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Digital Kenyon: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Exchange The Kenyon Collegian College Archives 3-30-2017 Kenyon Collegian - March 30, 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.kenyon.edu/collegian Recommended Citation "Kenyon Collegian - March 30, 2017" (2017). The Kenyon Collegian. 2430. https://digital.kenyon.edu/collegian/2430 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the College Archives at Digital Kenyon: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Kenyon Collegian by an authorized administrator of Digital Kenyon: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ESTABLISHED 1856 March 30, 2017 Vol. CXLIV, No. 20 GRANT MINER and will instead make use of profes- FEATURES EDITOR sors already at Kenyon to teach in the interdisciplinary department, some- After more than 20 years as a thing he attributes to the interdisci- concentration, environmental stud- plinary nature of the field. ies will finally become a major. The “Environmental Studies as an in- major will be available to students terdisciplinary field has been firmly by the end of this semester and is co- established beyond Kenyon for some, directed by Visiting Professor of Eco- so I think it’s the appropriate time, if nomics and Environmental Science not overdue, for an Environmental Robert Alexander and Professor of studies major,” Decatur said. “When Biology and Environmental Science we think about the broader challenges Siobhan Fennessy. facing us in the world beyond Gam- The newly expanded environ- bier, environmental issues are very mental studies major will require high on the list.” 8.25-8.75 credits, making it one of Fennessy added that an impor- the most credit-heavy majors at Ken- tant part of the new major was the yon, and will come with a suite of new recently supportive administration. environmental studies classes, such She indicated that she sensed that the as a solar energy course, an environ- administration believed environmen- mental systems course and a meth- tal studies worked best as a concen- ods course that will give students the tration paired with another major, as ENVS grows into major statistical skills they need for their they were afraid an environmental course of study. The administration studies major would cause students JACK ZELLWEGER will not be hiring any new professors, to only attain a shallow understand- Philip & Sheila Jordan Professor in Environmental Studies Siobhan Fennessy fought for the major. according to President Sean Decatur, ing of the many subjects page 2 Trump rolls back College amps up emergency preparedness efforts BILL GARDNER events, power outages and potential active can improve emergency preparedness. NEWS EDITOR threat scenarios. This year, the College established that the Title IX guidelines The training sessions, known as “RUN. basement of Eaton Center would operate as Beginning in February, Knox County HIDE. FIGHT.,” were hosted by Mark the command center for emergencies on cam- EMILY BIRNBAUM | NEWS EDITOR Emergency Management (KCEM) and the Maxwell, a KCEM employee, and KCSO pus, so the College could manage communi- The Trump administration is making it more Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KSCO), in co- Captain Jay Sheffer. The sessions began cations during a potentially dangerous situa- difficult for the federal government to address and ordination with the College, hosted manda- with a video produced by the office of the tion. Kenyon has also coordinated emergency resolve complaints about transgender discrimina- tory active threat training sessions for faculty mayor of Houston, Texas, which focused on exit plans for the buildings on campus with tion filed by students on Kenyon’s campus. and staff members at Kenyon for the first time. what steps to take during an active threat the Village of Gambier and the Gambier Fire On Feb. 22, 2017, President Donald Trump re- And for some faculty and staff members, these situation and how to ensure the safety of Department. voked a set of 2016 Department of Education (DoE) sessions were a shocking reminder of how vulnerable students. Kenyon students may already be notic- guidelines that outlined how schools could create a quickly a normal day can turn tragic. Provost Joseph Klesner said the main ing the increased attention to emergency non-discriminatory environment for transgender “They showed this movie where this man goal of active threat training was to prepare preparedness. Last Tuesday, Ascension Hall students. They rescinded the guidelines because approached and gunned people down at point the faculty for any theoretical situation, had a fire drill — the first one in an academic they did not “contain extensive legal analysis … blank range,” Marcella Hackbardt, profes- even if it is unlikely to occur. He said about building in four years. Although the College nor did they