Issue 23, February 11, 2018 - Grand Valley Lanthorn

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, F E B R U A RY 1 1 , 2 0 1 9 // VO L . 5 3 N O. 2 3

GOVERNANCE

POLICE

Distracted driving Michigan city bans phone use for drivers

BY LAUREEN HORAN ASSOCIATE1@LANTHORN.COM

securing our nation’s northern and southern borders in the most efficient and cost-effective way,” Peters said. “I’m also committed to helping close the skills gap, a challenge I hear about constantly from businesses across Michigan.”

In his address, Trump acknowledged the year’s accomplishments regarding the rise in wages for blue collar workers, the lowest rate of unemployment in half a century, the tax cut for working families, the end to estate tax and the United State becoming the top oil and natural gas producers in the world.

Everyone knows that texting while driving isn’t a great idea, but what about using GPS while driving? Or making a quick phone call? What about switching Spotify playlists? One Michigan city has now banned the use of cell phones while driving for any reason and safety officials at Grand Valley State University agree that the ban should be universal.

Beginning Friday, Feb. 15, drivers in Battle Creek, Mich. are likely to get pulled over if they are caught using a phone while driving, regardless if the driver is actually texting or not.

Drivers in violation of the new law could be issued a civil infraction and fined $100 for the first offense or $200 for the subsequent offenses.

Though common sense agrees that using mobile devices while driving is dangerous, many drivers have gotten into the habit of using smartphones behind the wheel. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 25 percent of all car accidents (roughly 1.6 million annually) are caused by texting and driving. This habit is most common for drivers between ages 16-24, so Grand Valley Police Department recognizes the frequency of distracted driving the threat it poses to the students everywhere.

“I think it’s a great idea. With the technology we have these days, people can use hands-free or bluetooth devices instead,” said GVPD Officer Kelsey Sietsema.

SEE SOTU | A2

SEE PHONE | A2

LASTING LAKER EFFECT: Meeting with politicians, GVSU President-elect Philomena Mantella meets with Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga and GVSU alum Trevor TenBrink, who works with Huizenga. Mantella was Michigan Sen. Gary Peters’ guest to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. COURTESY | MATT MCLOGAN

Incoming president Philomena Mantella attends State of the Union address

BY RACHEL MATUSZEWSKI RMATUSZEWSKI@LANTHORN.COM

Following her Jan. 22 appointment as the fifth president of Grand Valley State University, Dr. Philomena V. Mantella filled her role as guest to Michigan Sen. Gary Peters at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

“This was my first opportunity to attend a State of the Union address,” Mantella said. “I was surprised and delighted when Sen. Gary Peters personally called me to extend the invitation to be his guest.”

Mantella said she saw the event

as an opportunity to meet members of the Michigan congressional delegation and increase the visibility of GVSU. She said she was impressed by the majesty of the House chamber with the members of Congress, the Senate, the Cabinet and leaders of the government all in one place at the same time.

During her trip, Mantella interacted with a variety of Michiganrooted politicians, including Sen. Peters, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Rep. Bill Huizenga and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, among others.

“The delegation was impressive and supportive and welcomed me warmly, which I take

also to be a reflection of their respect for Grand Valley,” Mantella said. “I’ll be engaged with (those I met) on education issues in the months and years ahead.”

Peters said he chose to invite Mantella knowing she will continue to champion efforts that are important to universities, which will help to prepare students to succeed in today’s workforce.

“Moving forward, I hope that Democrats and Republicans will work together on several critical issues, growing our economy in a way that helps Michigan workers and families, repairing and modernizing our crumbling infrastructure and

ENVIRONMENT

GV’s Annis Water Research Institute formally partners with MSU

BY MCKENNA PEARISO ASSOCIATE@LANTHORN.COM

Research into water-related issues and threats continue to be a primary concern for Michiganders, whose identity is rooted in the Great Lakes; this is what makes Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI) so essential to ongoing discussions about water. Recently, AWRI has partnered with Michigan State University’s Institute of Water Research (IWR) to collaborate on future water research projects.

“We’ve been working with different people at IWR since I’ve been here in 2001,” said AWRI Director Alan Steinman. “So this provides a really nice way for us to work on projects together and basically expand our intellectual capacity by joining the two universities.”

By combining resources and ideas, Steinman believes there can be many projects that benefit from the collaboration.

One way specifically is the use of AWRI’s water crafts on Lake Michigan, which could become an even more exciting resource when paired with IWR’s spe-

WORKING WITH WATER: Working with water samples, a student does research in Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Research Institute. The institute announced its partnership with Michigan State University’s Institute of Water Research to combine their efforts, especially their research related to water and environmental threats. GVL | ARCHIVE

cialty in wildlife and fisheries.

“I think MSU’s interest in us is they don’t have access to the Great Lakes,” Steinman said. “We have two vessels that fly the Great Lakes so I think this gives them an opportunity to get out on the lake if they want to do what we call open water, bluewater

research on Michigan.”

Operating between April and October, AWRI’s research and education vessels, named D.J. Angus and W.G. Jackson, are equipped with hands-on water quality materials that can be used by various groups. Both water institutes have varying expertise in biosystems, aquatic

ecology and water quality restoration, making their collaboration that much more beneficial for water research.

“MSU has a wealth of very talented folks working in the water arena, as do we, and often our expertises compliment each other,” Steinman said. “Their expertise in agri-

cultural systems, in groundwater movement and modeling is certainly going to be a definite area that we will be exploring for opportunity.”

IWR’s work with groundwater research has already been underway for several years in Ottawa County. Following the loss of water pressure in two

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Allendale Township subdivisions and findings of high sodium chloride levels in some irrigated water systems, Ottawa County requested the help of IWR to conduct a study on the county’s groundwater.

SEE WATER | A2

for students, faculty, & staff

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

A2 | NEWS

SOTU

NEWS BRIEFS

CONTINUED FROM A1

FOOD 4 FINES REINSTATED FOR WINTER SEMESTER

Food 4 Fines returns to GVSU on Monday, Feb. 11.

This collaboration between Grand Valley State Police and Replenish food pantry allows Lakers with up to two parking citations to pay for their fines with donations to Replenish.

Donation items are grouped into three tiers depending on price and size. Included in all three tiers are various food and personal care items. A full list of accepted items can be found on the GVSU Parking website.

Valid donations must include items that are not damaged or expired. Additionally, donations are only valid for unpaid parking citations and will not be applied to other campus violations or previous citations.

FORMER BOARD OF TRUSTEE CHAIR HONORED AT MEETING

Grand Valley State University’s Board of Trustees honored former board member David Hooker during their meeting on Friday, Feb. 8. Hooker, current president and CEO of Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, served on the board for eight years, both as chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee and the board as a whole.

“David was steadfast in his commitment to the governance of Grand Valley,” said Chair of the Board of Trustees Mary Kramer. “His insistence upon academic quality, founded in the liberal arts, reflects his belief in providing students with the best possible educational experience.”

STUDENT SENATE ENCOURAGES BOARD OF TRUSTEES AMENDMENT

On Thursday, Feb. 7, Grand Valley State University’s student senate passed a resolution calling for GVSU’s Board of Trustees to adopt former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder’s executive order that expands on Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The proposed change protects LGBT citizens from discrimination in addition to the already protected basis of race, sex, creed and more.

Because of the university’s federal funding, GVSU does not have to comply with Snyder’s executive order.

The proposed change encourages the Board of Trustees to amend section 6.10, which is their purchasing policy, to ban working with companies that have a history of LGBT discrimination.

While student senate noted that the board can self-enforce the standard, but the passed resolution recommends the creation of a fail-safe for the future.

PROFESSOR RECOGNIZED FOR MENTORSHIP, DRIVE FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

GVSU associate professor of physical education Ingrid Johnson was named Mentor of the Year by the Society of Health and Physical Educators, a national organization.

Johnson’s title was earned for her dedication to mentoring and advising her students.

The award is given through nominations, which were given by two of Johnson’s students. They cited her drive to see students succeed and influence as a leader.

VOL. 53

NO. 23

Lan thorn EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief BRADY MCATAMNEY Associate Editor MCKENNA PEARISO Associate Editor LAUREEN HORAN News Editor NICK MORAN Sports Editor KELLEN VOSS Laker Life Editor AMY MCNEEL A&E Editor SARAH EDGECOMB Image Editor SHEILA BABBITT

Trump also discussed the success in the increased amount of women in the workforce, concern with passing the United States Reciprocal Trade Act, our troops overseas and immigration.

Yet, Peters said he wished Trump would have outlined a plan to help modernize roads, bridges and ports and expand rural broadband networks, especially in states like Michigan. He was also disappointed the president did not highlight ways to strengthen the education system so that students have the tools to pursue their

WATER

CONTINUED FROM A1

“These challenges came forward to the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners and they immediately responded with a need to conduct an intensive scientific study to understand what is happening below our feet,” said Ottawa County Director of Planning and Performance Improvement Paul Sachs.

“When you look at where the emerging issues are around water in the state, groundwater is definitely a significant one,” Steinman said. “Ottawa County is sort of the bellwether for this in terms of the amount of groundwater that’s being extracted and not replaced.”

Some of the huge demands on groundwater that are causing these issues come from west Michigan’s agriculture industry, resulting in problems of both quality and quantity.

PHONE

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“When people are looking down at their phones, accidents are bound to happen. About a month ago, we had a female on campus (a non-student) trying to find her friend by using GPS on her phone. This driver became distracted and struck a pedestrian using the crosswalk.”

Students also recognize the hazards presented when drivers try to multitask, especially in conditions that leave roads icy and slick.

“It’s probably happening for good reason,” said senior

dreams, whether that’s through a four-year college degree or a career and technical education.

Regardless, Peters said he is dedicated to working with Trump on these issues.

