Category: News

Holi brings colorful celebration

By Gabe Linderman, Transcript Correspondent

Colored powder stained the grass in front of Welch Lawn Saturday afternoon, following a celebration of Holi, the Indian festival of colors.

SANGAM, Ohio Wesleyan University’s student run south Asian club, hosted the celebration that included catered Indian food, color powder and water balloons.

Throughout the hours long celebration, as Bollywood music blasted in the background, students from all across campus came to enjoy in the festivities. Bags of color powder lay in the warm spring sun, ready for students to toss, students filled water balloons outside of Thomson Hall and organizers kept a small table well stocked with Indian cuisine. Some students came and went, only enjoying the festivities in passing, while others stayed for hours on end laughing with one another.

“My friends dragged me out here but it was totally worth it,” junior Corrine Race, said, color covering every part of her hair and face.

Holi, an ancient Hindu holiday, is a celebration of the arrival of spring. It traditionally signifies the triumph of good over evil and the end of winter. Holi acts as a time to celebrate culture and community. Celebrated widely in India and Nepal, Holi celebrations have recently spread far and wide, even becoming common place in the United States, according to the Independent.

SANGAM has been on campus consistently for seven years and it’s been hosting a Holi celebration since its founding, said Annapuna Pakrasi, the president of SANGAM. The club also hosts an annual celebration of Diwali, the Hindu celebration of light, Pakrasi said.

After WCSA only approved 50% of the requested supplemental budget for the event, Pakrasi and the rest of SANGAM decided to find recipes themselves and ask Chartwells to cater the event. To raise the necessary funds, SANGAM went door to door asking for donations of food points.

Their efforts paid off and the event entertained more than 50 students. Dancing to music, students tossed colors at each other, smearing streaks of red, purple, green and yellow across each other’s faces. The smell of fresh samosas filled the air as water balloons flew every which way.

The event even drew a handful of interested Delaware residents, curious about the excitement.

Passersby had to duck and dodge away from eager, giggling participants loaded with color powder in one hand and water balloons in the other.

“It’s fun to come out here and celebrate and just act kind of like a little kid during such a stressful time of the year,” said senior Brenda Gonzalez.

Petroleum production, policy hot topic

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

Higher oil prices are at the top of Vladimir Putin’s Christmas wish list. A political cartoon of the Russian president sitting on Santa Claus’ lap is not far-fetched considering today’s policies on petroleum.

Community members gathered Friday for the final Great Decisions 2017 lecture presented by Michael Houlahan to discuss U.S foreign policy and petroleum, with many audience members hesitant toward the current administration’s plans.

Houlahan served 28 years in the U.S. diplomatic service with the state department. His overseas postings included Japan, Romania, New Zealand, Cyprus, Italy, India, the Philippines and Jamaica. Since 1997, he has been a resource speaker for the American Foreign Service Association’s community outreach program. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

“Foreign policy is complex and subject to a wide range of influences,” Houlahan said. “The most basic concerns in foreign policy are economic and military security although other domestic interests can extend and insert influence.”

The U. S. government develops foreign policy in ways that protect and advance its interests. Oil has been a topic of interest since the 1990s and remains an important instrument in U.S. foreign policy.

The United States is No. 1 in world production of oil, with ally Saudi Arabia second and Russia third.

Houlahan presented phases of petroleum’s’ impact that provided a review of United States’ petroleum production and policy. The phases were derived from the work of Jonathan Chanis, who was involved with the oil industry and foreign relations for more than 20 years.

The United States’ production has dominated for decades. In World War I, the U.S. supplied more than 80 percent of fuel to allies. However, World War II was launched in part because Germany and Japan needed to secure raw materials, especially oil.

The supply and demand of petroleum caused several shifts in the prices during the Cold War; U.S. manipulation of oil supplies remained a major part of foreign policy.

In 1974, a barrel of oil averaged $12. In 2003, unpredictable oil prices began to rise and peaked in 2012 at more than $100 per barrel with a short pause in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

“I am unoptimistic about the future as a result of this history,” said attendee Michael Casto. “I hope that next year, we will have a [Great Decision’s] session that will focus on renewable energy.”

The final phase of oil’s impact — supply surpluses, new opportunities or new dangers — raised a lot of questions from the audience about the balance of the economy and the environment.

