Issue 31, April 15, 2019 - Grand Valley Lanthorn

Haasta La Vista: A Student Send-off for T. Haas & Marcia This Friday at 3 p.m. in the Fieldhouse

W e’l l

m is s

you !

Free t-shirts, stickers, food, music, and more! gvsu.edu/studentlife/haasta

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, A P R I L 1 5 , 2 0 1 9 // VO L . 5 3 N O. 3 1

POLICE

GOVERNANCE

How high is “too high?”

GVPD addresses drugged driving

BY LAUREEN HORAN ASSOCIATE1@LANTHORN.COM

Cannabis is now legal recreationally in Michigan for residents over the age of 21. As citizens and state lawmakers continue to navigate this change in law, the subject of intoxicated driving proves to be one of the biggest discussion points surrounding cannabis legalization.

A March 2019 report from the Michigan Impaired Driving Safety Commission (IDSC) actually suggested that a specific threshold should not be set to define drugged driving, akin to the .08 blood alcohol threshold. Instead, officers will essentially have to rely on their training and the use of roadside sobriety tests to determine whether an individual is too high to drive.

“The .08 limit was determined by a lot of research,” said Grand Valley Police Capt. Jeff Stoll. “Alcohol is much easier to study than marijuana due to the classification of it, but I think it’s good that there hasn’t been a limit set regarding driving while high because there’s not enough information to determine.”

The IDSC report also concluded that because the body processes marijuana differently, that traditional methods cannot accurately determine specific levels of intoxication.

“We will be considering impairment more than anything else. It doesn’t require a limit, but it is essentially up to the officer to determine whether or not someone is impaired to an extent that they shouldn’t be driving,” Stoll said. “Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) can usually determine just how impaired someone is, but you can’t exactly due that for marijuana.”

SEE HIGH | A2

TAKING THE OATH: Being sworn in by outgoing president Rachel Jenkin, president-elect Eric-John Szczepaniak recites the oath required to take office. Szczepaniak was elected senate’s next president during the 2019-2020 body’s April 11 general assembly. He assumes the office starting on April 18. GVL | NICK MORAN

2019-2020 student senate elects president Szczepaniak

BY MCKENNA PEARISO ASSOCIATE@LANTHORN.COM

On Thursday, April 11, EricJohn Szczepaniak was elected student senate president for the 2019-2020 body. He is a former vice president for educational affairs and a first generation college student studying education and social studies.

Szczepaniak has been a senator since he arrived at Grand Valley State

University in 2016 and will now take on the presidency for his senior year.

The general assembly had plenty of positive messages about the candidate before he was elected, many noting his impressive accomplishments and reputation in the community.

“He has clout in west Michigan,” said senator Hugh Boyd. “Having Eric as our head is a statement in and of itself. That name travels and it travels with a lot of respect.”

Indeed, the Szczepaniak name does travel thanks to his position

as treasurer of the Kenowa Hills Public Schools Board of Education.

The youngest elected official in west Michigan, Szczepaniak obtained the position in 2017 as a high school graduate and college freshman.

While discussing his plans and qualities for the senate president slot, Szczepaniak assured the senate body he would be able to balance both positions and still be dedicated to his work. He also spoke of his love for teaching which drives his interest for leadership roles education.

“I am running to do lifelong learning, to listen to testimonies of others and to work together for the betterment of this great institution,” Szczepaniak said.

While discussing the candidates, many senators old and new spoke of why they were supporting Szczepaniak. This included the newly elected executive vice president Andrew Nurmi.

SEE ELECT | A2

CAMPUS

Connection naming ceremony honors Lynn Blue

BY LUCAS SWARTZENDRUBER NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

Vice President for Enrollment Development Lynn “Chick” Blue received praise for working 50 years at Grand Valley State University during her building naming ceremony on April 9. Held at the

newly-named Blue Connection, the celebration focused on her longtime service to students.

“We’re a college,” Blue said. “We want students to come here to grow, so they are number one.”

Reflecting on her career, Blue explained she came to the university by accident,

thinking she would have a temporary job.

However, working with students inspired her to stay long-term. Blue said the students make GVSU because they graduate and perform brilliant achievements. Subsequently, alumni tell the university about their accomplishments.

“If you sit down and think about it, you

CHEERFUL CHICK: Standing behind the lectern, Lynn “Chick” Blue speaks to a packed crowd during her building naming ceremony. A 50-year employee and current Vice President for Enrollment Development, Blue was praised for her service and guidance and care for generations of students. COURTESY | GVNOW

know, and think back to that first day that I drove on campus, it is startling,” Blue said.

In his opening remarks, GVSU President Thomas J. Haas highlighted how the university appeared different in 1968, the year Blue commenced work here as a clerk-typist. Back then, cornfields and mud surrounded the college. Even technology differed, since he prompted the audience into laughter upon asking students if they know what a typewriter is.

Haas pointed out how much GVSU has changed. Manual typewriters shifted to electronic typewriters until computers eventually took their place. In addition, the president outlined the university’s physical development, going from mud to asphalt and buildings. He mentioned the Blue Connection formerly served as a parking lot in 2009.

However, Blue explained students who lived in Allendale’s south campus had the Kirkhof Center as their closest eatery. She recognized the need for a landmark building, a place where students could hang out.

Therefore, Blue proposed the Connection as a link between north and south campus.

Open since 2010, the Blue Connection offers more than food. Senior Diamond Johnson mentioned visiting the building to eat and connect with students. When faced with group projects, she and her classmates review their work there. In the process, Johnson emphasized they connect with each other, ensuring collaborative assignments are completed on time.

As Vice President for Enrollment Development, Blue’s challenges include determining how to fill classrooms and recruit students. The VP seeks quality students to take courses, going as far to give them “the nudge.”

She explained this strategy consists of two parts. First, know how someone wants to connect with the institution. Second, be in favor of the person, showing concern without being self-centered.

SEE CHICK | A2

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

A2 | NEWS

ELECT

NEWS BRIEFS

CONTINUED FROM A1

EXECUTIVE ORDER SPARKS FREE SPEECH DISPLAYS After President Donald Trump’s recent executive order for universities to uphold all forms of free speech on campus or risk losing federal funding, a group of anti-abortion activists from Grand Rapid’s Inner City Church Planting Mission showed up on Grand Valley State University’s campus April 8 to see how officials would respond.

Demonstrators initially set up near the Cook Carillon Tower (a designated free speech zone of GVSU), then later left the zone to see if campus police would respond.

Police did not interfere.

GVSU’s Pro-Life organization also had a display up near the Carillon Tower from April 8 to 11. Their display included “The Cemetery of Innocents,” which was marked by rows upon rows of pink flags, with each representing 927 aborted babies.

The organization was unaware that the other group would be demonstrating and is unaffiliated with them.

To view the full story, visit lanthorn.com.

STUDENT SENATE RESOLUTION PRESSES BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR STUDENT PARTICIPATION Student senate introduced a proposal to the Board of Trustees that seeks to improve and foster student participation within the board’s decision making. If accepted by the board, the proposal will seek more opportunities for student input and ideas on board decisions regarding students.

The proposal includes several requests including subscribing to open meetings, adding public comment opportunities and holding meetings in closed sessions only when empowered by the Open Meetings Act of 1976.

Student senate president Rachel Jenkin, who coauthored the proposal along with incoming president Eric-John Szczepaniak, explained that she sees the proposal to promote the inclusion of more student voices on changes being made at GVSU. “We want student representation on our board, both in a literal sense for real-time commenting on the issues that they are discussing, as well as in a symbolic sense so we can have it documented that students are present at every meeting,” Jenkin said. “There are people making decisions the impact us as students, however, this is no one in that space to represent us through the tough discussions and voting.”

To view the full story, visit lanthorn.com.

GV NOTES SIX FULBRIGHT 2019-20 SEMIFINALISTS

“Truly one of the most loving and passionate people I have worked with at Grand Valley,” Nurmi said. “(Szczepaniak) has a lot of drives and and a lot of ideas to make really big changes at our university.”

Many of these proposed changes were new solutions to issues many contesting senators hoped to address. This included being more transparent about senate proceedings, increasing campus collaboration and addressing the disconnect between student senate and its students. Senators agreed that improving relations with students would better assist the body in representing them.

“We’re students like the rest of them and we want to hear

HIGH

CONTINUED FROM A1

According to Stoll, all GVPD recruits learn to conduct SFST tests to help understand and determine initial levels of impairment.

From there, officers can also take part in Advanced Roadside Impairment Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) to learn a bit more about gauging driver impairment and knowing how certain substances affect users. Potentially, officers can train to be a drug recognition expert (DRE). This requires extensive training and advanced coursework to learn about the science of impairment and how to identify when a driver is under the influence

what they have to say,” Nurmi said.

Joining President Szczepaniak and E-VP Nurmi are: Vice President of Senate Resources Hannah Benoit, Vice President of Finance Madeleine Samuels, Vice President of Camps Affairs Grace McMahon, Vice President of Educational Affairs Autumn Mueller, Vice President of Diversity Affairs Alex Murarescu and Vice President of Public Relations Ryan Fritz. The vice president seat for external relations was tabled for next week’s GA as both contenders withdrew and a later senator turned down a nomination.

Each newly appointed vice president also had plenty of goals and campaign promises for their committees. Benoit and Samuels expressed a drive for more cross-committee col-

laborations, McMahon and Mueller posed ideas for outreach education with students and Fritz sided with Samuels on connecting with campus organizations. The elected 20192020 body has plenty of big ideas and passions gearing up for next school year, and Szczepaniak is leading the charge.

He is especially focusing on reducing textbook costs, following a year-long senate task force that was assigned to look into a lowering this financial burden on students. The finalized recommendations from the task force include implementing a cheaper textbook requirement for each college’s highest enrollment course.

