Category: Students

Home is where the art is

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Annie Belle installs her Senior Individualized Project
Annie Belle ’13 installs her Senior Individualized Project

Senior Annie Belle’s art SIP can’t be displayed on a wall or a pedestal.

“Basically I’m knitting a house,” Belle said.

The house will be up through Friday, April 19 in the Light Fine Arts Building gallery space, with a reception on Thursday, April 18 from 4 to 5 p.m.

Belle, who learned to knit when she was 16 and was taught by her mother, designed all of the patterns for the cottage-style house and the knitted furniture that will go inside it.

“When you look at things, they all basically are geometric shapes, so I’m just knitting a bunch of rectangles or squares,” she said. “I’ve gone through multiple design ideas. I think I’ve unraveled everything that I’m working on at least once.”

Belle uses wool roving, a thick material that she described as somewhere between wool straight off a sheep’s back and finer spun yarn. It knits faster than thin yarn, she said.

Plastic piping gives structural support to furniture pieces.

Belle looked at floor plans for microhouses — very small and often portable homes — when creating her own designs.

“They’re kind of what I think of when I think of a house,” she said. “Nothing terribly sophisticated — someplace to sit, someplace to eat.”

Belle says she cannot remember how exactly she came up with the idea for the project. She reflected for a moment before saying that the concept of home has influenced her time at Kalamazoo College.

“Looking back, I feel I’ve been concerned with domestic spaces, gender roles, and private versus public sphere.” she said.

Belle financed the yarn with funding from the K Art Department, but the project scale was large enough that the money did not cover the full cost of materials. She recently launched an online fundraising campaign that has raised more than $1,600.

“I don’t feel like I’ve really done that much with my art on campus, and if I’m going to go out, I want to go out big,” she said.

After displaying the piece in Kalamazoo, Belle plans to submit it to Art Prize, a large juried art competition in Grand Rapids, Mich. She said the project may ultimately end up as stuffing for a mattress after she dismantles it.

“There’s only so much room in the world for a knitted house,” she said. (Story and photo by Maggie Kane ’13)

K Team Presents at Food Justice Meeting

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A Kalamazoo College (and Kalamazoo-area) food justice partnership coordinated by the Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement (formerly the Institute for Service-Learning) came together as a plenary session team and presented at Michigan State University’s First Annual Workshop on Food Justice & Peace. Team members included Alison Geist, director of the Center for Civic Engagement; Associate Professor of English Amelia Katanski; K students Shoshana Schultz ’13 and Charlotte Steele ’14; Ben Brown of the People’s Food Co-op; and Guillermo Martinez of the Van Buren Intermediate School District. Martinez also works with the College’s Hispanic Health and Disease class (Spanish 205). Steele is a former Civic Engagement Scholar of the organization Farms to K. Most of the MSU conference presenters discussed theoretical aspects of food justice and peace. The K team discussed how theory has translated into action in the Kalamazoo area. According to Schultz, the K team demonstrated the “ecology of food justice work in Kalamazoo,” how the parts work together in a manner that integrates theory and practice. Said Schultz: “People were blown away and very impressed by the collaboration that takes place in Kalamazoo.

Carpet Diem

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Alumni David Landskroener and Marianne Stine
David Landskroener ’14, Marianne Stine ’12, and Oscar ’13 getting the red carpet treatment.

David Landskroener ’14 is a self-described “movie junkie.” So when he won two coveted tickets to sit on bleachers alongside the famed red carpet at this year’s Oscar extravaganza in Los Angeles…well, it was a Hollywood ending.

“It was cool to see Anne Hathaway and George Clooney in person,” said David, a double major in Theatre Arts and English who also has a concentration in Media Studies where he’s learning about film.

Even cooler, he said, was when the interviewer in front of him pulled up K alumnus David France ’81 to talk about ‘How to Survive a Plague,’ his Oscar-nominated documentary.”

