Day: February 15, 2012

This past weekend I participated in an event that gave equal rights to the Undead and produced a nominating ticket of Mitt Romney for President and Steven Colbert for Vice President of the United States. I witnessed heated arguments, passionate outbursts and many political jokes.
You guessed right; I was at OWU’s historic Mock Convention.
I participated as a delegate for Missouri and found the experience to be one of the best yet for me at OWU. Through actually acting out the motions of a real convention, I learned first-hand how American political parties operate.
Before Mock Convention, I was interested, but had no idea how party platforms were decided upon. A mere two days later, I feel like I have a firm grasp on how it is done.
I also found myself fascinated with the art of negotiating for support within the ranks of a party itself.
Being a Republican, I found the convention especially interesting because I was able to put myself in the shoes of my party’s delegates during this critical presidential election year and to hear all different arguments regarding my party’s stances. It was interesting to see how diverse peoples’ opinions could be about any given topic. I found it exhilarating to argue my stance on certain issues and to hear the gavel decide the verdict.
What seemed to be most impressive to those around me and to myself was the power of a single signature to make or break a petition. No matter how good an idea was, it could never even be voted on if it did not receive enough signatures of support in the preliminary proposal round.
I was a little skeptical when people said Mock Convention was a pivotal moment in their lives, drawing them to politics, but I now understand exactly what they meant. I’ve always been interested in government, which explains my double majoring in P&G along with journalism, but the convention truly re-affirmed my love of politics. By the end of Friday night, I had made myself a promise that I would one day take part in a National Republican Convention and make a difference in my parties’ platform.
I found the light-hearted moments of nominating Rock Jones for president and proposing a digital war with China a good way to break up the tension and keep the convention not only educational, but fun as well. It truly was a unique experience to be able to interact with the rest of OWU on such a learning-conducive and personal level.
During the convention, I had the privilege of sitting by three OWU alumni who were friends in college and decided to come back for this event together. They are all now practicing law and I had fun interacting with them and hearing about how they used to spend their time at OWU.
They proposed an amendment to rename New Mexico to Better Mexico and we had a lot of fun advocating their cause throughout the convention. They also provided me with some useful insight about the pursuit of political activism after OWU, giving me some good advice for the future.
After experiencing it, I can honestly say the Mock Convention is truly a once in a college-lifetime experience and I hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did.

Support for abortion, same-sex marriage, withdrawal of American troops from foreign bases, and amnesty (possibility of citizenship and federal benefits) for illegal immigrants all made it onto Mock Convention 2012’s Republican platform.
What ought to have been Ohio Wesleyan’s genuine reproduction of the upcoming Republican National Convention devolved into a mockery of the Republican Party, featuring the passage of truly laughable amendments that literally reversed the GOP’s stance on just about everything overnight, a feat that would put any Democratic politician to shame.
From economic issues to foreign policy, certain Mock participants zealously advocated their own opinions over what their respective states would have actually pushed for.
It was appalling, at best, to see delegations from Southern states give emotionally charged speeches about the merits of allowing women to choose abortion, as if this argument could sway life-minded conservatives.
One of Mock’s headlining ‘achievements’ was the nomination of comedian and Democrat Stephen Colbert for the Republican vice presidential ticket. Rather than voting for a likely Republican candidate, fellow participants elected the eminent Flaming Sword of Justice-wielder in a bid to do no more than have themselves featured in a segment on his show.
Mock Convention is supposed to be an exercise for those with a genuine interest in American electoral politics, with some fun elements to boot.
The remarkable intransigence of those who had their own agendas in mind was not only in poor taste, but detrimental to the experience of those who earnestly wanted to participate in a setup that was artificial yet conducive to constructive, educational debate.
I’m not asking for people to betray their conscience. I understand how difficult it is to promote viewpoints, even in a fictitious setting, one might consider heinously unjust and incompatible with modern society.
The entire point of Mock, however, is to act like someone who sincerely holds such views. It is an educational experience, not a soapbox.
Had unwaveringly liberal and/or wisecracking students not ruined the integrity of Mock Convention by at least trying to play Republican for a night, it could have been so much better.

The Hamilton-Williams Food Court serves lunch to over 650 students every weekday.
Shortly after noon, people flood into the court, swiping sandwiches, sushi, and drinks. The cashiers and servers are awash with business until, an hour later, all students have trickled out.
Yet students’ most frequent complaint is not about the Food Court’s flow or space, but the amount of variety which it offers.
Simply looking at Chartwells’ menus can refute the notion that employees always serve the same food.
Most dishes move on a 17 day cycle, appearing infrequently on the serving line. Cooks prepare sushi, sandwich stackers and varying items at the salad bar. And the static grill items are served for a reason: the campus’ best-selling items are french fries, chicken fingers, and pizza.
Does the lunch-time rush cloud perception? Or do students only remember meals that look appetizing?
I have heard many students grumble about food presentation, taste, and texture. The pizza is too greasy, they say. Rice too dry, ravioli tasteless.
Campus food may not look or smell tantalizing, but students gain more from small sacrifices in taste.
Chartwells chose convenience over food quality, a decision which often goes unappreciated.
Ohio Wesleyan is unique in that it offers 10 different dining locations, from a pizzeria to a bakery. Nearby colleges do not offer nearly as many options.
Denison only has four locations, and Kenyon only one.
Imagine, in this cold weather, trekking to Ham-Will for every meal. No Smith buffets, Thomson grocery shopping, or Science Center coffee.
Chartwells keeps these many locations open at its own loss; to run efficiently, they should only maintain four stations.
It is possible the decreased food quality allows the school to continue funding six more dining locations than logical.
To reduce spending, Ohio Wesleyan would have to close a few locations.
How would the school decide which places to close?
Putting the choices to a vote might prove unfruitful, as each store provides convenience for certain professors, and majors.
Another complaint which students voice is about food pricing.
Yet Chartwells takes losses for the students in this area as well.
In the last year, inflation has increased food prices by 4.47 percent.
Yet OWU has only increased student food prices by 3%, saving students approximately 30 cents a day.
While the savings might seem insignificant, the implications are important.
The school could, if it wished, burden students by basing prices solely on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
But the school avoided such actions, saving students money.
Personally, I value convenience over taste. So, on the whole, I am very thankful for Chartwells and their services.