On April 4, 1968, African-American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed outside of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, students and professors organized events throughout the week to continue spreading Kingâs message of social equality and to bring attention to racial discrimination â an issue that many Ohio Wesleyan University students and faculty members believe is present today.
OWU organizations including Black Men of the Future (BMF) sponsored events in remembrance of MLK.
BMF organized an event in honor of King, which occurred in Hamilton-Williams Campus Center at lunch hour.
âWe organize an event every year to commemorate MLK and his contributions to the quest for racial equality,â said senior Lucky Mosola, BMF President.
â…This year we performed an excerpt from MLKâs Letter From Birmingham Jail; âI, Too,â a poem by Langston Hughes, and an original piece by myself about MLK and his Birmingham Campaign.â
Several other events hosted throughout the week were not only for OWU students, but the Delaware community as well.
An annual breakfast was held Monday morning at 8 a.m. in Benes Room B in honor of Dr. King. That evening, a screening of clips from âFreedom Ridersâ was shown in Beeghly Libraryâs Bayley Room at 7 p.m.
The âFreedom Ridersâ screening – about civil rights activists who challenged segregation in interstate busing – was followed by a discussion guided by Dr. Hasan Jeffries, associate professor of history at Ohio State University.
Jeffries showed three clips from the documentary, which was created by PBS as part of its American Experience series.
They involved interviews of those involved, re-enactments of some sequences, and photos and newsreels of the actual events.
Those who went on the 1961 Freedom Rides faced beatings from Ku Klux Klansmen and other white supremacists, sometimes with the approval of local law enforcement officers, while the federal government tried to convince them not to challenge the segregated system.
When they werenât beaten, many riders were jailed in Parchman Penitentiary, but this backfired on supporters of segregation.
Their time in prison only increased the ridersâ commitment to ending segregation, and made them better organized.
During the discussion Jeffries asked how many audience members would have been willing to go on the buses and risk their lives; only one person raised her hand.
On Thursday, a screening of the documentary âWhite Like Meâ was shown in Benes Room B. The documentary is based off anti-racism activist Tim Wiseâs book.
The documentary reflected on white privilege, discrimination and how many people think racism was solved decades ago, it is still a prominent issue in todayâs society.
After the film, Sociology and Anthropology professor Dr. Paul Dean asked audience members to share their opinions on racism at Ohio Wesleyan and if they believe racial discrimination is still a prominent issue in the U.S.
In a question and answer section following the screening, some students who attended questioned why more did not.
Jim Mendenhall, â73, also attended the screening and said he thought it would have been nice to have more faculty and administration staff present.
âI think that racism is still a large issue in the United States,â said freshman McKenna Brewer, secretary of Sisters United.
âThe fight for racial equality is not over, it continues every hour of every day.â
Sisters United and Black Men of the Future are both umbrella organizations of the Student Union on Black Awareness, which was founded in 1968 – the year of Kingâs assassination – to provide a voice for students of color on campus.
Mosola also expressed concerns about racism in modern society, stating that while racism may not be blatant, it does still exist.
âRacism is still a huge problem, but the nature of it has changed,â Mosola said. â(Now itâs) much more has to do with expectations, stereotypes, and institutional advantage (and) discrimination.
âThere is still a long way to go, but changing how a culture thinks takes time. I think that with younger generations it will continue to improve in our lifetime.â
The Ohio Wesleyan womenâs volleyball team snapped a 10-game losing streak in a victory over Ohio Christian University.
It was the first win in over a month for the Bishops as they overcame a 2-sets-to-1 deficit to come out with the victory.
Ohio Wesleyan won the game by scores of 25-15, 19-25, 24-26, 30-28 and 15-11 on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
âEnding the losing streak was just what we needed going into the final weeks of our season,â said senior middle hitter Tamara Londot. âIt felt good to finally finish a game with a win and not a close loss. Ohio Christian was a good team and we had to fight, so not quitting after losing two sets was key.â
Senior outside hitter Katie Fain said the victory gave the team a great sense of relief.
âA lot of the games we have lost should have been ours, but things just didnât fall our way,â she said. âIt gives us a lot of motivation to finish out the rest of the season on a good note and to continue to work hard in practice to hopefully beat Wooster and Kenyon and make it into the NCAA tournament.â
The Bishops have four games left before they begin the NCAC tournament, including two important conference games.
The players are hoping to carry the winning ways from this game into their last stretch of the regular season before the tournament.
âSome things I think we can salvage for the rest of the season is to not give up on each other, and continue to work hard and good things will happen,â Fain said. âFor us seniors, I think to continue to give it our all is important because our time is limited so we need to play every day like itâs our last.â
With the senior leadership, the Bishops can beat their overall record from last year if they win the rest of their regular season games.
âOur goals as a team are to win out,â Londot said. âWe only have four games left and all the teams are very beatable if we decide to show up and play.â
Coming off an impressive season last year, the Ohio Wesleyan menâs and womenâs swim teams are diving in and training for their upcoming season.
