News – Page 35 – The Transcript

Beeghly Library celebrates 50 years

By Matt Maier, Transcript Reporter

The Ohio Wesleyan campus celebrated a monumental birthday Oct. 21.

OWU’s Beeghly Library turned 50 years old. The celebration included cupcakes, alumni, a chance to win an Amazon Fire and pictures which showed changes the li- brary has undergone over the years.

L.A. Beeghly donated the library 50 years ago in recognition of his children and grandchildren who had attended OWU. One of his great-grandchildren is currently an OWU student.

“Celebrating 50 years is definitely an amazing accomplishment for OWU,” said junior Jeb Beeghly. “It’s humbling to know my family had something to do with this milestone.”

Current students who work in the library said they can feel its history every day.

“Although I’ve only worked in the library for a short time, I feel as though I learn something new about it each day,” said senior Clara Ellis. “The history is rich and I always am finding out new things.”

This birthday both marks an accomplishment for the univer- sity, but it also serves as reminder that the library needs to strive for greatness, said Dee Peterson, in- terim director of libraries and coordinator of user services.

“Physically, we have returned to a more open floor plan simi- lar to when the building first opened,” Peterson said. “We now have more tables and areas for group study and collaboration, especially on the first floor with the creation of the ICEcube. We have worked to accommodate different studying styles and user needs with our spaces.”

Beeghly Library is home to one of the country’s oldest government document depositories, as well as rare books, manuscripts and artifacts collection.

New Honors House plans in place

By Leah Miza, Photo Editor

A new Honors House is being funded by anonymous donors and will be built where the former Inter-Faith House stands.

Twenty-seven students will be able to move into the new house by fall 2017.

Amanda Barry, student honors program coordinator, said the honors program has been seeking to create a larger sense of community for the past several years.

“It was expressed that having a larger house where more students—30, give or take—could live and interact together would help to achieve this goal,” she said.

Amy McClure, co-director of the honors program, said the new structure will possibly host seminars, classes and study rooms.

“We have an office and study area but we can’t get in it,” she said. “It’s locked all the time. So, we don’t really have a space that’s viable.”

McClure discussed another idea that was tossed around. “For the upstairs, we’re looking at different configurations of rooms. One of the things that they have suggested are special singles that are very small. That encourages people to mingle in the common area.”

Amy Downing, co-director of the program, said, “The house will have more common spaces and some teaching spaces in the form of small seminar rooms. The Honors Board will be working closely with students to determine how to best utilize these new resources in the context of the broader Honors Program at OWU.”

Although not much can be said on the donors, McClure said, “They’re very interested in the honors program, so it just became a natural fit.”

The current Honors House will be passed on to a current Small Living Unit, said Colleen Garland, director of development.

Bashford renovation put on indefinite hold

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Ohio Wesleyan’s plans to renovate Bashford Hall this year have been canceled, despite students not mov- ing into the facility this semester.

Bashford was previously scheduled to be demolished this year and replaced with a new residence facility mainly for first-year students, which is why the hall is empty.

The project is not happening this year because the school doesn’t currently possess the funds for renova- tion of residence halls, said President Rock Jones.

Decisions have not been made in regard to students moving into the hall in the near future and this will likely be the case until administration knows exactly how many students will be coming to campus next year.

Jones said one possible scenario in the long-term future would be to replace both Bashford and Thomson with complex housing for all first-year students. However, no source of funds have been identified for this kind of project.

While the project for Bashford may be dead, Jones said, there are still plans to improve student living situations.

“We will be making small improvements that I am confident students will appreciate as we seek to in- crease the quality of life in our residence halls,” Jones said.

One of these improvements will be the installation of new lounge furniture in some of the residence halls by the spring semester. The furniture will be placed in Smith and Welch.

The addition of new furniture was recently approved by the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA).

Nick Melvin, a class of 2019 representative for WCSA, said the council decided the new furniture was a good use of its resources for improving residential life.

“WCSA passed the bill for new furniture to make more comfortable living situations for students that will hopefully contribute to a better community overall,” Melvin said.

Repairs and renovations around campus

By Sara Hollabaugh, Online Editor

Recently renovated and constructed buildings on campus have already received repairs this semester.

Before the repairs, steps outside of Merrick Hall were cracked and part of the Sexuality and Gender Equality (SAGE) house had a water leak in the ceiling of the newly constructed Dittrick House.

