Photograph by Avery Rowlison

8:30 a.m.—Trying not to get angry at my British ancestors in my Texts of Indian Modernity class.
10:00 a.m.—Workout my core and try to get Usher’s 8-pack.
11:45 a.m.—Shower while listening to “Whip It” by Nicki Minaj.
12:21 p.m.—Lunch aka Eatin Gossip
12:45 p.m.—Getting angrier towards my British ancestors in my Religion/Socio-Political Change in Colonial India Class.
2:15 p.m.—Have Professor Elfenbein enlighten me and make me feel like a better Muslim!
4:20 p.m.—I fly, I fly high, I’m blazin…
5:00 p.m.—For some reason I become really hungry and devour everything in the D-hall. I just want that cake, cake, cake, cake…
6:00 p.m.—Call Mommy and Daddy and speak in Bangla loudly, while everyone wonders why I sound angry even though this is our normal speaking tone.
7:00 p.m. —Get inspired from my phone conversation and paint my nails the Bengali nationalist colors, while I listen to A.R. Rahman and do my Indian history homework.
7:30 p.m.—Schedule credit card bill payment, look at bank account, become sad, then send frantic love letters to Germany.
7:40 p.m.—Call friends from home and wonder why I came back to college.
11:11 p.m.—Run out of fucks to give and realize it is way past my bed time.
11:25 p.m.—Watch Pretty Little Liars as I apply Oil of Olay regenerating night cream and slowly fall asleep.

As I walked into the basement, I was met with a piece of graffiti on the wall proclaiming: “The Pussy Cat.” In response to whether the first floor has a title, Krstic replied steely, “The Gun Club.”

Hannah Shepherd ’12, Phoebe Currier ’12 and Enzo inside the Brande. Photograph by Joey Brown.

I opened the door to the basement/The Gun Club and stepped into darkness. After wandering around for a few minutes, I was truly spooked. While home to some fantastic parties, the basement is a completely different story in the dark.

“During a party it looks different because the lights [are] on,” Shepherd said. “But the basement is terrifying.”

While the basement spooked me out, I realized I was not the only one getting a Poltergeist vibe from the house. When I asked if the floormates believed that the house was haunted, Kristic responded with an immediate “yes.”

“Do you guys hear the wind?” Shepherd questioned. “The howling?”

Haunted? Howling? Suddenly, I had shivers down my spine. I should have brought my holy water to this interview. Apparently, the wind blowing through the first floor teases wails out of the creaky walls. The three nodded as they remembered the noisy squatters.

“The wind howling sounds like people wailing and crying,” Shepherd said. “You can hear it all the time when it’s windy.”

I wondered how the inhabitants of the Brande dealt with such strange events. But I then discovered that the Brande is replete with such occurrences.

“[For] our previous appearance in the S&B, we nearly burned down the Brande,” Krstic said. “There was smoke drifting past the window and my roommate goes in the kitchen and says, ‘Oh snap the couch is on fire.’”

I had known that the Brande was a hotspot for after-parties, but this was something else entirely. Despite talking about this event lightheartedly, the housemates recall the event with legitimate concern.

“We were saying how nice the smell was and how it smells like Fall,” Sheppard said. “Then when we saw the fire we were like, ‘Holy shit!’ Then we were like ‘HOLY SH*T.’”

Was the burning couch just another coincidence or actually a warning from the netherworld? Are the rumors of the 4th floor inhabitants practicing witchcraft true? Are they really responsible for attracting ghouls who light couches on fire? Despite these possibilities, the housemates believe the real cause is more mundane.

“I think someone dropped a cigarette and it just lit up overnight,” Shepherd said.

While other people may be disturbed by the house’s history, the three tenants speak about the past events with a comfortable sense of familiarity. Be it a burning couch or a screeching wind, these are simply two more features that make up the Brande.

Yet, their familiarity and camaraderie in discussing the past betrays the real nature of their relationship—the housemates have had little interaction with each other. But there have been a few memorable run-ins. Like the time Currier’s cat, Enzo, was sneaking across the hallway to inspect the other side of the house.

“This [was while] a friend of ours was sleeping on our couch,” Currier said.

Krstic finishes the story, “He walked across the hall, into our apartment, next to my room said ‘Hello’ and he said ‘I don’t think I’m supposed to be here!’ and he booked it. I only saw his shadow and his profile.”

“It was 4 a.m. He was looking for the bathroom,” Shepherd explained.

Despite first floor’s rough and tumble past, the residents have maintained a level-headed and pragmatic sense of mind and seen the humor in the sometimes-unnerving events. After all, one needs a cool head to shoot straight, and The Gun Club faces phantoms and flaming furniture alike with their own brand of gumption and guts.

The research topics presented were eclectic—ranging from an investigation of the higher education opportunities available to undocumented students in the Los Angeles Unified School District to an analysis of the beauty standards and racial politics expressed in the pages of Latina magazine. However, all fellows expressed a concern for social justice and for greater diversity in the range and scope of topics addressed by academia.

This reflects the mission statement of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program, which seeks to provide institutional and financial support to young scholars aiming to shake up the world of higher education.

“I feel like everybody that’s in Mellon Mays has interesting ideas that are quirky and worth pursuing, that I think are really something to bring to the academy,” said Fajardo.

Fellows must be high-achieving, interested in pursuing a PhD after graduation and committed to the program’s mission of addressing the underrepresentation of minority groups in the American educational system. As it culminates in a long-term independent research project, fellowship in the program is rigorous and time consuming. Though this may sound like a daunting task, the independent research component is a large part of the draw for many Mellon Mays applicants.

“What appealed most to me was the room for creativity,” said Katie In ’13.

Each fellow chooses an individual faculty advisor to guide them in their research, and all are assisted by program director Professor Michelle Nasser, who was herself a Mellon Mays undergraduate fellow. Fellows check in with their advisers at weekly seminar meetings.

“A lot of the stuff we do is to talk about the realities of academia, which sort of demystifies what it means to be a professor, and what it means to produce scholarship, so that’s another important resource that the program has to offer,” In said.

Fellows also benefit from the opportunity to network and share ideas with other undergraduate fellows from all over the nation at periodic MellonMays conferences.

“I really like that there’s a huge community of support,” In added. “Going to the conference we met a ton of people, our interests intersected, we hit it off right away.”

Additionally, the program allows students to enter graduate school with substantial research experience already under their belts. Fajardo, for example, was accepted into University of Chicago’s doctorate of sociology program, in part based on the strength of the research paper she wrote as a Mellon Mays fellow. Fellows also receive financial support in the form of a stipend.

“[You] devise a project … that will allow you to use the funds from the foundation to do intensive research, so that in the end you’ll produce a product that accords with what professional scholarship looks like in your field,” said Mateo Jarquin ’13.

“Giving the funding for anybody who’s interested in going into academia—I think is a really good thing, and I think to change the face of academia is really important. Knowledge is so racialized and sexualized, it’s just so standard, and I think we need a very diverse wealth of knowledge to make social change,” Fajardo said of the program’s importance. “The more different it can be, the better it can be.”

Though Vasquez, Fajardo, Gutierrez, Iboko, and Bautista will be graduating this Spring, the classes of 2013 and 2014 each boast a new crop of fellows ready to meet the challenges of the Mellon Mays program. For example, In has chosen to focus her research project on the use of new media by young Asian-American artists, while Jarquin is studying the way the Eisenhower administration interacted with the governments of several Latin American nations during the 1950s.

The other three members of the 2013 Mellon Mays cohort, Joy Sales, Debbie Cifuentes, and Nancy Repreza, will present their research papers next spring alongside Jarquin and In.

Along with scouring the internet for online language training programs, Moisan is also creating Teaching Modules and a Universal Syllabus. The Teaching Modules are crafted by the tutors—they are video tutorials on different teaching methods that can be used in the classroom. Moisan describes them as “a tool kit.”

“It’s for future tutors. It will be on the web, it will be a permanent thing that they can go to,” Moisan said. “The modules are for them to crystallize what they have learned and also for the future.”

The modules will go over the many different styles of teaching languages and which methods to use for specific sections. They will allow future tutors to see what is most effective in the classroom and will allow them to really understand the different teaching methods. The Teaching Modules are important, according to Moisan, because they formalize the teaching system.

“There are all kinds of methods … and all these students sort of know about this, but we are making this training really intentional and I think this is a great way for them to internalize and prove what they learned.”

In the future, tutors will be able to build on the knowledge of previous tutors in order to perfect the ALSO program teaching techniques.

The Universal Syllabus is in the same institutionalizing vein. All of the tutors will work under a specific framework that will be the same for all of the languages being taught. Moisan hopes that by creating a Universal Syllabus, it will be easier for the tutors to teach the sections effectively and using the most practical methods.

“[It’s a system] where the tutors can just have a framework all set and ready to go,” she said. “With the Universal Syllabus… everyone will be on the same page throughout the semester.”

Along with all the technical changes to ALSO, Moisan is adding a new, stronger cultural side to the program. Both Portuguese and Korean have language tables in the Dining Hall, and there is Greek Frappe Hour and Chai Time. These are weekly events where students are invited to come, drink coffee or chai and talk about the different cultures and events taking place in Greece and India.

ALSO has specific languages that are offered each semester. However, if students are interested in taking a language that isn’t offered, Moisan is willing to work with them to try and start it here at Grinnell. It is very easy to petition for a language through ALSO and Moisan has made it even easier. In the past there was a hierarchy of credit for languages: non-romance languages were three credits and romance languages were only two credits. Moisan has changed that.  Now every language is just two credits, which allows students with a full course load to be able to add on any ALSO language, when in the past it was difficult to add on some of the harder languages. It is her hope to make the process of petitioning for a language easier and more streamlined.

“If a group of students are interested in a language, all they will need is at least six students and there has to be a native speaker on campus who can teach that language. There is also an online application procedure on the ALSO website, for both students who want to take a class and tutors.”

Moisan hopes that with the new Teaching Modules, Universal Syllabus and cultural events that the ALSO program will become more popular and be able to reach out to a larger amount of students on campus.

“I’ve just been really impressed with the amount of energy and effort Aurora has put into this,” said Valerie Vetter, Peace Studies Program Coordinator.

Photograph by Joanna Silverman

Since its initiation, the Peer Mediation Program, composed of trained student volunteers, has facilitated ten mediations. Quinn-Elmore has learned a lot from her role as a mediator.

“I feel like I become a better mediator every time I do it,” Quinn-Elmore said. “I also get better at listening to people, not inserting my own ego, my own opinion. That’s something that’s difficult, but something you get better at every time.”

The Peace Studies Program has been sponsoring biannual peer mediation trainings since 2004, Participants in the training, which in the past have included RLCs in addition to students, learn the skills to act as an impartial third party in a mediation of parties in conflict, as well as the basic elements of the mediation process. The participants are trained to handle various scenarios, which include conflicts on campus and in the workplace, and with neighbors, family, and friends.

“Peace studies’ interest in this, in developing peer mediation or somehow integrating peer mediation and conflict resolution skills into campus life, is not just for students,” Vetter said. “We would actually be interested in having this be something that influences campus culture so there is more of a feeling of, when you’re in conflict, there are ways to work it out and you can work things out without destroying relationships, and you can actually come up with ways that create solutions, collaborative solutions, that can meet everyone’s needs.”

Vetter also emphasized the importance of the Peer Mediation to self-governance.

