The Transcript

By Elizabeth Childers
Managing Editor

On Dec. 2, 2010, Mike Swaim wrote a story for The Transcript about the possibility of a smoking ban on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus. “The Wesleyan Council of Student Affairs has proposed a policy that would potentially ban smoking on campus, beginning in the fall of 2013,” he wrote. Six days later, WCSA did pass a resolution to work towards having a smoke-free campus by 2013. Three years later, months away from this proposed ban on smoking, OWU students and faculty has seen little to no work done towards this transition. As a result, the current WCSA administration will not be pursuing the finalization of this resolution: OWU remains a campus that is not smoke or tobacco free.

The Birth of the Resolution

Kyle Herman, Class of 2011, was the WCSA president who spearheaded the project.

“When WCSA’s new Executive Committee examined student concerns in January 2010 and discussed them with the administration,” he said, “we found a common theme among our goals. We wanted to be more environmentally friendly, improve fitness facilities and work with Chartwells to provide healthier dining options. We were also working on reforms to fulfill our legal obligation of bringing OWU’s policies on alcohol and other drugs in line with best practices. It was out of the collection of these and related goals that the Healthy Bishop Initiative was formed to help OWU not only provide a healthier environment for its students, but to serve as an example to the rest of society.”

The country’s political climate of the time also revolved around health concerns, Herman recalled. One of the few things all parties could agree on was minimizing health care costs by promoting healthier living habits. Smoking on campus became a forerunning topic concerning student health when WCSA noticed complaints from students about secondhand smoke in high traffic areas as well as near residence halls.

“We adopted a goal of decreasing the harmful effects of secondhand smoke,” Herman said. “though at the time it was not clear how we could do that.”

Efforts made by WCSA included an education campaign about the need for smokers to stand a minimum of 20 feet away from buildings and moving cigarette receptacles to the appropriate distance. “But nothing changed except all the cigarette butts were thrown on the ground instead of into the dispensers,” he said.

Before fall semester 2010, Herman attended a workshop hosted by the Ohio Department of Health that focused on campus tobacco policies. “The federal government was offering grants to the states that had the most colleges commit to the growing trend of becoming tobacco-free campuses,” Herman recalled from this lecture. “College students are the youngest tobacco companies are legally allowed to target and they spend billions to manipulate our age group.”

Upon returning to school, WCSA narrowed their goal to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke as opposed to changing the lifestyles of students who used tobacco.

“Our attitude was that people have a right to harm themselves so long as they don’t harm others. Unfortunately, there is no safe level of secondhand smoke and nonsmokers were tired of being stuck in a smoke trail during the 10 minute walk to class down the JAYwalk or any time they went to the library,” Herman said.

In a survey done by his administration, it was discovered, at the time, 68.5 percent of students who responded were bothered by secondhand smoke while on campus. As a result, WCSA decided to focus on making OWU a smoke-free campus as opposed to a tobacco-free one.

“Student reactions were mixed,” Herman explained. “Although students were bothered by secondhand smoke, many were afraid of offending friends who chose to smoke.”
The opposition to a smoke-free campus led to a ‘town hall meeting’ to discuss openly with students plans to achieve the goal.

Junior Ariel Koiman, a former member of WCSA, was at this meeting.

“It’s actually how I got started (in WCSA),” Koiman said. “It was my participation at that meeting where people started coming up to me and saying, ‘Hey, you should do this.’”

Koiman recalled Herman’s opinions as not being popular among those who attended.

“There were plenty of people who turned up in the Bayley Room and they weren’t shutting him down or anything, but they were on the calm side of aggressive,” he said. “He had some valid points but I think the mass majority of people speaking out were those who found (the smoking ban) overbearing and excessive. I think people felt like they were trying to reason with him and he wasn’t extending that back.”

Herman also confirmed the opposition at this open meeting. “…Many of the participants were smokers who claimed they had a ‘right to smoke’ anywhere they wanted. Most members of WCSA still felt that the right to breathe clean air was more important than the privilege of smoking.”

As a result, WCSA held a non-binding referendum to see how the student body felt. A small portion of students participated – just over a third – and out of that, 37 percent supported a smoke-free campus, 58 percent were opposed and four percent were neutral.

“Because participation was so low and passion among a vocal minority so high, some members of WCSA felt that (the) opposition was over-represented by the referendum,” Herman said. “They saw their duty as representatives to promote the common good for the rights of the silent majority even if most students were apathetic.”

Some WCSA members were uncomfortable with passing a ban because “direct democracy would have opposed it.” There was also the issue, pending implementation, of students leaving campus at night in order to smoke. The result was a compromise where residential side of campus would adhere to a required distance away from buildings and public parts of campus such as the JAYwalk, academic side and sports fields would eventually transition to smoke-free areas, to be completed by 2013.

This resolution, passed Dec. 8, 2010, was in hope that after “WCSA requested on behalf of the student body that we transition most of the campus to smoke-free, the administration would prepare to implement it through the Healthy Bishop Initiative,” Herman said.

“This would require educating the university community, including current and prospective students, faculty, and staff, and ensuring access to resources to help with smoking cessation. Signs would be posted to notify visitors and it would be enforced like any other rule.”

We the People Ban Smoking

According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, as of Jan. 2, there are 1,129 smoke free campuses in the United States and of these 766 are completely tobacco-free. It’s statistics like this that fueled Herman’s initiative.

