The Fieldhouse Arena, located on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale campus, welcomed four artists on Saturday, April 6 for the University’s annual spring concert.

The show started with a performance by GVSU student and American Idol contestant Reette Thorns, moved into a set from Julia Cole who was followed by a performance by Mason Ramsey, (also known as the viral “Walmart yodeling kid”), and finally the main act, country star Lauren Alaina.

This group of singers represent the first country act to perform for the GV spring concerts since the pop/country duet Dan + Shay and openers Joel Crouse and Ryan Kinder performed in 2016. The Campus Activities Board (CAB) within the Office of Student Life at GVSU plans, organizes and puts together the entire show. 

Reette Thorns won GVSU’s 2024 GV’s Got Talent, providing her with the opportunity to open for the spring concert. Thorns was featured on American Idol season 21 in March of 2023.

The crowd welcomed Thorns to the stage with lots of cheering, something that continued throughout the rest of the evening. Her first song was an original song she wrote for her mother, a woman who battles addiction. Emotions rose amidst encouragement from the crowd, which would continue for the rest of night. Thorns moved on to a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb.” Flashlights waved in the air and students sang along with every word.

Julia Cole is a rising country star garnering the title of being a CMT Next Women of Country. She has had songs go viral on social media and uses her platform to help individuals find community and shared experience. Cole released her album “Country Sugar” in July of 2023, and recently released her EP “Life After You” on April 5, 2024.

Cole started performance set interacting with the crowd, setting the tone for the rest of her set. “What’s up Grand Valley? Y’all ready to party tonight?” Cole said as she entered the stage.

Cole’s set was met with wooing and cheering, and many students sang along with her as she covered Luke Combs’ song “Beer Never Broke My Heart.” Students continued to stream into the fieldhouse as she sang, the crowd growing in population and noise. 

GVSU student and concert attendee Anna Wiegand said one of her favorite moments of the night was “when Julia Cole sang ‘Best Worst Ex Ever.’”

Mason Ramsey’s road to fame began in March of 2018 when he went viral for singing “Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams in an Illinois Walmart. He dropped his “Famous” EP in 2018, with the title track going viral. Ramsey’s song “Twang,” off of his 2019 album “Twang,” brought him even more attention.

Ramsey was a clear fan favorite. Throughout Ramsey’s entire set the crowd went wild, starting from the moment he entered the stage. People were dancing and singing along throughout his entire set, namely when he sang his songs “Before I Knew It”, “Famous”, and “Twang.” He received outstanding cheers from the crowd for his rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds.” Ramsey even made an

appearance at the merch stand following his set to take pictures and sign autographs for students and fans.

 GVSU senior Elyse Karasinski said, “meeting Mason Ramsey impromptu” was her favorite moment from the show. “I didn’t know that was going to happen,” Karasinski said.

The main act, Georgia’s own Lauren Alaina, released her first studio album “Wildflower” in 2011. Just like Thorns, Alaina was featured on American Idol. Alai

na placed runner-up on American Idol’s tenth season. The title track from Alaina’s 2017 album, “Road Less Traveled,” was her first number one song on the country charts. The singer has opened for country stars such as Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan and collaborated on songs with the likes of HARDY and Kane Brown.

Alaina’s set filled the crowd with energy. Students were singing and dancing along with her. At one point, she borrowed someone’s HARDY hat for a song, further interacting with the crowd.

She performed some crowd favorites like Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.’” Her rendition of her song “One Beer” with HARDY and Devin Dawson received a lot of attention for students and attendees.

Several students felt the choice of genre and singers for this year’s spring concert was shocking. Social media polls done by the Campus Activities Board as well as The Lanthorn revealed that most people in the campus community were not planning on attending.

Obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA), the general spring concert budget from the Office of Student Life this year was projected to cost $92,000. This is $2,000 dollars more than the previous two years’ concert budgets for overall expenses.