“I think Peace Studies looks at this as ways that we can shift the way people approach conflict and approach the community and take responsibility for our actions and it works really great with self-gov. Self-gov doesn’t work unless there is not only the idea of, ‘I have my rights and privileges,’ but ‘I also have responsibility’ and it takes a lot of skill to be able to navigate this.”

However, with Quinn-Elmore graduating this year, the fate of the Peer Mediation Program remains to be seen. Quinn-Elmore meets every week with a group of fellow peer mediators, and several have expressed their desire to continue the program.

“The program is not super robust yet,” Vetter said. Vetter emphasized that the success of the program will depend on the students and not on administration, due to the small budget allocated to the Peace Studies Program. Vetter, however, expressed Peace Studies’ interest in supporting students in the Mediation Program.

“The really important thing about mediation,” Quinn-Elmore emphasized, “is to help people to come up with their own solutions because those are ones that they might actually stick with. I think that’s something that translates to my own friendships where I realize letting people talk out there own problems and asking questions is more useful than trying to give the right advice.”

Plans originated on the College’s VAX computer system, which was retired in 2000. The system provided each user with a plan file, where they could record their work plans for public reference. It wasn’t long before these files gained a social dimension, and when the VAX system was shut down, it left a large gap for students.

Plans as we know it began with Rachel Heck ’01, who wrote Plans v0. Originally designed to accommodate just a few users, it was quickly overwhelmed by demand and reworked with the help of Andrew Kensler ’01 into Plans v1. Plans v2, the current iteration, was rolled out in 2002 after Heck turned control over to the current administrators.

Throughout the process, Plans’ focus has remained the same: providing a simple, text-based experience to its users.

As Sidonie Straughn-Morse ’08, speaking on behalf of the Plans administrators explains, “it differs from other social networking sites in its small size … and its focused functionality. This limited functionality actually opens up a lot of flexibility for how it’s used.”

Plans boasts quite a few current students, but doesn’t have extensive data on older users.

“There are around a thousand Plans accounts for users in classes 2012-2015,” Straughn-Morse said. “We started tracking users’ graduation year less than five years ago, so our data … isn’t perfect.”

As a whole, GrinnellPlans’ logs show around 2,500 active users, who are defined by Straughn-Morse as “users who have logged in within the past year.”

These include students, alumni, faculty and staff, who use the site anywhere from several times per day to once every few months.

“I just think it’s cool to have a space on the Internet that you have ownership of…and it’s ad-free,” said Ian Gold ’13. “Plans is like…controlled chaos.”

Plans rises above Facebook in other respects as well.

“It’s always going to be cool because of the whole exclusivity idea that first made Facebook cool, but it’s still exclusive, you know?” said Dylan Naylor ’13. Both students expressed an interest in adding Twitter-style hashtags to the site as a way to reference popular topics.

“Right now, debates are too personal,” Gold said. “You can only reference other people, so debates become too much about … attacking personal points.”

Recently, Plans’ staff and code have undergone a number of changes to keep the site operating smoothly. On the technical side, an automated password reset system was introduced to help users more easily retrieve their information, and the site’s code continues to be maintained by a dedicated team of volunteers.

“Plans is run by volunteers and our team changes regularly,” explained Straughn-Morse. “Recently, one of our Admins, Mona [Ghadirim ’11], stepped down. That’s a routine occurrence.” He also noted that Plans is looking to hire a new on-campus administrator in the near future.

Staffing changes aside, Plans has also taken steps to increase transparency. Administrators are now more carefully tracking the site’s operating costs, as well as donations from various users. In Notes, Plans’ discussion board, the Plans administrators have opened several discussions asking for community input. There, the conversation is alive and well.

“Personally, I love its flexibility—as I mentioned above, users can format their Plans as they choose and use it how it makes sense for them,” Straughn-Morse said.

This also marks the inaugural year of the First Year of College program, through which incarcerated students complete about eight credits every semester for two years. At the completion of the program, participants will have the equivalent of one year as a full-time Grinnell student.

Over the summer, Guenther went through an admissions process to select the first cohort of fifteen men for the inaugural First Year of College Program at the Newton Medium Security Prison.

“Most of the men are getting out of prison this semester, so they won’t have a [full] first year, but they have completed a semester of coursework from Grinnell and they’re all very interested in going to college once they get out,” Guenther said.

Along with history, statistics, and writing, the men in the program this semester are learning to take pride in their identities as students.

“The men in that program consider themselves college students and associate very strongly with Grinnell and have a great amount of pride in their studies and also have developed a group identity,” explained Guenther.

In addition to the First Year in College program, the Liberal Arts in Prison program continues to work with Grinnellian student volunteers who tutor and teach classes at four correctional facilities in the area. Among them are the Newton Correctional Facility, the Correctional Release Center in Newton, the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville and the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo.

As the program educates inmates, it also provides a valuable experience for student volunteers. One out of seven graduating students in the class of 2012 has participated in the program, rendering it a widespread experience. Eric Ritter ’12 is the Prison Program Student Coordinator and has been involved in the program since his first semester at Grinnell.

“Obviously it takes on added significance that the fact that [you learn] the same kind of lessons that you would learn from any other students,” Ritter said. “That breaks down preconceptions and barriers that you have about people who live in prisons.”

Sam Mulopulos ‘14 started tutoring during his first year at the College and has taught classes public speaking and earth systems science since then.

“[Teaching in prison] really hones your leadership skills. I think it’s a good exercise in responsibility and trust,” Mulopulos said. I’ve been very able to take the skills I’ve learned there, they are very translatable to a variety of different things.”

The Liberal Arts in Prison program is organized not only by students, faculty and staff from Grinnell, but also by inmates themselves. John Hammers was incarcerated for twelve years and contributed to the Liberal Arts in Prison program from the inside.

“We helped organize it, set up classrooms, we petitioned verbally and through posting throughout the institution that there were classes available,” Hammers said. “We eventually got our own computers and created a data base to keep track of the classes and who was in them and what supplies they were getting and essentially running the whole program.”
Hammers came to campus this past fall for a symposium in celebration of the program and met his professors George Drake and Eric McIntyre for the first time outside of prison. He credits the fact that he has stayed out of jail to the Liberal Arts in Prison Program and the direction that it has given him.

“In the Iowa department of corrections, they really give you no direction as to what you should do when you get out,” Hammers explained. “[The Program] made me more confident with my release that at least I had some place to go. I’m going to get out, enroll in school, and I had a tentative plan at least.”

Going forward, program coordinators are now accepting applications for student-taught classes in order to start the program at the beginning of the Fall 2012 semester. Applications for student teachers are due on April 30. All students with an interest in teaching in prison are encouraged to apply by contacting [grinnellinprison].

The residents of DefJamily certainly earn the title of a def family—tenants Michael Schoelz ’12 and Kramer McLuckie ’12 grew up in the same town and have been friends since before high school. After both decided to attend Grinnell, they decided they would room together.

Photograph by Roni Finkelstein

During their first year, Schoelz and McLuckie met Ben Aronowicz ’12 and Kunal Bansal ’12 while living in Norris.

“We liked to do linguistics and paintings,” Schoelz added. “We were just an extended Jamily.”

Bansal, Mcluckie and Schoelz planned on living together with former classmate Salil Kalghatgi, but after Kalghatgi transferred, Aronowicz and Rachel Smith ’12 took his place.

“I didn’t really know the group until this year,” Smith said. “[But] the house has really made a formative friendship circle—it’s a home base.”

The DefJamily is a single house despite being listed as two apartments and includes more than just its residents. However, there are some differences between the two floors.

“The downstairs has the video games and TV system,” McLuckie said. “[But] there are not enough dishes to cook food, so we end up eating out a lot.”

“We call this [floor] the Chode,” Bansal added, in reference to the two males who occupy it.

While the downstairs may be more akin to the “typical” college student house, the upstairs has a different feel.

“While the downstairs is Easy Mac, the upstairs is pasta primavera,” explained Aronowicz, who later pointed out a blackened beet dish that had been cooked in the upstairs kitchen the previous evening.

While the first level boasts a TV and dirty carpet, the upstairs has a spacious hardwood floor bordered by three couches and a tall bookshelf.

Despite the differences in the floors, the residents have a variety of bonding methods, some very intimate.

“The walls are paper thin,” Smith said. “We can count Kunal’s sneezes from upstairs.”

“I can also hear everything that happens in the bathroom from my room,” McLuckie said.

For this reason, it is lucky that the DefJamily is so tight. They say that they bond over Pub Quiz (their team, Dr. Awkward, is a consistent power-player), Netflix and noncompetitve intramural league basketball.

“Everyone here played in the championship basketball game,” Aronowicz said. “Except Rachel. … Sorry Rachel.”

Their secret?

“We’re good at basketball because we live a clean life, we have a healthy diet and [we] exercise,” McLuckie explained.

“But it’s mostly Jesus,” Bansal said.

Aronowicz explained the real reason: “We actually drink a lot before and during games.”

The crew plans to have a team this year, but the name and specifics are under wraps.

The house was home to the 100 Days pre-party, the Mary B. James pre-pre-party and the residence regularly hosts pre- and post-parties for Pub Quiz. They have also provided libations for parties at other houses. The tenants of DefJamily hope that other High Street houses start following their example.

“I want to issue a challenge to the other High Street houses, they need to step it up,” Smith said.

Michael Schoelz is the News Editor of the Scarlet & Black; Kramer McLuckie and Kunal Bansal are sports columnists.

Students participate in a Yoga class in South Forum last Thursday. Yoga classes are offerred every day except Saturday on campus. Photograph by Joey Brown

Grinnell offers a wide range of options to practice this ancient discipline; you don’t need to know what it means to do a “sun salutation” or a “downward dog,” because they welcome people from all levels. In fact, I have not practiced yoga in three years and managed to complete all of the routines. I even met people who took yoga for the first time in their lives and left with a smile on their faces. The sessions take place every day of the week except Saturday and at different locations and times.

The first session I attended was “Yoga at the Gallery,” held by Monica St. Angelo on Mondays and Thursdays at noon at the Faulconer Gallery. The short duration of the class, 35 minutes, makes it ideal for people in need of a quick and relaxing workout before their afternoon duties. St. Angelo guides you patiently throughout the class, discreetly correcting your poses and giving precise suggestions on the spot. The Hatha yoga routine included breath exercises, strength-building movements and meditation. A variety of people attended the class, including faculty, staff, students and town residents. To my dismay, the Gallery was in preparation for a new exhibition, so we had to meet in the adjacent dance studio. However, I can imagine that the artwork and the space provide a unique atmosphere for a memorable yogic experience.

“Meditative Yoga” was my next selection, held by Minna Mahlab, Director of the Science Learning Center. She instructs classes on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the dance studio in the Bear Center’s Natatorium. This option is perfect for those in need of some relaxation before tackling down homework all night long, after a hard day or both. The class began by bringing awareness to our breathing for several minutes; we repeated the om throughout the session. The lesson continued with Hatha yoga poses that develop strength and flexibility, always under close and courteous supervision. Meditation is the core of Mahlab’s class, which she facilitated with a relaxation period that runs longer than in the other classes. The meditation aspect was achieved, I believe, thanks to the 1.5 hours dedicated to the session. The attendants were mostly students and some faculty.

