On Saturday, March 15, Grand Valley State University’s Indian Association celebrated Holi with an evening of music, dance and rejuvenation. The free event, which was supported by the Asian Student Appreciation Program (ASAP) and the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, was open to all

students and their families, and encouraged participants to increase their awareness of the traditional festival.

Holi, which has roots in Indian culture, was first mentioned in historical texts that date as far back as the seventh century. The holiday primarily signifies the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season, which has associations with renewal and the end of conflict. Joy and love are the central themes of this celebration. Another important aspect of Holi is the idea of play. Colored water and powder are thrown by those who engage in the holiday, which puts a focus on happiness within the community. Holi is a time of carefree togetherness.

Read more of Christina Bilko’s coverage of the GVSU Holi celebration here.

GV Camp Kesem chapter supports families with cancer

Kesem is an organization that aims to provide support for over 9,000 children age six-18 that have parents diagnosed with cancer. Through their primary service, Camp Kesem, counselors and campers take part in a summertime experience that gives children the tools they need to successfully navigate difficult times. Grand Valley State University’s chapter of Camp Kesem fundraises, provides resources to families and hosts a camp for children living in the Grand Rapids area.

Camp Kesem provides a summer camp experience for children, and includes many classic activities, such as arts and crafts, archery, swimming and other games. The interpersonal and practical skills children learn during their time at camp help them both during and after the processing of their parents’ illnesses. However, it’s different from a traditional summer camp, as time is cultivated for campers and counselors to bond through nightly cabin chats. By centering mental health, counselors aim to support the children of cancer patients. The bonds that children form with each other through living and learning together expands Kesem’s community, which results in a continuous stream of relationships.

Read more of Christina Bilko’s club spotlight on Camp Kesem here.

Students traverse Global Language and Culture Festival

On Thursday, March 20, the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at Grand Valley State University held its annual Global Language and Culture

Festival. The event, which celebrates international diversity through music, food and educational booths, served as a chance for students and faculty to learn about global cultures and experiences that are available to them through the University’s Study Abroad program.

Students who attended the event had the opportunity to check in at the entrance, and were given a small “passport” booklet. As they visited different booths and learned about unique cultural elements, they were able to collect stamps. One way to earn a stamp, for example, was to say a tongue twister in Chinese. The festival’s cultural immersion experiences highlighted how international experiences can shape personal and professional growth, and leave lasting impressions for years to come.

Read more of Abbie Suarez’s coverage of the Global Language and Culture Festival here.

President’s Forum highlights evolving education, industry dynamics

Kristen Fox, the managing director of the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) addressed a packed Loosemore Auditorium during Grand Valley State University’s annual President’s Forum. On Tuesday, March 25, GVSU President Philomena Mantella introduced Fox and later joined her on stage for a wide-ranging dialogue about the future of higher education, partnerships with business and shifting workforce dynamics.

BHEF is a national nonprofit that unites corporate and higher education leaders to address skills gaps and workforce readiness. Fox’s presentation, which was grounded in national data and years of BHEF research, examined how colleges and universities can better serve students and regional economies by embedding real-world skills, building partnerships and embracing flexible, lifelong learning pathways.

Read more of Abbie Suarez’s coverage of the 2025 President’s Forum here.

The concert is a favorite tradition of many GVSU students, as it first began in 2009 and has been a highly-anticipated event ever since. The post, which reads as follows, expresses CAB’s apologies and disappointment in the event’s unfortunate turn, and highlights efforts made to book artists despite implied multiple rejections.

“After careful consideration, we regret to announce the difficult decision to cancel the 2025 Spring Concert,” the statement declared. “We are sorry, and we acknowledge the disappointment that students may experience with this decision. We’re feeling it too. Multiple offers to a variety of artists were made, and despite our efforts, none of them were accepted. It is also important to note that while the Campus Activities Board is a student-led programming body within the Office of Student Life, there are times that decisions like these are made outside of students’ control.”

CAB leadership was unavailable for comment at the time of this article’s publication.

This year marks the sixth time in the Spring Concert’s 16-year history that it won’t be held. Most recently, in 2020 and 2021, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of the post’s comments echoed disappointment, with several students commenting they’d “known” the Spring Concert would be canceled. Other students tagged artists such as Pitbull, Trippie Redd and Snoop Dogg asking them to “save” the event, or suggesting another Silent Disco be organized for the originally scheduled evening.

