Nina Baker

The Scarlet and Black • 7th October 2021

Liberal Arts in Prison back in-person after COVID-19 lockdown

A student body without internet access. A student body in confined quarters. A student body where the possibility of solitary confinement for COVID-19 outbreaks was ever-present. These were the conditions for students at Newton Correctional Facility (NCF) enrolled in Grinnell College’s Liberal Arts in Prison Program (LAPP). After a year of remote coursework through paper handouts, videoconferencing and closed-circuit TV channels, the Liberal Arts in Prison Program has shifted back to in-person i

The Scarlet and Black • 21st September 2021

Breaking: College will now provide PCR COVID-19 tests to any student who requests one, regardless of exposure or symptoms

COVID-19 PCR tests will be available for any Grinnell College student, employee or family member to request, the College announced in an all-campus email on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The tests will be self-administered, but will not return results until sent to the State Hygienic Lab in Coralville, IA. Students will now be able to access a test without presenting symptoms or having been exposed. Tests will be free for Iowa residents. The email did not specify whether tests would be free for non-Iowa r

The Scarlet and Black • 7th September 2021

Record number of students living on campus leaves Department of Residence life struggling to find space

A record-high enrollment for the class of 2025 and few students abroad has left the department of residence life at Grinnell College struggling to secure housing for all 1,470 students living on campus this semester. “The numbers of first years have grown, and they have constantly grown … This year was just overwhelming for us,” said Dennis Perkins, assistant dean of residence life and student conduct. The class of 2025 has 472 students compared to 370 in the class of 2024. And international b

Ballotpedia News • 26th July 2021

Special primary elections to be held on August 3 in Michigan State Senate Districts 8 and 28

The special primary elections for Michigan State Senate District 8 and 28 are on Aug. 3. The major party candidate filing deadline passed on April 20, and the filing deadline for minor party and independent candidates is Aug. 4. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 2. In the Democratic primary, John Bill and Martin Genter are competing to advance to the general election. In the Republican primary, Mary Berlingieri, Bill Carver, Kristi Dean, Grant Golasa, Pamela Hornberger, Terence Mekoski

Ballotpedia News • 16th July 2021

Recall election of Colorado city council member scheduled for July 20

A recall election to remove Jon Voelz from the Westminster City Council in Colorado is scheduled for July 20. Voelz first took office in 2019. The recall effort began in Aug. 2020. Recall supporters allege that Voelz failed to support lower water and sewer rates in Westminster. One of the recall organizers, city resident Gary Shea, stated, “We’ve seen the water bills and some of them have just been so outrageous. A lot of the people that are upset with this are just disappointed that the Counci

The Scarlet and Black • 4th May 2021

As COVID-19 case counts plummet, some residents are still wary of a vaccine

COVID-19 cases in Poweshiek County have dropped from a weekly average of 27.9 cases per day between November and January to an average of just one case per day as of late April. Despite the drop in cases being largely the result of residents getting vaccinated against the virus, vaccination rates across Poweshiek County have stagnated in recent weeks, due to some residents’ hesitancy to get the vaccine. Poweshiek County was one of 80 Iowa counties that declined some or all of their COVID-19 vac

Ballotpedia News • 7th July 2021

Filing deadline to run for elected office is July 10 in Birmingham, Alabama

The filing deadline to run for elected office in Birmingham, Alabama, is on July 10, 2021. Prospective candidates may file for the following nonpartisan offices: • All nine seats on the city council • Nine of the 10 seats on the Birmingham City Schools school board The general election is scheduled for August 24. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the general election, the top two candidates with the most votes will advance to a runoff election on October 5, 2021. Bir

Ballotpedia News • 1st July 2021

Candidate filing deadline for municipal offices in Annapolis, Maryland, is June 26

The filing deadline to run for elected office in Annapolis, Maryland, is on June 26. Prospective candidates may file for mayor and for all eight seats on the city council. The primary is scheduled for Sept. 21, and the general election is scheduled for Nov. 2. Ballotpedia comprehensively covers the 100 largest cities in the United States by population. Our coverage also includes mayors, city councils, and district attorneys in the 32 state capitals that are not already part of our largest citi

Ballotpedia News • 17th June 2021

Filing deadline for Albuquerque mayoral race is June 19

The filing deadline to run for mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is on June 19. A separate filing deadline for five of the nine Albuquerque City Council seats is on July 5. There will be no primary elections for the mayoral race. Instead, all candidates will appear on the same general election ballot regardless of their partisan affiliations. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 2. Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico and the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. by population.

