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A makerspace opens in the CFA
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American Rhapsody performs in the CFL
Women’s Tennis wins IIAC conference
COLLEGE
LUTHER “Let the chips fall where they may.”
VOLUME 140, NO. 6 • EST. 1884
OCTOBER 26, 2017
Students celebrate Diwali
James Fallows delivers Farwell Distinguished Lecture James Fallows delivers the Farwell Distinguished Lecture in the CFL. Nathan Riley (‘18) | Photo Bureau
GRACE ONSRUD STAFF WRITER Journalist and author James Fallows gave the Farwell Distinguished Lecture titled “It’s Happening Here: American Renewal, Ingenuity, and Innovation” in the Center For Faith and Life (CFL) on Oct. 10. The lecture focused on his experiences while visiting small towns across America reporting on positive developments following the recession. Fallows wrote for The Atlantic for 43 years and is now the first European editor of the magazine. He was also a speech writer for President Jimmy Carter, the youngest person to ever hold that position. He has received multiple awards for his writing, including the National Book Award and the American Book Award. The audience included students, staff, and community members. The lecture was followed by a question and answer session with the audience and a book signing. In his lecture, Fallows challenged popular sentiments that the U.S. is falling apart or going downhill by claiming that there is good happening in people’s own immediate communities. He talked about the developments in sustainability,
the welcoming of refugees, and institutional innovations that he noticed in many American small towns. “The essence of the point is that in most parts of modern society that people directly experience —their schools, their city governments, their own workplaces, etc.— the sense is that the trend is positive, despite all the enormous problems that the country has,” Fallows said in an interview. “But the impression people have of the country [and the world] that they don’t directly experience has turned unrealistically dark, in my view.” Fallows said he and his wife received letters from people describing their towns. They eventually chose a few dozen to visit based on those entries. “We got nearly 1,000 essays from people explaining why their town — in Wisconsin, in Idaho, in South Carolina, wherever — illustrates an important story of current U.S. resilience and reinvention,” Fallows said. Fallows also spoke about his faith in young people and their ability to make changes in the
Students pray during the Diwali celebration held in Baker Commons. Jorge Contreras (‘20) | Chips
JORGE CONTRERAS STAFF WRITER The Diversity Center, College Ministries, and Interfaith in Action hosted a Diwali celebration in Baker Commons on Oct. 22. The event was open to anyone who wanted to celebrate with International students who celebrate Diwali in their home countries. Diwali is a Hindu festival that lasts five days and is typically celebrated in Southern Asia. The celebration was organized by Shelja Thakur (‘18) and Asmita Bharam (‘18), and it was moderated by Iju Regmi (‘20). The organizers decorated Baker Commons with lights, religious figures, and an altar. Many students dressed up wearing their national costumes and welcomed everybody at the celebration of Diwali. Regmi moderated the first half of the event, sharing stories, songs, and prayers. The organizers also included home-cooked South Asian food and drinks. Thakur explained that although Diwali is a Hindu religious holiday in South Asia, their goal was to share their culture with the community no matter the attendees’ background. “When I announced the event I didn’t call it a Hindu festival or say that it is only celebrated in India,” Thakur said. “I feel like it’s just celebrating something good and bringing people together, especially in these times when there are so many things going on which are not nice. I hope that people, no matter their religion or culture, would come and
FALLOWS | PAGE 4
DIWALI | PAGE 4
Alberty and Luther speak about sexual assault on college campuses MARTEL DEN HARTOG STAFF WRITER Pulitzer Prize winner Erin Alberty (‘01) and awardwinning journalist Jessica Luther participated in a question and answer forum discussion titled, “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Campuses and the Politics of Rape” on Oct. 18. The event was sponsored by the Center for Ethics and Public Engagement. Associate Professor of History Victoria Christman facilitated the presentation, which began with a series of questions directed toward Jessica Luther’s research on sexual assault on college campuses and her book, “Unsportsmanlike Conduct.” The presentation was followed by Alberty’s remarks about her Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalism about sexual assault on Brigham Young University’s (BYU) campus. At the beginning of Jessica Luther’s book, she equates jock culture to rape culture. Luther said that discussions about social issues are easier to have in a locker room setting because of the large familiarity with college sports. According to Luther, cultural ideas about college, student activists, laws, and Title IX offices make colleges hubs
where difficult discussions can take place. Jessica Luther explained, however, that sexual assault cases are often talked about in isolation. Founding member of Norse Against Sexual Assault (NASA) Brigid Burke (‘18) emphasized the problem of focusing on individual narratives instead of the systemic problem. “Oftentimes a lot of the sports stories are accusations of black men by white women, which has problems in itself,” Burke said. “So I think it’s important to leave out the makeup of the perpetrator and talk about what it represents and what the institution was doing that enabled that to happen.” In order for change to occur, Luther suggested that society turn its focus toward teaching consent. She also suggested that men in power who perpetuate rape culture should lose their jobs. And people tend to perceive sexual assault charges as an attack on football fandom. Later, the panel questions turned to Alberty’s work. Alberty discussed her investigation on sexual assault at BYU. She found that on BYU’s campus in Provo City, ALBERTY & LUTHER| PAGE 4
Journalists Erin Alberty ('01) and Jessica Luther present their work reporting sexual assault on college campuses. Martel Den Hartog (‘19) | Chips