Reed College Sports Update: New Year Edition
Most of the Reed sports teams have continued as usual this year, with both Frisbee teams and both rugby teams gearing up for another good season, and basketball continuing to exist. Men’s soccer is looking to build upon their phenomenal previous season and improve upon their already extremely impressive last year’s second-place finish and .666 [...]
Read MoreBeing Old(e) at Reed
There’s a group of students that aren’t Olde Reed, but they sure are old for Reed. Nontraditionally aged students have existed at Reed for a long time, but for the first time in Reed’s history, the Multicultural Resource Center and the Student Activities office are joining together to offer specific programming for nontraditional students. Why [...]
Read MoreGrover Construction Project Information
An ambiguous construction project has been underway near the Grove since before classes began. The mysterious piles of building materials will soon be two new tennis courts and a basketball court. Facilities Manager Steve Yeadon explained why this was a highly anticipated improvement over the old courts. Most important, the old tennis courts will be [...]
Read MoreGreenboard Direct Action
Editor’s Note: Mathilde Mouw is a member of Greenboard Greenboard, Reed’s environmental group, has traditionally concerned itself with organizing green-promoting events like Power Struggle and celebrating the success of continuing environmental efforts through Canyon Day. However, last year the group made an effort to reach out into the world of environmental activism in greater Portland [...]
Read MoreDas Racist to Visit Reed: Rap Group Defies Easy Interpretation
On September 9th, the controversial art rap group Das Racist (DR) will perform in Kaul Auditorium at 8 P.M as the Multicultural Resource Center’s inaugural event of the year. This enigmatic group inspires questions like “what the hell is this song ‘Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell’– a commentary on American consumerism or a bad [...]
Read MoreAn Introduction to Senate and Getting Shit Done at Reed: How an Idea Becomes a Reality
In third grade, we all learned about how a bill becomes a law to the tunes of Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just a Bill”. Unfortunately, Schoolhouse Rock didn’t make a Reed College equivalent, because not many Reedies understand how to create change on their own campus. It’s probably a good thing nobody has made a catchy [...]
Read MoreCool Thesis of the Week: Suraj Pant and “The Impact of Tourism on Poverty and Inequality”
Every week, The Quest will be profiling the thesis of one senior whose work is worth sharing with the Reed community. The purpose of this column is to increase awareness among Reedies of the work being done by people in various academic fields and to make disparate forms of scholarship accessible and understandable to all. [...]
Read MoreMedical Amnesty for AOD: What It Is, How It Came To Be, and What You Should Know
Last year, Reed began to implement its old AOD policy in extremely different ways: students who might, in the past, simply have had their alcohol or illegal substances confiscated by a Community Safety Officer, now received an “AOD violation” for drinking or substance use if caught. This change kicked off a year of heated debate. [...]
Read MoreAn Interview with Gary Granger
Many Reed students have come to see the CSOs as nothing but a uniform. In order to remedy that situation, we took an informative and very serious questionnaire to 28 West, which the CSOs answered in a very serious way. Each week we will profile a CSO, asking them revealing questions and trying to get [...]
Read MoreNew Dean is Boon for Reed Diversity
On July 18, 2011, Reed College announced the appointment of Professor Crystal Williams as its first Dean for Institutional Diversity after several weeks of deliberation as well as input from faculty, staff, and students. Her appointment marks a watershed moment as the college attempts to advance diversity and inclusion in all levels of the Reed [...]
Read MoreAd-hoc Committee on Sexual Assault Report, 04/26/2011
Reed College Ad-hoc Committee on Sexual Assault Findings and Recommendations April 26, 2011 TO: Colin Diver FROM: The Ad-hoc Committee on Sexual Assault (COSA) Ariadna García-Bryce, Chair, Professor of Spanish and Humanities Michael Faletra, Associate Professor of English and Humanities Gary Granger, Director of Community Safety Celia Hassan, student, member of Sexual Assault Task Force [...]
Read MoreDiver Responds to Calls for Sexual Assault Policy Reform [Updated]
On Tuesday, President Colin Diver sent an open letter to the Reed community broadly outlining steps the college will take toward reforming its institutional approach to sexual assault. In the past semester, Reed’s sexual assault policy has been criticized for insufficiently addressing the needs of victims and inadequacy in its adjudication process.
The letter, distributed in the form of a campus-wide e-mail, comes in response to mounting pressure from various members of the Reed community advocating for reform of the college’s sexual assault policies. Specifically, the letter cites two petitions created by faculty and students calling for reform.
