Author: mrmatos

Wipeout on the Jaywalk

By Katie Cantrell

Transcript Correspondent 

kmcantre@owu.edu

Ohio Wesleyan Wipeout was…well, a Wipeout. Though attendance was low Friday students enjoyed competing on a couple inflatable challenges on the JayWalk. 

The Campus Programming Board had Wesleyan Wipeout running from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. It had a particular reason for choosing this time frame according to club member Catie A. Hyatt. 

“This is the time that people have to spend to like eat lunch and then have like a few minutes before class. So it’s kind of a fun little thing they can do,” she said.

The board rented two inflatables from one of the SuperGames warehouses located in Columbus. The inflatables at the Wesleyan Wipeout were the Leaps and Bounds- Big Red Balls and the Kapow obstacle course, both a part of SuperGames’ interactive play attractions. To comply with SuperGames protocols, students had to fill out a waiver before they could participate in the activities. 

Two of the students who participated in Wesleyan Wipeout said they preferred the Kapow obstacle course. According to OWU student Alex N. Mason, she preferred Kapow because “it had more movement.” 

Mason’s friend, freshman Sara Cordle, agreed. “It was more like a puzzle-like you had to duck not duck, you know.”

Student turnout was lower than expected at the beginning of the event, but two board members said this did not have much to do with the game itself, but more to do with the weather on Friday afternoon. It was sunny and hovering somewhere between 80 to 90 degrees outside. 

The Campus Programming Board is responsible for quite a few activities that Ohio Wesleyan promotes on campus for the students. 

“Last semester we put on Day on the Jay…and we brought in one of these I don’t wanna call them blow-ups, but blow-ups or inflatables I guess, and a lot of people liked it a lot,” said club member Qiukui Moutvic. “So we decided to base an event on something like that and then we just decided to call it Wesleyan Wipeout.” 

Last fall the club took a tour of the SuperGames warehouse during one of its retreats and had the chance to try out some of the inflatables. It was from this retreat that the idea for Wesleyan Wipeout was born. 

When asked if there might be more events like Wesleyan Wipeout in the future Moutvic said, “We have staple events every year, so events like these are more of just whatever comes out of our planning retreat.”

The students definitely would not mind more events like Wesleyan Wipeout said, Cordle. “I like the inflatable events that they have and all the games, like from Day on the Jay.”

Petting zoo comes to OWU

Students were welcomed back to Ohio Wesleyan University by some furry friends.

The Campus Programming Board brought several types of animals to the JAYwalk between 11 p.m.-1 p.m. for students to interact with. The animals included mini zebu, alpacas, mini sheep, kangaroos, camel, goats and a large tortoise. The animals helped to mark a new semester and school year for students and staff alike.

 

Updated Aug 22

Interim Chaplain announced

By Maddie Matos

Editor-in-chief

mrmatos@owu.edu

With the sudden retirement of Ohio Wesleyan University’s previous chaplain, the school has appointed Chad Johns to the role.

In an email from July 18, President Rock Jones told the campus community of the new position for Johns.

Johns will be taking the role over from Chaplain Jon Powers, who retired on July 31. Powers had worked at the university for 43 years.

Johns is an OWU alumnus who majored in psychology. Johns then earned his Master of Divinity in 2005 from the Boston University School of Theology and his Doctor of Ministry in 2015 from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.

After returning to OWU in 2005, Johns has played a major role on campus.

“He (Johns) participated in mission trips as a student and now directs our Spring Break Interfaith Service Week,” Jones said. “In addition, he advises or co-advises student organizations including PRIDE and the Chi Phi fraternity. Chad also is in his second term on OWU Staff Council and is a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. He has taught UC 160 as well as courses on the theological exploration of both leadership/power and speculative fiction.”

Johns began the position on Aug 1.

 

Updated August 22. 

Campus construction work to begin soon

By Maddie Matos

Editor-in-chief

mrmatos@owu.edu

Ohio Wesleyan University’s construction plans are set to begin this fall semester.

In an email sent out by university president Rock Jones, the school announced that the renovation projects for residential side of campus are to begin in the upcoming weeks.

The project was previously announced in the spring, with new senior apartments for seniors and a complete renovation of Smith Hall.

“As of this writing, we’ve begun construction to renovate Smith West as part of a two-phase makeover to transform Smith Hall into a vibrant, community-oriented environment housing all of our first-year students,” Jones said.

