Op-Ed: We're missing the point of the Amber Heard Trial

Op-Ed: We’re                      missing the
point of the                      Amber Heard
Trial
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

For well over a week now, my social media feed has been packed
full of content on the ongoing Amber Heard and Johnny Depp
defamation trial. On one hand, this is exciting. Coverage of
this trial reinvigorates conversations on domestic abuse and
gender norms. But on the other hand, I can’t help but compare
the discourse in this case to situations where the gender
roles are reversed.

Before I even state my opinion, let me get one thing

ultimately clear: I detest Amber Heard and think her actions
towards Johnny Depp are deplorable in every sense of the word.
Do not mistake this article as a way to excuse her.

Abuse is an extremely nuanced topic, especially in the context
of a woman abusing a man. We are often willing to discredit
the experiences of men due to our preconceived ideas of
strength and relationship roles. When we expect men to be
unfailingly strong, we don’t realize that they can also face
abuse. That being said, women abusers are often faced with a
heightened level of backlash because we use their actions as a
way to generalize all survivors. Suddenly, she’s not just a
terrible person who has done terrible things, but a means of
discrediting an entire movement.

Amber Heard first accused Johnny Depp of abuse in 2018 in the
heart of the MeToo movement. As a result, Depp lost movie
roles and public favor. When it came to light that Heard’s
allegations not only false but she actually perpetrated the
abuse, public opinion quickly flipped.

Supporters of the MeToo movement were upset that Heard would
exploit the real experiences of other women to try to garner
public affection even when she was in the wrong. Those who did
not support the movement now had justification for their
disbelief. Amber Heard was suddenly proof that MeToo was a
lie.

What frankly sucks above all else is that quite literally
thousands of women can be vulnerable and brave and put so much
work and mental energy into exposing their abusers, only to be
discredited because of the few and far between false
accusations. Women are not a monolith and should not be
treated as such.

Trust me, as a woman who advocates for sexual assault
awareness — largely from personal experience — nothing makes
me more upset than when my work is discredited by another

person’s actions. Allowing that anger to compound on Heard is
not productive. Be upset at her for the proper reasons and be
upset with those who use her case as a means for generalizing
the experiences of all women.

Because domestic abuse cases in which a woman is the
perpetrator are used to reflect on the credibility of every
woman, the public backlash is often greater than that given to
men abusers. If every abuse case from a public figure who is a
man got the same level of media coverage as the Amber Heard
case, we would never stop seeing trials.

For example, eighty NFL players have been charged with
domestic abuse since 2000. How many of the eighty NFL players
can you name? How many of their victims can you name?

Now I know that this is not a direct comparison. Johnny Depp,
unlike many of those women, is a massive celebrity in his own
right. But even celebrity women are afforded lesser coverage,
character assassinations and continuous attempts to prove them
false rather than the truly heartwarming outpour of support
received by Depp.

Sandra Muller, the journalist who led the MeToo movement in
France, faced a level of backlash that shows how women often
come forward at the expense of the normalcy of their life as
they know it.

“It hasn’t been good for me, for my image, for my work.”
Muller says, “anytime abusers don’t get away with violating us
without consequences, it will be called ‘bias’ or ‘lack of due
process.’ Anytime we say what he did, making perpetrators look
like who and what they are, it will be called ‘defamatory.’”

Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski and Ashley Judd are a few
among many of the celebrities who acted as figureheads for the
MeToo movement and faced genuine detriment to their careers in
the wake of coming forward. They were harassed about why they
waited so long to speak, and every character flaw was

exploited as a reason why they might have ‘deserved it.’

I firmly believe that if any of these women were alcoholics
during the period of their abuse, as was Johnny Depp, they
would have been discredited for it. Women are simply not
afforded the same space to falter.

In short, if you will no longer watch Aquaman, but continue to
watch the NFL, Woody Allen movies, Mario Batali cooking shows,
David Blaine or David Copperfield magic shows, Jaws, or the
Backstreet Boys you are acting hypocritically.

If you only care about victims who are    men or pay more malice
towards women perpetrators, you need      to reevaluate why you
care about this issue. If you care more   about what Amber Heard
has done because you are angry that it    discredits the stories
of other women, you are missing the point.

Again, Amber Heard’s actions need to be condemned. At the same
time, we must hold all abusers to more uniform standards and
provide universal support to survivors.

SGA  submits   proposal   to
rework   relationship   with
College administration
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

The Student Government Association (SGA) cabinet sent an email
proposal to President Anne Harris on February 21 requesting a
new administrative supervisor. Associate Director of Student
Involvement Ashley Adams is their current administrative
supervisor. In the proposal, SGA requests that the College
assign Adams’ responsibilities to either Harris, Chief
Diversity Officer Schvalla Rivera or an administrator of SGA’s
choosing from within the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) or
the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Offices.

