student life Archives - News and Events

Kalamazoo College Receives Historic $30 Million Gift

Posted on October 9, 2023November 15, 2023

President Jorge G. Gonzalez addressing students, faculty and staff — President Jorge G. Gonzalez announces a $30 million gift from an anonymous donor—the largest single gift commitment in the College’s history.

Students — Sophomore Blake Filkins and senior Darsalam Amir, representing K’s student-government organization at the announcement of a $30 million gift to the College.

President Jorge G. Gonzalez speaking — President Gonzalez announcing a $30 million gift to the College from an anonymous donor.

For 190 years, Kalamazoo College has graduated generations of enlightened leaders who have made an impact on the world. Today, the College is grateful to recognize a major contribution to that effort with the announcement of a $30 million gift from an anonymous donor—the largest single gift commitment in the College’s history.

“This incredibly generous gift will be transformative for K,” President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “It will allow us to launch several strategic initiatives that will enhance the College’s ability to fulfill its mission with distinction and prepare K graduates to bring a brighter light to the world. This gift will put us on the path toward creating the campus experience of the future and help us ensure every student at the College is positioned for success. We are so grateful to the donor for this extraordinary investment in K’s future.”

Primary among those initiatives is re-envisioning the residential experience and planning for future construction of a new residence hall on the College’s historic campus, as well as developing new programs to support student success, with a focus on first-generation students. In fall 2023, 30 percent of K’s first-year students were first-generation, as the College continues to expand higher education access for talented students of all backgrounds.

“To ensure equitable access to K for students who are among the first in their families to attend college, our responsibility extends beyond admittance—we must provide the resources that will see them through to graduation,” Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students J. Malcolm Smith said. “The resources—such as access to personal and professional networks, leadership development opportunities, and financial support to make the most of their college experience—that may be readily available to many college-bound students often don’t exist for first-gen students. Yet there are ways to ensure that those who need support can succeed and make a big impact on the world.”

Fall image at Kalamazoo College generous gift — The College will celebrate its 190th year by expanding the goal of the College’s Brighter Light Campaign from $150 million to at least $190 million by September 2024.

In conjunction with the gift announcement, the College is pleased to announce that it will celebrate its 190th year by expanding the goal of the College’s Brighter Light Campaign from $150 million to at least $190 million raised by September 2024, when the campaign concludes.

Since its launch in 2018, more than 15,000 alumni and friends have contributed to the Brighter Light Campaign, raising more than $180 million dollars with the addition of this latest gift to the institution. The campaign supports student access to every aspect of a Kalamazoo College education—from scholarship support to study abroad funding to internship and research stipends—and it has provided investments in the institution’s faculty, renovations to instructional spaces, athletic programming, and other aspects of campus life.

“Completing the last year of the campaign with the theme of ‘190 for 190’ is a fitting way to recognize both the enduring and evolving traditions of Kalamazoo College and celebrate this record-breaking campaign,” Vice President for College Advancement Karen Isble said. “While it’s always wonderful to achieve the philanthropic goals of a campaign, the most exciting and important aspect of any fundraising endeavor is making a tangible difference in the lives of our students, faculty and staff. This amazing gift, and the gifts from each of the 15,000 donors who have supported the Brighter Light Campaign so far, helps us do that and more.”

About Kalamazoo College

Kalamazoo College, founded in 1833, is a nationally recognized residential liberal arts and sciences college located in Kalamazoo, Mich. The creator of the K-Plan, Kalamazoo College provides an individualized education that integrates rigorous academics with life-changing experiential learning opportunities. For more information, visit www.kzoo.edu.

The Brighter Light Campaign is raising $190 million to provide endowed and annual support for students, faculty and staff, curricular and co-curricular activities, athletics and campus facilities. For more information, visit the Brighter Light Campaign page: www.kzoo.edu/brighterlight.

Colleges of Distinction: K Provides Top-Notch Undergrad Experiences

Posted on July 19, 2022July 19, 2022

Students outside Light Fine Arts at K, one of the Colleges of Distinction — Students study outside Light Fine Arts on a spring day at Kalamazoo College.

