Pasta for Life

Hungry members of the OWU Greek community gathered in Ham-Will April 2 to eat pasta for a cause.

Delta Delta Delta sorority’s annual fundraiser, Pasta for Life, raised over $1,300 for donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, according to sophomore Philanthropy Chair Marilyn Baer.

She said the food was provided by Chartwell’s, and money was raised by entrance fees and various raffles at the event.

“All raffle items were donated by either sorority members or local businesses,” Baer said.

Junior Mary Shinnick, president of Tri Delt, said all participants needed to do to support the cause was “come hungry,” although there was much more then just pasta available to supporters. She said the event lasted two hours, but people were free to come and go as they pleased.

“There was entertainment by DJ Marsh Madness, as well as raffle prizes up for grabs,” she said. “We also held a St. Jude Fast Facts competition. The organization with the most St. Jude facts won a pizza party.”

Tri Delt members like senior Emily Olmstead and sophomore Alecia Mitchell said it was their job to decorate and help set up before the event, and then to “mingle with guests” and “answer (any) questions people had about St. Jude” once the event started.

Olmstead said she enjoyed the conversations she had about St. Jude.

“I think (Pasta for Life) is a good event for people on campus to come together for a good cause,” she said. “It’s important that people know about the hospital and all it does for its patients.”

Although there was a lower turnout than usual this year, Olmstead said, the amount of money raised was above average.

Olmstead and Mitchell said they thought advertising and promotion of the event was an area that could be improved for next year.

“We could have done a better job in getting the word out to the OWU community about Pasta for Life,” Mitchell said. “None of my professors knew about the event. Next year we will make sure that more people including staff, students, and local alumni will be invited.”

Freshman John Florence was among those students invited, and said he and some Phi Delt brothers skipped dinner that night to go to Pasta for Life.

He said the fundraiser exceeded his expectations, and he said his favorite part was spotting Rock Jones at the table beside him.

“From DJ Marsh Madness to the raffle that was held, every part of the event was really well organized,” Florence said. “The Tri Delts deserve a lot of credit.”

Chemistry Professor Dan Vogt said he and Humanities-Classics Professor Lee Fratantuono attended Pasta for Life to support the Tri Delt women as their academic advisers. He said the pair frequently attends Tri Delt and Pan-Hellenic events.

“(The fundraiser) is for a great cause – raising money to support the kids at St. Jude Hospital,” Vogt said. “As the father of a daughter with a chronic illness, I find that especially rewarding. Having the opportunity to do that as part of Tri Delt’s philanthropy is a bonus.”

Shinnick deemed the event a success, despite “a few bumps in the road,” and credited Baer for the favorable outcome.

“(Pasta for Life) went so smoothly,” she said. “Our philanthropy chair did an excellent job with planning and executing the event.”

Conference inspires activism among feminists

Twenty OWU students joined college-aged activists from all over the country to learn about issues spanning from reproductive justice to campus activism to communities of color, at the National Young Feminist Leadership Conference March 31 through April 2 in Washington D.C.

Junior Kamila Goldin and sophomore Kate Johnson led the conference. For Goldin, leading the conference was a house project through the House of Peace and Justice. Johnson took on the leadership role because she is an intern at the Women’s Resource Center.

“I receive email updates from the Feminist Majority Foundation and I heard about the conference through them,” Johnson said. “I thought it would be a good opportunity to branch out because we had never sent students to this conference before.”

The students from Ohio Wesleyan went with different backgrounds while each of them returned to campus with new and different perspectives.

Senior Charley Donnelly was one of the attendees.

“First and foremost, I am a progressive humanist, and feminism is definitely a part of that,” Donnelly said. “The conference definitely cemented a lot of my beliefs.”

One of Johnson’s goals in planning the conference was to teach students how they can be activists in their communities.

“I want students to make a bigger push for activism, rather than just awareness-raising,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of awareness projects on campus, but activism has more of a lasting impact.”

The conference stressed that being an informed voter, and organizing for others to vote, is an important part of campus activism.

Junior Andrea Kraus agreed with the conference’s emphasis on the importance of voting.

“I really am looking at the upcoming presidential election as a form of activism,” said Kraus. “I want OWU to vote this year; I talked with the President of Rock the Vote at the conference, and she gave me some good insights about small liberal arts campuses.”

