Category: News

By Emily Hostetler
Transcript Reporter

Multi-cultural student organizations will mix fashion and fundraising to support Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) at an international fashion show during Family Weekend.

Senior Tammy Winkler, president of Hillel, traveled to Israel this summer on a TIPIT grant to volunteer with SACH, an Israeli-based humanitarian project dedicated to giving children the best cardiac care possible regardless of the child’s nationality, religion, color, gender or financial situation, according to the SACH website.

SACH’s mission of equality influenced Winkler to create a fashion show fundraiser that unites the students, faculty and families of Ohio Wesleyan through culture.

“This is something really exciting that has not been done before and it’s a great way to help other people learn about other cultures,” Winkler said.

Many of the culture and religion-based groups on campus including Tauheed, Horizons International, Rafiki wa Afrika and Hillel are helping to plan, organize and gather clothes for the fashion show.

“The show is international themed with clothes from around the world as well as local fashions,” Winkler said. “People from the Greek community will be modeling clothes for fall formals and there will be students showing their own clothes from where they are from like Vietnam, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Ghana, Myanmar and Brazil.”

Horizons International recently extended group membership to domestic students and is looking forward to displaying the diversity of not only their newly organized group, but the diversity of the Ohio Wesleyan campus.

“The fashion show is interactive and everyone has a chance to intermingle,” senior Mahnoor Wali, president of Horizons International, said. “International diversity is not as exposed as it could be on campus. We can benefit from international students sharing what they know.”

Although the fashion show is the main event, there will also be a date auction and raffles to raise money for SACH.

Junior Maria Jafri, president of Tauheed, heard about the upcoming show through OWU’s interfaith group, Better Together.

She wanted to get her group involved because it is part of Islamic culture to give to charity.

“Tauheed usually does events that benefit our group, but we want to do more projects that are a way of giving back,” Jafri said. “It is nice to see people coming together as a community for such a good cause.”

Winkler planned the event for Family Weekend to extend the audience beyond OWU students and faculty, although she encourages students and faculty to attend as well.

Senior Yelena Coulibaly, president of Rafiki wa Afrika said the event will benefit from being on Family Weekend.

“It is important for people to be aware and educated about what’s happening all over the world. Having the event during Family Weekend should ensure an amazing turnout,” Coulibaly said.

She also said that Rafiki wanted to participate to showcase their culture while helping a great cause.

“The organization called Save A Child’s Heart is self-explanatory, and it is our duty to make sure that every child has a chance to live,” she said.

SACH is based in Israel at the Wolfson Medical Center where doctors perform examinations and surgeries for children around the world in need of cardiac care.
Typically, children will stay in special recovery houses for three months where volunteers help them stay comfortable and happy after surgery.

According to the SACH website, it costs $10,000 to treat one child at SACH, and nearly 30 children can be in treatment at a time.

The fashion show will not only focus on bringing cultures together at OWU for a greater cause, but how bringing people together at SACH saved over 250 children in just one year.

The fashion show is Sept. 29 in the Benes rooms and costs $3 for OWU students, $5 for general admission.

All proceeds collected at the event will go to the SACH organization.

“Doing anything that benefits anyone but you is a good thing,” Wali said. “There is no greater gift than giving a child a chance at life.”

By Spenser Hickey
Transcript Correspondent

Senior Anthony McGuire, president of the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs, was quick to lay the groundwork for WCSA activities this semester.

“I want [each executive committee chair] to have a set of goals for the year,” McGuire said at the start of the meeting, adding that he wanted them by week’s end.

According to its website, WCSA’s goals from last year included “[To] improve transparency and communication” between the student body and the administration. Student involvement in residential life policies and an improvement in the relationship between students and Public Safety were emphasized.

McGuire and senior Carly Hallal, vice president of WCSA, said “we definitely succeeded in accomplishing some of our goals,” particularly in improving communication between students and the administration. They also acknowledged they were not able to do everything they had hoped, such as putting parking meters in the Hamilton-Williams lot to reduce ticketing, which was not completed.

McGuire listed several activities he worked on over the summer and wanted to put into practice. First among these was a partnership with the Student Involvement Office and Politics and Government faculty members to increase voting on campus.

