News – Page 30 – The Transcript

Retired Army official warns of nuclear threats

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Though a nuclear bomb has not been detonated in 70 years, nuclear security still remains a strenuous and messy issue in foreign policy.

“Every nation forms their foreign policy and national security policy based on their own self-interest,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. Dennis Laich. “In the United States, I think we loose sight of this and we need to acknowledge that as we think about issues around the world.”

Laich spoke Friday about nuclear security at the second of eight sessions of the Great Decisions community series on U.S. foreign policy.

There are universal factors to foreign policy and national security, Laich said. Powerful countries have the ability to do as they please, he said, whereas weaker countries do their best to cope. For example, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the world responded by using force to eject Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.

However, when Russia invaded Ukraine and took over Crimea in 2014, only sanctions were put into place and there was no military action.

Laich said nine nations, led by the United States and Russia, control thousands of nuclear warheads that can be deployed at any given moment.

“It is alarming to me that any one person on the face of the Earth can have the capability to order that these 1,830 deployed (U.S.) nuclear warheads be fired… with justification,” Laich said. “The president of the United States, whoever he or she is, makes one phone call.”

The United Kingdom and France have more than 500 nuclear warheads total, and China has 260.

“[China] relies much more exclusively on conventional arms to protect themselves, but…they have the capability to expand dramatically,” Laich said. “One of the things that China has demonstrated is their ability to… move national interests forward rapidly.”

India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea also have nuclear warheads. However, Israel officially has not acknowledged that it has the weapons. Israel is the only nuclear power in the Middle East.

“I had no idea the list [of countries with nuclear weapons] was so long, and that’s kind of scary,” said Delaware resident Michael Casto.

The only country in the world to ever use a nuclear weapon is the United States, twice during World War II.

In 2015, the five permanent members (U.S., Russia, Britain, China and France) of the U.N. Security Council, Germany and the European Union reached an agreement with Iran to suspend its nuclear programs, putting limits on centrifuges, enrichment levels, uranium stockpiles and plutonium production. Iran sent more than 90 percent of its existing uranium stockpiles to Russia for security.

“This treaty allowed us to put a troublesome nation’s nuclear program on hold for at least 10 to 15 years, without firing a shot,” said Laich.

Countries such as North Korea, Russia, India and Pakistan continue to challenge nonproliferation efforts.

Terrorist organizations, such as al-Qaida and ISIS, have been very explicit about seeking nuclear weapons, Laich said. They don’t necessarily need a nuclear warhead to do damage. A dirty bomb, which contains used nuclear fuel surrounded by dynamite, can have limited physical impact but contaminates a wide area of a populated city with nuclear material.

“I’m concerned because of the (Trump) administration and things beyond our control like nuclear terrorism,” said Lee Lybarger, a resident of Delaware.

The next topic for Great Decisions is “Saudi Arabia in Transition,” presented by Melinda McClimans, an associate director at the Middle East Studies Center at Ohio State University, and Rand Guebert, a former consultant.

Local ice cream shop welcomes back customers

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

Dari Point is officially open for the season.

The locally, family owned ice cream shop is now open from mid-Feb. and closes mid-Oct. The ice cream shop opened on Feb. 15 and welcomed the warm weather.

Current storeowner Jim Ballinger worked at Dari Point for one year before buying the shop in 1999. Throughout the years, Ballinger’s three children and wife have also worked at the shop. Currently, youngest daughter, Brooke Corwin handles Dari Point’s advertising and social media accounts.

Ballinger is now going into his 18th season at Dari Point. “It’s not an easy business to run and operate. Being open everyday and for long hours makes it a difficult business to run… It’s demanding, but it’s rewarding,” Ballinger said.

Dari Point has become a tradition for many current Delaware residents. “It’s become an iconic place in Delaware. A lot of our customers are third or fourth generation customers,” Corwin said.

“We have grandparents and great-grandparents bringing in grandchildren and you can hear them say in the lobby, ‘grandma used to come here and eat ice cream when she was a little girl.’ That’s really special to us to know we have maintained that trust with our customers for them to keep coming back generation after generation,” Corwin said.