Through her visit, Mantella said she acknowledges the need to continue bipartisan work in Congress and with educational leaders “I recognize that president’s use the State of the Union address to prioritize their agenda,” Mantella said. ”Of course, I think education needs always to be on the list. Education and innovation are central in our national agenda and are an investment in our future — a future that’s already here.”

GOING LIVE: Posing for the camera, incoming GVSU president Philomena Mantella sits with Sen. Gary Peters. COURTESY | MATT MCLOGAN

IWR took seven years to complete the groundwater study and, with help from AWRI and Ottawa County, a groundwater management plan was created. Research into the county’s groundwater will likely remain constant as investigators attempt to reduce the amount of groundwater extracted and improve the recharge rates.

Looking at other areas of concern, Steinman believes the collaboration could also investigate some of the most prominent water issues in the state like PFAS contamination. Just last November, Michigan Senator Gary Peters held a hearing at GVSU’s Loosemore Auditorium in Grand Rapids to address arising PFAS concerns.

PFAS chemicals pose a unique hazard to both humans and the local environment due to a lack in research regarding their long-term effects.

“When you talk about these kind of issues, one thing is going to be, what’s in front

of us right now that’s sort of in crisis mode?” Steinman said. “Line 5, Flint, PFAS. I suspect you’re going to see PFAS all over this country, it just hasn’t been investigated yet. We are, for better or for worse, leading the charge.”

No specific projects have been identified yet for the collaboration, but it will likely provide research-based solutions for some locally prominent issues. Beyond the intersection of resources and ideas, the potential for undergrad and graduate student exchange could be possible through the water research collaboration. Currently, AWRI only offers a graduate program while IWR has both graduate and doctoral.

“I think the student exchange is certainly one way the education would be enhanced,” Steinman said. “So, there might be exchanges of our master student graduates if they want to go on to a PhD they could kind of slide into MSU.”

The exchange of resources, ideas and people will help foster the community within this water research collaboration which could change the landscape for problem solving in the area. The State of Michigan remains highly focused on water as more issues arise, not because of a lack of resources but rather a large water-based research community that tends to jump on these investigations sooner. Michigan is leading the charge in water research and hopefully the partnership of universities will provide another driving force to solving some of the most prominent water related issues here.

“Thinking about where these future issues are and developing the kind of models that need to be developed to plan accordingly for the future; that’s where this collaboration can be very positive,” Steinman said.

natural resource major Sabrina Fouche. “If (Battle Creek) took these drastic measures, it was probably necessary… if there’s a need for it, maybe this is how it should be.”

Senior marketing major Sam Vaughn said that though texting and driving generally isn’t safe, there may be legitimate reasons to use a phone while driving.

“Texting or talking while driving or anything of that nature can be dangerous, but I think there should be some leeway for people who are checking their GPS or changing songs really quickly. Of course though, it’s not like this ordinance will actually hurt anyone,” Vaughn said.

While some view this purely as a safety matter, Liberal Studies senior Rachael Ocampo considers what monetary gains this could mean for the areas that implement the no-phone ban.

“Any law that allows zero exceptions seems like a bad policy to me and could also come under scrutiny as a way for a city to max out their profits on unnecessary fines.

Michigan’s current distracted driving law does a good job outlining when it is permissible to use your phone while driving and when it is not—I think the city should stick to those guidelines,” Ocampo said.

Michigan’s statewide

guidelines on distracted driving make exceptions for using the devices for GPS tools or to report a crime, accident or road hazard. As it stands now, there are few restrictions to talking on the phone while driving, whereas reading or writing text messages behind the wheel is illegal.

It is unclear now whether more Michigan communities will apply the no-phone ban, but it’s likely that traffic data provided by the Battle Creek city commission over the next few years could influence whether or not this ordinance will be adapted elsewhere.

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FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

NEWS | A3

CURRICULUM

New initiative focuses campus energy on water, collaboration

BY ALEXANDRA LOYD ALOYD@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State University recently adopted a new water awareness campaign called the Making Waves About Water Initiative (MWI). The initiative is set to be GVSU’s focus for the next two years, officially beginning in the fall.

The goal of the water initiative is to create collaboration across campus — among students, faculty and staff, as well as within the overall community, according to the MWI homepage. The goal of the initiative is to explore and investigate the many ways that water touches our lives, from being a life-force to defining GVSU’s relationship to the Grand River and Lake Michigan.

“The Provost was the one that proposed the idea, and there are about 78 other GVSU faculty and staff interested in working on the project,” said co-leader of the initiative and geology professor Peter Wampler.

The program is currently set to span over two years. After that, GVSU’s provost wants to do different themes every few years in a similar way to better educate students on important topics that make up the planet and life as we know it.

“The next two years after this could be focused on energy or something like that,” Wampler said. “We’re hoping to integrate the theme of water into some new classes, as well as have colloquia speakers come to campus to get people focused on `water

and hopefully modify activities that are already happening to get more of a water focus for the next two years.”

“The overall vision of the program can be summed up in three specific goals,” said co-leader and English professor Kathryn Remlinger. “The MWI aims to form an “interdisciplinary collaboration” around campus, increase student and faculty interaction and use water as a theme to explore by students.”

The initiative is interdisciplinary between departments all across campus. While the focus is water, the group is eager to look at the program from many different views.

Remlinger said that the MWI ties in with GVSU’s identity as a liberal arts institution because it serves as a way of emphasizing, learning and understanding.

For example, a geology student might look at water as it’s related to rivers and river beds, but in a literature class, the focus may be themes and the symbolic features of water. The theme will portray the importance of water as a resource.

“The initiative is important to our identity as a campus because our campus is located near rivers and near Lake Michigan, as well as GVSU’s Annis Water Institute,” Remlinger said. “This project brings awareness of climate change both locally and globally — because water is so important, we have to have it — it’s a life source.”

Wampler said that the process of unrolling the MWI is going to be highly

student-driven.

“If students want to be involved in some specific aspect of the initiative, they can email us and share their ideas,” Wampler said.

“There is a place on the initiative’s website where students can drop ideas about activities or anything related to water that they’d like to make aware — both things that are already happening, or new things as well, so it can be talked about

and discussed more — we want this to be really interactive, not just another thing given to students by their professors.”

Remlinger said that the more out-of-the box ideas they conceive, the better it will be for the project. Having fun experiences outside of the classroom go hand in hand with that creativity.

“It’s not just the serious side of water, but the fun sides too,” Wampler said. “One of our teams is called Water Wander-

ings. One idea we talked about was having a series of field trips before school starts, like next year or the year after, where students go to cool places like the Sleeping Bear Dunes and just explore water stuff.”

Community interaction and engagement to create awareness is important to the MWI as well.

“GVSU can partner with different organizations that focus on water, such

as looking at PFAS and contamination and figuring out how research at Grand Valley can help create awareness or eliminate that,” Remlinger said.

For students looking to get involved right away, the MWI is hosting a logo contest where the community is encouraged to submit their logo designs to be considered as the MWI’s official logo. The deadline to submit designs is Monday, Feb. 18.

MAKING WAVES: Picking up diverse specimens, a student studies various types of coral. Grand Valley State University’s new Making Waves About Water Initiative will take traditional discussions about water management and expand them through interdisciplinary studies, events, speakers and cooperation between faculty and their students. GVL | ARCHIVE

CAMPUS

Greek Life denounces fake ‘frat’ party, associated negative stereotypes

BY MCKENNA PEARISO AND NICK MORAN NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

A party invitation scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 9 held by fraternity Delta Psi Beta was distributed via Facebook last weekend to many students of the Grand Valley State University community.

The catch? Delta Psi Beta is not a real fraternity and the rules outlined for the event were anything but tasteful.

As GVSU continues to hold sanctions on Greek Life, including a ban on events with alcohol and suspension of chapter expansions, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) has been working to mend relations with the university and denounce the stereotypes surrounding Greek Life.

“The individual behind the party sincerely desired his event to emulate the negative and insensitive stereotype (of a fraternity party),” said IFC Vice President for Public Relations Tyvin Whittaker.

The type of stereotypes often cited in television and movies in regards to fraternities include heavy drinking culture and sexist undertones.

Examples of this include Universal Studio’s 2014 film ‘Neighbors’ which portrays a rowdy, drunken house of college men supposedly in the fraternity ‘Delta Psi Beta’. The Facebook event being held by the supposed same ‘Delta Psi Beta’ fraternity included rules stating “when and doubt drink another” and used derogatory terms for the women expected to attend.

The creator of the event had reportedly gone through the Greek Life recruitment process only to not be offered a ‘bid’ from the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity.

“The fact the persons involved had failed to receive a bid clearly show that their idea of what a fraternity does and is supposed to act like was not accurate or acceptable for GVSU Greek Life,” Whittaker said.

However, Whittaker does not believe the party was an attempt to harm Greek Life’s reputation furtwwher at GVSU, but

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rather to emulate the frat party stereotype. Even so, the repetition of these stereotypes re-emerging are certainly not what Greek Life and the IFC need to see in order to lift their sanctions and improve community relations.

Recently, the IFC met with Student Senate President Rachel Jenkin on working toward collaboration on outreach to students. Senate’s campus affairs committee is also working on creating discussions around the promoting of safer drinking habits with a plan to make recommendations to Greek Life in April.

“I wanted to open the door so we could help each other with promotion, participation and hopefully now they see us as a constantly available tool to help them,” Jenkin said.

For the future of Greek Life, Whittaker hopes the sanctions can eventually be lifted and better solutions can be devised moving forward. As for the impostor frat party, while the Greek community quickly denounced the event, it has some potential to promote the same negative stereotypes that harm the future outcome of the ban.

“As for the future of this ban and other impersonations, certainly, it would not be good if this sort of thing kept occurring,” Whittaker said. “If the university is paying attention, they will see a community that holds itself up to a high standard and speaks up when we see something wrong. If anything, this incident speaks volumes for how seriously Greeks treat social events and the measures we go at to keep students safe.”

