Issue 25, February 17, 2020 - Grand Valley Lanthorn

G R A N D VA L L E Y L A N T H O R N

Fruits of their labor GV Opera Theather shares hardworking stories

GVSU President Mantella and Governor Whitmer announce new online program EDUCATION | A2

Lakers bounce back; claim victory over SVSU, Northwood W. BASKETBALL | A9

M O N D A Y, F E B R U A RY 1 7, 2 02 0 // VO L . 5 4 N O. 2 5

@ GV L A N T H O R N

LANTHORN.COM

A2 | NEWS NEWS BRIEFS GV HOLDS CONVOCATION FOR FACULTY

On Feb. 11, Grand Valley State University held its annual awards convocation. The awards event was hosted

by Maria Cimitile, GVSU Provost and executive vice president for Academic and Student Affairs.

“I thought about our milestone honorees who have been here for the duration of their careers as well as our honorees who have recently joined us and are making a significant impact on the university,” Cimitile said. “All of us are creators, changing Grand Valley over time. Some call change over time evolution but I like to think of it simply as life.”

According to Michele Coffill in University Communications, Feryal Alayont, professor of mathematics, gave the convocation address and also received the Outstanding Advising and Student Services Award.

“In addition to other University Awards for Excellence, the Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center and Center for Scholarly and Creative Excellence presented awards” Coffill said.

A list of all award recipients is online at gvsu.edu/provost.

BIG CONFUSION IN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY IN IOWA

Although they had some difficulty in transparency in the 2016 primaries, there was more confusion last week at the Iowa caucus. In an article by the New York Times, the confusion stemmed from delayed results surrounding an app used this year.

“Results in the Iowa Democratic caucuses were delayed Monday evening, creating widespread confusion among the presidential campaigns. Party officials said the results had been delayed because of ‘inconsistencies’ in their reporting,” the New York Times reported.

“The reporting problems are believed to have only delayed the results, not called them into question.”

Former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg celebrated victory before all the results were in. Other candidates like Joe Biden complained about the lackluster reporting process and how it delegitimized the democratic party.

Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT), like Buttigieg, was feeling confident despite the issues.

“Let me begin by stating that I imagine — I have a strong feeling — that at some point the results will be announced,” Sanders told supporters at his election-night watch party. “And when those results are announced, I have a good feeling we’re going to be doing very, very well here in Iowa.”

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

EDUCATION

Never too late: GV President Mantella, Gov. Whitmer announce new online program

BY SEAN CAUVET NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

There are big changes coming to Grand Valley State University in 2020. GVSU President Philomena Mantella and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on Wednesday a new education plan that will be geared toward non-traditional students that are over the age of 24, with work experience and at least 30 earned college credits.

“Today we are announcing degrees and certificates for the two million working Michiganders who have some college credit, but had to leave school before earning a bachelor’s degree,” Mantella said. “These busy adults are looking for realistic, affordable, high-quality offerings to advance their careers and to complete their journey. That is why we’ve developed and accelerated online degree programs that will support them.”

Whitmer plans to use her newly-approved $35 million budget to implement the program, with the hope for expansion on the horizon.

Mantella made sure to clarify that these degrees are geared toward degree completion, not just participation.

“They (the students) have the convenience of online learning, but the value added of a

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES: Standing alongside Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, GVSU President Philomena Mantella rolls out a new bachelor’s degree for non-traditional students. COURTESY | MLIVE

community experience. And the program doesn’t require you to pick a path but allows you to choose your own. The featured accelerated degree program is 19 months long, and grounds you with an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree and one of four certificates

built around high-demand workplace needs like project management, data analytics, global communication and leadership.”

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GOVERNANCE

Student Senate invites Cook Leadership Academy, discusses higher education funding

BY LUCAS SWARTZENDRUBER LSWARTZENDRUBER@LANTHORN.COM

DISCUSSION: Student Senate cabinet members have a conversation during their Feb. 13 general assembly meeting. GVL | MICAH HILL

Though the Feb. 13 general meeting adjourned early at 6:16 p.m., Student Senate accomplished plenty. First, senators listened to program managers Grace Tummel and Jakob Bigard discuss the benefits of participating in the Hauenstein Center.

Tummel asked what Student Senate knew about the Hauenstein Center. Senator Kelly Dowker said the Hauenstein Center has the Cook Leadership Academy, and Tummel said the program involves the best and brightest students.

Throughout the one-year program, self-reflection occurs extensively as students think about their strengths and consider how their actions have positive and negative consequences. Participants also attend lectures hosted by the Hauenstein Center. Senators Camilla Russo and Tummel said these events are free and open to the public.

Additionally, Tummel said the academy tries to pair students with mentors by similar interests and personalities. Students meet their mentors six times a year.

Here, Tummel mentioned students can ask mentors questions, including what is

their leadership style and whether they attended graduate school.

Vice President of External Relations Joel Pagel said he plans on applying for the Cook Leadership Academy. He described it as useful for students navigating the world as leaders, including meeting new people and hearing new ideas.

Pagel mentioned the academy would be invaluable for helping students become used to public speaking, including speaking with legislators on education and other issues.

Later, Pagel introduced Resolution W-20-03 on ratifying the Student Coalition for Higher Education Funding (SCHEF). SCHEF serves to bring together student governments from 15 public universities across Michigan to participate more with the state government on educational budgets.

Pagel said it is challenging to fund higher education since the state government has many expenses to pay for everyone living in Michigan, not just students. Budgets range from road maintenance to health.

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FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

CONTENTS EDUCATION

| A2

EDITORIAL

| A4

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

| A5

ARTS

| A6-7

CHORAL

| A8

W.BASKETBALL

| A9

M. BASKETBALL

| A10

TRACK AND FIELD

| A11

W.BASKETBALL

| A12

VOL. 5 4

NO. 25

Lan thorn EDITORIAL STAFF

Layout Editor VIVIANA RUBIO

Editor-in-Chief NICK MORAN Associate Editor AMY MCNEEL

Layout Designer KHOI TRAN PROMOTIONS

Associate Editor BRIANNE KERR News Editor SEAN CAUVET Sports Editor KELLEN VOSS Laker Life Editor YSABELA GOLDEN

Promotions Manager ALEX DAGASTINO

A3 | NEWS WELLNESS

Generation Z Michiganders record highest levels of mental distress

BY AMY MCNEEL ASSOCIATE@LANTHORN.COM

A DirectCBD study published in December of 2019 found that Michiganders experience some of the highest levels of mental distress in the country. The data was collected from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

“In the survey, respondents indicate how many days of mental health they have experienced in the last 30 days,” said DirectCBD creative team member Tyler Burchett. “So anyone who indicated that they experienced at least one day of poor mental health within the last 30 days, we categorize as mentally distressed for the purpose of this project.”

