator Sarah Hay, who voted for the local foundation and is a cochair of this year’s Battle.

“They really support erasing the stigma and the negative connotation around mental health issues.”

Hay said the Mental Health Foundation was a good choice because students can actually view the results of their fundraising efforts.

“I love that they’re a local charity,” she said. “I think it’s great to support our local efforts.”

Hay and senator Jennie Hlady have been planning the Battle events since the beginning of the semester.

“There is a lot that goes into BOTV,” Hlady said.

“More (work) than people realize. Since the start of the school year, I’ve probably spent 2 to 3 hours a week on BOTV. Now as time goes on, it’s more like 6 to 9 hours a week. Maybe even more.”

But Hay recognized that

the Student Senate couldn’t win the fight alone. Hay said that despite the Student Senate’s efforts and organization, the Battle could not be successful without the greater student body.

And the students have already begun chipping away at the competition.

The 10th Battle kicked off Saturday with a 5k run and will continue throughout the week with T-shirt sales and various fundraising events, including Tuesday night’s pie-a-senator.

The Student Senate has even recruited local businesses such as Peppino’s Pizza and Boardwalk Subs to donate portions of their proceeds to the GVSU cause. Beginning Nov. 5, Peppino’s is donating 15 percent of patrons’ bills to the Battle when the patrons present a flyer to their servers.

On Nov. 9, Boardwalk Subs will donate 15 percent of its gross profits to the Battle.

Students can also contribute by donating a debit dollar when purchasing a meal at any on-campus dining location or sending money to the Student Senate office. Hay said the senate is presently working to devel-

BO ANDERSON | GVL

Raising money with pie: Stacie Stuut hits Brennan Gorman, Vice President of Campus Affairs, in the face with a cream pie.

op an online donation site so people in the community and on satellite campuses can donate, as well.

T-shirts can be purchased in Kleiner Commons, the Kirkhof Center and DeVos Center, and all proceeds will go directly to the charity.

Purchasing the T-shirts is the greatest cost of participating in the Battle, Hay said, adding that the senate spent about $3,500 from its budget on T-shirts. The senator said a lot of the other expenses are covered by donations from local organizations.

But the money put into

the T-shirts is worth it, as Hay said the sales were pretty successful last year.

Students looking to donate to the cause or purchase T-shirts must do so before the competition ends Nov. 9.

“It really doesn’t take much to give back,” Hlady said. “And if everyone here at GV could give back $1, we would be doing something wonderful for an amazing organization.”

For more information on Battle of the Valleys, visit www.gvsu.edu/battleofthevalleys. news@lanthorn.com

Library to be GV’s first platinum LEED building

BY ELLIE PHILLIPS GVL STAFF WRITER

The Mary Idema Pew Library, which is due to open in August, is expected to be the first platinumlevel LEED building on Grand Valley State University’s campus.

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a consensus-based national standard on high performance and sustainable buildings and was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“The LEED certification reflects the university’s commitment to sustainability in its building program,” said James Moyer, LEED AP and associate vice president for Facilities Planning at GVSU. “It is recognition by an international body that GVSU is constructing facilities that are better than required by minimal standards.”

Moyer added that LEED certified buildings can save money in the long run.

“At GVSU, we find that the cost of owning and operating LEED certified buildings is less than buildings constructed to conventional standards,” Moyer said. “The more efficient buildings lead to less cost for energy (and) water consumption while providing equal or better interior environments.”

LEED was created for several different purposes: to define ‘green building’ by establishing a common standard, promote integrated and whole-building design practices, recognize environmental leadership in the building industry, stimulate green competition, raise consumer awareness of green building benefits, and transform the building market.

LEED is based on scientific standards and provides frameworks upon which to assess building performance and whether the building meets sustainability goals. It also uses state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable development, water conservation, energy efficiency, se-

LIKE TO DANCE?

GVSU | COURTESY

First of its kind: Construction underway on GVSU’s new library, which is being done by Poineer Construction, has diverted 90 percent of the debris from the project away from landfills and is set to acheive the campuses first platinum LEED rating.

lection of materials and indoor environmental quality.

The program also offers professional accreditation through four different levels of LEED certification: basic, silver, gold and platinum.

The ‘basic’ certification is simply “LEED” certified and means that the building qualifies to be LEED. From there, each level signifies an even greater sustainable building.

According to reedconstructiondata.com, the four levels are determined through a scale of points, which themselves are determined by six categories of sustainability: sustainable sites, worth 14 total points; water efficiency, worth five total points; energy and atmosphere, worth 17 total points; materials and resources, worth 13 total points; indoor and environmental quality, worth 15 total points; and innovation and design process, worth 14 total points.

From there, buildings can earn up to a grand total of 69 points. A rating of 26-32 earns the building a certification. A rating of 33-38 earns a silver certification. A gold certifica-

tion requires a rating of 39-51, and the platinum certification requires a rating of 52 or higher.

LEED buildings are not rated just on the final product, however. The building process is also taken into account, and effort is made to be sustainable during construction, as well.

“Right now about 90 percent of our debris is diverted away from landfills,” said Scott Veine, director of sustainability for Pioneer Construction, in a statement to GVSU News and Information Services.

“On top of that we have dust control, we maintain and monitor our storm water quality which is why we have the chain fence around the perimeter of the work site.” Pioneer is the company GVSU hired to build the new library and is a 76-year-old business that became LEED Certified in 2004. Since then, LEED Certified buildings comprise around 85 percent of its annual projects.

Making buildings LEED certified may sound like it could cost more time and money than it’s worth, but Moyer said that’s not the case.

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“We find that constructing to LEED standards has a very minimal impact on a project budget,” he said.

“We require the design architect and engineers...to make better choices in materials, design solutions and quality standards. In the construction bidding process, this adds minimal cost.”

GVSU currently has 15 LEED certified buildings and facilities. Of these, four have received LEED gold certification, six have received silver certification, and the Pew Library is expected to be the first platinum certification, bringing the total of certified buildings to 16. As a result, LEED buildings at GVSU total nearly 10 percent of the LEED certifications in the West Michigan area.

For more information on the Mary Idema Pew Library, visit www.gvsu.edu/library/newbuilding.

For more information on LEED buildings and certifications, visit www.reedconstructiondata.com/market-intelligence/green/leed-ratingsystem. ephillips@lanthorn.com

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WHEN: Nov. 10, 2012 Noon–Midnight WHERE: Kirkhof WHY: We dance for those who can’t. All proceeds benefit Helev DeVos Children’s Hospital.

COST: $5 at the door, or sign up online www.helpmakemiracles.org/events/gvsudancemarathon For more info & updates check us out at Facebook: Dance Marathon at GVSU

Personal november 9, 10, 15, and 16 at 7:30 p.m. november 11 and 17 at 2 p.m. louis armstrong Theatre performing arts Center allendale Campus For tickets or more information call (616) 331-2300 or visit gvsu.edu/theatre/.

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OPINION

NOVEMBER 8, 2012 Grand Valley Lanthorn

READ THE BLOG:

VALLEY VOTE:

LAST ISSUE’S QUESTION:

“BEYOND THE CHAIR”

BY ST E P H A N I E D I E B L E

Are you happy with the results of the presidential election?

Who do you think will win the election?

www.lanthorn.com/blog

Vote online at lanthorn.com

O BA M A 74% R O M N E Y 26%

EDITORIAL

‘MORE WORK TO DO’

A

s part of a generation that is often accused of laziness and apathy, students at Grand Valley State University should be proud of youth vote results, which showed that 22-23 million voters (49 percent) ages 18-29 showed up to the polls on Tuesday, making up 19 percent of the total electoral.

The youth vote put President Barack Obama back in the White House for a second term, as he received 60 percent of the youth vote compared to 37 percent for Romney.

“Young people are energized and committed voters,” said Peter Levine, director of the Center for Information and Research

on Civic Learning and Engagement, who analyzed the youth vote results following the election. “Youth turnout of around 50 percent is the ‘new normal’ for presidential elections. Considering that there are 46 million people between 18 and 29, this level of turnout makes them an essential political bloc.”

