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VPA performs RENT in Jewel theater
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Computer Science society hosts first Hackathon
New Women’s Lacrosse club forms
COLLEGE
LUTHER “Let the chips fall where they may.”
VOLUME 140, NO. 9 | EST. 1884
NOVEMBER 16, 2017
Luther to switch from Mac to PC KRISTEN WUERL STAFF WRITER Nazario Jap Dos Santos (‘19) speaks at the United Nations in New York City.
Photo courtesy of UnitedNations.org
Luther student addresses United Nations EMMA BUSCH STAFF WRITER Luther student Nazario Jap Dos Santos (‘19) spoke at the United Nations (UN) in New York City on Oct. 4. Dos Santos spoke in favor of a referendum in Western Sahara before the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, also known as the UN’s Fourth Committee. The Fourth Committee meets annually in October to discuss decolonization and non-self-governing territories such as Western Sahara, a disputed territory in Northern Africa on the border of the North Atlantic Ocean that is currently occupied by Morocco. Individuals and organizations are welcome to apply to address the committee as petitioners. During the four minutes of speaking time allotted to individual petitioners, Dos Santos asked the UN to consider a referendum for Western Sahara, and he condemned the multinational companies that he believes are exploiting the territory’s resources. Dos Santos called on Spain, as the territory’s former colonizer, to support Western Sahara’s efforts towards self-determination. Dos Santos also argued for an increase in the budget for the United Nations Mission
for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which would aid the health of those in refugee camps. Dos Santos credits the Center for Ethics and Public Engagement (CEPE) and the Dean’s Office for providing him with the funds necessary to travel to New York and for supporting his interest in petitioning. Dos Santos said that he was encouraged to speak in front of the committee by Fatimetu Jatri Emhamed (‘17), who addressed the committee last year, because of the similarities between their countries East Timor and Western Sahara. Emhamed responded to this, saying that Dos Santos’ interest in politics and Western Sahara led her to recommend that he speak to the Fourth Committee. “I [encouraged] Nazario to go because we are good friends who [happen] to always talk about politics, not only on my country, but in other parts of the world,” Emhamed said. “Moreover, this summer Nazario has volunteered in an organization in his country, East Timor, that supports my peoples’ right to self-determination. He knows a lot about my country, which happens to have a quite similar history to his own.”
In January 2017, Luther College’s Information Technology Services (ITS) began implementing changes to update faculty and staff work computers issued by Luther. ITS will complete two important changes over the course of this current refresh cycle, which began during the 2016 academic year and will last three to four years. ITS is transitioning faculty and staff from Apple Mac computers to Dell computers where they consider it beneficial, and is supercharging computers that the faculty and staff currently have. Supercharging a computer involves increasing its random access memory (RAM) to eight gigabytes and replacing hard drives with faster 240 gigabytes Solid State Drives (SSDs). The supercharged computers will physically look the same but will have better performing processors. According to Director of User Services Diane Gossman, the change comes as part of budget assessments throughout the college. “The primary reason for the change is cost,” Gossman said. “Our existing budget won’t support [faculty and staff members] receiving new computers because of [Apple’s] increasing prices.” According to ITS’s website, as of June 1, 2016, Mac desktops cost about $600 more than Windows desktops, and Mac laptops cost about $400 more than Windows laptops. With those costs in mind, Gossman explained what changes will be made.
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Online incident report forms introduced GILLIAN KLEIN STAFF WRITER As part of a recent effort to increase the number of reports filed, Luther implemented new bias and sexual violence report forms on Oct. 30. This form is available online. According to Associate Director of Human Resources and Title IX Coordinator Matthew T. Bills, the creation of online report forms give reporters a different avenue to file reports. “These forms are implemented through Google forms,” Bills said. “The choice of anonymity appeals to students who have
experienced sexual incidents or bias and do not want their identities to be revealed in fear of there being retaliation against them.” Online forms for bias incident reports are seeking to increase the number of incidents reported. According to the 2016 Luther Security Report, no hate crimes were reported in 2014, two were reported in 2015, and none were reported again in 2016. The bias incident form includes a statement emphasizing its importance. “At Luther, acts of bias go against our mission and our community values,” the statement said. “We seek to provide you a timely response and support. Bias refers to
language and/or behaviors against persons because of, but not limited to, others’ actual or perceived: age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, marital status, national origin, parental status, physical appearance, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and/ or veteran status.” Reports of bias incidents will go to the bias response team consisting of Vice President and Dean for Student Life Corey Landstrom, Interim Dean for Institutional Equity and Inclusion Lisa Scott, Associate Dean and Director of Faculty Development Jeff Wilkerson, Director of Campus Safety and Security Bob Harri, Assistant Dean
for Student Life and Director of Residence Life Kris Franzen, Director of Human Resources Marsha Wenthold, and Bills. According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the 2015 National Clery Act report stated that 89% of U.S. college campuses disclosed zero reported incidences of rape, but this contradicts the national statistics on the number of rapes that occur on college campuses. This data suggests that some students on college campuses feel uncomfortable reporting sexual and bias incidents. INCIDENT FORMS | PAGE 4