The Transcript – Page 102 – This is the archive of our old website

Track and field break records, enjoy success

Freshman Amanda Clay. Photo courtesy of battlingbishops.com.

Olympic legend Mark Spitz once said, “Records are meant to broken.” The Ohio Wesleyan women’s track and field team has proven that Spitz was right.

Freshman Amanda Clay has already broke two OWU school records. At the Spire Midwest Indoor Track and Field Open on Jan. 31, Clay set an individual record in the 60-meter dash and helped set a team record in the 1600-meter relay.

“There were teams from all over the country and through every division at the Spire meet,” Clay said. “That high level of competition I think really helped drive me to run my fastest and perform as well as I did. I found out after preliminaries that some of the women competing were trying to qualify for the Olympics, so it was really cool to face that level of competition.

Clay ran the 60-meter dash in 8.01 seconds, and the four person team of Clay, senior Katie Reid, junior Abbey Warth and sophomore Sierra Wright finished the 1600-meter relay in 4 minutes and 0.82 seconds.

“For me this is the first year I’ve run the 60-meter dash,” Clay said. “To see my times improve so much in practice has been really encouraging.”

Thus far both the men’s and women’s track and field teams have come in first place in all four scored events of the season, successes which they want to build on for the rest of the season.

“Now really is the time we emphasize working hard so we can peak at conferences and nationals,” sophomore sprinter/hurdler MaryKate Caja said. “So the fact that we are already having people break records really speaks to the quality of athletes we have on this team.”

The recent success of both Clay and the entire team has led to them receiving a top ten Division III ranking. According to the weekly ranking released by d3rankings.us, OWU is ranked No. 9 overall and as the highest ranked team within the Great Lakes region.

According to Caja, much of the team’s success can be attributed to their depth, which helps earn secondary points and boost their point total and climb the rankings.

Clay added not only is there depth, but a strong spread throughout all of the event groups.

“Everyone realizes that they can contribute in some way, and as a result we have gotten great performances across the board from everyone,” she said.

The goal for the team is to continue working hard and improve everyone’s times enough to qualify for the All-Ohio and NCAA National Championship events. Clay has the personal goal of beating her OWU record and running the 60-meter dash in less than 8 seconds.

Some highlights to look forward to for the Bishops include the OWU Open on Feb.13 and the NCAC Championship in Greencastle, Indiana on March 6-7.

Hall of Excellence inducts OWU grad

One Ohio Wesleyan alumnus added another accolade to his already accomplished career.

Greg Moore, Editor of the Denver Post and graduate of OWU, joined three other individuals who were elected into the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges’ (OFIC) Hall of Excellence. This award was created in 1987 to honor distinguished alumni of the 34 Ohio schools in the organization.

Moore graduated in 1976 with a double major in journalism and politics and government. He joined the Denver Post in 2002 and has led the paper to four consecutive Pulitzer Prizes.

On his way to the Denver Post, Moore worked in many different capacities at The Boston Globe, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and Dayton’s The Journal Herald.

“Not only has Moore excelled as a journalist, leading the Denver Post to four Pulitzer Prizes, but he also has selflessly shared his time and talent for the betterment of others,” said Rock Jones, president of OWU.

According to ofic.org, each school belonging to the OFIC nominates an individual to be reviewed by the Hall of Excellence committee. The election of nominees is based on the candidates’ “professional achievement; impact on society through service, leadership, scholarship, minority affairs, sciences, research, arts or elected office; and service to alma mater, all of which exemplify the value of a liberal arts education.”

“I was surprised when Rock called me and asked if I would accept the nomination,” Moore said. “After a couple seconds of silence, I said ‘Of course I would.’”

OWU’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs granted Moore the alumni of the year award in 2012 for his work mentoring OWU students.

“When I was a student a lot of graduates came back and talked with us. I like to do that as well, OWU means a lot to me.”

Moore has become the 10th Ohio Wesleyan graduate to receive the award from the OFIC. The most recent was Jean Carper, class of 1953, who was honored in 2014.

He will be officially inducted into the Hall of Excellence on April 16 and will be visiting OWU to talk with students and friends the week leading up to the ceremony.

“I’ll be on campus for as long as I can,” said Moore.

Until then, Moore is taking it one day at a time and doesn’t have set plans for the next chapter.

“As long as you’re living, I think you can do great things,” said Moore. “I don’t know what’s next.”

Near-campus arrests go unreported

The Delaware Police Department arrested three men in close proximity to Ohio Wesleyan’s campus.

According to the Sunday, Jan. 24 police report, Mary Jo Kerns, who lives at 100 Oak Hill Ave., called police to report suspicious behavior and a suspicious vehicle on her property. The call came in at 12:56 p.m.

