TheTranscript – Page 23 – The Transcript

Let peace and justice ring

Leia Miza, Transcript Reporter

A 200-pound bell, made by senior Owen Kelling, will be settled in front of Elliott Hall over spring break.

The creation of the bell was initially a house project for the Peace and Justice House (P&J). Kelling decided to create this piece in order to represent both the house and school curriculum.

“[Kelling] signed up for an independent study last fall and elected to work on a commemorative bell celebrating 30 years of the Peace and Justice House,” said Jon Quick, part-time professor of fine arts.

The bell has two different sayings: “For Peace and Justice” and “A Coeli Usque ad Centrum,” which is Latin for “to the sky from the center of the earth.”

“It’s a phrase from old Roman property tax code,” Kelling said. “It was a literal definition of infinite personal property. In this context, it’s more figurative and spiritual [of] peace and justice everywhere.”

The frieze embedded on the bell was another reference to the P&J house. “It’s a charcoal rubbing I took of the radiator that’s in my room at pj and then retraced it on the plaster and carved the shape in the plaster so it’s from scratch,” said Kelling.

Kelling cast the bell this past October. “The final cast was a little disappointing due to significant breakout in the cast. But [Kelling] put in untold hours of work, as did I, providing troubleshooting and assistance throughout the entire process,” said Quick.

The bell got recognition after a house meeting at P&J with President Rock Jones.

“Owen has done a great job of promoting his efforts and apparently got the attention of Rock Jones and others who deemed it an appropriate and timely addition to the campus landscape,” Quick said.

The bell tower will be positioned 20 feet over from Elliot, will stand at 11 feet and ring the D note. Kelling mentioned that the bell might ring for commencement this coming May.

Camille Mullins-Lemieux, a resident of P&J, spoke highly of her housemate. “I think that we were excited when we found out he was making the bell. As he made it over the months, the excitement grew. He would bring molds and drawings to house meetings and we would all be in awe each time.”

Mullins-Lemieux said the project was a way to preserve the legacy of P&J.

“It will be here forever and it will be maintained as a landmark,” Kelling said. “It’s going to ring for every single person that goes here forever. That’s really one of those augmentation things I really didn’t expect.”

Students take over OWU’s snapchat

Ela Mazumdar, Transcript Reporter

Snapchat, with its growing popularity, has swept over Ohio Wesleyan’s campus and is telling OWU’s story all over social media.

The account was launched in the summer and gave students who were not on campus a glimpse of Merrick Hall and its renovations.

Initially, the app’s usage underwent a trial period and a few students were asked to try it out to gauge people’s responses.

“I like OWU Snapchat because I think it’s a way to connect with the current student body and encourage pride in our campus,” said senior Venessa Menerey.

Senior Julia Stone, who runs the OWU Snapchat, said it was challenging at first because she was unsure of what to include.

“Luckily, my friends were full of good ideas such as footage from an open mic at Choffey’s or the opening of an art show in Edgar Hall,” Stone said.

Stone said she enjoyed the experience because it forced her to get out of the comfort of her room and to “seek out adventure, fun and excitement at OWU during homework breaks.”

Since the initial trial period, the “My Story” feature on Snapchat has gotten about 140 viewers. Jessica Vogel, the student social media intern at the communications office, said she hopes this number will grow with time.

Students have used Snapchat for seven days to actively tell the OWU story and give a clear depiction of some of the events that happen on campus on a regular basis.

The mission of the weekly takeover is “to be flexible as we explore the best way for students to share their ‘My Story’ with classmates and future students,” Vogel said. “We want to create a program that is more than just a ‘take-over Tuesday.’ We want to see a real week in the life of an OWU student.”

The OWU Snapchat has one intention with this new social media account.

“The main goal of the account is to spread a sense of community and reach out to prospective students in a way that is authentic and fun,” Vogel said.

So far, some of the users of the account include Nicole Sanczyk, Stone and Emily Feldmesser, the chair of public relations during Mock Convention.

Lacrosse players also used the app to show what athletes on campus experience regularly. To add OWU’s Snapchat account, download Snapchat and add the account ohiowesleyan.

Get to know Big E

Photo courtesy of Facebook.com — Photo courtesy of facebook.com

Ela Mazumdar, Transcript Reporter

Erik Brewer or “Big E” is a barista at Ohio Wesleyan for Chartwells. But to OWU students, faculty and staff, he is much more than that. He is a mentor, a friend and inspiration.

