Constituting social justice

Throughout this semester, this column has attempted to offer reflections about how the values that Grinnellians espouse relate to the real world. The premise was to restrict my lens to conversations in the dining hall: our mealtimes offer us precious unstructured time, in which we can discuss with our friends the things that matter most to us. I learn the most about Grinnellian values, however, when I leave campus. Riding with my uncle to northern Minnesota this past Thanksgiving reminded me of this.

“What is social justice,” asked my uncle, after I described it as a central goal of the Occupy movement. A minister by profession, he had heard the term, but did not know its precise meaning. Ironically, although it was a term that I used often as a tour guide, I had no definition to give. Phrases like “rectifying inequality,” “social responsibility,” and “respecting the rights of the underrepresented” were the best I could muster.

Upon returning to campus, to my surprise, other students could not define “social justice” any more clearly than me. For some, the term had professional connotations, entailing a non- profit career of “social justice” as an activity pursued during the workday. For others, it meant the equality of initial opportunity, perhaps something to be provided by government. “Social justice” in this sense is more a voting acting act inspired by social responsibility, without a requirement of personal financial sacrifice.

Grinnellians’ uncertainty about the precise meaning of the term is unsurprising when one considers that the College itself offers none. Defining social justice often relies on deferring to other Grinnellian staple terms, such as “self- governance” and “personal responsibility” (“A Historic Commitment to Social Justice”). The Social Justice Action Group, the primary on-campus group officially dedicated to social justice, promotes “peace, justice and positive social change,” and targets its efforts toward “fight[ing] hunger, promot[ing] volunteerism and build[ing] understanding.” The Social Justice Prize provides no defining terms at all, asking nominators to categorize how the nominee’s action “disrupt[s] the status quo or create[s] systemic change” to make a particularly positive and long-lasting effect on the world (Prize: FAQ). This lack of definition seems to have little effect at Grinnell. After all, while on campus, we need do virtually no cognitive work to evaluate the social justice of an action: the information is provided to us, free of charge or effort. Campus-wide symposia tell us what social justice means, and college-sponsored Prizes show us cutting-edge projects that we can support and aspire to. Our peers give us endless “worthy” initiatives from their tables in front of the dining hall, as they collect signatures, volunteers, and monetary and in-kind donations for innumerable causes. But beyond campus, this clarity is largely absent. Without dining hall tablers to pressure us into awareness and action, and with many more immediately pressing concerns to handle, how will we find the time, energy and motivation for concepts like “social justice,” to which we were so dedicated in college? This apprehension likely stems partially from the fact that I am a senior, and that I sometimes worry about how being faced with new ways of living and ‘doing business’ may change my own priorities. For seniors considering employment in the for-profit sector, the matter seems to be especially pressing: how to maintain one’s own not-necessarily-only- motivated-by-profit values without the support structure of institutionalized like-mindedness (or at least open- mindedness) that we find in our college?

What I propose is that, next semester, SGA lead a process of student discussion about the meaning of social justice. As official representatives of our self-governing community, SGA is uniquely well-situated to address such issues, which have been central to the College since its founding. I propose that we write a constitution, documenting in concrete terms what we consider our social justice mission to be. An excellent side effect of the process will be that we can see the true diversity of understandings of this fundamental concept. The best-laid plans, if not written down, are easily waylaid, or worse, forgotten. I hope that this one small communal act of definition will provide us the clarity to better pursue our goal of a socially just world. At the very least, we could then confidently share with our uncles, on future Thanksgivings, precisely what is means to be socially just.

Letter to the Editor: The long-term effects of football

Even with one of the largest per-student endowments of any university in the country, the question remains: how can Grinnell College save money and plan for a long term sustainable budget?

Recent college developments indicate the Humanities are under increasing scrutiny, and at least part of the reason is because the college must maintain a tight budget for the future. We suggest a conversation about the future of Grinnell should begin with the issues on the periphery of the school’s education.

The story of David Duerson has shocked us into writing a letter. Duerson, an NFL lineman, committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest, and implied in text messages to his family that his brain should be studied by science. As the New York Times reports, “ After years of denying or discrediting evidence of football’s impact on the brain—from C.T.E. in deceased players to an increasing number of retirees found to have dementia or other memory-related disease—the N.F.L. has spent the last year addressing the issue, mostly through changes in concussion management and playing rules.” Dozens of players are now submitting their brains to science. The evidence of the harmful long-term effects is mounting.