Dominic Asam, a senior at GVSU, noted he wasn’t surprised by students’ reactions. 

“I think from a lot of students’ perspective in what I see online, people have really unrealistic expectations for the Spring Concert, and it’s ridiculous,” Asam said. “When you set standards so high, you’re gonna get disappointed every single time. I empathize with the CAB team because planning this is no cakewalk, but I get the disappointment as well. I also think it’s an opportunity to do something new.” 

Before the announcement of the concert’s cancellation, students also commented on past CAB posts, asking who the performer for the event would be.  As time ticked by and no announcement had been made, questions turned to suspicions regarding whether or not there would even be a Spring Concert at all. This was reiterated through multiple posts on the anonymous messaging app YikYak, with people going so far as to make jokes about performing in their front yards for the event.

Annah Stang, a junior at the University, emphasized she enjoys the annual Spring Concert due to its inherent sense of community.

“My favorite part of the concert is how much it can unify the campus community,” Stang said. 

Still, Stang empathized with the student body, as well as CAB leadership, noting all individuals involved are likely feeling let down by the decision. 

“I know it is a favorite event, and it’s hard not to feel disappointed,” said Stang. “However, I trust the students (that are) working hard to put on an event of this scale. I’m sure they are already feeling low, and it’s important to try to be understanding.”

Lorraine Tharnish, also a GVSU junior, has positive memories of past Spring Concerts. Tharnish noted that while she’d be excited to see a high-profile musician play, she’d also enjoy a local artist.

“My freshman year, lovelytheband played during the fall,” Tharnish said. “It was really fun (and) all of my friends enjoyed it. I would love to see a big artist, but I’d also be just as happy to see a smaller, more local band play.”

Regardless of the cancellation, it seems students are still looking forward to smaller, on-campus events hosted by CAB in the coming weeks. CAB has also published a survey to gauge feedback from students on future Spring Concert artists.

The event, which featured six of the University’s nine Panhellenic sororities, incorporated dancing, singing and lip-synching, stand-up comedy, magic tricks and more. Each participant flaunted their best runway walk before showing off their talent. Attendees could also buy event-specific T-shirts at the door.

The pageant included Bella Trevino of Alpha Sigma Alpha, who dressed as Adam Sandler and performed stand-up comedy. Brooke McKay of Phi Sigma Sigma performed a dance costumed as Pitbull. Sophie Clemens of Gamma Phi Beta dressed as Charli XCX and performed magic tricks. Dressed as Bruno Mars, Riley Diemert of Alpha Omicron Pi gave a dance routine. Ella Hopson of Phi Mu dressed as Ariana Grande and sang. Ella Soesbe of Alpha Sigma Tau exhibited a speed-painting, and dressed as Tate McRae.

“It (Bruno Mars) was a fun character,” Diemert said. “My specific talent is a dance with a partner. He’s (Diemert’s dance partner) a pledge here, and it was fun.”

While she hadn’t participated in a pageant-like performance since high school, Diemert figured she had nothing to lose when she saw found out about the event in her sorority’s GroupMe. Having known some of the brothers beforehand, and seeing the pageant as a chance to have fun, she signed up.

“(My favorite part of the event was) getting to know all the brothers (and) meeting the girls,” said Diemert. “It’s (the event) all for fun and charity.”

In the end, Soesbe went home with the crown after wowing the audience with her painting. As the winner, she was able to take home 12% of ticket sales to support Alpha Sigma Tau’s philanthropy, Women’s Wellness Initiative.

For the brothers of Phi Kappa Tau, the event’s key focus is on charity, even considering the entertaining show.

“It (the pageant) allows us to donate to our philanthropy, and it allows our guys to do something greater than themselves by all coming together to put on an amazing show,” said Benjamin Nader, the fraternity’s social chair. 

As part of his role, Nader was responsible for establishing participants, as well as coordinating all of the performers’ practices. He also served as one of the three judges who awarded the Miss Phi Tau title.

Jonah Edgerton, the vice president of Alumni Relations for Phi Kappa Tau, stated the event had a big impact on the University’s Greek Life community.

