Before establishing the Chick-fil-A contract, there was no communication between GVSU’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and key campus community members like the LGBT Resource Center. Now, numerous individuals are actively speaking out to stop Chick-fil-A from becoming a campus dining option. 

Many members of the GVSU community are frustrated, angry and concerned about the lack of transparency with the decision. Some feel it reflects the larger issue and disconnect between the decisions of the SLT and the wants and needs of community members.

Chick-fil-A’s history is riddled with anti-LGBTQ connections, as the company formerly donated to charities including the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)- organizations that “have taken controversial stands on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.” Even though the company cut its ties, no longer donating to these organizations since 2018, Chick-fil-A continues to be connected with anti-LGBTQ decisions through its business owners- the Cathy family. Dan Cathy, the Chick-fil-A CEO, made comments in 2012 against marriage equality and his son, Andrew Truett Cathy, is Chick-fil-A’s current CEO. 

The information about Chick-fil-A’s anti-LGBTQ connections is widely known and many people, especially in the LGBTQ community, oppose the company. This has led many people to question what conversations with the greater community were had about the GVSU Chick-fil-A plan. Many LGBTQ leaders on campus said there were none. 

“How we got here is just as problematic as the chicken,” said Kyle Felker, the chair of the LGBT Faculty and Staff Association (FSA) Steering Committee and senior library application developer. “Why wasn’t a communication plan followed? Why weren’t we involved? How did this get so far?”

News of the Chick-fil-A plan was largely surfacing upon the closure of Subway, which is the intended spot for the renovations, toward the start of the Winter 2024 semester, although the plans began well before then. The Use and Finance Bi‐Annual Reporting Form that reported on three projects at GVSU over the period of July 2023 to December 2023 outlines the timeline for the Chick-fil-A project at the University. The document lists that the “Project Timeline” to add a Chick-fil-A to Kirkhof Center would begin in November 2023 and conclude in August 2024.

Campus community members heard rumors of the plan at various times. For instance, Felker said he first heard of the plan on Feb. 22 when someone reached out to him to see what action FSA was taking against it. He got confirmation of the plan officially from Jenny Hall-Jones, vice president for student affairs, on Feb. 26. This was situated well into the project timeline, as it was already underway.

Similarly, Keigh-Cee Bell, chair of the Administrative Professionals (AP) Social Justice Subcommittee and the director of tutoring at GVSU learned about the plan the first week of March. 

The AP executive committee has monthly question-answer meetings with SLT members. At the March 5 meeting, Bell asked Greg Sanial, vice president for finance and administration/CFO and treasurer for the GVSU Board of Trustees and the Grand Valley University Foundation, if the rumor was true and he confirmed it to be true. 

“I am a member of the LGBTQ community, and so when I came to Grand Valley, I’ve been here for about two years, it was really exciting for me to see pride merchandise in the bookstore with GV on it,” Bell said. “So then hearing about a Chick-fil-A coming to campus, it actually kind of really hurt.” 

Additionally, the LGBT Resource Center addressed that neither the LGBT Center nor Inclusion and Equity “signed off” on the Chick-fil-A plan, citing responses from Jesse Bernal, vice president of inclusion and equity, and Director of the LGBT Center DL McKinney.

Leading up to this decision, it is unclear how SLT decided Chick-fil-A would best reflect the community’s wants and needs. It seems, from the data Sanial released, that the decision to bring a Chick-fil-A was based on two surveys conducted in 2019 and 2022.

The 2019 survey asked, “Of the following chicken brands, from which are you likely to purchase a meal if offered on campus?” The choices included Chick-fil-A, No Preference, KFC, Popeye’s and Raising Cane’s. 350 out of the total 542 responses answered Chick-fil-A.

The 2022 survey said, “Please list your favorite three to five fast food or casual dining restaurants.” This survey received 633 total responses with Chick-fil-A being the answer receiving 164, the most responses.

Neither survey provided a comprehensive questionnaire.

The lack of updated and accurate, questions related to campus dining seems to be reflected in the various reactions to the current Chick-fil-A plan.

The lack of conversations between numerous facets of the GVSU community and administration seem to have stemmed from the failure of the SLT to initiate their “communication plan,” according to Felker.

According to Felker, in a meeting with the SLT on April 4, the SLT said “they want to go back to their original engagement plan for deciding whether CFA should be on campus.” Essentially, SLT would invite Chick-fil-A executives to GVSU to interact with various groups of students, which Felker said SLT would start the week following the April 4 meeting. 

“The organizers and I are not especially thrilled by this,” Felker said. “We feel like what’s been missed in the process so far is time and space for queer voices to articulate how they feel about this and the effect even having this discussion is having on us. They seemed to indicate that they will make that space, but it’s not clear to us yet when or how.”

Since LGBTQ leaders on campus have learned of the Chick-fil-A plan, many avenues of action have been taken including spreading awareness about the project, vocalizing the lack of involvement between SLT and LGBTQ groups and taking action to stop the project. This includes communication with the Student Senate, filing and advocating for others to fill out Campus Climate Concerns and meeting with the SLT.

In a statement given to the FSA leadership, the SLT said there are three options with how the Chick-fil-A project will proceed: continuing with the construction of Chick-fil-A in Kirkhof Center, moving the Chick-fil-A project to another part of campus, or bringing in a food venue other than Chick-fil-A. 

