Laker Line finally receives federal funding

The Laker Line initiative, a project geared toward providing transportation between Grand Valley State University’s Allendale and Pew campuses, finally received federal funding after previously being tied up.

The project received a federal grant that will pay for approximately 80 percent of the $70 million project, with the rest being financed by the Michigan Department of Transportation. The Laker Line will replace the current 50 route, which connects the two campuses, as well as the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences. 

According to a press release, Laker Line buses will be larger and be able to transport 80 to 90 students at a time. The project will also feature construction of brand-new bus stops designed to appear more like railway stations, adding raised platforms, seats and snowmelt to make the wait for buses more comfortable. 

Construction on the project will begin as early as this spring with expected completion in 2020.

Standing Rock exhibit displayed in library Exhibition Space

Levi Rickert, editor and publisher for “Native News Online,” captured a series of photographs of the protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in the Standing Rock reservation. 

His photos, amounting to 1,500, covered the movement of the protests from Standing Rock to Washington, D.C., to Lansing. They are currently on display in the Exhibition Space of the Mary Idema Pew Library.

Democracy 101 returns this week

The Grand Valley State University Community Service Learning Center’s Democracy 101 series is returning this week on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at noon in the Kirkhof Center, Room 2270.

The event is titled “Disentangling from the U.S’. Argument Culture: Keeping It Real About the ‘Sticking Points.'” Lisa Perhamus, associate professor at GVSU in the College of Education, will be leading the discussion. Perhamus will dissect the tendency individuals have to be argumentative and confrontational, and how to go about overcoming this tendency.

The event is LIB 100- and 201-approved. Pizza will be provided.

RecycleMania returns to campus

For the 11th time, Grand Valley State University is participating in RecycleMania, a competition designed to inspire students and community members to treat their waste consciously. 

The event is taking place through March 31. GVSU students can participate by making sure their trash is put into the correct disposal bin.

GVSU NAACP holding Founders Day events Monday, Feb. 12

The Grand Valley State University chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will be holding an event to celebrate the 109th Founders Day on Monday, Feb. 12, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Kirkhof Center Thornapple Room. 

The event is open to the public. For more information, email [email protected].