Coach Richard Hawes said he is already optimistic for what lies ahead this season after a month of practice. This yearâs team is the largest Hawes has coached at OWU.
âItâs exciting because the swimmers are excited coming in,â he said. âIt was apparent even before the season started when we had more swimmers coming to practice (on their own).
âFor a coach, thatâs exciting to see because you donât always get that.â
The team shares Hawesâ excitement.
âI think that this is going to be one of the most challenging seasons in terms of the amount of yardage and difficulty of our practices, but we should have a very fast team this year,â said senior captain Derek Smith.
Junior Matt Mahoney said this is the strongest team heâs seen during his time at OWU.
âIâm mostly excited about finally having a fast and big enough team to bring some serious competition to our conference this year,â he said.
Sophomore Heather DeHaas said she thinks the teamâs biggest advantage is the range of swimmers in every event.
âWe have strong distance, mid-distance swimmers and sprinters,â she said.
Smith said he sees the teamâs size as an obvious advantage.
âI think our biggest asset this year is the amount of swimmers we have on the menâs team and especially the number of talented underclassmen we have,â he said. âThis is the largest the team has been in the four years I have been here, and we only graduated two seniors on the menâs team last year and added five freshmen this year.
âI already know that some of them can go very fast, but I think that swimming for coach Hawes will make all of them faster.â
Hawes said he thinks the team will benefit from a combination of the upperclassmenâs experience and the skilled freshmenâs enthusiasm.
âThe upperclassmen are certainly helping the younger kids and the younger kids are certainly pushing the upperclassmen because we do have talented freshmen,â he said. âSeeing them work hard motivates the seniors to continue to work harder.â
Freshman Emma Beale said the training is âfairly differentâ from her high school program, but she thinks the changes are helping her technique and strength.
For freshman Evan Snapp, the season has so far been a combination of âmental excitement and physical exhaustion.â
Unlike most OWU sports, the menâs and womenâs swim teams practice together, making them function as a more cohesive unit.
âOne thing I love about swimming is that your team quickly becomes a kind of family,â Beale said. âThe OWU team is very supportive. I havenât been here long, but I know that if I ever need anything in or out of the pool, I have lots of great people I can go to.
âI think this kind of atmosphere helps all of us be better athletes and students.â
In terms of training, Hawes said he is continuing a technique he implemented last season based on the University of Californiaâs swim program.
According to Hawes, three practices a week focus on âmuscle confusion.â
He said dry-land exercises are incorporated into these practices, as opposed to doing them after practice. The entire practice takes about two and a half hours.
Smith said getting back into the routine of regular workouts is an adjustment.
âAs with every year, the area we need to improve in most will be dealing with the grind of the season,â he said. âIts not easy to go to practice six days a week, sometimes twice a day, and balance all our other responsibilities.
âBut making sure we are doing everything that coach (Hawes) asks of us while keeping up with our other responsibilities, like school work for instance, is how we are going to get the most improvement.â
For the menâs team, Smith said one of their goals is to go undefeated in duel meets until they face Kenyon and Denison at the end of the season, the last two meets before the NCAC meet.
Despite their strong competitors, the teams are confident they will be able to improve their rankings at the end of the season conference meet. Mahoney said they also aim to make the Division III top 20.
âWhile winning is totally out of the question, I think we will be able to improve on last yearâs placing,â Smith said.
Hawes said he is optimistic the men will be able to achieve their goals.
âI think on the menâs side we have a chance to move up one or two spots,â he said.
On the womenâs side, senior captain Jen Erichsen said her main goal is to make sure the season is productive and enjoyable.
âI want to make sure everyone has fun and accomplishes their personal goals in the pool,â she said.
âOur team (womenâs team) is pretty small compared to other teams, but I think that we will continue to grow in the future.â
Flutist Caitlen Sellers performed individually at the joint junior recital she shared with soprano Grace Thompson on Oct. 28. The two concluded their performance with a duet of Irish folk songs. Photo courtesy of Caitlen Sellers
By Adelle Brodbeck
Transcript Reporter
Juniors Caitlen Sellers and Grace Thompson provided a professional performance featuring music from a wide range of renowned artists in their junior recital on Oct. 28.
Thompson, a soprano, sang songs from artists such as Mozart and Franz Shubert. Sellers played pieces on her flute from artists such as Benjamin Godard and Albert Roussel.
The performance began with Thompsonâs series of songs, followed by Sellersâ performance on the flute, and concluded with the pair performing Irish folk songs by John Corigliano.
Sellers said she has been playing the flute since she was in fourth grade, about 11 years. Aside from a few small performances, this was her first big recital.
To prepare for the show, Sellers said she spent a lot of time practicing her pieces with her flute instructor, Nancy Gamso.
