Year: 2018

Public Safety’s battle with drug use

By Minkyu Jung, Transcript Correspondent

 

 

Usage of drugs on Ohio Wesleyan University’s
grounds have been steady, but staff and public safety are doing everything they can to contain and limit the situation.

Interviews with Robert A. Wood, director of the university’s public safety, and Eli Reed, resident assistant of Stuyvesant Hall showed that while the usage of illegal drugs are still ongoing within the school grounds, both groups are doing what they can to inhibit such uses. The Ohio Wesleyan University annual security and fire safety report is also in sync with what the interviewees said.

Both Wood and Reed confirmed that there has been usage of illegal drugs in the university’s grounds. Eli recalled that he did notice occasional smell of marijuana on weekends even before he became resident assistant, and became more aware since he became one. Wood said that the usage rate of marijuana was second only to alcohol.

The report’s statistic also showed 13 arrests on drug law
violations alone in 2017.

“The number one drug we see most abused is alcohol…marijuana is number two,” Wood said.

Wood also showed the public safety’s stance toward
drug use inside the university campus.

“Obviously the illegal use of narcotics must be dealt
with according to both criminal law as well as student
conduct requirements,” Wood said.

According to Wood and Reed, the university’s staff and public safety are doing everything they can to re-
strain the usage of drugs. There are multi-office cooperation, regular patrols, and even room searches for pin-
pointed rooms.

“Yes, many offices play a part in helping (…) counseling, student conduct, dean’s office almost all play some part in helping to control the drug problem on campus,”
Wood said.

“Our duty as RAs is, if we can pinpoint odor to a
specific room during rounds, or even outside of rounds…
then you are to call public safety right away, and they
take care of it,” Reed said.

OWU’s department of politics and government encouraging voter participation among students

By Garrick Bostwick, Transcript Correspondent

The Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) department of politics and government offer to help students vote early in the 2018 mid-terms despite historically low turnout among young voters.

OWU’s Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs will offer students transportation to voting locations in Delaware by way of shuttle service. This comes during a critical point in American politics as Congress could tip either way after this year’s mid-terms. Many political analysts believe that if more Americans aged 18-25 voted then Democrats would gain a significant advantage in Congress.

The manager of the Institute’s student involvement initiative for the 2018 mid-terms, Franchesca Nestor, hopes students will take advantage of the opportunity provided. According to Nestor, the Institute was not started due to the low turnout of young voters in previous elections.

“One of us takes steps to make sure students are involved in politics” Nestor said when asked about other times the Institute was involved in getting students to the polls. This is in accordance with the Institute’s politically unbiased goal of encouraging students to vote, started by its founder, Professor Micheal Esler of OWU’s politics and government department.

“We aim to give as many people as possible the opportunity to vote and help those with absentee ballots” Nestor said.

Students such as Joe Antal are taking advantage of this opportunity as he is using an absentee ballot and will take a shuttle to deposit his ballot.

“I don’t have a car so if not for these shuttles I wouldn’t have voted like many people my age” Antal said.

While Nestor is concerned about the low turnout of younger voters in previous elections, she is more so concerned about voting on a national level. She claims that the introduction of voter identification cards and other such requirements for voting deterred people from it and hopes that early voting can counteract this.

Only in the past few years has early voting been offered in Ohio and Nestor hopes more students will go to the polls because of this. According to her, early voting opens the opportunity to vote as it is easier to fit in more peoples’ schedules.

That said, there are still requirements for voting in Ohio beyond registration to vote. At the polls one must provide a form of state-issued identification such as a driver’s license or an identification card issued by the state of Ohio. If either of those can’t be provided a copy of a utility bill from OWU can be used as well.

All of this was detailed in an e-mail sent out by Nestor to the student body, informing them the time when shuttles leave for the polls and what must be done with absentee ballots. The remaining shuttles will leave Nov. 6 at 8:10 a.m, 2:10 p.m and 4:10 p.m

One game shy of a tournament appearance

By Hailey De La Vara, Transcript Reporter

Regardless of the struggles faced by the Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) women’s soccer team, they only fell one game short of the NCAC tournament.

The Bishops completed their season with a 7-9-1 overall record, with a 3-5 record in conference play.

Halfway through the season the Bishops lost their top scorer,Maggie Morse, to an ACL tear. Head coach Nicole Ross acknowledged Morse’s role as a leader on and off the field and expressed the extent of how it affected the season.