The proposal, which was sent to the S&B, also states    that DSA
and SGA would create mutually agreed- upon guidelines   for all-
campus emails and the inclusion of the SGA president    and vice
presidents in departmental meetings of the              College
administration.

SGA President Fernando Villatoro `22 said that he feels the
current dynamic has been detrimental to self-governance at
Grinnell College.

He said he feels “her [Adams’s] role has shifted from the role
of an advisor to a supervisor.”

As such, the first request of the document is to allow SGA to
change their administrative advisor to another administrator.
Villatoro said that the cabinet feels that Adams and the
administration in general have placed structural barriers that
prevent SGA from effectively and efficiently functioning.

Villatoro said that hiring is a major grievance, as he said he
feels both the College’s switch away from freelance work and
Adams’ involvement in the hiring process have hindered SGA’s
ability to function. He also cited the new budgeting
procedures as continuously causing delays.

“Another structure of the relationship is very much having
power over us rather than being there to productively help us
in our roles,” said Villatoro.

Adams declined an interview for this piece, saying she has no
comment at this time.

“The simplest way to put is that we’ve had to touch base with
Ashley [Adams] to do mostly anything,” he says, “and that’s
just not the way that SGA has operated in the past.”

The second request of the proposal addresses SGA’s ability to
email the entire student body. As of now, all-campus emails
must be approved by Adams before they can be sent.

In place of this system, the proposal suggests creating
mutually agreed-upon guidelines for these emails, but allowing
SGA to send them without explicit approval or oversight.

Villatoro said that the current email system has led to
censorship and that several of their emails have been blocked
by Adams.

“How are we supposed to effectively communicate with our
constituencies or the people we’re supposed to represent?” he
said.

The third request stems from what Villatoro said is a lack of
communication between SGA members and the members of
corresponding administrative departments. In response, they
would like to have a space in these departments’ meetings. The
document specifies three particular instances in which they
would like cabinet members to be able to attend their
administrative counterparts’ meetings.

The proposal asks that the SGA president be included in the
College’s senior staff meetings and communications, the SGA
vice president of student affairs be included into the
Division of Student Affairs meetings and communications and
the SGA vice president of academic affairs be included within
the college’s academic affairs meetings and communications.

In the three requests of this proposal, Villatoro said that
SGA is aiming to bolster their dedication to self-governance
and improve the efficiency of their organization.

“We want to basically perpetuate that idea the self-gov is
something that is worth holding on to,” said Villatoro.

The propositions are followed by an extensive appendix
covering previous SGA resolutions that emphasize autonomy of
student groups and appointment processes. There are also two
testimonials from current cabinet members.

The first of the testimonials comes from Concerts Chair Robby
Burchit `23, who listed lack of training and inconsistent
email response times as reasons he feels the current SGA
oversight is ineffective. The second comes from former
Assistant Treasurer McAfee Chandler `23 in the form of their
resignation letter, in which they cited the sheer amount of
work given to the treasurer position in addition to the
complicated budget approval process as reasons for their
ultimate resignation.

Villatoro said that after receiving the proposal, President
Harris responded to set up a meeting between her, members of
the SGA cabinet, Rivera, Vice President for Human Resources
Jana Grimes and Vice President for Academic Affairs Elaine
Marzluff for the week of April 11. SGA and the administration
will discuss the outlined requests in more detail at this
time.

Jewish Dance Workshop takes a
spin    through    diasporic
history
By Eleanor Corbin

corbinel@grinnell.edu

For Professor Amanda Lee, dance is a form of resistance. With
a research specialty in dance as a mode of performing
identity, she sees workshops as an opportunity to unify and
educate about the Jewish diaspora.

In her recent visit to Grinnell, she did just that, hosting a
Jewish Dance Workshop in the Bear’s dance studio on March 9.
Lee led a group of just over a dozen Grinnell students through

a combination   of   various   folk   and   contemporary   dance
exercises.

The workshop was characterized by high-energy group dances,
such as one in which participants rotated with one another in
a circle, performing a series of arm movements and footwork.

Lee started off slow, speeding up and adding additional
movements once the group began to get the hang of the dance.
Even so, she prioritized individual comfort, encouraging
students to alter dances as needed to fit their body.

“Modifications are just an opportunity for more interesting
movement,” said Lee.

Between dances, Lee sat with the students and encouraged them
to think about the nature and tone of the dances. Many of the
dances emphasize group work and celebration, which Lee uses as
a means of defying oppression.

She taught one dance in particular which she learned from her
grandmother, who belonged to a predominantly Jewish dance
group in New York in the 1930s. Participants broke off into
groups and used movement to, as Lee said, “reach that moment
of transcendence” and “release from oppression.”