âOn the actual day of the recital, I went running and did some yoga to prepare my mind and body,â she said. âThen I did a long warm up, thought through the entire performance, and went for it!â
Sellers said she had a difficult time deciding which songs to perform.
âThere are so many fantastic and fun pieces,â she said. âI had some ideas before the semester started, and Dr. Gamso suggested a lot of pieces too. I honestly loved everything that I played, but I think âKokopeliâ was my favorite.â
Thompson has had many experiences preforming before this recital. She has been singing for most of her life through choir in high school, voice lessons and her involvement with OWUâs female a cappella group, Pitch Black, but she said this was her longest recital to date.
Thompson performed songs in Spanish, French and German; she said she particularly enjoyed performing the Spanish pieces. She said the most difficult part was switching between different accents.
âSinging in different languages isn’t so hard anymore since I’ve been studying classical music for eight years,â she said. âIt’s usually transitioning between the languages and getting yourself in the mindset for each given pronunciation in not very much time that’s tricky.â
In preparing for the recital, Thompson said she tried not to push herself too much.
âIn the couple days leading up to your recital, don’t overdo your practice,â she said. âYou don’t want to wear yourself down or psych yourself out. Just relax and get in the zone, and then give yourself a refresher when you’re preparing that day.â
Thompson said she and Sellers decided to work together partially because of their similar goals for their future music careers and because it is uncommon for instrumentalists and vocalists to have joint recitals.
âWe thought it would be a nice change,â Thompson said.
Both performers agreed the overall recital was a success.
âI feel so good about how it went,â Thompson said. âOf course everyone always notices their own little mistakes, but really I couldn’t have asked for much more.â
âI was very nervous going in, but then the music hit me and I got really into it,â I hope the audience had as much fun as I did.â
Assistent Ohio Wesleyan football coach Keith Rucker, pictured here in an Arizona Cardinals jersey, played for five teams in his seven-year NFL career. Photos from Keith Rucker
By Taylor Smith
Sports Editor
When Keith Rucker first arrived to Ohio Wesleyan in January of 1989, he knew he was getting another chance to play football; but his main goal was to earn his degree and live up to the promise he made his mom.
Little did he know by the time he graduated, he would make NCAA history in more than one sport and be on his way to the National Football League.
Rucker is currently in his second season with Ohio Wesleyan football as the teamâs special teams coordinator and defensive line coach. He returns to the Battling Bishops after spending 13 years coaching high school football in the Cincinnati area, which followed seven years in the NFL.
While attending OWU, Rucker made a name for himself in the athletics department. Besides being a three-time All-American in football and one of the âmost dominantâ defensive players the school has ever seen, he also participated in track and field as a thrower, winning four national championships while being named an All-American seven times.
Rucker found Ohio Wesleyan and then-head coach Mike Hollway with the help of his brother, and transferred soon after from a junior college back home in Illinois, which he attended for a year.
Rucker originally attended and played football for Eastern Michigan University, but because of some âpoor choices,â he ended up losing his football scholarship.
Athletic Director Roger Ingles was a member of the football staff as the teamâs wide receiver and tight end coach when Rucker made his first visit to campus. He recalls the coaches were expecting him, but didnât know his size alone was enough catch everyoneâs attention.
âWeâre sitting in his (Hollwayâs) office and all I remember is it was like someone turned the lights out because he walked in front of the doorway and he had to duck sideways to get in,â Ingles said. âAnd he came in, and the first thing I knew someone was in the hallway because I saw coach Hollwayâs eyes get real big. I turn around and I saw this guy and I think this canât be who he is talking about.â
Rucker was one of the biggest to play the game at the Division III levelâmeasuring six feet, four inches and weighing 350 pounds, he was the largest defensive threat every time he stepped on the field while in college.
New school, new challenges
When Rucker attended Eastern Michigan, his world was football and football only. It was acceptable to miss class, he said, and the only thing he had to worry about was attending practice and gamesâhe didnât have to be responsible for much else. Rucker said he faced favorable changes once at Ohio Wesleyan.
âI liked the small campus atmosphere,â he said. âThe academic setting was what was really impressive with me. On my first day at Eastern Michigan I walked into a lecture hall with 350 kids and the professor, I never saw his face, all he did was write on the chalkboard the whole time.
âBeing here I knew it was going to be a big time management, had to be very organized. Being in a small campus environment with 20 to 35 kids in a classroom helped me regain that focus that I had in high school. I knew I was going to be held accountable.â
Former track and field coach Marv Frye said when he first met Rucker, he knew the future All-American would face new differences in his academic campaign, but his mental outlook on things would be his best tool.
âI think he had some doubts in himself, but he has always had an upbeat attitude,â Frye said. âHe was now (at) a tougher school than before; he knew he had a challenge ahead of him.â
Subtitle Related to Track
Although he had gone back to school to earn a degree and to enjoy another opportunity to play football, it didnât take long for the track and field coaches to find Rucker and get him on the team; and he just saw it as another activity to keep him occupied.
