The Transcript

By Jija Dutt

Transcript Reporter

“I am clear as a Christian minister that in all the holy texts, (the) primary theme is to love humanity,” said University Chaplain, Jon Powers, at the end of yet another Pride Week at Ohio Wesleyan.

The week of Oct. 7 to 11 saw various activities celebrating the LGBT community being held across campus. The week began with the PRIDE members handing out free condoms, goodies and “hot-cards” in the campus center during the lunch hours.

A family dinner was held on Tuesday night, followed by an “All Gender Housing Discussion” led by Rebecca Mosely on Wednesday. Mosely is associate director of Residential Education at Oberlin College.

On Thursday immigration lawyer Bobby Thaxton spoke about the effects of immigration law on the LGBT community.

Junior Hannah Sampson, PRIDE public relations chair, said planning for the week began at the end of last year and was a “work in progress” until mid-September of this year.

“Planning the events was not terribly difficult, as our speakers and performer were very supportive of PRIDE week and incredibly flexible,” she said. “The little technical things, like being in contact with housekeeping, getting rooms reserved, and event setup were probably the most difficult parts of planning, but everything went fairly smoothly overall.”

Sampson said while the executive board planned the events, they worked closely with the Spectrum Resource Center, who helped bring a speaker and hosted the National Coming Out Day celebration at the end of the week. She also said PRIDE members were “invaluable” to the week’s success.

Associate Chaplain Chad Johns said this year’s Pride week saw a wider variety of events compared to previous years.

“This has been one of the best events this year,” he said.

Sampson said this year’s events had the highest number of attendees throughout the week compared to previous years.  Most events had about 20-30 people, while Friday night’s Pride Prom “had an incredible number of people in attendance.”

Chaplain Powers said as a university with a Methodist affiliation, “we are somewhat at odds with the church” in matters related to the LGBT community. However, he said ever since he became the university chaplain back in 1988, he has “always been supportive of people who are LGBT.”

Powers said he has always welcomed students who have come to him with personal concerns before coming out to the public about their sexuality and he has always “held them in secret.”

He said he has also received calls and met with parents who have been opposed to their child being of a different sexual orientation who have asked him to help “straighten them out.”

He said his counsel to both students seeking his help as well as parents has always been unique to each given situation, but his “response is always affirmative.”

Powers said he believes crimes towards any individual based on their race, ethnicity, religious beliefs or sexuality of any kind is a deep problem arising out of fear.

“People fear the ‘other,’” he said. “It’s an ignorant reaction. It’s this human shadow that responds to fear by acting out violently.”

Sampson said one of OWU’s goals as an institution is to “celebrate diversity and allow individuals to thrive and express themselves freely.”

“I believe that this campus is very accepting of the LGBTIQA community as a whole and we have an incredible amount of ally support on campus,” she said.

A lot of people came out at this year’s National Coming Out Day; Sampson said some people also came out as allies at the event.

“Accepting people for who they are is something that is improving at OWU,” she said.

Sampson said the Spectrum Resource Center located on the second floor of the campus center is a great asset, especially for those who have concerns about coming out.

Powers said as more people get to know each other as people and don’t see them as the “other,” the less violently people will react to each other.

“A lot of the wall comes down,” he said.

His message to those struggling with coming out is simply to take care of themselves and not come out in way that might be risky to them. He said he wants them to know that OWU is a safe harbor; any place with a “Safe Zone” sign on campus has individuals who have been trained to talk. He asks them to seek a safer harbor within OWU and “know, discover and be assured” that they will be taken care of.

“It is not a political but a care issue,” he said. “We will meet you where you are.”

PRIDE meetings are held on Thursdays at 9:00pm in the Smith Piano Room.

 

 

By Emily Feldmesser

Copy Editor

What better way to raise money for charity than with food and friends? That was the idea behind the Oct. 10 fundraiser at J. Gumbo’s, benefitting the Girl Rising campaign.