“We played a different formation without her and it was a little risky.
We played with less defenders and we had to move a lot of people
around, but Maggie still stayed a big part of our program”, Ross said.

After suffering a four game losing streak during the middle of the
season, the Bishops quickly recovered with a three game win streak, including a win against Kenyon to keep their season alive.
The win streak was enough to get some recognition, but not enough for the Battling Bishops.

Senior captain and goalkeeper Mackenzie Brunke, shared her
excitement about the Kenyon game and how it sparked a flame for the Bishop’s success.

“We were a different team this game, we came out with a chip on our shoulder and willing to do the work to prove the conference wrong”, Brunke said. “This win and shutout was the beginning of us having a chance to make it to the NCAC tournament for the first time in three years.”

The deciding game that would advance the women’s team into the
NCAC tournament was against Wittenberg. After a hard fought game the Bishops fell 0-1 in overtime.

Despite the loss, the Bishops had one last conference game to play. The contest ended in another loss, however it gave the opportunity for senior captain Megan Price to reflect on the team’s emotional final game.

“We may not have gotten the results we wanted but in the end I was surrounded by my teammates and family. Being a captain made me grow, mature and be way more responsible. In the end I became a much better person and player,” Price said.

Ross expressed that the ultimate goal for next year is to continue
building as a program and remain hungry for an NCAC tournament
appearance.

The top scorer for the Bishops was Ashley Smiley with 8 goals and
Brunke finished the season with 97 saves.

Student’s business powered by recyclable phone cases

By Will Anton, Transcript Correspondent

A freshman at Ohio Wesleyan University is turning heads
with a new recyclable phone case, which is only the start to
his brilliant ideas.

Jack Foley, a freshman at OWU, is trying to change the
way people protect their phones with a special twist to it.
He has created a phone case that is entirely made out of
recycled plastic from the streets of Haiti. ReYuze is the
company’s name, and it focuses on transforming recycled
plastic into phone cases. Foley originally thought of the idea
after making fun of his sister for constantly changing her
phone case.

Foley grew up around the Chesapeake area in Baltimore,
MD, and was always surrounded by water. Foley has always
been passionate about the environment, and this product
could decrease the waste in oceans around the world. The
recycled plastic Foley uses come from a small town in Haiti,
named Menelas. Every time it rains, the Haitian people must
evacuate to high ground because the streets flood with all
types of garbage. This is the main location where the plastic
is gathered before it is taken to a collection bank, which
eventually sends it to the manufacturer of the phone cases in
Maryland.

One of Foley’s long term goals is to expand the business by making more high quality phone cases and helping the people of Haiti. Foley stated that he “wants to save the
world one case at a time.”

Out of the many trash filled locations around the globe,
Foley selected Haiti because of its corrupt government
which does not prioritize cleaning the streets. Foley wanted
to make an impact. Another benefit of the company is that it
is giving jobs to Haitians and Americans.

Foley donates a dollar of every sale to the First Mile Coalition, which is the top charity in Menelas, whose mission is to educate Haitians about child labor and poverty.

Junior Lucas Smith has been using the ReYuze case for
several weeks.

“I always drop my phone, and I was worried about cracking another one. I love the feeling of the case in my hand, and it has done the job protecting my phone,” Smith said.
“There is also a place to store my cards and OWU ID. I plan
on buying another one soon.”

ReYuze has earned some great reviews and is on the
rise. Foley’s ReYuze phone cases cost only $10, and they
are available for the IPhone 6, 6s, 7, and 8. His next idea is
to make the case a “lifeproof version,” or even expand his
products beyond phone cases.

Foley has an office in the new Delaware Entrepreneurial
Center at Ohio Wesleyan University. His main goal is to
make a real impact on the amount of plastic that enters the
oceans. He also wants to stop the “garbage patches,” which
can get as large as the state of Texas.

Let there be light, and a good place to sit

WCSA approved a 44,000 dollar project request to supply and install lights and bleachers to the practice fields across from Meek Aquatic Center.

The initiative, put forth by club sports captains as well as members of marching band, highlighted concerns faced due to lack of lighting on the practice fields as well as a safe place to sit while viewing the games. It also pointed out the greater benefits it would provide to club sports as well as the greater Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) community.

