Areena Arora – The Transcript

Onward and upward: The future of journalism

By Areena Arora, Letter to the Editor

Automated stories would mean no employment for me as a journalism major, but it is so fascinating a concept, I cannot help but fantasize about it.

The future of journalism is one intertwined with technological advances that seemed impossible a decade or so ago. But in pursuit of speedy digitized reporting, it is easy to lose track of the bedrock principles of journalism—unbiased sharing of information to hold governments and corporations accountable to serve the best interests of people. The intersection between technology and journalism is a vital part of how social media outlets operate.

Facebook and Twitter have now blurred the lines between traditional sources of news and given citizen journalism a life of its own. In a time period like this, the news industry is de nitely headed next in a direction where survival is highly dependent on innovation.

Every time there is more digitization in any industry, productivity increases, but at the cost of human jobs. The news industry is no exception.

The right formula for success in the field, therefore, would be to be a journalist who is also a technologist and one who thrives on the ability and skill set to maneuver computers and data with the curiosity and perseverance of a journalist.

The idea of a future where virtual reality takes over traditional forums of journalism doesn’t sound impossible, although it’d be fascinating to see how that is made a possibility.

Virtual reality has already been used for many immersive digital media projects. But the challenging part is to find a way to make it accessible to the masses.

Perhaps a revolution like social media will make it possible, but even with the futuristic methods of news reporting, the founding ideals of being a journalist seem permanent.

Self-care for the poor college-goer

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

It is no surprise that stress levels globally are at an all-time high, especially in industrialized, fast-paced, developed countries like the United States. Even more so on college campuses like ours where almost all of us are involved in activities we’re passionate about and being full-time students.

And here’s a fun fact about the situation – being a poor college student doesn’t just increase stress level, but also more difficult to deal with where expense is concerned.

Every so often I find a Buzzfeed or Odyssey article circulating on social media about 13 products that promise to instantly bring my stress levels down including coffee mugs with explicit graphic content or tea leaves. Sometimes, for $49.99, I am offered a pillow that will make sleeping easier, despite my Kate Spade (because, you know, self-care) planner over owing with words and commitments for the next day.

“The Stress in America survey results show that adults continue to report high levels of stress and many report that their stress has increased over the past year,” according to the American Psychological Association.

As much as I’m tempted to try out the magic cooling pillow, my bank account advises otherwise, and legitimately so. Must good sleep be bought?

Fighting stress has been turned into an industry – obviously there is demand, but isn’t this merely a clever tactic at exploiting white-collared, desperate customers who earn enough but cannot sleep enough?

Instead, here’s something you could do – take a free walk in the park, watch the sunset while snacking on $4.99 munchies, or check out a book from the library or jam to your favorite music.

In the capitalist world we live in, it is obvious (sadly so) that everything would be turned into a money making outlet. However, balancing hippie tea leaves and a walk outside makes me conclude that free self-care indeed does exist.

It is dif cult not to get pulled into the tempting words and images that the ever-so educated, equally stressed designers put together in their advertisements.

But self-care is free, or at least, can be. As we approach nals in less than a week, remember this more so – the industry of self-care is only trying to make money off of your stress levels and not your desire to hold a white coffee mug with a semi-clever caption in black ink.

You could always, instead, take a walk in the park, appreciate the weather and talk to friends, for $0.

Attack occurs at OSU campus

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

On Monday, Nov. 28, an Ohio State student carried out a knife attack, injuring 11 people before being taken down by the police.

Before the attack, Abdul Razak Ali Artan rammed into a group of people in a car. The injured include at least one faculty member, one staff member and seven students, according to OSU’s student newspaper The Lantern.

Artan was an 18-year-old Somali refugee, a third-year Logistics Management student. OSU police officer Alan Horujko tackled and shot him.

According to The Columbus Dispatch and The Lantern, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed Tuesday, Nov. 29 that the attacker Artan was inspired by the organization.

ISIS said, according to a tweet posted by Jenan Moussa, a reporter at Arabic Al Aan TV, “ISIS takes credit for Ohio University attack. Says attacker was soldier of the Islamic State.”

Investigators are still looking into the motive of the attack to determine if the attack was related to terrorism. According to a CNN article published on the day of the incident, the attacker Artan had posted on his Facebook acccount that he was “sick and tired of seeing fellow Muslims killed and tortured,” according to federal law enforcement officials.

According to OSU’s Department of Public Safety, the initial emergency alert notification was sent out to students, faculty and staff at 9:54 a.m. The next alert, sent out just two minutes later, said “Buckeye Alert: Active shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College.”

At 12:21 p.m., another alert was sent out saying that a suspect had been shot and reported dead.

