Author: Tung Nguyen

By Reilly Wright, Managing Editor

Ohio Wesleyan’s Chaplain Jon R. Powers became one of 26 preachers inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers in Atlanta, Georgia.

Located at Morehouse College, King’s alma mater, the board claims to honor faith leaders from multiple traditions. Inductees are chosen for their commitment to “promote peace, tolerance, interfaith understanding” and other ideals exemplified by King.

Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. College of Pastoral Leadership selected Powers for induction. The induction ceremony took place on April 5.

“To be only one of two white persons in this nationally honored group of 26 MLK preachers at the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination was a powerful and humbling experience for me,” Powers said.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 and this year’s ceremony took place one day after its anniversary. Powers said the consecutive assassinations of his longtime heroes of King, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and then the suicide of his beloved father was traumatic.

“Those three deaths, so close together, marked my soul for eternity, and more than any other thing, made me the chaplain I have been for the rest of my life,” he said.

Powers, who joined OWU in 1988, was raised in rural Michigan exposed to racial diversity by his black grandmother. Until he joined a city school, he said he did not recognize the racial prejudice in the world.

He said teachers told his parents that the Martin Luther King Jr. books he brought to class were “communist literature” that was causing trouble with classmates.

“I have been creating trouble among my classmates and my peers ever since!” he said. 

When meeting this year’s other inductees, Powers said there was an immediate link as they shared stories and compared notes on their lives of religious dedication.

“For each of us, I sensed this was a snapshot in time of our curiously collective lives that none of us will ever forget, and none of us will ever totally comprehend,” Powers said.

Powers’ honor is something that comes from a life of devotion toward acceptance according to Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones.

“Jon Powers has devoted his life to the work of justice, equality and inclusion for all people,” Jones said. “His ministry, including his ministry of preaching, reflect these commitments in every way and now is recognized by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers.”

Ultimately, Powers expresses his gratitude to be part of a community that embraces King’s principles as core values, but asks that these values be used as often and as diversely as possible.

When it comes to the OWU community, Powers said students, staff and faculty see the face of “an old, white bearded white man.” But, underneath, he said he has a vulnerable soul raised past racial boundaries and proud to love God by loving everyone he meets. 

“Maybe we all need to stop assuming that the person we meet on the Jay or in class is one-dimensional?” he said.

By Gopika Nair, Transcript Correspondent

The pale, yellow walls inside the Strand Theatre hold pieces of history.

A poster advertising the 1938 version of “Marie Antoinette,” starring Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power, hangs on the far right, near where Tracey Peyton, the managing director of the Strand Theatre sits. In the middle is a poster of Victor Fleming’s “Gone with the Wind.”

Scattered on the walls throughout are numerous framed certificates from the Delaware Gazette, recognizing the Strand Theatre as the “best date place” and “best family fun entertainment.”

Affixed by the entrance is the Strand Theatre’s opening announcement, published by the Journal-
Herald on April 8, 1916.

“To the public: Your handsome new motion picture home will be opened on the above date with a program of clean, wholesome, highly interesting and educational moving pictures,”
the first line reads.

But since Peyton began her term as the managing director of the Strand Theatre in 2015, she has lost count of the number of times someone has told her, “Oh, you’re a real movie
theatre.”

“The very thing that makes [the Strand] special is the thing that’s our Achilles’ heel, both to the public and the studios,” Peyton says.

Marketing the Strand Theatre is tough despite the fact that it has operated for 102 years and is the tenth longest operating movie theatre in the U.S. In addition to being nonprofit, the theatre currently has three screens and most moviegoers are charged $5 a ticket, a price that’s often paltry to break even.

“We sometimes can’t get the film we want because we can’t produce the revenue the studio wants and if we can’t produce the revenue the studio wants to see, we can’t get the
[movie],” Peyton says.

She cuts me off before I can finish asking whether the Strand Theatre’s historic reputation helps her and her booker get the movies they want.

“They don’t care,” she says. “I know where you’re going with that and they don’t care.”

