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Calvin University's official student newspaper since 1907

Calvin University Chimes

Since 1907
Calvin University's official student newspaper since 1907

Calvin University Chimes

Calvin University's official student newspaper since 1907

Calvin University Chimes

Katherine Benedict

Katherine Benedict, Campus & Community Editor

Katherine “Katie” Benedict is a senior who is excited to continue serving as a Campus and Community Co-Editor this year. She is majoring in environmental science, with a minor in international relations. Katherine has lived in Seattle, San Diego, and the Ann Arbor area, but Grand Rapids is now her hometown. This is Katherine’s fourth year at Chimes, where she is firmly on Team Oxford Comma. She also works as a mentor for the First Year Research in Earth Sciences: Dunes program (aka FYRES). Katherine’s favorite hobbies include reading, knitting, hiking, and daydreaming about travel. Please feel free to reach out to Katherine at [email protected] with news tips,  article ideas, critiques, or comments.

All content by Katherine Benedict
Calvin will continue to offer minors in German studies and German education, but the German studies major has been eliminated.

German, Dutch students adapt to finish degrees after program cuts

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
September 30, 2021

When senior Esther Lagerwey got an email this summer telling her that the German major was being cut, she was nervous. Lagerwey is a double major in German and political science, and had only ever taken...

N.T. Wright will make his sixth January Series appearance in 2022, setting a program record.

January Series 2022 speakers revealed; N.T. Wright to make record-breaking sixth appearance

Katherine Benedict, Campus & Community Co-Editor
September 19, 2021

Calvin unveiled the 35th January Series speaker lineup on Thursday, including a sixth appearance by new testament scholar N.T. Wright, a record for the series.  The 2022 lineup features two other returning...

Michigan's current congressional districts, shown here, are in the process of being redrawn.

Where the lines are drawn: New redistricting committee may upend political landscape

Katherine Benedict, Campus & Community Co-Editor
September 13, 2021

Michigan’s congressional districts, state senate and state house districts are currently being redrawn, and the decisions made by the mapmakers are likely to influence the results of the 2022 midterm...

Students who declined to get the COVID-19 vaccinated are required to pay $15 for weekly testing.

Calvin’s COVID policies draw support, objections

Katherine Benedict, Campus & Community Co-Editor
September 13, 2021

In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, Calvin has implemented a new set of mask, vaccine and testing requirements.  Students are not required to get vaccinated, but Sarah Visser, chair of the...

Emmanuel Essien wins election for student body president

Emmanuel Essien wins election for student body president

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
April 29, 2021

Emmanuel Essien won the 2021 election for Calvin University student body president. Essien, a junior from Ghana majoring in human resources management, defeated Kay Casturo for student senate’s top position....

For those who have experienced sexual assault, help is available.

Sexual assault exists at Calvin, so do the tools to find healing

Harm Venhuizen and Katherine Benedict
April 29, 2021

TW: this story contains references to rape and sexual assault. To this day, Sarah doesn’t remember what she told the man who assaulted her. It’s a fact she finds haunting—the inability to recollect....

Grand Rapids residents stand in line waiting to be vaccinated at the DeVos Convention Center downtown. (Chimes file photo)

What can you do once you’re vaccinated?

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
April 8, 2021

With all students now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines under new state guidelines, what does life look like after getting the shot? Here are some guidelines from Calvin’s COVID Response Team and the CDC. Fully...

First look at Calvin’s largest building project to date: $75 million Commons Union

First look at Calvin’s largest building project to date: $75 million Commons Union

Katherine Benedict, C&C Co-Editor
March 25, 2021

Calvin is planning to build a new Commons Union that will replace Commons dining hall and annex. To date, the university has raised $28 million for the project from donors.  Although the building’s...

Starting with the class of 2026, students will be required to live on campus for three years instead of two.

New policy will require future students to live on campus for three years

The move aims to boost revenue for the university
Katherine Benedict, C&C Co-Editor
March 3, 2021

Starting with the class of 2026, Calvin will require students to live in and pay for three years of on-campus housing. The new policy is a move to generate more revenue for the university. Declining enrollment...

The Calvin Peacemakers Club hopes to educate students on issues of mass incarceration and restorative justice.