In a campus-wide email sent out by OSU president Michael Drake, he said, “Days such as these test our spirit as Buckeyes — but together we remain unified in the face of adversity.”

At a press conference later that evening, Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich said, “When you think about the students, the parents, many of whom were texting and Snapchatting their kids — it’s remarkable what these first responders did … There would be a lesson for all across America and all the campuses across America about what you do when things like this happen.”

In a story published in The Lantern on Aug. 25, Artan is quoted to have said that after he recently transferred from Columbus State Community College, he was scared of his identity as a Muslim on OSU’s campus.

Artan said, “We had prayer rooms, like actual rooms where we could go to pray because we Muslims have to pray five times a day … [OSU’s campus] is huge and I don’t even know where to pray … I wanted to pray in the open, but I was kind of scared with everything going on in the media … If people look at a Muslim praying, I don’t know what they’re going to think.”

A vigil was held Tuesday evening at St. John’s Arena, according to The Lantern. “Members of the OSU marching band and the OSU music group CELLOHIO performed at the event,” according to The Lantern.

Before college: forever alone, after college: forever a loan

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

Congratulations! You just graduated with an average student debt more than it has ever been in the history of college education, even when adjusted for inflation.

The debate is not new. For more than two decades now, students and scholars have wondered if a college degree really is worth it. College debt is not just a burden to the student, but is essentially family debt and one that makes you question your choices every day, every minute.

In my case, as an international student, I am paying a higher amount than my American classmates (and under- standably so). On top of that, the exchange rate makes the cost nearly 65 times more, and with an interest rate of 14 percent, I will graduate college with double majors in economics and journalism and a debt of $126,748 – sounds exciting, I know.

In 1993, the average student loan debt per borrower was a little under $10,000, and just 12 years later, by 2005 it was crossing $20,000, nally reaching anywhere between $30,000-35,000 that it is today.

There’s another catch here. While some majors are more promising from a career stance, some are not as lucrative. The disparity is such that a petroleum engineering major is likely to earn a median wage of $93,000 more than that of an elementary school teacher.

As much as we hate to admit it, there really isn’t enough money in some of our favourite creative elds.

As a journalism major with a bachelor’s degree, the median annual salary I am destined to is $56,000, which does sound reasonably sustainable enough. But if it were not for my scholarship and aid, this is also exactly the amount I would have been paying annually to get my degree.

Average debt of a 2014 Ohio Wesleyan graduate was $28,500, compared to the national average of $33,000. Sound relieving?

Student debt has forced many of my friends to drop out or transfer to a community college. It requires emotional and nancial strength to survive in this crippling time, where available jobs on campus offer only minimum wage and even the future average prospective earnings are statistically not high numbers.

Solutions are simple, but socialist; perhaps not the most desirable term for this country. However, like Brazil and Germany, in the ideal world, all countries should have free higher education, at least in public universities. Granted, the amount of taxes we pay, this could be one use of our tax money every citizen would actually be appreciative of.

Tuition freeze is also an effective solution. Idea is to pay the same amount that you agree to pay as a freshman. So in your subsequent years at college, even if tuition rises, you will be paying the same amount that you paid your first year.

If not anything else, this will prevent unexpected (but really, expected) frustrations and sessions of serious reconsideration of your very decision to get educated.

All of us begin college with goals of traveling the world, or buying that expensive car or just saving up to retire early, but most of us end up paying our college debt for much of our career.

So saddening the condition is that USA Today called student debt America’s next big crisis.

Ideally, education is so noble a goal we should not be measuring it against material/evil money.

Reality however is captured in this YikYak post from Weber State University, “Before College: Forever alone. After College: Forever a Loan.”

103-year-old Dorothy Sellers votes for Hillary

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

A 103-year-old lifelong Republican Dorothy Sellers voted for Hillary Clinton.

Sellers was born seven years before women were given the right to vote and has only seen men in the Oval Office.

Sellers studied as an English major at Ohio Wes- leyan University from 1932-33, but had to leave before graduating because of the Great Depression.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Sellers decided to join OWU and said she “really enjoyed it here.” She said, “After leaving OWU, I came to New York and took various courses at New York University, but never graduated.”

Since leaving OWU’s campus 83 years ago, Sellers has never been back, but would like to, she said.

“I’ve been a registered Republican, always … but I’m an Independent now … I voted for Roosevelt and Obama and now for Hillary.”

She said she did not care for George W. Bush. “I did not like the war … I did not like his office.” She said she believes firmly in the democratic power to express opinions through voting. “I was not a big political mover and shaker … I didn’t march or protest … I always just voted.”

Sellers said it is very exciting for a woman to be able to reach the nomination

“I have nothing against women being the president. They are just as smart as men … If she wins, it would turn the page.”