Burchett defined mental distress as a day of poor mental health, and the phrase can be used as an umbrella term for people experiencing stress, depression, anxiety and more.

While rates are rather high across the board, Generation Z Michiganders recorded above average rates of mental distress. According to the study, Generation Z respondents in Michigan recorded the highest rate of mental distress in the country, with a rate of 64.4 percent. This rate is almost ten percent higher than the national Generation Z aver-

ADVERTISING STAFF

Business Manager RACHEL RUTGERS Asst. Business Manager NEHEMIAH HUDGINS-LOPEZ

BY AUDREY WHITAKER AWHITAKER@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.

The Grand Valley Lanthorn is published weekly by Grand Valley State University students 31 times a year. One copy of this newspaper is available free of charge to any member of the Grand Valley Community. For additional copies, at $1 each, please contact our business offices.

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higher levels of mental distress, one of which is the role of technology.

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GV holds event detailing history of racialized sexual violence

BUSINESS STAFF

Image Editor BENJAMIN HUNT

age of 54.8 percent.

Generation Z defines those born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, thus making up a majority of students at Grand Valley State University. There are many hypotheses for why younger generations are experiencing CONVERSATION

Advertising Manager JESSE BECKER

A&E Editor MARY RACETTE

SITTING IN SADNESS: A recent study published by DirectCBD found that members of Generation Z in Michigan face above average rates of mental distress compared to other states. GVL | BENJAMIN HUNT

DIALOGUE: Addressing the audience, speakers discuss the overlooked relationship of sexual violence, gender and race. GVL | MICAH HILL

It may be common knowledge that Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a segregated bus led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, but many people are not aware of her 12-year career as a civil rights activist prior to that incident.

Krystal Diel, Center for Women in gender equity Victim Advocate, and Candice Cadena, Living Center Director in the Office of Housing and Residence Life presented on the overlooked work of Parks and many other Black women on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

“A lot of people, for example, don’t know that Rosa Parks was a sexual assault investigator for the NAACP, and her work there actually helped lead to the civil rights movement, and also dramatically changed and shaped how we see victim advocacy today,” Diel said.

Their presentation, “Racialized Sexual Violence: Black Women and the Start of the Civil Rights Movement,” focused on the impact Black women sharing stories of sexual violence and injustice had on the civil rights movement as a whole.

“We’re talking about the intersection of sexual violence and the intersection of gen-

der and race,” Diel said. “Sexual assault impacts people of all backgrounds, but there’s a lot of stories that have been erased from our narratives. With February being black history month, we really want to elevate the stories of black women specifically.”

Diel said that while all stories of sexual violence are valid and important, she wanted this presentation to focus on the stories of black women, which are underrepresented.

“You really want to take an intersectional lens to address sexual violence,” Diel said.

“Anti-violence work has to also be anti-racist, or you’re going to miss the mark. We have to address both topics to have a real comprehensive approach.”

Cadena explained that intersectionality, the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups according to Merriam-Webster, not only impacted history, but impacts students at GVSU today.

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A4 | OPINION

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

By Xavier Golden

GVL EDITORIAL CARTOON

EDITORIAL

New online accelerated program stands out in supporting non-traditional students

A 02/17/20

editorial@lanthorn.com

Athena Jasman’s humor column announcement

BY ATHENA JASMAN JUNIOR FILM AND VIDEO MAJOR EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

Hello Grand Valley. It means so much to write this for all of you today.

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who takes part in this organization we call the Lanthorn. And to all of the current and former columnists reading this today, tomorrow and years to come, I thank you for your service in a time where local printed news has nev-

er mattered more. And thank you to my mom, who will read this when I decide to tell her I still write for a school paper.

To anyone who picked up a paper today, welcome to my humor column. It is a source of deep pleasure to be able to have the opportunity to share this piece of entertainment with you, all of you, within the following article, because the story within this campus is such a big part of why I’m writing this.

I grew up on this campus, for the past two-and-a-half years, in the same dormitory that I live in today, Niemeyer East Living Center. I joined this community because I knew that it would look good on a resume. Yes, a piece of paper, much like the one you’re reading right now. I joined the Lanthorn in 2018 without knowing that this page, be it online or handheld, would never be the same, if I, we, neglected to hold the courage to reimagine my past humor columns.

Now I can confidently say that, well, we’ve done it, Grand Valley.

Now there’s a long way for us to go, but we have changed our trajectory, and shown a path forward for articles like this. Let me just say this: there will be no lack of columns in this newspaper, this I swear. And that’s why I’m here today, to tell a different story than “Top 10 Reasons Why Sports Are Relevant.”

Because there’s a myth being sold to communities affected by the media. It is time to walk away from my columns of the past and towards something totally different. So, that’s why I’m here today.

My name is Athena Jasman, and I am about to write a humor column for Grand Valley State University’s own student-run newspaper, the Lanthorn.

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Let’s not trade one billionaire for another

BY DYLAN GROSSER JUNIOR MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISM EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

We all knew that in this year’s election, emotions were bound to be high due to what is at stake. But even still, I don’t think anyone could predict the amount of ire inspired by a particu-

lar candidate who came into this race very late and from left-field. A candidate who is constantly being talked about, but no one is actually voting for. A candidate who has an extremely controversial past, but might be widely hated simply for “destroying memes.”

Of course, that candidate is Michael Bloomberg.

The reason virtually every person in America knows he’s running is because of his non-stop ad blitz funded completely out of his own pocket. According to the FEC, by the end of 2019 (he started running that November by the way) he already spent $132 million on TV ads (including a $10 million Super Bowl ad) and $20 million on so-called “digital outreach.” And yes, part of that outreach involves paying social media influencers to make memes of him… I have no words.

Unfortunately for him, it seems he kinda forgot that to become president, you need people to actually vote for you. As I’m writing this, there exists literally no poll that shows Bloomberg with any chance of winning any state in the race for the Democratic nomination. None. Which for him means he is wasting a lot of money for something pretty much everyone knows (except him?) that he is not going to get.

Okay, well, you might be asking if that’s true then, why are we talking about him?

And that’s a very good question. I cannot emphasize enough that as of this very moment, not a single soul has casted a vote for Bloomberg.

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ccording to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, only 58 percent of undergraduate students have a completed undergraduate degree six years after they begin college. This means that countless adults begin school, only to be delayed or drop out.

For some, this may be a deliberate decision that is best for their future, if they decide to enter a trade or are able to break into their career without secondary education. However, many are forced to drop out because of financial or personal circumstances, or simply because the standard educational format does not work for them.

GVSU is already dedicated to opening its doors to adult students returning to school, with 8 percent of the student population categorized as non-traditional.

For scale, this number is nearly equivalent to the number of students involved in GVSU Greek Life. However, there are still some who wish to complete school and are unable to return to the traditional learning environment.

