For the Chimes staff, the school year is defined by Wednesday nights. We spend the first half of our week interviewing people and writing stories, and the second half thinking of new story ideas for the...
We, at Calvin, love to focus on relationships. More specifically, we love to talk about relationships. I am no exception to this. I like talking about my own love life almost as much as I like hearing...
Earlier this semester, we received a letter to the editor from a young woman who wanted to voice her concern about posters a student group had placed around campus. We ran the piece as anonymous, as it...
Last week, as Christians around the world celebrated Holy Week, those from Jewish traditions were celebrating Passover. While Christian traditions do not celebrate Passover, the observance is fundamentally...
Last fall, the provost’s office began to seriously investigate, “What are the enduring characteristics or qualities of thinking, doing and being that mark a Calvin graduate?”
In order to answer...
Last week, 147 Kenyan women and men, most of them students, were slaughtered in the dormitory of their college. At our own college, we should be reeling. We should be devastated.
So often, the tragedies...
It is no secret that Calvin College is in debt. However, in the past two years, Calvin has made significant steps towards balancing the budget. Last year, Calvin raised $25 million for debt relief from...
Chimes makes dozens of decisions every week: What stories will make it to print? What makes a good article? What grounds do we have for not printing something? Who has the right to submit a piece to Chimes?
Every...
Dear Seniors,
Last Tuesday, as I was sitting in my final English course of my college career, I had a brief moment of panic. I suddenly realized I forgot to take the Children’s Literature course.
I...
This week, Kate Parsons, our online editor, wrote a story about student evaluations. She talked to a lot of people at Calvin — students, professors, deans. The basis of her article was a conversation...
Last weekend Chris Smit, professor of communication arts and sciences, was awarded the Champion of Diversity Award by Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell. Three other prominent disability activists were...
Welcome back, everyone. Welcome back to the cold and to homework. Welcome back to pillow talks with your roommate and late nights finishing up assignments. We are once again entering a semester of b-quiv,...
Last week, Calvin finalized the sale of the Weyhill office building. The final closing price has not been released to the public. However, if it was purchased for the listing price, the college lost approximately...
Earlier this week, about 75 members of the Calvin community walked from the Chapel to commons lawn and stood in solidarity as part of a challenge to all CCCU schools across the country over the violence...
This past Tuesday, I woke up to two things: an email informing me classes had been cancelled due to inclement weather, and about 100 Facebook posts thanking God, mother nature and even provost Cheryl Brandsen...
This past week, we reported the listing of the Ladies Literary Club (LLC). From feedback we received, we realized the importance of context and background when forming opinions about the rationale behind...
Last week, Chimes ran a story about last month’s meeting of the Board of Trustees and the four new members that were added to the board this year.
Throughout the week, we received feedback about the...
This week, a friend of mine from East Africa was asked whether or not he was worried about catching Ebola. This friend attends the University of Chicago. The state of Illinois has exactly zero cases of...
Just as freedom of speech allows us to express our beliefs and opinions, freedom to create student organizations allows us to express our interests and passions.
I was shocked at the most recent leadership...
While both campus ministries and the religion department center around the teaching of God’s word, the two largely differ in their aim and mission.
“I'd say they both have very different and necessary...
Learning takes many forms. Lectures, discussions, readings and projects seem to fill the time we dedicate to learning, but many lessons fall outside the bounds of explicitly academic settings. If my time...
This year, Calvin’s retention of AHANA (Asian, Hispanic/Latino, African, and Native American) students dropped five percentage points, according to the Day 10 report released last Wednesday.
“I...
This past summer, I happily spent my time working at an internship in New York City. The city exposed me to many new things, including long underground commutes, dirty sidewalks, people walking home at...
Here at Chimes, we spend significant amounts of time thinking about stories you, as readers, will find valuable. We carefully deliberate over which stories are the most important, interesting and relevant...
The Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) was called to campus last week to make an arrest in the wake of multiple thefts from the campus store.
“It is an ongoing investigation, but the individual...