“We all come together to coordinate our efforts for registration and the elections in general,” McGuire said about the planned Voter Registration Task Force.

The task force will hold events such as National Voter Registration Day on September 25th and a visit from members of the Delaware Board of Elections later in the fall.

The WCSA also plans to work with the President’s Sustainability Task Force to increase the number of Hydration Stations on campus. Currently only Hamilton-Williams Campus Center has one, but they are considering installing them in the dorms and Edwards Hall.

Junior Tim O’Keeffe, co-chair of the Residential Life committee, said he was looking into Chartwells’ increase in meal prices. He and fellow chair Lauren Holler, a sophomore, are also working with Chartwells’ to increase diversity of food options, particularly vegetarian and Chinese courses. O’Keeffe and Holler are also generating cooperation between Chartwells’ and local businesses in Delaware, such as Mean Bean.

Public Safety Director Robert Wood delivered a report on the new card readers for the dorms, saying that they plan to have replaced the old ones within two to four weeks, and acknowledged that they couldn’t read all student IDs. He said that some IDs “weren’t very good quality” and that they were being replaced at no charge to students.

Last the council passed a revised sexual misconduct policy, which WCSA worked on throughout last year. The revisions were passed unanimously and were sent to the Faculty Committee for final voting.

Senior Kamila Goldin, a Small Living Unit Representative, said the revision represents “great moves” by the administration to protect students.

By Carly Shields
Transcript Correspondent

This year’s Sagan National Colloquium encourages students to bite into the culture of food and how it affects world perspective.

Christopher Fink, OWU professor of health and human kinetics, will be directing fall 2012’s National Colloquium on food. “Bite!” is the name of the lecture series this year, and it not only includes topics of food based off of health and nutrition but also how food relates to a global, economic and environmental perspective.

National Colloquium at Ohio Wesleyan was established in 1984 and was created to look at a variety of diverse topics, debates, ideas and issues from both national and international perspectives.

National Colloquium was originally created so that all students were required to attend each lecture.

Since 1999 OWU has brought many well-known speakers to the university including Bill Nye the “Science Guy” in 2001, Michael Pollan, a pronounced writer for the New Yorker, in 2003 and Brian Green, a theoretical physicist, in 2004.

“I chose the name ‘Bite!’ not only to be catchy but I also would like students to look at the diverse side of food,” Fink said. “As soon as we take a bite of food it changes us and we can also change it. Its both scientific and cultural.”

The 2011 Sagan National Colloquium’s theme, “Africa: Governance, Equity, & Global Citizenship,” was run by Quaye, professor and director of the black world studies program.

It took a deeper look into the roots of African history, global issues, poverty and Africa’s dependence on foreign trade.

“One can not talk about the continent of Africa without some general discussion of food security, which is based off climatic conditions,” Quaye said. “Food can be a source of war, source of cash crops, to some extent and it can be a source of gender relations…But poverty, starvation and draught are also true in this country. Food is an international issue. It is not localized and restricted to geographical regions.”

Fink has had the great pleasure of traveling to Italy and saw the relationship the Italian people had with food and decided he wanted to do more with his profession of nutrition and health. So he immediately started taking Italian classes at Ohio Wesleyan and in spring 2010 taught a travel-learning course to Italy where students would study the relationship of food and culture. Students also studied and compared obesity rates in Italy versus the United States.

“We don’t spend enough time as a collective whole understanding the core roots of food. Food is our interaction with the environment, family, esthetics etc,” Fink said. “Food is not always a health related issue as well and I really wanted to be someone who looks at those issues.”

Fink has also been involved in working with different groups in Columbus who look at the interaction of food from an ecological standpoint. He is bringing in a couple of local Ohio speakers as part of the panel called “Making Local Work in Ohio: Production, Promotion and Entrepreneurship in the Local Food System.” These local business owners and local farmers will discuss their experiences.

The owner and co-founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in Columbus, Ohio, Jeni Britton-Bauer, is an example of one local speaker coming to talk about her experience as a business owner. But Britton-Bauer will also be speaking about how most of her ingredients for her well-known ice creams are local to Ohio and will discuss Fink’s theme, how food changes us and how we change it.

