Dillon John Collins – Page 2

OWU not accessible to all students

Senior Ryan Haddad. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Senior Ryan Haddad has very limited mobility. In the winter time, when snow banks are piled in the middle of Sandusky Street, he cannot cross to get to class without relying on others.

Living with a mild form of cerebral palsy (CP), Haddad requires the use of a walker to get everywhere. With the help of fellow students, however, he can make it up and down smaller flights of stairs.

According to the American Disabilities Act (ADA) official website, many buildings are covered by the General Non-Discrimination Requirements, including private schools and museums.

This means many buildings, including private schools, are required to modify their structures to be accessible to everyone, no matter the size or age of the building.

A common misconception is that University Hall, and other older university buildings, are “grandfathered in” to code. According to the ADA, this is simply false.

Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones said the university is working on a fundraising campaign, which “includes an objective of $10 million for the renovation of University Hall, including providing full accessibility to all floors through the installation of an elevator.”

Jones added that there is no timeline for the project, as they have yet to find a donor.

An English major, Haddad has had many classes in Sturges Hall, home of the English department. To get into Sturges, Haddad has to make it down a smaller flight of stairs.

“It is difficult, but if there is someone there, then I can do it,” said Haddad. “I leave my walker outside, and I do it.”

Another difficult building for Haddad to access is University Hall. There are no handicapped accessible entrances or elevators for Haddad – or anyone else whose mobility is restricted.

“There is a steep hill that you have to get down in order to get to the chairlift, which travels from the basement to the first floor, but no further,” said Haddad. “In the wintertime, the hill is very slippery.”

“I would never go down that hill during the winter time,” he added.

Haddad said he has been inside University Hall’s Gray Chapel for special occasions, but never past the first (main) floor.

Elliott Hall also has very limited access. No elevator or chairlift can be found inside. There is a wheelchair accessible entrance on one the side of Elliot, the side that faces the Branch Rickey Athletic Complex.

Peter Schantz, director of physical plant for Buildings and Grounds, said the university has looked into costs to build elevators in Elliott and University. He also said that the costs have been “prohibitive.”

“We have been making reasonable accommodations to the facilities, such as the widened entrance to the basement of Elliott and the chair lift in the main stairwell of University Hall,” Schantz said.

Haddad said the university has been helpful in accommodating his needs. If a class which he is registered for is located somewhere inaccessible to him, the school will relocate to somewhere more accessible.

“The school has been very helpful and supportive,” said Haddad. “I am very thankful for everything they have done for me. But there is still a lot to be done. More buildings need to be accessible to everyone. There is a reason I am the only student at OWU with CP. It’s because this school just is not accessible to everyone.”

Treadmill

I am remarkably stupid, I am beyond foolish and I will regret absolutely nothing.

I’m currently running on a treadmill because it is too cold to run outside. I have all this energy with which I want to move to different places, however, I am stuck on a rubber belt as my black Nikes slam and crash against the continuous, repetitive revolutions of this exercise machine. Three and a half miles down, only half a mile left to go.

Many people come to college to learn how to do a profession, or learn a set of skills, and then they leave college, and go to their big girl and big boy jobs right out of college. If they’re happy doing this, then all the power to them.

But I am not one of these people.

I am not lazy. If I could get an internship (or even a job) doing something I care about, such as working as a journalist for a cause, then I’ll take that, however, my main priority is traveling. I will work my ass off working small jobs to pay for food and living arrangements, be a freelance writer and take portraits in my free time, and go city to city learning about new cultures, meeting new people, and seeing the world. Every 30+ year old who I tell I want to travel, tells me I need to travel while I’m young. They tell me they wished they had traveled when they were younger, but that it got to be too difficult once they had homes, mortgages, kids, jobs, etcetera. My life will never, ever be mundane. Even if I have to sacrifice security for excitement.

I am beyond thankful for my college education, but I am ready to go out and do something completely different. Nobody ever got anywhere in life without being bold and a little bit foolish.

