Category: News

Gifts given a plenty to largest campaign in history

By Reilly Wright, Managing Editor

Recent gifts and pledges have pushed the largest campaign in Ohio Wesleyan history, the $200 million “Connect Today, Create Tomorrow” campaign, forward for students.

The campaign has had the spotlight in recent university efforts and, according to President Rock Jones, gifts and pledges have totaled to more than $150 million to date. This puts the campaign a full year ahead of the projected schedule.

The raised money is aimed toward improvements campus wide; whether need-based scholarships, the OWU Connection or capital improvements, such as renovating Branch Rickey Arena.

Colleen Garland, vice president for University Advancement, says campaigns begin with a university strategic plan that resonates with donors and has the biggest impact at Ohio Wesleyan. The campaign’s progress is fueled through gifts by OWU alumni and friends.

“The largest single objective [of the campaign] is $50 million for student scholarships,” Garland said. “There’s the OWU Connection endowments, there’s capital improvements, like the new SLUs… all of those have been funded with gifts from the campaign.”

Earlier in March, Garland announced recent major gifts contributing to the campaign.

Dr. James F. Morris ’44 Endowed Scholarship: Estimated to be the second-largest scholarship at OWU, it is expected to total to more than $4 million with preference toward students with financial need. It is named after the late Dr. James F. Morris, an alumnus who received a full scholarship from OWU before becoming a pulmonologist.

The Sloan House, 94 Rowland Ave.: The currently unnamed Small Living Unit, the blue and brown building holding the House of Linguistic Diversity (HOLD) and House of Peace & Justice, will be named the Sloan House. Due to a $500,000 commitment from Tim and Lisa Sloan, members of the Campaign Leadership Committee, the Sloan House reception will be held during Reunion Weekend on Friday, May 18.

David P. Miller ’54 gift for online summer classes: After two successful summers of pilot online summer courses at OWU, Miller, who financially contributed for its launch, agreed to provide an additional $819,000 for the next three years of course development. Summer enrollment has increased due to the classes’ success and now the number of online courses has doubled each year. For information on the 2018 summer session, visit https://www.owu.edu/academics/summer-session/.

“Each and every gift is important to this campaign,” Jones said. “The gifts announced recently reflect the wide-ranging impact of this campaign…  Each of these gifts directly impacts our students and their experience here.”

Garland says campaign gifts are being closed almost every week and she plans to remain transparent in sharing these donor stories with the campus community.

“My intent is once every four to six weeks or so to send a similar update to the campus to highlight specific gifts because if we only talk about the dollars it’s hard to understand the donor story behind the dollar and what it’s actually going towards,” she said.

The University Advancement staff combined with the Campaign Leadership Committee, co-chaired by Kevin and Nancy McGinty and John and Kathie Milligan, has led campaign support. But Garland also says students and faculty help inspire alumni and friends to give as well.

“Whether that’s students writing thank you notes to donors if they receive a scholarship to faculty continuing to innovate and add new programs like the new majors, all of that gives us things that donors get excited about and want to invest in,” Garland said.

To view updated campaign progress, visit owu.edu/campaign.

Too many powers, too much to handle

By Kienan O’Doherty, Editor-In-Chief

A world without design. A world on auto-pilot.
That was the bottom line of Randall Schweller’s presentation on Friday, March 9, as part of the
Great Decisions 2018 community discussion series on U.S. foreign policy.

Schweller , a professor of political science and a social and behavioral science at Ohio State
University, is the author of many books. He also has published many articles in leading journals,
including World Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and International Security.

Schweller was scheduled to talk about “The Waning of Pax Americana,” but first he clarified
what that term means.

“Another way of thinking about it is the liberal international order,” Schweller said. “The term
does get thrown around a lot, and it really means more international stability [than peace],
because there hasn’t been too much peace in the world.”

Schweller said a world record has been set for the longest period without a great-power war, and
that “Pax-Americana is peaceful if you’re just looking at the great powers.”

According to Schweller, a world populated by dozens of power centers will prove extremely
difficult to navigate and control.

“Herding a few cats is no simple task; herding dozens of them is an impossible one,” he said.

