Student Body Funding Circus Results Fall ’23: Quest, Period Kollectiv, Pool Hall Make Top 3

Rank Organization Amount Requested Amount Allocated % allocated $169,156.61 $96,388.90 1 The Reed College Quest $11,583.00 $8,783.00 75.80% 2 Period Kollectiv $6,672.00 $6,372.00 95.50% 3 Pool Hall $4,352.97 $2,852.97 65.50% 4 KRRC $3,612.24 $3646.24* 100.90% 5 BSU $13,155.00 $8,319.00 63.20% 6 The Griffin Senior Yearbook $2,256.37 $1,181.42 52.30% 7 Print Shoppe $2,013.13 $2,013.13 100.00% 8…

L Mattson Joins Reed as New Director of SHARE Program

By Asta Rossi Yasodha Gopal, Associate Dean of Students for Health and Well-Being, recently reached out to the Quest to announce that the recently vacated post of SHARE Program Director will be filled by L Mattson beginning on September 25. Mattson comes to Reed with dance and psychology undergraduate degrees and a graduate degree in…

“This Changes the Face of Our Nation:” Faculty Discussion Admission, Affirmative Action, and New Courses

By Declan Bradley and Henry Kendrick President Audrey Bilger began the first faculty meeting of the 2023/24 academic year — which took place on September 11 — with a statement of remembrance for those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, calling it a “solemn event.” President Bilger also expressed her admiration for the students who…

Professors Disagree on Grading Policy and Practice

By Cooper Hammond Section V.B.1 of the Faculty Code states that “The recommended distribution of passing grades over a period of years for all courses is as follows: A – 25%, B – 45%, C – 25%, D – 5%.” In other words, it asks professors to grade their students in such a way as…

Stuff Swap Switches to Open Access

In the September 10th issue of SB Info, it was announced that the Stuff Swap had switched to an open access model, meaning that it will now be open without a staff member. During its new hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, students will be able to gain access with their…

Reed Has No Official Policy on Generative AI in Admissions Essays, According to Dean of Admission

By Eli Ashcroft and Ian Zotter-Barlow According to Dean of Admission Milyon Trulove, Reed College currently has no formal policy on the use of generative AI in admissions essays. “[Reed doesn’t] have a policy regarding AI use in the admission process,” Dean Trulove said, “[but] we expect that everyone will write their college essays independently…

Introducing Reed’s (Potential) Newest Courses

By Parrish Johnson CAPP chair Meg Scharle introduced thirteen new course proposals at the September 11 faculty meeting (a full list is included at the end of this article.) These proposals, which hail from eight different departments, have only reached this point after a great deal of deliberation. As Scharle stated, “By the time the…

Powell’s Books Employees Strike on Labor Day

By Louis Chase and Griffin Turek This past Labor Day, workers at all three of Portland’s Powell’s Books locations went on a one-day Unfair Labor Practice strike to protest alleged stalling by management amidst negotiations for an 8th union contract. Workers at these Powell’s locations started picketing at 9:30 a.m., and subsequently converged on Powell’s…

News Beyond Reed

By Liz Organ Local: Measure 110 In early 2021, Measure 110 went into effect after being passed by Oregon voters in a 2020 referendum. This ballot initiative decriminalized possession of small amounts of most hard drugs, reclassifying it from a misdemeanor to a lower-level violation. The measure also set up a “Drug Treatment and Recovery…

Reed Adds New Identity-Based Essay Question to Writing Supplement for First-Year Applicants

By Declan Bradley In early August, Quest reporters discovered from Reed’s Common App listing that the college had added a new essay prompt to the writing supplement section of its application. The new prompt — which reads, “How might aspects of your identity positively influence the living and learning community at Reed?” — marks the…

Residence Life Alters Job Responsibilities for House Advisors

Feature photo by Owen Fidler By Lindsey Babcock On July 19th, while researching developmental neurobiology at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, junior biology major Alister Orozco received a call from Assistant Director of Residence Life Leo Cruz. Cruz inquired about Orozco’s plan to return to campus for HA training. Orozco informed Cruz that…

