{"id":17637,"date":"2022-02-28T13:41:54","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T13:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/?p=17637"},"modified":"2026-02-27T22:28:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T22:28:54","slug":"maccolades-february-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2022\/02\/maccolades-february-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Maccolades for February 2022: New books and poems, a music composition, COVID drawings and more."},"content":{"rendered":"

Maccolades is a monthly round-up of the most recent accolades and accomplishments earned by members of the Macalester community. Below are highlights from February 2022. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amplifying women\u2019s voices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Samantha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macalester student <\/span>Sam Hopkins \u201923 <\/b>(Fairview, Okla.) published a poem titled \u201cCollided\u201d in the <\/span>Oklahoma Women\u2019s Journal<\/span><\/i><\/a>. \u201cThe journal is targeted toward women who feel their voice is not heard and aims to change the narrative in journalism,\u201d Hopkins said. Her poem was chosen to close out the poetry section and received a double-page spread. \u201cThis not only validated that my creative work does have merit but also that people want to read it and connect with my words,\u201d said Hopkins, who is majoring in educational studies and creative writing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A medieval legacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Book<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political Science Professor<\/span> Andrew Latham<\/b> published a new book called <\/span>Medieval Sovereignty<\/span><\/i><\/a>, which explores how ideas about supreme political authority \u2014 sovereignty \u2014 first emerged during the high medieval period. \u201cThis book was shaped by my course on medieval political theory, a course that I have taught for over a decade,\u201d Dr. Latham said. \u201cI wrote this book to challenge the rather stale conventional wisdom about sovereignty and to give due credit to those medieval jurists, theologians and polemicists who actually forged the concept.\u201d Written in provocative but accessible language, the book is intended for anyone interested in the medieval period. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A successful verdict<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Mock<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macalester\u2019s mock trial team won first place among 21 top mock trial programs in the country at <\/span>the Georgetown Hilltop Invitational Tournament. <\/span>The team of <\/span>Kaitie Brown \u201922<\/b>, <\/span>Katie Chin \u201922<\/b>, <\/span>Lev Serxner \u201922<\/b>, <\/span>June McBarron \u201923<\/b>, <\/span>Sariya Stowers \u201923<\/b>, <\/span>Lia Pak \u201923<\/b>, <\/span>Jeremy Hubinger \u201923<\/b>, and <\/span>Austin Wu \u201923<\/b> earned the victory after defeating Rutgers University, George Washington University, Columbia University, and Pennsylvania State University. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents that compete in mock trial here at Macalester work incredibly hard to generate and polish case theories for competition,\u201d coach Beau Larsen said. \u201cWinning a tournament such as Georgetown demonstrates these students’ commitment to forensics competition and the collaboration that make such a win possible.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eight students have qualified to compete in the Opening Round Championship Series in March.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Capturing Covid through comics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Rivi<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Rivi Handler-Spitz<\/b>, associate professor and chair of <\/span>Asian Languages and Cultures, received high praise from <\/span>The Washington Post. <\/span><\/i>The newspaper<\/span> cited <\/span>The COVID Chronicles, A Comics Anthology<\/span><\/i><\/a>,<\/span> which features 10 of Prof. Handler-Spitz\u2019s comics, as <\/span>one of the top 10 graphic narratives of 2021.<\/span><\/a> \u201cAs a child, I was never without a pencil or crayon; I drew constantly,\u201d Prof. Handler-Spitz said. \u201cThe fact that <\/span>The COVID Chronicles<\/span><\/i> received this honor from <\/span>The Washington Post<\/span><\/i> is thrilling. It emboldens me to keep drawing and to seek new ways to bring together drawing, scholarship, and teaching.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheers from Canterbury<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Duchess<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Duchess Harris<\/b>, professor and acting chair of American Studies, received the Thomas J. Sheehy Distinguished Alumni Award from <\/span>Canterbury School<\/span><\/a>, her former high school. \u201cCanterbury had a tremendous impact on my life,\u201d Dr. Harris said. \u201cThey taught me discipline and the significance of cultural capital.\u201d The award recognizes alumni who have brought distinction to themselves, credit to Canterbury School, and benefit to the communities they serve through their professional, community, or public service.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the 2010 American Studies Association presidential address, Ruthie Wilson Gilmore encouraged us to infiltrate what exists and innovate what doesn’t,\u201d Prof. Harris continued. \u201cThis is what I tried to do as the only Black student in the 10th and 11th grade. How did my entering the room change the room? I’m not sure, but if we never enter, the space remains the same.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In sync<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Shelley<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macalester Wind Symphony Director <\/span>Shelley Hanson<\/b> conducted the Minnesota Intercollegiate Honor Band in the premiere of her new composition. The concert was part of the <\/span>Minnesota Music Educators Association’s annual conference<\/span><\/a> at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The College Band Directors National Association commissioned the piece, which was sponsored by a consortium of 20 colleges and high schools. Major music publishers \u2014 including Boosey & Hawkes and Hal Leonard \u2014 have published Hanson\u2019s previous compositions. In addition to directing the Wind Symphony, Hanson teaches clarinet at Macalester. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bend it like Beckman<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macalester College is one of 14 colleges and universities to receive a 2022 <\/span>Beckman Scholars Program award<\/span><\/a>, which is dedicated to supporting undergraduate research in chemistry and life sciences. The $156,000 award from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation will fund a total of six student research projects from 2022-2024. The program\u2019s 15-month structure allows for more ambitious projects. \u201cThis is a really long commitment, and it lets each scholar engage deeply with the research,\u201d said chemistry professor <\/span>Dr. Dennis Cao<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Opening doors of opportunity\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Macalester College is one of four institutions that was <\/span>invited to join<\/span><\/a> The Consortium on Financing Higher Education (<\/span>COFHE<\/span><\/a>). An organization of private colleges and universities, COFHE commits both to excellence in residential undergraduate education and affordability through generous financial aid programs.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am thrilled that Macalester has been invited to join this extraordinary consortium of highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities, which are leaders in expanding access to higher education,\u201d said President Suzanne Rivera. <\/span>\u201cJoining COFHE will help Macalester to do an even better job at opening doors of opportunity for talented young people across the socioeconomic spectrum.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to be considered for future Maccolades<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve recently earned an award, fellowship, or honor and would like it to be considered for inclusion in next month\u2019s Maccolades, please let Communications & Marketing know by filling out this<\/span> Maccolades form<\/span><\/a>. <\/span>For recent book publications, please use this<\/span> book publication form<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maccolades is a monthly round-up of the most recent accolades and accomplishments earned by members of the Macalester community. Below are highlights from February 2022.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":677,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academics","category-college-newswire","mediatype-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"fields":{"article_type":[8],"flickr_photoset_id":"","youtube_id":"","square_thumbnail":false,"press_photos":false,"story_title":"","story_caption":"","rotations":false,"maps":false,"marker_title":"","marker_text":"","geographic_location":false,"feature_embed":"","custom_link_url":"","news_icon_name":"","image_options":false,"main_feature_story":"","custom_image":false,"custom_feature_title":"","custom_feature_caption":"","custom_markup":"","custom_markup_link":"","custom_markup_title":"","custom_markup_caption":"","byline":"","post_thumbnail_style":"default","press_downloads":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17637"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17637\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30721,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17637\/revisions\/30721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}