Workers already have created a construction yard west of the building. Renovations will begin fully starting in September.

Smith parking lot will be spit, with access from West William Street to one side and from South Liberty Street to the other. Throughout construction, all students will continue to have 24/7 access to Smith Dining Hall.

Smith West is scheduled for completion in August 2020. Afterwards, renovations for Smith East will begin.

 The completed building will open in fall 2021.

Jones also said when the new senior apartments will begin.

“In October, we expect to break ground for the new Village Apartments,” Jones said. “When completed in fall 2020, the first building will feature 126 beds within four-bed, six-bed, and eight-bed units that include kitchens, two full bathrooms, large living rooms with lots of natural light, and individual air-temperature controls.”

As the first apartment building are being built, workers will make a construction site on South Liberty Street. Walkways will be made for students to access Bashford Hall, Thompson Hall and Frat Hill.

Traveling in the steps of MLK will be a new option for students

Updated April 24, 2019

By Shay Manuela

Transcript correspondent

slmanuel@owu.edu

Next Spring, Ohio Wesleyan students will have the opportunity to literally walk in the footsteps of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

John Durst, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, and Professor of Education Paula White will be teaching a travel-learning course in Spring 2020.

The course, which is titled “The March Continues: The Current Fight for Justice and Equality,” will examine the civil rights movement through the lenses of social justice and activism.

A special focus will be placed on understanding the historical, cultural, economic, and political dynamics of inequality and the concepts of power, privilege, and intersectionality, according to the Ohio Wesleyan website.

Class members will be traveling to Mississippi and Alabama from March 7-14, 2020, where they will visit several sites along the National Civil Rights Trail. The trail, which spans across fourteen states, features locations that played a significant role in events of the Civil Rights Era.

The civil rights movement was a mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern United States, according to Britannica. The primary goal of the movement, that mainly took place during the 1950s and 1960s, was for African-Americans to gain equal rights under the constitution.

Sites that will be visited along the trail include the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began his pastorate; the Rosa Parks Museum; the Southern Poverty Law Center; and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a memorial dedicated to victims of white supremacy.

One of the goals is for students to draw parallels between race relations of the past and present, Durst said.

“We look at these civil right struggles and racial tensions as something of the past, yet striking similarities remain evident today,” Durst said. “One could argue that since the civil rights movement ended, there has been a lack of progress. The story is not over.”

The desire lies in getting that point across, Durst said. “This course gives the opportunity to use history to ask students ‘this is what the racial disparity represented back then—how much farther are we today?’,” Durst said.

The main motivation for the course is to have the students feel the history, rather than just learning it, Durst said.

“I am a firm believer that when you stand on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where nonviolent activists were beaten, it has an impact beyond simply reading a factual recollection of it,” Durst said.

The concept of travel-learning courses has been designed to give students the opportunity to connect classroom instruction to real-world experiences.

Merrick Mentor and junior Brandon Stevens said, “The travel-learning courses offer a guided experience to students to dig deeper into a topic with somebody who is an expert on the subject.”

Applications for the Spring 2020 travel-learning courses will be posted at the beginning of the Fall semester.

English department to add new concentration for students

By Azmeh Talha

Transcript reporter

aatalha@owu.edu

English majors at Ohio Wesleyan University’s (OWU)  will be offtered two concentrations in the major, creating a clearer path to graduation.

The concentrations that will be offered are English for Educators and a Creative Writing Concentration.

Associate Professor of English, Nancy Comorau was one of the people that worked towards getting the concentrations approved.

“I thought, what if we just had a clear set of requirements that fit what’s needed for licensure, fit what’s needed for an English major and give students one path to graduation,” Comorau said.

Under the old system, students who wanted to be English teachers and finish with licensure had to take a number of literature courses, Comorau said. The names of the courses however, were unclear and were different from the way the English department talked about where the discipline of English is going.

One of the unclear categories in the department was “ethnic or women writers” Comorau said. Comorau questioned what ethnic really means and asked faculty in the education department.

Comorau met with Professor Campbell Scribner, a former associate professor in the education department to clarify what these terms mean.

“I asked somebody in education to meet with me and I said well does ethnic mean minorities within a majority of culture, African American, Latinx etc,” Comorau said. “Or does ethnic mean nonwhite.”  

Another confusing category in the English department world literature. Although it was called world literature, the category contained mainly work written by European authors.

Literature from Africa, South Asia and The Caribbean was not a part of any world literature courses. This led to Comorau questioning whether literature from this part of the world is considered to be world literature.

