Gopika Nair – The Transcript

Thanks, ‘T-script’

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

On New Year’s Day, I was back home in Dubai, writing my first editorial as the editor-in-chief after serving as copy editor of The Transcript for two years.

I wrote and revised four drafts—I was elated, I was nervous and more than anything, I was unsettled by my own inadequacies and what I considered my overall ineptitude at being at the helm of this newspaper.

Being a part of The Transcript hasn’t been the most smooth-sailing experience.

On several occasions, OWU students I barely knew but had fleeting interactions with told me that The Transcript was littered with inaccuracies or embarrassing typos when they learned I was part of the staff.

Of course, their points were valid. A cursory glance at Paul Kostyu’s critiques of The Transcript’s print editions will tell you as much (and perhaps give you even more ammo).

The Transcript has certainly fallen short on many occasions. Single-source stories, inane typos, bland headlines, lackluster writing, erroneous facts; you name it, we’ve, certainly and disappointingly, got it.

As much as I and the rest of the staff have at some point or another felt personally beaten down by the criticisms and complaints we’ve received, I’m thankful for this experience.

The Transcript has dedicated mentors such as Kostyu, associate professor of journalism; Jo Ingles, The Transcript’s media adviser and TC Brown, instructor in journalism, all of whom take the time to provide guidance when we need it and criticisms when we deserve it.

Sure, The Transcript has prided itself on being an independent, student-run newspaper since 1867, but without the encouragement and criticisms we’ve received from our mentors, this paper would have undoubtedly floundered.

For the past year and a half, I’ve spent every other Tuesday night and much of Wednesday morning with my fellow editors, writing stories, designing pages and grappling for subject-verb headlines.

Sounds tedious, maybe even downright miserable, but being a part of The Transcript has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my college career, if only because it gave me the opportunity to hone my skills and work with several dedicated and talented people who I learned from along the way.

It was an honor to serve as editor-in-chief of The Transcript, particularly as it celebrated its 150th anniversary this year. I wish the incoming editor-in-chief and editorial staff the best as they prepare to maintain The Transcript’s legacy.

CAFA introduces new financial incentive

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

The Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid (CAFA) proposed a new financial incentive, intended to attract bright students to Ohio Wesleyan by providing more substantial scholarships.

The initiative, undertaken by the Enrollment Office, is a “response to the small class sizes in recent years,” according to the memo sent Laurel Anderson, chair of CAFA, to faculty.

Human Capital, a firm that specializes in aid modeling, has been commissioned to analyze and provide feedback to maximize OWU’s tuition revenue. Human Capital’s findings were shared with CAFA and the memo reported that OWU is “currently attracting and yielding relatively large numbers of students in the combined category of highest need and weakest academic skills.”

In the memo, CAFA proposed a New Aid Policy, which will award students with a 3.4 high school GPA (or higher) and an ACT score of 23 (or higher) a $30,000 annual scholarship. The scholarship is renewable as long as students maintain a GPA of 2.0 or higher while at OWU. Those who are not eligible for the $30,000 scholarship will receive a $20,000 scholarship.

“The new financial aid policy provides a larger scholarship to a larger number of qualified students,” said Amy Downing, alumni professor of zoology and one of the faculty directors of the Honors Program. “The top scholarship amount for next year of $30,000 is actually an increase over the top scholarship from last year, so we are hopeful the financial incentive will continue to attract very bright students to OWU.”

Though the memo indicates that students with a GPA of 3.4 or higher are eligible for the $30,000 scholarships, Downing said the criteria for admission into the Honors Program will remain unchanged. High school students need a GPA of 3.5 or higher and an ACT score of 28 or an SAT score of 1250 or higher is required for the Honors Program.

Additionally, the former top three highest level scholarships—Schubert, Branch Rickey and Godman—have been collapsed into one $30,000 scholarship, which means that not all recipients of the Branch Rickey Scholarship will be considered honors students, President Rock Jones said.

Downing also said at the end of this academic year, the Honors Center will no longer have a home in Stewart Annex.

“Stewart Annex will be renovated to become the new home for the entrepreneurship program,” Downing said. “The Honors Program is actively working with the administration to identify other potential spaces for the Honors Program beginning in the 2018-2019 academic year.”

Amy McClure, professor of education and another faculty director of the Honors Program, said, “In regards to the displacement of the Honors Center, we are disappointed.”

