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OWU professor of 28 years passes away

By The Transcript Staff

Ohio Wesleyan professor of 28 years, Kim Lance passed away the evening of Nov. 3.

Lance “became ill as he was leaving campus and passed away at Grady Hospital shortly afterwards,” said an email from President Rock Jones Nov. 4.

President Rock Jones sent a campus-wide email on Nov. 8 telling students of Dr. Kim Allen Lance’s memorial service.

He said the service will be held on Friday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. at the Delaware Asbury United Methodist Church located at 55 W. Lincoln Avenue.

The Delaware Police Department was contacted via 911 at 6:18 p.m. on Nov. 3 and an ambulance arrived at the Schimmel-Conrades Science Center at 6:24 p.m, according to the Delaware City Police incident run sheet.

Lance is survived by his wife Judy and three children, James, Marie and Paul, according to his faculty bio on the OWU website. He was 56 years old.

Professor Kim A. Lance. Photo via Facebook

In a Facebook post shared by his wife Judy Maxwell, the family has asked not to be contacted at this time as they plan to post information about memorial services when plans are made.

A professor of chemistry, Lance was teaching two sessions of CHEM 110 (General Chemistry I) courses along with a lab this semester with a combined enrollment of 58 students. He was also teaching an Independent Studies course.

Chaplains and counselors will be available, Jones said in his email.

Jones said, “I am especially mindful of those of you who were students of Dr. Lance. Provost Stinemetz and the faculty in the chemistry department will work together to support you as you complete the semester.”

Counseling Services is open for walk-in appointments at 11 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They are open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. everyday and can be reached at 740-368-3145.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

*last updated Nov. 8 at 6:27 a.m.

The BEAT: Zeds Dead visits Newport Music Hall

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Electronic music fans gathered at the Newport Music Hall for a sold-out show put on by artist Zeds Dead.

Newport, located right next to the Ohio State campus, welcomed concertgoers Oct. 6 for a night of loud music and intricate light shows.

Zeds Dead is an electronic music duo comprising Dylan Mamid and Zachary Rapp-Rovan, both from Toronto, Canada.

The two producers make music ranging from house to dubstep, with some hip hop as well. They came to Columbus as part of their nationwide “Northern Lights” tour, named after their album that was released on Oct. 14.

Electronic artists Unlike Pluto and Ghastly opened for Zeds Dead. The two acts got the crowd moving, but the party really started when Zeds Dead hit the stage.

Zeds Dead brought its own light system that added elaborate visuals to the entire show. The venue was packed all the way to the wall in the back, but that did not stop anyone from dancing and getting into the music.

A handful of students from Ohio Wesleyan attended the event, one of whom was Caroline Hamlin. She said she went with a group of OWU students and had a memorable night.

“Seeing Zeds Dead was an unforgettable experience,” Hamlin said. “I danced all night with my friends and it was really a bonding experience for all of us.”

Early voting information important for students

By Cirrus Robinson, Transcript Reporter

As voting registration for Ohio ended Oct. 11, the outreach efforts of Jenny Holland, assistant professor of politics and government at Ohio Wesleyan, and several students came to a close.

The upcoming presidential election called for serious fervor from campus political teams ensure that students had access to voter information and accurate registration.

Early voting in Ohio begins Oct.12 and ends Nov. 7. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8th. OWU Daily and corresponding emails from Holland and other campus outlets will update students on what they need to do before and on Election Day.

Tables spread throughout campus provide forms and information to make an early election choice.

A valid ID and complete registration are the only requirements to cast an early vote. Absentee ballot applications can be completed and printed online for those who are not currently registered to vote in Delaware, and students can submit ballots until the end of polls closing a Election Day.

Tables in the lobbies of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, Beeghly Library and OMSA provided students with registration forms and information about changing their addresses right up to Tuesday when opportunities closed.

The U.S. provides flexibility during election season in allowing a voter to choose either their home state or the state in which they currently reside to register.

This allows college campuses to ensure all students, particularly OWU with high national and international enrollment, can be prepared.

Holland stressed the importance of proof of residency and signing up under the correct OWU address to ensure that students are not left with any gaps in their eligibility come November.

Those who registered to vote in the spring with different dorm addresses were also encouraged to update their information and ensure that everyone was able to make their mark in the presidential race.

Students can check their voting status to make sure they were properly registered at either a Board of Elections website correlating with their address or at My Voter Information at voterlookup.sos.state.oh.us.

Open mic switches venue

By Leah Miza, Photo Editor

Ohio Wesleyan students have hosted open mic nights for the past four years at Choffey’s Coffee and Confections, located in downtown Delaware. This year, the event started off right next door at Endangered Species Records.

Jake Myers, employee of Choffey’s, said the reasoning behind this switch was based on a fee that businesses must pay in order to play someone else’s music in the establishment.

“The money they pay goes to the musicians [who] own the songs,” he said. “The return that Choffey’s was getting from hosting the open mic wasn’t enough to keep hosting it again this year.”