Mark Allison, associate professor and chair of the English department said getting the concentration approved was a collective effort of the department.

There was some ambiguity that students had to confront about which classes satisfied which requirements. This clarified what classes students should take to satisfy their requirements, making it more manageable for students, Allison said.  

“Nancy Comorau in particular deserves credit for really working, collaborating with the education faculty to create the new English for educators concentration,” Allison said.

New additional courses will be offered for the creative writing concentration such as fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry, Allison said. Courses offered will be both lower and upper level classes.

“We’ve effectively almost doubled the strength of our creative writing options,” Allison said.

The motion to create the creative writing resolution was approved on Feb. 18, 2019.

The statement of rationale to create this concentration mentioned the benefits of the concentration.

“… We believe a unique major will better serve and prepare our creative writers for professional careers that extend far beyond Ohio Wesleyan University.”

The statement also mentioned the concentration will “not only attract students but retain them once they matriculate.”

New courses that will be offered are ENG 200.3: Fiction I and ENG 315: Creative Nonfiction II.

Uber horror story sheds light on OWU safety

Updated April 15, 2019

By Leah Crawford

Transcript correspondent

lccrawfo@owu.edu

OWU students have begun re-evaluating their feeling of safety when traveling on campus, following the kidnapping and murder of a female student who mistook the wrong car for her Uber at the University of South Carolina.

“What happened to that girl in South Carolina is unthinkably tragic and so scary to imagine.” senior Elise Duldner said.  “I use Uber to get home from the bar several times in a month because I’m uneasy walking home. If Uber’s aren’t safe any more it makes me wonder what our school and local law enforcement actually do to keep us safe from situations like this.”

After hearing from female students on campus, OWU Public Safety (PS) and the Delaware Police Department (DPD), there is a clear disconnect in the sense of security felt on campus between the students and those in authority.  Many students question or doubt OWU’s efforts to protect students while on nights out.

“I don’t believe Ohio Wesleyan is doing its best to keep women safe here on campus,” sophomore Caroline Hancock said.  “Especially when it’s a Saturday night and women are walking home from the bar on a dimly lit street such as Spring Street.  This is a real issue that we face every weekend, which sketchy street are we going to walk down this time to get home?”

Spring Street is the most direct route from downtown Delaware to the residential side of campus where most students live. This street is known amongst students as being the most dangerous street to walk down on the weekends. Women are advised almost immediately when they arrive to campus as freshmen to avoid this street and walk almost any other route home.  

Chief Robert Wood, who has been head of PS for 13 years, assures students that while situations like those in South Carolina are tragic, they are extremely rare.  

“The fact that you’re walking down Spring Street and somebody runs out and grabs you and throws you in a truck, that’s almost unheard of,” Wood said.

According to the 2017 National Center for Victims of Crime report, 11,000 college campuses representing more than 78 million students, reported criminal victimizations as of 2014.  This report also states that one-third of students are the victims of stalking. While the sense of security on and around campus is the mindset of PS, the anxiety of traveling at night seems to be a constant among several women on campus.  

“I don’t feel comfortable walking around campus, sometimes during the day, but never at night and I don’t think PS does enough to instill a sense of safety and comfort over campus if something were to happen.” senior Sasha Vasquez said. “Though it is inconvenient for all the parties we go to, I ask for rides whenever I can.”

Some female students do feel somewhat safe on campus but this is not due to the efforts of law enforcement or PS.  Many women like juniors Erin Bitzer and Allison Andrews say they feel safe on campus due to the fact that it is a small school in a small town, or the fact that they are friends with male fraternity members and athletes.  

“I would say that I feel safe but I believe that’s more to the credit of this being a small town and small school,” Bitzer said.

“I generally feel safe on campus, but mostly because of Tri-Delta and the fact that I’m friends with a lot of the frat guys on campus,” Andrews said.  

The party scene on campus has not diminished, but has changed location and execution.

Two years ago, every house on Fraternity Hill would have been throwing a party with students meandering from one to another all night.  Now, following the termination of three fraternities on campus, parties have moved to off campus homes where PS holds no jurisdiction.

“PS thinks campus is safe because they’ve forced us to move our social lives to off campus.  We’re too scared to party on campus because of the consequences,” Vasquez said. “It’s to the point where we’d rather deal with the actual police than PS, so yeah now campus is safe, whatever that is supposed to mean.”

