News – Page 36 – The Transcript

Anna Flagg humanizes data

By Alanna Henderson, Transcript Correspondent

On Oct. 5, Anna Flagg was a guest speaker at Ohio Wesleyan’s Sagan National Colloquium lecture series called “Data In Our Lives” and spoke about the importance of humanizing data.

‘Changing region, changing lives’ by the Washington Post is an example to humanize data, according to Flagg.

Flagg studied mathematics and computer science at the University of Toronto and received her master’s degree from the University of British Columbia in human and computer interaction. She began working with these skills in industries such as Silicon Valley, but soon came to the realization that was not where she wanted to work.

Flagg spent four months freelancing and became a data journalist. Flagg said, “I’ve always wanted to use what I love to do, math and art to help myself and hopefully others better understand things that are important for us to understand.”

Flagg is a data journalist and interactive reporter for the Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization about those affected by the criminal justice system.

She has covered NSA surveillance, campaign finance, military spending,and the environment for other news organizations including Al Jazeera, ProPublica and the Center for Responsive Politics.

Senior Matt Maier attended Flagg’s presentation. Maier said, “I thought how she did her presentation was very interesting. I was confused at times, but I thought it was interesting as to how she corresponded the data with journalism.”

Her presentation covered what steps it takes to humanize data in journalism and how that can create larger emotional impacts on readers. In an article published by the New York Times titled ‘Creativity vs. Quants,’ it explains that data is ‘antithetical to creativity’ and that data is actually lacking in humanity and is dehumanizing.

Data journalism is heavy on visual aspects and journalists like Flagg feel it is important to make numbers more than just a number. Instead, data journalists want readers torealize the statistic is not just a number, but a person.

Flagggave the example of a dot – a dot in data represents a person, but in reality, that person is so much more than a dot.

The steps to humanizing data include data collection, analyzing the data, the delivery of the data and lastly, the presentation of the data.

Examples of humanizing data in journalism ranged from looking inside a virtual torture prison in Syria to the songs a girl listened to through important stages in her life.

“Data is just a tool, like any other tool. It can be used however you want,” Flagg said.

Delta Tau Delta honors BranchRickey

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Delta Tau Delta (Delt) Fraternity celebrated their 150th anniversary as a chapter at Ohio Wesleyan over the weekend of October 8.

Alumni and Delt national leaders came from around the country to take part in the festivities starting with the rededication of the house on Saturday morning.

The house, known to Delts as the Shelter, was rededicated in honor of Branch Rickey. Rickey was an OWU and Mu Delt alumni who signed the first African-American player to Major League Baseball.

Blake Andrews, president of Mu Chapter, said the decision to rededicate the Shelter to Rickey was an easy one.

“Branch Rickey represents the values and ideas that all Delts are committed to,” Andrews said. “The impact he had on racial equality in the United States made him the obvious choice when deciding who to honor in our Shelter’s rededication.”

Following the event the chapter had an open house where visitors could view the new renovations done in the house’s living room and library. The house improvements were carried out through a generous donation from an alumni.

That evening a formal dinner was held in the Benes room of the Hamilton Williams Campus Center.

Many Delts and alumni were honored at the dinner and a number of people spoke including OWU president, Rock Jones.

A special Delt ritual known as “Rite of Eyris” was performed by active members of the chapter. The ritual involved teaching the principles that the fraternity was founded on in a formal ceremony.

The Mu Chapter is one of the oldest fraternities at OWU along with being one of the oldest chapters of Delta Tau Delta nationally.

Homecoming hosts trustee meeting

By Leah Miza, Photo Editor and Olivia Lease, Transcript Reporter

In his opening comments, President Rock Jones urged the Board of Trustees to think “strategically about the long-term for Ohio Wesleyan.”

On Oct. 7, the Board of Trustees sat down to discuss a variety of issues that would impact the campus. Gathered for lunch on the third floor of Merrick Hall, it was a snug fit but almost all the members were all there.

Chairperson Thomas Tritton ’69, led the meeting during which everything from new classes to the the cost of tuition were discussed.

Liberal arts schools only make up 200 of the 3,036 four- year colleges in the U.S. That means only about 15 percent of four-year institutions are liberal arts in the United States.

“That represents a really, really tiny sliver of the number of students who are college students,” Tritton said.

“Even those at the very top are having problems because they become increasingly expensive and generally inaccessible to large segments of the population. So we’re really all in this together,” said Tritton in regards to increasing enrollment and making a liberal arts education more affordable.

Enrollment is up by about 50 students this year, which means the preliminary school budget had be adjusted to account for the extra $2.2 million. The funds were distributed across a few areas, one being the food budget, which increased by 2 percent.

