The loss of a legend

By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor

Richard D. Gordon, a pioneer of intercollegiate athletics and a man who gave 64 years of his life to the Ohio Wesleyan community, passed away last thursday at the age of 89.

Gordon, who was an OWU graduate in ‘52,  returned to his alma mater in 1954 after getting his masters at The Ohio State University.

Gordon coached at OWU for 39 years and remained active in the Ohio Wesleyan and golf communities for another 25 years.

He started off as head coach of the soccer, swimming and golf teams.

He was head coach of the men’s soccer team when it returned to varsity status in 1955 and coached its first All-America selection that season.

Gordin served as the Battling Bishops’ men’s golf coach from 1955-93, with a 39-season run marking the longest coaching tenure in OWU history at the time.

Out of the 25 teams he coached, he led 22 of them to the NCAA Division III or College Division tournaments. OWU won a total of 12 league titles in five different decades under Gordin. His teams won seven Ohio Athletic Conference championships and five North Coast Athletic Conference crowns.

Gordin was named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1987 and 1993.

“His accomplishments were stellar, and we will forever remember him as one of the giants who helped to make the University what it is today.” President Rock Jones said.

Gordin became Ohio Wesleyan’s athletics director in 1977, and during his tenure Ohio Wesleyan opened the Branch Rickey Center, Edwards Gymnasium and Pfeiffer Natatorium.

During Gordin’s first seven years as athletics director, Ohio Wesleyan won the OAC’s coveted all-sports trophy three times.

Dr. Jay Martin, who had succeeded Gordin as athletics director in 1985, said, “Dick Gordin set the standard for coaching and athletic administration at Ohio Wesleyan. He had the foresight to act toward achieving gender equity before it was ever an issue.”

Gordin also helped develop the North Coast Athletic Conference, the first intercollegiate athletic conference in the country to treat men’s and women’s sports equally at its inception, with Ohio Wesleyan becoming a charter member in 1983.

Gordin was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Ohio Wesleyan athletics department annually bestows the Dr. Richard Gordin Award, which recognizes the highest cumulative grade point average among senior male student-athletes, as well as hosting the Gordin Collegiate Classic, a fall tournament that includes 12 of the best NCAA Division III teams.

Just when you thought he couldn’t get any more impressive

By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor

Nate Axelrod claims yet another title as he is named the NCAA National Player of the Year.

It was announced by D3hoops.com that Axelrod was named NCAA Division III Player of the Year as part of the D3hoops.com All-America teams.

“It’s a huge honor and really means a lot,” said Axelrod, “this really reflects all the work I’ve put in over the past 21 years of my life, and I’m really grateful.”

Axelrod, the Battling Bishops’ point guard, was a first-team All-America select, as well as a second-team All-America pick by D3hoops.com in 2017 and 2016.

It was just last month that Axelrod was named NCAC Player of the Year for the third year in a row, making him the first men’s basketball player in conference history to do so.

“I’m definitely happy with way my college career has played out. I’ve had a lot of success as a player and have to give my teammates and coaches a lot of credit for helping me do it,” Axelrod said.

Axelrod also became the first Ohio Wesleyan athlete to receive the Jostens Trophy, which recognizes the most outstanding NCAA Division III men’s basketball player.

It’s given to an athlete who not only succeeds on the court, but in the classroom and community as well.

“Nate is a role model for every student-athlete that walks on campus,” said Ohio Wesleyan athletics director Doug Zipp.

Off the court, Axelrod is active with Big Brothers/Big Sisters as well as in service to the Delaware community through his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.

“Nate Axelrod epitomizes the values of the scholar-athlete at the Division III level,” said Ohio Wesleyan President Rock Jones.

He led the NCAC in scoring (19.2 points/game) and assists, becoming the first player in conference history to lead the league in scoring and assists in a season.

He finished his career as the second Ohio Wesleyan men’s basketball player and the fourth in NCAC history to surpass the 2000-point mark, and is Ohio Wesleyan’s all-time leader in assists (655) and consecutive games started (114).

Robinson defends title

By Jesse Sailer, Sports Editor

Sophomore high jumper Cirrus Robinson defends her national title and becomes the third Ohio Wesleyan woman to bring home a national championship.

Robinson is third following her own 2017 title win and OWU alumni Julie Bredenbeck’s national championship in the discus in 1982.