Football team spreads joy to second graders throughout the Delaware community

By Juwaun Tye, Transcript Correspondent

Second graders are influenced, inspired, and jump up and down in joy as a result of the OWU football team every Friday.

The Ohio Wesleyan football team puts smiles on kid’s faces every week, not on the field, but in the classroom. The team donates time to the Delaware community weekly, by going to James Conger Elementary School to read, play board games and play at recess with the second graders.

The program, called “2nd & 7,” started when Head Coach Tom Watts began coaching at Ohio Wesleyan, six years ago. Ulysses Hall, an OWU football coach, and director of “2nd & 7,” knows the value of community service and encourages all the football players to volunteer at least once.

“Everytime we volunteer, it’s like a celebration for the kids, and I want every single one of our players to see it for themselves,” Hall said.

On average 10-16 football players volunteer every week to go to the elementary school.

“We go every friday for eight weeks straight, and [have] had about 40 different players go. The kids look up to us, so it’s great for them to see us coming to their school every week. The goal is to positively affect their lives,” Hall said.

“The players affect the students lives by simply being there, Hall said.

When the kids see the players giving up their time to volunteer, the kids have something to strive for.

Darius Randolph, an OWU freshman football player said “The biggest impact of all is when the kids see that we’re there for them. When the kids see us with our helmets off, they get a better feel that we are real caring human beings.”

The players who volunteer are greatly impacted by the students that they read to and enjoy recess with.

“Not only is the experience great for the kids, the experience is great for us as well. We’re role models to these kids. We really see how much these kids look up to us,” Randolph said.

Hall said, “It’s important to us because we quickly realize that we were once them. We were once the same kid going through the transition of life, so it’s relatable. It makes us appreciate them more.”

The second graders scream with excitement when the football players read to them.

Teachers sit back and observe as the kids interact with the players. The teachers get a chance to learn a lot from the experience as well, and they see how much the football players impact their students.

“The kids are always excited. They were disappointed over spring break when they didn’t see [the football players] for a few weeks. One of my students was extremely disappointed [that] he might miss their last visit,” said Heather Kuhn, a second grade teacher.

Network provides internships for student athletes

By Megan Parker, Transcript Correspondent

A new opportunity has arisen for Ohio Wesleyan student athletes who are looking for internships.

Athlete Network is a website dedicated to helping student athletes make career connections. It includes information about internships, graduate programs and other networking outlets.

“Athletes are at their best when they are in a competitive environment that propels that spirit,” said Chris Smith, founder and CEO of Athlete Network, on the website. “We feel we are able to positively impact athletes’ quality of life in three key areas: careers, networking and content.”

OWU freshman Tyler Mansfield, who is on the swim team and track and field team, began working as an intern for Athlete Network this spring.

“I have a series of tasks to complete every month, anywhere from four to five tasks, and basically it’s just getting the word out about the website … I’ve had meetings with Rock Jones and the athletic director, just so we can try and get the whole campus involved with it because it’s a really good networking site,” Mans eld said. Internships are becoming increasingly important, and only 38.6 percent of students who graduated college in 2014 were hired without having prior internship experience, according toU.S. News & World Report.

Students who use Athlete Network to find internships receive a direct response from the companies to which they applied 84 percent of the time, according to Athlete Network.

“It’s definitely helpful for nding connections in the field that you want to do, because companies have profiles on there and they have recruiters that you can contact. So, if someone wanted to get a summer internship for Enterprise, they could do that through the site,” Mansfield said. “Being on the site lets them know that you’re serious about a job offer.”

In order to work as an on-campus intern for Athlete Network, like Mansfield, a student can sign up for the site and apply from there. Benefits of the on-campus internship include college credit hours, personal introductions to potential employers and incentives like clothing and gift cards, according to Athlete Network.

Beyond helping with internships, Athlete Network offers content including advice on dieting and working out, athletes’ personal stories about their sports and opinion pieces about sports and school. The site also connects student athletes with similar interests and those who go to the same school.

Alumnus reaches out to Ohio Wesleyan with new app

By Megan Parker, Transcript Correspondent

An Ohio Wesleyan alumnus developed a smartphone app to promote a nationwide initiative to aid sexual assault victims on college campuses, which in turn has led to major change at OWU.

Jack Zandi is the creator the Reach Out—College Edition app, which provides victims of sexual misconduct with information on how to report the incident, where to get medical care and more.