Many activists against Chick-fil-A are concerned about the potential course of the project, especially with the financial investment GVSU has put in. The total Chick-fil-A project expense of approximately 1.3 million dollars will be funded out of the University reserve.  

“You can find a university’s true values by looking at where they put their money, and this just shows how they truly feel about us (the LGBTQ community),” said Ellen Wilson, a fourth-year GVSU student who is a member of the LGBTQ community. “Even more so, to put the CFA in such a central location on campus, I just think about the impact it will have on the campus culture. The next time there are ‘bible’ preachers at the clocktower, they can just run inside to CFA and grab their little bible-inscripted cups.” 

Similarly, Felker said the University’s decision to bring a Chick-fil-A to campus without engaging with the campus community on their opinions reflects wider issues relating to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on campus and SLT’s disconnect from the needs of minority students.

“Maybe chicken is not worth it,” Felker said. “Is this (Chick-fil-A) what you want to be spending your money and political capital on? It’s not a good look.” 

He noted that GVSU “has a raft of DEI related issues, very serious DEI related issues.” Felker said this is reflected in recent actions from student activism on campus, including students of color demanding campus support from leadership and “queer students” voicing concerns and challenges with maintaining minority faculty and staff.

Student reactions and community opinions about the Chick-fil-A plan are highly varied. Opinions on the decision are often based on a social standpoint and feelings that other food options would be more wanted or beneficial. 

“I think that not inviting CFA would be the best option because it would keep a hateful company off our campus,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately, people do love CFA, and they are a very powerful presence, so I am sure that they will not back down now.”

Further mixed discourse around the Chick-fil-A decision was seen on Yik Yak, an app that allows users to post anonymously to a board specific to their college campus. A comment on a post, which had a screenshot of the LGBT Resource Center’s announcement of the “halting” of Chick-fil-A said, “another members of the the lgbt community and i love chick fil a, i think they should replace erbs and gerbs (Erbert’s and Gerbert’s) with panera. i had it once and it sucked ass, we already have another sub shop on campus anyways at blue (connection).”

Another comment on the same post said, “I don’t care for chik fil a and Panera has vegetarian options.” 

Similar to this sentiment, based on opinions of Laker Food Co.’s offerings, Bell noted their personal feelings and conversations with students about wanting healthier and accessible food options on campus.

“Food has been kind of a contentious thing on this campus. We need more of it. We need better options for everybody. We’re taking away Subway, which you know, it’s fine, but at least it was a healthy option. It was a vegetarian-friendly option. It was a vegan-friendly option,” Bell said. “In the tutoring and reading center, we have 90 student tutors plus all of the students coming in every week (for) their appointments and more often than not, I hear, ‘I just want a healthy food option.’” 

The Grand Valley Lanthorn requested to speak with SLT including Sanial and Craig Wieschhorster, associate vice president for business and finance. The Lanthorn received a statement from Stacie Behler, ​​vice president & chief public affairs and communications officer, on behalf of the SLT. 

“At this time, what I can share is that Grand Valley will spend the coming months fully engaging with the GVSU community to hear their thoughts, concerns and questions about Chick-Fil-A as a dining option on its Allendale campus. Next steps will be determined after those discussions are held,” the statement said. 

It is yet to be seen what the Chick-fil-A plans will look like going forward, with no decisive response as conversations and action continue to be navigated and voiced by LGBT leadership, the GVSU community and SLT. 

5. Stella’s Lounge

Although not a traditional Grand Rapids Bar location, Stella’s has a special place in my heart for its nostalgic environment cultivated by creative wall art and arcade games. 

The location, a restaurant during the day, turns into a 21+ venue after 9 p.m., creating a space for adults to channel their inner child with games like PAC-MAN (my personal favorite), pinball and other classic 25-cent games. 

The activities, environment, food and drink make Stella’s the perfect location to connect with friends through competition and conversation.  

4. Mojo’s

Mojo’s dueling piano bar is a gem in the Grand Rapids night scene. 

The live music from the dueling pianos create a communal experience between the performers and the crowd. Although the demographic near the live performance tends to be older than college students, people like me who enjoy a variety of music from the ’80s to today are in luck here. 

Although there is a DJ upstairs, I much prefer the opportunity to move to the musicians who bring their all to the space. 

3. Boot Night at New Holland Brewing Co. 

“Boot Night” is a special held by New Holland Brewing Co. on Wednesday nights and it’s the epitome of the college experience. What screams college more than congregating at a bar in the middle of the week to get a one-liter stein, a.k.a. a boot, for 10 dollars or less? 

The location has an open outdoor beer garden, even in colder weather, with space heaters and fire pit tables, in addition to interior spaces with large communal tables. DJs bring the place to life, and if you’re like me and my friends, dancing is a must (even with a heavy glass stein). 

Boot night breaks up the week and truly brings the community together. 

2. Joey’s Tavern

Joey’s Tavern is like a reliable old friend; no matter what you do with them, you will always have a good time. 

The location, incredibly intimate, allows you to mix and mingle– I’ve seen larger shoe boxes. The bar’s slogan “advice and enlightenment” is a testament to the conversations initiated by the proximity and ability to connect in the chaos of a perfect dive bar setting. 

It is also one of the most affordable options for a night out. One time, two friends and I each ordered a cocktail, shot, and shared a basket of tenders and fries (might I add, I am addicted to) and the bill was a little over $10 each. 

Joey’s just does it right.