Unless you are currently rebelling against hygiene standards, my guess is that you wash your face at least once a day. In doing so, you may be unintentionally harming the Great Lakes.
Studies have found...
Sometimes we feel as though we do not have the authority to speak up. When we witness injustice, discrimination or harassment, we may not know if it is our place to act on behalf of the victim.
This past...
In my advanced oral rhetoric class, a student boldly stood up in front of the class and listed his two pet peeves: dirty bathrooms and “being ignored.”
I have been aware, as of late, that I am guilty...
Thirteen years ago this week our country experienced the tragedy of 9/11 when four planes were hijacked on American soil. Two hit the World Trade Center in New York City, a third the Pentagon and the fourth...
Fact (n): Something that truly exists or happens; a true piece of information.
There are thousands of things at Calvin that truly exist and happen. There are many true pieces of information. It is Chimes’...
In June, Calvin College President Michael Le Roy and 138 other religious leaders signed a formal letter to President Obama requesting a religious exemption to an executive order.
The executive order,...
After serving 15 years as vice president for student life, Shirley Hoogstra is leaving Calvin College to assume the role of president of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in September,...
Serious issues plagued the start of the student senate elections as students attempting to vote complained that they were unable to open or complete the online ballot.
In an apology shared on their Facebook...
Last Thursday in the Hoogenboom Center, The Head and the Heart performed at Calvin for their second time.
The Head and The Heart is an independent folk-rock band that also works within the genre of Americana....
The Great Gatsby Formal and Poker Night featured a live jazz band, mashed potato bar and a larger than expected turnout.
According to John Britton, associate dean of student development, the demand for...
Calvin’s provost search committee has recommended Cheryl Brandsen, Calvin’s current dean of social sciences and contextual disciplines, as the college’s next provost.
“Cheryl’s demonstrated...
The Eastown Community Association (ECA) will hold its second annual meeting and community pancake breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 8 from 8:30 to noon.
Residents and supporters of Eastown will be invited to...
Students and faculty gathered for a time of worship and testimony in the Covenant Fine Arts Center on Wednesday morning to regroup and celebrate the beginning of second semester.
“[Regathering] is a...
At their January meeting, the board of trustees passed the strategic plan, a document outlining Calvin’s five year mission plan.
“The board of trustees commends and thanks the many who participated...
The stand-alone curriculum center will be retired by next fall if recent prioritization recommendations are passed by the board of trustees in January.
The center, which was founded in 1978, provides...
The cost of living in the Knollcrest East apartments (KE) will rise by $250 per resident per year starting next year, according to a prioritization report released Monday morning.
“You have to make...
Calvin’s semester in Ghana is likely to change following a push by the University of Ghana to standardize all international programs.
Calvin’s semester has existed as one of only two stand-alone programs...
Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy at Calvin say their transition to Orthodoxy has been well received by Calvin’s academic community.
Juniors Joseph Olivares and Malak Alkanani, recent converts to Eastern...
On the Nov. 5 ballot, Grand Rapids voters will vote on a seven-year millage that would raise taxes by 0.98 mills (a unit of property tax) and provide stable funding to Grand Rapids parks, pools and playgrounds.
Supporters...
Aquinas College and Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) signed an articulation agreement that will allow faculty from both schools to work together to create a seamless transfer for GRCC students.
Articulation...
Professors from the English, philosophy and religion departments say the new core draft does not make a good enough case to prompt changes to current core.
These faculty members argue the process of core...
Grand Valley’s notorious “wrecking ball” sculpture that was removed after students rode it nude to parody Miley Cyrus’ wrecking ball music video will be reinstalled once safety repairs are made.
The...
Faculty senate added a second student representative to the core curriculum committee for a two-year trial period Monday night.
Calvin’s committee on governance had unanimously approved the proposal...
A student panel will be consulted at the end of the search process for a new provost, President Le Roy told Chimes Monday.
Student senate considered pushing for a student representative on the search...
Calling the current core “unsustainable” and “too large,” a rough draft for a new core curriculum would cut the number of core credits from 74 down to 49 to 52.
