Category: News

Reality check or climate check?

By Claire Yetzer

Staff reporter

ceyetzer@owu.edu

The Ohio Wesleyan campus got a dose of climate change reality at the 30th annual John Kennedy Eddy Memorial Lecture on World Politics.

The title of the lecture was “Global Climate Change, Water Security and Ecosystem Disruption: Higher Scientific Confident Than You Might Think.”

This year’s speaker was professor Jonathan T. Overpeck, an interdisciplinary climate scientist. He has written over 210 published works on climate change and served as a Coordinating Lead Author for the Nobel prize-winning IPCC 4th Assessment in 2007.

The Eddy lecture series is hosted by the International Studies Program and the Department of Politics and Government. The series was established to honor John Kennard Eddy, a student who perished in a car accident when attending a seminar at Oberlin College.

Over 150 people attended the lecture, which was held in the Benes Rooms in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center.

Professor Sean Kay, Professor James Franklin and Provost Charles Stinemetz gave introductions prior to Overpeck’s lecture.

“It was great to see all of the young people and especially all the great questions they had. They obviously know about this issue and are thinking about this issue and I am confident that they will be the ones that will solve this issue,” audience member Linda Diamond said.

Overpeck started the lecture by introducing it as the 21st-century challenge. He went on to describe the major problems the United States faces along with impacts around the world. Issues being faced are major droughts, sea level rise, lack of biodiversity and higher expenses for living.

After discussing the impacts that high emissions of greenhouse gases have on the environment. He impressed upon the audience the importance of starting the transition to clean energy immediately.

There are other concerns with starting the change as soon as possible, like preventing China from capturing the clean energy market. These major changes that need to occur are direct responsibilities of government involvement in climate change policies and involvement of major corporations dedicating research towards cheaper clean energy Overpeck said.

“A giant step that we need to take is electing people who believe in climate change, if we keep voting for people who push it away or don’t think of it as a major issue then we aren’t gonna get anywhere,” freshman Danielle Black said.

The lecture ended with questions from the audience. Most questions were posed by students who wanted more specific examples of solutions to the climate change problem. The last thing imparted upon the audience by Overpeck was a simple statement.

“We created the problem, solving the problem is the responsibility of the next generation or two,” Overpeck said.

OWU renovations: long overdue

By Spencer Queen

Staff reporter

scqueen@owu.edu

Updated Feb 28, 2019

Broken elevators, outdated facilities, poor plumbing, and a lack of air-conditioning— all routine complaints made by OWU students— were recognized as serious problems by the Board of Trustees, which recently revealed a new plan to completely overhaul residential life on campus.

President Rock Jones relayed the Board’s decision in an email, calling the plan “ a new era for Ohio Wesleyan.”

What will this new era look like? The plan involves renovating Smith Hall, Hayes Hall, Welch Hall, and the fraternity houses, the removal of Bashford and Thomson Halls, and the building of a “senior village” at the end of the JAY Walk.

On February 20, President Jones revealed more specific details in a presentation open to the OWU community. He listed three criteria for the designs of the new buildings: “cleanliness, condition, and community.” He envisions residential life progressing from a community-driven first year to a fully independent senior year.  During the presentation, attendees were encouraged to use their cell phones to give feedback on various proposals. Though eager for student input, President Jones urged that plans are nearly complete, and any concerns should be voiced “sooner rather than later.”

Next year, students can expect a completely renovated Smith West and an apartment building housing 126 seniors. The apartments will be in units of eight, six, and four bedrooms, ranging from least to most expensive, respectively.

In the more distant future, Smith Hall will be remodeled as a “first-year” village housing 414 students. Students will live in double rooms while sharing quarter bathrooms. Other amenities proposed but not firmly decided include a fitness center, a quiet meditation space, and an outdoor dining area.

As part of the effort to foster independence, two more apartment buildings will be added to replace Thomson and Bashford halls. The expansion and relocation of the T-Store to this senior village is under consideration, with particular emphasis on students buying and preparing their own meals as an alternative to the current meal plan system.

Students at the meeting voiced many ideas and suggestions, but one brought up a point that was conspicuously downplayed in the presentation: sustainability.

Sophomore Carl DeScott, who attended the meeting, said that the plan was “pretty solid.” However, with respect to sustainability, Descott said that there is “a long way to go” to make the buildings environmentally friendly.

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.

New Title IX guidelines give rise to concerns on campus

By Avery Detrick

Staff reporter

aedetric@owu.edu

The U.S. Department of Education is in the process of making efforts to change the Title IX guidelines. The Title IX guidelines lay down rules for the way universities in the US respond to sexual assault and/or harassment.