2023 Reed Summer Research Poster Session Showcases Student Work

By Griffin Turek; Photography by Ray Perry On a warm Friday afternoon, on the shaded plaza outside the language houses, STEM students gathered to present summer research projects to curious peers and faculty. Students set up posters as passers-by began to gather. At this annual summer research poster session, Reed students in the sciences come…

An Update on Masking on Campus

By Louis Chase New students arriving at Reed during Orientation Week were greeted by a campus with few visible signs of the COVID pandemic. Gone are the days of surveillance testing and the campus-wide mask mandate, both of which were phased out during summer 2022, as well as isolation housing for students diagnosed with COVID,…

SHARE Program Struggles Through Change of Leadership

Former Director Rowan Frost leaves college after voicing concerns that administration was not “committed to supporting survivors”; students and staff acknowledge difficulty protecting confidentiality. By Declan Bradley After more than nine years directing Reed’s Sexual Health, Advocacy, and Relationship Education program (SHARE), former director Rowan Frost left Reed at the end of June, leaving students…

President Bilger Uses Special Authority to Pass Anti-Roofie Amendment to AOD Policy

On August 17th, Reed President Audrey Bilger invoked the special authority granted to her under the community constitution to add a fifth policy clause to the college’s Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) policy. The new article, which was first put forward by student advocates from the Sexual Health Advocacy and Relationship Education (SHARE) program last…

Reed Student Lily Larsen, who initiated the protest at Bilger’s office, contacted the Quest to apologize to the President’s secretaries and make clear that the majority of those present did not intend to antagonize college staff

“[We] decided that it would be a good idea to take some of the signs and leave them in the foyer for when Audrey Bilger returned to her office to see,” Larsen said, “My intention behind this was more quietly occupying the space or just leaving the signs, and the majority of people there came…

The Quest has previously covered staff pay issues, including staff discontent and a data-based explanation of the proposed changes

In Staff Pay Explained, Declan Bradley does his best to clarify what the proposed changes would have meant for staff across Reed’s campus. In Staff Continue Objections to Proposed Pay Changes, Declan and L Urena recount the events of an all staff and faculty meeting, and the questions, comments, and concerns staff raised for HR. And in Faculty…

A group of students who contacted the Quest claimed to have witnessed a meeting between what they believed to be staff and administrators while the protest was taking place

The students arrived outside of President Bilger’s office shortly before 3:19 PM (Quest reporters arrived at 3:22), and took several photographs of the meeting and what seems to be an agenda written on the white board. “Pay evaluation” and “replicable job descriptions” are two notable agenda items.

In a speech, faculty member Aaron Ramirez said that a Reed Union had been discussed in recent weeks

Professor Ramirez said that they had been approached about the idea of calling a Reed Union, a public forum for discussion traditional to Reed which is unrelated to a labor union, but that the idea was not currently being actively pursued. Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly suggested that the organization being called…

Renn Fayre 2023: “The Divine Comedy” Is Coming

Renn Fayre is BACK and with the traditions of years past, including with over fifteen live music performance groups, twenty seven student projects, and a whole lotof EXCITEMENT FOR THE GRADUATING SENIORS! Especially for this week’s edition of the Quest, here’s a teaser of the Renn Fayre schedule, withthe full Renn Fayre Edition of the…

Former ResLife Director No Longer Suing Reed College

In January 2023, Former Director of Residence Life Clea Taylor, who filed a lawsuit against Reed in June 2022 alleging disability discrimination and retaliation, reached an out-of-court settlement with the College. Taylor’s suit claimed that Reed discriminated against her by refusing her medical accommodation requests for remote work, and that they had retaliated against her…