“If this is implemented, they’ll have one year to figure out a plan to successfully convert to using affordable course materials,” Szczepa-

niak said. “That’s one thing I’d love to do. Then it will affect every student, even the smaller majors will benefit.”

The new president’s impending goals will hopefully help him in filling the shoes of exiting senate president and first student commencement speaker Rachel Jenkin. Luckily, Szczepaniak has both the government experience and newly elected goal-minded executive board on his side. But the new era of leadership doesn’t stop at student senate; along with his new senate responsibilities, Szczepaniak will also assist in ushering in the new university president, Philomena Mantella.

“I’m real excited to orient Dr. Mantella,” he said. “I look forward to creating a great partnership just like we’ve had with President (Thomas) Haas here at student senate.”

of alcohol, other drugs, or some kind of combination.

What makes the IDSC report different from other legal states, is that six other states that offer legal cannabis consumption have set a blood level for impaired driving. Because of this, the commission’s recommendations have been less than satisfactory to marijuana proponents who pushed legalization on the premise it could be regulated like alcohol — and also for marijuana opponents who feared legalization would wreak public safety hazards on Michigan cities, including a rise in car accidents.

“I think it’s important for students to know that driving while high is just as dangerous

as driving drunk,” Stoll said.

“The amount of drunk driving we’ve dealt with has decreased in the last 10 years thanks to busing, ridesharing and friends keeping them accountable, but I think people are discrediting how dangerous it is to drive while high on marijuana. In Michigan, Colorado and other legal states, there has been a correlation between traffic fatalities or injuries and marijuana use… Depending on how the marijuana is consumed, it could take up to two hours for someone really feel it, so they could get on the road thinking they’re fine, then suddenly they’re not as sober as they thought they were 30 minutes ago.”

While critics agree that

no laws should be set without supportive science and research, many also wonder if this is giving the police too much discretion. Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University Carl Taylor believes that the amount of subjectivity that would be utilized by officers in these cases would lead to abuse of power.

So, how high is “too high?” Professor of Traffic Safety at University of Michigan Carol Flannagan makes it pretty simple: “The best advice that I’ve seen is if you feel different, you drive different,” Flannagan said. “If you are feeling affected by anything you’re ingesting… then it is presumably affecting the cognitive skills that you need to drive.”

Following the public announcement, Grand Valley State University was able to flaunt six of its students and alumni as semifinalists for the 2019-20 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The program provides students with the opportunity to teach English or conduct research oversees.

Bethany Mazurek, Anna Szalay, Kellie Corbett, Emily Heyburn, Melina Frantzeskakis and Dallas Davis were all named as semifinalists in the competition and will either complete a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship or conduct independent research.

VOL . 53

NO. 3 1

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 BENJAMIN HUNT

Layout Editor MAX GELDHOF Layout Designer VIVIANA RUBIO PROMOTIONS Promotions Manager HOLLIE PICKELMAN ADVERTISING STAFF Advertising Manager JESSE BECKER Advertising Manager RACHEL MOORE BUSINESS STAFF Business Manager ALEXIS LAMB Asst. Business Manager RACHEL RUTGERS

At the Lanthorn, we strive to bring you the most accurate news possible. If we make a mistake, we want to make it right. If you find any errors in fact in the Lanthorn, let us know by calling 616-331-2464 or by emailing editorial@lanthorn.com.

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

The Lanthorn is published on recycled paper and is printed with soy bean ink.

This means that our newspaper is entirely compostable. Help us do our part to be kind to the environment by recycling or composting this newspaper after you enjoy reading it.

POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to: Grand Valley Lanthorn 0051 Kirkhof Center Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI 49401

BLOCK THE WALK: Setting up barriers, Grand Valley Police Department works on a scene. In wake of the recent legalization of recreational marijuana, GVPD acknowledges the difficulties that law enforcement faces in determining unsafe levels of intoxication. COURTESY | GVSU

CHICK

CONTINUED FROM A1

“(Blue) is just a big inspiration,” Johnson said. “She really helped me and guides me through my studies and things like that.”

Johnson noted she emails Blue with concerns about classes and meets her during office hours. By discussing with Johnson on situations, Blue directs her to on-campus resources for help. Given the connections the vice president establishes with students, Johnson said her mentor deserved to be honored at the naming ceremony.

Enrollment development counselor V’Lecea Hunter said, “(Blue) pushes the students to go beyond their own limits or beyond what they think that they’re capable of doing.”

Hunter said she once felt comfortable with obtaining a bachelor’s degree, but Blue encouraged her to strive higher. Even earning a master’s degree proved insufficient since Hunter experienced a nudge to pursue an additional degree.

Overall, Blue taught her that education does not end with one goal. It continues through all goals students have. Hunter said

she hopes to become the next dean of students.

Blue thought it was a good coincidence that her last name equals GVSU’s main school color. The vice president mentioned

some people want buildings named after black and white to match -- having all three colors present within facilities’ names would form a full cadre, Blue said.

As for her future, she in-

tends on continuing her work beyond 50 years of service. “(I’ll continue) doing what I do everyday because I love what I do,” Blue said. “I absolutely love what I do. I meet new students. I help students.”

STAY CONNECTED @GVLanthorn

@GVLanthorn

@GVLanthorn

Grand Valley Lanthorn

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

NEWS| A3

GRADUATION

Student commencement speakers share final thoughts before speeches

BY NICK MORAN NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

With summer approaching and the winter semester drawing to a close, some students are preparing for finals while others are preparing to reflect and deliver a speech to thousands. This commencement, graduating students Theresa Salas, Amy Harris and Natalie Loewengruber will serve as the first full wave of student speakers following student senate president Rachel Jenkin’s initial speech last fall.

An email was sent to all graduating students inviting them to apply to speak at the ceremony.

Loewengruber, who will be graduating with degrees in psychology and biology, said she was hesitant at first, but between a bit of a nudge from a friend and feelings of nostalgia, she applied to speak and was selected.

“I deleted the email as soon as they sent it, about applying for student speaker,” Loewengruber said. “But my best friend texted me, probably within two minutes of me deleting the email… And I said I would think about it.

Usually that means no, but then I thought about it and I was like, ‘Why not me?’”

For Harris, who will be graduating with a master’s degree in business administration, the chance to speak in front of her peers was both inspiring and intimidating.

“I’m a big believer in taking opportunities that scare you

a bit and running with them,” Harris said. “I love words, but I like putting them together and not necessarily speaking them in front of people. It seemed like a really cool opportunity and a chance for me to think down and think about if I had the chance to address this many people what I would say.”

The opportunity provides graduates with an opportunity to not only share a message, but reflect on their experience in school. Salas said that she can look back on a plethora of memories, realizing now how they helped form powerful friendships and experiences.

“Every first week of the semester, it always rains,” Salas said. “I remember my first day, we’re all nervous, we’re all freshman and it was just pouring.

(My best friend and I) were just stuck under the tunnel by the student services building and he had on some neon shorts, and they were soaking wet and they were see-through.”

Salas will be graduating with degrees in communications and Spanish, filling a position at Spectrum Health as a medical translation after commencement. Moving on from community, structure and mentorship that the university has provided her, Salas said she wanted her final message to be about the thing students take for granted.

“We’re all different, yet, this one school, this one thing makes us all kind of like a family in a way,” Salas said. “I know a lot of people either talk about the really good times that hap-

pened or the really bad times.

My message is to focus on the little things that make college college – not so much the stress that we go through or the partying and the friends, but everyday things.”

Even though she will be returning for her master’s degree in occupational therapy in the fall, Loewengruber said she will also miss the campus, which she has considered a “safe space” for the past four years.

While the speech-writing process took a lot of reflection, what it really boiled down to would be the community that she would miss the most.

“What I will miss most here will be the connections to people, which is why I wrote my speech on people,” Loewengruber said. “I’m very lucky that I’ve crossed paths with the people I’ve crossed paths with here. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”

Both an international student and facing her third graduation ceremony, Harris said she hopes her peers have the confidence she lacked when she graduated the first time.

With returning home to Zimbabwe and hoping to find work in international development in England on the docket, she said that the endless opportunities should be inspiring.

“Embrace it,” Harris said.

“There’s something very exciting about having a big, wide world open in front of you. Something I tell myself often is not to let the fear overwhelm you, but rather see it as an adventure.”

TAKE THE STAGE: Taking a selfie with graduating students, President Thomas Haas speaks during commencement. Three student speakers will also share the stage with Haas this year. GVL | ANDREW NYHOF

GREEK LIFE

REMEMBRANCE IN THE RAIN: Giving speeches in front of the Cook Carillon Tower, members of AEPi lead a walk in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day coming up May 2. The walk started at Lake Michigan Hall and moved to the clock tower before the brothers led several speeches. The event concluded with a mourning prayer dedicated to remembering the lives lost during the Holocaust. GVL | ANDREW NYHOF

AEPi brothers remember Holocaust, host silent walk

BY RACHEL MATUSZEWSKI RMATUSZEWSKI@LANTHORN.COM

On the night of Wednesday, April 10, the brothers of Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPi) and various students gathered in Lake Michigan Hall to commemorate the lives lost in the Holocaust. The silent walk from Lake Michigan Hall to the clock tower was meant to honor the 110 mile death march hiked by Jews, blacks, gays, gypsies, disabled persons, prisoners of war and more.

AEPi’s march was walked in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day on May 2.

Their motto focuses on developing leadership for the Jewish community and strives to give members a home away from home through their union in Jewish values and commitment of brotherhood.

Jewish Identity Chair Ben Friedman said this march not only pays respects to those who were affected by the event, but gives students an opportunity to hear how the Holocaust has made an impact on specific people.

“Just like many other minority groups, Jews can be targeted at any time, anywhere,” AEPi President Morgan Mattler said. “The Holocaust wasn’t something that happened overnight. It was a systematic persecution of two thirds of Europe’s Jews.