Read MoreInterview with Vanessa “New Dax” White
I’d once heard second-hand information that Dax King, Commons’ former points-man, drives a monster truck. “I followed him home one day, and he was driving a monster truck!” the source assured my friend. Aside from the cartoonish image of a man driving a behemoth with wheels as tall as he himself, the story—factual or not—speaks [...]
Read MoreBursting the Bubble
Statue of Turkey-Armenia Friendship Being Demolished In an act akin to politically slapping someone in the face with a glove full of bricks, the Turkish government has begun to demolish a statue of two figures extending their hand to one another. The so-called Statue of Humanity, commissioned in 2006 to symbolize the gradual warming of [...]
Read MoreFaculty Sexual Assault Petition
Dear President Diver, We write as members of the faculty to voice our concerns about policies and procedures for sexual assault prevention and response at Reed College. We feel these policies and procedures inadvertently harm the victims of sexual assault they are designed to help. We are also concerned about a lack of due process [...]
Read MoreNotice from SSASS
To Members of the Reed Community, Over the past week, the Students for Sexual Assault Support Services (SSASS) have circulated a petition calling for specific and immediate changes to the current sexual assault policy and practices at Reed College. This petition was in circulation for 100 hours and gained 847 signatures of support, 58% of [...]
Read MoreBursting the Bubble
Air traffic controllers across the nation are getting busted for sleeping on the job, but that’s not the only transgression those guys who are supposed to be keeping an eye on the sky have committed lately: just this Tuesday, an air traffic controller in Ohio was discovered watching a movie, Cleaner, while he was supposed [...]
Read MoreSexual Assault Debate Heats Up at Reed: Committee Expedites Recommendations in Light of Growing Unrest
Amidst growing pressure from internal and external sources, the Ad Hoc Committee on Sexual Assault (COSA) has chosen to expedite the submission of their findings regarding Reed’s procedure for the education, prevention, and adjudication of sexual assault. Initially scheduled for presentation by May 2 at 4 PM, members of the committee expressed a desire to [...]
Read MoreCommunity Safety to Increase Security Measures
Over the next several months, community safety will be increasing efforts to secure computers and other expensive equipment in academic buildings. These efforts come as a direct response to two massive technology thefts in the Physics building, both of which cost the college thousands of dollars in lost assets. The second of these thefts occurred [...]
Read MorePutting the “Rad” in RAD
Every winter the Admission Office reads over 3,000 Why Reed essays, each one chronicling the reasons why students have chosen to apply. In case you were curious, it’s not our information sessions. It’s not the visits we make to their high schools, or the brochures that litter their mailboxes. It’s you, current students. It’s what [...]
Read MoreShira Tarrant Addresses Men, Feminism, Sexual Assault Debate
On Tuesday night, Shira Tarrant, a nationally distinguished expert on gender and sexual politics, spoke to a crowd of students and individuals from outside Reed in Vollum Lounge. The title of the discussion was Politics and Pleasure: Men, Feminism, and Social Change, though part of her lecture was devoted to giving suggestions on ways one can take an active role in stopping or prohibiting sexual assault and violence; the latter of which has become a controversial issue among students this past semester.
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Computers, Equipment Stolen from Physics: Second Large-Scale Tech Theft This Semester
Late Sunday, several computers and pieces of equipment were stolen from the Physics building, amounting to thousands of dollars in stolen assets. This is the second theft in the Physics building this semester; the first of which took place in January and involved a theft of similar items. The stolen items in question were five [...]
Read MoreElections Assembly: How to Vote and Get Informed
Hello, and welcome to the Spring 2011 Student Body Elections! Inside this issue of the Quest you will find all the relevant information to help you make an informed decision and submit your vote in the next few days. The following two pages contain brief profiles of everyone currently running for Senate or Quest Board, [...]
Read MoreBursting the Bubble
Police are hunting for a serial killer who is plaguing New York. The death toll reached eight victims on Tuesday when three bodies were found on a Long Island beach. This is terrifying news for those among us who are diehard fans of Law & Order and have watched every single episode of SVU. Where [...]
Read MoreOPB Interview with Mike Brody
Listen to OPB’s interview with Mike Brody regarding Reed’s sexual assault policies. Audio (starts about a fourth of the way in) Comments thread If you have responses to the interview, or regarding the issue of sexual assault, and would like them published on Reedquest.org, please email them to me at lbutcher@reed.edu
Read MoreTowards a More Perfect Union: Community Gathers for Reevaluation of the Honor Principle
A Reed Union on the state of the Honor Principle occurred Monday night before a crowd of over 400 students, faculty, staff and alumni, nearly filling Kaul Auditorium.