Dr. Kimberlie Goldsberry, dean of students and WCSA’s adviser, recalled the resolution passing, but wasn’t sure if there has been any significant work on it since.

“It did not say officially we are a smoke free campus on January 1, 2013,” she said. “I think it was more about working towards becoming (a smoke-free campus.).”

The original resolution states Ohio Wesleyan should:

• adopt a long-term goal of decreasing the negative effects of tobacco
• discourage smoking to promote responsibility and respect toward all members of the community
• educate students, faculty, and staff about the harms of voluntary and involuntary consumption of tobacco products
• ensure access to cessation support to help students and employees who smoke overcome their addictions and quit using tobacco
• transition to a smoke-free JAYWalk and Academic Side of campus (defined as all university property east of Liberty St. and south of Williams St.) beginning in the summer of 2013 and a smoke-free perimeter of 20 feet around all university buildings should be enforced in compliance with state law under Chapter 3794 of the Ohio Revised Code, and that enforcement of the 20-foot policy should include the erection of signs and the replacement of cigarette disposals to a distance of at least 20 feet from buildings.

After Herman’s administration passed the resolution, Koiman recalled the attitude during his first year on WCSA as: “It didn’t come up at all. I remember people wanted to avoid it…but it probably should have been addressed.”

Sharif Kronemer, Class of 2012, had been vice-president during Herman’s administration, was the next president of WCSA. “It (the smoking resolution) was a highly contentious debate when Kyle introduced it, but I thought an important discussion to have.”

Kronemer’s administration opted to focus on other issues of student health such as working with the Healthy Bishop Initiative, Chartwells, and the administration.

“I felt WCSA could make more of an immediate impact on the community’s health by introducing resolutions that were less controversial,” he said.

These resolutions included the 25K Challenge which brought the new aerobic equipment to the Welch Fitness Center and discussing Chartwell’s food options in an effort to bring healthier choices to campus.

“Ultimately, I think the biggest struggle for this resolution in the future will be on the faculty and staff end of things,” Kronemer said. “Because of the campus layout there may be difficulty negotiating where are suitable locations to smoke, while maintaining the safety of OWU community members.”

Issues with the Resolution

Sophomore Kyle Hendershot, WCSA member and head of student conduct, has been researching this resolution for WCSA.

“As of the end of this year, beginning August 2013, Ohio Wesleyan is supposed to be completely tobacco-free, not just smoke free,” he said. “The problem we’re having currently is apparently multiple conclusions were passed, and one was that they were going to work toward it; and one that was completely tobacco-free.”

The problem with these conclusions made by WCSA back in 2010 is the administration was from two years ago, and with college turnaround time being four years, just two years can make a significant difference. At that time, the students which now make up roughly half of the population did not attend school here. This can show drastic changes in the popular view of any issue, not just smoking.

“One of the conclusions that it (the resolution) came to was if we were going to implement this,” Hendershot said, “we were going to have to start promoting the fact we were going to be going tobacco free so that people who do use tobacco would have a chance to quit. That was never done. Another problem is if we tell the students they weren’t allowed to use tobacco, Health Services would have to supply Nicorette gum or patches of something like that to help students with the withdrawal effects.”

Hendershot pointed out the reason WCSA was passing resolutions on smoking in the first place is because they deal with student health as a whole, and student smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke falls under that category.

“When I brought (the smoking issue) back up,” he said, “they were like, ‘We don’t know what’s going on with that one.’ It got pushed to the side. There was a resolution passed, but then nothing was done about it.”

One of the pieces of the resolution passed stated students must comply with the state law of being 20 feet away from the door has yet to be added to the student handbook, which is updated every year. The current smoking policy simply states “Smoking is prohibited in all University buildings and areas immediately adjacent to doors and windows. (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3794 – Smoking Ban).” The student handbook was last updated in July 2012.

Since the resolution was made, no signs have been posted about the smoking distance and little education has been offered to students about the upcoming changes.
Wendy Piper, director of Residential Life, said she was unaware if efforts have been made by the university to act upon the resolution.

“From a residential perspective, if concerns are brought to our attention we address them on a case by case basis,” she said. “The most common concern cited are related to the issues of secondhand smoke in proximity to residential locations. Typically Residential Life has worked with Public Safety to address individuals, or with Buildings & Grounds to relocate cigarette receptacles to appropriate locations.”

Goldsberry said an addition of clearing buildings by 20 feet isn’t just an OWU regulation, it a state law.

“You need to be 20 feet away from the building completely, not like outside Bashford…It needs to be across from the cars there, in the grass…It’s an issue of respect and safety.”

In regards to safety, the handbook and state law also prohibits all smoking within buildings. OWU saw the danger of a lit cigarette in dorms just last semester, when the Delaware Fire Department responded to the fraternity Delta Tau Delta due to a fire started by a cigarette. This resulted in the fraternity brothers being removed from their house at 20 Williams for several weeks while fire damage was repaired.

Instances of official complaints made to the university are rare. Both the Coordinator of Student Conduct, Michael Esler, and the Director of Public Safety, Robert Wood, said they found few complaints about secondhand smoke and smoking in unauthorized areas.

“We’ve got so many other things going on, it’s probably not the top of our priority list,” Wood said. “When we do get a complaint, those tend to be around the residence halls…It’s not a common call. I don’t ever recall writing a student up for conduct for that.”

