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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

Carolyn Muyskens

Carolyn Muyskens,  Local Editor

Carolyn is your local editor for the 2016–2017 school year. When in class, she studies language and people and how they’ve shaped one another throughout history — the disciplines formally known as linguistics and literature. Outside-of-class activities include eating (lots of it), sleeping (less so) and running (sporadically). Carolyn has the listening habits of a middle-aged man: mostly NPR and various selections from the dad-rock genre. She has never returned a library book on time, but for some reason Hekman Library still lets her work for them. She looks forward to connecting you to the Grand Rapids community through local news and perhaps beginning to puncture that “Calvin bubble” we’ve been known to inhabit.

All content by Carolyn Muyskens

Kent County voters approve public schools millage

Carolyn Muyskens
May 5, 2017

Local elections don’t usually measure up to the high drama we’re used to from last November, but they make a great deal of difference by determining the nitty-gritty of how money is spent in communities,...

GRPD presents findings at town hall meeting. Photo by Tanner Vincent.

Inside the GRPD racial bias study: Calvin students describe their role in the research

Carolyn Muyskens
April 28, 2017

Calvin student Grace Maurer and Calvin alumnus Ari Vangeest led teams of surveyors last fall to study racial bias in Grand Rapids policing. The results of their study, which found that black drivers...

A mistake with the voting platform led to nearly three hours of votes being negated. Photo courtesy Calvin Senate.

Student senate election initially allows multiple votes

Carolyn Muyskens
April 27, 2017

Ballots sent out to the student body at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning gave students the opportunity to vote for their chosen student senate candidates — as many times as they wanted, and without any measure...

Grand Rapidians march in support of science

Carolyn Muyskens
April 21, 2017

Hundreds of Grand Rapids science advocates will take to the streets this Saturday. March For Science Grand Rapids — which also coincides with this year’s national observance of Earth Day — is...

This week in Lansing

Carolyn Muyskens
April 6, 2017

The Michigan Senate and House have adjourned for two weeks, until April 18 and 19 respectively. In the meantime, bills and resolutions are in various stages making their way through the process of introduction,...

Photo courtesy www.gvsu.edu.

GVSU revises free speech policy after lawsuit

Carolyn Muyskens
March 10, 2017

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) loosened its regulation of on-campus free speech last week as part of a settlement with conservative student group Turning Point USA. GVSU no longer requires students...

Diesel fuel found leaking into Plaster Creek

Carolyn Muyskens
March 3, 2017

A Kentwood resident called 911 on Tuesday to report the smell of diesel fuel coming from Plaster Creek. The firefighters and engineers who responded to the call discovered that the source of the leak was...

5,000 students absent on day of protest

Carolyn Muyskens
February 24, 2017

Approximately 5,000 Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) students skipped school last Thursday, Feb. 16 in protest of President Trump’s immigration order. The absences brought the district of 16,834...

The proposed cut from 4.25 to 3.9 percent would leave the lowest income bracket with $16 more a year than before. graph by Maddie Hughey; source: Institution on Taxation and economic policy.

Michigan lawmakers propose scrapping income tax

Carolyn Muyskens
February 17, 2017

In some of the first bills introduced this year, Michigan lawmakers are looking to wipe out the personal income tax with proposals in both the House and Senate. The Michigan House’s Tax Policy committee...

Bethany Christian Services helped resettle this Sudanese family in West Michigan; Photo courtesy Bethany.org

Interview with Bethany Christian Services refugee director

Carolyn Muyskens
February 10, 2017

In the wake of President Trump’s executive order halting all refugee entrance to the U.S. and the subsequent restraining order on the order, refugee resettlement agencies have been scrambling to continue...

Calvin alumna Betsy DeVos confirmed as education secretary

Carolyn Muyskens
February 10, 2017

With Vice President Mike Pence’s tie-breaking vote, the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos, a Calvin College alumna, to be education secretary Tuesday morning. DeVos now holds the highest governmental position...

Mayor Bliss and Governor Snyder respond to refugee ban

Carolyn Muyskens
February 3, 2017

In a statement Tuesday, Grand Rapids mayor Rosalynn Bliss articulated her disappointment with the recent executive order halting refugee entry to the United States as well as travel to the U.S. for nationals...

Dozens turned away from Rep. Amash’s town hall

Carolyn Muyskens
January 29, 2017

Around one hundred gathered around the doors to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in the freezing rain last Tuesday, Jan.17, waiting to hear if they would be allowed inside. They had come to participate...

Photo by Carolyn Muyskens

GVSU’s Common Ground Initiative: Journalists debate race and the American dream

Carolyn Muyskens
January 29, 2017

As a part of Grand Valley State University’s Common Ground Initiative, a series that seeks common values in our politically divided culture, GVSU hosted Nikole Hannah-Jones and Jason Riley to speak on...

DeVos grilled at senate hearing

Carolyn Muyskens
January 29, 2017

The Senate confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos, nominee to head the Department of Education, allowed DeVos to express her passion for school choice and respond to criticism relating to conflicts of interest....