Despite this higher enrollment, the board voted to increase tuition, room and board by 1.5 percent for the 2017-18 school year. This is roughly $833 per residential and international student (off-campus and commuter students will see a lower amount).

In an email, Jones noted that this increase is lower than in many past years in an effort to hold down costs for students and for the school to continue providing an outstanding liberal arts education.

The board also addressed the importance of improving OWU’s retention rate and the effectiveness of academic ad- visers. An online catalogue and a new app will be introduced to help students track their classes and the progress of their major(s) and/or minor(s).

With this technology, advisers could focus on helping students pursue their interests and different opportunities without being bogged down by prerequisite courses neces- sary for graduation.

New housing opportunities were also explored during the meeting. A motion was made for the construction of a new Honors House to be located on Oak Hill Avenue, next to the House of Peace and Justice.

An anonymous $2 million donation was made for the space that may be able house 30 students in comparison to the 11 students the Honors House currently holds.

The motion passed with no objections. “We have the money; let’s go for it,” said Tritton. Plans to start construc- tion are being laid out and students should be able to move into the house in the fall of 2017.

One of the Small Living Units (SLUs) in an older house on campus will be eligible to move into the current Honors House which is located at 123 Oak Hill Ave., a few doors down from the president’s house. Plans for housing that is specifically for first-year students is also in the works.

The process of finding a broker for the New York Arts building started over the summer and the school-owned property is expected to be listed as for sale soon. Funds from the possible sale would go to other departments such as maintenance, which, on average, the school spends $1 million on annually and it is usually, “cobbled together funds,” as Trustee C. Paul Palmer IV ’96 said.

Trustee Colleen Nissl ’72, gave marketing and enrollment report to the board. She started by congratulating the Communications Office, which launched the new website in November 2015. In the past six months, the website has had over a million hits, Nissl said.

In terms of enrollment, Nissl said the school is now 52 percent male and 48 percent female, the exact opposite of surrounding schools and might partially be due to the recruitment for sports.

With this incoming class, the percentage of multicultural and transfer students are down while Ohio and Chicago-based students are up.

Both Jones and separate members of the board addressed that while the 2020 plan is on course, it’s important to keep in mind long-term goals.

The next time the Board of Trustees will meet is during their retreat in Naples, Florida in February 2017.

Student poetry series hosted at bakery

By Gopika Nair, Chief Copy Editor

Several Ohio Wesleyan writers took a break from studying for midterm exams by sharing poetry and prose at an open mic event.

Speak/Easy, the open mic reading series affiliated with OWU’s English department, was introduced at Fresh Start Cafe and Bakery Oct. 10 and will be a monthly event.

Seniors Alyssa Clark, Curtis Taylor and junior Nicole White organized the event with the help of Amy Butcher, assistant professor of English. Butcher had the idea of arranging a student-run readers’ series on campus, White said.

Fresh Start is normally closed Mondays, but Butcher convinced the bakery’s owners to open that Monday evening to house Speak/Easy’s first open mic event.

“We chose Fresh Start because we wanted a venue that didn’t feel academic and instead felt cozy and welcoming to writers,” Clark said. “Fresh Start was open to working with us, had the room … and was eager to bring in more people to their new bakery.”

Nearly 40 OWU students attended the event, while around 15 shared their work. Some of the students who participated in the event included senior Chase Smith, junior Daniel Haygood, sophomores Em Sutliff, Emily Shpiece and Nash Bonnema. At one point, the manager of Fresh Start also hopped on stage to share a piece he had written.

Speak/Easy contributes to students’ growth as writers by giving them a platform to share their work, Clark said.

“One of the hardest aspects about being a writer is that you essentially need another set of eyes—or ears in the case of poetry and slam poetry—to read or hear your work,” Clark said. “An open mic night specifically for writers gives students a great opportunity to see how their pieces come across to an audience and to feel how their pieces sound out loud.”

White also said the open mic night gave students a chance to support the writers on campus, adding that the event provides something for everyone.

“Sometimes sharing something personal can be daunting, especially with a microphone, but I think we had a pretty open and inviting space for the first event,” White said.

The next Speak/Easy event will be held from 7-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11 on Veteran’s Day. The theme of the event is ‘War’ and specific topics can range from war of the heart or mind, war around the globe or war at home, White said.

Toxic greed infects water in “An Enemy of the People”

By Gopika Nair, Chief Copy Editor

Tensions run high as one man stands alone in a town filled with toxic greed in Ohio Wesleyan’s first theatre production of the academic year.