One of the challenges the world faces is the evolution of transmitting information. Schweller said
he believes people are facing entropy as well.

“Entropy is not only on the rise in the international system,” Schweller said. “Individuals, too,
are experiencing greater personal entropy, as they discover they are incapable of handling the
speed at which digital information is transmitted. Information rains down faster and thicker by
the day.”

Attendees had many questions, and some had their concerns.

“I like how clear he was with us in the beginning, saying he was a Republican,” attendee Jo
Eastham said. “I did think he was a little disorganized, and that his three main points should’ve
been handed out to us.”

Others agreed with Schweller.

“There’s an outburst of small groups in the world that are doing significant activities on a local
level,” attendee Ed Hoar said. “And altogether, they constitute a major force in changing the
world. So, he could be right in that sense.”

Great Decisions 2018 is Delaware’s free community discussion series about current U.S. foreign
policy. It runs every Friday at noon through March 23 at the William Street United Methodist
Church, 28 W. William St.

Kienan O’Doherty is a journalism major at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Student-elected professors give lectures to honor students

By Reilly Wright, Managing Editor

Within Gillespie Honors House’s first year of existence, it has welcomed both residents and
lectures for Ohio Wesleyan honors students.

The inaugural Honors House Lecture Series began in early March inviting OWU honors students
to attend lectures by student-selected professors and an easy way to see the new structure.

The most recent lecture, the second of the series, took place Wednesday, March 21 with Dr.
Lynette Carpenter, professor of english, discussing “Hollywood Doesn’t Go To War: How The
Wizard of Oz tried to keep Americans home during WWII.”

Filled with snacks, questions and “The Munchkin Land Song,” students actively listened as
Carpenter explained a different interpretation of the “The Wizard of Oz” and how the political
climate influenced the film.

Comparing the protagonist, Dorothy, to the U.S., who is unwillingly thrown into a conflict and
innocently liberates people, Carpenter argues the film’s intent to keep Americans home.

“Dorothy has landed herself in the middle of a political struggle: a fight between the witches in
the East and the West,” Carpenter said.

With the main producers of the film favoring U.S. isolationism as well as the characters praising
courage only when it is wise, Carpenter painted the blockbuster in a new political light.

“I think the lecture series is a nice opportunity for students to interact with faculty around
intellectual content in an informal setting,” Carpenter said. “They were a fun audience, very
engaged.”

OWU junior Cindy Huynh, moderator of the Gillespie Honors House, says the series came to be
when residents pointed out the opportunity for honors students to learn about subjects outside of
their majors.

“Sometimes we are often focused on the classes that we are trying to finish for our majors, but
being an honors student is about expanding our knowledge in more than one way, which is why I
believe that this lecture series is beneficial to all honors students,” Huynh said.

Sydney Douglass, a sophomore resident in the Honors House, said “I think the series is really
interesting and a great way for students to learn about things that they may never take classes
about.”

The first lecture of the series hosted Dr. Jennifer Jolley, assistant professor of music, as she
examined the relationship between politics and music.

“[Jolley] spoke about her journey of becoming a composer and how she uses her music to make
political statements,” Huynh said. “It was really inspiring to hear about; especially in today's
political climate.”

Dr. Danielle Hamill, professor of zoology, is speaking next at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 2.
Later, Dr. Shala Hankison, associate professor of zoology, will lecture at a predetermined time.

“I would definitely like to see this series grow in the future to reach more honors students and
professors,” Huynh said.

Electric car batteries create challenge for first responders

By Kienan O’Doherty, Editor-In-Chief

In a world where technology is evolving at a rapid pace, emergency response should as well.

I agree, it is a very odd combination when you first look at it. But when you see an electric car’s debris all
over the highway, you may want to see the logic behind the combination.

Last Friday, a fiery crash occurred between a Tesla Model X and a freeway divider on U.S. Highway 101
in California, leaving the roadster engulfed in flames after being struck by two other cars afterward. The
crash shut down a carpool ramp and two lanes for almost 6 hours, almost twice as long as normal
accident of this type. One of the major problems was the car battery being exposed.