McClure said she hopes the administration will support the Honors Program’s search for a new space that will provide honors students “a quiet space for studying along with other spaces for collaborative learning and honors classes.”

Vice president of enrollment leaves OWU

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Susan Dileno, vice president of enrollment, has left Ohio Wesleyan to “pursue other opportunities,” according to an email by President Rock Jones.

In an email sent to OWU faculty and staff on Nov. 30, Jones announced the transition in Enrollment. Dileno joined OWU more than three years ago and has initiated several new efforts in Enrollment, according to Jones’ email.

The Offices of Admission and Financial Aid staff are continuing to work toward yielding a strong class in the fall of 2018, Jones said in an interview.

Applications for admission have increased more than 9 percent in the past year and international student applications have increased by more than 47 percent.

“The energy and commitment among the admission staff is very high, and I am confident that the transition in enrollment leadership will not detract from this year’s admission results,” Jones said.

The percentage increases evident across recent applications can be attributed to the efforts of the admissions staff, support of faculty and staff across campus, and the new majors and programs that have been implemented at OWU as part of 2,020 by 2020 initiative, Jones said.

“The goal for the fall of 2018 is to enroll 543 new students, including 475 first-year domestic students, 35 international students and 29 transfer students,” Jones said.

The search for Dileno’s replacement will begin immediately. Until a permanent replacement is appointment, Dwayne Todd, vice president for student engagement and success, will oversee enrollment.

“During his tenure at Columbus College of Art and Design, Dwayne filled a similar interim role for nine months, and his interim leadership in enrollment was referenced prominently and with deep appreciation by references during the search that led to his appointment as VP for Student Engagement and Success,” Jones said in his email.

Todd said most of the work in “encouraging applications” was completed during this semester and that he will shift his attention to making admission decisions and persuading prospective students to commit to OWU.

“My focus during this interim period of leadership is on supporting the Enrollment team, providing some fresh eyes on our yield efforts, establishing stronger connections between efforts to both recruit and retain students, and of course, meeting our goals for our incoming class,” Todd said.

Jones added that he anticipates a new vice president for enrollment will be appointed by late spring or early summer in 2018.

A search on Glassdoor, a website that announces job openings, revealed that an opening for a new vice president for enrollment has not been posted when last checked on Dec. 5.

Following Jones’ announcement about Dileno’s departure from OWU, several faculty members requested a special meeting in December to discuss the state of Admissions, said Tom Wolber, associate professor of modern foreign languages.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday at noon, Jones said.

Anderson, chair of the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid and Lauri Strimkovksy, vice president for finance and administration and treasurer did not respond to requests for interviews.

Note: This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Peach of a movie breaks Hollywood barriers

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Skip the world—the one demanding your attention, testing your patience, breaking your will—for two hours and submerge yourself in 1980s Italy.

That summer in small-town Bordighera. Swimming in the river. Biking past cobblestoned streets. Transcribing Bach. Reading Ovid. Indulging in wine, love and torpor, the trinity of a lazy, fulfilling summer.

Director Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name probably isn’t your typical Academy Awards contender, and yet, since its screening at film festivals, the movie has received considerable acclaim.

Critics raved about the acting, the cinematography and the movie’s sheer ability to suspend audience’s disbelief enough to immerse themselves in a small Italian town in 1983, living 17-year-old Elio Perlman’s life.

Elio (Timothée Chalamet) meets 24-year-old Oliver (Armie Hammer), an American grad student, when he spends the summer at the Perlmans’ home in Italy.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by André Aciman. It’s an introspective book, an unapologetic exploration of Elio’s sexuality and desires. Because much of it is subtextual, not a lot happens in terms of plot.

Instead, the book is a back-and-forth ping-pong game of uncertainty and yearning between Elio and Oliver that’s more humorous than it is just angst-driven, with accounts of covert little flirtations dominating the first part of the novel. The movie more or less follows along that same vein, according to reviews.

Call Me By Your Name is unlikely to be a two-hour dream for everyone, especially the ones itching for twists and turns in their moviegoing experience.

So, why is it inching its way up the Oscars contenders’ ladder even though it’s not going to having you on the edge of your seat?

A recent article by Tim Stack for Entertainment Weekly dubbed it the “Moonlight effect.”