Despite being a Republican, Sellers chose Clinton because she said she thinks Clinton would make a bet- ter president. “For obvious reasons … Trump has no experience … all this sex business is not presidential … [Trump] would not make good decisions.”

Sellers voted on the morning of Nov. 8. “The polling place was not crowded when I went. Freeport, [New York] is a very integrated village … there’s all kinds of people here.”

If Trump does win, Sellers said she is unsure how she would react. “My reaction would be very upset.” But she added she is hopeful. “If we have to go forward, we will. We got out of the Great Depression … so we can get out of anything.”

Her time at Ohio Wesleyan was a difficult one. With the Great Depression setting in, she also had to deal with her father’s death and her family house burned down. But she said she would love to visit again given the opportunity.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Policies: Healthcare Act

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

President Donald Trump plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Healthcare Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

According to Trump’s campaign website, his office “will work with Congress to create a patient-centered health care system that promotes choice, quality and affordability.”

In contrast, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign had promised to “defend and expand the Affordable Care Act which covers 20 million people.”

At different rallies throughout his campaign, Trump has said Obamacare has led to higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality. Earlier this year, in March, Trump proposed “for Congress to remove barriers to entry into free markets for drug providers that offer safe, reliable and cheaper products.”

According to the full proposal, “On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare.”

According to his campaign website, no person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to.

Pro free market, Trump’s health care reform paper said, “We will work with Congress to make sure we have a series of reforms ready for implementation … By following free market principles and working together to create sound public policy that will broaden health care access, make health care more affordable and im-
prove the quality of the care available to all Americans.”

Abortion, too, was hotly debated.

At a debate in February 2016 at University of Houston, Trump declared that he is pro-life, whereas Clinton said, “Politicians have no business interfering with women’s personal health decisions.”

“If we were to simply enforce the current immigration laws and restrict the unbridled granting of visas to this country, we could relieve healthcare cost pressures on state and local governments.” Providing health care to illegal immigrants costs the country some $11 billion annually, according to Trump’s website.

Poet visits Merrick Hall

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

Thursday, Oct. 20 was a usual day on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus, except the first woman, first Scot and first openly gay British poet laureate recited her poetry to an audience of over a hundred students, faculty and Delaware residents in Merrick Hall.

Carol Ann Duffy became Britain’s Poet Laureate in 2009 and is currently a professor of contemporary poetry at Manchester Metropolitan University. Duffy was invited as part of OWU’s English department’s Katherine Kearney Carpenter Lecture series.

The reading began at 7 p.m., which included her works on the characterization of the fictional character Faust’s wife. After over an hour of poetry, Duffy answered audience members’ questions.

Mr. Faust, Duffy said, was just like Donald Trump. Faust had everything, yet desired more, she said, before narrating her poetry. Nancy Comorau, assistant professor of English, had the idea of inviting Duffy. Duffy was contacted through a speaker’s bureau, according to Comorau.

“I suggested Carol Ann Duffy … for a number of reasons,” Comorau said. “Her poetry is complex and interesting, but it’s also accessible upon first read. I believed that her position as the first woman to hold the role of UK Poet Laureate and first LGBTQ+ per- son in that role would speak to a number of constituencies on campus.”

During her visit, Duffy visited three classes and also spoke at a roundtable on Fri- day, Oct. 21 for invited students, said Comorau. After her talk, Duffy also signed her books for audience members.

Duffy is proud of her identities as the first gay woman to hold the title. “The most important thing is … there hadn’t been a woman for nearly 400 years. It’s just disgraceful … We have now national poets in Wales Island and Scotland … so it seems to be changing.”

She added, “I think it’s important for public figures to be out … they have a responsibil- ity to the society.”

“This is a place I’ve never been to, so I was curious to come here,” she said. “I enjoyed it very much. Often when you read in a different country, the humor doesn’t quite work … you feel reassured when they laugh.”

Duffy said she has been to the U.S. many times as a visiting poet.

Trump: he loves me, he loves me not

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

Little did we know what scarce Onesidential candidate Donald Trump declared at a rally in Edison, New Jersey that he “is a big fan of Hindu, and a big fan of India.”

Flash back to April 2016, he mocked Indians for our accent when discussing call centers and outsourcing at a rally in Harrington, Delaware.

Thank you, sir. Your transformation has been unreal; impressive even.

As a Hindu Indian, I should feel relieved now. But I do not. Maybe because I am a woman, too, and in 2013 he tweeted sexual assault in the military is to be expected “when they put men and women together.” Or, maybe because more recently, Trump claimed that ‘grabbing a woman by the p***y is only locker room talk.’ But I get it. As his wife Melania Trump said in an interview to News 18 on Oct. 18, he was “led on,” and “it was only boy talk.”