Both candidates expressed the nations need to cross party lines in hopes of having any success of forward motion, Obama telling Chicago voters that, “By itself, the recognition that we have common hopes and dreams won’t end all the gridlock, resolve all our problems or substitute for the painstaking work of building consensus and making

QUESTION OF THE ISSUE

Students should be proud of getting out the vote but just because elections are over, the conversation isn’t

the difficult compromises needed to move this country forward. But that common bond is where we must begin. Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over. And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you. And you’ve made me a better president.”

Even in defeat, Romney agreed that it is up to the nation to join together as one.

“The nation, as you know, is at a critical point,” Romney said stoically during his concession speech Tuesday night. “At a time like this, we can’t risk partisan bickering and political posturing. Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work. And

we citizens also have to rise to the occasion.”

And now that campaigning is over, we can only hope that strategy becomes honesty, and our still-divided U.S. House of Representatives and Senate make this dissention of division tangible.

But here’s an undeniable fact that many – political analysts to campaign officials – are finally coming to terms with: the fabric of this country is a changing one. Us Millennials are far more open to a diverse pattern of beliefs, cultures and viewpoints than our older, whiter and richer generations before us. We got out the vote; we delved into the issues - now let’s keep the discussion going.

COURTESY CARTOON I KING FEATURES

What do you think is Obama’s biggest challenge in recapturing public support during his second term?

“The middle class – encouraging and providing incentives that will capture the attention of the middle class, in terms of reducing taxes and the burdens the middle class has faced over the past four years.”

ALEX KASUBA

Senior, allied health sciences Northville, Mich.

“Not keeping his ‘promises’ in many areas is what ultimately led to his loss of trust and therefore public support. Constantly saying you need more time doesn’t really aid it.”

REBECCA GOOSMANN Senior, health professions Grand Rapids, Mich.

“Trying to recapture the approval of the middle class specifically – focusing on unemployment. Also, more pressure needs to be put on the top 10 percent with more focus on capital gains tax increase.”

Star Wars Episode VII: A new…new hope

DAKOTA HERBERT

Senior, allied health sciences Middleville, Mich.

BY NATE SMITH GVL COLUMNIST

“In my opinion, people will be expecting him to focus on the economy and improving it more.

He has worked on it on his past term, but people didn’t seem to think he made an impact.”

MEGAN GIBRIEL

Senior, allied health sciences Rochester, Mich.

“Obama’s largest problem in regaining support is the fact that the past four years he has spent in the oval office have no visible fruits from that labor. To gain support he will need to be more proactive rather than reactive.”

JONATHaN BECKMAN Freshman, physics Coopersville, Mich.

Lanthorn

Last week Disney announced its $2 billion acquisition of Lucasfilm and its plans to start a new Star Wars trilogy by 2015.

While many diehard fans remain pessimistic about the new trio of films, I remain hopeful.

Before explaining why I’m keeping my hope bottled up until the premier, I need to explain how I feel about the franchise as a whole.

Star Wars is a franchise that defined my childhood as well as traumatized my

EDITORIAL PAGE BOARD Editor in Chief Associate Editor Community Engagement Advertising Manager

GVL OPINION POLICY The ultimate goal of the Grand Valley Lanthorn opinion page is to stimulate discussion and action on topics of interest to the Grand Valley Community. Student opinions do not reflect those of the Grand Valley Lanthorn.

The Grand Valley Lanthorn welcomes reader viewpoints and offers three vehicles of expression for reader opinions: letters to the editor, guest columns and phone responses.

Letters must include the author’s name and be accompanied by current picture identification if dropped off in person. Letters will be checked by an employee of the Grand Valley Lanthorn.

Letters appear as space permits each issue. The limit for letter length is one page, single spaced.

The editor reserves the right to edit and condense letters and columns for length restrictions and clarity.

All letters must be typed.

The Grand Valley Lanthorn will not be held responsible for errors that appear in print as a result of transcribing handwritten letters or e-mail typographic errors.

The name of the author may be withheld for compelling reasons.

The content, information and views expressed are not approved by nor necessarily represent those of the university, its Board of Trustees, officers, faculty and staff.

summed as Hayden Christensen crying in front of a green screen for hours on end, while Yoda (who walks with a cane still) jumps off of walls in high flying (boring) lightsaber fights. No bueno.

There’s an element of the upcoming trilogy that gives me hope: George Lucas won’t be directly involved. I mean, what more do I have to say? As leery as I was of the new trilogy at first, that one fact really brought me back.

Lucas introduced some of the worst ideas to ever sully a franchise. I’m hoping the studio goes a step further and gets a restraining order to keep Lucas away from the set - we don’t need any more of his ideas.

No Lucas means that this

trilogy truly has the chance to reinvent Star Wars as we know it, in the same way JJ Abrams reinvented Star Trek in his 2009 theatrical release.

I really just hope the new trilogy will be good because I have no choice.

Episodes I-III left a horrible taste in my mouth.

A taste so bad I’m willing to try whatever comes next on the off-chance that it will be good. I’m willing to wager that anything produced without the direct involvement of Lucas automatically has the chance to be marginally better.

Who knows? Maybe they’ll even ditch the green screen for…ACTUAL LOCATIONS. nsmith@lanthorn.com

You play like a girl: A peek at the female fan

The student-run newspapers at Grand Valley State University

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journey to adulthood. The original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) is a masterpiece.

Great character development, a colorful cast of characters with realistic environments and artful puppetry. This trilogy was the result of a dedicated team of people devoted to making engaging and quality films.

The second trilogy (Episodes I-III) is a mess.

Starting off with Episode I (a movie with no clear protagonist or plot) one could see the potential of the franchise when left in George Lucas’s incapable hands.

By being given free reign over those movies, Lucas was given power that he clearly wasn’t ready for. The second trilogy can pretty much be

BY CHRISTINe COLLERAN GVL COLUMNIST

November. Cider mills, doughnuts, crispy red leaves, sharp, cool air and football. Lots and lots of football. The sport and this season simply go hand in hand. However, in discussing football, I think it important to note the great gender divide that football, more than other sports, seems to bring forth.

There aren’t many gender lines that women can’t cross or blur these days. We can vote, after all. We can fish, wear pants in public, shoot a gun and become chief executive officers. Yet for all of the radical stuff us females can do, there exists

one area that seems destined to remain separated by sex. Sport. More specifically, football.

If we look only at the numbers, football is a man’s sport. The number of female football players in the NFL? Zero. How about the number of female coaches? None. To be fair, there was that one female referee...but she was a replacement ref, and it’s best for everyone if we don’t talk about them.

Some of those differences can be explained by valid gender discrepancies.

There just aren’t many women that are strong enough or fast enough to play in the NFL, and for every female that could there probably exist thousands (or more) men in the same physical state. My real problem lies in the fact that women are often not considered true “fans”

of the sport.

We female fans may get pats on the head for watching the game, but most guys think the real reason women tune in is to appease the male sex or appreciate those tight uniform pants. While I certainly cannot complain about the NFL’s choice of attire, I, like many other women, tune in every Sunday because I simply want to watch the game.

I was born and bred as a Washington Redskins fan. I can name almost all of their usual starters, and I watch their games (with bated breath) every weekend. When the Redskins blow it in the fourth quarter, I am genuinely upset, and sometimes, in a really close game, I can’t be happy for the rest of the day. Because I feel like a traitor if I don’t, I usually tune into the Detroit Li-

ons games, as well. Stemming from the nature of the teams that I watch (I mean the Lions fans used to wear bags over their heads for goodness-sake), I am often disappointed come Sunday evening, but I keep watching. Every week, hoping for a different outcome, because that’s what a good fan does.

All that I ask is that the fan-status of women be more accepted in society.

Just because I wear Victoria’s Secret under my clothes instead of Jockey boxer briefs does not mean that I am any less of a football fan. There exist no ulterior motives here, most of us women who sit down and watch the whole game are no more and no less than your average football fans.

