Category: News

By Spencer Pauley, Copy Editor 

With the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs’ help, students will now receive coupons they can use at Dan’s Deli in the near future.

WCSA members discussed this issue at the last two meetings, held Sept.18 and Sept. 25, to determine whether or not to pass a bill that would allocate $1,500 toward Dan’s Deli coupons.

The coupons will take three dollars off of a purchase. In the end, the bill passed and WCSA will fund two out of the three dollars for every coupon. The bill was introduced by Public Safety (PS) in an effort to increase the safety among students late at nights and to prevent causing disturbance within the Delaware community on weekends.

Because Dan’s Deli is a prime spot for students on weekend nights, PS chose the food truck for a collaborative business. PS Director Robert Wood spoke to WCSA members about the bill at the full senate meeting.

“The idea is to try and keep students on our property where we think they’re safer,” Wood said. “We’ve had one fatality and one very serious injury that have occurred … on late nights off our property.”

There have been several issues specifically with Spring Street. Wood said students will cause more trouble there than anywhere else in Delaware on the weekends.

“We’ve had a lot of issues with students walking up and down Spring Street with trash and arrests [have also occurred] because they’re upsetting the neighbors,” Wood said.

A bill that would allocate $175 towards a punching bag in the Welch gym was pushed to be discussed in the WCSA meeting next week.

Junior Armando Polizzi and sophomore Maxwell Aaronson, who proposed this resolution, told WCSA members what the bag would do.

“The bag would attract more students to go and workout and stay active,” Polizzi said. One of the questions brought up about the bill were whether the bag would be used by students. A decision on this bill is yet to be determined.

By Reilly Wright, Photo Editor 

The dirt covered construction site on Ohio Wesleyan’s Rowland Avenue has since been replaced by blanketed green grass, indie music and happy painters.

Junior Alix Templeman hosted Tree House’s first house project of the year on Friday, Sept. 22, in the front yard of the newly constructed Small Living Unit. Her event invited community members to paint on two environmentally-themed canvases and purchase baked goods.

“The money that I get from [the food] will go toward purchasing a terracycle box that will be able to recycle everything,” Templeman said. “Delaware can only recycle plastic ones and twos. With the terracycle box, you can recycle literally all the plastics.”

The two canvases began blank, sporting tape spelling “The Earth does not belong to us” and “We belong to the Earth.”

Within the first 30 minutes of the two-hour event, the pieces were dutifully colored by SLU members and passersby. Tree House members are required to complete one house project a year with the only stipulation of it to relate in some way to the mission of the house.

“This [event] relates to the house mission because we’re spreading the message of loving the earth,” said junior Eva Blockstein, the moderator of Tree House. “It’s all about engaging the house with the outside community and making sure that people know tree house has a presence on campus.”

Blockstein said future house projects such as building garden boxes and a wind chime workshop of recycled materials are coming soon.

“House projects show the community who we are,” Templeman said. “I think, depending on what you do, sometimes it really does benefit the community and get the word out about environmentalism.”

Templeman said she plans to have the finished canvases hung inside the house to show the power of people getting creative together.

“I think [Templeman]’s kind of a pro now because she’s an older member and she’s lived in the house longer than a lot of the new members,” Blockstein said. “So this is a really good way to show the new members how great a house project can be.”

By Reilly Wright, Photo Editor

Ohio Wesleyan University’s newest psychology faculty addition can either be found in Phillips Hall or Meek Aquatic Center.

The new assistant professor of psychology and avid swimmer, Chris Modica, joined the OWU community in August.

Previously an assistant professor at Wright State University’s School of Professional Psychology for three years, Modica was chosen for OWU after a nationwide search for a clinical or counseling psychologist.

“Though we brought in three very strong candidates, Modica ended up rising above the rest and received the job offer,” said Kyle Smith, associate professor of psychology. “We’re very fortunate that he decided to accept it.”

Smith also said Modica’s pre-OWU experiences are different from what most of the faculty have had. His fresh perspective on the faculty’s old questions made Modica a strong candidate.

Professionally, Modica specializes in areas such as psychotherapy and counseling, but he has a primary interest in sociocultural variables within eating disorders and body image.

“I was really kind of undecided for much of my college time … my senior year I took a class in abnormal psychology—which I teach now—and psychotherapy theories … and I thought that was the coolest thing in the world,” Modica said.

Modica has taught students since he began earning his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Ball State University in 2008. Currently a licensed psychologist in Ohio and Indiana, he has experience in private practice and clinical work since 2012 with therapy and assessments.

“I think [psychology] is a good fit for my personality,” Modica said. “I don’t think I knew that at the time, but I tend to be much more gentle and I tend to be a deep thinker … But it’s a good fit for that.”

Since his move to campus, Modica expresses his enjoyment with students’ engagement and how familiar the community is with one another. He encourages any student interested in psychology to reach out and ask deep questions.

“Modica is very approachable, so I’d encourage people to come to Phillips and meet him,” Smith said. “You also might bump into him at Meek where he puts in some laps just about every day.”

By Aleksei Pavloff, Sports Editor 

Ohio Wesleyan professors are prepared to introduce, explain and educate the campus community in three minutes with the third installment of the I-cubed lecture series.

The I-cubed lecture series has been a big part in showing what the OWU learning environment is like since its inception in spring 2016. The event focuses on 10 current professors who choose specific topics in their area of study.