She successfully defended her national championship in the high jump during the second day of the NCAA Division III indoor championship meet, hosted by Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama.

Kris Boey, head track and field coach, said, “Cirrus has accomplished more in her first two years of collegiate athletics than most any student-athlete could dream of achieving over an entire career, yet she remains humble and hungry to [continue] improving.”

Robinson was one of four high jumpers who entered the meet with the nation’s top height of 5-7¾, which she achieved during the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet.

Robinson cleared 5-8½ on her very first attempt to win the national championship. She missed only once on her first six heights.

The final 3 competitors, Robinson, 2017 runner-up Emma Egan of Williams College, and Helene Hall of Williams College, each missed all 3 attempts at 5-9¾, and tiebreakers determined the final standings, with Robinson winning the national championship, Hall finishing second, and Egan third.

“This competition was more of a fight for the podium, with first place shifting around between a few of us, which made the finale even more rewarding than last year,” Robinson said, “I was the most grateful for another healthy season and the opportunity to compete with OWU’s name on my chest.”

Robinson earned OWU 10 points in the team standings and boosted the team to a tie for 20th place among the 105 schools that were represented in the meet.

“I admire Cirrus’s drive and dedication to her sport and her team,” Boey said, “And while she has accomplished so much in her first two years, I believe the best is yet to come.”

French film shows viewers the ups and downs of growing old

By Maddie Matos, A&E Editor

As people grow older, new challenges are presented that are hard to overcome with age. 

Ohio Wesleyan University’s Tournées French Film Festival presented a film that brings the issues of age to the forefront. 

The film, Things to Come, was directed by Mia Hansen-Løve tells the story of a professor, Nathalie Chazeaux, reaching her late middle ages. As she is teaching her younger students, she is overcoming the struggles she finds associated with growing older.

The Tournées festival theme is strong female leads this year. The theme allows women directors or stars to be showcased in a field that is often dominated by men. The festival theme also fits in with the lessons that French students are learning.

“My seminar is structured around various rebellious figures in French culture and literature, including rebellious women authors and characters, and the festival theme is ‘Strong Female Lead’ in recognition of the complex female characters of the selected features, as well as their female directors and script writer,” professor Ana Oancea said. 

The department of modern foreign languages has hosted the festival for four years. Ohio Wesleyan shows six films, five being recent films and a classic film. The goal of the festival is to present French films to American students on college campuses and let students experience a new style of filming.

“In my experience, French films have fewer aggressively commercial elements than American films.” senior Katherine Romeo said. “More often the film seems more focused on communicating a story than say the audience leaving feeling as though they understood everything and had a good time,”

Students in the school’s French club and Oancea come together to bring the festival on campus. Oancea writes and submits a grant to the Tournées board to host and have the rights to the films. 

“The grant through which the festival is made possible is nationally-competitive, so it’s a great honor to be selected,” Oancea said. 

The film’s protagonist also brought the question of a liberal arts education and its importance to the film. As a professor at a university, Chazeaux teaches her students the importance of education across all mediums and reminds herself of these lessons as she matures. The films message of education was a drawing point to the people who chose it.

“This film, ‘L’avenir’ or ‘Things to Come’ in English was chosen because it deals with a very modern concern — the lesser perceived importance of the humanities,” Oancea said. 

Students and staff alike enjoyed the film, and the message it gave to viewers, and showed that people across the world are all connected.

“One of the most accessible ways to access another person’s story is by consuming film.” Romeo said. “By showcasing French films, we can see more clearly the way we are distant but also the ways we are alike,”

Unique performance and songs given by a unique group on OWU campus

By Maddie Matos, A&E Editor

 Performing unique pieces that appeal to everyone can be difficult, but Ohio Wesleyan University’s Choral Arts Society and Chamber Choir spring concert met the challenge.

The performance was held on Tuesday, with 100 people in attendance. Students and performers filled Gray Chapel, as the choirs performed twelve songs.  

Each song was picked by director Jason Hiester, an associate professor of music. Each song is a favorite of Hiester, and each had a unique sound that stood out from each other.

“There’s no real theme to our program, if there was I guess it’d be music Dr. Hiester likes,” Hiester said. 

The show began with the Choral Arts Society. The society opened the show with two songs. The spiritual tone of the songs allowed members to surround the audience as they entered the chapel and ring bells to the beat of the song. 

