Category: News

By Spencer Pauley, Copy Editor 

With a new major being introduced this semester at Ohio Wesleyan, new faculty comes as well.

Kyle McDaniel is one of the new faculty members for the journalism and communication department and is helping lead the way for student success in the major.

McDaniel, from Jonesboro, Arkansas, went to school at Arkansas State, which is located in his hometown. After that he got his master’s at the University of Missouri-Columbia and then his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon.

The classes that McDaniel is teaching are: Video Production, Conflict Resolution and Communication Theory.

The classes are new to OWU so there are not a lot of students in each class, but McDaniel said he sees an increase in student interests in the classes in the future.

“I’ve talked to quite a few students already who have already been thinking about registering or have but dropped,” McDaniel said. “But I do think more people are going to take it in the future.”

The video production class is a half unit course but may change to a full credit class by next semester. The class is one of the highlights of the new courses added to OWU.

“The goal of the class is to get the students to learn how to be professional and use the equipment,” McDaniel said. “But it’s a lot of work, so hopefully after this semester it will be a full unit class.”

McDaniel is coming from a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Oregon. Oregon’s enrollment from 2016 was 23,634 compared to OWU’s enrollment of 1,650. So McDaniel has experience with both a state school and a small private one.

“There are a lot of similarities across the board, that’s being engaging in the classroom,” McDaniel said. “Trying to think of new ways to engage students is very important” McDaniel said. “Ohio Wesleyan students are very impressive. You guys seem really engaged and interested.”

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief 

An upcoming software program might be the solution to improving Ohio Wesleyan’s retention rates.

Starfish is a software meant to help students achieve success during their time at OWU by providing an interface for faculty and staff to keep track of students.

The program, which will be implemented this fall semester, will help students communicate with their professors, advisers and other student services on campus with ease, said Brian Rellinger, chief information officer and associate provost for academic support.

In addition to Rellinger, six faculty and staff members contributed to the acquisition and implementation of the software: Dwayne Todd, vice president for student engagement and success and dean of students; Brad Pulcini, assistant dean for student engagement; Lynda Hall, professor of psychology; Kirk Rustin, senior systems analyst; Josh Alvarez, systems analyst and Jim Stull, director of Sagan Academic Resource Center.

“Students are able to receive feedback from faculty on their academic performance and use the referral feature to connect with a librarian, the Academic Resource Center, tutoring and other services,” Rellinger said.

Starfish is also meant to help faculty by letting them schedule appointments with advisees or students, in taking attendance and expressing concerns.

Sixteen faculty members have been testing out the software since March and gave feedback, Rellinger said.

Larry Griffin, department chair and professor of music, was one of the early adopters of the system.

Though Starfish features components similar to Self-Service, Starfish is “a major update with more benefits,” according to Griffin.

While Self-Service provides students with the ability to register for classes, add or drop courses and view grades, it doesn’t connect students with other services on campus, such as the Writing Center or Counselling Services.

“This software is designed to limit the number of students who fall through the cracks,” Griffin said. “It’s all designed so that we can always have access to information about the progress of students.”

Faculty will also have an easier time viewing the courses students have taken.

“In the music department, I have a lot of science and music double majors,” Griffin said. “Often times, students will be more focused on the science requirements and not paying attention to the music components.

“So with Starfish, I will be able to see what they’re doing on the science side and what progress they’re making to complete their music degree.”

Though there might be a learning curve for faculty and students to figure out the system, Griffin said it is user-friendly.

Katherine Glenn-Applegate, associate professor of education, was listed as one of the early adopters of the system, but said she had been unable to access the software.

Because of the changes the music department’s curriculum underwent, Griffin said, “It’s possible our data was updated more so than other departments … so we were diligently working with IT to plug everything in. I think if the other departments on campus work with IT, they’ll be able to address any issues.”

By Reilly Wright, Photo Editor 

From the developed world to the developing, Ohio Wesleyan’s Sagan National Colloquium is analyzing the broad issue of health care around the world.

SNC Global Health Challenges for the 21st century will explore topics such as emerging infectious diseases and the impact of government health care in developed and developing nations. The event features a lineup of 12 speakers and includes a documentary.

“Speakers were selected based on recommendation by faculty members and also a careful review of scholarly work by these speakers,” said Randolph Quaye, the associate professor and director of OWU’s black world studies program. “These speakers are well renowned in their respective fields and have furthered our understanding of global health issues in our world.”

The speaker lineup includes Christopher Fink, an associate professor of health and human kinetics at OWU. Fink was selected to speak for his connections to health, but more specifically to his knowledge in prevention and dietary health.

“So many economic, social, political and personal issues are tied to health—and good health allows much more growth in each of these areas—so it has never been more pertinent,” Fink said.

“For me, issues of health equity are also more pertinent than ever.”

The topic was chosen as a culmination of previous SNC topics addressing water, climate change, waste and data use. Quaye said this focus on global health care will bring those social determinants full circle and will address problems found in global health care due to their influence.