According to Thomas Wolber, associate professor of modern foreign lan- guages, it was announced in the faculty meeting on Oct. 21 that the university needs $15 million worth of repairs made to the campus.

Wolber said Ohio Wesleyan currently has $300,000 allocated for repairs to be made this year.

Merrick Hall’s renovations were nearly finished before the graduation ceremony in 2015, but was officially rededicated and opened Aug. 20, 2015.

A little over a year after the rededication, the steps cracked.

According to Peter Schantz, director of physical plant planning and operations, the contractor used a non-water-proof sealant during the construction of the stairs.

“Around the handrail posts where the posts are cored into the concrete … the sealant took on water and froze over the last winter, cracking the corners of the steps,” Schantz said.

Schantz said the contractor made the necessary repairs under warranty.

SAGE was completed before students moved back to school in August, and was dedicated Oct. 6.

Since students have lived in SAGE this semester, a shower drain leaked on the upper level, resulting in a ceiling stain.

Schantz said the contractor repaired the leak under warranty, but the ceiling stain has not been repaired.

Senior Natalie French, SAGE resident, said Buildings and Grounds told SAGE they would paint the ceiling when they were positive the leak was fixed.

Schantz said the leak was fixed over two months ago.

“We haven’t heard anything since then,” French said.

Schantz said, “We plan to repaint the kitchen ceiling over Thanksgiving break when it’s more convenient for students.”

In addition to the leak in SAGE, Inter- Faith House’s (IF) residents said outlets were not working in their part of the Dittrick House when they first moved in.

Schantz said they’ve received three work orders since students moved into the house in August and believes each issue was taken care of.

“Two of the work orders were for outlets in the upstairs bathroom, where the ground fault circuit interrupter breaker tripped,” Schantz said. “This is not uncommon in damp environments. The contractor showed a resident how to reset this breaker at the outlet when it tripped.”

Schantz said the breaker is likely to trip again, but the outlets themselves do not have any issues.

Aside from new construction repairs, there was a steam leak on the academic side of campus that affected Sturges Hall, Elliott Hall, Slocum Hall and University Hall.

On Oct. 24, Cole Hatcher, director of media and community relations, sent out a school-wide email about the issue.

The next day, Oct. 25, Hatcher, on behalf of Schantz, followed up with the campus community.

“While working to fix the steam line issue affecting Sturges Hall, we discov- ered a condensate leak involving the main line as well,” Schantz said in the email. “To enable us to make repairs, we will not be able to heat these build- ings overnight: Beeghly, Corns, Elliott, Slocum, Sturges and University.”

Schantz continued to send out updates and assured the OWU community that repairs were being made overnight.

By Oct. 28, Schantz said the repairs were complete and warned the commu- nity about potential temperature fluctua- tions in buildings surrounding the former leak.

“We know it is older and could de- velop issues again,” Schantz said. “We are reviewing options for replacing the line or installing stand-alone boilers in each of these buildings.”

“We are gathering invoices from the repair crews that worked on the steam line,” Schantz said. “The university is reviewing options for funding steam line replacement or boiler installations.”

As of now, Schantz said warranty is covering the repairs.

WCSA Today: Senate passes amendment to close meetings

By Gopika Nair, Copy Editor

Election season is forthcoming both in the U.S. and Ohio Wesleyan’s student government.

The Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) is currently accepting applications for executive positions, including president, vice president and secretary, for the 2017 calendar year.

Senior Caroline Anderson, secretary, said WCSA hadn’t received many applications for the positions thus far and urged current members to spread the word about available positions at the Oct. 31 meeting.

Election for executive and senator positions will be held Nov. 11 and 18 respectively.

WCSA also recently passed an amendment to its constitution to allow closed meetings. For the first time at its Oct. 31 meeting, WCSA advisers, those unaffiliated with WCSA and The Transcript were asked to leave while the student government discussed a budget.

Following the closed session, junior Ryan Bishop of the Public Relations Committee, proposed including members from Student Inclusion Advocacy Committee (SIAC) to OWU’s Search Committee.

Two members from SIAC should be included in the search for high-ranking positions such as vice president, dean and director of administrative division, while one member should be included in the search for at least two faculty searches per year, Bishop said.

Bishop’s proposal passed.

At WCSA’s Oct. 24 meeting, senior Diana Muzina of the Student Life Committee said the committee had arranged to meet with Chartwells and OWU’s vegetarian club to discuss including more vegetarian options for students.