undergo any formal process.” sor of art, said. “And again, we knew ahead of 60 percent of the faculty attended the four has plans for emergencies, the administration The 2016 guidelines, laid out by the Obama ad- time … he prefaced it, but to see it like that. It’s training sessions. Many faculty members often has trouble finding time for drills across ministration in a “Dear Colleague Letter” (DCL), like, ‘Oh my goodness!’” could not make the session due to schedul- campus. stated that prohibiting transgender students from The active threat training sessions are just ing conflicts, according to Klesner. “While we have a substantial Kenyon using restrooms that align with their gender iden- one aspect of a wider push by the College for Maxwell said Kenyon is part of a group Emergency Management plan, we haven’t tity violates Title IX, a federal law that prohibits greater preparedness during potential emer- of schools and organizations in Knox Coun- really done simulations very often,” Klesner sex-based discrimination. It also advised schools gencies. Last year, the College formed the ty, including Mount Vernon City Schools, said. “Obviously, they take time, they’re dis- on how to respect trans students’ pronouns, pro- Kenyon Emergency Planning Team (KEPT), Knox County Career Center, Mount Ver- ruptive, but we’re committed to doing more tect their identities and address allegations of ha- which includes a number of faculty and staff non Nazarene University and local law en- … so should anything, god forbid, should rassment on campus. members who meet bi-weekly to discuss how forcement, that have started participating in happen, we can be prepared.” This decision has complicated transgender Ke- Kenyon can improve its readiness for poten- a monthly working group that meets with On April 6 and 8 next week, Campus Safe- nyon students’ ability to rely on the federal govern- tial emergency situations — such as weather KCEM and the KCSO to discuss how they ty will give a presentation to the page 4 ment to protect them, according to Kenyon Civil Rights/Title IX Coordinator Samantha Hughes. If someone files a complaint with the federal Of- fice of Civil Rights (OCR) stating that Kenyon is not fulfilling its Title IX-sanctioned obligation to transgender students, it is now unclear how the OCR will respond, Hughes said. “Now that [the DCL is] off the table, it makes it a bit harder for [Kenyon’s OCR] to know what the DoE will say we failed to do,” Hughes said. The DoE has not offered any new guidance. Ez Raider-Roth ’19, a nonbinary student who is managing Unity House next year, is “disappointed and a little scared” about the revoking of the DCL. “The rollback accompanied a week in which four trans women of color were murdered, which JACK ZELLWEGER was a pretty clear cause and effect, I think,” Raider- Going somewhere? The Collegian profiles two local taxi drivers and explores the Roth said. page 4 connections they make with Kenyon students. page 6 Follow us on social media: @kenyoncollegian | Send ideas and tips to [email protected] | kenyoncollegian.com 2 Thursday, March 30 | kenyoncollegian.com PAID ADVERTISEMENT VILLAGE RECORD March 4 - March 27 March 4, 12:00 p.m. — Alcohol found in underage residence near North Campus. Disposed of. March 4, 12:00 p.m. — Alcohol found in underage residence near North Campus. Disposed of. March 4, 1:30 p.m. — Alcohol found in underage residence near South Campus. Disposed of. March 4, 3:00 p.m. — Drug/Paraphernalia found in residence near North Campus. March 4, 3:00 p.m. — Alcohol found in underage residence near North Campus. Disposed of. March 4, 3:30 p.m. — Alcohol found in underage residence near North Campus. Disposed of. March 14, 2:08 a.m. — Underage student(s) found to be intoxicated near North Campus. Stu- dents admitted to drinking. March 14, 4:14 a.m. — Underage student(s) found to be intoxicated. Students admitted to drinking. March 25, 9:24 p.m. — Unauthorized removal of traffic sign near South Campus. Knox County Sheriff’s Office involvement. March 27, 10:19 p.m. —Drug/paraphernalia confiscated near South Campus. Student admit- tance of use. Items tested positive for marijuana. CORRECTIONS The March 2 article “Local politics event touches on health, education” erroneously refer- enced Mount Vernon’s low wastewater treatment. Mount Vernon has low wastewater treatment tax rates. The article noted a body camera program for the Knox County Sheriff’s Office; the body cams are specifically for the sheriffs the Village of Gambier contracts. The article also quoted former Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis as saying “we’re going strong,” instead of “we’re growing strong.” The Collegian regrets these errors. ENVS studies a new option Continued from Page 1 in involved in the environmental studies depart- ment and on-campus environmental initiatives related to the concentration, like economics, bi- since her first year.