RED FLAG: Some students received an invitation for a fake ‘frat’ party on Facebook or saw a screenshot of the event on Twitter. The invite is full of negative stereotypes of Greek Life culture. COURTESY | FACEBOOK

A4 | OPINION EDITORIAL

Seeing both perspectives in the Greek Life debate

T

he stereotypes surrounding college Greek organizations can often lean toward the negative, with the usual images of partying, drinking and hazing coming to mind. Media and movies like the 1978 film Animal House reinforce these images and continue to churn out false beliefs of what Greek Life is meant to be about. At Grand Valley State University, there is a strange teetering of viewpoints when it comes to Greek organizations, between the various fraternities that have been suspended or kicked off campus and the large fundraising contributions for sake of philanthropy.

Both viewpoints are valid, which makes it difficult to come to a conclusion on the matter—but that’s probably a good thing. Allowing a few bad seeds to represent all of Greek Life is ludicrous, yet glossing over reoccurring issues in the community is just as insufficient.

Two fraternities were removed from campus in 2017 alone, both in response to underage drinking and hazing incidents. Delta Upsilon was shut down in the Winter 2017 semester following several alcohol and drug violations of the Fraternity Loss Prevention Policies.

The following semester fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon (Sig Ep) was slapped with a five-year suspension following hazing and underage drinking incidents, which resulted in the hospitalization of one student.

Many will retaliate that underage drinking is a common aspect of college.

Others will say that electing to be a part of a Greek organization is to set a higher standard as a college student. In the end, it’s not going to change the poor habits some Greeks fall into or remedy the reputation of the fraternities and sororities actually making a positive difference.

GVSU’s Alpha Tau Omega fraternity is well

known for their 160 mile walk for multiple sclerosis, which has raised more than $100,000 in the past five years. Sig Ep, prior to its suspension, raised over $20,000 for childhood cancers through St. Baldrick’s Foundation. While an amount of fundraising money doesn’t prove the quality of an organization, the concept of philanthropy demonstrates the deeper rooted purpose and goals of a Greek organization.

Joining a fraternity or sorority is one of the biggest campus commitments in terms of time, energy and financing. It is an opportunity to network and create lasting relationships while being a part of a larger community that strives to make a difference. Many cite their experiences in Greek Life as some of the best of their college years, whether it be social or philanthropy events.

Every year Greek Life contributes thousands of dollars to their respective charities all because it is what they signed up for when they accepted their ‘bid’.

Each individual chooses their respective Greek organization based on what they hope to get out of the experience, which could be volunteer opportunities, lasting friendships or even parties.

Realizing the mistakes made by past Greek organizations reside in the select few who chose to make the poor decisions and not every brother or sister within the organization can help reduce the stereotyping of the community.

At the end of the day, humans are going to make mistakes whether they “rep their letters” or not. Focusing solely on the wrongdoing of some and not the positive actions of others is failing to see how an entire group can overcome the discrepancies of a few.

Hopefully, the Greek Life community will continue to make strides to improve their campus reputation and shy away from the negative stereotypes that still loom over them.

GV L EDI TORI AL B OA R D BRADY MCATAMNEY MCKENNA PEARISO LAUREEN HORAN NICK MORAN KELLEN VOSS AMY MCNEEL SARAH EDGECOMB

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FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

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By Sean Pollock

2/11/19

editorial@lanthorn.com

A word on violence against minorities in mass-media

BY XAVIER GOLDEN FRESHMAN UNDECLARED EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

About a week ago in an interview with Clémence Michallon for The Independent, action movie star Liam Neeson shared a very upsetting story: after learning that a friend was sexually assaulted by a black man, Neeson wandered around outside of bars hoping that a black person would pick a fight with him so that he could kill them.

Neeson went on to say that he’s ashamed of having done this, but even though what he did was deeply problematic, it’s also very familiar.

An innocent is attacked by a minority or a group of minorities and a white man attempts to take revenge against them; that’s a very rough plot synopsis of Liam Neeson’s action-thriller Taken. This blatant demonization of minorities is also a very rough plot synopsis of a lot of other movies, TV shows and video games. It’s ludicrous how many of the villains in action movies or first-person shooters are people who we’ve marked as “others.” It’s also pretty dangerous.

Liam Neeson’s story isn’t one-of-a-kind. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, there were 7,151 reported hate crimes in 2017 and that number is only increasing. Violence

is regularly inflicted on marginalized groups in the real world and the fictional ones that we read, watch and play.

There’s a correlation between the two; I’m not saying that ingesting discriminatory content causes real-world violence, but they are closely related. Maybe watching less racist movies or playing less xenophobic games would mitigate racist or xenophobic violence, maybe it wouldn’t; either way, I want to advocate for consuming lessawful media.

However, by “less-awful,” I don’t mean nonviolent. I love watching action movies and fighting games provide endless hours of fun. I think what is being done on-screen matters less than who’s doing it and why. Shooting vaguely middle-eastern enemies in Call of Duty normalizes violence against middle-easterners.

You’re not more likely to do it, but you’re probably more likely

to accept it. Shooting Nazis in Call of Duty normalizes violence against Nazis and, well, I guess that’s not the worst thing in the world.

Liam Neeson’s Cold Pursuit is playing in theaters. Taken is probably on a streaming service or two.

This weekend, if you’re in the mood to watch people fight each other (because honestly, who isn’t?), instead of watching those movies or others like them, why not watch an action movie that doesn’t glorify violence against a marginalized group? Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is still in some theaters, and Black Panther is streaming on Netflix. You can watch a person punch another person for unprejudiced reasons and feel comfortable knowing that you aren’t desensitizing yourself to hate crimes. Also, they’re just better movies.

What Nike doesn’t want you to know

BY DYLAN GROSSER SOPHOMORE COM. & WRITING MAJOR EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

I know my shopping habits change based on the season. Summer is when I work, so that means designer shorts from American Eagle and socks from Express. When I’m broke during the school year, it’s the clearance section at Walmart or Goodwill.

Clothes shopping is a big part of our culture; it’s how we express our personalities and show off to the world.

Even though we love shopping, we typically don’t pay attention to where our clothes are made. Sure, it’s a common joke that everything is “made in China,” but the conversation doesn’t go far beyond that. There’s actually a dark truth behind where our clothes come from.

A lot of clothing and ap-

parel companies like Nike, Adidas, H&M and Gap use cheap, exploitative labor in foreign countries to mass produce their products. The clothing industry is notorious for outsourcing manufacturing to countries where there are few labor regulations making for cheap production of goods. These companies do this to maximize their profits with heavy expense to the overworked and underpaid people in their factories, known infamously as “sweatshops.”

Everybody works hard at their job, but workers in countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, China and Vietnam work insanely long hours in these sweatshops for little pay and in typically unsafe working environments that don’t receive regular inspection.

Imagine working in a factory with no air conditioning during the hottest time of the year and having no breaks, no fire exits, little pay and no benefits.

In our country, we have the privilege of labor laws that guarantee us some fair and reasonable treatment in our jobs. These other countries, however, don’t have that luxury, and the brands that some of us may be wearing right now take advantage of that to cut costs.

It’s not something we typically think of while we’re out at the mall or buying things on Amazon, but the reality is that large corporations exploit cheap, unethical labor to deliver convenience to you, the customer.

Despite that disheartening fact, it won’t stop us from shopping from our favorite stores, and honestly, it shouldn’t.

The responsibility to change this pattern of exploitation shouldn’t fall onto us, especially since most of the clothing industry is guilty of sweatshop labor. Rather, the burden should shift to the companies themselves.

We should not be compelled to boycott certain brands, because clothing is a necessity as well as a luxury; we cannot just decide to stop buying clothes one day. No, instead companies should be required to have independent oversight of their labor abroad by both our government and the international community.

Unchecked, corporations will seek out the cheapest means possible to make a profit. Sometimes that comes at the cost of people’s health and well-being. In Cambodia on April 24, 2013, the eighth floor of the Rana Plaza factory,

which operated without a safety license, collapsed killing 1,100 and injuring 2,000. Cambodia is the second leading exporter of clothes in the world. Examples such as these show the toll that a reckless desire of greed without regard to safety has on human lives.

While boycotting and protesting are not bad ideas, it would be more impactful if it were every American’s priority to vote for representatives who favor regulations on businesses to prevent them from abusing cheap, unsafe foreign labor. Perhaps at the same time, bring some of those jobs back to the U.S. Anyone who works to pay for college recognizes the struggle of working long hours for minimum wage.

Multiply that unfairness by a million to understand what these sweatshop workers are being asked to do, so that we can buy our clothing.

Vote for people who want to put an end to companies using sweatshops to make their clothing, or become part of the movement by joining the United Students Against Sweatshops. The student led organization has a national campaign of demanding fair labor regulations, especially in factories that produce collegiate apparel.

VALLEY VOTE

THIS ISSUE’S QUESTION

QUOTE

Did President’s Ball cancellation affect you?

Which GVSU sports team have you been following this semester?

“Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy: both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.”

LOG ON & VOTE www.lanthorn.com

— Michael Scott (The Office)

Yes No

18% 82%

QUESTION OF THE ISSUE

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY?

MAXWELL NEELEY

ANNALISE HOLCOMB

“I’m going to video chat with my girlfriend because I can’t make the drive.”

“Hanging out with my boyfriend.”

YEAR: Junior MAJOR: Film & Video Production HOMETOWN: Kalamazoo, Mich.

YEAR: Junior MAJOR: Speech Languange Pathology HOMETOWN: Grayling, Mich.

LINDSEY CARENE

MEGAN WILCOXON

“I’m going dancing with some friends.”

“I’m getting dinner with friends.”

YEAR: Junior MAJOR: Speech Language Pathology HOMETOWN: Whitmore, Mich.

YEAR: Junior MAJOR: Speech Language Pathology HOMETOWN: Emmett, Mich.