Lighting the fields and placing bleachers there will not only make it a more welcoming space for OWU’s club and intramural sports, but it also opens up the space to be used for night programming by other clubs, campus groups, or even off-campus organizations.

“Without lights, we start losing a lot of rehearsal time as the sun starts to set earlier and earlier. While we currently have a temporary fix that’s getting us through to the end of the year, we are looking forward to having lighting that produces the kind of visibility needed for a marching band rehearsal.” said marching band director Mary Kate McNally.

There have been instances in the past where both men’s and women’s rugby, as well as ultimate frisbee, have had to cancel practice or move it to a later time due to varsity sports using the field.

Regardless of whether frisbee or rugby have reserved the field in advance, varsity sports take precedence.

There is constant competition for field space and grass areas that are suited for sports such as ultimate frisbee and rugby. The limited outdoor space has varsity, club and intramural teams volleying for places to practice on.

Lighting has begun to become an issue as the days are getting shorter and it starts getting darker earlier. As we enter the colder months, weather starts to become an issue as well.

Captain of the women’s ultimate frisbee team Karli Bigler voiced that, “Having bleachers and lights on the fields will allow our team to hold tournaments at OWU, to have late night practices, to have more spectators, and to have pick up games throughout the year.”

WCSA met the request with enthusiasm and approved the 44,000 dollars requested, come to find, the quotes that were received from buildings and grounds were two thirds less than what was needed in order to complete the project.

In order to move forward a capital project request was submitted to attain the rest of the money needed to complete the project.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Lauri Strimkovsky explained that WCSA had approved the 44,000 without taking a look at all that would need to be done before the project could move forward.

“We’re going to have to do some backtracking, usually you do all that work before you approve a project and it came to us without any of that being done,” said Strimkovsky, “If you light a field and don’t do so properly and somebody gets hurts, it can be a liability issue. We don’t have any problem doing the project we just have to make sure to do it right.”

 

Remembering the legacy of former Provost David Robbins

 

By Spencer Pauley, Managing Editor

sgpauley@owu.edu

Former Provost David Robbins’ death came on Sept. 30, but despite his departure from this world, Robbins left a legacy at Ohio Wesleyan.

Robbins’ death came at the age of 75 due to pancreatic cancer. He was at the Grady Memorial Hospital at the time of his death.

Robbins was a part of the psychology department since 1973. During his time at OWU, Robbins received a few awards, including the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers in 1980 and the Bishop Herbert Welch Meritorious Teaching Award in 1994. He was also awarded an Honorary Alumnus from Ohio Wesleyan in 2008. Professor of Physics and Astronomy Barbara Andereck worked with Robbins for many years and remembered how much the honorary degree meant to Robbins.

“It’s not a common thing for faculty members to be named [honorary alumnus] but it was because he contributed so much to the institution,” Andereck said. “And I know that meant a lot to him, he valued that because he felt strongly about this institution.”

Robbins helped develop the neuroscience program at OWU which was named after him in 2011 as the “David O. Robbins Neuroscience Program.”

Robbins was provost of OWU from 2005 to 2011. He started off as interim provost for a year because of his experience in the University Governance Committee. Andereck was a part of the Governance Committee along with Robbins. She remembers Robbins specifically saying that he would be Provost for a year, but that was it. But after some persuasion, Robbins became the provost.

The current provost of OWU, Dr. Chuck Stinemetz, remembers Robbins’ advice to him as he took over the position.

“I remember David [Robbins] telling me ‘every decision I make is in the best interest of the students,” Stinemetz said.

Stinemetz believed Robbins was always looking out for others. “He had a very long and deep understanding of the institution,” Stinemetz said. “A real commitment to the students.”

Robbins became interim president of OWU after Mark Huddleston’s departure from that role in 2007. His time in that role lasted only till the following year but major donations came in that time span.

“He was a very effective interim president because we had money that was given to the university under his leadership, which is quite unusual [for an interim president],” Andereck said.

President Rock Jones said that Robbins had an enormous impact on him when he was hired and during his first years as president.

“He always was honest and trustworthy, and he was especially helpful in my early years in orienting me to OWU and to the values and customs of this university,” Jones said. “I benefited from his candor and from his wise counsel as well as his sense of humor and his great love for OWU.”