Donnelly returned with several ideas about campus improvement as well.

“I would like for condoms on campus to be more widely distributed, and for Plan B (emergency birth control) to be better subsidized,” Donnelly said.

Johnson said the conference had been a success and she too has hopes for more political action at OWU.

“I know that coming from a liberal campus it can be harder to be involved, especially now because it’s a republican primary, but it’s important for students to be aware of politicians’ stances on issues that they care about,” Johnson said.

Summer internships: an unneccessary but useful aid

This editorial is written in response to last week’s opinion piece, “Summer internships: a necessary evil”.

Simply rebuttling last issue’s article would be impossible. Contrary to what some may argue, there is no such thing as an incorrect opinion.

However, I feel obligated to expose some of the factual errors and stereotypes which slipped into the piece.
Internships are neither evil nor necessary. Certainly, the importance of experience has increased since the recession.

So far as I have seen, employers do not take a second glance at bare resumes. I have personally seen a pile of shredded resumes fill a recycling bin.

And while the article is correct that connections play a role in the application process, networking is nowhere near the most important factor in hiring decisions.

To say that this often is an overriding factor is a fallacy. When it comes to job applications, achieved merit is- thankfully- much more important than ‘knowing the right people’.

In addition to this, internships are not necessary for all students. Some employers in the sciences may accept a students with little experience, as in some fields internships are sparse and competitive.

However, some areas require prior experience of their applicants. Students seeking work in the social sciences or finance may feel the pressure of the hunt.

I can say from experience that seeking internships can be immensely stressful and frustrating. Last summer, I sent in over 20 internship applications. Every rejection message and empty-inquiry left me feeling less hopeful about a summer internship.

Luckily, I managed to snag a paid internship, somewhat of a chimera these days.

And in the 10 weeks I worked there, never once did my employers ask me to fetch coffee or spend hours by a copy machine. Instead, I prepared Keynote presentations, spearheaded my own projects, and created a resource file for future interns at my boss’ behest.

My experience may seem like an anomaly to some. It seems many people believe internships are a diluted form of slave labor, that interns must complete menial tasks without pay.

Is this why people think internships are evil? Do students base their perceptions of internships on these stereotypes?

I hope this article reaches some of the many worried, inexperienced students on this campus. I hope that they do not think internships are evil, or that they are necessary for success.

Olmstead’s trilogy completed: Historic wars through the eyes of young boy soldiers

Robert Olmstead’s war trilogy is now complete. The first book, “Coal Black Horse” was published in 2007, followed by “Far Bright Star” in 2009. The third book, “The Coldest Night,” was just released on April 3.

Reading the cycle in its entirety is a gripping and moving experience. The novels continue to haunt you long after you are done with them. The aftershocks keep coming.

What makes the cycle a trilogy? The novels follow the members of one West Virginia family as they fight in love and in war.

Robey Childs, a boy of 14, lives during the American Civil War (1861-65) and witnesses the slaughter of the Battle of Gettysburg (1863) first-hand.

Napoleon Childs, his son, is part of the Pancho Villa Expedition into Mexico under General John J. Pershing (1916-17), where he is captured and brutally tortured. And great-grandson Henry Childs fights in the Korean War (1950-53), another “forgotten war” that claimed countless American lives.

The three books have numerous overarching themes in common as well. For example, the pervasive love and reverence for horses, whose innate sense and intelligence in the book is often superior to that of humans, is evident in all three books.

Another thematic motif is the presence of the supernatural, manifested in dreams and visions.
I have no doubt that, in due time, students will be writing term papers on Olmstead’s magic realism, epistemology, cosmology, archetypes, cinematic techniques and his gripping depictions of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

In addition, the novels’ internal structures are identical.

Part one of each book covers the departure and trip to the battlefield, part two takes the reader into the heart of the darkness and the belly of the beast and part three deals with the exit and the aftermath.
In the center of book two, and thus in the center of the trilogy as a whole, is death – the almost unspeakable and surely unfathomable death of Preston, a rich and spoiled, reckless and useless gambler and braggart who “wanted to experience life to the very edge.”

It is Preston’s transgressions that trigger the disastrous events in the second book, and he pays for it through horrific torment and torture and ultimately, with his life.

