Ohio Wesleyanâs Latin American culture group, VIVA Latinoamericana, wrapped up its celebratory Hispanic Heritage Month with an important Mexican tradition.
On Nov. 1, members of VIVA created their second annual DĂa de los Muertos, (âDay of the Deadâ in English), display in the HamWill atrium.
DĂa de los Muertos honors, through the creation of altars, friends and family who have passed away.
Junior Hazel Barrera, president of VIVA, said the altar included flowers, pictures from some of OWU studentsâ relatives, decorations, candles and skulls.
There was also a path made out of rice and beans which was meant to lead the dead to the altar.
Barrera said DĂa de los Muertos is important because it is the only time members of the Mexican or Latin American culture can revisit and spend time with their deceased relatives.
âThey come and eat the food and drink the water,â she said.
âThis is an important day to honor them and remember them.â
Junior Jenna Ortega, a member of VIVA, said DĂa de los Muertos is a unique holiday because it is a holiday dedicated to death.
âI think that Americans avoid the topic of death and donât always recognize the lives of their deceased loved ones,â she said.
âIt is important to recognize death and to honor our loved ones with prayer and celebration.â
Ortega said DĂa de los Muertos highlights what makes Latin American culture special and unique.
âThe thing that makes Latin American culture different from American culture is that Latin Americans recognize and accept death where Americans tend to look past it and avoid it,â she said.
Barrera said the next event hosted by VIVA will be a guest speaker from Colombia on Nov. 12, but the next cultural celebration will be Las Posadas, a Spanish holiday in December.
Altars set up to honor loved ones on DĂa de los Muertos include photos of the deceased, religious items and crystal skulls.
Altars set up to honor loved ones on DĂa de los Muertos include photos of the deceased, religious items and crystal skulls.
Altars set up to honor loved ones on DĂa de los Muertos include photos of the deceased, religious items and crystal skulls.
Two cars became trapped in the flooded streets hit by Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane hit the East Coast Oct. 29 and many people still do not have power or access to gas for transportation. By Julia Stone and
Thomas Boucher
Transcript Correspondents
While blustery side effects from Hurricane Sandy stormed through Delaware, many Ohio Wesleyan students from the East Coast were absorbed by thoughts about their families back home.
Freshman Sarah Shulman said she was scared for all her friends and family in Brooklyn that she was unable to contact during the storm.
âIt drove me crazy being so far away and not being with my family,â she said.
Zone A, where most New Yorkers live, was completely evacuated.
However, Shulmanâs family did not evacuate because they live in Zone B.
Her apartment building was a safe home for people who were evacuated. To prepare for the storm her family bought water, a small portable stove, flashlights and batteries.
Shulmanâs apartment was not damaged but her auntâs apartment was completely flooded and ruined.
Shulman was thankful that her Aunt had evacuated. Several of her friendsâ homes were also flooded. Shulman was in Hurricane Irene last August.
âI thought Sandy was going to be just like Irene, but this was closer to Katrina,â she said.
According to Shulman, almost everything in New York was underwater.
âItâs so scary; you never know what nature has in store,â she said.
Freshman Miranda Dean, from Providence, R.I., was also affected by the storm.
Her family is safe and her house was not damaged. However, her neighborhood suffered damage. There was flooding in other houses and a tree fell on her neighborâs roof.
There were warnings for Deanâs family to evacuate, but they decided to stay. Dean said her family stocked up on water and batteries to prepare for the storm.
Dean said it was weird being away from her family during the storm. She was a little bit nervous for them, but also jealous because she finds storms exciting.
According to Dean, climate change might be a factor in storms hitting the East Coast.
âTwo or three years ago New England didnât get any of these big storms,â she said.
Freshman Hannah Simpson lives in Lincroft, N.J. A tree fell in her driveway, but her family is fine. She said her family has not had power since Oct. 29; however, she could contact them by cell phone during the storm.