Finally, I attended “Yoga Club” on a Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. in the South Forum with Erin Howell-Gritsch, Theatre and Dance. This option works best as a workout right after class or before dinner. This class appeared to have the most consistent attendance: mostly students and a few faculty members. The hour-long routine touched on breathing awareness but focused on building strength and flexibility. The routine feeds upon the styles of Hatha and Ashtanga yoga—the latter being a favorite of Madonna. The difficulty of the class depends heavily on the participants’ input. Even though the instructor oversees the participants from afar, she seemed to keep track of each person’s progress from previous weeks. Yoga Club also meets on Fridays at 4:15 p.m. at the Forum for “Happy Hour Yoga” and Sundays at 11:30 a.m. with Andrea Magermans.

All the lessons had anywhere from 10 to 16 participants, most of whom were students. They all followed a similar structure: breathing, movements, poses and relaxation. However, their focus and supervision differed and revealed different approaches. All the groups were very welcoming and made it clear that yoga is not a competition. They explained that everyone has their own rhythm and ability and that everyone is welcome to pause at any point if they need it. Outside of Grinnell, yoga lessons like these can be very expensive. Take some time to make the most of yoga opportunities on campus—your body and mind will be thankful.

Photograph by Joanna Silverman

7:39 a.m. — Arrive at breakfast to find, to my delight, that today is maple pecan Danish day. Eat three.
8:00 a.m. — Sit down in ARH 120 for International Economics with Jack Mutti, three more pastries in hand.
8:51 a.m. — Leave ARH and head to Noyce 1245 for History 100 with Sarah Purcell.
9:54 a.m. — Head back to JRC to check mail.
9:56 a.m. — No mail. I never get mail.
10:00 a.m. — Head back to dorm; begin Humanities reading; change clothes.
10:45 a.m. — Walk back to JRC for the job I do when I’m not Presiding Officer: catering.
11:47 a.m. — Prepare fruit dessert plates for two guests. Congratulate self on culinary skills, but then realize all I did was cut and arrange fruit.
12:11 p.m. — Begin lunch service at Grinnell House.
12:49 p.m. — Eat the lunch I served – beef cheek over a risotto, crème of lime, black bean emulsion.
2:27 p.m. — Arrive back at JRC catering kitchen; inform catering staff that I need to leave for a headshot. They ask for context, and I respond that it’s for an article in which I’ll be featured in the S&B. They ask for a shout-out. Shoutout to Carolyn and Jen, the best supervisors I’ve ever had, along with Chefs Becca, Aber, Scott, and Jaie, some of the finest culinarians in Iowa.
2:31 p.m. — Have photo taken by Joanna [Silverman ’15], photographer for the S&B.
2:40 p.m. — Back to dorm to change out of catering clothes. Converse with floormate.
3:15 p.m. — Arrive in Noyce 2402 for Applied Statistics with Jeff Jonkman, Mathematics.
3:41 p.m. — Make snappy remark. Professor laughs.
4:09 p.m. — Print off agenda for tonight’s Joint Board meeting, along with the minutes from last week.
4:21 p.m. — Head back to dorm. Organize briefcase for Joint Board. Review agenda. Converse with floormate. Read The New York Times.
5:29 p.m. — Change clothes again, this time into a white dress shirt, khakis, and sport coat. Select tie, taking care that it is a tie I have not previously worn to Joint Board.
5:46 p.m. — Enjoy a positively lovely dinner.
7:04 p.m. — Arrive at JRC 209; call Joint Board to order.
7:15 p.m. — After a long, confusing series of motions, explain to a visitor the motions that have been made and their effects. Applause follows. I love this job.
7:52 p.m. — Slowly realize that two glasses of water at dinner was not the brightest idea.
8:14 p.m. — Damnit, I really need to go to the bathroom.
8:31 p.m. — Leave meeting and use restroom (First time I’ve ever left a meeting while it is in session).
9:08 p.m. — Allison Wong [’12] gets me coffee. Thanks, Allison.
9:59 p.m. — Adjourn meeting.
10:04 p.m. — Converse with a senator regarding procedure; converse with Alex White regarding next week’s agenda.
10:26 p.m. — Arrive back at dorm. Converse with floormate; get some work done.
11:03 p.m. — Decide I’ll go to bed and work tomorrow.
11:21 p.m. — Roommate arrives. We chat about the Republican primary and the integrity of mobile application developers.
12:00 a.m. — Watch episode of NOVA with roommate.
12:45 a.m. — Watch some clips of the British television show QI with roommate; laugh mightily.
1:01 a.m. — Decide it’s REALLY time for bed; set alarm for 8:00 a.m.
1:17 a.m. — Sleep.

Candy Land: Candyland Sundae
“It’s the latest, it’s the greatest,” sings Dee Dee Sharp, in the opening lines of her hit song, “Mash Potato Time,” and if you were to walk into Candyland, odds are that you’ll hear the song on the jukebox; the line also summarizes all you need to know about Candyland (well, except for how great the ice cream is). It’s one of the newer ice cream establishments in town, although it can lay claim to feeling the most old-fashioned. Candyland is open year-round, and when you walk inside you are instantly transported to another time. I was greeted and encouraged to grab a booth. I ordered the diner’s namesake, the Candyland Sundae. A large is $3, and won the best-tasting sundae contest. My sundae arrived in a classic ice cream dish, and the rich ice cream came smothered in a sauce made from melted marshmallows, and topped with cocktail peanuts. I struggled with the bit of marshmallow sauce that had melted off the side of the dish—it was the first time in my life that I had to restrain myself from licking the outside of an ice cream dish. Candyland offers quite a few options, including root beer floats, shakes, malts, and other sundaes. If you’re headed there, though, get the Candyland Sundae; you’ll be blown away. If you want to take a trip down memory lane (memory lane is only .1 miles further from campus than Dari Barn), and get an unbelievably rich sundae for an unbelievable price, Candyland is the place to go. Take this Grinnell tradition of yesteryear and turn it into a 21st century Grinnell tradition.

Dari Barn: Brownie Sundae
This seasonal ice cream establishment has catered to Grinnell students for years, and has become part of the Grinnell condition, as well as a tradition. Dari Barn is only a few blocks from campus, and a pleasant walk—apart from the scary dog that looked like it could eat both my brother and me when we walked past. I love sitting right next to the tractor fleet so I can always get a good look at the Deere. There are tons of options on Dairy Barn’s menu ranging from cyclones (soft serve ice cream mixed with fruit, candy pieces, or cookie dough) and sundaes of all shapes and sizes including the Trick or Treat sundae, which is filled with bits of Snickers, Butterfinger, Twix, and other candy. According to their menu, the newest concoction is the Nutty Caramel Monkey Sundae made with caramel, monkey bites, and pecans. I went with the brownie sundae, which came in an “ark-like” plastic dish, and explained why it seemed like I was eating two of every flavor. There was soft serve vanilla ice cream somewhere underneath the maraschino cherry, whipped cream, and brownie bits. It tasted great. My brother’s blue raspberry slush was “superb.” One caution about Dari Barn is that it is a pricier than the other places on this list, but you do pay a premium for the wide variety of options. However, the most expensive price you’ll pay is the time you spend waiting in line, so if possible, go with friends.

McDonald’s: Hot Fudge Sundae
Venturing all the way to McDonald’s on foot really put me in the mood for a hot fudge sundae, and I must say McDonald’s did not disappoint. Let’s face it: McDonald’s is McDonald’s no matter where in the world you go, so it lacks the charm that Dari Barn and Candyland offer, and unlike those places, the ice cream at McDonald’s isn’t made with love. The hot fudge, on the other hand, is. The sundae seemed to be smaller than I remembered it, but it just made me want another one. In case you were wondering, I did manage to restrain myself. The McDonald’s sundae is $1.29, but it’s not really worth the trip unless you’re coming back from the Interstate or you’re struck by a sundae craving on your way out of Fareway that is so bad that it keeps you from walking the extra few steps to Candyland.

Kum & Go: Blue Bunny Cool Tube, Orange Sherbet
While browsing the individual ice cream freezer at Kum & Go, I passed on the Drumsticks and Klondike bars and opted for a trip down memory lane with an orange sherbet push-pop, or in scientific terms an Orange Sherbet Cool Tube. At the time, it didn’t occur to me that I’d be catering to the lactose intolerant community with this selection, but I’m glad I did. This delectably sweet and tangy bit of nostalgia’s only disappointment was that, like in younger days, more of the push-pop ended up on my clothing and the side of my face than in my mouth. If you’re in a pinch and are looking for something lighter, and more fruitful than ice cream, this may be the way to go.

Dining Hall Ice Cream Machine
With the exception of the North Campus/South Campus divide nothing seems to divide people more on campus than their D-Hall ice cream choice. Mint chocolate chunk or raspberry chocolate chunk? Disclaimer: I prefer raspberry chocolate chunk. Despite the fact that the Dining Hall ice cream pits us all against each other in some sort of twisted “hunger games,” while we wait for the slow cream to squeeze out of the machine, the Dining Hall does have Sundae Sunday. On Sunday nights, the readily available hot fudge quickly transforms the always-available vanilla ice cream into the perfect treat. I took a leap, though, and dove headfirst into the mint chocolate chunk. My preference for raspberry chocolate chunk comes from its nice combination of a fruit blend with the chocolate. Mint, on the other hand, tastes like biting into a peppermint patty, and as an unfortunate victim, I urge you to avoid such a trap at all costs. One of the criticisms of the Dining Hall ice cream is that vanilla is the only flavor fixture. I would wager that a reasonable portion of campus would like it if both flavors were variable. However, thinking of the big picture, the Dining Hall has a nearly unlimited supply of pretty good soft serve ice cream. On Sunday, hot fudge is available, and all it’ll cost to get into this gigantic ice cream buffet is a meal plan.