“The bells at the beginning where they walked around behind all of us was incredible, and the chords they were singing as they moved to the stage,” attendee Alex McPherson said.

The next set of songs the society performed were more upbeat, but still gave the audience the feeling of being in a church. Throughout the performances, different members had solos including an Oboe solo by student Kathryn Lawson. 

 Audience members were responsive to the songs and seemingly enjoyed the beauty of the show.

 “I hope the audience enjoyed our performance and got something out of it,” performer Hannah Carpenter said. 

 The second part of the show featured four songs performed by OWU’s Chamber Choir. The choir is smaller and more exclusive than the Choral Arts Society and performs harder songs. 

 The first song had a tambourine and drum component and featured solos by Hannah Carpenter and Eli Reed.

 The second song was a folk song and the audience experienced “love in a small village.” 

As the show progressed, the choir sang two contemporary songs. They both were well received by audiences, with applause afterwards. 

The end of the show featured the Choral Arts Society again, as their last two songs closed the show. 

The first song featured a soprano saxophone solo by professor Nancy Gamso and was a more jazz driven style. The final song left the audience amused, as the performers sang “The poet is a banana” the whole song. 

“Our final song was definitely an interesting one and I think the audience really enjoyed it,” Carpenter said.

As the show ended, audience members gave a standing ovation the choir, applauding the hard work put into the show.

“I hope our pieces touched people in a positive way and brought them some happiness because that’s what music is supposed to do,” Carpenter said. 

New seal provides new identity

By Kienan O’Doherty, Editor-In-Chief

With a new executive board comes a new seal.

The Wesleyan Council of Student Affairs (WCSA) officially approved their new seal at Monday’s full senate meeting, which occurred after the scheduled Town Hall. The approval came after weeks of voting and approval of language describing the seal.

Many people believed the old seal was too like the seal of Ohio Wesleyan.

“Although the old seal of WCSA was not the exact same as the seal of the University, many often confused the two. Therefore, this seal differentiates WCSA from the University,” senator, chair of the Student Inclusion Advocacy committee and seal designer, Cindy Huynh said. “In addition, as part of the Executive Board, we believed that we wanted to set a new tone for and improve the culture of WCSA and establishing a new seal was one of the ways to do that.”

In her design Huynh kept the “Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs” in a circle, which represents the circle of life–the past, present, and future–of WCSA. She also kept “1973” because she believed that our establishment of student government at OWU is very important. There is a “W” that is flanked by laurels, which represents achievement.

Senator Gretchen Weaver, who is also co-chair of the Public Relations committee, believes that students will see this seal solely as WCSA’s.

I believe the seal represents WCSA’s individuality as an organization committed to the student body, “Weaver said. “The seal is simple, yet strong that is easily recognizable from other seals or symbols to organizations on campus. r voice and bring about change.

China looking to change global order

By Tung Nguyen, Online Editor

The world, in the last 10 years, has witnessed the rise of China, which raises the question of whether
that country will challenge the hegemony of the United States.

Ji Young Choi, an Ohio Wesleyan University associate professor of international politics, addressed
the unstoppable growth of China in regard to its relationship with the United States at Friday’s Great
Decisions community series about foreign policy.

Global pundits have laid out three primary concerns about China’s ambition in which it wants to
preserve the current status quo: it wants to strive for the global hegemony but yet has no capabilities;
or it has all the resources to overthrow the reign of the United States.

“Personally, I agree more with the last scenario,” Choi said. “There are many signs that reveal China’s
willingness to change the existing order.”

Recently, China invested in and constantly increased its military budget. Even though border conflicts
remain a concern for China, there is no direct security threat serious enough to worry President Xi
Jinping. The development and purchase a massive amount of submarines, aircraft carriers and
battleships by China in the last five years have clearly raised many eyebrows, Choi said.

“Besides the popular thought of many experts that China wants to show her strong willingness for an
overturn,” Choi said. “China also wants to maintain her military superiority in the Asia-Pacific region for
further planning.”

On the other hand, China’s economic growth in the last 12 years has been both strong and stable
compared to other global superpowers, It’s GDP growth rate is 6 percent.

With such enhancements on hard power, China also joined, as well as created, international
organizations to legitimize herself as a rising challenger to the United States.