Peyton’s booker represents 300 theatres across the nation. Citing the upcoming summer film “Ocean’s 8,” produced by Warner Brothers, as an example of a movie that could either do
well or poorly in Delaware County, Peyton says the studio might tell the booker that only 80 of the theatres he represents can play “Ocean’s 8.”

“They protect the radius like they do with radio stations,” Peyton says, which means that Marcus Crosswood Cinema in Columbus, Rave Cinemas in Polaris and the Strand Theatre are unlikely to get “Ocean’s 8” all at the same time.

Instead, the studio will give the movie to theatres that are guaranteed to generate the best revenue, such as Rave Cinemas, a theatre complex.

“It doesn’t matter that we’re [more than] a century old, it doesn’t matter that we’re nonprofit,” Peyton says. “What matters is how many people we can get to these shows, how long we can keep it there and [whether] it will give us the returns we want because … there is a loose expectation that each theatre has to provide or produce a certain amount of revenue.”

While the Strand Theatre tries to appeal to Ohio Wesleyan students, its main demographic is families in Delaware County. Keeping that in mind, Peyton and her booker consult past history to determine what kind of films generate the most revenue and book films accordingly.

Though nearly every Best Picture Oscar-nominated movies have been shown at the Strand in the coming weeks, Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name” did not snag a spot
on the theatre’s marquee.

“It would never flow in [Delaware] because it’s a conservative city, but I would love to see it,” Peyton says.

By contrast, “Love, Simon,” an upcoming film about a closeted 17-year- old boy might do well. Though the two movies share similar themes, “Love, Simon” contains a bullying subplot.

“Anything with kids and bullying resonates [here],” Peyton says.
Family, superhero and animated movies are Delaware’s top picks. Additionally, based on a recurring pattern, Peyton says Delaware is a hero-oriented town and movies such as “American
Sniper” and “15:17 to Paris” did well.

“I have tried to explore different movie niches [to appeal to OWU students], but … we can’t [play] cult favorites because as a first run theatre, we have to protect our primary times for Sony, Universal and Warner Brothers,” Peyton says.

Peyton’s attention is diverted when she catches sight of an employee working, projectionist Peyton Ennis.

“Any word on that video?” she asks Ennis.

“What video?”

“That you’re doing for—”

“Oh, I really haven’t had any time.”

“Do you think we should try it?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“‘The Room’ and then—”

After a pause, Ennis grins. “I think we should try those movies, yeah.” Ennis goes back to standing behind the ticket counter and Peyton explains that the two of them have been toying with the idea of showing Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room” and James
Franco’s “The Disaster Artist” as a double feature. “The Disaster Artist” shows the making of Wiseau’s “The Room,” which is simultaneously a cult-favorite and regarded as one of the worst
films ever made.

Getting the two films will cost the Strand nearly $800 and to break even, at least 160 patrons must attend.

Coming from a corporate background, Peyton says working at the Strand Theatre has been a different experience. Her last job was at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center in Lewis Center, but she has previously worked at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. While her past jobs provided her with an expense account, every dollar the Strand Theatre makes goes back into maintaining the building.

“But that’s what’s so charming about this place,” Peyton says. “Everyone here loves it and wants it to stay and do well, so we’re kind of like the underdog of movie theatres.”

OWU, too, has a strong connection with the Strand and has supported the theatre for several years. In 2002, OWU owned the Strand, but the university transferred the property to the Strand Theatre and Cultural Arts Association in 2006. But if the Strand Theatre and Cultural Arts Association stops operating as a theatre and cultural arts association, the property would revert
back to OWU, according to President Rock Jones.

“We remain very engaged and are grateful for many opportunities to partner with the Strand,” Jones says.

The university collaborates with the theatre to host various student events, encouraging students to seek employment, co-sponsoring the annual International Film Festival with OWU’s Film Studies program, among other partnerships.

Lynette Carpenter and Martin Hipsky, professors of English, both teach the Introduction to Film course at OWU. As part of the course, students are required to view select films, which
are screened at the Strand for $6. The movies selected are chosen by Carpenter and Hipsky and they change every year, according to Carpenter. Typically, the selection includes two to three American genre films, an adaptation, several foreign films and a recent independent film.

