A week of womanhood

Women’s week, which happened from Monday, March 19 through Friday, March 23, was organized by several students on campus as part of Women’s History Month. It consisted of programs ranging from slam poetry to sexual violence awareness.
Junior Anna Cooper, an intern at the Women’s Resource Center, played a supportive role in the week’s events.
“(Women’s week) is an opportunity for us to do programming focused on issues that primarily affect women and to raise awareness on various women’s issues. Women are still treated as a marginalized community, so this is a time to focus specifically on women’s history and women’s issues,” said Cooper.
Junior Paige Ruppel is the moderator of the Women’s House, where much of the women’s week programming stemmed from. She said she agreed with Cooper, saying that women’s issues are still relevant today and to our campus.
“The fact that people ask why we even need a women’s week shows that there isn’t enough conversation being generated around these issues,” Ruppel said.
The week began with a display of shirts from a Clothesline Project, which addresses issues of violence against women. Students were invited to join members of the Women’s House in decorating shirts with empowering messages before spring break. These shirts were then hung, lining the JAYwalk all week.
Take Back the Night, a sexual violence speak out and march, is the biggest event of the week, with each member of the Women’s House participating.
Freshman Mady Smith attended the event for the first time on Thursday, March 29.
“I expected it to be emotional, but not as emotional as it was,” Smith said. “I was really proud of everyone who spoke, and I admire them for being able to tell their story.”
Sexual violence can be a difficult subject to breech, which is why Ruppel and the Women’s House organize these events.
“It can be hard to talk about issues of sexual violence, but it needs to be addressed, especially on college campuses,” said Ruppel. “These events create spaces for those conversations to occur.”
Smith said that sexual violence awareness is important.
“I think it’s hard to understand that this can happen to anyone, and people need to know that it does happen.”
Other women’s week programs included a performance by slam poet Andrea Gibson, a documentary on hate speech amongst female peers of the Greek community entitled “Betches Love to Hate,” an open house at the Women’s House, and fundraising for Heifer International, which donates livestock to global communities living in poverty.

WoHo opens its doors to campus, closes women’s week

The members of the Women’s House opened their home to the campus community last Friday to cap off Women’s Week.
WoHo residents hosted students and professors with snacks, sodas and homemade black bean burgers.
House moderator Paige Ruppel, a junior, planned the event as her house project. She said its primary purpose was “building community.”
Junior WoHo resident Colleen Waickman said she hoped the gathering would help make her house and the rest of the SLUs seem more inviting.
“I think sometimes the SLU community seems intimidating to people, and I think this event is definitely centered around letting people know we’re not intimidating and we’re not scary,” she said.
Freshman Kyle Simon, who will be living in WoHo next year, agreed the event is a good opportunity to change the house’s sour reputation on campus outside of the context of formal programming.
“A lot of people kind of stereotype Women’s House as being super intense and really serious, but the open house gives people a specific event where people can just hang out and find out what it is without having to actually go to an event,” he said.
Professor of Botany David Johnson, Ruppel’s academic advisor, attended the open house at her invitation.
“I have supported the Small Living Units in general as a valuable living option on campus, and thus try to support their activities whenever I can,” he said.
The open house followed Thursday’s Take Back the Night, a combined sexual assault speakout and cross-campus march. According to Simon, all current and future WoHo members help to plan and execute the annual event.
Ruppel said another goal of the open house was to provide a more “uplifting and fun” atmosphere for students and faculty at the end of Women’s Week.
“It’s a good way to regroup after last night and start the weekend a little bit,” she said.
Waickman agreed the open house is a good juxtaposition to Take Back the Night’s somberness.
“(Take Back the Night)’s heavy,” she said. “It’s emotional. After a time like that, I think it’s good for our group and our campus to come together and process that a little bit, whether we talk about the event or just spend time together.”
Johnson said he didn’t attend Take Back the Night or any other Women’s Week programs, but he “fully support(s) the WoHo’s campus programming on important social issues.”
Simon said Women’s Week is meant to have a positive, uplifting message overall.
“Everyone thinks it’s supposed to be super serious, but you can be an activist and be laid back at the same time, so you can have fun with everything that you do,” he said.