1. B.O.B. and Eve Nightclub

Unsurprisingly at number one, I have the B.O.B. (aka the Big ol’ building), a crowd favorite. Consistently the bar has lines wrapping around both sides of the building, bustling with a young crowd eager to explore the building’s four floors. The venue appeals to all of the people in your group with its basement cup pong, live bands, and dance floors. You’ll have all of your options in one place.

Eve Nightclub, the top floor of the B.O.B., is a hot commodity and often is sold out later in the night. It’s the best for groups that love to dance and for screaming the most popular music at the top of your lungs.

The only downside to the B.O.B are the overpriced drinks; however, the atmosphere is well worth it, especially if you are up for an eventful night.

However, the film is more than a blip in the endless stream of featured pop culture on social media. “Saltburn” stands on its own with aesthetic cinematography that intrigues viewers and furthers a well-developed plot to solidify the film’s place as a future cult classic. 

The storytelling in “Saltburn” emulates elements of surprise depicted in Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction.” It’s shocking, and to some viewers, gory. Much like “Pulp Fiction,” various scenes in “Saltburn” are not ornamental, but rather fundamental to furthering the message and tone of the film. Similarly, the main character Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, is an unreliable narrator that rivals Humbert Humbert in Vladimir Nabokov’s novel “Lolita” with his perverse, delusional and self-justifying traits. 

The structure of the film eases the viewer into the intense progression of events by craftily presenting bits of information to the audience throughout its runtime. For example, the clips presented at the film’s beginning are strategically placed– revealing out of context moments that take place later. This gives the viewer subconscious images to recall, leading them to be a step ahead of the characters. This dramatic irony gives the audience insight to tie together plot twists before the ultimate reveal that drives home the scope of the ploy. 

The visuals of the film were nothing short of breathtaking, both in beauty and its ability to evoke emotions like fear, which literally causes shortness of breath. The primary settings of Oxford University and the Saltburn Estate are presented with great attention to detail and design. They demonstrate how the concept of wealth was infused throughout the film and left a solidified impression of how opulence was a valued vice. Additionally, the details and design cannot be boiled down to just showing riches. The specifics of the estate can be overlooked, as even the butler in the film says, “Lots of people get lost in Saltburn.” While this line is figurative and literal, I feel that the filmmakers wanted to prevent the viewers from “getting lost in Saltburn.” The visuals explicitly direct the viewers’ attention to symbolism and foreshadowing by utilizing a  music box that depicts four characters and the diorama of the Saltburn maze. 

Above all else, lighting is a primary cinematography focus in “Saltburn.” In each scene, lighting is creatively and consciously curated. The variety of choices create contrast and connections to how the characters and audience perceive moments. The variety of shots include dimly lit scenes, saturated outdoor depictions and swaths of red light that paint intense tone shifts. The last example demonstrates how the film uses illuminant metamerism, or how different light can affect how color hues are perceived. For instance, in one scene, red curtains are pulled over a window. This causes a glass of red wine to appear black. As the red wine is poured into the glass, the glass overflows both onto the table and the body of the person who drinks from the cup, creating black marks. This shows how the descent of darkness onto the Cattons dismantles the pristine and proud familial structure. 

“Saltburn” is a superb example of what thriller films should be– pieces of art that evoke the mind, employ the senses and engineer insanity for the audience.

students a couple of “snow days.” Students enjoyed an extra long weekend with remote learning status partially on Friday Jan. 12, after noon, and the entire day on Wednesday Jan. 17. Additionally, many students also had remote learning or classes canceled on

Tuesday, Jan. 16 due to inclement conditions at their professors’ discretion as well as the day off for MLK Jr. Day, unrelated to the weather.

Despite the chilly temperatures, many students took the opportunity during their time off to enjoy the heavy snowfall. Many snow “creations” popped up around campus on the lawns of dorm buildings, dining halls and off-campus student apartment complexes. The creations range from snow people of varying detail and size as well as various obscene “snow appendages” resembling particular male-reproductive organs. Many students took to posting these

obscene sculptures, dubbed “snow dicks,” on social media platforms, including Yik Yak, an app in which users can post anonymously within a five-mile radius.

“Upvote to make snowdicks a gvsu tradition,” posted one Yik Yak user with an image of the snow sculptures in front of GVSU residence halls.

For those that didn’t gear up for the cold, staying inside and playing video games was a very popular activity for students. Many people took the remote days and the snowy weekend as a chance to play video games for hours each day. Student Jennifer Bushey said they mostly played video games over the long weekend, attributing their hours spent gaming to the threat of bitter

cold air that kept them inside.

“I had to go and shovel snow, it was so cold I couldn’t feel my hands for a while,” Bushey said. 

Digital entertainment was a major player in students’ snow-day activities, keeping them both out of the harsh conditions and off the dangerous roadways.

GVSU’s location in West Michigan has historically led to harsh winter weather conditions because of lake-effect snow. In a 1972 article from Grand Valley Lanthorn, the article reported

on ways the GVSU community has taken advantage of snow related activities. In years past, GVSU students and staff would organize several outdoor activities to celebrate the extreme Michigan weather. The events included dog sledding, ski races, winter carnivals and sculpture contests. Snow activities, past and present, demonstrate how GVSU students are creating college memories in Michigan’s winter climate.

How the Grand Valley Lanthorn team spent their remote day

“My roommate and I went in our backyard and messed around in the snow, then we had a serious movie marathon over the long weekend,” said Lanthorn News Editor Emma Armijo.