For the people who (went) to this walk, (it shows they) stand with the Jewish people as well as recognize the horrors that happened.”

When the march ended at the Cook Carillon Tower, Friedman spoke of his complicated relationship with

books. He spoke of his past experience when his view of reading as punishment turned to pleasure when he discovered Harry Potter, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Between the World and Me. He acknowledged books’ power and influence, and how their form of com-

munication worked in Adolf Hitler’s favor to persuade an entire country.

“An angry young man wrote a book in prison while trying to take over the German government,” Friedman said. “Eight years later, when he rose to power, the sales of his book rose with him. It pains me to say that

one of history’s most evil men was such a skilled communicator that millions could be swayed by his words alone. An entire country, complicit in the murder of 6 million people.”

He showed pictures of college students posing in front of concentration camps or on the railroad tracks that paved

a trail for death marches, arguing students like to say they are standing up for social justice and supporting marginalized groups, but are not respecting the generations before them.

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

A4 | OPINION EDITORIAL

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

GVL EDITORIAL CARTOON

By Sean Pollock

Promoting facts in the anti-vaxx debate

I

n recent months, the war between antivaxxers and vaxxers has raged on with the outbreak of Measles throughout the United States. In Michigan, the outbreak has spread throughout Oakland and Wayne counties. While measles vaccinations aren’t required for attendance at Grand Valley State University, many students, faculty and staff are urging Lakers to get their vaccines.

According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, a total of 39 measles cases have been confirmed in Michigan since Wednesday, March 13. If the virus spreads to west Michigan, GVSU will be at risk for a campus-wide outbreak.

Anti-vaxxers are wellknown for their fight against vaccinations. Many anti-vaxxers believe that vaccines have dangerous effects, such as causing autism or ADHA. However, while anti-vaxxers try to protect the health of their children, they put others at risk. It is estimated that 100,000 people under the age of five are killed each year by the disease.

Measles is extremely contagious, and once infected, there is no treatment for the measles virus.

The virus can be spread through air and direct contact with someone who has it. It can also stay active for up to two hours in the air and on surfaces. Those who don’t have the vaccination have a 90 percent chance of contracting it if around someone with measles.

While there is no treatment for measles, the virus can be prevented

through vaccinations.

Usually, these vaccines are given to children within their first two years of life.

According to WebMD, “The MMR vaccine is 97 percent effective after two doses. Doctors recommend that children get the first dose when they’re between 12 and 15 months old, and the second between four and six years old.”

Those who contract measles often experience high fever, red eyes, a runny nose, a sore throat and a large rash.

People who have vaccinations are not only better protected from measles, but they also eliminate the risk of infecting others.

The recent outbreak of measles is believed to be due to the raising number of anti-vaxxers, who prefer the possibility of getting measles over the possibility of having a child with long-term health issues. Those who don’t have the vaccination are at a high risk of contracting the virus and then spreading it to others.

Vaccinations were created for a reason: to protect people from harmful and even deadly diseases.

With the measles vaccine, we have a chance to eliminate measles for good. Anti-vaxxers may be trying to avoid implications, but their actions unintentionally create other issues.

Anti-vaxxers cause more harm than good.

The measles vaccine, MMR, is available at the GVSU Health Center in the Allendale campus.

Those who are interested in obtaining the vaccine can set up an appointment by calling (616) 252-6030.

4/15/19

editorial@lanthorn.com

How to prepare for Avengers: Endgame

BY XAVIER GOLDEN FRESHMAN UNDECIDED MAJOR EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

Avengers: Endgame comes out on April 26 (that’s less than two weeks away!) and a lot of people are going to go see it; the President of Fandango, a company that sells movie tickets in advance, said that they’ve already sold millions, and that was over a week ago.

Whether you’re a fan of superhero movies or not, it’s hard to deny that this movie

Editor-In-Chief Associate editor Associate editor News editor Sports editor Laker Life editor A&E editor

WHAT IS A LANTHORN? Lant • horn, n. [Old English] A lanthorn is a lantern that was used in mid-to-late 16th-century Europe. It was constructed of leather and a single lens made from a thin

piece of ox or steer horn. It was used for illumination and as a beacon.

The Grand Valley Lanthorn slogan is “Give light, and the people will find their own way.”

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

The Lanthorn strives to be a safe vehicle for community discussion. With this in mind, the Lanthorn will not publish or entertain any forms of hate speech, but neither will it discriminate against any other views, opinions or beliefs.

The content, information and views expressed are not approved by—nor do they necessarily represent those of—the university or its Board of Trustees, officers, faculty or staff.

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

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

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

WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? HAVE A PROBLEM THAT YOU NEED HELP SOLVING? SEND US AN EMAIL. EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

now on the 22nd movie in the franchise and there’s a huge chance that someone who had never seen a Marvel movie would walk into Endgame and be very confused for three hours and two minutes. Some, like the directors of Endgame have recommended, are watching all twenty-one Marvel movies before April 26, having started earlier this month and doing a movie per day.

Others are, more practically, trying to figure out which movies are the most important ones, so they don’t have to sit through over 44 hours of content.

Before watching Endgame, you’ll want to know who the Avengers, Captain Marvel and Thanos are, what the Infinity Stones are, what the quantum realm is and what happened at the end of Infinity War. You can always google the answers to those questions - there

are a lot of great resources online - but if you want to cram for Endgame the fun way and watch some movies instead of researching, I do have some suggestions.

Avengers: Endgame is the fourth Avengers movie, so the obvious thing to do would be to watch Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War. However, even if you watch all three of those two-hour movies, you still might not be prepared for Endgame, because the events of Guardians of the Galaxy are pretty important as well. So is Captain Marvel and AntMan and the Wasp. You can probably skip Age of Ultron, but the rest of those movies contain the answers to those previously asked questions.

Watch them and you can go into Endgame ready to enjoy the highly anticipated flick without any anxiety about being confused.

Free speech and censorship on college campuses

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

will have a big audience.

And because Endgame is the 22nd movie in the Marvel Studios franchise, people are wondering how to prepare for its release.

The great, late Marvel writer Stan Lee had a saying: “Every comic book is someone’s first issue.” Meaning, every issue should - briefly and organically - explain who the main character was and what the story was about, so anyone could pick it up, understand it and enjoy it. Lee said what he said because he knew that serialized, long-form storytelling can get very confusing very quickly when you don’t try to get the audience up to speed. When writers and editors forgot that was when comics became inaccessible for everyone who wasn’t currently reading them.

While the first few Marvel movies were accessible to general audiences, we are

BY YSABELLA GOLDEN SOPHOMORE UNDECLARED EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

There are certain times of year at GVSU where students who might been viewed by onlookers as at-risk for unplanned pregnancies try to avoid the area around the clock tower (or at least walk very quickly around it.) Last year, it was a few ladies handing out roses to women who looked like they might need the attached informational tag about abortion alternatives.

Definitely weird, but kind of flattering in a way that made it difficult to complain about.

Last week’s demonstration was decidedly less friendly, as the student organization Protect Life at GVSU held their

“Cemetery of the Innocents” near the Cook Carillon Tower from April 8 to 11.

According to their sign, each little pink flag represented 927 of the 927,000 abortions that are performed each year. The grave imagery ruffled pro-choice feathers, especially after weeks of walking past posters for their “Stump the Pro-Lifer” event.

The dialogue, which took place on April 2, was a call for pro-choice students to ask them challenging questions about abortion (and not an invitation to listen to a tragically named guest speaker, as I had assumed from walking quickly past the posters.) Apparently organizers reached out to the professors of certain Gender Studies classes to invite their students to put up pro-choice arguments, which would be a really accurate stereotyping of the kind of students who take gender studies classes if that demographic had any interest in listening to a man explain why he’s pro-life for two hours.

Still, while Protect Life at GVSU invites debate with their opponents, other campus pro-life groups in regions

more liberal than west Michigan would like a little less conflict with their organizing.

Complaints about being shut down on college campuses from conservative activists like Kristan Hawkins, the president of Students for Life of America, were a big part of Trump’s inspiration for his executive order to protect free speech on college campuses.

It directs the federal agencies that fund university research to makes schools “vow” to uphold the First Amendment. “We’re delivering a clear message to the professors and power structures trying to suppress dissent and keep young Americans . . . from changing rigid, far-left ideology,” Trump said, explaining the order. “If the university doesn’t allow you to speak, we will not give them money — it’s very simple.”

It is very simple. In fact, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Kate Ruane concluded that “it tells public universities to abide by the First Amendment, as they are already required to do, and private universities to abide by their existing policies,” which they already follow.

Trump cites two incidents at the University of California as examples that colleges aren’t actually playing by the rules; Hayden Williams, who was punched in the face while recruiting on the Berkeley campus for Turning Point USA (a conservative youth non-profit facing accusations of racial bias and illegal involvement in the 2016 political election from former employees), and Milo Yiannopoulos (a “culturally libertarian” political commentator who got banned from Twitter for organizing racist harassment campaigns), who was canceled as a Berkeley guest speaker after student riots protesting the event. This is despite the fact both of these instances were students shutting down “free speech,” not the college itself. The 2017 Berkeley Riots created a security risk that the university police department couldn’t ignore by letting the event continue, and it’s not as if the random student who punched Williams was on the board of trustees.

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

VALLEY VOTE

THIS ISSUE’S QUESTION

QUOTE

Have you ever been to GVSU’s speech lab?

Is it okay to drive under the influence of cannabis?

Yes No

LOG ON & VOTE www.lanthorn.com

“I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.”

18% 82%

QUESTION OF THE ISSUE

—MewTwo

IS IT OKAY TO DRIVE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CANNABIS?

QUINN KENDRA

ABBY TWILLING

“To an extent it’s okay. People can make their own decisions about their limits.”

“No because your perceptions are altered.”