The Union, the first since 2007, was proposed by members of Honor Council to discuss the “state of the Honor Principle.” Reed Unions are described by the college as “moderated discussion featuring panels of experts in dialogue with members of the audience” and are intended to serve as a Reed-wide forum for addressing topics of importance to the community.
Read MoreReed’s Resident Underground Celebrity Pens Tell-All Book
Monday nights on the Reed campus are usually pretty stressful, and this Monday’s dreary April weather certainly wasn’t making things any more pleasant. Drizzly and grey, students trucked dutifully from classrooms to the library to Commons and back, faces drawn and pallid from lack of sun exposure. The previous Friday’s glorious burst of sunshine looked, [...]
Read More“Senate Sucks.”
Sunday marked the end of a weeklong strike by Head Treasurer Torra Spillaine and Assistant Treasurer Khagemba Adhikarimayum described by Senator Robert “Schwartz” Khan during Monday’s Senate meeting as, “almost semi-serious.”
Read More-ism Plans Feminist Bakesale
Despite the Equal Pay Act passed in 1963, men and women continue to face unequal pay in the workplace. This Friday, the student diversity group ”-ism” hopes to raise awareness about male privilege in the workplace by hosting a Feminist Bake Sale for Pay Equity. The bakesale will charge men and women proportionally, based on [...]
Read MoreFulbright Scholarships and Reedies: Why You Should Apply
So what exactly does one do after graduating from Reed? That seems to be a question plaguing most rising juniors and underclassmen as each academic year comes to a close. Internships, jobs, grad school: all of these options, while exciting and promising for some, might not be exactly what you’re looking for. Maybe you’re looking for adventure; maybe you want to travel the world. Reed wants nothing more than for its students to pursue their dreams as far as they can, and that’s why the college is eager to expose eligible students to the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship—among other equally exciting fellowship and scholarship opportunities—this month.
Read MoreBursting the Bubble: Debriefing on Libya
The democratic revolutions sweeping through the Middle East have come to a violent hurdle. While the first weeks of protest in Tunisia and Egypt were relatively non-violent, in the recent weeks, rulers in Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, and Libya have cracked down with greater force to suppress the anti-government efforts. In Yemen, nearly 200 people have [...]
Read MoreBursting the Bubble
Eighty-four-year-old James Gronseth of Portland, OR is joining the Peace Corps. He’s going to be stationed in Botswana, where he will use his hospital administration background to help improve treatment for HIV and AIDs patients. The average age of a Peace Corps volunteer is 28, so Gronseth says he’s “bringing age diversity.” Well said, gramps. [...]
Read MoreMidterm/Spring Break Open Thread
No Quest this week or next… Instead: open thread! Comment about whatever you want (tell us what you think of the site, recent AOD changes, international news, drama, trashy TV, existential philosophy, whatever). Have at it!
Read MoreAOD Implementation Strains Bonds between Students, CSOs
Last week, four anonymous students—three of which were falsely rumored to have been evicted from their campus housing—voiced concerns about AOD policy and its implementation on campus to the Quest. Among their concerns was allegedly inappropriate behavior on behalf of patrolling CSOs, behavior that, according to them, goes against the letter and spirit of Reed College’s AOD policy. According to these sources, CSOs have been targeting specific groups of students who they suspect to be in violation of the AOD policy without any evidence of misbehavior. As well, they cite instances of being unaware of AOD violations that have been administered to them, and overall displeasure with the policy and its enforcement.
Read MoreBursting the Bubble
In case you missed it, Charlie Sheen went totally and completely batshit crazy. He’s in denial: said Sheen, “I’m not bi-polar, I’m bi-winning!” I’ll leave that to you to decipher, because I have absolutely no idea what that means at all. Guess I’m not a winner. (If you haven’t seen it yet, YouTube the “Charlie [...]
Read MoreA response to “Administration Denies Dorm Evictions”
I, as well as the CSOs that I am fortunate enough to lead, have been the subject of many Quest pieces this academic year. I accept it, I welcome it, and to this point, I have been impressed with the quality of work I have read. Not today. I quote from the aforementioned piece: “ [...]
Read MoreStudent Body President Nora McConnell-Johnson Addresses Smoking on Campus
Though I feel like I really connect to the student body through my (amazing) biweekly SB Info links, I’ve decided that it may be time to take the conversation in a more serious direction. At this week’s Senate meeting, we began a discussion about smoking on campus. While it was our best-attended meeting of the [...]
