GRCC Interim President Mulder stays busy, keeping the daily operations of the presidents office running smoothly. (Photo by Lonnie Allen/Collegiate)

Thefts reported weekly at GRCC
By Ryan Lenau
Collegiate Staff Writer

The day was finally over. All Alex Kuieck had to do was board the bus for the long trip home. In his hand he carried his brand new laptop. Across his back, his backpack was full of books and assignments that he knew would take him all night to complete.

Upon exiting the bus, he came to a shocking realization. He had forgotten his laptop on the bus. He tracked it down only minutes later, but his laptop was gone.

“I had only left it alone for ten minutes,” said Kuieck, a GRCC student. “I guess I got distracted.” This story is not an isolated incident.

“We probably get about three reports a week,” said Mercedes Barnum GRCC police dispatcher. “Books, bookbags, and laptops are often taken because the majority of these things are left unattended.”

Many textbooks have been stolen, according to police reports. As of this publication the GRCC bookstore has yet to comment on the thefts.

“We have had a lot of portable projectors stolen over the summer,” Tim Zerfas, GRCC media tech, said. “They also ripped down the ceiling projectors in the main building.”

“When you steal from the college you raise the price of tuition because the cost of the item has to be covered,” Zerfas said. “They could just get a job.”

“Do not leave your belongings unattended,” Barnum said. “If you’re leaving class to use the restroom take your bag with you and if your working out in the Ford Fieldhouse, make sure you lock up your belongings.”

(Top/Index)

Davenport Campus is eyed by GRCC
By Lonnie Allen
Editor-in-Chief

GRCC is considering purchasing the downtown Davenport University campus to help with the growth of its student population and existing programs.

Bob Partridge, the Executive Vice President for Business and Finance at GRCC, said that it would cost $35.1 million for the new Health Education Building on campus but he would not go into any details of how much it would cost to acquire Davenport’s downtown campus.

GRCC Board of Trustees Chairperson Gary Schenk said it all depends on the funding before any decision is announced.

“Personally I think acquiring the Davenport Campus makes great sense, and I would favor it, if we could get appropriate funding. Nothing has been decided,” Schenk said. “I will also say all options are on the table."

These options all depend on the State’s Capital Outlay Fund or federal stimulus funds, Partridge said. The State’s Capital Outlay Fund is money that is set aside by the state to constuct buildings.

“There has to be added public support because we cannot continue to grow the college on the backs of the students with unanticipated tuition increases,” Schenk said. According to several GRCC department heads who preferred that their names not be used, the college has been trying to get Federal Dollars for years to expand and build downtown.

“We are still in discussions,” Partridge said. “Davenport is just an option among others, such as building the new building on campus.”

(Top/Index)

Teaching on the anniversary of Darwin's birth
By Alycia Choroszucha
Collegiate Staff Writer

Gregory Forbes relates with Charles Darwin on many levels: his evolutionary theories, his education, and his receding hairline.

On the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, well-known evolution expert Gregory Forbes spoke to an audience of about 70 on his area of infamy on Feb. 11 at the Women’s City Club.

Forbes is a biological studies professor here at GRCC.

His teaching styles fill up those typically less-than-stimulating classes, such as anatomy and physiology, and his wit can get an audience laughing.

Besides being a professor, Forbes has gained much notoriety in the scientific community as a well-spoken, well-educated expert on the topic of evolution.

The point of his talk was not to inform you on what Charles Darwin thought or to refresh your memory of everything you learned in tenth grade biology.

His talk was meant to inform listeners on how evolution is not just a scientific theory, but instead a practical piece of everyday life.

Though he credits the necessity of Darwinian Theory in terms of ape to human evolution, he believes the practical implications of evolution are much more important.

Forbes believes all teachers in a scientific environment should be familiar with the theory of evolution and if they are not? “Run… Run like the wind,” he said.

His evolutionary theories extend much further than just human evolution, instead branching to current events, such as AIDS and cancer.

“Spring evolves into summer,” Forbes said, “evolution is a change over time.”

Citing cosmology, chemistry, astronomy, geology, meteorology, anthropology, sociology, oceanography and even economics as contemporary examples of evolution, Forbes makes sense of a complex and confusing concept.

When talking about religion and its evolution, he says, “I was raised Catholic. You couldn’t get divorced, you couldn’t get cremated. Now you can get divorced and cremated in the same day.”

Forbes did his graduate studies on sea turtles and their evolution practices on both a small and large scale.

His passion for such subjects came out clearly in his ties to evolution, especially when he began to make motions as though he were a sea turtle while explaining how they have evolved.

As if this imaginary motioning wasn’t enough of a giveaway in terms of Forbes’ sense of humor, perhaps his questioning of inbreeding in Tennessee will be a bit of a hint.

When talking about it, he merely asked the audience in a rather animated fashion, “What’s up with that?”

Forbes’ style of speaking is refreshing in that he does not lecture, but begs for audience participation, even from those back in the “cheap seats.”

If evolution confuses you or seems foreign, Forbes promises that you are not alone.