Professor Lee taught at Grinnell as a visiting assistant
professor of French from 2019-2021 before moving to Boston
University, where she works now as a visiting assistant
professor of French and Performance Studies.

Lee was referred to Chaverim student leader Lila Podgainy `23
while visiting assistant professor of German Studies Viktoria
Pötzl, who she met while working at Grinnell. They quickly
worked to plan an event to provide a unique opportunity for
cultural education.

“Jewish students on this campus do things and have a culture
that’s beyond just religion,” says Podgainy, “and one that the

school doesn’t really recognize often.”

Beyond dance being a facet of most Jewish celebrations, it has
also served as a form of preserving cultural identity in times
of struggle. Lee cites the formation of leftist Jewish dance
groups, like that of her grandmother, which formed in the
1930s and 40s amid a rising wave of antisemitism.

“They [the dance groups] saw a broader mission of creating a
consciousness in their dancers who were also workers,” she
says.

Judaism is far from the only culture to use dance in this way.
Lee is currently studying a form of European contra dance and
ritualistic practice inspired by communities in Martinique
called bélé dance, commonly used as a form of protest and
preservation of African identity.

She cites Sonia Gollance, a German-Jewish studies scholar who
studies 18th and 19th century Yiddish dance, and Katherine
Dunham, who used dance as a means to further Black social
activism in 1930s America, as examples of protest through
dance that inspire Lee in her own work.

Across culture and history, Lee sees dance as “allowing them
[dancers and dance groups] to access their personal
experiences through embodiment … to then evoke their own
political power through embodiment.”

Her goal is that students come away from her workshops with a
new sense of how to use motion to inspire their daily lives.

“I hope that they experience a rush of ecstatic joy that I
experience when practicing folk dance.”

Confused                  about                 campus
COVID-19                policies?              We can
help.
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

As the S&B has encountered in our own coverage, the College’s
policies and numbers surrounding COVID-19 change constantly
and can be difficult to navigate on the Grinnell College
website. The S&B will update this page every Friday based on
changes in campus protocols and new numbers.

Below are Grinnell Colleges COVID protocols, updated as of
April 15:

Campus is currently at a modified blue activity level.

Current Numbers

Spring Semester Cases:

259 Students

27 Employees

Weekly Numbers (starting March 27):

March 27 – April 2: 3 cases

April 3 – April 9: 11 cases

April 10 – April 16: 36 cases

Masking Requirements

Masks are required while indoors in community spaces, with few
exceptions:

-While actively eating

-Faculty, staff, and students may unmask while alone in closed
spaces

-Students may unmask while in their residence hall room

Student, faculty, and staff are required to use N95, KN95, or
KF94 masks. Visitors may use other options. Masks for students
are available for students in the student affairs office on
the third floor of the Joe Rosenfield Center.

Vaccination Requirements

Students, faculty and staff are required to be fully
vaccinated and to have received the booster. Students should
put any relevant vaccine and testing information on their
Student Health and Wellness (SHAW) portal.

Those who are eligible may receive the fourth dose of the
vaccine, although it is not currently required.

Procedure for Testing

Students were tested twice upon arrival to campus. Any student
who had COVID within the past 90 days was exempt from testing
so long as they uploaded proof of a previous positive test to
their SHAW portal.

Students who feel mild symptoms can utilize SHAW’s walk-in
testing clinic, open Monday-Friday 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. Students
experiencing severe symptoms or have been in contact with
someone who tested positive should call SHAW (641-269-3230).
The college defines contact as “15 minutes or more
cumulatively in 24 hours at less than 6 feet while unmasked.”
Those who would like a PCR test may request a Test Iowa Kit.

Procedure for Positive Cases

Students who test positive will be isolated in college
residences for the CDC recommended five days. Due to volume of
cases, some have been isolated in their residence hall.
Students should take note of bathrooms that are designated for
use by COVID-positive residents only.

For   additional   information   and    resources,   consult   the
college’s official COVID-19 Dashboard.

Pioneers sweep Loras College
swim event
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

Grinnell’s women’s swim had their final dual swim meet of the
semester at Loras College, sweeping every event. This 193-71
victory on Saturday November 20th
is an exciting show of effort from the team.

This is the first away meet of the semester where divers were
also able to travel and compete. Nikki Schlegel ’22 dominated
her four events with a victory in the 100-yard freestyle, the
200-yard freestyle, the 100-yard butterfly, and the 200-medley
relay.

She says that the team put in great effort and was excited for

the chance to travel: “A lot of people got to swim events that
they don’t normally swim, so
they got to step up in different ways,” said Schlegel.

She explained that this past month of training has been
intense, so the team was happy that the extra work paid off
with such a strong win.