Go Redskins! ccolleran@ lanthorn.com

NEWS

Grand Valley Lanthorn

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

A5

Employers to tell students what they look for in new hires

By Kara Haight GVL Staff Writer

W

BO ANDERSON | GVL

Future plans: Graduation is around the corner for many GVSU students, and a solid resume and proper interviewing skills can be key to landing that big job.

ith graduation looming for many Grand Valley State University students, one of the major concerns for potential graduates is how to be marketable in areas that employers are looking for.

The Seidman College of Business is looking to ease students’ worries by pinpointing the traits sought by employers.

The college is hosting a series of events in the Student Professional Development program, with the most recent event titled “What do employers want?” The event will give students access to a panel of company members in the region that will explain what they look for in the hiring process, and how job candidates can prepare to succeed.

Michael DeWilde is behind the organization of the panel and said he got the idea five years ago.

“I conceived of this event because of the disconnect I was hearing between what employers were telling me they wanted in new hires and what students here at GVSU thought they should be doing to prepare themselves for a career,” DeWilde said.

The panel event has been occurring for the past four years, and DeWilde said he has asked previous speakers to discuss the ‘soft skills’ they are looking for.

“I’ve asked previous speakers to assume they want certain basic technical skills and direct more of their remarks to the ‘soft skills,’ like communication abilities, emotional intelligence, creativity and ethics,” DeWilde said.

But the examples given by

the panel aren’t the only guidelines students should follow.

“This does not preclude saying to students that perhaps all of them should be well-versed in, say, economics if the companies think that should be the case,” DeWilde said. “Only that students have benefitted in the past by hearing suggestions they may not have considered.”

One element that DeWilde said will be discussed at the panel will be the discrepancy between what CEO’s say they want with new hires and what human resources representatives look for when recruiting.

“Students need to hear directly from employers about what it is (the employers) look for beyond just technical competency. That alone is not enough to get a job or advance within a company,” he said.

The panel discussion is only one of the many events in the college’s Student Professional Development program, which will run throughout fall 2012 with events centering on ideas about intercultural awareness training, moral judgments and an etiquette dinner. On the Student Professional Development website, the program is described as “specially selected seminars custom tailored to prepare students for today’s competitive work environment.”

The Student Professional Development program consists of both required events and elective events, all presented on the website. The site explains that the student has the option of attending the required events and whatever elective events they choose to receive a certificate of completion.

The “What do employers

want?” panel is the seventh required event in the program.

DeWilde said the companies chosen to participate in the panel have either had a good relationship with GVSU in the past, had a high number of their new hires being GVSU students, or are prominent businesses in their respective fields.

“The ‘What do employers want?’ Business Executive Roundtable is composed of business executives from area firms,” said Catherine JonesRikkers, associate professor in the Seidman management department. “Executives from companies large and small, public and private are invited to participate. We attempt to have a panel that reflects the diversity of area businesses.”

The Student Professional Development program is being cosponsored by the Seidman Business Ethics Center, Seidman Student Professional Development Program and GVSU Career Services, but DeWilde encourages students of all programs to participate.

“Our hope is that students are given an inside look at what it takes to distinguish themselves from the masses applying for jobs,” Jones-Rikkers said.

The event will take place Nov. 13 from 6-7 p.m. in 122ELoosemore Auditorium in the DeVos Center. Attendees are encouraged to bring resumes.

“Students should please attend with questions in mind, as there will be an hour after the presentations devoted to Q&A,” DeWilde said. “Some students have even been asked for interviews based on their questions, so anything can happen.” khaight@lanthorn.com

Bringing down cultural barriers Students talk success for minorities

By Leah Mitchell GVL Staff Writer

Walking into a room full of different nationalities can often make people uncomfortable.

That is the struggle that Grand Valley State University’s Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity Inc. tried to abate Oct. 31 with a presentation on taking down cultural barriers.

The presentation was a magnified voice for the audience to voluntarily share their views on topics such as how minorities are treated differently, the stereotypes that often partner with different nationalities and solutions that can manage these issues.

The presentation opened with Inez Escareno, vice president and programming chair of Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity Inc., and Javon Jordan, treasurer of Alpha Phi Alpha, discussing the main goal of the event: to spread cultural awareness to people of all backgrounds, from the outside perspective looking in.

Hector Garcia, president of Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity Inc., shared his view on why it was important to host Two Colors One Struggle. “(It’s) to show people that it doesn’t matter where we come from or what we look like,” Garcia said. “The main thing here is to succeed in what you want to do. We are all here for one thing, and that is to graduate and support one another.”

Escareno stated a statistic from the Center of Education that says Latino and black students are more likely to drop out of school than Caucasians. Different factors such as role models, limited resources, language

barriers and stereotypes were discussed to explain this statistic. In unity with this topic, Escaro drives the take-home point.

“It doesn’t matter what color or race you are, you can succeed no matter what,” he said.

Act on Racism, a studentoriented performance group organized by GVSU sociology professor Jennifer Stewart in 2005, performed five different skits that illustrated real situations that students have experienced concerning racism.

“We formed AOR because we were tired of feeling disempowered in dealing with racism on campus,” Stewart said. “Though we didn’t have money or positions of power, we still had mouths, bodies and ideas and these were enough for us to challenge what we say in the world...we can do this by performing real things that have happened on our campus. Hopefully we can start a dialogue and work together so we all have a vested interest in solving the problem of racism and racial inequality.”

AOR invites everyone to its major performance Nov. 28 at 5 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center.

With words of wisdom and encouragement, Mike Wade, assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Ferris State University and the GVSU Alpha Phi Alpha chapter adviser, spoke on how to make a difference in one’s own life.

Wade said, “We are who we are because of our experiences,” and concentrated his words around that fact.

He inspired the audience by sending three separate challenge points its way: have an open mind, dare

to be different and get involved on campus. He said all are important to become a successful individual and making the world what they want it to be.

Lastly, GVSU Spanish professor Medar Serrata told of his own story about the human capacity of overcoming obstacles and achieving one’s goals.

“If there is a lesson to be learned from my story it is this: Nothing except yourself can prevent you from being successful,” Serrata said.

“No obstacles will be high enough if you follow your heart and know exactly what it is that fills your heart with joy. The sooner you find this out, the better. Listen to that voice inside of you. Study something that you are passionate about, not something that will get you a goodpaying job. Because the true measure of success is not money, it is to really enjoy what you do. You all have what it takes to be successful, you have already proven it.

Your future is in your hands, take this opportunity and follow your dreams. Do this for all the people who believed in you, but most importantly do it for yourself. You deserve to be happy.”

Escareno and Jordan concluded the night by highlighting different resources for students of different ethnicities throughout GVSU’s campus: the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Brothers Program, the Hermanos Program, Minorities Interested in Business, the Latino Student Union, the African Student Union and the Black Student Union.

For more information, check out GVSU’s student organization website, www. gvsu.edu/stuey. lmitchell@lanthorn.com

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NEWS

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Grand Valley Lanthorn

Maintaining balance

BY LEAH MITCHELL GVL STAFF WRITER

H

eather Winia wakes up at 6:22 a.m. because 22 is her lucky number. She wears something different each day - whatever makes her feel good on that particular day.

She is a mother to four girls, and takes this responsibility very seriously. Her success story is her own.

Winia, a Grand Valley State University physical education professor and holistic health counselor, shared her secret to maintaining the perfect balance between work, family and living carefree.

“I listen to what my need is for that day,” Winia said.

“What do I need today? What WINIA s o u n d s good?”

A Zumba instructor and master trainer for Groove, Winia teaches on and off of GVSU’s campus. She teaches seven classes on campus, along with an abundance of other health and nutrition workshops at local churches, schools and businesses.

As if this isn’t enough, Winia also runs healthy cooking and fitness classes out of her house. And she never fears the issue of having enough space for clients - Winia takes advantage of the environment available to

her, teaching outdoor classes at local parks and beaches.

But just because she knows the secrets to a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle doesn’t mean she’s never struggled with it.

Winia uses her experiences with overcoming an eating disorder as well as an obsessive compulsive habit of exercising, to effectively help others who are in similar situations that revolve around unrealistic expectations for oneself.

“I am thankful that my education was to help people and myself to live life fully,” Winia said. “I have to remind myself that I get to choose each day how I want to live.”