âThose guys (the coaches) took me in and saw something that I had and I could bring to the programâŚ,â Rucker said. âCoach Frye talked me into coming out for track. It gave me something to do other than just academics and there wasnât much to do in a small town as it was a lot less developed than it is now.
âI went out for track and the rest is history for how that went. But it also helped me get into better shape in order to still want to go out for football, so thatâs how I got back into football.â
Rucker had thrown in high school so it wasnât new to him, but he joined during the indoor season, which he had never experienced. That didnât prove much of a challenge to him, though–he qualified for indoor nationals in the shot put on his first throw at his first meet.
âI threw it and they marked it, but they wouldnât move the marker,â he said. âI was like, âwhat are they doing?â This was just something I was doing for fun and it kind of helped me to be organized. Coach Cornell comes over and says, âCongratulations kid, you just qualified to go to nationals,â and Iâm like, âOkay.â It was nothing big; I was having fun and I went on form there.â
Ruckerâs national bid came to no surprise for his coaches. Frye said he knew it would happen; it was only a matter of when. There was also the issue of no one in the conference being able to challenge him.
âWe expected him to do it; the question was, âHow good is he going to be and how much can he improve?ââ Frye said. âNormally nationals is a different experience, you have to feel comfortable. No one challenged him in the NCAC, nationals was a different atmosphere altogether.â
Rucker went on to earn fifth at nationals that year. His junior year he won shot put at indoor nationals and shot put and discus at outdoors. Rucker said competing at nationals was just like any other meet to him, he was just having fun. It was also about the people he met there.
âIt was the same group of 16 or 20 guys at nationals; it became like a big inter-competition at nationals,â he said. âWe always got together and hung out, the coaches would go and the players would go. Those relationships Iâve built 20 some years, and I still have them. It was a friendly rivalry. Weâd push each other and compete and then when it was over weâd go grab a bite to eat.â
Rucker said competing in track and field, football and basketball, which he only did his senior year, was always fun. It gave him something to do in addition keeping up with his schoolwork and student teaching as he worked toward his career.
Rucker said he never felt stress to perform as he was always having fun. The only time he said he felt any pressure was after he won three championships his junior year.
However, Rucker never had the chance to defend his titles, as he was preoccupied with other tasks at hand.
Something, something, Football
Rucker became one of the best-known names in Division III football. The combination of his size and his attitude on the field made Rucker a force that all opposing teams noticed and respected. His coaches noticed his talent immediately and knew he had potential.
âHe was a physical inside presence,â said Pate Delany, the OWU football teamâs defensive coordinator. âHe is a remarkable athlete, go down and watch him play racquetball. Still today, you can tell why he was an NFL talent, because of how great of an athlete he was.
âHe played basketball here, he ran track just for fun, I think, or to look at girls. He has remarkable flexibility and he played hard⌠Keith probably was the most dominant Division III lineman in the history of Division III.â
Rucker was the teamâs defensive tackle, lead run stopper and center of an already great defensive line. During the 1989 season, the defense held opposing teams to 189 yards rushing for the season, just 18.9 yards a game.
Rucker had received his first NFL offer by his junior yearâthe San Francisco 49ers invited him to join their practice squad. Rucker said after much debate and conversation with his brother, he decided to return to Ohio Wesleyan for his senior season.
That senior year may have made all the difference for the rest of his college career.
Rucker was named an All-American for the third year in a row and was invited to play in the Hula Bowl, the college senior all-star game, in Hawaii. He was the first Division III player to be invited to the event, which usually pulls the top 100 seniors from the Division I level.
The first play of the game, Rucker made a sack.
He followed up the performance by being one of the 310 players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. There he continued to impress scouts, running a time of 4.9 seconds for the 40-yard dash, respectable for a player his size.
Despite getting calls from multiple NFL teams leading up to the draft, Rucker was not selected. Not to be disappointed, he talked to his agent who said multiple teams contacted him and were looking into him as a free agent.
Rucker headed back to Ohio Wesleyan not knowing whether he would get the chance to play in the NFL. Rucker said when he pulled off of Route 23 onto Sandusky Street, there was sign that said, âKeith Rucker is a Cardinal.â His initial thought was, âdid I miss myself get drafted?â
Without any knowledge of the agreement, Ruckerâs agent signed him with the Arizona Cardinals. He had determined the offer to be his best bet at getting into the NFL.
Although short on credits to earn his degree, Rucker earned the right to walk at graduation, which he passed up on as he had to report to Phoenix, Ariz., for mini-camp.
As a rookie heading into training camp, Rucker said he sat sixth on the depth chart at his position. Several weeks later, after the final preseason game, Rucker said he and his teammates waited in their hotel for a call as to whether or not they made the cut.
Rucker said after four hours of waiting, he finally decided to call his position coach to see when the cutting process would be over and if he made it.