The current draft includes a new...
With an estimated 30 million bushels this fall, Michigan’s apple crop is likely to increase by 1,000 percent from last year’s failed harvest.
According to a report from the grower-funded nonprofit...
Celebration on the Grand will take place at two venues this year and feature live music, local food and fireworks on Friday and Saturday. The event has attracted crowds for more than 30 years and is...
The official opening of Grand Rapids’ newest indoor market welcomed 19 vendors and hundreds of patrons last Monday. The grand opening followed a soft opening and ribbon cutting ceremony the previous...
The curriculum for the new class First Year Seminar (FYS) is aimed less at Calvin’s mission statement and more towards helping students navigate their first semester of college.
First Year Seminar is...
The Grand Rapids Original Swing Society is encouraging people to swing their partners — not their fists.
The popular Tuesday night swing dance event at Rosa Parks Circle is temporarily shut down and...
The Division Avenue Arts Collective (DAAC) released a statement on their website Tuesday night that the organization is being forced to leave its current location at 115 Division Ave.
The building of...
The 2013 Taste of Grand Rapids Food and Music Festival, Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned Barbecue Competition and West Michigan Trucking Show will all take place this weekend at Fifth Third Ballpark.
These...
Grand Rapids will soon become home to the second location of thriving comic book retailer Vault of Midnight from Ann Arbor, Mich.
The new comic store will move to 95 Monroe Center in early September,...
Justice still awaits the citizens of Cambodia as the Khmer Rouge trial drags on with no end in sight. Only two leaders of Khmer remain on trial and the clock is ticking as the trial reaches a deficit and...
Margaret Thatcher, prime minister of Great Britain from 1979 to 1990 passed away on Monday in London at the age of 87. According to her spokesman, Tim Bell, Thatcher died of a stroke at the Ritz hotel...
The debate over climate change in the United States was fueled on Friday by the latest report from the U.S. State Department concerning the Keystone XL oil pipeline — a 1,700 mile pipeline that would...
Senate Democratic leaders agreed upon an approximately $110 billion package to avert the looming sequester, which is scheduled to come into effect on March 1.
The package is comprised of half tax increases...
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is facing recent scrutiny concerning claims that he and other members of Spain’s Popular Party (PP), the current governing party, received payments under the table.
Rajoy...
Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize winner and co-author of three bestselling books, has been cited by Newsweek as one of the “150 Women Who Shake the World.” As an investment banker and journalist, WuDunn...
On Nov. 29, 2012, Palestine successfully gained non-member state status at the U.N. General Assembly. This follows a failed bid to gain full U.N. membership in 2011 and comes amid stalled peace negotiations...
An estimated $6 billion was spent on the 2012 election cycle, which is almost $700 million more than the previous record-breaking expenditures of the 2008 election cycle. This money was spent by the campaigns,...
Founded shortly after World War I, the Fulton Street Farmers Market has provided Grand Rapids with fresh produce for almost a century. Today, the Fulton Street Farmers Market hosts roughly 11,000 shoppers...
As Hurricane Sandy swept across the East Coast this week, Haiti was just beginning to tally up the extensive damage that the storm wreaked throughout the country over the course of four days. Over 20 inches...
The European Union imposed a new round of sanctions against Iran on Monday due to their failure to assure the international community of the peaceful intentions of their nuclear program.
These sanctions...
Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the Wealthy Street Theatre. This anniversary brought about discussions concerning the technological relevance of the theatre and more specifically its energy...
The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., hosted the memorial service for NASA pioneer and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong on Sept. 13. More than 1,500 people including Armstrong's Apollo 11 crew...
Michigan’s proposals for the Nov. 6 ballot were recently finalized, containing five potential constitutional amendments and one proposed repeal of a state law.
These proposals have already sparked...
Mexico’s Federal Electoral Tribunal, the country’s highest electoral authority, declared Enrique Pena Nieto the legitimate winner of the July 1 presidential elections.
This ruling comes despite...