Simpsonâs grandparents live in Lavallette, NJ. They were evacuated and also survived the storm.
According to Simpson, Hurricane Irene also affected her and her family in 2011, but Hurricane Sandy caused much more damage.
She knows of several schools in her area that were cancelledâone is cancelled until November 13.
âIt was so eerie to watch Asbury Park and Seaside Heights, two beach locations not far from where I live, being torn apart by the hurricane on T.V. while I was here in Ohio,â Simpson said.
Hurricane Sandyâs strength ranged from category one to category three. The diameter of tropical storm winds was more than 900 miles with a nine foot storm surge, which resulted in the highest recorded tide, reaching 13.88 feet.
Senior Erik Pramschufer from Pleasantville, N.Y. said his house didnât suffer any permanent damage.
âThankfully my house was still fully intact but my entire town lost power for three days,â Pramschufer said.
Members of the Vietnamese Student Association sing, dance and play music to represent their organization on campus.
By Samantha Simon
Transcript Reporter
Ohio Wesleyan exuded diversity Nov. 3, when Horizons International invited students to an evening full of heritage during Culture Fest.
The Benes rooms in HamWill were filled with students attending and participating in the event. It became impossible to find a seat just minutes after the doors opened.
The event started off in prayers read from the Koran, Torah and the Bible, recognizing some of the many religions represented by students on campus.
The American Sign Language club performed âCall Me Maybeâ by Carly Rae Jepsen as the first act of the night.
Members signed along to the song, and the audience cheered and applauded for an entertaining performance of the recent pop hit.
The event continued with various performances including a display of a traditional Tai Chi dance by senior Guanyi Yang.
Yang explained a little bit about Tai Chi before his performance saying that today it is often practiced for both stress and health benefits.
Another highlight of the night included a performance from the Vietnamese Student Association who collaborated to sing along to a song played on the piano and guitar.
Students were able to enjoy several additional performances with influences from all over the globe.
Sophomore Kelsey Caspersen said she especially enjoyed one of the performances, a Bollywood dance.
âIt really put me in the moment, as it was truly inspirational, I also found the Rafiki Wa Afrika dance inspiring and well done,â Caspersen said.
She also enjoyed the wide selection of international food.
âI loved the food not only because it was free, but because it was authentic and delicious. I was most excited about the horchata that VIVA had. The sweet rice milk is a lactose intolerantâs dream,â she said.
Junior Erin Parcells said that she has never really thought about all the cultures Ohio Wesleyan has right here on campus.
âIt was awesome to see many cultures displaying their culture in different ways like dance and song, I am disappointed I will be abroad next fall and will not get the chance to attend the event againâ Parcells said.
During the week leading up to Culture Fest, Horizons International held Henna week, which helped to promote the event. Students tabled in HamWil offering to apply henna to students for free.
The week was originally intended to help fund the event, but the clubâs dorm storming efforts raised enough money.
Senior Mahnoor Wali is the president of Horizons International. She took the lead in organizing Culture Fest and delegating tasks to the other members.
Wali said this is her second year organizing the event. Last semester she was vice president.
She said her previous experience was very challenging considering most of the board members had graduated and there was no one to guide them.
Wali said this year they had a record-breaking amount of audience members and that her previous experience as vice president really helped in organizing the event, as she was familiar with what had to be done.
âThe event was a success, the performances were mesmerizing and the food was fantastic,â Wali said.
She said she hopes the event inspired and motivated students to learn more about the diverse amount of cultures campus has to offer.
Sophomore Hannah Sampson competes for the womenâs cross country team during regular season action this year.
By Taylor Smith
Transcript Correspondent
The Ohio Wesleyan cross country teams feel like they still have more to show after their performances at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship.
The menâs and womenâs cross country teams finished third and fourth, respectively, last Saturday Oct. 27 at the event hosted by Wooster. The coachesâ poll predicted the men would finish third and women fourth.