YEAR: Senior MAJOR: Public & Nonprofit Admin HOMETOWN: Muskegon, Mich.

YEAR: Senior MAJOR: Allied Health Science HOMETOWN: Portage, Mich.

EMMA NELSON

ETHAN BRAEUNIG

“It just depends on the person.”

“It’s kind of a judgement call. It’s up to whoever, which is kind of crazy.”

YEAR: Senior MAJOR: Advertising & Public Relations HOMETOWN: Muskegon, Mich.

YEAR: Senior MAJOR: International Marketing HOMETOWN: Naperville, Ill.

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLNEWS

NEWS| A5

HEALTH

OUTLASTING AN OUTBREAK: Following the outbreak of measles in Michigan, Grand Valley State University is taking precautions to curb the spread of the disease. Currently, the number of cases in Michigan total to 39, stemming from Oakland and Wayne county. University health officials are spreading information to students to encourage vaccination and disease containment. COURTESY | ASSOCIATED PRESS

Michigan measles outbreaks spark precautions

BY OLIVIA FELLOWS OFELLOWS@LANTHORN.COM

In recent months, the count of children in Michigan infected with the measles virus has been rising, with a total of 39 infected. The newly confirmed cases were found in Oakland county and one case in Wayne county. While there haven’t been any confirmed cases in west Michigan or at Grand Valley State University, staff are urging students to take precautions against the virus.

Measles is a highly contagious disease, spread when

an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes in proximity of others. The virus can live for up to two hours in the air or on surfaces where an infected person was present.

It is estimated that up to 90 percent of unvaccinated individuals near an infected person will become infected.

Some of the common symptoms can include high fever, cough, runny nose and rashes of tiny red spots three to five days after the symptoms begin.

GVSU Senior Director for Health Tina Barnikow explained that although there haven’t been any cases on

campus, it’s important for students to be taking care of their health and taking precautions.

“If you are unvaccinated, or if a vaccine status is uncertain, get vaccinated with two measles, mumps and rubella vaccines; but if you are fully vaccinated the risk of measles is very low,” Barnikow said. “Vaccines protect not only the individual who receives the vaccine, but the entire community by reducing the spread of the disease to those who have not been vaccinated, or cannot be vaccinated due to age, allergies to vaccine components or ill-

nesses that threaten the immune system such as cancer.”

There is no treatment for measles, however it can be prevented by receiving the proper vaccines. Most people receive these vaccines as children before beginning school.

The Centers for Disease Control indicates that complications occur in approximately 30 percent of measles cases, and are most common among children under the age of five and adults 20 and older. GVSU Health Compliance shared information with Student Affairs regarding the measles outbreak, which was

given to Resident Assistants.

If students have any concerns or questions, Barnikow explained that they should go to the health center or an RA to make sure they remain healthy.

“Anytime a student has concerns about their health, they should seek care,” Barnikow said. “Options for care include their health care provider, the Metro Health GVSU Campus Health Center on campus or the GVSU Family Health Center in downtown Grand Rapids.

If a student thinks they may have measles, they should self-isolate, then call their

health care provider, urgent care center or emergency room before seeking care.

This will allow the practice to take steps to avoid exposing others.”

GVSU health staff are committed to making sure every GVSU student has the resources for staying healthy and active. Health staff are committed to keeping it that way through helping educate students, encouraging vaccinations and keeping an eye on any health threats that could become dangerous to the university and its students.

LEADERSHIP

Jones named as Truman Scholar Award finalist

BY KATHERINE ARNOLD NEWS@LANTHORN.COM

The Truman Scholar Award is a nationally distinguished award for members of the undergraduate community who portray exemplary dedication, leadership and involvement in areas of public service. Cameron Jones, a third-year student double majoring in political science and international relations, was announced as one of 199 finalists for this award in late February of this year. The recipients of this scholarship will be announced April 17.

“As someone who is interested in a future of public service, there is no better way to get into it than through Truman,” Jones said.

Frederik Meijer Office of Fellowships Director Elizabeth Lambert was an inte-

gral part of Jones’ application process. “(Lambert) has been invaluable in this whole process,” Jones said. “She taught me so much about writing, editing and I couldn’t have done this without her help.”

The Office of Fellowships is an important resource for students entering both local and national competitive awards, and they help students with not only finding scholarships, but researching, writing and editing for their applications too.

Jones has past experience working alongside Brownstown State Representative Darrin Camilleri for his campaign and also at his legislative office. More recently, he has worked with State Representative Winnie Brinks for her campaign in Grand Rapids.

“I really love the work,”

Jones said. “Knocking on people’s doors and talking to them about the issues that are important to them.”

Jones has a particular style of leadership that he believes is key to improving his relationships with others.

“I think it is most important to just listen and to understand why people feel the way they do and how they have gotten to the place that they are,” Jones said.

Understanding the individual is an important step in understanding what people want in a government system, and Jones believes that once you know how people think, then you can truly help communities and improve the law structures around us to make their lives better.

This scholarship opportunity offers Jones the possibility to attend graduate school with a majority of his

SEE ANSWERS | A10

in-state tuition covered, as well as introducing him to the mindset needed for his future career plans.

“Reflection was the most important part,” Jones said.

“How I got to where I am, what forms my leadership and my motivation for public service.”

The experiences that he has undergone have taught him about himself, who he is, how he got to where he is today and where he wants to go in the future.

After graduation, he is con-

sidering attending the University of Michigan for his master’s degree in public affairs.

The hands-on atmosphere and work with clients are two reasons that the program would suit his goal to become involved in real-life issues.

The process of working toward creating a better and improved government system is something that Jones takes pride in and hopes to continue to strive toward that goal for the 2020 election as well as and ones in the future.

For students interested in applying for the Truman Scholar Award and in pursuing a career in public service, Jones listed a few things to keep in mind throughout the process.

“Start early,” Jones said.

“It’s not an easy process, because even the initial application took hours of work, writing and reflection. Do some deep thinking about what brought you to where you are, what makes you you, and what you have to offer the world.”

CHOOSING CAMERON: Grand Valley State University announced that Cameron Jones was a finalist for the prestigious Truman Scholar Award, which is for key student leaders. COURTESY | CAMERON JONES

A6 | ARTS &ENTERTAINMENT ARTS AT A GLANCE

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLLAKERLIFE

LAKER EFFECT

UNWIND AND RELAX WITH GOAT YOGA

Finals is a stressful time for students and professors alike. To provide some much-needed relaxation, the Grand Valley State University Campus Activities Board is hosting Goat Yoga at the Kirkhof Center 2263. The event is taking place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 and is free and open to all GVSU students, faculty and staff.

Yoga is known to be a relaxing, peaceful form of exercise that boosts brain power and mindfulness.

Mixed with baby goats, this event will provide students with exercise, relaxation and fun.

The class will be run by one of GVSU’s yoga instructors. All levels of experience are welcome to attend. For more information, contact Campus Activities Board at cab@gvsu.edu.

CELEBRATE THE END OF CLASSES WITH LAKERPALOOZA

Need to get away (but not too far away) from your finals? Join GVSU for Lakerpalooza, the grand finale of the April 13-19 ExtravaGRANDza festivities.

The outdoor musical festival is completely free, will taking place right on campus in the Fieldhouse Circle Drive from 5 to 9 pm on April 19.

This year features many performances from local musicians and student talent, with a set list including The Skinny Limbs, Brother Elsey, Hexing, Blanco Suave, Rendered Worthless, Balloonboy, Birdie Country and No Fun Club. The event is also packed with free carnival food, circus acts, a dunk tank, and more.

For more information, visit GVSU’s ExtravaGRANDza website or contact Esther Ly and Samantha Sanders, the Directors of Special Events, at cab@gvsu.edu

LAKER LEADER FOR A LIFETIME

Are you looking for leadership advice, an incredibly last-minute LIB 100/201 credit, or just really want to see T-Haas one last time before saying goodbye to everyone’s favorite retiring GVSU president?

Check out “A Laker Leader for a Lifetime,” President Thomas J. Haas’ closing advice to the Laker community he leaves this summer.

The event will be held by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at the DeVos Center’s Loosemore Auditorium (122E) as a part of their driving mission to foster ethical, effective leadership for the 21st century. Join Hauenstein’s newest alumni class for personal and professional leadership lessons from Haas himself.

For more information, contact Rachel Florida, the Event Planner at Hauenstein Center, at floridra@gvsu.edu

HEADSTRONG: GVSU junior Riley Pearl is a relentless fighter. After getting diagnosed with Stage 3 Advanced Melanoma Cancer, Pearl had to work hard to redefine “normal.” Pearl has worked hard to stay grounded and accomplish her goals at GVSU. COURTESY | RILEY PEARL

Riley’s relentless journey

BY ELYSE GREENWOOD EGREENWOOD@LANTHORN.COM

“Cancer is relentless, and so am I, and so is God’s love.”

This motto has been guiding Grand Valley State University junior Riley Pearl since her initial diagnosis of Stage 3 Advanced Melanoma Cancer in January. It was also the inspiration to add the word “relentless” to a bracelet in her honor sold to raise money for the American Cancer Society at the 2019 Relay for Life.

Since her diagnosis, Pearl has proved that she is indeed nothing short of relentless.

After two surgeries and nearly three weeks of absences, it was a priority for Pearl to return to school and regain a sense of normalcy. One of her many acts of relentlessness was her decision to continue her job at the GVSU president’s office, as well as her position as the Sigma Kappa president — all while catching up on school work. While her drive to main-

tain her prior commitments is beyond admirable, coming to the realization that her “normal” would have to be redefined was a big step for Pearl.

“After talking to my mom, we recognized that I had to redefine normal in my life,” Pearl said. “I’m used to operating at a super high level with work, school, sorority and all the other responsibilities that I’ve been trying to balance.