OWU’s theatre and dance department is presenting four performances of “An Enemy of the People” by Henrik Ibsen at Chappelear Drama Center. The Norwegian play revolves around the struggles of one man’s fight for truth against those who stifle it for personal and political gain.

Though the play was written in 1882, its themes remain relevant as it parallels current water disasters in Flint, Michigan and throughout the country and world, said Elane Denny, professor of theatre and director of the play at OWU.

“I have wanted to direct this Ibsen play for a long time and felt that now was the right time,” Denny said in her director’s note. “It has been interesting and informative to hear our students comment about how relevant this play is to world in which they now live.”

More than 50 OWU students are involved with the production and rehearsals began in late August.

Environmental programs and clubs at OWU will also have displays in Chappelear’s lobby in conjunction with the show, said freshman Josh Martin who portrays Dr. Stockmann, the protagonist.

Martin said he was first introduced to Ibsen’s work and “An Enemy of the People” in 8th grade.

“I was always fascinated by the shift of character that Stockmann has and his hope in the face of political turmoil,” he said. “He’s justified in doing what is right and he’s very passionate in standing by his morals.”

The play also stars junior Daniel Haygood as Peter Stockmann, Dr. Stockman’s elder brother; and freshman Sarah Gielink as Petra, Dr. Stockmann’s daughter.

Haygood said he hadn’t intended to perform in any plays this year until he read the script and realized he couldn’t turn down the role given the timing of the production with the upcoming election and the Flint disaster.

“The places that the characters go can be very dark,” Haygood, who plays the antagonist, said. “It’s important, I think, to see what my character and other characters are capable of and I think that’s going to surprise people going in because it’s also very relevant today.”

Ibsen’s pieces are generally regarded as serious, but during rehearsals, the actors experimented with the script, approaching it in different, sometimes comedic ways, Martin said.

Gielink said that was one of her favorite moments during rehearsals. “There are definitely funny moments that you might not get reading it the first time, but how some of the characters interact with each other physically is very funny,” she said.

The three actors said they are looking forward to having an audience on opening night because they contribute to the actors’ energy on stage.

“I hope the audience will take away the message of hope that [the play] leaves with and how the struggle for fighting for truth isn’t an easy one, but it’s necessary,” Gielink said.

“An Enemy of the People” was held on the Main Stage at Chappelear Oct. 6 through Oct. 9.

Perkins Observatory: expanding the view since 1931

By Julia Snyder, Transcript Reporter

Since the groundbreaking ceremony in 1923, Perkins Observatory has been a significant landmark on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus.

Perkins Observatory was founded by Hiram Perkins, a mathematics and astronomy professor at OWU from the late 1800s into the early 1900s. After Perkins retired, he dedicated himself to the planning of the observatory.

It wasn’t completed unitl after Perkins died. In 1931, the telescope was finished and named the third largest telescope in the world, measuring 69 inches in diameter. Since then, it has been moved to Arizona. The observatory now has has a telescope that is 32 inches in diameter. Today, Perkins Observatory offers public programs, day and night for those interested in astronomy.

Tom Burns, director of Perkins, has been an English professor at OWU since 1993. He usually leads the programs.

“On a clear night, we’ll pack the place, our fire code limit is 90 people, 10 of whom are usually going to be volunteers, … so we’ll bring 80 members of the public or students from OWU or whatever together on a clear night,” Burns said. “Even on cloudy nights, we’ll even get near capacity because we have some school group come in or something like that.”

On a clear night, the program will begin with a talk lead by Burns titled, “Everything you’re going to be seeing in the telescope and what it all means.” He said he does this so that when people look through the telescope, they know more about what they’re seeing.

“Then we’ll release people to the telescopes, not just the big one in the dome, but a bunch of telescopes from the Columbus Astronomical Society that we have out on the front lawn,” Burns said.

“We’ll just keep rotating people through those telescopes until everybody falls over or goes home. You stay as late as you want.”

On a cloudy night, he will give an educational tour, show the telescope and open up the dome if the weather permits.

“It really is kind of an introduction to practical stargazing and how fulfilling it can be and in a very practical way,” Burns said. “If people are willing to stick around for the late night portion, then we’ll do the ghost story. I always like doing it when we have OWU students there.”

Students also use Perkins Observatory for research projects, led by Robert Harmon, a physics and astronomy professor at OWU.

“I have a smaller 14-inch diameter telescope that sits inside of the dome that is on the observing deck. I use that telescope with students for research projects, like those in the Summer Science Research Program,” Harmon said. “I have students gather data with that telescope on a star that has star spots on it and we study those star spots. We’ve been gathering data on this since 2006.”

Burns said when he first started teaching at OWU, one of his goals was to get every student, regardless of major, into the observatory at least once before they graduated.