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

NEWS | A5

CAREER

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A former student meets with a potential employer during a career fair. Nearly 25 companies attended Grand Valley State University’s Networking Extravaganza, a networking event tailored toward students in the Hospitality and Tourism Management field. Event organizers said it served as a great opportunity for students to learn how to make lasting face-to-face impressions. GVL | ARCHIVE

Students create connections in hospitality field through Networking Extravaganza OLIVIA FELLOWS OFELLOWS@LANTHORN.COM

Tuesday, Feb. 5, Grand Valley State University provided a free networking open house called Networking Extravaganza at the DeVos Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall in Grand Rapids, allowing students to come and connect with area businesses and employers.

The event was geared toward the hospitality and tourism management major and was attended by 25 companies and roughly 75 to 100 students. Some of the area’s businesses in attendance were representatives from organizations like The Amway Hotel Collection, Suburban Inns, Celebration Cinemas, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Carnival Cruise Lines.

GVSU’s Department of

Hospitality and Tourism Management internship coordinator and event organizer Amanda Stansbie explained that the event was an opportunity for students to learn about networking and begin making important connections with local and regional employers that would help them find jobs following graduation.

“Often, it can seem intimidating for a student to instigate a conversation with an industry professional,” Stansbie said.

“Networking events like this one aim to remove the stigma often associated with a career fair where the student feels that they have to dress the part and tend to shy away from asking the questions that they really want to know the answer to.

Students can talk about their interests, aspirations and look to make connections through

‘informal’ discussions with managers already in the field.”

The employers that attended the event had many job opportunities available and many students who attended the open house found themselves setting up interview appointments during their time there.

Stansbie relayed that the hospitality and tourism management industry is one where typically everyone in the field gets along and each employer’s knowledge of networking helped greatly in making students comfortable.

The event itself also highlighted the importance of learning networking skills for college students in other fields as well.

Associate Director of GVSU’s Career Center Lisa Knapp clarified that networking skills apply to more than just jobs and that simple efforts can go a long way when practicing them with

employers and acquaintances. “‘Proper’ networking is an overwhelming concept,” Knapp said. “Anyone can network and most of us do all the time without thinking about it. Ever lent someone a pair of shoes or piece of notebook paper? That’s networking. You left a positive impression on that person because you saw their need and you met it. While there are times you have to walk into a networking event where you don’t know anyone, most networking is done organically.”

Assistant Professor at GVSU Allison Adams stressed that learning how to network and maintain professional relationships throughout a student’s college years and beyond can provide new opportunities along the way in a student’s career path.

Adams explained that, es-

pecially in the hospital field, communication is key in creating lasting business relationships. Many employers in the field rely on face-to-face networking in order to keep their businesses running smoothly and learning good communication and networking skills go a long way in helping students looking to get hired, especially in big cities like Grand Rapids.

“Many of the skills necessary to managing in hospitality can be taught, but genuine smiles, ease of conversation and professionalism in conduct are much more difficult for employers to instill in employees, so they like to hire those that display these abilities,” Adams said, “As you develop your networking contacts, you have to nourish those relationships. That means making

contact from time to time, even if you don’t ‘need’ something from the person.”

There are many ways that students can get involved with learning about networking and honing these crucial skills. Small initial steps like building professional habits as it relates to timeliness, respecting others, asking good questions, making others feel comfortable and keeping your word will make it easy for people to remember you and refer you to people they know in your field of interest.

Knapp said that attending career events is also a major boost when working toward possible career opportunities, as GVSU brings more than 1,200 professionals to campus each year for fairs and smaller events, panels and interviews.

EDUCATION

Board of Trustees approves environmental and sustainability studies major for fall 2019 NICK MORAN NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

During Grand Valley State University’s Feb. 8 Board of Trustees meeting, board members approved the creation of an Environmental and Sustainability Studies (ENS) major.

The new major builds on the structure of the preexisting minor, offered by the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies and will go into effect fall 2019.

The ENS major will be available both as a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science and spans 35-37 credits, according to the program proposal. The coursework will be diverse, drawing largely from the ENS minor.

“Environmental and Sustainability Studies draws upon a variety of disciplines—arts and humanities, physical and life sciences, and economic and policy studies—to develop a holistic, place-based and solutions-oriented understanding of environmental and sustainability challenges,” the proposal read. “Students will gain an understanding of the way interconnected physical, institutional and cultural systems shape

humans’ attitudes and behavior toward the environment.”

ENS Director Kelly Parker said that the major follows a triple-bottom-line (3BL) structure, which provides students with exposure to three perspectives: social and cultural, physical and life science, and political and economic. Additionally, students will be able to choose an area of focus, which allows them to apply ENS to areas such as sustainable food resources or water management.

“This program offers a way to go deeper into the emerging field of sustainability science and implementation,” Parker said. “Industry, non-profits and government are increasingly hiring sustainability practitioners whose job is to promote and document sustainable practices across an organization. GVSU’s Office of Sustainability Practices, housed in Brooks College, is a great example of this on our own campus.

This kind of work is as much about communications, design and cultural change within an organization as it is about understanding the environmental science and technology.”

While there are aspects of the major that apply scientific

lessons to the field, Parker said that compared to other majors that focus on the natural side of environmental protection, ENS also includes a rich collection of other applications.

“This program is more broadly interdisciplinary than either environmental sciences or natural resource management, which are both more closely focused on the hard sciences and, with NRM, on environmental law and policy,” Parker said. “ENS includes (scientific) perspectives, but puts equal weight on the social and cultural dimension. This especially shows up with the inclusion of environmental arts and humanities such as environmental history, philosophy, literature and arts. The interdisciplinary dimension is there to encourage new ways of thinking about humans’ relations to their environments.”

Dean of the Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies Anne Hiskes said that the new major will make students marketable to businesses, many of which are looking to work with government bodies and organizations to preserve the environment.

“I’m enthusiastic because I believe that this major will prepare students to address what I think are some of the most challenging, complicated and crucial issues of our day around quality of life and equity,” Hiskes said.

“Addressing the predicted impacts of climate change, for example, requires creative problem-solving skills that integrate economic and political, social and culture and scientific perspectives.

Similarly, addressing quality of life issues in an equitable way, say around safe drinking water, requires integrating these perspectives.”

Parker said that she has already experienced excitement from students, boding well for the inaugural semester of the major in the fall.

“I’ve talked with a number of students who are very excited to have the ENS major as an option,” Parker said. “Honestly, ENS faculty are privileged to work with some of the smartest and most passionate students anywhere on this campus. I really look forward to seeing them connect with each other through the major.”

BEYOND SCIENCE: A student takes measurements outside. The new ENS major will be interdisciplinary over a science. COURTESY | GVSU

A6 | LAKER LIFE ARTS AT A GLANCE

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLLAKERLIFE

LAKER EFFECT

GV TO CO-HOST ROGER THAT! CONFERENCE

Monday, Feb. 11 through Saturday, Feb. 16, Grand Valley State University is co-organizing the Roger That! event with the Grand Rapids Public Museum and the Roger B. Chaffee Scholarship Fund. The five-day event is being held to honor Roger B. Chaffee, a Grand Rapids native who was an engineer, pilot and astronaut. He died on Jan. 27, 1967 in the Apollo 1 accident.

On Friday, Feb. 15, astronaut and artist Nicole Stott will be the keynote speaker at the GVSU Pew campus at 6:30 p.m. Stott was the first artist to paint a watercolor in space, and she started the Space for Art Foundation.

Her address is titled “eArth from Space.” She will also be giving a presentation called “Space for Everyone” at the Grand Rapids Museum on Saturday, Feb. 16.

For more information and scheduling for the week, visit www.gvsu.edu/rogerthat.

CELEBRATE ASIAN HERITAGE AT GV

On Friday, Feb. 15, the new Grand Valley State University Vietnamese Cultural Association (VCA) will be inaugurated at an unveiling Gala held by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

The gala will include many different cultural and educational activities, such as martial arts, traditional Vietnamese lion dances and a parade illustration. There will also be special performances by members of VCA and season four American Idol contestant JR Aquino.

The gala will take place at the Kirkhof Center Grand River Room 2250 from 7 to 10 p.m. This event is one of many to celebrate the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Celebration. A full list of events can be found at www.gvsu.edu/gvnow.

GV TO HOLD INTERNATIONAL WATER POETRY AND SONG CELEBRATION

The Grand Valley State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is looking for talented poets and song writers to celebrate the first annual International Water Poetry and Song Celebration.

Submissions are due by Friday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m.

Students are welcome to perform a poem or song about water in a language of their choice. The celebration will take place on Wednesday, April 3 at the CookDewitt Center at 6 p.m. If interested, email the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at moddept@ gvsu.edu.

GV student named a Newsmaker of the Year by Grand Rapids Business Journal

BY AMANDA ROGERS AROGERS@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State University student Katarina Samardzija was recently named one of the Newsmakers of the Year by the Grand Rapids Business Journal. She is currently a senior double majoring in marketing and entrepreneurship.

The Grand Rapids Business Journal held their annual Newsmakers of the Year event on Friday, Feb. 1 at the Frederik Meijer Garden & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids.

Samardzija won the “Startups” category for her business Locker Lifestyle, which she started about two years ago.

She said she could tell she was one of the youngest finalists there by about 20 or 30 years.

“It’s really humbling to be recognized at such an early age of my business,” Samardzija said. “I have been through a lot and learned a lot, and I’m really thankful for the mentors and all the supportive family and friends that I’ve had through this process.”

As a student athlete, Samardzija recognized the need for her business. She said she used to get annoyed of having to carry all her valuables to the Campus Recreation Center with the possibility of them being stolen.

Samardzija decided that something needed to be done, so she created what is now known as the Wrist Locker.

With help from her mom’s

TAKING THE TITLE: GVSU senior Katarina Samardzija was recently named a Newsmaker of the Year by the Grand Rapids Business Journal. President Haas was in attendance. COURTESY | KATARINA SAMARDZIJA

then-bridal seamstress, she was able to create a product that allows people to bring their basics – such as keys, money and identifications – with them wherever they go.