The memorial service for Robbins was held on Oct. 4 in Delaware. Robbins is survived by his wife, Janice Robbins and his two daughters Cynthia and Karen Robbins.

Rowing team makes their debut

The Ohio Wesleyan rowing team made its intercollegiate debut on Saturday, competing in the Muskie Chase hosted by Marietta College.

In the Novice 4 competition, Marietta completed the 6000-meter course on the Ohio River in a time of 26:32.0. Cincinnati finished in 27:56.3, Case Reserve was third in 28:09.6, and the Ohio Wesleyan boat placed fourth in 29:56.5.

Ohio Wesleyan also competed in the 500-meter sprints, and finished second in the first Novice 4 flight. Marietta’s boat finished in 1:47.7, followed by Ohio Wesleyan at 1:52.7, Case Reserve with a 1:58.2, and Cincinnati with a 2:26.6.  In the second Novice 4 flight, Cincinnati won in 1:48.2, followed by Marietta 1:50.0, Ohio Wesleyan 1:55.4, and Case Reserve 1:58.3.

“Honestly I loved training with these group of girls. Being back on the water was a uplifting moment for me and being there with such an amazing group of girls made the experience even better.” said freshman Sana Hussain.

Head Coach Andriel Doolittle hopes to gain more rowers in the spring season so as to be able to compete in more events. With a roster of just eight OWU is not yet able to race a full eight, as an eight person boat requires nine people including the coxen.

“I’m excited to see our new rowing program finally get to be on the water in a competitive environment,” said athletic director Doug Zipp, “I know they had a great experience and it’s something to build upon, and I know they’re very excited for the spring season.”

Due to the newness of the program, it was decided to schedule one event late in the season so as to prepare the girls for competitive rowing.

“Knowing that we’re going to have a lot of new people to the sport, our goal was to have one event late in the season so that we would have lots of time to establish things, get into a good rhythm, make sure people knew how to row by the time we got to that point because the hardest thing to do is to put people that aren’t ready, out on the race course.” said Doolittle.

Doolittle explained that the Fall season is meant to be more of a training season to prepare for the primary season in the spring. It’s then, that championship events occur.

Muskie Chase completes Ohio Wesleyan’s fall schedule with the spring schedule beginning at the end of March, with several races already set for the spring.

 

Two Eras Collide at One Historic OWU Performance

By Maddie Matos A&E Editor

The weekend of Oct. 4 brought colonization and modern times into one show at Ohio Wesleyan University’s production of Cloud 9.

The show was directed by senior Ares Harper, making it the first show to be directed by a student in over 45 years.

Cloud 9 is divided into two acts that correlate with one another. The first act focuses on a British family in colonial Africa circa 1880. The family dynamic plays a key role in the plot of the show. Various characters are forced to suppress their sexual desires and orientations due to the social structures of the times they live in. This allowed the audience to draw obvious parallels between sexual oppression and colonialism.

“The show brought up a lot of serious questions
 and social commentary,” sophomore Hannah Carpenter said.

The cast of seven students were asked to play 18 different roles in the show. Each character in the first act had a correlating character in the second act. Some characters switched their gender in the show as well, adding a unique aspect to the show.

The second act was set in modern day London. This act was more lighthearted, allowing the audience to laugh while still understanding the themes of the show.

“It was a good way to interweave humor with an important subject matter without it being convoluted or overdone,” sophomore Claire Yetzer said.

The audience received the show well, with standing ovations at the end of the program. Some actors got high praise as well for their roles in the show.

“I liked Edward in both the first and second half
 he seemed honest and genuine,” Yetzer said.

Edward was played by freshman Jasmine Lew in the first act and sophomore Logan Kovach in the second act. The character is a gay man who must suppress his sexuality in the first half, and then in the second half come to terms with what he actually identifies as.

“It was interesting to see him in both the Victorian era and the modern era,” Carpenter said.

Each character had to grapple with their needs and desires to better themselves. The connection to the show was strong among the audience, with both Yetzer and Carpenter feeling the show offered insight into the need for self enlightenment.

OWU Increasing Parking Spaces Near Residence Halls

 

By Ashley Barno, Transcript Correspondent

 

Ohio Wesleyan plans to expand Smith Hall parking lot soon due to the minimal parking spaces available for students who have cars registered through the university.