All his coach had to say was, âWell if you havenât received a call by now⌠guess that means youâve made the team.â
The first few weeks of the regular season had its ups and downs for Rucker. He said he played two snaps in his first game on the field-blocking unit, was cut the night before the second game and ended up watching that game from his house.
The next week he was resigned a couple days before the Cardinals played the Washington Redskins. He recorded eight tackles and two sacks, and one week later they rearranged the entire defense to accommodate Rucker as a starter.
Over the next seven seasons Rucker played for the Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs; he was a regular starter in his time with the Cardinals and Bengals.
Rucker said seven years into his NFL career, after not getting much playing time in his latter seasons and going through a divorce, he decided to retire.
The player becomes the coach
Following his retirement, Rucker decided to go back to school. He returned to Ohio Wesleyan to coach the football team and finish his degree.
After receiving his diploma, he moved to Cincinnati to be with his family and take a high school football assistant coaching position.
He said coaching is one of the things he has enjoyed most about his entire experience, which came full circle last year when he returned to Ohio Wesleyan football when head coach Tom Watts took the helm.
âThereâs a lot that I have enjoyed, but the biggest thing for me is to pass on that knowledge and those skills that I worked so hard to master to guys that when I was at the level theyâre at now, didnât have a clue,â Rucker said. âIâm teaching them, and to watch them get it, that âah-haâ moment, you see the eyes light up and the (light) bulb go off. Thatâs the biggest thing for me.â
Being a celebrity on campus, Watts said Rucker brings a lot of experience and knowledge to the Bishopsâ football program. With hard work, dedication, organization and being a community and family man, he makes an impact.
âObviously the players have a lot of respect for Keith, because heâs been at all levels,â Watts said. âNot only has he played at Ohio Wesleyan, heâs played in the NFL, heâs coached high school football, heâs coaching our kids, so he has a lot of experience behind his years.
âHe is a very good teacher and mentor. I think because people see him as a big guy, they think heâs a loud guy, but heâs not like that at all. He is very patient with the kids and he definitely has their respect or everything that he does.â
Junior defensive end Brok Gould said he is a good person with a great personality who is always fun to be around and can make the guys laugh.
âI think that his experience of football in his career has helped him to become the great coach he is today and he will continue to help young athletes learn the values that go along with the game,â he said.
Sophomore nose tackle Dominic Wilson said Rucker, or âRuckâ as they like to call him, is like a second father to him and the rest of the defensive line. He said Rucker has knowledge and passion for the game and makes practice fun, yet is diligent when it comes down to business.
âBut don’t let his fun, laid-back nature fool you. Coach Ruck tells it like it is,â Wilson said. âIf you missed an assignment or didn’t play your role during a game, he’s quick to tell you that you messed up but will give you tips on how to utilize your own personal strengths to be better on the next go-round.
âIt’s rare that he raises his voice, and the criticism that he gives you is genuine. He’s always about uplifting us and making us better players and men in the future. Those characteristics explain why I have no problem going to battle for him.â
That is exactly what Rucker is trying to doâmake better players and men out of those he coaches. Rucker said one of the things he enjoys the most is sharing his stories from his time as a Bishop.
â(T)hatâs something Iâll have forever,â he said. âAnd trying to get them to understand to relish in the moments theyâre going through with each other, because these guys have formed a bond for the rest of their lives. Those stories and that camaraderie I like to share because I want them to understand that this is just not a walk; this is a journey, and youâre taking it with a bunch of guys, and some of you are taking the same steps.
âYouâre going to share it for the rest of your life, and youâll end up telling your kids about it. Itâs more so about the relationships you build here and I like to share that with them.â
Coaching and being a father has become Ruckerâs priority in life. Itâs not known how much longer he will stay with the Bishops or if he will try to move up in the college coaching world. But he is here, and that is all that matters to the team for now.
Delaney said he thinks Rucker has done a great job coaching his players.
âHe makes them accountable and heâs fun,â he said. âHe laughs and jokes with them. The kids really like him a lot, and weâre lucky to have him.â
Frye has seen Rucker grow from the first time he stepped foot on campus. He said he is a joy to be around, always has a positive attitude and is willing to do anything asked of him.
âI think his upbeatness is reflecting in his coaching career,â he said. âThe kids like him, respect him and enjoy him. Itâs been a real pleasure to have him as an athlete and now as a friend.â
If Rucker could sum up his athletic experience at Ohio Wesleyan in a few words, he would say, âIt was fun and we made it fun.
âThe academics are the number one reason to be here, but the athletics add so much more to that academic experience,â he said.
While rain prevented any stargazing at the first meeting of the Ohio Wesleyan Astronomy Club, the group explored the Student Observatory and made plans for later.
The club met late at night on Oct. 23 at the Student Observatory, which is located between the House of Peace and Justice and Stuyvesant Hall. However, due to the rainy weather, the group was not able to look through the telescope located on the top floor.