“The Strand is the only movie theatre within walking distance of the campus, and showing our films there allows students to see them as they were meant to be seen – on a full- size movie screen in an audience of others who are also watching and reacting to the film,” Carpenter says.

Though scheduling the film series can be challenging because of the Strand’s contractual obligation as a first-run theatre, Carpenter says OWU’s Film Studies program is fortunate to have the theatre’s cooperation.

“Few colleges can say that their introductory film students watch movies in an actual movie theatre,” Carpenter says.

While some might view high school or college as the most special part of their lives, several members of the Delaware community give that recognition to the Strand.

“The Strand is a part of their lives; it’s a part of their families; it’s a place where they’ve made memories,” Peyton says. “There no doubt in my mind that people, long after I’m gone, will continue to support this place because it’s important to them and it represents their history.”

By Casey O’Toole, Transcript Correspondent 

Mechanical bulls, Dan’s Deli and dogs are just a few of the perks in attending this Saturday’s Deltas on the Block.

The sisters of Delta Delta Delta (Tri Delta) are hosting their second annual philanthropy event Deltas on the Block Saturday April 21, from noon through 3 p.m. on Fraternity Hill.

Anyone interested in attending will be supporting Tri Delta’s philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. President of the sorority, Leah Crawford, is optimistic about the funds being raised this year.

“Our goal for this event, specifically, is [raising] upwards of $5,000,” Crawford said. “Last year we raised around $4,000 at the event, which was phenomenal, but we think this year’s event is going to be even bigger and even better.”

Tri Delta does not keep any of the raised money and it does not toward marketing their event either.

Encompassing the hill will be a multitude of activities for families and even younger children. Many of the sorority members’ siblings are planning to be in attendance to show support for their sisters. Tri Delta’s Philanthropy Chair Emily Black is in charge of setting up the whole event.

“Some of the different events that will be happening are food trucks, a succulent stand, ‘surviving cancer’ obstacle course, Kendra Scott Jewelry, a mechanical bull and, of course, dogs,” Black said.

Many of the Tri Delta members have close connections to St. Jude. Whether through personal experience, past connections or other ties, St. Jude holds a close place in members’ hearts.

“St. Jude to me means freedom, financial freedom and knowing that your child will be taken care of with the highest and best minds in the country,” said member Nathalie Bidwell.

By Tung Nguyen, Online Editor

Mathematics and biology are two subjects that many non-scientists would think of as completely separate fields. Yet, by using specific mathematical equations, biologists can understand more of how
protein molecules move and organize for cells to function properly.

Veronica Ciocanel, a postdoctoral fellow with the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at The Ohio State University, presented her recent research on this subject to the Ohio Wesleyan community on April 12.

Titled “Modeling the Cytoskeleton Roads in Transport and Localization of Protein Cargoes,” Ciocanel
spoke in the Schimmel/Conrades Science Center as part of this year’s Science Lecture Series.

At the beginning of her talk, Ciocanel laid out two main questions: How do the protein molecules move in the precise time and spatial scales? What are the mechanisms of transport?

“Intracellular transport of different cargoes is fascinating,” Ciocanel said. “Mathematical techniques can help us study transport mechanism.”

As Ciocanel explained later in her talk, cargoes switch between different dynamical states and interact differently with motors and filament roads. Microtubules were used as an example for this biological process. Microtubules are component of the cytoskeleton and are vital in the means of creating
particular platforms for many intracellular transportation processes.

“Microtubules are the longest and largest in diameter and they are kind of like a highway,” she said. “Because they are the longest, microtubules are important in cargoes transferring across the cells.”

Ciocanel also answered her second question by pointing out that active transport on microtubules is a key mechanism. Therefore, investigating the role of microtubule geometry is considered essential.

Ciocanel explained the fundamental mathematical equations to draw the transport models of mRNA (messenger RNA) along the microtubules, along with the help of a specific microscopy data analysis. The analysis shows that these orientations are key in predicting how the mRNA particles spread.