January Series (1/17): Doris Kearns Goodwin

Carolyn Muyskens
January 18, 2017

“How Did We Get Here? A Historical Perspective on Our Wild 2016 Election” Doris Kearns Goodwin, who President Le Roy introduced as America’s “historian-in-chief,”  began her talk by admitting...

Michigan’s youngest-ever lawmaker sworn in

Carolyn Muyskens
January 13, 2017

As Michigan’s 99th House of Representatives kicked off a new year on Wednesday, Jan. 11, the Capitol welcomed the youngest legislator in Michigan history. Rep. Jewell Jones, D-Dearborn Heights, is...

Four new charges in Flint water investigation

Carolyn Muyskens
January 13, 2017

The criminal investigation into the Flint water crisis has made visible progress for the first time in months as Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette charged four people with crimes related to the case...

Trump to stop in GR Friday

Carolyn Muyskens
December 9, 2016

Last time Grand Rapids hosted the president-elect, it was the night before the election — or perhaps more accurately, the morning of the election. Donald Trump was late to his own rally and didn’t...

Michigan begins Stein-led election recount

Carolyn Muyskens
December 9, 2016

Editor's Note: This article was written on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Michigan’s sixteen electoral votes weren’t officially Trump’s until last Monday, Nov. 28 — nineteen days after Trump clinched the...

Calvin alum to head US Department of Education

Carolyn Muyskens
December 2, 2016

A Calvin College graduate is poised to take a top position in President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration. Betsy DeVos, a billionaire political activist and philanthropist, is Trump’s pick for...

#NotMyPresident protests fill streets in downtown Grand Rapids

Carolyn Muyskens
November 18, 2016

Chanting “Donald Trump has got to go,” and “Love trumps hate,” protesters took to the streets of downtown Grand Rapids last week Thursday and Saturday as part of a national movement united under...

Photo by Carolyn Muyskens

Austin Channing Brown: writing down the bones

Carolyn Muyskens
November 18, 2016

“Austin, your father and I had a really hard time coming up with your name.” Austin Channing Brown’s name is much more than a homage to her great-grandfather. It was a strategic choice, her parents’...

Photo by Carolyn Muyskens, taken outside the entrance to the DeVos Place before the Monday night rally in Grand Rapids.

Trump wins presidency in historic upset, Michigan turns red for first time in 28 years

Carolyn Muyskens
November 11, 2016

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, Nov. 9, Republican nominee Donald Trump surpassed 270 electoral votes to become president-elect of the United States. The Washington Post called it a “stunning...

Lehninger debuts as GR Symphony music director

Carolyn Muyskens
November 5, 2016

Marcelo Lehninger was greeted by raucous applause the minute he stepped onto the stage last Friday to lead the Grand Rapids Symphony for the first time as its new music director. Lehninger, who was...

Flint water crisis: where are we now?

Carolyn Muyskens
October 28, 2016

One year ago, on Oct. 2, 2015, Gov. Rick Snyder publicly acknowledged that high levels of lead had been reported in Flint residents’ water. Today, after a seven-month-long federal state of emergency...

Photo by Beth Sherman

Introducing: listening to the stories of the neighborhoods

Carolyn Muyskens
September 16, 2016

First-year students won’t need any introduction to the phrase “listening to the stories of the neighborhoods.” Listening to the stories of the neighborhoods was the theme Streetfest coordinator Beth...

Calvin students serve at 13th annual Grand River cleanup

Carolyn Muyskens
September 16, 2016

Last weekend, around 30 Calvin students spent their Saturday morning picking trash out of the Grand River’s surrounding banks. The students, members of Calvin’s Environmental Stewardship Coalition,...

Photo by Carolyn Muyskens

Little Free Libraries promote literacy, community

Carolyn Muyskens
September 16, 2016

Little Free Libraries are precisely what they sound like: small-scale neighborhood book exchanges. They have sprung up all over Grand Rapids in the past few years. Funded, built and maintained by individuals...

D'Arts Donuts, photo by Carolyn Muyskens

New city wide dining options for 2016

Carolyn Muyskens
September 16, 2016

This summer saw no shortage of new Grand Rapids eateries. Here’s a small sampling of what’s new around town.   That Early Bird – Eastown – 1445 Lake Drive SE Faced with the tall order...

Over the summer: GR community responds to issues of race and policing

Carolyn Muyskens
September 16, 2016

In the aftermath of racially-charged shootings nationwide, members of the Grand Rapids community came together to mourn violence, learn from the experiences of others and investigate where racism might...

photo by Michael Hsu

Johnny’s renovations to include additional seating, improved atmosphere

Carolyn Muyskens
March 5, 2014

Student senate voted last Tuesday in favor of renovating the hallway behind Johnny’s with the addition of a bar-style seating area. “The biggest student need is seating,” said junior Ashley Moore,...

Photo by Grant Alphenaar.

Students celebrate culture at World Food Fair

Carolyn Muyskens
October 17, 2013

Students celebrated culture while tickling their taste buds at the World Food Fair this Friday. Held on the east end of commons lawn, the final event of UnLearn Week was set up carnival-style, featuring...

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