His mission in studying evolution was not to become a superior intellectual, but to learn about a topic that is by no means simple and break it down for those who do not understand.

Forbes is a truly unique speaker that GRCC is fortunate to have.

In an age where science and technology are becoming a necessary part of all jobs in all workplaces, his simplistic and logical ideas on evolution allow science to be interesting and fun, not just mandatory.

(Top/Index)

Scholar speaks at symposium
ByYirssi Bergman
Managing Editor

University of Kansas professor Dr. Randall Jelks visited GRCC as the third speaker of the 3rd annual Black History Month Symposium.

The topic of his speech was “Black History Month after Obama: Is America really post-racial?”

Jelks began the hour-long talk expressing his belief that Obama’s race is not a novelty. According to Jelks, the fact that he is bi-racial is not a foreign concept in this country.

“Obama is not the first person who has a black and a white parent,” Jelks said. “That has always been in America.”

He said many Americans have some sort of racial mixture in their blood, and pointed out that prominent historical figures, such as Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, were born to black mothers who were slaves, and white fathers who were overseers or slave holders.

“America has always been post racial,” Jelks said, “but not inclusive.”

“Laws shape culture, and the culture shapes the law,” he continued. “If your mom is a slave, you are a slave, doesn’t make a difference who your daddy is.”

Jelks explained that “these distinctions were created to eliminate the black vote,” and to control black people.

He pointed out that 52 percent of the population in Mississippi at that time was African American.

“If I have to control the population I have to figure out how to get them not to vote,” Jelks said.

Jelks spoke of the social hierarchy of the time, and how in Virginia white people were better off than black people, no matter what their social status was.

He then proceeded to explain the history of Black History Month.

“Black History Month began to remind children they are part of American history,” Jelks said. “It was an educated movement, to educate children that they had a role to play in this great democracy.”

He explained how historian Carter G. Woodson, and a group of black female schoolteachers pushed for years to begin a “Negro History Week,” which in time developed into Black History Month.

Jelks came back to Obama, saying, “I’m happy. It’s an opportunity for things to change around.” But he emphasized that it’s the rest of the population who can really make a change.

“Those activists made America be America. They took a stand for a world to open up to people,” he said, referring to Woodson and the schoolteachers. “If you don’t take the opportunity now to change this city you live in, you are wasting your time. Now is the time.”

Community member Nate Roosien was one of the attendants. He said he decided to come because he knew Jelks, but also because he was interested in the topic.

“We need to learn as much as we can about what our role is in society, to make a better society,” Roosien said. “We should be called to take action.”

GRCC student Shannon Williams said she attended the symposium because se was told by her sociology professor, Ken Taber, that Jelks might talk about the nonexistence of a black middle class in Grand Rapids.

Jelks did touch the subject when asked a question by Williams, but she said that what was empowering was to hear him talk about community organizing, since her family is a union family.

Jelks was born in New Orleans, but currently resides in Grand Rapids with his family. He commutes to the University of Kansas monthly where he is a professor.

He is the author of “African Americans in the Furniture City: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Grand Rapids,” among many other books, and is now working on a book tentatively titled “Benjamin Elijah Mays a Religious Rebel in the Jim Crow South: An Intellectual Biography” due out in 2010.

(Top/Index)

Police Reports for February 25, 2009
Compiled By Ryan Lenau
Collegiate Staff Writer

False Report
1/23/09
A female student reported being assaulted by an unknown man. Police investigated and discovered that the student was lying and had filed a false report.

Stolen Laptop
1/29/09
A Student reported his laptop stolen from the Student Center. No suspects.

Alarm
2/02/09
An alarm went off in the M-Tec Building. There is no apparent cause.

Medical Emergency
2/03/09
A student in the Cook Building fainted. The cause is unknown.

Panhandling
2/03/09
A man was found panhandling in the Bostwick Commons. Police told him he was trespassing and allowed him to leave.

Gambling on campus
2/04/09
Four students were found gambling in Winchester Alley. Police investigated and found that one of the men was not a student. He was told that he was trespassing and was asked to leave. The other students were given a verbal warning.

Hit-and-run
2/04/09
Hit-and-run reported in the Bostwick ramp.

Medical Emergency
2/05/09
A student was vomiting in the restroom of the cook building. The student said he felt dehydrated and asked to be seen by medical personnel. The student was taken to Spectrum Health.

Theft
2/05/09
Five school owned computers had the RAM chips removed from them. No suspects.

Theft
2/06/09
A student reported his belongings stolen from a locker in the Ford Field House. No suspects.

Hazerdous spill
2/07/09
Police were called to a mercury spill in the Learning Center. The spill was cleaned. No further action was needed.

Stolen Purse
2/09/09
A student reported her purse stolen from the learning center. No suspects.

Possible gas leak
2/10/09
Subway employees reported smelling gas in Winchester alley. The fire department was called, but no gas leak was detected.

Stolen Purse
2/11/09
A student reported her purse stolen from the ATC Building. No Suspects.

(Top/Index)

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