“I think a look at the nighttime sky informs any way that you look at the world around you,” he said.

Active Minds speak out

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

Students gathered in solidarity to talk about mental illness and the effects it has on students’ lives Oct. 3 in Bishop Cafe.

The Mental Health Speak Out was meant to provide a safe space for students to talk about their personal experiences with mental illness, whether it has af- fected them personally or people close to them.

The event was organized by Active Minds, a national organization dedicated to changing the conversation about men- tal illness. The Active Minds club at OWU holds this event every fall semester.

President Larynn Cutshaw said,“Our goal is finding ways to get people talking about mental illness and to eliminate the stigma that exists around it.”

According research done by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “One in four [college] students have a diagnosable illness, 40 percent do not seek help, 80 percent feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities, and 50 percent have been so anxious they struggled in school.”

Many students came to the event to support their fellow students, such as sophomore Sydney Nadler.

“It’s really important for us to have things like this so that people know they are not alone and that they have support here at school,” Nadler said.

The Active Minds club meets every other Tuesday in Welch. More informa- tion regarding the club can be found on its Facebook page.

The Beat: A chat with Cardiknox before homecoming weekend

By John Bonus, Transcript Reporter

The Campus Programming Board has planned a concert for students during homecoming weekend featuring Cardiknox, an indie-pop band from Seattle, Washington.

The group consists of vocalist Lonnie Angle and instrumentalist Thomas Dutton, who formed the band in 2013.

Cardiknox performed at Ohio Wesleyan on Oct. 8.

The Transcript: How did you come up with the name?

Angle: Cardinaux is Dutton’s mother’s maiden name. It’s a French name and Americans have a tough time pronouncing it, but we thought it sounded cool, so we poached it and made it Cardiknox.

The Transcript: How did the band come together?

Dutton: I was in a band before called Forgive Durden and we had made a kind of rock opera album. We were working to make it into a musical in Seattle and that’s where I met Angle. She was helping us with the musical and we started writing pop songs together. After working together for a while, we decided we wanted to form a band and that’s how Cardiknox started.

The Transcript: You released your first album in March. How did it feel to release your first studio album? Angle: It was wonderful! We spent a very dedicated six months writing and recording music and in the process of doing that we signed a deal with Warner Bros. When you sign with a major label like that, the timeline can be delayed so we weren’t able to release the album for an entire year after writing it. We were so ready to get the songs out into the world and now that it is, it’s been amazing touring and having people know our songs.

The Transcript: How do you describe your music to people, especially in regard to your album? Dutton: I usually tell people it is like electropop, but it incorporates a lot of indie sounds as well as pop from the 80s.

The Transcript: What artists/music has inspired your sound?

Dutton: We’ve been inspired by a lot of music, especially what we grew up listening to. We draw influence from artists like Madonna, Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper. As far as production, I also draw a lot of intuition from hip-hop artists like Drake and Kanye [West]. So it’s pretty much anything we are into or that has moved us.

The Transcript: What is your music about and is there a theme to your album? Angle: When we were writing it, we didn’t go into the studio saying to ourselves, “We have to write an album that sounds like xyz,” but in looking back now, we can see that it really is a reflection of where we were at in that moment of our lives both personally and professionally. I had issues with a big family trauma as my parents split up after 39 years and heartache really wove its way into a lot of the songs. Also, Thomas and I have been fighting for this dream of making this band into a reality and that’s not an easy task, as much as it may seem from the outside. So we see these themes of perseverance and believing in yourself unintentionally because it’s what we were thinking about when we made the music.

The Transcript: Are you working on any new projects now? Dutton: We actually were just able to start writing again about a month ago, but now that we are on tour, it might be difficult to start making music. Some people like making music on the road, but to me, touring and making music are two very different things and I find it hard to be in both of those head spaces at once.

The Transcript: How is life on tour? Angle: It’s been great. We’ve only been on the road for a couple days now and this is a shorter tour than we have done before, but it is a lot of fun. This year we’ve done three national tours already with different artists and we’ve seen a lot of different venues and audiences. This tour is different because it is all colleges, which is rad.

The Transcript: Is there a difference between playing regular shows and college shows? Dutton: Yeah, totally. Often times when you’re playing a normal tour and hitting big cities you’re usually in dingier parts of town and there isn’t much to go and do. But playing at colleges means you get to go to these beautiful campuses with amazing buildings and landscapes. The students also make a huge difference and are really energizing, especially since we are at the beginning of the school year and there is some of that fall college magic in the air. It’s a really refreshing change.