Calvin Peacemakers hope to bridge Knollcrest, Handlon campuses, promote restorative justice

Katherine Benedict, C&C Co-Editor
February 4, 2021

Calvin’s Knollcrest campus has a new club: the Calvin Peacemakers, which seeks to educate students about restorative justice and connect the Knollcrest and Handlon campuses of Calvin.  The club got...

Interim changes cause problems for engineering students

Interim changes cause problems for engineering students

Katherine Benedict, C&C Co-Editor
November 13, 2020

For the engineering department and its students, interim’s move to May and adding its cost to spring semester tuition has created new difficulties with taking a required senior special topics interim. Thanks...

President Donald Trump speaks to his supporters at the Gerald R. Ford airport on Monday, Nov. 2.

On eve of Election Day, Trump holds his final-ever campaign event in Grand Rapids

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
November 5, 2020

President Donald Trump completed his re-election campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in part because he was afraid picking another location might jinx his chances. Grand Rapids was where Trump held his...

Clean Water Institute of Calvin introduces new directors

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
October 29, 2020

The Clean Water Institute of Calvin (CWIC) introduced two new co-directors at an event on Tuesday. Hydrogeologist Stuart Dykstra, who is a Class of ‘84 alumnus, and chemistry professor Douglas Vander...

The Kent County Health Department put COVID-19 safety signs outside of local elementary schools

Kent County Health Dept. launches COVID public information campaign targeted at young people

Katherine Benedict, C&C Co-Editor
October 29, 2020

Steve Kelso, marketing and communications manager for the Kent County Health Department has a message for college students: Please stop gathering in large numbers, mask up, wash your hands, and practice...

Visitor changed account of reported assault

Visitor changed account of reported assault

Campus Safety deemed no threat to campus
Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
October 23, 2020

Campus Safety has determined that there is no threat to the community after investigating a campus visitor’s report that they were assaulted by several male students in the CFAC parking lot. The visitor...

Mike Pence and Peter Meijer stand in front of a crowd at Lacks Enterprises.

Pence rallies in GR: “The road to victory runs right through Michigan”

Katherine Benedict, C&C Co-Editor
October 15, 2020

Donald Trump and Mike Pence held the final rally of their longshot 2016 campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the early hours of Election Day 2016. On Wednesday, Oct. 15, Pence returned to Grand Rapids...

Meals to Heal offers food to those in isolation regardless of whether or not they are sick.

Meals to Heal: Cooking for students in isolation

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
October 2, 2020

While cooking dinner, junior Rebekah Baas had an idea. Looking at her leftover soup, Baas thought about students who are isolating or in quarantine because of the coronavirus, and from there, Meals to...

Three political student orgs weighed in on debates about the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on the Supreme Court

Political student orgs reflect on RBG’s death in light of coming election

Katherine Benedict, C&C Co-editor
October 1, 2020

The death of Supreme Court feminist icon Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18 shook up the presidential race, bringing the Supreme Court and a potential overturn of Roe v. Wade to the front of voters’...

Due to risks presented by the novel coronavirus, use of smoker pits like this one outside Knollcrest East apartments is now prohibited.

[Photo] Campus becomes non-smoking during pandemic

Jamison Van Andel, Staff Reporter
October 2, 2020

Due to risks presented by the novel coronavirus, use of smoker pits like this one outside Knollcrest East apartments is now prohibited.

West Coast blazes have reshaped students’ hometowns

West Coast blazes have reshaped students’ hometowns

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
September 24, 2020

The sky over Calvin grew hazy with smoke from West Coast wildfires on Sunday. For students from California, Oregon, and Washington, it was a grim reminder of what their families were facing at home: a...

Students lament study-abroad opportunities lost to COVID-19

Students lament study-abroad opportunities lost to COVID-19

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
September 18, 2020

If the coronavirus pandemic never happened, Calvin junior Michal Rubingh would be living in Budapest right now. COVID-19 threw the study abroad plans of dozens of students into disarray. Calvin cancelled...

Three months after George Floyd, Calvin continues to respond to BLM movement

Three months after George Floyd, Calvin continues to respond to BLM movement

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
September 10, 2020

“Black Lives Matter.” The slogan of a movement and refrain of a video created this summer by Calvin faculty and staff in response to the killing of George Floyd. The video, which has currently been...

The "Big Red" lighthouse at Holland State Park is a great photo opportunity. (Photo courtesy Peggy Paulson)

Parks & Recreation near Calvin

Katherine Benedict, Campus and Community Co-Editor
August 26, 2020

Places: Millennium Park Why drive all the way to Lake Michigan when Millennium Park is only 20 minutes from campus? The park boasts a six-acre swimming beach which is open through Sept. 13 (despite...

