Skip to Main Content
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

Maya Oeverman

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor

Maya Oeverman is a Junior from Grand Rapids, MI studying English Literature with minors in journalism, film and media, and psychology. When not in class or working on Chimes things she can be found at the Climbing wall, enjoying time outside, and reading or working on a latest writing project in the library with a nice cup of tea.

All content by Maya Oeverman
Pitchup awards cash prizes to the creators of the winning ideas.

Start-Up Garage Presents PitchUp: A More Positive Spin On Shark Tank

Maya Oeverman and McKenna Wilkinson
November 18, 2024

Last Wednesday, 12 Calvin students presented their ideas – and four walked away with prizes – during Calvin’s fourth annual Pitchup.  The concept of Pitchup is similar to that of the popular...

The cadaver lab is one of Calvin's recently completed capital projects.

Calvin unveils first-ever fully operational cadaver lab

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
October 14, 2024

For the first time this year, Calvin has started its very own cadaver lab to give a better education to anatomy students.  The lab space itself resides on the basement level of Devries Hall, which...

The Calvin Music Festival is one of several opportunities for the community to hear music by Calvin students. Photo courtesy of Nate Glasper.

Music Department Expands Programming

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
September 30, 2024

Calvin’s music department has launched the new school year by welcoming several new programs and professors to their program. The new programming includes the return of the Bachelor of Music Education...

Calvin's biology department orchestrated controlled burns on parts of campus to improve the areas' ecological health.

Biology department oversees controlled burns on campus

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
April 22, 2024

For the first time in six years, ecosystems on Calvin’s campus underwent controlled burns organized by the biology department to improve the areas’ ecological health through controlling invasive species...

How far is too far? Manifestation cleverly handles questions of success and achievement

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
April 15, 2024

How far would you go to achieve everything you’ve ever wanted? What kinds of deals would you make if it guaranteed you would reach those goals?  The Manifestation, written and directed by Geert Heetebrij,...

Dumpster diving for donuts has been a popular activity among some Calvin students for years.

Treats and treasures from the trash

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
March 18, 2024

Dumpster diving at Calvin has persisted across time and social groups as a fun way to bring people together, reduce waste and cost-effectively “shop.”  “Open access to dumpsters in Michigan effectively...

FAFSA changes streamline application, delay aid

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
February 26, 2024

The federal government has made many changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which has led to delays in awarding aid for the 2024-2025 academic year.  According to Paula Elenbaas,...

Kill-a-Watt is an opportunity for students to reconnect with nature.

Kill-a-Watt saves enough energy to run two houses for a month

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
February 19, 2024

Calvin’s 2024 Kill-a-Watt challenge led to dorms saving close to 3,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power and engaging in multiple sustainability challenges and educational opportunities. In the end, residence...

Honor’s 2019 knot participated in the “Athens Game,” which is one of the ways honors students have engaged
with materials from their classes.

Honors program seeks renewed emphasis on interdisciplinarity

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
February 12, 2024

After years of changes within the program and across the university’s core, Calvin’s honors program is working to stabilize and better the student experience with another curriculum change that is...

Sarah J. Maas’s success comes at the expense of young readers

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
January 29, 2024

Walk into any bookstore these days and I assure you, you will find some table or display dedicated to Sarah J. Maas. She is a current New York Times bestselling author, and you cannot scroll through two...

Rangeela’s kickoff meeting was too large to hold in a lecture hall, so the
organization used all of Johnny’s as well as Johnny’s cave.

Invigorated by last year’s momentum, Rangeela continues to grow

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
January 29, 2024

Rangeela, a Calvin favorite deferred throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and then challenged by a transition from a university-run program to a student organization, is on the come-up this year with a marked...

Halloween traditions through the years

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
October 31, 2023

Halloween has always been a time for scares, gathering together and closeness with the unknown. As Halloween  has changed, it has developed traditions we associate with the holiday today. Black and...

Fifteen students cleaned about 125 pounds of garbage off the beach.

Geo department leads coastal cleanup

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
October 23, 2023

On Sept. 23, 2023 students from the geology, geography and environmental studies department participated in September Adopt-A-Beach Coastal Cleanup as a part of initiatives in the department to get students...

WGA strike comes to an end

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
October 2, 2023

After 146 days on strike, the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) has come to an agreement with studio executives.  The strike, which is the longest in WGA history, started on May 2 in response to how...

Calvin's Communications Department offers a number of programs.

Compass College closing sends many new students to Calvin

Maya Oeverman and Savannah Shustack
September 18, 2023

Calvin’s student body swelled this year in part because of the 41 incoming film and media students arriving from Compass College.  Compass College was a small Christian vocational-technical school...

A performer stands on the Gezon Auditorium stage.

Lighting issue closes Gezon Auditorium

Maya Oeverman, General Assignment Editor
September 12, 2023

Over the summer, the Gezon Auditorium –– located in the Spoelhof University Center –– had to be closed for all use after a failure in the lighting system.  Lighting systems like the one in...