To offer an option to adults who were unable to complete their undergraduate degree, GVSU President Philomena Mantella and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer collaborated to create the LEADS Online Accelerated Bachelor’s Degree for Adult Students, which offers a 19-month track for eligible students to complete an undergraduate degree.

With all classes being online and split into six-week intensive courses, the program is designed to meet the needs of adults working full-time.

However, Mantella made it

clear that the program would give students a community feel that is often missing from online courses. She plans to do this by implementing ‘light touch experiences,’ which includes meeting face-to-face with faculty. They will also be provided with success coaches. Both of these are made to bend to the flexible schedule of working adults.

There is clearly a need for such a program. If you ever watched day-time television 10 years ago, you likely remember the bombardment of commercials for the for-profit institute, Everest College. In 2014, Everest’s parent company, Corinthian Colleges, was sued for severely inflating graduate placement rates and were accused of churning out degrees that were nearly worthless. They have also been accused of disproportionately targeting black communities.

While many of these schools are now closed, for-profit colleges are still a widespread problem. It is important that legitimate institutions offer an option for non-traditional students that provides both accessibility and value.

By examining the details of the program, it is clear that not only is GVSU striving to provide a quality education, but they are also doing everything they can to make it as feasible as possible. It’s commendable to see a public university supporting higher education among students that may not be fresh out of high school. These hardworking adults deserve the opportunity, and West Michigan will reap the benefits.

Hopefully we will be able to see the program thrive , which will show GVSU welcoming in a new kind of Laker.

GVL OPINION POLICY The goal of the Grand Valley Lanthorn’s opinion page is to act as a forum for public discussion, comment and criticism in the Grand Valley State University community. Student and columnist opinions published here do not necessarily reflect those of the paper as an entity.

The Lanthorn strives to be a safe vehicle for community discussion. With this in mind, the Lanthorn will not publish or entertain any forms of hate speech, but neither will it discriminate against any other views, opinions or beliefs. The content, information and views expressed are not approved by—nor do they necessarily represent those of—the university or its Board of Trustees, officers, faculty or staff.

Letters to the editor should include the author’s full name, relevant title and a headshot, along with a valid email address and phone number for confirming the identity of the author. Letters should be approximately 500-650 words in length, and they are not edited by the Lanthorn staff except to fix technical errors or to clarify.

Reader submissions on the opinion page appear as space permits.

To make a submission, email editorial@lanthorn.com or drop your submission off in person at:

0051 KIRKHOF CENTER GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY ALLENDALE, MI 49401 616-826-8276

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

A5 | NEWS

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Kent County Board of Commissioners approves capital improvement projects

BY NATHAN SLAUER NSLAUER@LANTHORN.COM

The Kent County Board of Commissioners green-lit three capital improvement projects that have been paused for over a decade.

The projects, which include a Parks Department office space, an expanded fleet facility building and a northern county campus, will cost $18.7 million.

County officials identified these projects in 2005. During the Great Recession, the approval process was put on hold to save money and prevent staff layoffs.

Fifteen years later, the county is resuming development. Project funding comes from the Capital Improvement Fund, which was created in 2015.

“We’re utilizing the funds the best way we know how,” said Mandy Bolter, chair of the Kent County Board of Commissioners. “I’m glad we’re paying cash for these projects and that we don’t have to bond.”

In Bolter’s opinion, an upgrade to the Parks Department office space is long overdue. The current office space consists of modular trailers with hole-ridden walls that were built for temporary use in 2002.

With its new office space, the Parks Department hopes to attract more visitors to Millennium Park. Talks are underway for

the Kent County Parks Foundation to pay $600,000 for a visitor center located by the office space on Butterworth Drive.

County officials also seek to update Kent County’s fleet facility building, which was built to house 35 vehicles in 1957. Today, the building houses 290 vehicles that require more space to comply with safety, maneuverability, and maintenance rules.

Beyond modernizing its older buildings, Kent County will establish a new campus with a Sheriff ’s office substation and a health clinic on 17 Mile Road NE near US-131. The campus is intended to provide greater access to services in North Kent County and cut down on the Sheriff ’s office response times.

County Administrator Wayman Britt looks forward to seeing how these capital improvement projects improve Kent County after a long wait.

“These projects have lingered around since 2008, and we’ve needed the extra funding every single year,” Britt said. “Our CFO took some of the funds and put them away so when it came time to have enough funds in the CIP, we could pay cash instead of bond.”

The Kent County Building Authority will assume responsibility for these initiatives.

Construction is expected to start summer 2020 and to be completed within a twoyear period.

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COMMUNITY

GV holds 16th annual geology chili cook-off

BY MACKENZIE KELLER MKELLER@LANTHORN.COM

PROUD PETER: Brandishing a pepper trophy, “Best Overall” chili winner Peter Riemersma celebrates the win. GVL | MACKENZIE KELLER

For the past sixteen years, the Geology Department has hosted a chili cook-off where students and professors alike can show off their chili-making skills. If chili isn’t your thing, there’s also a dessert and side dish portion of the judging.

The event has been run by geology professor Peter Riemersma since the beginning.

He said that he brought the idea over from the University of Maryland. He loves that the event gives faculty and students the ability to interact in an informal environment.

Though this year had a smaller turn out than previous events, the chili-makers still came to play. There were a total of five chilis, three desserts and one side dish. Two of the chilis were even vegan.

Overall, everyone who submitted a dish received an award in one category or another. The awards, each shaped like a different type of pepper, were created

by Kevin Cole, another professor in the Geology department.

Students, along with a panel of chefs, tasted all of the chilis and voted for their favorites in a variety of categories, including, best student, hottest, best vegan and best overall. There was even a category for “Most Geological Dessert”.

Everyone who visited the contest got a sticky name tag to wear. In addition to their names, the name tags boasted a variety of fun fact topic starters. Some of the pre-written facts include: likes dogs, dreams in a foreign language, has been in handcuffs, and knows the first 10 digits of pi.

For the first time since the event started, they ran out of chili before the awards were announced.

Cole submitted two of the five chilis in the contest, where he won awards for “Most Popular” and “Hottest Chili.”

“Three bites (into the hottest chili) and the vibration starts, tears start after bite five.” said Devon Balint, a geology major and chili enthusiast.

Rhian Williams was the only student that entered a chili into the contest.

Though she was beaten out for best vegan chili, Williams won “Best Student Chili” by a landslide.

Riemersma also took home the trophy for “Best Overall” chili, which greatly surprised him. In previous years, there had been enough competitors that the coordinator of the event hadn’t gotten an award.

Overall, the event was a success and the Geology department is looking forward to an even bigger competition next February.

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLARTS

ARTS

GV Opera Theatre shares hardworking stories

BY MARY DUPUIS MDUPUIS@LANTHORN.COM

This winter, the Grand Valley Opera Theatre performed “Working: A Musical” six times throughout the second and third weekend of February in the Louis Armstrong Theatre, located in the Haas Center for Performing Arts.

