Claire O’Keeffe while in Spain. Photo courtesy of Facebook.
As finals approach, students abroad are packing their bags and preparing for their journey home for the holidays.
Starting in early September, study abroad programs begin and students leave for their prospective countries and programs.
Junior Claire OâKeeffe is currently studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain. âOne of my majors is Spanish so I had to go abroad to a Spanish speaking country. Europe seemed like a perfect fit as well because then I could travel as much as I wanted!â OâKeeffe said.
According to OâKeeffe, close to four months in a foreign country can be challenging for students in the beginning, but as time progressed it became routine.
âI actually did not want to go abroad and then my parents forced me into it. But I am extremely happy with my decision. I’ve been able to travel to Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, and even more places in Spain,â OâKeeffe said.
According to OâKeeffe, students can learn so much about the world and themselves while being abroad. âI know my limits and I am still able to push myself to do even more.â OâKeeffe said.
Sophomore Drew Singleton, is planning on studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain next fall.
âI am excited to live and coexist with a new community in a new environment for the first time,â Singleton said.
Drew Singleton. Photo courtesy of Facebook.
According to OâKeeffe, the biggest costs students will encounter are traveling costs either with friends for the weekend or to participate in excursions that the program provides.
âOther costs I came across were eating out, going to bars and cafes, and of course shopping,â OâKeeffe said.
According to OâKeeffe, the threat of terrorism abroad has not impacted her life at all.
âI have not been personally affected by any act of terrorism. I have not let it stop my adventures or enjoying my time here.â OâKeeffe said.
According to OâKeeffe, very few people have regretted their time abroad and if given the opportunity, take it.
âI would 110% recommend studying abroad to anyone! It’s an experience that will only help a person to learn about him or herself and grow as an individual,â OâKeeffe said.
The OWU rugby logo for both the men’s and women’s teams. Photo courtesy of Facebook.
The Ohio Wesleyan women’s rugby club continues to expand and excel as an organization after recording a successful season, finishing 4Â-2 for the season.
The team competes in a league consisting of Wittenberg University, Hiram College, Kenyon College, Denison University and Oberlin College, but competed for the title of best in the OVWRC with teams such as Findlay University, Tiffin University, Ashland University and Ohio Northern as well.
Under coach Josh Longenbaker, the organization “really grew” this year, said junior rugger Robyn Madrishin. With a team consisting of 26 ruggers, only six were veterans, meaning a lot of new players were introduced to the team and its success.
A lot of women try rugby for the first time once they enroll at OWU, and considering that, Madrishin, who has played for the past two years, said, âThe new players came to every practice ready to learn and the veteran players were always ready to teach.”
As a new rugger, freshman Logan Garber tasted this sport for the first time this year, along with the toughness it takes to play it.
“I had never played rugby before OWU,â said Garber, âbut after my first hard hit on a girl in my first game against Wittenberg, I knew that rugby was something I’d be trying to play for as along as my body could take it.â
The team contributed its success to the willingness to learn a new sport and play it to your full potential that the new ruggers showed all season, from the first practice to the last game and also, the “passion that our organization has,” said Madrishin.
Senior N’Toia Hawkins, who just finished her last fall season with the Bishops felt as if the team served as a “home away from home,” and she “loved spending time with them because I trust and love all of them with my life.â
As far as an old program, the lady Bishops do not have one, but a passion is something they do have. The ladies look to not only improve current players’ ability to play rugby at a high level, but also to recruit new players who enjoy trying new sports and building camaraderie among teammates to impact the future of this young and overlooked program.
This Blast from the Past article was first published by The Transcript in 1941 just two days after the attacks on Pearl Harbor.
Senator Harold Burton. Photo courtesy of the Wikipedia website.
