by Ari Anisfeld, J. Francis Buse & David Logan
For the past month, Grinnell College student activists had been making plans to travel to Ft. Benning, Georgia and participate in the 16th annual “Vigil to Close the School of the Americas.” But after receiving pledges for funding from various College departments and student groups, organizers were later informed that their budget was under scrutiny by the College’s attorneys.
Though the students who planned to attend the vigil Nov 21-23 were not initially told about the funding decision, administrators have since said that they would not support the funding. The group leaders met with President Russell Osgood and other administrators at 4 p.m. this afternoon to discuss the decision.
The students had already received pledges to help cover the approximately $7000 transportation and other logistical costs. But still roughly $2000 short, organizers approached Student Affairs to cover the rest. Director of Campus Center Operations/Student Activities Michael Sims, concerned about the legal implications of funding a advocacy activity, contacted some of the College’s attorneys.
President Russell K. Osgood, who said he was approached for help by Vice President of Student Affairs Houston Dougharty, advised that the College not provide funding because of a combination of both financial and legal factors.
“One, we’re being careful about every expenditure, we’re not selling jobs and anything that looks largish I’m saying no to unless it’s in the budget,” Osgood said. “And that’s one level on which this exists.”
“Two, over the last few years … going on what I’ll call “advocacy trips” has been discussed a couple of times and in general because the College is a 501(c)(3) charity, we don’t fund advocacy trips, just like we don’t fund sending people to a lot of things that are worthy.”
Osgood was referring to the Internal Revenue Service’s prohibition against political lobbying activities by 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, which is meant to ensure that primarily political advocacy groups do not benefit from the tax-exempt status afforded by a 501(c)(3) designation.
According to the information on the website for the Internal Revenue Service, “In general, no organization may qualify for section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation…”
The IRS generally draws a distinction between attempting to influence legislative decisions as opposed to executive or administrative ones.
It does include some exceptions to the restrictions, noting that “organizations may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials, or otherwise consider public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.”
Osgood also cited safety concerns and said that the activity was not “squarely within our educational purpose.”
“So if someone came to me and said we’re going to the U.N. and it’s part of an upper level course in political science, I’ll be honest, that has more of a cache for funding,” he said. “But right now, I wouldn’t even fund that because of the budget situation.”
The “vigil”, a three-day event, which commemorates the killing of eight Salvadorians by a graduate of SOA and includes social justice and activism workshop, has been attended by for the at least the past six years, and has received College funding for a bus for similar sized groups for the past couple of years, according to Dean of Religious Life Deanna Shorb.
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Friday, November 14, 2008
Friday, September 05, 2008
Sheree Andrews on Leave
The S&B can confirm that Associate Dean and Director of Residence Life Sheree Andrews has been placed on administrative leave as of yesterday morning. Andrews is still employed by the college, but it is unclear what, if any, role she will have while placed on leave. “I don’t know what the status is,” Andrews told the S&B in a phone interview this afternoon.
While Andrews said she could not speak in detail on the matter, she said that it might be resolved soon. “Hopefully next week [it will be resolved],” she said. “That’s my understanding.”
Andrews could also not say whether or not her change in status was voluntary, and said only that “There’s a bunch of us working on this.”
Responding to a request for comment, Dean of Students Travis Greene wrote in an e-mail that “due to College policy regarding the confidentiality of personnel-related matters, and out of respect for those involved, no College employees are able to comment regarding this or any other personnel matter.” Vice President for Student Affairs Houston Dougharty could not be reached for comment.
While the College’s Staff Handbook includes a section on Progressive Discipline and Termination, there is no formal policy for imposing disciplinary measures short of dismissal.
According to section 2.5 of the Grinnell College Staff Handbook, “Although one or more … steps may be taken in connection with a particular employee, no formal order or procedure is necessary for appropriate action.” Although there is no formal designation for Andrews' status, she said it could be best described as "administrative leave."
The S&B first learned that Andrews was placed on administrative leave from numerous Student Staff members and a member of SGA. Andrews later confirmed the information in the interview.
Andrews’ status at the school was first disseminated to Student Staff members last night, when some RLCs held meetings to inform their staffs. However they were given no further information about the circumstances beyond the fact that she was on leave.
This is a developing story, and we will be posting further information when it becomes available…
While Andrews said she could not speak in detail on the matter, she said that it might be resolved soon. “Hopefully next week [it will be resolved],” she said. “That’s my understanding.”
Andrews could also not say whether or not her change in status was voluntary, and said only that “There’s a bunch of us working on this.”
Responding to a request for comment, Dean of Students Travis Greene wrote in an e-mail that “due to College policy regarding the confidentiality of personnel-related matters, and out of respect for those involved, no College employees are able to comment regarding this or any other personnel matter.” Vice President for Student Affairs Houston Dougharty could not be reached for comment.
While the College’s Staff Handbook includes a section on Progressive Discipline and Termination, there is no formal policy for imposing disciplinary measures short of dismissal.
According to section 2.5 of the Grinnell College Staff Handbook, “Although one or more … steps may be taken in connection with a particular employee, no formal order or procedure is necessary for appropriate action.” Although there is no formal designation for Andrews' status, she said it could be best described as "administrative leave."
The S&B first learned that Andrews was placed on administrative leave from numerous Student Staff members and a member of SGA. Andrews later confirmed the information in the interview.
Andrews’ status at the school was first disseminated to Student Staff members last night, when some RLCs held meetings to inform their staffs. However they were given no further information about the circumstances beyond the fact that she was on leave.
This is a developing story, and we will be posting further information when it becomes available…
Friday, May 02, 2008
Relays postponed due to funding, disinterest, weather
by Claire Reeder
Grinnell Relays, an annual party that combines all the fun of a middle school field day with the all the fun of a booze bash, was canceled at the eleventh hour last Saturday. While, as officials reported, weather did play into the final decision to postpone Relays, lack of campus interest and funding were primary factors, according to organizers SGA President Megan Goering ’08 and SGA Student Services Coordinator Kirby Ramstad ’08.
According to Ramstad, there was little initial interest in Relays. After the first application due date, only one team had signed up; the extended deadline yielded one more team. After a second extension, seven teams had signed up. “No one seemed interested until really close to the event,” said Ramstad. “It was like pulling teeth to get people to sign up and turn in their forms.”
Marissa Gillman ’09, captain of Team Rainbow Fight, said she felt that the amount of advertising may have affected campus interest. “I just put together a team because I thought it would be fun after I saw a flyer in the mailroom,” she said. “But I didn’t really see a ton of advertising for the event.”
Funding also limited the planners, as participating teams contributed $90. Appeals to Dining Services, the ACE budget and collecting around campus finally totaled around $500. Traditionally, Relays money pays for equipment, food and beer, and is invested in T-shirts.
The low initial funding impeded the purchasing of Relays T-shirts, which in the increased awareness and funding in the past, limited initial capital restricted the ability to buy T-shirt. However, with the postponement, organizers have decided to front the money to purchase T-Shirts that will be distributed during Relays.
Generally, Relays is officially organized by volunteers and is not necessarily associated with SGA or All-Campus Events. But when no volunteers came forward to organize this year’s event, Ramstad and Goering took over.
According to Ramstad, the responsibility of Relays coupled with those of SGA and graduation limited the ability of the organizers to fundraise and increase advertising. “Megan had the trustees on campus, and I had both FogFast and the Blood Drive to organize,” said Ramstad. “With such a busy week, we do take some of the responsibility, we just couldn’t get it all together.”
Saturday morning, however, it was the weather forecast that led to the cancellation. It was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Goering.
The campus response has been mixed. While some people expressed frustration at the postponement, others offered to help. According to Ramstad, the organizers received five emails, three of which were offers to help. “People’s frustration is justified, but we’re doing our best to respond,” said Ramstad.
With another week to organize, let funds trickling in, and increase awareness, Relays will take place this Saturday on Cleveland Beach from 1 to 5 p.m. Scheduled events include the typical picnic games—three-legged and sack races, water balloon toss and watermelon eating contests—capped off with the traditional keg toss and the crowning event: the lighting of the flaming toilet torch. New additions this year include real beer in the outdoor beer garden and trophies for winners. Randy Brush, husband of Loosehead RLC Kim Hinds-Brush, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Grinnell Relays, an annual party that combines all the fun of a middle school field day with the all the fun of a booze bash, was canceled at the eleventh hour last Saturday. While, as officials reported, weather did play into the final decision to postpone Relays, lack of campus interest and funding were primary factors, according to organizers SGA President Megan Goering ’08 and SGA Student Services Coordinator Kirby Ramstad ’08.
According to Ramstad, there was little initial interest in Relays. After the first application due date, only one team had signed up; the extended deadline yielded one more team. After a second extension, seven teams had signed up. “No one seemed interested until really close to the event,” said Ramstad. “It was like pulling teeth to get people to sign up and turn in their forms.”
Marissa Gillman ’09, captain of Team Rainbow Fight, said she felt that the amount of advertising may have affected campus interest. “I just put together a team because I thought it would be fun after I saw a flyer in the mailroom,” she said. “But I didn’t really see a ton of advertising for the event.”
Funding also limited the planners, as participating teams contributed $90. Appeals to Dining Services, the ACE budget and collecting around campus finally totaled around $500. Traditionally, Relays money pays for equipment, food and beer, and is invested in T-shirts.
The low initial funding impeded the purchasing of Relays T-shirts, which in the increased awareness and funding in the past, limited initial capital restricted the ability to buy T-shirt. However, with the postponement, organizers have decided to front the money to purchase T-Shirts that will be distributed during Relays.
Generally, Relays is officially organized by volunteers and is not necessarily associated with SGA or All-Campus Events. But when no volunteers came forward to organize this year’s event, Ramstad and Goering took over.
According to Ramstad, the responsibility of Relays coupled with those of SGA and graduation limited the ability of the organizers to fundraise and increase advertising. “Megan had the trustees on campus, and I had both FogFast and the Blood Drive to organize,” said Ramstad. “With such a busy week, we do take some of the responsibility, we just couldn’t get it all together.”
Saturday morning, however, it was the weather forecast that led to the cancellation. It was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Goering.
The campus response has been mixed. While some people expressed frustration at the postponement, others offered to help. According to Ramstad, the organizers received five emails, three of which were offers to help. “People’s frustration is justified, but we’re doing our best to respond,” said Ramstad.
With another week to organize, let funds trickling in, and increase awareness, Relays will take place this Saturday on Cleveland Beach from 1 to 5 p.m. Scheduled events include the typical picnic games—three-legged and sack races, water balloon toss and watermelon eating contests—capped off with the traditional keg toss and the crowning event: the lighting of the flaming toilet torch. New additions this year include real beer in the outdoor beer garden and trophies for winners. Randy Brush, husband of Loosehead RLC Kim Hinds-Brush, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Update on Plans Outage
EDIT: Plans is once more online. Be sure to check out a full article in tomorrow's S&B.
Grinnellplans.com has been down since Sunday night, but might be back up as early as tonight or tomorrow.
Grinnellplans.com has been down since Sunday night, but might be back up as early as tonight or tomorrow.