Sophia Carroll ’25, who contributed to the win with victories
in both the 200-yard butterfly and 220-yard breaststroke,
attributes the win to the cohesion of the team: “When the team
is working really well together and we get out and compete,
great things happen,” she said.

Carroll also cites the mock meet hosted by Grinnell as a
useful way for the team to
practice the conditions of a       meet   and   improve   their
competitive swimming skills.
“We were able to recreate the meet atmosphere and still get
out there and do really well,” she said.

Schlegel expressed hope that the success at Loras will
translate into the rest of the year: “The win is a good sign
that we are able to perform well, and we are training really
hard, it’s a great confidence booster,” said Schlegel.

One notable aspect of the success of this tournament is that
many of the titles were won by underclassmen. This year, the
majority of the team are second and first year students.
Olivia Klein ’24, Genevieve Martinez ’24, Maree Elliott ’24,
Aliya Swearngin ’25, Camryn Gonzales ’25, Kate Bartz ’25,
Valentina Ishchecnko ’25, and Dorothy Anna Russell ’24 are all
underclassmen who won titles in the Loras event.

Looking forward Schlegel and Carroll believe that the
performance by the underclassman shows an exciting future for
the swim team.

The team looks ahead now to the Pioneer Classic this weekend,
Friday December 3rd and Saturday December 4th. Grinnell
College will host Carleton College, Illinois College, Gustavus
Adolphus College, Knox College, Lawrence University, Monmouth
College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Principia College and
Simpson College and Washington University in St. Louis. The
first event kicks off at 5:30p.m.

Confused about new masking

rules? You                    asked.           We      got
answers.
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

Update: the masking policies listed in this article have been
temporarily halted in response to a rise of COVID-19 cases in
Poweshiek County and on the Grinnell College campus. Read
about the updated mask policies here.

On Thursday, Nov. 4, Grinnell College announced changes in on-
campus masking protocols. The new guidelines went into effect
Nov. 8, but students at the College still have questions about
when and where they should be wearing masks.

Grinnell’s administration decided to make these changes based
on recommendations from the University of Iowa. The College’s
99 percent student vaccination rate makes occasional unmasking
safe, said College President Anne Harris, and limits on the
size of unmasked groups will help facilitate any contract
tracing needs.

With the weather getting colder, the College has decided to
balance COVID-19 safety with the increasing need for indoor
spaces for students to eat and be unmasked.

The S&B polled students on    our Instagram for any questions
they have on what is and is   not allowed under new protocols.
Heather Cox, director of      emergency management and risk
mitigation for the College,   gave these responses to the most
commonly asked questions:

The S&B: Do students need to wear masks in hallways?

Heather Cox: Yes, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Although
interactions are brief, the number of people and mix of campus

community and visitors present at any given time can vary.
Masks are very effective at limiting the spread of not only
COVID-19 but also influenza and other respiratory illnesses,
which are currently on the rise in Iowa.

If a student is in a communal study space (e.g. the HSSC or
Burling), does a group of 15 mean who they are sitting with or
the entire space? What counts as a space (e.g. the isolated
study spots in the HSSC)?

Regardless of the space size or purpose, masks are required if
there are more than 15 people present. For example, because
there are likely to be more than 15 people in the HSSC atrium
at any one time, a mask should be worn in the HSSC atrium even
while seated.

Does the South Loggia count as indoors or outdoors?

Indoors.

Where are students allowed to eat on campus now?

Students may eat together in campus spaces including academic
buildings, except in classrooms, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.,
Monday through Friday. This would include small study spaces
in [the] HSSC, Noyce, etc. Masks should be worn when not
actively eating if there are more than 15 people.

In what situations can a student request that another wears a
mask?

In any situation, students, faculty and staff may ask others
around them to wear a mask. In line with the T.H.R.I.V.E.
principles, campus community members are encouraged to be
responsive to the needs of others and support such requests.

What qualifies as a mandatory event? Is a club meeting a
mandatory event? Are office hours mandatory events?

Mandatory events are those where participation affects grades

or employment. If you are unsure if the event is mandatory or
not, please check with the event organizer.          Meeting
leaders/organizers are encouraged to provide a virtual option
when possible. Anyone attending a meeting/event may wear a
mask.

If a student is in a room in an academic building in a group
of less than 15 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on a weekday, but
they are not there for a class, do they need to wear a mask?

Yes, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.

At what point will the College reevaluate protocols again?

The   Activity   Level   Review   group   and   campus   leadership
continually evaluate local and campus conditions, consult with
our advisors with the University of Iowa Hospitals and
Clinics, and meet weekly to assess any changes in protocols.