However, the “artist fee” for last year’s spring concert headliner, rap artist T-Pain, was drastically higher than the amount allocated for this years’ spring concert. CAB paid $125,000 in artist fees for T-Pain’s spring concert in 2023. Lauren Alaina received $77,500 dollars in allocated artist fees, almost exactly the amount the University made in ticket sales from last year’s performance. 2022 concert headliner Yung Gravy received only $50,000 dollars allocated in artist fees.

This gap was due to CAB using reserve funds’ from the pandemic to pay for a larger artist to headline the concert.

“In 2023 CAB reserve funds unspent over the pandemic provided the opportunity to support a bigger name artist but this was atypical due to normal budget limitations,” according to The Lanthorn’s official FOIA results.

DK Security costs nearly doubled to $4,200 dollars and “Event Support” for set up and tear down costs rose from $330 dollars to $1,800 dollars, an increase over five times as much as the previous year. It is important to note general inflation impacting costs, as well as improvements made based on student feedback, like the additional LED screen broadcasting a live video stream to increase visibility for guests.

Of those who came to the show, some were pleasantly surprised and became new fans. 

“She had a really good vibe. She really knows how to entertain a crowd,” said recent GVSU graduate Elizabeth Hovest. “I knew who she was, I just didn’t actively listen to her music so I know her big hits. But I’m very impressed. She was really nice.”

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For at least two weeks now, the exact timeline is unknown, the ceilings throughout Kirkhof have been dripping. There have been buckets full of water scattered throughout the building surrounded by caution signs warning about possible wet floors. 

Many students seem to be unaware of this phenomenon, however, what it was brought to attention students seem to be concerned about how long this has been going on for. Caleb White, a GVSU senior, believes that this should have been taken care of sooner.

“I think it’s concerning that it’s been going on for some time now and nothing’s been done about it,” said White.

Just recently, maintenance started to solve the problem of the dripping ceilings. According to Rence Meredith, the Assistant Vice President of Facilities Services Allendale, the dripping ceilings have not caused any other damage or problems throughout the building besides possibly being a nuisance for occupants. He also said that it did not have any reported effects on GVSU’s recent Sibs & Kids weekend.

“Other than it possibly causing a nuisance for building occupants, no other issues to report as a result of this leak,” said Meredith. “Other than the affected area the rest of the building has had normal use.”

Meredith said that GVSU has contracted roofing contractor company Tremco to do the fix, which occurred on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Meredith said the leaks are result of an issue with the roof itself. 

“A roof leak is the most common source of water affecting the ceilings/ceilings in all buildings on campus. There are times when the leak is caused by either fire protection piping or hot and cold water supply lines between floors,” Meredith said. “The leak in Kirkhof was confirmed as a roof leak as a result of a puncture in the roof membrane.”

Roof membranes are think pieces of material that are used instead of shingles or other roofing materials. They are typically used on flat roofs or roofs with a very low slope and thus a more difficult time draining. They can last, depending on the material, anywhere from 7-30 years. 

In regards to the specific cause of the puncture in the roof membrane, Meredith said that the results are inconclusive. 

“Hard to say. Could be the age and an issue with a seam coming apart or debris blowing around in the roof,” Meredith said.

While there are several different possible causes of the puncture to the roof membrane, it does not seem to be a very large concern. It is unclear whether or not Tremco has completely finished fixing the issue, but it is most definitely being worked on. 

This is not the first time that there have been leaks in the roofing, but it will also probably not be the last based on the way that roofs generally deteriorate with time and weather patterns. GVSU will continue to work on keeping the roof patched up and leak free.

The legislations’ induction was delayed because the Michigan legislature is allowed to push the date of effect until up to 90 days after the yearly session adjourns. 

Senate Bills 271 and 277, and House Bills 4317 and 4318 clear the way for solar energy to be used on farmland, allow for more solar energy use and increase access to rooftop solar. GVSU Junior Ashtyn Jennings said the laws regarding the move towards solar energy stand out to her the most. 