Some customers have come from neighboring Columbus areas to as far as Texas just for Dari Point. Ballinger said there have been customers who are traveling that will make Dari Point a pit stop on their routes. “We don’t have a ton of visitors like that, but enough that makes us feel really good. Our customers are our best advertisers,” Ballinger said.

OWU junior and Delaware resident, Brooke Zinader went to Dari Point over the opening weekend. “I always remembered going to Dari Point after all my soccer games as a little girl. It was everyone’s favorite ice cream place growing up and still today is a favorite by many in the great city of Delaware,” Zinader said.

“It’s so cool to see what a huge part in the community that we play… In today’s world when things are moving so fast, and most people hide behind a screen for their social aspect, it means a lot for people to see a family running a small business that is not a commercial chain. There’s something about a small town and family run business that [makes us a] tradition and our customers know that we really care about them,” Corwin said.

The menu contains several family recipes such as the chicken noodle soup and the pork barbeque sandwich. All of the specialty ice cream flavors are made from scratch with real ingredients, for instance the peanut butter and peach flavors.

At any given time, Dari Point offers six soft serve flavors and if from the same machine, can be twisted together. The chocolate, black raspberry and blue raspberry soft serve flavors are always available, while vanilla, banana and blueberry are currently being featured.

Other possible flavors that will be offered throughout the ice cream season are lemon, peanut butter, cinnamon roll, peach, apple pie, pumpkin pie and orange pineapple.

Dari Point’s signature flavor is their blue raspberry sherbet flavor. “[Blue raspberry] picked up on it’s own. People started calling it the ‘Smurf Cone.’ When anybody orders a Smurf Cone, it gets two eyes, a marshmallow nose which started before I even bought the store,” Ballinger said.

The Smurf’s were first created as a comic in Belgian in 1958. It wasn’t until 1981 when the Smurf’s appeared on television in America. In 2011, Raja Gosnell directed The Smurf’s movie, which a live-action and computer-animated comedy and brought back the well-known characters.

OWU senior Dominick Orsini went to Dari Point for the first time as recommendation from another student. “The Smurf cone was amazingly decorated and tasted like a little bit of heaven on earth. Best cone I’ve had in years,” Orsini said.

The Papa Smurf sherbet cone is also available but includes the top of the ice cream dipped in a hard, cherry shell to create a hat, and finished off with a whipped cream beard. The Paper Smurf has become Dari Point’s number one seller.

Dari Point’s menu includes appetizers, sandwiches, soft serve ice cream cones, sundaes, over 20 milkshake flavors and more.

Like Dari Point on Facebook for the most recent updates on which flavors will be featured throughout the ice cream season.
Dari Point is located at 303 E. Winter St. – roughly a five minute drive from OWU’s main campus. The shop is open Mon. through Sat. 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. and on Sunday, 1 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Professor Goran Skosples says European finances uncertain

By Evan Walsh, Chief Copy Editor

Goran Skosples has an optimistic, but uncertain, view of the ongoing economic crisis in Europe.

An associate professor of economics at Ohio Wesleyan University, Skosples is a native of Croatia.

He paid particular attention to those ways in which international political economy, the Euro and migration have contributed to some of the region’s most pressing issues. Skosples was the first speaker in the annual Great Decisions lecture series Friday at the William Street United Methodist Church.

Skosples alluded to the sovereign debt crisis on several occasions.

He made it clear that the debt crisis is responsible for creating sovereign, localized crises that then led to the larger, international crisis. Greece, a European Union member, is one place where failed monetary policy had a crippling effect. It then had an impact on other member nations sharing similar currency.

Despite those failures, Skosples told the audience that this currency consolidation was intended to improve relations across Europe.

“It has brought a lot of positives … the idea was that the creation of the Euro was going to lead to prosperity through gains from trading which would then lead to greater European solidarity and the next steps in integration,” Skosples said.

Integration, however, seems elusive, as major European powers inspired by populist movements within their borders are questioning their commitment to that ideal.

This change in attitude has created a lot questions that have yet to be answered.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in Europe,” he said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen with ‘Brexit’ … and the problem is that when you’ve been so deeply integrated how do you just pull out?”

