A&E 5
A CAPELLA CONCERT
GRANDPALS BEGINS
FEATURES 6
WRESTLERS TO WISCONSIN
SPORTS 11
LUTHER COLLEGE
CHIPS
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
DECEMBER 8, 2016
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VOLUME 139, NO. 11
Student workers seek unionization
Nursing deparment asseses changes SHASA SARTIN STAFF WRITER
join. “Right now I am interested in people who can volunteer to get authorization cards,” Eness said. In order to become a union, students must submit a proposal to The National Labor Relations Board. This proposal must have authorization cards or signatures accounting for at least a third of the student worker body. The LSWU has set a goal of gathering signatures by the end of February. The minimum amount of signatures needed for Luther’s student body is 510.
In response to the 50 percent retention rate for students in the nursing program’s 2017 class, students and faculty are reflecting and improving upon a series of previous changes made to the program in 2013. The 2017 class will be the first to graduate under the changed program. In fall of 2013, the Nursing Department implemented changes to its curriculum due to issues with students having to learn skills while simultaneously practicing them in Rochester. The program was changed so that the skills previously taught in Rochester during the junior year of the program were taught on campus during the sophomore year. Associate Professor of Nursing and department head La Donna Dale McGohan (‘95) said there are many advantages to the changes in 2013. “Revising the nursing curriculum [in 2013] addressed several crucial factors being driven by multiple strong forces influencing the nursing role: scientific advances, changing demographics of patient populations, new care technologies, emphasis on patient safety and patient access to healthcare information,” McGohan said. Erika Buchholz (‘17) was one of the students that experienced this new curriculum. “The first time [nursing majors] had their clinical experience was when they were up at Mayo [Clinic],” Buchholz said. “They sort of shifted everything so the junior year became the sophomore year when I was a student, and so we did most of those classes and got the groundwork done as sophomores. So, by the time we went to Mayo our junior year, we already had all of those skills.”
UNIONIZATION, PAGE 4
NURSING, PAGE 4
The Luther Student Workers Union, if recognized by The National Labor Relations Board, would be comprised of student workers from all different jobs on campus, including the cafeteria. Maria da Silva (‘15) / Photo Bureau ANA LÓPEZ STAFF WRITER A group of Luther students are collecting signatures in an effort to unionize. They are planning on submitting a unionization proposal to the National Labor Relations Board by February 2017. According to Maxwell Eness (‘20), the students interested became inspired to create a labor union after hearing about Dining Services student workers who unionized at Grinnell College, in Grinnell, IA. “I think it is a good thing for workers
to be able to get together and talk about issues,” Eness said. “I think it is a fundamentally good idea.” The Dining Services at Grinnell employs approximately 250 workers. After hearing about this story at the Des Moines Register, Eness began pushing for Luther Student workers to form a similar labor union. According to Eness, he is not only thinking about the Dining Services students but the student worker body in general. The workers interestested have formed the group Luther Student Workers Union (LSWU). Although they are not meeting regularly at the moment, LSWU is looking for more workers to
Panel addresses Dakota Access Pipeline JULIA CURTIS STAFF WRITER A panel of Luther students and Decorah community members who protested the Dakota Access Pipeline in Standing Rock, ND during Thanksgiving break sat on a panel held by the Center for Ethics and Public Engagement (CEPE) on Nov. 29. About 100 students and Decorah community members attended the panel. The panel was comprised of three Luther students: Andres Alvarez (‘18), Courtney Field (‘19) and Rebecka Green (‘19) as well as two Decorah community members, Parker Deen and Britta Carbonell. Alvarez, Field and Green were three of 15 students who went to Standing Rock over Luther’s Thanksgiving Break. The panelists began by introducing themselves and their roles within the different
demonstration units. Green said she went to the frontlines of the protest, whereas others stayed at the base camp to provide supplies and support services for the other protestors. Each of the panelists had a different perspective on the issues occurring at Standing Rock stemming from their different educational backgrounds. Green said she focused on the religious conflicts the pipeline would bring, whereas Field brought a historical perspective to the situation. Alvarez, an environmental studies major, addressed the environmental issues of the pipeline. “There are plenty of ways to be an ally and support causes you are passionate about,” Green said. “You don’t need to put your body on the line for every issue you care about. But you definitely can. And it’s definitely effective and powerful.” STANDING ROCK, PAGE 4
[From left] Courtney Field (‘19) Rebecka Green (‘19) and Andres Alvarez (‘18) discuss their experiences protesting at Standing Rock. Maddie Miller (‘19) / Photo Bureau