Wood said enforcing smoking rules can be as problematic with employees as it is with students, like a story senior David Winnyk, a smoker, shared about a student who dropped a water balloon on the smoker below her window, only to discover it was an employee.

Esler does not receive reports about smoking directly. Rather, he is the person a student sees once there’s been a complaint filed or the student has been written up.

In the event a student is written up, on the first offense they generally have a sit down with an RLC for a conversation concerning why there are smoking rules and might be asked to view educational material (known as learning based sanction) about health and safety concerning smoking.

OWU, Esler said, prefers educational sanctions as opposed to fining the student. Offenses after that tend to also have a fine attached to them, along with the educational sanction.

“In terms of the number of cases that comes from Student Conduct,” Esler said, supporting Wood’s observation, “there aren’t very many at all.”

Junior Tim O’Keeffe, the current vice president of WCSA, said the resolution written in 2010 only reflected the beliefs of the WCSA administration at that time, and not the current WCSA’s view. He also said in order for this resolution to “officially” pass it would need to pass through faculty votes as well.

“And they (the faculty) have not to my knowledge even considered looking at this position,” he said.

O’Keeffe also said WCSA will not “carry out their (previous WCSA’s) vision of a tobacco free campus, and the student handbook will remain the same.”

Reactions and Compromise

“I just think it’s unfair…most people who smoke definitely do (think that), and even some who don’t,” Winnyk said. “Those who are for it probably don’t smoke.”

Winnyk said he remembered after the resolution was passed, the goal was set so far in the future, most opposed seemed to let the issue go.

“The only people who were active about it at the time were juniors and seniors, and it was so far off, they lost their aggression,” he said. “Now that it’s coming back, everyone is like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s a thing. We should probably do something about it.’”

Winnyk gives campus tours to prospective students and does occasionally get asked about smoking on campus while giving tours. The question often pops up an OWU student is seen smoking.

Winnyk’s father currently has lung cancer from smoking, and Winnyk is aware of the consequences of his habit. But, he tries to be preventative of any health issues that may arise, such as getting chest x-rays regularly.

Winnyk is a little skeptic of the anti-secondhand smoke information put out by STAND and other organizations. He believes their numbers don’t necessarily reflect the EPA studies that have been done.

Winnyk recalled a particular ad of a woman who had an artificial speech aide due to a larygectomy informing her audience in a telltale mechanical voice she never smoked a cigarette in her life.

“They’re just putting it out there, like it’s just some random woman who got cancer from secondhand smoke,” he said. “I don’t think it’s clear whether there’s a present danger…And those people who say, ‘Well, I have asthma and it offends me,’ I’m sure you also have the same problem with perfume because it’s a reflex thing, not actually the smoke: it’s the scent.”

Winnyk said his compromise would be a smoking area on one side of campus. Though he is a smoke walker (he smokes as he walks and rarely sits), he said he would be willing to give it up if it made other students more at ease.

Koiman, who is a nonsmoker, said having to deal with secondhand smoke is a minor thing.

“I hate having to hold my breath whenever I go out the door in Smith, which I always do because there are always to people smoking there: it’s an annoying thing, but you know,” he said.

Koiman offered a compromise, seeing it a term of locations available for smokers as opposed to a whole blanketed side of campus.

He’d offer making all walk ways smoke free as well as entrances. As a result, a smoker would simply need to step into the grass off of the JAY to smoke, not seek a new route altogether.

“I remember…Kyle’s (Herman) response (to the suggestion of smoking areas on campus) was at other schools, they became so filthy the cleaning staff refused so much as go there,” Koiman said. “Which I suppose is a valid point, but I still think something to that effect would be the most reasonable compromise.”

Hendershot pointed out even in the event of a campus ban of smoking, it would only affect the students, not necessarily the faculty and staff as well, which can cause issues.

If it came to a blanket ban on one side of campus such as the academic side, it would be difficult to enforce, and students would end up standing on Sandusky Street between classes in order to smoke.

Winnyk’s comment as he finished his own cigarette seemed to sum up the entire opposition to a smoking ban.

“You will never be able to prohibit people from doing something they find innocent pleasure in,” he said. “…People need these escapes from the world. Which isn’t a problem entirely, but if people need that relief more constantly is where addiction really starts, I think. That needs to be more carefully monitored than just saying, ‘No.’”

By Ellin Youse
A&E Editor

The streets of Mount Vernon, Ohio are lined with run down office buildings. Railings with peeling paint and crumbling brick walls prove the small Midwest town has seen more prosperous industrial times, but “open” signs continue to hang on store doorways.

Mannequins in window displays and the occasional sidewalk sale are some of the few vestiges of surviving businesses that are able to stay afloat mostly because of fruitful early years.

Concealment Unlimited looks like one of these businesses. If it were not for the American flag printed logo splashed across the store’s front window, the little shop would blend into the dismal remains of Mount Vernon business. But one step inside proves it is nothing like its neighbors.

The pale, baby blue walls of Concealment Unlimited are brightly lit from the vintage, crystal chandeliers hanging above showroom floor. A lightening fixture from 1920 hangs next to a sign on a wall that reads, “defend yourself!” and illuminates a large case of pink mace.

Racks upon racks of purses fill the main floor, leaving just enough room for customers to catwalk around as they browse the shop.

Office manager Carrie Swingle softly hums along to “The Phantom of the Opera” soundtrack playing from her computer as she tediously records yesterday’s Amazon sales (all 216 of them) into a Google document.

