News
February 22, 2024
Student Senate focuses on unity, student privacy
The Goshen College Student Senate is pushing for change and unity. The Senate is made up of Gabe Martinez, president; Javier Reyes, vice president; Jaelyn Amhdar, vice president of marketing; and Richard Figueroa Jr., treasurer. Gilberto Pérez Jr. and Spencer Castillo serve as faculty advisers. Additionally, at their last meeting, the Senate voted to accept two new applicants: Carmen Merino as an at-large member, and Ashgaan Al-Bahal, who will serve as the liaison for student organizations. One big focus so far for the Senate has been GC’s website — specifically, the student directory. While on campus and logged in, GC...
February 22, 2024
Alderfer Fisher wins oratorical contest
Annika Alderfer Fisher, a senior sociology and art double major, won the 2024 C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest on Tuesday. Her speech was titled “The Inequity of Overconsumption.” The contest, held annually, features five Goshen College students, each of whom has the opportunity to give a 10-minute speech on any topic as it relates to peace. Mariela Esparza, a senior English major, finished second with her speech, “Overseen yet Overlooked: Children as an Oppressed Class.” Speaking last, Esparza focused on the imbalance of power between adults and children that causes many issues with our children, the next generation. She...
February 15, 2024
Ehst named associate academic dean
Suzanne Ehst is transitioning from her role as professor and director of secondary education, as well as core curriculum director, to the role of associate academic dean. Beth Martin Birky, the current associate academic dean, is retiring at the end of this academic year. Ehst said, “I’m at a point in my life where I like that [administrative] work … collaboration with colleagues across campus and thinking of the bigger picture.” Moving to administrative responsibilities means moving away from teaching, which has been a part of Ehst’s life for many years. “I have been teaching in some form or another...
February 15, 2024
Res Life on housing
Goshen College’s Residence Life team hosted this year’s Housing Information Night for the 2024-25 school year this past Monday evening in the Church-Chapel fellowship hall. Led by Chandler Buchfeller, director of residence life and housing, the meeting covered housing and meal plan options available for the upcoming school year, timelines for housing selection, and application processes for all on-campus spaces. The first notable change for next year is that housing deposits for the Intentional Living Communities and the Octavio Romero Student Apartments are $75, compared to $200 in previous years. This change is partly due to “Homies 4 Housing,” a...
February 6, 2024
Brunson fired after 6-day leave
Goshen College terminated the employment of Richard Brunson, former associate professor of music and director of the Goshen College Symphony Orchestra, on Monday, Feb. 12. He had been on administrative leave for six days. The college placed Brunson on leave on Feb. 6, one day after the publication of an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that detailed his resignation from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Marshfield in the wake of a sexual harassment investigation in 2022. In a written statement provided to The Record and Goshen College, Michael Brown, Brunson’s lawyer, said, “Dr. Brunson, knowing he has done wrong,...
February 1, 2024
Ecuador SST ‘abundantly welcomed’
Over three weeks ago, the Ecuadorian government declared war against criminal groups and arrested thousands of gang members, ultimately leading to a sharp increase in gang-related activity. The recent violence follows a trend of organized crime that began around 20 years ago, following changes in drug restriction laws in South America. Despite current headlines about violence between the government of Ecuador and criminal groups along the coast, Goshen College students currently on SST there still feel safe and welcomed in their day-to-day lives. The students are currently housed in Quito, around six hours away from Guayaquil, a city that has...
February 1, 2024
Master Class to feature voice coach, preacher
The keynote speaker for the 2024 Roy H. Umble Master Class is Allan Rudy-Froese, a professor at Anabaptist-Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart and a certified vocal coach. He will present his address, “Learning to Use Your Voice Well,” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Umble Center. The Master Class celebrates the life of Roy H. Umble, longtime Goshen College faculty member who was deeply involved in both radio and theater. Rudy-Froese’s certification as a Designated Linklater Teacher, comes after studying under Kristin Linklater, vocal coach for renowned actors including Patrick Stewart and Alfre Woodard. “We are delighted to welcome Allan...
