Category: Entertainment

Wipeout on the Jaywalk

By Katie Cantrell

Transcript Correspondent 

kmcantre@owu.edu

Ohio Wesleyan Wipeout was…well, a Wipeout. Though attendance was low Friday students enjoyed competing on a couple inflatable challenges on the JayWalk. 

The Campus Programming Board had Wesleyan Wipeout running from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. It had a particular reason for choosing this time frame according to club member Catie A. Hyatt. 

“This is the time that people have to spend to like eat lunch and then have like a few minutes before class. So it’s kind of a fun little thing they can do,” she said.

The board rented two inflatables from one of the SuperGames warehouses located in Columbus. The inflatables at the Wesleyan Wipeout were the Leaps and Bounds- Big Red Balls and the Kapow obstacle course, both a part of SuperGames’ interactive play attractions. To comply with SuperGames protocols, students had to fill out a waiver before they could participate in the activities. 

Two of the students who participated in Wesleyan Wipeout said they preferred the Kapow obstacle course. According to OWU student Alex N. Mason, she preferred Kapow because “it had more movement.” 

Mason’s friend, freshman Sara Cordle, agreed. “It was more like a puzzle-like you had to duck not duck, you know.”

Student turnout was lower than expected at the beginning of the event, but two board members said this did not have much to do with the game itself, but more to do with the weather on Friday afternoon. It was sunny and hovering somewhere between 80 to 90 degrees outside. 

The Campus Programming Board is responsible for quite a few activities that Ohio Wesleyan promotes on campus for the students. 

“Last semester we put on Day on the Jay…and we brought in one of these I don’t wanna call them blow-ups, but blow-ups or inflatables I guess, and a lot of people liked it a lot,” said club member Qiukui Moutvic. “So we decided to base an event on something like that and then we just decided to call it Wesleyan Wipeout.” 

Last fall the club took a tour of the SuperGames warehouse during one of its retreats and had the chance to try out some of the inflatables. It was from this retreat that the idea for Wesleyan Wipeout was born. 

When asked if there might be more events like Wesleyan Wipeout in the future Moutvic said, “We have staple events every year, so events like these are more of just whatever comes out of our planning retreat.”

The students definitely would not mind more events like Wesleyan Wipeout said, Cordle. “I like the inflatable events that they have and all the games, like from Day on the Jay.”

Petting zoo comes to OWU

Students were welcomed back to Ohio Wesleyan University by some furry friends.

The Campus Programming Board brought several types of animals to the JAYwalk between 11 p.m.-1 p.m. for students to interact with. The animals included mini zebu, alpacas, mini sheep, kangaroos, camel, goats and a large tortoise. The animals helped to mark a new semester and school year for students and staff alike.

 

Updated Aug 22

Chicano artist speaks about art, walkouts and comics during his speech

By Grant Cayton

Transcript correspondent

ggcayton@owu.edu

From cowboys to cars, from paint to prints– nothing is off limits for this artist.

Carlos Fresquez, Chicano artist and associate professor of painting at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, came to Ohio Wesleyan University on April 2 and spoke with students about his artistic experiences. A exhibit of Fresquez’s paintings entitled “Desde Aqui, Desde Alli” was also presented in Beeghly Library. Fresquez’s lecture discussed various moments of his life that inspired his artwork, and how his art in turn affected his life.

An extremely important moment to Fresquez occurred on Sep. 16, 1969 when he participated in his first walkout at just 13 years of age, he said.

The students that participated in the walkout were protesting the treatment Chicanos faced from teachers and other authority figures. This walkout was one of the first times he saw others take pride in their heritage instead of being demeaned for it, Fresquez said.

“These teachers are not putting me down, someone brown like me is bringing me up,” Fresquez said.

The issue of connecting with his culture played a large part in Fresquez’s speech and went over well with the audience.

“He really connected with the audience when he said he was searching for his culture,” sophomore Hannah Hearn said.