“My favorite part is bringing the community together, and I think it (the pageant) raises money for a really good cause for Serious Fun,” Edgerton said. “We plan on continuing doing this for a couple more years. Everybody loves it.” 

The pageant also serves to strengthen not just the fraternity’s community relations, but also their bond as brothers. 

“Any time you have a big event like this, it brings the brotherhood closer together,” Edgerton said. “Everybody has their own tasks, like I brought the letters today. Getting to hold everyone accountable and working together as a group always brings people together.”

Grand Valley State University’s Mary Idema Pew Library, known for its serene study spaces, became a place of

comical horror on Oct. 25. The building was transformed into a haunted labyrinth by Campus Activities Board (CAB), in lieu of the annual Haunted Arboretum, with students embarking on a journey through the library’s floors.

In past years, CAB’s Halloween events have adorned GVSU’s arboretum with chilling decorations and expertly designed scarezones. With a new location in mind, students navigated the library’s tight pathways, and followed caution tape that was laid out on the floor. Making their way around bookshelves, window seats and chairs, participants encountered students dressed as zombies, who were hidden in corners and between book stacks. The zombies’ presence added an element of surprise, forcing students to stay vigilant as they worked their way through each level.

The Haunted Library began in the building’s basement, where students organized into small groups and were given glow sticks to carry. However, there was a twist– if students screamed or dropped their glow sticks, they risked forfeiting rewards at the end, which included stickers and candy. 

Read more of Abbie Suarez’s coverage of CAB’s Haunted Library here.

Padnos International Center hosts celebration of French culture

On Friday, Nov. 15, the Padnos International Center hosted the latest installment of their Wander Around the World event series– this time, focused on France. For the past few weeks, the Department has provided a space for students to learn more about different countries that are a part of Grand Valley State University’s study abroad programs. 

The event began with students having the opportunity to try an assortment of pastries and other French snacks. After introductions, a presentation on the different study abroad programs to France was discussed. Students that had previously gone to France through study abroad participated in a panel discussion of their experiences.

“The Wander Around the World series features food, music and student stories from around the globe,” said Alissa Lane, international programs specialist. “Each week, we highlight a different country and introduce students to study abroad opportunities in that part of the world. To me, the best part of the series is the ability to connect students who are interested in going abroad to a certain destination with students that have recently returned.”

Read more of Christina Bilko’s highlight of Wander Around the World: France here.

Indigi-Fest honors sovereignty, celebrates Native American cultures

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Grand Valley State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) hosted Indigi-Fest, an event that celebrated Native American Heritage Month, and recognized the sovereignty of tribal nations. The celebration welcomed the participation of GVSU’s Native American Student Association (NASA) and the University’s Anishinaabe alumni. The event’s programming created a learning space for attendees to reflect on the concept of sovereignty and its importance to Indigenous peoples.

This was the second year GV hosted the Indigi-Fest. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University’s annual powwow was canceled for several years. In 2023, Indigenous students part of the University’s student success program Mno’Chigewin created Indigi-Fest as a way to re-start the event. Mno’Chigewin was designed to enhance the University experience for students who identify as Native American by offering culture-based programming and support. Now carried on by the OMA, Indigi-Fest continues to serve as a vibrant celebration and recognition of Indigenous culture.

The event began with an opening ceremony led by a representative of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Gun Lake Tribal Council. Located south of Grand Rapids, the Gun Lake Tribe is part of the historic Three Fires Confederacy—an alliance between the Pottawatomi (Bodewadmi), Ottawa (Odawa) and Chippewa (Ojibwe). 

Read more of Abbie Suarez’s coverage of the 2024 Indigi-Fest here.

Election Stress Art Night provides students with creative outlet

On Monday, Nov. 4, a variety of Grand Valley State University student organizations and University departments collaborated to host Election Stress Art Night. The event, held in the Kirkhof Center’s Pere Marquette Room, provided students with an outlet for artistic expression the night before the 2024 election.

From bracelet making to button making, creative activities appealed to students’ different artistic sensibilities. Tables were set up around the room, which designated specific areas for the options. At the mini-zine making station, colored pencils, crayons and colorful paper were laid out. Attendees were also able to unwind by shaping sculptures and cutting up collages to take home. 