The three wars were meticulously researched by the author, and his depictions seem historically accurate.

However, the military conflicts form merely the backdrop.

The life-and-death battles occurring in the books transcend time and space and reach into the deepest and most elemental depths of humankind.

Love and war are timeless and universal. It is not a coincidence that Olmstead chose many of his mottos from ancient texts such as Homer and the Bible.

It is there, at the dawn of western civilization, where the roots of our existence and essence lie. Everything that follows is merely the reenactment of battles fought millennia ago.

It would be an interesting topic to explore if Olmstead’s novels are meant to celebrate or to condemn war, but it would be the wrong question to ask.

War simply is, always has been, and always will be, whether we like it or not.

Some readers may disagree with the subjective sentiment that wars are natural phenomena on par with volcanic eruptions or earthquakes and that we have little control over them.

For one thing, there are objective political and financial interests behind war, and there exist other, less destructive and more constructive outlets for the primeval bloodlust that is in all of us, even and especially in the little boys who set cats afire.

War may indeed be the father of all things, as Heraclitus says, but the Heraclitean word “polemos” can be translated in non-militant ways as well (“strife,” “confrontation,” or “competition”).

But it is certainly true that Olmstead’s characters perceive war as an overpowering mystery against which human resistance is futile.

Olmstead’s characters are defined by their war experiences, but don’t seem to care for the ideological reasons of the wars they fight in: for who or what is right or wrong.

These are considerations that barely make it to the surface in the three novels. What matters more is the existential struggle the soldiers are witnessing or experiencing first-hand and that will define them forever.

His characters are catapulted out of their ordinary existence and enter a different realm and state of being altogether where they are confronted with nothingness and meaninglessness, godlessness and inhumaneness through their experiences of war.

Their manhood is sorely tested, and lesser men perish because they cannot bear the horror.

Preston, the fool, does not last because he never learned a single lesson in life and never found the truth. But Robey, Napoleon, and Henry Childs endure and survive the ordeal, emerging as strong, mature leaders.

At his public reading on April 3 at the local Beehive Books on 25 S. Sandusky Street, Olmstead rejected the word “writer,” claiming the word “author” for himself instead. It is an interesting choice of words.

An author, as opposed to a mere writer, carries the weight of the world on his (or her) shoulders. An author has an authority and a responsibility that a writer does not know.

An author can be – must be – an authoritative and conscientious guide and cicerone, as surefooted as the Black Coal Horse, the Rattler, and Gaylen, the cinnamon bay.

It would be easy to get lost in the abyss of the underworld forever, but Olmstead not only takes his readers into the most crepuscular and evil places of humankind, a brave and courageous tour de force indeed, but he also manages to take us back to the surface and into the sunlight so that we may live on with renewed understanding and hope while recognizing our frailty and fallibility.

Olmstead’s books are insightful and gripping, forcing his reader to face many an inconvenient truth.
There is terror in these pages, but also much beauty. Sometimes, the two are inseparable.

The books are not for the faint-hearted, but reading them would be a rewarding and worthwhile experience that just might change your views and perhaps your life forever.

Isn’t this what good literature is all about?

3D technology gives classic tearjerker a new edge

James Cameron’s first mega blockbuster hit “Titanic,” which tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers fighting class biases and the infamous sinking of the title ship, was recently re-released in 3D in theaters for a limited time.

While some may argue the re-release is just a bid for more money, especially considering the extra cost of 3D, the experience is worth it.

Some 3D movies are a mess of flashy in-your-face special effects that induce headaches instead of awe (see the 2010 remake of “Clash of the Titans”). But other movies use 3D technology to the best of its ability, adding depth and immediacy to the film.

Before delving into the specifics, a disclaimer: as “Titanic” has been out for 15 years, no details of the movie will be spared in fear of spoiling the ending.

“Titanic: 3D” is one of those films that does use 3D technology in its best form, adding real depth to scene after scene. The bow of the ship cuts through the Atlantic and into the theater. Jack and Rose walk through the screen and into the viewer’s immediate area, and in the famous scene of an older Rose dropping the sought-after “Heart of the Ocean” necklace into the water, it sinks directly into the audience’s eyes.

The scenes depicting the events of the capsizing of the great ship induce an increased heart rate as the water seems to literally rush into the eyes of the audience.