“Right around [the time of my college graduation], the issue of sexual misconduct on college campuses started to gain traction in terms of media attention, and the topic was becoming increasingly contentious,” Zandi said. “And so it started coming up in our conversations. We identi ed a need

for students to have all this crucial, hard-to-find, often difficult-to-understand information in an easy, intuitive and accessible format.”

The app is supported on campus by Dwayne Todd, vice president of student engagement, and has been supplemented by the work of Josh Lisko, residential life coordinator.

“I work with [Zandi] on the content of the app, making sure that what we have in there is the best information for our stu- dents,” Lisko said. “I’m constantly moni- toring the app to make sure that if there’s things that are meeting our student’s needs, we’re adding those, and if there are things that aren’t meeting our students needs we’re removing those.”

While the app is still relatively new to OWU, it has sparked a series of initiatives against sexual assault on campus. A new program called Sexual Aggression Free Environment OWU (SAFE OWU) is in the works, and will include a variety of programs to help raise awareness and help victims.

“I think it’s going to be a culture change a few years down the line,” Lisko said. “That’s really what we’re going for, is building a culture of love and respect here at OWU.”

Although Reach Out is only the beginning of these programs, it has already provided a basis for contact information and support systems that are free to access and guarantee anonymity, according the app’s FAQ page.

The app explains that it provides sexual misconduct survivors with a “unique feature [that] will guide a user step-by-step from getting help, to preserving evidence, to getting medical care, to understanding all the reporting options and then finally to healing,” according to the app’s instructions.

“Our company has many goals,” Zandi said. “But to put it simply, we want to help campuses and organizations [create] environments that are safe for everyone, and not just the privileged few.”

The university already has procedures in place for reporting and investigating sexual misconduct, most of which takes place on campus, according to the OWU student handbook. However, the app expands victims’ options by including links to off campus support, legal resources, hotlines and other independent aids.

The app is available to 2,488 colleges across the country and has information specific to each campus, according to Zandi. The app is free to download, is available on any iPhone or Android device and does not require any personal information to use.

DG and Sig Ep dribble to victory

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

Fraternity and sorority teams took it to the hoop for Phi Delta Theta’s (Phi Delt) annual spring basketball tournament.

Phi Delt held its 3v3 basketball tournament April 8 in the fraternity’s backyard court.

Delta Gamma (DG) and Sigma Phi Epsilon (Sig Ep) came out victorious and were each awarded $150 that went toward their own philanthropies.

Typically, winners receive a physical trophy, but Phi Delt’s chapter advisory board donated money to encourage other fraternities and sororities to compete. The tournament was divided into two brackets—one for fraternities and the other for sororities.

“It was a great win … but the money to our own philanthropy made the win even better because it wasn’t about us any more, it was about Service for Sight,” DG team player Lisa Zeller said.

Around 50 Greek community members came out to enjoy the sunshine and cheer for their teams and almost all Greek organizations donated or participated.

Senior Phi Delt member and philanthropy chair Lucas Janowicz planned the tournament for the rst time.

“The most rewarding part of putting an event like this together is seeing it come to fruition, and seeing members of the Greek community supporting each other and supporting a terri c cause,” Janowicz said.

The brothers host a spelling bee competition in the fall semester and the basketball tournament in the spring semester. Several brothers of Phi Delt volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America on a weekly basis and have for years, but the chapter’s philanthropy events serve the ALS Association.

OWU Phi Delt members are in the works of planning a 5k run in Delaware to help get the community more involved and partner with the Phi Delt members from Otterbein University.

“Being a retired philanthropy chair, I understand the hard work there is put into events like this, so I’m always one of the rst people to sign up,” Phoebe Bush, player for Delta Delta Delta, said. “I thought [Phi Delt] had a great event.”

To learn more about this international fraternity, visit https://www.phideltatheta. org.

Viral poem read by alumna author

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Following the shooting at ‘Pulse’ night-club in Orlando, Florida, people turned to art and poetry as a way to heal. Ohio Wesleyan alumnus Maggie Smith was part of that healing process. Her poem, ‘Good Bones’ was a viral hit.

Smith ‘99 came to the Bayley room on April 5, and read samples of some of her poems. Smith is most known for her poem ‘Good Bones,’ which generated viral fame throughout social media after the shooting at Pulse nightclub this past summer.

