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, O C TO B E R 8 , 2 0 1 8 // VO L . 5 3 N O. 8
POLICE
Alcohol a factor in crash near GVSU; four injured BY LAUREEN HORAN ASSOCIATE1@LANTHORN.COM
Four people were injured in a twovehicle crash near Grand Valley State University on Thursday, Oct. 4. The crash happened just before 11 p.m. Thursday on Pierce Street near 52nd Avenue in Allendale Township. According to Grand Valley State Police, a 19-year-old GVSU student from Rochester, Mich. was turning left into the Mystic Woods Apartment complex when another car attempted to pass on the inside and caused the collision. The student was taken to the hospital in serious condition, but is stable and expected to recover. The at-fault driver, 18-year-old Chancellor Bennett of Allendale who is not a Grand Valley student, was taken to the hospital for treatment. After he was released, the sheriff ’s office said he was taken to jail and held on the charge of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, a crime that could keep Bennett behind bars for up to five years. Deputies from Grand Valley Police Department and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene, as well as the Ottawa County Fire Department and Life Ambulance. Two passengers inside Bennett’s vehicle were also injured. An 18-yearold Allendale man was taken to the hospital where he is listed in serious condition. A 21-year-old Allendale man, who deputies say was not wearing a seat belt, refused treatment at the scene but later went to the hospital. GVPD Captain Jeff Stoll said they had received a call regarding Bennett’s erratic driving just moments before the crash occurred. “We got a call about a reckless driver who was suspected to be drunk, so we went to check it out,” Stoll said. “We arrived at the crash shortly after it happened.” This incident hits close to home for many GVSU students and serves as a reminder not to drink and drive. Stoll said that alcohol is a consistent factor SEE ACCIDENT | A2
SOGGY STROLL: Students, staff and faculty trot past Zumberge Hall in the rain as they follow Dean of Student Affairs Loren Rullman during the “Exercise is Medicine” campus walk. The walk took place last Friday, Oct. 7 to promote accessible physical activity to encourages healthy lifestyles. GVL | KATHERINE VASILE
“Exercise is Medicine” campus walk encourages accessible exercise BY JAMES KILBORN JKILBORN@LANTHORN.COM
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his past Friday, Oct. 7, students and faculty celebrated the third annual “Exercise is Medicine” Campus Walk. The event worked to promote physical activity on campus and encouraged students to walk, run and ride bikes not only as a means of transportation, but as a healthy lifestyle choice that will yield benefits for a lifetime. Loren Rullman, Dean of Student Affairs, led the two-mile walk and saw the event as an opportunity to get students out of their cars and onto the miles of landscaped pathways that wind through the university. “With about 6,000 students living on (campus) and about that
many (living) right next to the Allendale campus - along with thousands of students living close to the Pew Campus - this is truly a residential university in all the ways it is defined,” Rullman said. “Even so, GVSU encourages walking, biking and public transportation as a good alternative to driving. We are committed to creating beautiful walking paths and arranging for free use of the regional bus system because it is less expensive for students and contributes to our goals for a more sustainable university and earth.” Amy Campbell, Associate Director of Student Recreation, said that GVSU’s push for physical activity on campus is part of a broader campaign from the American College of Sports Medicine and is geared towards ensuring students develop healthy habits that will remain long after they graduate.
“The Exercise Is Medicine OnCampus (EIS-OC) is a national campaign supported by the American College of Sports Medicine,” Campbell said. “EIM-OC encourages faculty, staff and students to work together towards improving the health and well-being of the campus community by making movement a part of the daily campus culture, assessing physical activity at every student health visit, providing students with the tools necessary to strengthen healthy physical activity habits that can last a lifetime and connecting university health care providers with university health fitness specialists to provide a referral system for exercise prescription.” Christopher Dondzila, Professor of Exercise Science, sees SEE EXERCISE | A2
This is truly a residential university... We are committed to creating beautiful walking paths and arranging for free use of a regional bus system because it is less expensive for students and contributes to our goals for a more sustainable university.” Loren Rullman Dean of Student Affairs
ENVIRONMENT
Sustainability week celebrates environmental accomplishment BY MCKENNA PEARISO ASSOCIATE@LANTHORN.COM
ECO-FRIENDLY: A student celebrates GVSU’s environmentally-friendly efforts with fresh food at the newly dedicated garden near Au Sable Hall. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT
The entire first week of October at Grand Valley State University was dedicated to the many sustainability efforts on and off campus. Hosted by various GV departments including the Office of Sustainability, the week of events included an energy competition, a garden dedication, tree plantings and many more activities. These events, which were held Oct. 1 through 8, gave the GV community the opportunity to look back on its environmental accomplishments. “I think this week is a great opportunity for us to celebrate all of the great sustainability work that is being done on campus,” said Campus Sustainability Coordinator Yumiko Jakobcic. Sustainability week kicked off with an energy competition between all of the campus housing buildings in an attempt to decrease their energy use. Students in residence halls are being urged to reduce their amount of energy
consumption by unplugging items not in use, powering off devices, turning off lights and thinking of forms of energy conservation. As part of a larger campaign to impact students’ energy habits, the competition aims to show the importance of reducing energy use. The competition will run through the end of October and the housing unit that is able to conserve the most energy will be announced by early November. On Tuesday, Oct. 2, as part of sustainability week, there was a dedication to the demonstration garden near Au Sable Hall. The demonstration garden was created as a tribute to the sustainable agriculture project farm located on the far south end of campus. The dedication to the garden also served as the 10 year celebration of the agriculture project farm which helps compost waste from GVSU facilities and promotes organic farming practices. “We were really excited to have a demonstration garden right in the heart of campus,” Jakobcic said. “It
was built for us to raise awareness of the agriculture project since its located so far south of campus.” In 2008, the sustainable agriculture project farm began implementing ecological practices to farm organic food to give back to GVSU and the community. This project assisted in developing the weekly farmers market in Lot G of the Allendale parking lot. The farmers market is open every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and offers fresh produce and goods from local vendors and farms. During sustainability week, the farmers market also offered free bike tuneups from GV’s bike shop. Much like the sustainable agriculture farm, the concepts of growth and achievement were also felt during the global grove tree planting. In collaboration with the Padnos International Center, the global grove tree planting event was held on Saturday, Oct. 6 to finish out sustainability week at GVSU. The event recognized and celebrated SEE SUSTAIN | A2