Abram Kaplan, an environmental studies professor at Denison University, will be coming to speak for “Bite!” about how people interact with food from an environmental aspect.

Not only is Kaplan the founder and director of Denison’s environmental science program, but he is also an artist. He has created a 3-D exhibit called, “Fine Grain: Visual Immersion in the American Food System” that will be displayed on campus for “Bite!” An example of Kaplan’s 3-D art is a sixteen-foot silo that is wrapped with photographs of agriculture in the U.S., which will be on display in the Hamilton Williams Campus Center along with other pieces in the library and the science center.

“Kaplan wants people to touch and interact with the art,” Fink said.

One of the key parts to “Bite!” this fall is that there is a greater picture to the lecture series than just academic for OWU students. Fink has created a fundraiser that will sell t-shirts; the money is raised will go to the Early Childhood Center.

Fink’s goal is to put in a learning garden for the children so they learn about math, science and nutrition in a fun, engaging way. The money raised from the t-shirts will go to help put in the garden and to help maintain it during summer and school breaks.

The lectures, food tastings and activities this fall are open and available to not just OWU students, but also to local residents of Delaware and Columbus. Fink describes food as something that can integrate people and connect us without us realizing it.

“Food is a real area of scholarship and academics but it is also fun,” Fink said. “Food makes us happy and I hope the students and local community members enjoy it and it helps broaden their horizons.”

Photos by Samanta Samin

On Tuesday September 4th students gathered at the Dance Studio to learn how to Hula dance led by Rachel Vinciguerra. Vinciguerra traveled to Hawaii this past July and brought back a modern hula dance called “Keep your Eyes on the Hands.” Vinciguerra mentioned that the lyrics were a little raunchy, but it was all in good fun.

By Jenna Rodcay
Trancript Correspondent

The Hamilton Williams Campus Center received a number of improvements this summer.

Dean of Students Kimberlie Goldsberry, has been a major part of the improvements that span the building and said more “are likely to happen as the year progresses.”

The Benes Rooms received the replacement and replenishment of chairs, allowing for seating of more than 600 people.

Most conference rooms in the building were refurnished and a new conference room, room 233, was added.

According to Goldsberry, rooms are set up in a variety of ways and now offer more than the standard board room style set up.

These conference rooms have also been equipped with additional signage that allows people to easily identify which events are scheduled that day.

“[The improvements] provide a more professional and inviting atmosphere for employers and recruiters,” said Leslie Melton, Director of Career Services. “It makes them want to come back. And when they are impressed [with the facilities] they will be more likely to recruit and hire our students.”

The atrium has also seen improvements. It will feature an up-to-date sound system that will be available for programs and events held at noon, in the evenings and on weekends.

“Student organizations will be more likely to use the atrium because the sound improvement will enhance their programming,” said Nancy Rutkowski, assistant director of Student Involvement for Leadership.

Senior Clare Whitaker, president of the Spirit and Homecoming Organization, said she agreed the new sound system makes the atrium more attractive for programming but finds the conference rooms to be one of the more important improvements.

“I think it’s a great way for clubs and organizations to improve their meetings,” Whitaker said. “You are in a comfortable and professional space, making it more official and the space is more suitable for the necessary projects clubs and organizations will embark upon.”

The end tables and study tables on the first and second floor atrium areas were replaced, as well as some of the benches in those areas.
The benches on the lower level of HamWil were replaced with high-top cabaret tables.

Goldsberry said these tables allow more functional use of the space and has already noticed students taking advantage of them.

Many students were unaware of the changes but said they were pleased after being told about the improvements.

Freshman Matt Sapp said he finds the new furniture to be a lot more comfortable and functional.

Junior Nick Ehlers said the old benches were awkward and the “new tables are good for small study sessions.”

According to Goldsberry, all furnishings that were removed were either “repurposed in other locations on the OWU campus or donated to the local Habitat for Humanity Store.”

Ashel G. Bryant (’47), was a member of the OWU Tower Society, a group for donors who leave their estates to the University.

Bryant passed away in September of 2010, leaving a donation that led to the improvements throughout the building.

According to Craig Ullom, vice president for student affairs, gifts such as Bryant’s allow the university to make improvements without putting them off or spending tuition money.