Grinnell College community
reacts to the school board
election results
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

With three challengers winning over the incumbent candidates,
the Grinnell-Newburg School Board has undergone drastic
turnover. Tyler Harter was elected as School Board chair and
Chris Starrett and Roger Belcher were elected as Grinnell
School Board’s newest at-large directors. Starrett and Belcher
gained publicity for their positions against mask mandates and
the Culturally Responsive Scorecard in Grinnell schools. The
close results have reminded members of the College community
how important their vote is.

Nat Jordan `21, co-chair of the campus Democrats, worked to
encourage Grinnell students to vote in the days approaching
November 2. He saw a clear distinction between the candidates
running, and the possible implications that could have on the
local community.

“Local politics are crucial,” he said, “and I think,
unfortunately, a lot of students failed to realize that.”

Seeing that two of the challengers were running on only a
couple of issues, like mask mandates and critical race theory,
Jordan worries about their capability to effectively serve on
a school board. These worries intensified after he watched the
League of Women Voters forum with the candidates.

“I thought it was pretty concerning that there was a question
asked about budgeting and they [Starret and Belcher] basically
both said ‘oh I know nothing about budgeting,’” he said, “and
that’s the number one job of a school board.”

The close margins of the election solidify Jordan’s stance
that student involvement is more important than ever, with
only 39 votes deciding a victory for Tyler Harter over Helen
Redmond. Essentially, Grinnell students alone could have
changed the results.

Going forward, Jordan hopes to continue to encourage students
to vote in local elections, and deeply believes that students
do have a role in shaping the Grinnell local community. He
argues that Grinnell is a student’s home for four or five
years and that professors and staff make decisions on where to
work based on factors like local politics and quality of the
school district.

He also hopes that the administration will play a larger role
in making the voting process easier for students.

“There is a dearth of voting information on the [Grinnell
College] website,” he said, “which is startling. If you look

up basically any other peer institution, they will have voting
information on their website.”

Ross Haenfler, beyond being the department chair of sociology,
is a parent to a 3rd grader and 7th grader attending Grinnell
local public schools. As such, he is directly affected by the
outcome of the schoolboard elections.

While he does not think that there will be immediate radical
changes within Grinnell schools as a result of the elections,
he does fear for the way the new directors could affect how
the School Board is conducted.

“It could make School Board meetings, which are typically non-
partisan, more contentious,” he said.

Similar to Jordan, Haenfler also feels that the two-issue
nature of these candidates could affect their actual ability
to serve on a School Board.

“It [Starrett and Belcher’s victory] could embolden other
challengers that I’m not sure have the best sense of what the
School Board does in terms of budgets and oversights and are
really just honing in on some of these hot-button cultural
issues,” he said.

That being said, while he will continue to stay informed
politically and financially contribute toward candidates that
he supports, Haenfler also recognizes the importance of
staying engaged with those he may not agree with. According to
Haenfler, the issues that became hot button topics in the
Grinnell election is part of a larger national pattern.

“I try to strike a balance between holding people in my
community accountable, and at the same time knowing that its
bigger than us,” he said. “This was a manifestation of a
broader pattern: this sense of frustration and anger and
backlash.”

Belcher and Starrett both did not respond to requests for
comment on this article.

Grinnell                Needs        Better            STI
Testing
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

STD testing is a corner stone in basic health for those who
are sexually active. Even those who use protection should get
tested semi-regularly if they have more than one partner. But
no matter how many times students are told to get tested, if
testing itself is anything less than free and accessible,
students won’t find the time nor motivation to seek out the
correct resources.

SHAW does not offer free, confidential STD testing on campus
for any STD beyond HIV in any regular capacity. Instead,
nurses direct students to off campus resources that do not
fully recognize the difficulties behind getting STD tested.

The simple fact is that not having resources on campus will
already deter a number of students from getting regularly
tested. But the process gets even more complicated than simply
seeking an off campus doctor in Grinnell. So first, let’s walk
through the process of getting STD tested at Grinnell College:

To start, you set up an appointment to meet with a SHAW nurse.
You can do this either over the phone or in person during
SHAW’s 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. business hours, the hours where
students are largely in class.

With just how busy they are right now, the next available
appointment that does not interrupt one of your classes could
be a couple days down the line. The appointment itself is not
for testing, but rather a consultation for where else you can
go. If your parents are ok with you getting tested or you
aren’t on their insurance, there are several doctor’s offices
in town available.

If you are worried about your parents finding an STD test
charge on your insurance, you must now find confidential
testing. Confidential testing is available at Planned
Parenthood, the closest of which is in Des Moines, or you can
go to primary healthcare out of Marshalltown.

In order to get a confidential charge at the Marshalltown
Hospital, you must first call them and get in contact with one
of the managers, who are not always present. The managers can
then request a confidential charge on your behalf. Even a
confidential charge will still show up on your insurance, just
not state the specific reason for your visit.