“Now that the university has purchased the house on the corner of William St. and S. Liberty St., it will be razed in the near future and the plan is to use that space to expand the Smith Hall parking lot,” Public Safety Office Manager Bobbi Frey said. Frey added there is no limit to the number of cars allowed to be registered through the school.

According to OWU Public Safety, 633 students have cars registered for campus parking with approximately 1,250 parking spaces available. There are four parking passes offered to purchase (A, B, C and D), but they are limited to students depending on what year they are. First year students are only able to buy C and D passes, while all other years can buy any pass they prefer.

Junior Jacob Hecker has registered his car all three years he has attended OWU. He argues that the available parking spots aren’t where students need them to be, which are near the dorms.

“If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t have ever registered my car through the school because there is no real way to enforce registered vehicles versus unregistered ones,” Hecker said.

Hecker bought the B pass this year, the most popular pass purchased by students, according to OWU Public Safety. The B pass is $175 and covers parking in lots all over campus: every dorm hall, all fraternities, Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, Beeghly Library and Selby Stadium.

“Parking is way too expensive for not being able to have effective parking for students,” Hecker said.

Sophomore Emily Cammeyer believes the campus parking system works effectively depending on the time of day.

“During the lunch hour or anytime after 9 p.m., good luck trying to find a spot anywhere on campus,” Cammeyer said. “I think the system is fine and is just like any other schools’, but it would be nice if Public Safety could issue warnings before actually ticketing students,”

Cammeyer mentioned there are not a lot of available spots near campus living buildings, but there are always plenty of open spaces in Selby Stadium, which she says isn’t effective.

 

( Last edited on November 1st, 2018 at 4:23 pm )

Death of student brings students and staff together in remembrance

 

By Spencer Pauley, Managing Editor

sgpauley@owu.edu

The loss of an Ohio Wesleyan student to suicide caused staff, faculty and students to come together in a candlelight service in remembrance of Hollis Morrison.

Morrison’s death came unexpectedly on Oct. 2. According to an email sent out by OWU president Rock Jones, Morrison passed away while in his home in Bidwell, OH.

Morrison was an exceptional student during his time at OWU. Morrison made the Dean’s List with a 3.6 G.P.A. last year, his freshman year. However, he was not enrolled in classes for the fall semester of 2018.

Morrison also was really into basketball according to his obituary; he played guard for Ohio Valley Christian High School in Gallipolis until he graduated in 2017. His love for basketball transcended into his younger brother, Myles. Morrison’s obituary states: “[Morrison] got his little brother Myles into basketball and pushed him everyday to do his best. Myles was proud to call him his best friend and ultimately his big brother.”

The candlelight service in honor of Morrison was held at the Labyrinth on Oct. 26. OWU student Scott Hughes set up the service in honor of his best friend since first grade. Hughes talked about what Morrison meant to him.

“We talked everyday since we knew each other, from the first day of the first grade until we got to college together,” Hughes said.

Even after they started taking classes at OWU, Morrison and Hughes made it a point to keep in regular contact.

“We had to see each other at least once or twice before or in between classes,” Hughes said. “We would meet up right here [at the labyrinth] just to see each other, just to be brothers.”

But the meetings Morrison and Hughes had would become less common after the death of Morrison’s father in June and his grandmother’s death as well.

Assistant Dean Charles Kellom spoke during the service about the frustration he feels on the limitations on helping someone who is struggling mentally.

“I got to see [Morrison] in his last few days,” Kellom said. “He came by our office and as a staff person we go through all this training to help students out of these situations and it just sucks to have to hold on to the truth that there is only so much you can do.”

Psychology Professor Lynda Hall was Morrison’s adviser. Hall drove some OWU students to Morrison’s funeral service in Gallipolis on Oct. 10. She remembers seeing so many people come to pay their respects.

“It’s amazing how many people were there. I think it’s possible his entire senior class was there,” Hall said. “It’s very clear that he had connected with all kinds of people.”

Morrison’s obituary states that “Hollis was the humblest being and very outgoing, anyone that crossed his path saw Hollis with the biggest smile on his face. Hollis could make anyone laugh and was the funniest person you ever came across and was an influence on many people’s lives. Hollis will be deeply missed by everyone who had entered his life.”

Morrison is survived by his grandfather, Kenneth Calhoun, and his brothers, Tru and Myles Morrison.