She may try to tell you that she doesn’t balance very well, but she is able to juggle her activities, her work and being a single mom.

It will be one year ago in December that Winia lost her husband, Mark, at age 45 due to severe Pneumonia. Winia said the loss of her spouse was life-altering.

“I’ve learned to say no,” Winia said. “I’ve had to be really focused, which is why I get good sleep and eat well. If I don’t, nothing gets done. I’ve set my priorities in such (a way) that my kids come first, family comes first. Things change when you lose a spouse. My whole perspective has changed.”

Winia relies on three things to give her strength daily: A healthy mind, body and spirit. To her, spirit

FREE-PRESS-RELEASE.COM | COURTESY

Finding her center: Using different techniques like yoga, GVSU professor Heather Winia has been able to develop a healthy mind, body, and spirit despite dealing with the difficulties of being a single mother and the lose of her husband last year.

mainly means God, but it also involves yoga and outdoors. Winia said both of these build the spirit, and she works to help others develop the strength she strives for.

First inspired to teach physical fitness classes while taking aerobics as a freshman at Hope College, Winia has been a gymnast, a dancer and a coach her

whole life. Feeding her love for life, she has only pursued activities that she enjoys.

After teaching wellness education and fitness at Johnson Controls for 12 years, it was time for a change. Winia flew from Michigan to New York City once a month for an entire year in order to graduate from New York City’s Institute for Integrative Nu-

trition. As a newly certified holistic health counselor in 2005, she began chasing a fresh dream.

“The goal is to teach people to eat real whole food, and that there are no quick fixes,” Winia said. “It’s about finding their own way with fitness, health and nutrition. Because there isn’t just one diet that fits everyone, I help guide people and

help them listen to their own bodies in order to take care of themselves. It’s all about balancing, right?”

Winia said she loves to share her passion for living a vibrant, healthy life. She hopes the lessons learned in her classes will stick with students throughout their lives to improve their strength of body, mind and spirit. lmitchell@lanthorn.com

Are unpaid internships worth it?

Internship programs weigh experience versus income BY sarah hillenbrand GVL staff writer

When looking for a job after college, it has almost become a requirement for many workplaces that college graduate applicants have experience in the field along with the degree. This is one of many reasons why different programs at Grand Valley State University highly recommend, if not require, having internship experience before graduation - even if it is unpaid.

“Employers are increasingly asking for students to have an internship before they even consider hiring them,” said Tim Penning, professor and associate director of the School of Communications. “If you don’t have an internship on your resume, it’s a lot harder for you to get a job.”

Penning said internships help students not only by giving them practical experience but also by helping them apply what they’ve learned in their classes to a workplace setting.

“It’s a good way to test out an industry or a type of work or a type of environment,” said Rachel Becklin, assistant director and internship specialist in Career Services. “It’s also a great place to apply what you’re learning in the classroom, so you’re really able to see the theoretical side put to use.”

Amanda Stansbie, internship coordinator in the hospitality and tourism management department, added that internships give students valuable experience in their field and make them much more likely to be hired.

“It helps them to be more marketable, helps them to build their resumes, and it gives them the experience that they need to be confident enough to apply for positions later on once they graduate,” Stansbie said. “It also helps them, more importantly, to decide if they’re on the right track. Overall, it’s

APARTMENTS & TOWNHOMES

JESSICA HOLLENBECK | GVL

Here to help: Senior Joey Courtade works an internship for the Housing and Resident Life Front Desk in Niemeyer.

just about getting experience in the field of their choice.”

Becklin said that for students who are considering unpaid internships and are worried about money, there are options to make it possible for a student to take the internship. The Career Center offers ten internship awards each semester, which is typically a $500 award, for students who are getting credit for their internship.

Also, students can try to find a part time job so they are working while doing their internship, Becklin said.

Penning added that students who are considering an unpaid internship need to remember that they are not there just for the money.

“Some students complain about unpaid internships and the thing to remember is that an internship is an opportunity,” he said. “I remind students that even if it’s not paid, it’s not like there’s no value to it.”

Students who get an un-

paid internship can sometimes negotiate with an employer to get a stipend that covers gas money to get to and from the business or other expenses, he added.

“The federal law says that students must either be getting paid or getting credit,” Penning said. “They can also get both, and some employers misinterpret that as having to be one or the other.”

Stansbie said students who are deciding whether to take an internship based on the money should meet with an adviser in the program.

“We try to work with them as best we can to make sure we get them the best opportunity rather than the best paid position,” she said.

Becklin agreed and said the experience and networking gained outweighs the costs.

“They’re typically worth it,” she said. “Whether they’re paid or unpaid, the benefits usually end up paying out in the end.” shillenbrand@lanthorn.com

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B1

SPORTS

NOVEMBER 8, 2012 Grand Valley Lanthorn

F O O T B A L L

S P O R T S

SHORTS Top-seeded Lakers host first two rounds of NCAA Tournament Entering its 10th straight NCAA Tournament, the Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team will have the luxury of home-field advantage through the first two rounds.

Coming off of its sixthstraight GLIAC title, GVSU (18-1-2, 11-1-1 GLIAC) is ranked No. 6 in the nation, and is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region.

The Lakers will open the tournament Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.

They will play the winner of No. 4 Ballarmine University vs. No.5 Rockhurst University, which will be played in Allendale on Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.

For all the marbles

Battle of the Valleys a win-or-go-home game for GVSU

BY BRADY FREDERICKSEN GVL SPORTS EDIITOR

H

ead coach Matt Mitchell and his football team have had their focus in one direction all season — in front of them. No matter if the team was in the midst of a sixgame winning streak or a two-game losing streak, the mindset was always looking to what’s ahead.

Now, Grand Valley State University is in first place in the GLIAC North, on the fringe of the NCAA Division II Football Tournament with one game in front of them — a date with rival Saginaw Valley State University.

With a win, the Lakers (8-2, 7-2 GLIAC) can make their case for a berth in the playoffs against a team in Saginaw Valley State (7-3, 6-3 GLIAC), that qualified for the postseason last year.

“There is a lot in front of us, but at the same time we have to focus it just like it’s any other game,” said senior offensive guard Andrew Biedenbender. “Like coach said, if we don’t win this game, it doesn’t matter what’s in front of us. It’s all up to us and we have to go and prepare just like it’s another game.

The NCAA Super Region 4 rankings currently have GVSU sitting at No. 8.

With a matchup against the No. 10 team in the region, Saginaw Valley State, the Lakers have an opportunity to clinch the out-right GLIAC North title and leave their playoff fate to the selection committee this weekend.

“I told these guys yesterday, we shouldn’t be spending any of our time really looking at (rankings) right now — players or coaches,” Mitchell said. “It won’t matter if we lose Saturday … we can control our performance against Saginaw … I haven’t looked at the regional rankings once, to be honest with you.”

Despite playing well against Wayne State, the beat up GVSU secondary will be put to the test against Saginaw Valley State’s duo of quarterback Jonathon Jennings and receiver Jeff Janis on Saturday. The Cardinals’ aerial duo is the most prolific in the conference. Janis leads all of Division II with 1,470 receiving yards and Jennings leads the GLIAC with 292 passing yards per game.

With the status of safety Erik

Ronda named GLIAC North Player of the Week Grand Valley State University outside hitter Betsy Ronda earned the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week award.

The freshman recorded a double-double in all three wins last week against Ferris State University, Saginaw Valley State University and Lake Superior State University.

Senior middle blocker Eno Umoh won the award in consecutive weeks in Oct. 15 and Oct. 22. Ronda was the first GVSU freshman to win the award since Carrie Baker in 1991.

The Lakers (22-5, 12-4 GLIAC), having won 13 of their last 14 games, will take on Northwood University Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.

The team wraps the regular season the following day against Hillsdale College at 4 p.m.

football regional SUPER REGION FOUR STANDINGS Colorado State Ashland Chadron State Midwestern State Indianapolis West Texas A&M Missouri State GVSU New Mexico Saginaw Valley

10-0 10-0 8-2 8-1 8-2 8-2 9-1 8-2 7-3 7-3

S P O R T S

SCHEDULE W. SWIMMING

Friday vs. Michigan State, 6 p.m.