If you want to not use your insurance altogether, the test
could be hundreds of dollars depending on where you go.

If you don’t have a car and don’t have friends that could
drive you to your appointment, you then must organize a ride
through SHAW. You need to pay the driver and gas for the
ride.If you can’t afford the copays on the test itself, you
then need to apply for the Title X grant through the
Marshalltown Hospital.

From the time you have started the process to when you are
actually given an STD test is, at minimum, three days from
when you first started.

Essentially, there are dozens of obstacles along the way that
are going to prevent an increasing number of students from
actually going through with testing. The student who takes the
time to call the Marshalltown Hospital might not go through

the effort of arranging a ride. The student who goes and seeks
help at SHAW might not take the time to arrange an off campus
appointment. The stops along the way where students will drop
the process are endless.

Grinnell normally offers a free testing clinic twice a year to
test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. Unfortunately, because SHAW
is so busy with their vaccine clinics, the usual fall STD
clinic does not appear like it is going to happen.

First off, the willingness to cancel the clinic is a
significant medical oversight, but even in a normal year only
offering free, confidential testing for two days out of the
year is insufficient. While it is a good start to
comprehensive sexual health care, students are not only having
sex for those two days. If a student starts experiencing
symptoms any other time of year, or simply wants to have a
more routine check-in, they still must go through the deeply
complicated process of arranging a test.

Deb Shill, director of health services, hopes to one-day look
into the possibility of providing such services on campus.

“I want to look into this with the state of Iowa,” she says,
“to find out if it’s feasible to do those tests in our office
on a regular basis or what that looks like.”

In the meantime, however, there is a noticeable gap in SHAW’s
coverage. In fact, it seems like most other Liberal Arts
college in the Midwest has already figured out the logistics.
Oberlin, Kenyon, Macalester, and Carleton, just to list a few,
all provide some form of on-campus testing. So why is Grinnell
so behind in providing this basic service?

Grinnell College should look to invest their time and
resources into a more comprehensive STD testing program that
doesn’t require students to jump through hoops just to find
services that won’t alert their family or break their wallets
or force them to travel to the next town over.

For students looking for other forms of sexual health
coverage, SHAW does provide HIV testing, free contraceptives,
and discounted Plan B. They also partner with SHIC (Sexual
Health Information Center) to get a student based perspective
on sexual health, although SHIC has not been fully functioning
since the start of 2020.

Sexual health is often a taboo. Seeking medical services for
such purposed can be embarrassing and confusing, and for
students, particularly those still on their parents’
insurance, finding and receiving the help they need can be
generally difficult. The more steps between students’ first
contact with SHAW and when they can actually get tested, the
less students will go through the process. Grinnell College
should increase their active role in improving the sexual
health of their student body by providing free, confidential
STD testing on campus.

Breaking: College updates
COVID-19 protocols on masking
and dining
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

Starting Nov. 8, campus community members may now gather in
groups of up to 15 people without masks, the College announced
Thursday morning. Students may also now eat together in any
campus space, except for classrooms from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. on
weekdays.

Faculty, staff, and students are also permitted to dine
together inside in groups of 15 or less. Dining with visitors

is still largely limited, but may receive approval from the
proposal review committee. Faculty and staff may now go into
student common spaces in residence halls for meetings as well.

Food may now be provided at large student-only events.
However, if the group is larger than 15 students, masks still
have to be worn when not eating or drinking.

Masks are still required inside of classes, in the Bear when
not actively competing in a sports event, in groups of larger
than 15, and in any group that includes someone not from the
campus community. Students remain the only members of the
campus community to be allowed in the dining hall.

The college specifies that mandatory mask-less events or
events that serve food are prohibited, in that an event
organizer cannot require students, faculty, or staff to attend
an event in which members of the group will be mask-less.
There are also assurances that anyone is welcome to wear a
mask under any circumstance. The college continues to
recommend that students wear masks in indoor spaces off-
campus.

These changes come in response to high vaccination rates, low
case counts, and the availability of booster shots, according
to the College.

Board of Trustees has first
meeting of 2021-2022 academic
year
By Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

Three times every year, the Grinnell College Board of Trustees
meets to discuss the long-term goals and future of the
College. From Thursday, Sept. 30, and ending Saturday, Oct. 2,
was the first meeting of the 2021-2022 academic year.

The board handles the fiduciary duties of the school. Rather
than working operationally, these duties entail looking
towards the overarching, long-lasting culture and projects of
Grinnell.

Before meetings began on Thursday, the eight board members who

traveled to campus met with three groups to help shape the
conversations at their meetings: Student Government
Association (SGA), the executive council for faculty and the
executive council for staff.

