Author: TheTranscript

Hindu festival of lights celebrated

By Reilly Wright, Transcript Correspondant

Laughter, dancing and savory Indian food were common themes in the Benes Rooms on Nov. 13 as Ohio Wesleyan University celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Diwali is one of the largest ancient annual Hindu traditions covering South Asia, celebrating the victory of light over darkness by decorating homes with lights, candles and reworks.

The annual celebration was hosted by Sangam, a student organization that represents and celebrates South Asian culture through cultural events and activities at OWU.

This year’s Diwali had a turnout of about 80 people and has been celebrated for over six years by the OWU community.

“We were told by some people, that have been coming for some time, that this year was better than it had been in the past,” said sophomore Anna Pakrasi, the president of Sangam. “I think the way that we changed it up and made it shorter really helped us.”

Prabh Virk, an OWU alumna that was involved in Diwali, said “Diwali is one of those events that really brings the whole campus together. It’s a chance for the OWU community to experience a new culture. Every year Diwali grows as each group of Sangam leaders add their own are to the event.”

The night began with the history and signi cance of Diwali by Pakrasi and Sangam treasurer Areena Arora. Chaplain Jon Powers also spoke about nding one’s peace and OWU with other cultures.

“I thought it was a really fun night and also really meaningful,” said freshman Sarah Gielink. “They talked about the whole meaning of the holiday and I think that’s really important to make everyone aware of traditions.”

Sangam members led guests to a communal prayer termed puja around a table with Hindu decorations and lift a plate of burning incenses. Traditional Hindu sweets were given to enjoy while people watched and participated.

Desi music, a broad form of South Asian music, pounded through the room as many guests and Sangam members danced together to the upbeat songs and movements.

“I think it’s great that [cultures] are celebrated here,” Gielink said. “I just appreciate that it’s something that is so alive on campus.”

The festival had free Indian food for attendees to eat and enjoy, while Sangam urged guests to take home leftovers afterward. The night ended with the JAYwalk lit up not only by the moon, but the Diwali crowd playing with sparklers.

“Diwali celebrations were a huge part of my OWU experience and I’m glad that current students are able to continue the tradition and community,” Virk said.

 

WCSA Today: Revote

By Gopika Nair, Chief Copy Editor and Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) is holding a rerun of its senator election due to lack of voter turnout Friday, Dec. 2.

WCSA is also funding a “Final Lap” for seniors, inviting the entire Ohio Wesleyan community to Fraternity Hill one last time before graduation.

The council suggested food trucks and drinks alongside the local professor band “Stolen Fire” to play live music. A DJ could also be in attendance and President Rock Jones will give a speech to pass this new- found tradition from one class to the next.

“We need to foster this sense of community … come together [and] celebrate one nal time before we say our goodbyes,” said senior Shashank Sharma.

Members were concerned that after funding around $18,000 for the event that students wouldn’t show up.

“I don’t believe good traditions come from great funding,” said senior and former Class of 2017 representative Andrew Stock.

Elections were held Nov. 11 for executive positions. Voter turnout increased from 7.4 percent to 29.6 percent from last year.

SLUs have also gained access to the student activity fund.

Legal marijuana is growing in business

The fifth annual Marijuana Business Conference and Expo kicked off Nov. 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over 7,500 cannabis industry leaders gathered together to network and learn from one another.

This conference allows for the entire marijuana business ecosystem to be under one roof for a span of three days. Even though the conference is currently sold out, one Ohio Wesleyan University professor was able to snag an open spot.

Since 2015, Justin Breidenbach, assistant professor of accounting, has traveled to leading marijuana growers, producers and retailers across the country in hopes to develop an understanding of the industry from seed to sale.

“My hope is that I can provide information mation from a non-biased and academic approach to better understand the industry and how it is serving stakeholders from an accounting and business view.” Breidenbach said.

Similar to a traditional business, the marijuana industry requires detailed records of products from seed to sale. According to Northwest Cannabis Solutions, the largest recreational marijuana producer/processor in Washington, every seed is barcoded throughout the production process.