The back end of the ship, sticking in the air as passengers fall to their deaths, is full of depth.

When the ship itself splits in two, one smokestack crushes a minor character (Fabrizio), and the water and sparks seem to fly into the theater.

There are scenes of beauty that are enhanced by the 3D, as well.

As Jack and Rose run through the boiler room, Rose’s purple dress flows behind her in a cloud of smoke—a scene already wonderfully shot is made even more so through the added dimensions.

Overall, the addition of 3D brings characters into focus in a very real plane of existence, creating a more dynamic space in which they play out their story, and it also brings the audience further into the experience.

Also, the three and half hour film does go by a lot faster than it may have otherwise because of the way the 3D brings the audience into the action.

The most unfortunate part of the film has nothing to do with the 3D action; it has to do with the fact that it’s most remembered for the romance between poor, essentially homeless free-spirited Jack and rich, high society Rose.

While the Titanic doesn’t actually hit the iceberg that would be its downfall until two and half hours into the story, the horrific events of that night aren’t focused on as much as the ill-fated love between the two protagonists.

As the older Rose states at the end of her tale, 1500 people died in the water that night, as twenty lifeboats floated nearby with plenty of room.

Most of the people in the water were part of the lower class, while those in the boats had the benefit of having money and immediate access to the lifeboats.

“Titanic” is not only a love story, it’s a tragedy; not only does Jack die, leaving Rose to live a life without him, but over a thousand innocent people—children included—lost their lives when they didn’t have to, but did because of greed for money, fame and a big splash when the ship docked in New York.

This fact may have been lost in the 15 years since the film’s initial release, but the big screen, with the added help of 3D technology, brings the depressing reality of April 15, 1912, into sharp focus.

It must be said that seeing Titanic on the big screen itself probably brings a lot to the experience as well.

The massive ship is most likely impressive stretched across a 60-foot screen whether it’s in 3D or not.

The 2D version is in theaters as well, and it will no doubt be an improvement over the two-tape VHS version most people own and watch on their TV screens at home.

But if it’s in theaters in 3D, why forgo the extra dimension when it’s there and adds so much to the existing movie?

Track team wins, breaks school and personal records at invitational

School records were set and a win was gained for the Bishops at the Marv Frye Women’s Invitational meet Saturday at Selby Stadium and the George Gauthier Track.

The Invitational meet honors Marv Frye, the loyal and active member of the Ohio track and field community, who coached the OWU men’s track and field team from 1961-1997, as well as women’s track and field and cross country during his years at OWU.

Photo by Sara Blake Sophomore Cara DeAngelis (above) set a new Ohio Wesleyan record for the 1500-meter run at 4:34:24 on Saturday at Selby Stadium. She was also recently named Athlete of the Week.

The Bishops finished the meet with 154 5/6 points. Sophomore Cara DeAngelis won and set the school record for the 1500-meter run in 4:34:24, breaking the OWU mark she set last year of 4:37:12. Sophomore Sarah Betchel won the pole vault, beating last year’s school record of 11-7Ÿ and setting a new record of 12-1Âœ.

In addition, freshman Mariah Powell said the Bishops beat a lot of their own individual records.

“As a whole, we had a really good meet,” she said. “On the girls’ side alone we had about 40 seasonal bests in one meet.”

Sophomore Antoinette Joliff said she was amazed, but not surprised, when over half the team raised their hands after the coach asked how many team members achieved personal records.

“I had personal records in both pole vault with a height of 10’8” and in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:06:44, the 4×400 relay had a awesome time of 4:02 as well. Everyone works their tails off to be better and it is showing,” she said.

Case Reserve finished in second with 123 5/6 points, Baldwin-Wallace in third with 119 points, followed by Heidelberg with 75 points, Muskingum with 53 1/3, Capital with 53, Albion with 45, Kenyon with 42, Denison with 30, Bluffton with 19 and Ohio Northern with 3.

Other event winners for the Bishops included Jolliff, winning the 400-meter hurdles and tying in second in the pole vault, and freshman Alex Tavenier, who won the 3000-meter steeplechase in 12:24:99.

Junior Hannah Benzing said the season is just beginning, despite the fact that the conference meet is only a month away.