Faculty Discuss Grade Distributions and Workload

The April 17 faculty meeting opened on what college President Audrey Bilger called a “beautiful-ish” April day, with dozens of faculty in attendance in the foyer of Kaul Auditorium. The Administration Committee (AdComm) brought forward a proposal to strike part of section V.B.1 from the college’s Faculty Code. This policy lays out a “recommended distribution”…

Trillium Residents Relocated Due to Mold Infestation

Update 4/14 at 1:19 PM: Residence Life responded to a request for comment on Thursday morning, but will not be able to meet with reporters until next week. Disclaimer: the author of this story formerly lived in Trillium and was among the residents required to relocate due to mold. On Friday, March 31, Residence Life…

Trulove Talks Admission and Affirmative Action

Last Thursday (4/6), Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Milyon Trulove hosted a session discussing the upcoming Supreme Court decision regarding race-based admission — otherwise known as affirmative action — and how Reed plans to face the decision. Additionally, Trulove discussed current Reed enrollment trends, as well as current recruitment methods the…

Quest App Now Available for Android and iOS

You’ve searched. You’ve scrolled. You’ve tried, hazily, to remember the URL for the Quest site, and then given up and picked up a paper in the library. But now, at long last, it’s here: the Quest app. Built for Android and iOS, the Quest app provides all the features of our online publication and more,…

Q&A with Director of HR Heather Quinn-Barron

As part of our coverage of recently proposed changes to staff pay scales, The Quest reached out to Director of Human Resources Heather Quinn-Barron over email with questions about the new system. Among other things, The Quest asked about the released pay grades, their suspension, staff reactions, and the introduction of job descriptions. This article…

A Thunderous Canyon Day

Canyon Day 2023 was a smashing success despite the thunder and waves of quarter-inch hail crashing the party last Saturday. In Reed’s second Canyon Day event since the virus shutdown, students, staff, faculty, alumni, and other community members gathered near the Grove dorms to continue the college’s longest-running community event, dating back to the earliest…

Staff Express Overall Discontent Following Pay-Range Changes

Note: interviews with staff discussed in this article have been anonymized as a result of alleged implied threats of retaliation from higher administration towards individuals who directly speak up, as described by staff. Staff members are an integral part of the Reed community, and their contributions can be seen in all aspects of the way…

“Rapturous” Hail Bombards Canyon Day

Students during the hailstorm, by Aspen, dancing to Canyon day scheduled live music. Midday on April 1, 2023, a clap of thunder sounded across the Canyon. Curious students turned their heads to the sky, with some howling in response to the echoing omen, and others simply shrugging, continuing their activities of pulling ivy, grilling bean…

The OWL Program is Confirmed to Return Next Year with Some Changes

Many of us know about the OWL program, or Orientation and Wayfinding Leaders, that assists incoming freshmen with their social and academic transition to Reed through group activities and discussions.  Rumors of its uncertain future began circulating, so the Quest reached out to Janice Yang, the Director of the Office for Student Engagement, and current…

Reed College Announces, Then Suspends, Overhaul of Staff Pay System

Over the last several weeks, Reed College staff and faculty have raised ongoing objections to the college’s proposed changes to the staff compensation system, changes that have been placed on indefinite hold for “further review” at the time of this writing. We understand, of course, that this coverage is both incomplete and rushed, as breaking…

Staff Continue Objections to Proposed Pay Changes, Now on Hold

At an all staff meeting on Tuesday, college employees expressed ongoing concerns about proposed changes to staff pay, which had been paused and placed “under review until further notice” by the time the meeting began. College President Audrey Bilger began the meeting by addressing the roughly 100 staff present (as estimated by two Quest reporters…

The Quest goes to SF!!!