A 60 day period of comment opened up on Nov. 28, 2018 and closed Jan. 28, 2019. As of Jan. 25, 71,600 comments had been issued. These comments must be reviewed and analyzed before the new rules are finalized, and they have the power to modify the proposal.

The proposed changes aim to enforce the gender-equity law passed June 23, 1972 which bans discrimination based on sex. (Columbus Dispatch)

“Ohio Wesleyan University is fully committed to providing a campus that is welcoming and safe for all people and accusations of sexual assault are taken very seriously, investigated carefully and fully with a commitment to fairness for all parties, with the commitment to honoring the outcome of an investigation and hearing, including appropriate accountability and consequences for anyone found to be in violation of our policies, and full support of and protection for victims of all forms of assault,” President of OWU, Rock Jones said.

“We will, of course, maintain our steadfast commitment to preventing and responding to sexual misconduct on campus no matter the outcome of the proposed changes,” OWU’s Title IX Coordinator and Dean for Student Engagement and Success Dwayne Todd said, echoing Rock Jones’s statement.

“The Trump administration has appeared to show that there is more tolerance to things such as sexual assault and hate crimes, which have had a continuing spike in the time he has been in office,” first-year Danielle Black said. “The trend of intolerance towards minorities seemed to decrease under the Obama administration, and now it is taking a dive that we’re going to have to spend years reversing. These changes are going to make it harder for the victims to bring up instances of sexual assault. Right now it is already difficult to prove sexual assault, and this will only make it increasingly difficult.”

Hate crimes have shown to be on the rise, as shown by the 2017 statistics released by the FBI.

“To me, the passing of this change seems to bring a more typically judicial approach to sexual assault claims in the way that it adds a full investigation to the accusations instead of simply anecdotal experiences. The ability to also appeal for a cross investigation would then cut down on any false allegations. While I do disagree with universities not being required to take action when the incidents occur off campus, I overall agree with the proposed changes. No victim should be fearful that they are not taken seriously, whether that be through a guilty case of sexual harassment or a false accusation,” freshman David Jindracek said, opposing Black’s view.

Conflicting views are to be expected. The proposed Title IX changes are heavily debated and politicized due to an increasingly tense political climate in the U.S.

“I feel that the definition of harassment the Title IX changes proposes is much too lenient. Otherwise, these changes seem fair to me. I especially agree with the changes allowing more due process for the accused. While being trained to become a resident advisor, one thing that’s stressed is that those being accused of sexual assault sometimes don’t realize they did something wrong, and it’s important to hear both sides of the story,” junior Alex McPherson said.

It remains unclear to what extent changes to Title IX will occur, or the impact that the comments issued by universities across the nation will have on the new legislature.

OWU lacrosse gains new coach for the 2019 season

Updated Feb. 1, 2019 and Feb. 28, 2019

By Erin Ross

Staff Reporter

emross@owu.edu

Ohio Wesleyan University announced the promotion of the assistant women’s lacrosse coach on Monday.

OWU athletics director Doug Zipp was faced with finding a new coach for the women’s lacrosse team after Coach Chelsea Conley resigned from her position on January 3. Zipp explained the reasoning behind Conley’s resignation.

“The decision to step away is for family and personal reasons along with a great opportunity to pursue an exciting new career opportunity outside of athletics,” Zipp said.

On Monday, January 21 Zipp announced the promotion of Assistant Coach Patricia Ryan (’16) to interim head coach for the 2019 season. Ryan is an OWU women’s lacrosse alumna who is serving her second season as a coach for the women’s lacrosse team. Her commitment to the team and passion for the sport played a role in her promotion.

“The reason she was promoted is she has demonstrated leadership, initiative and passion for the program and for our student-athletes and that will go a long way and will push our program forward for this season,” Zipp said.

Despite being saddened by the loss of their head coach, members of the OWU women’s lacrosse team wished Conley the best and have remained optimistic about the upcoming season.

Junior midfielder Sloane Baumgartner said, “The team has taken the change very well and has a positive outlook on the season. We all had some insight that Coach Conley was going to leave. Therefore, having Coach Ryan step in was the best thing to advance the program.”

Ryan herself is eager to lead the team this season and looks forward to being able to try out new practice drills.

“I think implementing some new things and critiquing and working on the old will be exciting,” Ryan said.

Despite limited time to fill the position, Zipp is also happy about the decision to promote Ryan.

“We are excited that Patricia has agreed to take on this role just a few weeks before the start of the season,” Zipp said. “She has already embraced the role, has had team meetings with the players and is continuing to prepare for the season as well as finishing the recruiting for the Fall class of 2019.”