Mountain View’s (CA) Fire Department typically puts out a car fire in minutes. But according to an article
on abc7news.com by Jonathan Bloom, Chief Juan Diaz said this is the first time the department has had
to deal with a Tesla battery that was split open and on fire.

Fire crews arrived at the scene of the accident around 9:30 a.m. Chief Diaz said the last engine company
went back into service around 4:30 p.m. In a gasoline car fire, he said, all companies would’ve likely
been back in service within minutes.

According to the article, Tesla’s no stranger to the Mountain View Fire Department. They’ve conducted
trainings with firefighters, including some at their factory in Fremont (CA), on how to handle Tesla
batteries when they’re damaged in an accident, and how to disconnect batteries from each Tesla model.

So, why did it take so much longer?

Well first, first responders looked over many options. They considered dousing the battery with the
recommended 3,000 gallons of water, but that would’ve required stopping all traffic to run a hose
across the freeway. Another option would’ve been to let the fire burn itself out — but firefighters also
decided against that. So instead, they called on Tesla engineers to come over and help remove the
battery completely.

Being that these first responders had training to deal with this, I believe that it wouldn’t hurt for all first
responders to have more training on this issue, as this is coming to be the age of the electric car. They
need to be more prepared, as the next electric car to catch on fire could even be more catastrophic.

President Trump and his contributions to the winning of The Shape of Water

By Tung Nguyen, Online Editor

In the year of 2018, the world has seen a “fairy tale” winning an Oscar for the Best Picture, one of the most prestigious award that a director could achieve. The Shape of Water had overcome its outstanding competitors to be one of a very few fantasy film, if not the only one, to win the Academy Award, thank to president Trump.

President Trump has been a center of many comedic criticisms coming from the Hollywood’s world, if we can recall the opening monologue of Jimmy Kimmel in the last Oscar event. In this year, more than just gently mocking the president through monologue, many films, which subtly ridicule the presidency and the United States’ society after the election, were chosen to compete for the Best Picture such as Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Shape of Water.

Throughout the many years of the Oscars, I have to admit that the political factors are becoming more and more important and, probably, surpassing the pure cinematic factors. To be clearer, briefly analyzing The Shape of Water is essential.

The United States’ society during the 1960s is a picture with many contradictory colors. The blue color represents the hope of a better future with massive technological and economical progressions.
The yellow color brings up the remnants of racism toward many people of minorities and red provokes the potential threats coming from the intense rivalry against the Soviet Union. With Elisa Espotito, her life is surrounded by the grey color.

Living in a dreary apartment above an old movie theater in Baltimore and working as a regular janitor in a secret government laboratory during the Cold War, Elisa only has one silver lining that lights up her life as a muted woman: her friendship with Giles, a homosexual painter, and Zelda Fuller, her colored co-
worker. Each of them represent a minority that has been suppressed in centuries by the United States’
society.

However, the color of love found Elisa when she meets “the Asset,” an amphibian-humanoid creature
founded near a South American river. In “the Asset”, Elisa sees a silent friend who shares the passion of music, of dancing and some boiled eggs with her. More than that, they are both lonely and crushed by something bigger. If “the Asset” is physically and continuously damaged by Colonel Richard Strickland, a
representative of a “higher power,” then Elisa is emotionally damaged by her co-workers’ daily complaints, who are the representatives of the United States’ society, because of her disability.

In my opinion, this particular picture is reminiscent of what is going on in the United States’ political arena nowadays under Trump’s presidency: the government stepping on the minorities to reach its own purposes. The images of President Trump constantly mocking a woman of disability as well as disdaining a journalist because of her “regular job” did enrage the public a year ago. Even though The Shape of Water had a big chance of becoming a “so-so” movie like some other movies from Guillermo Del Toro
such as Hellboy, these images from the president somehow pulled its own trigger and pushed The Shape of Water to a massive success.

The depiction of the current presidency cannot be perfect without the last suppressed group, which has been focused mostly on by the president himself: the Mexican immigrants. With his Oscar’s
acceptance speech emphasized on his own Mexican origin, let us guess who put the last puzzle piece in the panorama that subtly implies the “political incorrectness” of President Trump? The Academy Award winner: Director Guillermo Del Toro.