“As an environmental and sustainability major it is important to me that our government thinks about positive shifts in sustainable development,” Jennings said. “While this law is not a definite yes on green energy, it is a step in the right direction, making it more possible for the future. I think these new laws are a positive sign for Michigan and these are things I think most of the people in our generation think about, especially when it comes to reproductive rights and climate change.”

There is some statewide controversy about a law that went into place regarding the zoning authority of renewable projects. House bills 5120 and 5121 remove the authority from local governments and give it to the state. According to MLive, these bills came about in response to many townships’ refusal to build renewable energy structures in recent years, many refusing solely for aesthetic reasons. 

Hannah Kos, local business owner of The Borough, a cafe that sits just off of GVSU’s Allendale campus, said that she paid attention to these laws when they were passed by legislature.

“I was aware at the time they were being voted on that these laws would not take effect until now,” Kos said.

In addition, the Reproductive Health Act was officially signed off on Nov. 21, 2023. The legislation includes:

• Lifting the ban on partial-birth abortions (a procedure often used for late-stage miscarriages).
• Removing the requirement of abortion coverage to be a separate, add-on health insurance plan.
• Removing the law that made it a criminal offense for doctors and nurses to prescribe abortion medication.
• Allowing pregnant students at public universities to acquire information about abortion should they desire it. 

Several different laws regarding abortion care seem to stand out for the GVSU community. Jennings appreciates Michigan’s policies that are significant to women’s rights.

“These are regulations we needed to see and I am happy to live in Michigan, where our governor looks out for the people,” said Jennings. 

Public reception of the newly instated laws appears to be positive for many members of the GVSU community. GVSU Junior Kathryn Pratt said these new laws give her hope as a newer Michigan resident. 

“The understanding of these laws going into effect gives me great hope, especially with the most recent laws coming out of Alabama,” Pratt said. “As I know some of these regulations in Michigan are fully focused on keeping women’s rights just that – a women’s right.”

Other legislation regarding LGBTQ rights explicitly protects the rights of citizens based on their sex and gender identity, according to MLive. An anti-discrimination law ensures businesses cannot discriminate against their customers and employees and that landlords cannot discriminate against their tenets.

Kos said she is thankful to Governor Whitmer for making active changes that protect the people of Michigan.

“I know a lot of laws strengthening gun control and protecting women’s and LGBT rights went into effect this week,” said Kos. “I feel really fortunate to live in a state that has a governor whose views align with mine, and who makes active changes that are parallel to the platform they ran on.” 

The volunteer-based VITA program provides essential services for those struggling to file their taxes, addressing common misconceptions and even acknowledging language barriers that cause difficulties for many members of the community. Through the VITA program, attendees are personally walked through any difficulties they are experiencing in filing their taxes. For many attendees, the VITA event further clarity about tax feedback and assistance.

According to their webpage, the VITA program is sponsored by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and strives to provide tax assistance to low-to-moderate income and elderly taxpayers. Jacob Flickinger, a GVSU student and GVSU’s VITA site coordinator, said the program is a great opportunity for students who are able to utilize its resources. 

“GVSU’s VITA site offers students the opportunity to gain experience in tax preparation while also allowing them to give back to the local community,” Flickinger said. “Business students from finance to supply chain management have also reached out to help.”

The VITA program focuses primarily on growing and changing to better adapt to the communities they impact. From helping people discover tax credits they might not have been aware they qualify for, to assisting Spanish-speaking communities with student translators, the VITA program is continually implementing positive changes for the surrounding community.

“These individuals not only tend to struggle finding the resources and aid to prepare their tax returns, but are also entitled to many credits that they may not know about,” Flickinger said. “We help these individuals get the credits that they deserve and maximize their return.”

Flickinger said the tax assistance organization works with the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at GVSU to provide a translator in the event that someone’s English isn’t quite as strong.

“Not only did we implement more appointment slots, but we also worked together with the Spanish department here at GVSU to get volunteer student translators on site to help with Spanish-speaking individuals,” Flickinger said. “This allows us to reach a new part of the community that we couldn’t reach before and gives valuable translator experience to the students majoring in Spanish.”