Maybe I should look past that. But as a foreigner here to study, this presidential election has been an especially peculiar experience. I had been looking forward to when I came here two years ago, but little about this election has lived up to my expectations.

With candidates’ emails being leaked, personal taxes being discussed and policies being sidelined, I’m not sure if this is really what I was looking forward to.

I grew up in a democratic country, the largest one by seats in fact, I understand politics can be a mad jungle, and baseless allegations about opponents is not new. However, Trump’s transformative approach toward Indians is unreal.

As an outsider, I was hoping to hear about actual working policies and not how high the wall will be, or who will pay for it. As an economics major, I thought Trump would talk about the labor force, employment and you know, other smart-sounding things, but instead he chose to spew hate on immigrant labor-force.

Two weeks ago, my parents feared for my safety if he is elected – you know, he seems to dislike women, and immigrants. But they’re at peace now. For 48 hours, as of writing this, he has declared us to be best friends, and you might wonder why the sudden change?

According to a 2014 Pew study, 65 percent of Indian Americans were democrats or leaned toward voting democratic. Since there’s about 3.5 million Indian Americans, it seems that Trump’s transformation is merely a product of vote mongering.

I wonder, though, if this 240-year-old democracy is barely dependent on vote and popularity hunger.

New apparel store in town

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

Two months ago, a new clothing and accessories store opened on Sandusky.

Amy Winter and her fiancé Tony Cabilovski are the co-owners of Stone and Sparrow Apparel. The store sells chalk paint, furniture, gifts and new apparel.

Store Manager Kristen Davis said, “We do a little bit of everything … we carry chalk paint and paint all of our furniture here. We do workshop classes, custom work for people … home décor stuff, gift items and clothing.”

The new store is an expansion of Winter’s other store in Westerville.

Davis said, “We liked the feel of Delaware … it’s a small town, and we noticed that it kind of lacked clothing … there’s vintage and antique stores but nothing here carries new apparel, so we wanted to bring that into the area.”

The town, Davis said, has given a very positive feedback. “We’ve been getting a good response. People are excited we are here; they’re excited there’s something new. Delaware is up and coming … people are excited there’s new things coming in,” she said.

Another unique aspect of the store, Davis pointed out, is the original floor in the store.

She said Delaware residents appreciate seeing the original floor not covered under any layers of rugs and carpets.

The store also features a mural on its rear wall which is a picture taken from Ohio Wesleyan’s 1948 yearbook.

Coffee and antiques come together

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

There is a new destination in town for coffee and antiques.

After Thrifty Chic, a retail clothing store closed its location at 43 N Sandusky St. this summer, Coffeeology opened its doors Sept. 3 to Delaware’s espresso and antique enthusiasts.

The new store, the first of its kind is co-owned by Delaware resident Melissa Dixon and her mother.

“It’s something we’ve talked about for the past 8 years. [My mother has] been in the antique business for the past 20 years … and I geek out about coffee,” Dixon said.

She said she is very passionate about coffee. “I went to a barista school … and learned the science behind making coffee … how the beans are roasted, and how you can taste the different regions just like wine tasting … I learned the chemistry behind it.”

She added, “We wanted to have a place where people can come in and have coffee, chat and shop.”

Dixon, originally from Long Beach, California said she liked Delaware’s small town community and her husband who is from Ohio wanted to retire and settle here.

“Until you get away from it [California], you don’t realize how social status driven it is and how needed it is to be in a small town that’s community-oriented,” she said.

Although there are three other antique stores downtown, Dixon said she is not afraid of competition.

In the antique world, she said, it is good to open up in an area where there are other antique stores. “People want to come here and it becomes a destination … As for coffee shops, everyone does things differently. The atmosphere and ingredients everywhere are different,” Dixon said.

The store is currently run by a team of six employees, including two college students and stay-at-home mothers.

The response, Dixon said, has been positive. “People like what we have to offer and they like the quality of what we have.”

The espresso bar also features baked goods which Dixon said she buys from a baker in Powell. The coffee, she said, comes from a roaster called One Line. “They have an expresso bar down in Short North [Columbus], so that’s where I get my coffee from.”

From the frozen lattes to dark choco- late mochas, many of their drinks have been very popular.

Dixon said, “We have some fresh fruit frozen smoothies, which have no sugar in them … I try to get a little bit of every- thing, so that way we hit all the different taste palates and flavors.”

While the store is just over a month old, Dixon already has plans for the store’s expansions. The basement, she said, will soon be called a “Man-Cave.” “We are going to put some of our col- lectibles down there that guys tend to like and we’re going to put a TV there and have ESPN on,” she said. “We have furniture down there currently, and some newer retail up here.”

The unique name was Dixon’s idea. She said she came up with the name six years ago and the inspiration is her approach to studying the science of coffee making.