Instead, they planned a trip down to Perkins Observatory, off of state Route 23 on Oct. 30. They plan to be able to see Venus and Jupiter, as well as the moon; but whether they will be visible depends on the clarity of the sky.
Robert Harmon, professor of physics and astronomy, said the group plans on traveling to Perkins Observatory every two weeks throughout the semester. They plan to meet at the Student Observatory every other week.
Harmon is the chair of OWUâs department of physics and astronomy and the faculty advisor for the club. He has been involved with the group since 1999.
Sophomore Natalie Wood said there is no need for prior knowledge of constellations or planets in order to enjoy the club.
âThey explain everything in laymanâs terms and are very patient,â she said.
Even though no stargazing was possible, Harmon did take the group upstairs to view the telescope. He gave a brief history lesson about the building and the telescope.
The Student Observatory was built in 1896. The telescope was originally powered by falling weights, which extended down into the ground below the building so that the telescope would always remain stable. In 1970, the telescope became mechanical.
The telescope is nine and a half inches, which is actually the diameter of the lens. The lens is refractive, which means it uses glass lenses. The telescope at Perkins Observatory is reflective and uses mirrors.
Professors used to hold classes in the Student Observatory, but no classes are currently conducted there. The last time Harmon taught a class in the building was in 2000.
âPerkins is a fun vacation spot, but I could live here,â said sophomore Zachary Claytor, club vice president.
Jerry, one of the preachers, debates with freshman Aletta Doran, while sophomore Lane Bookwalter (center left) and junior Sally Stewart (center right) hold signs in the background. Stewart and sophomore Katie Berger started the protest. Photo by Spenser Hickey
By Spenser Hickey
News Editor
Christianity was caught in the middle as two groups took to the Sandusky Street sidewalks to voice opposing views on the LGBT community Wednesday, Oct. 23rd.
The protest began after two street preachers came to campus around noon to speak against what they considered sexual immorality, homosexuality in particular. The two preachers were brothers and only one, Jerry, would provide his first name. They brought large signs about Godâs judgment, Bible verses condemning homosexuality, anti-abortion statements and salvation through Jesus Christ.
Junior Sally Stewart and sophomore Katie Berger responded by printing out signs and holding them up in silence as they stood opposite the preachers.
âGod is indifferent to sexual orientation,â read Stewartâs sign, while Bergerâs said God is love, âno exceptions.â
The preachers argued that God would not love a murderer or rapist, but Stewart said that those examples were not related to sexuality, the issue they were representing.
At first, they did not directly engage the preachers, but stood and sang Leonard Cohenâs âHallelujah.â
Stewart and Berger received hugs in support from several students, including freshman Evan Hively.
âThis is what we need to support,â Hively said.
By 3 p.m., twenty students had joined the original two, writing their own messages of acceptance on notebook paper; shortly afterward, the university Chaplainsâ office sent large poster boards to the counter-protesters.
Stewart said she thought a few students would stand with them, but wasnât expecting the large response; she credited the Chaplainsâ office for providing signs.
âIâm so proud,â she said. âYou know, this started out as a friend and I deciding that we were going to stand up for something we wanted to do and next thing I know there are people holding notebook paper signs and yelling and singing together and that was incredible, and next thing I know weâve got posters and Iâm just â Iâm so proud.â
With messages like âHonk in the name of loveâ and âGod is not fear God is loveâ they spread across the sidewalk, waving to cars driving by, many of which did honk in support.
Senior Shelby Thompson, an intern with the Chaplainâs office, was one of the counter-protesters; she brought the poster boards from the office to the other demonstrators.
âAs long as theyâre out here saying whatâs wrong, Iâm going to be out here saying whatâs right,â she said. ââŚThis just isnât fair, this isnât right â theyâre making people upset, theyâre hurting people, and that is not anything I believe in as a Christian LGBT member.â
Senior Karli Amstadt said she considered the preachersâ message hatred; she held a sign saying that love was greater than hate.
âOWU is all about love,â she said.
The preachers said their message was not one of hate; one said that he was just there as a messenger preaching the word of God and didnât hate anyone.
The other, Jerry, said if they didnât warn someone that they were on a path to hell they didnât love them; he used the metaphor that someone who did nothing while a blind man walked off a cliff could be charged with negligence.
Senior Anthony Peddle, however, said they were misinterpreting the Bible with their preaching, and that they were âpicking and choosingâ specific verses and rules to follow and use as examples.
He said the studentsâ response showed him how supportive the community is of students regardless of faith, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Senior Naomi Abrams, a Christian and resident of the Interfaith House, said she thought the preachers were missing the point of how good and merciful God is.
âI think that shows, to me, that they donât understand how big God is and that God is so much better than the simple message that theyâre offering to people,â she said. âI think if they truly trusted God more, and if we all truly trusted God more, then we would say the good things about God and the good things about his love.â
Several students, in addition to holding signs, debated with the preachers on topics including their treatment of the LGBT community, womenâs rights, evolution versus creationism and theology.