This relocation of social experiences like parties to off campus homes, makes it DPD’s territory.  DPD works very closely and assists in the safety and monitoring of the OWU students on and off campus.   

“I consider Delaware a safe community, but also understand that anything can happen anywhere, anytime,” Captain Adam Moore of DPD said.

Many students find comfort with DPD and appreciate their efforts when patrolling on the weekends.  DPD often gets called for noise complaints related to the off campus parties of students. Students and the officers of DPD have a mutually respectful relationship.  When officers show up to a house where a party is located, students are quick to turn down the music and cooperate with whatever guidelines the police deem necessary.  The students also enjoy posing for photographs with the officers who patrol Clancey’s Pub downtown during the weekend.

Students seem to think PS is out of touch with the real threats on campus.  

“The stuff we’ve had where people have gotten in trouble, they’ve gotten into a car with somebody they don’t know, they met somebody online and they went off campus and went to the house and met them,” Wood said.

Many students are less worried about members of the town of Delaware and more so their fellow students.  

“You’re supposed to feel safer on campus, but sometimes it’s the people on your campus that you know, that are dangerous and it’s very unsettling,” senior Hannah Joseph said.  “It honestly sucks that’s the reality we have to live with as women on a college campus and really as women in this world.”

This disconnect has to do with the overwhelming sentiment that the officers of PS don’t care about the well-being of the students.  

“I would never call PS for help because they take forever to show up and they really don’t seem to care about us,” said Andrews.

“Come to think of it, I don’t recall hearing much about ways to keep women safe or overall safety just by the University,” Bitzer said.

Contradictory to the feelings of the student body, both PS and DPD have several resources for the students to utilize.  PS teaches a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) class several times throughout the year as well as shorted RAD introductory seminars.  PS offers complimentary rides for students on a case by case basis.

They also recommend traveling in groups or pairs and let someone know about your travel plans, such as where you are going, when you are leaving and when you will return.  Also, they both want to ensure students that it is always better to call for help than try to handle a dangerous situation alone in fear of disciplinary or legal actions.

“At the end of the day, no consequence the police, courts, school, or parents can levy, will be worse than someone being the victim of a major crime or severely injured. If you are in trouble, call for help,” Moore said.

Chief Wood agrees with the sentiment.  PS also abides by the amnesty policy, which is described in the OWU student handbook as such, “Students who seek medical attention for themselves or others because of the over-consumption of alcohol or other drugs will not be charged with violations of the alcohol or illegal drugs policies through the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. These same protections will be extended to the student for whom medical attention is sought.”

“If you call for help for yourself or your friend you’re not going to get in trouble,” Chief Wood said.

The phone number for PS is 740-368-2222 or 2222 form any campus phone.  The number for DPD is 740-203-1111. In case of emergency, always call 911.

Nike swoosh and Bob the Bishop will team up in the fall

Updated April 23, 2019

By Jacey Scheffel

Transcript correspondent

jsscheff@owu.edu

The red and black will get a new look this upcoming season with all 25 varsity sports switching to Nike uniforms.

The Athletics department at Ohio Wesleyan University recently signed a five year contract with sports retailer, BSN SPORTS. Effective on March 1, all 25 teams will be sporting the Nike swoosh.

As a part of the BSN SPORTS’ Nike Collegiate Select program, OWU will purchase all athletic uniforms and gear from the vendor, Doug Zipp, Ohio Wesleyan Athletics director said.

The switch was made so the department could be more uniform. All teams will be under one umbrella and look similar.

“It’s more to be consistent around our department and that we know Ohio Wesleyan is represented in the right way,” Zipp said. “When we get off the bus people know Ohio Wesleyan is arriving because we all look the same. And it doesn’t matter if it’s the football team, the field hockey team, the volleyball team, you know.”

To achieve this similarity, uniform logos will be constant across teams. There will be a lot of choices, but the Bishop head, fonts and other logos will be the same style, Zipp said.

Along with an easier purchasing process, the university will receive a discount for purchasing in bulk, Zipp said.

Since 2012, the Ohio Wesleyan football team has purchased Nike through BSN SPORTS under the direction of Coach Tom Watts.

Not much change will be seen in the purchasing process for the football team, but other teams and the university will benefit from streamline purchasing and discounts, Watts said.

The football team will debut new Nike uniforms this upcoming season. The Bishops will be showcased in a white jersey with Bishops, in text, across the chest along with matching white pants.

