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LUTHER CoLLEgE
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
CHIPS
may 12, 2016
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VoLume 138, No. 24
Student research on Ceremony display at symposium recognizes professors ana lópEz STAFF WRITER
the Paideia session titled “The Creative Mind at Work.” In the session, students presented research about the creative work behind television, Disneyland Park and art. Kmoch said the experience was eyeopening for her. “I never really thought about symbolism behind art and TV shows,” Kmoch said. According to Sparkes, not only does the symposium open the minds of attendees to new ideas but also helps the presenters to understand their own subject matter better. “It’s like teaching,” Sparkes said. “You really have to think about what it is at the core, what it is you want to communicate and why.”
As part of one of the closing events of the year, a Faculty Recognition Ceremony will be held on May 12. The ceremony will recognize Luther faculty who are retiring as well as faculty who worked for the institution for 25 years. The faculty members who will be retiring are Associate Professor of Social Work Ginger Meyette, Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of Luther College Social Work Program Craig Mosher and Professor of Music Jessica Paul. The faculty members being recognized for their 25 years of service are Associate Professor of Economics Nicholas Gomersall, Professor of Chemistry John Hedstrom, Professor of Chemistry John Jefferson, Professor of English Martin Klammer and Associate Professor of HPE and Director of Athletic Training Brian Solberg (‘88). Mosher, who has been at Luther for 11 years, said he is appreciative of his time teaching at the college. “It’s been a great run for me,” Mosher said. “It’s been really nice to be part of a community like this, where people seem to really care about each other.” As director of the social work program, Mosher said he was also impressed with the changes the department went through during his time at Luther. “I am proud of how the social work program has grown and remained stable,” Mosher said. Meyette is also retiring from the social work department. She said she thinks the hardest part about retiring will be leaving her students. “I love teaching,” Meyette said. “The thing I’m going to miss the most are the students.”
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Dominique Itanze (‘16) presents his research titled “Determining the binding of environment pollutants to host molecules using fluorescence spectroscopy Annika Vande Krol / Photo Bureau ElizabEth bonin STAFF WRITER The annual Student Research Symposium was held on Friday, May 6. The symposium, which lasts the whole day, is a time for students to present their research to their peers and the general community. Over 100 students presented their research. Following the opening convocation and keynote address, given by Laura Proescholdt (‘16) and Jenna Johnson (‘16), presenters split into different sessions based on commonalities between their research. Associate Dean and Director of Curriculum Development and College Honors Terry Sparkes said that the research symposium
is a good way to emphasize the learning and success students have throughout the academic year. “It provides students with the opportunity to share all of what they have learned and their insights with peers, faculty, staff and with the community at large,” Sparkes said. Ninety-five presentations were held at the symposium. Sparkes said one thing she enjoys most is the wide variety of the presentations. “We think of research as both research and creative projects,” Sparkes said. “So we have theater, dance, music and performance that is every bit as much research as professional research in the broader definition. This is a demonstration of the liberal arts at its best.” Emmalee Kmoch (‘19) attended
Student assaulted near campus katiE nElSon nEWS EDIToR A female student was assaulted between Leif Erickson Drive and College Drive while walking on Friday, May 6 at 11:30 p.m. She was approached by three men who restrained her and touched her sexually. The men released the female student when a car drove past. This was the last time they were seen, but all three have been described as white males, one of whom is short and stocky, another tall and thin according to an email send to students by Media Relations. The Decorah Police Department has been notified of the incident. According to Luther Safety and Security Director Bob Harri, there will be increased security and police from now until after graduation. “We will have extra security staff on duty this weekend
and next as we typically do this time of year,” Harri said. “Having more staff on duty gives us an opportunity to be more visible and spend more time on patrol to deter any inappropriate conduct and hopefully help students feel more secure.” Harri said in addition to additional Luther Security staff the Decorah police will be spending additional time patrolling the campus and surrounding areas over the weekends. Again, this is our standard practice.” Norse Against Sexual Assault (NASA) member Hannah Butler (‘16) hopes that the work the organization has done at Luther is beneficial in situations like this. “I would hope that the work that NASA has been doing has produced a community that is able to better respond emotionally and physically to something like this,” Butler said. “I would hope that the awareness that we’ve been promoting and the intolerance that we’ve
been attempting to promote will fuel our community to have a better emotional reaction and to notice it more. I think that’s something that can’t go unnoticed.” Butler encourages all members of the community to speak out against actions such as this. “I know it’s not a big thing, but wearing the NASA shirts … was kind of like a community promotion that we wanted to implement today,” Butler said. “It’s not just members of NASA that have the ability to respond, we’re all individuals, part of this community.” Harri requests anyone with information to contact the Luther Safety and Security office at (563)-387-2111. “As far as the investigation goes, we are trying to identify those responsible and ask that anyone with information contact us,” Harri said. Anyone wishing to report an incident may contact Associate Director of Human Resources and Title IX Coordinator Matthew Bills.