By Sadie Slager
Transcript Reporter

After the initial H1N1 or swine flu outbreak of 2009, the virus has returned and affected Ohio residents. The Ohio Department of Health has recognized a new strain of the virus, and it is being referred to as H3N2v.

According to the Center for Disease Control’s Nancy Cox, the first onset of swine flu in the United States was March 28, 2009. President Obama declared the 2009 outbreak a national emergency, MSNBC states, as cases occurred in all 50 states and 2,837 deaths were reported.

CNN reported that the H3N2v strain developed as a “matrix gene” as H1N1 and H3N2 occurred simultaneously in a mammal. Hagan said the virus is spread between humans through sneezing, coughing and contact with infected surfaces.

The first fatality from the H3N2v strain was that of a 61-year-old Cincinnati woman, CBS News reports.

CBS News said this death, as well as other cases of the virus, was caused by contact with pigs at county fairs.

According to the CDC, Indiana has the highest number of reported cases of the virus in 2012 while Ohio has the second highest number as of Aug. 31.

In addition to Ohio and Indiana, swine flu has been reported in Penn., Wis. and Minn. with mre than 289 infections. As of Aug. 31, 101 cases were discovered in Ohio alone. These numbers show a large increase in swine flu cases as compared to the 12 reported cases in 2011, the New York Times reported.

Dr. Joseph Bresee, an expert in the CDC’s Influenza Division, said that cases result from exposure to pigs, either directly or indirectly, and that veterinarians and farmers have been exposed as well. According to CNN, Bresee also said steps are being taken to create a vaccine for the new strain of virus.
Ted Wymyslo, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, said certain groups of people should take extra precautions to avoid the virus. These groups include those with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, those with ongoing medical conditions and young children.

People at a higher risk should particularly avoid contact with pigs, according to CBS News. Cases could become more serious and life threatening for people in these risk groups, according to Lynn Finelli of the CDC.

Signs of H3N2v include a headache, cough, soreness throughout the body, fever, runny nose or excessive fatigue. Anyone with these symptoms should report to a health facility.

By Natalie Duleba
Photo and Copy Editor

Daly Walker ’62, came to campus last week to read from his award-winning collection of short stories, “Surgeon Stories.”

Walker is the first speaker of the Writers & Poets Lecture Series, and took place in the Bayley Room last Thursday afternoon.

Walker is both a Vietnam War veteran and an experienced general surgeon. “Surgeon Stories” is his first published collection of short stories, but his essay and stories have been published in literary magazines for many years.

Bob Olmstead, professor of English and published author, introduced the lecture and admired Walker’s life and talents as a writer.

“I sort of think of today’s writer as one of those kind of old-fashioned writers who lived an extraordinary, fascinating, I’d say dangerous life, and then somehow had the wherewithal, the talent, the skill to write it down, to fictionalize it,” Olmstead said.

Walker has retired from medicine, according to his website, but had a long career as a surgeon, both in foreign countries and domestically in Columbus.
He said his experience as a doctor gave him a rich source to draw from for his short stories.

“Every operation I performed was a short story in itself,” he said. “There’s always a protagonist, not necessarily the surgeon but sometimes, it can be the patient or the family member of the patient. There’s rising action and the epiphany during the surgery and falling action afterwards.”

Walker counts himself among physician writers of history. Anton Chekov is his favorite physician writer, and the one that has had the most influence over Walker’s own writing. He said it’s natural for a physician to turn to writing, as a physician is present at the most dramatic times of the human life.

“They are privy to peoples’ lives when they are the most vulnerable and probably the most interesting: birth, death, injury,” he said.

Walker has expressed this opinion before in previous interviews, as he did with Margaret-Love Denman and Barbara Shoup in “Story Matters.”

“Patients come to you when they are the most vulnerable, when they are hurting,” Walker said. “They want to trust you and open up to you. That is great material to write about.”

Not only this, but doctors possess a keen sense of observation, a skill that Walker attributes to a good writer. He advised writers, especially young writers, to hone their observational skills in order to become better at their craft.

The short story Walker read from his collection, “I am the Grass,” tells the tale of a Vietnam War surgeon who returns to the country to perform charitable surgeries on disfigured children.