I have applied to work in different cities, and if I could get a job doing something I care about in a faraway city, that would be nice, however, I’m moving away whether I have a job or not. I’ll get a job making coffee, waiting tables, helping out on construction sites. I guess I am kind of like that kid from Into the Wild – Christopher McCandless*. Except I haven’t totally given up on society like he did, so I guess you and I still have something in common.

Perhaps I was born to be a nomad. I crave impermanence. I can’t stay in one place for longer than a few months before I start to lose my mind. Not Delaware, Ohio, and not my beautiful hometown 23 miles north of San Francisco. There are so many places to see that, frankly, there’s no time to settle down in one place!

It is springtime now, and it’s getting warmer outside. But I am still on the treadmill, exhausting my locomotion on this black machine of rubber, plastic, and capitulation, when I could be running outside. Quarter mile left to go.

Right now, you’re likely thinking: “But I have student loans to pay off in six months!”

I do, too. I will pay my student loans back with money I earn from being a freelance writer, a freelance photographer and with money I earn working small jobs. I will work my ass off doing everything and anything I am physically able to do. I will not let student loans get in the way of living my dream. We all need to dream big. When we were younger, did you have goals of taking an office job selling insurance policies? If yes, then all the power to ya’. Go sell insurance policies with all your heart. (Note from the author: I never judge anyone’s career or anyone for doing something that makes them happy. The only time I will ever judge you is if you do something that does not make you happy. Life is too short to not make the most of your time here. It won’t last forever.) Do something you love.

But if you had dreams bigger than staying in the closest city to your alma-mater and taking the first job that was offered to you because you were nervous about those looming student loans, then step back and realize that you need to do something that would make your ten year old self proud. That was what inspired my father to start his own business at the age of 14, and my mom to go back to school to become a real estate agent — a career she had never received any training for – at the age of 55. That’s incredible to me. She followed her dreams. She didn’t let anyone or anything stop her or get in her way, despite the market in the San Francisco Bay Area being flooded with real estate agents who have years and years of experience. She wasn’t intimidated. My dad wasn’t intimidated when he decided to invest some money he earned into owning a golf course at the age of 13.

Anything is possible if you make it so. Only you control your life. You are not a prisoner. You can do whatever you want if you set your mind to it.

It is summertime now, and I have run all four miles. I have gone the distance. I am so glad I did. And while past four miles have been filled with incredible people, beautiful memories, and I have learned so much – in terms of my major, as well as about myself, I am ready to hop off the treadmill and run outside. I am going to run far. And you won’t see me coming back around the bend for a long, long time.

*Christopher McCandless burned all of his possessions immediately upon graduating college, and took to a life of traveling, meeting new people, learning new cultures and experiences working small jobs to pay for his “Great Alaskan Adventure.”

Near-campus arrests go unreported

The Delaware Police Department arrested three men in close proximity to Ohio Wesleyan’s campus.

According to the Sunday, Jan. 24 police report, Mary Jo Kerns, who lives at 100 Oak Hill Ave., called police to report suspicious behavior and a suspicious vehicle on her property. The call came in at 12:56 p.m.

Three men were arrested, according to the same report, two for disorderly conduct related to intoxication, and one for violation of parole.

The report also indicated the men were homeless.

100 Oak Hill is between two OWU small living units (SLUs) – the Citizens of the World House and the Tree House. It is across the street from the Inter-Faith House.

Students who live in the SLUs on Oak Hill Avenue did not find out about the incident until the next day. The rest of the student body has yet to be informed of the incident by the university or Public Safety.

Senior Abbie Love, a resident of the Inter-Faith House, which is located across the street from 100 Oak Hill, said she was not told about the incident until the next day.

“The next day, PS came to tell us that everything was fine, and I had no idea anything was ever not fine,” Love said.

After an incident involving an OWU student or near OWU property, the university will often send out an email to students informing them of what is going on around them and if a crime has occurred on or near campus.

Robert Wood, director of PS, said his office discussed sending out a campus warning.

