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GRAND VALLEY
A L L E N D A L E & G R A N D R A P I DS , M I C H I G A N ST U D E N T- R U N P U B L I C A T I O N S // P R I N T · O N L I N E · M O B I L E // L A N T H O R N . C O M
M O N D A Y, M A R C H 2 5 // VO L . 5 3 N O. 2 8
POLICE
WORLD
GVSU to spend $3 million on updated surveillance system BY LAUREEN HORAN ASSOCIATE1@LANTHORN.COM
Security is a priority for public and private academic institutes everywhere and Grand Valley State University is no exception. Grand Valley Police Department intends to increase safety measures across the Allendale, Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland campuses by adding hundreds of exterior surveillance cameras while also improving the software and infrastructure through which these devices operate. The nearly $3 million project could take up to two years to complete. According to Grand Valley Police Capt. Kourosh Khatir, it was the quantity and location of surveillance cameras at Central Michigan University that led officials to the location and perpetrator of a double-homicide on campus the morning of March 2, 2018. “For the last few years, there’s been a hodge-podge of cameras around campus in various buildings that installed their own setup. The software and equipment is different in each location, so there’s certainly a lack of infrastructure as far as surveillance,” Khatir said. “We are too big to have a lack of infrastructure in this area… We aren’t investing all this money just to be ahead of the game — we want to catch up to where we need to be.” Khatir isn’t the only one who believes so. Many students and faculty members, including GVPD Capt. Jeff Stoll, agree that the addition of more cameras is not only practical, but necessary. “As we’ve seen technology increase over recent years, we’ve seen other universities increase their cameras on campus. We do have a lot of cameras now, but they’re not consolidate into a master plan,” Stoll said. “GVSU was a little bit behind in this regard so we knew it was time to have this discussion.” SEE CAMERA | A2
STANDING IN SOLIDARITY: Addressing the crowd, Muslim Student Association President Maisha Sharif gives a speech about when she first learned of the events in New Zealand. Other MSA members shared their experiences alongside speakers from the Provost’s office, AEPi and Campus Interfaith Resources. GVL | DAN PACHECO
Community mourns Christchurch terrorist attack with clock tower vigil BY NICK MORAN NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
Grand Valley State University’s Campus Interfaith Resources and Muslim Student Association (MSA) held a vigil March 21 beside the Cook Carillon Tower to honor the 51 lives lost during the Christchurch, New Zealand terrorist attack nearly a week prior. Students, faculty and community members listened to speakers, held a moment of silence and supported each other through the attack on the Muslim community. MSA President Maisha Sharif said that the lives lost in the attack included Muslims in their vulnerable state of Friday prayer. “Although words can never begin to explain the amount of emotion we feel during this tragic event, no amount of words are enough to condemn this heinous act against innocent lives,” Sharif said. “It is also impossible for us to remain silent and mute.”
The event features speakers from MSA and others campus Muslims. Mohamed Abdirahman told the crowd about when he learned the story of a three-yearold child killed in the shooting as he was attending prayer with his father and older brother. “At a young age, I grew up around the mosque a lot — my dad would bring me in,” Abdirahman said. “You’d walk in there and you would expect that my dad doesn’t have to worry about me… To walk in with your father and for the father to just walk out with his older son, nobody should have to go through something like that.” Also at the vigil were members of AEPi, the Wesley Fellowship, Calvin Interfaith and Campus Interfaith, who read the names of those killed in the shooting. AEPi brother Ben Friedman, who previously spoke at the Pittsburgh attack vigil in November, recited other attacks on religious communities in the past seven years.
Speakers also included Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Maria Cimitile, who spoke about her admiration of New Zealand’s prime minister, who both supported the community and took actions to prevent another attack. These actions set an example, as she said the community needs to take more steps now compared to following tragedy in the past. “When I was in college 35 years ago, we called for tolerance; that was a huge step for that era,” Cimitile said. “But it is so not enough today. We must choose knowledge. We must choose understanding of all cultures, of all religions of all practices. It is only then that we will get to what makes us all human and to understand the value of human life.” Following a moment of silence, Imam Morsy Salem recited a portion of the Quran, recalling verses that encouraged prayer, patience and community. He also told a
story about an old man who tried to teach his sons a lesson during the final hours of his life. “(The old man) gathered all of them and he gave each one of them one stick and told each of them to (break it),” Salem said. “Everyone… broke it easily. He brought other sticks together, in one group, and he gave it to each of them. They couldn’t (break it). This is my lesson for all of you today: if you stay together, no one will be able to break you.” Sharif said that if she could impart one message with the campus community, she would encourage students to reach out to GVSU’s Muslim community and learn about the faith. MSA has certainly felt the overwhelming support so far, she said. “It really meant a lot to us that there were so many people from so many different practices (and) religions came out, especially in this cold,” Sharif said. “This is what we need: for people to come together despite all of our differences.”
GOVERNANCE
Student senate votes to discontinue Battle of the Valleys fundraising competition BY NICK MORAN NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
CUTTING THE COMPETITION: Hoisting the Battle of the Valleys trophy, representatives from Grand Valley State University’s student senate and Saginaw Valley highlight fundraising competition successes at the annual rivalry football game. GVL | ARCHIVE
Grand Valley State University’s student senate voted in favor of withdrawing from the annual Battle of the Valleys fundraising competition against rival university Saginaw Valley State University. The decision was made during the senate’s March 21 general assembly and will be effective as of Fall 2019. Student senate Vice President of Campus Affairs Carter Engler said that a main reason to drop the fundraising competition was due to the copious amount of time and energy required by an already busy senate. Laker Traditions did not help organize 2018’s fundraising battle, leaving most of the work to fall on Executive Vice President Morgan Mattler and Engler. This resulted in preparation throughout the summer and multiple meetings a week. Even with the additional help of other student senators, Engler, who has been closely involved in
the planning of the competition for the past three years, said Battle of the Valleys’ execution will continue to be too much work for the body to handle. During this year’s competition, Engler said he felt the drain of the planning on his work as the fall semester began. “There was a lot of separation between what we were trying to do for our committee and then what we were trying to do for Battle of the Valleys,” Engler said. “When I had multiple senators come on to my committee… I had a hard time relating to them right off the bat, making sure they were comfortable and set with their projects. I had to focus more on Battle of the Valleys.” Mattler said that over the past year and a half, student senate has made a long list of changes that directly impact the student body. By freeing up time and not organizing the Battle of the Valleys fundraiser, he said students will feel that senate productivity will be up through more changes around the university. SEE BOV | A2