The Kent County Tax Credit Coalition (KCTCC) is GVSU’s partner for the program. Brenda Brame, the Program Manager for United Way, which administers the KCTCC, said the coalition uses financial literacy education and VITA services to help low-to-moderate income families and individuals gain economic stability.

“Since 2002, KCTCC has assisted more than 118,000 taxpayers, refunding over $115 million in federal, state and local tax refunds back to Kent County,” Brame said. “Taxpayers report that their refunds are mostly spent on essential needs that contribute directly to quality of life, including food, clothing, housing and debt repayment.”

Brame oversees all aspects of the program from recruitment, training/certification of volunteers, development of new sites, volunteer appreciation and reporting. She said she has seen the positive impact on both student volunteers and the communities that they are serving.

“The students will connect with people from all walks of life. For those who are accounting majors, they will get experience in personal tax preparation,” Brame said. “The work they are doing saves lives in some instances and keeps people housed, utilities on and provides food for those who do not have it, especially if the taxpayers don’t qualify for state assistance.”

KCTCC’s final program report for the 2023 tax season included comments from community members that felt they were positively impacted by VITA.

“My parents dreaded tax time every year, as my mom works in a factory and my dad, before his diagnosis, was working in landscaping, so they didn’t make much money, ” said one quote from an assisted taxpayer. “Also, the experience of having to go and be ignored (is hard). My parents don’t often get treated well everywhere they go (for taxes), so it meant a lot to them to be treated so kind and like real people is a rarity. My parents left beaming and happy that not only did they not have to drop $300, they were also treated like equals. It was a 1000/10 experience for them and they will be returning next year. I’m thankful for you!”

The report also states that KCTCC and VITA have goals to provide more assistance for people with disabilities. Student volunteers involved in the program can make a difference in many community members’ lives, assisting with the difficult process of filing taxes in a manner that is more approachable and accommodating than typical tax services.

There is not a major-specific requirement to participate in VITA, so students of any major are welcome to apply. Students interested in participating in the program can fill out the VITA Student Volunteer form on GVSU’s VITA homepage. 

In 2024’s report, Johnson Center Program Director Aimée Laramore and Research Associate Crisol Beliz wrote an article titled, “Financial Stress and Philanthropic Influence: The Precarious Promise of Generation Z.” According to Laramore, the article discusses the general phenomenon of Generation Z (people born from 1997 to 2012) having more philanthropic desire than previous generations. However, Gen Z has less capacity to contribute to philanthropy due to the financial stress that they have inherited. 

“I certainly care about whether or not Gen Z is generous, whether or not Gen Z gives back and whether or not Gen Z serves on the board, but I think we cannot have that conversation out of context,” Laramore said. “Without asking what is Gen Z paying for education? What types of jobs are Gen Z individuals looking for? What are the implications of what Gen Z has seen in their lifetime?”

Dr. Raymond Higbea, Director of the School of Leadership and Development and the Director of the Master of Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership graduate program at GVSU, said the article shows the difference in philanthropic desire between generations. 

“The Gen Z’s have less capacity to give because they have less money,” Higbea said. “They’re not making the same kind of money that the baby boomers made. They have less capacity to give, but it’s flipped with a higher desire to give back.” 

Many students at GVSU feel they can make little difference because they don’t have the same access to financial resources. Leah Stawara, a junior at GVSU, said she does what she can with what she has. 

“I try to be mindful about my actions and make whatever decision is best for the greater good in my judgment,” Stawara said. “Money is always on my mind.” 

Laramore said while the article is general, she made sure to take into account as many individual factors as she was able to. 

“I try to ensure that in the article we don’t paint Gen Z as just one demographic or one group, so even as we talk about the financial complexities, we know that there are individuals who are of high wealth in addition to those that are struggling and relying on the help and support of a family to make a difference,” said Laramore. “We try to help individuals that respond to a soundbite or one characteristic of a generation without looking at the fullness of who they are and who they aspire to be.” 

Laramore said she recognizes the importance of Gen Z as a generation of people and their capacity to make change. 