Weather on this day: 40s, raining off and on, winds roughly 20 mph

8-8:30 a.m. Rise and shine, eat breakfast (cereal, banana), check emails. A perk of working from home is the non-commute allows me to sleep in.
8:30-8:40 a.m. A client emails (subject: AHHHHH!) letting me know she forgot to walk her dog this morning, can anyone come walk him asap? Whoops! Too early and last-minute to see if any walkers can do it.
8:40-8:58 a.m. Bike to Chicago and Orleans
8:58-9:25 a.m. Walk Butch the poodle
9:20 a.m. Call client whom I’m meeting downtown, ask if it’s ok to meet a bit earlier since I was in the area.
9:25-9:40 a.m. Bike to Lake and Columbus, a hotel, to pick up keys from a client for an overnight this weekend.
9:40-9:47 a.m. Meet with client, owner of 2 Dobermans (Hank and Mayor) and a Yorkie (Izzie). She instructs me to stay dry. It is the funniest joke of the day to that point.
9:47-9:54 a.m. Bike to Clark and Lake, almost run over my friend Brij while going the wrong way down multiple one-way streets.
9:54-9:59 a.m. Walk with Brij to Clark and Kinzie. Discuss Chicago Bears and Angry Birds.
9:59-10:11 a.m. Bike to Webster and Lincoln to pick up keys from a walker
10:15-10:25 a.m. Bike to Clybourn and Sheffield to drop off keys to a different walker
10:25-10:40 a.m. Bike home to Western and Armitage
10:40-11:40 a.m. Eat late morning snack (blueberry/raspberry muffin), answer emails, eat lunch (grilled turkey salad)
11:40-11:55 a.m. Bike to Wellington and Southport
11:55-12:20 p.m. Walk Sexy the Schipperke
12:20-12:35 p.m. Bike to Lawrence and Sheridan
12:35-1:00 p.m. Walk Lion the Portuguese water dog
1:00-1:10 p.m. Bike to Broadway and Belmont
1:10-1:35 p.m. Walk Walter the terrier
1:35 p.m. Get a call from walker who has just had a bike accident. He’s fine, but he’s running late and needs me to cover a walk. No problem.
1:35-1:59 p.m. Bike to Fullerton and St. Louis
1:59-2:24 p.m. Walk Sammy the Puggle
2:24-2:55 p.m. Bike to Clark and Foster
2:55-3:20 p.m. Walk Ina the fat Boxer
3:20-3:30 p.m. Bike to Rockwell and Lawrence to pick up keys from walker.
3:30-3:35 p.m. Bike to Rockwell and Montrose. Can’t find keys that I just picked up. Assume I dropped them where I picked them up.
3:35-3:45 p.m. Bike back to Rockwell and Lawrence, can’t find keys, discover keys in my pocket. Curse. Bike back to Rockwell and Montrose.
3:45-4:10 p.m. Walk Garlic the pit bull
4:10-4:30 p.m. Bike home to Western and Armitage
4:30-5:15 p.m. Eat dinner (grilled cheese w/ turkey and tomatoes), set up schedule for the following day, email schedule to walkers.
5:15-5:30 p.m. Bike to Halsted and Division
5:30-6:15 p.m. Meet with new client, owner of Nelson the golden and Columbus the springer spaniel. When I ask owner if there is any sort of training she’d like me to work with the dogs on, she advises: Curb Columbus’ imperialism. Noted.
6:15-6:47 p.m. Bike to Foster and Damen
6:47-7:12 p.m. Walk Rich the pit bull. Rich has tipped over the garbage and spread it around the apartment. Pick up garbage.
7:12-7:17 p.m. Bike to Foster and Clark
7:17-7:42 p.m. Walk Ina the fat boxer again. Feed her. Owner comes home as I’m leaving. Nice to finally meet you, we love Ina. Justin got in a bike accident. No he’s fine, thank you for asking.
7:42-7:50 p.m. Bike to coffee shop on Clark and Wilson
7:50-8:40 p.m. COCOA BREAK! Answer personal emails, play Angry Birds. Eavesdrop on a first date happening a couple tables away. They’re not right for each other.
8:40-8:45 p.m. Bike to Sheridan and Buena
8:45-9:10 p.m. Walk Madison and Tulip, the terrified and blind Cocker Spaniels.
9:10-9:35 p.m. Bike home to Western and Armitage.
9:35-10 p.m. Answer work emails, eat late night snack (granola bar and yogurt).

Bike Stats: 58 Miles in 5 hrs, 7 mins

Despite the weather, I had a good time. I think this means I’m in the right profession.

To Rabbi and Interim Associate Chaplain Garson Herzfeld, Passover signifies freedom.

“Passover is the festival of freedom because it marks the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt,” Herzfeld said. “It’s an exodus that marks the transition from slavery to freedom.”

The Passover seder is both a meal and a religious service. The meal is incorporated into the night’s procession, which specifically details the Jews’ exit from Egypt, along with related readings and songs. This year’s seder is vegetarian and catered by Grinnell Dining Services; it provides students an opportunity to experience one of Judaism’s three most important festivals (Succot and Shavuot are the others). Attendees will sit at round tables; each table will have wine, hagadahs—traditional books which detail the order of the seder—and a seder plate. The seder plate contains symbolic food which is consumed during the ceremony.

For Rabbi Herzfeld, the round tables are imperative for encouraging participation in the seder, because they provide a more collective ambiance.

“There will be circular tables. And hopefully if I can pull it off—I’ve done these sorts of seders before—I’ve had different people read, and I’ve arranged for a handheld mic. With round tables at least you feel like you can interact with the people at your table and the people at tables around your table.”

Chalutzim leader Melanie Rockoff ’12 looks forward to the potential for communal participation.

“We’ve divvied up different parts of the hagadah so that anyone can read, and it’s totally voluntary so if you don’t want to you don’t have to. The last time I was here for Passover, it was just a really interesting experience: everyone got up and volunteered and I think we’re going to be doing a similar thing this year.” To Rockoff, the seder is an integral Passover experience. “I think it’s important because it’s an important Jewish holiday. I also think that it’s important for people to have a place so that they might feel at home,” Rockoff said. “This is something that a lot of people prior to Grinnell have done—it’s a ritual, a tradition—I know that prior to Grinnell I’d never not had Passover seder with my family, and I can’t really imagine not doing it in college.”

The seder is also a celebration with guests. Along with many Grinnell students and faculty, the Washington University in St. Louis women’s softball team, who are in town for the HyVee Classic, will also attend. According to Rabbi Herzfeld, this is in accordance with the spirit of the holiday.

“You’re supposed to invite friends and strangers to your seder. That one night all our people, it doesn’t matter what social status you have in life—that wasn’t important when this was put in place— everyone at the seder is treated the same way, is equal.” For those who wish to observe, Passover also means a week without food products that rise when baked, or products which connote bread. For the week bread is substituted by matzo, which is a yeastless bread. This tradition is a reminder of the Israelites’ escape; there was not time for the bread to rise as they fled from Egypt. To accommodate students, the dining hall will offer kosher for Passover options next week at every station except for stir-fry. In the morning, special granola and matzo brei, a dish similar to French toast will be served. During lunch and dinner, kosher for Passover pasta sauces will be available in the pasta line. The Dining Hall will mark other kosher for Passover entrees with a pink tag, which will explain the ingredients that were substituted to make the dish kosher. There will also be matzo pizza and matzo ball soup available at the grill and kosher for Passover outtakes with matzo and hardboiled eggs.

Executive chef Scott Turley does not question the importance of Dining Services’ Passover efforts both in catering the seder and at meals in the Dining Hall.

“So many students need this to get through the week,” he said. “There’ll be a lot going on.”

“I knew since first year that you guys would be really compatible with each other and I wanted you to be friends,” said Kayla Koether ’12, regarded by the housemates as the group’s architect.

Pangea residents Sophie Haus, Maia Pillot, Mona Porter, Devin Ross, Laura Glass, Kayla Kalether and Marie Ackerman, all ’12, lounge at home. Photograph by Joe Wlos

Besides Koether, fourth-years Marie Akerman, Laura Glass, Sophie Haas, Maia Pillot, Mona Porter and Devin Ross make up the house, which has undergone recent renovations.

“Carlos Ferguson is our landlord; he’s an alum,” Glass said. “He lived in this house when he was a student, then it was sort of abandoned and then he bought it and fixed it up really well. … He first rented it last year, when it was Moby Dick.”

The group came to rent 1005 after Porter completed a summer internship with Tiny Circus, a community art collective led by Ferguson. Members of Tiny Circus stay in the house during the summertime, and Ferguson keeps a workspace in the house’s eighth bedroom.

The house’s artistic connections provide a well-decorated atmosphere. Two of Porter’s sculptures sit in the living room, one made of laminated firewood, the other of welded rods. Other fixtures include a piece from Bread & Puppet theatre, and works left by members of Tiny Circus.

The rest of the housemates are more inclined towards music than visual art. “We have a tradition of singing folk songs in harmony on our way back from Harris,” said Haas. “We sang ‘I’ll Fly Away’ [and] as much of the soundtrack from ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ as we can remember.”
Though the house members enjoy attending Harris, they have a slight preference for events at Gardner.

“Gardner is nice because it’s close enough to run back to our house and do … things…” Ross said.

“Take shots,” Ackerman clarified.

“Yeah, there have been times when we didn’t think there was enough alcohol at the Gardner event that we’ve literally run back to our house without clothes on and then come back,” Ross said.

“Without our coats on, at least,” Glass added.

The house has also hosted several parties this year.

“There’s one this [Saturday] actually. You can put that in the article,” Haas said. “People say they’re really fun, too.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen some blog posts saying they’re really fun,” Pillot said.

“Those might have been on Maia’s blog,” Ackerman added.

The housemates agreed that throwing parties has been a pleasant experience, with the exception of one minor incident. “Somebody broke our watermelon, which pissed me off,” Pillot said.

“Yeah they went through our vegetable drawer and smashed everything in the kitchen,” Ackerman explained. “It sounds like sexual innuendo but it really isn’t.”

Pangaea has also hosted daytime gatherings, bats, and, in one notable instance, a group of couch-surfers. “We got this request from this band that was like touring and they were, I don’t know how to explain … they’re, like, electronic … hips-… they’re from Portland,” Glass said.

“They were called ‘Breezin.’ They came and we hung out with them. … We played flippy cup, it was super weird, and the next morning we decided to play a show with them, or, well, they kind of made us let them play a show,” Glass said. “So we made breakfast and had pancakes and muffins and bacon and eggs, and we had a bunch of off-campus people come over and they played, and they were actually really good.”
Other house traditions include a “share closet” from which housemates can borrow each other’s clothes and a “delectables drawer” full of candy and other indulgent items.

The housemates spend large periods of time hanging out together at home, and members of Pangaea are now known to arrive and leave social events as a group. “People have mentioned that we leave [together], Pillot said. “It’s kind of a problem for potlucks and things like that. Half of the party is gone when we leave basically … the fun part anyway.”

“I know that for a lot of houses, they were friends before, but living together was a wear on their friendship,” Pillot said. “For us it’s been the opposite, we live together and we’re better friends because of it.”

“I feel like it couldn’t have worked out better,” Haas added.

Overall, the housemates say they plan to stay close after graduation.

“[Our name] makes sense,” said Koether, “because there are seven of us and when we all graduate, we’ll split apart, … but I think we can change history and stay together.”

Richard Handler lectures in JRC 101 Tuesday. Photograph by Nate Powell Palm

The Humanities Center has been preparing for the festival since last fall. It was billed as a way to reflect on the values of our institution as a liberal arts college and to emphasize the necessity of the humanities. It opened up a public space in which to debate the humanities’ role in higher education, and the value of a liberal arts degree.

“[The benefits of studying the humanities include] critical thinking and analytic skills, ethical thinking, engagement with difference in the world, values of citizenship, strong communication skills, the value of social engagement [and] ideas that engage with the diversity of human experience, values, and thought,” said Shuchi Kapila, English and Director of the Center for Humanities.

On Tuesday, Handler gave a lecture about his experience in organizing an interdisciplinary program at the University of Virginia, and the relationship between off-campus study, service abroad and “the identity of our students as privileged Americans.” He described how the departmental divisions of modern universities arose from the organization of 19th- and 20th-century Western Universities, but emphasized the need to approach development problems with critical, analytical thinking and through a humanist lens.

On Wednesday, Fletcher spoke about making art a social practice rather than an isolated form of expression. He also conducted a workshop called “Art and Social Practice” on Thursday. Fletcher has extensive experience with art as social practice, as he has produced many socially engaged, collaborative and interdisciplinary projects. His work has appeared at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the de Young Museum, the Berkeley Art Museum, the Wattis Institute and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in the San Francisco Bay Area, among others.

The student panels included presentations of excellence in research and scholarship, with such titles as “Deciphering the Source,” “Culture and Hybridity,” “Telling Stories, Making Music,” “Drawing Now, Three Propositions,” and “Crossing Borders, Queering Film.”