“The purpose of it is to give prospective students a little snapshot of what life is like in the academic classroom at Ohio Wesleyan,” said Alice Simon, professor of economics.

According to OWU’s website, “Students select 10 of their favorite professors to deliver lectures with ideas, insight and imagination in only three minutes. The event is a showcase of great teaching and the breadth of expertise on the OWU campus.”

“It is an honor to be asked,” Simon said. “Here I am being asked to represent the school. I love this place and it’s an easy thing for me to do.”

The challenge for the professors who are presenting is to talk about a concept they teach within three minutes. Simon said that there have been professors that have referred to past videos of lectures to understand the format.

Simon’s lecture is “Why Can’t the Best Decisions Always Be Fair?” which is a concept in economics that shows how scarcity affects decision-making. Her main goal, she said, is to offer students the opportunity to take an economics course. Her style of teaching doesn’t involve PowerPoint presentations or computers, she said. She feels that even without the bells and whistles, her style of teaching is effective.

The material that gets covered can range from actual lecture material, talking about an important issue, or simply discussing past experiences all while still focusing on learning and education.

Last year, Keith Mann, professor of geology, gave a lecture discussing his battle with cancer while focusing on the topic of learning. Students can view his lecture on OWU’s YouTube page.

The third installment of the I-cubed lectures will be Oct. 17 at noon-1 p.m. in the Benes Rooms in the Hamilton-Williams Center. The school will also stream the lectures online and publish the event on YouTube.

The event is filmed and published on online. Students can go and view past lectures by searching OhioWesleyanU on YouTube.

The 2017 I-cubed lineup features Barbara Andereck, professor of physics and astronomy; Ellen Arnold, associate professor of history; Ashley Biser, associate professor of politics and government; Michael Flamm, professor of history; Shala Hankison, associate professor of zoology; Ed Kahn, professor of theatre and dance; Sean McCulloch, professor of mathematics and computer science; Judylyn Ryan, associate professor of English; Alice Simon, professor of economics; and Kyle Smith, associate professor of psychology.

By Alameina White, Transcript Reporter 

After conducting a nationwide search, Ohio Wesleyan chose Kristin Weyman to be the new associate dean for student success.

Before coming to Ohio Wesleyan, Weyman was the associate dean of students at Claremont McKenna College in California. Claremont is a small liberal arts college with a similar atmosphere to OWU; one of the reasons Weyman wanted to come.

Another reason why Weyman wanted to come to OWU was because of the students’ involvement with the community.

“Students who don’t want to just be a part of a community but want to help create the community,” Weyman said. “The students who want to expand their horizons and have a genuine interest in learning.”

As the associate dean for student success, Weyman oversees Residential Life, Health and Counseling Services, Multicultural Student Affairs (MCSA) and Student Conduct.

Weyman was hired to oversee ResLife while OWU looks for a new director. Weyman is also acting as director of MCSA until they find someone to replace the former.

“My whole role is connecting students to the resources they need,” Weyman said. “I hope students will think, ‘I don’t know where else to go, so I’ll go to Kristin.’”

Dwayne Todd, dean of students and vice president for student engagement and success, said he chose Weyman because of her experience and dedication.

“I decided to go with her because this has been her line of work for a long time,” Todd said. “We needed someone who was ready to jump in with both feet.”

Weyman was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, but since she first left, she has been all over the U.S. But no matter where she worked and lived, she always came back home.

“I always seemed to come back to the Midwest,” Weyman said. “It feels more like where I grew up.”

Weyman said she has had a great start at OWU so far. Right now, she is getting know everyone on campus and trying to make students aware of all the resources they have on campus.

“I want to eventually get to where everyone knows where they can turn to me on campus,” Weyman said. While there are students who are still unaware of Weyman’s role on campus, she is still working one person at a time with hopes that word will spread.

By Reilly Wright, Photo Editor 

Janet Lewis was recently given the title of executive assistant to the president and secretary to the Board of Trustees at Ohio Wesleyan University, but she said she prefers the title Janet.

The position was granted to Lewis after a full search process led by an OWU committee reviewed dozens of applicants.

“I was very impressed with her from the opening minutes of my first meeting with her,” said President Rock Jones. “Her experience, professionalism, personality and deep commitment to higher education and to the welfare of the entire campus community will serve all of us very well.”

In recent years, Lewis was an administrative associate to the executive director and development team and the Central Ohio American Heart Association. She supported their board of directors and programs such as Go Red for Women Luncheon and the Central Ohio Heart Walk.

When Lewis spotted the job listing, she initially hesitated due to her passion for her job with the Central Ohio American Heart Association. But after weeks of curiously visiting the listing, she applied for the opportunity to work directly with Jones.

“[Jones] is not only an engaging and eloquent speaker, but is also clearly a committed and passionate advocate and leader for OWU,” Lewis said. “I love that he is so accessible to the students and enjoys interacting with them.”

She holds a bachelor of science in chemistry from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has a master of business administration with a marketing emphasis from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Lewis grew up in Tennessee where most of her family lives, but she has called Ohio home for the last 12 years. Both her sons go to school in Ohio while she and her husband of 26 years are active in Columbus’ recreational volleyball leagues.

“As she gets to know the OWU community and the OWU community gets to know her, I am confident Janet will become highly regarded for her work, for the warmth of her personality and for her commitment to our mission as a residential liberal arts university,” Jones said.