Sometimes I need to pick between one or two, but right now I’ve kept all three. Some days it’s not the best choice, and I need to take a day for myself. It just depends on the day. It’s one day at a time.”

All of this is achievable through Pearl’s relentlessly positive and persistent attitude.

Through her “tell me why not” approach to every situation, she has refused to allow others to limit her potential.

“There have been many steps in really being an advocate for myself in the sense of, ‘Tell me why not,’” Pearl said.

“Don’t just tell me not to do it.

There are a lot of people who tell me things like, ‘It’s okay.

You don’t have to go back to school.’ And I questioned why not, because I really think I can finish. I really think I can do it. Since then, everyone has been really supportive.”

With Pearl’s determination in maintaining these previously set goals, she has learned the importance in reaching out to others for help. Pearl’s high school best friend and current college roommate, Mikayla Mason, urged her to allow others to assist in carrying this weight by creating a GoFundMe account. Even though Pearl didn’t specifically ask for this help, the two soon realized the power of the support. They have currently exceeded their fundraising goal by more than $3,000 in less than two weeks.

By allowing a friend — and an entire community — to rally around her, Pearl has proven that asking for help reveals strength rather than weakness.

“Riley is so strong, and I am so proud of her,” Mason

said. “She has taught me that it’s okay to ask for help when you’re down and when you need it. It’s really amazing to see all the people who have come through, supported her and reached out.”

Even throughout her own difficult situation, Pearl is selflessly considering the feelings of all others. She has learned the importance of compassion and is teaching others the same by extending understanding in all of her interactions.

“In the end, all of this will give me a stronger sense of compassion and understanding that everyone is going through something, even if you don’t know it,” Pearl said.

Riley Pearl is continually inspiring all those around her to question the restrictions others put on them, to recognize the strength in asking for help, to always extend compassion to everyone and, above all else, to live life relentlessly.

“She can handle anything,” Mason said. “She’s a fighter, and she will never give up.”

CAMPUS

It’s time to say “Haasta La Vista”

BY AUTUMN BABAS LAKERLIFE@LANTHORN.COM

MOVING ON: Students will get one last chance to get a selfie with president Haas at the Haasta La Vista event. GVL | SHEILA BABBIT

For 13 years, Thomas Haas has served as Grand Valley State University’s president.

Over this course of those years, Haas has been dedicated to helping students succeed and feel welcome, while making the Laker Community a wonderful place to be.

As announced last year, this 2018-2019 school year will be Thomas and Marcia Haas’ last year in the leadership position at GVSU. The couple has always stayed dedicated to GVSU – they have touched the lives of many by actively being involved in students’ and staff members’ lives. To remember and honor their legacy, the Office of Student Life, Student Senate and Campus Activities Board have put to-

gether a special event called Haasta La Vista – one last celebration of all their contributions to the community.

Haasta La Vista will be held Friday, April 19 from 3 to 4 p.m. at Fieldhouse Arena.

Attendees will celebrate with Haas’ by enjoying a lively evening of music, entertainment, delicious food and free t-shirt giveaways. Students will also be able to say goodbye and get one last selfie with GVSU’s ultimate power couple.

“They both have served the university so well and have been extremely student centered,” said Student Senate Executive Vice President Morgan Mattler. “So we thought, what better way to dispatch of them than having an official student goodbye.”

All Lakers are welcome to come to Haasta La Vista free of charge. The night will be kicked off by the GVSU Lak-

er Marching Band, which will be performing GVSU anthems honoring President and Marcia Haas.

“We are really hoping for a good turn out because T. Haas and Marcia really deserve a great student turn out for all the years they have been here to support us,” Mattler said.

During the ceremony there will be speeches, videos, presentations, awards and a speech by President Haas himself. The other speeches will highlight the contributions and appreciation of President and Marcia Haas.

“President Haas has had a consistent passion, energy and love for students since his first day,” said Student Senate President Rachel Jenkin.

In an interview with the Lanthorn, Haas said that the students have always been his North Star. He is the only university president

in Michigan who allows the student government president to testify in Lansing for increased state funding.

“If that doesn’t scream student centered, I don’t know what does,” Mattler said.

Due to President Haas being a huge pizza fan, there will be loads of fresh, warm pizza along with drinks and cookies.

After Haasta La Vista, President and Marcia Haas will be sticking around for anyone who would like to talk to them and say their final goodbye’s.

Lakerpalooza will conveniently follow up Haasta La Vista.

“T. Haas and Marcia have really made Grand Valley home for all 25,000 students,” Mattler said. “Students will get to experience a sentimental, heartwarming and exciting event where we get to have that official student send off and farewell.”

GREEK LIFE

Sigma Pi “Stuffs the Bus”

BY AMY MCNEEL LAKERLIFE@LANTHORN.COM

Each year, the Theta-Rho Chapter of Sigma Pi hosts the “Altruistic Campus Experience” (ACE) Project. The ACE Project, which was officially started in 2003, has become an annual tradition at Grand Valley State University.

During this week, Sigma Pi members commit themselves to performing what they call “random acts of kindness.”

This year, ACE week took place between Monday, April 8 and Friday, April 12. Sigma Pi members performed random acts of kindness – such as bringing donuts to GVPD and passing out encouraging notes with candy to students in the Mary Idema Pew Library – and then posted a

picture with the tag #SigmaPiACEWeek.

Nationally, ACE week serves as an opportunity for Sigma Pi members to commemorate their host institutions. According to their website, “Sigma Pi is the only Greek letter organization with an international service program, The ACE Project, specifically designated to give back to our host institutions.”

Through the GVSU chapter’s acts of kindness, they showed appreciation for the whole Laker community, including students, professors, GVPD, bus drivers and other faculty and staff.

“The goal of Sigma Pi’s ACE Week is to give back to our campus as much as possible,” said ACE Chair Nate Wilson. ACE week is

very important to us, and we could not be happier to give back to our campus and show our appreciation for the GVSU community.”

A large part of ACE week is Sigma Pi’s annual Stuff the Buss event. On the afternoon of Friday, April 12, a group of Sigma Pi brothers stood around a large “Two Men and a Truck” moving-truck and collected non-perishable food items. All of the donations went to Replenish, GVSU’s food pantry.

“Our main goal is to just collect as much non-perishables as possible,” Wilson said. “After this, we will put all the items in boxes and bring them down to Replenish.”

Donations were taken both on an individual and group scale. The organization

that donated the most won a $100 award for their philanthropy or chosen charity. This year, the winner was GVSU’s Gamma Phi Beta, whose members donated 225 items.

By the end of their six hour stake, Sigma Pi members successfully collected more items than last year.

“At the end of the week with Stuff the Bus, we raised 1,424 donations of non-perishable items to add to GVSU Food Pantry,” Wilson said.

“Sigma Pi, together with other organizations, helped those who struggle financially to provide themselves with food through Stuff the Bus.” ACE week was largely successful this year, and through their acts of kindness, the Sigma Pi members showed their true Laker Effect.

FOOD DRIVE: Sigma Pi participated in ACE week and collected food items for Replenish, GV’s food pantry. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

QUICK HITS

SPORTS | A7 FOOTBALL

GVSU MEN’S TENNIS CAPTURES 4-3 WIN OVER DAVENPORT ON FRIDAY

The Grand Valley State men’s tennis team traveled to Caledonia, Mich. and defeated GLIAC rival Davenport, 4-3. With the win, the Lakers improve to 15-6 overall and 5-2 in GLIAC play.

While the Lakers weren’t able to come away with wins in No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, GVSU did pick up a 6-0 win in the No. 3 spot, with Jack Dausman and Nicholas Urban taking the victory.

GVSU made up some ground in singles, with Sebastian Lescoulie winning from the No. 1 spot. Dausman, Urban and Eric Zwemer also picked up wins from the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively.

The Lakers will be back in action on Sunday, April 14, for their final regular season match against Purdue Northwest at the Premier Tennis Athletic & Tennis Club in Grandville, Mich.

GVSU will also be honoring their seniors at the event.

NO. 22 GVSU WOMEN’S LACROSSE WIN BIG ON MS AWARENESS NIGHT

The No. 22 Grand Valley State Lakers led the entire game in their 21-3 win over Northern Michigan on Friday, April 12, in the second annual Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Game at the GVSU Lacrosse Stadium.

Twelve different Lakers scored in the win, as Carly Shisler led the scoring with five goals. Sarah Staagard contributed a hat-trick, while Annie Yost, Skyler Simmers and Abbi O’Neal all scored twice.

With the win, the Lakers improve to 10-3 overall and 7-1 in GLIAC play, winning their last four conference games. They look to improve upon both those records on Thursday, April 18, as they host Lewis at 7 p.m.

GVSU RIFLE CLUB DOMINATING MID-STATE RIFLE LEAGUE

The Grand Valley State rifle club wrapped up matches seven and eight of the year in the Mid-State Rifle League, where the Lakers took away victories in both matches.

In the seventh match of the year, the Lakers led with a score of 1601, besting Southport (1596), Wood County #1 (1577), Grand Rapids (1573), Marshfield (1566), Wood County #2 (1558), Appleton (1557), Iron Mountain (1529) and Oakland County (1479).

The Laker team continued their dominance in eighth, beating all teams listed above again, with Christian Yap (403) and Aliah Lloyd (400) leading the way to victory.

After the wins, GVSU’s coed rifle club improves to 52-4 in this rather dominant season

VARSITY SCHEDULE BASEBALL Tuesday, April 16, 3 p.m., Home vs Hillsdale Thursday, April 18, 4 p.m., @ Ashland Friday, April 19, 1 p.m., @ Ashland Saturday, April 20, 12 p.m., @ Ashland SOFTBALL Tuesday, April 16, 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., Home vs Wayne State Wednesday, April 17, 3:30 and 5:30 p.m., Home vs Purdue Northwest Friday, April 19, 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., Home vs Ashland Saturday, April 20, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Home vs Sagniaw Valley State TRACK & FIELD Thursday, April 18-Saturday, April 20, TBA, Mt. Sac Relays, Walnut, Calif.

Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 20, TBA, Azusa Meet, Azusa, Calif.

Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 20, All Day, Al Owens Classic, GVSU T & F Stadium Friday, April 19-Saturday, April 20, TBA, Beach Invite, Long Beach, Calif.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE Thursday, April 18, 7 p.m., Home vs Lewis

READY TO RUMBLE: The Grand Valley State offensive and defensive line get ready to practice against each other at the line of scrimmage at the 2019 Spring Game at the Kelly Family Sports Center. The spring game was the last of 15 spring practices, as GVSU prepares for a successful 2019 season COURTESY | GVSULAKERS.COM

GVSU football finishes spring practices, prepares for 2019 season

BY KELLEN VOSS SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

Spring is in the air in Allendale, and while many students are stressing over finals, the Grand Valley State football team has been conducting their annual spring practices, which culminated on Saturday, April 13 at the 2019 Football Spring Classic at Kelly Family Sports.

GVSU football fans were invited to enjoy tailgate food, enter a few raffles, buy Laker football merchandise and, most importantly, watch the football team prepare for the 2019.

While this was a special event for the general, it was just another day at the office for head coach Matt Mitchell.

“From a football standpoint, it was kind of just one of 15 (spring practices) for us,” Mitchell said. “We don’t put any more emphasis on this practice than the other ones, but I’m glad we’re able to continue to develop players. We got a lot of experience on defense, a lot of work to do on offense and we got a lot of young talent, but we really got to develop.”

While GVSU lost a lot of key

contributors in quarterback Bart Williams, wide receiver Nick Dodson, linebacker Dylan Carroll and offensive linemen Ben Walling, the young talent this team possesses proves that while this team may look different, a revamp and reload for success is eminent.

Mitchell and the rest of his staff have been working tirelessly this spring to get to the younger players acclimated into GVSU football’s culture, as he feels that a lot of young talent can contribute next year as redshirt freshmen. Mitchell specifically mentioned that young linemen Matthew Stefanski, Jake Kochanny and Joel Lindon could contribute on the offensive line in just their second years with the program.

“We’re probably going to have two or three redshirt freshmen starting on the offensive line,” Mitchell said. “On defense, we’ve got some really good young defensive linemen. We have some experience there, but we have some younger guys who are able to step up if need be.”

The GVSU football team has been successful for so long because of their adaptability, as they often

change their schemes on defense based on the personnel provided.

That was especially clear at the spring practice, as after running a 4-3 front for the majority of the 2018 season, the GVSU defense played more of a hybrid style, experimenting with a 3-4 front while playing a lot of nickel coverage.

“We really overhauled our defense, doing some different things with our front and linebacker play,” Mitchell said. “We felt like we had to be better than we were last year, and we have enough humility to understand we can tweak some things on defense to be better, so that’s what we did.”

The defensive side isn’t the only side of the ball that’s seeing changes, as although many key skill players like running back Chawntez Moss and wide receiver Austin Paritee will return, the person throwing them the ball will, for the first time in four years, not be Bart Williams.

GVSU’s all-time leading passer left some big shoes to fill under center, but after developing behind him over the past few years, junior quarterback Cole Kotopka has had a strong spring and is ready for his time to start.

“This is my fourth spring, so I’m pretty used to what’s going on,” Kotopka said. “We learned a lot of new things this spring. We put in some cool stuff, and I’m very happy with how it turned out.”

While Kotopka has the most experience of any of the GVSU quarterbacks, he’ll still have to compete with fellow gunslingers Nathan Barko, Austin Brown and Cal Endicott for the starting spot, and Mitchell is excited to see the guys push each other with a starting role on the line.

“We’ve been really excited about these quarterbacks. Cole’s in the lead, but we’ve got talent at that position and it will be a different offense than what we had with Bart,” Mitchell said. “It’s kind of invigorating to have (the competition). We’ll miss Bart’s experience, but having a different guy in there, we’re looking forward to that process too.”

GVSU will kickoff the 2019 season Saturday, September 7 at 7 p.m. against the Edinboro Fighting Scots. GVSU’s 2019 schedule will feature seven home games, including four of their first six games taking place at Lubbers Stadium.

EVENTS

GVSU student takes part in NCAA Final Four weekend

BY BRADY MCATAMNEY EDITORIAL@LANTHORN.COM

The Final Four is no joke.

In 2019, Virginia, Texas Tech, Michigan State and Auburn were all well-represented in Minneapolis, Minn. to participate in the ultimate college basketball weekend of each year – but Grand Valley State was represented, too.

The newly-acquired tradition of the Final Four weekend is the Dos Equis 3X3U National Championship where NCAA Division I senior players are invited from across all conferences to show up in the host city and play threeon-three half-court basketball for a cash prize. This year, the event was held right in the middle of the Mall of America.

Now, where does GVSU come in?

“Our coach at Grand Valley State, JR Wallace, sent me a direct message on Twitter of this opportunity to email some guy,” said Zak Spryszak.

“Our other assistant coach knew him so I talked to him, sent my information over and in less than 24 hours later they sent me a contract and I was ready to go. A couple months later, I was flying out to Minneapolis.”

Spryszak, who served as the head student manager for the GVSU men’s basketball team from 2015 to 2019, became the Director of Basketball Operations for the American East Conference and the Big South Conference.

During the weekend, he was responsible for managing players – where they should be and when, what times the games were, when they’re scheduled for practice – as well as helping strategize for the game that differs further from traditional hoops more than one might think. The game is fast paced, as no “check-ups” are re-

quired, letting teams fire away as soon as the ball crosses the three-point arc, even after the opponents make shots.

Despite the lofty title, Spryszak made it a priority to remain connected with his players and never strayed from his experiences doing the dirty work in Allendale.

“Zak is a cool dude,” said David Eyianayi of Gardner-Webb in the Big South Conference. “During the practice times, he was helping me rebound and stuff like that and he was texting us in the group chat all week to make sure that we’re on time with everything. He’s just a cool dude.”

His willingness to contribute and dedication toward his teams allowed himself to stay on an even

plane with the guys he worked with.

While many people could have taken the “director” title and use it to feed their own ego, Spryszak did the exact opposite and stayed humble through the new experience.

“He was really good,” said Ernie Duncan of Vermont in the American East Conference. “I’m glad he was our ‘coach’ for our team and looked over our team and I thought he did a really good job and, not just myself, but the other guys really enjoyed him. He was excellent.”

The tournament was mutually beneficial for the players and directors alike, as the Final Four, unsurprisingly, is a gold mine for young, aspiring coaches to connect with established names from across the

country in the industry and collect reputable contacts for their careers ahead. He’ll continue to stay in touch with the coaches and higher-ups.

“They’re not going to be connections or people who are going to help you out unless you keep talking to them, getting to know them and putting in that work on the side which was part of my process.” Spryszak said. “The week after, I texted all them, had a little conversation with all them and that’s just the start.”

The soon-to-be Laker alumnus will now focus on locking in a graduate assistant program with a Division I program, solidifying his place in the college basketball universe.

HERE COMES THE MONEY: The CAA celebrates winning the annual DI 3x3 basketball tournament at the Mall of America in Minneapolis. Former GVSU basketball student manager Zak Spryszak was invited to participate in the event. COURTESY | ZAK SPRYSZAK

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

A8 | SPORTS

Ace in the Hole FEATURE

Senior Allison Lipovsky brings leadership to a softball squad hungry for a championship

BY KELLEN VOSS SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

‘Elite’ is a word that has been devalued in the sports world with it being around seemingly to everyone and everything who accomplish anything, but those are who are truly the most dominant in their sport are often overlooked.

When looking at the Grand Valley State softball team, they have a lot of talented players on the roster, but a big reason why the team has already won upwards of 25 games early into the season is the elite play of senior pitcher Allison Lipovsky.

As of April 13, the Harrison, Mich. native has posted an 18-1 record, as Lipovsky has earned more than 15 times more strikeouts (184) than earned runs (12) this season.

This success is no surprise for Lipovsky, as after previously being named a NFCA FirstTeam All-American, a D2CCA All-American second team honoree, All-GLIAC first team honoree and being named the D2CCA Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year, the senior is running out of room in the trophy case.

Lipovsky is proud to rep the blue and white, as after she visited the campus with her parents in her senior year of high school, she instantly knew that she found a second home at GVSU. “In high school, I was getting recruited and putting feelings out for which school

I wanted to go to,” Lipovsky said. “But as soon as I drove under the big GVSU arch, I turned to my parents and said ‘this is where I need to go.’”

Lipovsky has seen herself improve greatly as a pitcher in four years at GVSU and she credits assistant coach Jen Rivera and maturity for her steady improvement throughout her time in Allendale.

“I’ve grown a lot in my time here, I’ve focused on my mental game since I came in at (age) 18, learning time management and being able to go out and play,” Lipovsky said. “When I started out, I only had a rise ball, and then coach Jen Rivera waved her magic wand. I try to soak up from her, I’ve added a few new pitches and I can throw in every direction.”

When Lipovsky takes the mound for GVSU, it’s almost like she can ‘scan’ the batter, analyzing what will work while keeping a cool head.

“When I’m on the mound, I think about the batter ahead of me and analyze what I did in previous pitches,” Lipovsky said. “Turning around is my reset, if I get an 0-2 count, I won’t give a good pitch, and if it’s a fresh count I’m attacking the batter.”

That versatility and mindset on the mound has made Lipovsky a force to be reckoned with, and in her senior season, Lipovsky has tried to be more of a leader on the mound to help her teammates play to the best of their abilities.