“‘Good Bones’ was heartbreaking and poignant because it voiced the grief that many of us felt in 2016,” said sophomore Em Sutliff. “For me, it expressed how I was scared, confused, angry and yet, somehow hopeful for my community de- spite everything that had happened.”

Public Radio International named ‘Good Bones’ its of cial poem of 2016, citing that the poem had been shared and read an estimated one million times.

“Life is short and the world is at least half terrible, and for every kind of strang- er, there is one who would break you, though I keep this from my children,” writes Smith.

Smith gets most of her inspiration for her poems from her children when she’s with them in the car or on their way to school.

“If it has taught me anything, we don’t know the impact that our work can have when we sit down to write,” said Smith in her talk. “We have no idea who we might reach or at what capacity or how many people.”

Smith will become an Ohio Wesleyan faculty member next fall to replace David Caplan while he is on sabbatical. Smith plans to teach introduction to poetry and courses in literature.

Smith ended her talk on a positive note, challenging listeners in the room to not say anything negative for a week.

Smith has written three books: Good Bones, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poi- son and Lamp of the Body. She has also the author of three prize-winning chap- books. A part of “Good Bones” was read aloud on the April 9 episode of the CBS show “Madame Secretary.”

Evolution alert: squirrels and rattlesnakes alike

By Allie Smith, Transcript Correspondent

A Science Lecture Series speaker traveled across the country to obtain data for a specific study: the drastic changes that California Ground Squirrels and Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes are undergoing in an evolutionary arms race.

Matthew Holding, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University, spoke of his evolutionary findings in the Schimmel/Conrades Science Center (SCSC) last Thursday.

Holding said that the discoveries made in rattlesnakes and ground squirrels help to contextualize the coevolutionary process that produces nature’s diversity of species and their traits, according to the Science Lecture Series website.

To understand coevolution, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “evolution involving successive changes in two or more ecologically interdependent species that affect their interactions.”

Species that are closely associated – in this case, the squirrels and the rattlesnakes – can impact one another’s ability to change over time. The poisonous venom of the rattlesnakes has incited profound changes in the squirrels’ ability to survive and overcome their predators.

For example, the squirrels rub their predators’ shedded skin on their bodies. This “hides” the scent of the squirrel from the snake and makes it harder for the snake to locate its prey.

This adaption has evolved over time and occurs over populations of California Ground Squirrels.

Holding will be defending his findings in a few weeks at OSU. If his thesis is approved, he is finished with the degree-earning stages of his training and can begin to apply for jobs that require a Ph.D., Holding explained.

“My goal is to become a professor at a university, and therefore I need a Ph.D.,” Holding said. “My research will later be published in scientific journals so that it becomes a part of the knowledge base on how predators and their prey evolve.”

Dr. Shala Hankison, the previous coordinator of the lecture series, said she loved the lecture. She said it was great to see a combination of molecular and ecological techniques as well as field and lab.

The Science Lecture Series invites speakers to present research on their areas of expertise in biology, chemistry, computer science and mathematics, geology, physics and neuroscience, according to the Science Lecture Series website.

While speakers come from a variety of science backgrounds, lectures are aimed at general science audiences of faculty and students.

The size of the lectures varies per presentation. Hankison said there is an average of 10-15 people at each lecture, but there could be less if the topic is not well-known compared to a topic that is broadly appealing.

There were approximately two dozen people at Holding’s presentation, many of whom were science majors.

Senior Holly Latteman contributed her opinion on the lecture series.

“I would really recommend the lecture series to all students. Even if you do not understand all the analyses, you will be exposed to other research methods and ideas that may be helpful one day,” Latteman said. “It is also important in the sciences to share and listen to others research to further our knowledge on a subject.”

Lectures take place on Thursdays at 4:10 p.m. in SCSC, room 163. However, Science Lecture Series coordinator Dr. Pamela Pyzza confirmed that Holding’s presentation was the last of the year.

Modern foreign language department contemplates new course for next year

By Amanda Hays, Transcript Correspondent

The modern foreign languages department is considering offering Arabic to students in the future.

The department at Ohio Wesleyan University already offers six languages, including Chinese, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, and Italian. Now, they want to add Arabic.

Including Arabic in the department has already been discussed among members of the department. Last semester, the faculty approved a Middle Eastern studies major. “Classes in Arabic would t nicely with our new program,” said Andrea Colvin, interim chair and associate professor of Spanish.

