The Buzz

Esports Champions

GRACELAND’S ESPORTS team was named the Iowa Division B Esports League champion at the GG Leagues tournament at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, in November. Jared Doty, Graceland Esports coach, said of the team’s collective win, “Our communication, in-game adjustments and strategy were very effective, and these are skills they’ll need in the global economy.” In the spring, the team will compete with some of the highest-ranked schools in the U.S.

Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019  Honored

Graceland recognized a NEW CLASS OF ATHLETICS HALL OF  FAME INDUCTEES during Homecoming 2019 for their contributions to the  athletic department.
The Graceland College Yellowjackets’ 1979 men’s volleyball team
•    Ian Davies ’78
•    Rob Kaleikau ’80
•    Diana Jensen ’01

Theatre Production Addresses Global Issue

Jessie Fuller ’20 enacted the scene from “Canary” by Hanna Cormick, a poetic piece dedicated to those who put their life/body on the line, voluntarily and involuntarily, to bring about awareness of climate change, like canaries in the coal mine. Assistant Professor of Theatre Tracy Salter dedicated this scene to her friend and former professor who suffers from multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). Susceptible to environmental toxins, individuals with MCS are characterized as canaries because their bodies can no longer process certain poisons in the air, water or food sources, and are early indicators of a danger.

“LIGHTING THE WAY” presented Graceland’s theatre audience with different perspectives on climate change through 12 short vignettes — some silly and some intense, but all thought-provoking. The Graceland performance was part of a global network of public forums on the subject of climate change under the umbrella of The Arctic Cycle consortium. The Climate Change Theatre Action, a participating group, offers a menu of 50 short scenes for stage performance. Of those, Graceland chose 12 for the local production. This scene, “Canary,” was selected to be performed at the annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 5, held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Jan. 19-25, 2020.

Fly Like a Bird

In November, JANA ZINSER ’80 SHARED A LIVE READING OF HER LATEST NOVEL, inspired by her experiences growing up in Lamoni. Fly Like A Bird, Zinser’s second novel, tells the coming-of-age story of Ivy, a young girl growing up in a small southern Iowa town during the 1970s, where everyone knows everything about their quirky neighbors. After discovering that her family and neighbors are keeping secrets from her about the night a tragic car crash killed her parents, Ivy attempts to untangle the truth about what really happened and escape the town that lied to her about the true fate of her mother. The reading, followed by a question-and answer session, took place in the Frederick Madison Smith Library on the Lamoni campus.

Nine Students Inducted Into Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society

The GRACELAND CHAPTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH HONOR SOCIETY INDUCTED NINE NEW MEMBERS in October. Graceland’s chapter, Alpha Phi Upsilon, was founded in 2017, and these new members are part of the third class of inductees. Sigma Tau Delta was founded in 1924 to confer distinction for high achievement in English language, literature and writing, and to foster literacy and all aspects of the discipline of English. With over 850 chapters across the U.S. and abroad, Sigma Tau Delta is the most active honors organization in the field and one of the largest members of the Association of College Honor Societies.

New Members:
Randallynn Smith
Payton Young
Daryn Nowlin
Emma Cleland-Leighton
Ashley Gress
Kaylen Schaefer
Passion Shaffer
Brennan Williams
Molly Sharp