ULTRA mEgA mEgA PREVIEW
A&e 5 HOLIdAY LIgHTS SHINE
feAtures 7 CORNELL bEATS NORSE
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LUTHER COLLEgE
CHIPS
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
dECEmbER 10, 2015
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VOLUmE 138, NO. 12
Just Action writes statement of solidarity against Islamophobia sIdney lArsen STAFF WRITER The Luther College group Just Action drafted a statement of solidarity in response to an increase of anti-Islamic sentiments throughout the United States following the Paris attacks. The statement, found on the Just Action page of the Luther College website, went live on Monday, Dec. 7 and is open for anyone to sign online. A slightly amended version of the statement will be published in Sojourners Magazine, a Christian publication focused on social justice issues, that will be available for Christian students around the country to sign and support. Associate Professor of Religion and Just Action member Todd Green said that the statement was designed to combat Islamophobic feelings throughout the nation. “The purpose of it is to respond to the growing trend of Islamophobia in the United States that I would argue is probably at its worst in the 14 years or so since 9/11,” Green said. The statement was read publicly for the first time on the morning of Monday, Dec. 7 in chapel. Green invited attendees to stand and read it together, prefacing it with an example of backlash
against the release of the statement. “Welcome, my friends, to the world of Islamaphobia,” Green said. “This is what you’re up against; this is what we’re up against: fear, hostility and hatred. And there are people out there who do intend harm. And there are people out there who want you to give into fear. And I’m here on behalf of the Just Action group to tell you that we will not do that.” Just Action’s statement is following Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr.’s statement that who urged students on his campus to begin arming themselves against Muslims. “I always thought that if more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walk in and kill,” Falwell said. According to International Student Coordinator in the Diversity Center Amy Webber, Muslim students on campus are very appreciative of the solidarity statement. “The Muslim Student Association is really grateful for this statement,” Webber said. “To know how many people around here are supporting them is important.” stAtement, PAgE 4
Enrollment shortages in classes may lead to course cancellations frAnces stevenson STAFF WRITER As spring registration continues, the Registrar’s Office will ask professors of classes with fewer than five students registered to cancel these classes. Four classes have already been canceled. According to Registrar Kristin Swanson, three multi-section classes were canceled, and a higher-level political science course titled International Relations taught by Assistant Professor of Political Science Pedro Dos Santos was also canceled. “As a department we’re somewhat baffled on how low the enrollment was for this class,” Dos Santos said. “I taught this class two years ago and I had 28 students.” According to Swanson, the number of courses canceled or with the potential to be canceled for spring 2016 is not unusual. The are many reasons classes have low enrollment numbers, including the small incoming class last year, according to Dos Santos. “It might be enrollment in general,” Dos Santos said. “We are still feeling the effects of the smaller class that we had last year. We’re going to keep seeing this for the next four years, so that might be a part of it.” Anderson finds that there are many ways a situation like this can come up. regIstrAtIon, PAgE 4
mAkIng A stAtement. The statement of solidarity has been shared over social media this week. Courtesy of Todd Green
LC Diversity Center releases survey results lAurA proescholdt STAFF WRITER Last week, Luther College’s Office of Assessment and Institutional Research (AIR) presented the results of the Campus Diversity Survey, administered for the first time in spring of 2015 to several campus groups including the Luther College cabinet, Student Life and Just Action. AIR will present the results to Campus Life this week. According to Assessment and Institutional Research Analyst Nan Hibbs, the goal of the survey was to better understand students’ views on diversity and their experiences of discrimination on campus. “Our hope is that the information from the Campus Diversity Survey in this case will inform discussions and decisions across campus for students, faculty, staff and administrators,” Hibbs said. “Our role is the collecting, interpreting and sharing [of data], which is what we’re doing now.” In March 2015, a link to the survey was sent in an email to 1,555 sophomores, juniors and seniors, of whom 35 percent responded. The results, released mid-October to faculty, staff and students, show both positives and areas for improvement. On the positive side, 95 percent of respondents reported feeling a sense of acceptance and belonging at Luther, according to the AIR report. In addition, students appear
to be “overwhelmingly comfortable” befriending diverse individuals. However, although 95 percent of respondents reported a feeling of acceptance at Luther, this number was not the same for all groups. For racial/ethnic minorities the number was 84 percent, for LGBT students 89 percent and for students with a disability 87 percent. Thirty-two percent of respondents reported feeling discriminated against or harassed on the Luther campus based on status or membership in a particular group. Of that 32 percent, 82 percent of students cited other Luther students as the source of the discrimination or harassment, which most often took the form of verbal comments (83 percent); glances (54 percent); ignoring (44 percent); and written comments on websites, email or instant messaging (36 percent). Other forms of harassment reported were threats of physical violence, physical assault, body language, vandalism, stalking, work assignments, LC Confessions, treatment by RA and Security Officer, cat calls and interrupting in class. Discrimination or harassment occurred most frequently on the basis of gender. “I think that the first takeaway is that, clearly, everyone’s not having the same experience out there,” Hibbs said. “It’s important to pay attention to that, and so I think with the first iteration, that’s what we’re doing.” survey, PAgE 4