On the menâs team, seniors Tyler Tomazic and Nathan Kafity along with freshman Nathan Madonich, received honorable mention All-Conference selections. Tomazic was the Bishopâs top performer, finishing 17th overall. Madonich was 20th with Kafity right behind him at 21st.
On the womenâs side, sophomore Hannah Sampson finished 13th overall, receiving a second team All-Conference selection. Freshman Abbey Warth was 18th overall and received an honorable mention All-Conference selection.
Head Coach Matt Wackerly said he didnât think the teams ran their best races, but did well enough to place and will focus on regionals this weekend.
âWe always run our best at the end of the year,â Wackerly said. âIâm not sure where theyâll place us but weâll find our course. We canât control what other teams do obviously. But I think both teams for sure will run their best.â
Wackerly said the he has different goals for the menâs and womenâs teams but overall he expects both teams to be successful in their post-season competition.
âFor the men, the goal is to try and make a run at qualifying for the national meet which will be really hard, but we will learn to give it what we can,â Wackerly said. âFor the women, we just want to keep improving and end the season on a high note.â
Wackerly said Tomazic had an outstanding race and that it was probably the best of Tomazicâs career. He also said senior Jake Bonnell had a great race.
Kafity, who has potential to qualify for nationals, said the team as a whole was great, but he personally had a subpar day.
âI should have run much faster, there is no question about it,â Kafity said. âHowever, my season doesnât focus on conference at all; my season focuses on regionals and nationals.â
Kafity said he was tripped from behind going downhill and trampled by six or seven other runners and passed by 30 or 40 people.
Madonich said the depth of the team is more visible now than at the beginning of the season.
âOverall, I think the race went really well for the whole team and the team aspect of it is starting to come together,â Madonich said. âYou know, Iâm running well but I think there is still some stuff we could work towards. Making sure everyone is together going into the last mile is really key for our team to run well at region alâs.â
Sampson said she was pretty pleased with her performance despite the weather, course and competition they were against.
âThe course was really hard and there were a lot of really good runners,â Sampson said. âI think our conference has definitely improved since last year. Given the running conditions of the day and the people we were up against, I think we did pretty well.â
Senior Nathan Kafity leads a pack of runners during one of the menâs cross country meets this season. Warth said she was happy with her results because of the toughness of the course. She said the team did pretty well and passed as many people as they could which was the womenâs teamâs strategy for each race.
Wackerly said Sampson and Warth each had a solid race.
âAbbey Warth had a great race,â Wackerly said. âShe keeps getting better each week. She has a big future since sheâs just a freshman. Hannah gets a little better every week and this was no exception. She beat people that beat her two weeks ago.â
Multiple runners said that the race was hard because Wooster is a course with a lot hills and there was wind and rain to add to the difficulty.
Kafity said it is interesting to see runners reach the fourth mile hill.
âPeople always slow down and look pretty miserable by the time they reach the top,â Kafity said.
The team said theyâre looking forward to the flat course this weekend in Indiana.
Wackerly said the menâs team has a chance to qualify for nationals if they can get into the top three, but Kafity and Sampson also have a chance to qualify on their own.
âKafity has a shot at qualifying individually,â he said. âHannah Sampson would have an outside shot. It would take a big race from her, but I donât think itâs beyond her realm of what she can accomplish.â
Sampson said he hopes to qualify for nationals but thinks it will be difficult and just wants to focus on the regional championship.
âI would really like to (go to nationals),â Sampson said. âIt depends on how well I run at regionalâs. I would have to make another really big jump I feel like personally, before I can get to that level. But my goals are to be all region again and then to try to make it to nationals.â
Kafity said he is excited for the regional championship and the chance to qualify for the national championship.
âIâm pumped for it,â Kafity said. âThe team is coming together right now; the other thing is Iâve been visualizing this race all season long. I know exactly where I want to be, how I want to feel at mile three and four.