“Everyone is working hard and pushing through all the way to the end,” she said. “The results we’ve been seeing every week only proves how dedicated we are as a team and how hard we work to be the best athletes we can be.”

Jolliff also said she has high hopes for the rest of the season.

“I am looking forward to the rest of the season, as the competition gets more difficult and know the hard work that the entire team is doing will pay off in the end,” she said. “I couldn’t have picked a better group of friends and coaches to share a victory with.”

Photo by Sara Blake Sophomore Cara DeAngelis (above) set a new Ohio Wesleyan record for the 1500-meter run at 4:34:24 on Saturday at Selby Stadium. She was also recently named Athlete of the Week.

Restoring Stuyvesant Hall: An inside look at new features

With housing selection events in process, the specifics of the Stuyvesant Hall renovations are a topic that many students said they are wondering about.

The Stuy Smoker under its renovations; the Smoker will be maintained but which6 will feature the addition of a walkway overlooking the stage and the room.

Craig Ullom, the Assistant Director of Student Affairs, said the plan for Stuy is to restore the dorm while modernizing it and creating a sense of community for the residents.

“You walk a fine line when you want to modernize the building while honoring the heritage as well,” Ullom said. “It’s been a lot of back and forth trying to decide what is good for today’s student versus what was good for the student of the 1930’s.”

Ullom said the Health Center will return to Stuyvesant, but will be located in a new location in the basement. Students will have access to the new Health Center from the courtyard as well as within the dorm.
The Health Center will have the same features as before, but will be around 400-500 square feet larger and will more efficiently utilize the space in its location.

“The former Health Center in Stuyvesant was originally the dining hall for the women who lived in the hall back in the 1930’s,” Ullom said. “That area will be restored to a grand open space and the Health Center will move to a new location in the basement which is a better use of available space.”

The basement will be further renovated to create a sense of community with the creation of a common room, a walkway which overlooks the Smoker for easy access and a lobby area adjacent to the main entrance to the hall. In the main lobby there will be a coffee shop and food cart similar to the ones in the Science Center and in University Hall, as well as a large amount of seating and the RLC office.

Freshman Elizabeth Simmons said the coffee shop sounds like a good idea because it is convenient to have one on the residential side of campus.

The Cave in the basement of Stuyvesant which will be restored and used as a lounge

“I think the coffee shop is a very good idea because it connects to Hayes via the tunnel so a large number of students can easily access it,” Simmons said. “This will be especially good for the mornings when it is cold and you don’t have to walk halfway across campus to get a cup of coffee.”

Ullom said that there will be a new kitchen area with all new equipment and a new laundry room next to the Smoker in order to promote community.

“There will be a new kitchen area with dual stainless steel refrigerators and freezers, two stoves and ovens, a large table that will seat twelve and booths for students to dine,” Ullom said.

“Next to the kitchen there will be a laundry room because students said they wanted to be near their laundry while they are doing it. We think this will create a flow of activity and community.”

The highlight of the first floor will be the Big Room which is the main parlor connected to the formal entrance of the building. The Big Room has been expanded and will feature a working fireplace with seating as well as an entrance to the terrace.

Ullom said that the terrace will have an outdoor fireplace, seating, stairs down to the courtyard and will provide a source of entertainment for the residents.

“The terrace can serve as a stage for bands and other performances which will provide entertainment for the students,” Ullom said. “They are also redoing the bell tower to become functional and there will be opportunities for students to actually be able to play the bells.”

In addition to the Big Room, Ullom said that there will be common lounges on each floor in addition to study rooms for students to interact and do work.

The newly renovated Big Room which will serve as a community gathering room for residents and will feature a fireplace and an entrance to the terrace.

“They have taken out some of the rooms and turned them into common lounges on each floor which will allow natural light to enter the building,” Ullom said. “These will have seating and provide students with places to hang out and gives them space outside of their room.”

Freshman Jackie Cole said Stuyvesant Hall is her first choice for housing and that the increased amount of common space is really appealing to her.

Craig Ullom explains the new terrace, which will have an outdoor fireplace and will be used for entertainment.

“I really appreciate the dorm having a lot of common areas because I would like to have a place to go and hang out with my friends,” Cole said. “In the other dorms that have only one common room, those common spaces are often overcrowded and noisy. I think having multiple common spaces will break up the crowds.”