The musical followed an episodic format and was based on a book written by Chicago author Studs Terkel in 1974 called “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.” In his book, Terkel uses interviews to explore the meaning of work for people from different walks of life and how it affects them.

Show producer Dale Schriemer said the show was important because of its focus on the humanity of people instead of the labels placed on them due to their line of work. “(The show) is talking about how one’s job doesn’t define who one is,” Schriemer said.

“The humanity and the yearning of an individual are not defined by their job. They’re people first. They do take identity from their jobs, but they are not their jobs, which I think is important for us in this society — to really get to know people instead of putting labels on people.”

The performers valued this aspect of the show as well. Actress Elise Endres said that in order to better understand their characters, each cast member was required to read the entire interview of the real person their character was portraying in Terkel’s book.

“The realness of this show is something that really sets it apart from previous shows I have been in,” Endres said. “Everything everyone said was something someone actually said at one point in time, so that in itself was honestly kind of a game-changer for me. I wasn’t just being a character someone thought out and created, I was being a real person with real experiences, thoughts and actions that happened to get interviewed at that point in time of their life.”

Actress Emily Emerson was also very excited to be playing a real person with such raw experiences.

“Shows I’ve done in the past are usually in a fairy tale setting, these stories never really happened in life,” Emerson said. “But, my character in ‘Working’ was alive. She existed and felt these emotions about her everyday life. That’s something that’s absolutely amazing to me, and I feel honored to get to tell her story to other people.”

The show’s director and choreographer Ericka Mack was called into GVSU from her hometown of Chicago to begin the audition process for the show in September when the school year began. Mack said she was very excited to be given the opportunity to direct this

show, as she was an actress in her high school’s performance of it.

“We won a theatre competition with this musical, so it’s very special to me,” Mack said.

“They updated the show in 2012 so there are new songs and characters which is fun for me.

Since it was a different version of the show, I had fond memories of my production but also got to work on the new material in the show.”

Mack said that throughout her 25 years of experience in the theatre, college students have become her favorite age group to work with because of their constant strive to be better.

“College students are my favorite because they’re so eager and enthusiastic and super smart,” Mack said. “I see the students really progress from the beginning to the end of the process, but they really grow because of their enthusiasm.”

Prior to full cast rehearsals beginning in January, the performers were given about two months to prepare all of their music and lines for the show on their own.

“It took me a lot of work to memorize lines, music and choreography on my own because you only have a month to put it together,” said actress Megan Ireland. “But you’re essentially memorizing 90-plus minutes of stuff. “There were a lot of days I sat in my room reviewing choreography videos to make sure it became like second nature.”

Official rehearsals for the show began Jan. 3, shortly before classes were back in session Jan. 6 after winter break. Throughout the course of these three days, the cast had rehearsal every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Once classes were back in session, rehearsals took place five days a week every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday for three hours each day. During these times, the performers would work on music, scenes with their director or choreography.

But rehearsal did not end when the performers left the auditorium. Many of the students spent extensive hours at home perfecting their work outside of their allotted practice times.

“When I came home from a rehearsal, I usually ran everything we did in the rehearsal again in my apartment, just so I don’t lose sight of the material we learned that day,” Emerson said. “I sang through my songs in the shower, or sometimes listened to the Broadway recording of the show if my voice was feeling particularly tired that day.”

With countless hours dedicated to constant rehearsal, the cast and crew were thrilled to be given a standing ovation the night of their first performance.

“Opening night was stellar,” Schriemer said. “There was a very enthusiastic response to the show. The energy was very high and there was a sense of excitement on the stage that was so appealing.”

Ireland said that since opening night, audience members have told her many positive things about the show.

“I’ve heard great feedback from people who came,” Ireland said. “A couple of people have even told me it’s their favorite show they’ve ever seen at GVSU, which is a huge compliment.”

But, no matter how successful the opening was, Schriemer said the performers used every show following to improve and perfect their skills.

“The reason I do six performances is that it’s a living laboratory of learning,” Schriemer said. “You can’t fail onstage, you have to succeed. It forces you to succeed. So you’re watching people figuring out how to succeed and they’re enlarging on their own ideas and capacities.”

Not only are the performers learning how to improve their individual performances following shows, but Schriemer said the set up of the show is also a great learning tool for the students. He said that even though there were 20 cast members in the show, each of them got about an hour of stage time throughout the 90-minute show.

“One of the strongest things about this show is it doesn’t have a narrative,” Schriemer said. “Everybody got a chance to do something very specific and have their moment in the sun. If they’re not singing harmonies behind someone they are the person who’s speaking, who’s singing, who’s dancing. I think this show is an amazing way to train young performers. This particular show has amazing opportunities for young people.”

Even though the show was an immense learning experience for the cast, they also hope the show provided a learning experience for the audience.

“This show sends out an excruciating message that I think everyone needs to hear,” Emerson said. “Everyone has to work, that’s just life. But to empathize with other occupations, and see the hardships each individual faces — I think audiences will genuinely leave having more appreciation for what other people do.

In this day and age, you have to work. Sometimes that job is your lifelong dream, and most times that job is what pays the bills.”

Mack felt that the most important message to take away from the show was that no matter what your occupation may be, you are still important to the world around you.

“It’s relatable to the people in our audience because the characters are speaking their stories and it’s about the American workers,” Mack said. “Living in America we can all see a part of us in those characters and why they do what they do. Be proud of who you are, and know that you make a difference in the world even if it feels like you don’t.”

R

R

A6&7 | ARTS

eal actors, raw stories; eal people, raw humanity

A8 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ARTS AT A GLANCE SYMPHONY PUTS ON A MAGICAL PERFORMANCE

All potterheads are welcome to the symphony this weekend. The Grand Rapids Symphony will be recreating the magic of Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince, the sixth installment in J.K. Rowlings’ series. From Feb. 21-22, the symphony will play live as the film plays in high-definition on the theater’s 40foot screen.

Nicolas Hooper’s original score for the movie captures the magic and drama of the film. The Half-Blood Prince is centered around Harry’s journey as a young wizard as he is trained to battle Voldemort by Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. In addition to Harry’s training, the students at Hogwarts deal with some of the struggles that are experienced by muggles and wizards alike, such as love and friendship.

GV CELEBRATES AFRICAN ARTS WITH POSITIVE BLACK WOMEN

Friday, Feb. 14 in the Kirkhof Center Grand River Room there was an annual event held by the GVSU Positive Black Women to showcase artwork of black women throughout history. This event ran from 12-1 p.m. and included a buffet-style lunch to enjoy while numerous speakers came up to present.

Positive Black Women was founded in 1994 by a group of students and faculty who would discuss various topics over lunch. By 2000, this led to a scholarship endowment originally meant to assist black women with academic needs.