As owner Nikki Artus emerges from the back supply room, she picks up a bedazzled, turquoise hobo bag and runs her fingers over the dark brown stitching.

“This bag is one of our cheaper options, going for $130,” she said. Not everyone can afford the $300-$400 bags so we try to provide a range of prices for our customers.”
From the extravagant bags to the romantic lighting, the store’s glamorous atmosphere suggests it to be a fine leather bags boutique.

But just as the dismal economic status of the town outside disguises the success within the shop, buttery leather of all shades, crystal embellishments, studs and artistic design mask the true purpose of each bag—every purse in the store is designed with a hidden front pocket for easily accessing a concealed weapon.

“A woman in the store the other day told me she was at the grocery store and when her card was declined, she started pulling everything out of her bag and placing it on the counter trying to find some cash, including her gun,” Artus recalls as she counts the store’s inventory.

Jennifer Walters, a retail account specialist at Concealment, stops unpacking a fresh shipment of black leather bags and laughs.

“Can you imagine being that clerk who told her her card was declined?” she chuckles. “Like, I’m sorry you can’t pay for your milk! Don’t shoot, just take it!”

As Artus emerges from the back room with a large, rust colored tote bag, she says, “This is why it is so important to be able to effectively conceal your protection. See the muff style pocket here?” Artus asks, unzipping the front pocket of a sidesaddle style tote bag.

“That’s where you put your gun. The holster clips in, so even if you accidently unzip the pocket, the gun won’t fall out unless you pull on it. That’s what makes it safe. It’s easy to pull out, but only when you command it too. It’s not just gonna fall out all over the place.”

Artus founded Concealment Unlimited in 2009 after applying for a conceal carry weapons license. After a series of run-ins with attackers, Artus decided it was necessary to learn to protect herself, but she struggled finding a purse to conceal her gun.

She began selling specialty conceal carry bags to friends, family and neighbors from her home, but after the birth of her disabled son she and her husband, Brien, deemed it necessary to open a store.

Looking around at the store’s glamorous arsenal of inventory, it’s hard not to feel like a member of Charlie’s Angels. A thigh holster for wearing under dresses hangs on a hook near the front door; a basket of plastic pink handguns sits on the checkout desk.

Walking to a wall in the back of the store that is completely dedicated to the individual hand gun holsters, Artus picks up a strappy, canvas contraption and lays it over her stomach.

She pulls two of the straps out with her arms to show its length, and then pulls them through and hoists the straps onto her shoulders. Artus calls the canvas bondage a body holster, saying it is intended to conceal a gun under one’s clothing.

“The problem with this damn thing is the canvas material, it’s so scratchy,” Artus said while adjusting the body holster under her bosom.

“Another nice option for a body holster is this bra we carry with the holster built right in between the cleavage, but if you’re like me, you might not like it.”

Artus looks down at herself and runs a hand down her plump figure. She looks up, smiles and laughs. “Frankly, I got enough in my bra as it is.”

After a few minutes of reaching around her torso to tighten and buckle straps here and there, Artus finally gets the body holster just right. She reaches in between her breastplates and pulls up to draw out her invisible firearm.

“See, the problem is having to pull up makes it harder to get your gun out,” Artus said. “It’s comfortable because it goes under your boobs and is held up by your shoulders, but you still have to wear a big shirt so the gun isn’t noticeable.”

The bell above the door politely chimes, and Artus frantically squirms out of the holster as she hears footsteps.

The visitor is John Jones, a promotional products supplier coming to show Artus the rape whistles she ordered to serve as free gifts to customers. As Artus inspects and compliments the whistles, Jones looks around the store.

“Maybe I’ll pick up something for my wife while I’m here,” he says. “She just got her license. I like the idea of her being able to protect the kids when I’m not there.”
Artus puts the whistles down and talks shop with Jones for a while. Jones leaves with a basic, black shoulder bag, and Artus and Swingle begin discussing the rising amount of women applying for conceal carry.

All of the women in Concealment Unlimited have conceal carry licenses, but not all of them acquired them strictly for protection purposes.

Swingle, who says she and her husband enjoy the sport of target shooting, takes a break from typing to point to a fluorescent orange target paper behind her desk.

“This is the target paper from my best shooting session,” she says.

On the paper is the outline of a man, and Swingle points to the bullet marks near where the man’s heart would be.

“See that? Yeah. He’s dead,” she giggles.

While Swingle enjoys the sport aspect of being a gun owner, Artus’s chimes in to say most women, like her, apply for conceal carry licenses initially for safety purposes.

About 10 years ago when Artus lived alone in downtown Columbus, a man broke into her car and then tried to break into her apartment. Then, five to six years after her first attacker, Artus was driving to work when she was involved in a bout of road rage with a man on a motorcycle.

“Someone must have pissed in his Wheaties that morning because he just decided he was gonna mess with me.” Artus said.

She laughs nervously, waving her hands in the air to suggest she has given up understanding the motorcyclist’s motives.

“He kept trying to run me off the road. He followed me into a parking lot and tried to break into my car. I just kept thinking ‘what do I do, what do I do.’ I was defenseless.”

Artus combs her hands through her short, wavy hair. Obviously recalling the accident puts her on edge.

After her road rage incident Artus and her husband immediately applied for their conceal carry licenses. As Artus finishes her story, she looks down and wipes the hair out of her eyes.