“I had a mentor who said you should always be surrounded by people who are younger and wiser,” said Laramore.

As a whole, the list of 11 philanthropic trends to watch for covers several different areas of focus. Higbea pointed out that the articles “With Thousands of Incarcerated Students Enrolled in Higher Education, How Do We Measure Success?” and “Affordable Housing is a National Crisis with a Distinct Local Impact” are incredibly important to consider as well. 

Higbea said the report by the Johnson Center at GVSU is unique because it is not a common document to find within the nonprofit sector. 

“You need to know where your industry is moving, so (the report is) helping you keep abreast of what’s going on,” said Higbea. “This is unique in the nonprofit world. It’s created by the Johnson Center.”

Higbea said he thinks the field of philanthropy is one that everyone should look further into. 

“I think it’s a growing field. It’s a fascinating and very giving field. It’s a chance to give back to the community and I would encourage anybody to look into it,” said Higbea. “Whether it’s a full-time job position or as a volunteer, it’s always good to give back to your community in any way you can.”

There are four different bus lines that service GVSU: the Laker Line that travels between the Allendale and Pew campuses, the 48 line (the South Campus apartment shuttle), the 37 (the North Campus apartment shuttle) and the 85 for weekend service. 

Recent winter storms brought severe weather and high snowfall across Michigan. In lieu of the 11-19 inches of snow Allendale and surrounding areas received, GVSU’s Rapid buses experienced difficulties and unpredictable situations on the roads.

Clare Meteer, a GVSU senior who uses the Rapid buses daily, had multiple scary experiences on the buses as a result of the inclement weather.

On Jan. 10, the 48 bus that Meteer rode got stuck in the snow at the four-way stop at the intersection of Pierce Street and 42nd Street. Meteer said the bus was fishtailing as the driver attempted to continue moving forward towards campus. She said this is not the only time this has happened at this intersection.

“I don’t know if he (the bus driver) had to pull off the side a little bit to get close to the sidewalk and got stuck in the snow, but he was like, flooring it and the bus was not going anywhere and just kind of fishtailing in place,” Meteer said.

On Jan. 16, Meteer rode the 48 bus line to campus to get to her on-campus job at Mary Idema Pew Library for her opening shift. When the bus turned left to make its stop into Lot J, a parking lot on the Allendale campus, around 7 a.m., Meteer said the bus spun out on the ice and nearly slid into a plow truck. 

“We were turning into the J-lot stop and the bus, like, lost control and the back of the bus started rotating,” Meteer said. “The driver was swearing, letting us know that he was scared and that made me scared because I’m like, okay, he obviously doesn’t have any confidence, so I was just kind of panicked.”

While not on the bus at the time, Meteer also said she heard about the 85 bus getting stuck at the GVSU Greek housing bus stop. A picture of the stuck bus circulated on the app Yik Yak, a social media platform in which users within a five-mile radius can share posts anonymously.

“(The bus) was like up on the sidewalk and the tow truck had to come to get it off the sidewalk,” Meteer said.

Additionally, Meteer takes the Laker Line to get to and from her class downtown at the Pew campus. Meteer said on Tuesday, Jan. 16, she could feel how the ice and snow were impacting the safety of the drive. 

“One or two stops after the Meijer stop, we ended up behind another Laker Line,” Meteer said. “It was snowing and the roads were not super great. Every time we would come to a stop– I think because the snow was built up along the platform, (the bus) would shake really bad.”

The GVSU Bus System Instagram account, @gvsubus, posts updates and comments about GVSU’s bus system. On Jan. 16 the account posted about a detour alert for the Rapid buses due to the winter storms. 

“Due to icy conditions, Eastbound Laker Line will be detouring again today in GR: Monroe; stay straight on Monroe to Leonard (R) Leonard (R) College (R) Michigan; to service Lafayette station to regular route westbound. The EB Spectrum Health Platform at Michigan/Bostwick will not be serviced,” said @gvsubus in the post. 

The account has also been posting rider safety tips to aid student riders, as the buses have no choice but to run throughout the winter season. 

