Category: Opinion

Sitting here in Beeghley Library writing this editorial, I start to become nostalgic by the thought that I have only three months left to sit in this library doing schoolwork.
The bittersweet emotions of moving on from college and into the real world are starting to set in. As I send out applications for summer internships, it begins to feel real.
Every time I click the “Submit Application” button on my computer, the future inches closer and closer.
OWU is my home. It has been for the past four years, and I have found an incredible sense of comfort here.
I have always been horrible at saying goodbye to people, places and even things. I cannot imagine walking around next year and making it ten steps without seeing a familiar face waving and smiling at me. The friends you make in college will always hold a special part in your life, but the idea of not being able to see them everyday is heart wrenching.
Saying goodbye to not only friends, but nights spent in Clancey’s or The Backstretch will be reserved for the times when group reunions come back to pay the university a visit.
No more Beehive Books or Mean Bean study sessions.
No more Blackboard assignments or articles to read on ERes before class.
No more daily iced coffee visits in the Zook Nook or late night caffeine with Big E.
No more signing up for classes to take in the next semester, because the next semester is life.
Having learned so much at this university, I know that when I walk across the stage this May I will be prepared for the next chapter.
Understanding that journalism is a hard industry to get into these days, the feelings of positivity come in waves.
OWU has taught me the necessary skills I need to be a professional, and understand the challenges that I will soon endure.
Independence is one of the biggest skills I’ve learned these past four years. Freshman year brought me to this new and exciting campus with a shyness that I now have shed.
It has made me able to speak up in classes, take control in group projects, and volunteer myself for more things than I could have ever imagined before.
Setting up meetings with my professors during their office hours is something I would have never considered doing my freshman year.
In order to achieve goals, you must put yourself out there. You must believe that you are more than what you give yourself credit for. I know that I pushed myself and challenged my insecurities.
This May I will leave OWU with the satisfaction of trying out many things.
Playing a sport, taking classes I would have normally avoided such as computer science or linguistics, working in Special Olympics, making strong relationships and friendships that will last beyond OWU are all things that I have learned to love and find the most difficult to say goodbye to.
If I hadn’t had any of these experiences, I wouldn’t be the independent woman I am today.
I will miss OWU next year so much and am so grateful of all it has offered me.

The tragic car accident that occurred at Bowling Green State University involving members of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority should serve as a reminder to us all in the Greek community about the importance of valuing our fellow members.
Five members of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority were struck by a driver going the wrong way on Interstate 75 South on Friday, March 2.
The sisters were on their way to the airport to embark on a spring break trip in the Dominican Republic with 16 other members of their sorority.
Three were killed and the remaining two were seriously injured.
While discussing this heartbreaking event with my fellow Delta Delta Delta sisters, it allowed us all to reflect on the close friendships we had with one another and the tight bonds created between us all through sisterhood.
The idea of an event like this happening to the Greek community at Ohio Wesleyan is completely unimaginable.
When events like this occur, it is so crucial that we use them to help us remember and appreciate the reasons we chose to be a part of the Greek Community and our respective fraternities and sororities at OWU.
We should reflect on the impact that our sisters and brothers have had on our lives.
Being a member of the Greek community grants us the opportunity to be a part of something that is so much larger than ourselves.
Being able to use this tragedy as a tool to help us reminisce on what being a brother or sister means should be the real take-away for all Greeks here at OWU.