SGA brought several concerns forward to the board. First and
foremost, they wanted to stress the weight of academic
pressure and workload on students as they made the transition
back from online learning. “[We were] bringing it to the
trustees’ awareness,” said Ashton Aveling, SGA vice president
for academic affairs, “just making sure that they understand
the degree of the problem and that it’s not just students,
it’s also faculty, and the senior staff as well.”

SGA was not the only organization to bring up the overwhelming
workload, as the executive councils for both staff and faculty
did as well, centering this issue as one of the main topics of
the meeting.

“What we talked about was the simultaneity, the intense
simultaneity of the joy of being back in community and the
anxiety of living in a pandemic,” President Anne Harris
explained.

Essentially, they discussed the pressures of returning back to
campus amid a pandemic, and what the College can do to show
academic compassion towards all parties. SGA also discussed
the legacy of campus culture moving forward. They believe the
College in the past decade has trended towards professionalism
and hoped to bring up a discussion on what Grinnell’s campus
culture truly is.

“We have this pattern of the College trying to make sure its
activities are safe in terms of liability and risk in an
increasingly strict legal environment which has often come,
unfortunately, at the expense of student wellbeing,” said
Aveling.

Beyond the topics brought up by SGA, there were four other

main issues discussed throughout the online meetings that
occurred with the entire board, the first of which was anti-
racism. The board and those who attended the meeting discussed
how to move Grinnell College forward as an actively anti-
racist institution that breaks down systematic barriers to
higher education for BIPOC individuals.

Within this conversation was a reading of an excerpt from
“Nice Racism” by Robin DiAngelo, which discusses the racism
perpetuated by white progressives. Hiring choices to promote
diversity and support people of color within the College were
also a facet of this conversation, as was the development of
the new African diaspora studies program and department. There
was also a significant amount of introspection as to what
those at Grinnell could do to do their part.

“We need to keep securing spaces at the College,” said Harris,
“to talk about anti-racism, sure, but if you’re going to talk
about anti-racism you have to address racism. And, you know,
that starts with me, with my white progressive moves.”

The   second   topic   was   intergenerational   equity.   More
specifically, how to continue to promote an environment that
allows students from all socioeconomic backgrounds to have
access to higher education. Grinnell’s endowment has a long-
lasting legacy, and the board hopes to continue to remove
barriers to entry. A prime example of this is the no-loan
initiative created last year, which helps lessen the years of
debt faced by many students as they leave college.

The third topic ties into the ideas of accessible education,
as the board hopes to maintain the need-blind admissions
process already in place at the College. Grinnell is one of 12
institutions in the United States that is both need-blind in
admissions and loan-free. The conversation, in this regard, is
about continuing the practices already in place, such as need-
blind admissions, and finding ways to continually promote
these ideals.

The final topic of conversation looks towards to future
development of the downtown student residences, including a
brief conversation with the architect, Sir David Adjaye. Sir
Adjaye is well known for his design of the Washington D.C.
Museum of African American History and Culture.

Civic engagement is the main goal of these buildings, as they
will feature a civic entrepreneurship space, performance space
and a garden pavilion. These spaces are a way to reimagine the
residence halls from what they have been for most of the
College’s lifespan.

“This is all part of my vision for civic trust as well,” said
Harris, “which is as much about the trust between individuals,
but really more about how individuals trust institutions.”

Residents line up down the
block to try Maria’s Fresh
Mex
Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

Each morning, Maria Chavez arrives at her restaurant at 5 a.m.
to make fresh flour tortillas and start cooking up a menu of
shredded beef, grilled chicken, fajita mix and more. The
dining room is decorated with handmade piñatas and decorative
frames of paper flowers made by Chavez and the smell of fresh
Mexican food fills the room.

Maria’s Fresh Mex, located at 831 West St., has had a busy
opening week as Grinnellians line up to get a taste of their
food. With plates piled high with homemade dishes and burritos
made on 16-inch tortillas, it’s not hard to see why the people
of Grinnell are eager to try the new restaurant in town.

Chavez moved to Grinnell 17 years ago from Texas, where she
used to own a restaurant. She’s always hoped to open a
restaurant in Grinnell as well, and after working for Monsanto
for 15 years she finally found the perfect place.

“I’ve been looking for this space since I first got here,” she
said.

Chavez’s restaurant certainly lives up to its name, serving
fresh, authentic Mexican food to the town of Grinnell. Anyone
hoping to try out some of her food can look forward to
tostadas, flautas, empanadas, build-your-own burritos and
strawberry horchata as part of a menu packed full of different
delicious options.

“Everything is homemade, even the flour tortillas,” Maria

said, “so I hope everybody likes it.”

Chavez is eager for locals and students alike to try her food,
and always wants to hear feedback. She welcomes people to come
and try everything from the menu.