OWU discusses anniversary of Armenian Genocide through guest lecture

By Maddie Matos, A&E Editor

A horrific and overlooked event was honored in Ohio Wesleyan University’s biennial Kragalott lecture.

Ronald Suny, professor at the University of Michigan, discussed the Armenian genocide, an event that happened over one hundred years ago. The genocide is regarded as the first mass killing of the twentieth century.

The genocide is not as widely known compared to other events in history, most famously the Holocaust during World War II. Through Suny’s lecture, students gained a new perspective on what causes a genocide and the human nature behind it.

“It is very easy for people to blame their fears or problems on other groups of people who are different from them and cause mass violence and terror,” said sophomore Amanda Hays, an OWU history board member.

Over 30 people attended the lecture held in the R.W. Corns Building, including people of Armenian descent.

Suny, an expert on the genocide, has published multiple works on the historical event. Suny is of Armenian descent, making the subject one more personal and essential to share.

The genocide occurred during World War I by the Turkish government. According to Suny, the new government felt threatened by the rise of Armenians in society. Many Armenians held higher positions of power, which challenged the social order in Turkey and starting the genocide.

“This rise created resentment in Turkish society, as they felt that the Armenians had caused a status flip, now with Armenians on top and Turks on the bottom,” Suny said.

The genocide killed between 600,000 and 1 million people, making it the first genocide and documented crime against humanity in the 20th century. Various world leaders later used the event as a model for their own killings, including Adolf Hitler.

Suny explained the Turkish government also started the genocide through affective disposition. This idea of constructing a person off what they believed was a key argument in the presentation.

“The Turks felt five emotions towards the Armenians at the time of the genocide, which were fear, anger, resentment, anxiety and hatred,” Suny said.

 The genocide is not acknowledged by the current Turkish government, along with other nations. The genocide, recognized or not, still destroyed thousands of lives, Suny explained.

Throughout the lecture, active audience members asked questions and engaged with Suny. Some were impressed by Suny’s presentation.

“The speaker had a lot to say and was obviously very impassioned by the subject,” Hays said.

The Armenian genocide lecture provided an insight to a historical event often overlooked, but left an impact felt throughout the world.

OWU Alumni gives presentation on new research idea

By Tung Nguyen, Online Editor

Dr. Brady Porter, a faculty member of Duquesne University and also an Ohio Wesleyan University alumnus, made a return and presented his recent research on Friday, Feb. 9.

In collaboration with the National Aviary and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Dr. Porter focuses his research on the applications of DNA metabarcoding to dietary analyses and environmental DNA surveys.

“The problem is that bird diets are difficult to study,” Dr. Porter said.

By watching the behaviors and the surrounding habitats of    Louisiana Waterthrush, a breed of warblers in eastern North America, Dr. Porter finds a different approach to study its dietary.

“We also want to see what insects it feed its young nestlings and observe the digestive process,” Dr. Porter said.

Later on, Dr. Porter dissects the defecation of these nestlings and provides accurate data about the types of prey items that these bird are eating.

Dr. Dustin Reichard, an OWU professor of zoology, said: “I was not aware how much dietary data could be extracted from avian fecal samples. Dr. Porter’s technique is also much less invasive than the traditional ones and it represents the future of studying food webs.”

Besides working as a faculty member at Duquesne University, Dr. Porter still regularly returns and contributes his findings to the Natural Museum of OWU as well as helps to train the students.

“Dr. Jed Burtt spent a lot of time training and inspiring me when I was here at OWU during the 90s,” Dr. Porter said. “So my motivation to make a return to OWU is to give something back.”

According to Dr. Porter, one of his many experiences with Dr. Burtt that helped him to make a breakthrough in Zoology was attending a scientific meeting in the University of Pittsburgh in 1987.

“Dr. Burtt introduced me to one of the collection manager of the Carnegie Museum along with many other legendary scientists,” Dr. Porter said. “They trained me how to do the museum’s works and skills that allowed me to complete hundreds of findings for my job.”

