I’ve been writing for Chimes for four years and have occupied this editorial space for two. This is my last hurrah, and it’s going to be sentimental and inspiring, darn it. Cynics beware; stop now...

The cool light of your computer screen glows in the impending dusk of your bedroom. Squinting at the text, which seems to be getting smaller by the minute, you scroll through yet another list of qualifications...

Dear 2013-2014 student senate, It’s election week.  I’ve never been a huge fan, but this year I’m particularly perturbed. Originally, this year’s senate “race” was an “if you’re willing,...

This year’s already unusual student senate elections, which began Wednesday at midnight, took another interesting turn less than 24 hours after launch. Sophomore Andrew Harris, who was one of four students...

What do you look for in a significant other? It’s a deceptively simple and endlessly compelling question. As the eternal subject of men’s and women’s health magazine articles and online relationship...

Things my generation likes: social justice, recycling, urban gardens, guerilla art, TED Talks, TOMS, fair but not equal, fair trade, kiva.org, human rights, animal rights, gay rights, black rights, white...

It’s very likely that in elementary or middle school you completed a worksheet called “Survive the Wild” or “Desert Island.” (And you probably spelled it Dessert Island, which is altogether more...

I’m a collector of quotations. Cliche for an English major, I know. But one that’s stuck with me since early high school has to do with beauty, a subject that never ceases to fascinate me. Emerson...

It’s that time of year again — Oscar season. The Academy Awards air this Sunday night, and I’ll definitely be tuned in. Yes, I know, the Oscars are everything that is wrong with American society....

“A universal desire to know and be known.” It’s a phrase that came up several times in Chimes’ interview with Calvin staff member and 2003 graduate David Ellens as he spoke about his new play,...

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” They used to ask us this all the time when we were kids. Preschool teachers gave us pieces of construction paper, and we covered them with crayon scrawlings...

I was reading a textbook the other day. Big surprise, I know. It was a text for my senior seminar in English education, and I was not looking forward to the chapters. Education textbooks have a (understandable)...

Transparency. Wait! Don’t stop reading! I know that word has lost almost all meaning in the hustle and bustle of government elections, committee meetings and business deals. The word has come to represent...

I didn’t attend Cokie Roberts’ January Series lecture, “An Insider’s View to Washington, D.C.,” because she is a woman. I attended hoping to hear the experience of a journalist whom I admire. What...

The year 2012 was dubbed “Year of Interfaith Understanding” in many communities around West Michigan.  Organized as the area’s response to the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, the year-long program...

“I’ve been thinking about seeing,” writes Annie Dillard, renowned essayist, novelist, poet, and nature enthusiast.  Her ruminations on seeing are largely focused on observing the natural world around...

Thanksgiving break, in all its culinary, commercialistic, drowsy and familial goodness, is coming soon. Next week, in fact. You’re ready, aren’t you? It’s an oasis of a weekend before finals panic...

Calvin is facing a 10 percent budget shortfall that must be accounted for in the next five years. Newly-inaugurated president Michael Le Roy learned the full details of the projected problem when he...

If you’ve had your ears open in the department lounges and professor offices of Calvin this week, you’ve probably heard some rumblings about the budget crisis. Local and denominational news sources...

The Gezon auditorium, a uniquely shaped theater that has seen many interesting arrangements, has been transformed into a traditional proscenium theater in order to present Calvin Theatre Company’s...

The 2011 January Series hosted Krista Tippet, a noted radio broadcaster, journalist and author. Tippet most famously hosts the radio show “On Being,” produced by American Public Media and broadcast...

Do you love your department? Does returning there after a long bout of classes outside of your discipline make you feel like Odysseus coming home to Ithaca? Do the professors know you by name? If so, you,...

How many times have you sat down to write a paper and stared at the blank page for half an hour?  What was stopping you?  The fabled “writer’s block?”  A poor understanding of your topic or a...

You may have heard the rumor: the newspaper, the independent bookstore, the publishing industry and print media in general — they’re all dying. In a digital world where everyone and his mother can...

The art of the compliment. It’s an ancient and simple form of interpersonal communication and mutual good feeling. My recent ruminations and experiments with it were sparked by a conversation I had on...

The teachers of the Chicago Teachers Union are on strike. The work stoppage began Monday after an all-night negotiation session during which the two sides failed to agree on a contract. As an education...

In the midst of all the Chaos Day action, the infamous and elusive Moses made his annual appearance. Moses, a large golden statue with a storied history at Calvin, has been the subject of countless...

Ah, the first week of school. Sharpened pencils, empty notebooks, unbent folders. New teachers, 4-page syllabi, 50 pages of reading for tomorrow. We’re back at it again, and you’ve probably already...