Intramurals offer new activities, ditches contact sports for fall
Ellington Smith, Sports Editor
September 25, 2020
This year Intramurals at Calvin have a very new look due to COVID-19. Some sports have been retained but most have been replaced with an alternative outdoor sport. Currently, Calvin Intramurals will have spike ball, 4v4 volleyball, badminton, pickleball, and a wiffle ball tournament. All contact sport...
Athletics suspended to evaluate surveillance testing results
Juliana Knot, Editor-in-Chief
September 16, 2020
The university, in consultation with the athletic department, decided to suspend all athletic-related activities starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12. Sports are still suspended, as of Wednesday, Sept. 16. James Timmer, Calvin’s athletic director, said in an email to Chimes, “The suspension will ...
Celebration Cinema offers “drive-in” alternative to traditional theater experience
Mattheus Colyn, Arts and Entertainment Editor
September 12, 2020
With theatres across the country shut down amid the current pandemic, many are yearning to go back to the movies. Although theaters in some states have begun reopening, if you would like to see a film on the big screen in Grand Rapids, you could consider Celebration Cinema’s newly-established “pop-up dri...
SAO to launch “Toknight Show, ” other tentative events
Susannah Epp, Staff Reporter
September 12, 2020
Student Activities Office will return this Thursday with the launch of its new “Toknight Show” after a long hiatus from COVID complications. This show will be streamed virtually and interview guests such as Pastor Mary and other Calvin figures, local bands, and some bands that were booked previous...
Credit where it’s due: the admin’s preparation for COVID-19 has paid off
Juliana Knot, Editor-in-Chief
September 11, 2020
I’m very critical of the administration in these pages, but credit should be given where credit is due. Calvin has done solid work in preparing for the return of students, and I am impressed with the testing, tracking and isolating system they have in place, as well as all of the social distancing...
Safety Dance: The joys and burdens of community
Eleanor Lee, Guest Writer
September 11, 2020
Guys! I found something we can ALL agree on!! (Crazy, right?) The summer of 2020 was hard. From mid-March to right about now, life has tripped us up the stairs over and over. We didn’t all trip the same way; maybe you lost a summer job, a graduation, or a loved one. Maybe your health, your rel...
Catching up with Calvin’s contact tracers
Sarah Gibes, Sci-Tech Editor
September 10, 2020
Social work professor Kristen Alford and biology professor Erica Boldenow have both been trained by the Kent County Health Department to serve as the leaders of Calvin’s community contact tracing program. Chimes spoke with them both about their work. Chimes: What exactly is contact tracing? ...
COVID-19 dashboard an accessible way to stay informed
Lauren Vanden Bosch, Campus and Community Co-Editor
September 10, 2020
During the summer, members of the Safe Return team worked on implementing an effective Calvin COVID-19 case tracker dashboard for the fall semester. Calvin’s dashboard became live on Sept. 1 and includes data gathered since Aug. 1. It was primarily developed by Lauren Amick, the manager of institutional effectiveness a...
Where two or three Zoom: how to worship this semester
Michaela Giovannelli, Religion Editor
September 4, 2020
Some students may go entire semesters without setting foot in Calvin’s chapel; this semester, that could be all of us. No longer in person, chapel will be livestreamed every day at 10:00 a.m. The temptation to gather in large groups to sing, dance and go through the choreography for favorite chi...
Calvin’s back on campus. Here’s what it took.
Juliana Knot, Editor-in-Chief
September 3, 2020
Shortly after classes went online in March, the cabinet was looking ahead. The incident command group, an emergency team created to react to the pandemic, needed to transition to a planning and implementation group in order to get students back in person in the fall. Calvin University President Michael Le Roy c...
COVID-19 hit small universities’ finances hard this summer. Here’s where it’s left Calvin.
Harm Venhuizen, Managing Editor
September 3, 2020
Faced with a projected $13 million decrease in revenue this year, Calvin made numerous cuts to personnel and programs over the summer. Calvin, however, remains financially stable, University President Michael Le Roy said in a June 17 video call announcing the cuts. “We are working hard to restore a...
The return: Calvin comes back to campus
Juliana Knot, Editor-in-Chief
September 3, 2020
Six months after going online for the spring semester because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Calvin has returned to in-person instruction. After conducting 3,809 tests as of Aug. 31, only twelve cases have been identified as positive, a .3% positivity rate. Of those twelve, currently only four of those c...