As of Nov 8. in the U.S., eight states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, 21 states have legalized the medical use of marijuana and 15 states have legalized limited medical use of marijuana.

As popular as this industry has become, many hindrances still stand in the way of interested parties that want to join the market.

One major issue people have when trying to join the legal marijuana industry is start up capital. Breidenbach pointed out that cash is king in this business due to the fact that banks do not accept money from the marijuana industry because it is federally illegal. This makes it very difficult for interested parties to get loans as well as insurance.

Another issue is that startup costs for a business in the marijuana industry is around four times higher than a traditional business. Breidenbach explained how high startup costs lead to the higher costs of the product in order for the producers to make a profit.

Although pricing is based on market value like a traditional product, the cost of these products are in ated from the very start as a result of high startup costs.

“The market has a lot of room to grow,” Breidenbach said. As the industry continues to expand, producers and lawmakers alike will find that balance in which the government can control and tax the product while still allowing the producers to be pro table.

Breidenbach is one of the leading academics doing research on this topic in the hopes to gain an understanding of the industry.

“Research on this industry is very hard to nd,” Breidenbach said. This is solely due to the fact that the legal marijuana industry itself is so new.

2016 Election Highlights

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

From start to finish, this election has been anything but ordinary. Since candidates first started announcing their campaigns, America has been on one of the wildest political roller coasters in history.

While there have been many surprising moments in this election, some stand out above the rest. These are the most memorable moments from the 2016 election.

Donald Trump announced his candidacy for president. Trump announced he would be running for president at Trump Tower in New York City last June. It began with a long escalator ride down to the stage, followed by the first controversial speech that started it all. In that speech, he first used the slogan, “Make America Great Again,” and made comments about Mexico bringing drugs and crime as well as introduced his idea to build a wall on the border.

Enough of the emails. At the first Democratic Primary Debate, Hillary Clinton was being ques- tioned about her emails when Bernie Sanders stepped in her defense. “The American people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn emails,” Sanders said. The comment came as a surprise as it’s not typical for candidates to defend their opponents on stage.

Trump covered “Hotline Bling.” In an awkward yet hilarious parody on Saturday Night Live, Trump showed off his dance moves while singing a few lines to Drake’s hit song “Hotline Bling.” Marco Rubio made comments about the size of Trumps hands. This moment really was surprising, as up to this point Trump had been the only one making risky remarks. At one of his rallies, Rubio said Trump had small hands.

“And you know what they say about men with small hands,” Rubio said. Trump responded to Rubio’s comments at his rally, assuring his supporters that there was, “no problem.”

Birdie Sanders. At a rally in Portland, a small bird landed on the podium while Sanders was giving a speech. Sanders stopped mid-speech and acknowledged the bird while the audience applauded.

The Clintons’ obsession with fireworks and balloons at the Democratic National Convention. After it was announced Clinton was the nominee, fireworks were launched and Clinton gave an expression as though she had never seen fireworks before. Bill Clinton also seemed to have an obsession with the balloons. After Hillary spoke, he continued to play with the balloons, while people took pictures of him, creating some hilarious candids.

Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. At a fundraiser dinner in New York, both Clinton and rump had the opportunity to make comments in regard to the election.

It was an informal face-off between the candidates and the speeches were intended to be hu- morous. However, both candidates didn’t shy away from using the opportunity to throw some harsh jabs at each other.

Recording of Trump’s com- ments about women. A recording of Trump making vulgar com- ments about women in 2005 surfaced in early October and it was shocking even for Trump.

In the recording,Trump said things such as, “When you’re a star, they let you do it.”

Trump received heavy backlash for the audio clip, even from his supporters.

This election has been controversial from the start, with some moments being hilarious and oth- ers leaving people scratching their heads.

And now that the election is over, Americans may wonder where they will get their entertainment from in the future.

Electing a new president with no right to vote

By Urvija Rishi, Transcript Correspondent

“When Uncle Sam sneezes, the whole world catches a cold” — and this election is nothing if proof of that.