However, even with the social media updates from the GVSU Bus System Instagram account, apps that students usually rely on for bus arrival times and to track buses, like myStop or Transit, were not consistent or updated.

“The roads were too bad to drive, so I had to take the bus to my downtown job. I left an hour before my shift and was 45 minutes late, said Ellie Kerber, a GVSU senior. “The Rapid didn’t come for nearly an hour, but the app was still saying it was coming every five minutes like normal, so I was out waiting for the bus in sub-zero temperatures with no way to find out why the bus wasn’t coming.”

GVSU issues GVSUAlerts! to put the university on “remote status” when road and weather conditions are deemed too dangerous for the campus community. However, winter weather conditions continue to pose challenges, even when the weather conditions are not deemed severe enough for classes to be held remotely.

In order to allieviate problems caused by weather to the bus system, the Ride the Rapid website posts rider tools and has a Rapid Alert Guide to notify riders of line changes and delays.

The result of a long-standing partnership between Davenport University, Grand Rapids Community College and GVSU, a keynote address will be part of this year’s 38th annual week of commemoration. The free and public event will take place on Monday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids. 

The keynote address will be given by speaker and Wake Forest University professor Melissa Harris-Perry.

Harris-Perry obtained her B.A. in English from Wake Forest University and her Ph.D. in political science from Duke University. Harris-Perry currently holds the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University in the Department of Politics and International Affairs, the Department of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Program in Environment and Sustainability. 

In 2012, while teaching at Tulane University, Harris-Perry established the Anna Julia Cooper Center. According to the center’s website, “​​The Anna Julia Cooper Center sustains authentic relationships with partners in academic, advocacy, policy making and media communities to advance justice through intersectional scholarship, engaged pedagogy and intentional action.”

The center aims to welcome students and encourage engagement.

 “The center is basically a hub, (that’s) one way to think of it, for courses (and) for research,” Harris-Perry said. “We support undergraduate student research. We have supported, in the past, post-doctoral fellows. We have lectures (and) we have events.”  

AJCC has also been a part of “The Takeaway,” a podcast hosted by Harris-Perry that discussed issues that arise at the intersections of “gender, race and place.” The center also collaborated with PFLAG, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays for the series “What Makes Pride.” The series focuses on the work, lives and stories of LGBTQ BIPOC people. 

Her MSNBC show, “Melissa Harris-Perry,” aired from 2012-2016 and she said it was the most diverse political show on air for the years that it ran. 

“We were second to none at recognizing really diverse talent and putting that talent up front. I’m still very proud of our coverage of trans issues and trans people at a time when many other news organizations were still having conversations about issues like gender-affirming surgery and they weren’t even using that language,” Harris-Perry said. “I don’t just talk about, like, ‘what’s your experience as a Black person?’ Like, that’s weird, right? People have expertise in the various issues they have expertise in.”

Harris-Perry said that she hopes her lecture on Jan. 15 will be thought-provoking for students and ask the public to deliberate whether or not they think that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is still relevant today. 

“I don’t think anyone would argue that his work didn’t matter to get us where we are now, but is he still a book we should be assigning and reading in class? Should we still be reflecting on and thinking about Dr. King?” Harris-Perry said. 

Harris-Perry emphasizes that as a teacher, she tries to raise questions rather than give answers so her audience can come up with their own decisions. 

“I come to a personal conclusion that I believe celebrating and thinking about and remembering Dr. King matters, and what I’ll provide in part as my reasoning, is because I think we still get Dr. King so wrong,” Harris-Perry said. “I’ll talk about the way that nonviolent strategies were used with the purpose of demonstrating that the government, in particular these southern state governments, were violent.”

Aaron Turner, director of development at WGVU Public Media and associate facilitator of GVSU’s Institute for Inclusion and Equality, said GVSU’s celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helps to sustain a diverse landscape in higher education. 

“I think it’s just improving the quality of what it means to exist in a space of higher education and the ability to provoke thought on how we continue to treat one another and grow as a people,” Turner said. 