The popular Grinnell site is hosted on a web server in Hawaii owned by Sechyi Laiu '04. On Sunday night, the server ran out of space and crashed.
Plans administrators are currently planning on moving Plans to a new server. This will probably involve reverting to a ten-day-old backup file, meaning that any Plans updates in the last ten days will be lost.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Danny Carroll to challenge State Rep. Palmer
The Iowa Secretary of State has posted a list of candidates (PDF—scroll down to page 42) in primary elections, and as rumored, former Republican State Representative Danny Carroll will challenge the man who unseated him in 2006, State Rep. Eric Palmer (D). Palmer also challenged Carroll in 2004 and lost narrowly.
Carroll held the seat for years before losing to Palmer. Since leaving office, he co-chaired former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee's statewide presidential campaign, which culminated in an unexpected and powerful victory in the 2008 Republican Iowa Caucuses.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Students receive anti-queer letters
By: Ari Anisfeld and David Logan
Additional reporting by David H. Montgomery & Abby Rapoport
This story is an edited version of a previously-published story.
Sometime Thursday night 34 members of the Grinnell College queer community received anti-queer letters, according to Stephen Briscoe, director of Security. The letters come a day after a rally responding to a bias-motivated crime that occurred in a South Campus hall last Friday night.
Early this morning a student working at the post office received one of the letters and then notified security at around 8:15 a.m. Friday. “They were all the same type of letter, folded over and stapled together with the students’ name and mailbox typed on the outside,” Briscoe said.
Printed on the inside of each letter in large bold font were slurs and epithets, many including gender-specific anti-queer attacks matching the gender of the recipients. Among the slurs were “Fear God, not Fags” and “You can’t stop us fag—go and get some pussy.” Most of the students receiving the letters were part of the campus queer community, although some were not active on campus.
Security contacted the Grinnell Police Department as part of the investigation. Security is also working with ITS to find out if they can identify whether the letters were made on a campus computer or printer.
While Briscoe said that security cannot currently say with any confidence who may have sent the letters, he suspected the perpetrators are part of the college community. “I think it was someone on campus, to be honest,” Briscoe said.
Sheree Andrews, associate dean and director of Student Life, said whoever sent the letters, likely had information about the queer community. “It was clearly somebody who had access to a directory and it was somebody who was on campus or could come on campus,” said Andrews. “It was someone who knew who was associated the LGBTQ community.”
Briscoe said that security could not yet say whether the incident is connected to last weekend’s anti-queer vandalism.
According to Thomas Bateman ’10, who received one of the letters, recipients were contacted by Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Elena Bernal who then set up a meeting to discuss the mailings. “She wanted to make sure we were okay and find out what we wanted to do about it,” Bateman said.
Not all the students were completely comfortable with the meeting. Jose Segebre Salazar ’09 was somewhat disturbed that the names of the recipients had been distributed to individuals outside of security. “If you want to talk about it, that’s fine,” he said. “But just the fact that there’s a compiled list that’s gone outside of police record—it’s kind of scary.”
In an all-campus e-mail, President Russell K. Osgood expressed anger at the continued acts of intolerance. “We are very saddened and angered by what has happened. Those who engaged in these cowardly acts will find no solace in our community,” Osgood wrote.
Some classes were cancelled as students met in informal groups across campus to discuss how to respond to the latest anti-queer incident.
The centerpiece of the response was a second meeting in JRC 101 which appeared to have an attendance of well more than 200 students, faculty and staff. Bernal and Johanna Meehan, Philosophy, delivered opening remarks emphasizing that the message of the gathering was one of community and love, not one of hate. “[We’re] not here to talk about the negative aspects. We’re here to have a positive discussion,” Bernal said. “There’s comfort for people that are in this room tonight.”
After the opening discussion, organizers unveiled the gathering’s primary activity—love mail. Attendees took advantage of crates of paper and art supplies to make love letters for their friends and peers. “In response to the hate mail, the most beautiful thing we’ve come up with is love mail,” Bernal said.
Before this afternoon’s forum, a group of students were in the Spencer Grille creating t-shirts that emphasized community and tolerance. Jon Richardson ’10, who helped to organize the t-shirt making with Kelly Bosworth ’10, bought plain white t-shirts and colored markers for friends to use, but others quickly joined in.
“I thought some other people might join in, but this is amazing,” Richardson said. “It started with one table making shirts and there are five now.”
Jessica Issacharoff ’09, who made a shirt of her own, said she was particularly upset by the letters because she knew many of the recipients. “I have a lot of friends who got [the letters] and I was absolutely shocked,” said Issacharoff. “I would never have expected anything so aggressive. And so violent. It was just very violent language.”
Bateman, who participated in Thursday night’s march and rally, said he was not surprised that this happened after Thursday’s great show of support for the queer community and tolerance in general. “It makes sense that this happen[ed] after the rally because [the rally] was so effective and productive,” said Bateman. “This makes sense as a retaliation to that.”
Again emphasizing the positive responses to the anti-queer acts, Bernal also said that the letters revealed some sense of desperation. “Because last night was so powerful,” Bernal said, “the response back from folks who did not want to see that happen, who are living with this latent anger … had to come back just as hard as what happened the other night [with the rally and march].”
Some students, like Jose, felt that the magnitude of the response to both the vandalism and mailings incidents lent them too much legitimacy and impact. “We should not give them so much currency as to disrupt our personal lives and our lives as students,” he said.
While Andrews said she was upset by the mailings, she reiterated the importance of responding in a positive manner. “We want to go into a very positive vein with all of this,” she said. “Some of the fire we got going last night with the rally will keep on throughout the weekend.”
In addition to the community events that will unfold throughout the week, Bernal emphasized college services as a means of coping with the events. She urged students to take advantage of resources in the Mental Health Center, Student Services and their friends. “Everybody’s waiting to throw their arms around their brothers and sisters at Grinnell in support,” she said.
Bernal also categorically rejected the notion that the incidents mean that Grinnell College is not a tolerant community. “If this wasn’t an accepting community,” Bernal said, “you wouldn’t have the hundreds of people here last night and the hundreds of people here within a few hours of an e-mail.”
Bateman, while shaken, said he would not let the mailings significantly alter his perceptions of the Grinnell community. “I’m really happy with the Grinnell community in light of last night,” said Bateman. “It’s important not to view this as spoiling [the rally] and that the Grinnell community is not intolerant.”
Additional reporting by David H. Montgomery & Abby Rapoport
This story is an edited version of a previously-published story.
Sometime Thursday night 34 members of the Grinnell College queer community received anti-queer letters, according to Stephen Briscoe, director of Security. The letters come a day after a rally responding to a bias-motivated crime that occurred in a South Campus hall last Friday night.
Early this morning a student working at the post office received one of the letters and then notified security at around 8:15 a.m. Friday. “They were all the same type of letter, folded over and stapled together with the students’ name and mailbox typed on the outside,” Briscoe said.
Printed on the inside of each letter in large bold font were slurs and epithets, many including gender-specific anti-queer attacks matching the gender of the recipients. Among the slurs were “Fear God, not Fags” and “You can’t stop us fag—go and get some pussy.” Most of the students receiving the letters were part of the campus queer community, although some were not active on campus.
Security contacted the Grinnell Police Department as part of the investigation. Security is also working with ITS to find out if they can identify whether the letters were made on a campus computer or printer.
While Briscoe said that security cannot currently say with any confidence who may have sent the letters, he suspected the perpetrators are part of the college community. “I think it was someone on campus, to be honest,” Briscoe said.
Sheree Andrews, associate dean and director of Student Life, said whoever sent the letters, likely had information about the queer community. “It was clearly somebody who had access to a directory and it was somebody who was on campus or could come on campus,” said Andrews. “It was someone who knew who was associated the LGBTQ community.”
Briscoe said that security could not yet say whether the incident is connected to last weekend’s anti-queer vandalism.
According to Thomas Bateman ’10, who received one of the letters, recipients were contacted by Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Elena Bernal who then set up a meeting to discuss the mailings. “She wanted to make sure we were okay and find out what we wanted to do about it,” Bateman said.
Not all the students were completely comfortable with the meeting. Jose Segebre Salazar ’09 was somewhat disturbed that the names of the recipients had been distributed to individuals outside of security. “If you want to talk about it, that’s fine,” he said. “But just the fact that there’s a compiled list that’s gone outside of police record—it’s kind of scary.”
In an all-campus e-mail, President Russell K. Osgood expressed anger at the continued acts of intolerance. “We are very saddened and angered by what has happened. Those who engaged in these cowardly acts will find no solace in our community,” Osgood wrote.
Some classes were cancelled as students met in informal groups across campus to discuss how to respond to the latest anti-queer incident.
The centerpiece of the response was a second meeting in JRC 101 which appeared to have an attendance of well more than 200 students, faculty and staff. Bernal and Johanna Meehan, Philosophy, delivered opening remarks emphasizing that the message of the gathering was one of community and love, not one of hate. “[We’re] not here to talk about the negative aspects. We’re here to have a positive discussion,” Bernal said. “There’s comfort for people that are in this room tonight.”
After the opening discussion, organizers unveiled the gathering’s primary activity—love mail. Attendees took advantage of crates of paper and art supplies to make love letters for their friends and peers. “In response to the hate mail, the most beautiful thing we’ve come up with is love mail,” Bernal said.
Before this afternoon’s forum, a group of students were in the Spencer Grille creating t-shirts that emphasized community and tolerance. Jon Richardson ’10, who helped to organize the t-shirt making with Kelly Bosworth ’10, bought plain white t-shirts and colored markers for friends to use, but others quickly joined in.
“I thought some other people might join in, but this is amazing,” Richardson said. “It started with one table making shirts and there are five now.”
Jessica Issacharoff ’09, who made a shirt of her own, said she was particularly upset by the letters because she knew many of the recipients. “I have a lot of friends who got [the letters] and I was absolutely shocked,” said Issacharoff. “I would never have expected anything so aggressive. And so violent. It was just very violent language.”
Bateman, who participated in Thursday night’s march and rally, said he was not surprised that this happened after Thursday’s great show of support for the queer community and tolerance in general. “It makes sense that this happen[ed] after the rally because [the rally] was so effective and productive,” said Bateman. “This makes sense as a retaliation to that.”
Again emphasizing the positive responses to the anti-queer acts, Bernal also said that the letters revealed some sense of desperation. “Because last night was so powerful,” Bernal said, “the response back from folks who did not want to see that happen, who are living with this latent anger … had to come back just as hard as what happened the other night [with the rally and march].”
Some students, like Jose, felt that the magnitude of the response to both the vandalism and mailings incidents lent them too much legitimacy and impact. “We should not give them so much currency as to disrupt our personal lives and our lives as students,” he said.
While Andrews said she was upset by the mailings, she reiterated the importance of responding in a positive manner. “We want to go into a very positive vein with all of this,” she said. “Some of the fire we got going last night with the rally will keep on throughout the weekend.”
In addition to the community events that will unfold throughout the week, Bernal emphasized college services as a means of coping with the events. She urged students to take advantage of resources in the Mental Health Center, Student Services and their friends. “Everybody’s waiting to throw their arms around their brothers and sisters at Grinnell in support,” she said.