Ryan’s experience as both a student and a coach at OWU has encouraged optimism and fostered enthusiasm among the athletes.

Sophomore goalie Rachel Albers said, “I am looking forward to the energy that Patricia will provide for the team. She is super dedicated to the game and I look forward to learning from her experience as a former player and an OWU alumna.”

Baumgartner, 3-year member of the women’s lacrosse team, agreed with Albers.

“The team is very excited to have Patricia Ryan step into the head coaching role because she understands what it takes to be a student athlete,” Baumgartner said. “Being an alumna, she knows how to push us on the field and in the classroom at Ohio Wesleyan.”

Ryan also recognizes the chemistry that she has with her athletes and the ways in which her alumni status plays a positive role in such chemistry.

“I think it is easy for me to connect to them being that I’ve been in their place not too long ago,” Ryan said. “I like to think I really understand the importance of being a Division III athlete and all that comes with being a student athlete.”

Ryan also deems herself fortunate and is grateful for the help she has received from the athletics department.

“I think that there is a lot of knowledge in the department, so I will be looking to other coaches a lot for help,” Ryan said.

At the end of the 2019 season Ohio Wesleyan will begin a national search for a new head coach, Zipp said.

“Our women’s lacrosse program has a lot of potential and it is important that we now look nationally for the best person to lead our program into the future,” Zipp said.

Washington marches add to rising political tensions

By Claire Yetzer

Staff Reporter

ceyetzer@owu.edu

Friday, Jan. 18 marked a busy day in the capital as the March For Life and the first ever Indigenous People’s March coincided. Tensions became high between the two when a group of male high school students came up to participants of the Indigenous People’s March and seemingly harassed them.

The altercation was recorded and has become viral around the internet. The students were wearing the famous red hats with “Make America Great Again” and at one point seemed to be chanting “build that wall, build that wall”.

“We noticed the tensions were escalating so we decided to leave before we were caught up in it,” sophomore Alana Guzman said. She and two other students had attended the Indigenous People’s March along with the Women’s March that weekend in Washington D.C.

The main person targeted by the students was Elder Nathan Phillips, a Marines veteran and a former director of the Native Youth Alliance. The march he was participating in was organized to address issues facing the indigenous community like mental health, police brutality and violence against women.

The young men were identified as students of a private Catholic school in Kentucky.  

The incident has now turned into a ‘he said she said’ scenario with both parties telling news outlets differing stories that paint them as without blame.

Hope Lopez, an attendee of the Indigenous People’s March, said that the March for Life participants were approaching the space reserved for the Indigenous People’s March. “They definitely were going into their space, I understand that these two protests were going on and they both the right to freedom of speech and express what they believe but they should respect each others’ platforms.”

A full video that has surface has shown a group of Hebrew Israelites and the high school students exchanging remarks. Phillips walked over to intervene in the scenario while playing a prayer song.

Phillips has given a full interview on CNN on Jan. 22 and Nick Sandmann, the student closest to Phillips, had given a full interview on the Today Show on Jan. 23. Both expressed their regrets for not having avoided the confrontation because of the controversy but maintain their part of the interaction to have been innocent.  

Conservatives and liberals have taken opposing stances toward the event, with conservatives condemning the media for rushing to judge and treating the students unfairly.  

President Trump has offered for the Covington High School students to visit the White House once the government has reopened.

Phillips has also offered to come and talk with the students about the importance of respecting other cultures and having a dialogue about racism and cultural appropriation.

Abnormal weather causes class cancellation

Updated Feb. 1, 2019 and March 25, 2019

By Maddie Matos

Editor-in-chief

mrmatos@owu.edu

Low temperatures and intense winds led Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) to cancel classes for Wednesday, Jan. 29.

The weather is expected to be below freezing levels in the early morning, with a high of 0 F. The low is expected to be -3.  With windchill, the temperatures are expected to dip below -40 F.

The temperature is not the only factor for the cancellation, with winds expected to be very intense.

“…The National Weather Service is forecasting Wednesday’s temperatures could dip as low as minus 12 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill values as low as minus 35 degrees,” President Rock Jones wrote in an email to students.

Cancellations do not happen often at OWU, with the last weather related closure happening in 2008.

“The last time classes were canceled due to the weather was the day before Spring Break, 2008 (just before I arrived), when a blizzard was approaching and the University closed early (I think at noon that Friday) in order for students to get to flights and for Spring break mission trips and athletic trips to be on the road before the weather hit,” Jones said.

Another cancellation occurred due to a power outage in 2011.

Students and staff have been advised to stay indoors as much as possible. The risk of Hypothermia and other issues was another factor for the closure.