Muzina also said the green containers in Hamilton-Williams Campus Center are only getting a 3 percent usage and encouraged other members to spread the word about using it more.

Toward the end of the meeting, Dwayne Todd, vice president for student engagement and success and one of the WCSA advisers, said the administration has been discussing residential fees for students who stay over breaks, but nothing has been finalized yet.

OWU professor of 28 years passes away

By The Transcript Staff

Ohio Wesleyan professor of 28 years, Kim Lance passed away the evening of Nov. 3.

Lance “became ill as he was leaving campus and passed away at Grady Hospital shortly afterwards,” said an email from President Rock Jones Nov. 4.

President Rock Jones sent a campus-wide email on Nov. 8 telling students of Dr. Kim Allen Lance’s memorial service.

He said the service will be held on Friday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. at the Delaware Asbury United Methodist Church located at 55 W. Lincoln Avenue.

The Delaware Police Department was contacted via 911 at 6:18 p.m. on Nov. 3 and an ambulance arrived at the Schimmel-Conrades Science Center at 6:24 p.m, according to the Delaware City Police incident run sheet.

Lance is survived by his wife Judy and three children, James, Marie and Paul, according to his faculty bio on the OWU website. He was 56 years old.

Professor Kim A. Lance. Photo via Facebook

In a Facebook post shared by his wife Judy Maxwell, the family has asked not to be contacted at this time as they plan to post information about memorial services when plans are made.

A professor of chemistry, Lance was teaching two sessions of CHEM 110 (General Chemistry I) courses along with a lab this semester with a combined enrollment of 58 students. He was also teaching an Independent Studies course.

Chaplains and counselors will be available, Jones said in his email.

Jones said, “I am especially mindful of those of you who were students of Dr. Lance. Provost Stinemetz and the faculty in the chemistry department will work together to support you as you complete the semester.”

Counseling Services is open for walk-in appointments at 11 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They are open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. everyday and can be reached at 740-368-3145.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

*last updated Nov. 8 at 6:27 a.m.

Open mic switches venue

By Leah Miza, Photo Editor

Ohio Wesleyan students have hosted open mic nights for the past four years at Choffey’s Coffee and Confections, located in downtown Delaware. This year, the event started off right next door at Endangered Species Records.

Jake Myers, employee of Choffey’s, said the reasoning behind this switch was based on a fee that businesses must pay in order to play someone else’s music in the establishment.

“The money they pay goes to the musicians [who] own the songs,” he said. “The return that Choffey’s was getting from hosting the open mic wasn’t enough to keep hosting it again this year.”

Patrick Bailey, owner of Endangered Species Records, volunteered to host the open mic. “I think this is a great place for it. It’s much bigger, it’s more comfortable, it’s a music place,” he said.

Bailey said OWU students don’t know the record store exists, so he mentioned the possibility of expanding the open mic to twice a month.

“It’s the last Friday, which means Ohio Wesleyan will be here for … October, but they won’t be here for November or December, so we might fix that a little bit,” he said.

Senior James Ormerod, OWU student and open mic host, said by having the open mic at Endangered Species Records, they are helping with advertising the business and, in return, gaining the space.

“I think hosting it at a record store brings the focus onto the music, too, which is really what it is all about,” he said.

The first show was a success. “We were all really happy with how many people came out and purchased something from the store,” Ormerod said. “The level of musicianship was awesome to see as well. Since it went so well we’re definitely going to host it there again in October.”

Coffee and antiques come together

By Areena Arora, Managing Editor

There is a new destination in town for coffee and antiques.

After Thrifty Chic, a retail clothing store closed its location at 43 N Sandusky St. this summer, Coffeeology opened its doors Sept. 3 to Delaware’s espresso and antique enthusiasts.

The new store, the first of its kind is co-owned by Delaware resident Melissa Dixon and her mother.

“It’s something we’ve talked about for the past 8 years. [My mother has] been in the antique business for the past 20 years … and I geek out about coffee,” Dixon said.

She said she is very passionate about coffee. “I went to a barista school … and learned the science behind making coffee … how the beans are roasted, and how you can taste the different regions just like wine tasting … I learned the chemistry behind it.”

She added, “We wanted to have a place where people can come in and have coffee, chat and shop.”

Dixon, originally from Long Beach, California said she liked Delaware’s small town community and her husband who is from Ohio wanted to retire and settle here.