This story, as well as the other story depicting war, was written so Walker could come to terms with his own part in Vietnam as a war surgeon.
However, these stories are not the only ones that hold truth in their fiction.

“There’s a kernel of myself in each story,” Walker said. “They are a collage of my memory, my experience.”

While his writing got out to a slow start, “Surgeon Stories” having been 25 years in the making, he said that his time at Ohio Wesleyan helped him decide what to do in life.

“My liberal arts education shaped my life in a lot of different ways, and continues to do so,” Walker said.

After the reading, those in attendance could purchase a copy of the collection and have Walker sign it for them. This was followed by a special in-depth question section with Walker for an hour, affording students and faculty to get a deeper look into Walker as a writer, a doctor and a person.

The next speaker in the Writers & Poets Lecture Series is poet Rick Mulkey, who will be on campus Sept. 28 at 4:10 p.m. in the Bayley Room.

Standard health and safety inspections from the Delaware General Health District found routine violations in the five OWU off-campus food point locations.

Stephanie DeGenaro, program manager for the food protection and public safety unit of the DGHD, said the violations found in inspections are split evenly between critical and less serious violations.

She said critical violations have a “direct relationship to the transmission of foodborne illnesses,” including improper food handling, lack of proper hand-washing and other common offenses.

These violations are corrected with an inspector present or receive a follow-up visit three to five days later.
“Less serious violations such as a missing floor tile, burnt out light bulb or general cleaning will be given about two weeks, then (we) go back to see,” DeGenaro said.

She said a restaurant license period runs from March 1 until the end of February of the following year, with a minimum of two standard inspections in this period.

“If a restaurant is open and operating, we haven’t revoked their license or aren’t taking action against them,” DeGenaro said. “There may be circumstances where a license is in the process of being reviewed, but during this process the facilities are allowed to remain open.”

She also said written and oral complaints against businesses are logged and investigated within three business days.

“Sometimes it’s a phone call, followed by a site visit, but we do respond,” she said.

The results of standard investigations, as well as formal customer complaints, are documented in the public record at the DGHD office.

Violations are under the categories of Management and Personnel; Food; Equipment, Utensils and Linens; Water, Plumbing and Waste; Physical Facilities; Poisonous or Toxic Materials; Special Requirements; and Administrative.

Ohio Wesleyan University has partnerships with Amato’s Wood Fired Pizza To Go, Hamburger Inn, Mean Bean Caffeine Lounge, Subway Sandwiches & Salads and Vaquero’s to offer off-campus dining services to students through the food point program. The three most recent health and safety inspections were reviewed for each location.

Amato’s Woodfired Pizza To Go

Craig Johnson, partner at Amato’s restaurant, said once Amato’s got onto the off-campus food point program, they were not removed.

“The more you can get students eating food here the better,” he said. “It helps give them more dining opportunities.”

He said earlier in the semester, when students have more food points, they tend to frequent the off-campus locations more. Johnson said about 20 percent of Amato’s business comes from students–with and without their food points.

He also said Amato’s, similar to other establishments in town, is regularly inspected by the health department.

“We follow all the protocol with thermometers, washing hands and other regulations,” he said. “The county has a process in place for inspecting.”

A standard health and safety inspection on Aug. 22, 2011, found five violations at Amato’s.

The violations included equipment held together with duct tape, prepared salad dressing held at 44 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the required 41 degrees or below, and lights in the kitchen were not properly shielded, according to the inspection record.

An additional 13 violations were found in the inspection on Jan. 3.

Old food debris was on the interior cabinets; a prep employee was unable to demonstrate “knowledge in food safety properly;” and meatballs were reheated in a steam well at 96 degrees instead of the required 165 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the inspector’s record.

Amato’s had three violations in the most recent inspection on Jan. 24.

The inspection record said an indirect plumbing line was used for waste and water, the floor under the dishwasher wasn’t smooth and the kitchen walls were found in “disrepair,” according to the inspection sheet.

“You have to stay on top of code and correct violations,” Johnson said. “They’ll come back the next week and check if you don’t.”