“China, besides cooperating with other major superpowers in BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Afrtica] also operated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to expand her trade network or
influences,” Choi said. “For the record, many of the United States’ allies such as Germany, France and
the United Kingdom, became the members of AIIB.”

After the lecture, Dave Staats said, “I thought it was a very strong and sobering presentation
regarding to the recent trade wars between China and the United States. I also agree with Prof. Choi
that China clearly has the capabilities to challenge the global order with the United States.”

Along with the South China Sea disputes and conflicts with Taiwan in terms of the One China policy,
China also plays a big part behind the denuclearization process between the United States and North
Korea.

“Even though the relationship between China and North Korea became cold recently,” Choi said, “I
think that President Xi Jinping will likely side with North Korea in this matter because the collapse of
North Korea will definitely harm the well-being of China in some ways.”

Teresa Staats, besides agreeing with her husband, said, “The most dramatic thing I took from the
presentation is the relationship between the United States and North Korea and also what Prof. Choi
said about the goals of China pertaining to North Korea.”

Asked about the possibility of President Donald Trump using nuclear weapons to deal with North Korea,
Choi responded, “I do not think that he will push the button because after all, he is still a smart man in a
sense.”

Gifts given a plenty to largest campaign in history

By Reilly Wright, Managing Editor

Recent gifts and pledges have pushed the largest campaign in Ohio Wesleyan history, the $200 million “Connect Today, Create Tomorrow” campaign, forward for students.

The campaign has had the spotlight in recent university efforts and, according to President Rock Jones, gifts and pledges have totaled to more than $150 million to date. This puts the campaign a full year ahead of the projected schedule.

The raised money is aimed toward improvements campus wide; whether need-based scholarships, the OWU Connection or capital improvements, such as renovating Branch Rickey Arena.

Colleen Garland, vice president for University Advancement, says campaigns begin with a university strategic plan that resonates with donors and has the biggest impact at Ohio Wesleyan. The campaign’s progress is fueled through gifts by OWU alumni and friends.

“The largest single objective [of the campaign] is $50 million for student scholarships,” Garland said. “There’s the OWU Connection endowments, there’s capital improvements, like the new SLUs… all of those have been funded with gifts from the campaign.”

Earlier in March, Garland announced recent major gifts contributing to the campaign.

Dr. James F. Morris ’44 Endowed Scholarship: Estimated to be the second-largest scholarship at OWU, it is expected to total to more than $4 million with preference toward students with financial need. It is named after the late Dr. James F. Morris, an alumnus who received a full scholarship from OWU before becoming a pulmonologist.

The Sloan House, 94 Rowland Ave.: The currently unnamed Small Living Unit, the blue and brown building holding the House of Linguistic Diversity (HOLD) and House of Peace & Justice, will be named the Sloan House. Due to a $500,000 commitment from Tim and Lisa Sloan, members of the Campaign Leadership Committee, the Sloan House reception will be held during Reunion Weekend on Friday, May 18.

David P. Miller ’54 gift for online summer classes: After two successful summers of pilot online summer courses at OWU, Miller, who financially contributed for its launch, agreed to provide an additional $819,000 for the next three years of course development. Summer enrollment has increased due to the classes’ success and now the number of online courses has doubled each year. For information on the 2018 summer session, visit https://www.owu.edu/academics/summer-session/.

“Each and every gift is important to this campaign,” Jones said. “The gifts announced recently reflect the wide-ranging impact of this campaign…  Each of these gifts directly impacts our students and their experience here.”

Garland says campaign gifts are being closed almost every week and she plans to remain transparent in sharing these donor stories with the campus community.

“My intent is once every four to six weeks or so to send a similar update to the campus to highlight specific gifts because if we only talk about the dollars it’s hard to understand the donor story behind the dollar and what it’s actually going towards,” she said.

The University Advancement staff combined with the Campaign Leadership Committee, co-chaired by Kevin and Nancy McGinty and John and Kathie Milligan, has led campaign support. But Garland also says students and faculty help inspire alumni and friends to give as well.

“Whether that’s students writing thank you notes to donors if they receive a scholarship to faculty continuing to innovate and add new programs like the new majors, all of that gives us things that donors get excited about and want to invest in,” Garland said.

To view updated campaign progress, visit owu.edu/campaign.