Bernal also categorically rejected the notion that the incidents mean that Grinnell College is not a tolerant community. “If this wasn’t an accepting community,” Bernal said, “you wouldn’t have the hundreds of people here last night and the hundreds of people here within a few hours of an e-mail.”
Bateman, while shaken, said he would not let the mailings significantly alter his perceptions of the Grinnell community. “I’m really happy with the Grinnell community in light of last night,” said Bateman. “It’s important not to view this as spoiling [the rally] and that the Grinnell community is not intolerant.”
Monday, August 13, 2007
Grinnell and Study Abroad programs
Grinnell Director of Off-Campus Study Richard Bright said in an e-mail that Grinnell does not have any financial arrangements with study abroad programs, such as those that were detailed in The New York Times today. The Times published an article on student loan programs and the "gifts and money" that sometimes flow the universities' way in those relationships. Some things mentioned:
Colleges and universities cited in the article included the University of California (Berkeley), Fordham and Pace, Rice, and Columbia.
"I can say with confidence that Grinnell does not engage in the sorts of financial arrangements with study-abroad programs described in the article," Bright wrote in his e-mail after being asked about the Times article. "The college selects programs according to their academic relevance to the on-campus curriculum and would not accept monetary or non-monetary incentives in making these decisions. In fact, none of the programs to which Grinnell sends students has ever made such an offer."
At many campuses, study abroad programs are run by multiple companies and nonprofit institutes that offer colleges generous perks to sign up students: free and subsidized travel overseas for officials, back-office services to defray operating expenses, stipends to market the programs to students, unpaid membership on advisory councils and boards, and even cash bonuses and commissions on student-paid fees. This money generally goes directly to colleges, not always to the students who take the trips.
Colleges and universities cited in the article included the University of California (Berkeley), Fordham and Pace, Rice, and Columbia.
"I can say with confidence that Grinnell does not engage in the sorts of financial arrangements with study-abroad programs described in the article," Bright wrote in his e-mail after being asked about the Times article. "The college selects programs according to their academic relevance to the on-campus curriculum and would not accept monetary or non-monetary incentives in making these decisions. In fact, none of the programs to which Grinnell sends students has ever made such an offer."
Friday, April 20, 2007
Friend, musician, athlete remembered for humor and passion
By Caitlin Carmody
This article was first published today in the print edition of the S&B.
Last spring, for his tutorial’s “music happening,” Paul Shuman-Moore ’09 performed in the style of Jandek, an idiosyncratic blues-folk musician who was one of Paul’s favorite performers. Paul played a guitar and sang covers of Jandek tunes and nursery rhymes, never once breaking character.
Eric McIntyre, Music, Paul’s advisor and professor of last year’s “Weird Music” tutorial, said that even being confronted with the weirdest of weird performances couldn’t shake Paul. “I had a chicken in one hand and was yelling Dr. Phil excerpts at people…I went up to Paul and was reading these Dr. Phil excerpts, trying to maintain character furiously. I’ve got the camera on him, and I just started laughing, because he would not be shaken, he didn’t shake at all, and it was just this true performance,” McIntyre said. “There was Paul over there just completely in character, in the style of Jandek singing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’.”
Music played a significant role in Paul’s life. “For him, music was just pure passion,” McIntyre said. “It’s hard to describe, it’s just pretty unique to be so completely wrapped in it.” McIntyre said Paul was a talented and creative student. “He had a real aptitude for the subject matter,” he said. “In our class he always had creative insights. He wasn’t afraid of things that were off-the-beaten-path views.”
Paul played the trombone in the orchestra, but much of his musical experiences were much less mainstream and more experimental. Daniel Furuta ’08, a friend and fellow tutorial member, said he and Paul, and occasionally other students, would play a show at least once a month. “What we played varied … electronics, toy instruments, non-music objects,” he said. “It sounds kind of ridiculous, toy instruments, but it was a serious pursuit [for him].”
Emily Iwuc ’08 was on the Concerts Committee with Paul, and often played with him and Furuta. She said that Paul taught her different aspects of experimental music, like how to circuit bend and solder. She said he thought about applying to be Concerts Chair and they joked about competing for the spot. “When he was playing music, he seemed to have a good time,” she said.
Paul was also very involved in Ultimate Frisbee. He starting playing on the Grinnell team at the beginning of his first year and excelled at the sport. “He was a really good thrower and really fast,” team member Brian Cavanagh-Strong ’09 said. “There was also kind of a running joke that he had the prettiest legs on the team. He wore really short shorts and these [leg] muscles would pop out.”
Cavanagh-Strong recalled Paul’s participation in the Frisbee team’s annual Good v. Evil tournament. “Paul was always on the Good team and he would come in long white underwear, white t-shirt and wear white briefs. He would make crosses out of sticks and parade around, and he also wore underwear on his head once,” he said. “He was always coming up with funny chants and cheers.”
Yet Paul’s sense of humor didn’t overshadow his kindness. “I don’t think he ever said a disparaging word about anyone, ever,” co-captain Noah Bindman ’07 said. “Even in a context where something like that might be acceptable, he never said anything bad about anybody,” Bindman said.
Paul’s intensity and humor also carried over to his passion for movies. He was a core member of the group “Movie Maddness” and according to his friend Soleil Ho ’09, Paul liked “terrible movies.” “I don’t think he ever missed a meeting of Movie Maddness,” she said. “Sometimes it would just be him and Andrew Cole [‘06] watching a movie together. He was really into movies, it was his favorite thing to do on the weekdays.”
One of Ho’s favorite memories of Paul was when they watched Dr. Seuss’ cult classic The 5000 Fingers of Dr T. “The voice sounded familiar,” she said. “And we were like, “Who the fuck is this guy?” and we were brainstorming while watching in agony, and then Paul whispers, ‘It’s Captain Hook,’ and we just had a collective orgasm, it was so good.”
McIntyre said that Paul exhibited a “humor matched with boldness.” He said one of his fondest memories of Paul was of an orchestra performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, during which Paul used a few bars of rest memorably. “At the climax of this work, after all this tumultuousness, comes this sort of triumphant theme. And Paul’s in the very back, and in the performance I look back there and he’s raised his fist in triumph and is waving it around,” he said. “It’s just something that I can’t get past,” McIntyre said. “Nobody would do that, but he did, and it made me smile.”
McIntyre said that this was a good example of Paul’s character. “I felt all along, even before he disappeared, that he was someone that I would be talking about to classes for generations,” he said. “The reasons I’m going to talk about him in the future are things that he did while he was here, because he did some things that were very memorable. George Carlin said, ‘Make someone’s life.’ It’s one thing to make someone’s day, but to do something that people for years from now on Thanksgiving, people will be saying, ‘Did I tell you about this guy who did this?’”
Many who were close to Paul recalled his sense of humor as a defining feature of his personality. “I remember his infectious laugh and smile,” Cavanagh-Strong said.
“If you looked at Paul and he was smiling, you were on your way to laughing with him,” he said.
Bindman agreed that Paul was “absolutely hilarious.” “It took me awhile to realize that what was hilarious about him was this gentle sarcasm that was really funny,” Bindman said. “His eyes were always laughing, no matter what was going on.”
McIntyre echoed these thoughts. “It seemed like to me there was a lot of joy,” he said.
“If there’s one sort of image that carries through all the images I have, it’s of him with this small, perhaps mischievous smile that says he doesn’t really want to let on that something’s funny, but he’s thinking something’s funny.
This article was first published today in the print edition of the S&B.
Last spring, for his tutorial’s “music happening,” Paul Shuman-Moore ’09 performed in the style of Jandek, an idiosyncratic blues-folk musician who was one of Paul’s favorite performers. Paul played a guitar and sang covers of Jandek tunes and nursery rhymes, never once breaking character.
Eric McIntyre, Music, Paul’s advisor and professor of last year’s “Weird Music” tutorial, said that even being confronted with the weirdest of weird performances couldn’t shake Paul. “I had a chicken in one hand and was yelling Dr. Phil excerpts at people…I went up to Paul and was reading these Dr. Phil excerpts, trying to maintain character furiously. I’ve got the camera on him, and I just started laughing, because he would not be shaken, he didn’t shake at all, and it was just this true performance,” McIntyre said. “There was Paul over there just completely in character, in the style of Jandek singing ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’.”
Music played a significant role in Paul’s life. “For him, music was just pure passion,” McIntyre said. “It’s hard to describe, it’s just pretty unique to be so completely wrapped in it.” McIntyre said Paul was a talented and creative student. “He had a real aptitude for the subject matter,” he said. “In our class he always had creative insights. He wasn’t afraid of things that were off-the-beaten-path views.”
Paul played the trombone in the orchestra, but much of his musical experiences were much less mainstream and more experimental. Daniel Furuta ’08, a friend and fellow tutorial member, said he and Paul, and occasionally other students, would play a show at least once a month. “What we played varied … electronics, toy instruments, non-music objects,” he said. “It sounds kind of ridiculous, toy instruments, but it was a serious pursuit [for him].”
Emily Iwuc ’08 was on the Concerts Committee with Paul, and often played with him and Furuta. She said that Paul taught her different aspects of experimental music, like how to circuit bend and solder. She said he thought about applying to be Concerts Chair and they joked about competing for the spot. “When he was playing music, he seemed to have a good time,” she said.
Paul was also very involved in Ultimate Frisbee. He starting playing on the Grinnell team at the beginning of his first year and excelled at the sport. “He was a really good thrower and really fast,” team member Brian Cavanagh-Strong ’09 said. “There was also kind of a running joke that he had the prettiest legs on the team. He wore really short shorts and these [leg] muscles would pop out.”
Cavanagh-Strong recalled Paul’s participation in the Frisbee team’s annual Good v. Evil tournament. “Paul was always on the Good team and he would come in long white underwear, white t-shirt and wear white briefs. He would make crosses out of sticks and parade around, and he also wore underwear on his head once,” he said. “He was always coming up with funny chants and cheers.”
Yet Paul’s sense of humor didn’t overshadow his kindness. “I don’t think he ever said a disparaging word about anyone, ever,” co-captain Noah Bindman ’07 said. “Even in a context where something like that might be acceptable, he never said anything bad about anybody,” Bindman said.
Paul’s intensity and humor also carried over to his passion for movies. He was a core member of the group “Movie Maddness” and according to his friend Soleil Ho ’09, Paul liked “terrible movies.” “I don’t think he ever missed a meeting of Movie Maddness,” she said. “Sometimes it would just be him and Andrew Cole [‘06] watching a movie together. He was really into movies, it was his favorite thing to do on the weekdays.”
One of Ho’s favorite memories of Paul was when they watched Dr. Seuss’ cult classic The 5000 Fingers of Dr T. “The voice sounded familiar,” she said. “And we were like, “Who the fuck is this guy?” and we were brainstorming while watching in agony, and then Paul whispers, ‘It’s Captain Hook,’ and we just had a collective orgasm, it was so good.”
