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PRIDE and ABY present the Royal Drag Ball
Maasai perform and host song and dance night in Marty’s
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Women’s tennis competes at National Automatic Qualifier
LUTHER COLLEGE
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
CHIPS
MAY 4, 2017
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VOLUME 139, NO. 21
Environmental Studies major undergoes redesign
Dunbar-Ortiz addresses U.S. genocidal history Harleigh Boldridge (‘18) listens to Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz speak at the Gjerset House.
Author, historian, and activist Roxanne DunbarOrtiz visited classes and gave a lecture to discuss the “Doctrine of Discovery” OLIVIA ENQUIST STAFF WRITER Author and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz delivered a lecture titled “The Doctrine of Discovery and U.S. Genocidal History and Policies” on April 25 in Valders 206 to an audience of students, faculty, and community members. The lecture discussed the definition and terms of genocide, Indigenous People and American political relations of the past, and the current effects of the “Doctrine of Discovery.” In addition to her lecture, Dunbar-Ortiz attended four classes and held a reception
Olivia Enquist (‘19) | Chips
in the Gjerset House during her stay. Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Diversity Council Carly Foster said that bringing Dunbar-Ortiz on to campus was a timely decision. “I had read some of Roxanne’s work back when I was in college and I am currently teaching American Politics and Women in Politics,” Foster said. “I saw that she had two bestseller books published in the last couple of years, both of the most recent ones were on issues that were related to native people. Since I am chairing the Diversity Council this year, and there was the Standing Rock protest in North Dakota that some of our students were traveling to and were interested in, it just seemed like an ideal opportunity to bring her in.” Dunbar-Ortiz began the lecture by outlining the specific definitions of genocide as laid out by the United Nations in the Genocide Convention. She explained that the terms of genocide are much broader than people usually assume given the fact that the act works in part for the prevention of genocide. She then explained the ways in which the American government had committed genocide against Indigenous Peoples. DUNBAR-ORTIZ | PAGE 4
Lucia Holte (‘17) prepares to present a survey of the trees on Luther’s campus for her ENVS 175 course. Annika Vande Krol (‘19) | Photo Bureau
BEN SELCKE STAFF WRITER The environmental studies program is changing requirements for the major and minor and implementing a new teaching plan. The changes come following two external reviews conducted by St. Olaf and Macalester College earlier this year of Luther’s environmental studies program. An area that was specifically targeted for improvement is integration of different classes within the major. With the exception of senior seminar, there are no courses within the program that bring all environmental studies students together in a single class to combine elements from their other classes. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES | PAGE 4
Interfaith Student Association sets sights on future SHANNON BAKER STAFF WRITER After conducting several meetings over the past academic year, the Interfaith Student Association (ISA) plans to update the group for the upcoming 2017-18 school year. From the Luther website, ISA “facilitates the interaction between student of different religious tradition and spiritual or humanistic beliefs and bring them all together for positive dialogue.” ISA president Rebecka Green (‘19) hopes to develop three different parts to the group for the 2017-18 school year. The first part, called “interfaith dialogue,” will include conversations on a smaller scale regarding theology or specific faith traditions. The second part, called “interfaith literacy,” will teach people how to talk about interfaith ideas in an educated way. “[Interfaith literacy] would take the form of attending lectures and panels, watching documentaries, and we also hope to have a summer reading list with ideas for books to read,” Green said. The third part of the group will be “interfaith activism,” which will likely involve interfaith participation in service events that have already been scheduled by other groups, such as College Ministries. INTERFAITH | PAGE 4
From left: Anne Harriman (‘19), Anna Becker (‘19) Rebecka Green (‘19), Elizabeth Wiebke (‘19), Anila Bano (‘20), and Sarah Jennings (‘20). Not pictured: Asha Aden (‘20), Shasa Sartin (‘19), and Jordan Boge (‘18). Shannon Baker (‘20) | Chips