In 2009, Purdue University conducted a Neuroscience study with a high school football team. The researchers concluded that even the sort of minor head-to-head contact that occurs on every play has traumatic effects on players’ brains. The two players focused in the study weighed roughly the same as many Grinnell players at 260 and 190 pounds, respectively. Two Purdue engineering professors and their staff, Sports Illustrated reported in 2010, “fitted 23 helmets with accelerometers and gave both the players IMPACT test—a computerized neurocognitive exam that tests memory and concentration—and tests of working memory while their brains were monitored with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).”

The engineers combined accelerometer figures with IMPACT scores to get a sense of how players were affected by football. Researchers considered anytime an accelerometer exceeded 80 Gs was enough force to cause a concussion. Multiple hits in the first contact practice they attended exceed 100 G’s. One offensive lineman suffered an impact of 289 Gs (289 times the force of gravity) while holding an extra-point, an event that occurs multiple times in most games. The scores of one lineman before and after the preseason were examined, and he scored 20% lower on the visual memory section of the IMPACT test, which requires rapid identification of recurring patterns. Other players also fared particularly poorly on the test. And the scariest find of the entire study? Four players were categorized as “functionally impaired” with apparent symptoms of which none the four were cognizant. Schools have responded to this and other studies. The New York Times reported: “‘Because of the seriousness of the potential consequences, the presidents determined the league needed to take proactive steps in protecting the welfare of our student- athletes,’” said Robin Harris, the executive director of the Ivy League.

According to new rules, teams will be able to hold only two full-contact practices per week during the season, compared with a maximum of five under N.C.A.A. guidelines. On the other days of the week, practices cannot include contact or live tackles, and no player may be ‘taken to the ground.’” Grinnell has adopted similar measures, but this avoids the inconvenient fact that even during these two practices and particularly during games, significant, concussive-inducing hits occur.

The other disturbing consequence of playing football is the constant pressure to gain weight and eat an unhealthily large number of calories. An American Medical Journal article published in January 2007 classified an astonishing 45% of the high school linemen it studied as overweight, and 9% with adult severe obesity. The article concludes, “Severe obesity in adolescence can have an important impact on quality of life and accompanies several comorbid conditions.” On a nationally read blog, one Grinnell football players details his strategy for gaining weight rapidly in order to play college football. He writes that he gained 100 pounds between his sophomore year in high school and his first year in college. One of the central thrusts of Grinnell athletics is to encourage wellness. How does encouraging rapid weight gains fit into this purported institutional philosophy? Another less considered argument was advanced by Swarthmore College when they ended their football program in 2000. College spokesman Tom Krattenmaker said at the time, “it’s basic math. If you eliminate football, you suddenly have a lot more spaces for everything else.” As a small liberal arts college, Grinnell’s recruited football players represents a chunk of each incoming class. The College Sports Project has cogently summarized the data at 84 selective Division III schools. They concluded that male recruited athletes at the 24 most selective of these schools in certain target sports significantly underperformed academically compared to their peers. As an institution we must always ask ourselves if we have best utilized our coveted admission spots. At a minimum, Grinnell would do itself a great favor by participating in such useful data collection to show the impact of this recruitment. Clarity and transparency are reasonable expectations at such a tightly-knit institution as our own.

We write this article on behalf of a number of concerned students who respect the vast majority of the football team and believe they belong here as well, as students. We ask that these recommendations be considered by adding it to the list of topics for the Strategic Planning Committee. Maybe the proposed solution appears to be brash, but it must be. No half measure could protect these students’ minds. We can make Grinnell a leader and save money. President Kington, you know the effects of binge drinking on the brain and passionately object to the practice for that reason, so take a step to address the practice of binge head-bashing due to its effects on students’ minds. We suggest that Grinnell College, in concurrence with peer institutions like Colorado and Swarthmore College, should suspend its football program indefinitely until these critical issues can be addressed.

Regards, Marcus Eagan ’12 and Thomas Neil ’14

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Editor’s note: The S&B received a complaint that comments supporting football players or the football program are being edited out because of their content. This is not true. All comments are approved except those deemed inflammatory without cause or argument, off-point personal attacks, and comments published under someone else’s name.

