Six students were elected to the Student Senate earlier this month, increasing the total number of members on the governing body to 10. This is the largest senate representation since the 2015-16 term. Five students will serve as at-large representatives this year, with two of them alternating in the spring semester: Kaleb Barham, a first-year biology major; Jalani Brooks, a junior molecular biology and biochemistry major; Harry Cruz, a first-year history pre-law major; Senper Solomon Teferi, a junior nursing major (fall); and Shalom Teferi, a sophomore molecular biology and biochemistry major (spring). In a four-way race for the student liaison...

By Eliza Alemán • September 25, 2025 • News

Last week, the U.S. Department of  Education announced that it will be ending grant funding to certain minority-serving institutions. This includes Goshen College, which has had the designation of Hispanic-Serving Institution since 2023. This change represents a significant cut to grants nationally. According to the DOE’s press release, “Approximately $350 million in discretionary funds were expected to be allocated to support these programs in fiscal year 2025. These funds will be reprogrammed into programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities.” President Rebecca Stoltzfus said that this did not come as a total...

By Josiah Miller • September 18, 2025 • News

The Harold and Wilma Good Library, which was closed for renovations for most of the summer, reopened on Aug. 25, just in time for the first day of classes.  What visitors to the library may notice first is the removal of a large section of the front desk area; what they may not immediately see are improvements higher up.  “We redid the ceiling, which was actually the messiest and most noticeable part of the entire renovation,” said Fritz Hartman, director of the library. The goal was to make the entrance area more open and inviting. New features, such as updates...

By May Boudreau • September 18, 2025 • News

Goshen College hosted a bilingual chapel entitled “Servicio de Adoración” on Wednesday. This chapel, meant to resemble a Spanish worship service, included worship songs sung entirely in Spanish and a message from Cristian Alemán, the outreach coordinator and bilingual music director at College Mennonite Church.  The chapel opened with a song, followed by a welcome from Natalie Pineda Vasquez, a senior music major. Pineda Vasquez shared her passion for the event and invited all present to “praise” and participate, no matter their reason for attending. The idea for the chapel originated with Pineda Vasquez last school year. “It started out...

By Lindsey Graber • September 18, 2025 • News

The 2025-26 first-year cohort brings 188 new students to Goshen College, with an additional 47 transfer students. Steve Wolma, vice president for enrollment management, said the main characteristics of this cohort include a higher average high school GPA and an 8% increase in the amount of people who have identified themselves as Mennonite. This has resulted in the distribution of 4% more Dean’s Academic Scholarships and double the number of Mennonites from the previous cohort. Enrollment remains high after the 2023-24 first-year cohort only brought in 156 students, the lowest number in over a decade. Since then, Wolma said, “We...

By Mackenzie P. Miller • September 18, 2025 • News

After serving as the executive director of Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College for five years, Jason Martin was placed on administrative leave on June 25, leading to his resignation on July 23. Becky Overholt, a former farm-hand and regular volunteer at Merry Lea, learned Martin was under administrative leave informally from Doug Vendreley, a Merry Lea board member. “All he said is, ‘FYI, I just want you to know that Jason’s been placed on administrative leave while they investigate him. I can’t say anything more than that,’” Overholt said. The reasoning for Martin’s administrative leave remains confidential....

By Eliza Alemán • September 4, 2025 • News Aaliah Higareda • September 4, 2025 • News

Though there aren’t any new faces within the Student Life team this year, there has been some departmental shakeup. With a promotion for Chandler Buchfeller, extended hours for Jen Shenk and yet another position for Chad Coleman, students are still likely to see some changes. For Buchfeller, now the associate dean of students, the transition from director of residence life and housing was one that he feels will play even better to his strengths. The new role is “giving me an opportunity to utilize my knowledge and skills to continue working at crafting the best student experience that we can...

By Kate Bodiker • September 4, 2025 • News

The Goshen College Commuter Lounge is on the move once again, with its latest relocation expected to be ready by the end of September or early October. The space was originally scheduled to open at the start of the academic year, but delays have since pushed the timeline back. According to the Goshen College website, “around four out of every ten Goshen students live off campus.” Many of these students have long hoped for a permanent place on campus where they can study, relax and feel a sense of belonging. The new lounge will be located in the former Leadership...