McIntyre said that Paul exhibited a “humor matched with boldness.” He said one of his fondest memories of Paul was of an orchestra performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, during which Paul used a few bars of rest memorably. “At the climax of this work, after all this tumultuousness, comes this sort of triumphant theme. And Paul’s in the very back, and in the performance I look back there and he’s raised his fist in triumph and is waving it around,” he said. “It’s just something that I can’t get past,” McIntyre said. “Nobody would do that, but he did, and it made me smile.”
McIntyre said that this was a good example of Paul’s character. “I felt all along, even before he disappeared, that he was someone that I would be talking about to classes for generations,” he said. “The reasons I’m going to talk about him in the future are things that he did while he was here, because he did some things that were very memorable. George Carlin said, ‘Make someone’s life.’ It’s one thing to make someone’s day, but to do something that people for years from now on Thanksgiving, people will be saying, ‘Did I tell you about this guy who did this?’”
Many who were close to Paul recalled his sense of humor as a defining feature of his personality. “I remember his infectious laugh and smile,” Cavanagh-Strong said.
“If you looked at Paul and he was smiling, you were on your way to laughing with him,” he said.
Bindman agreed that Paul was “absolutely hilarious.” “It took me awhile to realize that what was hilarious about him was this gentle sarcasm that was really funny,” Bindman said. “His eyes were always laughing, no matter what was going on.”
McIntyre echoed these thoughts. “It seemed like to me there was a lot of joy,” he said.
“If there’s one sort of image that carries through all the images I have, it’s of him with this small, perhaps mischievous smile that says he doesn’t really want to let on that something’s funny, but he’s thinking something’s funny.
Investigators rule Shuman-Moore’s death a suicide by drowning; campus begins to cope with vigil and discussion
By Abby Rapoport with additional reporting by Cid Standifer, Chris Neubert, Rebecca Park, and David Logan
This article was first published today in the print edition of the S&B.
After an almost seven month-long police investigation, the search for Paul Shuman-Moore ’09, came to an end Tuesday when police confirmed that the identity of a body found in the Grinnell Country Club pool was his. According to investigators, the cause of death was suicide by drowning.
Tuesday night, SGA held a candlelight vigil for both Shuman-Moore and the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting. School administrators are offering a variety of resources to help students cope with the situation.
A country club employee found the body on Monday when he removed the cover of the outdoor pool to prepare for summer use. Upon the discovery, Grinnell police shut down the country club and called Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) mobile lab units and investigators, including many who were involved in the initial missing person case.
Police sent the body to DCI labs and on Tuesday, after conducting an autopsy and checking dental records, confirmed that the body was Shuman-Moore’s. On Wednesday, at a Des Moines press conference, police announced that the cause of death was suicide by drowning and that foul play was not involved in Shuman-Moore’s death.
“In this particular case, there is absolutely no indication of evidence that Mr. Shuman-Moore was the victim of a homicide,” said Jody Matherly, Grinnell Chief of Police. According to investigators, Shuman-Moore’s hands and feet were loosely bound with duct-tape, and those bindings were self-applied. Police recovered a knife at the scene and a slit had been cut in the pool cover where entry would have been possible.
Many have wondered how the police missed Shuman-Moore’s body as they combed the area surrounding Grinnell. Matherly said that on two rounds, search dogs converged on the country club, though the slit in the pool’s cover was not immediately visible.
“You folks have to understand that we had investigators, we had trained search parties, volunteers, fellow students, community members, airplanes, [and] dogs,” Matherly said. “Simply put, it was missed and we certainly don’t place blame on anybody for that being missed,” said Matherly. Tom Crady, Vice-President for Student Affairs, agreed, describing the search as “extremely well-organized.” “The pool cover itself is pulled very tight and so I can see why people would not think it would be a place to look,” he said.
Students responded quickly to the news. On Tuesday, when police announced the body was Shuman-Moore’s, SGA organized a candlelight vigil in honor of both Shuman-Moore and the victims at Virginia Tech. Student Services Coordinator Julie Edwards ’07 and Katie Jares ’07 worked together to plan the event, relying largely on Adam Brumer ’07 for logistics. The vigil took place in the JRC courtyard between the Grill and the Dining Hall. The Grinnell Singers performed three songs before students proceeded to the Forum where they signed posters to be sent to Virginia Tech. The next day, SGA provided posters outside the Dining Hall to be sent to Shuman-Moore’s family.
“We wanted everyone to come together as a community, and we wanted to give everyone time to grieve together,” said Jares. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else. These people are my family.” The vigil struck a cord with many of those who attended. “Not only were we trying to respect Paul, but at the same time the whole Virginia Tech thing,” said Lauren Bacon ’10, who went to the event. “This week has been … pretty heavy on everybody.” Edwards felt the vigil provided a comfortable space for students to mourn. “I was more proud of planning this event than anything else I’ve done in four years here,” she said.
In addition to the vigil, Student Affairs offered a community discussion on Tuesday night to further help students cope. “We invited the whole campus to come and just have a time to talk about Paul,” said Assistant Dean and Director of Residence Life Sheree Andrews. “Talk about the good things, the funny things, the sad things.” According to Andrews, about 50 students attended the discussion. The event also gave students an opportunity to join an e-mail list designed to let students share stories with the Shuman-Moore family. The Shuman-Moores came to Grinnell Wednesday and talked with students between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. The family has asked to grieve privately, but they have welcomed friends to visit and e-mail them.
Administrators have been frequently available since Monday, and left Student Affairs offices open Wednesday night from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. for students to come in, talk, and eat pizza. RLCs are available to meet with students, and Andrews said many students are taking advantage of the opportunity. Student Affairs also has worked to make sure students do not feel pressure from their classes. “We understand that this is a really stressful time for people and that it could affect their academics,” said Andrews. She told students worried about schoolwork to contact Joyce Stern, Dean for Academic Support.
A memorial for Shuman-Moore will be held tomorrow at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Chicago. Students who wish to attend the memorial can contact Dean for Student Life Jennifer Krohn about college-organized transportation by noon today. College administrators said a memorial would also be held in Grinnell but further details have not been released.
This article was first published today in the print edition of the S&B.
After an almost seven month-long police investigation, the search for Paul Shuman-Moore ’09, came to an end Tuesday when police confirmed that the identity of a body found in the Grinnell Country Club pool was his. According to investigators, the cause of death was suicide by drowning.
Tuesday night, SGA held a candlelight vigil for both Shuman-Moore and the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting. School administrators are offering a variety of resources to help students cope with the situation.
A country club employee found the body on Monday when he removed the cover of the outdoor pool to prepare for summer use. Upon the discovery, Grinnell police shut down the country club and called Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) mobile lab units and investigators, including many who were involved in the initial missing person case.
Police sent the body to DCI labs and on Tuesday, after conducting an autopsy and checking dental records, confirmed that the body was Shuman-Moore’s. On Wednesday, at a Des Moines press conference, police announced that the cause of death was suicide by drowning and that foul play was not involved in Shuman-Moore’s death.
“In this particular case, there is absolutely no indication of evidence that Mr. Shuman-Moore was the victim of a homicide,” said Jody Matherly, Grinnell Chief of Police. According to investigators, Shuman-Moore’s hands and feet were loosely bound with duct-tape, and those bindings were self-applied. Police recovered a knife at the scene and a slit had been cut in the pool cover where entry would have been possible.
Many have wondered how the police missed Shuman-Moore’s body as they combed the area surrounding Grinnell. Matherly said that on two rounds, search dogs converged on the country club, though the slit in the pool’s cover was not immediately visible.
“You folks have to understand that we had investigators, we had trained search parties, volunteers, fellow students, community members, airplanes, [and] dogs,” Matherly said. “Simply put, it was missed and we certainly don’t place blame on anybody for that being missed,” said Matherly. Tom Crady, Vice-President for Student Affairs, agreed, describing the search as “extremely well-organized.” “The pool cover itself is pulled very tight and so I can see why people would not think it would be a place to look,” he said.
Students responded quickly to the news. On Tuesday, when police announced the body was Shuman-Moore’s, SGA organized a candlelight vigil in honor of both Shuman-Moore and the victims at Virginia Tech. Student Services Coordinator Julie Edwards ’07 and Katie Jares ’07 worked together to plan the event, relying largely on Adam Brumer ’07 for logistics. The vigil took place in the JRC courtyard between the Grill and the Dining Hall. The Grinnell Singers performed three songs before students proceeded to the Forum where they signed posters to be sent to Virginia Tech. The next day, SGA provided posters outside the Dining Hall to be sent to Shuman-Moore’s family.
“We wanted everyone to come together as a community, and we wanted to give everyone time to grieve together,” said Jares. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else. These people are my family.” The vigil struck a cord with many of those who attended. “Not only were we trying to respect Paul, but at the same time the whole Virginia Tech thing,” said Lauren Bacon ’10, who went to the event. “This week has been … pretty heavy on everybody.” Edwards felt the vigil provided a comfortable space for students to mourn. “I was more proud of planning this event than anything else I’ve done in four years here,” she said.
In addition to the vigil, Student Affairs offered a community discussion on Tuesday night to further help students cope. “We invited the whole campus to come and just have a time to talk about Paul,” said Assistant Dean and Director of Residence Life Sheree Andrews. “Talk about the good things, the funny things, the sad things.” According to Andrews, about 50 students attended the discussion. The event also gave students an opportunity to join an e-mail list designed to let students share stories with the Shuman-Moore family. The Shuman-Moores came to Grinnell Wednesday and talked with students between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. The family has asked to grieve privately, but they have welcomed friends to visit and e-mail them.
Administrators have been frequently available since Monday, and left Student Affairs offices open Wednesday night from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. for students to come in, talk, and eat pizza. RLCs are available to meet with students, and Andrews said many students are taking advantage of the opportunity. Student Affairs also has worked to make sure students do not feel pressure from their classes. “We understand that this is a really stressful time for people and that it could affect their academics,” said Andrews. She told students worried about schoolwork to contact Joyce Stern, Dean for Academic Support.
A memorial for Shuman-Moore will be held tomorrow at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Chicago. Students who wish to attend the memorial can contact Dean for Student Life Jennifer Krohn about college-organized transportation by noon today. College administrators said a memorial would also be held in Grinnell but further details have not been released.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Officials confirm Shuman-Moore's death a suicide
By Caitlin Carmody
At a press conference in Des Moines Wednesday, representatives from the Grinnell Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the State Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Grinnell student Paul Shuman-Moore ’09 committed suicide. The official cause of death was listed as drowning.
“In this particular case there is absolutely no indication of evidence that Mr. Shuman-Moore was the victim of a homicide,” Grinnell Chief of Police Jody Matherly said. “All indications are that he was a talented, well-liked yet troubled young man who took his own life.”
Matherly said that Shuman-Moore’s hands and feet were “loosely bound” with duct tape. and that examinations indicated the bindings were self-applied. Police recovered a knife at the scene and a slit had been cut in the pool cover where entry would have been possible.
Responding to inquiries about why the initial search in September had failed to locate Shuman-Moore’s body, Matherly said that the country club area had been searched twice and that search dogs had gone near the pool.