Maintaining computer relations

Would you get in a car that hadn’t had its oil changed, its tires filled with air, and its brakes checked? Probably not—so why should you trust your computer to run without maintenance? Consider the amount of data that you’ve placed on your devices—then weigh the pain of trying to rebuild all of it from scratch versus taking a few preventative measures. Our computers, like our cars, are designed to have a certain degree of tolerance. But that doesn’t mean they can keep going indefinitely without repair. To lengthen the amount of time you have between failures or problems, here are a few simple habits you can adopt—or cut back on.

The first thing that many of us consider about a computer is its battery life. Most modern electronics use some variant of a lithium-ion battery, a powerful technology that represents an enormous improvement over the older batteries of the late’90s. Lithium-ion batteries aren’t troubled by the “memory effect,” a problem where charging older batteries before they were drained cause them to lose strength over time.

But that doesn’t mean they’re invulnerable. When your laptop or other device has reached full charge, unplug it as soon as possible. Modern batteries have onboard sensors to determine when they’re overcharged, but these have a tendency to fail. Overcharge your battery, and you’ll see your battery life dwindling far faster than you expect. Another repeat offender: using your computer on the floor, carpet, or on a bed. Many devices have cooling intakes on the underside of their cases (Macbooks, for example, have their fans positioned along the screen hinge), and when you use them on non-flat surfaces the fans will suck up dust and debris.

This is a prime reason for overheating problems. The processors in your computer run so hot that they could catch fire in seconds if not properly cooled. And while there are safety measures in place to prevent that from happening (such as automatic shutdowns), you can still seriously damage your computer before they kick in.

The first solution: avoid these situations altogether. Use a lapdesk, a folder, or something to keep your computer on a flat surface. The second is to periodically clean out the vents on your computer using a can of compressed air (usually $4 – $8). I’d advise you do this in the hallway or something—you’d be surprised at what kinds of disgusting stuff comes out of your computer.

Periodically, you’ll also want to clean your computer’s monitor. Don’t use tissue paper or paper towels—these contain rough wooden fibers that can scratch or seriously damage the coating on your screen. Use microfiber clothes when possible (the little cleaners they give you for your glasses)—these are very effective at cleaning screens.

Cleaning your screen helps with more than aesthetics—it helps you save battery life as well. Many users will ratchet the brightness on their screens up to blot out the grime—a cleaner screen lets you keep things readable even with the backlights turned down low. These are simple, physical habits that can remedy many common problems. There are also many software-side steps you can follow to ensure that your computer continues to run smoothly (though not quite like new). For a Windows machine, you’ll want to make sure that you keep your computer up to date with the latest Microsoft updates. If you think that it’s a pain for your computer to take a few more minutes shutting down, think about what happens when you’ve put off updates for a whole year—or more.

You should also make sure that you’re running a good anti- virus package. Microsoft Security Essentials is a powerful protection tool that’s both free and light on your system. It’s also one recognized by the Cisco Agent used on campus, making it one of the better choices all-around for Grinnellians.

For a Mac user, you’ll want to download a utility called Mac Janitor. Mac Janitor runs the maintenance scripts that your Mac needs to continue running smoothly, but is only configured to run at—you guessed it—three o’ clock in the morning or so. Taking simple steps like this can save you a lot of headaches later, so take the leap—you won’t regret it!

This week in SGA

This Wednesday, Joint Board celebrated Senator Appreciation Day with Chinese food and a light schedule, as business concludes at the end of the semester. Once Presiding Officer Peter Aldrich ’15 confirmed that Robert’s Rules of Order does not forbid eating during the meeting, the members of SGA shifted their focus from the fiery Kung Pao chicken to an ice rink.

The Student Initiatives Committee informed Joint Board that an ice rink on the north end of campus should be completed by the end of the weekend. After the conclusion of finals, it is expected to stay intact over winter break, as long as a tarp is put in place. Although there are currently no ice skates available, Joint Board believes that students will still find plenty of ways to have fun. Senator Max Farrell ’12 suggested that students attach butcher’s knives to Nikes. Senator Ron Chiu ’13 advised all students to experiment carefully.

In the midst of hell week, VPAA Wadzi Motsi ’12 said that students should talk to their professors if they are overwhelmed by stress, instead of resorting to academically dishonest practices, saying, “Strategize, don’t plagiarize.” She also reported that Grinnell’s faculty voted to approve the Midwest Conference’s new rules, allowing coaches to more aggressively recruit student athletes.