Fresquez’s heritage played a large part in inspiring his art, but it was not the only influence; television shows such as Batman and the Munsters, street tags, murals, and punk album covers all played a part in shaping his style, he said.

Fresquez’s art is often vibrant, with bright colors that catch the eye. While some paintings depict a scene or event, many resemble collages with different images mixed together. Fresquez often borrows from outside sources that have meaning to him when creating his art. In his work “Angela”, the left side of the painting is dominated by recreations of a comic book, and the Frito Bandito character appears in the background.

Fresquez also puts his own spin on others’ works of art, as shown in his “Salon de los Ilegales” series, where he inserts a silhouette of a family running into landscape prints found in thrift stores. The image of the family was taken from a street sign Fresquez saw, warning motorists to watch for families running across the street. Fresquez has created several galleries and exhibits.

According to his website, he has contributed to the Nelson Centre Museum of Fine Art, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and many more. He has also received over thirty honors and awards, according to the website. To Fresquez, the artistic process is inherently personal.

“Art should be a reflection of society and our experiences. I think an artist should respond to what’s important to them,” he said during an interview before the lecture.

Fresquez was also asked about his advice for aspiring artists.

“Fear no art. Don’t think about doing it, just do it,” he said.

Death and Deceased take center stage at OWU play

By Azmeh Talha

aatalha@owu.edu

Staff reporter

Ohio Wesleyan University’s (OWU) department of theatre and dance put on a senior project production that was far more technical compared to productions in the past.

The show A Mother’s Love was written by senior Daniel Brothers and directed by senior Jack Douglas Riter. It highlighted the importance of relationships and how to deal with the loss of a loved one.

The performances took place on March 22 and March 23 in the Studio Theatre located in the Chappelear Drama Center. Performances were 40 minutes long.

The two main characters of the play were the deceased and death.

The role of the deceased was played by senior Beverly King. Her role was of a deceased mother with a daughter, Audrey played by freshman Isabel Johnson to be taken care of by her Aunt, Margo, played by junior Sara Gielink.

The show was not purely based on the emotions people feel, but also souls in a parallel universe.

While watching over her daughter, only a few minutes passed on the other side, years had passed by on Earth. Audrey, who was just a little girl had grown into a nurse within 12 minutes.

Freshman Maxwell Haupt played the character of death. who had feelings of his own as well. Every time someone died, death would appear to send them to the other side. While doing so, he would come across Audrey. The two would have brief conversations every time death would come to help the deceased cross over to the other side.

Over time, the two characters developed feelings for one another. By the end of the performance, Audrey’s time on Earth came to an end. Her and death crossed over to the other side together and King’s character, the deceased became the new death.

Riter described the set as brilliant.

Junior Josh Martin was the scenic and lighting designer for the show. Martin was interested in exploring how the audience would experience the two worlds.

“Using lights and the set I devised a viewport inspired originally by the Vitruvian man that much like artistic and mathematic depiction of the mysterious proportions of the human body, sought to allow the audience to experience the world of the play,” Martin said.  

A Mother’s Love was challenging compared to other shows, Riter said.

“We had teams for publicity, lights, set, tech, makeup, sound,” Riter said, “I’d say on a technical side of things this was a far more extensive senior project production than is usually done here.”

Brothers described his script to be loosely about love, death, loss and a solution for individuals can move on. He wrote the script from a personal perspective. When he was younger, Brothers had trouble coming to terms with people dying and wrote this as a way to help people think about people in their lives dying.

“Death happens, it’s something that’s okay and natural and confusing and hard as well,” Brothers said.

Did the groundhog predict wrong?

On February 2, the groundhog did not see his shadow on Groundhogs Day. This predicted an early spring, but was it wrong? The beginning of March proves so, as Ohio has still experienced snow. When will it end and if it does, will it become Summer immediately, or will Spring prevail? Are we losing seasons due to climate change? Maybe we should start asking the groundhog that every year.