Sophomore Zoe Morris, a resident of the Women’s House, organized the fundraiser as part of her house project.

Girl Rising, according to the organization’s website, is a global action campaign for girl’s education, which it says “dramatically improve(s) the well-being of (girls’) families, their communities and their countries—multiplying the impact on society.”

Girl Rising is also partnered with the World Vision organization. According to its website, World Vision is “a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to each their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.”

Morris said the organization “distributes resources to a number of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that promote the education of women in the developing world.” She said their efforts range from advocacy to the construction of schools.

Morris said being an education major was one of her motivations for this fundraiser.

“I believe strongly in education as (a) mechanism of change and social justice,” she said. “Education is, in my opinion, the most sustainable form of change there is. When people become more educated, they are better able to give back to their communities. Economies grow, health improves and peace is made longer lasting.”

Morris also said women have greatly decreased access to education for many reasons, which detracts from their communities’ well being.

“When girls are educated, they make more money, marry later, are less likely to contract HIV and have fewer children,” she said.

When planning this fundraiser, Morris thought of J. Gumbo’s, the Cajun food restaurant on Sandusky St., as an ideal venue.

“Last year, the Washington, D.C., mission trip held this type of fundraiser at J. Gumbo’s, and it was really successful,” she said. “Other than (raising money for the organization), I wanted to be able to include both the campus community and the Delaware community in this cause.”

When Morris approached Richard Upton, J. Gumbo’s owner, about holding her fundraiser at the restaurant, he gladly accepted.

“There are three reasons why I wanted to get involved with this event,” Upton said. “I agree with the need to provide education on an equal and fair basis for females and I appreciate Zoe’s passion for the project. I like seeing young people doing positive things other than personal gain and recognition. Finally, I am always looking for ways to collaborate with OWU and showcase students to the Delaware community.”

Upton said this event was the biggest turnout to date. He said students were lined up five minutes before the official start time.

Sophomore Erin Parker said she thought the event was “really fun” and agreed with its cause.

“I believe that women around the world should be offered the same opportunity of education as men have,” she said.

Adding to the atmosphere was sophomore Alex Paquet, who was performing live music for the people attending the fundraiser.

Junior Liam Dennigan said, “Overall, I had a really good time and was glad I could support the cause.”

Upton said their “Give Back Night” program gives “100 percent of tips of the day of an event go to the fundraising entity.” He said J. Gumbo’s does not pay its employees based on tips.

“The entity will also receive at least 10 percent of food, beverage and other sales, while 50 percent of ice cream sales go to the entity,” he said.

Morris said the money raised will be given to the 10×10 Foundation and will be distributed to its affiliated organizations, such as Room to Read and Girl Up. Part of the proceeds will contribute to bring a screening of the film “Girl Rising” to OWU.

 

By Toria Reisman

Transcript Correspondent

 

As the month of October is coming to an end, so is the opportunity to experience people selling produce and other goods on the streets of downtown Delaware.

Main Street Delaware’s downtown Farmer’s Market will be stopping for the 2013 year after Saturday, Oct. 26.

Every Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning, Sandusky Street has been lined with vendors selling their products.

“There are always delicious free samples and I can’t help but want to buy something every time I go,” said sophomore Jessica Demes, who said she has visited the market frequently.

Vendors are able to participate for a $10 table fee each week and can reserve a table for the whole season, which begins in late may and runs through the last Saturday in October. Every Wednesday between 3 and 6 p.m. and Saturday mornings between 9:30 and12:30 p.m. vendors are able to showcase their products to anyone walking by.

Fred, a vendor from South Marion, Ohio, said he sells all homemade products, including traditional chocolate chip and pumpkin cookies, a variety of breads and pies, kettle corn and others. Fred said he sold around 1,100 pies last year and believes he has reached that mark for the 2013 season.

Buyers are welcome to taste some of the Sallie Sloboda products when they walk by. Fred typically has free samples of his products sitting out on his table for customers to test.