“As a pitcher, there’s a natural leadership role. I set the pace for the game, shaking off mistakes and talking to my fielders,” Lipovsky said. “I still have to focus on my game day in and day out, but I’m also talking to the freshmen, making sure to show encouragement and offering them advice when they get into tough situations.”

That innate ability to communicate will translate well in the classroom, as Lipovsky looks to finish her degree in secondary education and wants to teach seventh grade postgraduation. Her leadership does not go unnoticed, as head coach Dana Callihan is always able to rely on her to succeed.

“It’s good to have that consistency,” Callihan said.

“We’ve got our freshmen pitchers that we’re trying to develop, Allison’s been a rock, so hopefully our freshmen are learning from that.”

After the good start the team has gotten off this season, Lipovsky feels that this team is very complete and can avenge the early exit in last year’s postseason, hopefully adding a national championship to that trophy case.

“Last year we fell a little short, so we just need to come out guns a-blazing,” Lipovsky said. “I think we can win it all this year. With our quality pitching, consistent batting and good fielding, we have all the pieces.

We just gotta put it together.”

BRINGING THE HEAT: Grand Valley State senior pitcher Allison Lipovsky launches in a fastball and looks to strike out the opposing batter at the GVSU softball field in a game played in 2018. GVL | ARCHIVE

SOFTBALL

SLIDING TO SAFETY: Grand Valley State’s Taylor Rieger attempts to avoid being picked off at first base as she hustles and slides head first to evade the coming tag from the Saginaw Valley State first baseman.

The GVSU softball team went five hundred on the week, going 2-2 against Davenport and 1-1 against Purdue Northwest, as they still sit atop the GLIAC with a solid 13-5 record. GVL | ANDREW NYHOF

GVSU’s softball team split the week with three wins and three losses

BY ROSEMARY BOOHER SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

Grand Valley State took on three doubleheaders this week against both the Davenport Panthers and the Purdue Northwest Pride on April 9, 10 and 13. The Lakers were able to tally three more conference wins.

The Lakers played the Panthers in a doubleheader played at home to start off the week on Tuesday.

GVSU brought home two conference wins that day,

the first game ending with a score of 9-4 and second game ending 5-4.

The Lakers were off to a quick start against the Panthers in the first game.

They led Davenport by six runs until scoring another two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, making the score a whopping 9-1. Davenport would add two more runs in the top of the fifth inning and another to finish the game in the seventh inning.

Allison Lipovsky notched six strikeouts, walked three,

allowed seven hits and continued to lead the conference with 16 wins under her belt.

GVSU continued on in the second game, leading 1-0 in the first inning before Taylor Rierger hit a two-run home run in the second her fourth of the season.

“I actually do not look at my stats throughout the season,” Reiger said “I just try to do my best for the team every game, do my role, complete my role and help my team.”

The Panthers answered with their first run of the second game before GVSU retaliated with two more, making the score 5-1 until the beginning of the seventh.

Davenport refused to quit, as they scored four runs in the seventh tying the score up 5-5. However, the suspense didn’t last long, as the Lakers were able to get a hit and send Brooke Henning to score and break the tie, ending the game at 6-4.

The softball team then continued their success against the Purdue Northwest Pride. The Lakers split the Wednesday doubleheader with a win from the first game 12-3 and their first loss of the week in the second game 7-6.

During the seventh inning of the first game, the team scored seven runs off of seven hits, one of which was a home run from Kaitlyn Plocinski who also knocked in Nikoma Holmen and Lydia Goble to finish the game.

The Lakers had a quick start in the second game, thanks to Holmen hitting a two-run homer in the top of the first inning.

The game started to take a turn during the third inning where Purdue Northwest would tie the game 4-4, and in the fourth inning move to take a 7-4 lead.

GVSU tried to comeback in the fifth and sixth inning, scoring a run in each, but

their efforts did not prevail as they were unable to score in the seventh.

The final score of the game would end at 7-6, with the Lakers at the wrong end of it. Head coach Dana Callihan doesn’t let the loss from this unpredictable sport get under her skin.

“That’s the thing about this crazy sport,” Callihan said. “We played well for the most part, we had one or two mistakes that bit us. Purdue Northwest is a solid team and they got us.”

GVSU took on Davenport once again on Saturday, April 13, this time in Caledonia, Mich. This is where the Lakers would collect two more losses in the doubleheader, making them 29-7 and 13-5 in the GLIAC. The Panthers had an early lead in the first game racking up six runs in the first three innings, while GVSU didn’t earn their first run until the third. The Lak-

ers fought for a comeback in the fifth inning when Taylor Rieger hit a two-run homer and Bailey Thatcher hit another in the sixth, but the Lakers lost 6-5.

The Panthers scoring continued through the second game, including three runs in the fifth and sixth.

The Lakers were able to gain two more runs in the sixth and another in the seventh, but that was not enough to overtake the Panther’s lead. That game finished with a score of 7-6.

Even with the three losses on the week, Callihan is still enthusiastic and hopeful.

“We are happy where our team stands right now,” Callihan said. “We play in a tough conference and everyone is out to get us, we just need to focus on playing our game pitch after pitch.”

That Lakers continue play on Tuesday, April 16, in a doubleheader against the Wayne State Warriors.

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

SPORTS | A9

CLUB BOXING

GVSU boxing club’s Batenburg takes home state championship

BY ELI ONG SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

“I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion,” once said former heavyweight boxing champion and American sports icon Muhammad Ali. For Sarah Rae Batenburg, these words from one of boxing’s greatest rang true leading up to her Michigan Golden Gloves state championship fight on April 13.

Months of practice, lifting, conditioning and dieting prepared Batenburg for the moment where she would have the opportunity to take home the Michigan Golden Gloves in her weight bracket.

“Like normal, I was nervous before the fight,” Batenburg said. “But once I got in that ring and the bell went off, all those nerves went away and I kind of just went at it from there on out.”

As the bell sounded at the beginning of their match, Batenburg and her opponent immediately went at it, charging forward toward one another and trading blow for blow for the first 30 seconds of the first round.

“Sarah Rae has that killer instinct,” said GVSU boxing club head coach Dennis Shimmell. “When she gets hit, she

has that instinct to just meet her opponent and go at it.”

Shimmell added that after the first 30 seconds of the fight, Batenburg started to calm down and heed his advice.

“Pivot and move your head Sarah Rae,” Shimmell said. “Once she started to move her head and stay mobile, she had a clear advantage that she exploited at times.”

Batenburg realized that she had a natural advantage in terms of agility over her opponent and this allowed her to start dodging punches, landing combos and pull away from her opponent.

“Keep moving Sarah Rae, hit her low one time and then two times high and repeat,” Shimmell yelled throughout the match. As Batenburg did this more and more, he said it became more obvious punch by punch who was going to win the match.

“She started dodging and slipping her opponents punches and landing a lot of combinations during the back half of the second round,” Shimmell said. “When she went toeto-toe with her opponent, it was pretty even but when she moved and landed combinations it was all very one-sided.”

After three rounds where the Deltaplex crowd rose to their feet, twice as flurries of punches were traded, Baten-

burg gathered with her opponent and their Golden Gloves referee in the middle of the ring. When Batenburg’s hand was raised and announced that she had won the fight by majority decision, she was overcome by emotion.

“It was literally the happiest moment of my life,” Batenburg said. “All my training and hard work paid off and I can’t express how happy I am to have finally accomplish this right now.”

Batenburg has already had quite a year fighting out of GVSU’s Boxing Club.

Aside from her successes over the past weekend, Batenburg also won her weight division at the USIBA National Tournament at Syracuse University in New York back in March.

Batenburg fought back tears as she explained her motivation behind winning a Golden Gloves State Championship. She said she fought for this championship in honor of her late grandfather.

“This one is for my grandpa, this is for him,” Batenburg said. “I promised him that I would win a state championship before he died and unfortunately I couldn’t do that in time, but I still wanted to do this to make him proud.”

VICTORY SCREECH: GVSU’s Sarah Rae Batenburg celebrates her victory at the DII club boxing national championships on Saturday, April 13, at the Deltaplex Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. GVL | ELI ONG

BASEBALL

GVSU baseball rolls to weekend sweep of Wisconsin Parkside

BY ELI ONG SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

From Friday, April 12 to Saturday, April 13, it looked as if the troubles that have been plaguing this Grand Valley State baseball team are in the past, as the Lakers swept Wisconsin-Parkside across two doubleheaders over the weekend.

According to GVSU head coach Jamie Detillion, this success is what his team is capable of looking like when they play at their best.

“It was good to see the guys put it all together this weekend,” Detillion said.

“The guys swung the bats well and the pitchers set the tone by pitching extremely well.”

Detillion said the pitchers’ success is due to a renewed focus on video in the classroom over the past week on top of a greater focus during practice from the entire team.

“We have some great guys and they are committed to getting better,” Detillion said. “It showed out there on the field and we’re playing a lot better now.”

Game One — 4/12: GVSU won their first game against Wisconsin Parkside

by a school record margin, 22-1 - the fourth 20-plus run win in program history.

Cade Cintorino threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts for the Lakers while most of GVSU’s lineup enjoyed a successful day at the plate.

Joe Laudont went 3-3 with three RBI and a home run, while Chase Carpenter went 4-4 with a triple and three RBI as well. Cam Brayman and Nate Bonter also contributed two hits and two runs scored a piece.

“We’ve been taking our intent very seriously the last couple of weeks,” Bonter said.

“Then we came out today

and we basically saw the ball and hit the ball today and we performed really well.”

Game Two — 4/12: The Lakers faced a much more resilient Wisconsin Parkside team in their 7-3 nightcap win. The Rangers came out swinging early with two runs in the top of the first only for Drake Ellens to hit a three run home run in the bottom of the first to take the lead.