A guide for college-bound students and families is recognizing Kalamazoo College as one of about 400 schools from across the country to earn high marks for top-notch undergraduate experiences.

K is included in the 2022–23 Colleges of Distinction online guide, which lauds schools for going beyond what typically drives rankings to offer a personalized education catered to students’ interests. It spotlights K through the K-Plan, the College’s framework for exceptional academics within the liberal arts and sciences.

“When we focus all of our attention on how schools stack up against one another, we lose track of what really matters: the students themselves,” Colleges of Distinction Founder Wes Creel said. “Every student has individual needs and their own environment in which they’re most likely to thrive. We want to extend our praise to the schools that prioritize and cater to students’ goals.”

High school guidance counselors, college administrators and the Colleges of Distinction selection team nominate excellent schools for inclusion before each institution is vetted to determine its quality through its support for students in all aspects of their lives. Colleges of Distinction judges its nominees on their teaching quality, student engagement, community engagement and outcomes through a selection process that includes in-depth research and detailed interviews with the schools and stakeholders.

K received accolades in each area along with honors for its undergraduate programs in science, math and technology; health and medicine; arts and humanities; multidisciplinary studies and social science.

“We pride ourselves on being an institution that prioritizes hands-on student experiences inside and outside the classroom to reflect a well-rounded education through independent scholarship, study abroad opportunities, civic engagement, career development and more,” Dean of Admission Suzanne Lepley said. “When students enroll at K, they should feel confident we will do everything we can in their four years to set them up for success for the rest of their lives. This recognition from Colleges of Distinction confirms that.”

K is also recognized among the top Colleges of Distinction in terms of equity and inclusion as it caters to the unique needs of their students regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender or ability.

“A great undergraduate experience is more than just graduating and getting your first job,” the Colleges of Distinction website says. “Colleges of Distinction graduates are prepared for anything. They are strong writers, speakers and thinkers because their professors have encouraged and challenged them one-on-one. They have meaningful professional experience from internships and advanced research, and they know how to work together with people different than themselves because they have been active on campus, traveled abroad and pursued service opportunities. In other words, when you graduate from a College of Distinction you will be equipped to find better solutions in the workplace, your community and the world at large.”

K Records Best Voter Turnout Rate Among Michigan Campuses

Posted on November 23, 2021March 21, 2022

K Votes Efforts Likely Boosted Voter Turnout Rates — Students and staff volunteering for K Votes helped the Kalamazoo College
community with new-voter registration, the mailing of absentee ballots, rides
to the polls, and the distribution of candidate information and maps to local
polling places in 2020, boosting K to a voter turnout rate of 83.7 percent.

Kalamazoo College eclipsed national averages for voter turnout in 2020 as 83.7 percent of the student body cast ballots in last year’s presidential election. For that achievement, the Institute of Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University has awarded K its platinum seal in the All-In Democracy Challenge, marking the colleges who achieved voter-participation rates of 80 to 89 percent.

K is the only campus in Michigan and one of 48 out of about 1,200 participating institutions nationwide to receive the honor. That puts K in the top 4 percent of colleges and universities in the country for its voter turnout among the institutions reporting. The primary cause for the outstanding benchmark at the polls, according to IDHE, is unclear. However, Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) Director Alison Geist credited K Votes, the CCE’s non-partisan coalition to inform the College’s students, faculty and staff members about voting and civic engagement, for its efforts in boosting the College’s voter participation.

Based on a look at incomplete data for 2016, K’s student voting rate was estimated at 54.1 percent, which was in line with that year’s national average. But in 2020, K Votes representatives worked in partnership with their student peers, the local League of Women Voters and the national Rock the Vote organization, which is led by Executive Director Caroline DeWitt ’04, a K alumna. Those partnerships helped K Votes provide services such as new-voter registration, the mailing of absentee ballots, rides to the polls, and the distribution of candidate information and maps to local polling places.