“Until you get away from it [California], you don’t realize how social status driven it is and how needed it is to be in a small town that’s community-oriented,” she said.

Although there are three other antique stores downtown, Dixon said she is not afraid of competition.

In the antique world, she said, it is good to open up in an area where there are other antique stores. “People want to come here and it becomes a destination … As for coffee shops, everyone does things differently. The atmosphere and ingredients everywhere are different,” Dixon said.

The store is currently run by a team of six employees, including two college students and stay-at-home mothers.

The response, Dixon said, has been positive. “People like what we have to offer and they like the quality of what we have.”

The espresso bar also features baked goods which Dixon said she buys from a baker in Powell. The coffee, she said, comes from a roaster called One Line. “They have an expresso bar down in Short North [Columbus], so that’s where I get my coffee from.”

From the frozen lattes to dark choco- late mochas, many of their drinks have been very popular.

Dixon said, “We have some fresh fruit frozen smoothies, which have no sugar in them … I try to get a little bit of every- thing, so that way we hit all the different taste palates and flavors.”

While the store is just over a month old, Dixon already has plans for the store’s expansions. The basement, she said, will soon be called a “Man-Cave.” “We are going to put some of our col- lectibles down there that guys tend to like and we’re going to put a TV there and have ESPN on,” she said. “We have furniture down there currently, and some newer retail up here.”

The unique name was Dixon’s idea. She said she came up with the name six years ago and the inspiration is her approach to studying the science of coffee making.

OWU Mission program renamed

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

The University Chaplain’s Office will send Ohio Wesleyan students around and outside the country with Interfaith Service Trips this year.

Student-lead teams will visit cities such as New Orleans, San Diego, Washington D.C, Pittsburgh and Columbus.

One team will also visit the Lakota Nation, a Native American tribe in South Dakota, and another team will do service in Bucerias, Mexico.

In past years, Interfaith Service trips have been known as mission trips. Chad Johns, associate chaplain and director of spring break mission week, said the change in title stems from the sometimes bad connotation associated with the word “mission.”

“For some, especially those who are not a part of the Christian tradition, the term ‘mission’ carries connotations of colonialism and forced conversion, which is, of course, the opposite of what our program seeks to do,” Johns said. “We decided to seek out other language that would be less problematic to our community while still retaining the sense that these service teams are being organized out of the Chaplain’s Office.”

The purpose of the teams is to provide service to a variety of people and organizations while also educating students on different cultures and cities around the globe.

Junior Shashank Sharma is serving as a leader of the team heading to Mexico this year. He said he visited Mexico last year for a winter internship and it inspired him to design a service trip that would return there.

“I had an amazing experience in Mexico last year and I hope to help my team have the same in the spring,” Sharma said.

“This program opens a doorway to diverse perspectives that you can’t find anywhere else.”

OWU has also been recognized nationally for its work in the Interfaith community.

The OWU “mission trips” that have been serving the globe for more than 2 decades have been a huge part of the interfiath community on campus, as students of all faith backgrounds serve together for a week.

There is a new local team this year serving at a local mosque, Noor Mosque, in which the team members come from multiple different faith and non-faith back- grounds.

“Service is where different faiths collide, several have the mission of serving others. I’m a leader for the Noor Islamic Cultural Center team working in Columbus because I want to learn more about the service the Muslim community is already involved in, engage in their projects, and promote the mission of the Interfaith movement,” said Olivia Lease, one of two student leaders of the Noor interfaith service team.

WCSA Today: New furniture added to dorms

By Transcript Staff

New furniture will be added to Smith, Hayes and Welch Halls through the funding of the Wesleyan Council of Student Affairs (WCSA).

The Furniture Resolution, proposed by Dwayne Todd, the vice president of student engagement and success, will introduce study tables, chairs and soft seating to the residential halls at the cost of $164,000.

“This is not our job, but I think that we are all in agreement that we are making a step beyond that … we have this opportunity to step in where someone else has fallen short … it could have a really immediate impact on the student experience,” said Sam Schurer, the vice president of WCSA.

A Gaming Resolution was also passed, al- locating $4,000 to the Bishop Gamers Project. Two Xboxes, Playstations and Wiis, along with an assortment of popular games will be avail- able for students to rent from the library.

WCSA also funded a visitation from Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, a program that focuses on gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry.

The musical “Fun Home” was approved and the date will be announced in the coming months.