GRAND VALLEY
Men’s and women’s basketball recaps on A7 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 8 , 2 0 1 9 // VO L . 5 3 N O. 24
ENVIRONMENT
GOVERNANCE
Pew Campus tests air quality following Viant Medical pollution report BY SHILOH REYNOLDS SREYNOLDS@LANTHORN.COM
In response to increased ethylene oxide emissions from Viant Medical Inc. near Grand Valley State University’s Pew Campus, university officials hired a private company to complete air quality testing inside four Pew Campus buildings: the Seidman College of Business, the Bicycle Factory, DeVos Center and Winter Hall. Viant Medical Inc. routinely uses ethylene oxide as a means of sterilizing medical devices. Beginning in summer 2018, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) cited the company with multiple violations for failing to properly contain ethylene oxide emissions. During a return inspection by MDEQ in fall 2018, Viant’s emissions were found to exceed the Environmental Protection Agency’s acceptable limit by 150 times, according to a report published by MLive News. Exposure to ethylene oxide has been linked to numerous health problems, including respiratory problems, dizziness and nausea. In addition, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor has linked the gas to instances of cancer, including leukemia. However, Air Quality Division Supervisor of MDEQ Robert Sills said that he does not believe there is cause for alarm at the current level of emissions. GVSU officials have been in contact with MDEQ regarding the situation. The decision to go forward with indoor air testing was made after a Feb. 6 meeting between the two parties. Associate Vice President of University Communications Mary Eileen Lyon said that the decision was made to gather information and ensure a safe quality of air on the Pew Campus. SEE TESTS | A2
REFORM & REPRESENTATIVES: Standing beside Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas and Rep. Mary Whiteford, Student Senate President Rachel Jenkin travels to Lansing, Mich. with other student senators Feb. 14 to speak on behalf of further state funding and support for GVSU. COURTESY | MATT MCLOGAN
Delegation negotiates for funding increases from Lansing BY NICK MORAN NEWS@LANTHORN.COM
Student Senate President Rachel Jenkin stands among state legislators, the first student to testify in front of them in 13 years. The Michigan House of Representatives’ University and College Appropriations Subcommittee sits there expecting another speech about the successes of their funded state universities. Instead, she catches them off guard. “One in three of our students goes hungry by having to choose rent, textbooks or tuition over food.
40 percent of our students have reported finances being traumatic or very difficult to handle.” Her goal? Fair state funding. Jenkin, alongside student senators Austin Marsman, Julian Van Daele and Dorian Thompson, accompanied Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas on his Feb. 14 trip to negotiate for further financial support from the state. In his address to the subcommittee, Haas stated that over the course of 56 years, the state has decreased its funding from fulfilling 90 percent of GVSU’s expenses to 17.6 percent
this year. This hit to funding directly affects multiple state facets, such as infrastructure and the economy. “We know that higher education is the pathway to prosperity,” Haas said to the subcommittee. “Yet that pathway in Michigan is full of potholes, with some of its bridges near collapse... We are not part of the problem. We are part of the solution. The return on investment and Michigan’s competitive advantage depends on investing in our human capital.” Jenkin said that the key to the issue are the metrics for funding allocation, which doesn’t consider fair
metrics related to graduation rates, enrollment and retention. The result doesn’t harbor student success, but rather a struggle to fund education. “Universities have grown increasingly transactional,” Jenkin said during her testimony. “Please recognize that we are not selling a product; we are an environment for discovery and curiosity.” Due to this lack of political support, Jenkin said GVSU must either fit into specific metrics and change its current trajectory or suffer from a lack of funding. SEE LANSING | A2
FINANCE
Board of Trustees approves housing, meal plan price increases for 2019-20 school year BY OLIVIA FELLOWS OFELLOWS@LANTHORN.COM
INCREMENTAL INCREASES: Students wait for chicken tenders and fries at the Kleiner Commons. Grand Valley State University’s Board of Trustees voted Feb. 8 to increase the price of housing and meal plans for the next school year. GVL | ANDREW NYHOF
On Friday, Feb. 8, Grand Valley State University’s Board of Trustees approved price increases for oncampus housing and meal plans for the 2019-2020 academic year. The unanimous vote increased housing costs by $17 per semester and main meal plan costs by $50 per semester. The total increase was 2.2 percent — $1.2 million increase overall. The decision by the board was reached following reviews of GVSU’s tuition costs, as well as the costs of facility operations and student employment. Each year, the board addresses the housing and dining rates in February and tuition rates in July. The July date gives the administration time to factor in enrollment numbers for the fall in calculating tuition rates it proposes to trustees. Chairperson Mary Kramer said the choice to raise prices was not without serious consideration of the already high tuition rates in Michigan as well as factoring in debt accumulated through renovations of on-campus facilities and other components. “Besides the hard costs of energy, paying staff (and) buying and preparing food, we have debt of $17 million on new housing that’s already been constructed — plus we’ll be spending almost $6 million for repairs and renovation to housing and dining facilities,” Kramer said. “It’s also important to note that
Looking for a roommate? Need to sublease?
submit an ad to the marketplace for
the housing and dining departments employ more than 1,000 students.” While these statements may be fear-inducing to many students, GVSU’s increases are lower than tuition hikes and pricing at other Michigan universities. The annual increases at GVSU are $134, compared to $300 average from other in-state universities — a 1.5 percent increase that is less than other five-year university increases of 3.2 percent. The increases were also approved to incorporate student worker and staff raises. Kramer explained that due to the growing numbers of students enrolling at GVSU, price increases were necessary to accommodate the influx of new students. “The inequity in state funding for GVSU leaves us near the bottom of the 15 state universities in terms of the per-student funding we receive,” Kramer said. “Unfortunately, the state legislature has not changed the funding formula for state universities since the 1970s. The formula penalizes us for enrollment growth. We’re hopeful that a new governor and turnover in the state Legislature may soon reconsider how higher education is funded in this state.” The number of students living on campus remained steady this semester at 5,647 compared to 5,650 in 2018 and an additional 100 students signed up for a meal plan this winter. SEE MEALS | A2
for students, faculty, & staff