BY STEWART COARD – STAFF WRITER
This past fall semester brought about many important changes for the Centre community and witnessed a lot of exciting events. The community has been involved in providing engaging opportunities for students and projects that help improve campus life.
This fall, Centre welcomed a record-breaking first year class made up of 403 students, with total enrollment now standing at 1,460. When President Roush first came to Centre College, there were only 1,050 students. The class of 2021 includes residents and citizens from 23 countries and six continents. Senior Brad Sampson said, “hanging around the new class makes me think of our freshman year and how far we’ve come, and I hope that this class also has a lot of accomplishments in the years to come.”
Centre welcomed several new professors at the beginning of the year including Jennifer Goff (Dramatic Arts), Isabella La Rocca (Art), Robert Seebacher (Music), Ke Yi (Chinese), Kiyona Brewster (Sociology), Petra Hendrickson (International Studies), Jamie Shenton (Anthropology), Shana Sippy (Religion), Shunan Zhao (Economics), Kristen Fulfer (Chemistry), Prayat Proudel (Mathematics), Daniel Scott (Chemistry), Ain Simpson (Psychology), and Zhexiu Tu (Mathematics). Senior Jimmy Anderson, is an art student who has worked personally with La Rocca, and said she “hit the ground running, and I’m really glad to see that Centre is widening horizons in the media department with these new professors.”
The Department of Public Safety recently set up an app intended to improve campus security, called LiveSafe. The app features information for safety, access to on-campus resources, training, emergency procedures and a report tip feature that uses messages, videos, and audio files anonymously. “SafeWalk lets you invite up to three friends, family members or colleagues to virtually walk or drive with you” said Kevin Milby, director of public safety, referring to one of the app’s features.
On September 17, Centre faculty and staff released a statement affirming support for any students attending the college under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program. The statement emphasized students’ right to education and aligned DACA with Centre’s community statement.
Centre Players performed their first play of the semester, The Odd Couple, in October. Their interpretation gender-swapped the characters of this classic story about the relationship between two ill-matched roommates.
On October 25, Centre held a ceremony for the opening of its first solar array. Funds for the array were raised by a grassroots project that supported the installation of 60 panels, with plans to expand to 120.
From November 13 to 18, Centre hosted the annual Homelessness and Poverty Week, which includes a series of events intended to bring attention to aspects of poverty that are often overlooked. Events included a Hygiene Product Drive and a Box Sleep Out that provided important opportunities for students to engage with the issues.
Centre Players put on the second play of the semester in November, Cloud 9, a satirical work that takes on issues of colonialism, sexuality, gender and family. The performance featured Brennen Amonett ‘19, Rachel Kent ‘18, Darcey Lees, Joseph Long, Grant Markwell ’18, Tommy McFarland ‘19 and Katherine Moeykens.
On November 30, the African Musical Ensemble performed with Centre’s newest music group, Rhythm Fusion, a group that includes 14 students playing on drums, bass, guitar, and keyboard. The concert featured New Orleans-style music that showed the influence of African culture on American music.
Over the course of the semester, Grace Doherty Library hosted the Human Library, intended to promote dialogue across social categories. In its second year, the Human Library allows people to check out participants as ‘books’ to converse with and learn from.