“At first, I only created this product because it was something that I wanted and needed,” Samardzija said.

“But then, I was being asked by people I didn’t know where they could get one and with that I knew I had something.”

She started her business on Etsy, a website for handmade sellers, and was shocked at how fast it took off, so she decided to build a website.

Samardzija started off go-

ing into medicine at GVSU, but with the sudden takeoff and success of her business, she decided to change her major to marketing and entrepreneurship.

“I didn’t realize (the importance of the event) until I did some research on how big of a scale this event was,” Samardzija said. “There were about over 600 people who attended and I was in the winning categories along with individuals from Spectrum Health and other prestigious individuals in the community, so it was definitely a big honor.”

Samardzija said that winning this big of an award

showed her that what she is doing really means something and that all those sleepless nights were worth it.

“President Haas sat right in front of my table and he came up to me asking for a picture after which was pretty cool,” Samardzija said.

Samardzija has more product ideas and just issued her first full patent a few months ago. She has also been working on a project with FedEx and a few local retailers.

“I am excited for the distribution and future product potential that Locker Lifestyle has because there is a lot more to do,” Samardzija said.

ADVENTURE

Braving the cold GV students to travel to Ice Fest

BY AUTUMN BABAS LAKERLIFE@LANTHORN.COM

CLIMBING HIGH: A group of GV students will soon attend Ice Fest where they can scale waterfalls. COURTESY | HANNA NORDBECK

From Friday, Feb. 15 through Sunday, Feb. 17, professional ice climbing athletes from all over the world are flying to Munising, Mich. for the annual Michigan Ice Festival. Grand Valley State University community members will be joining the climbers in a thrilling weekend, inviting students to conquer world-class ice on the frozen waterfalls of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

GVSU’s Climbing Center and the Hospitality and Tourism Management Department is transporting a group of 15 to 20 students to Ice Fest. Lakers will get to meet these great climbers, learn along side them, and participate in contests and giveaways.

The festival is hosted by Downwind Sports, an Upper Peninsula-based gear

shop. No previous experience of climbing is needed to attend this public event.

“If you can swing a hammer and climb a ladder, then you can ice climb,” said Assistant Director of Campus Recreation Joe Bitely.

Although no experience is needed, GVSU will host an intro to ice climbing workshop to help students navigate the techniques of climbing.

There will be a small nonrefundable deposit of $50 to help cover the costs of lodging.

The total cost of the trip will be $150 for the entire weekend.

Additional costs may include food, gas and workshops. Necessary equipment, gear and clothing will be provided by the GVSU Climbing Center and participants will be fitted for rental equipment.

Beyond tactical applications, Ice Fest gives students to meet some of the , well-known sponsors fly in mountaineers and professional climbers. Students will have the chance to get autographs, meet and even

climb with them. Meanwhile, sponsors have donated thousands of dollars in outdoor prizes that students will have the opportunity of winning.

“Sponsors donate all kinds of really quality prizes for students such as coats, backpacks and ice climbing gear,” Bitely said. “For students that win, it totally outweighs the cost of the trip.”

Instead of being locked inside all day, Ice Fest provides students the opportunity to get out and partake in a physical activity even during cold temperatures.

Students aren’t left in the dark when learning how to climb. There will be a demo area with ropes and volunteers to help guide them along the way.

“Volunteers help tie your ropes and give you pointers as you go up and down,” Bitely said. “A lot of the time, those same volunteers are professionals, so you’re getting great advice from people who do this for a living.”

The professional climbers will put on presentations Friday and Saturday evenings.

These presentations will display a variety of climbing they have done all over the world, including Mount Everest.

“A lot of people are learning the sport and then they come back all excited and can hear their instructor up on stage telling stories of their adventures,” Thompson said.

GVSU is one of many universities that are planning on attending Ice Fest.

Going with a university provides a lot of opportunities to socialize and build friendships in a unique setting.

“You get to stay in a hotel with new people and get to know them,” said GVSU junior Hanna Nordbeck. “The U.P. is also so gorgeous, seeing everything frozen.”

This will be GVSU’s eleventh visit to the Michigan Ice Fest. Bitely hopes to give students the chance of a lifetime to partake in something they will never forget.

CAMPUS

RHA drag show to be the largest in GVSU history AMY MCNEEL LAKERLIFE@LANTHORN.COM

Each year, the Grand Valley State University Residence Housing Association (RHA) hosts a drag show for GVSU students, faculty and staff. In the past few years, the shows have grown tremendously and this year is set to be the biggest drag show the GVSU community has ever seen.

“This drag show is going to feature some of the best local, national and international queens, which is so much larger than the drag shows in the past,” said Vice President of Programming for RHA Chris Gard. “The size of this show has required many months of planning to accomplish the large-scale

show we want.”

The show will provide a night full of entertainment and fun, but it will also serve a much larger purpose: to enlighten attendees about the culture within the drag community.

“Drag is a subculture of the LGBTQ+ community that is normally confused with cross-dressing or transgender individuals,” Gard said. “We want to share more about the drag community and garner further acceptance for LGBTQ+ individuals on and off campus.”

For those who have little knowledge about drag, this is an opportunity to learn about drag queens and the creative outlet of drag shows.

This year, RHA is excited to present special guest Cynthia Lee Fontaine, who was

featured on seasons eight and nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

In season eight, she won the title of Miss Congeniality, which is awarded to the queen who the fans perceive as most helpful in the season.

General admission for the show is free, but those who wish to skip the admission lines and meet Cynthia Lee Fontaine after the show can purchase a VIP meet and greet pass for $20.

This year, the drag show is being hosted in partnership with the GVSU Drag Club, which was established in 2017. The club is in affiliation with the GVSU Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center.

According to the club’s constitution, the group is open to anyone who is interested in drag, even if they don’t participate in drag

themselves.

“Our mission is to explore drag culture, build a community of drag enthusiasts, host speakers and drag related workshops, educate on matters of gender expression and plan events such as the Amateur Drag Race to increase awareness of gender expression in the context of empowerment, privilege and self-affirmation.”

Attendees are sure to experience a night full of energy, creativity and fun, while also gaining some insight on the drag community. Gard encourages all students to attend because the more who attend, the more awareness and inclusivity will be shared.

The drag show is taking place on Saturday, Feb. 16 from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Fieldhouse Arena.

DIVERSITY: The annual RHA drag show is taking place on Saturday, Feb. 16 and will be the largest in GVSU history. GVL | ARCHIVE

SPORTS | A7

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

QUICK HITS

W. BASKETBALL

GRAND VALLEY STATE ANNOUNCES 2019 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Grand Valley State finalized its 2019 football schedule, filling a previously vacant Nov. 2 date with another home game, totaling seven games at the historic Lubbers Stadium.

To fill the previous hole, the Lakers will host Great Lakes Valley Conference member William Jewell in a non-conference affair at 4 p.m. The 2019 campaign will also mark the second time in school history that GVSU will play seven regular season home games, the other coming in 2013, when the Lakers finished 12-3 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Semifinals.

GVSU will open the 2019 season at home against Edinboro (Pa.) University at 7 p.m. on Sept. 7, as it will be the first ever matchup with the Scots. GVSU will then host Delta State the following week.

Other home games for the football team include Ashland on Oct. 5, Saginaw Valley State on Oct. 12, Davenport on Oct. 26, Wiliiam Jewell College on Nov. 2, and Wayne State on Nov. 16.

ALLISON LIPOVSKY NAMED TO SCHUTT SPORTS/NFCA TOP 50 PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST

Grand Valley State senior right handed pitcher Allison Lipovsky has been named to the Schutt Sports/NFCA Top 50 Player of the Yeat watch list, per a release from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Lipovsky is one eight returners from the NFCA All-American First Team across 44 different programs and 21 different conferences. The top-25 finalists for the award will be announced on April 25.

Lipovsky had a dominant junior campaign with a 22-5 record and 0.81 ERA. By the end of the season, she led the nation with 11.3 strikeouts per seven innings, totaling 309 K’s to just 28 walks in her 191.0 innings last season The Lakers will open their 2019 season at the Lewis Dome Tournament, heading to Rosemont, Ill. On Feb. 22-23 for four games in their first weekend of action.

GLIAC NAMES 75 LAKER STUDENT-ATHLETES TO ALL-ACADEMIC TEAMS

Grand Valley State student athletes earned a combined 75 GLIAC All-Academic and AllExcellence honors for the 2018 fall sports season. A combined 873 student-athletes from across the conference were named to either the All-Academic or the All-Academic Excellence Team.

GLIAC All-Academic and AllExcellence teams are comprised of student-athletes who are an active member of the roster.

The All-Academic Team features student-athletes who carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 to 3.49 through the 2018 fall semester and the All-Academic Excellence Team is comprised of studentathletes with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 to 4.0 through the 2018 fall semester.

The GLIAC All-Academic team features 17 football players, 14 members of the cross country program, six women’s soccer players, three women’s tennis players and four volleyball players. 31 of those athletes were also featured on the All-Academic Excellence team.

VARSITY SCHEDULE MEN’S BASKETBALL Away, Thursday, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m., Saginaw Valley State Away, Saturday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m., Northwood WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Away, Thursday, Feb. 14, at 6 p.m., Saginaw Valley State Away, Saturday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m., Northwood MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD Home, Friday, Feb. 15, GVSU Tune-Up, Kelly Family Sports Center MEN’S DII CLUB HOCKEY Away, Friday, Feb. 15 at 10:30 p.m., Aquinas College, Van Andel Arena following the Griffins game Home, Saturday, Feb. 16 at 9 p.m., Aquinas College, Senior Night

PASS AND CUT: Grand Valley State center Cassidy Boensch streches out her long arms to reach around a Wisconsin Parkside defender in a effort to find the open cutter at the Fieldhouse Arena on Thursday, Feb. 7. In the first half of the game, Boensch recorded her 1,000th point in a Laker jersey. GVL | DAN PACHECO

Winner’s Pride GVSU women win weekend by combined 81 points in display of dominance and teamwork

BY BRADY MCATAMNEY EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

The No. 13 ranked Grand Valley State women’s basketball team owned the weekend, defeating the Purdue Northwest Pride 84-36 on Thursday, Feb. 7 and the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers 84-51 on Saturday, Feb 9. Both games were played in GVSU’s Fieldhouse Arena as the Lakers returned home following a five-game weekend spanning three weeks.