Dear Editor,

This letter is regarding the article “College Republicans given a voice on liberal campus,”.
As I turned to page three of the most recent issue of the transcript this weekend, I was shocked to find what I can only imagine was an unedited blog post from a particularly uneducated freshmen given the full-page treatment, complete with the original poorly-ghosted, noticeably pixelated American flag backdrop that lacks a photo credit.
Whatever this mess was, it certainly wasn’t written by somebody who has taken even introductory journalism, or else it would read like it was written by somebody who has at least a passing familiarity with news writing.
Certainly, someone who knew what they were doing wouldn’t make the outrageous error of referring to a sitting president only by his last name on first reference.
That’s the kind of stuff that gets you accused of being racist, and rightly so, given that it mirrors language used by the Ted Nugent branch of the Tea Party.
A well-edited page would, of course, never have the controversial assertion that this campus is “liberal” serve as both lead and headline in a news piece.
It would definitely not follow up such a lead with blatant weasel-wording that wouldn’t last five minutes on Wikipedia, and it would not continue on to what reads like it came from the first chapter of “How to Write An Opinion Piece and Pretend it is News.”
Given that this would be laughed out of the news room of even an above-average high school paper, I have to ask: how did this ever make it to print?
Is the Transcript really so understaffed that nobody has fifteen minutes to review what is going to be a full page article?
I don’t believe malice went into this mistake, just poor editing and a conservative bias on the part of the author.
All the same, a subject like this really should have been treated with care, and, quite frankly, it wasn’t.
A quick straw poll in HamWill about the political leanings of our school got responses, “a little right of center”, “hilariously centrist”, “slightly left-leaning”, “pretty moderate”, and “extremely conservative” (though, to be fair, that last one came from a Jewish-atheistic-communist-hippie-feminist from the east coast).
It seems to me that opinion should stick to the opinion section; that a journalist should be checking their views at the door when they write.
This was not done last issue, and, in my opinion, the overall publication suffered for it.

First, a disclaimer: I know very little about Greek life.
I personally don’t understand the allure of joining a fraternity or sorority, and while I admire the effort Greek students put into their respective organizations, I rarely involve myself with that community.
One thing about Ohio Wesleyan’s Greek program that has continually baffled me, though, is the inability of members of sororities to live in their houses.
I know several sorority women, and they are all incredibly dedicated to the cause.
They work tirelessly planning events on and off campus, retreats to bond with new members and casual gatherings to promote not just their own sororities, but Greek life in general.
From my knowledge, it seems being in a sorority is a full-time job.
Why, then, are these steadfast devotees to the Greek community not allowed to live in the houses they pay dues to own and maintain?
I’ve heard several explanations—an old law that designates a house boarding more than eight unrelated women as a brothel is the most widely offered, supposedly out of its humor.
I find this explanation to be disgusting. An archaic statute that implies women become prostitutes when eight or more of them decide to live together is inherently misogynistic.
This law can’t exist anymore, right? Isn’t there a more sensible, progressive elucidation for why OWU’s sororities are nonresidential?
Indeed there is. According to Greek Life Coordinator Dana Behum, the sorority houses on Winter Street are not owned by the university, but by the national entities of the organizations or local alumni.
“OWU has no part in their property management decisions,” she said.
ResLife Interim Assistant Director Drew Peterson added the houses would require expensive renovations for them to meet the standards set by the national sororities.
Therefore, he said, even if the university cleared OWU members to live off-campus, they most likely wouldn’t be able to because the national organizations wouldn’t be willing to invest in making the houses habitable.
While this is an infinitely more logical explanation than the brothel law, to me it still doesn’t justify keeping sororities from living in their houses.
At OWU, the benefits of membership are disproportionately greater for the latter than the former.
Fraternity brothers get to live in fully furnished on-campus houses.
Yet their dues are lower than those for sororities.
The fact that sorority women have to pay to keep up properties they can’t even live in, quite frankly, doesn’t make sense to me. Higher dues and an obligation to pay for university board create an apparent cost disparity that’s quite alarming.
Both the university and the national sororities with OWU chapters should be more sympathetic to this. It is in their interest to reward and encourage the commendable work our sororities do for the campus community and Delaware.
To ignore their efforts would be truly tactless.
A financial partnership between the university and the national sororities, especially those with local alumnae, would not be infeasible.
It seems to me that if the national organizations were not fiscally alone in making proper renovations to the houses, they would be more inclined to do so and thus alleviate the financial burdens of the women that work so zealously for them.
Moreover, the university needs to put an end to the myth of the brothel law and make students aware of the reasons Greek Life and ResLife gave me for having nonresidential sororities.
While it seems funny on its face, the fact that it is the prevailing explanation makes Ohio Wesleyan and Delaware alike seem sexist and backward. I’m the first to admit Delaware isn’t the most cultured town, I don’t feel it’s right to give undue attention to misogynistic rules that allegedly existed here.
Nonresidential sororities are an unfortunate and unjust reality at Ohio Wesleyan, but they don’t have to be a permanent fixture. It’s up to the university and the national sororities—the institutions with the power to make a change—to create greater equity in our Greek community.