Outside of tuition this could help pay for a deposit for housing, childcare, books and other academic related expenses.

This scholarship still exists today and is open to anyone regardless of sex, race or origin and is a great scholarship to help cover some of the costs of schooling.

Read the full article on lanthorn.com

VOICE FACULTY PERFORMS FEMALE COMPOSERS

Female composers were highlighted in a faculty recital Saturday, Feb. 15.

Corie Auger is a voice faculty member at GVSU. She paired with pianist Robert Byrens to perform a recital at the Haas Center for Performing Arts.

The music of Josephine Lang, Pauline Viardot, Maria Malibran, Libby Larsen and Georgia Stitt was featured in Auger and Byren’s set. These influential female artists represent music from the 19th century to the 21st century. Lang is a famous composer from the 19th century along with Viardot and Malibran. Larsen and Stitt are composers from the 21st century who are still alive and working.

Auger gracefully blended classic and contemporary music by women composers in her recital with Byrens.

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLARTS

CHORAL

A Treble Alliance concert builds musical community

BY ALLISON RAFFERTY ARAFFERTY@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State University’s Select Women’s Ensemble took center stage at the Cook-DeWitt Center Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. along with the Grand Haven High School Advanced Women’s Ensemble and Spring Lake High School choir Bella Voce.

Together they put on a combined performance called A Treble Alliance.

GVSU’s Select Women’s Ensemble performed three songs: “And Miriam Sang”

by Zebulon Highben, which celebrates the Exodus story of Miriam celebrating with a group of women and the parting of the red sea, “Domine Deus” by J.S. Bach, and “Holy Is The Lord’’ by Jeffery Ames.

Grand Haven’s Advanced Women’s Ensemble performed two songs: “1941” by Andrea Ramsey, which is a song about a mother lamenting her son being overseas during WWII, and the second was the spiritual “Jericho” by Reginald Wright.

Spring Lake High School’s Bella Voce also performed two songs. The first was “Ubi Caritas” by Oka Gjeilo, which translates to “where charity and love are, God is there.” Their second song was “Sing Creations Music On” by Stephen Paulus, which is a celebration of music.

All three of the ensembles combined to perform two pieces by contemporary women composers: “I Started Out Singing” by Jocelyn

COLLABORATING CHOIRS: Three passionate choirs came together from GVSU, Grand Haven High School and Spring Lake High School to perfrom a combined performance. GVL | MEGHAN LANDGREN

Hagen and “Lineage” by Andrea Ramsey.

They ended the concert with a song the audience could sing along to, “Come and Sing,” a song based upon the works of German composer Paul Hindemith. The text of this song is printed on the carillon tower on GVSU’s Allendale Campus.

The three choirs spent the entire day together leading up to the concert. Associate Professor and Director of GVSU’s Select Women’s

Ensemble Shirley Lemon said that her favorite part of the combined concert was “the community building that took place continually throughout the day.” She described the performance as “electrifying.”

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DIVERSITY

Students celebrate gospel music with Voices of GVSU

BY MARY RACETTE ARTS@LANTHORN.COM

The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) kicked off Black History Month with a Celebration of Gospel. Students gathered in the Cook-DeWitt center Monday, Feb. 10 to learn more about the history and impact of this style of worship.

Gospel music developed as a genre of American Protestant music in the late 19th century and early 20th century, however, it’s origins can be traced all the way back to the 17th century. Not only

ROOTS IN GOSPEL: The Voices of GVSU perfrom at a Celebration of Gospel. GVL | MICAH HILL

is it a popular genre of music, but it is a cultural staple in protestant churches throughout America.

These songs performed by a worshiping community on Sunday mornings have become a tradition that represents the African American experience. During the program, a GVSU student shared a brief history of gospel to the audience.

The Celebration of Gospel is just one of the events for Black history month at GVSU. The theme for this year’s Black History Month on campus is “Our Roots Run Deep.” This theme is addressed throughout the program and revisited across the different performances and speeches. Founder and Director of Voices of GVSU Cassonya Carter compared the roots to the student’s ancestors.

“These are the songs that helped a lot of our parents and forefathers get through some of the bad times,” Carter said. “Even if I’m having a bad day, there is nothing like a song to ease the pain.”

In addition to the program’s student and guest speakers, Voices of GVSU performed a set for the audience.

The student organization Voices of GVSU is a choir of students who share a passion for gospel music and the connections made in its presence. The choir was founded over 30 years ago by Carter and a group of close friends. Carter is a GVSU alumna and a current faculty member at GVSU, working as a senior academic advisor for the Kirkhof College of Nursing. She said she is a true Laker for a lifetime.Carter said the Voices of GVSU has strived to give its members a second family to help guide them through their college experience and beyond. Just as family members are there for each other, Carter and the students treat each other the same way. There is the unspoken expectation that they are there for each other through good and bad times. Students even gave Carter the nickname “Mama Cece.”

GVSU student Faith Erby said after seeing the Voices of GVSU booth at campus life night, she was drawn to the choir because of her religion and passion for singing.

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A9 | SPORTS

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

QUICK HITS

W. BASKETBALL

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS SWEEP MATCHES IN GRAND RAPIDS

The Grand Valley State men’s and women’s tennis teams swept their matchups against Illinois-Springfield and Walsh, winning by a combined margin of 21-3. To see a gallery of photos from the event, visit https://lanthorn.com

LACROSSE PICKED TO FINISH FIRST IN GLIAC IN COACHES POLL

The Grand Valley State women’s lacrosse team has been picked as the No. 1 team in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason Poll, per the conference headquarters. Last season, the Lakers posted a 14-4 record after falling in overtime of the GLIAC finals to Indianapolis, 18-17. Head coach Mackenzie Lawler enters her second year at the helm of the program alongside assistant coach Nora Boerger.

GVSU reclaims seven starters, including the highest-returning scorer, Abbi O’Neal, and former All-GLIAC recipients Elizabeth Yeomans and Sarah Staagard.

For the second consecutive season, GVSU kicks off the 2020 season at Lake Erie Sunday, Feb. 23. Last season, the Lakers dominated the then-ranked No. 19 Storm, 14-4.

TWO SOFTBALL PLAYERS NAMED TO PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCHLIST

Two members of the Grand Valley State softball team have been named to the 2020 Schutt Sports/NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association) Player of the Year watchlist. Junior Nikoma Holmen and sophomore Lydia Goble were two of the 50 players and pitchers named in Thursday’s (Feb. 13) release by the NFCA. Holmen is a returning NFCA All-American while Goble was a D2CCA honorable mention AllAmerican as a freshman.