Invisible Children has visible flaws

Earlier last week on my way into the Thomson store, I tore down a flier.
This flier was for the screening of “Kony 2012,” a documentary created by the organization “Invisible Children.” This documentary should be screened on campus today.
It was only after tearing down the flier, which showed the merchandise that will be sold at the screening, writing some statistics on the back of it and then hanging it back up that I realized I was engaging in censorship – which is something I really do not support.
So, instead of continuing to tear down these fliers, I will explain my difficult and conflicting feelings about this documentary in a more constructive way.
Invisible Children is an organization dedicated to drawing attention and raising awareness of the Lord’s Resistance Army – a theocratic military group in Uganda, which is comprised of abducted children that are oftentimes abused, sexually assaulted and forced to kill their own families. Invisible Children calls for the U.S. to begin a military intervention in Central Africa in order to put an end to the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony.
The film, which is about 30 minutes long, was released and spread across the Internet in a virulent fashion, making its way across Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and various other social media websites in a matter of days.
As of March 24, the video has over 85 million views on Youtube.
In the film, the director and co-founder of Invisible Children, Jason Russell, details his experience in Uganda, learning about the LRA from survivors.
After people saw this film, it seemingly became a race not only to make others aware of Kony, but also to make others aware that they were aware of him. Facebook statuses shared the link to the film and called for action against this man’s diabolical behavior.
Conveniently, Invisible Children makes it known in their documentary that, to truly dedicate yourself to the cause, you can order an “action kit,” which contains posters, stickers, buttons and other publicity materials.
It costs thirty dollars. But to many, thirty dollars was a reasonable price to pay in order to “make Kony famous.”
People, mostly college students, began to organize rallies in their communities under the slogan, “Cover the Night.” People come together to rally against Kony in order to, yet again, raise more awareness.
It seems that people love to make other people aware of things. At the very least, they like to make people aware that they are aware of things and that other people should be aware of it, too. We feel if we make other people aware of something bad that is happening, maybe they will do something about it.
This is not to speak against awareness campaigns, but there is something to be said about this never-ending, ineffectual cycle. What, exactly, does raising awareness accomplish?
Unfortunately, awareness campaigns fall prey to what social psychologists would call “diffusion of responsibility,” which, in layman’s terms, is when the sense of responsibility to take action in a scenario is diffused amongst a group because “someone else will do it.”
What I can assure you is that funneling your money into “action packs” will do almost nothing to benefit the children of Uganda, and here is why.
According to Visible Children, an anti-Invisible Children blog, the company has spent only 33 percent of its $8 million dollars in spending on “direct services” – and by that, of course, they mean the children. This means that the thirty dollars you shell out from your small paychecks working as a student on or off campus or from your parents’ wallets may never even see the continent of Africa.
Invisible Children is also a fan of the Ugandan army: which is notorious for raping, pillaging and abusing civilians, according to Human Rights Watch Africa.
As if the financial disparities are not enough, we also have to confront the fact that some of the information within the documentary itself is not factual.
For example, Russell states that the LRA has over 3,000 children in its ranks. According to most documents it currently has around 250 and has not had thousands of children since 2007, if ever.
A quick Google search will show you how Russell has been reacting to the emergence of all these figures and criticisms of his campaign.
These are the things that make me completely and totally unwilling to support this organization. “But what about the children,” one might ask. How can I be so heartless as to call out an organization that is helping children no matter how much of it is being spent on paychecks, alcohol and trips to Sea World?
Let me make it clear that my outrage towards this campaign has nothing to do with my lack of desire to help people. Kony and the LRA are important things that people should know about.
However, I find myself disgusted that an organization that cannot even keep its books straight would target impressionable young people from middle-class environments, who feel deeply guilty about the misfortunes of others around the world and feed off of their guilt in order to make money to line their pockets.
I also am generally growing sick and tired of encouraging people to spread the word about things instead of taking charge themselves. Does Kony make you mad? Does the LRA make you mad? Go join the Peace Corps. Find a way to get involved in humanitarian efforts in Africa. Send your money to organizations that check out in terms of financial integrity. Do not support those that look only to harp on your guilt and privilege, acting as if they are some kind of savior that can only exist on your dollar.
There are some people who will continue to plaster up fliers and hash-tag their statuses and tweets, “#kony2012.” They will accuse those of us who acknowledge that charity organizations are by no means infallible or incapable of evil of “not caring about the children.”
Here is the cold hard truth, reiterated to you: charitable organizations, non-profits, and the like are by no means infallible or incapable of lying to the public. Invisible Children has clearly been called out on several occasions about being a little fishy. Be wise about the causes you send your money to. Check them out.
I do encourage everyone to go watch the documentary in order to learn about the situation in Uganda. I hope it makes you angry, and I hope it makes you want to inspire change.
I hope you go forth to inspire that change – because people at this university really do have that ability. I just hope you do it in ways that will really count.