Three men were arrested, according to the same report, two for disorderly conduct related to intoxication, and one for violation of parole.

The report also indicated the men were homeless.

100 Oak Hill is between two OWU small living units (SLUs) – the Citizens of the World House and the Tree House. It is across the street from the Inter-Faith House.

Students who live in the SLUs on Oak Hill Avenue did not find out about the incident until the next day. The rest of the student body has yet to be informed of the incident by the university or Public Safety.

Senior Abbie Love, a resident of the Inter-Faith House, which is located across the street from 100 Oak Hill, said she was not told about the incident until the next day.

“The next day, PS came to tell us that everything was fine, and I had no idea anything was ever not fine,” Love said.

After an incident involving an OWU student or near OWU property, the university will often send out an email to students informing them of what is going on around them and if a crime has occurred on or near campus.

Robert Wood, director of PS, said his office discussed sending out a campus warning.

“We did not [send out a warning] because by the time we were aware of the incident, Delaware Police had the subjects in police custody,” said Wood. “There was no ongoing threat to the campus or community.”

Second Senate talks holiday breaks

A guest speaker addressed the Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA) second full senate meeting Monday, Feb. 9. Her topic of discussion: proposed changes to the academic calendar.

Paula White, professor of education and chair of the academic policy committee (APC), introduced proposed amendments to the Ohio Wesleyan semester schedule. These changes range from extending spring break an extra week, reducing Thanksgiving break to three days and leaving the schedule as is. White noted that any changes would not take effect until at least the 2016-2017 calendar year.

White also explained that the APC “won’t generate an absolute schedule until [it] can get everyone’s thoughts.”

The next faculty meeting, on Feb. 19, marks the deadline for any changes to the calendar. With that date approaching, several WCSA senators suggested that a table be set up in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center to inform students of the proposed amendments and to receive their feedback.

Sophomore Graham Littlehale, treasurer of WCSA, presented the budget requests for the women’s rugby club and Tauheed. Both were approved.

A frequent topic of discussion at the meeting was the Board of Trustees dinner, an annual gathering of select OWU students and board members set to take place Feb. 7. Junior Emma Drongowski, vice president of WCSA, explained that the dinner is “an unique opportunity for students to interact with professionals.”

The senate also voted to suspend indefinitely a resolution on gender-inclusive housing. Despite support for the resolution by most members of WCSA, the policy requires prior university approval to be advanced further. Junior Jerry Lherisson, president of WCSA, said he “does not want to bring [the resolution] forward without [university] officer support behind it.”

Finally, the senate voted on the appointment of a new at-large senator. As a result, sophomore Diana Muzina was unanimously selected to join WCSA representatives at the table.

No seniors, no problem for men’s tennis team

Despite having no seniors on the team, Ohio Wesleyan men’s tennis, under second-year coach Tom Drabczyk Jr., set their sights on achieving a regional and division ranking.

Coach Drabczyk Jr. also coaches the OWU women’s tennis team.

“Being on a team without any seniors has its advantages and disadvantages,” said freshman Elliot Garwood. “One of the advantages is that it forces someone on the team to step up and lead, even when things seem to be going in the wrong direction.”

Garwood found success during the team’s fall tournaments. This included a second place finish in the B singles bracket at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Central Regional tournament in Indianapolis, Ind.

Since then, the Battling Bishops have been practicing in Gordon Field House throughout the winter. This is the same place home matches will occur until the weather improves.

Garwood mentioned that having indoor courts provides the team with advantages that a lot of other Midwestern schools may not have.

“Coming from South Florida I am used to playing outside all the time,” Garwood said. “Practicing indoors is not so bad because it actually helps my technique on my ground strokes and my serve.”

Junior Austin Okray, the only player on the team to have lettered twice, feels the same about being able to practice indoors, adding that practice has been intense leading up to the first spring match.

“We just want to win and to take over a regional ranking to prove we are not to mess with,” Okray said. “Our schedule has aligned us to have a real chance at a Division III ranking.”

OWU starts off the spring season on Feb. 8 in Kalamazoo, Mich. against Kalamazoo College.

Coffee House comes to OWU

Two Worlds. Photo courtesy of developingartist.com.

Caffeinated students bobbed their heads to live music at the latest Campus Programming Board (CPB) event.

On Thursday, Feb. 5 CPB brought two independent vocal groups to the Milligan Hub. Two Worlds and Adelee & Gentry performed throughout the evening while students sampled free hot beverages and pastries.

Two Worlds, made up of 20-year-olds Nick Voelker and Adiel Mitchell, traveled from Colorado to sing. According to the male duo, their music comes from “a background of acoustic R&B with energetic pop.”