February 1, 2024
Theater department operates with one professor
Ever since associate professor Anna Kurtz Kuk left in early 2022, professor Amy Budd and theater technical director Jacob Claassen have been the only employees in the Goshen College theater department. Only in late 2022 did GC start the process of recruiting someone to complete the theater professor’s team. Unfortunately, the search was not successful. Ann Vendrely, academic dean, said that the school held a search for a new faculty member but could not find a qualified one. Instead, Budd hired an adjunct that agreed to return next year. “We are hopeful that we will have funding to support a...
February 1, 2024
Prospective students gather for Celebrate Scholars weekend
Goshen College hosted Celebrate Scholars Day last Saturday, an opportunity for high-achieving high school students to learn more about GC’s offered academic programs. While on campus, students attended presentations and panels from current GC students and staff, as well as a fine arts showcase in Umble, which featured music, readings and more. Prospective students also underwent interviews related to achievement scholarships that they’ve applied for. Steve Wolma, vice president for enrollment management, said, “Celebrate Scholars is an opportunity for us to interact with highly engaged and talented prospective students. We invite them to campus and showcase the educational experience they...
January 25, 2024
AD building elevator out for semester
Prompting more concerns over campus accessibility, the elevator in the Administration Building has suffered a “catastrophic failure,” according to Brian Mast, director of facilities at Goshen College. The elevator is not expected to be operational again this academic year. After students left at the end of the fall semester, the elevator’s hydraulic system lost a significant amount of fluid. This left the system’s pump without cooling fluid, and it began to overheat. “The way it went out was a little dramatic,” Mast said. “Smoke started coming out of the elevator equipment room, and the fire department was called.” The elevator...
January 25, 2024
Students join march for peace
Goshen College students joined community members in Elkhart on Saturday at a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The protest was organized by community members from Goshen and Elkhart. Luisa Dutchersmith, a junior elementary education and TESOL major, played a role in organizing the event. She was involved in general brainstorming and leading songs and chants. “I was happy with the turnout,” Dutchersmith said. “There were about 100 people there, which for Elkhart in 15-degree weather was pretty good. And there was some news coverage on it, which is what we want.” Each protester has a different reason for...
January 25, 2024
GC preps for annual drag show
Goshen College will be hosting its third annual drag show on Saturday, Feb. 3 in Umble Center. The event will be hosted by Advocates, GC’s LGBTQ+ proponent group, along with support from other affinity groups. Traditionally, the show includes spirited performances by local drag queens alongside students who volunteer to perform. The show is still in need of more student performers. To sign up, students can fill out the Google Form linked in the Jan. 19 Communicator, or send an email to advocates@goshen.edu. There will be a drag workshop before the show for those who are interested but inexperienced. Leaders...
January 25, 2024
Construction forces drivers to adjust
The parking lot on Ninth Street is closed to students this semester. The lot has been set aside for the construction workers doing the Westlawn renovation. It was primarily used by commuter students, who are now having to make alternate arrangements. GC administration was not notified of the Ninth Street lot closure until early August. Chad Coleman, director of campus safety, manages the parking areas on campus. He found out the plan was to repurpose the lot after he had already finalized the new parking map. “It was just kind of an oversight … not on us, but just like...
January 18, 2024
Graber joins faculty
Ben Graber is a new adjunct professor of Spanish this semester at Goshen College. The position opened when Cristobal Garza filled the role of SST leader in this semester’s Ecuador unit, and with the opening, Graber is taking over the Spanish 101 course. Graber graduated from GC in 2008 with a degree in Spanish education. In his time at GC, he went to the Dominican Republic on SST for further Spanish immersion and spent a semester in Ecuador with Brethren Colleges Abroad for his major. “I was excited about doing something different like this,” Graber said. “I’ve been a homemaker...
January 18, 2024
Mary Oyer dies at 100
Mary Oyer died in Goshen on January 11, 2024, at the age of 100. Oyer was a professor emerita of music at Goshen College. Oyer moved to Goshen in August of 1924 at 16 months old, after her father, Noah Oyer, took a job as the dean of GC. She moved into a yellow house on Eighth Street, right across the road from campus. Oyer graduated GC in 1944 and then began working at GC the following year where she would work until 1987. In those early summers she studied cello at the University of Michigan. In 1958 she would...