Author: Taylor Stevens

Disrupting the binary: Members of Westminster’s gender queer community look to live a life without gender

Public bathroom doors are adorned with male and female stick figures indicating which to enter. Clothing is divided into separate sections for men and women. Color-coded toys specify which are for boys and which are for girls.   Many people walk through life never noticing the subtle ways gender impacts their everyday interactions and decisions. But growing up, Mel Van De Graaff was acutely aware ...

Westminster College hires second female president in its history

Westminster College’s Board of Trustees announced its decision Monday to hire Bethami (Beth) Dobkin, Ph.D., as the college’s 19th president — making her the second woman to hold the position. Dobkin comes to Westminster from Saint Mary’s College of California, a private, Catholic university with approximately 4,000 students. She has served there for the past 10 years as the provost and vice presid...

ASW president resigns mid-term, citing mental health concerns

Westminster College ASW President Ben Pok announced at a Senate meeting and in an email sent to the student body Monday evening that he intends to resign at the end of this semester, citing mental health concerns.Pok, a junior, ran for the position as a first year in 2016 after a special run-off election. He became the youngest student to take that position in ASW’s history and was re-elected for ...

President Steve Morgan announces plan to retire after 37 years at Westminster

After 37 years at Westminster College and three years serving in its chief executive position, President Steve Morgan announced Thursday his plan to retire at the end of the 2017-2018 academic school year.Morgan, Westminster’s 18th president, spent most of his nearly four decades at the college in a variety of administrative positions and stepped into his current role in July 2015.“It has been a m...

Westminster community responds to repeal of DACA

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump ordered an end to the Obama-era program that defers deportation for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.The decision to overturn the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows these young adults to work and attend colleges and universities across the country without fear of deportation, could impact m...

ASW says budget is in line with its goals and priorities

With declining enrollment numbers at Westminster College, fewer students pay student fees — meaning ASW has to stretch the money it gets a little further each year.ASW approved its annual budget of $231,640 at its last senate meeting in April — $8,000 less than its members had to work with for in the 2016-2017 school year and more than $17,000 less than in the 2015-2016 school year.“I always tell ...

Utahns, members of Westminster’s community denounce racism at rally

After white nationalists marched Friday at the University of Virginia and Saturday in Charlottesville for a “Unite the Right” march, nearly 1,000 Utahns gathered Monday evening to denounce racism.“Donald Trump, can’t you hear? Nazis are not welcome here,” the crowd shouted at the Salt Lake County building before speeches from around a dozen community activists.White nationalists and counterprotest...

Westminster College hires victim advocate

After months of discussion and student requests, the Title IX office’s first victim advocate started work at Westminster College on Feb. 27.Isabella Ramos Miller filled the long-awaited position, which will provide student survivors of sexual violence with an additional campus resource. Miller’s main role will be to help students “navigate the internal investigation and criminal processes,” accord...

ASW.Senate approves new campaign policies

ASW.Senate voted to use money from the general fund to support Senate and student board candidates’ campaigns and lowered the cap for candidate spending at its meeting on Jan. 23.Carissa Uresk, ASW’s speaker of the Senate, wrote the bill and said she feels the legislation is an important step toward making ASW positions more accessible to students from different backgrounds. “It’s just ensuri...

Westminster becomes first safe haven campus in Utah for undocumented students

Westminster College President Steve Morgan designated the college a safe haven for undocumented students on Dec. 9, making the college the first educational institute in the state to do so.Sean Desilets, a film studies professor, and Eileen Chanza Torres, an English professor, originally sponsored a petition to make Westminster College a sanctuary school as a response to president-elect Donald Tru...

Westminster to eliminate college-wide E-Portfolio requirement starting Fall 2017

Westminster College’s faculty senate announced its decision to eliminate the college-wide E-Portfolio requirement beginning Fall 2017 at the college’s faculty meeting on Dec. 2.The elimination of the college-wide E-Portfolio requirements for the first-year competency, midpoint and final E-Portfolios allows each program or major the opportunity to choose how best to assess college-wide learning goa...

Feminist Club creates Sexual Assault Peer Support Network

On Westminster College’s campus, there are two confidential resources for student survivors of sexual assault—the Counseling Center and Student Health Services. All other Westminster faculty and staff, as well as RAs, are responsible mandatory reporters.To provide another non-mandatory reporting resource for students on campus, Westminster’s Feminist Club has spearheaded the Sexual Assault Peer Su...