Turner said students should attend Monday’s event because it’s a day in, not a day off. 

“It’s a day that we can challenge ourselves to think about the larger narratives of how we view equity in our own lives and how we look at the equitable treatment of others,” Turner said. “I’m a huge proponent, at an institute of higher learning, that students take the time to learn, listen, apply.” 

Harris-Perry will also be giving a presentation and answering questions on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 10 a.m. at the Kirkhof Center in the Grand River Room. This event is also free and open to the public.

Alongside the theft from vehicles, there have been three attempts to steal vehicles and one vehicle was stolen from a campus area. GVPD said the targeted vehicles were left unlocked with the keys left inside them.

According to GVPD Captain Leah Heaton, these larcenies are committed by groups that have somewhat organized and planned behavior. 

“What we’re seeing is groups of individuals come out either in a stolen vehicle or vehicles without a plate, so, hard to identify who’s doing it,” Heaton said. “They come out in the early morning hours between three, four, five, six, in the morning, and really they just go through our parking lots, they pull on door handles to see if vehicles are unlocked, and if so if there’s anything good to grab – money, wallets, gift cards, phones, items of value – they will grab those. If the vehicle has keys in it, that’s kind of when we’ve found that they will take the vehicle itself.”

Heaton said the thefts on GVSU’s Allendale Campus only happened to unlocked cars and no physical break-ins occurred. On GVSU’s Pew Campus, there was one instance where a window was broken to try to get into the vehicle.

Heaton said anyone who parks on campus should take extra safety precautions to protect their vehicles including locking cars and not leaving valuables in sight. She also recommends occasionally checking parked vehicles on campus, especially if it has not been in use.

The thefts happen more frequently during breaks from school when people leave their cars on campus for extended periods of time, which results in the thefts not being reported right away.

“A lot of times we don’t get these reports until days after. A lot of the students here park vehicles and they don’t use them every day so we get the post-dated report,” Heaton said. “It’s a little harder for us to track down people if it’s been a couple weeks.”

While these incidents are not isolated to any specific lot on GVSU’s Allendale Campus, Heaton said thefts happen more frequently in the residential lots where people are parked overnight or for longer periods of time.

Heaton said the larcenies typically happen in groups. If students hear that there have been car-related incidents in the same lot they are parked in, she recommends to check their vehicles for missing items.

“If one vehicle got hit in the lot, most likely a couple others may have as well,” Heaton said. “They don’t come out and just try one car and then leave. If they start pulling open doors they’re gonna keep going.”

Leah Stawara, a GVSU junior, said at first she was not aware of this issue at GVSU, but she plans on being extra careful. 

“It doesn’t seem unheard of,” Stawara said. “I do sometimes think of my car possibly being broken into, so I always make sure to lock it and keep any personal belongings out of sight if I don’t bring them with me.” 

Heaton recommends parking as close to a building as possible where more people are likely passing by. She urges that if anyone sees someone acting suspiciously, such as looking into various cars throughout a lot or pulling door handles, to give GVPD a call immediately. 

“It’s a lot easier for us to catch people in the act rather than six hours later,” Heaton said.

According to their website, the National Communication Association “​​advances communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific and aesthetic inquiry.” The 2023 NCA convention took place from Nov. 16 to Nov. 19 just outside of Washington D.C. in National Harbor, Maryland. 

One of the GVSU graduate students who attended the event and presented her paper during a panel discussion was Taylor Deschaine-Hurd. Her paper discussed the media’s racial framing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

“I looked at two news organizations, Fox News and CNN, and I looked at how they covered not only the murder (but also) the protests and the trials,” Deschaine-Hurd said. 

Deschaine-Hurd really enjoyed the NCA and said her faculty advisor was helpful in navigating the “overwhelming” experience. 

“What made it really special was that my advisor, my professor, Dr. Anthony Spencer was there with me so he was able to kind of walk me around (and) introduce me to people because it was my first year going,” Deschaine-Hurd said.  