“I am proud of K’s students, especially the CCE’s K Votes Civic Engagement Scholars, Kaitlyn Dexter and Mahum Khan,” Geist said. “They were so ably led by then-Assistant Director Emily Kowey ’17, whose dedication and creativity, in the midst of a pandemic, drove the College’s impressive turnout and registration rates in the 2020 election. Voting is but a small part of what we mean by civic engagement, but it is essential to our communities and democracy, and it seems particularly so as voting rights are increasingly under siege.”

The IDHE’s report, titled the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement (NSLVE), notes the national average of voting rates was 66 percent this year, putting K well above it. However, the report also shows K must continue to encourage students of color to vote, as their participation rates generally trailed those of white students. About 53 percent of K’s Asian students, and 66 percent of Black and Hispanic students voted in 2020 compared with 88 percent of white students.

The NSLVE is the nation’s largest study of college and university student voting. It measured voter turnout at campuses ranging from community colleges to research universities, women’s colleges, historically Black colleges, state universities and private schools. The dataset reflects all 50 states and the District of Columbia, includes 49 of the nation’s 50 flagship schools and tracks nearly 8.9 million voting-eligible students.

“That students, often younger and first-time voters, turned out at rates commensurate with the general public in 2020 is nothing short of stunning,” IDHE Director Nancy Thomas said. “We attribute this high level of participation to many factors, including student activism on issues such as racial injustice, global climate change and voter suppression, as well as increased efforts by educators to reach students and connect them to the issues and to voting resources.”

K Ready to Make a Splash with New Natatorium

Posted on October 7, 2021March 21, 2022

Pool Deck of Kalamazoo College's New Natatorium — Kalamazoo College will dedicate its new natatorium at 4:30 p.m. Friday, October 15.

Kalamazoo College is ready to make a splash with student-athletes and the community thanks to the completion of an $18 million project years in the making. The College will dedicate its new natatorium, at 1010 Academy Street, during Homecoming weekend at 4:30 p.m. Friday, October 15.

The completed project will begin hosting competitions at 1 p.m. Saturday, October 16, as the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams host a triangular meet against Saginaw Valley State University and Alma College.

In addition to the College’s athletics events, the natatorium will host local clubs and high school teams; open swimming for students, faculty and staff; and Swim for Success, an innovative partnership between Kalamazoo College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement and the City of Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation Department. Swim for Success provides affordable swimming lessons, particularly for children from low-income families who otherwise would not have access to this life-saving skill.

Exterior of Kalamazoo College natatorium — Kalamazoo College will dedicate its new natatorium at 4:30 p.m. Friday, October 15.

“We’re excited because the new natatorium will be a tremendous asset for our campus and for the Kalamazoo community,” Kalamazoo College President Jorge G. Gonzalez said. “We are deeply grateful to the donors—many of whom are alumni of the swimming and diving program—who have made an investment that will benefit K students for decades to come. We’re also proud that a profound, impactful program like Swim for Success will again have a home here.”

The 29,600-square-foot, two-story facility will feature eight competition lanes, a separate diving area with 1-meter and 3-meter boards, on-deck seating for athletes, a dryland training room, an office suite for coaches and meet management, a high-quality timing system and large scoreboard, varsity team locker rooms for swimmers and divers, a display space of awards in the lobby and LEED sustainable features and design elements.

The previous natatorium had been home for the College’s swimming and diving teams for five decades. The student-athletes on those teams included eight national champions, three National Divers of the Year, and 32 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference championship teams. Swimming and Diving Coach Jay Daniels expects the new natatorium to help the Hornets continue that tradition of excellence.

“The former building was more than a pool to us,” Daniels said. “It was a space where student-athletes pursued their passion, formed long-lasting relationships and developed their fitness, drive and discipline. We know this natatorium will be that and more for us. It will help us recruit student-athletes to K, build on our competitiveness and ensure our future success.”

Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education Rankings Laud K

Posted on September 23, 2021March 21, 2022

Wall Street Journal Rankings — An engaging and diverse faculty provides Kalamazoo College students
with an experience important in the Wall Street Journal/Times
Higher Education rankings of the top U.S. colleges and universities.

Another analysis has placed Kalamazoo College as the top-ranked private higher education institution in Michigan as the U.S. Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education 2022 College Rankings list was released this week.

The report places K among the top 22 percent of the nation’s colleges and universities ranked overall with methodology that balances issues such as:

Resources, examining whether a college effectively delivers teaching through its finances, its student-to-faculty ratio and faculty research papers.
Engagement, as determined through the results of a Times Higher Education U.S. student survey, which scrutinizes each student’s engagement with their studies, their interaction with their teachers and their satisfaction with the college experience.
Outcomes, measuring each institution’s value, graduation rate and academic reputation.
Environment, including student, faculty and academic staff diversity, international populations and student inclusion.

The full WSJ/THE list can be found at the Wall Street Journal website.

Here’s What to Expect on Move-In Day

Posted on September 3, 2021March 21, 2022

Two peer leaders assist students on move-in day — Resident assistants and peer leaders will welcome students and their families on move-in day.

Move-in day is an exciting time at Kalamazoo College as first-year students arrive. Orientation-related events will continue throughout the week; here’s what students and families can expect on Wednesday, September 8. Remember to bring a mask to wear inside campus buildings.

Report to your residence hall

From 1 to 4 p.m., resident assistants and peer leaders will welcome students and their families at check-in tables at each residence hall. Pick up your orientation folder from peer leaders. Visit Residential Life staff afterward to collect your student ID and room key, check into your room and get settled. Health-verification forms must be completed before check in. Students with incomplete health requirements will be directed to the Health Center to complete any necessary requirements before they are permitted to check in. Health Center staff will be available until 4 p.m. at the Hicks Student Center for health-information verification and general consultations.

Visit the Hicks Center

Collect maps, schedules, directions and answers to your questions at the Hicks Student Center information table from 1 to 5 p.m. The Kalamazoo College Bookstore will offer 20 percent off K-imprinted items from 1 to 5 p.m.

Find food and refreshments

Stop by the Book Club Café on the first floor of the Upjohn Library from 1 to 4 p.m. for coffee, hot chocolate, tea or specialty espresso. Grab-and-go food options available include pastries, house-made salads, sandwiches and sides. From 1 to 5 p.m. at the Hicks Center, the Richardson Room will offer an extensive deli line with a variety of toppings and homemade soup. Grab-and-go options available will include sandwiches, salads, yogurt parfaits, fruit, sweet and salty snacks, and beverages. From 5 to 7 p.m., families are welcome to have dinner on campus at the Hicks Dining Center. Students may use their student ID, which serves as their meal card. Families may pay $11.15 per person at the Dining Center entrance.

Get computer network assistance

From 2 to 4 p.m. on move-in day, Information Services staff will be available in the Harmon, Hoben and Trowbridge residence hall main lounges to help students with network access and answer computer-related questions.

Observe athletics practices

Eight fall athletics teams—football, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s cross country—will be engaged in daily practices and competitions from 3 to 6 p.m.

Free time

Use your time from 7 to 11 p.m. to finish your room setup and relax before Orientation starts on Thursday.

Dietitian Helps Students Address Physical, Emotional Wellness

Posted on August 31, 2021October 30, 2023

Student eating at Hicks Center cafeteria — Balanced eating can help students attain both physical and emotional wellness.

With National Wellness Month coming to an end and an academic year approaching, now is a good time for Kalamazoo College students to consider how they will maintain their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental well-being when they’re on campus.

One element to consider within that wellness spectrum might surprise some: food balance. And dietitian Gretchen Kauth is available to assist K and Western Michigan University students with their strategies.

“Food isn’t just critical to our physical health, it’s also a large part of our emotional health,” Kauth said. “Students come to me because they’d like to start being a vegetarian and want to know how to do that healthfully. Or they see me because their blood glucose or their cholesterol is high. They might want to lose or gain some weight. Those are the physically driven reasons. But more and more, especially during the pandemic, students want to know about the emotional part of food. A lot of us were and still are turning toward food as our entertainment, our comfort or our stress management.”