The entire world is waiting with bated breath for the decision of the American people and their stake in this election is not purely for entertainment, but a significant interest in who will hold the most powerful political position arguably in the world.

In the 21st century, with the U.S. at the peak of its political, economic and military power, one does not need to be American to be invested in America.

I do not envy the American people in the choice they have to make.

Unfortunately, a racist bigot and a corrupt manipulator are not ideal, although I understand both their appeal and lack thereof.

On one hand, Trump represents the anti-establishment desires of the American populace and he has successfully preyed on the fear and xenophobia among the grassroots of the population, and enhanced the isolationist predispositions of American civil society, but the fact remains that his credentials to serve as president or in any public office are deeply lacking.

Having said that, I recognize the flaws in the alternative and perhaps Hillary Clinton has not made herself beloved to the masses despite her many attempts to be relatable or “chill.”

But her experience in politics is staggering and her credentials are merit-worthy.

More importantly, when Clinton talks about policies, she has some sort of viable idea or plan for execution, perhaps because she actually has the legislative and policy experience.

While buzzwords like “emails,” “Benghazi” and her pattern of corrupt behavior are deterrents and deal-breakers for many, I think the fundamental question that the American people must ask themselves is whether they need to like their President or whether they need to respect and trust them and their opinions.

I could endlessly wax lyrical about the unrealistic nature of most of Trump’s proposed policies and his blatant use of pseudoscience and rhetoric as a persuasion mechanism. For instance, a trade deficit cannot be used to make sweeping qualitative generalizations about the economy, and a regressive tax system is based on the failed idea of trickle-down economics.

Even in terms of foreign policy, Trump’s eloquent solutions of bombing the Islamic State and advocating for war crimes leave much to be desired, not just in terms of comprehensiveness and practicality, but just general standards of minimal humanity.

To be fair, both the candidates are seemingly quite trigger happy in terms of involvement in war and Clinton’s track record is questionable at best, but who would you want negotiating and representing American interests in the international system—a former Secretary of State who has diplomatic experience or a self-proclaimed businessman extraordinaire who has the “best words”?

Unlike Trump, I do not have the best words to describe how real the fear of him having access to nuclear codes is, but I believe I may be part of the global majority who does not want to leave the fate of all of human civilization in his stubby-fingered hands.

As an invested spectator of this election, the thought of a Trump presidency used to fill me with horrified amusement which slowly turned into genuine panic as I observed the support he garnered by spewing senseless, hateful rhetoric.

If anything, this election reflects the profoundly entrenched prejudices within American society and despite decades of championing liberty and equality, the fact that the American people willingly elected someone who wants to go against everything this country stands for is perhaps more fearinducing than him actually being president.

The Transcript: Will America ever be great again?

By Transcript Staff, Transcript Staff

In June 2015, when Donald Trump, former American game show star, announced his candidacy, it was considered a joke, or at least questioned. But little did we know 17 months later in the wee hours of the morning of Nov. 9 2016, he would become the 45th president of the United States.

As we covered election day results, the news of Trump win- ning at almost 3 a.m. shocked The Transcript office.

Leading up to election day, Trump was not the crowd favorite on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus, losing 45-122 to Hillary Clinton in mock voting organized last week by the Student Involvement Office.

Delaware county’s results sadly did not reflect the same, with Trump winning by 16.1 percent votes. This is the most unpleasant voting result since Brexit this summer.

We all know the famous rhetoric, “I am moving to Canada, if *insert name here* becomes president.”

Many people took that as a joke to express their discontent with the candidates. It no longer is one. Case in point, Canada’s website of immigration and citizenship promptly crashed as results showed Trump’s electoral votes largely outnumber Clinton’s.

Throughout his campainging, Trump repetedly echoed that if elected, he would “make America great again.” He also said, until the very last day, he will not accept the results if he loses, a disgraceful stance to take by a nominee.

A president-elect who brags about sexual assault, spews hate on immigrants in a nation built on immigrants, and talks of the possibility of physical walls, is worryworthy and concerning to The Transcript staff. And we are not alone.