Your trash is Universitronics’s treasure

A decapitated laptop with only three buttons on its keyboard. An iPod, with a screen dim enough to make one wonder what fruit represents “Apple Inc.” A Giga Pet. Those are all things people have tried to sell me at Ohio Wesleyan University.
I run a business at OWU called Universitronics™, where I buy and sell OWU students’ working and broken electronics. I see all kinds of crazy things every day. (In case you were wondering, I did buy the laptop, iPod, and Giga Pet.) I try not to ask questions unless I need to. So, often–after a transaction– I am left wondering: “What in the world happened to these electronics?” How is it that only three keys are left on a keyboard? HOW? Did they test out a new chain saw? Did they try to sharpen a cheese grater?
Maybe you have seen me around campus tabling. I post where I’m going to be on “www.owu.org”. So far, I’ve been all over campus. I took a tour of the residential halls to see which produced the most customers: Bashford, Smith, Thomson or Hayes. All had problems. Bashford lounge is a huge, wide-open space, but it has a relentless heater that sporadically makes earsplitting bangs. Smith second floor lounge lacks a toilet within driving distance. Thomson first floor lounge simply doesn’t have enough traffic. And the furniture in Hayes’ lounge is too awkward to table with. “What about Welch,” you may ask. I never tried it. Students actually attempt to study there. I am not allowed to conduct business at the fraternities or other living facilities.
Lately, I’ve settled in front of the Thomson store. Well, to the side of the Thomson store, next to the chips (the school says I can’t block traffic). It’s a popular place, although I can never tell when someone wants to do business with me or buy a bag of chips. More often, students go for the chips. I wish the students were at least torn between the two choices: “Chips–no. Money! Chips! No, electronics–no. Chips!”
Students’ inclination towards chips aside, I really think Universitronics™ does a good service by giveing students money for something they don’t want or are about to toss out, whether it’s working or broken. This benefits the community on many levels.
Suppose you no longer want an iPod. Instead of tossing it, giving it away, or selling it to someone without much interest (aka for an ultra-low price), Universitronics™ will buy the item from you at a fair price, add value to it (e.g. cleaning, hardware modifications), and pass it on to someone who needs it or will break it down for parts. Universitronics™ simultaneously provides a valuable service to the OWU community and helps the environment.
Suppose you are taking photos on the JAY-walk, and you run into President Rock Jones. This startles you, and you drop your camera. The lens smashes. Normally, you would toss the camera and add to America’s already expansive waste problem.
But, now with Universitronics™, you have the option to both help the environment and get money for what you once called “trash.” Universitronics™ will buy your busted camera and harvest it for parts. In short, Universitronics pays the OWU community to get rid of stuff they no longer want. So next time you’re sick of the feel of your iPod, or your laptop shorts-out, don’t toss it! Don’t let it collect dust! Save your wallet and the environment, and sell to Universitronics! More information about Universitronics and tabling times can be found at www.owu.org or www.universitronics.com.