The reality is we don’t know right now, according to Skosples.

Jim Klepcyk, a retired pharmacist from Powell, spoke highly of the talk.

“I thought it was excellent. He offered a lot of insight and having that international perspective has clearly helped him under-
stand those realities,” Klepcyk said.

Skosples took questions from the audience, including from retired Maj. General Dennis Laich, who will speak about nuclear security at the next Great Decision talk at noon Friday, Feb. 24.

Q&A: Recent graduate and aspiring dancer, Jeremy Griffin-Jackson, talks OWU and future plans

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

Q: Tell me a little about yourself and what your years were like at Ohio Wesleyan.

A: I’m originally from the Detroit, Michigan, a recent OWU graduate as of December, and I spent my three and a half years at OWU devoting myself to my art, which is dance. I participated in the New York Arts Program and each year I participated in Orchesis, OWU’s dance company. While in New York, I worked for a company named Gibney Dance as a center intern. I handled every day operations and maintenance tasks.

Q: What’s your background with dance? How long have you been dancing and where?

A: I originally started as a self-taught hip-hop dancer and received my first formal training in postmodern dance when I arrived at OWU. My favorite dance class at OWU was Choreography and Composition I. I’ve been dancing for as long as I could walk.

Q: Who inspired you to start dancing?

A: Watching my older cousin dance growing up inspired me to explore the art form more. Then, watching music vid-
eos of Usher, Michael Jackson and Chris Brown furthered my love for the art.

Q: What is your favorite type of dance and why?

A: I enjoy Krumping because it allows me to free myself completely and extinguish any negative feelings I have at the time.

Q: What was the process of getting your own dance class offered at OWU?

A: The human, health and kinets department wanted to involve more alumni in teaching activity courses on campus, so I was approached by Wendi Kay who thought I was qualified for the position due to all of my performances and exposure on campus.

Q: Have you taught any dance classes before? What do you hope you to take away after teaching a course?

A: I have taught small lessons and composed choreography for the school’s dance company but this is my first stand-alone class. I hope to learn the most effective way to teach people movement while also spreading my love of dance to other people.

Q: What should the dancers expect to get out of this class? Do you have any goals?

A: Students who take my class should expect to have fun, learn some new dance skills and learn about working out in a healthy manner. My goal is to help people figure out alternative ways to be active and fit while teaching something I love.

Q: If you could dance with anyone, who would it be? What song?

A: If I could dance with anyone it would be Usher and we would dance to “El Chapo” by The Game ft. Skrillex. I would want to dance with Usher because our styles are similar and because I would to join his backup dancers and tour with him some day.

President’s Club to host trilogy event with Jason Barger

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Author, keynote speaker and leadership consultant Jason Barger will speak at Ohio Wesleyan at 8 p.m. on March 2 about his experiences as a CEO and the inspiration for his work.

The event is hosted by President’s Club and will be held in the Benes rooms in Ham-Will. The Leadership Committee created a list of potential speakers in fall 2016 and considered a diverse list of people, said sophomore Addison Stern, leadership director of the committee.

“Our quest was to engage and secure a keynote speaker who would enrich the OhioWesleyan community with impressive personal stories relating to persistence, creativity and a desire to lead through integrity, character and in the spirit of giving back,” Stern said.

Barger led more than 1,700 people to construct 125 houses internationally for families living in poverty, according to his website. In 2004, Barger was one of five people in Columbus, Ohio, to receive a Jefferson Award, a national award given to “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

Stern said he read about Barger’s success story in Columbus CEO, where he was recognized as a “Small Business CEO” and got in touch with him.

In addition to the talk, President’s Club will host a reception with Barger at 7 p.m. in the lower Zook Nook. The event is also a trilogy event for men who are affiliated with Greek life, said senior Lee LeBeouf, president of President’s Club.

According to Stern, a trilogy event is one where a certain percentage of Greek men from each house are expected to attend.

“[Barger] graduated from Denison, is a well respected servant leader, who is passionate about culture change, leadership development and service—definitely relatable to the Greek community and OWU community at large,” Stern said.

Stern also said the power in Barger’s message stems from the number of participants who can hear the message and spread it across campus.