“He gave an insightful interview and seemed really at ease. It was so awesome to have that K connection on the red carpet, with me, a current student, only thirty feet away. K people are everywhere!”

David made the trip to LA from his home near Minneapolis where he’s been since returning from study abroad in Aberdeen, Scotland. K friend Marianne Stine ’12 joined him in a long security check-in process and a seven-hour wait in the bleachers before the stars came out.

“Luckily we had food and drink provided the entire day, and we got to watch the actual awards ceremonies from the nearby El Capitan Theatre. We both held an actual Oscar, and are those things heavy!”

Prior to his view from the bleachers, David’s most meaningful glimpse into a possible future career came during summer 2012 when he served an externship through the College’s Center for Career and Professional Development at The Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis, a nonprofit institute that develops new plays and nurtures playwrights. He stayed with Bethany (Kestner) Whitehead ’98 who works at The Playwrights’ Center.

“It was a great opportunity for me to see that a career in that field is possible and how to work towards it. Staying with Bethany and learning about her career was just as rewarding and instructive as working at the Center itself.”

Although he looks forward to being back on campus this spring to continue his classroom and extracurricular studies, David said he also looks forward to returning to the Oscars one day, not for a seat in the bleachers, but for the full red carpet treatment.

“Studying English, theatre, and film myself, I dream of someday walking down that same carpet.”

K Students Participate in Japanese Speech Contest

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senior Pavan Policherla and sophomore Vageesha Liyana-GunawardanaThe 18th Michigan Japanese Language Speech Contest, sponsored by the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit, was held at the Novi Civic Center this winter. Two Kalamazoo College students, senior Pavan Policherla and sophomore Vageesha Liyana-Gunawardana, presented their speeches. Policherla’s talk was based on his study abroad experience in China and explored a challenging and important issue of China-Japan relations. Liyana-Gunawardana’s speech was an eye-witness account of the large tsunami that struck Sri Lanka in 2004.

K Senior’s Documentary Poetry Project Cited in “Gay Military Signal”

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English major Gabriella Donofrio ’13 completed what English professor Diane Seuss calls “a remarkable Senior Individualized Project!”

Donofrio wrote a book of documentary poetry about life in the military (before and after the repeal of the “Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell” policy) for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer soldiers serving their country. She was on study abroad when the policy was repealed in September, 2011, and didn’t give it too much thought until three months later.

She wanted her SIP to be a book of poetry, and based hers on Mark Nowak’s collection of documentary poetry titled Coal Mountain Elementary. “I first interviewed several military members about their experiences of being gay in the military,” wrote Donofrio. “I then transcribed the interviews and framed poems around the stories that seemed most poignant to me.

The result is a collection of pieces in the voices of seven members of the LGBTQ+ military movement.” Her SIP includes some 75 pieces, some of which were published with a story about Donofrio and her project in the monthly web publication Gay Military Signal.

Busting Myths

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K-Desi members performed a South Asian dance at "Mythbusters," the 2013 Asiafest
K-Desi members performed a South Asian dance at “Mythbusters,” the 2013 Asiafest.

In 2012, “Redefining Asian” (aka Asiafest) received the “Program of the Year” award at the Black and Orange Awards Ceremony. In 2013 the Asian and Pacific Islander Student Association (APISA), formerly known as Asian Student Association (ASA), produced another spectacular Asiafest: “Mythbusters.” The show took place in a Dalton Theatre packed with by campus and community members. Performing student organizations included APISA, K-Desi, and Cirque du K, and many individual performers participated as well.

“Mythbusters” showcased different facets of the diverse Asian culture, and few forces break stereotypes as effectively as does an awareness of diversity. There were 15 lively performances divided into two acts that included traditional and modern dances, skits, instrumental performances, singing, and poetry reading. The opening piece was a video collection of campus interviews of students who described stereotypes they encounter and shared their opinions about appropriate versus culturally offensive questions. Audience favorites included the Matrix Ping Pong skit, a traditional South Asian dance by K-Desi, and Gangam Style, which received enthusiastic cheering from the audience.

