News – Page 55 – The Transcript

Dating app under development

By: Sara Hollabaugh, Transcript correspondent

Popular iPhone applications come and go, but a senior at Ohio Wesleyan believes he can create a new dating application that will exceed users’ expectations.

Senior Mainza Moono said he knows his app is going to be great, although similar to Tinder and other popular dating apps. He said he hopes to solve their biggest problem: people making a lot of matches but not going on dates.

“I can only imagine how many heart matches women get,” said David Wygant, a Huffington Post contributor. “Men probably sit there, heart matching every woman on [Tinder], hoping one will get back to them. It’s so funny that the symbol for a match is a heart too. This app is far from making love connections. It’s all about look connections!”

Moono said he agreed with Wygant, which is why he is committed to making a successful application.

According to Moono, last summer he and his colleagues were using dating apps and would continuously discuss them together, which is how he got the idea to create a new app.

“One night we were sitting at dinner talking about applications,” he said. “We started talking about their problems and thought that if you combine a few of them, you can solve a lot of problems that each one individually has.”

Realizing that this could be something groundbreaking, Moono said he created a Google document to write about the problem qualitatively.

When he returned to Ohio Wesleyan for the fall semester, he took an entrepreneurship class, where students have to come up with a business idea of any sort. Moono said he and his group used the dating app idea as their project.

This semester, Moono is in an economics class that now allows him to add the quantitative side of the project.

Besides in his classes, Moono is working on the application with a fellow intern from Stanford and their friend, a software engineer, who will build the app. Moono said his current goals are to focus on the product and create something that users can appreciate.

“We have no money making strategy now…money will come later,” he said.

According to Moono, the app will be free—similar to Tinder—and will be targeted to millennials, which ranges from 18 to 35-years-old.

“I’ve found [the 18 to 35] age range to be the most fitting from data collected in my economics class because they are the ones who are downloading and using the current apps,” Moono said.

As for when the application will be ready, Moono said he hopes that it will be done by the end of the summer.

Moono said he has three months after graduation before he starts his job in San Francisco.

“I have a lot of time to dedicate to it,” he said.

There are a lot of things that Moono and his team have to figure out before their app is launched, such as if they will have to use their own money.

Moono has figured out one way to avoid major costs though, which is by having his software engineer as his friend and part of his team.

Another aspect that is in the works is where the app will be available because the app requires a network effect, “which is people knowing each other,” Moono said. He said he knows he has to start small, which will most likely be at a college.

“We don’t know where yet, but it’s going to be strictly in one place,” Moono said.

For now, Moono is collecting answers to a survey that he sent out to Ohio Wesleyan alumni, juniors and seniors and hopes to find the right information to make his application work.

“I would definitely say that people are getting more matches on Tinder than going on dates,” said Sara Hamilton, a junior interested to find out about the app. “The desire for personal contact has been practically eliminated, so a new application would have to be able to find a way to get past that crucial problem of modern day dating.”

Privacy regulations and determining whether or not they should make it a company are among the major questions that Moono and his team will research to make their application work exactly how they want it.

Professor on cutting edge of water filtration

By: Cassie Ingram, Transcript correspondent

Kristina Bogdanov, associate professor of fine arts. Photo courtesy of owu.edu

A professor at Ohio Wesleyan University makes dirty clay water almost clean enough to drink using clay filtration pots.

In 2009 the Fine Arts department hosted Peter Chartrand, the director of Potters for Peace organization (PFP), where he introduced the filtration pots to some of the professors and explained the organization’s intentions and goals.

Their goal as an organization is to create a simple and easy to use water purifier for developing nations.

After hearing about PFP Kristina Bogdanov, associate professor of Fine Arts, was encouraged to create these similar pots for her classes in hopes of developing them and making them even better. Although her first intentions were to make them to be sent across the world she was unable to, so she stuck to using them on campus.

“Thanks to the suggestion from Joan McLean, professor of politics and government, I began using the clay filters to filter waste water from the ceramics studio,” said Bogdanov. Her objectives are to keep harsh chemicals out of our tap and drinking water.

Student in the ceramics studios were instructed to use a certain wash bucket to wash out containers with glazes in them, brushes, sponges, and any tools that are dirty. After that, the dirty water gets poured into one of the clay pots. After a few days the water filters through the clay leaving clay residue and other chemicals in the bottom of the clay pot and clean water in the bucket underneath.