On Aug. 31, Cokes and Clubs took place on Commons Lawn, where countless students learned more about Calvin's many student organizations and clubs.

[Photo] Didn’t get to see all of the tables at Cokes and Clubs? Get to know some of Calvin’s newly chartered clubs!

Liana Hirner, Culture Editor
September 12, 2023

On Aug. 31, Cokes and Clubs took place on Commons Lawn, where countless students learned more about Calvin's many student organizations and clubs.

Many different projects are in phase 1 of completion.

“There’s a hopefulness in building”

Enrollment and morale increases at Calvin despite lingering questions
Savannah Shustack and Maya Oeverman
September 5, 2023

There was nary a spot to stand at the first Friday chapel of the school year. Students –– many of whom are football players –– filled the bleachers at the new turf soccer field, surrounded by orange,...

Reynolds’ film “In the Between the Lines” is about his personal experience with his parents.

New films produced by students to premiere at Media Showcase

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
April 15, 2023

The annual Media Showcase — a chance for film production students to showcase the projects they have spent the semester working on — will take place April 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Covenant Fine Arts...

Simon’s love of sport came out of his own experience running track at Calvin
and in the Paralympics.

Recent grad hired to study and promote disability inclusion on campus

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
March 19, 2023

Recent graduate Simon Detmer has returned to Calvin to serve as Research Assistant to the Office of the President, with special focus on disability, accessibility and inclusion. Detmer, a class of ’22...

While large campus events have struggled to attract students post pandemic, more unstructured dorm sponsored events have had more success.

Post-pandemic, students are less interested in new events, more interested in casual hangouts

Maya Oeverman, General Assignement Editor
March 12, 2023

Some of the more obvious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are fading, but there are long-lasting effects that Calvin’s campus, as well as campuses across the country, are still experiencing.   Lingering...

Internships prepare students across campus for life after college

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
February 13, 2023

As the semester wears on, the time to start pursuing possible summer opportunities draws nearer. “Internships are an important part of the educational experience,” LaShone Manuel, a career coach in...

Bookstores are a fading industry; we shouldn’t let them go

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
February 6, 2023

Over the last few years, I have seen more and more bookstores in the area close their doors. Between post-pandemic conditions and the increasing popularity of online stores like Amazon, brick-and-mortar...

How to actually have sweet dreams in college

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
February 6, 2023

Getting a quality night's sleep is important to physical and mental health, but it can be challenging to get the sleep you need while in college. Rachel Sportel, a nurse practitioner at Calvin, met with...

Individuals participating in Calvin’s CPI program sometimes attend the
Grand Rapids campus after reentry to complete their education.

Calvin senior and professor awarded Hatfield Prize

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
January 29, 2023

Senior Emily Steen and Professor Mark Mulder have been awarded a Hatfield Prize for their research on policies and programs to help formerly incarcerated people gain access to higher education opportunities...

Protesters across the world marched for justice for women in Afghanistan.

Calvin grad helps organize global protests

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
January 22, 2023

Calvin alumna Freshta Tori Jan led a gathering in protest of the treatment of women in Afghanistan in early January. The gathering was held at Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids. “We brought...

Calvin’s STARS rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Measuring sustainability: STARS and lawns

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
January 15, 2023

Former President Michael Le Roy signed a Climate Action Commitment in 2017, and the university’s current strategic plan holds environmental sustainability as a key value. But sustainability is hard to...

School Knights was started by senior Joey Snella and '22 Calvin alumnus Sam Boelma.

School Knights to the rescue

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
November 13, 2022

School Knights, a weekly video series showcasing student life on Calvin's campus for highschool juniors and seniors who may be considering coming to Calvin, was started by two students during the height...

The opening of the new business school indicated to VerLee that Calvin was ready for investment in entrepreneurship development.

Startup Garage’s new funding comes with new leadership and vision

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
November 6, 2022

Calvin Startup Garage — historically a student organization —  has received new funding and leadership that has propelled it to new heights in Calvin’s School of Business. Jon VerLee, former entrepreneur...

Despite high leadership turnover, student orgs maintain continuity and culture

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
November 4, 2022

The nature of Calvin’s four-year college model necessitates an ever-changing array of student club leaders. “It can be a really quick turn around,” Lucia Skuldt, editor in chief of Dialogue, said.  “I...

For commuter students, getting involved on campus takes some work. They say it’s worth it

Maya Oeverman, Campus Reporter
October 2, 2022

Commuting is an economical, and often practical, decision for local underclassmen, but it comes with social challenges. Commuter students make up roughly 6% of Calvin’s first-year class this year,...

“Good Stewards of the Earth” reminds us of the animal life we’ve lost, and encourages us to protect wildlife.

[Photo] What you should have seen at ArtPrize, according to Chimes staff

Liana Hirner, Culture Editor
October 2, 2022

“Good Stewards of the Earth” reminds us of the animal life we’ve lost, and encourages us to protect wildlife.

Load More Stories