ISAA hosts fashion show for No Shave November
A&E 5
Women’s and Men’s soccer seasons come to an end SPORTS 12
LUTHER COLLEGE
CHIPS
“Let the chips fall where they may.”
NOVEMBER 13, 2014
Serving the Luther College community since 1884.
VOLUME 137, NO. 9
Students push Midterm Election participation
WATCHING THE RACE. (From left) Katie Mathas (‘15), Abby Greufe (‘15), Skye Brocker-Knapp (‘15) and Angel Wilford (‘16) watch the votes come in at the T-Bock’s election night event hosted by LC Democrats and LC Republicans. Bailey Mulholland/ Chips
BAILEY MULHOLLAND STAFF WRITER The Midterm Elections on Tuesday, Nov. 4 resulted in a red wave of victory for the GOP, who now hold majority in Congress and state governorships. Student-run groups Luther College Democrats and Luther College Republicans hosted a variety of events to promote student voting in the elections. Congressional elections tend to draw a
thinner voter turnout, especially among younger voters, according to Professor of Political Science and adviser to LC Republicans Mike Engelhardt. “Congressional elections are just as important as presidential [elections],” Engelhardt said. “We need student involvement because the town headquarters themselves are small, and students can decide close elections.” Engelhardt commended the collaborative effort of the LC Democrats
and LC Republicans this year in working with community headquarters and organizing candidate visits, among other activities. “We had mass canvassing, where we were sitting outside the union getting people registered to vote,” LC Democrats President Charlie Weathers (‘15) said. “We [also] did a Top Banana event … that was politically themed, and [attendees] had to fill out a ‘commit to vote’ card as their ticket of admission.”
Activist Donna Red Wing visits campus
SPEAKING OUT. Donna Red Wing speaks on the history of LGBT activism in Iowa. Laura Hayes / Chips LAURA HAYES STAFF WRITER The women and gender studies department hosted a lecture by the Executive Director of One Iowa Donna Red Wing entitled “LGBT History
with a Focus on Iowa and Radical Acts of Equality” on Wednesday, Nov. 5. In her lecture, Red Wing spoke on the history of the LGBT community in Iowa and the importance of marriage equality, calling for action. “So here we are in Iowa,” Red Wing said. “We know that Iowa leads the way. We lead the Midwest, and sometimes we lead the nation.” In her lecture, Red Wing told her audience, a mixture of Luther College students and faculty and Decorah residents, about the 1,038 rights provided by the federal law through marriage. She told the story of Francine and Shelly, a couple who ran into legal trouble when Shelly had an aneurysm. When they arrived at the hospital, Francine was unable to be with Shelly because they were “legal strangers.” “Many of us in the Midwest left for Chicago, New York, San Francisco or even Europe,” Red Wing said. “But then segments of Iowa’s gay community began public efforts to be recognized in the early 1970s, following the June 1969 Stonewall Riots.” These public efforts ranged from the University of Iowa being the first to recognize an LGBT group in 1970 to Al White’s one-man campaign against intolerance and discrimination by wearing a dress to the grocery store in Boone, Iowa, in 1991. According to Assistant Professor of Social Work Ginger Meyette, it is important to have pride in Iowa. “When people think of Iowa, they think of corn,” Meyette said. “Yes, there are farmers, and some of them are gay.” RED WING, PAGE 4
There were satellite voting stations set up in the Dahl Centennial Union on Oct. 23 that drew around 100 voters. On election day, LC Democrats and Republicans facilitated transportation to voting station Good Shepherd Church in Decorah. “We had Lise Kildegaard … helping us drive, as well as Maggie Steinberg (‘15), the chair of elections for the Luther College Democrats,” Weathers said. Issues concerning residency and voter registration arose at Good Shepherd, however. Voters must prove their address to vote in a particular location, and the students who hoped to register last-minute before voting encountered troubles with the polling booth auditor, according to Weathers. “The auditor and his volunteers kept changing their minds on what counted as proof of address,” Weathers said. Will Weeks (‘15) experienced several issues when he tried to vote at Good Shepherd on election day. “It was not until I went to vote that I realized how much I needed in order to meet the ID requirements,” Weeks said. “I only had about a thirty minute window to go to the polling place and vote.” Weeks emphasized the institutional problems with the voter ID requirements. ELECTIONS, PAGE 4
Davis, Luther Peace Scholars present projects MAGGIE STEINBERG STAFF WRITER Five Luther students presented about their experiences involving peace projects and studies from the past year, representing the Davis Projects for Peace and the Luther Peace Scholars Program. The Davis Projects For Peace, founded in 2007, was started by philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis on her 100th birthday. Davis donated $1 million to fund various projects around the world. Each project receives $10,000 and must be completed over a summer. Luther students Ervin Liz (‘16), Kavindra Illanco (‘15) and Noorullah Zafari (‘15) were selected for their project proposals. Liz’s project, titled “Plant a Seed, Build a Brighter Future,” took him back to Cauca, Colombia, in an effort to revive endangered plant species such as cacha beans, yakuma and fitu pitcxue used by the Nasa people.
“These plants that are endangered are links to the culture of my people,” Liz said. “The fact that the plants are in danger symbolizes that my culture is in danger.” Liz’s project involved building a greenhouse with the hopes of recuperating the plants out of endangerment. The grant provided funding for construction supplies. Liz enlisted the help of high school students so they could learn how the process was done. The greenhouse was constructed using steel and concrete at the Institucion Educativa Angelina Fullumuz de Togoima and took over two months to complete. Being in a community where he knew people was very important to Liz. “I love being an indigenous person,” Liz said. “I love my culture and my native language, so I thought, since I am here and able to do something, I should do something for the people.” PEACE, PAGE 4