GVSU organizations and departments involved included Student Senate, GVSU Votes!, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women & Gender Equity, the GVSU Art Museum, the University Libraries and the Padnos/Sarosik Center for Civil Discourse. 

Read more of Christina Bilko’s coverage about how students addressed stress with art here.

During the event, 15 students, faculty and staff shared their thoughts through art, poetry and songs. The turnout filled every chair in the LRC, and according to Hurst, served to uplift fellow students.

“All of my friends were being very pessimistic, and I wanted to redirect that energy into something with a little bit more agency,” Hurst said. “I wanted to help people feel like they can do things, and I wanted to remind myself that I can do things to help people.” 

Bytwerk shared Hurst’s sentiments, recognizing that many students sought a place to mourn and not feel alone. 

“A lot of these people would’ve been home tonight, crying or mourning, (and) really just going through (the thought of) ‘What’s going to happen to me?’” Bytwerk said. “We’ve offered a space for them to feel safe, for them to feel anger and for them to feel all the things they might not be allowed to feel at home.” 

Both Hurst and Bytwerk spoke at the event. Hurst opened the gathering with a reading of Cornelius Eady’s “All of the American Poets Have Tilted Their New Books” and Ross Gay’s “Giving My Body to the Cause.” Both are published works written during the previous Trump presidency.

“Being there for each other is the most crucial thing,” Hurst said. “(We need) to show up when our friends need support and help, and know our friends will show up and support us when we need it.” 

Eliot Sutton, a GVSU student who attended the event, confirmed the event’s goal of community was met. 

“I was very angry up to this point, and this gave me people to be angry with in a productive way,” Sutton said. 

Another GVSU student who attended, Ellie Burgess, shared three poems that she felt would inspire hope in a room full of uncertainty. 

“I really wanted to incorporate some of the difficulties we’re going through to remind people that we have gone through this before, and we will again, but we will always have this,” Burgess said. “We have each other, and we can keep moving forward.” 

Hurst ended the event by sharing excerpts from Octavia E. Butler’s “Parable of the Sower,” along with an expression of engagement and compassion for everyone in the room. 

“I’m so excited that other people care and want to be there and can acknowledge the need for other people to be there for them,” said Hurst.

Bytwerk felt similarly refreshed and inspired by the camaraderie of readers and attendees. 

“(It is an) insane thought that if we focus on the individual, everyone’s going to be okay,” Bytwerk said. “That isn’t how it’s ever worked and (that) isn’t how I want it to work. I don’t want to be strong and powerful as an individual. I want a community that is strong and powerful and I want to bounce off of them.” 

Bytwerk and Hurst recognized the event as not just a time of support, but also as a time of rallying, as they encouraged students to continue to seek out community.

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court was met with a case advocating for a nationwide ban on mifepristone, which was the first FDA-approved abortion medication in the United States. In the wake of this heated conversation in Washington, D.C., as well as the overturning of Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, many people are wondering: what options will soon remain in the realm of reproductive care?

Many students’ first thought is the Grand Valley State University Campus Health Center located on the Allendale campus and is run through Trinity Health. The clinic doesn’t offer any kind of prenatal care, only referrals to student-chosen providers, since there are other options available around Allendale and the greater Grand Rapids area for students in need of resources.

Planned Parenthood has long been one of the leading household names in the reproductive care conversation. In the past, Heritage Clinic for Women was another option available for abortion education and procedures, however it is permanently closed, leaving Planned Parenthood as the main abortion education center and provider in this area of Western Michigan.

The Pregnancy Resource Center of Grand Rapids (PRCGR) also provides limited medical services, including abortion education, as does HELP Pregnancy Aid.

However, there’s another side to the resources available through Alpha Women’s Center, Positive Options and GVSU’s chapter of Protect Life MI, a pro-life, Michigan-wide, collegiate student organization. These centers and organizations, as well as PRCGR and HELP Pregnancy Aid, are considered crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). According to the Reproductive Transparency Now (RTN) website they can alternatively be known as “pregnancy care clinics” or “fake women’s health clinics.” RTN’s website describes crisis pregnancy centers as “nonprofit organizations with a primary aim of keeping women from having an abortion.”

According to the Reproductive Transparency Now website, other missions of these centers include “evangelism and promoting abstinence until marriage, marriage, and parenthood.” Their website also says, “Most CPCs in the U.S. are affiliated with national religious organizations who oppose abortion and have policies against promoting and providing contraception. Government funding for CPCs is an increasing national trend.”