VARSITY SCHEDULE MEN’S BASKETBALL

Thursday, Feb. 20, 5:30 p.m., @ Northern Michigan Saturday, Feb. 22, 3 p.m., @ Michigan Tech

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Thursday, Feb 20, 7:30 p.m., @ Northern Michigan Saturday, Feb. 22, 1 p.m., @ Michigan Tech

BASEBALL

Saturday, Feb. 22, 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., doubleheader vs Ohio Dominican @ Harrogate, TN. Sunday, Feb. 23, 11 a.m., Ohio Dominican@ Harrogate, TN.

SOFTBALL

Friday-Saturday, Feb. 21-22, Lewis Dome Tournament @ Rosemont, IL.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD

Friday, Feb. 21, 2:45 p.m., GVSU Tune-Up @ Kelly Family Sports Center

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING

Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 19-22, TBA, @ Saginaw

WINNER, WINNER: After beating Wayne State and losing to Ashland the week before, the GVSU women’s basketball team claimed two victories, trumping Saginaw Valley and Northwood. GVSU took their win over the Cardinals by a comfortable 38 point margin, winning 72-34. GVL | ALEXIS VELAZQUEZ

Lakers bounce back; claim victory over SVSU, Northwood

BY ELI ONG EONG@LANTHORN.COM

Saginaw Valley State The No. 6 ranked Grand Valley State University women’s basketball team bounced back Thursday, Feb. 13 from a loss vs. No. 2 Ashland with a 72-34 win over conference rival Saginaw Valley State at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The Lakers, who improved to 22-2 overall and 14-2 in GLIAC play, clinched a home quarterfinal game in the GLIAC Tournament Tuesday, March 3 after the win and a Northern Michigan loss.

“We came in and were locked in right from the start tonight,” said GVSU Coach Mike Williams after the game. “Saginaw Valley has been playing a lot of good basketball lately — putting up a lot of points — and I think when they came at us we did a good job of staying in position defensively and cleaning up the glass when they did miss shots.”

Coming into the game, SVSU had scored 80-plus points in three straight conference matches, all of which they won. Instead of keeping up their newfound offensive prowess, the Lakers locked down the Cardinals, holding their team to just 24.5 percent shooting from the field (13-53) and 17.6 percent from three (3-17). Reigning GLIAC player of the week, Kaitlyn Zarycki, also had a long day facing off against the GVSU defense. Zarycki finished with four points on 2-11 shooting. “(Zarycki) is a dynamite player that’s been playing really good basketball all year really,” Williams said. “I think we (defended her) by committee with a seal-gap center that we knew could help on ball screens with Cassidy (Boensch) and Maddie (Dailey) did a great job switching onto her when we needed to switch and stay high.”

Senior center Cassidy Boensch and senior guard Jenn DeBoer both stuffed the stat sheet to lead the Lakers. Boensch finished with 22 points (8-12 field goal), nine rebounds, four

steals and three blocks, while DeBoer had 13 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists. Sophomore guard Brooke McKinley tied a season-high with three triples and finished the evening with nine points.

“I was challenged to post up harder and I think that was the goal that would help our offense move more,” Boensch said. “I like to think I did that today and our guards also shot the ball really well, so it was a great day.”

DeBoer also attributed her performance to a more aggressive mindset during practice leading up to their game against SVSU. “It felt good, I just think this past week I’ve focused on being more aggressive and getting back to attacking the basket harder,” DeBoer said. “That’s allowed me to push the ball and keep my eyes up so that I can find my teammates and not be as hesitant as I’ve been lately.”

The Lakers were coming off their worst shooting performance of the season (32.3 percent) last time out against Ashland, but followed that up tonight with a solid 50.9 percent mark from the floor, including 7-18 (38.9 percent) from behind the arc. GVSU’s bench contributed 22 points compared to just eight from SVSU’s bench and also held the edge in rebounds (41-30), steals (14-10), blocks (9-2), and points in the paint (42-16).

SVSU opened the game with a layup to go up 2-0 before GVSU would quickly gain the lead at 4-2 and not look back. At the halfway mark of the first quarter with the Lakers leading 9-7, Boensch finished a layup to ignite a 14-0 run which was capped off on back-to-back three pointers by Taryn Taugher and Victoria Hedemark.

GVSU led 23-9 at the end of the first quarter and began the second quarter on a 12-2 run to increase their lead to 35-11 with 5:22 left in the first half. Saginaw Valley scored on consecutive possessions before the GVSU defense held the Cardinals without a point for the final 4:31 of the half and took a 42-15 lead into the halftime break.

The Lakers continued to build their lead in the second half, scoring the final 10 points of the frame and led 63-26 entering the fourth quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, DeBoer buried a mid-range jump shot to increase the lead to a game-high 39 points at 65-26, and GVSU would go on to give up their third fewest points on the season by the final buzzer with a 38 point win over the Cardinals, 72-34.

Northwood The No. 6 ranked GVSU women’s basketball team defeated Northwood, 67-51, Saturday, Feb 15 at Riepma Arena. The Lakers improved to 23-2 overall and 15-2 in league play, while the Timberwolves drop to 8-17 and 6-11 in the GLIAC. Senior center Cassidy Boensch had another monster day with 22 points, a season-high 16 rebounds, and six blocks, while senior forward Maddie Dailey scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Victoria Hedemark contributed eight points and seven rebounds.

Defensively, the Lakers held Northwood to just 31.3 percent shooting from the field, while also out-rebounding the Timberwolves 49-35.

GVSU opened the game on an 8-0 run, holding Northwood without a point until the 3:24 mark of the first quarter, but the Timberwolves would chip away and cut the deficit to 13-8 by the end of the first frame. Taryn Taugher and Hedemark hit back-to-back threes early in the second quarter to move the Laker lead to 19-10 before Northwood went on an 8-0 run of their own to pull within one point at 19-18 with 6:44 to go in the half. GVSU led 25-22 at the half.

The second half was all GVSU. After a layup to begin the half, the Lakers went on a 14-1 run to bring the lead to 39-25 with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter. GVSU would continue to grow the margin in the fourth quarter, going up a game-high 21 points midway through the fourth quarter.

The Lakers will travel to the U.P next week to take on Northern Michigan Feb. 20 and Michigan Tech Feb. 22.

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

A10 | SPORTS M. BASKETBALL

GVSU Basketball wins Battle of the Valleys, falls in nail biter to Northwood

BY KELLEN VOSS SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

The Golden State Warriors won three championships last decade thanks to great spacing, an unselfishness on the perimeter and an innate ability to knock down clutch threes.

The Grand Valley State men’s basketball team took a page out of the Warriors playbook Thursday night, beating the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, 86-74, while tying their 14-year-old school record with 16 made threes in the victory.

Junior guard Isaac Gassman, who led the team with 19 points and five of those made threes, credited his teammates for helping him get open and getting him the ball in the right spots.

“Today they were giving me a lot more space than usual,” Gassman said. “I know Jayden (Hodgson) and those guys do a good job of finding me, today was just one of those

days it went in early and often.”