The group also incorporates break dancing into their performances and said they have “released many innovative covers and original songs on their YouTube channel.”

The second performance of the night was given by Adelee & Gentry from Dayton, Ohio. The group consists of two sisters, ages 21 and 19. They describe their music as “a polished folk-pop sound that is grounded by a root base.”

Adelee & Gentry. Photo courtesy of adeleeandgentry.com.

There are samples of Adelee & Gentry’s work on YouTube.

CPB is preparing for two other events this semester. Freshman Christiana Migliacci said, “The first is Popcorn and Pix, which is when The Lego Movie will be shown. This is taking place on Feb. 26.”

At Popcorn and Pix, CPB will be announcing the performer for this year’s Bishop Bash.

“The Bishop Bash is an annual event funded by WCSA,” said Migliacci. “This consists of an on-campus concert.”

CPB has a standard scouting process for campus events.

“Basically we draw from what OWU students say they would like to see. A group of CPB members go to a conference called NACA early in the year, and see loads of performers. Then we come back and tell the rest of the CPB what we saw and liked. We then vote. Both performers at the Coffee House event were discovered at NACA,” said sophomore Maddie Oslejsek.

Two Worlds. Photo courtesy of Alex Gross.

Visiting scholar brings artifacts, new perspective

About once a semester, an established Phi Beta Kappa scholar engages with Ohio Wesleyan students and faculty on wide ranging topics and issues.

On Monday, Feb. 2, Christine M. Thomas gave a lecture titled “Ordinary Bodies and Divine Intervention: Illness and Healing in the Hinterlands of the Roman Empire.”

Thomas, from The University of California, Santa Barbara, based her talk on “artifacts from Turkey, circa 200 CE, which were found in 1998.” The objects were discovered by Thomas, who graduated with a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1995.

Each artifact presented had a story, all linked to the ancient human beings who created and used them. “It’s important to consider the lives of the people during this time period and in these countries while observing the artifacts” said Thomas.

According to the Phi Beta Kappa web page, the organization, the “oldest of the learned societies in the United States, was founded in 1776. It is recognized world-wide as the most prestigious liberal-arts honor society.” The OWU Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1907.

The speakers from the program typically stay in Delaware for two days. “During this time, the individual will interact with students in the classroom as well as giving the lecture” said David Eastman, assistant professor of religion. “Christine stressed the importance of religious studies to the students,” he continued.

Joe Musser, president of the local Phi Beta Kappa Chapter, said, “bringing in Phi Beta Kappa scholars is very beneficial to students. They develop a new prospective on unique topics and can make important connections for postgraduation.”

In the fall, Phi Beta Kappa brought Wendy Brown to campus for a lecture seminar, where she discussed feminist issues. Future speakers have yet to be announced.

U.S. faces risk with Ukraine involvement

Dr. Sean Kay, professor of Politics and Government. Photo courtesy of the OWU website.

The 2015 Great Decisions lecture series opened on Feb. 6 with “Russia and the Near Abroad,” a hot topic about Russia’s recent aggression in Ukraine and its impact on the western world.

The lecture took place from noon to 1 p.m. in the crowded basement of the William Street United Methodist Church in Delaware. The keynote speaker was Sean Kay, a politics and government professor at Ohio Wesleyan University and the chair of the International Studies Program.

Kay was introduced by retired Major General Dennis Laich.

“We have in our community a world class performer in the arena of ideas and national security,” Laich announced during his introduction of Kay.

Kay began his talk by briefly mentioning the great divide between liberals and conservatives in Washington D.C. and how the United States, ever since the war in Iraq, has continuously struggled to balance doing the right thing and the realistic thing.

“It is about time that our allies stand up for themselves, I would argue that today that is actually happening,” Kay said as he listed off examples of how Germany and France – among other countries – are dealing with Russia’s recent aggression in eastern Ukraine.

“We are powerful when we are united with our allies,” Kay said after mentioning how Vladimir Putin’s ideal plan would be to cause fighting between NATO countries.

Kay warned that the involvement of the United States in Ukraine, including the addition of the Ukraine to NATO, could potentially be dangerous.

“It would mean America would have to defend the border of Russia and Ukraine, 300 miles away from Moscow,” Kay said.

On the other side of the argument, Kay brought up that Ukraine alone does not have the power to out leverage Russia. This is partially due to the unrest in the Ukrainian government – or lack thereof – and the large amount of Russians residing in eastern Ukraine who are in favor of Russian involvement.

According to Kay, the largest threat to Europe is Russia potentially penetrating the Eurozone (euro area). The Eurozone is a union of 19 European states that have taken in the Euro as their main form of currency. A small portion of these 19 states include territories formerly under USSR control during the cold war.