“The wind chill conditions Wednesday are predicted to be at levels that would run the risk of frost bite due to exposure for students walking from one end of the residential campus to the heart of the academic campus,” Jones said. “While it is very rare that we close due to weather, these conditions make closure prudent and necessary.”

Students agree that closing school was the right decision as well, for their safety.

“The majority of students walk to class and the weather conditions, especially with the wind chill, could be dangerous to students,” junior Lauren Mangold said.

Classes will resume Thursday with shuttles running for students to get to class safely.

Study pills or addiction pills?

By John Bonus

Transcript Correspondent

jrbonus@owu.edu

More than half of college students with an ADHD drug prescription reported being asked to sell their medication to peers and friends, according to research done by the Society for the Study of Addiction. Another study at New York University found that 29 percent of 7,300 surveyed believed ADHD medications helped improve their grades, despite not being diagnosed with ADHD.

Ohio Wesleyan University is no different than any other college in that there are some students who use prescription drugs like Adderall to help them get their work done.

Across college campuses in the United States these drugs are increasingly being used by students who are not prescribed the medication, because of its reputation for helping them focus on work or studying.

One OWU student, who wishes not to be named, said he sometimes uses Adderall when he needs to cram for an exam or paper.

“It’s kind of hard to explain how it feels, but it keeps you awake and like laser-focused so all you can really think about is the work in front of you. It not like it makes you any smarter.”

Attention hyperactivity deficit disorder, more commonly known as ADHD, is a condition that makes it difficult for those affected to stay focused. Drugs that are commonly prescribed for this condition include Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin. They are a a Schedule II controlled substance that fall under the class of amphetamines and stimulants, and are designed to help those with ADHD remain attentive.

Dr. Kira Bailey is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at OWU who teaches classes such as Neuroscience and Psychopharmacology. She said drugs like Adderall work by increasing the release of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly dopamine and norepinephrine.

“Dopamine is typically associated with things like reward, and norepinephrine helps increase arousal and attention,” Bailey said. “That’s why the general effects of an amphetamine like Adderall is an increase of general activation in the brain and body, so the person might feel like they’re better able to concentrate or pay attention.”

A survey by the Michigan Daily in Ann Arbor found that of the 1,300 respondents, 25 percent had used stimulants such as Adderall for schoolwork or to take an exam. However, only 8.95 percent of those respondents said they were prescribed Adderall by a physician or psychiatrist. Many of the others got the Adderall by buying it from another student.

One former OWU student said he used to sell much of his excess Adderall, which he had a lot of. He wished to remain anonymous.

“The one year I was selling I probably sold to around 60 kids, and 20 of those were regulars,” he said. “When it got close to finals I started getting random texts from people I hadn’t even met asking if they could buy.”

According to the same source, the street price for Adderall usually ranges anywhere from $3 to $10 a pill depending on strength.

There are many students with a prescription who feel uncomfortable with the idea of sharing their medication. Jakob Woodside, a junior at OWU who has been taking Adderall since he was 6-years-old, said he refuses to sell his pills to anyone.

“I honestly try to not tell people I have Adderall, because I know that there is a good chance they will ask to buy some,” Woodside said. “When I came to college my mom told me to hide my pills because she knew that kids would want it.”

According to Bailey, the side effects from these drugs are similar between people who use with a prescription and those who use without. However, they are much more prevalent and dramatic for those who do not have a prescription. Some of these effects include anxiety, sleeping problems, shortness of breath and in extreme cases even psychosis.

Addiction is not usually a risk at the levels that doctors prescribe this medication for their patients. But Bailey said that this risk increases for people who take their friend’s pills.

Bailey said she thinks the growing prevalence of drugs like Adderall on college campuses stems from a combination of its availability as well as increased pressure for students.

“Everybody feels like they need to be doing more and at the end of the day you only have so much time,” Bailey said. “So how do you do more with the time you have? Adderall probably looks like a really good option for some people.”

Transcript welcomes new staff for the spring 2019 semester

The Transcript is pleased to announce its new staff for the spring semester of 2019.

Maddie Matos: Editor-in-chief, mrmatos@owu.edu

Kit Weber: Photo editor, kmweber@owu.edu

Jesse Sailer: Online design editor, jvsailer@owu.edu

Claire Yetzer: Staff reporter, ceyetzer@owu.edu

Erin Ross: Staff reporter, emross@owu.edu

Spencer Queen: Staff reporter, scqueen@owu.edu

Meg Edwards: Staff reporter, mmedwards@owu.edu

Azmeh Talha: Staff reporter, aatalha@owu.edu 

 

We hope to serve the Ohio Wesleyan University community to the best of its ability.