How do these clay pots work? When the clay is fired the partials create a chain like affect, making it very difficult for anything besides water to get through.

According to the PFP website, this alone cleans about 98 percent of the water, but that still leaves two percent of unclean water. So for that two percent they coat the pots with a silver lining. The silver penetrates the pours of the pots and bonds with the iron oxide in the clay.

This boost the effectiveness of the filter to 99.98 percent.

Currently, Bogdanov is working on a new design for the filter in hopes of making it portable. Her hope is to create them so they can be sent and used in other countries to make safe drinking water.

PFP stands to educate and get people to understand how big of a problem unsafe drinking water is in other countries, and now Ohio Wesleyan has the opportunity to be a part of this movement and help other countries.

Run-off elections to be held for senior class council

Those thought to be elected into the senior class council will have to continue pulling for votes from the junior class.

On Wednesday and Thursday, March 25 and 26, the senior class council elections were held. The positions on the ballot were president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Only juniors could run.

Three members of the class of 2016 ran for both president and vice president, two ran for secretary and one ran for treasurer.

Ben Miller, Brittany Spicer, and Kelly Johnson were told they won their respective postions. However, it was clear that in order to confirm these results, a run-off election must be held.

On Wednesday, Post-Grad Intern for University Involvement Hillary Fowler informed the candidates of the run-off via email.

“I apologize to each of you for the miscommunication of the announcement of last week’s election results,” Fowler stated in the email.

“There will need to be a run-off to determine the President, Vice President, and Secretary between the two candidates receiving the highest percentage of the votes.”

Sean Roskamp was elected as treasurer and will remain certain in his position since he ran unopposed.

The run-off election will be held from Wednesday April 8 through Thursday April 9. Juniors will be able to vote through the same online process through the My OWU portal.

Each of the candidates particpated in the election for different reasons. Each is looking to improve the OWU community in varying manners.

Madison Snider said she decided to run for secretary because “I felt that secretary would be fun, considering that I enjoy typing and keeping notes. I could’ve joined clubs or groups, but this to me felt like a better use of my talents and would allow me to be part of something that helps makes all seniors enjoy our last year.”

Kelly Johnson said, that as “secretary I would want to ensure that majority of the Class of 2016 attends the events being planned by the senior class council through the help of the marketing team. It is important for seniors who pay their dues to get the most out of their money and their senior year.”

Johnson also added, “The events planned by the senior class council are a fun way to bring the senior class together and I would not want anyone to miss out on this.”

Milagros Green said, “I will still be working to support the student body. I am currently trying to push for free housing over Thanksgiving and spring break for students who cannot afford to travel home and prefer to stay in their own room.”

“Our liberal arts university is a place to grow as a person, and I would love to strengthen the communication and interaction among different groups on campus to make that growth happen,” said Green.

N’Toia Hawkins, who ran for vice president, said, “I think that getting people together as a class is one thing that could be improved. They tell us that convocation and graduation are the only times that our entire class will be together, but I don’t think that these should be the only times.”

Shelli Reeves, who is in the running for president said, “I view the OWU community is a place of various people and various ideas. This makes us unique because we as a whole are leaders of tomorrow. I think that everyone has immense potential and we are welcomed to learn from each other.”

Unexpected debate breaks out between senators

After the initial presentation, arms began to rise.

An unexpected debate prevented the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) full senate from adjuring at their usual time on March 30. The point of contention: funding for the Campus Programming Board (CPB).

Junior Jerry Lherisson, president of WCSA, and junior Emma Drongowski, vice president of WCSA, presented a revised plan to increase the student activity fee as the last order of business at the meeting.

The plan, which will be voted on by senators April 6, would raise the student activity fee from $130 per semester to $160. This would give WCSA the budgetary freedom to better control how their funds are spent.

According to Lherisson, it would allow WCSA to “support organizations with a history of demonstrating services” vital to student life and put WCSA “in charge of where its money goes.”

But CPB was the center of discussion after Lherisson invited questions.

Billy George, a junior, noted that “attendance and response from students in regards to CPB’s programs is low.” He also raised concerns about CPB’s funds being a line-item on the budget.

Sam Schurer, a sophomore, said that “the cost of bringing Drake Bell to campus is a common complaint amongst the student body.”