At the 89th Academy Awards, Moonlight became the first film with an all-black cast and the first LGBT film to win an Oscar for Best Picture. But diversity in Hollywood is lacking.

We’re more likely to seek out authentic representation and find it on television than Hollywood films (remember when Emma Stone was cast to play a half-Asian character in Cameron Crowe’s Aloha?)

But 2017 has admittedly been a pretty good year for diversity in Hollywood.

The Big Sick, a romantic comedy, features Kumail Nanjiani, a Pakistani-American actor, as the lead. God’s Own Country is another LGBT movie that has received positive reviews since its debut and more are on the horizon, including Love, Simon and Boy Erased, both set for release in 2018, according to Stack’s article.

Call Me By Your Name is distinctive because it is perhaps one of a handful of LGBT movies without a tragic ending.

Think back to LGBT movies that have been critically renowned. For instance, Brokeback Mountain and Blue is the Warmest Color both encompass a similar theme, where characters struggle to accept themselves and so do others around them.

Don’t get me wrong, that narrative isn’t flawed by any means. It’s a reality for many who identify as LGBT, depending on where they live, how they’re raised, cultural values and many other factors.

But as much as it’s essential to show the struggles of LGBT people, surely in 2017, in a nation that legalized gay marriage, at the very least, acceptance can also be a central part of the narratives people consume.

Hammer, who plays Oliver in Call Me By Your Name, perhaps put it best in an interview with MTV News.

“There’s a great element to this movie where no one pays for being gay,” he said. “There’s no punishment. Nobody gets sick, nobody has a wife that they have to tell, there’s no family drama … it’s just two people who expose themselves and make themselves vulnerable to someone else and that person receives it and does the same. It’s just a beautiful thing to watch happen.”

Call Me By Your Name will have a limited release in U.S. theaters on Nov. 24.

2018 WCSA election results announced

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

The Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) has elected its first female black student body president.

Senior Cara Harris will serve as the WCSA president in 2018 and sophomore Peyton Hardesty was elected vice president.

The 2017 WCSA elections yielded other firsts, as well.

Compared to last year’s 29 percent, this year, 46 percent of the Ohio Wesleyan student body voted, which was “the highest turnout in memory,” said senior Chris Dobeck, current president of WCSA.

Additionally, junior Will Ashburn is the first elected treasurer since Graham Littlehale ‘17, who served as the WCSA treasurer in 2015.

“The election was incredibly close,” Dobeck said. “Of all four presidential tickets, the highest voted candidate and the lowest voted candidate only had a 37 vote difference.”

The election took place on Friday, Nov. 10.

The complete list of results are as follows:

President

Cara Harris

Vice President

Peyton Hardesty

Secretary

Mollie Marshall

Treasurer

Will Ashburn

Class of 2019 Representatives

Jackie Arnott

Megan Klick

Class of 2020 Representatives

Gretchen Weaver

Maxwell Aaronson

Class of 2021 Representative

Max Berry

Student Inclusion Advocacy Committee (SIAC) members

Cindy Hyunh

Ahmed Hamed

Mahnoor Ansari

Josselyne Ramirez

Benji Acuna

Daniela Black

Marisa Grillo

Spencer Zhang

Freedom of speech brought to light in play

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

With Fahrenheit 451’s production, Ohio Wesleyan’s theatre and dance department brought attention to national issues concerning free speech and censorship.

After five weeks of rehearsals, the production was held on the Main Stage inside Chappelear Drama Center, running from Oct. 5 through Oct. 7. Adapted from Ray Bradbury’s novel of the same name, the play was directed by D. Glen Vanderbilt Jr., professor of theatre.

“I had been considering the play for several years and this year felt like the ‘right’ time to offer it,” Vanderbilt said. “Free thought and free speech are such a part of our national conversation these days, the book (over 50 years old) has some new urgency.”

Bradbury’s novel was published in 1953, but its themes continue to be relevant today.

“Every day, we hear stories of people who have attempted to squelch other people’s thoughts and expressions,” Vanderbilt said. “It happens far too often in our society. We take many of our freedoms for granted and this play about a society where they have given away many of them is a cautionary tale about a possible future.”

In the play, Guy Montag, portrayed by sophomore Josh Martin, lives in a world where books and the ideas it contains are banned. Montag is a fireman whose job is to burn books, with pyrotechnics featured in the production. Throughout the course of the play, Montag’s dissatisfaction with his life increases and he’s consumed by intellectual curiosity.