Within less than 24 hours of results being announced, protes- tors have taken to the streets “from South California to the east coast,” according to USA Today.

The only demographic not insulted or disgraced by Trump is white men. It is worth noting that Clinton did in fact win the popular vote by 224,785 votes, while over 15,000 voters chose to vote for Harambe, the dead gorilla. Let that sink in.

In the third and final debate, he casually called Clinton a “nasty woman.” And even if we look past his blatant remarks, his policy promises are concerning.

He vowed to fight “radical Islam,” which he sees as a direct correlation to terrorism. The last we checked, the American Dream did not stigmatize against a religion.

Trump’s presidency is the personification of white supremacy, xenophobia, homophobia and sexism. Delaware resident of 43 years, Dawn Smith in an interview with The Transcript said “Clinton has my vote, but she will not win. She’s a woman … Women are not the head.”

Smith is not alone. Trump’s presidency has clealry shown that no matter how twisted a candidate may be, it’s a lot easier for the while male presidency trend to prevail.

This was a long night of political coverage that ran neck and neck all night. It wasn’t until Clinton called Trump at 2:30 a.m. to concede from the race, that it became official.

Trump lovers and haters were quickly segregated into their respective sides once the results were out as social media opin- ions and creative hashtags were strewed across timelines world-wide.

Between watching election results come in live at the Delaware County Board of Elections and actively hosting radio shows with OWU Radio, the election finally coming to a halt has not even hit us yet.

Voting made easy on and off campus

By Michael Barr, Transcript Correspondent

Only once in one class’s college career does the occasion arise in which Ohio Wesleyan students can cast their vote and unsurprisingly, opinions become evident.

OWU holds consistent with the tradition of small liberal arts college cam- puses being predominately politically liberal, according to the recent campus-wide Mock Voting Results in which Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump 122-45. While only a small scale of students were represented in the Mock Vote, the results provide a thought-provoking perspective of campus life.

Losing by nearly three times as many votes, the question then becomes whether or not the campus is predominately liberal, underrepresented conservatively or that the campus has created a space in which conservative ideology is socially unacceptable.

Non partisan early voting shuttles were provided for jointly by the Politics and Government department and the Student Involvement Office at five different times to provide students transportation to and from the Delaware County Board of Elections.

One can frequently expect to see a plethora of various Clinton apparel strolling across campus, though countable on a single hand is an embroidered “Make America Great Again” slogan. But in regard to verbal support for Clinton, the same can be said.

While college campuses are hardly conservative, any showing of a right-leaning motion seems almost
taboo at OWU, with the overwhelming support for Clinton surely causing the opinions of campus Repub- licans to feel exhaustingly isolated.

As the college demographic represents a crucial portion of voters, registering while at OWU was made as simple as possible, due to a large presence of campaign volunteers.

The early voting process was an easier process for time-strapped students, allowing them the weekend to get to the polls.

Levy for mental health passes

By Gabe Linderman, Transcript Reporter

There were two Delaware, Ohio local levies, one charter amendment and an income tax increase up on the ballot this election day. Two were countywide levies, one was a local tax increase and the last issue was an amendment to the existing city charter. Both levies and the amendment passed, but the tax increase failed.

The first countywide levies will increase financial support of Delaware-Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services, a bi-county organization that provides mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention services.

The levy passed with 65.57 percent of residents for the levy and 34.43 percent against the levy.

It is a five-year levy that will generate an estimated $7.3 million every year for mental health and recovery services in Delaware and Morrow counties.

It will increase yearly property taxes in Delaware County to $29.09 for every $100,000 of property value.

The second countywide levy will renew and increase an existing levy supporting 911 emergency services. The levy passed with 58.95 percent of voters supporting the levy while 34.43 percent were against it.

The levy will increase from $13.18 per every $100,000 of property value to $19.48 per every $100,000 of property value. The additional $1.1 million will allow for continued operations of Delaware County 911 emergency services and expansion as the county continues to grow.

There was also an amendment to the city’s charter that passed. Every eight years, a review commission of nine elec- tors is formed to review and examine the charter.