Speaking of Hodgson, he was feeling it from deep, too. The senior transfer from Bradley shot 83 percent from three in the game, making five of his six threes.

The Lakers weren’t playing iso-ball either, as Gassman, Hodgson and senior Jeremiah Ferguson combined for 15 assists in the win.

“I thought we shared the ball really well tonight,” said GVSU coach Ric Wesley.

“At one point in the year, we had four new starters, so I’m proud of our guys for getting to this point.”

While the Lakers were down by nine with five minutes left in the first half, they used an 18-2 run and flashed some 2-3 and 3-2 zones to close the half and gain the momentum to win the game.

“You watch a lot of teams, and zone is something they can go to in key moments and at the end of games,” Hodgson said. “It’s not as much running around, so you’re able to conserve some energy, but

when you’re locked in, it’s hard to penetrate and almost impossible to get a good shot up.”

The Lakers were unable to carry that momentum into the weekend, as they lost a close GLIAC battle on the road to the Northwood Timberwolves, 67-64. It was their fifth loss on the season.

“It was a really intense, hard-fought, wireto-wire game,” Wesley said. “Northwood is really playing good basketball, down the stretch we just weren’t good enough.”

Despite junior Jake Vantubbergen (26 points, four assists in the loss) hitting a Dirk Nowitzki-esque fadeaway and-one to cut the deficit to one with 2:23, Northwood hit a few daggers at the end of shot clocks to seal the victory.

While Wesley has been happy with his bench’s contributions as of late, the second unit has only combined for seven points in the Lakers last two losses. He wants to see those role players be more aggressive on offense.

“That was a big part of Northwood’s success, the unknown guys beat us,” Wesley said.

“We didn’t get much out of our bench, but that’s partially because we’re not moving the ball well. We got to keep looking for different options on offense.”

Despite Saturday’s loss, GVSU still boasts an impressive resume. They are 20-5 on the year, and are tied for first in the GLIAC with a 13-4 conference record that is the same as Ferris State. The Lakers are proud to get their twentieth win of the season, especially with how strong this year’s conference has been.

“Getting to 20 wins is always an impressive accomplishment, especially this year when we have ten new players,” Wesley said.

“That’s reason to celebrate.”

The Lakers hope to celebrate more to close out the season, as they end the year with match-ups against Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech and Davenport before preparing for the GLIAC Tournament.

HANGING IN THERE: Hanging from the rim after a dunk, GVSU junior forward Christian Negron (No. 11) gives the Laker bench a reason to be on their feet. The Lakers took on the Saginaw Valley Cardinals during their Battle of the Valley game, claiming a 86-74 win. However, the Lakers would later fall in their following game against Northwood, falling behind with minutes on the clock. GVL | BENJAMIN HUNT

FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

A11 | SPORTS

TRACK & FIELD

GV Track & Field hosts big meet over the weekend

BY HOLLY BIHLMAN HBIHLMAN@LANTHORN.COM

On Friday and Saturday, the Grand Valley State University track and field athletes competed against over 2,000 athletes from other schools just two weeks before the GLIAC Championships, ending on a high note with multiple school records being broken. The student athletes have just one more shot this upcoming weekend to achieve qualifying scores for the championships, so it’s crunch time for the remaining athletes that need those scores.

To recap Friday, Feb. 14, there were a lot of outstanding times and numbers coming from the women’s side, staring with Angelica Floyd who ran a 7.60 in the 60-meter dash, placing her in third overall. Nicole Shreenan also broke her own record from last week in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.80, securing the first place win.

Allie Ludge placed second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2.09.7, Hanna Groeber placed third in the 3,000-meter run at 9.36.52, and Stacey Metzger placed second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17.09.52.

For the rest of the meet, Ellianne Kimes and Kassidie Stimmel tied for first place in the pole vault with a score of 4.03 and Bobbie Goodwin took first place in the weight throw with 21.12.

The men also had some stunning results on Friday, starting with Dennis Mbuta, who broke two school records this weekend, one

being his second place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1.48.94.

Tanner Chada placed second in the 3,000-meter run at 8.10.95, followed by Connor Schwartz in third with a time of 8.11.38, and Enael Woldmichael secured a first place win in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14.12.32. In the remaining events, Jacob Battani placed second in the pole vault at 5.02 and Ryan Stefanko took first in the shot put with a score of 15.01.

Moving onto Saturday, Feb. 15, the women crushed the distance medley open, winning first place with a time of 11.30.59 for Klaudia O’Malley, Sarah Beulla, Molly McLaughlin and Allie Ludge.

Angelica Floyd had another great win in the long jump with a score of 5.72, securing first place there, while Judith Essemiah took second in the weight throw with a score of 17.99 and Rachel Dolan also taking second in the pole vault at 3.71.

The men had a successful Saturday as well, starting with Tyler Mansfield in second place in the 60-meter hurdles with a score of 8.35, followed by Tyler Kirkwood in fourth with a score of 8.46.

The distance medley open went even better for the men as well, breaking another school record with an impressive 9.46.51 for Dennis Mbuta, John Groendyk, Daniel Walker and Tyler Walters.

Finishing in third right behind them with a time of 9.55.61 were Jacob Domagalski, Andrew McFarland, Derrick

MAKING THE ROUNDS: GVSU Track & Field pulled out all the stops after competing against 2,000 athletes and broke a handful of school records across various events. GVL | KATHERINE VASILE

Egli and Connor Schwartz. To conclude the outstanding results from this weekend, Alexander Porter placed fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.77 and Justin Scavarda took second in the shot put with a score of 16.67.

After an unbelievably tough and long weekend of races and competition, the GVSU athletes are feeling excited about their school record breaks, but of course a little tired as well.

“I think we’re in a good spot, we’ve probably got 70-80 percent of our individuals that we need in the meet that are going to make it,” said head coach Jerry Baltes. “We’ve still got a handful that need to throw a little further, jump a little further, and run a little faster. I think most people feel fairly positive after this weekend.”

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SWIMMING & DIVING

GV Swimming & Diving prepares for GLIAC Championships

BY ZACK GOODROW ZGOODROW@LANTHORN.COM

GET WET, LAKERS: A GVSU diver touches the bottom of the pool. The Lakers are preparing for the GLIAC Championships. GVL | ARCHIVE

After a very long and successful season, the Grand Valley State University (20-4) swimming and diving team will face their toughest competition so far this year. Next week, Feb. 19-22, the team will be in Saginaw, Michigan for the GLIAC Championships.

This season has been outstanding for the team. After finishing 17-3 last season, the Lakers have won three more games.

Grand Valley State has also had several swimmers break records and reach individual milestones.

Sophomore distance swimmer Jesse Goodyear broke the mile record for the team during the mid-season at Calvin college. Sophomore Keegan Hawkins broke the school record in the 400-IM. Senior Harry Shalamon is currently second in the nation in the 200-yard backstroke after winning the national championship in the same event last year.