Martin said he was intrigued by the stage adaptation of Bradbury’s novel and sought out the opportunity to be a part of OWU’s production.

“I am fascinated by the dichotomy of Montag’s inner thoughts; the ever-present battle between autonomy and peace, morality and ignorance,” he said.

The play also ended on a more hopeful note than the one offered in the novel, which delighted many audience members, Martin said.

“I think Bradbury, when he wrote Fahrenheit 451 (and I’m sure today), would hope for people to continue to question their world around them,” he said. “Find ways to challenge the inequities that plague Western culture and never stop protesting the status quo.”

The play also featured senior Kacie Iuvara as Mildred, Montag’s wife. Because Fahrenheit 451 tied her passions for theatre and books, Iuvara said she wanted to become involved with the production.

“As actors, we’re told to look for objectives, what our characters want,” Iuvara said. “Playing Mildred, a character who lives for the next high and buries herself in distractions to avoid coping with reality, was difficult because she often didn’t have an obvious objective. Figuring out what Mildred wanted out of her life was definitely challenging, but also a lot of fun.”

The play cautioned audience members about the dangers of erasing knowledge and rewriting facts, Iuvara said.

“This play reminds audience members about the extreme importance of creativity, individuality, truth, and above all, thought.”

The sleaze goes beyond the screen

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

A woman who wants to make it in the film industry is expected to schmooze by letting men have their way with them.

Then, they have to remain silent because speaking out against prominent Hollywood figures would be detrimental to their careers. That’s just Hollywood, babe.

Except it’s time to denounce that attitude. It’s time to wholly obliterate the very idea that those who want to make a name of themselves, in Hollywood or otherwise, have to put up with a sleazy man or two.

Harvey Weinstein is a Hollywood mogul. Regardless of whether you’re a frequent moviegoer or not, you’ve heard of his movies, perhaps even loved them. They range from cult favorites such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Sing Street” to Academy favorites such as “The King’s Speech” and “Silver Linings Playbook.”

Nearly 50 actresses and others who work in the film industry have made sexual assault allegations against Weinstein so far, from A-listers such as Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow to international stars such as Asia Argento and Léa Seydoux.

Because of Weinstein’s alleged actions, lesser-known women intent on pursuing a career in the film industry gave it up altogether, according to Vanity Fair.

It’s no wonder these sexual assault allegations only just came to light, even though their occurrences allegedly spanned decades.

These actresses were expected to remain silent. Because Weinstein had the power to essentially make or break these women’s careers, they had no choice. Because it’s Hollywood, babe.

But as demonstrated by the #MeToo campaign that came to fruition in the aftermath of these allegations, most of us know a Weinstein and most of us aren’t looking to make it big in Hollywood or seeking an Academy win.

Our clothes aren’t custom-made for us by Chanel and we probably don’t have a shot of being featured on The Ellen Show or The Tonight Show. We’re people who live private, low-profile lives no one follows, but we’re still plagued by Weinsteins.

Sure, maybe it’s not a facsimile; maybe it’s just fragments of a Weinstein-like character. Maybe we know them through the fortunate shield of someone else’s experience; maybe we know them because of our own bad luck.

Seeing as people like Weinstein aren’t a rarity in the world, it’s baffling that “no means no” still isn’t a universally acknowledged concept. It’s horrifying that people’s bodies are being violated against their will, by people in power, by authoritative figures, by neighbors, friends, significant others and perhaps worst of all, by family members.

But how and where does all this end?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 54-member board decided to expel Weinstein from the academy, according to Vogue. Following the allegations, Weinstein’s studio fired him.

There might be more repercussions, but none of them are going to undo his actions. But at the very least, with the number of prominent figures who have condemned Weinstein and his actions since the allegations against him came to light, some semblance of hope remains that this situation has at least proven that silence is no longer the only option, that speaking out can actually achieve some good and some justice in the grand scheme of things.

DACA’s effect on Ohio Wesleyan

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Jose Armendariz roots for the U.S. soccer team when it plays against Mexico.

“People might call me a traitor, but why would I support a country I don’t have a memory of and have never grown up in?” Armendariz said.