Soccer

Friday Rockhurst vs.

Bellarmine, 7 p.m.

Sunday vs. Rockhurst/ Bellarmine, 1 p.m.

W. Volleyball

Friday vs. Northwood, 7 p.m.

Saturday vs. Hillsdale, 4 p.m.

Football

Saturday at Saginaw Valley, 1 p.m.

Thompson and cornerback Mike Hatcher unknown, Mitchell acknowledged that the game could turn into something of a shootout.

“It’s certainly a concern, this is the team that can definitely throw it the best of any of the teams in the North,” Mitchell said. “… I don’t think we’re gonna stop them, we’ve just got to try to be opportunistic and try to slow them down because they’re very prolific on that side of the ball.

Among the issues Mitchell cited as needing improvement this week was the field goal team, which missed another field goal Saturday to fall to just three-of-nine on the season.

Also noted was improvement in the quarterback-center exchange, a struggle for GVSU all season. Improvement there plays into the improvement in the Lakers’ five-step passing game. Mitchell said it’s something that has faltered recently due, in part, to Grimes’ injury and less of a focus on the passing game.

Tailbacks Kirk Spencer and Mike Ratay made their mark on the ground against Wayne State with 346 combined yards, but Grimes struggled, throwing two interceptions. He and the offense will need to avoid those turnovers in a game where scoring often will be vital.

“When the (defense is) dropping eight, bringing three guys, trying to get coverage downfield, I think we attack that when we run the ball,” said senior offensive tackle Tim Lelito. “(It was) just great running by our running backs this weekend, getting the ball out in space.”

Saturday’s regular season finale holds weight in two regards. If the Lakers win, they keep their postseason hopes alive, but a loss all but ends their season.

Judging by Mitchell’s comments this week, the team isn’t thinking of the latter.

“It’s going to be about all of us working together — offense, defense, special teams — and understanding how the performance of one can affect the performance of the other,” he said.

“We definitely should have a bounce in our step here … we’ve got a lot to play for coming up on Saturday — we should be pretty excited to come to work and get after it.” sports@lanthorn.com

BO ANDERSON | GVL

Full steam ahead: Sophomore tailback Mike Ratay ia shown running the ball during last weekend’s 35-13 victory over Wayne State University. Ratay and the Grand Valley State University offense will have to keep scoring with the GLIAC’s top passing duo on deck this Saturday. Quarterback Jonathon Jennings leads the GLIAC in passing yards, while receiver Jeff Janis leads the conference in receptions, touchdowns and yardage — a category he leads all of Division II in.

MITCH’S SCOUTING REPORT

POSTSEASON PICTURE

“Their offense is very prolific. They’ve got a receiver (Janis) leading the nation in catches, he’s got 1,500 yards, closing in on 100 receptions in a year — which is crazy. Tim Houge is a very good running back and obviously Jonathon Jennings, in my opinion, is the best quarterback in this conference, North or South. I think that the combination of those three players — Jeff Janis, Tim Houge and Jonathon Jennings — they’re a very potent attack. Obviously, statistically, if you take a look at the stats, they’ve been doing it against everybody. They’re good. In my opinion, all three are all-conference players. They’ve been leaning on them throughout the course of the season and I’m sure they will moving forward, too.”

The NCAA Division II playoffs take the top six teams in all four regions, and moving up or down the rankings is weighted on aspects like strength of schedule, not margin of victory.

With GVSU currently sitting two spots back of the playoff picture at No. 8 in NCAA Region 4 (far left), the Lakers will need to leap-frog West Texas A&M University and Missouri University of Science and Technology in the standings. That duo will each finish the season wwith sub-.500 opponents, while GVSU takes on the No. 10 team in the region in Saginaw Valley State Univerity — presumably helping to boost the Lakers strength of schdule and hurting that of West Texas A&M and Missouri S&T.

INSIDE THE OPPENENT

W. BASKETBALL Monday vs. Olivet, 8 p.m.

M. BasketBall

Monday vs. UM-Dearborn, 6 p.m.

JANIS

JENNINGS

HEAD COACH RECORD OFFENSE DEFENSE POINTS FORCED POINTS ALLOWED

Jim Collins 7-3 (6-3 GLIAC) Spread 4-3 30.5 23.5

B2

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

SPORTS

Grand Valley Lanthorn

M . B A S K E T B A L L

Senior point guard shoulders the load for GVSU grow as a player each year, as his numbers will show. His averages in points, rebounds and assists have grown each hen the Grand Valley State subsequent year.

“He made the adjustments to being a University men’s basketball team takes the court this great team player, facilitator and someone year, it’ll have a familiar face directing who makes his teammates better,” Wesley said. “He runs our offense. He can score the offense.

Senior point guard Breland Hogan and defend well, but his primary job is to has grown over the course of his career be the coach on the floor, playmaker and at GVSU and is ready to lead the Lakers our primary ball handler.”

Hogan’s skill as a team leader has into another season.

After becoming a starter in the sec- also grown each year.

“As far as being a leader, you got to ond half of the season his freshman year, Hogan has taken on a bigger lead- be quick to listen,” Hogan said. “You always got to be available to teammates ership role with the team each year.

“Breland’s really been a solid player and be a role model on and off the court. for us,” said GVSU head coach Ric Wes- The team is basically a reflection of you and whatever you ley. “(He) really do, those will folhas a great personlow. When they ality and a way of need direction, or getting along with when they somepeople. The guys “He runs our offense. He times can’t get it really respect him from the coach. because, obviously, can score and defend They can come to he’s a hard worker me as a leader and and a veteran guy, well, but his primary job I can fill them in and he takes care is to be the coach on the from what I know.” of his business. He Senior Tony Pehas a great amount floor, playmaker and our ters — who arrived of respect throughin the same recruitout our program. primary ball handler.” ing class as Hogan It’s because of his — has seen firstwork and time that hand the maturation he’s put in and the and evolution of his matter that he goes about his business.”

RIC WESLEY teammate as a leadHEAD COACH er and a player.

Last season, “It took him Hogan led the Lakawhile, but he grew ers in assists (89), into the leadership steals (39) and free throw percentage (82.7 percent). He role,” Peters said. “He learned how to had the fifth best assist-to-turnover ratio talk to people over the years and he in the GLIAC at 2.1 and averaged 9.9 figured it out and how to adapt to the points per game, scoring in double dig- people around him. He approaches evits in 16 of 27 games. Hogan also went eryone different as an individual. That on to average 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 as- helps him.”

For Hogan, he is focused on using sists per game.

“Since my freshman year, I’ve grown everything he learned at GVSU and a lot on and off the court,” Hogan said. putting it all into his final season. He “I can say that I’m definitely a better doesn’t want to leave GVSU with any player now — a more complete player. regrets.

“I just want to go out and have Since my freshman year, I had to identify my role on the team and what was fun,” he said. “I don’t want to regret nothing. I just want to leave it out on expected out of me as a point guard.”

Hogan has adjusted his game over the court every game and each and evthe years to fit the team and adapt to the ery practice.” bderouin@lanthorn.com college level. Hogan has continued to

BY BRYCE DEROUIN GVL STAFF WRITER

W

ARCHIVE | GVL

Hogan knows best: Senior point guard Breland Hogan rises up for a shot during a game last season. After taking over as the team’s starting point guard half way through his freshman season, Hogan has transformed into the team’s leader and on-the-court coach. After leading the team in assists, steals and free throw percentage, Hogan is out to finish strong in his senior season.

W. B A S K E T B A L L

Tried and Tested Trio

Seniors look to lead Lakers into 2012 season

BY Jay bushen GVL assistant sports editor

After an injury-plagued campaign last season, the Grand Valley State University women’s basketball team has focused on an elementary aspect of basketball entering this season — teamwork.

“My expectation is for us to play as well as we can as a team,” said head coach Janel Burgess. “I’m excited for the balanced attack we’ll have this season.”

The Lakers will rely heavily on All-GLIAC First Teamer Briauna Taylor. The senior guard led the team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season en route to 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game averages.