APISA President Pavan Policherla ’13 says, “The purpose of Asia Fest is to aid the club in promoting Asian culture on campus in a fun and entertaining way, as well as try to educate the Kalamazoo community about some issues that the members of the club feel are important and need to be recognized.” Asian students and student organizations start working on the show at the beginning of winter quarter. Each year a new theme is selected by APISA members, one that pertains to issues they think need to be addressed. Asiafest has delighted the hearts of many every year and continues to uphold its tradition of depicting a realistic picture of Asia and its diverse population.

K Honors Extraordinary Student Leaders

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2013 Senior Leadership Award WinnersLeadership development is part of the mission of Kalamazoo College, and gains in leadership capability for every student is one of K’s goals. Each year the College recognizes extraordinary leadership–leaders’ leaders, so to speak–with the annual Senior Leadership Recognition Award.

The 30 seniors honored this year serve as student organization leaders, athletic team captains, student housing resident assistants, peer leaders, departmental student advisors, teaching assistants, literacy tutors, civic engagement scholars, career advisors in the Center for Career and Professional Development, and peer advisors for the Center for International Programs.

Their leadership has benefited fellow students and members of the Kalamazoo community, and their work has contributed to the achievements of organizations such as Helping Youth through Personal Empowerment, the First-Year Experience Program, Farms to K, Student Commission, the Chapel Program, Student Activities Committee, K-Crew, Community Advocates for Parents and Students, the Writing Center, Jewish Student Organization, LandSea, Black Student Organization, Frelon Dance Company, Gospel Choir, Kalamazoo Outing Club, OrangeZest, Asian and Pacific Islander Student Association, and Model United Nations, among others.

The 2013 Senior Leaders are (l-r): front row–Kathleen Barrett, Marjorie Toshach, Allison Liddane, Brittany King-Pleas, Eric Glanz, Darwin Rodriguez; second row–Monika Egerer, Charles Weber, Mary Goyings, Hannah Gray, Eeva Stout-Sharp, Bianca Rasho, Yongle Wang, Grace Kelley, Shoshana Schultz-Purves; third row–Michael Hicks, Caitlin McCarthy, Moriam Aigoro, Elizabeth Vincensi, Craig Isser, In Hae Sohn, Samantha Gross; back row–Melissa Sparow, Lauren Rosenthal, Bradley Merritt, Ian Flanagan, and Angiola Gabriel. Not pictured are Cierra Gillard, Mara Livezey, and Margaux Reckard.

K senior builds her future with help from K’s past

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Eeva Stout-Sharp with a painting
Eeva Stout-Sharp

Eeva Stout-Sharp ’13 is reaching into Kalamazoo College’s past in order to forge her own future after K.

As part of her Senior Individualized Project (SIP) in Art History, the Petoskey, Mich. native has curated an exhibit of portraits from the College’s art collection that depicts K faculty and administrators from the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Ten photographs and oil paintings (plus an additional mystery piece) comprise an exhibit that includes images of James and Lucinda Stone who led the College from 1843-63, College benefactor Mary Mandelle whose oil portrait otherwise hangs in the Olmsted Room in Mandelle Hall, and past K presidents such as Herbert Lee Stetson and Allan Hoben.

“The show is [built] around the idea that at the turn of the 20th century, the American identity through portraiture takes a huge turn,” Sharp said. Portraits from the 19th century represented status and a stoic image of America, she explained. In the 20th century, cameras and other technology became more available, allowing middle class Americans access to portraiture.

As a result, said Sharp, the role of the portrait shifted. “There’s this desire to empathize with a person rather than see a symbol of power,” Sharp said.

Sharp said that putting the portraits on display in a new setting will allow viewers to see them as more than just wall decorations. She has painted the gallery walls red and installed ottomans and a Persian rug in the space, in order to “give people the sense of a turn-of-the-century study, which is where these works would have originally been displayed.”