There is no guarantee, yet, that it will be included.

David Counselman, interim chair for the fall semester, said that they are looking to hire a professor from Cairo, Egypt, for a year. Counselman said he hopes the trial hire will result in something more permanent.

The professor the department hopes to hire is currently working at the University of Cairo. She plans to take a one year sabbatical. If she comes, she will be here for two semesters to teach 110 and 111-level courses, Colvin said.

“We are con dent that we will have enough interest for the course,” Colvin said, “However, due to visas and other travel necessities, we cannot make promises.”

If Arabic is approved, the board contacts the provost for funding. The provost requires a minimum of seven students to be enrolled before it is of officially added, Colvin said.

Even though the board periodically adds languages, they have removed some languages, too. In the past, Ohio Wesleyan offered Russian.

“Russian has been gone for a while because of low enrollment, however, there are some one-on-one sessions done on a case-by-case basis,” Colvin said.

If a group of students want to add a language to the department, they can send in a proposal. The department then discusses whether the language is practical, and if they will be able to support it financially.

“We would love to add more languages, but we must first focus on the ones we already have, and make sure their program is healthy,” Colvin said.

Jun Kawabe, a Japanese lecturer, teaches a language that does not have a major or a minor. She teaches three levels of Japanese. However, she is not concerned about the status of her class.

“We have a healthy enrollment,” Kawabe said, “I have been pretty lucky with that.”

Kawabe is not concerned that there isn’t a Japanese major or minor, but she said it bothers some of her students.

“I understand that they want to have a major to put on their resume,” Kawabe said, “But ultimately, people want to see that you have the skill, not that you have the title.”

No Chinese minor will be offered next semester due to a decline in enrollment. Chinese courses will continue, however, Colvin said.

“We started the Chinese minor a few years ago hoping that interest would increase, but unfortunately, that has not been the case.”

Petition about the House of Black Culture’s future presented to faculty

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Right before the faculty meeting started on April 17, an unexpected guest voiced his thoughts on the future of the House of Black Culture (HBC).

Senior Jemil Ahmed shared his petition, which included 124 signatures from students, stating his and other students’ concerns for the fate of the cultural hub and the rich history of HBC.

“We ask for guarantee that the house be renovated and the house and land will be preserved for [HBC],” the petition stated. Students wanted assurance of this request by Wednesday, April 19.

President Rock Jones acknowledged the petition in an email sent Tuesday evening to multiple students who signed the petition.

Jones recognized the disrepair the building fell into, and has appointed an advisory group to explore all options for the community.

The advisory group includes three alumni, three faculty, three administrators and six students.

“[The] committee has heard how important this is to students,” said Nancy Comorau, associate professor of English and a member of the advisory group.

Jones wrote that it would be inappropriate to make any decision about HBC prior to receiving the advisory group’s input.

“The Advisory Group is undertaking its work in a thoughtful, comprehensive manner,” Jones said in the email. “No one is being ‘evicted’ from the dwelling.”

The petition stated that if renovations were not guaranteed for HBC by Wednesday, the group will meet with other advocacy groups to further its request.

Once the meeting officially commenced, faculty voted to approve three new majors. Faculty approved the film studies program and an environment and sustainability program, which will include a major and minor. A resolution also passed allowing students to receive a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in microbiology and geology.

Tom Wolber, associate professor of modern foreign languages, also gave a statement expressing his concerns for the lack of funding for pedagogical conference grants since the 2015-16 academic year, citing this as a reason for the dramatic decline of applications for this academic year. “Given OWU’s nature as a teaching institution, it is critical to encourage faculty to participate in pedagogical workshops and conferences and make the necessary resources available,” Wolber said in his statement.

Wolber said he was troubled by the discontinuation of the Performing Arts Series because of financial restrictions found in the year-end report conducted by Ohio Wesleyan’s Committee on Teaching, Learning, and Cross-Cultural Programming (TLCCP).

A committee is still working on getting the academic calendar for 2018-19 because of some contention that arose during the meeting.

Memorial resolutions were also approved for Jed Burtt, a zoology professor, and Kim Lance, a chemistry professor. Their memorials were written by Professor Ramon Carreno and Professor Dan Vogt respectively.

On April 20, the HBC Advisory Group will hold a live, online chat to discuss the house’s future and role in the community.