“We did not [send out a warning] because by the time we were aware of the incident, Delaware Police had the subjects in police custody,” said Wood. “There was no ongoing threat to the campus or community.”

New housing means fewer options

When Phi Delta Gamma (Fiji) takes back their house next semester, juniors and seniors will be left with fewer housing options than in the past.

There are 32 rooms in 35 Williams Drive, one of the junior/senior living options, according to Levi Harrell, Residential Life Coordinator (RLC) at Ohio Wesleyan. There are approximately 390 students in the incoming senior class, according to Dale Swartzentruber, of institutional research at OWU.

Jill Auxter, another RLC at OWU, said 35 Williams has mostly single rooms, with only two or three double rooms.

“By senior year, most students don’t seem to care where they live, so much as they get a single room,” Auxter said.

Wendy Piper, director of residential life, said aside from fraternity houses and small living units (SLUs), seniors can apply to live in any residential hall on campus.

“Students can choose from Stuyvesant Hall, Smith Hall, Hayes Hall (which is female only), Austin Manor, as well as Welch, Thomson, and Bashford halls,” Piper said.

Rising juniors and seniors will still be able to apply to live in 4 Williams Drive.

“Both rising juniors and seniors can apply to live in both 4 and 23 (Bigelow-Reed House) Williams Drive, however priority will be given to seniors,” Harrell said.

Auxter said there are 31 rooms, mostly all single, in 4 Williams.

One misconception about Bashford and Thomson is that only first year students can live there.

“Any student can apply to have a single room in Bashford or Thomson,” said Auxter. “It’s the same application process as it is to live in Stuyvesant Hall, Smith or Welch.”

Auxter said there are 12 single rooms available in Thomson and Bashford halls.

“The housing process will be exactly the same this year,” said Auxter. “Rising seniors will come to the senior housing night, where they will line up and select a room from the floor plan.”

Senior housing night will be on March 19 at 7 p.m. in Stuyvesant Hall.

“We are expecting (35 Williams) to be completely filled once Fiji moves back into their house next semester,” Auxter said.

After Fiji lost their house in 2008, Auxter said it was renovated and reopened in the fall of 2010.

“32 students will be missing out on one of their potential first choices for housing, however, we’re hoping they’ll be understanding,” Auxter said.

Women’s lacrosse switches focus of practices to team building

Women Lax 2 — Members of the women’s lacrosse team. Photo courtesy of Coach Chelsea Huguenard.

Ohio Wesleyan women’s lacrosse is changing their focus: Team chemistry is taking the front burner.

“I think we have always been a very bonded team, but then on the field, our play doesn’t reflect that,” senior Abbie Love said. “So this season, we are taking the steps to learn to work more as a cohesive unit and build each other up.”

Last season, the women’s lacrosse team finished 8-9 and 2-6 in the NCAC, according to team captain senior Eileen Foley.

In order to perform better in the NCAC, Foley said the team has been trying a revamped style of practice.

“We are doing a lot more conditioning this season,” Foley said. “We’re dedicating one day per week just to yoga and stretching.”

Foley also said the team is learning from last season in other ways.

“We learned that we do a lot better when we are less structured,” Foley said. “Plus it helps that our coaches live and breathe OWU lacrosse.”

Foley said last season was more of a building year. It was Coach Chelsea Huguenard’s first year coaching at OWU.

“This season, we’re also a lot more focused on the process,” Huguenard said. She added the practices include not only drills and 11 vs. 11 scrimmages, but also on team-building exercises to improve the team’s chemistry.

Before coming to OWU, Huguenard coached at Olentangey High School for three years and at Kenyon College for two years.

“Coming to coach at OWU has pretty much been a dream come true for me,” Huguenard said.

Kenyon students make more, OWU students pay less

While Kenyon College graduates may end up making more money in their first five years than graduates from Ohio Wesleyan University, OWU alumnis won’t have to pay as much for their degrees.

According to a recent article published by Money Magazine, Kenyon graduates will earn an average of $44,400 within their first five years in the workforce. Graduates from OWU, within five years of entering the workforce, will earn an average of $38,900.