Hamburger Inn

Bill Michailidis, owner of Hamburger Inn, said his restaurant provides a valuable service to the community and students.

“Being open as many hours as we are, it provides an alternative source for students to get away from the college life and their stressful schedules,” he said.

Michailidis said, through the off-campus food point program, Hamburger Inn is offering alternative food possibilities to students.

“We’re complimenting, not replacing the food that is available,” he said.
Michailidis said all employees go through a certification process to ensure proper health and safety codes are met.

In addition, he said general managers, shift managers and he as an owner inspect logs to implement these standards.

“We want to be current with all of the health code standards,” he said. “We enforce them and inspect constantly.”

On Aug. 15, 2011, the standard health and safety inspection yielded three different violations at Hamburger Inn.

According to this inspection sheet, raw meat was stored above ready-to-eat foods in a cooler; the restaurant floor, “especially in the hard-to-reach areas,” was not clean; and surfaces near the fryer and grill were not clean.

On Nov. 4, 2011, there was an inspection which resulted from an anonymous complaint. The complaint included bare hands touching baked goods, roaches at the bottom of the ice machine and roaches underneath the lottery machine.

The post-complaint inspection sheet noted employees wearing gloves and the restaurant showed no signs of roaches. According to the inspection sheet, the hole in the wall behind the lottery machine had been patched to prevent further insects from gaining access to the restaurant.

The most recent standard health and safety inspection on January 20, found eight violations. Raw eggs were found stored above ready-to-eat foods in the cooler; boxes of napkins were being stored on the floor instead of six inches off the ground; and mixers, the grill shelf and sections of the floor were found to be dirty, according to the inspection record.

Michailidis said seasonal pests such as roaches sometimes enter establishments in the summer or fall, seeking shelter as the temperature changes.

“To prevent any problems we try to stay ahead of the game,” he said. “When you have older buildings you have to stay on top of this and make sure there is constant oversight.”

Michailidis said the November infestation was an isolated incident and there are currently no problems at Hamburger Inn.

“We look for the source that causes the problem,” he said. “There was a crack in the wall that was repaired. Almost 90 percent of the time these pests come from warehouses, so we also always have to be vigilant in checking vegetables.”

He said overall, the restaurant is well-liked by the campus and community.
“We have a good amount of students and faculty who join us for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Michailidis said.

Mean Bean Caffeine Lounge

The Mean Bean underwent a change of ownership and a new restaurant license was issued during this process. Only the most recent inspection on Dec. 14, 2011 took place under the new ownership.

The standard inspection on July 8, 2011, found four violations at Mean Bean.

Among other notes, the health department found the following violations. A non-commercial microwave was being utilized, but according to health department standards, all equipment “shall be commercial grade;” a light shield was missing above a sink, but “lights shall be shielded in areas where food/equipment/utensils are exposed;” and a wall below the cash register was in “disrepair,” according to the inspection record.
The inspection on Sept. 23, 2011, was a consultation inspection and found several problem areas in the establishment. The recommendations included repainting storage area walls, resealing the edges of the sinks and moving the dryer and washer out of the “prep/bakery area,” according to the consultation record.

The most recent inspection on Dec. 14, 2011, found six violations at Mean Bean.

“Spillage” on the floor beneath the basement coolers, rust on the interior of the Arctic Air refrigeration unit, and a missing light shield in the front display cooler which had “exposed foods” in it, were among the violations noted on the inspection record.

Attempts to contact the owner were unsuccessful.

Subway Sandwiches & Salads

Located on S. Sandusky Street, Subway is two doors down from Amato’s, one of the other businesses which accepts off-campus food points.

The standard health and safety inspection on June 28, 2011, found eight health and safety issues.

The inside of the ice chute had mildew growing in it and according to the health department, equipment which contacts food should be “clean to sight and touch.” A mop was stored in a bucket with old mop water; this is a problem because mops are supposed to be “hung dry after use so that they can air dry,” according to the inspection record.

Additionally, one section of the floor had “old food residue and syrup spillage.” The health department mandates floors should be maintained in a clean fashion.

A follow-up inspection took place on July 5, 2011, to check the above violations. This inspection found the previous violations had been corrected and noted only one remaining violation.