The other GVSU graduate student who attended the conference was Rheyna Bui. Bui presented two papers, one in panel form and the other in a poster session. The first paper discussed “Jane Crow” and the intersectional experience of women of color. The second paper discussed the censorship of Black content creators on social media. 

“The theme of the panel was intersectionality and highlighting difference and then the conference theme was freedom, and so I got to experience things that you always wanted to talk about,” Bui said.

One of the benefits of the NCA conference, was the opportunity to network.

“Networking is huge,” Deschaine-Hurd said. “Ph.D. programs are really difficult to get into, so if you make those connections of like, ‘Hey, we met here,’ and there’s like an anecdote or whatever, that will just do nothing but help you get into these programs.”

Bui echoed Deschaine-Hurd’s statement. Bui said the conference opens up possibilities to meet new people.  

“It’s very much not what you know, it’s who you know. So going there was really fun because I’m extroverted,” Bui said.

In addition to the two GVSU student presenters, five GVSU professors were in attendance. Corey Anton, one of the GVSU professors who attended the event, said the convention is inclusive of a lot of different specific aspects of the communications field. 

“It does represent the largest swath of very different groups that are affiliated with communication, so it’s not as if it’s just one group. It has different hosting subsections and divisions and sponsor groups,”Anton said.

The other professors who attended the event were Anthony Spencer, Imran Mazid, Richard Besel and Peter Zhang. Anton also discussed how important this convention is for students. 

“From my own perspective, it’s not as much an important convention for scholars in the field to go to. It’s probably more essential or basically, maybe vital for graduate students, for many masters students or even undergrads. This is a place to shop for a graduate program,” Anton said. 

Anton said the conference can have a very positive impact on those who attend it. 

“It’s a rare opportunity to bring so many different scholars who you respect all into one place, so it is fun,” Anton said. “When somebody whose work you’ve read is there presenting it, sometimes it can be just a rocket blast in the arm, and you’re like ‘wow.’”

As a state with a large number of lakes and fishing as a popular hobby, this is something Michigan Cares for Tourism (MC4T) believes that we need to be extra aware of. MC4T is a 100% nonprofit, 100% voluntary organization that serves to give back to Michigan’s cultural, natural and historical sites. 

About a year ago, MC4T began a project to create monofilament recycling tubes to be placed in the water at each of the over 1,100 different boat launch sites across the state. According to an MC4T press release, this is part of the National Boat Foundation’s initiative to put these receptacles in every state. 

Patty Janes, PH.D., a Grand Valley State University professor in Hospitality and Tourism Management and founder of MC4T, said these receptacles provide an easy opportunity for people to protect the water. 

“That was to help protect water, the environment that fisherpeople would take, or anybody, would take any monofilament that they had extra line after fishing, and instead of throwing in the water, these tubes would be readily available at these launches, so you could in turn just put the filament there,” Janes said. 

According to the press release, MC4T mobilized the final round of volunteers to finish constructing the receptacles on Sept. 29. These volunteers are made up of faculty, staff and students from GVSU’s College of Education and Community Innovation, one of MC4T’s partners for this project. MC4T also worked closely with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for this project.

Janes said the monofilament receptacles will be emptied frequently.

“I don’t know how often they all are checked, but the DNR is at their sites every day, so it depends on the season,” Janes said. 

This project was one of two that MC4T completed this year. The other initiative involved a trip to the Porcupine Mountains State Park to help complete service projects. Adam Prielipp, a graduate assistant for MC4T, says a group of about 160 volunteers took a bus up to the mountains for a two-day experience. 

“We did, I wanna say, like 16 different service projects. While we were there we split up into groups and the park rangers said that we got like four or five months of work done in just a couple of days so that was awesome,” Prielipp said. 

According to another MC4T press release, “There was a myriad of service projects that included, repainting park facilities, replacing old guard rails, reroofing park yurts and graveling nature trails.”

MC4T plans multiple events a year that directly give back to Michigan communities. Their website has resources to learn about more events, donate to the cause and volunteer to assist in projects.