From Kauth’s point of view, “diet” refers to much more than the four-letter word associated with weight goals. Her strategy for assisting students instead addresses the purposes behind our eating to address wellness.

“I think that the traditional sense of how we use the word ‘diet’ usually has to do with weight or weight management,” she said. “I’ve really tried to take a non-diet approach to get away from the numbers and the counting. I want students to really look at the ‘whys’ of what and how they eat and how we can manage emotions without food.”

That’s not to say that food shouldn’t involve enjoyment. Quite the opposite, in fact, and balance is important. Students should have their cake and eat it, too.

“I don’t want to ever deny that food is pleasurable,” Kauth said. “It’s a part of our social world. If we think back evolution-wise, people once ate simply because they were hungry and they knew that eating sustained them. Then there are the reasons people eat as part of traditions and celebrations. Food can and should be a part of those celebrations, but food shouldn’t be the main reason we’re getting together.”

For some people, food can be comforting for emotional needs and helpful in managing stress. But emotional eating, when done too frequently or in large amounts, can create problems.

“I try to get students to think about the ‘why’ rather than always the ‘what’ behind eating,” Kauth said. “Even if we overeat or binge eat something healthy, like carrots—Yes, carrots are a better food to binge on than ice cream, but the behavior is not what we want. To help manage our emotions we need to develop non-food coping strategies – like meditation, yoga, visualization, and in some cases, seeking out a therapist. A healthy diet isn’t just about essential nutrients, fuel and reducing your risk for chronic illness. It’s about understanding our relationship to food and ensuring a healthy balance for physical as well as emotional health.”

Virtual appointments are available at no cost for students on the College’s health insurance or $50 for students with private insurance. Kauth also is planning three free workshops this fall for all K students. “You vs. Illness: Win with a Healthy Immune System” is scheduled for 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 28. “Vegetarian Eating: Plants are Powerful” is planned for 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 6. “Emotional Eating: What Are You Hungry For?” will be from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, October 14. Signup for individual appointments or the workshops by emailing Kauth at gretchen.kauth@kzoo.edu.

“If students have been to the doctor and they’ve been referred for follow up, seeing a dietitian is a good thing,” Kauth said. “If you come into school with a chronic illness like diabetes or cystic fibrosis and you’ve never seen a dietitian, for sure come in, because it’s a good idea to get some care here. If you are interested in changing your diet in any way, or if you’re looking at the pandemic and you think you want to improve your immune system, then reach out. Anything that might have to do with your physical or emotional health—When you’re turning to food to manage emotions, that’s a really good time to seek out a dietitian.”

Princeton Review: Academics Place K Among Nation’s Best Colleges

Posted on August 31, 2021May 17, 2023

Best 387 Colleges Book Cover — The Princeton Review cites Kalamazoo College’s
academics in naming the institution among
“*The Best 387 Colleges*.”
Photo credit: The Princeton Review.

The Princeton Review is placing Kalamazoo College among the top 14 percent of institutions for degree-seeking undergraduates by featuring K in the education services company’s annual college guide, The Best 387 Colleges.

The schools featured aren’t individually ranked. However, the publication praises K’s academics while giving faculty high marks—95 points on a 99-point scale—for student accessibility.

“We salute Kalamazoo College for its outstanding academics and we are genuinely pleased to recommend it to prospective applicants searching for their ‘best-fit’ college,” said Rob Franek, the Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief and lead author of The Best 387 Colleges.

The Princeton Review chooses colleges for the book, one of its most popular publications, based on data it annually collects from administrators about their institutions’ academic offerings, and its surveys of college students who rate and report on various aspects of their campus and community experiences.

In those surveys, students credited faculty for presenting challenging information and working to achieve camaraderie with students. Students also said the K-Plan—the College’s personalized approach to education through a flexible, open curriculum featuring real-world experience, service learning, study abroad and an independent senior year project—allows them more time to explore exactly what they want to learn.