Patrick Bailey, owner of Endangered Species Records, volunteered to host the open mic. “I think this is a great place for it. It’s much bigger, it’s more comfortable, it’s a music place,” he said.

Bailey said OWU students don’t know the record store exists, so he mentioned the possibility of expanding the open mic to twice a month.

“It’s the last Friday, which means Ohio Wesleyan will be here for … October, but they won’t be here for November or December, so we might fix that a little bit,” he said.

Senior James Ormerod, OWU student and open mic host, said by having the open mic at Endangered Species Records, they are helping with advertising the business and, in return, gaining the space.

“I think hosting it at a record store brings the focus onto the music, too, which is really what it is all about,” he said.

The first show was a success. “We were all really happy with how many people came out and purchased something from the store,” Ormerod said. “The level of musicianship was awesome to see as well. Since it went so well we’re definitely going to host it there again in October.”

OWU Mission program renamed

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

The University Chaplain’s Office will send Ohio Wesleyan students around and outside the country with Interfaith Service Trips this year.

Student-lead teams will visit cities such as New Orleans, San Diego, Washington D.C, Pittsburgh and Columbus.

One team will also visit the Lakota Nation, a Native American tribe in South Dakota, and another team will do service in Bucerias, Mexico.

In past years, Interfaith Service trips have been known as mission trips. Chad Johns, associate chaplain and director of spring break mission week, said the change in title stems from the sometimes bad connotation associated with the word “mission.”

“For some, especially those who are not a part of the Christian tradition, the term ‘mission’ carries connotations of colonialism and forced conversion, which is, of course, the opposite of what our program seeks to do,” Johns said. “We decided to seek out other language that would be less problematic to our community while still retaining the sense that these service teams are being organized out of the Chaplain’s Office.”

The purpose of the teams is to provide service to a variety of people and organizations while also educating students on different cultures and cities around the globe.

Junior Shashank Sharma is serving as a leader of the team heading to Mexico this year. He said he visited Mexico last year for a winter internship and it inspired him to design a service trip that would return there.

“I had an amazing experience in Mexico last year and I hope to help my team have the same in the spring,” Sharma said.

“This program opens a doorway to diverse perspectives that you can’t find anywhere else.”

OWU has also been recognized nationally for its work in the Interfaith community.

The OWU “mission trips” that have been serving the globe for more than 2 decades have been a huge part of the interfiath community on campus, as students of all faith backgrounds serve together for a week.

There is a new local team this year serving at a local mosque, Noor Mosque, in which the team members come from multiple different faith and non-faith back- grounds.

“Service is where different faiths collide, several have the mission of serving others. I’m a leader for the Noor Islamic Cultural Center team working in Columbus because I want to learn more about the service the Muslim community is already involved in, engage in their projects, and promote the mission of the Interfaith movement,” said Olivia Lease, one of two student leaders of the Noor interfaith service team.

WCSA Today: New furniture added to dorms

By Transcript Staff

New furniture will be added to Smith, Hayes and Welch Halls through the funding of the Wesleyan Council of Student Affairs (WCSA).

The Furniture Resolution, proposed by Dwayne Todd, the vice president of student engagement and success, will introduce study tables, chairs and soft seating to the residential halls at the cost of $164,000.

“This is not our job, but I think that we are all in agreement that we are making a step beyond that … we have this opportunity to step in where someone else has fallen short … it could have a really immediate impact on the student experience,” said Sam Schurer, the vice president of WCSA.

A Gaming Resolution was also passed, al- locating $4,000 to the Bishop Gamers Project. Two Xboxes, Playstations and Wiis, along with an assortment of popular games will be avail- able for students to rent from the library.

WCSA also funded a visitation from Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, a program that focuses on gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry.

The musical “Fun Home” was approved and the date will be announced in the coming months.

Anna Flagg humanizes data

By Alanna Henderson, Transcript Correspondent

On Oct. 5, Anna Flagg was a guest speaker at Ohio Wesleyan’s Sagan National Colloquium lecture series called “Data In Our Lives” and spoke about the importance of humanizing data.

‘Changing region, changing lives’ by the Washington Post is an example to humanize data, according to Flagg.

Flagg studied mathematics and computer science at the University of Toronto and received her master’s degree from the University of British Columbia in human and computer interaction. She began working with these skills in industries such as Silicon Valley, but soon came to the realization that was not where she wanted to work.

Flagg spent four months freelancing and became a data journalist. Flagg said, “I’ve always wanted to use what I love to do, math and art to help myself and hopefully others better understand things that are important for us to understand.”

Flagg is a data journalist and interactive reporter for the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization about those affected by the criminal justice system.

She has covered NSA surveillance, campaign finance, military spending,and the environment for other news organizations including Al Jazeera, ProPublica and the Center for Responsive Politics.