WCSA Today: WCSA discusses the closing of an Indiana college and what it means for OWU students

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana is temporarily closing their doors next fall, and Ohio Wesleyan will help pick up the slack.

“Ohio Wesleyan has already offered [Saint Joseph’s College students] financial accommodations to match all non-athletic scholarships, plus $6,000 more a year to come here,” said freshman Greg Margevicius, a member of the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA).

The Academic Affairs Committee is looking into the specifics of how the university will accommodate the new students, such as how their credits will transfer and if current transfer-credit policies will be adapted, Margevicius said.

“We are welcoming to any of the former Saint Joseph students … but also making sure the transition is fair to students who are here already,” Margevicius said.

Junior Robert Gossett also proposed an addendum to impose stricter regulations on the election for WCSA’s treasurer at the full senate meeting Feb. 27. Gossett suggested an evaluation process, conducted by the economics department, to determine the capability of a potential nominee.

The current treasurer, junior Kristen Nooney, is also the current president of the Campus Programming Board (CPB).

The Student Led Art Movement requested $1,350 and was funded $813. The Chinese Culture Club also requested $620 to cover the costs for a DVD, advertising and screening fee for the International Queer Film Festival. The club was funded $556.

Additionally, the council elected sophomore John Bonus as its CPB liaison at the meeting on Feb. 20. The position entails the liaison to attend CPB meetings and the

National Association for Campus Activities conference.

WCSA’s next full senate meeting will be held Monday, March 6, in the Crider Lounge in Ham-Will.

The Board of Trustees travel to Florida for an update on OWU’s campus status

By Alanna Henderson, Managing Editor

The Ohio Wesleyan Board of Trustees held an offsite three-day retreat in Florida; it’s the first offsite meeting since 2014.

The meeting took place in Naples, Florida, from Feb. 9 through Feb. 11. with President Rock Jones, several trustees, the offices of the university, and eight faculty members in attendance.

The Board of Trustees meets four times a year. Back at the 2014 retreat, the Board of Trustees established the framework for OWU’s Connect Today, Create Tomorrow campaign. At the previous February retreat on campus, the board committed to OWU’s goal and plan for enrolling 2,020 students by fall of 2020.

The Florida retreat’s agenda was just as busy and equally as ambitious.

“The board meeting was an energizing time for all who participated as we explored the challenges faced by small colleges today and the many opportunities Ohio Wesleyan has to meet those challenges,” Jones said.

Associate Professor of Comparative Literature Sally Livingston is on the University Governance Committee and said the retreat was a very positive experience. The focus, she said, was to continue to make OWU the best the university can be.

“[The retreat] is more checking in to make sure we are on the right path in the right direction. In the end, we felt whatever little bumps might come up, we know that we are all committed to working on it together,” Livingston said.

It was reported to the rest of the faculty that of the eight new majors being introduced to students, Business Administration has generated the most interest from newly admitted students among any major. Also, many of the majors introduced this year have been among the most visited pages on the OWU website.

Additionally, Jones reported that OWU’s new regional recruiter in Chicago, Jay Shamlin, has helped double the number of OWU applicants from the Chicago area.

“The amount of international applications also are up substantially from last year, with an increase of more than 55 percent in completed applications from international students. Overall, applications are about even with this point last year,” Jones said in the email.

The fall-to-spring retention numbers fell this year, and the board continues to explore the reasons. The board is looking into retention issues related to academic, social and financial perspectives.

“This means looking carefully at the first-year experience including advising, student support services, and the residential experience; enhancing co-curricular opportunities including health, wellness, and recreational sports along with other existing initiatives, and creating a better understanding among new students of the level of work required for college success,” Jones said in the email.

At the meeting, the co-chairs of the Connect Today, Create Tomorrow campaign announced that the total raised to date exceeds $123 million.

According to an emailed report, the trustees were particularly enthusiastic about the impact of the campaign, which includes the $11 million for the OWU Connection, funding for three SLUplexes and a new Honors House, support of innovative new programs, Merrick Hall and the Simpson Querrey Fitness Center, more than $11 million in endowments supporting fac-
ulty positions, and more than $26 million for student scholarships and financial aid.