âI just think things are on their way. Iâve definitely got a shot to qualify as an individual, but we have just as equal shot, now, as qualifying as a team.â
Madonich said heading into the regional championship the team needs to have the mindset that theyâre hungry for that national spot. He also said Kafity just has to go out and get in the mix at regionalâs.
âI know (Kafity) is a really strong runner,â Madonich said. âDoing some workouts with him, I canât do all of them because he is a really tough guy. I think once he gets in there heâs just as strong physically as those guys and if not mentally stronger; and so he will have to get top seven to qualify individually and I think he is capable of doing that.
The men and womenâs cross country teams run Saturday Nov. 10 in Anderson, Indiana for the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championship.
Saaty tells her audience the secrets to health are eating local and knowing where your food comes from. Her lecture was a part of the Sagan National Colloquium âBite!â lecture series.By Carly Shields
Transcript Correspondent
Kurdish Chef Avesta Saaty cooks with a collage of different herbs, spices and cultures, but emphasizes locally grown and eaten food is best.
On Nov. 1 Saaty spoke about her experience growing up with local organic food and cooked Kurdish food for Ohio Wesleyan students.
Kurdistan consists of parts of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria.
âThe closest I have ever been to my land is Lebanon and I will probably never be able to go back so food helps connect me to Kurdistan,â said Saaty.
Saaty grew up in Southeast Ohio with parents who emigrated from Iraq in the 1970âs. She cooked and found her love for delicately homemade food with her mother and her large Kurdish family.
They raised their own chickens, butchered them themselves, grew their own produce and milked their own cows.
âGrowing up I never experienced going out to eat nor experienced eating packaged food,â said Saaty. âI just assumed everyone made their own food.â
Saaty said the key ingredients to a healthy life are knowing the importance of eating local and knowing where your food comes from. She said eating non-processed food and her mothers homemade Kurdish yogurt is what made her healthy.
âI always knew what I was eating and where it came from,â said Saaty. âPeople ask how am I turning 40 and I say its because what I grew up eating and what I eat today.â
Saatyâs Kurdish background made her want to have her own restaurant. She was trained in Western Europe and opened âAvesta Eclectic Cuisine,â in Delaware in 2004.
Saaty had Greek, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Eastern European and Kurdish foods on the menu for OWU students and Delaware residents. The restaurant is now closed.
Senior Maggie Argiro, who introduced Saaty at the lecture, said a restaurant like Saatyâs would be a great addition to the Delaware Community.
âI would love it if Avestaâs Eclectic Cuisine was still in Delaware today,â said Argiro. âAfter eating the meal she served us, I have no doubt that the restaurant would be successful today.â
Argiro said a restaurant like Saatyâs would be a good addition to the restaurants on the OWU card.
âBut I think any restaurant like Avestaâs Eclectic Cuisine would be a welcomed addition to the options we have in Delaware and for the students,â she said.
Saaty said the Kurds eat based off of Kurdistanâs terrain, such as nuts, pomegranates, cheese, yogurt, fruit and salads.
Saaty cooked dishes of Mediterranean stuffed grape leaves, cucumber yogurt with pita bread, basmati rice, beans and baklava.
She also showed a video about Kurdish people and what the Kurdish people have been through in order to have their own culture and land.
OWU alumna Kath Ziminsky also spoke at the lecture.
âI believe that everyone should be a farmer on some scale,â Ziminsky said. âThere is an undeniable satisfaction and sense of freedom that comes from being a producer of homegrown and homemade staples.â
Ziminisky also said peopleâs food choices have an impact on the economy on both a global and local scale.
âIn todayâs globalized world it is the consumer who has the power to make a difference in the unbalanced often inhumane so called free-market economy.
âIt is now more important for citizens of the world to wake up, put their money literally where their mouth is and be conscientious consumers by eating locally and buying (and thus demanding) organic, fair trade products.â
Oct. 29 7:45 p.m. â Public Safety dispatched to Bashford Hall on a report of a missing fire extinguisher. Investigation is ongoing.