The week before spring break, the Quest traveled to San Francisco to attend the Associated College Press conference (ACP). In attendance were more than 750 other collegiate journalists and journalism professors. The Quest then competed against other universities at a national level.  On March 9, Declan Bradley, L Urena, and Henry Kendrick began their journey…

Faculty Raise Concerns Over Staff Pay-Scale Reconfiguration

Monday’s faculty meeting opened on a full house, and on top of other things, included discussions of additions of academic buildings and new classes, inclusive classroom dynamics, equitable distributions of work, and a lengthy discussion about the recent overhaul in the pay scale for the staff here at Reed. With the bang of a gavel…

Sea Otters: Their Long History With People and How They Shaped Pacific Coastal Communities

Introducing Dr. Shawn Larson: Last Friday, Dr. Shawn Larson, a Senior Conservation Research Manager at the Seattle Aquarium, gave a talk as part of the Friday Biology Seminar Series about the population, history, and recovery of sea otters (Enhydra lutris). Having studied sea otters for over two decades, Dr. Larson started her academic journey studying…

Faculty Discourse Over Possible Summer Work

Correction: This article incorrectly stated that Faculty Parliamentarian Peter Ksander had interpreted faculty policy to mean that the motion passed to send a proposed policy back to ASC for reconsideration “had no binding power.” However, Ksander has since stated that this does not reflect his interpretation, and that, “the quote expresses Metz’s understanding of my…

Students Protest Removal of Auditor from Campus

On the afternoon of Tuesday, February 7, Ash Auer received an email from the Admissions Office stating that Vice President and Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Milyon Trulove had “requested to meet with [her] as soon as possible.” Ash was an auditor — a non-traditional student who pays a flat rate of $100 to…

Administration Announces Changes to the HA Application

On January 13, 2023, the returning House Advisor applications went live on Handshake. Along with structural revisions, there were two big changes to the application that caused a ruckus among many current HAs. The application, along with all the regular HA duties such as throwing events, being available for training dates, etc., introduced two new…

Dr. Kevan Shokat ’86 Receives Vollum Award for Cancer Research

Last Thursday, February 9, Kevan M. Shokat, Ph.D., Reed Class of 1986, received the Vollum Award for Distinguished Accomplishment in Science and Technology at an event held in Vollum Lecture Hall, hosted by President Bilger and introduced by Biology Professor Janis Shamplay. This was the first Vollum Award ceremony held since 2018. According to a…

Mold Found in ODB

Recently, residents in ODB may have become aware of one room being gutted as the plaster on the walls was replaced due to mildew and mold. The Quest reached out to Director of Facilities Operations Steve Yeadon to clarify the happenings in the century old dorm building. Over winter break, a radiator steam pipe in…

Lemonade Out of Lemons: New and Improved Gym on the Horizon

Collapsed gymnasium to be rebuilt by fall of 2024 Two long years after the collapse of Reed’s sports center, reconstruction of the building is set to begin any day now. The new gym is scheduled to be finished by August of 2024 and offers many new, exciting amenities.  Michael Lombardo, Director of Athletics, Fitness, and…

Grounds Crew Unionizes

The Grounds Crew, also known as the Canyon Crew, have partnered with Teamsters Local 305, a Portland Labor Union, to form Reed’s first Grounds Union. The vote was counted on January 26th. Four members of the crew of five voted to unionize. The fifth member was hired only recently, and so was ineligible to vote,…

Faculty Meeting Five Short of Quorum

The sparsely-attended December 5th faculty meeting included updates about the proceedings of the Office of Institutional Diversity (OID), information from Student Life regarding student care resources, as well as end-of-semester reminders from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and the Associate Dean of Faculty. Upon President Audrey Bilger’s commencement of the meeting, a vote…

HCC How-to: Prescription Procedure

*All students in this article are anonymized to protect medical privacy.  Recently, the Quest was approached by some concerned students regarding the state of the HCC’s mental health resources, specifically when handling prescription drugs. We reached out to the HCC and asked other students about their experiences. How accessible is the HCC? What does the…

Foster Fire Raises Facilities Response Concerns

On Tuesday, October 4, at approximately 8 PM, Harper Egginton ‘25 left their dorm room in Foster to visit a friend over in Scholz. Less than five minutes later, the fire alarm blared in both buildings, sending everyone out to the Great Lawn. Egginton went back inside, finding the hallway filled with smoke and fire…