Looking up again, Artus says, “but before all of that, of course, was my mother’s murder.”

A man with a gun murdered Artus’s mother, shooting her in the back and head, when Artus was 15-years-old. Artus looks vulnerable for another minute, but shrugs her shoulders and paces around as she begins to shelf several bags with rhinestones.

Artus’s run-ins with attackers and the tragic loss of her mother explain why she advocates for gun rights, while firmly supporting legislation requiring mental health screenings when purchasing firearms.

“The guy that killed my mom was arguably insane and the people you hear about in the atrocities in the news are, without question, mentally deranged. Sane people normally don’t do that.”

Artus stops shelving bags and looks out the store’s front window.

“I do think the government needs to do more for the mental health system in general. There’s no treatment for these people, and they can still get guns. Something’s gotta change there.”

By Sophie Crispin
Transcript Reporter

Walking into Delaware’s Black Wing Shooting Center is not like walking into a shooting range. It is not a lobby-style entryway leading to rows upon rows of firing lanes.

It is also not like a firearms section of a discount superstore, tucked away in the back corner under flickering fluorescent lights, next to the mop closet. Black Wing is a one-stop shop for any type of gun, accessory, training session, or extracurricular activity a firearms consumer could want – a microcosm of the American gun industry.

Three inches of snow at 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday finds Black Wing with a full parking lot and a buzzing interior. The casually milling patrons and attentive salespeople give it a department store feel, as if a 9 mm firearm could be purchased as nonchalantly as a sale rack sweater from last fall’s line. Searching for an unoccupied employee leads to Todd Hicks, a middle aged ex-paratrooper with a deep, calm voice. While he describes his five-year career as a Contract Instructor with Black Wing as his “fun job,” he also works as a turf grass pathologist.

After quickly explaining that he studies diseases in grass, he launches into a much more heartfelt description of Black Wing.

“First off, Black Wing’s a really different firearm store. It’s a five-star rated NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) facility.”

They boast indoor shooting with both pistols and rifles, as well as outdoor aspects: trap, skeet and sporting clays.

“Those are all different ways to throw these clays and shoot them with shotguns,” Todd expands. “With all these aspects we can do things like summer camps for kids, so it’s a whole family thing with all the aspects you can just about get with gun shooting.”

Todd relays information casually, reflecting his lifetime of experience with learning about and using guns. Complicated details of size and category are smoothed over with as much practical ease as teaching a teenager to do their own laundry might require.

“I grew up in (a) small town in Ohio,” Todd reflects, slowly warming up to the idea of being interviewed. “I’ve been shooting ever since I could. We used to hunt raccoons and sell their pelts for Christmas money … America grew up on gun culture; for me owning a gun was a right of passage.”

Growing comfortable, his speech gets more animated, and his tired features become more expressive. It’s clear why Todd’s teaching services are in such high demand as he explains that the only way to really teach someone how to use a gun is to make the material your own. Todd has a lifelong relationship with guns.

While teaching someone to use a gun doesn’t require a license, there is a training and testing process for those who want to be NRA concealed carry certified instructors. Todd teaches both concealed carry and basic courses, and speaks fondly of organized training courses and skill building competitions. “With my (turf pathologist) job at OSU, I work with a lot of international folks … and people are blown away by how fun it is, how diverse it is, and they can’t figure out how (they) can go and just do this, we don’t have to fill out paper work. They’re blown away that we have this much freedom.”

With the first Second Amendment freedom reference tallied, we’re approached by a long-term member of Black Wing, an interruption Todd accepts politely, insisting that we stop the interview and resume after talking to the newcomer.

“Robin (Salvo, Director of Operations) sent me over,” interjects Don Warsham, who first began his membership eight years ago. His bravado and southern Ohio twang match his slightly aggressive approach to our conversation.

“I’d love to help tell the good stories about firearms, as long as you’re not gonna try to film me,” and with that Don had decided exactly where this was going to go. Another lifelong gun owner, he prefers self-defense training to hunting, and has competed in shooting obstacle course competitions for years, such as those run by the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). The IDPA’s courses are designed to simulate a real-life situation, wherein the gun owner has to defend themselves from an assailant.

“These are multi-target courses that get your adrenaline going,” Don explains. “It’s a way to safely and accurately prepare yourself for a real life safety situation.”

While he now takes courses that are easier on his joints, Don continues his firearms education so that he can teach his five grandchildren how to properly use weapons, some thing he encourages for every gun owner.

“I don’t think training should be mandatory, but it should be heavily encouraged; you never know who you’ll run into,” he warns.

And while the interest areas for each member vary, Don represents the majority of Black Wing patrons: knowledgeable about guns, sporting options, and training programs, but determined to also discuss gun control. Don is opposed to restrictions on America’s ability to acquire guns legally, and stresses the importance of being able to defend yourself at any moment against a potential assailant.

The safety argument is a powerful one for many Black Wing patrons, especially women. As the conversation shifts back to Todd, he explains how commonly this concern leads first-time gun owners to Black Wing.

“People can be against owning guns or against concealed carrying, but then if they find themselves alone without a gun or without training in a dangerous situation, suddenly the ‘gun people’ aren’t so crazy.”

Not so crazy indeed, as loitering around the aisles of carrying cases, holsters, sweatshirts, and various other outdoor sports equipment items showed.