Pepper, Taft & Burton Express Views on Japanese War: Before Congress Vote
Repeating a technique utilized once last spring two members of The Transcript staff held person-to-person telephone conversations late Sunday night with Senators Harold Burton (Rep., O), Claude Pepper (Dem., Fa) and Robert Taft (Rep., O), all speaking from their apartments in Washington in which questions pertinent to the Japanese invasion and war were asked. The Transcript interviews were held less than twelve hours before the senators attended the joint session of congress at which war was declared
Civilization Threatened
All three senators concurred in the belief that American civilization and democracy face a definite crisis in the Japanese War, and were generally amenable to the enlisting of college students, more or less immediately in the armed forces.
Senator Pepper termed the war âthe first real world war;â senator Burton saw it as a fundamental conflict between two philosophies of life and government.
We Missed These
Attempts were also made to reach Senator Tom Connally, head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, under Secretary of State, Sumner Welles, and Senator Burton K. Wheeler, Montana isolationist.
Senator Wheeler confirmed his isolationist tendencies by leaving the telephone receiver off the hook during the period when The Transcript calls were made, according to the Washington Telephone Central.
Central said that Mr. Welles could not be reached except âon business of pressing interest to the government.â Senator Connally was in bed.
The questions asked and the replies of the respective senators follow:
WHAT STANCE SHOULD THE AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT TAKE IN VIEW OF THE WAR?
Sen. Burton: This is entirely an individual problem. There is always a tremendous need for men in time of war. If a personâs affairs permit, and if he feels he will find satisfaction in enlisting, I would say he should join up.
Senator Claude Pepper. Photo courtesy of floridamemory.com.
Sen. Pepper: The college student should follow the policy set down for him by the government. However, each individual should follow the dictates of his own conscience as to whether he should enlist or not. He should consider his own personal case, taking into consideration his family situation. Upperclassman must determine whether the continuation of their college careers would be more valuable to their country than their enlistment in the armed forces. There will undoubtedly be a call for men in the Navy and perhaps freshman and sophomores might give this special consideration.
Sen. Taft: Students, like the rest of us, have no real choice. They can only sit tight and watch the developments.
HOW LONG MAY THE WAR LAST?
Sen. Burton: Nobody can foresee that: the war may reach farther than Japan; we may become involved in war with nations other than Japan.
Sen. Pepper: It is not possible to estimate just how long the war will last. It will undoubtedly be a long affair. Hitler has stated that there are two separate worlds in conflict â the âhavesâ and âhave-nots.â There can be no compromise. One must go. This is to be a might struggle and may be called âthe first real world war.â
Sen. Taft: I cannot foresee an end to the war. It will be at least a couple years.
WOULD YOU ADVOCATE SENDING TROOPS OVERSEAS?
Sen. Burton: There is no way to definitely foresee the sending of troops; this of course, depends on military strategy and tactics.
Sen. Pepper: We will have to send troops. I expect a declaration of war on Japan in the morning. And I hope it will be a declaration of war against the whole outfit. (This statement was made before The Transcript went to press Monday morning and before the declaration of war.)
Sen. Taft: I would be opposed to sending troops at the present time, but there is no reason why we should not use our troops already stationed in the Philippines.
WHAT WILL BE RUSSIAâS REACTION?
Sen. Burton: It is hard to say, I imagine they will help us; this, however, is a purely personal opinion and I have no definite basis for making this statement.
Sen. Pepper: I expect Russia to jump right into the fray on our side, of course.
Sen. Taft: There is already a rumor aboard that Russia has declared war on Japan, but it is only a rumor so far. This will no doubt be a fact within a few days.
IS HITLER BEHIND THE JAPANESE AGGRESSION?
Senator Robert Taft. Photo courtesy of www.senator.gov.
Sen. Burton: The invasion doubtless ties in with Axis military plans.
Sen. Pepper: There is no doubt at all in my mind that Adolf Hitler is the guiding hand behind the moves of Japan.
Sen. Taft: Hitler is definitely behind Japan.
WHAT FUNDAMENTALLY CAUSED THE WAR?