President Gabe Schechter ’12 discussed the College’s plans to begin work on an image overhaul. Schechter specifically illustrated Grinnell’s problem by pointing out that Macalester calls itself as a school with an international outlook, when “Grinnell has more international students than them, but we struggle to advertise it.” A firm will be hired to do research on opinions of the school, which will even include a survey of perspective students. Schechter stressed that they would be using “the most powerful statistical tools” to deliver results for Grinnell.

The only budget was for the SRC’s trip to Ames for workshops and events on gender identity and social justice as part of the MBLGTAC Conference. The ridiculously long acronym had a ridiculously approvable budget—it was passed unanimously. Senator Sam Mulopulos ’14 withdrew his sponsorship of a resolution against Bob’s Underground after declaring that Bob’s had actually stayed in the black this semester, defying years of debt.

VPSA Chris Dorman ’12, who was celebrating his birthday by wearing a snappy pink dress shirt with a neon pink cowboy hat, reported that the dining hall will create a better “sauce station,” thanks to buffalo sauce fans Holden Bale ’12 and Eric Mistry ’14. Dorman also added that the Grille will begin selling eggs to students, so that bakers do not need to make the trek to McNally’s.

To conclude the meeting, Presiding Officer Aldrich was forced to leave the room for the vote on his confirmation for next semester. His presence was the only thing restraining the beast that is Joint Board. Immediately, Mulopulos bolted under the table (for reasons that are still unknown to this reporter) and Senator Joe Engleman ’14 “moved for a state of anarchy.” Schechter, who had assumed Aldrich’s responsibilities, stated that the chair would only entertain “comments or questions made in a suggestive tone.” Somehow, Aldrich was eventually confirmed in a vote of 15-2-2, and the meeting was adjourned.

Gabfest grabs Grinnell’s attention

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, Grinnell College was hosted a live taping of the Slate Magazine’s “Political Gabfest” podcast, featuring Slate editor David Plotz, CBS Political director John Dickerson and Slate senior editor Emily Bazelon.

From left: Emily Baselon, David Plotz and John Dickerson enjoy a Millstream while discussing politics at the Harris Center on Wednesday. Photograph by Roni Finkelstein.

Students, faculty, staff and visitors filled the Harris Center, with some travelers from as far as California and Alaska to hear the show. Executive Producer Andy Bowers introduced the members of the podcast by telling a bit about the foundation of the Political Gabfest podcast in 2005.

“In the beginning, it was me just reading news articles, which got rather dull,” Bowers explained. But he wanted to get away from the conventional talk show after realizing that “political talk shows are too constrained.” With this in mind, Bowers tried to simply recreate the conversations that he heard all around him, in the office and the bars after work.

“At Slate,” he continued, “you can hear really honest arguments in the hallways, whether on or off air.”

The three main topics of the discussion, held in the Harris Cinema Center included the approaching caucuses in Iowa, recent speeches by President Obama and a peculiar Supreme Court case involving former vice-president Cheney, a Secret Service arrest and a shopping mall.

“Newt, Newt, Newt” was a centerpiece of discussion in regards to the caucus campaigns, with his recent popularity rising far above the other key players fighting for the Republican nomination. The trio however, couldn’t see the appeal, with Plotz remarking that Newt has “written more books than he has had wives.” Dickerson also remarked, “if there is one consistent thing, it is that people do not like Romney.” But , they concluded, there is still a lot of campaigning left to be done, something that may benefit more moderate candiates like Romney.

Discussion then moved onto Obama, asking if there is anything that he can do to regain the widespread popularity he held with the youth during the ’08 election. Bazelon didn’t seem to think so, equating Obama’s popularity to a high-school crush.