The Transcript: What are you both into outside of music? Angle: I love food and wine and I love cooking with friends and having dinner parties. In general, I just love spending time with family, friends and dog.

Dutton: When I’m not on tour, I play in a soccer league, which is really fun. I’m also really into football and I’m a huge Seahawks fan.

Team OWU wins big at fundraising

By Liz Hardaway, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Team OWU has raised $167,000 more than last year.

The total amount of donations received for Team OWU for the 2014-15 school year was $348,682. This raised the 2015-16 goal to $320,000, compared to the $200,000 goal set five years ago, according to Colleen Garland, the vice president for university advancement.

This was exceeded by a surplus of donations and the fund received $516,000 total in donations, according to the 2015-16 Annual Giving Summary.

“The University is funding about 65 percent of our operating costs in athletics, and the rest is coming from fundraising,” said Roger Ingles, the director of athletics.

Team OWU is the largest source for fundraising for athletics, along with restricted gifts, which is a one-time gift, such as the new tarp given to women’s softball or the new baseball outfield fence. Many coaches run summer camps to raise money and team members participate as well.

“We feel like we’re staffed at the level we need to be staffed … When I first took over, I asked [the coaches] if we want to invest in staffing or the budget … we can fundraise the budget, you can’t hire a coach that easy,” Ingles said.

Team OWU also has two different types of gifts: designated and undesignated. The designated funds go to whichever team or project the donor desires. Undesignated funds are just as important, raising money that may not have access to the alumni connections that longer established teams have, said Ingles.

Athletes work to raise funds as well, such as holding a raffle each year. Each player was required to sell roughly 15 tickets for $10 each to help pay for the football gear, and in turn, that ticket would enter the buyer in a chance to win a prize for each home game of the season, said Evan Guein, a former wide receiver and Jermaine Frazer-Phillips, a current defensive end.

“There’s a high chance you could win,” Guein said.

There is also a 48-hour city challenge held in the spring, an online giving challenge that had alumni from different cities competing to see which city could raise the most money for the Ohio Wesleyan Fund, the overall donation funds for operating the university, said Garland.

Research takes center stage at science center

By Shamayeta Rahman, Transcript Reporter

Summer means the sun, beaches, barbecues and research.

Students representing various fields in the sciences gathered in the Schimmel- Conrades Science Center’s atrium at noon, Sept. 26 to present the results of their summer-long research.

The room was filled with both student and faculty spectators, looking around the 27 poster boards. Rock Jones, the president of Ohio Wesleyan University, gave a speech commending the research students before joining the others in roaming around curiously listening to all the presentations. There were researches from multiple fields being presented by students who had a lot to share.

“Certain bacteria have feather degrading abilities,” said senior Jemil Seid. “I’m analyzing the biochemical differences between the slow degrading bacteria and the fast degrading bacteria.”

Seid, a biology major with a minor in chemistry, has been working with the Summer Science Research Program (SSRP) for the last two years. Earlier this summer, he won an award from the Ohio Branch of the American Society for Microbiology for his research about the antiviral properties of turmeric.

When speaking, he repeated multiple out for,” said senior Khayyam Zubair, who made an artificial intelligence game under Sean McCulloch’s guidance of the computer science department with his SSRP grant.

SSRP is a 10-week long program held over the summer, where selected students can work with a faculty adviser to work on their own research project. Students usually have to apply by the beginning of spring semester to be working the following summer, and receive a $3,200 stipend and free housing to carry out their research. This can be often combined with Theory-to-Practice Grants or Small Grant Program in certain cases.

This also ties in with the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program for neuroscience that is available for students from other universities (Earlham College, Wooster College and Kenyon College) as well, and the program allows all selected students to access seven collaborative labs.

“REU was interesting because it allowed us to see different people doing different things using methods that I had never heard of before,” Semmedi said.

The SSRP prioritizes sophomores and juniors who have not participated previously, and recommends a GPA of 3.0 or above.

The deadline to apply for next year’s SSRP is January 2017.

Senior Austin Minnick explains his research to a group faculty and students times the importance of conducting research during undergraduate years.

“I did my research this time with a SIP grant,” Seid said. “Money was a little tight but I had absolute great mentorship, and my professors did everything to help and guide me through my research.”

Senior Cemaliye Semmedi, another SSRP grant recipient, said, “The funding was adequate but there is always room for more. The REU students received much bigger grants than the SSRP students and had a lot more flexibility.”

The sentiment echoed across the floor, but everyone agreed that despite the occasional financial constraints it was an essential experience for them to grow as researchers and apply their majors in resourceful ways.

“SSRP is such a great way to explore research opportunities, and if anyone is planning to go to graduate school it is always something that they are looking