And the Oar Goes To …

By Erin Ross

Staff reporter

emross@owu.edu

Ohio Wesleyan University’s professor of zoology proved the indispensability of his discipline by winning the last remaining seat to new civilization at the Life Raft Debate on Feb. 21.

Sponsored by the university’s Honors Board, the Life Raft Debate is a time-honored event for OWU’s Honors Program. The debate is structured around a hypothetical post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland in which a group of survivors are leaving to rebuild society and have one spot left on their raft, according to the description on the OWU Daily.

At the 2019 Life Raft Debate, OWU professors went head to head as they each argued why their respective discipline deserved the last spot on the life raft to a new civilization.

Faculty participants were Professor of Zoology Ramon Carreno; Mary Anne Lewis Cusato, assistant professor of modern foreign language; Nathan Amador Rowley, assistant professor of geology-geography; Kristina Bogdanov, associate professor of fine arts; and Goran Skosples, associate professor of Economics, who played the devil’s advocate.

Carreno beat out his competitors for the last seat on the life raft by arguing that objective knowledge and the scientific method are the most powerful tools that humans have made.

“Pick me if you want to live,” Carreno said to begin his argument.

Zoology is the only discipline from the group that provides the necessary knowledge to navigate the genetic chaos of a post-apocalyptic world, Carreno said.

A zoologist’s knowledge and ability to analyze safe food and water was also a part of Carreno’s presentation.

Claiming that a zoologist, who knows both human and animal anatomy, is the only individual from the group who would be qualified to perform any medical operations added to Carreno’s persuasive argument.

Such knowledge would also help the new society manage the remaining insects, particularly cockroaches, which would be the predominant creature living in a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland, Carreno said.

Following his argument, Skosples, the devil’s advocate, responded to Carreno by making fun of the professor of zoology’s past research on pinworms and cockroaches. Carreno rebutted by bringing out a jar of live cockroaches and daring Skosples to hold and eat them. The audience reacted with laughter and gasps.

Different than Carreno’s argument, Bogdanov, faculty participant supporting the fine arts, said, “art is the foundation of everything.”

Art came before science, and artists would be necessary for designing and engineering new architecture in a new society, Bogdanov said.

Rowley, in support of geography, argued that geography and geo-locations, used in apps like Tinder, are responsible for forming human relationships that would be necessary in a new society.

Differently, Cusato, the runner-up of the debate, argued that humanities and philosophy are the foundation of critical thinking that is involved in all aspects of life and all other disciplines.

“Why choose the other when you can choose the mother,” Cusato said in her closing statement.

While Bogdanov, Rowley and Cusato each presented arguments that elicited positive responses from the audience, their claims were not strong enough to beat Carreno.

“It was nice to showcase our zoology department,” Carreno said after the debate. “I tried to invoke as many different aspects as I could to highlight how many things our department is actually involved in within the biological sciences.”

Carreno also expressed challenges that he faced during the debate.

“All of the other disciplines are equally important to mine in the context of a liberal arts college,” Carreno said. “For this reason, I did not enjoy being critical of the other faculty in the debate because I respect those disciplines a lot.”

Rowley, assistant professor of geology-geography, tried to embrace such competition before the debate.  

“I am excited about it. I think it can be fun,” Rowley said. “It’s even more exciting knowing that a friend of mine, Dr. Cusato, will also be participating. But our friendship will end the moment the first person speaks at the event! I need to get on that boat!”

In planning the event, the Honors Board surveyed students about which professors they wanted to have participate. They then reached out to those professors who received the highest number of requests.

The Life Raft Debate was previously held intermittently from 2003 until 2014, according to Amy McClure, faculty director of Honors Board. This year, Honors Board decided to bring back the event with the hope of reclaiming the tradition.

Greg Margevicius, student Honors Board coordinator for the 2018-2019 academic year, said that he wanted to use his appointed position as an opportunity to resume the tradition.

“I think events like this are important because it gives professors the chance to take their lessons and explain the importance of those lessons in a wider context,” Margevicius said.