“Differential equations modeling gives us insight into the mechanisms of the messenger RNA journey along microtubule highways and ultimately into its localization, which ensures proper embryo development,” she said. “In neurons, stochastic simulations are used to understand how neurofilaments
navigate axons and their constrictions, to maintain a healthy speed of neuronal communication.”

“I never experienced lecture talk like this before,” said Andy Xie, an OWU senior. “It made me realize the importance of collaboration and the value of open source knowledge.”

By Reilly Wright, Managing Editor

With food from Ethiopia to China and performances from South Korea to India, celebrations of diversity and culture intersected Saturday at Ohio Wesleyan’s annual Culture Fest.

Each year, the event is hosted by Horizons International, the student-run cultural club that supports OWU’s international community. Carrie Kubicki, the club’s sophomore president, said Culture Fest emphasizes OWU’s international students, dating back to some of the first students from India.

“It’s an event that is meant to bring everyone together so that our differences can be celebrated and appreciated,” Kubicki said. “I believe that it’s a very integral part of the traditions and history of OWU since international students have been such a staple community.”

This year’s celebration began with Chaplain Jon Powers speaking on the power of unity before transitioning into the eleven cultural performances, split with an intermission for food.

Performances included dances from Rafiki Wa Afrika, the student group promoting African-Caribbean culture, and Viva, the Latin American cultural group. There also were solo performances such as junior Spencer Zhang with the piano and junior Ana Pakraski with an Indian Temple Dance.

Alexander Sánchez, one of the solo vocal performers, said he thought Culture Fest was a great way to not only showcase his singing, but also his love for Puerto Rico, his homeland.

“I believe that [Culture Fest] serves as a space to acknowledge the diversity of cultures that is fostered here at Ohio Wesleyan, which I believe is especially necessary considering that we live in a predominantly white town,” Sánchez said.

Kubicki said Horizons is welcoming any potential members to not only welcome international students, but also so events like Culture Fest can become more integral to the OWU experience.

“I would like to see [Culture Fest] expand into becoming one of the most important events of the year at OWU and perhaps expanding it to include an educational week to teach the community about international educational awareness,” Kubicki said.

By Aleksei Pavloff, Transcript Correspondent

The weather is 24 degrees Fahrenheit in Delaware, Ohio. The sun has yet to rise giving Alexander Pacilio a head start to the day.

His fraternity brothers, friends and family call him “Xander.” He walks out of his room on the first floor of the Phi Delta Theta house at Ohio Wesleyan University. The house neighbors other fraternities in a circle with a large grass island in the middle. The water fountain right outside his room hisses and hums as he places his red protein shaker bottle under the sensor to get water. He coughs.

Xander’s currently in the middle of the lacrosse season and being a teacher’s aid at a local high school in Delaware, Ohio. His teachers and classmates recognize his work ethic and organization both on the field, on the classroom and at home. Some students have difficulties organizing sports with teaching. However, Xander has adapted to the struggle and is the only lacrosse player who is also student teaching on the side.

Xander is not only a senior and lacrosse player, but also a teacher. Well, sometimes. He is student teaching at Delaware Hayes High school. This is a requirement of the education department at OWU. Students, in the spring semester of their senior year, must student-teach and lead classroom lessons six times during the semester, according to Sarah Kaka, an assistant professor of education. They do not have to take any other classes except for a seminar class.

Xander is the only lacrosse player that is in the education program, according to Kaka.

The night before, as he sat at his desk, he said he wants to be a high school social studies teacher. He added that being a teacher was one way to help people, which he enjoys.

He opens the side door of the house which shares a parking lot with Phi Kappa Psi, a closed fraternity house. He’s been warming up his car for five minutes in the bitter cold. He throws his blue lifting bag in the back seat. He turns on the radio. Bon Jovi is quietly playing. He slightly turns it up.

“I only like one song,” he says. “But I love Howard Stern.”

The Howard Stern Show comes on the radio after he plays with the switches on the stirring wheel of his grey 2012 Ford Focus. He drives to Edwards Gym, which is one of the places to workout on campus. Sometimes he’ll lift with the team during the week. The weight room opened up just as Xander parks his car.