“You can only have that first love once,” Bazelon said. However, she still stated that during a recent address of Obama’s, “I felt myself wanting to believe in it again.” The main conversation finished with the case currently under consideration by the Supreme Court of a Colorado man suing several members of the Secret Service, claiming that his 2006 arrest following an interchange with then Vice President Dick Cheney violated his constitutional right to freedom of speech. Bazelon, the legal expert of the group, took the reins of the discussion, with Dickerson chiming in with his age-old wisdom, “Don’t touch the Cheney.” While the question of who will win is yet to be the decided, perhaps the most interesting component was the discussion of whether the secret service deserves absolute immunity. Absolute immunity is the inability for an individual to be sued for their actions related to their position, a status conferred on the president, amongst others. The Gabfest concluded with a portion referred to as “Cocktail Chatter,” in which each member of the discussion brought up a topic to share from popular culture, beginning with an embarrassing email dealing with a romantic relationship gone awkwardly wrong that unfortunately found its way onto the gossip site, Gawker.com, which was introduced by Baselon. The panelists got the audience involved during this part of convesation first asking whether who prefers to turn down a second date by actually giving an response or by simply ignoring the unfortunate situation and sending no response. The audience was divided on the question, but was in unanimous agreemt on the second question, on whether it is better to recieve the rejection or recieve no news. Everyone, it seemed, preferred to recieve the rejection rather than be left in the dark, a fact the panelist noted as “eerie” in its universality.

After a brief discussion on the educational argument in favor of in-class doodling brought up by Dickerson, Plotz finished with an analysis of the symbolic significance of 19th century facial hair trends and college facial hair, which was partially prompted by an audience member dressed as Abraham Lincoln and the various hairstyles he encountered during his visit to campus.

The discussions elicited a lively response from the audience, who cheered, laughed, booed (a little bit) and lined up at the end of the discussion to pose questions to the panelists. Spectators especially responded to the candid, casual style of the conversation. “They are very engaging with the audience, and it was cool to be in on the taping,” said Kathy Andersen ’13. “I really like the attitude they have of being able to talk freely about their views.”

As part of their visit to campus, Slate staff members participated in several other events around campus, beginning Tuesday with a career talk led by Erin Nichols ’02, a Software Engineer for Slate and the magazine’s most direct connection to campus. At noon on Wednesday, Plotz and Bowers participated in a fairly informal conversation about careers in journalism, covering topics ranging from the increasingly multi-media nature of the field to the difficulties of making a living as a free-lance writer. Despite the intense competition for a small number of well- paying positions and the sometimes grueling nature of the work, Plotz stressed the benefits of a career as a journalist.

“It’s a hard profession,” Plotz said. “But of course there’s a huge upside, which is that you work with interesting people, you do interesting things, and you can write about … things that you think matter.”

Plotz, Bazelon and Dickerson also led a pre-Gabfest discussion with a group of students from Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, Minn., who drove five and a half hours to see the event, as part of their AP Government class.

“They have been listening to the Gabfest since the semester started in August,” said Ann Carroll, the class’ teacher. “So, when we found out they were coming to Grinnell we emailed and [Director of the Rosenfield Program] Sarah Purcell … was gracious enough to have us come down.”

If you missed the live taping, Wednesday’s podcast will soon be available at Slate’s website, www.slate.com.

Car Theft Most Recent in Spree

The car theft from a campus parking lot on Tuesday, Dec. 6 prompted Campus Safety & Security to send an email to students asking them to help identify the suspects’ pictures. The email, sent on Wednesday, Dec. 7, also included a reminder to lock doors and report any suspicious activity.

“We’re working with the Grinnell Police Department to solve this and a lot of the other cases,” said Director of Campus Safety & Security Stephen Briscoe. “A lot of thefts have been occurring. I haven’t crunched the numbers yet, but it seems like it’s going to be a record year.” Willa Akey ’15 of Loose 1st and her roommate had a wallet and camera stolen from their room on Thanksgiving Day. She said that they left the door unlocked for only a couple of hours. “[That the thefts happened] was disappointing,” Akey said. “It’s frustrating that people would so something like this.”

Matt Lewis ’14 of Read 1st and his roommates were also victims of theft over the break. “We left for break and thought we had locked the door,” Lewis said. “But we ended up not actually locking it. The door was open when we got back, and the TV and Wii had been knocked to on the ground. The thief took about 20 bucks.”

Security believes that many thefts from the semester have gone unreported. Lewis’ roommate Quinn Underriner ’14 believes that students should not be afraid to report any theft. “We’ve been spreading awareness about the thefts and trying to make sure that people know what’s been going on,” Underriner said. “It’s important to make sure that everyone feels safe coming forward about things that have been stolen from them—even if those things are potentially incriminating, you can still communicate.”

Michael Cermak ’14 who knows Lewis and Underrinner as well as another student who was robbed on Halloween night, can’t believe how often the break-ins seem to happen. “It shocked me, cause I would never expect that,” he said. “Especially since it wasn’t just that [Lewis and Underinner] were robbed, but from what I know the people who robbed them just trashed their room. That’s even more surprising to me.”