In the Allendale and Grand Rapids area, CPC’s greatly outnumber reproductive resource centers like Planned Parenthood, that offer actual medical services. Instead, CPC’s typically fall in two categories: those that solely offer pregnancy tests and related information, and those that offer very limited medical services, including “pregnancy confirmation services” that involve obstetric ultrasounds. Some places offer classes and programs regarding parenting or early parenthood as well.

While these services are essential, they can be confusing to those seeking procedural medical services, like an abortion. These resource centers often prey on people in crisis to push a religious-based agenda. They market themselves as a pregnancy resource center to get people in the door, and then when patients realize they are a religiously affiliated organization, they are not offered abortion care, leaving patients are confused.

Mae Zurita, a graduate assistant at the Office of Multicultural Affairs, wants to combat this spread of misinformation and deceiving advertising pertaining to abortions or pregnancy resources.

Zurita has dedicated this school year to research and report GVSU’s relationship with expressive activity across campus, alongside students Alyssa Beil and El Beringer as part of the Social Justice Centers’ programing. Together, they created the “Action Without Reaction” series, which aims to teach students about institutional policies regarding expressive activity on campus. GVSU defines expressive activity in many ways including rallies, vigils, “other expression protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution” and more. GVSU maintains a neutral standpoint regarding visitors or students who partake in expressive activity on campus and afford them the necessary protections.

This pertains to expressive activity by anti-abortion and pro-life organizations, including but not limited to Positive Options, Protect Life MI and the Alpha Women’s Center.

There is also often an abundance of religiously affiliated speakers that come to speak on campus under the expressive activity policies, one common zone being the Cook Carillon Tower. For example, Adam LaCroix, the leading member of TeamJesusPreachers, whose visit to campus in October of 2023 caused an uproar from students.

During her research, Zurita spent time specifically reviewing anti-abortion groups that are frequently present on campus, especially highlighting Positive Options, which has advertisements on six of the GVSU branded Laker Line buses that frequently run through campus.

“The major problem with these groups is that they aren’t transparent with what they’re getting from this (outreach, or what their goal is). Especially the people they bring into those spaces; those people are incentivized to not speak about this,” Zurita said. “If someone is experiencing an issue like (unplanned pregnancy. These groups) are attempting to isolate this person and shame them into not talking about this with anybody, and not talk about what these groups are (doing).”

These characteristics of CPCs is part of what Zurita feels can make them dangerous to the GVSU and greater community.

“These groups do not have to be factually accurate at all,” Zurita said. “These groups are classified as religious organizations, and religious organizations are exempt from rules about spreading medical misinformation.”

Zurita said she is not advocating against the use of CPCs, rather Zurita is trying to raise awareness about the potentially predatory nature of the organizations.

“It seems that these spaces are something that people in the community use. I’m pro-choice, and if people don’t want to get an abortion, that’s okay,” Zurita said. “It’s when you start providing misinformation about what people’s options are, and that’s what these groups are dedicated to doing. (The organizations) want to influence students to get into a situation where they aren’t sure what to do and might make decisions that could lead to a lot of harm.”

For GVSU, this week of celebration is still quite new. DL McKinney, the director of the Milton E. Ford LGBT Resource Center, created GVSU’s Trans Week Of Visibility last year in partnership with the Grand Rapids Transgender Foundation and the Grand Rapids Pride Center. For many transgender students on campus, these events aimed to serve as a reminder of hope, support and empowerment, despite the challenges they may face.

This year, programming started on Sunday, March 24, and ended on Saturday, March 30– intentionally scheduled to build up to National Transgender Day Of Visibility, which falls on March 31.

“Last year, for our first Trans Week of Visibility, we went through the entire week. It was beautiful, it had challenges,” McKinney said. “Then, the following Monday, a student organization brought Riley Gaines (to speak) on campus, who is anti-trans.”

Gaines, a swimmer who competed against openly trans woman Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, has been vocal about her dislike for trans athletes after losing to Thomas.   

