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Martial arts group Shaolin Warriors performs on campus.
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Alums start food blog for novice cooks.
Three wrestlers advance to nationals; Kreiter takes second
LUTHER COLLEGE
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
CHIPS
MARCH 16, 2017
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VOLUME 139, NO. 16
Dance program alums voice concern Upon the proposal to cut Luther’s dance major, alums of the dance program wrote letters to college officials voicing their opposition to the proposal and gave testaments of academic excellence in the program.
Luther observes International Women’s Day SHASA SARTIN STAFF WRITER
dance and the body,” Hawley said. “I was appalled how numbers and meaning do not equate, and I’m curious about why the body and embodied learning are not prized at a liberal arts college.” Alum Catherine Lewis (‘16), a dance and psychology double major, said that she learned about the proposed cuts from current Luther students.
In concurrence with International Women’s Day on March 8, the Women and Gender Studies department and allied campus members held “A Day Without Women and Non-Conforming Folk,” in which women and gender minorities gathered to support one another and to provide a location for those abstaining from classes and employment obligations. Wylie Cook (‘18) headed the event alongside the women and gender studies department, who hoped to facilitate the Luther community to take part of International Women’s Day. “We wanted to create a time and place where women and other gender minorities could learn, speak, be inspired, and be called to action,” Cook said. Community member Liz Rog (‘81) led songs that were focused on comfort with one’s body and claiming feminism. People also read poetry and shared personal stories. Women and other gender minorities around the world abstained from work and other commitments as part of International Women’s Day, in which Associate Professor of Philosophy Holly Moore took part. Moore said that she abstained in order to call attention to the work of women and gender minorities that often goes unnoticed or under-appreciated. Moore sent an email to her students on International Women’s Day explaining her decision and the worldwide movement that highlighted labor inequalities for sexual and racial minorities. “The fact that I can strike is itself a mark of this inequality,” Moore wrote. “The fact that I do have a secure job is evidence not only that some (usually white, first-world) women now have access to these positions but also that my access to such a position is due to privileges that many other men and women do not have. I strike in solidarity with the world of women and men whose underpaid and unpaid labor sustains the value of my own life, and the life of this institution.”
DANCE MAJOR | PAGE 4
WOMEN’S DAY | PAGE 4
Haley Steffen (‘19) and Lindsey Ahlers (‘18) dance in the Center for the Arts. Kristen Wuerl (‘18) | Chips
KRISTEN WUERL STAFF WRITER In response to the Academic Planning Committee’s (APC) Feb. 21 proposal to cut the dance major, dance program alums have written letters of solidarity to Luther’s Board of Regents and the APC, exemplifying the unrest spurred by the proposal to fully cut four majors on campus. More than 25 alums wrote letters
at the time of print, primarily addressing how their dance education and experience at Luther embodied the college’s mission. If the Board of Regents approves the proposed cuts, the dance department would only retain its minor. For Professor of Dance Jane Hawley (‘87), dance as a field of study is essential to a liberal arts education. “For some reason, it’s acceptable in our society to be ignorant of
In lecture on news media, journalist analyzes right-wing populism in United States and India BIZ WAGENSON STAFF WRITER Journalist Jyoti Thottam spoke about India’s news media and the issue of self-censorship on March 9, highlighting the rise of right-wing populism as a major instigator of these issues in India and the United States in particular. Approximately 30 people attended the lecture.
Thottam made strong parallels between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of the United States Donald Trump, pointing to their frequent use of Twitter and far-right populist political platforms to influence news media in both countries. Modi was elected in 2014 despite intra-party opposition, similar to that faced by Trump. In an interview, Thottam
emphasized how both of the leaders earned unexpected victories, driven largely by their direct connection with voters. “Perhaps the [news] media in both countries underestimated the extent of [national support for them],” Thottam said. “Both of these politicians have the ability to bypass the [news] media and communicate directly to their
supporters through social media. It is also clear that neither of these politicians value the press as an institution very much.” Thottam arrived at these parallels after providing several historical anecdotes of instances in which journalists and news companies challenged stringent Indian government authority. She explained that Indian news media
today are split between those sympathetic to Modi and those that are critics. Yet some news media, Thottam said in her lecture, view their consumers as customers for advertisers and publish celebrity gossip and tabloid news, which she called “celebratory media.”
THOTTAM | PAGE 3