By Ana Alves Machado • September 4, 2025 • News

In an email to Goshen College employees on Aug. 19, President Rebecca Stoltzfus announced that Ben Bontrager, vice president for finance and operations and GC’s chief financial officer, will be departing from his role at as of Sept. 17. He has accepted a role at Everence as chief financial officer. Bontrager has been working in his role at Goshen College since 2022. In this role, he provides oversight to all of the financial functions of GC, especially when it comes to the behind the scenes of the college’s academics. Mindy Schlegel, director of ITS enterprise applications and innovation, works with...

By Mackenzie P. Miller • September 4, 2025 • News

Goshen College announced Dwight Gingerich as the new athletic director on Wednesday morning. Gingerich is currently the head of school and boy’s basketball head coach at Hillcrest Academy in Kalona, Iowa – formerly named Iowa Mennonite School. He will start his duties at GC on July 1.  Gingerich said in GC’s press release, “Our family loved our time at Goshen and I am very grateful to President Stoltzfus and the search committee for this opportunity to return. “I am excited to lean into the college’s core values of Christ-centeredness, passionate learning, servant leadership, compassionate peacemaking and global citizenship, as we...

By Tyson Miller • May 14, 2025 • News

Students signed up for the Navajo Nation Study Service Term were informed on Monday that they are no longer going to Arizona. Instead, they will be spending May Term locally, with most of their time at Camp Friedenswald in Michigan, focusing on the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and the Miami Tribe. This abrupt change comes after a fire at Diné College on April 14, where the group was going to fulfill the study portion of their SST experience. The fire caused significant damage to their Student Union Building, and there is an ongoing investigation into the cause. Last week, AZ...

By Mackenzie P. Miller • April 27, 2025 • News

On Tuesday evening, students, staff, community members and faculty gathered in Umble Center for a conversation between President Rebecca Stoltzfus and filmmaker Martin Doblmeier about his career.  Doblmeier is a filmmaker known for his documentaries focusing on religious subjects and significant historical figures. Throughout the night, he answered several questions concerning not only his professional journey but also his faith and values.  He began by discussing the importance of fostering deeper understanding between different faith communities. “I was born, raised, educated Roman Catholic … And then I began this work … and I began to find myself in so many...

By Igor Sapucaia • April 17, 2025 • News

Sarah Augustine is a Tewa woman who is the co-founder and executive director of  the coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery.  Announced publicly on March 27, Augustine will be the keynote speaker for the 127th Commencement Ceremony at Goshen College. Augustine said the main work of the coalition is decolonization. “Our work is to undo in the name of Christ what was done in the name of Christ … dismantle laws and policies that are the product of colonization,” she said. They invite people who are descendants of Christians and settlers to join with Indigenous peoples in their movements...

By Mackenzie P. Miller • April 17, 2025 • News

The Student Senate once again met on April 7 in Westlawn for their biweekly meeting. All senate members were present, as well as two students there to observe.  To open the meeting, Brian Mast, director of facilities, spoke to questions that have been coming up recently regarding ADA door openers. He reiterated that if there is a problem on campus, students must report the issue to someone in power, such as their RA or others on the ResLife team.  Members of the senate wondered if the necessity of repairs could be avoided by instituting frequent check-ins and battery replacements, but...

By Kate Bodiker • April 17, 2025 • News

April 9 marked the 26th annual Academic Symposium at Goshen College. Since no classes were scheduled for the day, students had the opportunity to attend sessions throughout the day which started at 8:30 a.m. and finished with the Graduating Leader Award ceremony at 3:30 p.m.  However, this isn’t what the symposium always looked like. Years in the past, the event would take place on a weekend. Jody Saylor, director of development and academic innovation and chair of the academic symposium planning committee, said, “It was hard to get people to attend. Eventually, and I’m not sure who made the decision...

By Annabelle Bartz • April 17, 2025 • News