Refugees Seek Shelter in Wake of Harris Unrest
Refugees settle in JRC 101 before getting kicked out by Joint Board on Wednesday night.
Hundreds of Grinnellians found themselves displaced last Saturday after yet another violent outbreak at the Harris Center. The disturbance began around 10 PM with bursts of deafening noise. Witnesses say the situation quickly deteriorated into a mess of erratic movements and flailing limbs. “They supplied our roommates with free alcohol and a dance floor,” said Greg Cheney '12, one of an estimated 480 student refugees. “We didn't stand a chance.”
“I got a text around 12:30 AM. It read that my dormroom was occupied, and that it was no longer safe for me to come home,” said Marissa Holtz '14. “The next morning, Sunday, I went to the JRC only to find it empty. It seemed like a cruel joke – after spending the night in the desolate wasteland of East Campus, I couldn't even take comfort in breakfast. The dining hall was simply not open.” Holtz was forced to make awkward small talk with her hungover host for nearly 2 hours until the Marketplace opened for lunch.
Marissa Thompkins '13 confirmed that the problem of sexile is very real. “Oh, I've been there. One moment you're dancing and drinking and having a good time, and then bam, the rug is pulled out from under you. You receive that text and suddenly you have no food, no shelter, no water filter, no bathrobe, no humidifier, no Wii, no Burt's Bees green clay refining mask. A person can't live like this.”
Larry Reed '14 is another student suffering because of instability in the North Campus region. He lost his home during an insurgency last weekend. “I just managed to escape the chaos in Harris, and staggered back to my dorm. I could barely walk,” he recalled, “and by the time I got home, I just wanted to sleep in the comfort of my own bed.”
However, Reed found his door boarded up and his bed occupied by an insurgent with ulterior motives. Reed had become a refugee. “As I walked away from my possessions, I thought to myself, 'I'm a good citizen of Grinnell. I study hard. I pay my room and board. I deserve to be protected, not thrown out into the street.'” Reed's SA allowed him to crash on her futon, but he says that's not the point – “I don't want charity. All I want is to be able to go home.”
North campus has seen spasmodic outbursts of conflict and civil unrest for decades now. The United Nations is working to bring peace to the region, but despite their diplomatic gestures, ground-shaking explosions continue to emanate from Harris every week. Deposed President Russell Osgood '10, who has been leading the recovery efforts for the past few months, addressed the UN last week.
“Harris is a disaster zone, Mac Field is littered with bodies, and the PEC is about to be reduced to rubble. Who is going to clean this mess up?”
“And where the fuck is NATO?” he added.
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