Nov. 1 1:32 a.m. â Public Safety and the Delaware City Fire Department dispatched to Smith Hall on a full building fire alarm. Alarm was caused by a discharged fire extinguisher in the fifth floor hallway of Smith West. Investigation is ongoing.
Nov. 2 9:51 p.m. â A resident of 19 Williams Drive was cited by Delaware City Police for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Nov. 4 1 a.m. â a resident of Hayes Hall reported a plastic door decoration was removed from her door by two unknown female subjects.
Nov. 4 2:05 a.m. â Public Safety dispatched to Welch Hall on a student welfare concern.
Nov. 4 8:15 a.m. â damage to the basement windows at 20 Williams Drive was discovered during a routine Public Safety patrol.
Nov. 4 2:55 p.m. â Public Safety dispatched to 9 Williams Drive on a report of damage to a downspout and trash receptacle on the exterior of the building.
The Pet Pals club at Ohio Wesleyan offers animal lovers the opportunity to spend time with animals and to learn how to care for animals in need of help.
According to the OWU website, âPet Pals is an on-campus organization that volunteers at the Humane Society of Delaware County.â They help train the dogs and socialize the cats to make them more adoptable. They also raise money for various animal welfare organizations and spread awareness on campus about different issues in the animal world.
Senior Caity Buzza, president of Pet Pals, said the organization focuses on teaching their members about all types of animals.
âPet Pals was started in 2003 and we have about 30 members,â Buzza said. âIts goal is to raise awareness on different animal issues both domestic and exotic.â
Buzza said the group uses its meetings to plan activities on campus and to schedule trips for the club. She said they often help out at the Humane Society of Delaware County by playing with the cats and dogs.
âWe try to meet weekly and often talk about event that we have coming up and where we want to go,â Buzza said.
âMembers have the opportunity to volunteer at the humane society and make a difference for the animals there. They also have the chance to bring awareness to something they feel strongly about.â
According to the Humane Society of Delaware Countyâs website, the society is âa non-profit organization dedicated to helping abused neglected and homeless pets find their forever homes.â
The Humane Society focuses on protecting animals by conducting investigations of locations in Delaware County and also works toward informing citizens on how to take care of their pets with low-cost options.
Sophomore Mariah Bockbrader said she has considered joining the club because of her love for animals. She said she would like to find time to help out at the Humane Society at some point during this school year.
âI just have a big heart for animals and I want to help them as much as I can,â Bockbrader said. âI havenât been able to make any of the meetings yet this year but I think that what the club is doing is great since there are so many animals out there that need help that canât help themselves.â
Sophomore Margaux Erilane agreed with Bockbrader and said as a zoology major, she is always interested in learning more about animals and would like to help local animals in any way possible.
âMy major has helped me to further my passion for animals and I would like to have the opportunity to volunteer at the shelter if it means that I would be helping out animals that are in need,â Erilane said.
âI think this club is a great idea to have at OWU because there are a lot of people on this campus who feel strongly for homeless animals and care about protecting them. This club seems like a great opportunity for anyone who needs volunteer hours and as a bonus, you get to spend time with animals.â
Freshman Shannon Hill said she is thinking about becoming a member and thinks other students should consider helping out at the shelter as well.
âI think giving attention to animals who donât have anyone else is a really good thing,â Hill said. âI think a lot of people on campus would be interested in (Pet Pals), because who doesnât love playing with animals? I also think the animal shelter is a place that could really always use volunteers so itâs a nice way to help.â
The Ohio Wesleyan Fund hopes to raise the amount of faculty, staff and administrator donations with their new campaign âI Believe.â
The Ohio Wesleyan Fund helps to pay for studentâs education, and for essentials within the school like hot water and electricity.
The âI Believeâ campaign is designed to be catchy and grab the attention of faculty, staff and administrators.
The faculty, staff and administrators on the posters all explain why they chose to donate, and why they believe in OWU.