Documentary examines women’s questionable roles within mass media

The Benes Rooms were filled with frequent gasping, shaking of heads and laughing last Monday.
As part of celebration of Women’s History Month, “Miss Representation,” a documentary about gender inequality, was shown to students. Men and women filled the Benes Rooms to view the film.
Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Miss Representation exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel empowered.
Sophomore Rachel Tallmadge was one of the students who planned the screening.
“I have always been interested in gender equality,” she said. “This film addressed many issues with gender equality and supported them with facts.”
Tallmadge said she was amazed by movements the documentary has sparked across the country.
“The action and attention that this film has caused really sparked my interest to get involved,” she said.
Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics (including Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem) voiced their opinions and shocking statistics were presented.
Senior Michael Raszmann said he really enjoyed the film and what he liked the most was the political dialogue explained.
“I like how they made the very clear distinction between the pragmatic rise of the media and sexism through capitalism, they made that very distinct,” Raszmann said.
Junior Clare Whitaker said she thought the documentary was fascinating.
“I thought some of the things they brought out were so true, one of the biggest points was the idea that half of the population doesn’t support the other half,” she said.
Whitaker said it is amazing how men never watch the things that women are in, which portray women as protagonists – a point that was stressed throughout the film
“I feel like, after watching this, it’s so important for women to watch it and learn to be confident and learn to be individuals, but I think men should also view this and embrace it because they need to understand the same things as women,” she said.
Senior Ann Merrell, who helped plan the screening along with Tallmadge, said she is going to be more critical of the way the media portrays women.
“I am someone who loves chick flicks and fairytales, but I think it is important to remember the effect that those kinds of stories and films have on women and their image of themselves,” she said.
“I think that we know that stripper scenes degrade women, but also these fairytales where women are powerless and need a man are also very harmful. So I am going to pay attention to that,” Merrell said.
Tallmadge said she was really excited that a lot of people showed up and came to this house project.
“I think it sends an important message to the campus,” she said. “The action doesn’t stop here. I hope people are inspired by this to spread the message.”
“We are still discussing how to keep the action going,” said Merrell.
She said she is hoping the communities she is a part of will be open to dialogue about the representation of women in the media.
“I want to give members of the Ohio Wesleyan community a chance to get involved in the beginning of this wave of change and education,” said Tallmadge.

Say Anything preserves their own original sound with newest album

To know Say Anything’s music is to know Max Bemis’ life story.
The prolific frontman’s songwriting is always deeply personal, and the band’s discography chronicles every aspect of his life, positive and negative.
The sexually frustrated teenage Bemis emerged on “Baseball,” Say Anything’s debut; the sophomore “…Is A Real Boy” brought his struggles with drug addiction and bipolar disorder to the forefront; and the epic “In Defense of the Genre” portrayed a man in a state of recovery, reflection, anger and confusion. On the 2009 self-titled record, he had found solace in marriage and continued work in facing his demons.
The story is a roller coaster—a disconcerted boy turns too quickly into an angry, alienated man at the hands of mental illness and addiction, realizes and confronts his flaws in a flurry of catharsis, and as a result finds love and takes a break from being indignant.
With “Anarchy, My Dear,” Say Anything’s fifth full-length release, the saga continues.
Present here is a much more conscious Bemis—he’s surfaced from his previous haze, and while certainly happier, he’s still as angry as ever.
This is a major departure from the preceding self-titled record. There, Bemis was making light of his hardships in an attempt at moving on.
Here, Bemis has realized there’s still work to be done. He knows his demons are still lingering, but their presence doesn’t stop him from hating them. This is obvious on “Peace Out.” Accompanied by harps and acoustic guitars, Bemis sings a sardonic, biting ode to his former self.
“I’ll be fine,” he croons. “Sever this for all time/Laugh it off when this ends/You can
just go get high with all of your dumb friends.”
Along with this newfound animosity toward his own history, Bemis maintains his loathing of his critics.
On “Admit It Again,” the continuation of a hate letter to his detractors began on “…Is A Real Boy,” he berates the hipsters who are “fueled by a potent mixture of cocaine and latent insecurity, defining (their) own self-worth by the opinion of a stupid website with Satan as its figurehead.”
In addition to being once again filled with rage, Bemis is as in love on “Anarchy” as he was on the self-titled release. His infatuation with his wife, Sherri DuPree of indie rock quintet Eisley, is exhibited clearly on “So Good” and “Say Anything,” which could have been blared from John Cusack’s iconic boom box – were he an anarchist punk rocker.