The Ohio Wesleyan freshman was born in Mexico and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 2 years old. Armendariz lived in North Carolina for most of his life. After receiving a scholarship that would cover his college education as long as he attended an out-of-state, liberal arts college, Armendariz enrolled at OWU.

Now at 18, the U.S. is the only home Armendariz has known, and he is one among more than 800,000 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Armendariz received DACA protection at 14 when former President Barack Obama created the program through an executive order passed in 2012. On Sept. 5, President Donald Trump’s administration announced the decision to end DACA, making its recipients eligible for deportation.

“I was surprised, but I wasn’t in shock about it because President Trump hasn’t really been in favor of DACA,” Armendariz said.

Because of his interest in politics, Armendariz followed the news and presidential debates closely. When Trump became a presidential candidate, Armendariz said he anticipated an annulment to DACA.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stopped accepting new DACA applications received after Sept. 5. A few hours after the Trump administration announced that DACA would be rescinded, Trump tweeted that Congress had six months to legalize DACA.

Armendariz said he and his family are hoping that Congress will push a legislation within six months that’ll let him and other DACA recipients stay in the country, adding that he is glad Trump delayed the process of ending DACA.

“We’re just crossing our fingers that Congress understands that we don’t really have any other home,” Armendariz said.

President Rock Jones sent a campus-wide email addressing the end of DACA. In the email, Jones said he and the other presidents of the Ohio Five colleges have sent a letter to Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), requesting they act to protect DACA students.

“[DACA students] grew up in our country, excelled in its high schools, and now stand ready to contribute to our nation,” the letter to Sen. Portman said. “Cutting short their educations through threatened deportation denies them — and us — the promise of that future.”

In addition, Jones sent an email on Sept. 11 sharing that the presidents of the Great Lakes Colleges Association schools released a letter supporting the tenets of DACA.

“An attorney will visit campus this week to be available to provide legal guidance for DACA students,” Jones said. “If DACA students lose external financial aid, we will work to provide resources to ensure that they can stay at OWU.”

Jones added that OWU would also work vigorously to support Congress’ efforts to provide a legislative solution to protect DACA students.

Juan Armando Rojas Joo, associate dean for diversity and inclusion and professor of modern foreign languages, said it’s hard to state a number as to how many DACA students are enrolled at OWU currently.

“The OWU community (students, staff and faculty members), and hopefully the Delaware community, should understand that protecting these, our ‘invisible’ Dreamers, it’s crucial, it’s essential, as it offers value to our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy Statement that recognizes and celebrates diversity,” Rojas said.

Rojas also said that he hopes Congress will be able to support those covered by DACA and possibly provide citizenship to the students who grew up in this country and arrived to the U.S. as children.

DACA recipients go through extensive criminal and background checks to maintain their status. With more pressing issues weighing on the world right now, such as the destruction left behind by two hurricanes, Armendariz said he doesn’t understand why Trump decided to rescind DACA now.

“I’m very blessed to have a scholarship that covers me, I’m not employed and I don’t have a car so I can’t lose my permit, but heart goes out to people who do have jobs and whose permits are about to expire,” he said.

Despite everything, Armendariz said that deep in his heart, he loves this country.

“There are no Mexican values in me, it’s just American values,” he said. “[The U.S.] is the only country I know and you can’t really hate a country you grew up in even if we’re passing through a tumultuous time. I still have faith in it. [Trump’s decision to end DACA] has brought both sides of the parties together.”

Joseph Mas, a Cuban-American attorney from Columbus and immigration law expert, will offer students an informative public session about DACA and meet with students individually if they so desire at 6 p.m., Sept. 27, according to Rojas.

Campus bookstore transitions to self-operated store

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Students could forgo the hunt for affordable textbooks on Amazon with Ohio Wesleyan’s upcoming bookstore transition.

Starting Oct. 2, the OWU bookstore will no longer be Follett-operated and will instead reopen as a self-operated store. Lauri Strimkovsky, vice president for finance and administration, recommended that OWU would be better served by returning to a self-operated model, according to President Rock Jones.

Strimkovsky’s suggestion came after consultation with other campuses that returned to functioning as independent bookstores, and discussions with the faculty’s Committee on Teaching, Learning and Cross-Cultural Programs.