“Simply put, it was missed and we certainly don’t place blame on anybody for that being missed,” Matherly said. "It’s a fact of life that things can be missed, and in fact it appears it was."
A memorial for Shuman-Moore will be held this Saturday at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Chicago. College administrators said a memorial would also be held in Grinnell but further details have not been released.
At a press conference in Des Moines Wednesday, representatives from the Grinnell Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the State Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that Grinnell student Paul Shuman-Moore ’09 committed suicide. The official cause of death was listed as drowning.
“In this particular case there is absolutely no indication of evidence that Mr. Shuman-Moore was the victim of a homicide,” Grinnell Chief of Police Jody Matherly said. “All indications are that he was a talented, well-liked yet troubled young man who took his own life.”
Matherly said that Shuman-Moore’s hands and feet were “loosely bound” with duct tape. and that examinations indicated the bindings were self-applied. Police recovered a knife at the scene and a slit had been cut in the pool cover where entry would have been possible.
Responding to inquiries about why the initial search in September had failed to locate Shuman-Moore’s body, Matherly said that the country club area had been searched twice and that search dogs had gone near the pool.
“Simply put, it was missed and we certainly don’t place blame on anybody for that being missed,” Matherly said. "It’s a fact of life that things can be missed, and in fact it appears it was."
A memorial for Shuman-Moore will be held this Saturday at the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Chicago. College administrators said a memorial would also be held in Grinnell but further details have not been released.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Grinnell PD, Crady provide update
By Cid Standifer
On Tuesday at approximately 3:45 p.m. the Grinnell Police Department issued a press release stating that the dental records of the body found in the Grinnell Country Club pool matched those of Paul Shuman-Moore '09. The release also states that there is "no compelling evidence to indicate foul play," and further information will be released as it becomes available.
Steve Moore and Betsy Shuman-Moore were quoted in the release: "For the past six months, we have hoped and prayed that our dear son Paul was alive. Now that he has been found, we are devastated." Paul's family thanked the media for their help in the search for Paul, but asked that now "they respect our need to grieve in private."
Vice President of Student Affairs Tom Crady spoke to the media shortly after the Police Department’s announcement. Crady talked about the reaction of the college and described steps that will be taken to support students as they work through this tragedy. Crady said that Student Affairs has been discussing ways to help the student body grieve if a body were found since Shuman-Moore disappeared in September, but they were still not prepared for the recent news.
"We weren't planning on a death response three days ago," Crady said. "What we were planning for was how to help Paul's family and figure out where he might have gone ... so we were very surprised."
Crady said he understands that many other members of the campus community are having trouble dealing with the news, even though some students have long believed that Shuman-Moore was no longer alive. "I think there's been a long time for people to mentally prepare for it, but how can you ever mentally prepare for a student death?" he said.
Crady also said he was discomfited by the fact that last fall's search failed to turn up Shuman-Moore's body when it was so close to campus. Crady personally helped in the search for a week, and described the process as "extraordinarily well-organized." He remembers that the search of the country club golf course and nearby railroad tracks was extremely thorough. However, he said that "the pool cover itself is pulled very tight, and so I can see why people would not think it would be a place to look."
Members of the media are allowed on campus in public places, and so were able to cover the candlelight vigil held Tuesday night at 9:30. However, they were not granted special passes to cover the student counseling and discussion session in Younker. According to Kate Worster, Director of Communications, the college does not allow the media into private residence halls and has no intention of doing so. "We asked everyone to please show us kindness and respect because we are grieving," she said.
"I think our students are extraordinarily mature and very thoughtful in the way they respond," Crady said. "Our students come together very well and are very resilient and we want students who are upset to know that we care about them."
An autopsy has been completed but members of the Police Department have not yet commented on the cause of death. Tuesday's press release stated that a press conference would most likely be held Wednesday afternoon to announce any further information.
On Tuesday at approximately 3:45 p.m. the Grinnell Police Department issued a press release stating that the dental records of the body found in the Grinnell Country Club pool matched those of Paul Shuman-Moore '09. The release also states that there is "no compelling evidence to indicate foul play," and further information will be released as it becomes available.
Steve Moore and Betsy Shuman-Moore were quoted in the release: "For the past six months, we have hoped and prayed that our dear son Paul was alive. Now that he has been found, we are devastated." Paul's family thanked the media for their help in the search for Paul, but asked that now "they respect our need to grieve in private."
Vice President of Student Affairs Tom Crady spoke to the media shortly after the Police Department’s announcement. Crady talked about the reaction of the college and described steps that will be taken to support students as they work through this tragedy. Crady said that Student Affairs has been discussing ways to help the student body grieve if a body were found since Shuman-Moore disappeared in September, but they were still not prepared for the recent news.
"We weren't planning on a death response three days ago," Crady said. "What we were planning for was how to help Paul's family and figure out where he might have gone ... so we were very surprised."
Crady said he understands that many other members of the campus community are having trouble dealing with the news, even though some students have long believed that Shuman-Moore was no longer alive. "I think there's been a long time for people to mentally prepare for it, but how can you ever mentally prepare for a student death?" he said.
Crady also said he was discomfited by the fact that last fall's search failed to turn up Shuman-Moore's body when it was so close to campus. Crady personally helped in the search for a week, and described the process as "extraordinarily well-organized." He remembers that the search of the country club golf course and nearby railroad tracks was extremely thorough. However, he said that "the pool cover itself is pulled very tight, and so I can see why people would not think it would be a place to look."
Members of the media are allowed on campus in public places, and so were able to cover the candlelight vigil held Tuesday night at 9:30. However, they were not granted special passes to cover the student counseling and discussion session in Younker. According to Kate Worster, Director of Communications, the college does not allow the media into private residence halls and has no intention of doing so. "We asked everyone to please show us kindness and respect because we are grieving," she said.
"I think our students are extraordinarily mature and very thoughtful in the way they respond," Crady said. "Our students come together very well and are very resilient and we want students who are upset to know that we care about them."
An autopsy has been completed but members of the Police Department have not yet commented on the cause of death. Tuesday's press release stated that a press conference would most likely be held Wednesday afternoon to announce any further information.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Body Identified as Paul's
According to Grinnell Police, the body found yesterday at the Grinnell Golf & Country Club swimming pool has been identified as Paul Shuman-Moore's '09. This Des Moines Register article currently has the most up to date information on the situation.
College administrators have announced that they will host a "Grinnell College Community Discussion" tonight at 7:00 p.m. in Younker Lounge, to be facilitated by student affairs staff and the Poweshiek County Mental Health Center.
SGA also intends to host a candlelight vigil tonight at 9:30pm in the courtyard of the Joe Rosenfield Center. The vigil will proceed to the Forum South Lounge at 10:00 p.m. where SGA will host a campus-wide study break "with food and other fun things to destress" according to an email sent out by the SGA cabinet. Additionally, the email said that students will be able to sign banners to be sent to Virginia Tech "letting them know that they are in our thoughts."
If students need to talk to someone, they are urged to go to the Residence Life Coordinators or Chaplains, or attend the Walk-In Mental Health Counseling Services at the Health Center or the Poweshiek County Mental Health Center which requires appointments.
Our thoughts go out to Paul's family and friends and to the entire campus community amidst this time of grief.
College administrators have announced that they will host a "Grinnell College Community Discussion" tonight at 7:00 p.m. in Younker Lounge, to be facilitated by student affairs staff and the Poweshiek County Mental Health Center.
SGA also intends to host a candlelight vigil tonight at 9:30pm in the courtyard of the Joe Rosenfield Center. The vigil will proceed to the Forum South Lounge at 10:00 p.m. where SGA will host a campus-wide study break "with food and other fun things to destress" according to an email sent out by the SGA cabinet. Additionally, the email said that students will be able to sign banners to be sent to Virginia Tech "letting them know that they are in our thoughts."
If students need to talk to someone, they are urged to go to the Residence Life Coordinators or Chaplains, or attend the Walk-In Mental Health Counseling Services at the Health Center or the Poweshiek County Mental Health Center which requires appointments.
Our thoughts go out to Paul's family and friends and to the entire campus community amidst this time of grief.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Body Found in a Grinnell Pool
by Cid Standifer
Monday afternoon at 4 p.m., Jody Matherly from the Grinnell Police Department and Wade Kisner from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations (DCI) held a press conference concerning a body found in the pool of the Grinnell Golf and Country Club. An employee of the country club found the body as he was taking the cover off of the outdoor pool to prepare it for the summer. The Grinnell Police Department shut down the country club and called in DCI mobile lab units and investigators, including all of the agents who were involved in the case of Paul Shuman-Moore ’09, who disappeared last September.
Matherly said it appeared that the body had been there “probably for weeks, if not months.” However, he had no information about its gender, clothing, or identification. Matherly said that the police may have to review the search process that was conducted last fall after Shuman-Moore’s disappearance if further investigation shows that the body has been there since September.
Approximately 10 to 20 Grinnell College students attended the press conference, including many of Shuman-Moore’s friends. Plans administrator Eryn O’Neil ’07 posted information about the press conference on the Plans front page about 45 minutes before the conference, and news about it also spread by word of mouth. Residence Life Coordinators were contacted by the college earlier this afternoon and excused from all meetings so that they can be available to help comfort students. Matherly said that Shuman-Moore’s parents have been contacted, but “we’re not much help to them right now because we don’t know enough to be of any help.”
As of Monday afternoon, the body was being sent to DCI labs. An autopsy will be performed by state medical examiners tomorrow morning to try and identify the body and determine the cause of death. Matherly hopes that they can determine the identity of the body within the next few days. He said that “Obviously, if this is somebody we have knowledge of that is missing…if we have something to compare to, that would naturally speed things up.” He intends to hold a press conference with updated information tomorrow afternoon.
The S&B will do its utmost to cover this matter as fully as possible.
Monday afternoon at 4 p.m., Jody Matherly from the Grinnell Police Department and Wade Kisner from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations (DCI) held a press conference concerning a body found in the pool of the Grinnell Golf and Country Club. An employee of the country club found the body as he was taking the cover off of the outdoor pool to prepare it for the summer. The Grinnell Police Department shut down the country club and called in DCI mobile lab units and investigators, including all of the agents who were involved in the case of Paul Shuman-Moore ’09, who disappeared last September.
Matherly said it appeared that the body had been there “probably for weeks, if not months.” However, he had no information about its gender, clothing, or identification. Matherly said that the police may have to review the search process that was conducted last fall after Shuman-Moore’s disappearance if further investigation shows that the body has been there since September.
Approximately 10 to 20 Grinnell College students attended the press conference, including many of Shuman-Moore’s friends. Plans administrator Eryn O’Neil ’07 posted information about the press conference on the Plans front page about 45 minutes before the conference, and news about it also spread by word of mouth. Residence Life Coordinators were contacted by the college earlier this afternoon and excused from all meetings so that they can be available to help comfort students. Matherly said that Shuman-Moore’s parents have been contacted, but “we’re not much help to them right now because we don’t know enough to be of any help.”