Support is absolutely essential.
âTuition only covers 47 percent of an OWU education,â said Ashley Waltermeyer, Phonethon student and young alumni coordinator.
âThe rest is covered by support from alumni, friends, parents, faculty and staff,â Waltermeyer said.
Every year there is a meeting to design the staff campaign. This year, they chose the slogan âI Believeâ and decided to not only feature faculty and staff, but to also feature students.
Emily Winnenberg, assistant director of the Ohio Wesleyan Fund said since the students benefit from the fund so much, they should be included in the campaign.
âStudents are the primary beneficiaries of the Ohio Wesleyan Fund so we wanted to share their story this year as well,â she said.
Sophomore Livvy Coseriu is also helping with the campaign.
âItâs my role to give students a voice to the campaign and let faculty and staff know how important it is to us that they help out. OWU simply couldnât function without donations so every little bit counts,â she said.
Winnenberg offered another reason as to why it is so important for faculty, staff and administrators to donate.
âWhen you participate in the Ohio Wesleyan Fund, youâre indicating that you believe Ohio Wesleyan is an excellent institution worthy of your support,â she said.
âYour enthusiastic participation encourages others to give and increases the likelihood of Ohio Wesleyan receiving recognition from national ranking organizations.â
Last year, only 32 percent of faculty, staff and administrators donated to the Ohio Wesleyan Fund.
âOur peer institutions had much higher participation,â Winnenberg said.
â50 percent of Denisonâs faculty and staff donated while 99 percent of Ohio Dominicanâs staff participated.â
The goal this year is to increase participation to 45 percent.
âThe more people participate in the Ohio Wesleyan Fund, no matter the size of the gift, the more likely it is that Ohio Wesleyan will accomplish its goals, boost its academic reputation, and attract and retain the best students, faculty and staff,â Winnenberg said.
Recently, the department previously named University Relations has undergone a name change to now be known as University Advancement.
The name change was a collaboration of all parties involved in the advancement team.
Colleen Garland, vice president of university advancement, said development in the past 30 years has been changing as a profession.
Today, many universities today do not have a university relations department, but rather a university advancement department.
Garland said development is changing as a whole.
â(Itâs) moving beyond the notion of âfriend raisingâ and developing relationships with alumni in hopes that donations would follow to a much more intentional and thoughtful engagement of alumni, parents and friends to help move the university forward in some way,â she said.
Garland said the involvement of university supporters is important in a variety of ways.
âWhether itâs providing career opportunities through internships or informational interviews with our students, to the recruitment of prospective students and of course lending financial support, alumni, parents and friends remain a crucial part of strength of OWU,â she said.
Garland also said that as their team worked to create a mission statement early in the year, it became clear that they wanted to create a name change.
Garland said they wanted a more descriptive name for their work division.
University Advancement includes many different divisions within their department.
The department includes alumni relations, annual giving, development services, foundations and corporation and major giving.
Phonathon coordinator, Ashley Waltermeyer works within annual giving.
âI feel the university is trying to literally advance itself through travel-learning courses, course connections and theory to practice opportunities,â she said.
âIt made perfect sense to change the name of the office that makes these initiatives possible.â
Waltermeyer also said she felt like it was the right time to make the change, having many new employees onboard it brought the staff together, to work to establish their goals.
Ed Lenane led the team in developing a mission statement for University Advancement.
âThe University Advancement Division is dedicated to advancing and championing the mission of Ohio Wesleyan University as one of the nationâs premier liberal arts institutions,â the statement reads.
âGrounded in the Universityâs strategic priorities, University Advancement seeks to engage alumni, students, families, friends and organizations in the life of the institution through meaningful volunteer involvement, partnership and financial support.
âWe strive to promote and sustain strong relationships with Ohio Wesleyan University and between all Battling Bishops.â
Garland said the team presented the mission statement and the name change to the board of trustees earlier in the year, which was unanimously approved.