Ullom said that in response to a student survey, they have decided to install sinks in each individual room as opposed to the bathrooms to increase privacy. The rooms will be the same size as before and will also all have new windows and thermostat controls.

“Students said that having the sink, shower and toilet all in one room cuts down on privacy, so we put sinks in each room to help with that problem,” Ullom said.

One area that will be maintained is The Cave which goes back generations of students and served as a safe space for students of color in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement.

Ullom said that the walls covered with graffiti done by the Greek organizations over the years will be preserved and the surrounding area will be turned into a lounge and meeting area.

“This area will be preserved because of the history associated with it,” Ullom said. “We will turn it into a common space with seating and a human resource room with a kitchen for serving food during meetings.”

Finally the Stuyvesant-Hayes tunnel will be reopened in order to allow Hayes residents easy access to the hall. A new elevator will be installed next to the tunnel.

Sophomore Dre White said that he enjoyed living in Stuyvesant Hall in the 2010-2011 school year but thinks that the experience will be even better with the renovations.

“I actually really like living in Stuy last year especially because I had my own bathroom,” White said. “It was kind of old but I would still choose to live there before some of the other dorms and I think that the renovations will help with that. Even though I live in a frat, we still have to file housing and I put Stuy down as my first choice.”

Lacrosse rivalry turns ugly at Denison

The back of a T-shirt at the Denison OWU lacrosse game is just one example of the rivalry between the two schools.
So. Denison, apparently, sucks. At least that’s what the masses of cheering OWU fans chanted at Saturday’s Ohio Wesleyan vs. Denison lacrosse game.
I don’t know much about lacrosse, and I don’t feel any need to discuss the game at length because I wanted our team to win as much as the next fan. What I do know is that I saw some things that “sucked” on Saturday as well.
The shirts some Denison fans had made for the game? Those sucked. The side-by-side drawings of women from each school, respectively labeled on – of course, where else? – the backs of too-short skirts, weren’t just offensive to women from OWU. Attacking women’s body image and ranking one above the other is offensive to ALL women. In fact, it should be offensive to anyone, regardless of gender.
The signs OWU students held throughout the entire game, degrading Denison women and attacking their sexuality? Those sucked, too. “What’s the difference between Denison girls and blowjobs? Guys actually like blowjobs,” read one. Another exclaimed, “Denison girls: it’s like throwing a hotdog down a hallway!” What scholars we are.
Let’s take a minute to discuss women’s sexuality. Each woman from Denison, or anywhere for that matter, has a sexuality entirely her own that cannot be categorized along that of her peers with condescending one-liners on a poster. Also, each member of this diverse group of women has the right to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, with whomever she wants, and no one, opposing sports fans or otherwise, has the right to ridicule her.
There is no right or wrong way to have a body or to practice your sexuality, but there is certainly a wrong way to show sportsmanship, and fans on both sides found it at Saturday’s lacrosse game.
Attacking women from the opposing side at a sporting event? THAT sucks.
What relevance does either the appearance or sexual practices of women who may not even be attending the game have on the performance of the (male) players?
Surely we can find better ways to support our players, or even to show our dislike of the other team.
We can even come up with sarcastic posters that are actually relevant to the game.
So why are we so inclined to degrade women?
Why did two separate groups, on either side of this lacrosse rivalry, decide that the best way to show support for their team was to insult the women at the other school? This is offensive. This will never stop being offensive. And making judgments about the appearance or sexual proclivities of women does not actually reflect their character. It reflects yours. And right now, neither Denison nor Ohio Wesleyan is looking too good.

Phi Beta Sigma strolls for a victory: Fraternity performs to raise money for Black Student Retention

Phi Beta Sigma won the stroll competition at the first annual Crossroads Show.
Despite the late start, technical difficulty and low turn out, organizers of Crossroads said the event was a success.
Crossroads was held Saturday, March 31 in Gray Chapel.

Left to right: Members of Phi Beta Sigma, Juniors Ray Perez, Keith Mullings Jr., and alumni Carleton Levert “11,” Christopher Marshall “11,” won the stroll competiton at Crossroads on March 31 to raise money for the Black Student Retenion Fund.