“I was in Tennessee visiting some family and missed almost all of the major snow fall. I actually really love the snow, especially when it’s coming down hard, so that kinda sucked. I’m glad I got to see some family, but I missed the best part and got the worst, clearing the layers of snow and ice off of my car when I got home,” said Lanthorn Sports Editor Nelson Hubbell.

“I unfortunately still had to nanny that Monday morning so I had to trek through the winter storm. However, I was able to come back and watch some Monday Night football and hockey,” said Lanthorn Image Editor Bethann Long.

“I was able to finish some work I had been procrastinating for way too long. I also watched the new “Mean Girls” movie and the Sydney Sweeney rom-com “Anyone But You,” both of which were great,” said Lanthorn Arts & Entertainment Editor Dylan Hoffius.

Organizers said the rally on GVSU’s campus aimed to draw attention to the military action and humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza. 

Israel declared war on Hamas, a militant, terrorist group, on Oct. 8 following Hamas’ killing of 1,400 people and taking about 240 others hostages in a cross-border attack on Oct. 7. Israeli military action in Gaza has escalated since. Now, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, as of Nov. 4, 9,448 people are dead and as of Nov. 2, the Associated Press reported 40% of the deceased are children. This has led many people in the U.S. and abroad to call for a ceasefire and advocate for further action to support Palestinians currently and on a long-term basis. 

At the rally, the protesters chanted slogans that expressed their anger at politicians and the Biden administration for passing a $14.5 billion military aid package to Israel. 

“Biden, Biden, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide,” they declared.  Another chant asked Israeli Prime Minister  Benjamin Netanyahu “How many kids have you killed today?” Other chants included “By the millions, by the billions, we are all Palestinians,” “Ethnic cleansing is a crime,” “Fight for our liberation, down with the occupation,” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” 

GVSU Junior Minna Abdel-Moemen led many of the chants at the rally. Abdel-Moemen is not a part of YDSA but wanted to come out and show her support for the message of the rally regardless. 

“I haven’t heard many people speaking about it, kind of like what I did with what happened with Ukraine and Russia,” Abdel-Moemen said. “So we wanted to bring awareness to the students about the issue, maybe cause them to think like, ‘Oh, what is that?’ and then they’ll read about it, you know, kind of spark an interest to learn more about the topic.” 

Although Abdel-Moemen is Arab, she feels the issue is not isolated to a certain nationality or ethnicity. She said all people are personally affected and connected to what is happening in Gaza. 

“Any human being should see what’s going on and see that humans are dying,” Abdel-Moemen said. “That should be enough for people to realize and feel emotionally connected.” 

Although this rally was the first pro-Palestine rally held on GVSU’s campus following the official declaration of war, many protests for Palestine or Israel have taken place across hundreds of colleges and universities in the U.S. Similarly, other protests, both in support of Israel and Palestine took place in Grand Rapids toward the beginning of October. 

YDSA President and third-year student at GVSU Jessica Koerkel said YDSA decided to hold the protest as a way to “mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living.” She said the rally was a way to have a Palestinian movement on campus and to voice student perspectives.   

“We came here to show our solidarity with Palestinians, to show that what’s happening isn’t right,” Koerkel said. “It’s (the conflict is) still ongoing, and to say that we don’t want our money to be spent funding that (Israeli military) and that we want change to happen.” 

Koerkel invited Grand Rapids groups Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Oppression to take part in the rally. Additionally, Owen Frassetto, a sophomore at GVSU and YDSA Vice President, spoke at the campus rally.  

“We must advocate for a single state in Palestine as well as the lands which are currently known as Israel,” Frassetto said. “We must advocate for a united Palestine where all of its citizens, Palestinian, Jewish, Christian, so on, they (can) all live in equality.” 

No counter-protest was formed other than one GVSU student, sophomore Ryan Flynn, who sat opposite the rally with an Israeli flag taped onto the back of his computer. Flynn said he was not there to argue with the rally, but instead to condemn the actions of Hamas and defend Israel’s existence. 

“We will continue to protest, quietly, peacefully, respectfully until every one of our hostages are returned,” Flynn said. “I don’t want to see or be subjected to the death of innocent Palestinians either. Genocide shouldn’t go either way. I stand for the people of both sides.”

Flynn said he sat in support of his “Jewish brothers” and community. 

“The way I see it, if maybe just one Jewish kid is scared of what they’re seeing and they see me out here, see my star (on the Israeli flag), or my necklace (of the star of David) and they feel a little safer, then it’s all worth it,” Flynn said. 

Flynn and the protestors did not interact throughout the demonstration. The rally was peaceful, leading to discussions within the community about what was happening politically and emotionally abroad and in the U.S. 

One person rode by the protest on a skateboard and said “F*ck Israelis, f*ck the Jews…. Well, not all the Jews, but like some of them.” The student was not affiliated with the rally directly, but the statement echoes Flynn’s concerns regarding antisemitism rising from the conflict. 

Following the events of Oct. 7, antisemitism and Islamophobia are on the rise. Reuters reported data from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) “showed a 388% rise in antisemitic incidents in the U.S.” from Oct. 7 to Oct. 23 compared to last year. Additionally, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) “received 774 complaints of incidents motivated by Islamophobia and bias against Palestinians and Arabs” from Oct. 7 to Oct. 24. 

As the war continues in Israel and Gaza, many people are advocating for individuals to stay up to date on the current events. 

