Late last year Hope College senior Johnny DeMaagd made two major life decisions in quick succession. In November he opened a coffee shop in Middleville, Michigan. Then, on Dec. 31, he announced his candidacy for state house representative of Michigan’s 87th district. DeMaagd says his interest in local politics grew out of his interactions with…
Last Tuesday County Administrator Alan G. Vanderberg delivered his State of the County Address. Based on his speech and the Holland Sentinel’s reporting of it, here are three issues to watch in the coming year. Diversity: On Dec. 11 the Board of Commissioners voted to establish a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office. If the Board…
Holland, Michigan made national news earlier this month in a New York Times article featuring factories that have been hurt by President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese steel. Because of its history as an industrial center, Holland and the surrounding western Michigan area were initially receptive to Trump’s promise to protect American businesses by taking a…
Kenya’s capital of Nairobi was again rocked by the specter of terrorism this week as a mall complex attack claimed the lives of 21. This marks another occurrence in a series of attempts by al-Shabab, who claimed responsibility for the assault, to destabilize the region. Gunshots and a series of explosions marked the beginning of…
With the government shutdown now approaching a month, Hope College professor Dr. Jennifer Hampton is among the millions of Americans wondering how long this can go on. “At this point, the main impact is uncertainty,” said Hampton, who teaches physics and serves as director of her department’s summer research program. In November she applied for…
In a shocking video announcement on Twitter, President Donald Trump informed the world of his decision to pull all U.S. troops from Syria. In the statement released on December 19th, Trump claims that “we’ve beaten [ISIS] badly, we’ve taken back the land, and now it’s time for our troops to come back home.” ABC News…
As Americans across the country feel the effects of the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history, a Hope College student finds that it could impact one of the most important decisions of her life: where she goes to graduate school. Senior chemistry student Grace Kunkel has applied for a graduate fellowship, which could make…
In previous installments at The Anchor, the situation in Saudi Arabia has been portrayed as information comes to light. While most of the killers of the Washington Post reporter remain at large, many in the political realm are looking to intelligence agencies to seek out the orchestrator of this particular horrendous attack. As of right…
“Part of being an American abroad means answering questions.” If I had heard this statement prior to my experience in India, I would have judged it and coated in the lens of egotistical nationalism. However, I am learning to put down the sword and recognize the truth. Sure, the U.S. has a problem with placing…
This week proved to be an enormously entertaining and contentious time for big technology. The news of Amazon’s location for HQ2 was overshadowed by Facebook’s devastating scandal, which was published in the New York Times. The main focus of the story in the Times seems to be the manner that Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg,…