Under the category of maintenance and operation of physical facilities, a corner joint was in disrepair and had been temporarily fixed with duct tape. According to the report, “physical facilities shall be in good repair,” so the broken wall was a violation of health and safety codes.

The most recent inspection on Dec. 14, 2011, found seven violations. Pickles and pickle residue found in the hand sink were in violation of the health department mandate that this type of sink should “be used for no purpose other than hand washing.”

Trays were found stored on the floor. The health department record said equipment should be stored at least six inches off the floor; this violation was corrected during the inspection. The health department also found dirty lids above the bread table during the inspection; this was a violation because according to the inspection record, “equipment should be clean to sight and touch.”

Attempts to contact the manager of Subway were unsuccessful.

Vaquero’s Restaurant

Servando Radilla, manager of Vaquero’s, said it’s important for the restaurant to be on the off-campus food point program because they provide a good service to students.

“We’re trying to maintain good a relationship with the students and the school through the program,” he said.
Radilla said the restaurant makes between $400-500 per day from OWU business.

“The daily amount of students depends on a lot of things,” he said. “Some people spend less or eat less, while others spend a lot more.”

Radilla said the most common health code problem Vaquero’s runs into is hair in the food.

“We don’t have many problems, but this is one,” he said. “It’s not because of my employees because they all wear hair nets. Sometimes customer hair or other hair just gets into the food accidentally.”

A standard health and safety inspection on Sept. 15, 2011, found 17 violations at Vaquero’s; three of these are listed below.

A leak on the iced tea line was spotted because “plumbing shall be maintained in a state of good repair;” an unlabeled chemical bottle was found and according to the health department, “chemicals shall be labeled with the common name to prevent contamination;” and wet dishes were stacked together instead of separated to allow for drying before being re-shelved.

A follow-up inspection on Oct. 5, 2011, found the previous violations had been addressed. One new violation was documented under the category of maintenance and operation. A second standard inspection on Feb. 6, documented 12 violations.

During this inspection, employees failed to wash hands before beginning food prep activities, but did so upon the request of the inspector. Raw chicken was found stored above a container of raw beef in the upright cooler and according to the inspection sheet, raw chicken should be stored below raw beef to prevent contamination. This was corrected during the inspection.

Also during this inspection, a section of wall was found missing in the archway to the kitchen; this was a problem because “physical facilities shall be maintained in a state of good repair,” according to the inspection report.

A follow-up inspection on Feb. 7, inspected the corrected violations from the previous day’s visit. Only three violations were noted at this time.

The most recent health and safety inspection on March 28, noted three violations at Vaquero’s. According to the inspection record, a wall cove was missing near the kitchen, a torn gasket was found on a 2-door upright cooler and several knives were incorrectly stored.

Radilla said any violations the health department documents are corrected right away. He said if a violation is minor, it will typically be corrected while the inspector is present.

“We’ve got a good reputation for our food,” he said. “Everything we use is new; nothing is left over.”

What about Chartwells?

Ohio Wesleyan University has 11 locations where students and faculty members may purchase food through the Chartwells company.

OWU’s Bishop Café was among 114 locations recently awarded a Clean Establishment Award for the 2011-2012 licensing year, according to a DGHD news release.

These were awarded for “excellent food safety and cleanliness practices” and “no critical food safety violations were noted” in the two most recent inspections of these locations, according to the news release.
Gene Castelli, resident district manager of Chartwells, said all of the on-campus locations have been awarded this designation at one time or another.

He said the most common violation results when a lazy employee doesn’t wear gloves.

“We stress this, along with proper hand washing, as the best way to be safe when handling food,” he said.

Castelli said “on the rare occasion” a violation occurs in a campus location, the problem is fixed right away. He said procedures are in place for purchasing products, receiving, handling, preparing and cooking the food in conjunction with health department standards.

“During our associate meetings we always present a small section on food or general safety,” he said.
Castelli also said all managers and supervisors recently completed ServSafe, an online food safety certification, and some hourly employees have also chosen to take the course.

“Our motto is not ‘Safety First,’ but rather it is ‘Safety Always,’” he said.

The off-campus food point locations are selected annually through WCSA and a student poll. Chartwells has no connection to this program.