The conversations among customers were as mundane as at any other store: Black or camouflage? Is a bag that holds three guns at once really necessary? Do you think this Beretta long sleeve shirt will fit your dad?

Todd, who had become my guide through the Black Wing jungle, then began pointing out the “more interesting” items for sale, but with intrigue came education. “Did you know that these are legal?” Todd asked, pointing to a case of gun silencers as he began a brief but technical lesson in the legal side of gun control. Owning a silencer will initially cost around $700, with an additional $200 tax stamp, and having the extra money for such an accessory doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get one. Customers then have to apply for ownership through the federal government, a process that can take six months to a year. And if a Delaware County resident is awarded the right to buy a silencer, they then have to register it through the Sheriff’s Department.

Owning a short-barreled rifle has similar restrictions and taxes, but with a price tag closer to $2,000.

“It’s sort of like a Ferrari,” Todd explained, “if you can afford it, go ahead, but most drivers will never get one.”

Even having the option to own weapons like these has come into question by many Americans, and Todd offered a more practical reason in addition to it being a collector’s item.
“Let’s say we’re a couple,” he began. “The gun fits me when it’s adjusted this way.” He then readjusted the butt of the gun, making it about an inch shorter, “now it fits you and you can protect yourself.” Then he adjusted the gun to it’s third and shortest setting, “like this, our child can use the same firearm and protect themselves, too.”

Buying most guns doesn’t come with the same set of restrictions, and the experience at Black Wing is tailored to the customer.

Questions about caliber, size, skill level and intended use help the Black Wing staff narrow a patron’s options, and if they’re still not sure, they can rent the guns they’re most interested in and practice shooting them in one of Black Wing’s ranges.

Deciding is most of the battle because after a gun is chosen, the purchasing process concludes with a simple form and driver’s license submission to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for a U.S. government background check. If the customer passes the background check, they may purchase and take home their gun that day.

The question of choosing the right firearm is directed to Keith McDaniel, Indoor Range Supervisor and Instructor. Put simply, Keith “helps fit the gun to the person.” Soft spoken and unassuming, Keith can barely be heard over the constant popping of guns being fired in the indoor ranges behind him. Clipboards with customer ID cards and paper work line the wall to his left, documenting everyone currently practicing or testing guns in the ranges. “The people I work closely with most commonly are first time buyers or learners, especially women and children, and they’re the best to work with because they don’t come in with as many bad habits,” Keith explains.

Waiting for your turn in the range, with or without Keith, leaves you alongside a table of various purchases: ear and eye protection, which can also be rented, and an extensive selection of targets. They range from a basic black bull’s eye, to a silhouetted man, to a macabre illustration of a half skeletal man dressed and groomed to look like a traditional Middle Eastern Muslim. After making your selections, going into the range is fairly straightforward. Present your ID, pay for rentals or purchases and follow all safety precautions as they’re thoroughly explained.

The ranges are randomly inspected for safety, but all of Black Wing’s facility is meticulously maintained. From the gun counters, to the accessory sales floor, to the ranges and the “squadroom café,” every inch of the center is well presented.

Walls of taxidermied animals (mountain lions, billy goats, moose, deer, etc.) are evenly spaced, and in some cases artfully posed. The café, however, is the most well decorated section. A stone fireplace adorned with two miniature American flags and a rustic old rifle is the focal point of the room. Next to it sits a plasma screen television, from which Fox News assesses Hillary Clinton’s successes and failures in office for the patrons relaxing at wooden tables throughout the room.

While in the café Robin offers insight into the ins and outs of the business.

“If it’s not retail, it’s mine,” Robin jokes as she explains what exactly she oversees at Black Wing. Beyond sales and shooting range access, the facility offers group courses and events like date nights for members. “We’ve had a few bachelorette parties,” said Robin.

The emphasis on events for members speaks to the community aspect of Black Wing.

“Can you buy ammunition cheaper at Wal-Mart?” Todd asks rhetorically. “Sure. But they don’t care about you there. We offer a tailored experience, and our members come here because they want to support a business that cares about guns and gun owners, not just making a profit.”

Robin echoes this sentiment, and describes the success of the events she organizes that are tailored to women. The increase of female customers at Black Wing has been substantial.

“Our normal class size is 18, and before we would only see two or three women in those classes, now we see that its almost 55,” she says.

These women tend to be more interested in taking self-defense classes, and the influx caused Robin to begin her “Women on Target” course, which offers both indoor and outdoor training.

A former Marine, Robin has been raised around guns, and is an avid hunter with both guns and crossbows. She and one other Black Wing employee are two of approximately three combat-focused shooting certified instructors in Ohio, and her subdued temperament belies a wealth of information and insight she has.

“I don’t consider my time in the Marines to be part of my firearms training because I wasn’t on active duty, and you have a specific job,” she said. “You don’t fire everyday if you don’t need to.”

Her emphasis on hands-on training translates to the programs she organizes.

Classes at Black Wing include programs specifically for women, as well as summer training programs for kids. The market among gun consumers in the area exists for these classes, and for many, Black Wing is the ideal location. It has normalized gun culture in a sensationalized political climate, and their clientele responds positively with membership subscriptions and loyal patronage. Black Wing Shooting Center creates a community out of gun culture.

By Rachel Vinciguerra
Transcript Correspondent

Tucked away in Edgar Hall, on the edge of campus, few students outside of the fine arts department have even heard about the student employment opportunities for nude figure models, one of the highest-paying jobs on campus.