At one point, freshman Alexis Baker challenged Jerry on whether he agreed with a statement his brother made that women who were raped may be partially responsible.
After a long pause; he replied, âsometimesâ; Baker said she found his statement âsickening.â
âJust cause a man couldnât control himself, that makes it the manâs fault, not the womanâs,â she said.
While sexual assault can and does happen with all genders represented as survivors and perpetrators, the vast majority â in the United States and throughout the world â occur with a male perpetrator and a female survivor.
Students in some Ohio Wesleyan residence halls are already racking up community damage charges.
An unplanned fire alarm in the middle of the night over fall break brought up the possibility of community damage fees being assessed to all Thomson Hall residents, as the alarm was caused by fire extinguishers being unnecessarily expelled.
Jill Auxter, residential life coordinator (RLC) for Thomson and Bashford Halls and the fraternities, said at this time she has no additional information regarding the fire alarm incident in Thomson. She said thus far, Thomson and Bashford do not have any community damage charges.
Auxter said the only instance in which all residents are affected with a charge is if individuals are not identified who caused the damage. She said these types of incidents come in several forms.
âSome examples might be a broken window in a hallway or if a fire extinguisher is expelled or found missing,â she said. âThis isnât referring to a specific incident, but rather are just examplesâ
According to the 2013-2014 student handbook, students responsible for negligence, abuse of facilities or other forms of damage will be responsible for paying the cost of repair, cleanup or replacement. If the identities of these people remain unknown, community damage charges are divided between residents and charged to individual student accounts at the end of each semester.
Freshman John Waldon, a Thomson resident, said he was unaware the alarm went off until the next day because he slept through it. He said he heard about fire extinguishers being taken out of the building, but was unsure of the details.
âPeople told me someone was messing with the equipment,â he said. âI have heard of what happened, but I have no clue on the identities of those involved.â
Waldon said he doesnât think itâs fair for all residents to have to pay for other peoplesâ careless acts, but the rule has to do with group responsibility.
âThe policy is aimed at creating a peer responsibility system and that creates an atmosphere where these people don’t feel unpunished,â he said.
Ally Himes, RLC for Smith Hall and Austin Manor, said she heard someone sprayed the fire extinguishers in Thomson, but didnât hear of an official incident report after the event.
She said in the residential halls she manages, community damage incidents this year have ranged from bodily fluids in common areas like elevators and steps to public bulletin board displays being ripped down.
Himes said it is difficult to find out who commits most community damage because frequently no one sees the incident taking place or comes forward to report who has done it.
âIf thereâs community damage and no one was seen, there are really no steps taken to find out,â she said.
Himes said each damage has a âdifferent priceâ and community damage charges for incidents such as vomit and urine are dependent upon how long each mess takes to clean up since this goes above and beyond daily cleaning services.
âItâs $22 per hour for cleaning, so that is applied and split among everyone in the building each time something happens that needs to be cleaned up,â she said.
Himes said community damage charges are significantly lessened once divided among all members of a residential community.
This is her first year as an RLC at OWU, but Himes estimates that throughout the whole year community damage charges for Smith are probably between $4,000 and $4,500 among the whole building. For everyone individually, Himes predicts this will culminate to be much less than $100 charged to each resident at the end of the year.
One way to reduce community damages is to make sure all residents are aware of what actions constitute community damage without a suspect being identified, Himes said.
According to Himes, students probably donât know that incidents like pulling down bulletin boards and urinating in public places are considered community damages, but she aims to reiterate with her residents what will be charged to the residential hall as a whole.
Himes said community damage charges also depend on how diligent Residential Life staff members are in reporting and following up on incidents.
As of summer 2013, Ohio Wesleyan has developed a new initiative of Student Success Guides to improve student retention and graduation rates.
University President Rock Jones said the program was created to see if âthrough more personal attention we might help students engage more fully on campus and experience greater rates of success at OWU.â The Martin Eisenberg, dean of academic affairs, and Kimberlie Goldsberry, Dean of Students, oversee the program.
The role of the Student Success Guides is to be available as resources for the students and guide them to become more engaged on campus, help them find various forms of support and assist them in developing plans that will help meet their objectives and achieve success.
Currently there are three Student Success Guides on campus: assistant chaplain, Lisa Ho, part-time instructor of speech, Eric Gnezda, and career counselor Amanda Stewart.
âThey were chosen because of their strong working relationships with students and their particular interest in this issue,â Jones said.
Ho said the average retention rate in the last five years is 82 percent and the graduation rate, which is the number of students who come in as freshman and stay on till they graduate four years later, was the highest in 2009 at 71 percent.
She said her role as a Student Success Guide is to see the ânumbers get better.â
The students in the program are pre-identified by the admissions office as those who might need extra help. They receive an email about the program and itâs up to them if they get back to the guides as wanting the help that is offered to them.