As of Monday afternoon, the body was being sent to DCI labs. An autopsy will be performed by state medical examiners tomorrow morning to try and identify the body and determine the cause of death. Matherly hopes that they can determine the identity of the body within the next few days. He said that “Obviously, if this is somebody we have knowledge of that is missing…if we have something to compare to, that would naturally speed things up.” He intends to hold a press conference with updated information tomorrow afternoon.
The S&B will do its utmost to cover this matter as fully as possible.
Monday, April 09, 2007
YouTube and Paul
Paul Shuman-Moore '09 is still missing, but his family and friends are not giving up hope. In addition to their renamed website, comehomepaul.com, they've put up a compelling video message on YouTube to let him know that they love him and that he should let them know if he is ok. As of this post, the video, featuring Shuman-Moore's bandmates and friends, has been viewed over 18,000 times.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
A "Constitutional Crisis" in SGA
We at the S&B work hard to maintain a level of objectivity and detachment from our stories. When people are involved in a newsworthy situation, we do not let them write or edit the piece covering it. This is always difficult on a small campus, where it can feel like everyone knows everyone. The recent run-off election between Eric Olson ’08 and Caitlin Carmody ’08 shows just how hard this can be: Carmody is co-Editor-in-Chief of the S&B.
While we certainly would not have chosen this situation, the significance of this election and its aftermath is too great to ignore. Carmody has not been involved in any way in any part of this story—in fact, we purposely wrote and edited this piece when she was not present. We’ve done our best to make this piece fair to all parties, regardless of our personal affiliations. This story of an election and ensuing constitutional crisis deserves serious attention, through whatever lens you choose to view it.
— Ben Weyl, Co-Editor-in-Chief, Abby Rapoport, News Editor, David Logan, Assistant News Editor
by Abby Rapoport and David Logan
On Sunday, March 11, Joint Board held an emergency meeting to discuss the outcome of an election process that had started a week earlier but was still mired in uncertainty. On Friday, March 9, Election Board had held a run-off election between Eric Olson ’08 and Caitlin Carmody ’08 for Vice-President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). Soon after, an anonymous student filed a grievance with Election Board, questioning Olson’s campaign tactics, and leading Election Board to recommend a revote without Olson on the ballot. Olson appealed the decision, requiring an emergency Joint Board meeting; at that meeting, Joint Board elected to suspend the SGA Constitution, making Olson the VP-AA-elect.
THE CAMPAIGN
Upon hearing that he was in a runoff election Thursday, March 8, Olson decided to ask his friend and Loosehead senator Laura Lienemann ’08 to poster for him. Lienemann had already offered to help at least three times previously, according to Olson. “It was done on a friendly level,” he said.
Lienemann also sent an email out to fifteen friends, asking them to vote for Olson. The email, which was given to the S&B anonymously due to the fact that the source did not receive the original email, began by saying “I know for many of you, I’m not your senator anymore … but I’m sending this to you to tell you why I voted for Eric Olson.” Lienemann did not mention this email to Olson.
According to Election Board member and SGA Treasurer Brad Bishop ’08, Election Board decided that both Lienemann’s posters and e-mail violated Article III Section 1 of the SGA Bylaws which prohibits the sending of “…material promoting any candidate…through campus mail, or through unsolicited email” and “…candidates from soliciting SGA Senators to distribute any campaign materials.”
Olson’s run-off campaign also included posters with pictures of current SGA Vice-President Michael Billups ’07 and Olson, who have been friends since Olson’s first year. “I was just looking for some new, funny material [in my posters],” said Olson. The posters included sayings like “Stay the Course” and pictures of Billups knighting a kneeling Olson. Additionally, SGA Administrative Coordinator Nick Blencowe ’08 helped Carmody poster during the run-off campaign. While current Cabinet members are not prohibited from endorsing or helping candidates, the practice is considered atypical.
Olson received 55.8% of the 451 total votes cast in the run-off. But before he ever found out these results, Election Board received a grievance alleging that Lienemann’s aid constituted a violation of SGA bylaws. Election Board convened the next day to assess the validity of the charges.
ELECTION BOARD
According to Bishop, Lienemann’s violations of election policy would normally result in Olson forfeiting his status as an official candidate; he would still be able to participate in the election, but only as a write-in candidate.
But because the election was a runoff, according to SGA Bylaws, Election Board could not simply remove Olson from the ballot since doing so would have left Carmody as the only official candidate. Election Board also decided that it could not legitimately invalidate Olson’s candidacy or declare Carmody the winner. “We solicited assistance from past members of Election Board to see if this had happened before,” said Bishop. “It had not. We had a constitutional crisis.”
After much deliberation, members decided to resolve the crisis by holding a second runoff with Carmody and Lindsay Dennis ’08 as official candidates while allowing Olson to participate as a write-in. “The course of action was agreed upon by consensus,” said Bishop. “No one on Election Board disagreed with the decision.”
Upon hearing these results, Olson decided to appeal Election Board’s decision, which meant Joint Board had to convene an emergency meeting within 24 hours.
JOINT BOARD
As the meeting began, Joint Board voted to make it a closed session, but included Election Board members, as well as Carmody and Olson. According to the minutes of this session—which were given to the S&B by a source who wished to remain anonymous due to the closed nature of the session—Election Board offered senators four options based on whether or not they believed Olson to have violated the Constitution and whether they thought Election Board’s decision should stand.
Olson and Lienemann said they did not know about the rule, and further believed they had respected the intention of the rule, if not the rule itself. “If you’re going to do a technical reading of the Constitution, yes I violated it,” said Lienemann. “However, I don’t think I violated the spirit of the laws.”
According to the Constitution, Election Board must publicize the election rules, but what this means is up for interpretation. “I think it’s the duty of Election Board to make available the rules of elections,” said Bishop. “But I feel it’s the responsibility of candidates to inform themselves.”
Billups had a different take. “[Election Board] should offer a bullet point breakdown of the rules,” he said. “Technically, Election Board is to publicize the document.”
Furthermore, some took issue with the rule itself, believing it to limit speech. “On an individual level, we should never try to stop people from expressing preference,” said Olson. “There’s a line between the office and the individual holding the office.”
Many at the Joint Board meeting expressed their dislike of the rule, and hoped to later rewrite it in an SGA Constitutional Reform Committee.
After much debate, Joint Board senators unanimously voted for “Option D”, declaring that Olson had violated the Constitution, but that the rule he had violated was unfair. But “Option D” required use of the Elastic Clause, which allowed Joint Board to go around the Election Board decision and make a new one in its place. Only the President or Vice President could approve a motion to enact this clause, and since SGA President Chris Hall ’07 was out of town for the weekend, Billups was the only person who could do so.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Because of Billups’ endorsement of Olson, he was in a difficult position. “In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have gone that route,” said Billups. “I guess on principle [I shouldn’t have endorsed Olson].”
Vice President of Student Affairs-elect (VP-SA) Jan Koszewski ’08 agreed that the situation was complicated at best. “[Billups’] endorsement was, to be quite honest, out of place,” Koszewski said. “He was well aware of the awkward place in which he was caught.”
Ultimately, Billups approved the motion for the Elastic Clause after taking several straw poll votes to gauge interest. While others were displeased by Billups’ situation, no one at the meeting felt the conflict of interest was significant enough to prevent the motion. “I think [the endorsement] was a conflict of interest and a double standard,” Lienemann said. “But I think he did what Chris [Hall] would have done.”
“I’ve said before and maintain that if it happened the other way around, I would have done the same thing,” said Billups. “I acted in the most principled manner I could as a member of SGA. I feel like my personal relationship…didn’t come into play.”
Billups was not the only one whose ability to participate was questioned. Before discussion began, Joint Board members agreed that due to potential conflicts of interest, senators Lienemann and Dennis as well as those senators serving on Election Board were barred from voting. Only two members of Cabinet, Michael Van Hulle ’07 and Karly Newton ’07 were considered far enough removed from the situation to vote.
The decision to enact the Elastic Clause also required a four-fifths majority, and while some members expressed reservations about enacting the clause, they believed it was the best option available. “We’d have gotten much more of an uproar if we’d have thrown out the results,” said Lindsay Dennis ’08, who abstained because she was a candidate in the initial election for VPAA. Joint Board ultimately voted unanimously to enact the Elastic Clause.
Some of those not voting did not think the clause should have been enacted. Blencowe, who had to abstain due to his candidacy for VP-SA, was vehement in his opposition to use of the Elastic Clause. “I don’t think it was appropriate for them to use the Elastic Clause to exonerate people that should have known better,” he said. “What we saw is essentially [SGA] doing favors and fucking with our constitution when we shouldn’t have.”
Blencowe also thought this use of the Elastic Clause set a bad precedent. “I understand the reasoning on [invoking the Elastic Clause],” he said. “But I think this is a bad time to start picking and choosing what rules we follow.”
Because so many people abstained, some took issue with Koszewski’s decision to vote in the matter. “As someone who had just been elected to be either Eric or my counterpart, for him to be making decisions to allow even the slightest advantage for one of us seems to be a huge conflict of interest,” said Carmody. Koszewski said in hindsight, he wished he had abstained. “I tried to keep my … participation at a minimum,” he said. “I felt I had a duty as an active senator [to vote].”
Billups said he would have abstained had he been in Koszewski’s situation “in light of the fact that you’ve got a whole other six weeks as vice-president elect to build relationships. This really sets the tone for your whole vice-presidency whether or not you’re going to act in a principled manner.”
Koszewski and Olson will join Megan Goering ’08 as next year’s SGA Executive members, but some are still pondering the election itself. “I still have doubts [about the decision],” said Billups. “I sort of feel for public officials who have to make those decisions that can be seen as overly political. You do the best you can at the time.”
While we certainly would not have chosen this situation, the significance of this election and its aftermath is too great to ignore. Carmody has not been involved in any way in any part of this story—in fact, we purposely wrote and edited this piece when she was not present. We’ve done our best to make this piece fair to all parties, regardless of our personal affiliations. This story of an election and ensuing constitutional crisis deserves serious attention, through whatever lens you choose to view it.
— Ben Weyl, Co-Editor-in-Chief, Abby Rapoport, News Editor, David Logan, Assistant News Editor
by Abby Rapoport and David Logan
On Sunday, March 11, Joint Board held an emergency meeting to discuss the outcome of an election process that had started a week earlier but was still mired in uncertainty. On Friday, March 9, Election Board had held a run-off election between Eric Olson ’08 and Caitlin Carmody ’08 for Vice-President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). Soon after, an anonymous student filed a grievance with Election Board, questioning Olson’s campaign tactics, and leading Election Board to recommend a revote without Olson on the ballot. Olson appealed the decision, requiring an emergency Joint Board meeting; at that meeting, Joint Board elected to suspend the SGA Constitution, making Olson the VP-AA-elect.
THE CAMPAIGN
Upon hearing that he was in a runoff election Thursday, March 8, Olson decided to ask his friend and Loosehead senator Laura Lienemann ’08 to poster for him. Lienemann had already offered to help at least three times previously, according to Olson. “It was done on a friendly level,” he said.
