Campus News

Students Against Sweatshops and President Russell Osgood have reached an accord in the long process toward a CODE OF CONDUCT FOR COLLEGE CLOTHING PURCHASES. The new policy would dictate the formation of a committee that will review purchasing decisions based on three external codes of conduct. If approved by Vice President for Student Services John Kalkbrenner and Grinnell’s trustees, the policy should be adopted soon . . . The Forum is now distributing FREE HOT WATER. The decision comes as a result of a student initiative passed last semester sponsored by Vice President Devan McGranahan. The free water is currently available on a trial basis to get a sense of demand . . .

Over 100 students registered their disapproval for war in Iraq at a DIE-IN outside the college post office Wednesday. The media event was part of a nationwide day of action against the war which, at many other schools, involved student strikes and walkouts . . . 

Meanwhile, Mike Kluerer ’06, brandishing an Iraqi flag, expressed a contrary PRO-WAR OPINION. “Every day we wait is another life lost,” he said . . . Two members of Grinnell’s debate team TOOK A FALL FOR ABORTION RIGHTS at a tournament at Willamette University last weekend. The team of Paul Ames ‘04 and Shaun Southworth ‘04 were undefeated and ranked third of 100 teams when, in the octofinals, they were asked to argue for “keeping politics out of humanitarian assistance.” Rather than following the implication—that “keeping politics out” meant cutting funding for abortion clinics—the pair decided to argue that forbidding abortion funding is a political choice, too. They lost. “It was a hard decision,” said Southworth. “It was a team we normally easily could have beaten” . . .

Angered by a new college policy forbidding the hanging of “political” messages out dorm windows, some students took matters into their own hands this week (see p. 1) . . . The Grinnell Mac Users Group will hold its second-ever meeting tomorrow at 4 p.m. The new student group will meet once every two weeks and provide information and assistance for campus Macintosh users.

Off Campus News

After months of indecision, the Grinnell Private Investment Corporation decided in late February to purchase Grinnell’s CINEMA THEATER and the property to its south. The group of local investors has been weighing the possible benefit of reopening the defunct theater as a tri-plex. A study by economists at Iowa State University estimated that a new tri-plex could pump $622,000 per year into the local economy . . . On March 1 the Grinnell City Council hired Jody L. Matherly to serve as the city’s NEW POLICE CHIEF. Matherly, formerly a police officer in Flint, Mich., will begin his tenure on April 7. He replaces Police Chief Mike Birmingham, who retired because of a disability . . . The GRINNELL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER recently received a $250,000 donation from a local family. The money will go to renovate and improve the physical and occupational therapy departments. Upgrades include doubling the facility’s space, which will allow for a new physical therapy gym, five additional exam/modality rooms and a new reception area . . . Grinnell College announced Monday it plans to donate one million dollars to the City of Grinnell to support various community projects, including improvements to Grinnell High School and the Grinnell Regional Medical Center, the construction of a new public safety building, and support for Grinnell Renaissance, a community development organization.

—Michael Andersen, Lola Garcia, David Archer, and Kennedy Leavens

Source: Grinnell Herald-Register