Bemis’ writing provides tangible evidence of his increased happiness.
His words may be scathing in some places, but his voice sounds less tortured than on “…Is A Real Boy” and “In Defense of the Genre.” The instrumentation is less lighthearted and more stripped down than the self-titled record, but it’s cleaner and much more polished.
Many Say Anything fans claim the self-titled album was Say Anything’s worst because of its brighter sound and lack of emotional depth. They wanted an angrier Bemis, the anguished twenty-something heard on the band’s earlier work.
Their desires are sated on “Anarchy,” and it’s good to hear Bemis angry again.
But it’s also refreshing that he’s holding onto the positivity in his life. Someone who has been through as much as he has, and been completely open about it in his work, deserves to do so.

Softball splits double header with John Carroll

Softball split their doubleheader, non-conference games against John Carroll on Thursday, March 22 at Margaret Sagan Field.
In the opening game, the Bishops lost, 2-0.
John Carroll’s pitcher–Brittany Danilov–and OWU right-hander, sophomore Dani Haley, went head to head in a pitching battle.
John Carroll quickly took the lead in the top of the second inning when the Blue Streaks players, Olivia Matthew and Heather Hurley, scored.
The Bishops were unable to make a comeback in the first game, so they found themselves trying to comeback strong in the second.
Sophomore Tamra Londot said the team is used to playing doubleheader games, and that they do not affect the team’s players.
“We knew after the first loss, it wasn’t a true win on their part, because they got one lucky hit and scored runs on it,” Landot said. “We knew we were the better team and that we had played our game.”
Coming out with a strong start in the second game, Blue Streaks pitcher Trisha Pike held the Bishops hitless through the first four innings.
Fueled by their first loss, the Bishops fought back in the fifth inning.
Leading the comeback was junior third baseman Stefanie Rieder. She was followed by scores from freshman outfielder Chelsea Denman and junior outfielder Lauren Elkins. Their plays tied the game, 3-3.
Senior first baseman Jackie Kolovich lined a double down the left field line to score both runners on the field. Senior second baseman Abby Walsh added an RBI (run batted in) double later in the inning, giving the Bishops a 6-3 lead.
The Blue Streaks pulled up to 6-5 with Angelia Locey’s two-run single in the sixth. OWU right-hander Amanda Barker pitched the first 5.2 innings, striking out four and walking one to collect the win. Londot got the last 4 outs for her first save of the season.
Londot said she is only concerned about making it to regionals.
The Bishops are 6-6 in non-conference play. They play Alma College on April 9 at Margaret Sagan Field.

Firedogs throw to second place finish

The Ohio Wesleyan Men’s Ultimate Frisbee Team took second place in a frisbee tournament over spring break.
The Firedogs were invited to the Hightide Frisbee Tournament, which went on from March 13 to March 16.
They competed with 36 teams from across the country.
The tournament took place in St. Simons, Ga. The team made it to the finals and then lost to Dickinson College, 9-8.
Junior Todd Hershberger, captain of the firedogs, said he was very pleased with how the team played at the tournament.
“(It) being our first trip to Hightide, nobody knew what to expect, but we all came ready to play,” Hershberger said. “Everybody had the mindset that we could beat any team that we got to play. It was great to see that kind of confidence.”
Sophomore Ryan Klein said he was surprised that the Firedogs did so well. Also, because it was the first time they were invited to play at Hightide.
“Everyone played well and with confidence,” Klein said. “We were surprisingly not nervous since it was the first time at Hightide.
“Everyone knew their role and we worked together very well. Nobody was trying to be a hero down there.”
The tournament lasted three days, and 18 men on the Firedogs played three games a day.
On the final day, they played everything up from the quarterfinals to the championship game.
Junior Wesley Barnes said he could feel the pressure in the final round of the tournament.
The pressure “was on from the get-go,” Barnes said. “We knew what we had to do, and we did that well,” Barnes said. “We all were somewhat eager and maybe even a little nervous about playing, but I think that those emotions were the reason why we played so well.”
The Firedogs will be heading to sectionals in mid-April according to Hershberger.
“This tournament was a great growing experience that will help us prepare for sectionals in April,” Hershberger said.
“Going 8-1 and finishing second overall was a great way to cap off a fun spring break with (the) Firedogs.”