Lienemann also sent an email out to fifteen friends, asking them to vote for Olson. The email, which was given to the S&B anonymously due to the fact that the source did not receive the original email, began by saying “I know for many of you, I’m not your senator anymore … but I’m sending this to you to tell you why I voted for Eric Olson.” Lienemann did not mention this email to Olson.
According to Election Board member and SGA Treasurer Brad Bishop ’08, Election Board decided that both Lienemann’s posters and e-mail violated Article III Section 1 of the SGA Bylaws which prohibits the sending of “…material promoting any candidate…through campus mail, or through unsolicited email” and “…candidates from soliciting SGA Senators to distribute any campaign materials.”
Olson’s run-off campaign also included posters with pictures of current SGA Vice-President Michael Billups ’07 and Olson, who have been friends since Olson’s first year. “I was just looking for some new, funny material [in my posters],” said Olson. The posters included sayings like “Stay the Course” and pictures of Billups knighting a kneeling Olson. Additionally, SGA Administrative Coordinator Nick Blencowe ’08 helped Carmody poster during the run-off campaign. While current Cabinet members are not prohibited from endorsing or helping candidates, the practice is considered atypical.
Olson received 55.8% of the 451 total votes cast in the run-off. But before he ever found out these results, Election Board received a grievance alleging that Lienemann’s aid constituted a violation of SGA bylaws. Election Board convened the next day to assess the validity of the charges.
ELECTION BOARD
According to Bishop, Lienemann’s violations of election policy would normally result in Olson forfeiting his status as an official candidate; he would still be able to participate in the election, but only as a write-in candidate.
But because the election was a runoff, according to SGA Bylaws, Election Board could not simply remove Olson from the ballot since doing so would have left Carmody as the only official candidate. Election Board also decided that it could not legitimately invalidate Olson’s candidacy or declare Carmody the winner. “We solicited assistance from past members of Election Board to see if this had happened before,” said Bishop. “It had not. We had a constitutional crisis.”
After much deliberation, members decided to resolve the crisis by holding a second runoff with Carmody and Lindsay Dennis ’08 as official candidates while allowing Olson to participate as a write-in. “The course of action was agreed upon by consensus,” said Bishop. “No one on Election Board disagreed with the decision.”
Upon hearing these results, Olson decided to appeal Election Board’s decision, which meant Joint Board had to convene an emergency meeting within 24 hours.
JOINT BOARD
As the meeting began, Joint Board voted to make it a closed session, but included Election Board members, as well as Carmody and Olson. According to the minutes of this session—which were given to the S&B by a source who wished to remain anonymous due to the closed nature of the session—Election Board offered senators four options based on whether or not they believed Olson to have violated the Constitution and whether they thought Election Board’s decision should stand.
Olson and Lienemann said they did not know about the rule, and further believed they had respected the intention of the rule, if not the rule itself. “If you’re going to do a technical reading of the Constitution, yes I violated it,” said Lienemann. “However, I don’t think I violated the spirit of the laws.”
According to the Constitution, Election Board must publicize the election rules, but what this means is up for interpretation. “I think it’s the duty of Election Board to make available the rules of elections,” said Bishop. “But I feel it’s the responsibility of candidates to inform themselves.”
Billups had a different take. “[Election Board] should offer a bullet point breakdown of the rules,” he said. “Technically, Election Board is to publicize the document.”
Furthermore, some took issue with the rule itself, believing it to limit speech. “On an individual level, we should never try to stop people from expressing preference,” said Olson. “There’s a line between the office and the individual holding the office.”
Many at the Joint Board meeting expressed their dislike of the rule, and hoped to later rewrite it in an SGA Constitutional Reform Committee.
After much debate, Joint Board senators unanimously voted for “Option D”, declaring that Olson had violated the Constitution, but that the rule he had violated was unfair. But “Option D” required use of the Elastic Clause, which allowed Joint Board to go around the Election Board decision and make a new one in its place. Only the President or Vice President could approve a motion to enact this clause, and since SGA President Chris Hall ’07 was out of town for the weekend, Billups was the only person who could do so.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Because of Billups’ endorsement of Olson, he was in a difficult position. “In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t have gone that route,” said Billups. “I guess on principle [I shouldn’t have endorsed Olson].”
Vice President of Student Affairs-elect (VP-SA) Jan Koszewski ’08 agreed that the situation was complicated at best. “[Billups’] endorsement was, to be quite honest, out of place,” Koszewski said. “He was well aware of the awkward place in which he was caught.”
Ultimately, Billups approved the motion for the Elastic Clause after taking several straw poll votes to gauge interest. While others were displeased by Billups’ situation, no one at the meeting felt the conflict of interest was significant enough to prevent the motion. “I think [the endorsement] was a conflict of interest and a double standard,” Lienemann said. “But I think he did what Chris [Hall] would have done.”
“I’ve said before and maintain that if it happened the other way around, I would have done the same thing,” said Billups. “I acted in the most principled manner I could as a member of SGA. I feel like my personal relationship…didn’t come into play.”
Billups was not the only one whose ability to participate was questioned. Before discussion began, Joint Board members agreed that due to potential conflicts of interest, senators Lienemann and Dennis as well as those senators serving on Election Board were barred from voting. Only two members of Cabinet, Michael Van Hulle ’07 and Karly Newton ’07 were considered far enough removed from the situation to vote.
The decision to enact the Elastic Clause also required a four-fifths majority, and while some members expressed reservations about enacting the clause, they believed it was the best option available. “We’d have gotten much more of an uproar if we’d have thrown out the results,” said Lindsay Dennis ’08, who abstained because she was a candidate in the initial election for VPAA. Joint Board ultimately voted unanimously to enact the Elastic Clause.
Some of those not voting did not think the clause should have been enacted. Blencowe, who had to abstain due to his candidacy for VP-SA, was vehement in his opposition to use of the Elastic Clause. “I don’t think it was appropriate for them to use the Elastic Clause to exonerate people that should have known better,” he said. “What we saw is essentially [SGA] doing favors and fucking with our constitution when we shouldn’t have.”
Blencowe also thought this use of the Elastic Clause set a bad precedent. “I understand the reasoning on [invoking the Elastic Clause],” he said. “But I think this is a bad time to start picking and choosing what rules we follow.”
Because so many people abstained, some took issue with Koszewski’s decision to vote in the matter. “As someone who had just been elected to be either Eric or my counterpart, for him to be making decisions to allow even the slightest advantage for one of us seems to be a huge conflict of interest,” said Carmody. Koszewski said in hindsight, he wished he had abstained. “I tried to keep my … participation at a minimum,” he said. “I felt I had a duty as an active senator [to vote].”
Billups said he would have abstained had he been in Koszewski’s situation “in light of the fact that you’ve got a whole other six weeks as vice-president elect to build relationships. This really sets the tone for your whole vice-presidency whether or not you’re going to act in a principled manner.”
Koszewski and Olson will join Megan Goering ’08 as next year’s SGA Executive members, but some are still pondering the election itself. “I still have doubts [about the decision],” said Billups. “I sort of feel for public officials who have to make those decisions that can be seen as overly political. You do the best you can at the time.”
Monday, March 05, 2007
Debaters argue their way to top positions in Kansas tournament
By Rebecca Park
While the basketball team may have gotten more attention last weekend, they were not the only ones representing Grinnell in a regional tournament. At the Capital City Classic Invitational, the Grinnell debate team scored eleven points overall, to tie for third with William Jewell College. Among the highlights, Megan Goering ’08 and Zach Razavi ’08 placed first in the team competition and Michael Billups ’07 was awarded second overall speaker.
The debates were conducted in parliamentary style, meaning teams had 20 minutes to prepare an argument either for or against a government policy. Subjects included “a ton of different current legislation in Congress and some metaphysical, philosophical kind of stuff as well,” Goering said.
According to Billups, the team usually at least “breaks”, meaning they proceed to the next round, at each tournament. But this tournament marked the team’s greatest success in recent years.
In addition to the team’s overall success, Walter Liszewski ’08, Danny Haupt ’09 and Ethan Struby ’10 placed individually. “It’s just gratuitous that we managed to have a team win,” Billups said.
Razavi and Goering, who occasionally writes for the S&B, attributed some of their success to a strong team dynamic they developed when debating together in high school. They also said they benefited from a familiarity with judges’ expectations since the tournament was held in their home state of Kansas. The team was able to perform to the judges’ preferred style of debate, which Razavi described as “very fast, very technical, very high-impact.”
The team also benefited from the relatively relaxed approach to the competition. Because their priorities were “speaking our best and just having a good time,” Goering said, “I think that’s part of the reason we were so successful.”
Despite the team’s success, it is not resting on its laurels. Recent practices have been focused on improving counterargument skills, which judges highlighted as an area for improvement.
The success will not, according to Billups, alter the team’s plans for the future. “As far as the big picture goes,” he said, “[tournament success] won’t encourage us to go to any more debates than we would normally go to, and it wouldn’t make us stop going to debates either.”
Upcoming tournaments include one this weekend at Stanford and the National Parliamentary Debate Association Nationals at Colorado College in the spring. Whether the team hopes to replicate its success is hardly debatable.
While the basketball team may have gotten more attention last weekend, they were not the only ones representing Grinnell in a regional tournament. At the Capital City Classic Invitational, the Grinnell debate team scored eleven points overall, to tie for third with William Jewell College. Among the highlights, Megan Goering ’08 and Zach Razavi ’08 placed first in the team competition and Michael Billups ’07 was awarded second overall speaker.
The debates were conducted in parliamentary style, meaning teams had 20 minutes to prepare an argument either for or against a government policy. Subjects included “a ton of different current legislation in Congress and some metaphysical, philosophical kind of stuff as well,” Goering said.
According to Billups, the team usually at least “breaks”, meaning they proceed to the next round, at each tournament. But this tournament marked the team’s greatest success in recent years.
In addition to the team’s overall success, Walter Liszewski ’08, Danny Haupt ’09 and Ethan Struby ’10 placed individually. “It’s just gratuitous that we managed to have a team win,” Billups said.
Razavi and Goering, who occasionally writes for the S&B, attributed some of their success to a strong team dynamic they developed when debating together in high school. They also said they benefited from a familiarity with judges’ expectations since the tournament was held in their home state of Kansas. The team was able to perform to the judges’ preferred style of debate, which Razavi described as “very fast, very technical, very high-impact.”
The team also benefited from the relatively relaxed approach to the competition. Because their priorities were “speaking our best and just having a good time,” Goering said, “I think that’s part of the reason we were so successful.”
Despite the team’s success, it is not resting on its laurels. Recent practices have been focused on improving counterargument skills, which judges highlighted as an area for improvement.
The success will not, according to Billups, alter the team’s plans for the future. “As far as the big picture goes,” he said, “[tournament success] won’t encourage us to go to any more debates than we would normally go to, and it wouldn’t make us stop going to debates either.”
Upcoming tournaments include one this weekend at Stanford and the National Parliamentary Debate Association Nationals at Colorado College in the spring. Whether the team hopes to replicate its success is hardly debatable.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
EXCO provides quirky classes, but participation has been low
By Alisha Saville
To the majority of students on campus, Anne Geissinger is known as a dean of the college and coordinator of the Grinnell-in-London and Grinnell-in-Washington programs. To a select few, she is the “Permanent Belly Dance Member.” Thanks to the SGA-run Experimental College program (EXCO), Geissinger has been able to fuel her passion for dance over the past six years.