Sen. Burton: The immediately cause of the war was, of course, the Japanese invasion. The invasion doubtless coincides with Hitlerâs strategy.
Sen. Pepper: The Axis forces are making an attempt to create an entirely new order, without attempting to appear fanatically religious. I would say there will be an effort made to subserviate Christianity to a new kind of paganism.
Sen. Taft: The answer to this question would involve a criticism of this governmentâs policy, which would be entirely out of order at this time. I have no comment.
DOES OUR CIVILIZATION FACE A DEFINITE CRISIS?
Sen. Burton: there is no doubt that our civilization does face a definite crisis. We are the last great nation, the last continent representative of a philosophy based on faith in the individual rather than upon faith in the state which makes the individual a slave.
The conflict is a fundamental one between a philosophy of force and a philosophy of faith in the individual. We were forced into the war by the Nippon doctrine of force.
Sen. Pepper: Without a doubt, the changes in our existing civilization will be far too numerous to enumerate. No one can predict what they will be.
Sen. Taft: It is doubtful whether there is any answer to this question in particular, but there is no doubt in my mind that many changes will result.
Ohio Wesleyan prospects, beginning with the class of 2020, will now have a new periodic deadline system to guide them with their college decisions.
Prior to the change, according to the OWU Admissions “Important Deadlines” section on the website, November 15 and 30, January 15 and 30, February 15, March 1, April 1 and May 1 were all listed as deadlines or notification dates, but a few are going to see changes.
The Ohio Wesleyan Admissions department has changed the admissions deadlines from having four deadlines, which were Early Decision in November; two Early Action deadlines, one in November and another in January; and a Regular Decision deadline in March. The Early Action deadline in November has been eliminated and the Early Action II in January has been kept. The Early Decision and Regular deadlines were not changed at all.
Susan Dileno, OWU Vice President for Enrollment Management, who replaced Interim VP for Enrollment Dave Wottle in August of  last year, and the Admissions Department representatives said that while reviewing other private schools’ deadlines, particularly those in the Great Lakes College Association, they were “hardÂpressed to find a school with two early deadlines.”
Dileno said more typical is one of the two following scenarios: two Early Decisions and a Regular Decision deadline, or Early Decision, Early Action and Regular Decisions implemented.
She said OWU’s deadlines were out of norm, and she “felt it could be confusing to prospects and guidance counselors” of those prospects.
The benefit of the Admissions department eliminating the November Early Action date is that it provided an extra incentive for students to apply Early Decision if they wanted to get their decisions in November. In previous years, they could apply Early Decision or Early Action and learn of the decision in November under either plan.
“We did see a bump in our ED applications this year, so that is an added plus to OWU, since EDÂ students are committing to attend if admitted,” Dileno said.
“I also think the later EA (Early Action) date serves our applicants well in that many students don’t find out about OWU until their senior year, and the later date gives them additional time to apply, while still giving them an option to learn of their decision before March,” she added.
Ohio Wesleyan University is justifiably proud of âthe quality and accessibility of its facultyâ (âCatalogâ Introduction). Yet at the Nov. 16 faculty meeting, half a dozen duly elected members of the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs and bona fide reporters from the student newspaper, The Transcript, were denied access to the deliberations of the faculty, which included several topics of direct relevance to students.
Why was this unprecedented step taken? The conflict seems to have been triggered by Transcript stories appearing in the local newspaper, the Delaware Gazette. This has been happening for a while now and is rooted in a mutually beneficial arrangement between the two papers.
Transcript reporters see a wider distribution of their articles whereas Gazette readers receive information about OWU from student insiders. However, the arrangement meant that the monthly faculty meetings had become a public Âmedia venue, which was not to the liking of some faculty members. Concerns over journalistic standards and misrepresentations were voiced and privacy issues were raised. Primarily, however, it seems that many faculty members were worried that the presence of the press may lead to a situation where free and open discussion about contentious and sensitive issues might be stifled.