Abdel-Moemen said the issue in Israel in Gaza “doesn’t just go back to October 7” and that Palestinians have faced “75 years of occupation.” She wants people to continue to read the long history of the issue and where the issue is today. 

“I think I would just encourage other students to really try and read about the topic, hear both perspectives,” Abdel-Moemen said.

Some of the key points at the meeting included the separation of the Seymour and Esther Padnos College of Engineering and Computing (PCEC) into two separate colleges, one for engineering and one for computing, renovations to Lubbers Stadium and a presentation of GVSU’s housing and enrollment report. 

The BOT’s decision to split the PCEC into two by fall 2024 was a plan attributed to the potential for the university to grow its capacity in the engineering and computing disciplines through opportunities and resources. The BOT said the change will be a “strategic investment” for the growing and in-demand fields. 

“I think because it is such a widely recognized state need, I think we’ll draw more funding towards our initiative by standing up those more visible entities,” President Philomena Mantella said to the Grand Valley Lanthorn. 

Additionally, the split creating the Padnos College of Engineering and the as-of-yet, unnamed college of computing could lead to potential new academic opportunities for students. 

“I would expect that we’ll be able to expand some of the badges, certificates, perhaps some of the majors in the colleges to give students more options as we grow,” Mantella said. 

Currently, PCEC has 94 faculty members, 27 staff and 2,405 students with a major, not including students with minors in those areas of study, falling under the college. The School of Engineering had 40 faculty, six staff members and 986 majors, Occupational Safety and Health has five faculty and 218 majors and the School of Computing had 49 faculty, three staff and 1,201 majors. The split would make for smaller colleges that could allow for more growth and expansion over time. 

The BOT also announced the planned renovations to Lubbers Stadium include the addition of 19 men’s restrooms, 20 women’s restrooms, and two gender-inclusive, family bathrooms. The plan also includes an expansion of concessions on lower and upper levels intended to triple the amount of concession space and includes the implementation of an elevator to make the upper areas of the stadium more accessible.

The changes to the stadium are intended to be completed by the start of the fall 2024 football season.

This project is a “partial acceleration” of the Lubbers Stadium renovations that were part of the “medium term” on the Campus Master Plan, an outline of goals for the university spanning over 10 years. Greg Sanial, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer for the GVSU Board of Trustees, said funding for this project came from the “university reserves” and in the board documents, can be found as “strategic capital reserve.” 

Mantella told the Lanthorn the decision to move a portion of the overall intended renovation of Lubbers Stadium forward was due to need. 

“If anything becomes urgent, like we have to put in more bathrooms into the stadium, then they (portions of the Campus Master Plan) can, you know, move up on the list because it is a plan,” Mantella said.  

GVSU’s 2023 Enrollment, Financial Aid and Housing reports were also given at Friday’s meeting. B. Donta Truss, the Vice President of the Division of Enrollment Development and Educational Outreach at GVSU, noted higher levels of overall enrollment and growth in diversity with an overall increase of students who identify as a person of color when giving the report.

Additionally, Truss presented a chart that showed housing increases where GVSU has an overall capacity of 6,172 and an occupancy of 6,309. Truss said the university is at a “102% occupancy” overall. This increase comes with higher enrollment and more students living in on-campus housing units than what the university has accommodated in the past.  

“The master plan we did for the university didn’t go as deep in each of the areas, so Housing has now initiated their own master plan, you know, within the lines of what we built,” Mantella said to the Lanthorn. 

There was no exact timeline given for the completion or initiation of GVSU Housing’s master plan, however, Mantella said the university plans to make housing renovations one of its first significant investments from the Campus Master Plan. 

“The phrase is ‘raise and replace’ a building that’s older, you’ve got to accommodate the short term to get to the long term,” Mantella said. 

Additionally, the BOT mentioned the capital outlay funding requested for Blue Dot Lab, recently approved by Michigan’s House and Senate and sent to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for approval. The funding request would allocate $30 million for the Blue Dot Lab project, which is part of the GVSU Campus Master Plan. The Blue Dot Lab would reshape the Eberhard Center on GVSU’s Pew Campus to create a space that would function as a tech center and house many university disciplines like computer science, data science and humanities. 

The next GVSU BOT meeting is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2024.

Silently, one more person enters the room: the accompanist. They walk to the back corner of the studio, which contains a piano and drums. They won’t be moving as the dancers do or verbally guide the students like the instructor, instead, the movement will take place as their fingers strike the keys of the piano or beat the drums. The music they play will shape the class at its core. 

GVSU’s dance program has two accompanists Alex Hamel and Ryan Blok who create, perform and partner with dance students and faculty within the program’s movement technique classes. Hamel, who has been a part of the program for over 10 years, most commonly accompanies the modern dance courses and Blok has been the resident ballet accompanist since 2017.

The accompanists explore and create music for a collaborative process between movement and music. 

When Hamel accompanies modern dance classes he acts as a “one-man band” playing piano and drums individually and simultaneously, a skill that he developed over time and from a young age. Hamel said often he plays both instruments at once because “neither one on its own seemed sufficient.” 

Hamel’s playing journey began with learning piano, which his grandfather gave him, at age six. His passion continued to develop with time. He started playing the drums in the school band at age 10 and taught himself guitar at 12. 

Continuing to play and learn, Hamel decided initially to minor in music at GVSU and was an art major. At the time he was not planning on pursuing a musical path, but rather graphic design or animation. But, after becoming more involved in music opportunities on campus, he decided to make the shift to becoming a music major. 