Speaking of Dr. Porter’s contributions to OWU, Dr. Reichard said: “Dr. Porter trained the next generation of students to prepare both bird and mammal study skins for our museum. He is also a very important source of knowledge to keep the continuity of our museum as well.”

Seminar and exhibit gives students space to discuss inner struggles

By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor

The What’s Your Big Lie? (WYBL) pop-up exhibit and seminar allowed students to share their inner struggles with their peers and start open conversation about mental health.

The point of the exhibit and program was to bring to light the fact that everyone is living a lie whether it be big or small, in their work life or personal life and that although sometimes we can’t admit it, it’s okay to be living with that lie.

The pop-up exhibit was featured in the atrium of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center (HWCC) throughout the entire day and consisted of a collection of answers to thought provoking questions about mental health. The responses were then projected on the walls, floors and ceiling in the atrium for all to see.

Jordan Axani, the creator of WYBL, led the seminar by telling us how he came to realize the lie he had been living with. After years of being bullied in elementary school, dealing with family issues as well as handling his mental stress, he admitted that, “For 20 years, I hated myself immensely and I was afraid to admit it to anyone, especially myself.”

Junior and Panhellenic President Mackenzie Brunke said, “Axani was enthusiastic about a hard to discuss topic and took it with grace.”

Axani turned to social media as a cathartic release. He started to write and post what he was going through on Instagram. The more he shared, the more people contacted him with their stories and what they were going through. He realized then that he wasn’t alone in his battle.

This WYBL program was developed in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and a team of mental health experts in 2016, and has been praised as life-changing by numerous audiences.

“I have the incredible privilege to work with students, employees and everyday people on helping them kill their inner imposter and embrace who they really are,” Axani said.

WYBL has been presented to over 150,000 students, teachers, parents, entrepreneurs and professionals across North America with hundreds of institutions using WYBL as a way to build a “culture of openness, empathy and belonging.” (https://www.shiftcollab.com/programs/wybl/)

“It was a great approach to reducing the stigma that follows issues like mental health, you were able to feel safe talking about it with your peers,” junior Tessa Coleman said.

Once Axani was through with his story he invited the audience to participate in

Using phones and an anonymous platform, students submitted their ‘big lies’ and other insecurities secretly. Their responses are filtered almost immediately and are then projected at the front of the room.

Just moments after the first confessions showed up on the screen, there was both a moment of relief and recognition on everyone’s faces. Nobody was alone in what they were feeling. Axani, as well as students from the audience, offered words of affirmation and hope to those that bravely sent in their submissions.

Axani took the seminar a step further and asked if students would like to stand up and share their stories without the cover of anonymity that their phone provided. It took a few seconds and a room full of wandering eyes before the first hand bravely went up.

House of Black Culture construction approved

By Alameina White, Transcript Reporter

On Friday, Feb. 9, the Ohio Wesleyan Board of Trustees approved a $1.25 million budget for the construction of the new House of Black Culture.

Last year, Dwayne Todd, vice president for student engagement and success, announced that the House of Black Culture was no longer suitable for students to live in due to its unstable foundation and maintenance issues. The plan was to move its residents to the former Honors House at 123 Oak Hill Ave., but after numerous objections from students, the decision was to raise money to build a new House of Black Culture.

According to Todd, the fundraising for construction began in late spring 2017 when the Haddock Family Foundation provided a lead gift. Additional funding came from fundraising efforts  and the sale of existing OWU properties.

“As with this property, we’ve been fortunate to have had generous donors step forward to make these recent housing projects happen,” Todd said. “This particular project is so important because the House of Black Culture holds a very special place in the history of our university and in the current life of campus.”

For over a year now, students, faculty and alumni have been raising money for the house’s construction and their efforts have paid off.

“We’ve had to try a lot harder than other SLUs to get money for our house,” said Ornella Bisamaza, House of Black Culture resident. “I like that they put forth the effort; minorities should be an important factor on campus.”

Raising the money for the house’s construction was an important goal for the Board of Trustees due to its role on campus.

“The House of Black Culture is an important space on campus, both for the students who live in the house and for the larger number of students who visit the house and participate in programs hosted by the house. It is important to secure funding to replace the building and continue the vital presence of the House of Black Culture,” said President Rock Jones. 