Historically, EXCO classes have always enjoyed a large participant base, but the past few years have seen a decline in both the number of classes offered and the level of participant interest, though it still attracts between 150 and 200 students. One reason for the decline could be the infamously busy schedules of Grinnellians. “It’s one of those things that Grinnell students are really intrigued with, but don’t really have time for,” said Ben Bowman ’08, one of three Belly Dance teachers.
Because the classes do not count for credit, EXCOs are often the first activities dropped from a busy schedule. Even so, Matt Johnson ’08 said that the low-stress nature of EXCO is generally what draws students to the classes. “It’s really chill, something students do for fun," he said.
Despite its previous popularity, EXCO nearly did not happen last semester, which some worry might hurt student participation in the future.
Suzanne Polivy ’08, coordinator of EXCO programming this semester along with Jackie Graves ’09, said that administrative difficulties last fall also played a large part in the program’s reduced presence on campus this year. “We’ve had fewer responses than in previous years [to teach classes], probably because of last semester,” said Polivy. But she and Graves said they are pleased with the eight classes that will be taught this semester.
The program was originally intended to bring students, college staff and community members together to share interests, skills and particular talents that are not normally part of the college curriculum. In recent years the program has veered away from this initial goal, catering mainly to students.
To increase the program’s presence in the entire community in the future, Polivy suggested inviting those from town to participate. “EXCO was designed to bring together students, professors and townspeople,” said Polivy. “It would be nice to open it up again, to foster more of a sense of community.”
With an operating budget of $2000 per semester, potential teachers do not need to spend their own money to share a skill or interest they feel could benefit others. “A lot of students have ideas and talents to share,” said Polivy. “EXCO gives them the resources to do so.”
To the majority of students on campus, Anne Geissinger is known as a dean of the college and coordinator of the Grinnell-in-London and Grinnell-in-Washington programs. To a select few, she is the “Permanent Belly Dance Member.” Thanks to the SGA-run Experimental College program (EXCO), Geissinger has been able to fuel her passion for dance over the past six years.
Historically, EXCO classes have always enjoyed a large participant base, but the past few years have seen a decline in both the number of classes offered and the level of participant interest, though it still attracts between 150 and 200 students. One reason for the decline could be the infamously busy schedules of Grinnellians. “It’s one of those things that Grinnell students are really intrigued with, but don’t really have time for,” said Ben Bowman ’08, one of three Belly Dance teachers.
Because the classes do not count for credit, EXCOs are often the first activities dropped from a busy schedule. Even so, Matt Johnson ’08 said that the low-stress nature of EXCO is generally what draws students to the classes. “It’s really chill, something students do for fun," he said.
Despite its previous popularity, EXCO nearly did not happen last semester, which some worry might hurt student participation in the future.
Suzanne Polivy ’08, coordinator of EXCO programming this semester along with Jackie Graves ’09, said that administrative difficulties last fall also played a large part in the program’s reduced presence on campus this year. “We’ve had fewer responses than in previous years [to teach classes], probably because of last semester,” said Polivy. But she and Graves said they are pleased with the eight classes that will be taught this semester.
The program was originally intended to bring students, college staff and community members together to share interests, skills and particular talents that are not normally part of the college curriculum. In recent years the program has veered away from this initial goal, catering mainly to students.
To increase the program’s presence in the entire community in the future, Polivy suggested inviting those from town to participate. “EXCO was designed to bring together students, professors and townspeople,” said Polivy. “It would be nice to open it up again, to foster more of a sense of community.”
With an operating budget of $2000 per semester, potential teachers do not need to spend their own money to share a skill or interest they feel could benefit others. “A lot of students have ideas and talents to share,” said Polivy. “EXCO gives them the resources to do so.”
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Second Winter Storm Coming Through -- Grinnell preparing for possibility of 72 hour power loss
icicles on bicycles after Saturday's storm (photo by Sidionie Straughn Morse '08)I was sitting in a Younker dorm room yesterday when the phone rang. It definitely wasn't who I expected to be calling.
"This is a message from the Department of Homeland Security..." said a prerecorded voice on the other end of the line. Poweshiek County has been declared a disaster area and, the government voice urged, "If you are still without power, seek shelter immediately."
An ice storm ripped through campus these weekend, coating every blade of grass and abandoned bicycle with a solid layer of ice. The storm also downed trees and knocked out power to the campus and town for at least several hours.
While power has returned to all of campus, students, professors and college employees living in some parts of town -- and other cities -- are still in the dark. "Basically, living without power for five days, it feels like you haven't slept," says Mac Pohanka, of High Street, who has been sleeping on couches at friends houses and in lounges since the ice storm Saturday. His apartment still doesn't have heating or electricity. "Every day, you go to class and you're more tired and furious than the day before."
Even before Grinnell is entirely back on its feet, however, the town is bracing for another hit: a snow and ice storm rolling through tonight and Thursday. That means more ice and possibly more power outages.
Get prepared! If you're still without heat, find somewhere safe you can crash for a few days. Head out to the store while you still can -- it's not snowing here yet -- and stock up on supplies. Here's a shopping list, courtesy the Department of Homeland Security, of what you should have on hand:
matches
candles
canned food (week of tuna, anyone?)
extra water
blankets!!
extra hats, mittens and warm clothes
flashlights
extra batteries
also:
charge your cell phone and computer
park your car off the street
and
(for you nerdlings out there afraid you won't be able to finish your homework)
print off any Pioneerweb or e-reserve readings now
candles
canned food (week of tuna, anyone?)
extra water
blankets!!
extra hats, mittens and warm clothes
flashlights
extra batteries
also:
charge your cell phone and computer
park your car off the street
and
(for you nerdlings out there afraid you won't be able to finish your homework)
print off any Pioneerweb or e-reserve readings now
If anyone else has any preparation advice, feel free to add it in the comments. I'm from Southern California, I've got no experience with this "ice" thing.
We'll keep you updated here on the S&Blog, but check out major Iowa news sources for more info on the storm and where it's headed.
We'll keep you updated here on the S&Blog, but check out major Iowa news sources for more info on the storm and where it's headed.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
E-Registration is a mixed blessing
by Pat Caldwell
For the first time ever at Grinnell, students did not have to brave the frigid walk to the John Crystal Center or stand in the long lines at the Harris center to finalize their registration. Instead, students were able to confirm their registration status from the comfort of their own dorm rooms as the Registrar’s Office implemented a new system for students to confirm their registration online when they returned to campus.
Registrar of the College Gerald Adams said he instituted the change because the previous method took a lot of time on the first Sunday back from break for faculty and staff members. Adams said that the new method so far appeared to be a success, and many students seemed to agree.
Victor Colussi ’09 initially was unable to log in and register when he arrived, but later on Sunday completed the process: “I thought it was easier [than before],” he said.
Arunabh Singh ’09 agreed. “It is way more convenient and should be persisted,” he said.
But the new form of registration did cause problems for some students. According to Adams, many students will be fined for late registration. The school attempted to remind the students about the change in policy with repeated e-mails. But Adams lamented that campus-wide emails are not always effective at disseminating information. “It upsets me that the official form of communication at the college is ignored,” he said.
The online confirmation process also required students to be on campus in order to register. The system would only allow students to confirm their registration through Pioneerweb if they were on a computer connected to the college’s network.
One student, Kat York ‘09, did not realize that she needed to confirm her registration until she was interviewed for this article on Wednesday. “It was kind of in the background and I don’t read the e-mails from the school; they send a lot of stuff,” she said.
Students also potentially face difficulties coordinating with professors without the central location at the Harris Center. Julie Edwards ’07 takes Piano lessons at the college and had problems scheduling a time for lessons with her professor. Where previously she had been able to meet with the professor during registration, she had to try to coordinate with the professor through e-mail which proved more difficult. “I wish there was still the option to go to the Harris Center,” said Edwards.
Many students even questioned the necessity of what they thought was a trivial process. Said Edwards, “I thought it was kind of silly; you only had to click two buttons.” However the office of the registrar views the process as an important function for the school. Adams said the system is important, because “We [the college] need to know physically who’s returning.”
According to Adams, the Office of the Registrar considers this a test and has not decided whether or not the online confirmation will continue. But one aspect of new registration will not change: first-year registration at Harris will remain a part of the Grinnell tradition.
For the first time ever at Grinnell, students did not have to brave the frigid walk to the John Crystal Center or stand in the long lines at the Harris center to finalize their registration. Instead, students were able to confirm their registration status from the comfort of their own dorm rooms as the Registrar’s Office implemented a new system for students to confirm their registration online when they returned to campus.
Registrar of the College Gerald Adams said he instituted the change because the previous method took a lot of time on the first Sunday back from break for faculty and staff members. Adams said that the new method so far appeared to be a success, and many students seemed to agree.
Victor Colussi ’09 initially was unable to log in and register when he arrived, but later on Sunday completed the process: “I thought it was easier [than before],” he said.
Arunabh Singh ’09 agreed. “It is way more convenient and should be persisted,” he said.
But the new form of registration did cause problems for some students. According to Adams, many students will be fined for late registration. The school attempted to remind the students about the change in policy with repeated e-mails. But Adams lamented that campus-wide emails are not always effective at disseminating information. “It upsets me that the official form of communication at the college is ignored,” he said.
The online confirmation process also required students to be on campus in order to register. The system would only allow students to confirm their registration through Pioneerweb if they were on a computer connected to the college’s network.
One student, Kat York ‘09, did not realize that she needed to confirm her registration until she was interviewed for this article on Wednesday. “It was kind of in the background and I don’t read the e-mails from the school; they send a lot of stuff,” she said.
Students also potentially face difficulties coordinating with professors without the central location at the Harris Center. Julie Edwards ’07 takes Piano lessons at the college and had problems scheduling a time for lessons with her professor. Where previously she had been able to meet with the professor during registration, she had to try to coordinate with the professor through e-mail which proved more difficult. “I wish there was still the option to go to the Harris Center,” said Edwards.
Many students even questioned the necessity of what they thought was a trivial process. Said Edwards, “I thought it was kind of silly; you only had to click two buttons.” However the office of the registrar views the process as an important function for the school. Adams said the system is important, because “We [the college] need to know physically who’s returning.”
According to Adams, the Office of the Registrar considers this a test and has not decided whether or not the online confirmation will continue. But one aspect of new registration will not change: first-year registration at Harris will remain a part of the Grinnell tradition.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
UPDATED: Power problem closes Noyce
The Noyce Science Center closed at 6 p.m. tonight. Workers are attempting to fix a cut power line and are trying to finish before classes start tomorrow, but there are no guarantees.
A subcontractor working on the Noyce construction accidently cut the power line. In order to fix the line, workers have to cut off power to the building, pull up the old line and lay a new one.
A subcontractor working on the Noyce construction accidently cut the power line. In order to fix the line, workers have to cut off power to the building, pull up the old line and lay a new one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)