And this is, in my mind, the crux of the matter. We live in uncertain times. Many colleges and universities in Ohio and elsewhere, both public and private, are experiencing tremendous difficulties.
Institutions have been shuttered or merged, departments and programs eliminated, and faculty positions frozen or cut. This is an era of retrenchment, austerity, and exigency, and there is widespread fear and anxiety about what the future will hold. Across the nation, the facultyâs social status and standard of living are eroding; their very survival is at stake. The status quo is no more, and there are worried conversations about what the new norm might be. What was radical and unthinkable only a few years ago, is now being openly discussed. Maybe the unnerved faculty, especially from more vulnerable disciplines and departments, are instinctively sensing that control is slipping through their fingers and that ugly battles and wars might be ahead of them.
Change is never easy, especially if you are not the one driving it. We know from history and politics what effects the experience of displacement, disempowerment, and dispossession can have. It can lead to heated arguments, imprudent statements, disregard for established norms and values, and raw hostility. In their bewilderment, people start looking for scapegoats for either they do not understand the real reasons for what is happening, or if they do they feel helpless against the inexorable forces of destiny.
I, for one, view the exclusion of WCSA and The Transcript from the last faculty meeting as just one such event. Neither the students nor the press are not the facultyâs adversary; they are their natural allies and partners. It would be a strategic error to alienate them. The current fissure between the faculty and the students is an unfortunate distraction and a false dichotomy. In addition, the measure has done considerable harm to the facultyâs and the institutionâs reputation and may negatively impact student recruitment and donor giving in the future. Therefore, the facultyâs student Âexclusion act of 2015 must be rescinded. Elected WCSA students should be readmitted immediately. Then reasonable students, faculty, and administrators should sit together, start a constructive dialog, and negotiate a balanced accord that ensures The Transcript access to faculty meetings on the one hand while protecting and preserving legitimate faculty interests on the other. Perhaps the student newspaper is willing to voluntarily suspend the arrangement with the Delaware Gazette for faculty meetings only while leaving it intact in other areas? In any case, for people of good will there is always plenty of common ground to be found.
Soapbox articles are unique platforms in which any member of the OWU community can “get up on their soapbox” and discuss any issue in 400 to 1000 words. Soapbox articles can be submitted on owutranscript.com using the Submit Your Story link on the upper left.
Dr. Thomas Wolber is an associate professor of German at Ohio Wesleyan. Â He teaches all levels of German language, literature and civilization. In addition to those subjects, he specializes in comparative literature and environmental studies.
For a group of half a dozen Ohio Wesleyan students, the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 were all too real. Six students spending a semester abroad in Salamanca were spending the week in Paris when the attacks occurred.
The students were stuck in Paris for two days after the attacks when France declared a state of emergency. During those two days the students would be put through something unlike anything they had ever experienced before.
âAfter the attacks I was in a serious state of shock. I couldnât sleep because I kept having nightmares about my family and friends being there and dying. I couldnât listen to music while I was walking down the street, I was paranoid,â junior Natalie Wynne said.
The itinerary for the study group was immediately canceled as the students spent most of their time in their hostel during their two days in the state of emergency. All of the students were able to contact their relatives and loved ones, but that did little to help with their anxiety.
âAll of the news was in French so I couldnât understand a single thing they were saying. Itâs tough to explain what that does to a person. Iâve really never felt farther away from home,â Wynne said.
Jackie Everetts. Photo courtesy of Facebook.
One junior, Jackie Everetts, was separated from the group on the night of the attack. She was able to safely find her way back to another hostel with a friend from her high school.
âDespite being separated from the group, I didnât really feel scared. I guess it hadn’t hit me yet, everything that was going on. I just prayed for my safety and for all of those who were hurt,â Everetts said.