But Cermak has taken some precautions to keep himself protected.

“I’m more worried, I don’t leave my computer in visible space when you open the door anymore.”

Campus Security stresses the importance of community awareness to combat the thefts. “Grinnell has always been an open community, but we have to realize that we are not all that separate from the overall society, and that crime is associated with society,” Briscoe said. “Students should lock their valuables, and if anyone has any information they should either call or email me.” additional reporting by Michael Schoelz

Mid-Semester grads transition into uncertain future

Twenty-four seniors walked in the mid-year commencement ceremony last tuesday, which officially concludes their undergraduate education. These seniors, surrounded by family and friends, received the sheets of paper which represents four years of all-nighters, friendships made, hundreds of hours of intellectual maturation and the official recognition by Grinnell College that these seniors can rightly and forever display the ‘Grinnell Alum’ window sticker in their cars. There to congratulate them and offer advice were President Raynard Kington, M.D, Ph.D., Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Paula Smith and Assistant Professor Kelly Maynard, History.

President Raynard Kington joins Mona Ghadiri '11 nd Katie Suchor '11 Photograph by Avery Rowlison.

“You cannot step twice into the same river,” said Paula Smith, quoting the philosopher Heraclitus. “I think Grinnell College has a core value and identity as an institution, but it is also an ever-changing place. I believe that the Grinnell that you stepped into is very different from the Grinnell that you step out of.”

Smith mentioned the updates of the new buildings, the diversification of academics and the replacement of faculty members.

“There was President Russell Osgood when you stepped in, and President Raynard Kington when you step out,” Smith said.

Smith also pointed out that the strategic plan is at its halfway point, and the College is finding the new direction.

“You want to stay connected and see where Grinnell is going to flow from here. The Grinnell that you attended now is becoming one of the chapters. We are going to be watching you as well, and stay connected with you. Grinnell College is going to take pride in everything you accomplish now, as an alum,” Smith said.

Kelly Maynard, as the commencement speaker, compared the tumultuous times in which the students of the French Revolution and the graduating Grinnellians find themselves. “You are also special people, in a sense that you are graduating at this moment of tremendous flux,” Maynard said during the ceremony. “As a global community, we face on the economic instability, environmental crisis, dire food shortages, outrageous wealth disparity and inequalities based on gender, race, identity and sexuality. But you know much as well as I do that Grinnell trains students to be responsible citizens in the world.” President Raynard Kington made a short speech about his views on a liberal arts education and his confidence in the graduating students.

“Our foundational strategy is to provide superb liberal arts education, and prepare students to make a difference in the real world,” he said.

Then he quoted an alum’s comment on strategic planning: “the opportunity to think deeply about important things and to debate with friends and teachers who have thought just as deeply, and reached differing conclusions, embodies the beauty, the importance, and the uniqueness of a liberal arts education.”

The students, on the other hand, are going to face the opportunities and challenges of the real world. Laura Garcia ’11.5, a philosophy major who is graduating this semester, is thinking of both jobs and graduate school.

“I’m applying to graduate schools next year, so I’m looking for jobs in between this period, and hopefully I’ll get one,” she said.

Lily Cross ’11.5, who is also graduating in the fall semester, is looking for a job. “I do want to go back to school to get my master’s in GWSS or sociology, but I just don’t feel like doing it right now,” Cross said.

Although ready to face the tough challenges of “real world,” Cross also expressed her love and gratefulness for Grinnell College.

“There’s so much respect among students in Grinnell, and we are given a lot of responsibility,” she said. “Other institutions that I’ve gone to are kind of like a continuation of high school, but in Grinnell, we are really learning critical thinking skills. This is a wonderful place.”

The state of Middle Eastern Studies at Grinnell

The Middle East has captured international attention due to the United States’ current involvement and the revolutionary events occurring there. Currently, Grinnell offers some Arabic language instruction and several courses specifically about the Middle East. A Middle Eastern Studies Concentration could be a next step for this topic that has come to demand the attention of students and faculty alike.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CRIBS: Broad Street officially declared a Danger Zone

The tenants of 1120 Broad Street live dangerously. The old white house behind the John Chrystal Center is a vermin burying ground, underground brewery, and freshman dance den all at once. Living in this house of horror are Scott Hoag, Jon Davis, Noah Fribley, Alexis Leuszler, and Frances Bothfeld, all ’12.