Sharp hopes to work in the museum world after graduation. This project, along with helping to curate other students’ art projects on campus, has giving her a taste for that. “By teaching myself to curate,” Sharp said, “I’m hoping to build a toolkit of skills and experiences that I can contribute to an arts organization.”

The exhibit runs from Feb. 25 to March 8 in the Light Fine Arts Building gallery at the corner of Academy and Thompson streets. A catalog with supplemental information on the portraits will be available in April.

Story and photo by Maggie Kane ’13

K Declares!

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Kalamazoo College sophomores Sarah Whitney, Cheyenne Harvey and Allison Kennedy
Sophomores (l-r) Sarah Whitney, Cheyenne Harvey, and Allison Kennedy enjoy the festivity of Declaration of Major day.

It almost eclipsed Valentine’s Day! And one could think of it as an academic love story. Tuesday, February 12, was the long-awaited Declaration of Majors (DOM) day held in the Fine Arts Building. Three hundred and thirty seven sophomores gathered to declare and celebrate an academic track of their choosing for the next two and a half years. Scores of faculty members along with their department student advisors eagerly waited at their booths during the lunch hour to answer questions and assist with declaration forms. “This event officially welcomes sophomores to the academic curriculum of Kalamazoo College,” says Lesley Clinard, assistant director of academic advising and institutional support. “It’s a fun time that has become a rite of passage because of the cake and ‘I declared…’ stickers.” DOM makes a difference in academic focus before spring course registration. Most students expressed excitement; a few called it “anticlimactic” and “not a big deal.” Assistant Professor of Classics Elizabeth Manwell says DOM is “an opportunity for sophomores to feel special. Moving forward,” she adds, “students begin thinking about their future courses and all the pieces of the K-plan.” Tristan Kiel, department student advisor of Computer Science, thinks being a sophomore is difficult because class workloads pick up. “But DOM brings together the diverse spectrum of sophomores, and they own and enjoy this momentous occasion,” he says. (Story and photo by Sameen Haque ’14)

K’s Chem Club Sieves Out Victorious

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Lydia Manager, Mara Livezey, Joe Widmer, Amanda Bolles, Josh Abbott and Tibin John
2013 Winners of the Battle of the Chemistry Clubs are (l-r): Lydia Manager ’13, Mara Livezey ’13, Joe Widmer ’14, Amanda Bolles ’14, Josh Abbott ’13, and Tibin John ’15

Kalamazoo College’s American Chemical Society (ACS) student group brought home to the chemistry department the coveted ‘Silver Sep Funnel’ Trophy from Michigan State University this winter. The students pipette-ed, read spectra, analyzed, and even danced their way to victory, and as the safest team (“which is the most important part for us,” says Regina Stevens-Truss, who shares co-advising duties for the group with fellow chemistry professor Jeff Bartz). The K ACS student group participated last year for the first time and placed sixth. This year, they won the overall competition, brought home best “safety dance,” earned most artistic accolades for the “best scientific-themed hangman,” and were also the “safest working team” based on OSHA standards.

2013 was the sixth annual Battle of the Chemistry Clubs, an event that originally put into the pipette pit (so to speak) the University of Michigan-Flint against the University of Detroit Mercy. The field has since grown to 12 schools, with Kalamazoo College joining in 2012. Competition consists of several activities that test a team’s knowledge and skill as it pertains to different chemistry concepts. All activities are team based (each with 4 or more students) and are scored and ranked based on time or accuracy. Morning prelims are followed by the afternoon’s “playoffs mode,” with only one team taking home the hardware.

Josh Abbott was the only returning K “letter winner” from last year’s sixth-place team. He vowed then that K would be well represented this year and wrote immediately after this winter’s competition to Dr. Truss: “I would just like to let you know we brought some hardware back for Dow.” Sweet!