Read MoreRenn Fayre Theme Strikes the Motherlode
“Do you know those guys?” a friend asks me as we cross campus for pre-party festivities at another friend’s apartment. We’re passing by a group of completely unfamiliar looking youngsters who look suspiciously underage – it looks like tonight’s festivities are about to be enjoyed by some of Cleveland High’s finest as well. But right [...]
Read MoreAdministration Denies Dorm Evictions
Rumors that students have been evicted from their Reed dorms or apartments due to Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) policy violations have been circulating campus this week. According to Mike Brody, Vice President and Dean of Student Services, there is no truth to these rumors at all. Brody and Pete Meagher, Associate Dean for Student [...]
Read MoreNew Position Created By Health & Counseling
Sometime within the next few weeks, health and counseling services will begin accepting positions for two new student jobs on IRIS. The positions, one designated for each gender, requires students to roam the campus on Friday and Saturday nights
Read MoreBursting the Bubble: Middle East Edition
Protesters have taken over much of the eastern Libya in a set of bloody riots and demonstrations. Gaddafi, who has ruled for 41 years, has used helicopter gunships, fighter jets and mercenaries to keep the protesters at bay.
Read MorePiggies Find a Home: Food, Friends Rolled Up into a Dorm
“How big is that pig in your head?” Such is the question that prompted freshman Alan Cline to dramatically reconsider his relationship with his dorm. Cline recalls an acid trip last semester, during which he was compelled to believe that Chittick had momentarily transformed into a giant pig: “On this pig there was [one of [...]
Read MoreBursting the Bubble
World While the revolutionary spirit is still ablaze in the Middle East, nowhere have the protests gotten more violent than in Lybia. In this country (surrounded by Tunisia to the West and Egypt to the East) protestors have been violently attacked by militias supported by the government using military supplies. The number of causalities has [...]
Read MoreHonor Council Reevaluates, Looks to Take Action
With support from senate, faculty, and administration, Honor Council has begun preparing for the first Reed Union since the 2007. The upcoming Reed Union, which is tentatively scheduled for late March or April, will be the third to focus on the vitality and viability of the Honor Principle. Honor Council hopes that the community-wide forum will encourage the entire campus to consider how the Honor Principle affects student life, and whether it, alongside the mediation group, should be altered to more properly suit the needs of the community.
Read MoreAn Open Letter from the Ad-hoc Committee on Sexual Assault
At the beginning of the fall semester, President Diver appointed an ad-hoc committee on sexual assault. The committee is comprised of students, faculty, and staff. As our work is well underway, and due to recent campus-wide concern about this issue, we wanted to inform the community about the particulars of our mission. The president charged [...]
Read MoreCommon Inspires, Evangelizes
“Greatness,” said Common from the podium in Kaul Auditorium on Wednesday evening, “is about finding your path and believing in it.” As part of their initiative to procure higher-profile performers, speakers, and events, Gray Fund invited rapper Common to give a lecture this week on his keys to success. Common, born Lonnie Rashied Lynn Jr., [...]
Read MoreSenate Suspends Sustainability Committee Line Item for Spring Semester
During the Fall of 2009, Senate agreed to allocate two percent of the Study Body Funds to the Sustainability Committee, a faculty-heavy group that is tasked with supporting the school’s quest to making our lives more green in whatever way it sees fit. These funds, on two different occasions (in the Fall of ’09 and [...]
Read MoreArizona State Scrounges $6 Million in Uranium Fuel, Reed Reactor Benefits
ASU’s Defunct Reactor Program Supplies Reed with Used Fuel
Last month, the Reed College Research Reactor received roughly 6 million dollars worth of new uranium fuel elements. “This is easily the most significant event in the history of the reactor since it first went critical in 1968,” said Stephen Frantz, Reactor Director.
Read MoreTrustees Approve Plans for New Performing Art Bldg.
Upon hearing the announcement that the performing arts building was a go, President Colin Diver was so elated that “he was practically levitating,” said a member present at the meeting. Last Saturday, the Reed College board of trustees gave final approval for the construction of a new performing arts building. Part of a list of [...]
Read More“External Review” of AOD Policy Announced
On Monday evening, the Reed community received an open letter that seems to have raised more questions than it initially intended to ask. The letter, distributed in the form of a community-wide email, comes two weeks after a week in which seventeen Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) policy violations were reported by Community Safety. The [...]
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