Two trustees, Carol Latham and Kara Trott, each announced seven-figure commitments to the campaign.

Jones said OWU will celebrate the 175th birthday anniversary as a part of Homecoming Weekend Oct. 19-22. Among the many festivities planned are a special Day on the JAY on Friday, welcoming the entire campus, Board of Trustees and other campus guests.

“This is an exciting time at Ohio Wesleyan as we approach our 175th anniversary and chart the course to help prepare new generations of students to become moral citizens in this truly global society… We have made progress, and we must continue to take urgent action and focus keenly on proper execution to best serve our students,” Jones said in the email.

Faculty Meeting: Faculty vote to approve changes to curriculum

By Gopika Nair, Editor-in-Chief

Faculty voted to allow Human Anatomy (ZOOL 329) for permanent addition to the zoology program and also approved changes to the curriculum for music majors at the faculty meeting Feb. 20.

Ohio Wesleyan’s music department requested “alterations to music courses, the addition of specified general education distributions and adding a foreign language requirement,” according to the meeting agenda.

The changes will give students a greater opportunity to take courses across the curriculum, said Provost Chuck Stinemetz.

“I don’t think it’s a net increase in the number of courses they have to take as much as creating space for them to potentially take courses outside of music,” Stinemetz said.

At the meeting, President Rock Jones said Kathy Boles Smith ‘71, a member of the Board of Trustees since 2011, and her husband Alton Smith have funded $500,000 for faculty support. The Smiths had also created a faculty support fund in 2014.

According to an email Jones sent to faculty Feb. 21, “The creation of Kathy and Alton Smith Endowed Fund for Scholarly Leave will allow the selected faculty member a semester away from classroom responsibilities to complete work on an established significant professional project.”

Jones also said some international students are concerned about going home for the summer, according to Tom Wolber, associate professor of modern foreign languages.

“[They are] worried about what will happen once they go home … What if they can’t come back? What if they are stopped at the border?” Wolber said. “We don’t know what [Donald] Trump and his administration will bring, but things could be much worse months from now.”

OWU doesn’t currently offer provisions for housing or food specially for international students during breaks. But Jones said he would look into housing concerned international students on campus over the summer, according to Wolber.

Additionally, six professors who started teaching at OWU in 2011 were granted tenure at the faculty meeting.

The professors included Sarah Bunnell, assistant professor of psychology; Sally Livingston, assistant professor of comparative literature; Scott Kelly, assistant professor of zoology; Glenda Nieto Cuebas, assistant professor of modern foreign languages; David Eastman, associate professor of religion; and Katherine Glenn-Applegate, assistant professor of education.

During the Board of Trustees’ retreat in Florida, the board and the eight faculty members who attended discussed OWU’s 2,020 by 2020 plan in more detail. Wolber said the board is enthusiastic, but some members of the faculty are unsure about achieving the 2,020 goal in the next three years.

Wolber said the admissions report, given by Susan Dileno, vice president for enrollment, was similar to last year’s, but OWU has seen a growth in the number of international student applicants.

Come October, OWU will also celebrate its 175th anniversary. The state of Ohio originally awarded OWU its charter on March 7, but festivities won’t take place until October during homecoming weekend.

The next faculty meeting will be held March 27.

*This story was updated on March 7, 2017 at 2:06 p.m.

CPB announces headliner

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

The Campus Programming Board (CPB) is bringing The Mowgli’s as the headliner to Ohio Wesleyan for Bishop Bash this year.

Planning since last year, junior Kristen Nooney, CPB president, said it was a long process of finalizing the event.

“[The] first step for us is to brainstorm a list of all of the different people we would like to see on campus,” Nooney said. “At [that] stage, we don’t take the price or availability of the artist into consideration.”

Nooney said the next step was to talk to Nancy Rutkowski, CPB’s adviser, who contacted Concert Ideas, the middle agent CPB uses to find talent for Bishop Bash.

After narrowing down a list of artists, Nooney said CPB ranks the potential artists.