Both games were total team efforts, as all 14 players who saw game action during across the two victories scored.

The return home started hot for the Lakers, as they jumped out to a 42-22 first half lead against the Pride whole scoring no less than 19 points and allowing no more than 11 in any given quarter. Head coach Mike Williams wasn’t necessarily happy in the moment with the first half lead, though, but readjusted his expectations and allowed his team to expand their lead following the break.

“I had a little gut check at halftime. Sometimes as a coach, you have to have expectations but they can’t be too high and they can’t be continuous,” Williams said. “I thought we didn’t play great but we played really good and yet I’m always pushing for great. We went into the break and said ‘at halftime, we’re just playing with energy. Just play with energy. Be vocal. Play hard.’

We played better basketball in the second half because of it, because we weren’t focused on ‘did I do this wrong or this wrong or this wrong’ so it was a credit to our players just to do that.”

Among the Lakers’ scoring leaders were center Cassidy Boensch with 18 points and eight rebounds, forward Maddie Dailey with 14 points and nine boards, guard Jenn DeBoer with 13 points and guard Brooke McKinley with 11 points.

Despite the Pride’s conferencelow two wins on the season heading into the contest, the firstplace Lakers prepared as they would have for any other game with record out of mind, working

hard in practice all week long as if they were playing the top team in the country.

“I feel like sometimes it’s hard to play a team with a bad record just because a lot of times, how they play doesn’t reflect the record,” Dailey said.

They carried the momentum from Thursday’s win into Saturday, as the Lakers once against took a 20-point lead into the break at 43-23 before eventually claiming their 33-point win. GVSU scored 48 points in the paint while committing only seven turnovers while forcing 18 from the Rangers, picking up 26 points off turnovers. Additionally, UWP only hit five of their 15 three-point attempts.

“We came out with a great deal of intensity,” Williams said. “I thought we did a good job keeping them off-balance on their threes.

They’re a team that can really shoot the three-ball. I think they had 13 or 14 last game against Davenport, shot 48 percent so those were two of our focal points. I thought we did a really good job in both of those. I thought offensively, we

went through some of the contact getting to the rim. Kept our eyes up, made great decisions finding people or getting to the basket in that first half especially.”

Boensch dominated in the post, scoring 26 points on 9-14 shooting with 13 rebounds. Her eighth point scored punched her ticket to the GVSU women’s basketball 1,000 point club, making her the 24th player in program history to achieve the feat.

“I’m just grateful to be a part of this team,” Boensch said. “I definitely couldn’t do it without them so it’s just a reflection of how well we work together.”

Additionally, DeBoer scored 18 points – including a half-court buzzer beater to end the first quarter – and Dailey contributed 11 points.

Now at 21-2 (14-1 GLIAC), the Lakers have clinched a spot in March’s conference tournament. They will play their final two road games of the regular season beginning with the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (4-18, 4-11) on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. followed by a matchup with the Northwood Timberwolves (10-13, 7-8) on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m.

M. BASKETBALL

GVSU drops two at home, falls to 6-9 in the GLIAC

BY KELLEN VOSS SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

After beating the seventh ranked Ashland Eagles on the road last weekend, the Grand Valley State basketball team was thirsting to keep the momentum rolling heading into two home games. The Lakers remained parched though, as they lost to Purdue Northwest, 78-74, and Wisconsin Parkside, 80-79, in overtime.

The UPN Pride seemed to have stolen a page out of the Golden State Warriors’ playbook, as they were able to have more made threes (18) than turnovers (17). The Lakers weren’t as lucky from beyond the arc, as they were only able to convert on 30 percent of their threes (9-30). Ben Lubitz had five of those, and led all Lakers in scoring with 17 points.

Key three pointers from Lubitz and Hunter Hale helped the Lakers to a 70-64 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the contest, but an 11-0 run from the Pride was able to secure the victory from Purdue Northwest, with more than a few costly turnovers keeping GVSU from victory.

“Our defense wasn’t great and our turnovers were really hurting our offense,” said head coach Ric Wesley. “I thought we came out with a lot more energy than them, we made a comeback and felt good about it, but down the stretch, we couldn’t get it done and they were a feisty team.”

The comeback came in the second half, when GVSU overcame a 19-point deficit to tie the game at 58 with 12 minutes to go. The ultimate result was

TRYING TO BREAK ANKLES: Grand Valley State junior guard Hunter Hale looks to get past a Wisconsin Parkside defender with a crossover and head to the basket to score on Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Fieldhouse Arena. GVL | DAN PACHECHO

not ideal, but being able to make a comeback shows that when this team is down, they are truly never out.

“It can be a stepping stone moving forward, knowing we can be resilient like that and make comebacks,” Lubitz said. “It’s all about retaining that effort.”

The Lakers took the anger brought from that loss and focused it on the Wisconsin Parkside Rangers, as they were able to create havoc, forcing 20 turnovers on the opposing team in the dog fight at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.

In a back-and-forth matchup that featured 16 lead changes, GVSU found themselves trailing again at the half, 3530. A 14-2 run to open the second half,

properly punctuated by a two-handed slam from Jake Van Tubbergen, helped momentum swing in GVSU’s way.

“We were able to get a couple deflections and run-outs to get a little bit of a gap there,” Wesley said. “But they’re a good team and they weren’t going away, so we weren’t able to give them the knock-out punch.”

The nail-biting matchup and clutch play from both teams led to both the Lakers and Rangers ending regulation tied at 65 points. After key shots and important free throws from Jeremiah Ferguson and Van Tubbergen helped the Lakers command a lead, a Ranger miss got loose in the last five seconds and was inadvertently tipped in by the Lakers securing the

victory for Wisconsin Parkside.

Despite the unfortunate and fluky finish, Wesley was proud of the focus and intensity his team played with in the overtime period.

“We got the lead in OT, and it was an intense game the entire way. Every possession was important, every shot was big,” Wesley said. “Strange things happened at the end, we played good defense, but the ball came out funny and we didn’t secure it. If we did, that was maybe the best win we had all year.”

LOG ON TO: www.lanthorn.com FOR THE FULL ARTICLE

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

A8 | SPORTS RECRUITMENT

Laker football inks 2019 recruiting class

BY BRADY MCATAMNEY EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

The Grand Valley State football team signed 33 high school players to join the Lakers on Thursday, Feb. 6 as part of the annual National Signing Day. The class includes 16 offensive players, 16 defensive players and one kicker.

“This is a strong group in three position groups: receiver, interior defensive lineman and the secondary as a whole, I think we have some good mixtures on those,” said head coach Matt Mitchell. “They’re all really good students, I think they’re going to fit in with our campus culture and environ-

ment and what we’re doing academically and socially too and that’s important to me.”

Among the class’ standouts are offensive lineman Sam Caldarazzo from Naperville, Ill., defensive back Ian Kennelly from Macomb, Mich., wide receiver Cody Tierney from Grand Rapids, Mich. and defensive back Kortez Toles from Grand Blanc, Mich.

While recruiting the group, Mitchell and the rest of the staff were keen on synergizing with the 2018 recruiting class, as that crop was flush with quarterbacks, running backs and defensive ends.

“You win championships when you can stack back-to-

back classes and that class we signed in 2018 is killing it at Grand Valley academically and at workouts they’re doing really well,” Mitchell said. “This is another class that I think compliments that class of 2018 and if we can develop and grow them, I think we’re going to have really strong back-to-back classes.”

The new class of signees is noticeably high in out-of-state players. While 22 hail Michigan, one-third of the class comes from surrounding states, which the staff has realized as more and more of an option compared to the competition they face within the state.

“There’s a lot of factors involved but Michigan is pretty

SEE ANSWERS | A9

heavily recruited,” Mitchell said.

“I think we did well with that but if we only limit ourselves to Michigan kids we might leave ourselves short and maybe not have enough talent to compete for a championship. We still try to find areas in the Midwest that are not too far away so families can still follows their

kid’s career and we try to find some kids out of state.

“If you take a look at Indiana, there’s only one DII school. When you take a look at Illinois, there’s no Division II school. You take a look at Ohio now, with all those schools leaving the GLIAC, we’re a little bit more attractive because of

the fact that we’re a better brand of football in the GLIAC than what they play in the GMAC.” While no players have been promised to receive significant playing time in 2019, the Lakers are enthused with the infusion of fresh talent which expects to make an impact during the coming of years.

READY TO POUNCE: Grand Valley State defensive lineman Kwanii Figueroa and the Grand Valley State football team look to take the field for a game at Lubbers Stadium in 2018. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT

Summer courses at Ferris State University are now open for enrollment. A wide variety of courses, which may be used to satisfy both program and general education requirements, are currently available. A complete list of course offerings can be found at: https://banner.ferris.edu:9000/pls/GOLD/bwckschd.p_disp_dyn_sched Students who enroll for at least six credits are eligible to receive free housing in North Hall, the newest residence hall on campus. North Hall is located adjacent to the University Center and is in close proximity to many academic buildings.

Questions may be directed toward the Office of the Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, at 231-591-3660

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FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

A8 | SPORTS FEATURE

STARING AT SUCCESS: Grand Valley State junior Ben Lubitz looks up the floor on an offensive possession as he looks to help his team score in a game on Saturday, Feb. 9 at Fieldhouse Arena. Lubitz led the Lakers in scoring in Thursday’s loss to the Purdue Northwest Pride, hitting five three-pointers on his way to seventeen points, including helping the team climb out of 19-point deficit. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT

Lubitz the Laker

Junior guard is GVSU’s glue guy with grit

BY ELI ONG SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

When you look around the NBA, there are a few consistent similarities that can be drawn between successful teams.