He and one person at the front desk are the only people in the room. He walks toward the back where the elliptical machines are and places his bag down on the ground.

Xander takes an initial swig of his red shaker bottle. He gives a face as if he is sucking on two WarHead Extreme Sour Hard Candies. His face puckers. He takes another swig. He puckers again. Now he chugs the rest of the bottle. He releases a sound that would signify he is happy only if it wasn’t for his slightly disgusted look.

He occupies a bench rack by placing his bag on the side of one. The rack is located furthest from the door, in the corner of the room. He rides the only stationary bike for 10 minutes. He is wearing a grey OWU lacrosse sweatshirt and slightly darker grey sweatpants. He looks like he is ready to train with Rocky Balboa. He doesn’t smile. After the bike, Xander takes off his grey sweats. Turns out, he is wearing two more layers underneath.

He has to be at Delaware Hayes High School around 7:30 a.m. The only time he can lift on his own is earlier before school starts at Hayes. Flamm says that teaching takes a certain level of commitment and organization. Before Xander went to lift, he wrote up what he was going to do in the gym.

A group of people begin to enter the weight room. The swim team usually lifts around the same time as he does but they never stay as long, Xander says. They don’t distract him from lifting.

“This is basically the only time I can lift on my own,” Xander says.

He wants to be a teacher and wanted to be ever since he was a junior in high school, he says.

“Xander was inspired by one of his teachers in high school,” Xander’s academic advisor Michael Flamm, a professor of history, says. “He loves working with young people.”

All the people he respected when he was young were teachers. After graduation he says he hopes to be a teacher working in Columbus.

Xander says he likes the area and spent a whole summer in Delaware (Ohio) which is just 30 minutes north of Columbus. Just last night, he was working on a lesson plan for three separate high school classes. The subject is “U.S. studies.” He seems to punish the weights and move around the weight room with a purpose.The night before, while making the lesson plan, PowerPoint wasn’t working on his MacBook, he complains. He continues to lift aggressively. After 45-50 minutes in Edwards, Xander begins to pack and put on his sweat stained lacrosse
clothes. He slowly makes his way up the stairs to the lobby breathing loudly and hard with each
step he makes. Now, he is ready to teach.

Education majors at OWU must do some student teaching before graduation. He says he likes it, so far. He has done it for two weeks at this point. But Xander has more than just student
teaching to worry about. He is also a senior lacrosse member and has played the game for 14 spring seasons in total. Student teaching cuts into lacrosse but only on Wednesdays from 4-5:30
p.m. unless there is a game. Then he is allowed to miss class.

“I like to know what I need to do so (lifting) is quick,” Xander says.

Xander parks his car and walks into the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house. He presses his wallet on the door scanner. As it shows a green light, he clenches the handle and swings the door open while letting out a big heavy sigh. He walks past the latest fraternity composite that shows his name and his picture on the top row. “Secretary” appears under his name and picture. He
walks past it. He’s since been elected president of Phi Delta Theta.

“Xander did everyone’s job and I have no clue how he did it,” Andrew Gouhin said during one Chapter Advisory Board meeting. Gouhin is now the acting president.

Xander slowly opens his bedroom door and turns on the light. He throws his workout bag on the couch at the foot of his bed. He is still the only one out of 30 people, in his house, who is awake. Shaking his protein in his red bottle, Xander walks downstairs to the dining room. He opens the door to reveal a messy, unorganized and cluttered dining hall. He complains about how
people need to take care of the kitchen. He also complains about how those messy people are the reason the kitchen is locked. He usually keeps his food in the kitchen but had to move it last night before the kitchen steward locked it again. His breakfast was stored in a blue Bud Light case with duck tape covering the edges. He put it together to deter his house mates from taking his food while they spent whole night drinking and socializing. He puts on a collared shirt, dress pants and puts on his OWU lacrosse jacket. He is ready for school.

Flamm says Xander is a natural at teaching and helping out others. One of his greatest qualities is his ability to coach and teach, says Flamm.

“We need more people like him.”