The Weekly Briefing gives a small look into the stories The Forum has covered in the past week. This week, we covered the groundbreaking ceremony for the performing arts building expansion, new settings in Canvas to specify personal pronouns and the different artwork submitted for the Stigma-Free Art Show.
Students share experiences through art
The National Alliance on Mental Illness Club at Westminster College, affiliated with the national association, hosted a Stigma-Free Art Show all week. The purpose of the art show is to stop the stigma of mental illness by providing a space to explain how it feels, according to the club’s co-president Katie Perry.
NAMI is known for promoting getting help with mental illness and making the community aware of mental illnesses.
Another track athlete breaks school record
The Westminster College track & field team broke another school record at its meet at Weber State University Feb. 14-15. Several other athletes placed in the top 10 for their respective events.
Tyler Shea set a new school record in the men’s weight throw, placing 7th overall at the meet. He threw a 14.48M to break the previous record.
Some lawmakers focus on environmental regulations
It’s been a busy week politics-wise in Salt Lake City, with the state legislative session kicking off its fourth week and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg hosting a town hall meeting Feb. 17.
State lawmakers are still in the process of proposing bills while hurrying to get others passed. Several of these bills are focused around environmental regulations, with many legislators pushing to curb the effects of climate change.
Westminster breaks ground on Gillmor Hall
Westminster College officially broke ground on the expansion project of the Jewett Center for Performing Arts. The new building, Florence J. Gillmor Hall, will be a 26,000 square foot expansion, adding facilities for performing arts students to use.
The three-story expansion of the Gilmor Hall will include a 100-seat recital hall with new dance and performance studios. It will also accommodate rehearsal rooms. The $14 million project is being fully funded by donations and doesn’t have any effect on the tuition increase, according to Dobkin.
Canvas adds pronoun specification to profile settings
Westminster College Canvas administration members added options for students to specify personal pronouns on the online website. Students can choose from a drop-down menu that provides options such as “he/him/his,” “she/her/hers,” “they/them/theirs,” etc. It also includes more gender-neutral pronouns such as “Ze/Hir/Hirs.”
The change was made after a group of students campaigned for faculty, staff and students to recognize personal pronouns in 2013, according to the Westminster Canvas Admin Rodney Glore.