Figure modeling gives students self-confidence when classmates depict of their human forms.

There are usually three models for the figure drawing classes employed through the art department, according to Frank Hobbs, associate professor of fine arts. Traditionally they take three-hour shifts posing for classes on weeknights. A position becomes available when a current figure model graduates or steps down.

Hobbs said the requirements for modeling are minimal, but a talented model can bring a new level to the figure drawing class.

“The entry level qualification for modeling is simply the ability to sit without moving for a long period of time, and to mentally deal with the tedium of doing nothing for long periods of time,” he said. “But a really great model is so much more than just a body to draw. They can be truly inspiring.”

Sophomore Katie Butt took the job a few weeks ago and has posed three times this semester.

She said she heard about the opportunity through her roommate, an art major. She is the third figure model hired for the semester.

Butt said she has always been comfortable with her own body and that was never an issue when she took the job. She said there is a deliberate reason there are always three figure models at a time.

“They want different models who pose differently and have different body types so the artists have different things to draw,” she said.

Butt said she has found the experience empowering and makes her feel good to be able to take on this job.

“There’s a big difference being comfortable in your own body and being able to share that image with so many people,” she said.

Butt said when she tells people about her new job, most people agree that it’s empowering, but a few will reply with snarky or sexual comments.

She said she thinks if more people on campus knew about the position it would be more accepted—it is more work than many students might think.

“Being that still for that long is hard on muscles,” Butt said.

Hobbs said winter temperatures can also be a challenge for the models but he doesn’t think that takes away from the empowering experience most students have.

Junior Katasha Ross agreed. Ross has been a figure model for almost a year and took the figure drawing class before she became a model. She said she always wondered if she could be brave enough for nude modeling.

Like Butt, Ross heard about the position in the spring of 2012 from a friend and current model. She said she was nervous and excited for her first modeling experience.

“No one had ever seen me naked before,” she said. “I already had pretty good self confidence, though, and after posing for the first class I wasn’t nervous anymore.”
Ross said when she is at work as the model, she is “objectified in a good way.”

“There’s always a wall,” she said. “I’m the model and I’m on the podium. It makes it a safe environment.”

Ross said the honest environment also makes her vulnerable. Out of common courtesy to the models and to the students in the class, she said there are some rules.

“Because you’re exposed and vulnerable there are unspoken rules, like don’t touch the models or don’t take pictures,” she said.

Ross said the concern is that pictures could be spread and that is not art and opens up the discussion of naked or nude.

“It’s the process that makes figure drawing art, not photography,” she said.

Senior Danielle Muzina said she has taken three levels of figure drawing over her four years at OWU because she loves the human body and wanted to study how it works through drawing.

“I love to work from life because it offers a dynamic viewpoint as opposed to photography,” she said.

Senior Andrew Wilson is a fine arts major with a metals concentration. He said he has never taken figure drawing and dislikes it as an art form—he prefers a camera, clay or paint.

But like Ross and Butt, he heard about the position from a friend and inquired because he has always been comfortable in his own body as a swimmer. He began figure modeling his sophomore year and is still modeling as a senior.

Wilson said the students in the class aren’t looking at the models sexually; they are looking at them as human forms.

“I just kept thinking, ‘What can they do—look at you?’” he said. “They’re looking at movement in space and light in space. They’re not looking at you as a sexualized object.”
Muzina said figure drawing is “a search for the most truthful way” to examine and portray the human body.

“Viewing nude models is a deliberate exploration of the shapes, lines and tones that make up the human form,” she said.

Ross said an artistic eye is empowering for her body image at times.

“If I gain weight, for example, when I worry about five or ten pounds it doesn’t matter to anyone else,” she said. “I can look at their drawings and be impressed that someone sees me that way when I might feel a little bloated that day.”

Wilson said he’s had an empowering experience like Butt and Ross—although everyone has issues with their bodies figure drawing erases some of those concerns for him.
“With figure drawing it doesn’t matter,” he said. “They still need to get the human form. It’s not about idealization; it’s about honest forms and shapes.”

As a male figure model, Wilson said he comes up against issues of masculinity and gender when figure modeling. Because “male genitalia functions differently,” there are different necessities that go along with it.

Senior Alyssa Ferrando did not know there were nude figure models employed at OWU, but she does not have a problem with it.

“As long as the figure model and the artists are both comfortable with it and it’s professional,” she said. “I think drawing and painting people is different from other objects so it allows them to develop those skills as an artist.”

Wilson said professionalism is critical for his job.

He said the models are there as objects to be drawn, but are also allowing themselves to be vulnerable, and the students and the professor are very aware of that.

Ross said the class and her professors maintained their professionalism, even when a stinkbug landed on her stomach.

“I made panicked eye contact with the professor’s wife and one student asked the professor and very carefully reached over and flicked the bug off…very careful not to touch me,” she said.

All the current models said they were comfortable in their own skin before they began modeling.

Senior Kathleen Dalton isn’t currently modeling because of scheduling conflicts with classes, but she said she’s found the experience liberating. Dalton said she feels comfortable with her body because she is a dancer.

“As someone who’s very involved in dance and the human body it wasn’t entirely foreign to me,” she said.

Hobbs said dancers often have an easier time adjusting to the position.

“Dancers usually make great models because they’re used to thinking about the body as an expressive vehicle,” he said.