Participating faculty agreed with the importance of such an event.

Rowley said, “I think it is important for the various disciplines across campus to express their significance, and contribution to society.”

McClure, co-director of the honors board, also expressed what she and other members of the board hoped students got from attending the event.

“We hope students get to see the benefits of disciplines they might never have considered,” McClure said. “We also want them to see faculty in a fun, informal environment that is still academic and intellectual.”

Cusato expressed similar hope.

“My hope is that this will encourage everyone who is involved to think about and appreciate both the specificities of all divisions and the elements all academic specializations share,” Cusato said. “All disciplines should inform, educate, and cultivate values. They do these things differently, but they all do them.”life raft debate new conceptlife raft debate new concept (1)

“The Ebony and Ivory Ball was everything that Ohio Wesleyan University needed at this moment in time,”

By Azmeh Talha

Staff reporter

aatalha@owu.edu

In celebration of black history month, the Ebony and Ivory Ball brought together students of different schools in Ohio.

The event was hosted by Ohio Wesleyan’s Black Student Union (BSU) on Saturday, Feb. 16. BSU treasurer, junior Keionna Babie was in charge of planning the night.

Babie said students from Otterbein University and Ohio Dominican University reached out saying they wanted to attend the event.

“Before we could even reach out to other schools, somehow they got word and started asking us where can they buy tickets and stuff,” Babie said.

BSU aimed to make the ball a big event for all the Ohio schools to attend like Ohio State University’s African Night, Babie said. African Night is “a region-wide cultural celebration that provides a platform for diverse expression amongst alumni, current students, faculty, as well as other Midwestern African student associations,” OSU said.

“We have 30 [attendees] registered from Denison but we had some more that were not registered,” said junior Daniela Black.

The ball was held in the Benes Room of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center and welcomed attendees throughout the later evening. Described as “chill” by Otterbein University junior De’Andre Mckenney, the evening had a decorated monochrome and champagne atmosphere suited to the ball’s theme.

A photo booth was set up with glittering gold drapes on either side with a black and white striped backdrop in between. Balloons of the same color scheme were arranged in the shape of the letter M across the photo booth.

Each table had a centerpiece of white and black roses in a long, thin, transparent vase with gold diamante clusters in between. Tables were also scattered with circular gold confetti.

“It was a lot of stuff that we had to plan and think about; it was worth it though,” said Alexis Thomas, secretary of BSU.

BSU hired DJ Vnicee (Javon Forrester) for the Ebony and Ivory Ball, a DJ Babie says has worked with a lot of Chicago rap artists.

Vnicee’s choice of music consisted of mainstream popular rap songs such as 21 Savage’s “Bank Account” and Drake’s “Nonstop” as well as some African culture with music by regional artists.

“The Ebony and Ivory Ball was everything that Ohio Wesleyan University needed at this moment in time,” said senior Ares Harper. “It created a safe space for people of color to come and have a great time, enjoy themselves and for one night not think about their race.”

OWU radio back and better than ever

By Azmeh Talha

Staff reporter

aatalha@owu.edu

Despite facing a technical difficulty, Ohio Wesleyan University’s (OWU) radio station, The Line made a comeback and aired its first show two years after it was shut down.

The Line’s first show aired on Feb.1.

The hosts, freshmen Henry Tikkanen, Maxwell Peckinpaugh and Jacob Delight and played a diverse range of music and tossed jokes being around in between songs.

The university’s online-only radio station was inaccessible to those who were not connected to OWU’s Wi-Fi connection, Bishop Net but the problem was resolved, Tikkanen said.   

“Jacob is more geared towards rap, I’m more towards indie and Henry is more classic rock and modern rock,” Peckinpaugh said.

“Something about the radio that I just really like it like it’s not necessarily a playlist that’s built for you,” Tikkanen said, “so you can branch out and find different songs and different types of music.”