Paul Currie Resigns

College Finds No Violation Of Policy; Currie Attributes Bigoted Comments To Insomnia Medication Professor of Psychology Paul Currie has resigned from his position at Reed College, effective January 6, 2023. Currie was filmed in March harassing local food-service workers with racial epithets, sparking multiple days of protests and calls for his removal by students and…

All you need to know about 2022 Fall Election Assembly

This semester’s election assembly took place Wednesday, November 30 in the Student Union. Students ran for positions including Quest editor, senate one and two-term positions, president and vice president, and each candidate got a chance to defend their case as to why they should be chosen as the student body’s next leaders. There were some…

Senate Beat: A Brief PSA

Senate Public on Wednesday once again began without quorum — in what President Safi Zenger called “perhaps the worst public I’ve ever seen” — with four Senators in attendance at the official start time of 9 a.m. (three more trickled in soon after, but the final total of seven still did not meet quorum).  Vice…

UPDATE: ResLife Director still suing Reed College

Amendments to lawsuit allege “Constructive Termination” and Further Retaliation by Reed College Residence Life Director Clea Taylor, who filed a lawsuit against Reed College in June alleging disability discrimination and retaliation under the Oregon Family Leave Act, amended her suit on November 18, 2022, to further claim that Reed had broken multiple other Oregon anti-retaliation…

Senate and Quest Editor Candidate Platforms – Fall 2022

Lennox Reeder (Senate Full Term): Howdy! I’m Lennox, and I’m running for reelection to senate. I’ve served on Appointments Committee among others and look forward to continuing my tenure in this role, helping hire and employ Reedies. One major project of mine, expanding Wi-Fi to more places on campus and improving wifi connectivity in deadzones…

Election Czar Removed From Position

Senate Delays Student Body Elections Following Alleged Czar Misconduct In an emergency meeting late Tuesday evening, members of Senate unanimously voted to terminate the employment of Election Czar Aaron G. Following this, a statement was released to the Quest, and election candidates received a message apologizing for “what has been a more convoluted election cycle…

Habibi On the Run

Various cats have been spotted slinking around campus, getting copious pets and pats from passersby. One of our famous campus felines who received a particularly big amount of buzz recently is Habibi, a Siamese who is generally spotted around the GCC (particularly the mailroom), and inside other buildings like Vollum and residence halls. Described as…

Senate Suspends Bylaws

For such a short meeting of only sixteen minutes, Senate Public on Wednesday packed in a lot of updates for the student body. Most notably, Vice President Margot Becker announced that Senate had passed a motion over the weekend to temporarily suspend its own election bylaws, specifically sections 4.5-B.1 and 4.5-A.3. To explain what this…

Faculty Meeting 11/7: The President’s Proposal

Reed College President Audrey Bilger “gaveled us in,” in her words, to the November 9 faculty meeting with an anecdote about how she had recently dressed up as Ruth Bader Ginsburg for Halloween, and wished she had thought to carry around the gavel that she so frequently uses to begin and end faculty meetings. Bilger’s…

Annual Security Report 2022

The 2021 Annual Security Report (ASR) has been released, and details the crime and fire statistics from the second half of the 2020-2021 academic year and the first half of the 2021-2022 academic year, as well as compares trends from the three past calendar years. The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus…

Lecture: Studying and Reducing Police Violence in Latin America

The Political Science Department hosted Professor Hernán Flom of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut on Wednesday, November 2. Flom presented his preliminary work for an ongoing project in a presentation titled “Police, Politics and Violence in Latin America.” Flom’s presentation was the very beginnings of a long term project he is starting, in which he…

Financial Changes Discussed for the Study Abroad Program

Director of International Programs Alberto del Río Malo considering new “home-school tuition model” A few weeks ago, during Senate Public on October 7, Student Senator Miles Sanford proposed a new “home-school tuition model” for study abroad at Reed. This new model would make the cost of study abroad the same as a normal semester at…

Post-Apocalyptic Simpsons Take Reed’s Stage

Putting the “Homer” in “Homeric”  This year’s mainstage production takes the equally zany and contemplative form of Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play. Set in a hypothetical future where a series of nuclear disasters have rendered the world free of electricity and ridden with radiation, Mr. Burns blends a gritty account of post-apocalyptic life…

Gas Leak Trouble At Naito?