“[The ranking is] based upon who we want to bring and who would be the best fit for the campus,” Nooney said. “This list then goes back to Nancy who works with our middle agent to get contracts.”

CPB then goes through the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) to get funding for the event.

“We reached out to WCSA at the beginning of the school year because we wanted to keep them in the loop with our Bishop Bash plans,” Nooney said.

“This year we were hoping to bring Twenty One Pilots to campus or host a weekend music festival. However, with limited funds we weren’t able to make this happen so we adapted and created a new list of artists within the budget we received from WCSA.”

In addition to Twenty One Pilots, Nooney said CPB eliminated more than 26 different groups due to compatibility on campus, price and the groups’ availability.

Once deciding on The Mowgli’s, Nooney said their price was good enough for CPB to find a popular opener, too.

“We decided on Never Shout Never because the two bands have a similar message and complement each other’s sound,” Nooney said. “They were also well known while most of us were in middle school and high school, making their appearance exciting and nostalgic.”

Nooney said the estimated cost for Bishop Bash this year will be around $45,000 after the production, the bands, hospitality, security and housekeeping.

Junior Catie Kocian, a member of CPB, said she is extremely excited about seeing both bands perform at OWU.

“I have been a fan of Never Shout Never since middle school and our headliner is a new favorite of mine for sure,” Kocian said.

The Transcript reached out to The Mowgli’s and Never Shout Never, but have not spoken with either band yet.

Public safety sends alert to students to shelter in place

By Transcript Staff

Delaware Police Department (DPD) is searching for two possible suspects for a “reported crime involving a gun” in downtown Delaware.

Ohio Wesleyan’s Public Safety (PS) sent an alert at 11:47 a.m., Feb. 17, notifying the campus community to shelter in place while police search for the suspects.

“Police have two suspect descriptions: a bald white male with a red shoulder bag and white tennis shoes and a person wearing all black,” the alert from PS said.

The shelter was lifted at 11:55 a.m., when PS sent another alert saying, “Delaware Police say OWU is able to resume normal operations. You no longer need to shelter in place.”

To receive PS alerts, students can subscribe by visiting this link: https://www.owu.edu/student-life/campus-safety/owu-alert-system/.

Seniors Munir Qaddourah and Doug Sanders witnessed Delaware Police during the search and posted photos and videos to their Snapchat stories.

The Transcript has attempted to contact PS but has not been able to reach them yet.

In a press release, DPD stated they are investigating a bank robbery in connection to the shelter placed on campus.

“[The robbery] occurred around 11:18 a.m. today at the Chase Bank branch, (61 N. Sandusky Street, Delaware),” the press release stated. “A lone male robber entered the bank, threatened a patron with a knife, and demanded money. He left the bank on foot with an undisclosed amount of US currency.”

The suspect is Jose Angel Santiago Cintron, a 42 year old man from Delaware. According to the press release and later confirmed by DPD Captain Adam Moore via voicemail, the suspect is in custody.

Photo of Suspect Jose Angel Santiago Cintron

“He is being held on one count of robbery and one count of kidnapping related to today’s incident”, said Moore.

“[The suspect] was taken into custody without incident, several blocks from the bank, approximately 10 minutes after the initial call,” the release said.

Cole Hatcher, director of media and community relations, also sent an email to the campus community at 2:01 p.m., saying the man was arrested in the vicinity of the campus and no one was injured.

In his email, Hatcher outlined a set of protocols to follow in case of emergencies:

“Follow a run, hide, fight protocol – in that order.

Get to a safe place as quickly as possible and secure yourself there. Lock and/or barricade doors as much possible for your immediate area. (If you are in a classroom, or similar, do not leave a safe space to reach personal offices, residence hall rooms, etc.)

Assess your surroundings to identify potential secondary escape routes and possible ways to subdue/disarm an assailant in a life-threatening situation. (Could you break a window if needed? Do you have pepper spray with you? Do you have access to heavy objects that may be thrown or otherwise used to subdue/disarm an assailant?)

Stay sheltered until you receive an all-clear message. This message likely will be sent via the OWU ALERT emergency notification system.”

*This story will be updated as more information becomes available and was last updated at 5:07 p.m., February 17, 2017.