“She made her tour just about Lia Thomas, and her speech had a lot of transphobic-ness, fatphobia, a little bit of racism sprinkled in,” McKinney said. “For the next eight months, people felt that hard. So we said, ‘This year, the following year, how do we combat that and say that there is positive representation?’’”

McKinney said Mosier, who has long been an activist for gender inclusion and trans visibility, proved to be the perfect candidate for this year’s programming.

“Chris, being a trans man and being an Olympian and winning championships for America is super super huge,” McKinney said. “Having him out and talking about his truth and what he experiences and empowering our students in knowing that the Riley Gaineses of the world don’t outweigh the power of the folks that are doing good.”

While Mosier was the keynote speaker for Tuesday’s events, McKinney said the student empowerment assembly’s focus was to “make our commitment to our trans siblings and trans community clearer.” They said these events allow individuals to be seen for who they are. 

“This assembly in itself actually was really uplifted by a group of GAs (graduate assistants) who started a series called Action Without Reaction. They did a full series over the last two, three months where they spoke into equity work, how our voices matter and how to use them correctly, and that inspired us,” McKinney said.

Mae Zurita, a GA for GVSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), is an openly transgender woman who helped put together the Action Without Reaction series. She, alongside colleagues from the on-campus Social Justice Centers, were behind this student assembly as well.

Zurita was among eight students who spoke on Tuesday at the Cook Carillon Tower. Zurita said the group of students part of the assembly were not “all trans people on this campus.” Rather, they were some of the people “who are very out and open about their identities receiving this treatment.”

During her speech, she talked about multiple things, including her experiences as a transgender woman at GVSU and other issues related to social justice and equity on campus. 

“The empowerment assembly was really to (allow students to) exist in the expressive activity space as trans people, and show that we exist, we’re on this campus, we’re very proud of who we are and we’re not being treated well by the campus community and the institution,” Zurita said. “Which is really questionable, because that suggests GV has this culture of ‘Stay quiet; don’t ask, don’t tell.’ Being out is kind of dangerous. I’m part of a community of people that currently cannot disclose that they exist for fear of being targeted.” 

McKinney said empowerment is essential in supporting the transgender community at GVSU.

“Representation matters. Being able to see Chris (Mosier) smiling proudly within a sport that he actually wants to do, and isn’t forced to stick into a box with, I think can hit people’s souls in a lot of different ways,” McKinney said. “It gives us the purview that we can be different, we can be more than maybe our family tells us we can be or the institution tells us that we can be, and we can step outside that.”

Despite Kaneko’s role as a creative writing instructor, it’s far from what he originally thought he’d be doing with his life.

“I graduated high school and I flunked out of college because I didn’t wanna go, and I ended up playing music for 10 years,” Kaneko said. “My dad was a poet, a fiction writer and a playwright. I think I resisted going into the family business for years and years.”

Drawn to the creation of art, he redirected his path toward graphic design and illustration, staying in the field until he was told he wouldn’t be able to make any more money without having a degree. After truly capping out in that field, Kaneko shifted gears, deciding in the ‘90s to further his career by getting a bachelor’s degree in graphic design.

However, that’s where his whole life trajectory changed.

“I had this really great English teacher who was my first-year composition teacher. First-year writing was a half intro to (literature), half writing class,” Kaneko said. “In that class, I rediscovered my love for the written word and I made my decision.”

Kaneko went on to attend Arizona State University for an MFA in Creative Writing specializing in narrative writing. He graduated from ASU in 2006, and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan soon after with his partner, Caitlin Horrocks, to teach together at GVSU.

“One of the cool things about being a writer is you don’t have to go to school to be a writer. But when you do go to school to be a writer, you end up meeting like-minded people, and you create that community for yourself,” Kaneko said. “Those people end up being the people that you write with and exchange work with.”

Kaneko said many of his longest-standing writer friends are from his days at ASU. Since then, he has met several people in creative spaces and added several accolades to his professional portfolio. 

With three poetry books, one textbook and many publications in journals and magazines under his belt, Kaneko is considered what many people would define as a “success” in the industry. However, he sees little point in defining accomplishment with how often one’s work is printed and bound. 

“The thing that I want my students to understand is that their writing is about their art. They have to divorce that from any notion of a career or sales or success. As long as you’re writing, you’re a writer and success is what you determine it to be,” Kaneko said. “Some people are gonna say, ‘Well, I don’t have a book, so how can I be a success, right?’ But if that’s your measure of success, that’s a very limited measure of success, and a very difficult one to achieve. Most people in the world haven’t published a book.”