Another table, selling fresh produce, has also been participating in the farmer’s market for the entire 2013 season. Working at his mother’s stand, Curtis said his favorite part about the market is meeting new people.

Not all of the vendors consistently attend every Wednesday and Saturday; however, there is always a variety of products being sold. The market will start back up in the 2014 season after it closes for the year on Saturday.

By Jija Dutt

Transcript Reporter

Members of various Greek organizations on campus dedicated their afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 13, to raising over $500 for the children of St. Jude’s Children Hospital.

Sigma Chi fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority held, for the first time, a joint fall philanthropy event.

“(We) decided to work together because we both wanted to do a kickball tournament,” said junior Elise Pitcairn, Tri-Delta’s philanthropy chair. “Both philanthropies would support St. Jude, and Sigma Chi and Tri-Delta have always had a solid bond of friendship.”

For the past two years, Tri-Delta has held a twister competition as their fall philanthropy event.

Pitcairn said her main goal in planning philanthropy events is to ensure the sorority can raise as much money and awareness about St. Jude as possible and “that everyone has as much fun (as they can) while doing so.”

A total of 10 teams participated at this year’s kickball tournament. While most had Greek affiliation, the Delaware Fire Department was a special addition to the list of teams that participated.

Delta Gamma won among the participating sororities, while Phi Gamma Delta won among the fraternities.

Pitcairn said she thought the event’s first time was a huge success.

“There was an overall energetic and enthusiastic atmosphere,” she said.

Adding to the spirit on Fraternity Hill, where the event was held, was the appearance of Dan’s Deli.

Pitcairn said “a lot of Dan’s Deli was consumed” during the event and the money they raised by partnering with the food cart has not yet been added to the total money raised.

Senior John Bieniek, president of Alpha Sigma Phi, said his favorite part of the event was being able to play alongside his brothers and cheering them on as they participated.

He said the fact that a fraternity and sorority co-hosted the event was a plus, since it “probably encouraged more teams to participate.”

Sophomore Jen Luckett, a member of Tri-Delta, said she felt the event was a success and teaming up with Sig Chi “was a cherry on top of that.” She said she thought it was great that the Delaware Fire Department could come out in support of a philanthropy event on campus.

“It just shows the sense of community in Delaware,” she said.

Pitcairn said to her, philanthropy means, “being selfless.” She said it is an opportunity to give back and make an impact that goes beyond OWU.

“It cost(s) over $1.5 million a day to run St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, so every penny we raise is crucial,” she said.

 

By Sara Schneider

Transcript Correspondent

Faculty and staff at OWU have created the Internship Circle to discuss expectations concerning internships.

The group, sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs, meets every second Tuesday of the month at noon in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center in room 304; the meetings are open for all to attend.

Professor of Politics and Government James Franklin, who organizes the meetings, said they are a “forum for faculty and staff to meet and discuss issues pertaining to internships.”

In March of 2013, a workshop took place to inform people about internships on and off campus. Following the workshop, faculty and staff said they believed follow-up meetings were needed. The Internship Circle was then created and the first meeting took place in September.

Several different academic departments already offer internships to students, but the Internship Circle encourages additional departments to create internship positions and promote internship opportunities for students off campus.

“Internships allow students to learn about careers in ways that is not possible in the classroom,” Franklin said.

Students have the ability to work alongside professionals in a field that interests them. These internships can lead to quality recommendations and possible future jobs.

According to the Career Services web page, internships are valuable for “building skills and acquiring an understanding of the demands of a particular career field.”

Career Services highly recommends that students complete at least one internship during their college careers.

Senior Chris Litzler has completed three internships with commercial real estate investment funds. He said he thinks they are “opportunities for students to extend classroom learning in a professional setting while preparing students for a meaningful career.”

“These internships have given me a better understanding on the industry and make me a very strong entry level candidate in the real estate space,” he said. “Students cultivate interests in classrooms and internships are avenues for students to test their interests to determine if they are passions.”