Le Roy, admin hold town hall meeting about Calvin's future

Le Roy, admin hold town hall meeting about Calvin’s future

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
May 15, 2020

President Michael Le Roy doesn’t want to make a promise he can’t keep. In a virtual town hall organized by student senate on Monday, Le Roy said that many in the Calvin community have been asking him...

Faculty Senate approved this on April 7.

Faculty granted extension of reappointment clock due to COVID-19

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
April 13, 2020

Faculty working towards tenure or a five-year renewable term are now able to postpone their job review for one year. Automatic approval will be granted to those who apply to have their reappointment clock...

Sanders draws a massive crowd downtown during a rally.

Bernie Sanders rallies support in downtown Grand Rapids

Harm Venhuizen and Katherine Benedict
March 12, 2020

Under the shadow of Calder’s “La Grande Vitesse,” Senator Bernie Sanders addressed thousands of Grand Rapids supporters Sunday afternoon. Civil rights activist and former presidential candidate Jesse...

DUO multi-factor authentication becomes mandatory

DUO multi-factor authentication becomes mandatory

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
February 28, 2020

DUO multi-factor authentication became mandatory for all students, faculty and staff on Feb. 19. The program requires participants to use a second way of authenticating their identity in addition to their...

According to Krul, DeKraker always looked forward to the annual engineering picnic.

Calvin community remembers Bob DeKraker

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
February 26, 2020

Bob DeKraker, the longtime laboratory manager in the engineering department, died of cancer on Feb. 19 at the age of 65. DeKraker worked at Calvin for over three decades and was the engineering...

STEM/non-STEM double majors make up 2.6% of Calvin's undergrad students

Branching out: double majoring outside of STEM

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
February 14, 2020

Calvin junior Molly Vander Werp has always been drawn to both biochemistry and writing, but growing up she assumed that at some point she would have to choose between the two fields. Three years into her...

Passengers on an unusually empty subway in Beijing wear masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus.

Coronavirus: the epidemic’s impact on the Calvin community worldwide

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
February 7, 2020

For Priscilla Liu, a junior at Calvin and president of the Chinese Student Association (CSA), the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is closer to home than the news headlines. Liu grew up in Guangdong, but her...

 Calvin allows political candidates to speak on campus for educational events.

Calvin prepares documents on politics ahead 2020 elections

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
December 5, 2019

As the United States heads into a contentious presidential election in 2020, Calvin is preparing for potential conflicts that may arise. A chartered task force of administrators, faculty and staff created...

CRC Office of Social Justice condemns U.S. leaving Paris Accords

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
November 22, 2019

Disclaimer: The author is a member of the CRC and a participant in the Climate Witness Project. “Human-induced climate change is an ethical, social justice, and religious issue,” reads the Christian...

Volunteers Plant over 100,000 native plants every year

Plaster Creek Stewards celebrates 10 years of watershed restoration

Katherine Benedict, Sci-tech Editor
November 6, 2019

More than 100,000 native plants are grown every year by Calvin-based organization Plaster Creek Stewards. Each plant will aid in the restoration of Plaster Creek, the most contaminated urban waterway in...

Calvin beekeepers replace hives destroyed last winter

Calvin beekeepers replace hives destroyed last winter

Katherine Benedict, Sci-tech Editor
November 1, 2019

Calvin received three new beehives for its campus community garden over the summer, to replace the previous which were destroyed last winter.  Dr. Jamie Skillen, professor of Environmental Studies,...

Calvin researchers pursue knowledge about rare diseases

Calvin researchers pursue knowledge about rare diseases

Katherine Benedict, Sci-tech Editor
October 18, 2019

One in ten people have a rare disease, yet silence surrounds this topic both socially and scientifically. A group of researchers at Calvin is aiming to change this by pursuing knowledge of rare diseases...

Engineering dept seminar offers grad school advice

Engineering dept seminar offers grad school advice

Katherine Benedict, Sci-tech Editor
October 10, 2019

“It’s never too late to start thinking about grad school, but it’s also never too early,” said engineering professor Christopher Hartemink. Hartemink was speaking to a large group of engineering...