Something Kaneko strongly believes in is that “who you are as a person feeds into who you are as a writer.” Being a longtime creative and now a dad of three, he emulates this ideology on multiple levels.

“I have an eight-year-old and I have a pair of three-year-old twins. On one hand, they make me a terrible writer, because I don’t have time. I don’t have the brain space. When you’re a dad, you take all that brain space and put it into being a dad,” Kaneko said. “When I am writing, I’m a better writer, because having three kids means I have three more points through which to live.”

Juggling teaching, parenting and writing has taught Kaneko to be smart with his time, and has contributed to a shift in his poetry. He said it’s “much easier to get in and out of the creative space” with the shorter form of creative writing.

“Poetry has given me more than sometimes I think I deserve, or that I’ve thought I was actually pursuing. I know a lot of people who haven’t been able to publish a book,” Kaneko said. “I feel very fortunate that the stages of my life have led me to where I am.”

These stages of life haven’t just led him to his current successes, though. They’ve also played a role in forming not only who he is, but, like most writers, informing the art that he creates.

“Sometimes someone will say, ‘How long did it take you to write that book, or that poem, or that story,’ and there’s two answers. ‘Well, it took me an hour, or it took me a day, or it took me four years,’ the real answer is my whole life,” Kaneko said. “Everything, every moment, every experience leads us to our art.”

The event drew in competitors and attendees who gathered in anticipation for the competition’s prize, the opportunity to perform as the opener for GVSU’s Spring Concert on April 6. CAB also announced the Spring Concert’s headliner, Georgia-born country singer Lauren Alaina.

This year, Reette Thorns, a theater major and track and field athlete, was awarded first place. She performed her original song “Mama’s Little Girl,” which is about her mother, who has battled addiction. Thorns has a long history of performing and was featured on American Idol season 21 last year. Thorns was thrilled by the GV’s Got Talent win. 

“I’m not really used to coming in first place, especially with singing,” Thorns said. “It was really refreshing to have people think I was good and worthy enough to be able to perform in front of crowds. It still doesn’t feel real.”

Thorns said “It’s been a tough few years, singing and trying to multitask everything else in life,” despite her previous accomplishments of being aired on American Idol and having multiple original songs under her belt. Thorns said winning GV’s Got Talent was a remarkable opportunity for her.

“When I did American Idol, I knew that I wasn’t prepared enough to be able to last long enough on the show (to win), and I knew that that’s what they thought,” Thorns said. “I recently read an article about Lauren Alaina where she talked about auditioning for American Idol seven or eight times and getting told no every single time, and she’s had a wonderful career. It’s been amazing for her.”

This year, it was CAB Vice President Aisha Jones’ first time helping put on this specific event. After watching the CAB team put on GV’s Got Talent last year, Jones said the process gave her an opportunity to learn. She said although putting on the talent show was a lot of work, it also provided her with “a lot of insight and learning experience into what it is to put on a talent show.” Jones said CAB worked as a team to make the event happen.

“Working alongside Graduate Assistant of Programming Hayley Wilson made the planning and execution process of this event amazing and the event turned out to be a huge success with a huge attendance and a lot of energy,” Jones said. 

That supportive energy is one of Jones’ favorite parts of the event.

“My favorite part of this event is seeing all of the acts perform in front of everybody and the crowd reactions and interactions that go along with it,” Jones said. “It’s nice to see everyone positively engaging in all of the performances and cheering everyone on.”

A large amount of time went into performers’ preparations for the show. The first step in the process is auditioning, during which any students interested in performing at GV’s Got Talent are vetted by pre-bias-tested CAB members. 

According to Jones, a majority of auditionees end up performing at the final event. During the talent show, students perform for peers and a multi-department panel of judges who will decide which competitor will win first place and the headliner position at the spring concert.  

Thorns said she is excited to open the concert both for sharing the space with a major country idol and for the potential impact it could have on her future music career.

“I love country music, it’s one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to making music. It was super refreshing to know that I get to walk the same stage that she does and that our paths have been similar in that area,” Thorns said. “I think that this opportunity might help me get to know more people, have friends in the industry and have people know my music and people who think that I’m good. It’s those kind of people (country fans) I play for anyway.”