The attacks themselves included a series of coordinated suicide bombings and mass shootings that took place at cafes, restaurants and a music venue. The attackers killed 130 people and injured far more. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was retaliation for French airstrikes in ISIS-controlled territory.
France responded on Nov. 15 by launching its biggest aerial offensive in the countryâs history. On Nov. 18, the suspected lead operative in the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, was killed in a police raid.
These attacks will linger in the minds of the Ohio Wesleyan students that were in France for the rest of their lives.
âBasically I donât even have words to describe what happened and how I felt because it all felt like a dream to me until I left and got back to Salamanca safely,â said Wynne. âThatâs when it really hit me what happened. Iâll never forget this. I guess you could call it life-changing.â
This summer, a group of Ohio Wesleyan students will find their spiritual testing ground in the Wyoming wilderness.
Members of the Leadership and Discipleship in the Wilderness (LDW) trip will spend six weeks in the Wind River Mountains beginning June 4.
Since 1995 the trip has been taken ten times; on average about every other summer. It is run by the Coalition for Christian Outreach, a campus ministry at OWU and other schools in the region.
Some activities offered include backpacking, rock climbing and mountaineering. The purpose of the excursion is to learn lifelong lessons through experiences rarely available to the average person, to provide opportunities for personal growth and maturation, and to develop personal faith.
âThe potential for these things is huge if students can find the right places and contexts for this learning,â said William Hayes, associate chaplain and director of Wilderness Ministry at OWU.
âThe experience of LDW makes it possible for students to learn in ways that are just not possible through campus.â
During the journey, students will receive personal Christian discipleship in the context of a close community, giving them the opportunity to grow in their faith and to make lifelong friends.
âI still keep in touch with some of the people I met whenever I went,â said Haley Barber, class of 2013. Barber attended the trip in 2012. âHaving the opportunity to meet new people from different backgrounds was a great experience,â she said.
âMy favorite part of the trip was all the nature and wilderness, it was gorgeous,â Barber continued.
The group will be able to rock climb and mountaineer. Mountaineering occurs over snow, ice and glaciers to heights up to 13,000 feet.
âThese activities provide physical challenges with potential for failure but with high rewards,â Hayes said.
To date, only two students have applied to participate in this summerâs adventure to Wyoming.
For the first time ever, Ohio Wesleyan will be offering sections of UC 160 courses in the spring semester; and for the class of 2020, it will be mandatory.
For about five years, these quarter-Âcredit courses have provided incoming freshmen and other students new to OWU with information about the liberal arts, the programs and resources available to them on campus.
âFor the last few years, weâve been talking about offering spring sessions,â said Zachary Long, director of UC 160 programs and associate professor of English. âIn general, our preference is for students to take them in the fall, but it seems worthwhile to have a backup option.â
Long had spring UC 160 course offerings approved by administration last spring and has been planning it since.
âSome who are interested in taking UC 160 cannot take it in the fall due to athletics, labs that eat up a lot of time or because they want to proceed with caution with their course load,â Long said.
Transfer students that come in the second semester will have the opportunity to take UC 160 as well, Long said.
âThis is a big year for experimentation,â Long said.
Only three sections will be offered this spring so that faculty can monitor student interest.
These three sections are titled âTravel as a Political Act,â âSerialâ and âSustainability,â according to the OWU website.
There is some universal subject matter, but the professors and the text or themes of each course differentiate them, Long said.
Because this is the first time these firstÂ-year introductory courses will be offered in the spring, the course timeline will have to change, Long said.
âIâm as interested as other professors about where is the best place to start this,â Long said. âStudents will have already learned some of (the curriculum) such as how to register for classes.â
The addition of spring sections isnât the only change on the UC 160 front.
On Monday Nov. 16, the faculty voted and approved making UC 160 courses mandatory for all first-Âyear students starting next fall, Long said.
Many schools have required firstÂ-year courses, Long said, but those courses tend to be fullÂ-unit academic topics or something like an extended orientation.