“Bri is a well-rounded player,” Burgess said. “She is unique because she is so strong when it comes to rebounding and finishing at the basket.”

Taylor’s ability to get to the hoop complements her ability to shoot from behind the arc. She shot more than 35 percent from 3-point range last season.

“The coaches say I’m a combo guard,” Taylor said.

“My ability to shoot and drive forces the defender to play me true, they can’t cheat.”

Taylor’s roommate will also play a huge role for the Lakers.

Senior Alex Stelfox rejoins the Lakers after missing 12 games last season due to injury. Her 93 blocked shots rank as the fifth most in school history, and the 6-2 center should provide a low-post presence on both ends of the court.

“I’m really excited to have her back,” Taylor said.

“I can’t wait to drive and dish the ball down low.”

Stelfox was named to the Preseason All-GLIAC North

ARCHIVE | GVL

She’s back: Alex Stelfox returns to the team after missing 12 games due to injury and will look to add to her 93 blocked shots.

Stelfox was named to the Preseason North Division First Team.

Division first team, along with senior guard Lauren Stodola (Jenison, Mich.) who was named to the second team.

Stodola also suffered a significant injury last season, and was limited to only eight games. She averaged 8.3 points per game last year, and will be a big part of the balanced attack.

Taylor, Stelfox and Stodola are the lone seniors on the roster this season, and will be looked upon to lead a team that welcomes six new players, two transfers and four freshmen.

“There’s a lot of new faces out there,” Taylor said. “But if we come out and play hard as a team, we should be suc-

cessful. I saw some doubleteams last year, but I don’t expect to see that as often.”

The Lakers were ranked third in the GLIAC North Preseason Poll, and in order to make a run for the conference title, they will need to play as one cohesive unit.

“We’ve lacked synergy in years past,” Stelfox said.

“When we face adversity on the court, we need to stick together and stay positive. We want that GLIAC championship, and we’re not leaving without it.”

The Lakers open the season at home versus Olivet on Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. assistantsports @lanthorn.com

SPORTS

Grand Valley Lanthorn

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

B3

V O L L E Y B A L L

High Flyin’ Freshman Athletic Ronda does a little of everything for GV

BY Zach sepanik GVL Staff writer

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ARCHIVE | GVL

A fresh start: After chosing Grand Valley over other Division I Universities, freshman Betsy Ronda has lead the team with 16 double-doubles and 318 kills. She also has 26 service aces.

etsy Ronda did not start playing volleyball until she was in the seventh grade, but if you saw her play outside hitter for the Grand Valley State University volleyball team, you would never know.

At 5-foot-11, Ronda has a strong vertical — a leaping ability like that of a kangaroo.

Her overall athleticism made coaches drool when scouting her out of East Grand Rapids High School, also leaving those on the opposite side of the net fearing her every move.

“We knew we were getting somebody special,” said GVSU head coach Deanne Scanlon. “She is a real competitive kid. To have her come in and contribute the way she has to our program as a freshman, it’s a tough conference and it doesn’t happen very often, but it just shows how special of a kid she is.”

So far this season, Ronda has tallied 16 double-doubles, the most on the team, while averaging 3.70 points, 3.24 kills and 3.11 digs per set. She is first on the team and sixth in the GLIAC with 318 kills. Also, Ronda is first on the team with 26 service aces and is second with 305 digs.

Besides playing on her high school volleyball team, Ronda also was a member of the Dead Frog & FaR Out (DFFO) club volleyball program, one of the elite programs in the state.

While several of her club teammates chose to continue their volleyball careers at Division I institutions, Ronda selected GVSU, even though she was offered scholarships from Oakland University, Valparaiso University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, just to name a few.

Ronda said it wasn’t about the size of the school that influenced her decision. Instead, it bounced off the ideas that she knew some-

one on the team in sophomore libero Christina Canepa, the university’s proximity to her home, and that she could study exercise science and eventually pursue the strong physical therapy program offered at GVSU. “In the end, I just knew it was the right place for me,” Ronda said. “It’s not too far away from my home and I knew a girl on the team and our assistant coach (Jason Johnson) coming here. I knew what values they represented and the kind of coaching and I really liked that. I think the opportunity to win and play was also a big part of it.”

While she was immediately inserted into the starting lineup for the Lakers this season, Ronda has learned many techniques and aspects of college volleyball from returning players, especially lone senior leader and team captain, middle blocker Eno Umoh.

“She brings the intensity and sets the standard out on the court,” Ronda said. “She is a great leader and is always helping to encourage me, guide me through and mentor me.”

Umoh came to GVSU from a high school not known for volleyball. Her raw talent meant she had to work on her skill set to get to where she is today. As for Ronda, coming to GVSU from a sound volleyball program made her game a bit more polished and has put her ahead of the game. Continuing to work hard will only make her that much better, Umoh says.

“She is one of those freshmen you don’t see very often,” Umoh said. “She is going to do wonders for this program. Once she starts perfecting her hitting, she is going to be amazing. I know it is good now, but even more when she starts to tweak her skills, she is going to be great.”

To top things off, Ronda was named the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week on Monday. She is the first GVSU rookie to win the award since Oct. 13, 1991. zsepanik@lanthorn.com

R U G B Y

Men’s club rugby ends season in loss to Indiana (Pa.) BY judson rodriguez GVL intern

A loss to Indiana University of Pennsylvania wasn’t the senior send off they were looking for, but Grand Valley State University rugby team members Jack Gallagher and Alec Knorr have no regrets from their time as student athletes.

Both seniors, Gallagher and Knorr have competed in their last games for GVSU, giving way to a burgeoning freshman group.

“The season didn’t end the way we wanted it to.” Gallagher said. “There were lots of good accomplishments throughout the season though.”

Losing to the No. 3 ranked Crimson Hawks last Sunday abruptly ended a run to the conference championship by GVSU. Coach John Mullet said that a few mistakes cost his team late in a very close game

that ballooned to a score of 34-14.

“What the scoreboard said didn’t really tell what happened in the game,” Mullet said. “It was within reach with ten minutes to play; they just had a fluky turnover and drive that they scored on and we couldn’t come back.”

The game mirrored a previous loss to Indiana (Pa.) in which the Crimson Hawks jumped out to an early lead and saw the Laker team trying to scrap its way back.

“You know there were times where I thought we were gaining the momentum ,but we couldn’t sustain it,” said Mullet.

On the plus side for GVSU, the Lakers started seven freshman this season and will return those starters with many more vying for a starting role.

“This is by far the best development we have seen from our freshman class,” Mul-

let said. “We started seven freshmen and all seven of them contributed directly to us winning games this year, so the level of input was great.”

Led by freshman Dave Geise, the Lakers will look to avenge losses, their only blemishes of the year against Indiana (Pa.) 2013.

While Gallagher and Knorr won’t be returning for more on the field glory at GVSU, their careers may not be over.

Gallagher will attend chiropractic school at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa and will attempt to continue playing rugby for their extremely competitive men’s team.

“I’m going to try to play on the team but it’s a tough team to get on — we’ll see,” said Gallgher.

For Knorr, he’s trading in the rugby uniform for a government black suit. A crimi-

nal justice major, he would like to work as a detective for the FBI. “This experience being student athlete has shown me more and more that GPA isn’t all that this is about,” Knorr said. “It shows a level of commitment that can help you in the future.”

Gallagher plans to use his experience as a rugby player as a launch pad to get ins in the professional world.

“Once you’ve played you’re always going to find someone you can talk about rugby with who has played,” Gallagher said. “I know of a friend who went to a job interview and only talked about rugby with this employer and got hired.”

Gallagher also plans to return to the team to help out as an alumnus.

“I’ll definitely be back to give them a hand as an alum,” he said. rodriguezj@lanthorn.com

H O C K E Y

Rolling into the Season Roller hockey club kicks off season with a smooth start

BY tate baker GVL staff writer

After starting the season 4-0 with wins over Central Michigan University, University of Michigan, Ohio State University and Eastern Michigan University, Grand Valley State University’s roller hockey club is on the right track to do big things.