Danger Zone. Photograph by Avery Rowlison.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Day in the Life: Leonya Ivanov, Online Media and Web Coordinator Photograph by Joanna Silverman.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Newly-organized Grinnellians for Global Health raise money for malaria

This holiday season, students in Professor Eric Carter’s tutorial are giving Grinnellians the opportunity to purchase two gifts in one: candy grams for friends and bed nets for victims of malaria in Africa.

“Every year, one million people in Africa die from malaria, and most of them are women and children,” said Aarti Kolluri ’15. “In Africa, it’s a normalized illness. It’s like the flu, but they do not realize that it’s preventable.”

“The malaria parasite gets into the blood stream, takes over the blood cells, and then the blood cells burst,” said Jessica Gallegos ’15. “But with the right supplies, it can be very easy to stop that parasite and treat the illness.”

Grinnellians for Global Health, a newly formed group led by Gallegos and Kolluri, is sponsoring the charity to raise funds to fight diseases in the third world. Both first years are students in Professor Eric Carter’s tutorial on malaria, which inspired Gallegos to do research on charities focused on the disease. After some organizational work by Gallegos and Kolluri, their tutorial started to put their knowledge into action beyond the classroom.

“We all care deeply about malaria,” said Emily Mesev ’15. “In tutorial, we looked at malaria’s scientific, social [and] economic aspects, and we learned about how much of a toll it takes on people’s lives in Africa. A lot of people in the developed world don’t think it’s a big deal, because it’s been eradicated from America and Europe.”

Gallegos and Kolluri say that Grinnellians for Global Health raised close to $500, which will be donated to the Lutheran Malaria Initiative. “Through donations, they get treatment, bed nets, supplies, and education to people in Africa. Through that organization, ten dollars can buy a bed net,” said Gallegos.

“There’s an initiative among all of the programs that are trying to eradicate malaria or lessen its burden, and their goal is to have a major difference by 2015. Our goal, because we graduate in 2015, is to contribute to that effort,” said Kolluri.

Although candy grams are typically associated with Valentine’s Day, their table in the JRC—manned by members of the tutorial—has collected large numbers of donations and usernames for their group email list. The Grinnellians for Global Health hope to make the candy gram fundraiser an annual event.

“It’s more seasonal,” Kolluri said. “It’s in the spirit of giving to your friends during the stress of finals week.”

Next semester, Gallegos and Kolluri hope to expand the group’s focus to tackle other challenging diseases in the third world.

“We want to work with an organization in Boston to hand out more information and do more fundraisers for diseases that affect people globally,” said Kolluri.

“I don’t feel like there’s another club on campus that is going to look at all of these different diseases around the world,” said Hayley Hajic ’15. “With a larger membership, I think it has the potential to make a major impact.” Devour extravagant dessert

With Hell Week successfully vanquished and just a few finals standing between Grinnell students and the winter holidays, a celebration is needed. This coming Tuesday, the Dining Hall will host its annual Dessert Extravaganza during dinner as part of its “Foods of the World” series of special events.

Terry Anderson, Pastry Chef, prepares a decoration for the Dining Hall's Dessert Extravaganza. Photograph by Eric Mistry.

Each year, the Dining Services staff creates a collection of delectable desserts for the students to enjoy. The event is a great way for the staff to show the students how much they care, according to Dick Williams, Director of Dining Services.

“The staff really gets satisfaction by seeing how happy the students are to see [the huge collection of desserts],” Williams said.

Indeed, the dessert selection will be vast. Staff members were invited to contribute ideas to the extravaganza.

“If there was a particular item the staff member wanted to make, like a family recipe, then they make that,” Williams said. The list of desserts includes Norwegian lefse, gingerbread people, Oreo truffles, pretzel rods, peanut brittle, orange cranberry cupcakes, baklava, biscotti, diabetic candy, fudge, toffee and more. Williams himself plans to target the chocolate items.

“I’m a chocoholic,” he declared.

So, this Tuesday evening, come into the Dining Hall and devour some desserts. Don’t forget to thank the staff for their gift of great, homemade food. Also, don’t worry about eating too many desserts.

“We hold this event on a Tuesday, and the nutritionist is here Monday and Wednesday, so we’re good!” Williams joked.