“I did marching band, stuff like that, to percussion major when I was a student here (GVSU), but I also got into the jazz program. My professors, actually, they were like ‘Seems like you want to be a musician,’” Hamel said. “I didn’t want to study music and not have it be my profession. I think that gave me the confidence to sort of double down on everything I was doing here.”

The decision to fully commit to music led Hamel to accompany the dance program for the first time as a student, a job he had for his last two years at GVSU. With very little knowledge about dance, Hamel took on the role and learned on the job. He learned that the work of the accompanist was largely based on improvisation, which Hamel had experience in as a music major with a jazz emphasis. He soon realized this path fit his passions and has guided the rest of his career. 

Now, Hamel primarily accompanies for dance classes and plays in theatre pits. He considers both of these positions “service-oriented, support roles” and feels that is where his heart is. 

“I don’t live for the spotlight at all. I actually quit piano lessons because I didn’t want to do recitals anymore,” Hamel said. “In terms of like what I get out of being a musician, it’s really zero to do with like performing or getting my chance to shine or show people what I can do. It’s more being in service to something larger.” 

Hamel said the experience of being an accompanist shifts with the needs, wants and energy of the class itself and that the partnership between the music, dancers and professors is deeply intertwined.

“I never think of it like I’m creating music that is to be danced to, like ‘here’s some great music now dance,’ you know,” Hamel said. “In a way, I’m like taking class with all y’all. Just trying to find the impulse within the movement that combination are based on and reflect that and really accompany the dance.” 

Dance Professor and dance curriculum coordinator Carrie Brueck Morris has been working with Hamel for over 10 years. She says Hamel’s contribution as a musician and artist allows students to learn more about music in their coursework: musical terminology, how to work with musicians and “understanding the layers” to musicality beyond counts.

Additionally, Morris said Hamel as an artist and partner in dance classes is extraordinary. 

“He knows how to look at dance and he knows how to respond to what is happening in the room,” Morris said. “It feels so easy to work with him and I feel like we’re reading each other’s minds.” 

Similarly, Blok’s work as the ballet accompaniment comes from years of development. One of Blok’s first musical memories was with a Fisher Price piano where he learned a couple of basic songs. He was then put into piano lessons at eight years old, percussion in band, choir and was involved in church music throughout his life. 

Blok, like Hamel, is also a GVSU alum who started at GVSU in 2013 after deciding he wanted to focus more on piano. During this time, he began to learn how to be a ballet accompanist. 

“I started with just that a couple books, I had like one piece of music for each combination,” Blok said. “Once I got the feel for the eight-measure phrases all the time and how each combination felt, it just became easier and easier. I’d say a year in I was 90 percent improvising.” 

After graduating, he began his accompanist career in the GVSU dance program, played classes at Grand Rapids Ballet and opened a private piano and voice teaching studio. 

“My plan was always to somehow make a living in music in Grand Rapids and wasn’t planning on going anywhere,” Blok said. 

Blok said the presence of live music helps to shape dance classes in both atmosphere and structure. 

“Live music just feels more present. As loud as you turn up a speaker with canned music, it never feels as vibrant in the space as the live music does,” Blok said. “The biggest thing is the flexibility that a live musician can have. Often teachers want to do the same combination, one time at a certain tempo and speed it up for the second.” 

Blok values the ability to have a collaborative relationship with the professors and to provide an experience that is “active and vibrant” rather than just a rhythm for students to execute steps to. He enjoys the opportunity and freedom of improvisation and the ability to challenge himself with what he plays each day to better help aid the experiences of dancers in class.

One of GVSU’s ballet professors Carolyn Pampalone Rabbers has worked with Blok since 2021. She feels he not only allows the pedagogical flexibility of changing tempos, measures and more but creates variety within the class. 

“(Blok) will find ways to keep it (the music) artistically interesting for the room. So there might be gentle shifts, like an octave change, or an additional rhythmic line added in. It just helps open up possibilities and ideas for ways to engage with the movement that we’re doing as well,” Rabbers said. 

Emma Buschle a senior majoring in Dance and Public Relations works with both Hamel and Blok in her modern and ballet courses. Buschle said before coming to college she had never been in a dance class with an accompanist before. She said the experience of having live music in her dance courses at GVSU is incredibly beneficial and rewarding. 

From interacting with both musicians, Buschle said Hamel has such a “unique style” in his musical pieces and Blok has a talent for knowing ballet “like the back of his hand.” She feels she has gotten to know the accompanists more as artists and as individuals. 

“There’s just a huge level of respect for each other (dancers, professors and musicians),” Buschle said. “At the end of each class, we do a huge round of applause of them and we have a ritual of smacking the floor and creating a bunch of noise to thank them.” 

Buschle said over her time at GVSU she has paid more “attention to what’s going on in the corner.” Buschle, and other dance program students and faculty, appreciate the artistry of accompanists. They feel that accompanists connect to everyone in the room at a deeper personal, passionate level than just hitting play.

Clare Meteer, a Grand Valley State University senior majoring in Business Management and Dance, recently noticed she needed allergy medication. Meteer does not have a car and had very little time in between classes, so she decided to go to the Kirkhof Center C-Store, a convenience store on campus that is part of GVSU’s Laker Food Co., formerly known as Campus Dining, to buy some Claritin. 

