Campus Life
March 13, 2025
My time at GC
Throughout my grade-school years, I thought of college as a big deal because of the extreme academic rigor I was sure was about to ensue. I imagined spending endless hours in the library grinding away at the research paper that would determine my future. And yes, I did end up spending hours at the library, but I’d say about half of that time was spent talking with people, or playing some obscure game from the reserves with a group of friends. I have learned a great deal academically throughout my time at GC, but academic improvement was simply not what...
November 21, 2024
GC’s ‘Fruit Vent’ tradition ends
High above the sidewalk on the north side of the Science Building sits the “Fruit Vent,” a small, square hole, about six feet from the top of the building, designed to let water drain off the roof. As it sits, looking towards the dining hall, it’s in the perfect position for students walking from the dining hall to see as they make their way back to their dorms. Starting in around 2015, according to Chad Coleman, director of campus safety, students began to take whole fruits from the dining hall and throw them up at the vent, attempting to put...
October 24, 2024
Dining returns to Westlawn
On Sunday evening, Westlawn opened for dining, 415 days after it was shut down as part of broader renovations in the building. “Do you remember when we moved everything out of here?” President Rebecca Stoltzfus asked me, referencing a Saturday morning last September when Stoltzfus, along with other members of the faculty and staff, helped transition out of the dining hall into a temporary space in the Union building. Now, over a year later, Stoltzfus joined 214 other people to experience the renovated kitchen and updated dining hall. The rest of the building is currently expected to open at the...
October 10, 2024
GC goes public with campaign
On Friday, Oct. 4, Goshen College announced the public phase of their “Connected Cause” campaign after raising $60 million of $68 million during the first three years, making it the largest campaign in GC history, according to a spokesperson for the college. “Connected Cause is rooted in the mission and values that have guided Goshen College for more than 130 years,” President Becky Stoltzfus said in a press release. “It is designed to support thriving students, integrating academic excellence with real-world learning and active love for God and neighbor.” The quiet phase of the campaign began in June of 2021...
October 10, 2024
Emotional Support Animals ease student stress
There are a lot of changes that happen in a person’s life when transitioning to college. School moves away from its rigid structure as there is a lot more choice involved, and students have to move on campus. There is also stress that comes from school and other life responsibilities, and people cope in a variety of different ways. One way to help process the stress of life is through an emotional support animal. The difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal is explained by Jordan Blank, resident director: “These [service animals] go through a training program...
October 3, 2024
Proximity does not build community
In my time at Goshen College, I believe I experienced a prominent shift within the GC student body: party culture. We do not congregate on the weekends like we used to, for better or worse. Currently, most on-campus students spend weekends together in their same friend groups, huddled in dorm rooms and apartments. It’s cliquey and exclusive, but not intentionally. I think we just don’t know how else to gather. Some will invite a larger group to their spaces, but that risks noise complaints and violations. It hasn’t always been this way, though. For much of GC’s history, students, especially...
October 3, 2024
Westlawn project nears completion
After a year of construction, Westlawn will partially reopen in the final weeks of October, beginning with the dining hall. Though the menu for the first meal has not yet been announced, the director of dining services promised an expanded cuisine. Brian Mast, director of facilities at Goshen College, said that construction is on track to finish on Oct. 15. Dining services will be moving back to the ground floor of Westlawn during the week of fall break, with a tentative reopening date of Oct. 20. The nursing department, which has a new home on the second and third floors...
September 19, 2024
AD elevator: Behind schedule and over budget
Repairs on the elevator for the Administrative Building, which has been out of service since last December, will take longer and cost more than anticipated. Goshen College officials had expected the elevator to be back in service in August at the start of the fall semester; the return to service may be pushed back to December. Over the summer, GC planned to remove the elevator cylinder, or jack, piece by piece and replace it with a new jack. The jack contains the piston that pushes the elevator car up and down. This process seemed straightforward and was expected to cost...
September 19, 2024
Clocktower rings once more
After years of waiting, the clocktower’s chimes returned to campus earlier this month, ringing out every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Since most current students have never known the chimes to ring, it took a concentrated effort from Leon Stutzman, ’59, to put the wheels in motion enough to bring them back. “I have one of those recumbent trikes,” Stutzman said. “I’ve always enjoyed riding through the campus, but there were no chimes and it just didn’t seem right. It just felt kind of flat or empty.” Stutzman moved back to Goshen eight years ago, and in...
September 12, 2024
GC focuses on safety this September
September is National Campus Safety Awareness Month and the campus safety staff at Goshen College are using the opportunity to promote student safety with various tips and activities. Chad Coleman, director of campus safety, explained that September was designated as Campus Safety Awareness Month by Congress back in 2008, but that this is the first year GC is using the designation in their promotions. Coleman said, “[f]or me every month is Campus Safety Awareness Month — but this year we decided to recognize [it] as part of some greater program and awareness initiatives. It seemed timely and apt.” Kris Polega,...
September 5, 2024
ID cards lose access
The beginning of a new school year has brought a significant change to how student ID cards work around campus. This change comes in the form of access; now students can only get on the floor or in the building that they live in. Previously, ID cards would allow access to any residence hall before 11 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends. This change seeks to improve campus security, however, it poses potential problems for students trying to meet friends who live in a different building or floor. This change means that someone with a stolen ID card,...
March 21, 2024
Rio-themed prom goes downtown
For many in the graduating classes of 2024 and 2025, something major was missing from their high school experience: prom. Going to high school during the pandemic meant that, for many current juniors and seniors at GC, one of their proms was canceled just weeks before it happened. This past weekend, they had an opportunity to get that experience, as Goshen College’s Campus Activities Council hosted a prom in downtown Goshen. “Something that the senior class this year didn’t get was a prom our senior year [of high school],” said Cassidy Cwiertnia, a senior and CAC member. “So prom felt...
February 22, 2024
12 policies for GC to consider
The following is a list of policy proposals I believe GC should implement — or, at the very least, mull over at GBCo. Some of them improve overall quality of life, some of them help with cutting costs for the college, and all of them got rejected by the Student Senate. Thus, I’m using the only remaining space I know of that the administration regularly checks and takes seriously: the funnies page. Get rid of the weird smell in the Yoder staircase. Why does it smell like that? I mean, it’s not like it’s a bad smell. It’s just sort...
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...