Eastern Equine Encephalitis breaks out in Michigan, Calvin takes precautions

Eastern Equine Encephalitis breaks out in Michigan, Calvin takes precautions

Katherine Benedict, Sci-tech Editor
October 3, 2019

Michigan is currently experiencing an outbreak of the deadly mosquito-borne virus Eastern Equine Encephalitis, commonly abbreviated EEE. So far (as of 10/2/2019), there have been nine cases resulting in...

CIT launches new security system combating phishing

CIT launches new security system combating phishing

Katherine Benedict, Sci-tech Editor
September 27, 2019

Calvin Information Technology is implementing a new multi-factor authentication system called DUO this fall in response to last year’s phishing email attacks. Multi-factor authentication is a way of...

Biology department hosts play about Charles Darwin exploring science and faith

Biology department hosts play about Charles Darwin exploring science and faith

Katherine Benedict, Sci-Tech Editor
September 25, 2019

If Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” revealed the scientific truths behind the development of all living things, then the play “Mr. Darwin’s Tree” seeks to reveal truths behind Charles...

Calvin Mars Rover Design Team provides students with engineering challenge

Calvin Mars Rover Design Team provides students with engineering challenge

Katherine Benedict, Sci-tech Editor
September 13, 2019

“First off, we’re not sending a rover to Mars,” Fenton Lawler stated, regarding the most common misconception about the Rover team he helped found. The Calvin Mars Rover Design Team, entering their...

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

A spoiler-free review of “Avengers: Endgame”

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
May 2, 2019

The long-awaited fourth avengers movie is a cinematic triumph. “Endgame” perfectly concludes the beloved saga, satisfying hardcore and casual fans alike. A nice bonus is the film’s record-breaking...

Photo by Katherine Benedict

Is the Green New Deal a good deal?

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
April 25, 2019

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed “Green New Deal,” a package designed to make America more sustainable, has generated a flurry of controversy. Last Thursday an interdisciplinary...

The sign that warns people away from where the Calvin bees are kept. Currently it can be ignored, but new bees will be coming.

Calvin’s beehives are entirely wiped out, but beekeeping will continue

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
April 18, 2019

Opening the bee boxes in the Calvin community garden won’t result in an angry fury of bees trying to protect their queen, but only a quiet crunching of dead bees. During the winter of 2018-2019, every...

New art exhibit explores the loss of bees

New art exhibit explores the loss of bees

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
April 4, 2019

A new art exhibit in the Center Art Gallery explores the fragility of bees and reckons with their rapid decline in the world. Artists Craig Goodworth and David Hooker created multimedia pieces about bees,...

A photo from Katherine Miller's time in Uganda where she worked on her research project on malaria.

Nursing professor researches cognitive interventions for malaria survivors

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
March 15, 2019

Malaria deaths have dropped over the last decade thanks to greater access to treatment, but for those who survive the disease, physical recovery is not when the effects of malaria end. Katherine Miller,...

The CS interim class visits a classroom in the Dominican Republic to give instruction on how to use devices they are delivering to the school.

Computer science students bring Raspberry Pi to schools in the Dominican Republic

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
March 11, 2019

In some parts of the world, desktop and laptop computers are not very practical. They are large, fragile, need a strong and consistent internet connection, and fail to work when they get...

Two Students on a spring break trip through the service learning center.

How spring break breaks schedules

Katherine Benedict, staff Reporter
March 8, 2019

Students who are counting down the days until spring break know that as of today, Friday March 8, they only have eight more days until freedom. If these students were at Calvin two decades earlier, however,...

Abrahamic Dinner promotes interfaith dialogue between Christianity, Judaism and Islam

Abrahamic Dinner promotes interfaith dialogue between Christianity, Judaism and Islam

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
February 27, 2019

“If your faith is strong, you shouldn’t be afraid to learn about other faiths,” Calvin sophomore Tuba Jaheran told her audience. Jaheran was a keynote speaker at “The Annual Abrahamic Dinner,”...

Photo by Paolo Costa Baldi

GEO department hosts guest lecturer speaking on the historical climate record

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
February 24, 2019

Records on global temperature changes go far beyond modern temperature measurements. Dr. Melinda C. Higley, a member of the Ohio Geological Survey, addressed this as part of her lecture on Friday, Feb....

Photo buy Katherine Benedict.