The 23 dancers who compose the Orchesis 2012 cast began rehearsing in October.
We began rehearsing for mere minutes of dance performed only two times.
March 2 and 3 at 8 p.m., 23 artists want to share something with you.
I began dancing only upon my arrival at OWU, but have since become a dance theatre major.
I have fallen completely, totally, utterly in love with the art form.
I don’t think when I dance.
I feel.
Feel more deeply than I can express though the written word.
My 22 fellow Orchesis company members, I’m sure, can attest to this feeling.
We all dance for a reason. It drives us, enables us to thrive.
Orchesis 2012 hasn’t been perfect.
There have been tears, meltdowns, dislocated knees and hours upon hours of sweaty rehearsal in the studio.
We’ve learned about each other and learned a great deal.
But, more importantly, we’ve learned from each other.
Each dancer who has gone through this process has grown.
I’ve watched it happen.
It’s been an extraordinary process, and it has created an extraordinary result.
The show is strong, skillfully performed and powerfully executed.
It contains a great deal of thought.
The movement that will be expressed in Orchesis 2012 is not merely the result of a 5-6-7-8, watch how high I can kick my leg process.
Every movement has been thought out by the choreographer.
Each lighting cue has been scrutinized by the lighting designer.
Each transition and thematic decision has been mulled over by the artistic director.
We’ve asked ourselves, deeply, what the movement means to us and how we can share that movement with you.
The show is multi-faceted.
We explore some tough themes with grace.
We imitate sleepy partygoers, reach for bouncy balls, examine our relationships, explore the aftermath of a tragic situation, taste oranges, go into orbit, lift each other in the air and discover what it is that makes us human.
It’s quite a show.
Come watch it.