13th June 2021

The Mathematical Accuracies and Inaccuries of Infinite Jest

1st June 2021

President Biden, Afghanistan, and Theoretical Applications of International Relations

I write as if I was a foreign policy expert on President Biden's removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan in the following memorandum addressed to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Scarlet and Black • 16th May 2021

Ray Martinez

Ray Martinez ’21 is a self-described “school-aholic” – he adores learning, and his academic passions span many disciplines, from chemistry to art to videography and more. And, like most school-aholics, he’s headed to graduate school. This fall, Martinez will pursue a PhD in chemistry, ideally with a specialization in organic chemistry, at Purdue University. Martinez has loved learning ever since he was a child growing up in Lakeville, Minn. In looking for a college to attend, he was drawn to a

The Scarlet and Black • 8th May 2021

Amid global COVID-19 surge, fear and anxiety escalate for many international students

As vaccines become readily available and COVID-19 cases fall across the United States, a return to pre-pandemic life is approaching for many domestic Grinnell College students. But many international students face a different, more brutal reality: exploding COVID-19 surges in their home countries, strict visa regulations and insufficient vaccine access for them and their families. “Things here feel like we’re sort of back to normal. For most of our international students, it doesn’t feel that w

The Scarlet and Black • 28th April 2021

Quick Cold Cases: The mysterious enigma of D.B. Cooper

Quick Cold Cases is a column in which various S&B staff members briefly dive into cold cases from across the globe. Each writer provides a brief summary of the case before using their best investigative skills to describe what they believe happened. On Nov. 24, 1971, a nondescript man calling himself Dan Cooper carried a slick, black briefcase into Portland International Airport in Oregon, and bought a one-way ticket for a 30-minute flight northwards to Seattle, Washington. A half-hour later, C

The Scarlet and Black • 18th April 2021

Spring sports kick off with new COVID-19 rules

The return of competition on April 17 for Pioneer Athletics during the COVID-19 pandemic brings a host of new rules and regulations for spectating games, adequately testing student-athletes and conducting overnight travel. Student-athletes during Spring Term 2 – regardless of if they are fully-vaccinated or not – are required to be tested for COVID-19 each Thursday prior to competitions, most of which occur on Saturdays. Because the NCAA mandates that competitors receive a negative COVID-19 tes

The Scarlet and Black • 14th April 2021

Cribz: A maximalist abode on Broad Street

The first hint that the green, two-story house off the corner of Broad Street and Seventh Avenue isn’t quite what it seems is the light that radiates from the house at night. Not just the twinkling Christmas lights hanging from the porch, still left up from December, but also the purple lights from inside. Most rooms in the house have fairy lights draped along the ceiling. If not, the overhead light fixtures shine blue or purple rather than white. “Very few rooms have overhead lights because w

The Scarlet and Black • 14th April 2021

Breaking: College to require COVID-19 vaccination for enrollment next year

Grinnell College will require students enrolled in the 2021-22 academic year to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the school announced in an all-campus email on April 14. This news comes after the College announced that students will return to in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year. With this announcement, the College joins a growing list of institutions who will be requiring vaccinations in the fall. “The efficacy of vaccines, as well as expanded vaccine eligibility and availability, al

The Scarlet and Black • 13th April 2021

COVID safety rules loosen on campus, but for whom?

Low COVID-19 positivity rates at Grinnell College have driven the administration to relax previously strict pandemic precautions, but after close to a year of the College’s highly restrictive safety policy, some students are questioning the changes – as well as what they may reveal about the College’s priorities. The College’s decision to invite back all first-year students for Spring Term 1 and to invite second- and fourth-year students for Spring Term 2, as well as the gradual relaxation of C

The Scarlet and Black • 27th March 2021

How are people getting vaccinated in Poweshiek County?

Grinnell residents eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine are slowly but surely completing their vaccination series, but some residents are still struggling to get their first dose. An unruly phone system, which has left many callers unable to schedule an appointment even after hours of redialing, has even forced some people to travel outside of the county to get vaccinated. As of March 27, 3,109 Poweshiek County residents (out of approximately 18,899 total) have completed their vaccination series,

The Scarlet and Black • 26th March 2021

Professor Kesho Scott to give commencement speech

The results are in: Professor Kesho Scott, sociology, will address students at the 2021 Grinnell College commencement ceremony after a class-wide vote by the class of 2021. The baccalaureate ceremony will feature two faculty speakers: Professor John Garrison, English, and Professor Monessa Cummins, classics. The news comes after the announcement that the 2021 graduation ceremony will be held in-person for all fourth-year students. Families of the graduating students, first- through third-years