The Rangers scored again in the top of the second to tie the game up at 3-3. Nate Bonter then replied with a three run bomb of his own to secure the lead for the Lakers for the rest of the game. Third

baseman Christian Faust added a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to complete the final score of 7-3.

“I saw a lot of fastballs today and I didn’t try to do too much with it,” Bonter said. “I just so happened to square one up and knock it out and that was just the result of me and the team preparing well beforehand.”

Game Three - 4/13: GVSU scored a single run in the first and second thanks to four Laker hits and a pair of Ranger errors.

GVSU then opened the game up during the bottom of the third with three more runs on three hits.

Left fielder Connor Grice brought Laudont and Bonter on a two RBI single to cap the scoring in the third. Bonter again scored in the fifth when he walked to open the inning and later scored on a bases loaded walk to third baseman Christian Faust. To cap it all off, Bonter closed the scoring with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.

Michael Morelli picked up the win for GVSU. Morelli allowed one run on six hits with four strikeouts in six innings on the mound. Bonter continued his hot streak of late with a 3-for-3 performance including a double, home run and two RBI contest. Grice was also 3-for-4 with two RBI for GVSU. Game Four - 4/13: The Lakers poured in nine runs on 15 hits, which ended with a flair for the dramatic.

GVSU scored a single run

in the second when a Faust single scored Drake Ellens.

Trailing 6-3, right fielder Chase Carpenter brought a run home with a sacrifice fly to move the score to 6-4, while Ellens doubled to left to score second baseman Anthony Cocco to make the score 6-5.

A solo home run upped the lead to 7-5 for Wisconsin Parkside, but the Lakers answered with a run in the sixth, followed by another run in the seventh to tie the game at 7-7. Ellens reached base again with a bunt single and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

Ellens then scored on a single to center by catcher Ryan Lorber. GVSU took the lead in the bottom of the eighth when Laudont singled to open the inning, advanced to second on a bunt and then scored on a Cocco double to make it 8-7.

The Rangers tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the ninth to set up a dramatic finish. Lorber opened the bottom of the ninth with a single and Cam Brayman, who was pinch running, advanced to second on a sac bunt. Brayman then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sac fly to center off the bat of pinch hitter Jonathon Catapano.

“The unity behind this team is starting to get there,” said pitcher Nick Shaw, who had eight strikeouts in four innings of work on Friday. “We’re starting to have a lot more fun in the dugout and build a better atmosphere, it’s exciting.”

LOOKING FOR A SUMMER JOB? Apply now for Move Crew!

LOCKED AND LOADED: Grand Valley State senior Chase Carpenter loads up his hips and keeps his eye on the ball as he attempts to hit the ball into fair territory at the GVSU Baseball Field in a game against Wisconsin-Parkside on Friday, April 12. GVL | KATHERINE VASILE

www.gvsu.edu/housing/employment

APRIL 15, 2019 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS

A10 | SPORTS TRACK & FIELD

GVSU track & field drop times at Gorilla and Bison Classic

BY JERROD FATTAL SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM

The GVSU men’s and women’s track and field teams were all over the Midwest this weekend, competing in the Gorilla Classic, Bison Outdoor Classic, and the Ball State Invite on Saturday, April 13.

The Lakers entered the weekend with high expectations as both teams were ranked in the top five of the latest USTFCCCA index poll, with the men’s team ranked No. 5 with 129.90 points and the women’s team ranked No. 1 with 268.1 points.

“We obviously have some talented people on our team,” said senior sprinter Jordan Johnson. “It’s just about remaining humble and doing the small things that help us execute when we need too.”

GVSU split their teams into position groups Saturday, with the sprinters competing in the Ball State Invite in Muncie, Ind. Tyler Mansfield and Tyler Kirkwood started the meet for the Lakers, finishing first and second in the 110 hurdles with times of 14.56 and 14.79 seconds.

“I think (Mansfield) was a bit frustrated from the indoor season,” Johnson said.

“This was one of his first outdoor meets of the season and I sometimes think that outdoor meets are better suited for certain people.”

Johnson and Emmanuel Arop followed their lead in the 100m dash, where Johnson barely edged out his teammate to take second

with a time of 10.61 seconds, followed by Arop in third with a time of 10.78 seconds.

Johnson kept the momentum rolling in the 200m dash, setting a new personal record time of 21.22 seconds and taking first place.

“I was a little upset from the 100,” Johnson said. “So I used it as motivation for the 200 and it willed me to a good time.”

Alexander Porter finished the day for GVSU with a third-place finish in the 400m dash, where he finished in 55.18 seconds.

Nicole Sreenan, Angelica Floyd, Sarah Buella and Willow Stuedemann highlighted the women’s performances, earning a silver medal by crossing the line in 46.36 seconds in the 4x100m dash.

Sreenan also ran in the 400m dash, where she finished third with a time of 56.67 seconds. Floyd rounded out the sprinters’ day in the 100m dash, finishing first place with a time of 11.84.

“I think we took a big step forward this weekend,” Johnson said. “ A lot of people ran their season best and to see everyone cutting down times was a good sign.”

The GVSU field event athletes competed in the Gorilla Classic, hosted by Pittsburg State University in Kansas.

Tabor Gleason led the way for the women’s team, clearing 1.60m in the high jump and taking second place.

Anna Obi and Alexis Duncan also earned silver medals in the triple jump and long jump, with leaps of

11.25m and 5.76m.

Ellianne Kimes finished the day for the Lakers, vaulting 3.97m and taking third place in the pole vault. Just a week after becoming the first GVSU athlete in program history to win the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division II Women’s National Athlete of the Week award.

“I was surprised and honored to win the award, but honestly it didn’t change how I felt about my perfor-

mance,” Kimes said. “I don’t need to get recognition to feel like I jumped well.”

The Lakers’ distance runners competed at the Bison Outdoor Classic, hosted by Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Penn. Hanna Groeber was the first to place for the Lakers after a secondplace finish in the women’s steeplechase, where she set a new personal record and the second fastest time in the country, crossing the line in 10:23.52 seconds.

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

lakerexchange@lanthorn.com OR CALL

Announcements

Announcements

Announcements

Housing

Grand alle a e ni er i Far er ar e taking place this summer from June - October. Every Wednesday at 10am t o 1:30pm.

Go to gvsu.edu/farmersmarket for more information.

We are looking for 3 people to take our lease in Trio Center for the summer months. Preferably June 1st to end of August. But, if you need the month of May we can move out early. Four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, air conditioning, washer/dryer, dish washer, and deck on the back! Rent is $420 a month and utilities are never more than $30 per person. Contact (269) 3622335 for more information.

If the local coffee shop has awarded you “Employee of the Month” and you donʼt even work there, you may be drinking too much coffee.

We are looking for 3 people to take our lease in Trio Center for the summer months. Preferably June 1st to end of August. But, if you need the month of May we can move out early. Four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, air conditioning, washer/dryer, dish washer, and deck on the back! Rent is $420 a month and utilities are never more than $30 per person. Contact (269) 3622335 for more information.

Jimmy Kimmel

Grand Final Glow 5K 2019.

Taking place on Saturday, April 13th starting at 8:00pm.

Following the 5K, join us for a Silent Disco at 9:30pm near the Clock Tower.

B. J. Novak

Which type of vegetable tries to be cool, but is only partly successful at it?

A lonely frog, desperate for some form of company telephoned the Psychic Hotline to find out what his future holds. His Personal Psychic Advisor tells him, “You are going to meet a wonderful person who will want to know everything about you.”

The frog is thrilled and says, “This is great! Where will I meet them, at work, at a party?” “No” says the psychic, “in a Biology class.”

Puzzle Answers

I spent four years in college.

I didnʼt learn ?a thing. It was really my own fault. I had a double major ?in psychology and reverse psychology.

23rd Annual Student Scholars Day taking place on April 10th, 2019. Presentations and events begin at 9:00am and end at 5:00pm in Henry Hall Atrium, Kirkhof Center, and Mary Idema Pew Library.

The radish.

Lakers are confident in their ability to perform.

“We are the most complete team in Division II,” Johnson said. “ I just think everyone has to step up to the occasion,do their job, and we will be fine.”

The men’s and women’s teams will both be back in action Thursday, April 18 at the MT. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., before returning home Saturday, April 20, for the first home meet of the outdoor season, the Al Owens Classic.

JUMPING FOR JOY: GVSU’s Jessica Gustad leaps over a hurdle at Kelly Family Sports Center in an effort to finish her race in first place. The GVSU track & field teams had several impressive performances, including Tyler Mansfield placing first in the 110 hurdles. GVL | ARCHIVE

L AK E R E XCHAN G E

When it comes to candy bars, the term fun-sized is misleading. There is nothing fun about your candy bar being 1/8 the size of a regular bar. You should call them what they are: “disappointment-sized.”

Jacob Domagalski also ran a career best in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, posting the third fastest time in the nation and taking first place with a time of 8:59.48 seconds. Tanner Chada followed in the 5,000m, finishing second with a time of 4:10.32 seconds.

GVSU has continued to accumulate accolades over the past few weeks of the outdoor season and with less than three weeks until the GLIAC Championships, the

What did the hot dog say when his friend passed him in the race?

Wow, I relish the fact that youʼve mustard the strength to ketchup to me.

Looking for Subleasers, to take over the lease at The Lodge in Allendale, for April until July. You can extend your lease. This is a luxury apartment that includes stainless steel appliances, a flat screen TV, all furnished.

The Internet, Utilities are all included in the rent for a monthly rate of $650 per month. If interested please email me your information and any questions so we can get the process started right away. Email: fifielde@mail.gvsu.edu

Grand Finale Glow 5K 2019. Saturday April 13th at 8:00pm. Register by April 5th to receive a race t-shirt.

R e g i s t e r a t gvsu.edu/rec/grandfinale5k.

Monday on newsstands and 24/7 at lanthorn.com!

616-331-2460