“Our guys have honestly exceeded my expectations so far this year,” said A-team head coach Ryan Gendon. “It’s been a pleasant surprise to open up as strongly as we have.”

While GVSU has had great success with its football, soccer, cross country and various other varsity programs, it’s easy for the club teams to be overlooked.

Not many students realize the level of competition that

the roller hockey club competes with.

“The majority of the teams we play against are from the Big Ten,” Gendon said. “We have high expectations for our teams every year - size of the school isn’t a huge factor for us.”

If you ask any coach, there are many pieces that are key to a having a great team. However, it’s not always determined solely on the talent level of that particular club.

“Most of our team has been playing together for almost three years,” said B-team head coach Bryan Flinkner. “We have a really mellow and chill atmosphere, which I believe really contributes a great deal to our success.”

With a senior-laden program this year, the Lakers

roller hockey club is looking to repeat what they did in the 2008-09 season, a year in which the team won a national championship.

“We have the majority of our team back from last year,” Gendon said. “This is basically their last shot at a championship, so this year is definitely make or break for many of them.”

Gendon was once a member of the roller hockey club, and knows how it feels to reach the pinnacle as he captured the National Championship for the Lakers that season.

“As a former player, I know what it takes to get to that point, and it’s definitely not easy,” Gendon said. “The team we have this year has honestly worked harder than any team I have ever been a part of. They go the extra mile

with everything they do.”

To get to that point the Lakers have to get through their region, which is littered with talent across the board. Among those talents are rivals Michigan State and Ohio State.

“Having a rivalry comes along with having success,” said club president David Oswald. “With (Michigan State) it’s more of a respected rivalry, as we have both had great success in the past years.

(Ohio State) tends to get really ‘chippy,’ we don’t necessarily like them too much.”

The Lakers will have yet another shot at their rivals when they face off with Michigan, Ohio State, Central Michigan and Michigan State on Dec. 1 and 2 in Shelby Township, Mich. tbaker@lanthorn.com

COURTESY | GVL

Starting off fast: Josh Kanclerz skates forward during a recent game. The Lakers are looking to build off a strong 4-0 start.

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NOVEMBER 8, 2012 Grand Valley Lanthorn

AN IDENTIFIED ENEMY

ERIC COULTER | GVL

Returning from war: “An Identified Enemy,” written by GVSU alumnus Max Bush and directed by senior theatre faculty member Roger Ellis, will be premiering on Nov. 9. The play tells the story of a couple who have returned from the Iraq War and the struggles to transition back into society and will feature video effects, sound effects and photographs to give the audience a complete experience.

GV presents world premier of veteran-focused production

BY KARI NORTON GVL STAFF WRITER

C

ombining live acting and video projections to give audiences a more realistic feel, Grand Valley State University’s theater program is adding a multimedia twist to the world premiere of the play “An Identified Enemy.”

Written by GVSU alumnus Max Bush, “An Identified Enemy” is an 80-minute production set in both the Middle East and Michigan.

The play starts by telling the story of Jamie Foster and his girlfriend, Della, who have both recently returned to their civilian lives after being in the Iraq War. Foster struggles to transition back

into his old life and pull himself away from his obsession with the past, said Bridget Vanderhoof, who portrays Della.

The opening begins with a video displaying a panoramic view of Baghdad to get the audience accustomed to the scene.

“I want so badly to do the character justice, but it is hard since I do not have the experience of fighting in the military,” Vanderhoof said. “I respect the many people who fight for our country, and I want to represent them in a realistic fashion.”

Included in the 17-member student cast is Baschar Umran as the lead Jamie Foster, Vanderhoof as Della, Navy veteran Ryan Jackson

as the Baghdad street vendor Jalil, and Army veteran Brian Hudson as the U.S. Defense Department prisons expert Paul Strock.

Senior theater faculty member and Army veteran Roger Ellis is directing the production as part of the School of Communications’ Cultural Diversity in Theatre Program.

“What mainly makes this performance stand out is the immediacy of the experience,” Ellis said.

“The actors are live onstage, the issues are contemporary and very relevant, and the documentary projections onstage help to bring the real world into the playhouse in a very experimental and nontraditional manner.”

Film and video production student

Zachary Hampel produced the video effects that are projected onstage, and student audio designers Dennis Dembeck and Christopher Greene produced all the sound effects.

“Much of the play itself is focused on nuances that were huge in the Iraq war,” Hampel said. “Photographs and interviews that would usually just be left to the audience’s imagination appear on screen, basing the play much more solidly in historical fiction than simply fiction.”

The performance is a highly visual production and unlike a very traditional play, Ellis said. Video footage from the Al Jazeera news site will present a scene in which soldiers have been attacked and are dying.

“The audience can expect to see

a play that is visually immersive,” Hampel said. “The videos exist to set a tone for the show and add an extra layer of intrigue to an already relevant and captivating show.”

Six performances are scheduled in the Louis Armstrong Theatre on the Allendale Campus for Nov. 9, 10, 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 11 and 17 at 2 p.m.

Tickets range from $6 to $12 and are available from all Startickets outlets or the university box office from noon to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Veterans and their families receive free admission for all of the performances.

For more information call (616) 331-2300. knorton@lanthorn.com

Exhibit combines professor’s love for architecture, art

BY STACY SABAITIS GVL STAFF WRITER

Appreciating architecture doesn’t always mean designing buildings.

For Lorelle Otis Thomas, Grand Valley State University professor of art and design, architecture is about painting a piece of her history.

Her exhibit, “Building on the Land: Works by Lorelle Otis Thomas,” blends the skill of painting with architecture, and is displayed in the Red Wall Gallery inside Lake Ontario Hall on GVSU’s Allendale Campus.

Otis Thomas’s father was an architect. As a child, she dreamt of being an architect too, but her father advised her to find a different career path because not many women were pursuing that field at that time.

She decided to turn her love for architecture into her latest art exhibit.

The “Building on the Land” exhibit is a group of watercolor paintings that are snapshots of places Otis Thomas took on road trips over several years. She said the structures she saw had a great effect on her while she was painting them.

“You know a really interesting thing happened while I was working on the exhibit – I realized I’m very, very lucky that when I would be painting a picture, like the farm in Omaha, Neb., I get so involved in the painting that I feel like I’m back there, I’m back at that farm, on that day, with the people I was with and it’s like I get to relive every vacation,” Thomas said. “I mean you can take a road trip, but then you can relive the entire road trip by just painting what you saw on the road trip. It’s like vacation doing double duty.”

ERIC COULTER | GVL

Painting a piece of history: The Red Wall Gallery located in Lake Ontario Hall is featuring Building on the Land: Works by Lorelle Otis Thomas which showcase works from different travels of Thomas. The exhibit showcases Thomas’s skill for painting with her love for architecture around the country.

The majority of the watercolor paintings are from around West Michigan, but there are some from other states, too.

“The show statement says that I started painting a lot of the things in West Michigan, and then I realized that if I stuck to painting just West Michigan structures, I was going to have an awful lot of paintings of barns and farmhouses,” Otis Thomas said.

So she decided to travel to other places, such as Florida, Illinois and California, where she knew the architecture had to be diverse from the things that she was taking pictures of in Michigan.

“I started seeking out things

that I knew would be different design, that I didn’t already have because I wanted the variety,” Otis Thomas said.

The structures that most people ignore while going on a road trip were the most interesting to her.

“What I ended up liking the best was some of the old farm buildings sitting in the middle of nowhere that no designer or architect had anything to do with,” she said. “And I was really interested by that, by the fact that buildings that happen naturally can be really attractive buildings.”

She said this gave her a new perspective on viewing things that might be boring to other people.

After finishing the paintings, she used Google Maps and the street view option to see if her paintings were distinct enough from the original structures.

“It’s interesting because Thomas has combined the traditional medium of watercolor landscapes within the context of digital satellite imagery,” said Paris Tennenhouse, GVSU Art Gallery exhibition designer.

Otis Thomas wants people to look at things more than once and think about what is behind them, which her exhibit displays.

“I think that we as a society tend to walk around with our eyes closed,” Otis Thomas said. “If I do

anything with these paintings, I hope I make people look.”