The Humanities Center selected students in December and January; those selected then went through an extensive workshop with Janet Carl, acting Director of the Writing Lab, on oral presentation skills. Katherine Ferraro ’12, presented a section of her summer MAP, which focused on a French translation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Comparing Shakespeare’s Macbeth to its source text, Holinshed’s Chronicles, she analyzed how this literary development reflects ideas of power.

Kapila emphasized the Festival’s role in highlighting the Humanities Center’s unique importance.

“We think it is important to have these debates [about the place of humanities in education], to talk across disciplines, and in a year of strategic planning really think about our values as a liberal arts institution,” Kapila said.

Ferraro echoed those sentiments on a different level.

“The humanities are important, because the skills that you improve upon in those courses—writing, close reading, critical discussion—are so applicable to our other courses here at Grinnell, and then afterwards in our professional lives,” Ferraro said. “I also think that the humanities are important because they answer the question asked of hard facts, ‘so what?’ So what if our hearts beat 72 times each minute? I think that the answer to ‘So what?’ can be found in the humanities.”

“Caleb [Neubauer ’13] plays the mandolin,” House Coordinator Emily Stanfield ’12 said. “Carissa [Shoemaker ’14] has two banjos, Amy [Linder ’14], Kane [Balser ’13], and I play guitar. There’s also a harmonica and kazoo. … We jam.”

Eco House residents (from left to right) Caleb Neubauer ’13, Yelena Varley ’14, Emily Stanfield ’12, Colin Brooks ’13, Nora Kostow ’13, Toby Cain ’12 and Kane Balser ’13 relax with their respective instruments in the living room last Wednesday. Photograph by Carl Sessions

Eco House, located at 1130 East Street, is a project house owned by the College. It’s been in existence for several years, but only two of the current tenants lived there before.

If someone were to stroll down East Street’s sidewalk they would probably notice the large solar panel array on the roof of the two story brown house. In the spring they would see a compost pile and garden. The solar panels are one of the ways that the house minimizes energy consumption. There is also a remote switch to stop phantom outlets from wasting power (like when laptop chargers are plugged in but not charging anything), and all the toilets are dual flush. However, the sustainable spirit does not end there.

“We also have a copy of The Lorax lying around,” Colin Brooks ’13 said.

Though serious about the natural world, the residents have a number of traditions that keep their environment light-hearted.

The first of these traditions is actually an object: “the fun machine.” It is a miniature organ that sits in the corner of the living room where Mr. Gibbard can affectionately watch over it. Above the organ is a nature portrait covered with stickies bearing inspiring notes.

“It’s the warm fuzzy board, where you give compliments to people,” said Yelena Varley ’14.

Even the weekly chore distribution is brightened by a special house rule.

“One of the chores each week is happy chore,” Toby Cain ’12 explained. “Last week Nora [Kostow ’13] put up polka dots all over the kitchen. During the fall Caleb bought a Bonsai tree.”

The Bonsai tree resides on a ledge in the living room. With its brown needles, the Bonsai appears a little sickly.

“They’re kind of difficult to maintain,” Neubauer said. “Kind of like our earth.”

Like Bonsai maintenance, food preparation can be a bit difficult for Eco House’s residents.

“We used to cook once a week for the whole group,” Cain said. “But it was hard because we had to do it without dairy, gluten, eggs, yeast or sugar.”

For this reason, the residence was once informally known as Allergy House. Other past names have included Al Gore House and Hyperspace.

“In the 1980s, my mom lived in this house,” Stanfield said. “They named it Hyperspace because of all of the drug use.”

Eco House has since slowed down to plain old space. This has enabled the residents to concentrate on being a model of environmentally-attuned living for the rest of campus. Part of their work has been community outreach.

“We hosted a community meal last semester and we also did a potluck with food house,” Stanfield said. “We’re also going to have a study break co-hosted with the CDO [Career Development Office] for people to find out about environmental-related internships.”

Today the house is hosting one such outreach program. All Grinnellians are invited to an open house from 4-6 p.m. to see the place, groove on the fun machine and share a laugh with Mr. Gibbard.

“We’re going to serve tea and popcorn!” Kostow said.

Abby Trout discusses ways to improve upon your resume. Photograph by Kathlyn Cabrera

In addition to preparing students for the workforce, the CDO also helps build students’ interpersonal skills and provides resources to enrich their educational experience, although a common misconception is that the CDO is only useful for upperclassmen. 
“The CDO isn’t just for seniors,” Megan Crawford, Assistant Director of Career Development & Internship Coordinator, said. “We offer all sorts of programs for different years. We have a four-year success plan for students, with different things to accomplish each year. We can work on your resume, help you find internships, connect you to alumni and more.” 

For underclassmen, opportunities abound at the CDO. Dylan Gray ’14 has already taken advantage the programs. 

“They really helped me improve my resume by editing it down to one page. I’m also applying for the externships program,” Gray said. 


The CDO brought back the externship program this year. Targeted at first- and second-years, this program allows students to do an extended job shadow with an alumnus, and lodging is often included or at the alumnus’s home. By living and working with the alum, students are able to forge a strong connection while acquiring new skills.

“We’re really excited about the program. It’s a great opportunity for students to gain unique experience and make those new connections,” Crawford said. “Connections always help to get you places, and we want to make sure the students can make and use those connections, especially with our alums.”


The CDO recently updated its databases on internships, including sorting hundreds of internships done by Grinnellians into majors, locations and job types. The databases also include Grinnell-exclusive internships offered by alumni. The CDO provides many resources to ensure students from all class years are able to do an internship. 

“There is funding for some summer internships, averaging about $3,500 to $4,000 to cover food, lodging and transportation,” Crawford said. “You may not end up making money, but that makes it possible to do [an unpaid internship] without breaking the bank.”

The CDO also has prepared a wealth of events for this semester, promoted and designed by its employees, including a “wine and dine etiquette dinner.” This dinner is meant to “provide an opportunity for students to practice their manners in a less-stressful setting, so they are confident in themselves when they enter the professional world,” Crawford said. The dinner will be connected to lessons on professional etiquette and other interpersonal skills. 

Another resource offered by the CDO this year is their series of events related to getting admitted to graduate schools. Targeted towards third-years, these events cover LSAT, MCAT, and GRE preparation, interview skills, grant writing, and searching for graduate programs.

“We’ve got a lot of students at Grinnell that are interested in proceeding to grad school,” Crawford said. “We are trying to provide many resources to make their experience as smooth as possible.”

Many students are worried about finding a job after graduation. The CDO wants to allay those fears by providing students with a large wealth of experience to draw upon. Gray sees the CDO’s programs and opportunities as an important component in his undergraduate experience and beyond.

“In an economy with unemployment still hovering above eight percent, being able to find a job coming out of undergraduate and gaining experience and connections is extremely important to me. I hope [the CDO] continues to add resources and opportunities for the students,” Gray said.

Among the more recent additions to the CDO are programs targeted towards certain organizations or majors. Joe Lytle ’14 appreciated having workshops specific to certain students. 

“I attended one of the resume workshops for athletes. It was good for getting me on the right track,” Lytle said. 


With two new employees this year, the CDO is fully staffed and ready to serve students. Other informational sessions will deal with internship funding, preparing for interviews, job searching, cover letter writing, networking, and graduate school preparation. A full schedule of events can be found online at www.grinnell.edu/offices/CDO/. 

The CDO is more excited than ever to help students reach new heights and be ready to take on the outside world.

“There’s a big myth that you need a suit and a resume before you walk into the CDO,” Crawford said. “But you can walk in completely confused, and we’ll be ready to help you.”

“I’m like, ‘Well that’s one way to deal with it,’” Brown said. “[But with] the flu you’re really supposed to be in bed.”

The view from Mears’ Cottage lounge onto the roof of Main Loggia. Photograph by Avery Rowlison

Awkward moments like this one are all but inevitable, because the faculty offices in Mears are right next to the South Campus dormitories. Offices on the east side of the third floor, such as Brown’s, look directly onto the Main Loggia.

Professors with offices in Mears say that the proximity is the source of occasional annoyance, especially in the spring when students are outside. But there are also benefits of feeling part of the community and getting a window (literally) into student life.

One problem is noise.

“Friday afternoons I’d be like, ‘F— there they go,’” said Kelly Maynard, History, describing her reaction when students turned on music. “I’d just give up and go home, and that pissed me off. But on the other hand, it’s Friday afternoon, and its Grinnell, and people kind of need to party and I get that.”

“There have been times, like, when they’re playing the Rolling Stones or music that I like when I think, ‘Oh that’s kind of nice,’” said Tim Arner, English. “It’s when they start playing Miley Cyrus or something like that that I’m more annoyed.”
Other distractions are visual. The South Campus Loggia is a favorite spot for student nudity. Brown was sitting in her office one Friday afternoon with an alumna and her non-Grinnellian boyfriend.

“He’s just suddenly drop-jawed,” recounts Brown. “And the alum and I turn and look and go, ‘Oh, yeah.’ They’ve all just dropped trou. It’s not a big deal. He was shocked, and the alum actually said, ‘Welcome to Grinnell.’”

Over the years the exposure has taken something of a toll on her, though. “I have probably seen more of my students’ skin than I would choose to see,” Brown said.
Students show no signs of shame because of the proximity.

“I never really think about it or change how I’m acting because Professor Maynard or Tim Arner can see me out their window,” said Ryan Moorehead ’13, a resident of Main Hall. “I have run into Professor Maynard [while I was] streaking, but that was in the library.”
A professor particularly mixed in with students is Ken Christiansen, Professor Emeritus of Biology. His office is on the first floor of Main Hall because his other offices have all been destroyed. His science building office was torn down when construction began on the first stage of the Noyce Science Center in 1997, so he moved to an office near the corner of Park Street and Sixth Avenue. That was torn down in 2002 to make room for the John Chrystal Center. He then moved to another house on Park Street on the other side of Sixth Avenue. That was torn down last year to make way for the new Grinnell College Preschool. Hence, he is now in Main Hall.

But he is not bitter about his new office location.

“I love seeing students,” Christiansen said. “I usually leave my door open to encourage visitors.”

The 2010 campus plan update raised the possibility of a new humanities building farther from south campus. But professors would be reluctant to leave.

“I love being imbedded in this whole kind of neighborhood,” Brown said.

“Mears is a great old building with some soul and some history and it’s crooked, and I’d much rather that than be in a new building that stinks of new building-ness,” Maynard said. “On the other hand it depends on what they build…It would also be nice to be around a bigger pool of faculty, but there are plenty of people in History and English, and we all get along pretty well.”

Jake “Stony” McVeigh ’11” in Seoul, Korea last fall. Contributed.

“They told me to wait it out and give them a chance to get more students. But two days later, that’s kind of when everything happened.”

It was a Thursday morning, and McVeigh was in the middle of class with the student who was paying tuition, Stella.
“Jennifer runs in and starts yelling in Korean, ‘They’re leaving! They’re trying to run away!’ and tells me to stand in front of Daniel’s [the boss’s son] doorway so that he couldn’t leave,” McVeigh explained. “Because if they left, then there would be no way to find James. Well, I didn’t feel comfortable with that, so I stood in between Jennifer and Daniel while they yelled at each other and I found out from Stella that they were cursing at each other and saying really bad things to each other.”