According to Todd, the new home will feature a large front porch, large common rooms including a kitchen and a dinette, as well as a residential area to house 12 students.

“I truly cannot wait until the doors open on the new house and we see students turning it into their new home,” Todd said. “This will become an even better gathering space for students and I’m excited to see it used to bring students together.”

The house will be rebuilt in the same location, 65 Oak Hill Ave., which was one of the students’ primary requests.

“Our biggest request was for the house to not be moved. They fought for that land and that house, so we have to keep it,” said Bisamaza.

The location of the house is considered to be in the heart of campus, allowing better accessibility to students in other residential halls.

“It looks across to The Cave in Stuyvesant Hall which also is an important gathering place for multi-cultural student organizations and, in particular, organizations related to black culture,” Jones said.

According to Bisamaza, they also plan to keep some of the same aspects of the old house, such as the doors, to preserve the house’s memories.

The House of Black Culture has been an important landmark on campus and the new house will not change its meaning. However, its residents hope the new house will be more inviting to students and more people will want to live there.

“The House of Black Culture will continue to be an important place on campus, providing important programming space as well as a gathering place. It is important to our campus in many ways,” Jones said.

Although the Board of Trustees is still working to secure the funds, they hope to start construction this May and have the house ready for students by Jan. 2019. Once funds have been secured and designs finalized, a formal announcement will be made for the house’s construction in the coming weeks.

“This has been an engaging and exciting process and we have worked together to identify the needs for the House of Black Culture, the right location for a new house, and the resources necessary to fulfill this vision,” Jones said. 

Swim & dive win boosts morale before conference

By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor

Ohio Wesleyan men and women’s swim & dive came out on top at their final triangle meet before conference starts.

OWU men’s swim & dive ended the meet with a total of 796 1/2 points compared to Oberlin College’s 432 and Notre Dame College’s 293 1/2. With the women finishing with 740 points over Obelin’s 277 and Notre Dame’s 195.

Junior Ben Whitbourn and sophomore Colin Hawes led men’s swim & dive with three event wins each and key performances in two relays.

Whitbourn won the 100 backstroke in :56.10, the 50 freestyle in :22.14 and the 100 IM in :56.71. He also finished second in the 50 backstroke.

“We had come off of lots of tough training the previous weeks but despite this the team performed well,” Whitbourn said.

Hawes won the 1000 freestyle in 10:32.00, the 500 freestyle in 5:03.38 and the 400 IM in 4:35.49

Both Hawes and Whitbourn along with junior Chris Ruiyantoro and sophomore Aman Ngqakayi won the 200 medley relay in 1:39.01 and the 800 freestyle relay in 7:23.96.

Multiple wins for OWU also came from Ruiyantoro in his :24.15 50 butterfly and :25.63 50 backstroke as well as a second place 50 breaststroke.

Ngqakayi won the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:01.21and won the 200 breaststroke in 2:18.01. He also finished third in the 100 butterfly.

Freshman Trey Serbin gave a diving performance that accumulated him a total of 220.58 points off the one-meter board and 237.75 off the three-meter board.

“It was good to bring the regular season to a close on a high note entering a critical point in the season prior to conference,” Whitbourn said.

Sophmore Ty Mansfield and junior Alicia Margello each won two events and helped the relay team towards a first place finish of 1:54.04.with fellow swimmers sophmore Liz Mayio and freshman Emily Fulmer.

Margello won the 50 breaststroke in :32.21 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:10.55 while Mansfield took first in the 50 backstroke with a time of :28.44 and first in the 100 IM with a time of 1:03.43

“Everyone produced really good times and had some really close races, we performed really well for the end of the season,” junior Alicia Margello said.

Multiple wins came from freshman Abby Culbertson who won 100 and 200 backstroke with times of 1:04.76 and 2:19.50. She also finished third in the 50 backstroke.

Other standout performances came from junior Shannon Bermingham who won the 200 breaststroke in 2:38.47, junior Allie Niemeyer who won the 1000 freestyle in 11:51.48 and sophmore Qiukui Moutvic who won the one-meter diving competition with a score of 191.40 points