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SGA releases statement of student values By Avery Rowlison Following up on a Joint Board resolution, SGA recently drafted a Student Statement of Values for Grinnell. Throughout the year, an SGA committee met weekly to write the Statement of Values. They began by brainstorming values that they thought were important to students on campus. “We found that they fell into three broad categories … community, communication and diversity,” said SGA President Ben Offenberg ’11, who led the committee. From there, the committee carefully expanded each idea into writing. “We didn’t rush it,” Offenberg said. “I was very cautious … because I wanted us to have time and really adjust what we wanted to get at.” Though the document has been mostly well received, some students, such as Tom Elliott ’11, don’t think it is necessary or fair. “By creating a document that says that these are the values of Grinnell is basically excluding any other values,” Elliott said. “I also don’t see that this is something that students really want.” Supporters of the Statement of Values disagree, such as committee member Camila Barrios Camacho ’12. “I think this is something that we’ve needed for a while and is something that many of our peer institutions have implemented already,” she said referring to the student statement of values at St. Olaf College, University of Colorado at Boulder and Lewis and Clark College. Opponents contend that the statement is limiting and oppressive because it attempts to define the values of each student on campus without everyone’s input. However, the committee in charge of creating the document is very diverse and represents a wide variety of student interests in campus, according to Offenberg. “First and foremost, this statement was written for students by students,” Offenberg said. “There will be a chance for everyone to have a say in this.” The document acknowledges that students come from different backgrounds and come to Grinnell with different ideals. The statement includes phrases such as, “Though we are imperfect, we strive for the ideal community,” and, “We recognize everyone comes from unique experiences.” “The Statement that we have now is really positive in that it allows for a lot of growth,” Barrios Camacho said, “And the fact that it will be reevaluated every other year makes it a flexible and malleable document.” SGA representatives from the committee as well as Offenberg, have met with student committees around campus, including Student Staff, Multicultural Leadership Council, Joint Board and the Residence Life Committee, for feedback on the document. “We’ve has a lot of great suggestions for how to institutionalize the document,” Barrios Camacho said. The suggestions included trying to integrate the Statement into the tutorial curriculum or having students sign it. The committee is looking into the suggestions to determine the positives and negatives of each. “My first priority is to make sure that the document is something students want,” Offenberg said. Offenberg will send out an all-campus email that will call for feedback from the general student population. There will also be an open forum on Sunday, Feb. 20 at 7p.m. in JRC 209 for anyone who has questions or suggestions for the student committee and Offenberg. If the feedback continues to be positive, students will vote on the Statement of Values as a student initiative next week. Email [sgaprez] for more information. Kington promotes green Grinnell By Kevin Hong President Kington went green on Wednesday at two town hall meetings to discuss environmental issues. Kington, along with Environmental & Safety Coordinato Chris Bair and other staff members, announced plans to create a new Environmental Steering Committee to organize environmental groups on campus and talked about the College’s environment and sustainability issues. Photo taken by Abraham Kohrman Kington called the meetings because last semester, several students and faculty came to the president’s open hours and brought up several environmental issues on campus. “It was clear that there had not been an opportunity for the campus to hear a comprehensive view of what we’ve been doing in the broad area of sustainability, climate, and environment,” he said. The College has committed to a series of environmental and sustainability related activities and, according to Kington, the Grinnell community should be informed about their progress. “A lot of people want to know more, and there is more to know,” Kington said. The wind turbine project, started in 1996, was the most discussed issue at the meetings. The venture would eliminate the campus’ dependency on non-renewable energy sources by building wind turbines to power campus. The current plan is to build a 10 to 11 million dollar wind farm northeast of campus that would generate 80 percent of the campus’s electric consumption, cutting the college’s carbon emission in half, according to administrators. “We are proceeding with developing the wind turbine project, and there are a number of complicated issues to be discussed,” Kington said. “In general, things are looking good. We are able to do this, but it may take time.” Some students pressured the administration to start building the wind turbine project begins soon. It was first proposed 15 years ago. According to Kington, efforts are delayed as the administration raises funds and gets permission to run energy cables through private property. “I think it’s a good idea to have more renewable energy so that we don’t need to use the energy from the companies,” said David Brown ’14, an active environmentalist on campus. “I hope it will happen soon, and I heard that many other colleges already have them, so I think it’s’ a good idea to follow.” For Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions, there has been a request that Kington sign the President’s Climate Commitment, which necessitates an emissions inventory within one year of signing, an implementation plan and schedule within two years of signing, and several other immediate actions. Kington said he is concerned about restricting Grinnell’s ability to fund off-campus travel, which is environmentally costly as Grinnellians must travel by car and plane to reach most places. During the meeting, Bair brought up several complaints that there has been a lack of strong coordinating among various groups on campus, such as Eco House, Eco-campus, Free the Planet, and others. “We are trying to come up with a way for them to be more coordinated and one of them is to form a ‘Sustainability Steering Committee,’” Bair said. Savannah Duby ’13, current leader of Free the Planet, believes that more cohesion among student groups is key. “Basically everything we do depends on what sort of motivation or interest there is in the student group that we have,” Duby said. “Different groups have their own jobs, and it is important for us to be better coordinated.” Kington agreed but placed the responsibility of community organizing on the student leaders. “It’s really about community. Our community collectively deciding to be more thoughtful. That allows us to achieve our missions, and signals that we are being good citizens, with regard to stewardship of the environment,” Kington added. The College will establish a web site for regular updates about the wind turbine project, and the environmental groups current activities, and other environmental information about the campus. “I think having a website and having the Sustainability Committee could make sure that all the groups are on the same page about strategies and decisions,” Kington said. “There are lots of things we could do, we just have to think how we can do it, and try to find the incentive and tools to do it.” Dog days are over in JRC fair By Christopher Squier On Tuesday evening, students tossed pancakes and wore beer goggles that simulated various levels of inebriation. This wasn’t a simulation of hell week, but rather the annual Wellness Fair, designed to lift students’ spirits during the typically gloomy Iowa February. Shitanshu Aggarwal ’11 plays with Karen McRitchie’s therapy dog at the Wellness Fair in the JRC on Tuesday – Radka Slamova Grinnell College Wellness Coordinator Jen Jacobsen ’95 has helped organize the Wellness Fair for the past three years. She wanted it be held in February since it usually is the hardest month for students. “We choose it to be in February, because sometimes February is the middle of that long haul, between winter break and spring break,” she said. “The weather last week proved it can be sometimes a dismal month.” With over 35 tables of Grinnell community and student groups this year, Jacobsen is proud to see the Fair’s growth. “What I’ve been really excited about is every year we’ve grown by a couple of tables, and every year we’ve gotten a few more student groups to participate,” she said. New displays included Central Iowa Family Planning, the libraries and the new Hall Wellness Coordinators. “Grinnell Regional Medical Center really does a lot with us in rounding up resources from the hospital,” Jacobsen said. “But then, campus offices and, really importantly, student groups also do a lot for us.” Cory Jackson of Grinnell Regional Medical Center was tabling for the chair massages and handing out essential oils. “Essential oils are just different scents that are good for different conditions,” she said. They had four scents—lavender, ginger, peppermint and tea tree—that aid various problems, from anxiety to muscle aches and pains, to stress and sore throats. “We put a little on a cotton ball and tape it to [a student’s] shirt, and it stays good for a couple days,” Jackson said.

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