Enterprise CarShare program shuts off its engine

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
February 15, 2019

Calvin students no longer have the option of renting on-campus Enterprise cars for transportation. Enterprise terminated the program at Calvin and removed the cars in January. The Enterprise CarShare...

Photo courtesy of Calvin Hackathon.

Hackathon showcases students’ coding talents

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
February 14, 2019

Calvin College hosted its first ever hackathon this week. The event was named “Calvin Hacks” although the word “hacking” brings to mind malicious online activity. At hackathons, students build...

Sexuality Series hosts gay Christians with differing views on same-sex marriage

Sexuality Series hosts gay Christians with differing views on same-sex marriage

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
February 6, 2019

The ongoing controversial question of whether or not same-sex marriage is compatible with Christian doctrine was the spotlight of Tuesday’s Sexuality Series event: “Talking Across the Divide on Same-Sex...

Mary Robison signs copies of her book after her lecture at the January Series.

Former president of Ireland at January Series confronts climate change

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
January 30, 2019

Former Ireland president Mary Robinson concluded this year’s January Series with a presentation on climate change. Robinson was prime minister of Ireland from 1990 through 1997, and then became the United...

Photo courtesy calvin.edu

Oscar nominated costume designer Ruth Carter speaks at January Series, recounts her work with ‘Black Panther’

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
January 24, 2019

Calvin College heard from Black Panther costume designer Ruth Carter at the January Series on Friday Jan. 18. Carter told the story of her work dressing the inhabitants of the fictional African country...

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof speaks at January Series, advocating for global empathy and hope

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof speaks at January Series, advocating for global empathy and hope

Katherine Benedict and Michal Rubingh
January 17, 2019

Nicholas Kristof is a journalist for the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner who is known for his humanitarian work around the world, advocating especially for the rights of women and children in...

Photo courtesy calvin.edu

Barbara Bush comes to January Series in sister’s place

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
January 12, 2019

Barbara Pierce Bush, a guest at the this year’s January Series, filled in for her twin sister, Jenna Bush Hager who had to withdraw from the event at the last moment due to scheduling conflicts with...

Photo by Katherine Benedict

Religious minority students at Christian college discuss challenges, benefits

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
December 6, 2018

“They started staring at me weirdly and asked  ‘Are you Muslim?’” This is part of the story of sophomore Blerta Lika, who is a mathematics major at Calvin College. She is also a Muslim. Lika was...

Photo courtesy of calvin.edu

Professors at panel discuss Christian responsibility to climate change

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
December 3, 2018

Professors from various departments and a staff member gathered on Tuesday evening to talk about the threat of climate change and how Christians should respond. The event was hosted by the student-run...

New CFAC exhibit blends art and mathematics

Katherine Benedict, Guest Writer
November 16, 2018

The Center Art Gallery in the Covenant Fine Arts Center (CFAC) is currently home to a collection of mixed media artistic works that are inspired by mathematics. The exhibit is titled “Approaches to Abstraction,”...

Calvin holds visit day for prospective engineering students

Katherine Benedict, Guest Writer
November 8, 2018

Last week Friday, Calvin reached out to high school students interested in majoring in a STEM field through the semiannual Engineering, Computing, or Physics Department Visit Day. The event drew a large...

The JOIDES Resolution in port, Honmoku Berth No. B3, Yokohama, Japan. 

(Credit: Mark Reagan)

Sedimentologist discusses past research with IODP

Katherine Benedict, Staff Reporter
November 5, 2018

The Calvin College Geology Department hosted guest speaker and expert sedimentologist Dr. Brian Romans last week. Romans’ lecture was about the value of the marine sedimentology record and focused on...

Photo by Andy Calvert

Students showcase research at science division poster fair

Katherine Benedict, Guest Writer
October 25, 2018

On Friday, Oct. 19, students who conducted scientific research over the summer were given the opportunity to share their research with the Calvin community through a poster fair. For around three hours,...

Calvin geology course offers research opportunity to freshmen

Katherine Benedict, Guest Writer
October 18, 2018

The Calvin College department of geology, geography, and environmental studies offers first-year students a unique research opportunity through the course First Year Research in Earth Sciences: Dunes,...

Calvin Information Technology Center remodeled for a new generation of students

Katherine Benedict, Guest Writer
October 4, 2018

Over this past summer, the Calvin Information Technology Center (CIT) underwent an extensive remodel with the goal of providing a space that meet the needs of today’s era of students. Not so long ago,...

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