For the women’s team, senior Melina Goebel has continued to dominate her freestyle and butterfly events. On the diving side of things, senior Mikayla Karasek has been on top of the leaderboard for the Lakers all season.

The Lakers have also had several close and fiercely battled meets. Two of their most exciting meets ended in victories for the Lakers. Grand Valley took on Northern Michigan University in November at home.

Both the men’s and women’s teams won 206-94 and 159-141, respectively. Later in the season, GVSU again won against another in-state rival in Wayne State. In Detroit a few weeks ago, the men’s team won 157-142, and the women won 171.5-127.5.

After working hard all season, the team has calmed their rigorous practice during the past couple of weeks.

“We’ve been cutting back on the amount of yards we’ve been swimming in practice,” said GVSU coach Andy Boyce. “We cut out morning practices for most of the swimmers last week. The swimmers we know that have qualified for nationals have been doing a little bit more of swimming this week because they don’t need as much rest to do well in conference. If they get too much rest this week, they might not swim as well at the conference.”

Goodyear said that practices have given him and some of his teammates the motivation to keep pushing themselves during competitions.

“A lot of the sprinters have been held

back this week and going a lot easier in practice and letting their bodies rest,” Goodyear said. “A lot of us distance swimmers are still doing a fair bit of yards just to keep our bodies moving. We don’t want to lose any fitness coming into the meet. Overall the, sprinters are feeling great. I’m not sure about some of the distance swimmers are feeling, but most like me are feeling great. I’m excited.”

Last year at the GLIAC championship, the Lakers performed extremely well. They swept all the competition with men and women both finishing first. The men’s team scored a total 853.5 and the women finished with 944.5. It was the fifth year in a row that the men have won the event, and the second time in three years that Grand Valley won both crowns at the event. This year, the team is hoping for much of the same.

“I’m expecting to have a lot of national placements and more school records at the GLIAC championship,” Boyce said. “We’ll have a good battle for the conference championship with Northern Michigan and Wayne State. It will be a fun three way meet for both teams. We’re hoping to come out on top again like the last five years.”

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FEBRUARY 17, 2020 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

A12 | SPORTS W. BASKETBALL

SEASONED VETERANS: Soaking up some appreciation from the crowd, a smattering of GVSU’s senior basketball players prepares to show off their strong leadership skills on the court. GVL | MICAH HILL

A peek into the life of GVSU’s stellar senior class: Laker’s winningest group of players is anything but ordinary

BY ELI ONG EONG@LANTHORN.COM

It’s 2:55 pm and practice is winding down for GVSU Women’s Basketball. As I walk into the fieldhouse, small groups of 2-3 players are in front of each hoop — six in total across three full-length courts — practicing free throws.

A smooth swoosh can be heard repetitively as I walk along the sideline in front of GVSU’s student section toward head coach Mike Williams, who stands silently in-thought along the left sideline near halfcourt.

We exchange greetings and quickly turn toward a conversation about practice. Now, we all know Allen Iverson would be ecstatic to be a part of this discussion, but at this time of year, every practice is different and bears extra significance. The Lakers are 21 games into their regular season schedule and have posted an impressive 20-1 record on the year at the time of this practice, so Williams said it is important to keep legs fresh as the season goes on while also trying to reinforce keeping that competitive edge.

“Practices are different everyday, but they tend to be one-and-a-half to two-hours long at this point in the season,” Williams said. “Early on, they can be up there in the near three-hour range because that’s when we are getting back into the swing of things, but this time of year we have got to focus on staying fresh too.”

After we finish talking about their practice schedule for the rest of the week, Williams calls the team into a circle for closing remarks and I walk toward the bleachers to sit down my backpack and get out my notebook.

They gather in a circle that aligns perfectly with the circle adorning the GVSU logo at halfcourt. Jokes are passed around about how academic schedule changes are going to make things interesting getting to practice tomorrow.

Next, the head athletic trainer says her piece on eating right and washing their hands to avoid a gastrointestinal virus that is currently going around. Following a conversation over

team dynamics, the Lakers put their hands together and break out to a resounding, “team!”

Following breaking the huddle, underclassmen line up for layup drills and the senior class gathers together in front of me on the bleachers. As I look around and talk to the players before asking my questions, I silently note the well-rounded group that sits in front of me.

Cassidy Boensch. Jenn DeBoer. Maddie Dailey. Jenai LaPorte. Megan Belke. Taryn Taugher. Victoria Hedemark.

Center-back row sits Boensch, GVSU’s most dominant scorer and anchor at the center position. A year after averaging 19.6 points and 11.6 rebounds a game and earning multiple all-American plaudits, the Au Gres, Michigan native has picked up where she left off last season, averaging 20.2 points and 9.0 rebounds a game while climbing to fourth all-time in points scored in GVSU Women’s Basketball history.

Directly in front of me sits DeBoer, the team’s point guard and gatekeeper of the offense. On the year, she is averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 assists per game and currently sits in fifth place all time in threes made at GVSU. DeBoer’s 361 career assists also puts her at ninth all-time in career assists while donning Laker blue.

To my right sits LaPorte and behind her, Dailey. Dailey is GVSU’s do-it-all forward. Often tasked with guarding the opposition’s No. 1 option as GVSU’s top perimeter defender, Dailey also has developed a diverse offensive game, which allows her to attack the basket off the dribble, post up when Boensch initiates the offense at the top of the key, and fire away from deep when she is open (she’s currently shooting 39.4 percent from 3-point range on the year).

LaPorte is GVSU’s backup point guard and one of the first players off the bench trusted with initiating the offense.

To my left sits Belke, Taugher and right behind them, Hedemark. Belke was redshirted at the beginning of the year due to a season-ending injury suffered last season, but averaged

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DASHING FORWARD: Senior center Jenn DeBoer (No. 4) keeps her head up as she drives towards the net during a game. DeBoer is one 3 of seven seniors on8the team. GVL | ALEXIS VELAZQUEZ

9 1 4.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and41.6 assists a game when active for the Lakers as a junior.

4 5 Taugher, a 2graduate transfer from Northern Kentucky, has found a rhythm in GVSU’s starting lineup as a 3-point specialist and glue-girl. Often you can see Taugher attacking the offensive or#V028UR diving for Sudokuglass Puzzle loose balls to preserve possessions.

Presented

by Puzzle Baron Hedemark, affectionately known as “Vi” Super Difficult! by her teammates,Rated: is another one of the Laker’s crafty guards. A thief in the passing lanes, Hedemark leads the team in steals at 52 while also scoring 7.9 points per game and shooting 83.9 percent from the free throw stripe.

Cumulatively (minus Taugher, who arrived this year), all of these talents have resulted in this GVSU senior class amassing a record of 102-21 and counting.

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