Every team that has found success has or has had their stars, including Steph Curry, James Harden and Lebron James, just to name a few. These teams also feature players that complete the team to hold everything together, including Matthew Dellavedova, Luc Mbah Moute and Joe Ingles.

For Grand Valley State men’s basketball, Ben Lubitz is their Joe Ingles. Lubitz

is the player that does what needs to be done to win basketball games, though his efforts may not necessarily show up on the stat sheet.

“That actually came up in a conversation I had a few days ago with my dad,” Lubitz said.

“I’m kind of the glue guy.”

When you take a look at the box scores from the GVSU men’s basketball games from this year, it seems that Lubitz is a player who is doing something different every time he steps on the court.

In games against McKendree and Purdue Northwest earlier this season, Lubitz brought a much needed

long-range scoring boost to the table, scoring 40 points between those two games while also going 13-19 from the field and 10-16 from behind the three-point arc.

Then there are games like those at Ashland and Wayne State, where Lubitz came in during crucial stretches to provide support via the boards, corralling 11 rebounds, seven of which were collected on the offensive end in addition to adding 12 points on four of nine shooting between the two games.

“It’s something I definitely try to do out on the court,” Lubitz said. “I kind of relish fulfill-

ing that role of going out there and doing what needs to be done to help my team get the win at the end of the day.”

Lubitz wasn’t always just the glue guy on a fledgling DII basketball team. He was that star player that his team leaned on when things mattered most.

As a senior at Mio AuSable High School in northeast Michigan, the six-footthree-inch athletic combo guard averaged a commanding 35.6 points-per-game, which included a career high 57 points in a single game.

The stats and accolades did not just appear overnight for Lubitz in high school either.

He was a three-time all-state selection at Mio AuSable, as well as a four-time all-North Star League selection and a two-year captain. Lubitz embodied the definition of a basketball player that put the team on his back, but at the completion of his senior year of high school, it wasn’t basketball that primarily influenced him to come to GVSU. “My primary reason for coming to Grand Valley originally was because GV has a very prestigious nursing program,” Lubitz said.

“Academics were always a very high priority when I was trying to decide where I

wanted to go for college.”

The other factor that led Lubitz to become a Laker was his familiarity with the program before he was even recruited to join the GVSU men’s basketball program.

“I think it was toward the end of my senior year that Coach Bower, an assistant coach here at the time, wanted me to come down and take an unofficial visit,” Lubitz said. “I had already been to two Grand Valley basketball camps so that kind of led me to fall in love with it a bit then I came down to the campus and everything felt like it fit just right and here I am now.”

RECRUITMENT

Laker football inks 2019 recruiting class

BY BRADY MCATAMNEY EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

The Grand Valley State football team signed 33 high school players to join the Lakers on Thursday, Feb. 6 as part of the annual National Signing Day. The class includes 16 offensive players, 16 defensive players and one kicker.

“This is a strong group in three position groups: receiver, interior defensive lineman and the secondary as a whole, I think we have some good mixtures on those,” said head coach Matt Mitchell. “They’re all really good students, I think they’re going to fit in with our campus culture and environ-

ment and what we’re doing academically and socially too and that’s important to me.”

Among the class’ standouts are offensive lineman Sam Caldarazzo from Naperville, Ill., defensive back Ian Kennelly from Macomb, Mich., wide receiver Cody Tierney from Grand Rapids, Mich. and defensive back Kortez Toles from Grand Blanc, Mich.

While recruiting the group, Mitchell and the rest of the staff were keen on synergizing with the 2018 recruiting class, as that crop was flush with quarterbacks, running backs and defensive ends.

“You win championships when you can stack back-to-

back classes and that class we signed in 2018 is killing it at Grand Valley academically and at workouts they’re doing really well,” Mitchell said. “This is another class that I think compliments that class of 2018 and if we can develop and grow them, I think we’re going to have really strong back-to-back classes.”

The new class of signees is noticeably high in out-of-state players. While 22 hail Michigan, one-third of the class comes from surrounding states, which the staff has realized as more and more of an option compared to the competition they face within the state.

“There’s a lot of factors involved but Michigan is pretty

SEE ANSWERS | A9

heavily recruited,” Mitchell said.

“I think we did well with that but if we only limit ourselves to Michigan kids we might leave ourselves short and maybe not have enough talent to compete for a championship. We still try to find areas in the Midwest that are not too far away so families can still follows their

kid’s career and we try to find some kids out of state.

“If you take a look at Indiana, there’s only one DII school. When you take a look at Illinois, there’s no Division II school. You take a look at Ohio now, with all those schools leaving the GLIAC, we’re a little bit more attractive because of

the fact that we’re a better brand of football in the GLIAC than what they play in the GMAC.” While no players have been promised to receive significant playing time in 2019, the Lakers are enthused with the infusion of fresh talent which expects to make an impact during the coming of years.

READY TO POUNCE: Grand Valley State defensive lineman Kwanii Figueroa and the Grand Valley State football team look to take the field for a game at Lubbers Stadium in 2018. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT

FEBRAURY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

SPORTS | A9

SOCCER

Laker soccer adds two new coaches

BY KADY VOLMERING SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

The successful Grand Valley State women’s soccer program is welcoming two new assistant coaches to their program for the 2019 season.

The Lakers have hired Megan Link and Dustin Smith, bringing them to GVSU in February to start preparing for the fall season.

Both Link and Smith come from a extensive soccer backgrounds. Link travels to the Lakers from Southwest Baptist after being head coach for four years. While with the Bearcats, Link had 16 All-MIAA honorees on her team, two United Soccer Coaches All-Region players, earned a top 25 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches national pool and had two CoSIDA Academic All-District first team members.

Link also had her own successful collegiate career with the Bearcats, starting as their goalkeeper for four years. She moved on to Iceland where she played professionally for Afturlding Football Club before returning in 2014 to start her coaching career with the Missouri Youth Soccer Association.

Similar to Link, Smith is coming to the Lakers with soccer experience, coaching nine years at Florida Tech, serving five years as assistant coach and the last four years as head coach. Smith led the team to the first conference championship appearance in team history and left the team with 30 wins and 19 losses.

Smith also coached youth soccer clubs for several years.

The Lakers had a strong 2018, advancing to the national championship with no losses before losing to Bridgeport.

The Lakers will return several underclassman, including standout goalkeeper junior Jessica Radice, who played the majority of the minutes in each game in the net. Radice believes that welcoming two new coaches will help bring a new perspective to help them prepare for the 2019 season.

“I think Megan and Dustin will add an outsider’s perspective,” Radice said. “They will be able to shed light on things we might not have noticed since we have been so involved with the program already. They are both well respected coaches and very knowledgeable, which can only help our program.”

Link and Smith will be joining head coach Jeff Hosler and assistant coaches Annette Stromberg and Scott Modisher. The new hirings come shortly after the res-

SMILES: GVSU assistant soccer coaches Smith and Link pose for their headshots. COURTESY | GVSULAKERS

ignation of assistant coach Kristen Walker for personal reasons in early January.

Though the team has only been able to meet Smith so far, Radice said it’s been a great for everyone.

“He always has an upbeat attitude in the weight room and during practices,” Radice said. “Dustin is a friendly face to walk past and see in the Fieldhouse. He is super positive from the second he steps

into the room or field.”

Link and Smith will come onto campus later this week and will aid the Lakers, who LOG ON TO: www.lanthorn.com FOR THE FULL ARTICLE

FEATURE

Lubitz the Laker

Junior guard is GVSU’s glue guy with grit

STARING AT SUCCESS: Grand Valley State junior Ben Lubitz looks up the floor on an offensive possession as he looks to help his team score in a game on Saturday, Feb. 9 at Fieldhouse Arena. Lubitz led the Lakers in scoring in Thursday’s loss to the Purdue Northwest Pride, hitting five three-pointers on his way to seventeen points, including helping the team climb out of 19-point deficit. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT

BY ELI ONG SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

When you look around the NBA, there are a few consistent similarities that can be drawn between successful teams.

Every team that has found success has or has had their stars, including Steph Curry, James Harden and Lebron James, just to name a few. These teams also feature players that complete the team to hold everything together, including Matthew Dellavedova, Luc Mbah Moute and Joe Ingles.

For Grand Valley State men’s basketball, Ben Lubitz is their Joe Ingles. Lubitz

is the player that does what needs to be done to win basketball games, though his efforts may not necessarily show up on the stat sheet.

“That actually came up in a conversation I had a few days ago with my dad,” Lubitz said.

“I’m kind of the glue guy.”

When you take a look at the box scores from the GVSU men’s basketball games from this year, it seems that Lubitz is a player who is doing something different every time he steps on the court.

In games against McKendree and Purdue Northwest earlier this season, Lubitz brought a much needed

long-range scoring boost to the table, scoring 40 points between those two games while also going 13-19 from the field and 10-16 from behind the three-point arc.

Then there are games like those at Ashland and Wayne State, where Lubitz came in during crucial stretches to provide support via the boards, corralling 11 rebounds, seven of which were collected on the offensive end in addition to adding 12 points on four of nine shooting between the two games.

“It’s something I definitely try to do out on the court,” Lubitz said. “I kind of relish fulfill-

ing that role of going out there and doing what needs to be done to help my team get the win at the end of the day.”

Lubitz wasn’t always just the glue guy on a fledgling DII basketball team. He was that star player that his team leaned on when things mattered most.

As a senior at Mio AuSable High School in northeast Michigan, the six-footthree-inch athletic combo guard averaged a commanding 35.6 points-per-game, which included a career high 57 points in a single game.

The stats and accolades did not just appear overnight for Lubitz in high school either.