In a hurried state, Meteer grabbed the only box of Claritin. The register rang her up $5.29 before tax; she paid and went on her way. Later, she opened the box to find only one tablet. Meteer was shocked that she spent $6 on a single tablet of medicine that she had no other way to access on campus. 

Frustrated, Meteer decided to look on Amazon. A ten-pack of Claritin costing about $10 equated to about $1 a tablet, versus the $6 she paid at the C-Store on campus. 

“I get that it’s probably going to be a little bit more expensive when I’m on campus, but I think that this much is crazy,” Meteer said. 

A quick price comparison revealed that the cost of over-the-counter allergy medicine at GVSU C-Stores is much higher than the local Meijer, Family Fare and Walgreens locations near the Allendale Campus. At Meijer, a 10-pack of non-drowsy Claritin is $11.49 before tax, which equates to about $1.15 per tablet. This puts the campus stores’ selling of essentially the same product at a markup rate of over 300%. At Family Fare, the Claritin 10-pack costs $13.79, or $1.31 a piece, and at Walgreens, a five-pack of Claritin costs $9.99, about $2 each

Although Allendale students can access these locations by car or bus, they are not within walking distance for students. 

“I don’t have a car, and there’s also many students who don’t have a car, and this is like one of the main places we can buy things,” Meteer said. “I think that, that makes it unethical, especially when it comes to medicine and things like necessities.” 

GVSU Associate Professor of Marketing Vivek Dalela said although the price hikes can be uncomfortable for students they are a common economic concept. 

Dalela attributed the nature of higher prices at GVSU P.O.D. (provisions on demand stores) and C-Stores to the concepts of the economies of scale and captive market. 

Dalela explained that economies of scale mean that businesses like Walmart or Meijer can buy in bulk- thus allowing the products to be sold at a lower cost. 

“If you’re able to sell a lot, the price per unit goes down. (Businesses) buy in wholesale, (the customer buys) it cheaper,” Dalela said. “Walmart does the most economies of scale, so it sells it cheapest. You go to CVS or Walgreens and you try to buy the same product, they have lesser economies of scale, so their prices are high. You go to a mom-and-pop store, for example, and they have even less of an economy of scale. The less you sell, the higher the price will be.”

Dalela said this concept can apply to the GVSU P.O.D. and C-Stores because they are serving a smaller market of students, with less business and at a lesser volume than bigger stores, so the cost will be higher. Dalela said to make the business viable, on-campus stores may have to keep the prices higher to pay for fixed expenses and to make the business work. 

Additionally, a captive market has less competition and customers are more likely to buy out of convenience or necessity. Dalela compared this to airports, where travelers pay higher prices because they have no other option, and there are no competitors to drive down prices. 

“They will be willing to pay a higher price just for the convenience of it because they don’t want to walk five miles or drive down to get to another store, they don’t have a choice,” Dalela explained.

This concept is reflected in the GVSU C-Store and P.O.D. store prices. 

In addition to the medicine sold on campus, other prices reflect price hikes that could be attributed to the concepts Dalela notes. For instance, GVSU charges $1.29 for a single pack of ramen noodles while Meijer and Family charge only 39 cents. Similarly, GVSU charges $3.59 for a single Chapstick original, while Meijer charges $1.49 and Family Fare $1.59.

Many students are aware of these price hikes and are often more weary of shopping on campus because of it.  

“I understand that campus needs to make money off of what they are selling, but it doesn’t make sense why they have the price so high,” Hannah Bernhardt, a junior at GVSU, said. “Personally, I don’t think the prices should be that high as we are all college students who aren’t making all that much money. I would rather drive 10 minutes down the road to Meijer to buy the same thing for a little cheaper of a price.”

However, many students may not have the option to get necessary goods somewhere else and feel the on-campus prices can be limiting.

“I only buy things from the C-Store when I need to, like in this case. If I had the choice I would have easily waited and bought it somewhere else,” Meteer said. “If prices were lower students could use the C-Store more, but they can’t right now because of the prices they see at the store.” 

Although students may be frustrated with the prices that GVSU is charging in on-campus convenience stores, Dalela said price-mark-ups are legal, common and often remain acceptable as long as people are willing to pay convenience pricing. 

“You would expect Grand Valley to have a store, which has more reasonable prices rather than higher prices, but, at the end of the day, these are small everyday consumer items, and I don’t think at this pricing level, ethics aren’t playing any significant role,” Dalela said. “They (companies) will test our limits, without being challenged by anybody on the legal front or on the ethical front of anyway, because they aren’t really flouting any rules here. There is no legal framework, which says your markups have to be limited to a certain level.”

Meteer said although the C-Store and P.O.D. stores on the GVSU campus are more accessible, she tries to avoid shopping at them for a variety of reasons including cost and how the costs relate to her student wages. 

Meteer works on-campus jobs to pay for her living expenses and feels the wages students are being paid, often which are under the calculated living wage for the area, cannot even meet the expense of shopping at the on-campus convenience stores. 

“I can’t afford to shop at the C-Store with the wages I’m paid on campus, as for pretty much all student employees,” Meteer said. “If you look at what Grand Valley wants to charge you pretty much for everything, the student wages don’t make up for that.” 

Meteer feels that the university should reevaluate the prices on campus to keep the best interest of students in mind. 

“I think Grand Valley needs to be aware that everyone, especially students, are struggling financially,” Meteer said. “They need to keep the prices as low as possible, like at least the price I would get somewhere off campus.” 

Laker Food Co. did not respond to several requests for comment before publication.

