Calvin-Parents E-Newsletter: May 18, 2010

IMPORTANT Commencement parking and accessibility instructions

Calvin College looks forward to hosting 950 graduates and 7000 family members and guests of those graduates on this Saturday for Commencement.  Please carefully review a few instructions as you prepare to visit campus, but please visit this Web site for full instructions.

Wheelchair and accessible parking: There will be some spaces reserved in Lot 6 [see campus map] for those with a designated handicapped parking permit.  These spaces are available on a first-come basis; please arrive early.  Because of the number of guests on campus that day, please leave plenty of time to park and expect to walk to reach the arena.  Please visit this Web site for full parking instructions.

Wheelchair and accessible entrances:  Enter the Van Noord Arena through the south entrance.  Enter the Hoogenboom Health and Recreation Center through the entrance at the northwest corner of the building---this is the only accessible entrance by which wheelchairs can reach the overflow Hoogenboom seating area.  Enter the Chapel at the southwest entrance.  Please visit this Web site for full accessibility instructions.

Read on for more Commencement information...

IMPORTANT Commencement ticket, graduate seating, and flower information

Commencement tickets:  Graduates can pick up their tickets at the box office through this Friday afternoon, May 21.  Tickets have been color-coded for each venue; please visit this Web site for full instructions.

Seating for graduates: If you have tickets for the Arena and you'd like to know where your graduate will be seated for Commencement, please see this map.  The map may help you determine which entrance to use once you get to the Arena, so you may want to print out this .pdf version.

Commencement flowers:  Those who pre-ordered flowers for their graduates, or would like to purchase them that day, will find the tables at the southwest corner of the Venema Aquatic Center and at the south entrance to the Van Noord Arena.

But again, please visit this Web site for full instructions.  Thank you!

Sports

A group of Calvin track and field athletes competed at the Penultimate Invitational hosted by the University of Chicago on Saturday afternoon. Over the course of the competition, Calvin recorded six NCAA III provisional qualifying performances and one automatic mark.

The most successful season in Calvin women’s tennis history came to a close on Friday afternoon as the Knights were defeated 5-2 by Washington University in a second round match played at the University of Chicago. Calvin closes out its season with an overall record of 19-4, establishing a school record for victories in a season. Calvin’s journey through the NCAA III Tournament this week was the first in school history with the Knights also recording their first-ever NCAA III Tournament win on Thursday with a 5-0 first round triumph over Baldwin-Wallace College.

Ashley and amaranth

Calvin senior Ashley Luse traveled to Uganda to create a market for amaranth—and to make some new friends.  Ashley made her African journey in February on behalf of amaranth, an herb containing large amounts of both protein and lysine that thrives in harsh growing conditions. Those qualities make amaranth an ideal staple crop for the global south. Milled or popped amaranth, which has an even higher nutritional value than the raw form of the herb, is sold in health food stores in the U.S. and elsewhere. That makes it a potential cash crop for farmers in the global south: countries such as Uganda.

If you need to verify enrollment

The registrar's office is equipped to provide letters which verify a student's current enrollment at Calvin. These letters are routinely requested by organizations such as health insurance companies.  Currently they are able to verify full time enrollment for the fall term at any time. However, we will not be able to verify full time enrollment for  Spring 2011until November after the spring registration period.  To find out more and how to request enrollment verification, see the information on this page in Parent & Family Resources.

Dr. Richard Mouw, Distinguished Alumni Awards

This year's Commencement speaker is Dr. Richard J. Mouw, president of Fuller Theological Seminary and former professor of philosophy at Calvin.  He is the author of 17 books, including Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport, and most recently, Praying at Burger King.  Mouw serves as a panelist in the online forum “On Faith” offered by Newsweek and the Washington Post. In 2007 Princeton Theological Seminary awarded Mouw the Abraham Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life.

This year's Distinguished Alumni Awards will be given to Anna Belle Engbers '58, Jacqueline A. Greenman '58, Marjorie A. Van Kooten '58, and Edward T. Begay '60 at Commencement 2010.  Recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award have made significant contributions to their fields of endeavor, are recognized by their associates for outstanding achievements, and manifest a Christian commitment that reflects honor upon Calvin College.

The World Communion of Reformed Churches

One thousand people from 100 countries will gather on the campus of Calvin College from June 18-28  to launch the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) at a Uniting General Council.  The WCRC is a new international organization of churches representing 80 million Reformed Christians who have been members of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and/or the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC).  The Christian Reformed Church is a member of both the WARC and the REC.

As part of this historic gathering, the pre-council seminar "Reformed Mission in an Age of World Christianity" will strengthen the intersection between Reformed Christian faith expressions and global movements for world Christianity. There are currently people from over 40 countries registered for this seminar which will take place from June 15 to June 17.

Several events, including a worship celebration on Sunday, June 20 at 4 p.m. in the Van Noord Arena (of the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex) are open to the public.  In addition there are opportunities to volunteer, host or sponsor a delegate.  Learn more at www.reformedchurches.org.

Pass the protein

This is not pasta, but a partial image of hemolysin, a protein that won the "Refrigerator Award" from chemistry professor Eric Arnoys' class. For more protein images, visit the Web site.

Check the Parent Calendar for important dates

Bookmark the Parent Calendar page to keep track of important dates throughout the year, including:

Wednesday, May 19: Exams end 10 p.m.
Thursday, May 20: Residence halls close at 10 a.m. (for students with Wednesday exams or special permission only)
Students, other than graduates, must move out of residence halls 24 hours after their last exam. If a resident student has difficulty meeting this requirement she/he should contact their Resident Director to discuss alternate arrangements.
May 20-24: Transitional Housing available for summer residents or special circumstances
May 24: Knollcrest East Apartments open for summer residents
Thursday, May 20 - Saturday, May 22: Commencement activities
Saturday, May 22: Commencement ceremony, 2 p.m.