Bell, who played at Bishop Bash on March 28, cost CPB $20,000 to host. The separate fee for stage and sound, among other logistical expenses, totaled $30,000.

In response to the senators concerns, Drongowski said that the money for Bell “came from a totally separate account… [and that] most of the CPB money goes to Day on the Jay.”

This appeal did not sway Zoe Morris, a junior, who wondered why there was “not more oversight by WCSA of an organization that received its funding from WCSA.”

In the final words on the subject, Lherisson noted that “every spring WCSA meets with CPB to discuss finances and organization. If having more oversight is something you want, we can discuss having more senators on CPB or weekly meetings with CPB’s treasurer. Bottom line, we want to know where all the money is going.”

Stanford professor talks polarization, average voters and overreaching

Dr. Fiorina of Stanford University. Photo courtesy of aspenideas.org. — Morris P. Fiorina of Stanford University. Photo courtesy of aspenideas.org.

Over 100 people in a hot, crowded room applauded as The Benjamin F. Marsh Lecture Series on Public Affairs began Wednesday, March 25.

The applause – which engulfed the Benes room of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center – was directed towards the keynote speaker, Morris P. Fiorina, a professor at Stanford University. Fiorina’s lecture was titled “Unstable Majorities, Polarization and the Contemporary American Electorate”.

The event was co-sponsored by the Ohio Wesleyan department of politics and government and the Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and Public Affairs.

Fiorina began the lecture by emphasizing that the political structure between democrats and republicans 50 years ago was not as extreme as it appears to be today.

“Democrats and Republicans now look at each other like they’re from different planets,” Fiorina said. “Democrats have moved left and Republicans have moved right, there is no middle ground anymore.”

For some in the crowd, that took a little while to sink in.

“I’m still trying to process it,” said sophomore Liam McNulty after the lecture. “I never truly realized that it hasn’t always been (polarized) like that.”

Fiorina continued by saying that polarization, in its most basic form, is not believed by some political scientists. He went on by presenting data that supports the claim that it isn’t as extreme as commonly thought.

The data showed that when it comes to key political issues, voters tend to hug the middle. This trend was also similar with the two major political parties.

Fiorina used the political issue of abortion to represent how some in the Republican Party have changed their view over the years, with many clinging to middle ground.

“It’s really interesting to see how polarization in congress isn’t really representation of the general population,” senior Robert Bartels said after the lecture.

Voter information

Fiorina showed via slideshow exactly how the American people get their political news: Of those getting their information from the extreme sides of the political spectrum, only 1 percent out of millions of viewers get their news from FOX News with just 0.3 percent getting it from The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.

He then referenced a study done on 1.2 million Bing toolbar users, of which only 14 percent clicked on 10 or more news articles and only four percent on two or more opinion pieces.

“The real problem in America isn’t if they get biased news, it is if they get any news (at all),” Fiorina said.

Political Overreach

Fiorina finished the lecture with a theory as to why neither major political party can keep the Senate, House or presidency for consecutive years since 2000.

“We have very sorted parties and the result is they overreach,” Fiorina said.

He elaborated by saying that each party tries too much during their respective times in office and it is usually not what the American people want.

“There is a disconnect between what the American people want to work on and what the politicians address,” Fiorina said. “People never really think we are on the right track.”

Competing interests overshadow India’s global potential

R. Blake Michael. Photo courtesy of owu.edu.

For India to take a lead role on the world stage it must overcome an assortment of competing sectarian influences that keep it from becoming a unified nation.

It’s a tall order, said Ohio Wesleyan University professor Blake Michael in the final event in the Great Decisions lecture series Friday, focused on the politics of India since it gained independence in 1947.

Michael took the podium in a last minute call to replace speaker Irfan Nooruddin, a professor at Georgetown University and an Ohio Wesleyan alumnus, who had to cancel his talk titled “India Changes Course.”

Michael also led last week’s Great Decisions lecture about sectarianism in the Middle East.

He began by describing the impact sectarianism has had in India.

“How do you build a nation that identifies itself as Indian when you have all these competing components — religious, linguistic, regional — that are pulling people to identify with smaller and smaller groups?” Michael said.

Convincing Hindus and Muslims to both identify as Indian has not been easy, he said. And the growing prominence in the last few years of the Bharatiya Janata Party has also impaired progress. That party wants India to become a Hindu nation.

India is similar in physical size and population as Europe and has “great potential for productivity on the world stage,” Michael said.

After winning its independence, India tried to become more united and it “swallowed up” some of its neighboring nations, he said.

One country that has remained mostly independent is Nepal.

“Being Nepal is like being a puppy dog sleeping next to an elephant,” Michael said. “India is monstrous and some of the nations around it are fairly small and have to be very careful which way they roll over.”

Delaware resident Connie Lybarger said she has been coming to the Great Decisions lectures with her husband since the series began. She said she liked that Michael emphasized India’s immense size and included information about Pakistan, where she and her husband were missionaries.

Richard Fischer, also of Delaware, said the lecture provided a perspective not found in the mainstream media.

“You’re hearing someone, who knows something well, tell you about a topic without an agenda,” he said.

New online purchasing system for OWU

A new cloud-based purchasing system for professors and other Ohio Wesleyan University employees is set to replace the current system by July 1.

The system, “BishopBuy,” was designed by SciQuest Inc. and will create an automated online domain for shopping, placing purchase orders, check requests, change orders, budget transfers and more. It is said to enhance the all-around purchasing experience of the employees at OWU.

“Our current system is for entering online requisitions only,” said purchasing coordinator Melanie Kalb. “This system is also cloud-based and will work with any browser. This a great benefit to those working from multiple offices.”

A shopping cart application will be used that allows users to connect with other shopping websites, browse catalogs of items used for each respective department and purchase items with their purchasing cards (PCards).

The site has been worked on by a team of 30 people for 20 weeks beginning in October. BishopBuy has been tested by multiple focus groups during its development.

BishopBuy is a shared purchasing system between Ohio Wesleyan and the other Ohio Five schools: Denison University, Kenyon College, College of Wooster and Oberlin College.

According to the frequently asked questions, “A shared system allows us to leverage our combined purchasing power for better discounts.”

The fact that the system is shared enabled a collective purchase between the Ohio Five schools from SciQuest, meaning the software is even more cost efficient. A grant from Carnegie Mellon University lowered the price even further.

Dan Hitchell, vice president for finance and administration, explained in an email sent out to OWU employees that training for BishopBuy would begin during the first week of March. He went on to say that the target date for training completion was June 1, the day that BishopBuy will replace the current system.

Hitchell was unavailable to comment on BishopBuy.

Though training has allegedly begun, some OWU professors and employees are still unaware that a new purchasing system even exists.

When asked about BishopBuy, several professors and secretaries declined to comment on the grounds that they did not yet feel comfortable enough based on their current knowledge of the system. Others didn’t even know there was going to be a change.

Either way BishopBuy will go into full effect at the beginning of the new fiscal year on June 1.

SARN’s helpline brings sexual assault program to campus

The Sexual Assault Response Network (SARN) of HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties, Inc. is bringing a sexual assault program to Ohio Wesleyan.

The facilitator of the support group, Nora Flanagan, said her “role will be to start the meeting with an introduction to a topic regarding sexual violence, open up for discussion and then have time for sharing more personal stories if people wish.”

The group is a peer-led support group and therefore members have a majority say in how to spend the time.

“The facilitator is there to explain and keep ground rules of the support group in play and to be ready to assist if anyone is triggered or needs extra support after the group,” Flanagan said.

“This particular group is based on a four session curriculum. The topics we will talk about include what is sexual assault; setting boundaries; trust after trauma; triggers; and self-care. After the sessions participants are welcome to continue to access our services in any way that is found to be beneficial in their healing journey.”

Flanagan explained her role is also to ensure confidentiality, provide a non-threatening, supporting, open and non-judgmental conversation. She is trained in trauma informed care.

“We provide rape crisis and recovery services for all survivors of sexual assault. Sexual assault is any unwanted sexual activity you don’t agree to when you are coerced, threatened, forced, intoxicated or unable to consent in any circumstance, for any reason,” Flanagan said.

Flanagan has worked in the field for 15 years, first as a liaison to the judicial system then to volunteering at a nonprofit. She then took the position as the SARN coordinator. Flanagan works with survivors both in hospital and law enforcement settings but most often will work with survivors who reach out to the SARN hotline in a one-on-one capacity.

Senior Ali Smith said, “I think it’s great that this program is being offered at OWU. Women that have experienced sexual assault will have a safe place to discuss issues caused by the assault.”

Flanagan said “this group has been designed specifically for the 18- to 20-something-year-old female population who identify as sexual harassment, abuse or assault survivors. Registration consists of interested participants contacting us, getting more information and being signed up.”

Junior Macie Maisel said, “I don’t think we have a major problem on our campus compared to large campuses, however I think taking precautionary steps is needed so that this doesn’t become a large issue.”

The program is currently being offered and is being considered for fall 2015, spring 2016 and possibly this summer.

HelpLine’s SARN program has been a yearly participant in Take Back the Night, various campus awareness and educational groups and held a similar support group last spring.

Low enrollment numbers forcing budget cuts

Ohio Wesleyan’s budget is suffering cutbacks because enrollment is not as high as school officials want.

According to an email sent to school faculty by OWU President Rock Jones, the projected budget deficit is going to be $4.5 million for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. As a result, the university is looking for ways to save money.

Chris Wolverton, a professor in the botany department and head of the university governance council, said the council was tasked by the president to come up with ideas to save money.

“Bottom line, we’re down a lot of students, not just this year, and not just last year, but in general, the school’s enrollment is really low, and as a result, the school just isn’t making as much money,” Wolverton said.

Susan Dileno, vice president of enrollment at OWU, said the 2013 freshman class had 572 students, while the 2014 freshman class had only 484 students.

According to the email, the school administration is considering several options to save money. These ideas include “operations reductions, compensation adjustments, staff reductions and frozen vacant faculty lines.”

Wolverton explained that frozen vacant faculty lines are when a professor retires or is fired by the university; that position is called a faculty line. So keeping those lines frozen means not hiring new professors to a certain position to save money that would otherwise be spent on their salary.

“The size of the faculty is actually very difficult to change,” said Wolverton. “Right now, we have around 145 full-time faculty members.”

There are also the discretionary expenses that Wolverton said the council has considered cutting. These are the amount of basic office supplies like printer ink, staples, pens, and pencils and other similar items.

Wolverton also explained one of the main options the council is considering to save money – which he says many faculty members have been in support of – is to forego the salary raises which were planned and budgeted for the next fiscal year.

Another option being considered is increasing health care premiums.

“There are lots of different salary tiers at OWU, some people are paid on hourly wages, and some people – the administration members – make six figures,” Wolverton said. “So not everyone pays the same premiums for health care. We are considering increasing how much the higher tiers have to pay for health care.”

The council on university governance – which is made up of six faculty members – will present the administration with money-saving ideas by the end of March, and the administrators will then make a decision by May 15.

Faculty discuss changes to faculty handbook

Discussion centered on problems with the budget and changes to personnel policy at the Ohio Wesleyan faculty meeting on March 23.

Provost Chuck Steinmetz expressed concerns about faculty involvement in the budget problems in light of the recent closure of Sweet Briar College in Virginia.

Sweet Briar College, a small, all-women’s liberal arts college near the Blue Ridge Mountains, announced on March 3 that it would be closing in August, citing financial problems, according to The Washington Post.

This announcement came as a shock to both OWU faculty and students.

Steinmetz does not want the same thing to happen at Ohio Wesleyan; he proposed to have a summit in May for him and the faculty to discuss strategies moving forward.

“This has been a difficult year to serve as your provost,” he said. “The faculty needs to take the time to come together as a faculty on the future of OWU.”

Sean Kay, professor of politics and government, and Dan Vogt, professor of chemistry, also brought up concerns that austerity measures the university is taking to fix the budget won’t work. Instead, they could lead to faculty and student dissatisfaction.

President Rock Jones responded by saying that he thinks “austerity does not drive prosperity,” but he still supports the budget.

Other faculty expressed concerns that the Board of Trustees are not doing their jobs and that they are taking hits themselves with no rewards in overall salary. This came after the announcement that there would be a freeze on salary and compensation pools for next year.

Chris Wolverton, professor of botany and microbiology as well as chair of the committee on university governance posed a question to the OWU faculty.

“How can we make OWU one again, instead of fiefdoms, which don’t work,” he said.

Faculty also discussed at length the proposed changes to the personnel policy in the faculty handbook.

After much discussion and many presentations by various professors, the changes were approved with a vote of 65 to 24.