Brewer has been an essential character in shaping the lives of students for 16 years since he began working at OWU.

“Big E is an OWU icon whose talents go far beyond latte-making,” said senior Mary Suttmeier.

Suttmeier also said Brewer is a special person who always makes her laugh. He factored into her decision to stay at OWU when she considered transferring.

“He is loved as equally as he is lovable. He is an amazing, kind, hilarious person,” Suttmeier said.

Brewer’s relationships at OWU go beyond the students.

Natalie Kalista, one of Brewer’s coworkers, said, “Other people call him Big E, but I call him Big Brother … just because we have worked together over the past 10 or 13 years since I have been here.”

She added that he’s a positive role model who takes joy in interacting with the students.

“When I see him, he just makes my day better and he’s got his little quirks like the rest of us, but he makes me happy and I would be sad without him!”

Brewer began working at OWU when his mother-in-law asked him to help deliver pizzas in Welch Hall.

“I was like, ‘I’m not serving any pizza to any kids. You must be out of your mind.’ But then I changed my mind, gave it a shot and met students who inspired me and made me laugh everyday … I was able to find my family here.”

Brewer said the library café in Beeghly Library was where he remembered connecting with students the most. He would play different kinds of music and the students would gather there. It also gave him the opportunity to meet new freshmen.

“This was a social hour where we really got to know each other and everyone felt comfortable having their own separate conversations while still enjoying the music.”

Brewer is not just a friend, but also a mentor to OWU students.

“Your 20s are about all about you and figuring out who that is while still being confused and yet having a lot of fun and making mistakes which you can use to shape you in the future,” he said.

Sagan series is talking trash

Ross Hickenbottom, Sports Editor

The 2016 Sagan National Colloquium speaker series kicked off on Jan. 27 with Ohio Wesleyan geography department’s John Krygier introducing Sarah Moore who presented “Tracking trans-national hazardous waste trading: methodological problems and partial solutions.”

Moore is an assistant professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the co-author of “Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction.”

She earned funding from the National Science Foundation to work with other primary investigators to analyze created data tracking hazardous substances swapped for disposal and recycling among the North American countries: Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

“(We) have some suspicions where maybe an organization like the EPA that might not be doing their jobs,” she said, citing the Flint Michigan pollution epidemic as an example.

The shakiness of reliability reveals itself when “the EPA is writing to me asking how they’re doing regulating hazardous waste,” Moore added.

This particular speech is one of a series of five talks all reviewing separate environmental issues in the western perspective that has been backed by a $50,000 Exploration Grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to collaborate with multiple universities in places like Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.

All universities involved study eastern as well as western concepts of waste and how countries in the western hemisphere, particularly Asia, work to reduce waste.

Junior environmental studies major Carter Rae, who enjoyed the informational speech by Moore said, “Most people think that when you throw something away, it goes to the local landfill. But in reality, there is a global and complex economy built around that ‘waste.’ The image of waste is not as garbage but as a commodity.”

Rae also believes more people should become educated on issues such as this, since it impacts the world on such a large scale.

President Rock Jones attended the speech as well and thought “it was fascinating to learn more about how hazardous waste moves in and out of the country and how it’s concentrated in certain regions of our country.”

“I think (Moore) did a wonderful job addressing these issues, which are so detrimental to the world today,” President Jones added.

The remaining Sagan National Colloquium speeches will be taking place on Feb. 4 and 22 as well as April 11 and 18 in either the third floor of Merrick Hall or in Benes Room B in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center.

Olmstead goes from print to screen

Ross Hickenbottom, Sports Editor

Ohio Wesleyan’s Robert Olmstead has teamed up with two Hollywood in-laws, Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck to create a film based on his novel “Far Bright Star.”

Olmstead is an “established writer of fiction,” with four novels under his belt, short stories as well as numerous articles published in magazines and journals.

He is a New Hampshire native, who grew up on a farm and enjoyed outdoor activities like fishing. He graduated with two degrees from Syracuse University.

Before becoming the director of Ohio Wesleyan’s creative writing program, he served as a senior writer at Dickinson College in PA as well as Boise State University.

“Far Bright Star” is the first part of a series, consisting of three novels.

“There are three books, and in my mind they are a trilogy. ‘Coal Black Horse,’ ‘Far Bright Star’ and ‘The Coldest Night’ are loosely connected,” Olmstead said.