A GVSU Sophomore, who requested anonymity to avoid embarrassment, was one of the students affected by the bed bug incidents in Niemeyer Living Center. They first noticed the bed bugs in their sheets on a Saturday, Sept. 9, put in a work order that weekend and emailed their living center director to follow up. However, with it being the weekend they did not get any responses until Monday.

“On Monday someone from housing services called me and set up a time to come to my apartment and check out the situation. On Wednesday we got the date for the exterminators to come,” the student said.

The exterminators would not come until Friday.

“There were no other rooms GV could put us in for that week until our room got treated, so I had to keep sleeping in my bed that had bed bugs in it,” the student said.

They then faced not only the discomfort of bed bug bites but also the discomfort of being displaced as GVSU Housing handled the situation.

“On Friday the exterminators did a heat treatment on the apartment from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and we had to be out of the room that whole time,” the student said. “The day we got our heat treatment it was just annoying having to get out of the room before any of our classes started and having to find places to rest between classes since we couldn’t go home.”

The student said they had to bag up their possessions and label the bag with their electronics to make sure that the exterminators would not accidentally heat treat them in the process. They said the stress of having bed bugs in their unit, on top of additional classes and commitments was a difficult experience.

Adam Tate, Facilities Manager for Housing and Residence Life at GVSU explained the procedure for any case of bed bugs found on campus is designed to be the least taxing for students as possible.

“When we do confirm treatment is necessary, we use a third-party pest control vendor to heat treat the unit. We have found this to be the most effective method to get rid of the issue, and it also does not require as much prep work from the student as other methods,” Tate said.

Oftentimes bed bug cases are reported as flea incidents first. Only 16 percent of bed bug cases are correctly identified. The issue is not uncommon with about 20 percent of U.S. homes and hotels experiencing the problem. Additionally, bed bugs can be present on college campuses, especially when so many students are moving in and out of a small area in a short amount of time.

“It’s not uncommon to have a couple (bed bug cases on campus) at the beginning of the year, and we typically only see four to five cases yearly,” Tate said. 

The start of the school year is especially common because people are coming from home or traveling. Traveling increases your risk of getting bed bugs, with 68 percent of bed bug cases being reported in hotels and motels. Some of the states with the most bed bugs include New York, California, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey and Maryland, so travel through or from these states can increase the risk for transmission. 

The reports of bed bugs being more common early in the school year can be attributed to the bed bug season lasting from June to October. Bed bugs can live up to nine months, though they hibernate in the winter.

Bed bugs burrow under or around mattresses and feed on human hosts at night. They bite people and then release antihistamines and anticoagulants so they can feed as long as possible. Their feeding duration spans from three to ten minutes. They’re even known to adapt to their host’s sleeping habits so they can maximize feeding periods. The bugs repopulate quickly and easily become a problem, living in mattresses and crevices and so forth, and are hard to identify.

There’s a common misconception that bed bugs are indicative of dirty environments. Bed bugs are not attracted to “dirt, decay, or decomposing materials” and are only attracted to blood.

If you suspect a case of bed bugs, please report it to your building’s manager or student services.

Smart’s residency gave students the opportunity to learn not only movement and dance techniques but also from his experiences and stories from the professional world. During his time at GVSU, Smart aimed to create an environment that mirrored what it is like to work as a professional dancer.

GVSU dance students said the expectations were very high, the movement was physically challenging and the process stretched them mentally. Students who were part of Smart’s creative process worked with the choreographer Monday through Friday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to finish the approximately six-minute piece. 

“He has been creating a brand new dance for the GVSU Dance Company tentatively called ‘Afterglow,’” said Edgar Page, Assistant Professor of Dance and guest artist coordinator. “This energetic Afro-Jazz work speaks to how our individual light not only remains but shines so bright despite adversity.” 

Smart’s background is versatile. He graduated from the University of the Arts, located in Philadelphia, Pa., with a BFA in Ballet Performance. Additionally, he has trained and worked across many styles of dance including but not limited to jazz, tap, modern, Indian dance and Capoeira. His movement background influences his movement and teaching styles. 

In addition to setting the piece, Smart taught dance students movement technique classes so that more students in the program could learn from him during his time at the university.

“DJ Smart has been incredible and generous with our students, teaching modern and jazz dance classes, offering embodied perspectives on the multiple dance industries he currently moves within, while pushing our students to work at a level they can expect in the fast-paced professional world of dance,” Page said.

Smart has worked in both the concert and commercial dance world. In the past, Smart has performed alongside The Jacksons, Twenty-One Pilots, Cher and Tinashe. He also appeared on “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Got Talent.” During his residency at GVSU, Smart shared stories about working with these artists and what he learned from professional experiences.

Smart told students his biggest takeaway from previous rehearsals and performances is to be ready for anything. He said that often a dancer’s ability to be well-adjusted when things go wrong in rehearsal and on stage can be what gets them a job. He said a dancer’s ability to be professional is knowing details in the choreography, all of the other dancers’s parts in a work and a good attitude, which are very important if students are hoping to perform professionally. 

“He has been vulnerable and transparent, sharing stories of his continued success in the dance industry, but also stories about the moments when there were more opportunities to learn how to do better next time,” Page said.

The dance choreographed by DJ Smart, among others, will be performed at the Fall Dance Concert on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. The concert will be free and open to the public at the Louis Armstrong Theatre in the Haas Center for Performing Arts.