The first annual Crossroads event was a collaborative effort between Student Union on Black Awareness (SUBA) and Campus Programming Board (CPB).
In previous years both organizations have been responsible for their own shows.
For the last 30 years CPB has put on the annual Spring Fest show, presenting artists such as rappers Ghostface Killah, Sam Adams and ska band Reel Big Fish.
The event has generated money for students, campus events and clubs.
For the past 14 years SUBA has brought Step Show to campus, the proceeds earned from the show go towards the Black Student Retention Fund.
The fund allows students of color to stay enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan who have financial struggles.
Of all the committee’s philanthropy projects, Step Show has always been the highest-earning philanthropy event.
Generally the show consists of a strolling battle (where Greek life show pride for their organizations through dance, stomp and strolling competitions) and headliner performers in previous years have included; hip-hop artists such as T.I. and Lupe Fiasco and R&B artist Jeremih.
Senior Gene Sludge, co-president of SUBA, said it has become less about entertainment and more about history and tradition.
“It’s about bringing culture to OWU and the entire Delaware community,” he said.
This year, neither committee was going to receive funding from WCSA, because in previous years, the turnout out and revenue generated by the two events were not up to the university’s standards.
The two organizations thought it was best to collaborate on an event rather to get rid of both of them entirely.
Junior Kelsey Brewer, president of CPB, spoke at a meeting earlier in the year to address the importance of having the events.
“We had the option to stay separate and walk away, but both events are too important and we wanted to keep them around,” Brewer said.
According to Sludge, the purpose of the collaboration was to show WCSA and the campus that the two events could be successful and go their separate ways in the future.
The show was DJ’d by DJ Max Ridden and had performances by winner of the battle of the bands, “Hairy Tribe of Conquerors;” a stroll competition between Delta Zeta and Phi Beta Sigma; opening act HelloGoodbye and the headliner of the show, hip hop and R&B singer Lloyd.
The event was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., but due to the late arrival of Lloyd and technically difficulties during sound check, the show didn’t start until 8:30 p.m. Many students left the event because they were upset because of the weather and late start.
Freshmen Megan Rivera said she left, but then decided to come back and was happy she made the decision.
“I was pissed I came on time and we had to wait outside,” she said. “It was so cold outside; I went back to my room and came back. I had so much fun though I wish my friends would have stayed too.”
The opening act was “Hairy Tribe Conquerors,” and they played some original songs along with a medley of other songs.
Following the performance, the strolling competition between Delta Zeta and Phi Beta Sigma began. There were two rounds of competition, with three guest judges to determine the winner. The DZs performed throughout the aisles and in between the crowd.
Freshmen Caroline Welker said she didn’t know the fraternity and sororities on campus strolled.
“It was really cool to see,” she said. “I’ve never seen strolling before, they were both really good–the guys were a little better though.”
The judges agreed with Welker as they announced the Sigmas as the winner of the battle. Junior Ray Perez was a part of the stroll competition and said even though the DZs lost, they really represented their organization well.
“We (Sigmas) have been strolling together for a while,” he said.
“The DZs had to put together a routine pretty quickly, they should be proud they really represented. It felt good to bring awareness to OWU about the Divine Nine and Greek organizations. It was a good time and a great cause.”
After a brief intermission and a set from DJ Max Ridden, HelloGoodbye took the stage to play original songs from their album, “Would It Kill You?”
Junior Briana Perez said she had never really heard of the band but she thought they were good performers.
“I’m really picky about vocalists,” she said. “I thought the lead singer had a really great voice, I couldn’t understand the lyrics but he sounded good and the crowd was really involved.”
Everyone took to their feet as the band played their smash hit, “Here in Your Arms.”
Finally to take the stage was the headlining act R&B singer Lloyd.
In a more intimate performance, the crowd came closer to the stage.
Interacting with the crowd Lloyd jumped off stage danced, spoke and sang with the crowd.
Welker said it was the best part of the show.
“Lloyd dedicated a song to me,” she said. “he came out into the crowd and grabbed my hand, after the show I went back stage and met him. We took pictures and I kept his sweat towel, I still can’t believe it, it was the best night.”
Sludge said despite the difficulties organizing the event he believes it was successful and is hopeful for the future.
“I believe SUBA and CPB did there job on putting on an amazing show under the given circumstances and stipulations,” he said. “Although I wish more students would have came out to the event. It will only improve in the future.”