Senior Matt Maier attended Flagg’s presentation. Maier said, “I thought how she did her presentation was very interesting. I was confused at times, but I thought it was interesting as to how she corresponded the data with journalism.”

Her presentation covered what steps it takes to humanize data in journalism and how that can create larger emotional impacts on readers. In an article published by the New York Times titled ‘Creativity vs. Quants,’ it explains that data is ‘antithetical to creativity’ and that data is actually lacking in humanity and is dehumanizing.

Data journalism is heavy on visual aspects and journalists like Flagg feel it is important to make numbers more than just a number. Instead, data journalists want readers torealize the statistic is not just a number, but a person.

Flagggave the example of a dot – a dot in data represents a person, but in reality, that person is so much more than a dot.

The steps to humanizing data include data collection, analyzing the data, the delivery of the data and lastly, the presentation of the data.

Examples of humanizing data in journalism ranged from looking inside a virtual torture prison in Syria to the songs a girl listened to through important stages in her life.

“Data is just a tool, like any other tool. It can be used however you want,” Flagg said.

Delta Tau Delta honors BranchRickey

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Delta Tau Delta (Delt) Fraternity celebrated their 150th anniversary as a chapter at Ohio Wesleyan over the weekend of October 8.

Alumni and Delt national leaders came from around the country to take part in the festivities starting with the rededication of the house on Saturday morning.

The house, known to Delts as the Shelter, was rededicated in honor of Branch Rickey. Rickey was an OWU and Mu Delt alumni who signed the first African-American player to Major League Baseball.

Blake Andrews, president of Mu Chapter, said the decision to rededicate the Shelter to Rickey was an easy one.

“Branch Rickey represents the values and ideas that all Delts are committed to,” Andrews said. “The impact he had on racial equality in the United States made him the obvious choice when deciding who to honor in our Shelter’s rededication.”

Following the event the chapter had an open house where visitors could view the new renovations done in the house’s living room and library. The house improvements were carried out through a generous donation from an alumni.

That evening a formal dinner was held in the Benes room of the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Many Delts and alumni were honored at the dinner and a number of people spoke including OWU president, Rock Jones.

A special Delt ritual known as “Rite of Eyris” was performed by active members of the chapter. The ritual involved teaching the principles that the fraternity was founded on in a formal ceremony.

The Mu Chapter is one of the oldest fraternities at OWU along with being one of the oldest chapters of Delta Tau Delta nationally.

Dittrick House dedication

By Leah Miza, Photo Editor

On Oct. 6, people gathered around the Inter- faith and Sage house, in dedication of the new establishment to donor and board of trustees member, Douglas Dittrick.

Dittrick said he was happy and ready to contribute to the SLUs. “Being on the board, you’re aware of the needs for our residential housings. We want to upgrade and make it a better place,” he said.

President Rock Jones added, “His gift to fund Dittrick House reflects that passion and his interest in supporting the improvement of student housing on campus.”

The new structures, however, are not only providing tangible worth, but are also enhanc- ing the goals associated with SLUs.

“SLUs are not defined by their physi- cal spaces; they’re defined by the people in

them and their missions, but having a physical space that is nicer makes our mission so much easier,” said Emma Drongowski, trustee.

As SLUs were sort of “tucked” into campus, Drogowski said she believes the new location will attract the community in understanding SLUs but also encourage joining them. “Every- time you walk to and from class, you can see … this is a new building, it’s a cool place to live and it piques interest,” she said.

Jones said, “The Dittrick House is a fabu- lous addition to our campus that will serve students for generations to come. The SLU community is an important element of campus life. Students in Dittrick House will share their passions with one another and with the campus in ways that contribute greatly to our educa- tional mission.”

“The enthusiasm of the students who are here is very warming to the heart and certainly makes it all worthwhile,” Dittrick said.

Professor talks film adaptation

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Robert Olmstead, director of OWU’s creative writing program, has attracted the attention of directors and writers for his book “Far Bright Star.”

Damien Ober, a writer who has worked in television and film, adapted the novel into a screenplay.

On Sept. 2, Ober joined Olmstead for a panel discussion in the Bayley Room of Beeghly Library to talk
about the book and the film adaptation currently in the works. The authors covered subjects like Olmstead’s inspi- ration for the book and the process of turning a novel into a screenplay.

The book takes place in 1916 and tells the story of Napoleon Childs, a U.S. cavalryman in the military who leads an expedition into Mexico to hunt down Pancho Villa, a Mexican revolutionary.

Olmstead published the book in 2009 and it caught Ober’s attention when his agent referred it to him. Ober said he was impressed by the book and felt he could easily make it into an exciting screenplay.

The movie will be directed by Casey Affleck, an actor and director known for his roles in movies such as “Good Will Hunting” and “Gone Baby Gone.”

Joaquin Phoenix, known for his performance in “Gladiator,” will be starring in the film. The movie is still in the preproduction stage, but the movie could be released as early as 2017.