“It is my hope that participants would be better informed about global health challenges and their role in helping meet some of these challenges through volunteering and taking courses that addresses some of the broader issues raised by the SNC,” Quaye said.

OWU is also offering a class, UC 150, which will explore concerns in the liberal arts as well as in public life. More specifically, this year, the course will spotlight the topic of modern global health challenges.

UC 150 is set up to be a lecture and discussion-based series

that is led by scholars and activists recognized across the nation and globe for students.

“Students are expected to attend eight of 14 speakers and write a two to three page reflective essay on four of such talks,” Quaye said.

“This is of particular interest to students because of its interdisciplinary nature.”

From Nov. 7 to Dec. 14, the Ross Art Museum will be hosting the art exhibit Together with developmentally disabled artists from Creative Foundations. The exhibit examines the way relationships are shown through art. 

The series will kick off with speaker Anton Gunn, a health care and leadership expert, at 7 p.m., Sept. 12 in the Benes Rooms.

By Meina White,

Ohio Wesleyan may see the resurrection of a marching band and color guard in the near future.

Mary Kate McNally, the newly appointed marching band director, has many ideas of what she hopes for the band in years to come and she is all about tradition. 

McNally said she wants to bring back the roots of the old band. She is also hoping to have a band with at least a hundred members by the fifth year. But she does not consider size to be the most important factor.

“I want an established and polished spirit band from the beginning regardless of size,” McNally said. “You don’t have to have a big group to put on a good show.”

McNally added that she plans to collaborate with the cheer squad to open a band and spirit section in the bleachers.

McNally was hired in July of this year and took on the task of bringing spirit back to campus.

Dwayne Todd, vice president of student engagement and success and dean of students, said McNally is a perfect match because of her “energy and fever.”

McNally and Todd said they believe the addition of a marching band will attract many prospective students, especially those who played in high school.

“This is a program that is being created from interests that already existed,” Todd said.

It’s not expected that the marching band will be performing any time this year. McNally said she plans to set aside the first year for planning regarding budget, recruitment and equipment.

McNally and Todd said they are aware instruments can be expensive and do not want cost to hinder anyone’s decision to join.

Todd added that he plans to develop relationships with companies in town to rent or buy instruments and hopefully make it as affordable as possible.

“We will find a way to make sure cost is not a determining factor of participation,” Todd said.

McNally said she believes the band will open a lot of student leadership opportunities and potentially help music education majors gain experience in teaching music and conducting bands.

The last time Ohio Wesleyan had a band was back in the 1960s. McNally suggested the Vietnam War may have been a probable cause for why it was discontinued. Men were being drafted for the war and this stopped them from participating in the band.

McNally said she hopes to build a community of band enthusiasts and wants anyone who is interested to reach out with new ideas and contributions.

“This is the time to get in on the ground floor of something new,” McNally said.

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief 

To most, doing laundry is a tedious chore, but for two Ohio Wesleyan students, it’s a means of making bank.

Sophomores Jack Cherry, a marketing major, and Jackson Markley, a finance economics major, have introduced Unload, a laundry service aimed at students who are pressed for time. The service can be purchased each semester for $300 or as required for $15 per load, according to Unload’s website.

Markley, who was a member of the lacrosse team as a freshman, said he found it difficult to make time for basic tasks such as laundry, especially when he was away for games and often didn’t get back to campus until late at night.

“[Laundry] was just a time consuming thing that I wished I could pay somebody else to do and my roommates were more than willing to help out,” he said. “I noticed a good majority of students here are athletes who are involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, clubs and they’re swamped because they know they have to put a lot of different things on their resume.”

Currently, three students have purchased the laundry service for a semester and five have purchased the single-load option, most of whom are athletes.

Because each residence hall includes five washing machines and five dryers, Markley said he plans to do one person’s load at a time to avoid mishaps. Students will also get their laundry done the same day the put it out.

Prior to starting the business, Markley contacted Dan Charna, assistant professor of economics, who helped them review their plan.

“He had us [devise] a business plan to make sure this is going to be something that’s profitable, that it’s going to be something that will actually be able to maintain itself and be reputable,” Markley said.

Charna said, “If they do what they say they will do (pick up in a timely manner, do a good job washing, deliver when promised), I think the student body will really support Unload.”

If the service is successful, Markley and Cherry would sell the business to a rising sophomore, who would then sell it to another student and the cycle could continue, which is something Charna said has worked on other college campuses.

Markley and Cherry also got in touch with Megan Ellis, administrative director at the Woltemade Center for economics, business and entrepreneurship, who helped their business get approved by the school to ensure they could use OWU’s washing machines and dryers.

After approving their business plan, the school also offered Markley and Cherry grant money, through which they had the opportunity to get a loan without having to pay any interest.

“So exactly what they give you is what you need to give back,” Markley said.

For more information about the Unload laundry service, visit www.unloadthat.com.