So far, Ho said they have had about a 50 percent response rate from the 137 students who were identified. She said these students range from those who have basic problems with studying skills, to accessing books and requiring financial aid. The majority of the students, she said, have time management problems.
She said her goal as a guide would be to see the program open up more, have more staff involved in it and to develop a peer-mentoring program in which upperclassman who have gone through the program can mentor underclassman enrolled in it.
â(That way) both have an incentive to stay back,â she said.
Her formula for the program is to connect âpeople with passion.â The biggest achievement as a guide, she said, will be âstanding in 2017 in Phillips and watching the freshmen graduateâsee the students thrive.â
Ho said she is honored to be a part of the program, and is excited to see where it goes.
Craig Ullom, vice president for Student Affairs, said he thinks programs like Student Success Guides âare great partnerships with students to promote and support their continued success at OWU.â
Jones said he is âvery interestedâ in seeing students succeed in all facets of their university experience.
âI hope this program will provide an additional resource toward those objectives and that one measure of success will be improved retention and graduation rates,â he said.
The projected cost of each section of campus with the renovation plans presented to the university Graphic by Brian Cook
By Brian Cook
Transcript Reporter
The future of Ohio Wesleyanâs residence halls is now clearer with the completion of a plan from Mackey Mitchell Architects.
In October, the firm presented to the Board of Trustees a comprehensive package of renovation options the university could pursue.
According to the report, there are three different renovation options. The first option would âreplace building infrastructure systems that have exceeded life expectancy and upgrade life safety features.â
This option, according to Mackey Mitchell, would result in little to no loss in capacity
The second option would âprovide enhancements achieved with modest alterations,â according to the slideshow presentation.
According to Mackey Mitchell, this plan would result in a loss of two to three percent of present capacity in residence halls.
The most costly option would be to âreconfigure spaces to reflect current best practices in student life design,â which would result in close to a 10 percent reduction in present capacity according to the report.
Craig Ullom, vice president for Student Affairs, said any reduction in capacity in residential buildings would not include Stuyvesant Hall, which recently underwent renovation completed in the fall of 2012.
Wendy Piper, assistant dean of Students Affairs and director of Residential Life, estimated that the third renovation option would cost the university $90-100 million.
Piper said most of the improvements would go into projects that students would not be able to see from the outside.
âEighty cents of every dollar go behind the walls,â she said.
The scope of work for the university starts with focused improvements. Piper described these as âmore of a surface improvement,â with most of the money going into cosmetic improvements and a minority of the money going to improvements behind the walls.
The university is also exploring a restoration of the residence halls, according to a report detailing the next steps of the Student Housing Master Plan (SHMP).
Piper said renovation would involve âreturning (the residence hall) to its original condition.â She said things like electrical wiring and plumbing repairs would take up a large percentage of the budget for the project.
Freshman Woody Jamiel said he would like to see improvements to the quality of living in Thomson Hall and Bashford Hall.
âThomson and Bashford Halls definitely should get air conditioning and new flooring,â he said.
Sophomore Hideo Kikuchi said he would like to see some soundproofing in the walls.
âI need (soundproofing in the dorm room and living room) to use Skype⌠because talking by Skype and phone is noisy,â he said.
Kikuchi also described the color of the dorms as âdreary.â
In addition to the renovation projects, a plan has been proposed to construct brand new Small Living Units (SLUs), as well as build an apartment complex that would sit at the intersection on Rowland Avenue and Liberty Street.
According to the Mackey Mitchell report, the SLUs have a number of structural problems. Some of those problems include âwater infiltration into stone basementsâ and âlack of ADA compliant accessibility.â
The report said the cost to renovate the SLUs would be prohibitive, and instead recommended that replacement SLUs be built.
Jamiel said the building of new SLUs would not impact his desire to live in them, but he said it would be a âgreat ideaâ to build the apartments.
Craig Ullom said an earlier version of the Student Housing Master Plan in 2010 included replacing the SLUs with apartments, but the university now intends to follow the recommendation of the Mackey Mitchell report and build new SLUs, as well as build the new apartments.
According to the SHMP report, the total cost of all the projects will add up to approximately $60.5 million. This amount includes $45 million allocated to the residence halls and fraternities, and $13 million for new SLUs and apartments.
The university estimates that it will cost about $37,000 per bed to renovate the residence halls and fraternities, while it will cost $65,000 per bed to build new SLUs and apartments.
Per the SHMP, the university has already invested more than $20 million into the residential side of campus, which included an overhaul of Stuyvesant Hall, renovations to 4, 23 and 35 Williams Drive, and focused improvements in Hayes and Welch.
Ullom said with the anticipated new apartments, the university will have to build at least one additional parking lot, probably near Bashford Hall.
According to Ullom, building all the new buildings and parking lots is contingent on gaining approval from city officials.