Too many powers, too much to handle

By Kienan O’Doherty, Editor-In-Chief

A world without design. A world on auto-pilot.
That was the bottom line of Randall Schweller’s presentation on Friday, March 9, as part of the
Great Decisions 2018 community discussion series on U.S. foreign policy.

Schweller , a professor of political science and a social and behavioral science at Ohio State
University, is the author of many books. He also has published many articles in leading journals,
including World Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and International Security.

Schweller was scheduled to talk about “The Waning of Pax Americana,” but first he clarified
what that term means.

“Another way of thinking about it is the liberal international order,” Schweller said. “The term
does get thrown around a lot, and it really means more international stability [than peace],
because there hasn’t been too much peace in the world.”

Schweller said a world record has been set for the longest period without a great-power war, and
that “Pax-Americana is peaceful if you’re just looking at the great powers.”

According to Schweller, a world populated by dozens of power centers will prove extremely
difficult to navigate and control.

“Herding a few cats is no simple task; herding dozens of them is an impossible one,” he said.

One of the challenges the world faces is the evolution of transmitting information. Schweller said
he believes people are facing entropy as well.

“Entropy is not only on the rise in the international system,” Schweller said. “Individuals, too,
are experiencing greater personal entropy, as they discover they are incapable of handling the
speed at which digital information is transmitted. Information rains down faster and thicker by
the day.”

Attendees had many questions, and some had their concerns.

“I like how clear he was with us in the beginning, saying he was a Republican,” attendee Jo
Eastham said. “I did think he was a little disorganized, and that his three main points should’ve
been handed out to us.”

Others agreed with Schweller.

“There’s an outburst of small groups in the world that are doing significant activities on a local
level,” attendee Ed Hoar said. “And altogether, they constitute a major force in changing the
world. So, he could be right in that sense.”

Great Decisions 2018 is Delaware’s free community discussion series about current U.S. foreign
policy. It runs every Friday at noon through March 23 at the William Street United Methodist
Church, 28 W. William St.

Kienan O’Doherty is a journalism major at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Student-elected professors give lectures to honor students

By Reilly Wright, Managing Editor

Within Gillespie Honors House’s first year of existence, it has welcomed both residents and
lectures for Ohio Wesleyan honors students.

The inaugural Honors House Lecture Series began in early March inviting OWU honors students
to attend lectures by student-selected professors and an easy way to see the new structure.

The most recent lecture, the second of the series, took place Wednesday, March 21 with Dr.
Lynette Carpenter, professor of english, discussing “Hollywood Doesn’t Go To War: How The
Wizard of Oz tried to keep Americans home during WWII.”

Filled with snacks, questions and “The Munchkin Land Song,” students actively listened as
Carpenter explained a different interpretation of the “The Wizard of Oz” and how the political
climate influenced the film.

Comparing the protagonist, Dorothy, to the U.S., who is unwillingly thrown into a conflict and
innocently liberates people, Carpenter argues the film’s intent to keep Americans home.

“Dorothy has landed herself in the middle of a political struggle: a fight between the witches in
the East and the West,” Carpenter said.

With the main producers of the film favoring U.S. isolationism as well as the characters praising
courage only when it is wise, Carpenter painted the blockbuster in a new political light.

“I think the lecture series is a nice opportunity for students to interact with faculty around
intellectual content in an informal setting,” Carpenter said. “They were a fun audience, very
engaged.”

OWU junior Cindy Huynh, moderator of the Gillespie Honors House, says the series came to be
when residents pointed out the opportunity for honors students to learn about subjects outside of
their majors.

“Sometimes we are often focused on the classes that we are trying to finish for our majors, but
being an honors student is about expanding our knowledge in more than one way, which is why I
believe that this lecture series is beneficial to all honors students,” Huynh said.

Sydney Douglass, a sophomore resident in the Honors House, said “I think the series is really
interesting and a great way for students to learn about things that they may never take classes
about.”

The first lecture of the series hosted Dr. Jennifer Jolley, assistant professor of music, as she
examined the relationship between politics and music.

“[Jolley] spoke about her journey of becoming a composer and how she uses her music to make
political statements,” Huynh said. “It was really inspiring to hear about; especially in today's
political climate.”

Dr. Danielle Hamill, professor of zoology, is speaking next at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 2.
Later, Dr. Shala Hankison, associate professor of zoology, will lecture at a predetermined time.

“I would definitely like to see this series grow in the future to reach more honors students and
professors,” Huynh said.