Once Jennifer ran out of steam yelling at Daniel, she left to go try to call James again, McVeigh took the time to go back to his room to try to contact HandS Korea and his parents, as well as pack his things. He went back out and the situation hadn’t changed, except now everyone seemed to be packing their things, too. The hotel manager joined the fray to ensure that someone would pay for the six weeks of rooms, and he called the police. McVeigh listened to the harried Korean exchange. Although he didn’t initially understand many of the details, the emotions and implications were clear.

The police, Jennifer and Daniel all left with McVeigh and Stella, the Chinese teacher. The hotel manager and staff were left to piece together their different perspectives on just what had happened over the last six weeks in each of their lives.

“[The hotel manager] was kicking us out but was concerned for myself and the Chinese teacher because he knew that we didn’t have anywhere to go,” McVeigh said. “I was lucky enough to have [HandS Korea]; there was little more that I could’ve expected. I was grateful that I had someone to call.”

As soon as McVeigh relayed the events of that morning to HandS Korea, they sent a car to pick him up and get him out. The next day, they went through all the legal procedures to see what McVeigh’s legal options were. Ultimately, due to his already significant cash loss, the time it would take to move through the legal proceedings, and the unlikelihood that James would be able to pay, McVeigh chose not to pursue James’s purse in the courts. He also chose not to take a position in another school, one of the best in Korea that HandS Korea offered him with several extra perks (like his first months salary in advance) to make up for their catastrophic placement.

“They were trying to make it as convenient for me as possible,” McVeigh explained. “All that is nice, but I just didn’t feel happy. What it boiled down to was, I wasn’t happy and to get to a place where I was stable and happy, I needed to be back home.”

Cutchins agrees with McVeigh that HandS Korea acted admirably in response. He points out that the problem for both McVeigh and programs like HandS Korea is that sometimes all it takes is bad luck to ruin their best-laid plans.
“You can’t cover all of your bases,” Cutchins said. “You have to go forth on trust and sometimes, like in this case, it doesn’t work out, and that’s really unfortunate. When someone is going into an [abroad position] and red flags go up, you need to start asking questions immediately.”

International experiences are supposed to be tough, which is why they are exciting and have the propensity for massive growth. But growth is rarely emotionally—and even physically—painless. When vetting and applying to programs, a critical examination of both the program and oneself is necessary to ensure that together, your goals align. Cutchins suggests stoicism when dealing with the aches and stresses of becoming the person you want to be.

“I make a difference between challenges and problems,” Cutchins said. “Challenges are things that we know exist and are hard, and there’s nothing that we can do about them, and you signed up not despite these but because of these. With challenges, I encourage students all the time to find a person who is doing this right now and ask them what it’s like, … how do you cope and why it’s worthwhile anyway. Then there are problems. Problems are changeable and should be changed.”

Sometimes, it can be hard to tell whether a situation is a challenge or a problem, but once something is identified as a problem it is imperative to be proactive about it. Cutchins offers a few pieces of advice to keep in mind if you think you are encountering more problems than challenges.

“Ask questions not just to the people that you’re working with, but call people back at home,” Cutchins said. “Call a parent, call me, call Mark Peltz at the CDO [Career Development Office). … Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to explain rationally and calmly and not hyperbolically why something is a problem and what you would like to see done about it and work cooperatively towards that goal.”

But the lesson to take away from McVeigh’s experience is that despite the trauma and the material loss of resources, time and energy, McVeigh gained invaluable experience working in an impossible situation.

“I still think of it as a learning experience with a lot of positive things that happened,” McVeigh said. “It was a once in a lifetime kind of thing, but it was also traumatic and something that is difficult for me to navigate still.”

The residents of 1008 High St appear to be well-adjusted. Photograph by Joey Brown

The ascent over a small stoop and through the front door brings me to an undecorated tree inside.

“We have a big tree in the foyer. Julia got it. She has a stick collection and a tree collection. That’s the prize of the stick collection,” Tessa Cheek ’12 said.

Cheek, Julia Gerasimenko ’12, Anna Armstong ’12 and Julie Podair ’12 have known each other since their shared Tutorial first year, which focused on Pokémon. They decided to move in together while two of the residents, Cheek and Gerasimenko, were in Argentina and dragooned Dylan Naylor ’13 into living with them.

“They threatened me,” Naylor jokes, explaining that he was the only one in Grinnell who could coordinate the lease.
The residents asked Cheek to name the house, and she chose the name Deep Shade for unknown reasons. Gerasimenko recalled that the runner-up nominee “sounded like a brothel.”

A preeminent location for parties, Deep Shade lives up to its reputation. The deteriorating condition of its floors shows the wear of many years in Grinnell and the dancing feet of inebriated Grinnellians. The floor in what would be the dining room is instead the dancing room.

“When people are dancing in there, beer literally pools in the center,” Naylor said.

The floor is now supported by car jacks in the basement.
“Now it has car jacks. … Before it was just a car jack,” Naylor said.

“It seems pretty okay from the basement,” proclaimed Podair after a cursory tour of the old basement, which netted Naylor some previously undiscovered hammers. “We just doubled our hammers!”

Though the floors sag, the sense of community is tight in Deep Shade, and the five students seem well adjusted to their life off-campus. Of course, nice neighbors help. The group lamented the recent move of the family next door referred to as “Baby” and “Rico,” who were friendly with the residents. The neighbors even offered Podair job opportunities and Naylor food options.

“They cooked me like a steak dinner at three o’clock in the morning, because I was drunk and they said I needed food, so they made me like cinnamon rolls and mashed potatoes,” Naylor said.

A cabinet in the saggy-floored dining room contains some important items to have on hand. Cheek listed off the accoutrements inside:

“Glitter, bubbles, and gold spray paint… and an empty bottle of balsamic vinegar… and a gumball machine,” Cheek said.
The kitchen displays the typical scene of a busy college student’s life. A bag of popcorn sits open on the counter, not too far from a broken toaster, a casualty of an attempt by Cheek to cook a hamburger. Notably, the srichacha sauce sits at the central point between the stove’s four burners. Among the top food choices in this “dining hall” are instant foods and sweets, such as frozen pizza and cake, in addition to bread, fajitas and chorizo.

As we returned to the front room’s bright lights, Naylor began to play a keytar—a cross between a guitar and a synthesizer. The residents may also have a bluegrass band, but they seem uncertain of the name, alternating between “Agro-Crag” and a few others before landing on “Perfume of the Ancient World.”

One of the most remarkable items in the house sits oddly beside the coffee table: a “Vitamaster” massage machine. The machine uses a belt-driven cylinder of massage rollers at a pace set by turning a knob. Cheek and Gerasimenko found it for two dollars at Second Mile. It seems to function like a mechanical hot seat in the front room.

A flag with a white background and a photograph of a golden retriever sits proudly and happily in its two-dimensional place on the table. The residents recently discussed changing the house’s name to the Dog House, but they took down their flag. Obviously the sign proclaiming “Top Dog” with an arrow alone does not express the house’s love for canines enough. Still, they will always have Baby, a porcelain cherub with a burn on its throat, to keep them company as they sit in the front room.

The snow piles up past the stoop and the floor shifts like tectonic plates, but there is shelter in the Deep Shade and, possibly, a mechanical massage lying in wait for the next visitor there–which may be one of the residents.

“We only come here to party. We don’t even actually live here,” Armstrong admitted.

Tessa Cheek is Arts Editor for the S&B.

Hirsch began Real Men as a space to facilitate conversation among Grinnell men about their role in preventing sexual violence on campus.

“It has pulled a community of people into the advocacy conversation that would not otherwise be involved,” Hirsch said.

Hirsch modeled the group after similar programs at larger universities. During his graduate years at the University of Southern California, Hirsch was active as part of the group Men Care, which inspired him to create a similar group at Grinnell. Hirsch also looked to University of Arizona’s bystander intervention program—Step Up—which has become a model for similar groups at universities countrywide.

“Sometimes people think our name is a negative thing,” said Robert Seer ’12, Real Men Vice President for Athletics. “We’re not trying to be exclusive. … We realize that men have a special privilege in that it is easier for men to prevent sexual assault, and that’s because there are more men that commit sexual [assault] than women, so we want to empower men who aren’t committing sexual assault. … We want to empower men to step in.”

The group has held numerous events over the past three years, including Walk A Mile in Her Shoes in the spring of 2010, as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. For the event, men walk a mile in high heels to raise awareness about rape, sexual assault, and gender violence.

“I found out you couldn’t walk in grass in the rain,” said Ryan Creps ’12, of the rainy but otherwise successful day in heels.

Creps, President of Real Men, has been a part of the group since it began, along with Seer and Vice President for Campus Community Paul Tavarez ’12. Looking to the future, Creps hopes to increase involvement for this year’s walk, which is scheduled for April 28.

Real Men will also be involved in Eating Disorder Awareness Week, held from Feb. 26 to March 3. According to Creps, the group plans to host popular events from last year again, including a table in the dining hall where students can write positive notes to friends on campus. Prior to the Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event, which will take place during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the group hopes to invite speakers to campus and host the Clothesline Project, a display that gives women affected by violence a vehicle for self-expression. The goal of such events, says Hirsch, is to “[raise] awareness within, particularly, the male community on this campus in our role in preventing sexual violence.”

In addition to specific campus-wide events, the group continues to host workshops on topics ranging from being an active bystander, to helping people understand what sexual assault and sexual harassment are, to providing resources to active bystanders and those directly affected by sexual violence.

“[The purpose of these workshops] is promoting a positive image of masculinity on campus,” Creps said.
Real Men holds the workshops for groups on campus such as athletic teams and Posse groups. According to Creps, however, workshops are most often directed towards first years, with a focus on first year male athletes.
“We don’t want the guys on the athletic teams to be someone that you say ‘Oh you better watch out for that guy,’” Seer said. “We don’t want to put them down. We just want to give them a greater understanding of what it’s like here. We try to help them out.”

Children play at the new-and-improved preschool center on Park St. last week. Photograph by Connie Lee

“The observation room allows my students to be unobtrusive observers of development,” said Professor Ann Ellis, Psychology.

The building is full of areas for college students to observe their pint-sized subjects. The observation room is large enough to accommodate an Introduction to Psychology class and is equipped with a two-way mirror and maneuverable cameras that overlook the children’s classroom. There are also two Individual Study rooms for students, with particular activities designed for childhood development studies.

“I have students almost every semester who work individually with children doing different kinds of studies with them,” Ellis said. “In the old building they were in the middle of the classroom with some plastic doors.”
Ellis teaches a Developmental Psychology Course every spring and an Advanced Developmental Psychology Course every other year, both of which use the preschool laboratory. Additionally, one or two Introduction to Psychology classes spend several days each semester observing the children’s behavior. All in all, the Preschool Laboratory serves roughly 100 college students every semester.

“Right now, I have 22 developmental psychology students who are learning to use the observation space—pretty exciting for those 22 students,” Ellis said.

The Preschool Laboratory also functions as an accredited education program in the State of Iowa, serving 48 children ages three to five. A large room accommodates various play stations that are designed to stimulate development through play. From building blocks to artistic expression, the room functions as an organized vehicle for learning and exploration.

“In our old building, we had a lot of little nooks and crannies,” said Karen Veerhusen-Langerud, Director of the Grinnell College Preschool. “You couldn’t see where some of the children were, so we had to have a lot of supervision. Here everything is all in one space, and you can see everything.”

The preschool also benefits from a tornado shelter/recreation room that will make it possible for the children to exercise year-round.

“We can give kids opportunities every single day to do motor development, large muscle development,” Veerhusen-Langerud said.

