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LUTHER COLLEGE
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
CHIPS
MARCH 5, 2015
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VOLUME 137, NO.16
Poet and activist Chin speaks to social problems
IN THE NAME OF RIGHTS. Spoken word poet and activist Staceyann Chin performs in Marty’s on Friday, Feb. 27. MATT HELM STAFF WRITER Spoken-word artist and LGBT activist Staceyann Chin performed original slam poetry and nonfiction prose in Marty's on Friday, Feb. 27. “We really try to have a wide variety of events so people aren’t getting tired of seeing the same things,” SAC Spotlight CoChair Amelia Hook (‘17) said. “Hopefully co-sponsoring events like Stacyann Chin will bring in a bigger range of students who don’t normally come to SAC events. SAC Spotlight, the Diversity Center and
PRIDE co-sponsored the event because she is an openly lesbian artist of Jamaican and Chinese descent, and we thought bringing in a diverse artist would be a way to do something new.” Chin is an accomplished poet who has appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “60 Minutes.” “Spotlight usually does comedians and musicians,” Hook said. “Slam poetry is way different than just reading a poem; it’s a performance. Staceyann performs her personal stories and I’m glad she can share that with people openly.” Community Liaison of PRIDE Marley
Crossland (‘15) feels that having artists like Chin at Luther is a step in the right direction toward diversity. “SAC was tabling downstairs last year and they put out a sheet of performers for Spotlight to bring, and I wrote the names of homosexual spoken word artists because I felt that SAC really needed to start bringing LGBT folks on campus,” Crossland said. “I don't think it’s very representative if you have all of these students paying the CAF fee if you don’t show some gay talent. We can’t just say there’s no diversity here, and some of that should be reflected in the performers we
Dylan Hinton / Chips bring to school.” Chin’s poetry covers a variety of topics from growing up lesbian in Jamaica to being a single mother. “I love the quality of her speaking voice, it’s so incredible and crisp and to the point,” Crossland said. “Spoken word is special because it is a conversation. The performer makes themself vulnerable, and so does the audience by listening. Listening helps to foster understanding and encourages discussion across differences.” STACEYANN, PAGE 4
Career Center and CSC Annual APO Conference to launch scholarship hosted by Luther chapter FRANCES STEVENSON STAFF WRITER With the help of the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, the Luther College Career Center and the Center for Sustainable Communities will be funding internships in the fields of environmental studies and social justice for the first time this summer. The environmental studies department and the Career Center are partnering to allow students in these fields to get funding for internships, which are often unpaid. One of the people who worked on this pilot
program was Assistant Director of Experiential Learning Dan Marlow. “Internships have been built in the business world for a while, but they’re really starting to expand to all over,” Marlow said. “We want to give opportunities to people with all types of majors.” Paid internships are common in fields of business, but in fields like sustainability and social justice, the money to pay interns is often not there. INTERNSHIPS, PAGE 4
COLIN ROBINSON STAFF WRITER Luther College hosted the Alpha Phi Omega Regional Conference on Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28. Three major colleges from Iowa were in attendance. The conference featured many seminars pertaining to the APO service fraternity. The conference is a yearly event that invites members of APO to come together and discuss the current state of the fraternity and its service projects. The schools in attendance included the
University of Iowa, Iowa State University and Drake University. Luther College’s APO chapter is considered to be one of the larger branches in the region even when compared to those of Iowa and Iowa State. APO is Luther’s only co-ed service fraternity. It currently has 54 active members, according to Alpha Phi Omega President Maggie Homeier (‘16). The Luther chapter was in charge of this conference due to a yearly rotation. APO, PAGE 4