“For anyone who is new to fine art modeling, it can be a real learning experience about the body.”

Freshman Daisy Glaeser said she thinks figure modeling is an empowering experience, but she can see where others might think differently.

“I think students have one of two main perceptions: either they judge the models for being easily unashamed of their bodies, or they think they are commendable for having the strength to be looked at naked for an extended period of time,” she said.

Hobbs said he imagines that some students might “raise an eyebrow” when they hear that other students are being paid to model nude.

“We have long-standing societal ‘norms’ about nudity and modesty which modeling seems to violate, so there’s a possibility that a student who disrobes for an art class might be misunderstood by her peers; but college students are all about testing norms and inherited dogmas, and for the most part I think everyone is pretty understanding of the purposes of it,” he said.

Hobbs said he thinks that having nude models, aside from their obvious necessity in an art department, allows students to tackle some of their preconceptions about nudity.
“We’re culturally programmed from childhood to equate nudity with sexual exploitation, and a drawing class may be the first time we’re forced to question that assumption and see that there’s more to the story,” he said.

Muzina said she has been friends with all the models for her classes and it doesn’t make her look at them any differently.

“If anything, it just makes all parties more comfortable with themselves and their bodies,” she said.

Junior Amy Lefevre, one of Ross’s close friends, said she was happy when she heard Ross was taking the job, and that it has only made her think more highly of her.
“I got a text that said, ‘I finally found a job on campus, want to draw me naked this weekend?’” Lefevre said. “I was impressed. I thought it fit her personality and it takes a lot of courage to do something like that.”

Ross said she has loved her time as a figure model.

“I’m naked and it’s a pretty honest environment, but I love doing it and its been empowering in so many ways,” she said.

By Brian Cook
Transcript Correspondent

Students are awaiting, with mixed reactions, the grand opening of Delaware’s newest hot dog store, The Delaware Dog. The shop will be on North Sandusky Street across from the Delaware Gazette Building.

Last week, owner Roger Ailabouni said the restaurant is about “four to five weeks out” from opening, and is still looking for a few more workers to hire before then.
The store’s specialty will be “gourmet hot dogs,” Ailabouni said, but will be about more than that.

Ailabouni said there will also be several appetizers and 19 tap beers from which to choose.

Junior Peter Reveles said having beer on tap could be an appealing idea, but would only go to the store for beer under certain circumstances.

“[It] depends on the atmosphere they create,” he said. “If it’s a German pub style sausage/hot dog place with beer, yes. A cold non-themed store, no.”

Ailabouni said he currently plans on the store being open every day from 11 a.m. – 2 a.m.

Senior Chris Brooks said he is not a huge fan of hot dogs, but could see himself going with his friends if they wanted to go.

“I’m not much of a hot dog eater, so it does not appeal to me too much,” he said. “The only time that it might appeal to me is late on a weekend.”

Reveles said he felt similarly, saying he would only go to the store “if they have vegetarian options”.

Ailabouni also said there will be six big-screen TVs in the restaurant where he plans on showing many major sporting events.

Sophomore Phillippe Chauveau said he probably would not take advantage of the big screen TVs, but could definitely see the idea being successful.

Ailabouni said the idea was in part to attract the younger demographics.

“We’re really looking forward to having the students come,” he said.

Chauveau said he could see the hot dog store competing with other local eateries like Hamburger Inn as a primary late-night eating option.

“OWU students are always looking for more dining options around town, especially for a late night meal,” he said. “I would say that he can expect to see at least a couple of students late at night to try it out.”

By Caleb Dorfman
Transcript Correspondent

Anchor Splash, Delta Gamma’s (DG) annual philanthropy event, raised at least $2,026 for their charity, Service for Sight, this past Saturday.

Most fraternities and sororities on campus participated in the swim-meet event to raise money by competing in six different swimming competitions.

The events included the 100-yard medley relay and the synchronized swimming competition, among others.

The overall winners were Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority.

To get in to the event, students had the option of either paying $3 or donating two canned goods to Service for Sight, an organization whose stated purpose is to stop blindness before it starts.

Anchor Splash is hosted by more than 100 DG chapters across the country, according to the sorority’s website.

The event had a week of smaller competitions leading up to Saturday’s swim meet, including a banner-making competition and a singing competition, said junior Maddy Mavec, Delta Gamma president.

Delta Gamma raised $226 in the Money Run, in which different fraternities and sororities go around to collect donations from spectators.

Phi Delta Theta fraternity (Phi Delt) came in first place for their synchronized dance and swimming routine.

Their dance routine was based on the recent viral “Harlem Shake” videos and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” substituting the lyric “Alabama” with “Delta Gamma.”

Freshman Quang Viet Nguyen performed in Phi Delt’s synchronized dance routine.

“The idea for the routine was Marshall’s (Morris), though he didn’t participate in the actual routine,” Nguyen said. “I think he was very smart to take advantage of the Harlem Shake trend.”

Phi Delt came in second place in the overall competition. Nguyen said even though Phi Delt didn’t win, the competition “took (their) friendship to the next level.”

Sophomore Brandy Booth, a spectator at the event, said their routine was “unique and different, which ended up serving them well.”

Booth said most routines involved the DG salute; others shaped themselves into an anchor, the sorority’s official symbol.

According to Mavec, other events included the Whale Race, in which swimmers pull a DG member as she rides on an inflatable whale across the pool, and the Corkscrew Relay.