As an editor, writer and representative of The Transcript, I have encountered many an opinion from readers about the content of the paper–specifically the editorial section.
It has ranged from mild annoyance to open and public declarations that this publication should cease to exist.
The critics often bemoan the lack of hard-hitting investigatory exposes. They ask why we are not covering the budget deficit, or the faculty’s inadequate salaries, or any other issue that plagues the university, which we may or may not be informed about.
Where’s the anger towards Chartwells for their sub-par food options? The spitting prose towards university policy changes and decisions which have left us paralyzed, incapacitated and unable to function?
And when we do cover them, we are greeted with disappointment and rage at our inability to cover these issues exactly the way members of our community would like to see them covered.
This rage, while moderately justified towards the changes and underperformance of certain organizations, should not be aimed at The Transcript.
Instead, it should be used constructively in covering and critiquing these issues. It should be used for dissent.
Dissent is one of the most powerful motivators for change in our society.
In order to use dissent to its maximum potential, it should be expressed in some of the most powerful mediums.
In this case, writing is one.
Those who have qualms with what transpires at this university and beyond should do exactly what they blame The Transcript for not doing –write about it.
The Transcript, along with any other newspaper or publication, contributes to what we like to call the marketplace of ideas — the forum for expressing all different sorts of viewpoints and perspectives.
The Transcript is not your enemy, dissenter, it is your tool. It is your First Amendment right to express what ails and affirms you.
To ignore such resources and then condemn others for failing to do your job as a member of this institution is purely and uncontrovertibly hypocritical.
It is within everyone’s power to harness the power of the pen and use it to inspire change and thought.
My principal reason for becoming a journalist is so that I may use the pen to do such things–to express my dissent with that which I find troublesome or frustrating in the world around me.
It is only through useful, constructive expression of our dissent that we are to endeavor to find answers or change the status quo.
For example, take the recent editorial by our editor-in-chief, who in her frustration, wrote about Smith Dining Hall’s inadequate hours for those who have an earlier schedule in the morning.
After her public dissent, Chartwells volunteered to change the hours to be more accommodating to people like her. The Transcript can help inspire change.
It is a tool for students to shed light on important issues. It is a tool for moving thought, emotion and policy-making in the direction that you, as a member of our community, think it ought to go.
As a proud editor of The Transcript, I can assure you that we are open to dissent — even on the most popular and agreed-upon topics.
It disgusts me when I find people feel that this paper should not exist altogether, that is useless and that we are pandering to authority in order to maintain some kind of goody-two-shoes image that I can assure you does not exist.
To eliminate the Transcript would be a serious and tragic undermining of our ability to express our opinions; hold WCSA, the administration, and prominent student organizations accountable; and to promote speech and thought overall.
The problem is not The Transcript; it is the people who fail to utilize it as a tool for conversation.
If you see or hear something that you feel needs attention — write about it.
We will guide you.
If you are not the best writer, send us your concerns. Let us know what you have to say, and so long as they are constructive and legitimate concerns, we will find a way to represent your opinion.
Utilize the pen. Love the pen. The pen is what has changed our world even more so than the sword.
The pen is how laws, policies, customs, traditions, communities and people change.
To fail to speak or write about our concerns, in hopes that someone someday will voice them, is cowardly, selfish and damaging to oneself and one’s community.
To gripe futilely from the dark corners of our common rooms, dormitories, Facebooks and blogs will not inspire or beget change.
To bash, berate and rebuke others for failing to express your voice for you is nothing short of childish.
We must employ our voices, even if those whom we seek to reach do not want to hear them.
I challenge this community to find the power of dissent.
For far too long in our society, we have been encouraged to keep quiet and keep our dissent locked away so only a select few may understand it – for fear of being singled out and undermined.
We must get above, around, under and over this type of thinking.
Use your voice, your pens, and your publications to move this university in a positive direction.
As the New York Police Department reminds passengers on the trains and subways, “See something? Say something.”

Do you remember freshman year when you were able to get your homework done, sleep well, go out on Wednesday nights, Friday nights and Saturdays, too?
Somehow, you also had time to just hang out. If you are a freshman, enjoy it while it lasts.
Savor the experience and the time you have.
As I approach the last quarter of my junior year, I am beginning to reminisce on those days almost bitterly, wishing that I had more time to just hang out.
After two years in college, you begin to feel burnt out and overwhelmed by the amount of things to do.
Naps are a thing of the past; Wednesday nights are dead to me (I no longer have the strength to wake up early after partying); and “planning for the future”— the dreadful and exciting college graduation — has become a looming stress factor.
Each day I hear friends of mine complain about the amount of work they have, the little sleep they’re getting, their boredom, and I wonder: Are we missing a valuable part of the college experience?
I’ve heard college stories from older generations, where people just had time to hang out and enjoy each other’s company.
Many of the students here seem to me overworked and exhausted. Professors expect a lot from us, handing out readings and assignments as if we have no other classes.
Personally, I have about 150 pages of reading a week, papers and other assignments.
I would also argue OWU students tend to be over-involved in the many campus activities they take on, leading to less sleep, less relaxation and less time for hobbies or creativity.
So my question is, where is our time to just hang out? I would love to have time to do things I really enjoy—having long conversations, taking walks, reading for fun, doing some art or just enjoying people’s company.
I want time for meaningful experiences, and I want time to slow down life a little — at least before I get out into the real world.