“I am pleased with this recommendation and the potential benefits going forward,” Jones said. “These benefits include adjusting the pricing strategy for textbooks to be competitive with online vendors, making OWU more competitive for textbook business; enhancing OWU’s online presence for textbooks, OWU apparel and other products; and expanding the mission from a bookstore to one of a more comprehensive OWU store.”

Follett Corporation, a third-party company, works with more than 1,200 campuses across the country, said Lisa Tackett, OWU’s bookstore manager.

Follett leases space from campuses and runs the store, providing course materials, supplies and branded items such as apparel. The campus bookstore’s partnership with Follett began seven years ago, prior to which the bookstore operated independently.

“This industry is constantly changing, so what was relevant then may not be relevant anymore,” Tackett said. “We’re changing with the times and more campuses are going independent now, [opting to] leave Follett and Barnes & Noble, which are the two major in-campus stores.”

In addition to working on providing students with the most affordable options for course materials, Tackett said the bookstore will have the freedom to “get items that are a lot less cookie-cutter and styles that are more desirable for our students in terms of clothing.”

Tackett has placed orders for custom items such as yoga pants and joggers instead of basic sweatpants.

“Our prices are going to be better and our markup will be smaller,” Tackett said. “I’m not limited anymore on where I can order our materials, so I’ll be able to purchase the things everyone has been asking for.”

In an email to employees and students sent on Aug. 31, Melanie Kalb, director of purchasing, said the campus store will also host a website with online ordering and online book adoptions for faculty.

“We believe the OWU culture and identity can be best represented by our new model,” Kalb said in her email.

Follett’s operations with the campus bookstore will conclude Sept. 28. In preparation of the transition, several apparel items will be sold at a discounted rate of 50 percent off starting Monday, Sept. 18.

Students host rally in response to Charlottesville attacks

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Ohio Wesleyan students, faculty and staff shared messages of solidarity, love and hope at a rally staged in support of victims of the Charlottesville attacks.

Junior Emily Shpiece and senior Ryan Bishop helped organize the event at OWU, which was held Aug. 25 outside Beeghly Library.

On Aug. 12, Jason Kessler led the “Unite the Right” rally to protest against the removal of a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville. The rally, which has been regarded as one of the largest white supremacist events in recent U.S. history, turned violent when a speeding car crashed into anti-racist protestors, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring at least 19 others, according to Al Jazeera.

“Even though the events of Charlottesville weren’t fresh and recent when we organized the rally, the effects of Charlottesville-sentiments, white supremacy and anti-semitism are,” Shpiece said.

Bishop added, “It’s really important to recognize this on campus and to address this instance of domestic terrorism, this instance where hateful groups, [such as] white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan supporters, kind of were allowed to march and be violent and be armed and ultimately someone died resisting that.”

The rally Shpiece and Bishop organized gave allies and marginalized students a chance to share their thoughts on the pro-white demonstrations in Charlottesville.

Giving Jewish students and students of color a space to speak validated what they had to say, Shpiece said.

In addition to students, Chaplain Jon Powers, Dean of Students Dwayne Todd and President Rock Jones gave speeches.

“I was especially moved by the personal narratives and powerful calls to action shared by many of our students,” Jones said. “While there is much in our larger society today that causes great concern, I left Friday’s gathering with hope and with confidence that our community will remain strong and will work together to create a better future for all people.”

Todd said, “The rally was a moving demonstration of the commitment of these students, faculty and staff to confront bigotry and white supremacy, and to stand alongside those who are attacked or marginalized by such attitudes and actions.”

Gatherers held signs which decried white supremacy and racist attitudes. Some handmade signs read, “No Nazis,” “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention” and “Bigotry will not be tolerated.”

Bishop also reached out to Sally Leber, director of service learning, who provided printed signs sporting the words, “Hate has no home here,” in four different languages, including Arabic and Spanish.

A day before the event, Bishop and Shpiece met with Lisa Ho, associate chaplain; Bob Wood, director of Public Safety; Todd, the dean of students and Kristin Weyman, associate dean for student success. This group suggested signing postcards to send to children in Charlottesville, Shpiece said.

The Chaplain’s Office also provided candles during the event, which concluded with Chaplain Powers leading a prayer.

“I loved what everyone had to say, and while I’m disappointed there wasn’t more of a turn out, I think that the people who showed up learned a lot about one another, felt supported and found a means of channeling their heightened emotions about Charlottesville into community action,” Shpiece said.