Kay finished off the lecture by suggesting that the United States move back to a geopolitical approach.

“We’re here today because we dealt with the Russians on the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Kay said. “Somehow we have lost the ability to play geopolitics.”

“Russia and the Near Abroad” concluded with a short Q&A.

The next lecture for Great Decisions will take place at William Street United Methodist Church on Feb. 13 from noon to 1 p.m. where privacy in the digital age will be discussed by Kirk Herath, chief privacy officer of Nationwide Insurance.

Where do seniors go now?

When the news broke that the brothers of Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) would be getting their house back, I was ecstatic. The men of Fiji worked hard and tirelessly to get their housing privileges reinstated. The house is well deserved, and Ohio Wesleyan is proud of the men.

But where am I going to live?

See, next year I’ll be a senior. 35 Williams Drive, Fiji’s (old) new home, is a senior-only housing option, as is 4 Williams. So starting in the fall of 2015, there will be only one senior-only residence hall to choose from. And there aren’t too many spaces available in 4 Williams as is.

One of my main problems with OWU is the four-year residency requirement. I understand the philosophy behind it, but that philosophy leaves seniors without the choice they deserve. Why aren’t there any exclusive places to live for seniors?

Especially for senior women. Fraternities have their houses, which gives men the option to live in houses. But women, affiliated or not, do not have the luxury of living somewhere cool and exciting once they rise through the ranks of OWU. We have to live in the residence halls, which if you ask me, need a lot of work.

That isn’t fair. We deserve better than living in the grimy residence halls that we have lived in since our freshmen year. We deserve special treatment; we have earned seniority.

Most of my friends who do not attend OWU have the opporunity to live off campus in houses or apartments. Granted, there aren’t many places in Delaware for students to rent like there are in Madison or Milwaukee, Wis. Maybe OWU should designate certain off campus locations for senior living.

Now, I’m not advocating that OWU ship all students off campus, but I am recommending OWU let seniors off campus. OWU should buy some buildings or houses for the sole purpose of letting seniors live there.

These buildingswould still be considered OWU property and we would still pay OWU fees, but with the luxury of not living in the residence halls. Students look forward to living in 35 and 4 Williams throughout their college career. And now competition will be fiercer than normal to get one of those spots.

I’m sick of living in residence halls. No offense to OWU, but they’re gross. Yes, so are fraternities, but at least Greek men have the option to live there.

I don’t have the option to live anywhere else but the residence halls. As a rising senior, I think I should be able to have more privleges than that. I think I’ve earned it.

I’ve paid my dues at OWU.I don’t have any special privileges as a senior. Next year I could be living among freshmen for all I know.

OWU needs to have more options for senior living. Students are unhappy with the current status quo, especially me.

Even though I’m thrilled for Fiji and all they have accomplished, I’m upset at the lack of senior living options available to students, especially for female students.

OWU needs to make major changes in their housing policies in order to attract more students and to make current students happy. With the current policies in place, we cannot keep up with other schools our size, or bigger. It could turn potential students off, and I know it has left a sour taste in my mouth.

In order to satisfy the needs of students and meet the status quo of many other schools, OWU needs to let senior students, especially women, off campus. It’s only fair by that point in our college careers.

Wrestling joins OWU sports family

Of all the sports and clubs offered at Ohio Wesleyan University, wrestling is not one of them. That changed when sophomores Ifa Abduljelil and Josh Pyles started the wrestling club.

The club currently has 24 members and practices from 6–8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a Sunday practice from 4–6 p.m. All practices are held in Branch Rickey Arena.

“I was really surprised (with the turnout),” Abduljelil said. “I mean, wrestling is a big thing, but I didn’t expect 24 guys to be signing up at a small school like this.”

While setting up the club has taken some time, and there are currently no wrestling meets scheduled, a major accomplishment has been made – the wrestling club found a coach.

Tom Josefowicz, the new coach, has been an athletic trainer for OWU since the fall of 2009.

Josefowicz wrestled at Eastern Michigan University and worked as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for the Iowa State University wrestling team.

“I’ve known Tom from football and track. He has the famous cauliflower ear so when you see that you have to talk about wrestling,” Abduljelil said.

He continued by saying that Josefowicz was very excited that someone finally started a wrestling club and that students who are interested will finally have an opportunity.

“I look forward to getting in shape and sharing different techniques with other wrestlers,” said junior Soma Yoshida, who is studying at OWU for a year. “I’m from Japan so it’s good for me to wrestle in a different style.”

Yoshida is a free style wrestler; university level wrestling is done in folk style.

At this time the goals of the wrestling club are to continue to practice consistently, schedule meets as early as the spring semester of 2015 and establish wrestling as an official sport at OWU.