“They are about these three generations of a family and has to do with the legacy and inheritance of war. It interests me how in some families, war passes down through them as a trade or occupation if you will,” he continued.

Professor Olmstead received his inspiration for the series from a trip he took back in 1997.

“It started back in probably ’97. I was down in Georgia hunting wild boar, and there were all of these guys I was hanging out with, and this goes back to the early 90s and these fathers, sons and grandsons were just waiting around for the next war, you know? It really got me thinking about this legacy of violence, inheritance of war,” he explained.

Olmstead feels as if it’s embedded into the American psychology that a son follows a father in a path of occupation, but making war is a “whole different story.”

The problem is, though, according to him, that in America, we don’t see ourselves as a nation of warriors, so it makes for a much more riveting and interesting topic.

Before the inspiration developed, moving Olmstead to write this certain series of novels, or anything else he has constructed, he was a kid who loved to read.

“At a very young age, novels, short stories, fiction, were very, very important to me,” he said.

“I just remember at a young age, just thinking; ‘wouldn’t it be great to do for some people, what some of these people have done for me?’ It’s like giving back, returning the favor,” Olmstead reminisced.

The story involves the visit of an aging cavalryman who leads a group of young men on a hunt for Pancho Villa. It takes place in 1916 and captured the attention of director Casey Affleck.

Affleck, who directed “I’m Still Here” and “The Book of Charles,” and acted in “Manchester by the Sea,” “Interstellar” and “Gone Baby Gone,” is the younger brother of Ben Affleck. He described it as a “beautifully written story on pain and loss in the drive and resilience one finds within themselves to continue through the day.”

Affleck, in the midst of starting a new production company, approached Olmstead in 2014 and gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Contracts were signed in November 2014, the screenwriter finished his sample and just this past October, Olmstead received the screenplay.

“It blew me away,” he said. “It was extremely powerful.”

It was announced that Joaquin Phoenix, known for his roles in “Gladiator” and “Walk the Line,” would play the lead role in November 2015.

Olmstead admitted that it was a strange coincidence, having Joaquin Phoenix star in his production because he starred in one of Olmstead’s colleague’s films, “Buffalo Soldiers.”

Olmstead looks forward to the release of “Far Bright Star,” and the positive impact the publicity will have on OWU, which has already started.

Chris Mondon, OWU graduate, is familiar with Olmstead’s work, and “can’t wait for the movie to be released.”

“I love Joaquin Phoenix and this whole storyline,” he said.

The production process is still in action, and release information will be communicated within the year.

MLK: a legacy to remember

By Courtney Dunne, Copy Editor
On Jan. 18, many children enjoyed their days off relaxing at home, while Ohio Wesleyan University was up bright and early to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day at breakfast.

Many members of the Delaware community like police officers, local churches and political organizations such as the Delaware Republicans joined the OWU community in recognizing this holiday.

Gregory Moore ’76, an OWU alum, was the guest speaker. “King was committed to fighting racism, militarism and materialism. He deplored war, poverty and prejudice,” said Moore. He continued to speak about issues of race and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

All of the proceeds from the breakfast go to a scholarship fund, which provides a local high school student with funds toward college tuition. The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Celebration Committee has been awarding this scholarship for 23 years.

Among the students in attendance at breakfast was OWU student Miranda Anthony ‘18. “This event brought all four corners of the Delaware community together socioeconomically as well as racially,” said Anthony.

Next year Ohio Wesleyan will also have Martin Luther King Jr. Day off to observe his contribution to our society.

Remembering Brandon Sega

By Sara Hollabaugh, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The tragic death of a beloved friend invites shared memories and a petition to keep drunk drivers off the road.

Brandon Sega ’13 was killed Dec. 31, 2015 in a two-car accident.

Jason Lonneman ’14 and Rebecca Muhl ’13 were also in the car with Sega, which left Lonneman seriously injured.

According to NBC4, the graduates were hit by Daniel Merz, who has had alcohol convictions prior to the accident on New Year’s Eve.

In an email addressed to the Ohio Wesleyan community, President Rock Jones spoke highly of Sega.

“Brandon was an exceptional young man who will be remembered for his artistic talents, his success as a varsity baseball player and his involvement with Sigma Phi Epsilon,” Jones said.

OWU’s baseball coach, Tyler Mott, had countless things to say about Sega as well.