In extra-curriculars, students said they can find their niche quickly in the small-school environment, allowing most to engage in work they care about.

The Princeton Review’s school profiles are posted on its website, where they can be searched for free. The book is the 30th annual edition and is available for purchase online.

Senior Leadership Awards Honor 32 Students

Posted on May 17, 2021July 5, 2023

Thirty-two students known for their invaluable contributions to the Kalamazoo College community were honored April 30 at the 17th annual Senior Leadership Recognition Awards.

The recipients represent talented athletes, outstanding academic performers, members of the President’s Student Ambassadors and student-organization standouts. Here are the honorees:

Gold Afolabi
nominated by Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, Intercultural Student Life

Katrina Arriola
nominated by Liz Candido, Religious and Spiritual Life

Maya Banks
nominated by Diomedes Rabago, Spanish; and Katie MacLean, Provost’s Office

Richard Brown III
nominated by Francisco Villegas, Anthropology/Sociology; and Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund

Isabelle Clark
nominated by Katie Miller, Women’s Basketball

Adam Decker
nominated by David Wilson, Physics

Vivian Enriquez (not pictured)
nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Center for Civic Engagement; and Francisco Villegas, Anthropology/Sociology

Anna Gambetta
nominated by Santiago Salinas and Anne Engh, Biology

Brendan Gausselin
nominated by Mike Ott, Baseball; and Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund

Merritt Hamann (not pictured)
nominated by Nick Giard, Men’s Basketball

Kaylee Henderson
nominated by Dennis Frost, History

Maeve Hening
nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Center for Civic Engagement

Audrey Honig
nominated by Jeffrey Haus, History and Jewish Studies; and Liz Candido, Religious and Spiritual Life

Denise Jackson
nominated by Danielle Turner, Residential Life; and Jon Collier, Student Activities

Lisa Johnston
nominated by Eric Nordmoe, Mathematics

Nicklas Klepser
nominated by Brian Dietz, Student Development

Juanita Ledesma (not pictured)
nominated by Katie Miller, Women’s Basketball; and Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, Intercultural Student Life

Tristen Mabin
nominated by Natalia Carvalho-Pinto, Intercultural Student Life

Nat Markech
nominated by Jon Collier, Student Activities

Alonté Mitchell-Presley
nominated by Jon Collier, Student Activities

Daniel Mota-Villegas
nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund, and Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey, & Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement

Kelly Nickelson
nominated by Sara Stockwood and Binney Girdler, Environmental Stewardship and Biology

Nikoli Nickson
nominated by Ann Fraser, Biology

Aisat Oladokun
nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund, and Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement

Sydney Patton
nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey, & Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement

Helen Pelak
nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund

Brynn Rohde
nominated by Lisa Ailstock, Jennifer Combes, Deb Annen-Caruso, Cindi Anspach, Liza Escamilla, & Jennie Hill, Student Health Center

Asia Smith (not pictured)
nominated by Alison Geist, Teresa Denton, Paulette Rieger, Emily Kowey and Moises Hernandez, Civic Engagement, and Francisco Villegas, Anthropology/Sociology

Savannah Sweeney
nominated by Jon Collier, Student Activities

Vanessa Vigier
nominated by Tony Nelson, Center for International Programs

Brandon Wright (not pictured)
nominated by Vince Redko, Men’s Lacrosse, and Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund

Alaq Zghayer
nominated by Sandy Dugal, Kalamazoo College Fund; Brian Dietz, Student Development, and Jon Collier, Student Development

Gold Afolabi	Katrina Arriola	Maya Banks
Richard Brown III	Isabelle Clark	Adam Decker
Anna Gambetta	Brendan Gausselin	Kaylee Henderson
Maeve Hening	Audrey Honig	Denise Jackson
Lisa Johnston	Nicklas Klepser	Tristen Mabin
Nat Markech	Alonté Mitchell	Daniel Mota-Villegas
Kelly Nickelson	Nikoli Nickson	Aisat Oladokun
Sydney Patton	Helen Pelak	Brynn Rohde
Savannah Sweeney	Vanessa Vigier	Alaq Zghayer

K Student Builds Black History Month Seminar

Posted on February 25, 2021March 21, 2022

Black History Month Seminar Creator Destiny Hutcherson — Destiny Hutcherson ’21 teamed up with peers from Albion and Hope colleges to build a series of Black History Month events titled “Reality is Wrong, Dreams are Real.

