Democracy 101 talk to focus on Hitler’s rise to power

In this installment of the Grand Valley State University Community Service Learning Center’s Democracy 101 series, Gary Stark, professor emeritus of history at GVSU, will focus on how Adolf Hitler was able to rise to and consolidate power in Germany during the period between 1933 and 1935, ensuring his place as the nation’s absolute dictator. The event will take place Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 4:30 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center.

During his talk, Stark will focus on the ways in which different entities in Germany at the time, like the press, the president, parliament, the courts, etc., were in opposition to a lot of what Hitler stood for but how, within 18 months, those same entities were either crushed or commandeered by Hitler and the Nazi party. The talk aims to answer the question, “How did democracy so quickly slide into dictatorship?”

The event is free and will include pizza.

UAS votes to support ECS statement on School of Communications reconfiguration

At the last meeting of the University Academic Senate (UAS) at Grand Valley State University Friday, Feb. 24, a motion to support the statement of the Executive Committee of the Senate (EAS)—the clearing house for the UAS—on the recent controversy with the reconfiguration of the School of Communications (SOC) was passed with a vote of 30 to 12 with six abstaining.

The statement presented by the ECS said it would stand behind the SOC faculty and that the dean and provost had violated the rights of the faculty and staff when they announced plans to make changes to the school without faculty participation.

Normally, the SOC faculty would have had a say in the changes being made. However, the dean and provost moved without their consent and input. This resulted in faculty in the SOC to becoming frustrated and upset.

At the meeting, Vandana Pednekar-Magal, director of the SOC, spoke on behalf of the faculty and discussed why she and her colleagues were upset. She was backed up by several other SOC faculty members as well. Frederick Antczak, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, also spoke to defend his actions, saying he was using administrative judgment when he didn’t consult the SOC faculty.

GV to host anthropologist, guest lecturer Juliet Bedford

Grand Valley State University will host guest lecturer and anthropologist Juliet Bedford Thursday, March 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center Pere Marquette Room. Bedford is the founder and director of Anthrologica, a research organization focused on anthropology and health.

During her lecture, “Social Science and Global Health: A Very Real Need,” Bedford will focus on the importance of social science and anthropology in global health. In particular, Bedford will draw from her research of public health emergencies, which she conducted with her team at Anthrologica.

The event is LIB 100 approved and will allow time for audience members to ask questions. 

For more information, contact Kristin Hedges, assistant professor of anthropology, at (616) 331-8212.

Music and dance night to celebrate Dominican culture

La Tertulia, the Spanish club at Grand Valley State University, will partner with GVSU’s Latin American and Latino/a studies to host ethnomusicologist Paul Austerlitz for a Dominican music and dance night Monday, Feb. 27, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Glenn A. Niemeyer Learning and Living Center Multipurpose Room. The event will feature food, live music and dancing.

For more information, email [email protected].