“I can’t say enough good things about him,” Mott said. “I got to know him his senior year in high school. We recruited him and he was a joy.”

“[I knew him] his last year in high school, his years in college and the last two years,” Mott said. “He was one of the most hardworking players that I’ve been around. [He was] talented, not just with baseball, but in so many other areas. Well spoken, bright and artistic.”

Mott said the athletic department and baseball team will honor Sega this spring.

“We’re going have a celebration where we honor him during one of our home games,” Mott said.

“There will also be a permanent sign put in the outfield for him and his family.”

In the wake of Sega’s death, Mott has spoken to the current baseball team about his former player.

“We just had our first team meeting of the spring and we talked about [Brandon],” Mott said. “And we brought out one of the game hats. Our guys have to earn their hats and we talked about what they resemble, including the players that came before them.”

Sega’s life has been celebrated over many social media platforms and talked about among his former peers, teammates and friends.

Friend and Sig Ep brother Ibrahim Santana ’15 said the only way to describe Sega is that he was the light of [the brothers’] lives and every life that he was a part of.

“I rarely saw him angry or upset; he didn’t let little things get to him,” Santana said. “He really lived his life to the fullest.”

Charles Cooper ’15 played baseball with Sega and is also a brother in the Sig Ep fraternity.

“I first met Brandon in high school,” Cooper said. “He was always texting me, wondering how my recruiting process was going. He even hosted me for my overnight even though he was a sophomore and the recruits usually stayed with freshmen.”

Cooper said he has many fond memories of Sega and their time on the baseball team together at OWU.

“The earliest memories I have of him were at our morning practices for baseball [my freshman year],” Cooper said. “He would throw the ball as hard as he could during our drills, especially when he was throwing to me or other freshmen. He thought it was funny seeing how scared we were to catch the ball when it was coming in that fast.”

Cooper said that Sega was really just a great person to be around.

“There was never a dull moment with him because he loved to talk about everything,” Cooper said. “He was always genuinely interested in what you were doing. It was clear that everybody he met or talked to was fond of him as there was an estimated 3,000 people at his wake.”

Cooper added that he hopes people remember Sega for his positive spirit and unparalleled work ethic.

In response to Merz’ alleged drunk driving, Cooper and Michael Jeffers are petitioning the Ohio State Senate, where they are calling for tough punishment for drinking and driving.

“I feel like it is appropriate for how dangerous the crime is,” Cooper said. “As we’ve seen, it can take the life of an incredible human being.”

To view the petition, go here.

Bishops third in NCAC all-sport championship, trailing DePauw, Denison

By: Ross Hickenbottom, Transcript Correspondent

All seven fall sports NCAC championships have been decided, placing DePauw University in first, Denison University in second and Ohio Wesleyan trailing the pack in third. The Tigers of DePauw captured their first-ever NCAC title in women’s soccer and took second place in both field hockey and football, while placing third in men’s soccer; women’s cross country and volleyball, wrapping up the fall sports season with a total of 56.5 points, a nine-point lead over Denison (47.5) and a ten and a half point lead over OWU (46.0).

Denison, with a half-point lead over Ohio Wesleyan, earned top five finishes in six fall sports, including women’s soccer placing second for the Big Red’s top team finish of the season. Ohio Wesleyan placed two teams, men’s soccer and volleyball, in second place in the conference for the season to gain a four-point lead over the fourth place team, Kenyon.

OWU Athletics Director Roger Ingles explained that Denison, DePauw and Ohio Wesleyan are a typical top three in the NCAC All-Sports Championship race approaching the winter sports season, but has confidence in teams such as the men’s basketball squad to pull out another conference championship, rearranging the order, and hopefully placing OWU on the top of the podium at the end of the winter sports season.

In the history of the NCAC, OWU leads the pack in terms of total conference championships, with 145, Denison in second (130) and Allegheny falling behind in third (113), but in fact, has not won an all-sports title, outright, since the 2007-08 season. The past several years, DePauw and Denison have teetered the title.

Returning starter, and Freshman of the Year in the NCAC men’s basketball poll, Nate Axelrod has ‘high expectations’ for the team this year, and believes they can repeat, adding to the All-Sports race effort, but explained, “we just need to take it one game at a time and stay focused to reach our goal.”

Looking forward to spring, Doug Sanders, a dual-sport athlete and junior, playing both football

and baseball, has high hopes for the baseball team, believing they can bring a championship back to Delaware.