Students on campus contributed to the show by sending in texts during the show and commented on the music being played, Peckinpaugh said.  

Tikkanen reached out to Professor Jo Ingles, Professor of journalism and media advisor of The Transcript and OWU radio and asked to bring the station back.

“Henry has been doing a lot of legwork,” Ingles said.

She further said Tikkanen is very interested in doing his own show.

Apart from a few guidelines, Ingles has given the students the freedom to air whatever interests them to keep it fun.

“The radio should be a place where everyone can feel comfortable to tell stories, exchange ideas,” Ingles said.  

Ingles emphasized that a lot goes on in the university that people may not know about and the radio is an opportunity to spread the word about events that students and faculty might miss otherwise.

The Line is not restricted to topics related to events that happen in OWU but should also include discussions about life in general, Ingles said.

“Any of those things can be really great radio and my hope is that the students who are doing the radio shows will tap into that and create something wonderful,” Ingles said.  

Ingles hopes that more students will participate with the radio and express themselves by doing things that interest them and other students.

Peckinpaugh aims to spread good music across campus.

Delight looks forward to learning more about how radio stations work, sharing music with their listeners and hanging out with friends.

The next show will air on Thursday, Feb. 14, and will have Valentine’s day theme to it.

The Central Ohio Symphony’s 40th Anniversary

The Central Ohio Symphony performed in Gray Chapel in front of a packed house for their holiday concert. Under Music Director Jaime Morales-Matos, the symphony brought seasonal spirit as they played “Welcome Home”, “Nutcracker”, “Christmas Festival” and many more. The symphony is currently in their 40th Anniversary season, and will perform next during the new year, in March and April.

Will I ever find love? No, but i’ll write about it

Dating for college students has become like taking another class. Students must find the person, go on multiple dates, engage in conversation via text or dm’s with them and discuss their ‘status’. For most students, there is simply not enough time during the day for this.

Between shuffling to classes, maintaining a high-grade point average (GPA) and engaging on campus via clubs or friends, students are stretched thin. Traditional dating can become a lost art.

A student from the University of Pennsylvania said in a 2013 New York Times article that she “positioned herself in a way that I can’t have a meaningful romantic relationship because I’m always so busy and the people that I am interested in are always busy, too,” and others agreed.

Online dating has become the main source for finding love. Students can download apps like Bumble or Tinder and simply swipe on a profile, without ever having to meet that person face to face, let alone have a conversation. The easiness of swiping takes away the emotional reaction to being rejected in person, as a user never knows who is turning them down. Users only know who is mutually interested in them.

“It takes a lot less effort to go on your phone than try to meet people in person,” sophomore Madison Drabick said.

Despite these new advances, students are still able to meet their respective partner in person with minimal issues. Students at Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) often meet on campus due to the small size of the school.

“Couples at OWU meet through similar activities that they’re involved in, similar classes, and maybe a handful meet online,” sophomore Isabelle Rodriguez said.

For some students, sending a text or message is easier than talking in person. In a study reported by USA Today in 2013, approximately one-third of men (31%) and women (33%) agree it’s less intimidating to ask for a date via text vs. a phone call.

Hookup culture also dominates the dating field. Students are often so busy in their daily lives that they can’t see themselves doing anything more than casually hooking up with someone.

“Apps like Tinder have made it to where you’re experiencing looking through playing cards of infinite potential partners,” senior Adia Barmore said. “It makes people believe that there’s always something better out there instead of being satisfied with what they have. It less about getting to know people and more about moving on to the next sexual conquest.”

Online dating remains uncharted territory for some, leaving them questioning if that it can inhibit the natural chemistry people have when they meet. For most students, it seems to be a double-edged sword, something that is so ingrained into society that you must learn to use it, properly.

“I feel like with online dating you have a greater variety to meet people you’d never thought you would meet in the first place and it really expands your horizons, but then again it can be kind of sketchy, [because] you never know who someone is so they could just be hiding behind a screen,” sophomore Jacey Sheffel said.