This year, the commission recommended 34 changes to the charter. All of the changes either modernize the document (removed outdated provisions), clarify parts of the document (removed ambiguity from charter sections), or work to clean up the charter (made the document more readable and under table).

Finally on the ballot was a proposed municipal income tax increase. Voters in Delaware city proper have voted against an increase of their income tax rate from 1.85 percent to 2 percent.

The extra $2.2 million that would have been generated annually would’ve gone towards Moving Delaware Forward, a city project focused on “reducing congestion and improving the overall efficiency of our street network.” The project would have increased the rate at which streets are resurfaced, work on traffic signal timing issues, and increasing parking capacity, among other things.

Delaware County goes red again

By Leah Miza, Photo Editor

Delaware County has been a predominantly red county since 1861, and in this year’s election, so was the state of Ohio.

Delaware has been a republican party vote for around for 150 years, said Andrew Brenner, Ohio state representative. He added that the main issues include regulatory reforms and the Second Amendment.

The heavy agrarian history also played a major role in the patterns of the county.

“I only knew about Delaware County since 1988 when I moved here, but it strikes me that we are originally a farm community and German farmers, particularly in this end of the state of Ohio, based on research Germanic farmers tended to vote Republican since Abraham Lincoln,” said Ohio Wesleyan’s Chaplain Jon Powers.

Ed Helvey, chair of the Delaware County Democrats, said the democrats been losing these races for a long time. Delaware has not elected a democratic county official since 1976.

“He was the only democrat re-elected in more than 100 years,” he said. Brenner said, “We have a lot of good elected officials. Nobody has any complaints about them.”

Powers also noted the southern suburbs from Columbus that are moving north such as Powell, Dublin and Westerville tend to be professionals who also then tend to be republican.

Additionally, Delaware is one of the top 10 counties in the country of people under the age of 40 with an advanced degree, which is a factor that also contributes to the ongoing pattern, according to Helvey.

“We went from agrarian to a sophisticated community overnight,” he said.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s Policies: International Relations

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

As president of the U.S., one of the largest responsibilities is to represent the country on issues of international relations and foreign policy.

On the topic of international relations, Donald Trump takes a stance that conflicts Barack Obama’s tactics. His agenda will likely undo many of the deals and policies that Obama has put in place.

Immigration has been one of the most foreign policy issues Trump’s campaign has addressed.

Trump said he believes that the U.S. needs to take stronger measures in preventing immigration. When he announced his candidacy, he revealed part of his plan includes building a wall across the border between the U.S. and

Mexico and having the Mexican government pay for it.

On the subject of nuclear proliferation and Iran, Trump plans to throw away the Iran Deal. The deal would relieve Iran of $100 billion in international sanctions if it halts its nuclear program.

Trump referred to the deal as, “one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen negotiated in my entire life.”

The Islamic State (IS) is a key issue and Trump has not revealed much about his plan to fight the terrorist organization. He has claimed to have a secret plan that he will not reveal until after his election and that he knows more about IS than U.S. generals do.

He does plan to increase U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria while also working with the military of European and Arab countries.

National security is an issue that Trump will take a big stand on. His policies will include keeping the Guantanamo Bay detention center open and using interrogation tactics like waterboarding on people suspected of terrorism.

Where North Korea is concerned, Trump plans to put pressure on China to urge North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons development program.

In January, Trump told Fox, “China has total control over North Korea. And China should solve that problem. And if they don’t solve the problem, we should make trade very difficult for China.”

Trump plans to continue U.S. support of Israel. He hopes to be a medium in negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

Russia is an issue on which Trump differs greatly from many Americans, especially Republicans.

According to Business Insider, Trump has repeatedly praised Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has suggested that Putin is a better leader than Obama and when Putin praised Trump, he happily received the support.

Trump has heavily criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and wants to encourage European countries to put its own pressure on Russia for its attempted intervention in Ukraine.

Cuba is one issue that Trump and Clinton have not differed on this election. Trump will continue what Obama has started in lifting the Cuban embargo and establishing normal diplomatic relations with the country.