A Kalamazoo College student has developed a partnership with peers at Albion and Hope colleges to create a four-part series of Black History Month events which will run February 26 through March 1 titled “Reality is Wrong, Dreams are Real.”

Destiny Hutcherson ’21 said she feels it’s important for Black students to have a space where they can meet other Black students and talk about experiences that are unique to them, especially when there is a lack of Black representation on campus that Black students could turn to in times of need; representatives who understand their culture and customs, and most importantly, could relate to their struggles not only in college, but also the world. These events—planned with some guidance from the Kalamazoo College Council of Student Representatives, the Office of Student Activities and the Intercultural Center—could provide that, especially with other Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) schools participating.

“What you want to do is turn to people who look like you when you need advice,” Hutcherson said. “I was fortunate to have a Black advisor as a first-year student, but a lot of students don’t get that. I wanted to make something that could close that gap in the pandemic and help students find someone they can relate to.”

The conference’s logo, done by Stanton Greenstone ’21, features a flower growing from concrete alongside the moon and a star. The flower symbolizes students growing even in tough situations. The moon and star represent faithfulness in Ghanaian art. The “Reality is Wrong, Dreams are Real” title refers to Tupac Shakur, who once talked about being a flower who grew in difficult circumstances. It also touches on something timely, Hutcherson said.

“Tupac rapped in the 90s, but this is something that’s even more apparent now,” she said. “The reality we have is rough and it’s not inclusive to Blackness sometimes. Even though that’s the reality, in some ways, it’s wrong because I feel like one day dreams will overtake that. I don’t want this just to be a sad event, looking at the realities of what’s happening to Black people. I want it to be about what Black people want to do with their lives. A dream can be as simple as graduating college for a Black person and that dream is reality. My dream was creating something that cultivates Black space.”

The Black History Month events are open to current K students and include:

Art Therapy with Kwame Akoto-Bamfo at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Akoto-Bamfo, a globally-famous Ghanaian sculptor, is known for projects such as an outdoor sculpture dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Transatlantic slave trade, on display at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which opened in 2018 in Montgomery, Alabama. Students participating in this session have received art materials provided through the mail.

Game Night at 8 p.m. Saturday. The night will begin with an ice breaker and mocktail hour for Black students to network. That independent time, Hutcherson said, will be especially important to Black students as most events also are open to allies. The rest of the night will involve games and possibly a showing of Coming to America, the 1988 comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall.

Seminar sessions that begin at 11 a.m. Sunday. The day will feature 10 to 11 breakout sessions, including topics that deal with being an ally, and identity-based discussions that deal with being Afro-Latinx, queer and Black, and more. A Black doctor will also speak about navigating the health care system as a Black person.

Balance, Beats and Breaks at 6 p.m. Monday. Students will enjoy mindfulness practices with raptivist Aisha Fukushima, a performance lecturer, social justice strategist and singer/songwriter.

“I know that we’re at a predominantly white institution, but my goal is that we have a good number of Black students registered for it,” Hutcherson said. “I’ve centered my focuses on identity-based events at K, and I believe this is another event that is designed for filling in a gap that Black students have not had in the past year, especially seniors.”

“In the future, in a perfect world, I would also like to open this to Black alumni so it’s not only events for students, but a larger affair with other thinkers who will come in and mentor Black students,” she added. “It would be about healing, education and networking, so that it’s tailored to be a conference on giving Black students hope emotionally, and sending them on a path to generational wealth. I’d like this event to be as joyous as an HBCU extravaganza.”