“I believe this team has the hunger and drive in order to win the NCAC Tournament, as well as making some noise in the NCAA tourney. It should be a great year for Ohio Wesleyan baseball,” he said.

With that, OWU athletes look to turn the race results around with the winter and spring sports seasons, surpassing DePauw and Denison.

First Friday festivities are big hit

By: Jordyn Hollenbeck, Transcript Correspondent

The horse-drawn carriage, the visit to Santa’s house and the popular tree lighting ceremony.

Every December, the Delaware community unites to celebrate the Christmas season.

On the first Friday of every month, a non-profit organization named Main Street Delaware hosts events to bring the community together. Some of the group’s events throughout the year have included “Celebrate Health with Friends”, “Picnic with the Cops” and “Chalk It Up.”

The most popular Friday event of the year has always been the December event according to the event’s photographer, John Holliger.

He refers to the event as a place to “learn to know our neighbors in a fun way,” Holliger said.

He spoke highly of this month’s event: the atmosphere is “revitalizing” with a constant “young attitude” and an air of positivity in all of the social interactions he sees.

“Everyone wants to contribute in town,” Holliger said, talking about the community leaders and townspeople alike.

Holliger has been taking pictures for the Main Street Delaware events for years; he explained how he now prepares for the December event, now that he has years of experience.

He has learned to pack two different cameras before making his way through the crowded streets—one on each hip—Holliger said, with several different kinds of lenses to capture the “uniting of community.”

For the past couple of events, he has also dragged a 6-ft ladder behind him throughout the night; he does not want to miss any opportunities for good pictures, Holliger said.

During the monthly celebrations, local shops and restaurants must go through lots of preparation to make their businesses as inviting as they can for the newcomers. The majority of the shops utilize this event to advertise their business. Yet the preparation is not as exciting or easy as the actual festivities; one local restaurant owner described the confusion that the events often bring.

Richard Upton of J. Gumbo’s enjoys the events and likes bringing in local performers to play in his restaurant, he said, making it a good place to dine and to relax. It is not stressful, he said, but the days leading up to Friday can be fairly confusing.

Many of the businesses won’t know what blocks are shut down during the event and which ones will stay open until a couple days before, Upton said, and owners need to know if their business will be accessible to foot traffic—and exposure—or if they will be outside of the main festival area.

Despite this adversity during preparation, the Christmas First Friday event is one of the best, Upton said.

“There is always a giving feeling [in the community],” John Holliger said. “It is great being surrounded with feelings of generosity and gratitude for our town.”

Chamber Choir fills Gray Chapel with song and applause

By: Beth Ward, Transcript Correspondent

The voices of 60 Ohio Wesleyan students filled the chambers of Gray Chapel as the Choral Art Society and Chamber Choir performed their winter concert.

The Choral Art Society and the Chamber Choir performed on Sunday Dec. 6 from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. The choir is made up of OWU students ranging from freshmen to graduating seniors.

The concert was the first performance of the choir for the 2016 school year. They will be performing again in Gray Chapel in the coming spring.

The Choral Art Society is conducted by Christopher Dent and the Chamber Choir is conducted by Jason Hiester. Each choir is made up of four groups, the bass, the tenor, the sopranos and the altos.

The Choral Art Society is an open choir for anyone who wants to join while the Chamber Choir is an audition only choir. About 15 students make up the Chamber Choir for the 2016 school year.

Each choir performed a series of songs on Sunday. The Choral Art Society sang eight songs with a small break between every two in which conductor Dent explained what the next two songs were about.

The Choral Art Society ended their part of the concert at 3:45 p.m. Leading into a 15 minute intermission before the Chamber Choir took the stage.

The Chamber Choir performed five songs from Edward Elgar, a famous composer between the years of 1857 an 1934. He composed “The Spirt of the Lord is upon me (The Apostles, Op.48),” which the choir opened with.

Elgar’s Apostle was accompanied by the organ that was played by Joshua Brodbeck. “The organ gave an interesting tone to the song. It sounded beautiful, but left me with a slight weary feeling in my stomach,” said Melissa Smith, former OWU student class of 2014.

Heister led the Chamber Choir through four more songs ending the concert with “The Dance.”

“The Dance was a more lively song compared to the first. It had a very upbeat rhythm and left the audience on a happy note, it was an excellent way to end the concert,” said Grace Ford, senior from Hayes High School.