Igniting memories beneath a stormy sky: Candlelight vigil held Sunday night honors Sig Ep president lost in car crash

Hundreds of members of the Ohio Wesleyan community gathered outside the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity Sunday evening for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Jake Von Der Vellen, who died in a car accident Friday morning.
Junior Marshall Morris, president of Phi Delta Theta, was a chief organizer of the vigil. Morris said that he and other Phi Delts began thinking of ways to show support as soon as they received the tragic news.
After deciding that a candlelight vigil would be most appropriate, they pitched the idea to Phi Delt Adviser Stephen Hayhurst, and then to the rest of the community on Facebook.
“The vigil was a collaboration of everyone,” Morris said. “Several school administrators helped facilitate resources that were needed, but both the faculty and students were instrumental in making it special for both each other and the brothers of Sig Ep. I believe the unity of the students in the OWU community was something very special.”
Many students like junior Rachel Rose said they went to the ceremony to support the brothers of Sig Ep and others close to Jake, and to pay him respect. Rose said that the vigil had her “wishing (she) could do more for the boys than hold a candle outside their fraternity.”
Several OWU staff members who do not live on campus were in attendance. Athletic Director Roger Ingles said he and his wife attended to show support for the OWU community as well as represent their son, sophomore Brad Ingles, also a member of Sig Ep.
“Anytime you lose a life so young it is tragic,” Ingles said.
“My thoughts during the event were for Jake, his family and friends, Vince and his family and friends and my own son who is currently in Ireland and could not attend tonight’s vigil.”
Jon Harnett, one of the brothers of Sig Ep, said the support received at the vigil made him feel like Ohio Wesleyan is “one big family.”
“It also let me and the other brothers know that we aren’t alone in this, and that we can all get through this awful time as one community,” he said.
The remnants of a thunderstorm were still evident in the sky as the scheduled event time of 8 p.m. grew near and lightning still flashed in the clouds above.
Nevertheless, streams of OWU students and staff slowly converged from all parts of campus into a single group in the middle of Fraternity Hill where candles were being distributed.
Von Der Vellen was killed Friday in an automobile accident on Route 77 outside of Rock Hill, S.C., at 11:41 a.m. Von Der Vellen is from Medina, Ohio. Von Der Vellen was with friend and Sig Ep brother Vince Donofrio who was hospitalized at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C.. Donofrio has since returned home to Canfield, Ohio.
Von Der Vellen will always be remembered for his commitment and service to the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and the OWU community. He was recently named president of his fraternity.
“Jake may not be here,” said Sig Ep senior James DiBiasio during the vigil, “but the memories will live on.”
At 8:10 p.m., the Sig Ep brothers emerged from the front door of their house wearing their letters.
As darkness neared, they stood, silently elevated on the front porch, and lit their candles.
The rest of the crowd quickly followed suit until the darkness was pierced by hundreds of dancing illuminations, struggling to survive the sporadic gusts of wind. The congregation then simply stood in silence and looked up at the fraternity men on the front porch.
After several minutes, President Rock Jones came forth and raised his voice over the crowd.
“We gather to share the love for the brothers of Sig Ep who stand here in front of us,” he started.
Rock voiced the OWU community’s empathy for those who were close to Jake, and said that the candles represented a special bond that brought members of the school together to the vigil.
DiBiasio thanked the crowd for their support. He said while Jake’s physical presence may be gone, the lessons he taught will resonate with his friends and family.
After several more silent minutes, Morris asked participants to extinguish their candles and place them into the provided bins by 8:45 p.m. “out of respect for the privacy of the brothers of Sig Ep.”
Some left immediately, others cried softly, but the majority just stood respectfully and held their candles in silence for the remainder of the vigil.
As 9 p.m. neared, the people parted, and so did the storm clouds. The Ohio sky seemed to answer with its own candlelight vigil when the stars twinkled as brilliantly as the candles had moments before.