âOur course is unique in that itâs a hybrid model,â Long said. âWeâre trying to tag some academic or philosophical heft to it, but donât want to make it a fullÂ-unit course because we want it to be accessible to students.â
As Long went on to explain, the hybrid model isnât the only thing that makes OWUâs first-Âyear courses unique.
Each course partakes in a community service project, which introduces students to the local community and not just the campus community.
Rather than having campusÂ-wide required readings, faculty are encouraged to teach texts and themes that resonate with them.
For example, âBrain Rules,â a section of UC 160 offered in the fall, is taught by professor Jennifer Yates, director of the neuroscience program, according to the UC 160 fall brochure.
âThis isnât an accident,â Long said. âWe want to get students connected with a professor whom they have a common interest with.â
In the fall or spring, UC 160 gives students the opportunity to get to know professors in a more informal setting and get something like a mentorship experience, Long said.
Itâs survival of the fittest for Ohio Wesleyan students when it comes to finding a parking spot on campus.
OWU students are frustrated that they have to pay for a parking permit and put additional money in parking meters on the street and then walk back to the dorms late at night because they canât find a spot near their residence hall.
Currently, the B parking passes are priced at $175 for a full year and C passes are at $15. Permit prices drop 50 percent on March 1.
B lots include the residency side whereas C lots include the Jay Martin Soccer Complex, Selby Stadium and a few spaces on the far west side of Williams Drive.
Including faculty and staff, there are 1,500 parking spots available on OWUâs campus. However, for student parking, there are a total of 1,040 spots. Only 443 B permits and 215 C permits are issued.
As of Nov. 17, 957 parking citations were issued.
Public Safety (PS) has approached the distribution of parking permits in several different ways and this year has been the least problematic.
In previous years, there has been a lotteryÂstyle drawing for the freshmen and sophomore classes to get a parking pass. There were 70 spots offered between the two class levels. In this case, it was the luck of the draw for those students.
This technique, led to more students parking on the street, which caused problems for Delaware residents and police. This resulted in parking permits opening up for everyone on campus.
However, students still park on the street.
Junior Doug Dodridge has had a B permit all three years, but finds better spots on the street. âI hate parking here. I think itâs absolutely ridiculous that I paid $175 for a parking pass,â Dodridge said. âIâm feeding a meter every time I go to class because I canât find a place to park my car.â
Senior Nate Goodhart has seen the price of parking passes increase dramatically over his four years and feels the parking situation hasnât gotten any better.
âIf PS can get a parking spot for their golf cart, I should get one by my classes,â Goodhart said.
This year, PS lowered the price of C permits to $15 making it more affordable. PS thought this might increase the availability in B lots since C is more reasonably priced. PS does not plan on lowering the price of B permits anytime soon.
Freshman Lyndsay McMullen purchased the C permit but intends on upgrading next year. For now, she doesnât mind walking, but feels a B pass would be more convenient.
To help resolve some of the parking spot battles, manager of PS Ramon Walls advises more students to partake in the carÂsharing program with Enterprise. There are approximately 120 students registered for the carÂshare program.
To apply for the carÂshare program, a credit card and license is required. From there, drivers can book reservations for the day and time. Gas and damages are all covered in the membership fees.
For more detailed information, contact PS.
âWith the addition of the new Simpson Querrey Fitness Center, we have changed the A parking hours in the science center from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. to a more flexible time, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,â Walls Junior Jillian Bell has had a B permit all three years and still struggles with parking problems.
âAll the parking lots have huge potholes which I thought would be fixed after being here for three years,â Bell said.
PS along with many student drivers would love to see parking lots paved again and spots added, but it is simply not in the budget.
Walls likes the idea of building a parking garage by HamÂWill. Denison University has a parking garage on campus that offers a large sum of student spots.
Parking has been an issue for students at OWU for years now.
For the time being, when it comes to finding a parking spot, may the odds be ever in your favor.