Susan Dileno, vice president for enrollment at OWU, said it’s all about how you compare the demographics of a student body.

“When you look at students who go to Harvard, you’re typically going to find more wealthier students,” Dileno said. “OWU, Denison, Wooster and Kenyon all attract similar types of students. It’s all about comparing schools with similar student bodies.”

Dileno said Money Magazine based their decision off three factors: graduation rate, percentage of graduates who are employed and affordability.

Despite the $41,920 “sticker price,” as Dileno put it, 97 percent of students currently receive financial aid to help pay for OWU. This was another factor which Money Magazine included in making their decision.

According to Money Magazine, the net cost of an Ohio Wesleyan degree is $143,848. However, it will only cost 3 percent of OWU students that amount to attain their degree; the rest of the student body receives financial aid.

At Kenyon College, however, the net cost of a degree is almost $50,000 more than a degree from OWU. And at Kenyon, only 50 percent of students receive financial aid.

Another factor which Money Magazine used in making their decision was the percentage of OWU alumni who are currently employed.

Rock Jones, president of OWU, said 97 percent of the class of 2014 reported to being employed or pursuing graduate degrees.

The final aspect Money Magazine took into consideration was the average mid-career income for OWU graduates.

Jones said the company PayScale, Inc. collected data which showed average mid-career salaries for alumni.

How to improve our ranking

The Transcript asked university administrators what they were doing to improve the school’s ranking.

Cole Hatcher, director of communications and media relations, said the primary thing the university can do to improve its ranking is to increase student scholarship funds.

Not only does this make OWU more appealing to prospective students, but it would increase the number of students who might not otherwise be able to attend OWU.

“Until they get like bigger endowments or more students who can pay the full freight, it’s going to continue to get harder,” Dileno said.

Comedy duo draws laughs from OWU students

Frangela 2 — There were more than 70 people in attendance. Photo courtesy of Caleb Dorfman.

The stand-up comedy duo Frangela had many Ohio Wesleyan University students cheering and laughing at their Jan. 21 performance.

Levi Harrel, co-adviser for the Campus Planning Board (CPB), said there were more than 70 students in attendance.

“Student feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive,” Harrel said.

Some students, like senior Ibrahim Urooj-Santana, said they were nervous that Frangela would fail to draw laughs from the crowd, recalling the reception of the last comedian to perform on campus in 2012.

“I was worried this wasn’t going to be good at all, but it was actually really funny,” Urooj-Santana said.

Harrel said that he saw the duo perform at the National Association of Campus Activities Mid-America conference in November.

“We saw them perform, and we just knew we wanted them to perform at OWU,” Harrel said.

According to Frangela’s website, “Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton are real life best friends who talk to each other all day long. This used to be more convenient when Angela lived upstairs from Frances in Chicago when they met at the world famous Second City Theatre, where they polished their talents as writers and comedy satirists.”

Callier and Shelton have appeared on various television and radio shows together and as separate acts. Such shows include NBC’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, Twentieth Century Fox’s Wedlock or Deadlock and VH1’s Best Week Ever. They’ve also appeared as “Pop Cultural Pundits” on NBC’s The Today Show and Dateline, Fox’s Mike and Juliet Show, CNN’s Showbiz Tonight and Headline News.

Nathan LaFrombois, co-president internal of CPB, said the board’s next event will be a Guardians of the Galaxy screening on Jan. 29.

Major alumni gifts contribute to campaign

Downeys-donations — Jason R. Downey (’02) and Elizabeth Long Downey (’06) donated $250,000 in November. Photo courtesy of Connect2OWU.

Hudlers-donations — Don and Danielle Hudler (’56) donated property “with a potential value of $10 million.” Photo courtesy of Connect2OWU.

Many donations have been pouring into Ohio Wesleyan the past semester. Recently, an anonymous couple challenged alumni to match their donation of $250,000.

Thursday’s gift, according to an email sent out from President Rock Jones, was from Ginny and Mark Shipps, both of whom graduated in 1971.