The college students who work at the preschool have also enjoyed the new facilities.

“I love the new preschool. It’s so beautiful,” said Anna Henriquez ’12. “It’s the kind of thing where you wish you had gone to preschool there.”

Henriquez has worked at the Preschool Laboratory for almost three and a half years and has already noticed how well the new building serves its dual purposes.

“Usually the only reason that I remember that there is [an observation room] is when I see people leaving,” Henriquez said, “it’s nice because it is really discreet.”

This long-overdue addition to the Grinnell campus, as well as the Grinnell community, has an exciting future for both groups of students—big and small.

“It’s an amazing opportunity,” Veerhusen-Langerud said.

The décor in the house coordinates well with the swords; although magic isn’t technically part of Dagorhir, “Magic the Gathering” cards lay scattered throughout. “Half of us play ‘Magic,’ half of us play ‘Settlers of Catan’ [a board game].” said House Coordinator Eric Tjossem ’1d. A few minutes later, Svea Drentlaw ’13, a Dag guest, took a seat at the kitchen table, and immediately asked if anyone would play “Magic” with her while three other Dag House residents attempted to assemble a gigantic board of “Settlers of Catan”.
“It doesn’t need to be in a hexagon shape!” Mariya Shapiro ’11 complained. Traditionally, Settlers of Catan boards are set up hexagonally.

“Crispy Hexagons!” Taylor Smith ’14 burst out. Crispy Hexagons are the cereal staple of Dag House; they’re like a grocery store brand generic version of “Crispix”.
Not to be outdone by Smith’s spontaneity, Drentlaw, a music major, erupted into the George Gershwin song “Summertime” as others continued to assemble the board.
The Dag House living room represents similar loving disorganization. Both front corners are layered with Dag equipment while Soae swords are piled in a small laundry bin.
“Those swords aren’t battle-ready yet.” Tjossem said, as he pointed to the swords in the bin. “They still need to have covers sewn for them.”

For a sword to be eligible for combat in Daghorhir, it has to be deemed soft enough that it would not hurt anyone and a cloth cover must be sewn on. Sword-preparation is a community responsibility. “Usually someone just picks some up and starts working on it,” Tjossee said. “We haven’t done that in a long time. We need to get organized about that.”
The living room coffee table is home to a collection of “Sci-Fi Classics” that included such gems as “The Mesa of Lost Women,” “Piranha Piranha,” and “Evil Brain From Outer Space.” For Smith, the experience of watching these films is one of his favorite parts of living in Dag House. The table also boasts a faded-golden horn sound exits the horn through a dragon’s mouth. Its golden fangs hang down extended beyond the rest of the horn’s body.

“That is the dragon horn,” Smith explained. “It summons dragons. It’s our backup defense against a zombie attack.” Two pieces of paper titled “Zombie Attack Strategy” hang on the wall between the kitchen and the living rool.

“We need to have a meeting about our zombie defense strategy for this year,” Tjossem said.

Dag House is fully equipped, weapon-wise, for a zombie attack.. “The board itself is just full of things the RLC gave us, but the thumbtacks are battle axes,” Tjossee said, before removing a. crowbar from the clutter beneath thedcentrally-located board.

“We also use this to fight zombies,” he said as he proudly displayed it.

When they’re not involved in some sort of battle, Dag House likes to eat. “We have Stir Fridays,” Cory Brooke-deBock ’13 said. Stir Fridays are the meal after Friday 4 p.mM sessions of Dahorhir. “Well, sometimes we don’t make Stir Fry, we make other things,” Tjossem explained.

Like Sword Fry?

Tawil spoke about Iowa’s rich history as a hub for Muslims. The Mother Mosque was established in 1934 and is now denoted a historical site. The mosque hosts interfaith dialogue and has a community of supporters that extends beyond just the Muslims of the area.

Youssef, who moved to the United States twelve years ago for graduate school, did not at first recognize that her experiences here were influenced by the fact that she is a Muslim. Eventually, however, the effects of living in a place with a small Muslim community caused her to realize that religion was an inescapable part of how she was perceived and how her own experiences America were shaped.

“I somehow talked myself into thinking that my experience is defined more by being an Arab woman…but trying to dismiss religion as an identity marker didn’t work,” Youssef said. “I remembered that I do wear my religion on my head.”

Youseff noted the difficulties of living in an area where Muslims account for a small minority.

“I found my experience as a Muslim in Grinnell to be very different. It’s friendly, but it’s lonely,” Youseff said. “I still miss the call for prayer, the night prayers in Ramadan. You can’t find that here. Above all I miss the intellectual exchange among ordinary Muslims who are critically examining issues and social phenomenon from a religious perspective. I miss debates about religion without being expected to defend Islam.”

Hammouda, who’s been settled in Iowa since 1989 and in Grinnell since 1995, feels at home in Iowa and cherishes the diverse community and variety of opinions and beliefs.
“I found Iowa to be a great place to raise a family. Do I miss the larger community? Not really. I feel that I have a community,” he said. “One within which I have a great comfort level and a lot of support.You can talk about religion as openly as politics here and that is something you don’t always find in larger Muslim communities.”
One thing that Tawil, Youssef and Hammouda agreed upon is that despite the fact that they stand out as Muslims, they have never, not even in the aftermath of 9/11, felt threatened by members of the surrounding community.

Youssef recalled an instance when her car broke down on an Iowa highway and a stranger drove her all the way to South Dakota so that she could catch an appointment on time. Tawil mentioned how volunteers from the community helped out when the 2008 floods caused the mosque’s basement substantial damage. Hammouda had a friend and a pastor stop by after 9/11 to show their support for him and his family and make sure that they were not being harassed.

“These were just two examples of the many ways that made us realize we had found home,” Hammouda said.

Tawil echoed Hammouda’s appreciation for Iowa.

“Muslims in Cedar Rapids have never felt that they have a problem being part of the community. We are part of the community and it is a part of us,” Tawil said.

“I oftentimes tell people it’s not hugely uncommon for someone to go on an international teaching or volunteer experience and not have it be what they were hoping for it to be,” explains Doug Cutchins, Director of Social Commitment. “… It’s all about the match. But I don’t think anyone could have been successful in [McVeigh’s] opportunity. It fell apart on him.”

Jake "Stoney" McVeigh '11 and Pat Stuchlik '11 stay "so fly" in Seole, Korea last fall. Contributed.

McVeigh’s story starts where many seniors are beginning right now: vetting programs, weighing the challenges posed by one program against those of another. An ’09 alum and member of the Grinnell football team recommended HandS Korea—an English teacher recruiting agency in South Korea to McVeigh. HandS Korea is a small recruiting agency, but they place 700-900 teachers a year and have been around for just under a decade. They found McVeigh a placement in a new Hagwan, a Korean private boarding school. After researching the school and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, McVeigh applied, interviewed and then signed a yearlong contract and left the United States on Sept. 26 of last year. However, once he arrived and started working, he quickly noticed some strange things about the school in which he had been hired to teach.

“I arrived Sunday, observed class Monday and started teaching on Tuesday with the supervisor,” McVeigh said. “But there were things that were odd to me but I had nothing to compare it to. It was a new school and they told me, ‘Oh we had to move from our building and were trying to find a new spot, so we’re in this hotel temporarily.’ But it kind of made sense, because it’s a boarding school and people have to live on campus. Also, [I only taught] technically one [20 year-old, female] student that was paying tuition and my Boss’s son [who was 18].”

For six weeks, McVeigh lived in a hotel, teaching his two students and passing the time with them, his supervisor, and a Chinese national who was hired to teach Chinese.
“All of my meals were made by my supervisor,” he said. “It became very mundane and redundant; I felt very isolated.”

McVeigh rarely saw his boss, whose English name is James, the man who owned the school and had hired him. As the six weeks went on, James was increasingly absent from the hotel, and McVeigh would later find out that nobody knew James’ exact Korean name, and that the Hagwan he owned was actually in his son’s name. The hotel was nice but in a secluded area, and nothing was in walking distance. McVeigh did meet with other ’11 Grinnell graduates for a 10/10 celebration, and in the early weeks he was able to travel around a little and see a country profoundly different from the frozen fields here in the Midwest.

But in the hotel, McVeigh knuckled under, hoping that the things he heard about his missing boss—that he was looking for more students, finishing up, and finding a new building—were true. They didn’t dissuade his growing realization that the relationship between his supervisor and his boss was increasingly tense; neither did it undo the biggest red flag—he wasn’t getting paid.

“My thinking was, as long as I get paid, I can stick this out,” McVeigh said. “If I get paid I’d be able to go out and travel and do what I want on the weekends. But I was trying to be very conservative with my money until I got paid. And I eventually ran out over the six weeks [waiting to get paid.]”

McVeigh was told that by Nov. 1, he would receive his first paycheck and be reimbursed for the cost of the plane ticket to Korea, which was in McVeigh’s contract. The hotel, too, was concerned about the school’s ability to pay. The date came and McVeigh had not even been asked for account information. McVeigh talked to his supervisor, whose English name is Jennifer, and despite her open feuding with James, she told him not to worry and to wait just a little longer. McVeigh also called the recruiting agency, HandS Korea.

“They called Jennifer because they had worked with Jennifer before at a different school, and one of the employees at HandS Korea trusted that she was being completely honest about the situation,” he said. “They told me to wait it out and give them a chance to get more students. But two days later, that’s kind of when everything happened.”

McVeigh’s story will be concluded in next week’s issue of the Scarlet & Black.

Diane Meisles '12 and Julie Podair '12 explore ISrael via camel during their recent Taglit-Birthright trip. Contributed

“It’s such an important country and it’s kind of crazy that it’s only the size of New Jersey, and yet we still hear about the tiniest of happenings,” said Julia Gerasimenko ’12, a winter break participant in “Israel Outdoors,” an outdoor-oriented Birthright option. “I think that [Taglit-Birthright Israel] really wants to give people of Jewish heritage the chance to see what it’s actually like [in Israel]. To actually see the living, breathing State of Israel really shows how [Judaism] is more than a religion—it’s also a culture. And to actually see that in person was really powerful.”

Applicants to the Birthright programs must be between 18 and 26 years of age with little to no previous experience in Israel. While much of programming is organized by region, Taglit-Birthright Israel also offers “niche trips” that cater to more focused groups, including the option of an “LGBTQ Friends & Family.” The extended scope—beyond purely religious exploration—surprised many of the particpants.

“The craziest thing for me about going to Israel was how different Judaism was there. [I saw] a lot of Israelis that identify as Jewish but were hardly religious,” said Julie Podair ‘12. “They have a Jewish culture that is very apparent and very strong, but it’s not necessarily religious. It made me feel more okay with not being so religious.”

The trip is not without controversy, however. While proponents praise Taglit-Birthright Israel’s ability to invigorate Jewish identity and strengthen a connection to the State of Israel, critics decry the program as Zionist and one-sided regarding its treatment of the ever-contentious Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I can see why the Israeli government would want to support [Taglit-Birthright Israel] because a lot more people were pro-Israel in the end,” said fellow “Israel Outdoors” participant Zach Butler ’13. “But our tour guide tried to present either a neutral opinion or both sides when talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—not just what the Israeli government wanted us to hear.”