Thorns expressed she is looking forward to opening for the spring concert headliners and getting to experience singing on stage for such a large audience again.

“I feel loved, I feel grateful, I feel on top of the world,” Thorns said. “It’s little moments like this where later in my career I’m gonna look back on and be like ‘I remember when that little thing felt so big and felt like the world to me.’ It’s part of my story.”

Tickets are available for purchase now through CAB’s website. The full lineup will include Reette Thorns as the opener and Lauren Alaina as the headliner, with special apperences from guests Mason Ramsey and Julia Cole.

This will be on the course catalog this upcoming semester for the third consecutive year. The hybrid course includes a one-day orientation at GVSU’s Allendale Campus, followed by a week of online learning and concludes with a week’s stay on Beaver Island. The class allows students to research the island’s environment and sustainability, and put together a report and proposal based on their findings.

Parker is preparing to make the trip with a total of 12 student spots open for the tight-knit cohort. While the spring/summer course is through the Environmental and Sustainability Studies (ENS) Department, students of all majors are encouraged to apply.

Parker, who has been at GVSU for 32 years, helped to develop the ENS major, which became available during the 2019-2020 academic year. He put together the Field School program through personal contacts. In addition to the Beaver Island Field School, the ENS Department has one other field program called Semester in Detroit. 

The Beaver Island Field School course partners with the island’s Central Michigan University’s (CMU) Beaver Island Biological Research Station. CMU allows GVSU students to stay in the campground’s cabins near the research facility and use their cafeteria. 

While students are only on the island for one week, they are challenged to work with one another and community members to apply skills learned in the classroom to real-world sustainability issues.  This year, the class will be focusing on working with the local community on sustainable food systems, and obtaining what Parker refers to as “food sovereignty from the island.”

“We’re coming in as guests, we’re coming in as outsiders and so we are learning how to connect with the local residents, business owners, other people that we work with, and make a good impression,” Parker said. “We (have to) really listen to find out what it is that they’re facing and what kinds of things they’re concerned about that we might be able to help with.”

Parker said the Beaver Island Field School demonstrates that “place matters.” He said the coursework on Beaver Island looks at many factors specific to this location.

“It’s an island, and sustainability means everything you need to live has either got to come from the island or be brought over on a boat or an airplane– that’s food, energy, water, housing, all of the things we talk about in sustainability studies,” Parker said. “It is probably different from what field school experiences they might’ve had in other disciplines. If you go (into) geology or biology or whatever, it’s going to be very discipline-specific.”

At the end of the students’ week on the island, they present their research findings and proposals to the local community at the Beaver Island Sustainability Fair.

Rebecca Williams, Ph.D., an assistant professor of the GVSU Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies, works closely with the ENS Department as one of her areas of instruction.

Though this will be Williams’ first year as an official faculty leader of the Beaver Island Field School, she has traveled to the island independently and voluntarily worked alongside Parker and the students. That involvement, in tandem with her past fieldwork experiences and studying abroad, has only increased her enthusiasm for learning about Michigan’s history and ecology. This has driven her participation in the field school course.

“I have the experience of living and working in different situations, which is also one of the reasons I really encourage students to do this, especially if they’ve never done anything like this before,” Williams said. “It’s not a super challenging change. It’s just going a little North, going to an island and hanging out with people. It’s still Michigan, but it still gives you that ‘feels like a study-away program.’”

Williams said studying away is a fundamental experience for college students. She said Beaver Island is a unique experience.

“Beaver Island is a magical place. You can tell that it’s a special place, so I think that students also get this intangible experience that kind of stays with them for a long time,” Williams said. “It’s a unique experience for students to learn about Michigan, and learn about this very unique ecosystem, but also meet people and have this really special experience.”

As educators, the Beaver Island Field School has provided new teaching opportunities for Parker and Williams. 

“I am learning more about how to engage students, more about Michigan history and ecology. The island is such a concentrated and distinctive place,” Parker said. “It’s really let me reconsider how I teach my other classes that are more traditional classroom classes. It’s been a great experience for me as an instructor because I’ve learned how to integrate different interdisciplinary perspectives to get a more holistic view of environment and sustainability.”