Colleen Garland, vice president for university advancement, said the gift marked the tenth of the 12 total commitments in the gift-match plan. These funds are allocated to the Hubbart/Shipps Family Legacy Scholarship Endowment.

Jones said the challenge was designed to secure 12 commitments of $250,000 to total $3 million.

Most recently, two large donations have come in. Evan (’59) and Barbara (’98) Corns donated $505,000, making the total amount the couple has donated to their alma mater $10 million. Neither of the Corns returned phone calls for a comment.

In addition, according to a press release from the university, Don and Danielle Hudler (’56) donated property “with a potential value of $10 million.”

At the end of last semester, another gift of $250,000 was donated to Ohio Wesleyan from anonymous donors. This gift, according to Garland, establishes a new endowment fund to support OWU faculty, as part of the “Connect Today, Create Tomorrow” campaign.

The campaign is aimed at raising $200 million over the next seven years and began July 1, 2014 Garland said, and has been very successful thus far.

“It is important to have a lot of early-on success in these campaigns,” said Garland in a phone interview.

Last year, two donations of $8 million each were designated to repair the defunct Merrick Hall and renovate Simpson-Querrey fitness center.

Jones said the last time we had a gift match challenge of this magnitude was the $5 million gift match challenge, which raised $10 million to rebuild the then-defunct Stuyvesant Hall. That project was completed in 2012.

This past November, Jason R. Downey (’02) Elizabeth Long Downey (’06) donated $250,000, making them the youngest couple to make such a large donation, according to a statement from the university’s communications department.

Cold can’t stop construction

Construction on Merrick Hall continues. Photo courtesy: the OWU website.

Ohio Wesleyan University president Rock Jones says both Merrick Hall and Simpson Querrey are on track to be completed by next fall.

Jones also added that the patio outside Merrick Hall will be finished in time for this May’s Commencement ceremony.

“The construction crews were able to complete the exterior construction while it was still warm out, so they can work on the inside during the colder month,” Jones said.

Brett Starkey, the supervisor for the Merrick construction site, said, “The guys working on the inside can work no matter how cold it is.”

Rob Bartram, assistant to Starkey, added that once the temperature drops below zero, the excavators and other people working outside are forced to take the day off, as the equipment will not work at those temperatures.

Bartram said it’s hard to take the weather into account when you are planning out what is going to be done each day, as the weather in Ohio changes so much.

Starkey said there are always going to be unforeseen delays when you’re working on a 150-year-old building.

In an earlier article published by The Transcript in November 2014, Provost Chuck Stinemetz said there are backup locations in case the construction is not completed on time.

Admissions issues take center stage at faculty meeting

At the November faculty meeting, admissions officials discussed the lack of international students admitted to Ohio Wesleyan this past year, and how they feel the cost to attend is what is driving them away.

“Other liberal arts colleges in central Ohio are becoming more competitive,” head of the admissions department, Susan Dileno said before her fellow colleagues.

“I am looking into ways in which we can make OWU more attractive to those students,” Dileno said. “Unfortunately, many international students are looking at school in Australia and the United Kingdom, where education is often cheaper than it is here.”

During his introduction, University President Rock Jones posed the question to fellow faculty and staff members: “How do we make OWU cost less?”

Jones said last year’s admission results were “disappointing,” citing the only reason that the university was losing students who listed OWU as their first choice was solely based on cost.

Dileno gave a status report on where the admissions department stands.

“We’ve received 1,132 applications as of (Monday),” Dileno said. “We’ve admitted 657 students.”

Dileno also noted the quality of students admitted thus far is up from last year. The average GPA is up .1 percent from 3.6 to 3.7 thus far this year. However, once the university admits more students, the grade point average may fluctuate, depending on the quality of the remainder of the students left to be admitted.

Dileno also mentioned that the percentage of applicants from Ohio is up from 43 percent last year to 46 this year.

“I know we want to push the diversity of the school, however, it’ll be more financially beneficial to admit more students from Ohio,” she said.