Cathy Marashi, assistant director of galleries and collections at GVSU, said the paintings in the gallery were collected over a long period of time.

“Lorelle’s long road trip in search of subjects for her paintings and her deep passion for a wide variety of building structures, their architectural styles, and how they relate to their surrounding environment are the heart of her exhibition,” Marashi said.

For more information on the gallery, call the GVSU Art Gallery at (616) 331-2563. ssabaitis@lanthorn.com

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Grand Valley Lanthorn

Art sparks activisim Visiting artist shows students another side of printmaking

AMY HAMMOND | GVL

Art for change: Printmaking political activist Josh MacPhee speaks to art students of the university about his artistic journey. own culture,” Colley said. velop the finished print.

BY STEPHANIE ALLEN GVL A&E EDITOR

Brooklyn, N.Y. printmaker Josh MacPhee never had any formal art training.

He doesn’t hold a traditional gallery-style view of art.

And all of the art he creates has a greater social meaning, other than being aesthetically pleasing.

He’s a printmaking political activist.

MacPhee came to Grand Valley State University last week as a visiting artist to create a project with help from printmaking professor David Keister and to speak with students about his artistic journey.

Printmaking and drawing professor Brett Colley chose MacPhee as the week-long printmaking project artist after finding out about him in “a really bad job of stalking him,” Colley said. He originally found some of MacPhee’s work online, then saw one of his projects at an exhibition, and started noticing books edited by him.

Colley knew MacPhee’s work was different, and he said it brought a fresh idea to students.

In his discussion on Nov. 1, he gave students a political look at art, which Colley said is distinctive about MacPhee because he focuses on the collaboration and social context of images.

“Very little of the work that I do, the art and cultural work that I do, is distributed or comes out through the traditional art world,” MacPhee said.

Students were engaged during the discussion as MacPhee gave an hour-long overview of five projects he’s worked on, all with a social printmaking standpoint.

“He’s involved in social justice issues and he brings printmaking back to its history as a sort of tool as a social and political discourse,” Colley said.

Hearing the different ideas MacPhee discussed inspired students, Colley said.

And gave them a new idea to explore different aspects of their art and the social context behind it, he said.

“I thought Josh did an excellent job of covering a wide range of ideas and individual projects, knitting them together around the dual concepts of history and social movement building,” Colley said.

But hearing his story didn’t just inspire students, Colley said it emphasized some of GVSU’s core education values, too.

“I think it is a reminder of their context here in a liberal arts college that there’s a lot of other disciplines with a lot of different concerns and it sort of places an emphasis on the knowledge that they’re getting from those other areas and not just the technical tools that they’re learning as artists.”

Political art as a living

MacPhee is a non-traditional printmaker. He first got involved with the idea of political printmaking as a teenager doing street graffiti when he realized the political impact it had on society. “…Josh himself did not receive a formal education in art, but instead came to it as someone interested in the punk movement, anarchism, and basically growing your

He started developing his printmaking skills with stenciling and then moved on to screen-printing, which developed with his projects.

His latest work is running the Interference Archive in Brooklyn, N.Y., which is an archive of what he calls “social movement culture,” or political art. The collection includes placards, buttons, posters, songs, and performance documents that people have actually used and created.

“There’s actually a fair amount of the things that we use or think about in our culture that we don’t realize actually came from moments of people organizing,” MacPhee said.

The archive works to keep those items from history in the public’s mind.

“The idea is to take them and reintroduce them back into the world so that they don’t get sort of forgotten or they lose their context, but we get to remember them and why,” he said.

The radioactivity project

When the tsunami hit Japan in March 2011, it caused a series of reactions that lead to a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power plant.

More than a year after the disaster, its implications are still evident.

The weeklong project MacPhee worked on at GVSU came from his work with Japanese activists who are working to raise awareness of the radioactive disaster that is still happening.

“There are actually pieces of Fukushima that are starting to wash up on the shores of California,” MacPhee said.

The wood-printing technique used was new to MacPhee, he said he learned from Keister, who helped de-

“Working with David is fabulous and he’s an amazing printmaker and has been able to troubleshoot and problem solve everything that’s come up within seconds,” he said.

Fitting with the project’s cause, he said the printmaking technique is a Japanese style that is also a “suicide print” because it gets destroyed with each layer – an idea that MacPhee related to the Fukushima disaster.

The finished print is a shot of the hills and “Hollywood” sign in California, replaced with “Fukushima.”

“There’s an apocalypse unfolding in Japan right now,” MacPhee said.

And he’s hoping his radioactivity project brings awareness of that issue.

For students who asked MacPhee how he made it as an artist, and for advice on how to proceed, he gave them a different idea of what to expect in the art world.

“It’s like a lottery, which we all through our names into the ring and very few get picked,” MacPhee said.

“And who gets picked is almost always arbitrary or nepotistic. I think it’s really hard to study and learn and work really to want to become an artist and then enter into a system where none of that really matters. I think it’s important for artists and particularly young people, young artists to start to experiment with other ways to be artists in the world.”

He told them to keep going and to keep pushing everything until it breaks, just like his suicide prints.

“Take things, even if they’re successful and keep pushing them,” he said. arts@lanthorn.com

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NOVEMBER 8, 2012

B5

Showcasing student creativity

Fishladder looks for talented art, writing submissions

BY MATT OBERSKI GVL STAFF WRITER

Grand Valley State University’s art and writing publication, Fishladder, is now accepting submissions for this year’s edition – and they’re looking for a lot of talented students.

The annual publication of student-submitted writing, including fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry and drama, photography and art of any medium was founded in 2003.

But the publication isn’t limited to art and writing students: any student can submit work, regardless of their major.

Caitlin Horrocks, GVSU assistant professor of writing and faculty adviser for Fishladder, started working with the publication in 2008.

“It’s a very competitive process to be published in a magazine,” Horrocks said. “It’s a lot of really high editorial work for the editors and published writers. It’s a good way to get experience in that field and to build up resumes.”

Last year’s volume included more than 30 pieces from many different disciplines. Being a part of the publication can be very beneficial for students, Horrocks said, whether they are editing or submitting work.

“Most people that create art and write want to be read,” Horrocks said.

“They’re expressing themselves, and have something to say to the reader. Fishladder highlights work that is especially strong, and we’re really proud to be making that work available

to people throughout the Grand Valley community.”

Last week, photography and art editing staff started placing posters around the Allendale Campus to promote Fishladder and to provide submission information for interested students.

Balancing an editor position at Fishladder along with class and other commitments can be tough, but editor head and creative writing major James Hinkson said it could be done.

“It’s definitely a big commitment, but I’ve known about my involve-

“Fishladder highlights work that is especially strong, and we’re really proud to be making that work available to people throughout the Grand Valley community.”

CAITLIN HORROCKS

GVSU ASSISTANT PROFESSOR

ment way before hand. It’s just a matter of planning ahead,” Hinkson said.

Hinkson got involved with Fishladder last year when one of his professors suggested that he submit work. He went on to become part of the poetry editing team for the writing section.

“Reading though the

work, it really is a tough process picking what goes into the magazine – it’s reas- HORROCKS suring to me on a personal and professional level how much talent is out there,” he said.

The deadline for submissions is Dec. 17, after which editors start looking at the submissions and sort to find the best possible pieces.

The 11th volume of Fishladder won’t be released until April, but it’s free and available to the public. Afterward, selected writers and artists can present their pieces to staff and students on the night of distribution.

Not all submitted art and writing pieces are published in the magazine, but for the students who submitted and didn’t get featured, there is a second chance at the spotlight.

“If they don’t get into the publication, there’s the Fishladder Red Wall Show in Lake Ontario Hall,” said Elizabeth Uitvlugt, illustration major and art editor for Fishladder. “We’ll keep pieces that we really like and display them, and students can have the experience of being in a curated show.”

The Fishladder Red Wall Gallery opens April 1 and runs until May 18.

Posters around campus describe the submission process, or for more information, contact Horrocks at horrockc@gvsu.edu. moberski@lanthorn.com

B6

Grand Valley Lanthorn

NOVEMBER 8, 2012

MARKETPLACE

Announcements

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