Even though running a restaurant is stressful, particularly in
their opening week, Chavez loves being in the kitchen. At 67
years old, she knows she could be retired, but Chavez’s
passion for cooking makes her excited to come to work every
day.

Due to short staffing, Maria’s is only open from 11 a.m. to 2
p.m. daily for now. However, the short hours have had no
effect on business, as Maria has had a line out the door in
the few days she has been open. People are so eager to try her
food that even after closing, they are still trying to come
inside the restaurant and order.

“Oh my goodness,” Chavez laughed. “I’m closing because I don’t
have enough food! … Everybody’s telling me that I need to
serve less than that, but I feel like if you’re paying for
your plate, you can have a lot”

For anyone looking for work, Maria’s Fresh Mex is currently
hiring. She says she’s more than happy to teach anyone how to
work as a server in her restaurant and could use the extra
hands to help out.

Some second-year QuestBridge

scholars     faced      with
unexpected tuition costs
Eleanor Corbin
corbinel@grinnell.edu

Early this semester, some second-year QuestBridge scholars
were surprised to find that their tuition payments and
financial aid plans were drastically different from last
year’s. These scholars say that the College financial aid
office’s failure to properly communicate has left many
QuestBridge scholars from the class of 2024 without ample time
to account for $3,650 in payments that did not exist in the
2020-2021 academic year.

Since 2010, Grinnell has partnered with the national nonprofit
QuestBridge to provide educational opportunities to low-income
students. Student scholars with the QuestBridge program, which
is highly competitive, are matched with a school that agrees
to cover virtually all of their tuition payments.

“I might not be able to take, like, internships that aren’t
paid or internships that don’t pay me enough,” said Emmy
Potter `24, who was charged thousands of dollars this year for
what she expected to be a fully covered tuition. “A lot of my
friends don’t necessarily have the same commitments for work.”

Emmy Potter `24 was charged thousands of
                     dollars for what she expected to be a
                     fully covered tuition. Photo by Natalia
                     Ramirez Jimenez.

Potter is one of many second-year QuestBridge scholars who
were unaware that COVID grants covered some of their tuition
last year that they would have needed to pay in a normal year.

According to Brad Lindberg, Assistant Vice President of
Enrollment and Administrative Services, that these charges did
not exist last year due to the College’s special COVID relief
funding.

“The   College   replaced   the   entire   summer   savings/work
contribution and one-half of the student employment
expectation with grant aid in recognition of the difficulties
finding work during the pandemic,” Lindberg wrote in an email
to the S&B.

The charges students are now faced with, Lindberg said, are
simply the financial aid packages returning to their normal
expected amounts.

But according to the students, the issue lies in the
communication between the College financial aid office and
second-year scholars who did not realize that these charges

were only waived in the 2020-2021 academic year. The charges,
while usually routine, came as an unexpected burden to second-
year students who use QuestBridge scholarships to fund their
education.

Rocio Hernandez `24, another QuestBridge scholar facing the
new charges this year, said, “You don’t get [the regular
charges] explained to you before you sign up, before the work-
study … you don’t get everything explained 100 percent.”

Third-year scholar Zoe Gonzalez `23 said that she knew to
expect the student contribution, as she had to pay it her
first year, but she noted that she sees how anyone starting
last year would have confused these grants for an annual
occurrence.

“The fact that Grinnell didn’t explicitly take the time to
inform [the second-year class] that they would need to pay, I
believe led to a lot of miscommunication and wrongful ideas
about how much it actually costs to go here,” she said.

Zoe   Gonzalez   ’23   knew   to   expect   the   student

contribution, as she had to pay it her first year. Photo
by Natalia Ramirez Jimenez.

Gonzalez wanted to make sure that second-year QuestBridge
scholars know that the portion of tuition covered by work-
study can be paid off over the semester and does not have to
be paid upfront with the rest of the student contribution.

Still, many of the affected students are still scrambling to
cover the final pieces of their tuition. Both Hernandez and
Potter have had to use the money they saved from their summer
jobs, and Potter had to take out a loan.

There have even been effects on the home life of these
QuestBridge scholars. “[The charges have] definitely put more
stress on my mom and I’s relationship,” Potter said.
“particularly because I usually send money home, so I can’t
really do that now.”

While many of the scholars say they remain thankful for the
opportunity provided to them by Grinnell’s partnership with
QuestBridge, they also wish they knew more about the details
of what they were expected to contribute upfront in a normal
year, instead of being surprised with payments during their
second year.

“More clarification would have been helpful at the very
beginning of our first year,” said Hernandez. “But QuestBridge
is wonderful … I am grateful that I have QuestBridge.”

The financial aid office recommends that any student facing
financial stressors reach out to one of their financial
counselors.