Controversy aside, Taglit-Birthright Israel continues to send approximately 30,000 students per year to Israel from 54 countries around the world, according to the program’s official website. Whether a 10-day trip to Israel for Diaspora Jewish youth can be considered a “birthright” remains to be determined, but it goes without saying that the country’s rich history and natural beauty present a nearly universal draw to all who visit.

“It was like a free sample of a really nice chocolate—you’re going to want more of it,” Podair said. “I don’t think there was anyone on that trip that didn’t want to go back.”

“Given enrollments in Middle East related courses, we’ll be able to make a pretty strong case for adding resources to help make a concentration possible,” said Professor Caleb Elfenbein, History.

According to Elfenbein, Mervat Youssef, Arabic, Kathy Kamp, Anthropology, and Susan Ireland, French, are currently working to develop a program where the College would hire a recent graduate of the Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language program at the American University in Cairo to come here for up to two years at a time.

Typically, at the College, most Arabic classes fall under French, and the History or Religious Studies departments usually offer courses related to Middle Eastern studies. However, much like the rest of the Middle Eastern world, change is coming and new borders are being drawn.

“At present, there are two core faculty members and then there are a number people around the College who teach related courses,” Elfenbein said. “Beginning next year, there is going to be a second Arabic language instructor, so that’s going to allow for an expansion of current offerings.”

Jon Cohen ’14, who created an independent major in Middle Eastern Studies, thinks a concentration would help students get recognition for taking these classes.

“Given that there is emerging demand for this sort of skill, it would be great on your transcript [to say—] I have these skills, the College has recognized these skills and now I can sell them to you, my employer,” Cohen said.

Since few regions are as necessary to the continuation of the United States’ current economic success as the Middle East, much study focuses on energy issues and conflict. With growing immigrant populations, however, Middle Eastern Studies at Grinnell hit closer to home than one might first think.

“The immigrant community in the States from south Asia and the Middle East is quite significant,” Elfenbein said. “Understanding the history from which these communities are drawing and how they understand their new locations is pretty important.”

Elfenbein emphasized that jobs that would make use of a Middle Eastern Studies Concentration do not necessarily fall under the umbrella of the United States energy interests. Areas of work that combine a social justice-oriented yet profit-minded occupation exist in several forms.

“At this point, the halal meat industry is huge for people who are really concerned about questions of sourcing and animal husbandry more generally, [it’s] really thinking about the relationship between conceptions of humane slaughtering and food justice issues,” Elfenbein said.

However, for those less enthused about the prospects of a job in the meat industry, areas such as finance and law will soon be demanding those with skills pertinent to the Middle East.

“Someone who is going into international finance will be very well placed to serve as a link between
people who are advocating a kind of Islamic economics and other folks in the financial sectors,” Elfenbein said. “Having an awareness of particular concerns that people might have can only help someone.”

There are also those on campus who see the concentration as a way to bridge the knowledge gap between two inherently connected groups of people.

“Having the Middle Eastern Studies Concentration would be really helpful for not only Americans, but for international students as well, [especially those] who don’t know much about the Middle East and have prejudices and misinformed ideas and stereotypes,” said Sahar Jalal ’14, an international student from Morocco.

Though the discussion surrounding Middle Eastern studies is coursing around the school, students will have to wait for further developments before they will have the opportunity to declare this concentration.
“We have to get through strategic planning and have to know what post-strategic-planning Grinnell is going to look like before we can think specifically about formalizing a concentration,” Elfenbein said.

Danger Zone. Photograph by Avery Rowlison.

The group met each other early on during their first years at the College, and they moved in together at Gates during their second year, where they started many of their traditions and built a strong bond.

This year, their home’s official name is the Danger Zone, but it’s also affectionately known as Gay Pride Rock. Residents explained that this name means the home is a location for those with gay pride to rock out—it is not to be confused with a gay pride version of “The Lion King’s” Pride Rock.

“Danger Zone refers to the general state of the house,” Davis said. “There are several things about this house that might kill you … mostly wildlife-borne illness.”

“The upstairs was declared unlivable because of the roach infestation,” Leuszler said.

The tenants also discovered a dead bat in their den, hidden underneath a sofa cushion. These disturbing problems were all addressed at the start of the semester. Now, the Danger Zone is a habitable, albeit disheveled, college rental.

There is one room in here that is always rodent and cockroach free, and that is Lexie Leuszler’s Sugar Shack,” Leuszler expressed.

The Danger Zone doesn’t always have parties on the weekends, but when the residents do host guests, they invite an eclectic group, which is especially entertaining for Bothfeld, who spent her junior year away from Grinnell. The tenants are particularly drawn to the company of first years, though.

“This is the first year den,” Leuszler said, while sitting in a large white room, with three sofas, a large TV, and still plenty of room for dancing. “They storm this room, turn off the lights, put Kanye on and don’t leave.”

“It’s a little scary,” Bothfeld added.

However, any partying first years should be sure to come prepared for the cold, as the house’s heater is seldom used. The group is committed to low heating costs, with members attempting to complete No Heat November.

“We made it a week before Thanksgiving before I threw a sh*t-fit,” Leuszler said.

For most of the month, the temperature of the house was a balmy 56 degrees. However, there was an upside to the cooler weather.

“First years will need to cuddle their bodies up on each other to stay warm,” Leuszler said with a sly grin.

A good way to warm up from the chilly indoor temperatures is to drink Davis’ home brews.

“This house is a functioning brewery,” Davis said. “I’ve been home brewing for over a year, and I make anything from Summer Wheat to a Dark Stout.”

Davis plans on going to Africa next year, where he hopes to start a brewery. He won’t be far from the Danger Zone, though—all of the tenants seem to include Africa in their future plans in some way.

They’ll have plenty of souvenirs from Grinnell to take with them, though. Many of the men behind this year’s 10/10 live in the Danger Zone, with Hoag, Davis, and Fribley all having played a vital role in the campus festivity. They have so many 10/10 shirts remaining that they have started using them as rags.

Photograph by Joanna Silverman.

6:45 a.m.—“I know it’s time to get up,” I yell at my alarm. I’ve been awake since 6 a.m., trying to decide if coffee/life are exciting enough to get up…

6:50 a.m.—…as it turns out, they are. I have 25 minutes for coffee and shower. Then it’ll be time to wake up my son, Eli, and take him to school. He is (objectively!) the best kid on earth. He is also the world’s fastest showerer: 5 minutes in and out, and no traces of shampoo, I check.

7:35 a.m.—Here is a dilemma: Do I show up for work early to impress my new boss, or do I stay home and do actual work?

8:00 a.m.—Look at the ’fit I’ve prepared since yesterday. Today is going to be a cold palette day, probably, black and blue. If my socks don’t match my pen, my lighter and my scarf, I just don’t feel right. I justify it by the fact that my work is somewhat design-related. Not that it shows on the website much (yet!)

9:00 a.m.—Meeting with Arts & Science consultants. Their questions seem insightful. I can’t wait to see results of their study.

10:00 a.m.—Communications Staff meeting. I hate meetings. Maybe it’s my background (in Soviet Russia, meeting runs you). I tend to get bored and start talking a lot, until I just can’t stand my own voice anymore. But this meeting is surprisingly productive. My new boss, Jim [reischej] seems nice and smart so far. He also has new ideas, which is refreshing. (As an anarchist, I hate to praise authority. But I must be fair.)

11:05 a.m.—Even so, it takes me some time to regroup after meetings. I spend it desperately trying to annoy Ben Brewer ’11. He is the most even-tempered person I’ve ever met, and it drives me nuts. Also, I try to recruit Mona Ghadiri ’11 to start a “Fashion Police Tehran” TV show. She doesn’t find it as hilarious as I do.

11:20 a.m.—Respond to some support emails, because my partner in webcrime, Donna Dralus ‘89, is out sick today.

11:45 a.m.—A quick chat with Alison from Rogue Element, a Chicago company that helps us with web design and branding. Talking to Alison always puts me in a good mood for some reason.

12:00 p.m.—My cat Norbert meets me at the door with more guilt-tripping on his face than my Jewish mother. He is starving, he says. It’s tragic, he says. I haven’t paid enough attention to him lately, he says. I will, but first I have to change back into my home clothes. During lunch, Norbert and I are watching “Together,” a Swedish movie about a hippie commune. I really like Swedish movies—they tend to show beauty in non-glamorous, simple things. Also, I love the Swedish language. I took it for two years in college, and enjoyed every moment of it (without much reciprocity, since I got a solid C).

1:30 p.m.—Coffee with Mike Thielmann ’70 at Saints Rest. It’s a tradition since 2002. Students and alums drop by to chat about life and the web. People have been known to turn off I-80 on their way somewhere to swing by. Mike is a great guy, one of the smartest people I’ve met. Jeff Phelps ‘71 stops for a chat about #occupy. His revolutionary spirit makes me want to fight something, starting with Apple, who’s dragging its feet to register our iPhone app.

3:00 p.m.—Meeting with Kabenla Armah ’04 and Jim Powers about the mobile app for the College.

3:45 p.m.—Rush into Jim [reischej]’s office to show him the prototype of the IPad version of the mobile app. Everything seems to work, except the map identifies Windsor House as “San Francisco.”

4:00 p.m.—Work with Kabenla Armah ’04 on the app. It’s going to be awesome.

5:45 p.m.—Skype with Doug Dobrzynski ’13. Doug is working for us, even during his semester abroad. I don’t understand how Poland can be more exciting than Grinnell’s website, but I give him some leeway. Doug is the spider of my Web. He cares deeply about the ‘cause,’ and doesn’t require any babysitting. Plus, he is really interesting to talk to, which, to me, is a job requirement.

7:00 p.m.—Dinner, highlighted by Ingmar Bergman and the iceberg lettuce I’ve recently learned to pickle. Norbert demands we eat kibbles and watch “Nazi Collaborators” on the Military Channel instead. It’s about Amin Al Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. After five minutes of fighting for the remote, culture loses to fuzzy history.

8:05 p.m.—A phone call from my research partner in Mayo Clinic. Kabenla Armah ’04, Yaw Nti-Addae ’04 and I have been developing software for them for the last six years, NBD. There’s one procedure left to code, but for the last six months, there was so much exciting work to do for Grinnell, I had absolutely no time for my other projects. I feel guilty, so I switch our conversation to Zen Buddhism. My research partner is Russian—he can be easily distracted.

9:15 p.m.—Negotiate with Andy from PrometSource (our Drupal consultants) the date when we accept the virtual campus tour. Technically, they were done on Dec. 1, but I want to drag it a little, to give us more time to find bugs. Andy wants it to be this Thursday. We agree on Monday. He is nice. He also never sleeps, so I can call him any time.

9:30 p.m.—Work on the specs for “GrinnellWire” which is going to be the coolest thing in the world. We are presenting it on Dec. 20.

11:30 p.m.—My cat Norbert tells me it’s time to watch Stewart, Colbert, and Seinfeld in bed. He is addicted.

12:37 p.m.—I suddenly have an idea for the article I’m supposed to be working on for a Russian anthropological journal. The deadline was Oct. 1. I haven’t started it yet. I have to write this idea down, so I can use it when Grinnell’s life will become less intense. Norbert falls on the floor as I run to my computer. He is not hurt, except his dignity. By the time I’m done apologizing, I completely forget the idea. Norbert is boycotting me, so I decide to read a book, “The Sexual Life of Savages,” by Malinowski. I need it for the anthro article, that I will wri…

6 a.m.—…I don’t need an alarm this morning to tell me that life is exciting enough to wake up.