“I think it looks sharp and our guys really liked it when we showed it to them. It’s simple, it looks clean, and it looks like OWU,” Watts said.

A lot of student athletes like the Nike for the branding, Zipp said.

“Nike is good quality,” sophomore football player, Logan Whalen-Hennick said. “I love the new uniforms because they are Nike. They look cleaner, and the team looks crisp and nice.”

Ohio Wesleyan will have everyone in the brand within the next three years, when all teams have had their chance at uniform renewal.

The uniforms will be simplistic, but represent what Ohio Wesleyan stands for, Zipp said.

“We try to say 25 sports, but one team. I think we’ll look more like that with the same kind of simple branding that BSN will provide for everybody,” Watts said.

Striking out for one of their own

By Grant Cayton

Transcript correspondent

ggcayton@owu.edu

The Ohio Wesleyan University softball team is banding together to support one of its own.

Shelley Johnson, assistant softball coach at OWU, was diagnosed with stage 3c ovarian cancer last October. After her diagnosis, the team rallied to help her, dedicating their annual Strike Out Cancer event to helping pay for Johnson’s treatment. As a part of their effort, fundraiser was held at the Hamburger Inn, of Delaware, on April 4. They will also donate all proceeds of a double header, scheduled for April 13, to Johnson’s treatment.

Johnson expressed her thankfulness for the support of her team.

“I feel very fortunate by having all of the team support. Not everyone going through this has the family support that I have, let alone an entire additional team.” Johnson said. “From the current team and coaches wearing teal bracelets, alums sitting at chemo with me and sending cards and books, to parents of former players sending their support, I feel lots of love from my OWU softball family,” Johnson said.

Sophomore Baylee Small, a member of the softball team, is happy to help Johnson in her time of need.

“I get the opportunity to support her all while playing the game I love, and that’s an indescribable and memorable experience,” she said.

Small described Johnson as an incredibly supportive person. “Shelley is the most selfless person you will ever meet,” Small said.

The team has struggled with not having her around to encourage and support members. “Not having her unmatched humor around recently has been difficult, but we have full confidence that Shelley is gonna beat this and be back in full swing,” Small said. According to Kayla Richard, interim assistant women’s softball coach, the Strike out Cancer event has been affiliated with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association in the past, and that last year, the team worked with Play4theCure, a program created by the National Foundation for Cancer Research. This year, she said, the team is working on its own so that all proceeds raised at the event go to Johnson. The doubleheader will be held at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. at Margaret Sagan Field on April 13. The team will play against Allegheny College, and Johnson will throw the first pitch herself.

OWU fraternity raises money for fellow student and moms foundation

By Leah Crawford

Transcript correspondent

lccrawfo@owu.edu

Men and women of the Ohio Wesleyan University community came together this past Saturday to raise money for U.S. troops, and support one of their own.

The brothers of Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) hosted a soccer tournament for the students of OWU to participate in called Kick It with Fiji on March 30.  The event, benefitting two different organizations, was held in the Edwards Gym due to inclement weather. Each team donated a minimum of $50 to participate with all proceeds being donated to the philanthropic causes.  

“Serving others is one of the main principles of Greek Life but especially for Fiji,” Jordan Auriemma, Fiji’s philanthropy chair said.

The event’s purpose was to raise money for The United Services Organization (USO) and the Heidi Steitz educational fund.  Franklin D. Roosevelt founded USO in 1941 and it currently assists over 4.9 million members of the military and their families.  The donations made to the Heidi Steitz educational fund were made in honor of Heidi Steitz who recently lost her battle with cancer.  

“I love my friends in Fiji and it was so thoughtful of them to donate some of their proceeds to my mom’s educational fund,” Kenzie Steitz, a junior in Delta Delta Delta (TriDelta) at OWU said.  “It means so much to [me] and my family and we greatly appreciate the generosity of the boys of Phi Gamma Delta.”

Members of both the Greek and Non-Greek communities of OWU were invited to participate.  The tournament was held in a round robin style with the semifinals being held at the end of regular play.  Then there was the final game where the ladies of Delta Gamma (DG) took home the gold, winning the tournament overall.

“Fiji’s soccer tournament was such a fun event! I loved being able to participate while being surrounded by the Greek community,” DG sophomore Katie Konopka said.  “Winning definitely felt good but being able to support someone within our own community was what really mattered.”

TriDelta followed DG in second place and the ladies of Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) came in third.