L AK E R E XCHAN G E Housing

Announcements

Announcements

Summer classes are now open for enrollment at Ferris State University! A complete list of courses offerings can b e f o u n d a t : https://banner.ferris.edu:900 0/pls/GOLD/bwckschd.p_dis p_dyn_sched

February, the nt l e. What's the difference between me and a calendar? A calendar has dates.

Valentine's Day is this Thursday on the 14th! Enjoy the holiday spent with your significant other or if you're single, grab a friend (or just yourself), watch a movie, and eat as much pizza as you want to. Happy Valentine's Day!

Two rooms available for rent in four bedroom house located in Standale. Lease begins Aug 2019. Females only. $450/month ( utilities included). Call or text Amy at 616-821-5421 if interested.

Smart student savings. Save 15% on travel throughout the Midwest. Students age 1325 are eligible. Visit AmtrakMichigan.com for more information.

FOR COMMERCIAL RATES EMAIL

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Employment

Work on Mackinac Island this summer to make life long friends and have the experience of a lifetime. The Island House Hotel and Ryba's Fudge Shops are seeking help. Call (906)8477196 or visit www.theislandhouse.com for more information.

Semester in Grand Rapids.

Experience the city's history, people, and promise. More information at gvsu.edu/sigr

Get ahead on your degree this summer! You can now enroll for classes at Grand Rapids Community College.

Classes go from May 6th to Aug 15th.

Visit grcc.edu/summer for more information.

wanted to go for college.”

The other factor that led Lubitz to become a Laker was his familiarity with the program before he was even recruited to join the GVSU men’s basketball program.

“I think it was toward the end of my senior year that Coach Bower, an assistant coach here at the time, wanted me to come down and take an unofficial visit,” Lubitz said. “I had already been to two Grand Valley basketball camps so that kind of led me to fall in love with it a bit then I came down to the campus and everything felt like it fit just right and here I am now.”

FREE CLASSIFIEDS FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF some restrictions apply email lakerexchange@lanthorn.com for more info on restrictions

Freak Yeah! Jimmy John's gourmet sandwiches freaky fresh and freaky fast. Visit jimmyjohns.com to find a location near you.

GVSU is changing our name from Lakers to Sawyers for one day: February 23rd. The men's and women's basketball teams will be wearing faux back jerseys along with warmup and sideline gear for our double header a g a i n s t M i c h i g a n T e c h.

Wear flannel to the game and use the hashtag #feartheflannel

He was a three-time all-state selection at Mio AuSable, as well as a four-time all-North Star League selection and a two-year captain. Lubitz embodied the definition of a basketball player that put the team on his back, but at the completion of his senior year of high school, it wasn’t basketball that primarily influenced him to come to GVSU. “My primary reason for coming to Grand Valley originally was because GV has a very prestigious nursing program,” Lubitz said.

“Academics were always a very high priority when I was trying to decide where I

Clinical Study volunteer needed. May be eligible to participate in a Clinical Study if you are male or female between the ages of 18 and 50. You could compensate up to $1,600 for your participation. Contact us at 734-527-4200.

Puzzle Answers

616-331-2460

FEBRAURY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

SPORTS | A9

SOCCER

Laker soccer adds two new coaches

BY KADY VOLMERING SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

The successful Grand Valley State women’s soccer program is welcoming two new assistant coaches to their program for the 2019 season.

The Lakers have hired Megan Link and Dustin Smith, bringing them to GVSU in February to start preparing for the fall season.

Both Link and Smith come from a extensive soccer backgrounds. Link travels to the Lakers from Southwest Baptist after being head coach for four years. While with the Bearcats, Link had 16 All-MIAA honorees on her team, two United Soccer Coaches All-Region players, earned a top 25 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches national pool and had two CoSIDA Academic All-District first team members.

Link also had her own successful collegiate career with the Bearcats, starting as their goalkeeper for four years. She moved on to Iceland where she played profes-

sionally for Afturlding Football Club before returning in 2014 to start her coaching career with the Missouri Youth Soccer Association.

Similar to Link, Smith is coming to the Lakers with soccer experience, coaching nine years at Florida Tech, serving five years as assistant coach and the last four years as head coach. Smith led the team to the first conference championship appearance in team history and left the team with 30 wins and 19 losses.

Smith also coached youth soccer clubs for several years.

The Lakers had a strong 2018, advancing to the national championship with no losses before losing to Bridgeport.

The Lakers will return several underclassman, including standout goalkeeper junior Jessica Radice, who played the majority of the minutes in each game in the net. Radice believes that welcoming two new coaches will help bring a new perspective to help them prepare for the 2019 season.

SAY CHEESE: New GVSU assistant soccer coaches Dustin Smith and Megan Link smile for their headshots. COURTESY | GVSULAKERS

“I think Megan and Dustin will add an outsider’s perspective,” Radice said. “They will be able to shed light on things we might not have noticed

since we have been so involved with the program already. They are both well respected coaches and very knowledgeable, which can only help our program.”

Link and Smith will be joining head coach Jeff Hosler and assistant coaches Annette Stromberg and Scott Modisher. The new hirings come shortly after the res-

ignation of assistant coach Kristen Walker for personal reasons in early January.

LOG ON TO: www.lanthorn.com FOR THE FULL ARTICLE

TRACK & FIELD

GVSU Big Meet produces big results

BY JERROD FATTAL SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

JUMPING FOR JOY: Grand Valley State track athlete Jessica Gustad gracefully hits the ground after clearing a hurdle and looks to outrun her opponents at the Kelly Family Sports Center. GVL | BEN HUNT

More than 30 years of GVSU indoor track and field history was re-written at the Big Meet on Friday Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9.

Four new school records, two Kelly Family Sports Center records and one meet record headlined the memorable two-day track event hosted by GVSU. “To have one school record is outstanding, but to have four is amazing,” said head coach Jerry Baltes.

Anna Obi started the meet on Friday with a triple jump of 12.04M, breaking Icis Charles’ (’02) school record of 11.89M, that had previously stood for 17 years.

The track was running hot all afternoon, as three different school records were broken on Friday.

Rachael Walters finished the 600m dash in 1:28.84, breaking her own previous record of 1:31.97, set earlier this year. Walters set both the

L AK E R E XCHAN G E Housing

Announcements

Announcements

Summer classes are now open for enrollment at Ferris State University! A complete list of courses offerings can b e f o u n d a t : https://banner.ferris.edu:900 0/pls/GOLD/bwckschd.p_dis p_dyn_sched

February, the nt l e. What's the difference between me and a calendar? A calendar has dates.

Valentine's Day is this Thursday on the 14th! Enjoy the holiday spent with your significant other or if you're single, grab a friend (or just yourself), watch a movie, and eat as much pizza as you want to. Happy Valentine's Day!

Two rooms available for rent in four bedroom house located in Standale. Lease begins Aug 2019. Females only. $450/month ( utilities included). Call or text Amy at 616-821-5421 if interested.

Smart student savings. Save 15% on travel throughout the Midwest. Students age 1325 are eligible. Visit AmtrakMichigan.com for more information.

Get ahead on your degree this summer! You can now enroll for classes at Grand Rapids Community College.

Classes go from May 6th to Aug 15th.

Visit grcc.edu/summer for more information.

LOG ON TO: www.lanthorn.com FOR THE FULL ARTICLE

FOR COMMERCIAL RATES EMAIL

lakerexchange@lanthorn.com OR CALL

Employment

Work on Mackinac Island this summer to make life long friends and have the experience of a lifetime. The Island House Hotel and Ryba's Fudge Shops are seeking help. Call (906)8477196 or visit www.theislandhouse.com for more information.

Semester in Grand Rapids.

Experience the city's history, people, and promise. More information at gvsu.edu/sigr

mance,” Baltes said. “Especially considering they were running solo for nearly the entire race.”

The new record marks are a nice touch for the GVSU student athletes, but with only two weeks until the GLIAC Championships and less than one month until nationals, the main goal on the athletes’ minds this weekend was to reach NCAA qualifying marks.

“We accomplished a lot over the (two days) in terms of reaching NCAA marks,” Baltes said. “We saw a lot of good performances.”

Over the course of the two-day meet, GVSU saw 54 different NCAA qualifying times marks. The women’s team accounted for 34 of the qualifying times, including Tiara Wiggins in the 60m Hurdles, where she finished first with a time of 8.69 seconds. Angelica Floyd also finished first in the 60m, finishing in 7.53 seconds.

FREE CLASSIFIEDS FOR STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF some restrictions apply email lakerexchange@lanthorn.com for more info on restrictions

Freak Yeah! Jimmy John's gourmet sandwiches freaky fresh and freaky fast. Visit jimmyjohns.com to find a location near you.

GVSU is changing our name from Lakers to Sawyers for one day: February 23rd. The men's and women's basketball teams will be wearing faux back jerseys along with warmup and sideline gear for our double header a g a i n s t M i c h i g a n T e c h.

Wear flannel to the game and use the hashtag #feartheflannel

school and the Kelly Family Sports Center record with her first place finish in the event.

Thomas Capers set his second school record of the year on the men’s side, crossing the 400m finish line with a time of 47.66 seconds which broke Nathaniel Hammersmith’s (’14) previous time by almost an entire half second.

In the 3000m, Zach Panning took first place with a time of 8:01.12, shattering the previous school record held

by Wuoi Mach (’16) by more than three seconds, joining Capers as one of only three male athletes with multiple entries in the record book.

The track cooled down on Friday following Panning’s new school record, but the history continued on Saturday as the women’s DMR team of Rachael Walters, Heather Johnson, Abby Crouch and Allie Ludge set a new track and Big Meet record in the event as they finished first with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 11:27.31.

“It was a great perfor-

Clinical Study volunteer needed. May be eligible to participate in a Clinical Study if you are male or female between the ages of 18 and 50. You could compensate up to $1,600 for your participation. Contact us at 734-527-4200.

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A10 | SPORTS

FEBRUARY 11, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS