News – Page 59 – The Transcript

Politics professor discusses Brazil’s future

James Franklin. Photo courtesy of owu.edu.

Despite making great deal of progress over the past several decades, Brazil still faces many challenges in its future as a global leader.

James Franklin, professor and chair of the politics and government department at Ohio Wesleyan University spoke about the changes Brazil has seen over the last 50 years in the latest installment of the Great Decisions lecture series.

One challenge Brazil faces is the high level of inequality throughout the country.

“Some people are living in favelas and in slums, and some have walled houses, armed guards and commute to work in a helicopter,” Franklin said.

Franklin said there are high amounts of chaos in the government, likely because its Chamber of Deputies, the Brazilian equivalent to the United States’ Congress, contains more than 28 different political parties.

The government of Brazil had a very authoritarian start; however, it is working toward a successful democracy, he said.

Another contemporary challenge Brazil faces, Franklin said, is the extreme fractionalization of the political parties. “Some political parties don’t even take a stand on many issues,” he said. “They are there because they want power.”

Corruption is another of the challenges Brazil faces. Kickbacks to the oil industry recently, leads many Brazilians to not trust their government.

One connection many South Americans share is their passion for politics, Franklin said. Everyday citizens in Brazil and other parts of South America are much more involved in politics than citizens in the United States.

Another challenge Brazil faces is the protection of the Amazon rainforest. Franklin said the country’s president has reduced deforestation, so much so that the impact on carbon emissions would be “if the entire European Union stopped driving for a whole year.”

But government enforcement in the Amazon is actually quite weak, Franklin said. Until former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the government didn’t do anything to stop deforestation.

“President Lula actually put in place incentives for Brazilians to not promote the deforestation of the Amazon,” said Franklin. “I might even say Brazil has done the most out of any country to combat global warming.”

Franklin said with poverty being such an extreme issue throughout the country, the issue of protecting the environment is often swept under the rug.

“Economic and financial issues are given far more importance than environmental issues are,” Franklin said.

The biggest challenge Brazil faces now is determining what its role in the world will be as a developing global power.

The next Great Decisions lecture will occur on Friday, Feb. 27, from noon to 1 p.m. at the William Street United Methodist Church. The subject will be “U.S. Policy Toward Africa,” which will feature OWU professor Randolph Quaye.

Solar panels not in the stars for Ohio Wesleyan

While Denison’s The Denisonian announced the university’s plans to begin building 6,000 solar panels this spring, sustainability efforts at Ohio Wesleyan will not include such a plan.

According to Peter Schantz, director of the physical plant for Buildings and Grounds, it takes two acres of land to generate two megawatts of electricity – land OWU doesn’t have.

“We’ve had several solar power providers approach us, tour our facilities and say we’re not viable,” Schantz said.

Schantz said an alternative way for OWU to save energy is to retrofit the buildings, which includes adding more energy-efficient lighting and energy-saving heating ventilation and air-conditioning. Though Schantz said finding money for such an endeavor is difficult, many of the recent building renovations help.

“Every time our donors give money to renovate, we improve the energy profile of those buildings,” he said.

Elliott Hall counts among one of the recently renovated buildings, while Merrick Hall is in the process of renovation. Schantz said the Small Living Units as well will be updated through the Student Housing Master Plan.

President Rock Jones said in an email that the university makes efforts to support sustainability in other ways as well, such as by working with Chartwells to provide more locally-sourced food, installing “Hydration Stations” to decrease bottled-water usage on campus and using partially-recycled paper for a “print green” program.

Additionally, Jones and Schantz said the campus and the City of Delaware have investigated the possibility of sharing land for solar panels, although finding a workable model has not yet happened.

Both Jones and Schantz said it’s important to see what other schools do to improve their environmental impacts, though the solutions won’t necessarily translate at OWU.

“Each campus is unique,” Jones said. “The size of the campus, the age of its buildings, its geographic location, and many other issues impact its sustainability. Denison, for example, was burning coal until very recently. Ohio Wesleyan converted its power plant in 1989.”

Schantz, who is involved in many of the sustainability initiatives on campus, said the focus should be on OWU’s opportunities.

“Keeping up with anyone else is a bad idea in any regard,” Schantz said. “This is an important pursuit and we need to be focusing on what we can do…how do we use our resources to reach our goals?”

Theology professor dispels myths about Satan

A visiting scholar set out to determine where the idea of Satan came from in the spring lecture for the Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Studies program (AMRS).

Speaking at Ohio Wesleyan University on Feb. 9 to a packed Benes Room, Ryan Stokes of the South Western Baptist Seminary entertained the audience of students and faculty with charisma and interesting facts which he has learned from his studies on the origin of Satan.

Stokes said he wanted to determine whether or not there are stories from the Bible about how Satan came to be who people know as the devil today.

“In the old testament, Satan was just some obscure figure of relative insignificance,” Stokes said.

In the New Testament of the Bible, Stokes said the character of Satan is much more prominent, appearing in 19 different books.

“During that time between when the two testaments were written, Satan teams up with evil spirits, Satan becomes the ‘deceiver’ and the ‘tempter’, he becomes the leader of wrecked nations, and he became the enemy of God’s people,” Stokes said.

Stokes also cleared up several common misconceptions about Satan and the Bible.

“In the Old Testament, he was called ‘The Satan,’ it was a title, not a name,” said Stokes, “and The Satan actually worked for God.”

Stokes also taught that the Hebrew Scriptures actually contain no origin story for The Satan.

One audience member asked about how the number 666 relates to the devil.

“There is honestly no discernible correlation between the number 666, and the Satan,” said Stokes, “The number six hundred sixty six, not six-six-six, had connections to a beast, but that beast was never identified as The Satan.”

A blast from the past: OWU finds historic ledgers

Documents of financial statements. Photo courtesy of Sara Schneider.

Leaking water in the VP finance vault led to the discovery of historic ledgers that date back to the mid 1800s. These ledgers are now being stored in Human Resources.

The historic ledgers were brought to the Human Resource office for dry and safe housing while the vault is being repaired.

These ledgers consist of budget operation, cash payments, scholarship records, housing records and budget books. Also included are books filled with minutes from executive meetings. One of the executive meeting minutes discussed the Funding of the Spring Street Gateway.

“If the Human Resources department cannot find another place to store the ledgers, they will return the VP Finance Vault in the basement of University Hall,” said Elizabeth Foos, purchasing coordinator for Human Resources.

These ledgers contain records of budget operation, cash payments, scholarships, housing records and budget books. Also included are books filled with minutes from executive meetings.

“It is so interesting to see how they organized the finances and all the records when the university first began,” said Foos. “It’s fascinating to think that most all the records kept today are done electronically.”

The first tuition payment on record in the ledgers dates back to 1853, which consisted of $217.00 for one semester.

Almost all of the ledgers are handwritten in script, which can make them difficult to read.

Book with old tuition costs and payments. Photo courtesy of Sara Schneider.

“I reached out to the OWU Archives to see if they were interested in the historic documents,” Foos said. “However, they didn’t show interest in the ledgers because they are not considered to be true archives.”

According to Emily Gattozzi, digital collections librarian, “the OWU Historical Collection isn’t a true university archive, so it doesn’t serve as the department of record for things like financial records.”

The OWU Historical Collection contains material such as promotional items like brochures, pamphlets and event programs; periodicals such as The Transcript, Le Bijou, OWU Magazine, annual catalogs, faculty, staff and alumni publications; and memorabilia like letterman sweaters and pennants.

Something new brewing in Delaware

Standing in the place of the old Beehive Bookstore on 25 N. Sandusky St. is the upcoming Restoration Brew Worx (RBW), Delaware’s new brewery.

In January of 2014, the Beehive Bookstore closed. Following the closing, owners Joe and Linda Diamond began searching for a business to take over the empty space. According to Rick Martine, managing partner of Brew Worx, “the Diamonds wanted the space to continue to be a place where people could gather together, talk about the day’s events and relax in a comfortable and supportive environment.” Martine has been a resident of Delaware for 18 years.

“Restoration Brew Worx is technically a brewpub, where we manufacture our own beer for sale over our bar and we also provide foodservice,” said Martine. “We will brew our beer on a 10-barrel system purchased from B Cast Stainless in Plain City, OH.”

This new system will produce 310 gallons of beer per batch and will be served in the Restoration Brew Worx storefront and in select locations around Delaware. Martine said their goal is “to brew and serve 500-700 barrels of beer in the first year.”

The storefront of the former Beehive Bookstore will undergo minor changes as RBW settles in. Martine said “Joe Diamond ‘restored’ the front in 2007. We are leaving the existing iron sign frames in place and simply replacing the Beehive sign with our new RBW sign and the existing banners with our own.”

Other changes to the store front will include a fenced patio area in front with roughly 20 seats and two bi-fold windows within the existing framework. These windows will allow RBW to open the front in warm weather, and close it in cold weather.

Martine said that inside they “are in the process of adding a new 20-seat bar and roughly 15 dining tables, changing the lighting, adding ceiling fans, a fresh coat of paint and a new floor. We have added a small kitchen, new restrooms and our pride and joy, the 10 barrel brewery in the back. The brewery will remain open to view by the patrons as we feel it offers a truly unique visual experience, not available anywhere else in Delaware. Patrons will be able to see the equipment and experience what it is like to step inside a working brewery.”

In order to legally establish a brewery in downtown Delaware RBW had to obtain a tax and trade bureau permit, state liquor license, building permits, Delaware Heath District permits and USDA approvals.

As for an opening date, Martine said “at the moment our brew system is in and going through a testing phase, but we are waiting on the tax and trade bureau to approve our brewery permit and the state of Ohio to issue our A-1c manufacturing license, which will allow us to begin brewing. Once we can begin brewing, it will be roughly 5-6 weeks for us to brew enough beer to open the doors and let the taps flow freely. We will be keeping everyone updated on our website and our Facebook page.”

“While the legal drinking age remains 21 in the state of Ohio, we are a gathering place for people of all ages who share a love of good craft beer and their families,” said Martine. “We will serve our younger patrons with a limited children’s menu and soft drinks, featuring our house-made root beer, so that Mom and Dad can still enjoy a pint of their favorite brew.”

Senior Haley Schafer said, “I am excited for Restoration Brew Worx to open. I believe this will be a great place for people to relax and hang out in town, while getting a drink.”

According to Martine, RBW “will offer a slightly different element than most of the other drinking and eating establishments around town. We will make and sell only our own beers on tap, but we will attempt to make a beer that almost everyone will find to their liking.”

IOCP keeps in contact with returning OWU students

For Ohio Wesleyan students, going off campus and studying abroad can be a challenge. The International and Off Campus Programs (IOCP) office is there to make that challenge a little bit easier.

While the number of OWU students traveling off campus or abroad changes each year, this fall 80-100 students left Delaware for the semester.

When the students return, IOCP helps them readjust to campus life by offering a returnee session, Crossing Boarders sessions, student evaluations, study abroad assessments and a number of other group activities.

“Each program has its own system of evaluation,” said director of IOCP Darrell Albon.

IOCP is also adding a group called The New Cosmopolitans, which stems from an old OWU group called the Cosmopolitans Club that existed in the 19th and early 20th century.

The New Cosmopolitans will serve as a peer-advising program for both domestic and international students. It is designed to support students interested in studying abroad through preparation and orientation.

While abroad, students stay in contact with faculty in a variety of different ways depending on the program they’re in.

“For the first five weeks I think everyone has a weekly meeting with their advisor, it’s sort of a lecture,” said senior Ian Boyle, who participated in the New York Arts Program last fall.

Boyle worked in the property shop for a public theatre, among other things. He compared it to working a full-time job.

In addition to staying in contact with faculty, frequent emails are sent out from OWU staff back on campus to keep off campus students informed.

“We want them to be fully engaged in the culture, but we want them to have a well-circumscribed relationship with OWU,” Albon said. “We really want them to be careful, it’s so easy to be in one country and live virtually in another country.”

For junior Meghan Guthrie, who took part in the Salamanca program in Spain, this was not a problem.

“I believe most (students) did have pretty good contact with professors while abroad,” Guthrie said. “It was easy to keep in touch through email about any questions/concerns we might have had.”

Albon did mentioned that some students abroad this semester were having difficulty receiving emails from OWU because of a “glitch in the system,” but that it has been taken care of.

Another difficulty in the past has been selecting housing and scheduling classes from abroad. Many students are too busy with their schedules to remember when the selecting takes place.

“It was out of the blue, it didn’t even occur to me,” Boyle said.

Boyle went on to say that once he figured out the time for scheduling, he had no problems with it. Guthrie had a similar experience.

“I was luckily able to figure things out and schedule for the classes I wanted and needed,” Guthrie said. “The only thing that made us nervous was being in a different country and having the time difference.”

OWU not accessible to all students

Senior Ryan Haddad. Photo courtesy of Facebook.

Senior Ryan Haddad has very limited mobility. In the winter time, when snow banks are piled in the middle of Sandusky Street, he cannot cross to get to class without relying on others.

Living with a mild form of cerebral palsy (CP), Haddad requires the use of a walker to get everywhere. With the help of fellow students, however, he can make it up and down smaller flights of stairs.

According to the American Disabilities Act (ADA) official website, many buildings are covered by the General Non-Discrimination Requirements, including private schools and museums.

This means many buildings, including private schools, are required to modify their structures to be accessible to everyone, no matter the size or age of the building.

A common misconception is that University Hall, and other older university buildings, are “grandfathered in” to code. According to the ADA, this is simply false.

Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones said the university is working on a fundraising campaign, which “includes an objective of $10 million for the renovation of University Hall, including providing full accessibility to all floors through the installation of an elevator.”

Jones added that there is no timeline for the project, as they have yet to find a donor.

An English major, Haddad has had many classes in Sturges Hall, home of the English department. To get into Sturges, Haddad has to make it down a smaller flight of stairs.

“It is difficult, but if there is someone there, then I can do it,” said Haddad. “I leave my walker outside, and I do it.”

Another difficult building for Haddad to access is University Hall. There are no handicapped accessible entrances or elevators for Haddad – or anyone else whose mobility is restricted.

“There is a steep hill that you have to get down in order to get to the chairlift, which travels from the basement to the first floor, but no further,” said Haddad. “In the wintertime, the hill is very slippery.”

“I would never go down that hill during the winter time,” he added.

Haddad said he has been inside University Hall’s Gray Chapel for special occasions, but never past the first (main) floor.

Elliott Hall also has very limited access. No elevator or chairlift can be found inside. There is a wheelchair accessible entrance on one the side of Elliot, the side that faces the Branch Rickey Athletic Complex.

Peter Schantz, director of physical plant for Buildings and Grounds, said the university has looked into costs to build elevators in Elliott and University. He also said that the costs have been “prohibitive.”

“We have been making reasonable accommodations to the facilities, such as the widened entrance to the basement of Elliott and the chair lift in the main stairwell of University Hall,” Schantz said.

Haddad said the university has been helpful in accommodating his needs. If a class which he is registered for is located somewhere inaccessible to him, the school will relocate to somewhere more accessible.

“The school has been very helpful and supportive,” said Haddad. “I am very thankful for everything they have done for me. But there is still a lot to be done. More buildings need to be accessible to everyone. There is a reason I am the only student at OWU with CP. It’s because this school just is not accessible to everyone.”

Student flees, arrested for distribution

An Ohio Wesleyan student was arrested on Jan. 30 for possession of marijuana after running from Delaware Police Department (DPD) officers.

Senior Asa Diskin, who lives in the Bigelow-Reed House on Williams Drive, was charged with distributing and selling marijuana in addition to possession, according to the police report.

Public Safety officer Chris Mickens said he was searching Diskin’s room when he ran out carrying bags of marijuana. DPD was on-site when Diskin left the building.

DPD spokesman Capt. Adam Moore said Diskin was fleeing the scene when the police arrived, but when ordered to stop by an officer, he voluntarily laid down on the ground and was put in handcuffs.

Senior Alex Lothstein, who also lives in Bigelow-Reed, saw him running down the back staircase and go behind Delta Tau Delta fraternity house when the police arrived.

Lothstein also commented that while he has never seen this happen before, the odor of marijuana can often be smelled from behind the house.

Diskin’s charges are still pending in court. He could not be reached for comment.

Public Safety director Bob Wood said it is uncommon for a student to flee from a drug search. He said Diskin probably panicked and ran because of the amount of marijuana that he had.

“It’s the same thing when you’re driving and you do something bad and see the blue lights and sirens behind you and you hit the gas,” Wood added. “It’s like what are you thinking, they’re gonna catch you and you’re in so much more trouble that if you had just pulled over. It’s just panic mode where you’re not thinking.”

Wood said there are around 20 cases a year when PS responds to calls and finds drugs. As part of policy, PS is required to call DPD when they find drugs because they cannot confiscate the drugs themselves.

“For me to possess drugs is just like for you to possess drugs because I’m not an actual law enforcement officer,” Mickens said.

Wood added that about 90 percent of the time the police will file a criminal charge, depending on the amount and level of emergency.

Wood said OWU often gets criticized for the amount of drug charges it processes each year, but that other institutions “process them through just the judicial and not the arrest system.”

“One year, we had 23 drug charges or arrests and another school just about our size had none,” said Wood. “But that other school had 150 judicial cases that were the exact thing but they just process them through their conduct system and don’t call the police. For drugs on campus, we almost always do both.”

Mickens and Wood said the procedures and complaints can change depending on the location and proximity to campus. Because this case happened on campus, it involved both campus security and DPD.

Cases around Sandusky Street and Clancey’s would also involve PS, but beyond that the police would normally respond.

WCSA debriefs after dinner with board

Photo courtesy of the OWU website.

The full senate of the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) convened this Monday, Feb. 16, for the first time since the Board of Trustees dinner on Feb. 12.

The dinner, open to members of the board and select WCSA senators, was well attended. “It went incredibly well,” according to junior Jerry Lherisson, president of WCSA. “Everyone loved it a lot.”

Tables for the dinner were set up in the Benes room and sat three to four board members and at least one WCSA representative. The senators were provided a list of talking points that covered a variety of topics – OWU’s smoking policy, the addition of online classes to the curriculum and the expansion of travel learning course programs – and many senators found that these issues were substantial enough to guide conversation throughout the three hour meal.

Also discussed at the dinner were proposed amendments to the OWU academic calendar. These changes target holiday duration, lengthening and shortening various breaks throughout the semester. Any changes would take effect in the 2016-2017 calendar year. On Thursday, Feb. 19, in the Hamilton-Williams Atrium, WCSA senators will be available to receive feedback about the changes and to answer any questions students might have.

At Monday’s full senate meeting, the budget committee presented the financial requests of four organizations, Sisters United, Model United Nations, the Ohio Marketing Group and the Student Led Arts Movement. All four organization’s budgets were unanimously approved.

Sophomore senator Jessica Choate, a sophomore and chair of the residential affairs committee, announced that plans for hydration stations had been finalized. The specialized water fountains are set to be installed in every residence hall over spring break. There are currently five hydration stations on campus.

Dean of Students Kimberlie Goldsberry announced that the sexual assault survey that has been circulating campus is “just shy of 20% participation, as of last Wednesday (Feb. 11).” She encouraged the senators to promote student involvement in the questionnaire.

Former WCSA senator Matt McCord, a junior, was appointed as a member of the Academic Policy Committee.

Billy George, a junior and candidate in last year’s election for the class of 2016 representative, was nominated and unanimously appointed as a WCSA member at large.

Lecture series hosts speaker on digital privacy

Kirk Herath. Photo courtesy of LinkedIn.

The latest Great Decisions Community Discussion Series drew a crowd of 60 Delaware residents to the basement of the William Street United Methodist Church Friday, Feb. 13. There, Nationwide Insurance vice president, assistant general counsel and chief privacy officer Kirk Herath spoke about data privacy and security.

Herath opened “Privacy in the Digital Age” by saying, “In my talk today I really may be somewhat of an alarmist at times, but I’m trying to be informative.”

He said more security techniques are continuously being developed “to combat the bad guys” and a lack of privacy can result in a variety of issues, including unfair discrimination.

As an example, Herath said if he were to purchase Jack Daniel’s every day with a credit card and insurance companies were able to access that information, they might deny him insurance. He would be “toast.”

Herath said using technology is a trade-off between protecting our information and accessing data and services.

The cover of the Great Decisions 2015 booklet. Photo courtesy of Connect2OWU.

“We’re currently building the largest data center in the world in Utah that the National Security Agency is going to use to collect all this data they apparently don’t have,” Herath said, causing the audience to chuckle.

“I’m serious,” he said. “It’s like an 18 football field-sized data server farm out there and it’s guarded like Fort Knox.”

Herath also said many companies use encryption to protect privacy, but it is complex.

“Encrypted data is perfectly secure,” Herath said. “It’s also garbage if you can’t un-encrypt it, and that’s the fundamental problem we’re all facing. To encrypt Nationwide [Insurance data] universally, it would cost three-quarters of a billion dollars because it would require us to update dozens and dozens of systems. We’d basically have to start all over again.”

To better protect privacy and data, Herath suggested using complex passwords, not oversharing on social media, enabling anti-virus software updates on all technology and avoiding public wireless networks for sensitive digital transactions.

Alice Frazier, a Delaware resident, said she attended the event because she was interested in the topic and always tries to come to the Great Decisions lectures.

“It was a good talk, but I guess it was a little more technical than I was expecting,” said Frazier. “There’s a lot about it I don’t understand, but I thought he did a good job.”

Cory Barringer, another Delaware resident, said the topic was relevant and something she pays attention to.

“It’s pretty clear that you’re not going to be able to totally protect yourself,” Barringer said. “That’s probably my biggest takeaway. The next step is to learn how to deal with it and really pay attention to passwords and make them strong.”

The next Great Decisions Community Discussion lecture is titled “Brazil’s Metamorphosis” and will be given by the chair of Ohio Wesleyan University’s politics and government department, James Franklin. It is scheduled for Feb. 20 at 12 p.m.