Ever since September, students living in Natio have had to deal with the putrid smell of gas interrupting their daily lives. This is due to a gas leak that has been only partially fixed by the closure of the gas release valve, a safety mechanism put into buildings to prevent fiery explosions.  Prior to this,…

Beer Nation And Senate Move Forward Following Delayed Allocation Of Funs

Past Beer Nation Signators Acted “Funny With Money,” Current Leadership Says When Funding Circus results for the Fall 2023 semester were released on Friday, September 23rd, many students noticed that Beer Nation, a historic club and an integral Reed tradition, only received 0.5% of the funds that they requested for the semester, despite being voted…

Senate Beat Is In The Void

Senate Public on Wednesday began in darkness: the SU lights had been left on dimmers and nobody could figure out how to turn them off. After five minutes of various senators experimentally flipping switches and heated debate over whether Senate really needs light anyway, Vice President Margot Becker (‘24) pronounced that she kind of liked…

Club Profile: SWANA Student Union

In this year’s funding poll, you may have noticed a new name joining the ranks of the wonderful student unions of Reed College, that of course being the SWANA Student Union! SWANA stands for Southwest Asia and North Africa, and the club is for anyone who identifies with that background. When sitting down with the…

Dinner Cut Short Again…

Water Pressure Fluctuations Cause Fire Alarm To Go Off On the eve of October 4th, I found myself sitting in ODB with a friend listening to the shriek of the fire alarmas it drifted through the window of the Gray Community Center (GCC). What was up with that fire alarm? And why was it going…

Finally Celebrating Senior Year at Gothic Fairy Prom

This past Saturday, Reed College students of all ages were given the chance to embrace their inner awkward teen selves. Hosted by the Office of Student Engagement, Reed’s very own prom was held in the student union. While prom is not normally a college event, much of the current Reed student body never received a…

Senate Beat: Senate Has Questions About Luis Giraldo

This week’s Senate Public was centered around the allegations of workplace misconduct and discrimination made in a now-dismissed lawsuit against new Director of Student Support Luis Giraldo while at his former place of employment, Santa Barbara City College (SBCC).  Student Body President Safi Zenger read portions of an email sent to her and Student Body…

Faculty Meeting: Faculty Has Questions About Paul Currie Response

October 10 Faculty Meeting Covers Trustees Meeting, Department Changes, CAPP Workload Audrey Bilger, President of Reed College, marked the beginning of the October 10th faculty meeting with the single bang of a gavel. Discussions primarily centered around a recent Trustees meeting, using time as a resource in the classroom, a new data webpage, changes to…

Angel Booking: A Lost Gem of Reed

In perfect honesty, live music is the only way I am going to make it out of college alive, and so it’s a good thing that Angel Booking is back after its two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Angel Booking is Reed’s only independent, student-run music booking group. The group books artists to perform on…

Let’s Talk About Fight Club

The Good, The Bad, And The Broken “IS YOUR MOTHER TRAPPED IN A POKE BALL?,” reads the poster taped to the McKinley front door. Littered with drawings and questions, the poster seemed to advertise the on-campus event “Fight Club: Round Two,” scheduled for Saturday, September 24th at 11:30 p.m. These posters began to appear everywhere…

Reed’s New Strategic Plan Considers Expanding The Student Body

In June 2022, Reed published its first Strategic Plan in seven years. To those unfamiliar, the Strategic Plan is put together by Administrators and Trustees, and aims to set broad goals for Reed to implement over the coming decades. The report discusses a variety of goals which the college intends to pursue —  increasing student…

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